Down for Coffee

Posted on Tue Aug 8th, 2023 @ 1:42pm by Commander Chalan Kendri

1,597 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: Campor III - Resupply
Location: Cosmic Coffee: Deck 19
Timeline: MD 11: 2230 Hours
Tags: Kendri

Kendri and Kobi caught the same turbolift after their shift on the Bridge, and decided to stop for drinks at the coffee shop on Deck 19. Kendri ordered a chai tea and Kobi ordered a raktajino, and they grabbed a seat near the walkway.

"So how do you like the Columbia? Is it much different than your last assignment?" Kendri asked as they sat down.

“She’s a beautiful ship, Commander. Kendri. I, um, still getting used to addressing a senior officer by first name. Respect for chain of command and especially for those under which I serve. It’s just engrained in my brain, you know?”

“Anyway, Columbia is an amazing feat of engineering. The Odyssey-class itself sets it apart from the rest of the fleet. I was more “hands on” in my last posting. As you probably already know, I was a junior officer on the Majestic. I wanted to be involved in everything-Security and Tactical. I really did my homework when it came to weapons and defensive preparedness. Proved my meddle. That’s what got me the chance to be here. What about you? Couldn’t have been easy, especially early in your career. Being Cardassian and Bajoran I mean. To overcome all the prejudices and all that?”

"You know it's throwing me off that senior staff are uncomfortable calling me Kendri. If you aren't comfortable with it, I don't want to make you feel awkward. It's just that I prefer it. We were all pretty familiar at my last posting - the first officer included," Kendri explained.

"And as far as prejudices go, once I got to Starfleet, life was pretty easy as far as that goes. Living on Cardassia and Bajor?" Kendri made a side to side motion with her head, "It was questionable at times, but not too bad."

Kendri took a sip of her tea. "You know what I really want to ask you about - if you're comfortable, is how your joining has affected your thoughts on Starfleet and your career path. Were any of your prior hosts Starfleet officers?" she asked.

“Come to think of it, I don’t mind the first name basis thing. It keeps us grounded…and connected in a personal way, Kendri. I’m quite comfortable talking about my previous hosts. It’s….they make me who I am. So my first host was Tajod. He was in the Starfleet Diplomatic Corps. Klingons, Tholians, Gorn, even Sheliak. He’s had relationships with all of them. I can still remember that the smell of the Gorn delegation almost made me lose my lunch,” Tomm said as he smiled. He was hoping to get a reaction from Kendri.

"Gorn?!" Kendri said, putting her drink down. "You were with a Gorn delegation? I wasn't aware that Starfleet had ever done anything like that. How was that even safe?" Kendri asked, leaning into the conversation eager to hear more.

Kobi put up a hand and said, “Now just hang on, let me set the stage. Tajod served when the Gorn mellowed a bit. They were not quite allies, not quite the enemy we’ve heard about.
This was just one of a series of meetings, kind of a feeling out period. There were safety precautions in place and contingencies abound on both sides in case something went wrong. Even still, all who attended adjourned without even a paper cut. And I would like to think that I…..Tajod…. had a part in that. Tajod had a successful career, but his heart just gave out. Congenital heart disease. The Tomm symbiont went to Miara, and, finally, me, Kobi.”

"So where were you in your career when you got the Tomm symbiont? Do you think it changed you much?" Kendri asked, picking her drink back up and took a long sip, looking at Tomm over her cup.

Kobi picked up his cup and put it back down again.

“So, I was actually pretty young when I was joined. I studied at the Symbiosis Commission on Trill for a year when I was 17. Got the symbiont when I was barely 18. Got into Starfleet Academy shortly thereafter. One day I was Kobi Ramurs and the next I was Kobi Tomm. Very weird. The training on Trill was absolutely beneficial; I—-we adapted pretty quickly.
I’m very proud to be joined. By the way, Kendri, this thing we’re doing. This “coffee time”. I’m, um, enjoying it. Getting to know each other like this. Good for morale. I think we should make it a weekly thing. What do you think? And tell me more about young Kendri Chalan. Was she a girly girl or
was she a tomboy?”

Kendri sighed. "Yeah, we should," Kendri agreed. "As to you other question, I don't think anything about my early life lent itself to any frills like being a 'girly girl' as you called it," she said. "My mother was basically a mistress to a Cardassian Legate, and when she was killed in an attack on the military base where we were living, he dropped me off at a Bajoran orphanage. I was twelve," Kendri said matter-of-factly. This part of her life was so far removed from who she was now, it didn't really stir up too many emotions anymore.

"Being a hybrid on either world wasn't ideal. There were others, but Cardassians can be ethnic purists, and the Bajorans just have a lot of history there," Kendri shrugged. "Once I got to Bajor I basically just studied and waited until I was old enough to apply to Starfleet Academy."

“That’s too bad. I’m sorry to hear that. I just think that growing up, kids should be allowed to be kids. I know that the military played a large role in Cardassia’s way of life. A lot of it was out of your control as a child. If I may ask, where is your remaining family now? Do you still have anyone on Cardassia? Who raised and nurtured you on Bajor? Did you spend your teenage years at the orphanage?”, Tomm asked empathetically.

"Nothing to be sorry about, it's made me who I am today, and I'm okay with that," Kendri said, trying to brush off any sympathy. "I know where my biological family is... it's complicated with my mother's family. I took her name. I remind them too much of her fate I guess." Kendri flashed a mischievous smile. "I don't think my Cardassian half-siblings know I exist, but I've figured out what they are up to."

"Vedek Anti," Kendri said nodding. "He took care of a handful of us that came in when we were older - similar circumstances believe it or not. I keep in touch with some of the kids from the orphanage still, but my life really started at the Academy."

Kendri warmed her hands on her cup, and took another drink.

"What about your family? Did the Ramurs think you changed a lot when you were joined? Are there family from the prior host that still want to have contact with you because of Tomm?" Kendri asked.

Kobi picked up his cup of raktajino, took a sip and held it as he spoke.

“The transition was a little awkward in the beginning. I think I called my father by a name in Tajod’s past and maybe the same with my mother. Believe me, the training on Trill prepared me for what to expect. It took maybe a day after implantation for my parents and I to reconnect. Did I tell you I have twin nieces? I miss them so much. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen them. Thirteen years old. What was I saying. Oh….family, right. So, I don’t know if you’re familiar with the Trill rules of association. It’s taboo for a current host to involve himself or herself with anyone from the previous hosts. Friends or loved ones of Tajod or Miara- I’m not supposed to be involved with in any way. And I haven’t. I have memories of those people, that’s all.”

Kendri thought about what Kobi just said. "I think that would be sad. Don't you miss them?" she asked.

“The Trill have become very good at compartmentalizing. Not necessarily as a defense mechanism, it’s the structure and chemistry of our brains. Mostly I feel the love and the warmth of hosts’ families and memories. They become part of me and vice versa.”

Kobi could sense a wave of emotion come over Chalan and he put a hand on hers as a gesture of friendship and empathy.

“Please don’t feel sad for me, Kendri. How many people get to sift through memories of three lifetimes? I consider myself one of the lucky ones. It’s the fabric of a Trill’s existence. What do you say we get back to work? I’ve enjoyed this, Kendri. I look forward to our next….appointment.”

Kendri smiled. "I'm hoping that I'm done for the evening, but you never know - the life of the XO," she said good-naturedly. "We should definitely do this again," she agreed as she stood up.

“Have a good evening, then. I want to check in with Delta shift, then I have to get some sleep. We can talk in the morning, Kendri.”

"Goodnight, Kobi," Kendri said as she took the long way back to her quarters, strolling through Deck 19, looking at the different restaurants and other entertainment and saying hello to the different people who were out.

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