[sb118-khitomer] Ensign Ezra Zerva - The Difficulty of Family Matters
BC Cooper
((Deck 6. Counselors Suite. USS Khitomer))
Ezra had reported to counseling with Lieutenant Jacin on orders from First Officer Hobart and CMO Ohnari. To say he was nervous was an understatement. These kinds of talks were not something Ezra was keen on having to do, but given the circumstances of the previous mission, he knew it was the right thing to do. Lieutenant Jacin had just asked him about his family. It almost always seemed to come to that. Especially his mother.
Jacin: :calmly: Tell me a bit about your family. It will help me understand other situations. :Pause: Your mother and father live on Earth don’t they?
Ezra held his left hand with his right hand to keep it from twitching. A problem that always happened when he was nervous or felt like he was in some sort of danger. He was hoping the Counselor wouldn’t notice.
Zerva: Yes my mother is Kala and my father is Coben Zerva. And yeah. The live on earth with my brother and sister.
Ezra had decided he would give out only as little information as he felt he needed. He had just only blurted out number of things only a moment ago. Now he was resolved to clam up. But was that wise? She did assure him that it would be okay. He tried his best to relax and be comfortable, but talking about his family was always a sore subject or so Ezra had told himself.
He watched as she wrote on her PADD. What was she writing? Was it good? Oh no, that was bad wasn’t it? It had to bad, right? Ezra squeezed his left hand a bit more.
Jacin: There is no right or wrong here. Family dynamics can be treacherous waters to navigate at times.
How did she know? She had his file. Did it say how he struggled with his mothers wishes? Or his fathers desire to pressure Ezra to become joined. She was part El’Aurian wasn’t she? They were known as good listeners. That couldn’t be too bad right? Maybe that’s how she knew? Ezra didn’t know a lot about El’Aurian’s except they lived a long time. Did they have telepathic abilities like the Betazoids did? No he was pretty sure they didn’t. Even so some how she knew things. He guessed it made sense since she was the ship’s counselor. That’s when he slipped and his attempts to clam up went away. Someone was listening.
Zerva: ::soft sigh:: Oh yeah. My family certainly has its problems. Where to begin? I’ve lost count.
She wanted to know. It was her funeral. It was a lot to unpack and he was as ready as he could be to give her what she asked for.
Jacin: You were young when you moved from Trillius Prime. That must have been difficult.
Zerva: Yeah it was hard on all of us, well except for my mother. She’s the reason we left our peoples home planet. I was five years old. I barely remember what it looks like. I haven’t been back since we left.
oO Well that was easier than a thought. Oo
Ezra’s shoulders relaxed, but only a little. He still wasn’t as comfortable as he should probably be right now, but he was feeling the need to open up. The only other person outside his family he had talked to about his family was Is’Kah, who Ezra knew from his time at the Academy. She had graduated only a week or two before he had his graduation. They had run into each other on Starbase 33 after a few months of being in the Alpha Isles. Back then she was a crew member of the Ronin before her transfer. Their meeting ended up with them drinking a lot. Maybe a bit too much? It happened twice on his first two shore leaves. Maybe it was time to give up the alcohol?
Jacin: Response
Zerva: Yes that’s her job. First as a member of the Trill Private Service and then as a security officer in Star Fleet after the Trill joined the Federation. Her job took us all around the Federation from Vulcan to Earth and other planets in between that time. We jumped around a lot. It made it hard to make friends outside my siblings. I was eleven when we finally settled down earth where she took up the position as chief of security at the Trill Embassy in San Francisco. Earth is the only real home I know, outside of here on the Khitomer.
Jacin: Response
Zerva: My siblings? Yeah they are a constant in my life. One of the few things I can always count on. They both have civilian jobs like my dad. They swore they wouldn’t jump into Star Fleet like our mother had done. They didn’t have much interest in following her footsteps, I had one.
Ezra stopped shifting in his seat and found the spot he felt most comfortable. His left hand had begun to relax and his right hand slipped off to his lap. He began to realize that he might have been a bit hasty in his judgment of her return in the escape pod. He couldn’t begin to imagine what she had gone through. It must have been a lot. That’s when Ezra began to wonder. Where do the counselors go when they need counseling?
Jacin: Response
Zerva: ::big sigh:: Why did I follow in her footsteps? I wish I really knew. Maybe it’s because she drilled the importance of the safety and security of the Federation into my whole family as long as I can remember. Maybe it has to do with her time in the Trill Private Service during the Dominion War? That’s how she meet my dad. She was assigned to security for her future father in law, my grandfather. I know she wasn’t happy the day I told her I had been accepted into Star Fleet Academy. She told me some things she had never told anyone in the family before. Things that she said that she had done during the Dominion War.
Would she ask about that day with his mother? Or would the discussion come around to his father and the joining. Ezra wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to talk about it, even though he was feeling a bit relaxed. His left hand slightly twitched for a brief moment. Whatever it was that she would decide to talk about next, he would try his best not to clam up again.
Jacin: Response
TAGS/TBC
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Ensign Ezra Zerva
Security Officer
USS Khitomer (NCC-62400)
A240101EZ2