Let Me In
Posted on Wed Jan 31st, 2018 @ 2:51pm by Petty Officer 1st Class Tobias Beckett
Edited on on Thu May 31st, 2018 @ 9:48pm
1,967 words; about a 10 minute read
Mission:
Episode 2 - The Enemy Within
Location: Deck 9 - SCIF
Timeline: MD001 1630 hrs
Tags: SD 71370.1630
Suzie glared at the century who refused her access. While she understood that politics were involved with the intelligence department and things were too secret and for particular eyes only; she was just trying to do her own job. She needed to evaluate each and every department head for their fitness for duty and the head of intelligence was no different.
The Head of Intelligence was proving to be even more difficult.The counsellor has thought to make things more easier by her coming to him but it seemed that even that wasn’t going to be accessible. She stood in one room, what she understood to be a reception of sorts, in her mind anyway; but here her passage was stopped by the Marine standing in her way. Something about command levels and top secret and all that nonence that seemed to exist to make life difficult.
Suzie was ready to hop her PADD off of the marine and storm off but common sense kicked in as her hand moved to the comm badge pinned to her jacket. “Wait until I get you into the counselling suite...” After saying the words to the marine, the woman’s fingers pressed against the Starfleet insignia, “Ensign Quinn to Mr. Beckett, I wondering if I could kindly request a meeting at your earliest of convienve?”
Tobias sat at his console when he heard the call at the door. He looked around at his team. "You know if this is what I think it is you are all next right," he said with a smile walking to the door as a laugh broke out behind him. He keyed in his access code and a small hiss emanated from the door as it slid open.
Standing in front of the door was a small mousy young Ensign with a face that looked like it was always smiling. "How can I help you today ma'am?"
“Mr Beckett! You must be the most difficult man on the ship to corner. I’d hoped we could do your psych evaluation in your offices were you might have been more comfortable...I don’t think the corridor is really the place for personal conversations.” Suzie had her hands on her hips. That face that normally always smiled was instead etched with annoyance as she threw the marine another glare.
"I'm sorry ma'am but you don't have entrance clearance," Tobias smiled. "Ma,am are you sure I need another pysch eval I'm pretty sure I just had one done at my last assignment I can provide you with a copy if you'd like?"
Suzie shook her head before holding out the PADD. “Executive Offcer’s orders. I think she may have said something too about it being a good experience for me to work with different levels of crew but at that point I was trying to save my jacket from spilled coffee.”
Tobias looked over the PADD and figured he wouldn't be getting out of this anytime soon. "Would you like to meet in your office say 1800 hrs?" Of next year, thought Tobias to himself. "I'm sort of in the middle of getting the department up and ready."
“That is...just over an hour? But sure there’s not much you can do in that time! Why not better manage your time by coming now and that way after our meeting you’ll have plenty of time to spend on your department without having to watch the clock!” Suzie folded her hands behind her back as she gave one of those smiles a try.
Tobias wanted to argue looking back at the door to the SCIF, but the Ensign outranked him. She could order the Marine to drag him to her office before he ever got his coffee in to open the door. "Have it your way ma'am," Tobias shrugged. "Let me just tell my team I'm stepping away and make sure they know what they are working on."
Suzie hesitated for a second, it crossed her mind that if she let him back into the room he might not come back out and she knew now that it wouldn’t be an easy process to gain access to the enlisted officer again. But then again...she needed to show some trust if she expected him to trust her in return. “Ok...meet me in the counselling offices in...say ten minutes? Can I have a coffee or tea waiting for you?”
Tobias was almost never seen with out a mug of coffee in his hand. He looked down at his mug, "I guess my coffee could use a little freshening up. I take my coffee black." With that Tobias dissapeared into the SCIF.
****** Ten Minutes Later ******
Tobias stepped into the counselor's office with hopes this wouldn't take long. It seemed like any other counselor's offices a comfortable space to discuss your feelings and Tobias hated talking about anything. "Ok ma'am let's get this over with," Tobias said plopping down in a couch.
Suzie turned with the coffee in her hand, she’d timed it to the ten minutes, figuring if the man decided to be late it’d be his own fault if I’d gone cold. “I’m fine thanks, thank you for asking. You never mentioned, do you take sugar? It’s a little late now but I guess I could replicate you some seperately to add yourself.”
Tobias reached for the Mug that was offered, "No ma'am no sugar." Tobias took a big swig of the coffee letting the hot beverage burn his tongue a bit. Tobias say patiently waiting for the questions to begin. He had been trained as an interrogator and he knew that volunteering information was not what he wanted to do here.
Suzie stood with her hands on her hips, uncertain what precisely to do now as it seemed pilote chit chat or manners weren’t this man’s fortay. “Ever play any board games at any stage in your life?” Upon saying the words, the counsellor dropped her hands from her hips and moved back to her own chair.
"Yes ma'am I have," Tobias replied. He went back to his integrator training. Answer the question don't volunteer any information, Tobias thought to himself. He treated this like he treated anytime he was in front of a counselor. Like an interrogation.
“Monopoly? Snakes and ladders? Cluedo? What else is there?” Suzie moved to sit in her chair, crossing her legs at the knee as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Well there are hundreds of thousands of games out there Ma'am," replied Tobias. To be honest Tobias enjoyed a good game of checkers but he wouldn't admit it to anyone. "Is this part of the eval Ma'am.”
“I hope so. Get to know your patients and take it from there seems to be counselling one oh one so I’ve been told.” Trying to get more comfortable, Suzie stood for a brief moment before resorting with one leg folded under her. “Abit like when your trying to make yourself comfortable. How do you handle sitting at a desk for hours on end collecting data? You much end up with pins and needles a lot?”
"Not really Ma'am," Tobias smiled again, perhaps he could charm this over. "I love my job finding different ways to interpret the same data to gain even more knowledge from it." At least she was talking about work now, Tobias thought about what his mission was.
“But surely there’s only a certain amount of ways you can twist and wrung a piece of data before you can get nothing more from it?” Suzie tilted her head to the side as she finally rested her hands on her lap, seemingly comfortable now.
"That's the thing Ma'am there is always more data coming in," Tobias sighed. Very few of his fellow crew members ever understood what he did and it was all classified so he couldn't just explain it. "What about you? You ever get tired of asking the same question to different crew members?"
“I haven’t had the time to get tired yet. This is my very first posting as a counsellor...if you want me to be completely honest; I’m more used to people opening up because they’ve broken a bone or busted their head open and so need my help...I’m not very used to trying to tease out of people what they may need help in.” Suzie tilted her head a little to the side, studying her colleague closely. “Perhaps you could offer some tips? Surely the interpretation and gaining of further knowledge from a single piece of data is no different to what my job involves?”
Tobias looked at the woman and simply blinked. "With all due respect ma'am I believe there is a big difference. I don't tease information out of people I interrogate them. Very often breaking them down until they have no other choice than to tell me what I need to know. Somehow I think that my techniques are not conducive for a constructive or therapeutic environment." He hadn't meant for the condescension to creep into his voice, but it did nonetheless.
Suzie was a little shocked in the change of the man’s demeanour, she thought to this pout she’d figured his game of smoke and mirrors but the showing of emotion was a little surprising. “Is my job not sometimes the same like here right now? That there is the first emotion or piece of information you’ve volunteered in the whole time you’ve been here. The end game for us both is the same...the gaining of information to put to a particular use. In your game it’s for the ship and federation, in my game it’s for the individual and gaining an understanding.”
"In principle I tend to agree with you. However, I am referring to the methods. Our methods are completely different, I very often have to resort to coersion and force to get what I want or need. Somehow I doubt that you have to do the same." Tobias looked at her he was unsure of what she wanted from him.
This appointment seemed to have taken a drastic turn from a man who held his cards close to his chest, giving nothing away; to now being a man who disclosed how he went about his job. “Do you not find it draining having to resort to coersion and force? It must create a mental fatigue in you after.”
"No, it is not draining... Counselor, if you do not mind, I do have some reports that need compiling..." Tobias hoped that she could take a hint.
Suzie hesitated, it was obvious that the man just didn’t want to be here; he dodged and blocked as much as possible and now it seemed he just wanted to leave. While part of her wanted to continue, to try and poke a hole in his reserve and wriggle her way through, the counsellor wondered if it was better that each retreated to their own corners in order to regroup before trying again. “Don’t let me keep you Mr. Beckett. We can pick this up again another day.”
"Yes ma'am" Tobias replied. He waited for her to leave before he returned to his reports. The thoughts that ran through his head was nice woman, strange counselor, but nice woman.
A Joint Post By:
Ensign Suzanne Quinn M.D
Counselor, USS Pioneer
Warrant Officer Tobias Beckett
Chief Intelligence Officer, USS Pioneer
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