Commander Toryn Raga - On Honor And Poetry

[Rameses]

((Corridor, Deck 10, USS Ronin))

The owl gave a soft hoot and rotated her head to stare at the Klingon a moment before her head bobbed up and down in greeting. 

Shortrith: That's certainly understandable, given everything that's happening.

Raga: Agreed. Facing a deadly plague is tough enough, but the fact our Captain was also afflicted doesn’t help. I know firsthand how demoralizing it can be for a crew when their CO is injured. 

Shortrith: Yeah… I hope he's okay.

The Al-Leyan reached up to scritch Sylara’s chest plumage while still looking at the counselor. 

Raga: My family is on the Blackheart. They hadn’t managed to get infected, thankfully. My kids have already faced enough near death experiences before they could crawl. I’m glad they lucked out. And apologies, counselor. If I seem, abrasive at all. My people have a long standing hatred of Klingons. A history of bloody conflicts and all that. It’s something I know I need to work on, so I was actually planning on scheduling a session with you specifically to do that.

Shortrith: I hope your family stays safe, especially in a scenario like this. And it's alright. ::more to themself than anything:: I'm used to people not having the best reactions toward me, both because of my species and appearance. ::back to Raga:: If there's anything I can do about it…

Toryn shook his head slightly and Sylara let out a soft hoot as her head rotated to look at him. 

Raga: The crew needs you more than I at the moment. This is something I’ve carried my whole life. They just survived the deadliest plague in the galaxy, so I can wait. How are you holding up? I imagine helping so many try to cope with all this takes its toll.

This time a much warmer smile graced his face. His love for the crew vastly outweighed any old biases. 

Shortrith: Honestly, I want to go help find a cure, but I know I need to be back here to provide support for these people. It could just be the medical officer in me that I was on the Astraeus, but… I know I need to be the counsellor. That's why I'm here.

Raga: Not surprised, some habits are hard to break for a reason. 

Shortrith: I suppose so, yeah.

Raga: It’s not easy having to wait while others do the work. But that’s part of being a crew. We rely on one another to do that which we’re best at. Just focus on what you can do, counselor. 

Shortrith: I'll use all the tools in my arsenal to help these people however I can. You have my word. My word is my bond, and my bond is my honour.

The Al-Leyan’s brow raised slightly and the owl on his shoulder tilted her head almost at the same moment. The telepathic link they shared often expressed itself in shared reactions like that. 

Raga: I’d expect nothing less from someone who served under Mei’konda. That also had a fairly poetic lilt to it. Do you read poetry, counselor?

Shortrith: Response

Toryn of course had an entire bookshelf dedicated to the art, all Al-Leyan works of course save for two. Both were anthologies of collected works from species across the Alpha and Beta quadrants. 

Raga: As far as I’ve noticed every culture has poetry of some sort, though as with anything some are better than others. I’m a bit biased, but Al-Leyan poetry has few equals. Especially romantic sonnets. Terrans have a few supreme ones too. As do Tellarites, interestingly enough. 

Shortrith: Response

Raga: If I’m keeping you please let me know. If not you’re welcome to walk and chat with me if you like. 

It was genuine even though twice he had to fight down the image of his brother’s death during one of the raids. The memory faded back into the sea of memories, most of which weren’t even his, that filled his head. If he was being honest with himself, that was another thing he should probably seek counseling about. Though, he was fairly certain he’d have no idea how to broach that. oO Oh by the way, I have a few thousand dead people’s memories in my head. I’m a memory vault for a colony that doesn’t exist anymore. Oo 

Shortrith: Response

[Tags/TBC]
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Commander Toryn Raga
First Officer
USS Ronin - NCC-34523
Writer ID: A239410TR0
https://wiki.starbase118.net/wiki/index.php?title=Toryn_Raga