A Social Experiment Hidden in a Meet and Greet

Posted on Thu Aug 20th, 2015 @ 9:06am by Lieutenant JG Victoria Drani M.D. & Lieutenant Arnon Barak MD, PsyD & Chief Petty Officer Markos Ileos

2,175 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Of Gods and Men
Location: Victoria Drani's Quarters
Timeline: Current

ON

"Rubber Chicken you're one. You make play time lots of fun. Rubber Chicken I'm awfully fond of you, woh woh bee doh..."

Arnon walked through the corridors towards the new Chief Medical Officer's quarters. He was carrying his Premium Deluxe model rubber chicken by the feet slung over his left shoulder. He arrived at the door to Lieutenant Drani's quarters and hit the buzzer.

Drani had removed her uniform jacket after her first shift aboard the ship. It had been a long day and it wasn't over yet as she heard the door chime sound. "Come in," she called, standing from her chair.

Arnon entered the doctor's quarters.

"Lieutenant Drani?" he said. "I'm Arnon Barak, the ship's Chief Counselor. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"A pleasure," she greeted with a smile. She then noticed the rubber chicken. "Why are you carrying a rubber chicken? She suppressed a laugh.

"Ah," he said. "A client reported to me a sexual fixation involving a rubber chicken, a lasso, and an ergonomic chair. I'm trying to gauge other people's thoughts regarding rubber chickens. Quick! What's the first thought that enters your mind when you look at this!"

Arnon held out the Premium Deluxe model rubber chicken, dangling upside by its feet, in front of the new CMO.

Drani had an amused look as she looked at the chicken, wondering what sexual desire someone would have with a chair, lasso, and a rubber chicken. "Um, a corny gag for comedians," she shrugged.

"Excellent!" Arnon replied, tapping his commbadge. "Barak to Ileos."

Go ahead, Doctor,

"The experiment has so far yielded the expected results," Arnon said. "Subject 44, a female with a medical doctorate in her twenties, said 'Um, a corny gag for comedians.' It's looking more and more like the use of a rubber chicken in a sexual fantasy is, as we suspected, abnormal."

Well, there was that guy in Engineering who told you to quote take that ugly rubber farm fowl and stick it up your...

"Ah, yes, well," Arnon said. "There's one in every crowd. That will be all, thank you Markos."

Of course Doctor. Ileos out.

Arnon lowered the chicken and turned to Victoria.

"Now," he said. "Where were we? Oh yes! Getting to know each other! Please, tell me everything there is to know about you!"

Drani smiled from the exchange Arnon just had. "Aren't we direct," Drani replied. "Everything? That could take awhile being such a broad subject and all. Can I get you something to drink?"

"Mandarin orange sparkling water, would be lovely," Arnon said. "May I sit?"

Drani moved to the replicator. "No, you will have to remain standing," Drani joked, smiling. "One standard glass of Mandarin orange sparkling water," she told the replicator as a glass of the beverage materialized. "Please, have a seat," she gestured to a chair with a smile as she handed his glass to him.

"Thank you," Arnon said, taking both the offered drink and the offered seat. "So, how did a beautiful woman like you end up in my life? And do you like older men? I'm only century older than you give or take but, as they say, age is just a number. And do you enjoy your work? Medicine, I mean, the practice of it? Or does the scientific aspect of it do more for you?"

Victoria raised an eyebrow at the questions as she sat down on a nearby loveseat, facing him. This was the second guy to hit on her so far in one day. The first had been Apollo and now Arnon. "Thank you for the compliment. I was assigned here by Starfleet upon being reinstated. Wow, only about half a century, huh? As long as you don't need the little blue pill, I suppose," she shrugged with a playful grin. "Betazoids rarely place value on age. As for my work, yes, I do love it. It allows me to help those in need, which gives me great satisfaction to ease the pain and suffering of others. What about you, what made you become a counselor?"

"Oh I've been a doctor for a long time," Arnon replied. "As a medical doctor I've studied and practiced emergency medicine, family medicine, and psychiatry. I found I liked psychiatry best. After practicing some time as a psychiatrist, I pursued a doctorate in psychology so that I might be better trained behavior based therapies. I enjoy helping people discover solutions to their problems, and the mind is a fascinating mechanism to tinker with. Thought processes and emotions, private logic, self-determining prophecies. Not physically tinker with, of course. Other than medicines if I feel a client needs them. If I wanted to slice and dice people's brains, I would have become a brain surgeon."

Arnon took a sip of his drink and flashed a smile at Victoria.

"And, by the way," he said. "No little blue pills required. Circulation is life! Vulcanoid bodies cool themselves through high pressure circulation of our lower temperature blood. So, does this mean you'll have a drink with me sometime? Actually, we're having a drink now, aren't we? Well, would have another drink or multiple drinks in another place unless you've decided that I am irresistible and are about to ravish me right here and now."

"You are unbelievable," she remarked with a grin, shaking her head slightly, placing her hands on her hips. Yet she sensed he was a confident person and held a rather attractive quality to him. "How about we get to know one another first. So is this how you greet all new female crew?"

"Goodness no!" Arnon replied. "I'd be drummed out of Starfleet if that was the case. I just had a good feeling about you. I'm a sensory empath, you know. Can sense the internal emotional and physical state of a person. Not that I go around snooping in other people's emotions or their glands either, but even reading surface emotional and physical responses can tell me things."

"Ah, so you sensed that I was in the mood?" she grinned, now intrigued. She was enjoying the exchange.

"I sensed you might be...receptive to my interest," Arnon replied. "Was I wrong?"

She lightly bit her lip in thought on how to continue. The thought of being intimate with a handsome someone she barely knew intrigued her. It had been a long time since she had been with someone. She gestured to the empty spot on the love seat next to her. "And if I said yes?"

Arnon moved over and sat down where Victoria indicated. He took Victoria's hand and kissed it and then the inside of her wrist.

"In that case," he said, looking into her eyes. "I would do my level best to make sure you felt it was worth it."

The thoughts she sensed from him excited her, fueled as he kissed her hand. Her mind was raging a battle with her instinct.

Her lips suddenly found his but broke away soon after. "No, I--we shouldn't... at least not yet..."

Arnon smiled. He brushed a lock of hair off of Victoria's forehead and tucked it behind her ear. He gently kissed her forehead, her eyes, her nose, and her lips, then leaned back.

"A promise of things to come," he said. "Not to worry. This happens as fast or as slow as you'd like it to, or not at all, all depending on your wishes. Should I go? Or shall we have another drink and talk a while? If I go, will I see you again? Outside of work that is."

"You can stay but we need to take things slower...at least for the moment," she admitted. "So, why do you want to pursue a relationship with me?"

"Hmm...let's figure that out, shall we," Arnon replied with a grin. "Besides the obvious physical attraction. That would require asking questions about you and listening to the answers if memory serves. Yes! That would be quite pleasant! And you might even ask me a question or two and possibly even listen to the answer! Excellent! Now you said something a moment ago...ah, yes! You said you were 'reinstated'. What happened that you were...disinstated? Well, you know what I mean."

Arnon reached over and picked up his drink and sipped at it.

Drani shook her head. "No, I resigned my commission due to being ordered not to help people who needed it. I can't say much more as the details have been classified by Starfleet."

"Ahh..." Arnon responded. "Beautiful and mysterious. Always a plus. That situation must have been very difficult for you. I'm sorry that you had to go through it."

"It's alright... it's made me a better person. So, since you're a half a century older than me, nobody special?"

"More like ninety years, but who's counting," Arnon replied with a grin. "And there have been several 'someone special' in my life, but we always seem to mutually decide eventually that it is time to go our several ways. Ironically, my relationship to my children's mothers has so far been the most significant of relationships, and that was never meant to last, romantically at least. Two dear friends of mine, women, whom I introduced to each other wanted children. They didn't want their conception to be an impersonal act of science, but rather acts of love. So I helped them conceive the children in the...old fashioned way. I was a part of my children's lives through much of my childhood, as their father but not as their mothers' husband. They're grown now, my son Carlos and my daughter Rhiannon, or at least they think they are. Carlos is a young marine officer like his biological mother was before she retired and Rhiannon went into nursing like her biological mother. Carlos' bachelor's degree is in psychology, though, so that may lead to something else after he completes his initial tours of duty. Not that I'm not proud of him, because I am. Rhiannon, too. She's exploring psychiatric nursing, so that could lead to something more in my area of expertise as well. I love my children very much."

Arnon took a sip of his drink.

"I don't suppose my long association with Starfleet has helped my situation any," he said. "Most Rigelians are what you might call 'homebodies'. It's not that common for a Rigelian to seek service with Starfleet. What about you? There must have been a 'someone special' or two in your life. Either that or you've been associating with positively the stupidest men in the galaxy."

Drani laughed. "As Betazoids, we are often paired off with potential mates when we are small children. I was betrothed to a boy but he left Betazed and annulled the betrothal after the Dominion War. "Last I heard from him, he had started his own freighter company. I kept myself too busy with my work to pursue any meaningful relationships."

"Did you know the boy at all?" Arnon asked. "Or was this more of a...what should I called it? A transaction...a transaction between your family and his that fell through?"

Victoria nodded. "Yes, we knew one another. We met several times but his parents were killed in the Dominion Invasion so he wanted to get away from Betazed for good. I agreed to let him go so the arraignment was voided."

Arnon nodded and took another sip from his drink.

"Do you regret the loss of that relationship?" Arnon asked. "Wait, that sounded a little like you were having a conversation with a psychiatrist Prime Number forbid. You can ignore that if you'd rather. When did you first realize that you wanted to be a doctor?"

Victoria felt comfortable with Arnon. "I did at first, but I soon realized it was for the best. I realized I wanted to be a doctor during the Dominion Invasion. I enjoyed helping others. Well, I really should take a shower," she said, standing.

"I wonder," he said with a grin. "Do the rules of etiquette suggest that it would be more polite to offer to wash your back or to refrain from doing so? Ah, well. So, do I pass inspection? Do I get to see you again? Outside of work that is."

A part of Victoria wanted to invite Arnon to shower with her. It had been a long time since she had been with anyone. She took a deep breath before answering. "Tempting offer," she smiled. "I would love to meet again. In fact, we are scheduled to arrive at a Starbase soon I believe. How about then?"

"Excellent idea," Arnon said, grinning again. "Drinks? Dinner? Some other meal? Picnic in the Arboretum? Something else entirely? Ladies choice. I'm adaptable."

"Hmmmm. A picnic in the Arboretum sounds great," she smiled.

"Your wish is my command," Arnon replied. "For now I shall take my leave of you."

OFF

Lieutenant Arnon Barak, MD, PsyD
Chief Counselor

&

Lieutenant Victoria Drani, MD
Chief Medical Officer

 

RSS Feed