Priests and priestess alike part 1

Posted on Thu Nov 27th, 2014 @ 8:43am by Lieutenant JG Teenah Spartacus & Lieutenant Ignatz Jones

1,538 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Deadly Diplomacy
Location: Couselor's Office

ON

Spartacus smoothed out her skirt and the usual 'Picard Maneuver' with her jacket as she waited her next appointment, she leaned on the front of her desk as she scanned over the PADD. The man coming here was of a unique situation, he was from the mirror universe and yet his aura was not as dark as Spartacus might have expected.

"There can be good on both sides of the mirror." Spartacus commented as seh scanned the notes.

Lieutenant Jones had first met Spartacus when she did not look herself; change of hair color and a massive black eye and other bruises under a barely there Slave Girl outfit. The crisp uniform; be it a skirted one, was a far cry from that rag she had endured to remain under cover while trying to get any sign of the rescue team.

She had the silk uniform died to Fleet regulations and made to her exacting form, the material gave a slight more sheen than most but still legal by all Star Fleet acceptance criteria. The black Reptile skin boots were from a native reptile on Angus 7; it shed the skin regularly and had a slight 'constricting' aspect to it that allowed it to 'mold' to the wearer like a second skin and was surprisingly soft and pliable. They did not come cheap, but the comfort for those long shifts was more than worth it.

Jones was due any second so Spartacus placed the PADD down and stood ready to greet the man when the chime sounded.

The message hadn't been clear, with a subject of "Counseling" and a request for him to come to Tina's Office. It wasn't that strange for someone to take their counseling session in their quarters, their office or even sometimes in the holodeck. Ignatz didn't mind it at all, understanding that making the patient comfortable could speed things along quite a bit. He had managed to visit a tailor on the station and had new robes made in his favored color, a purple color that was just a bit darker than the purple of the diplomatic collar of a star fleet uniform, made out of Arcturian "fuzzy" silk, sinfully soft and cushiony. It had been tailored in the style of Far Eastern Terran monks to allow maximum mobility. On his feet were soft leather boots, though it was doubtful they had actually come from the kind of creature the vendor had claimed. Ignatz didn't really care about that, no one else would really be able to tell what they were from either without a detailed scan.

Ignatz arrived at the door to Tina's office and rang the bell.

"Open Door Policy." Spartacus replied to the chime.

Seeing the dashing figure in what resembled 'Classic' priests robes she had been accustomed to, she contained the slight grin, the cut of the robe caught her first; she had memories of her days in the Saolin and nearly went to the 'Respectful' profile but managed not to; though wishing she had her own "Shaolin Robes' right about now. She did keep most of her thoughts from projection and with a very respectful bow as is the tradition towards a priest before she spoke.

"I am not sure if I call you Master Ignatz or Lieutenat Jones." She moved her left hand to the center of her chest and gave the SHolin greeting. "It is good to see you again." She smiled. "Could I interest you in some Oolan Tea before we start?"

"Some tea would be quite nice, actually, and just call me Ignatz. To tell the truth, I wasn't entirely sure which one of us would be counseling the other." Ignatz said with a broad grin. "If you want to play counselor first, it works for me." Ignatz grinned and chuckled.

"The one thing that is never 'play' is my work." She offered her new guest a chair before sitting herself, crossing her legs in proper form. "Or you can say I get to go first?" SHe said in a soft yet hint of professional tone. "I like to get the offical business out of the way before I talk to a priestly type."

The one thing that she had to keep to herself was her emotions more under her own control and not project the reactions. An old lesson she had gleened from her instructors was to remain in the center of herself during her cases and not get attached too much to ther people. It was a professional lesson and there were few times that she had to really exercise this rule.

Ignatz reclined back on the couch, settling his robes around himself comfortably, "So where do we begin? Being tortured by the Terran Empire or my more recent experience with torture. Let me tell you, besides the starving, the Orions are wimps when it comes to torture compared to the Terrans... I think they actually kind of did me a favor, I was getting kind of fat."

"Propspering suring diversity." Spartacus complemented. "And to begin would you tell me something you do not want me to know, nothing classified just something you would not tell a me?"

"Not sure which thing to talk about, has to be something about myself and not about one of my patients, professional privacy, that." Ignatz mused for a little before replying. "I would have to say the nature of the abuses and tortures laid upon me while I was in the hands of the Terrans."

This perked her couriosity." So why would that be something you do not want to tell me?" He had passed the first question as it was to see how open he was to this process; she had gotten answers ranging from defiance to a person sobbing when they got something off their chests they felt no one would ever care about, Ignatz was open to the process so now she could proceed.

"Simple embarrassment mainly, but the person who made me her toy did so many things to me, not all of which were torture, or if they were, it was of both a physical AND emotional nature. Think Stockholm Syndrome multiplied by ten." said Ignatz.

That sent chills up her spine; Spartacus had been under those conditions as a Damon's Party Favor; punished if she did nto act well and distract the males properly. Outside of always being naked she had to practially do more than just sit in their laps to get their focus away from the deal the Damon was pushing. This would be a little of her empathy towards Ignatz's plight.

"Stolkholm or not, torture is torture rather it be with your consent or not." Spartacus quickly put her own memories behind her more obvious caring aura, no need to make this about mutual comparisons of pain and suffering. "I understand why you would not want that to be known." She smiled assuringly. "Everyone has a pain in their past, some are physical and others not so much. But can I ask what you think you bring to the family of the Calypso?"

"That is a very good question, Teena. I would like to think that I bring my experiences from both universes, which tends to broaden one's perspective quite a bit, as you would well know. To the table I also bring my blood inheritances, the betazoid abilities, which I fear aren't quite as good as your own, but augmented by the Caitian's vaunted senses, smell, hearing, sight, which make up for the weaker half. smelling the anxiety, fear, anger, hearing them grate their teeth, their heart beating faster in their chest, seeing their pupils dilate when they lie. I bring all that and the loyalty of someone whose life and freedom have been secured twice and more by the Federation."

Ignatz sat back then and smiled serenely.

Spartacus knew that whole 'federation saving twice; though once was caused by the Diplomatic Corps, so she just smiled and say back a bit as she had another question brewing in her mind.

"What kind of 'culture Shock have you experienced being on this side of te Looking Glass in a manner of speaking?" She asked. "I mean how is this universe ... different from others?"

"At first I guess that I Sort of expected it to be polar opposites, but that wasn't quite the case. in fact it's more like a jump to the left of center. Maybe at one point that was the case, but that wasn't sustainable, They side I came from would have long ago killed themselves off. Really I suppose the biggest shock was meeting myself... apparently I'm a bartender... well, bar owner more like, and not a very nice one at that. Dabbles in drug sales, information and smuggling. quite good at it since no one has managed to make any charges stick. That I could have been him." Ignatz shook his head angrily.

"Or he could have been you?" Spartacus added. "But since you are you and he is he why not just stick to the Ignatz I have in This room for the conversational subject?" She winked. "Is there anything you like about this side over the Mirror Universe?"

TBC

 

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