Fatherly Concern

Posted on Tue Jan 2nd, 2024 @ 10:19am by Lieutenant Commander Kevin Lance

Mission: Christmas Cheer
Location: Earth
Timeline: Current

on:
{Hvalset Fjord, Greenland}

Kevin sat back in the sauna, allowing the heat to permeate his skin. Unlike the Odinskus, the public sauna in Hvalset Fjord were segregated by sex. He was, at once, both disappointed and relieved. Disappointed that he had to part with Mira but relieved that his nakeness would not be exposed to her. Of course the towel covered much more than the bathing suit that Q had chosen for him on Risa but the sauna felt like a much more intimate setting than the cave.

Thor entered the sauna with two large men. At a gesture from him, the other occupants of the sauna made a rapid departure, leaving Thor and his bully boys alone with Kevin. Kevin eyed them warily. Up until now he had been treated with friendship and comradery but something in Thor’s eyes indicated that this meeting was more serious. Looking at the two bodyguards, Kevin was certain that he could take Thor and one of them. All three was a different matter.

“What are your intentions towards min lille,” Thor asked without prolog.

Kevin shifted uneasily on the cedar bench. “Lieutenant Commander Rodale is a superior officer. I will follow the orders that she gives and protect her with my life as a member of the crew.”

“Ever the professional,” Thor sneered, “I am not asking about duty Lieutenant. I am less certain of her feelings for you but I have seen the way that you look at her. What are your romantic intentions?”

Kevin was confused and he avoided the eyes of Thor and his two bully boys. What were his intentions? He still loved Kera but they were separated by duty and distance that no emotion could bridge. Mira, although much closer, was almost as inaccessible. Despite her attentions to him over the past couple of days, she had no need for Kevin beyond his utility as a Star Fleet officer assigned to her crew.

He chose his words carefully, “Regardless of my feelings for her, Commander Rodale is fully capable of making her own choices. I would never force her into a romantic entanglement.”

Thor stared down on Kevin for a moment, then sat on the bench next to him. “She is more than capable,” he said adopting a more conciliatory tone, “but I fear that she will not chose the wisest course.”

“I consulted a psychiatrist once,” Thor reflected, “He said that she most likely suffered from an inferiority complex.”

“She what?” Kevin asked.

“I had much the same reaction,” Thor continued, “We were in a bar and to be fair, the psychiatrist didn’t have a look at her and I might have misspoke. But upon further, sober reflection, he might not have been too far off the mark. He said that my description of Mira reflected a deep seeded need to constantly prove herself to others as a proxy for her true target who is otherwise unavailable.”

“Wait,” Kevin held up a hand, “Are you saying she has ‘daddy issues’?”

“Not her father per-se but the death of her parents certainly make them unavailable.”

“Mira is just about the most competent person that I know,” Kevin objected, “She insists on doing everything herself and she never refuses a task or leaves it unfinished.”

Thor nodded, “The psychiatrist said that inferiority doesn’t imply incompetency, just the constant need to prove oneself. And that rigidity of purpose just makes matters worse. She never acknowledges when she is beaten or that discretion is the better part of valor. Odin was able to goad her into the drinking contest, sledding and the weapons competition and she accepted regardless of her proficiency. Only her natural modesty prevent her from risking her life in the polar bear dip.”

Kevin stroked his beard as he considered Thor’s words.

“I am at least partly to blame for the self-reliance,” Thor admitted, “When I took her into my crew I had hopes of her replacing me one day as Captain. I taught her everything that I could and the crew covered for any gaps in my knowledge. She was a quick study and quickly became proficient through practice.”

Kevin reflected that this was no mean description of his own experience aboard the Dorcas James. He too had learned a diverse skill set that served him well in Star Fleet.

“Being stranded on an alien world for four years,” Thor continued, “alone, honed that self-reliance to a sharp point. And aboard a ship with as small a crew as the USS Chuck Norris, she is free to indulge that desire to do everything herself.”

He nodded. "She can be a bit of a perfectionist. It's makes me wonder why. There is also the bit about her guardian. She has never said his name. This visit was the first time she even mentioned him. She was from the age of seven, trained to be a diplomat, and yet here she is not in that field. "

Thor shook his head, "She is fierce in battle and protecting the crew. Too fierce . We once had an accident on the ship. I found her holding on to equipment to save a crewman. She dislocated her shoulder and broke her leg. Not a word about her. She was just gonna hold it until we got the crewman out. She ended up far more damaged than if the equipment had just fallen on the crewman. Crazy girl."

“Mira needs to be brought out of the protective cocoon that she has built for herself,” Thor mused, “If she had remained with her Klingon in-laws after the death of Kolar, I would be less concerned. For all of their gruff brutality, the Klingons would have ensured that she remain connected to life and love. But I see her isolating herself behind walls of duty and self-reliance that aren’t good for anyone, least of all a Trill.”

Thor paused to let his words sink in. Then in a more serious tone, he said, “So I ask once again, what are your intentions towards Mira?”

“This week here in Hvalset has been like a dream,” Kevin replied, “but all dreams come to an end. I have no ill intentions towards her and back aboard the Norris I will attend to duties without consideration of what has transpired here.” He believed the words that he was saying but an ache in his heart left him in doubt as to the ease of keeping the promise he had just made.

Thor stared at Kevin without speaking. As the silence was becoming uncomfortable, he finally spoke, “Mira is like a daughter to me. If you break her heart, I will break your neck.” And without any further comment, Thor stood and departed the sauna with his two bully boys in tow.

:off

Lieutenant Kevin Lance
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Chuck Norris