Rura Penthe #41"
By: Giuseppe Silvio, Chief Engineer, [RNPC]
Patia Zoei, Chief Counselor, [PC]
Stardate: 58205.09 1900
Silvio was stressed. The captain had decided to push the Zion's warp engines to maximum. He and his crew and been monitoring them around the clock for the last week. Now that they had reached the border of Klingon space they had slowed down to a more reasonable speed. SIlvio ordered a thorough check of all the propulsion systems and replacement of any overtaxed system. His men had performed very well and now that the work had been done Silvio was looking for a little down time.
Silvio thought about his last trip to the holodeck with Patia. They had gone there to view a sunset and had ended up falling asleep. THey slept until they wer awoken by a very loud thunder clap. The holoprogram was about to throw a random storm at them They had quickly left before the storm started. Although Silvio had though about her often over the past week he had been so busy fretting over the beating that the engines were taking that he had not seen or talked to her. He wondered if she was free tonight.
Silvio dressed in casual clothing. "Computer what is the location of Patia Zoei?"
"Patia Zoei is on Deck 8," replied the computer.
"Still at work," he thought. Silvio decided he would pop in on her.
***
=Patia Zoei's Office=
Patia finished the final report. She picked up the picture of Michelio's graduation and her bonding ceremony. She put her feet up on her desk and leaned back in her chair. The two pictures were braced against her thighs. Slowly, her fingers traced the features of both young men. A small smiled tipped the corners of her mouth.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of her door chime.
"Enter," Patia shifted slightly. Her feet were still on her desk, but she was angled so she could see the door slid open.
Silvio entered Patia's office and approached her at her desk. "Hello Patia," he said smiling. "How are you?"
"Good evening," Patia leaned her head against the back of her seat. "I am well. How are you? Would you like to have a seat?" Patia nodded at the chairs opposite her desk.
Silvio sat down across from Patia. "I tell you, I have been overworked this week." He looked at Patia. "Working late tonight?"
"Actually, I just finished my reports. The office is still very busy during standard working hours. I shut down appointments at 1700 most days and work on reports after that. You seem a little tense tonight. Did you want something to drink?" Patia slid her feet from the top of her desk and laid the pictures flat on her desk.
"There is an old earth drink called Cherry Coke. I would love one please." Silvio sighed, "I have been babysitting the warp systems all week, but now that we have slowed the ship down things are looking better." He noticed the pictures on Patia's desk. "Those pictures of your family?"
Patia crossed slowly to the replicator. Her back was stiff from working at her desk most of the day. "Cherry Coke; Raspberry Iced Tea." While she waited, she turned back to face Silvio. "You can look at them if you like. I am the little girl in both pictures. When I look at those, I feel as though they were taken a hundred years ago," Patia chuckled. She picked up the glasses and returned to her desk. She slid the Cherry Coke across the smooth working surface before she eased herself back into her chair.
Silvio picked up the pictures and studied them. "You were a pretty little girl back then too," he said. "Who is the little boy in the picture with you?"
Patia stretched across her desk. She tapped her finger on the little boy. "This is Lucio." She shifted the other picture to the top. "This one here, he is my brother Michelio. I understand the dirty rat has managed to get himself assigned to Qul Tuq as the Chief of Security," Patia winked so quickly, it was hard to catch. "This was taken on the day of his graduation from Academy."
"He is in the Maquis." Silvio paused, "You must be excited to return to Qul Tuq to see him."
"That is a good question. Lio is going to have a little explaining to do. You see, my mother sent me a package. It was delivered when we met with the other ship the other day. The person who brought my package told me the new Chief of Security was Lieutenant Michelio Zoei. He hadn't mentioned it to me. I would imagine he is trying to surprise me, but sometimes he forgets how small the Maquis really is when it comes to the speed news travels." Patia chuckled.
"Is Lucio a family member too?"
"Lucio is my bonded mate. That picture was taken at the bonding ceremony. Would you believe it has been twenty five years since that picture was taken?" Patia shook her head as she sat down.
"Your bonded mate." Silvio did not realize that Patia was married. He was suddenly feeling both disappointed and foolish at the same time. "I see."
"Oh, I wasn't very clear. Lucio was my bonded mate. He has been dead for a very long time. After he was gone, I never had another bonded mate." Patia leaned back into her chair and swiveled herself slightly from side to side.
"I am sorry," said Silvio. "That must have been hard to deal with."
Patia closed her eyes. "The circumstances were not pleasant. The reality is, it is something I still deal with on occasion." Slowly, she opened her eyes. "How old are you?"
"I am 28 will be 29 in two months," said Silvio. He considered asking her her agbe but decided against it. "Why?"
"I was just curious. You are very young for a Chief, but I am sure you have been told that more than once. Have you ever had a bonded mate? That isn't right, what do you call them? Fiancee?"
"I have heard that before. I was a very advanced in my education growing up," Silvio shrugged, "Both of my parents are teachers so I how could it be any other way?" Silvio thought about her other question for a moment. He had never even been close to finding someone he wanted to marry. "No, no fiancée, not yet anyway."
Patia smiled faintly. He was so very young, suddenly she felt ancient. "It is hard to explain to someone who has not been in a bonded relationship, but the process of dealing with his loss will be a lifelong one. It isn't something that is dealt with daily, or even monthly, but he is someone who will always cross my life. How come you haven't settled down? Haven't figured out which of the girls you have in every port is the right one?" Patia winked again, still very quickly.
"To be honest, until recently I had not planned on settling down." Silvio smiled, "The thing with the kitty hawke has opened my eyes to that possibility now though." He was not sure if he should ask her his next question. "Do you think you will, how did you call it, find another bonded mate?"
"No, I will never have another bonded mate, at least not like Lucio was. That does not mean, however, that I plan to spend my life alone. At some point, I am sure, I will meet the right person. I do not have any hesitations about it, as long as they aren't Betazid. Would you rather sit on the couches? These chairs are not the most comfortable."
"Sure," said Silvio. As he made his way to the couch he noticed the many colorful pillows were gone. "What happened to the pillows," he asked as he say down.
"I put them away at night. It is part of the closing the office for the day. I can't have a session if I don't have the pillows on the couches," Patia chuckled. She tucked her feet up underneath her as she sat against the corner of the couch. She deliberately chose a seat other than her usual chair so she wouldn't assume a counseling posture. The cool glass of tea rested loosely in her hand.
"I suppose not," Silvio said.
Patia settled deeper into the corner of the couch. "Say, how come you stopped by? Did you need anything?"
Silvio chuckled, "I forgot about that, I realized that I had not talked to you since the sunset on the holodeck and I thought I would come visit you."
Patia laughed, with a nervous tone. "Well, here you are. Was there anything you wanted to visit about?"
"Nothing in particular, I just wanted to get to know you better."
"There isn't much to know, I am afraid. I am an old Betazid, who spends far too much of her time in her office. I have no bonded mate, but I do have one sneaky brother. That is it, in a nutshell, I am afraid." Patia laughed again. "Is there anything else you would like to know?"
Silvio chuckled nervously he was not certain what to say next. "If you are an old Batazid you certainly do not show it." What could he do? He certainly could not just come right out and say that he was attracted to her and wanted to spend more time with her. This was a situation he had never been in before. He shifted uncomfortably on the couch.
"Old is a relative term. Compared to you, I am relatively old," Patia laughed. "Also, when you look at my lifestyle, I am culturally quite old to still be single, with no prospect of marriage or children on the horizon. I have to say, though, I haven't fit neatly into my people since I was a small child. Why should I try to start now?" Patia smiled broadly. It had taken her many years to accept herself as she was, but overall, she had a positive sense of self, even if she didn't fit the Betazid mold.
"That is a good thing if you ask me," said Silvio. "You have to be who you are." He paused, take me for example, I have spent much of my life living a pretty fast pased life style and only recently did I come to realize that I have nothing to show for it. Sure my career is doing well, but I am really quite alone." Silvio too a drink from his glass. "You mentioned "A girl in every port and that was true, however, as I was recovering from the kittyhawke incident I realized that not one of those girl's would give two hoots about me if I had died."
"That does not surprise me, neither about the girl in every port or the two hoots. Someday, maybe sooner than later, you will find the right girl, at least a girl you would feel comfortable introducing to your mother. I would guess if the ones you knew wouldn't give two hoots, you probably wouldn't want to bring them home to mom when the time came," Patia chuckled. She had laughed tonight more than she had in days.
"You are right, I would not take any of them home to meet Mamma." Silvio laughed. "It would not be a good thing."
"I understand Mamma's can be quite protective of their little boys. I have to say that is one distinct advantage for Lio, being a Betazid. His mother knew his bonded mate from the time she was tiny. There are none of the 'steal my baby from me' issues that I have seen in other cultures. As a female, that is not an issue I would be comfortable with, I have to say."
Silvio smiled, "I think my mother would love to be able to worry about some woman stealing her little boy. She was not really in favor of my leaving to join the Maquis after I got kicked out of Starfleet Academy."
"Ah, your mother has the 'Maquis is stealing my little boy' issue instead of the evil woman doing it?" Patia chuckled. "I cannot imagine how that must feel, as a parent."
"My mother would have loved it if I would have become a teacher and settled down with a nice Italian woman and had whole lot of kids," replied Silvio.
"You still have time for that, if it is what you want," Patia smiled softly. Somehow, she could see the nice Italian woman, but the whole lot of kids just didn't seem to fit. "What happened at Academy?"
"No, there is more out in the universe than my mother wants to admit." Silvio's smile turned to a frown, "Well, I finished my primary education ahead of most people my age and I really wanted to get into Starfleet. The only problem was I was too young. I lied about my age on my application and to make sure I did not get caught I hacked into the computer system and changed my age there too."
"You have always had a gift for engineering, then."
"Yeah, well I was about ready to graduate and my secret was discovered. They kicked me out."
Patia leaned forward, her chin rested on the top of her fist. "How did they find you out?"
Silvio laughed, "It was my own fault really, I became involved with one of my classmates and shared my true age with her. When the relationship ended badly, well, let's just say she got even."
Patia laughed. "That was quite the revenge. What did your parents think of that?"
Silvio shrugged, "They were not very fond of my decision to join Starfleet anyway so I think they were happy with it until I told them I was going to find the Maquis." Silvio took an other drink. "So, what is it like to be bonded to someone else?"
"That is hard to explain, probably harder because Lucio died when I was very young. It is like you carry a piece of them around in you, and a piece of you is in them. Empathic abilities are not supposed to be fully formed until a Betazid is in their mid-teens. I would imagine reaching that stage would be very different. As it was, we were starting to get to that point. I knew when he died. That little part of him was gone. It was a blank, empty hole. The piece of me that had been in him was gone, too. It is very strange sometimes, when I really think about it." Patia shrugged her shoulders slightly.
"It must be a pretty wonderful thing to carry a part of someone with you. Does it even work when you are far far apart," asked SIlvio.
"I was on Earth and he was on Betazed when he died. I knew, probably to the moment, when he passed. He died a horrible death, though, so I don't know if the reason I knew was because it was so traumatic or if it was because of our connection. It woke me from a sound sleep, though." Patia shook her head, a slightly puzzled look was on her face.
"What was Lucio like," asked Silvio.
"He was a typical little boy. He loved swimming and playing ball, physically rough and tumble activities, as well as painting and drawing. He was very open, very trusting and never expected anyone to hurt him. Lucio truly expected everyone to be as kind and gentle as he was. I am very fortunate to have known him. I do wonder what he would have been like as an adult, though."
"Did you love Lucio," Silvio asked. He felt odd asking such a question since he was just a little boy but he was curious about Zoei and wanted to learn more about her.
Patia smiled. "Of course I did, he was part of me, as much a part as my hand or my arm. He was the one I was intended to spend my entire life with, the one I was to marry, have children with, and we were to grow old together. Our families truly fostered our relationship. It could have been very challenging for us, since I was on Earth and he was back home, but our mothers, especially, helped us grow closer together. Have you ever talked about bonded relationships with anyone else before?"
"No, I do not think humans can experience such a thing. Maybe it would be good if they could," SIlvio mused. "Have you had anyone else in your life since then?"
Patia shook her head. "My parents could have chosen another bonded mate for me, but they opted not to due to the circumstances. Culturally, my circumstances are very unusual and not generally accepted. I cannot see that I would ever have a relationship with another Betazid and I don't put myself into many social situations where I would have the opportunity to meet someone. For the most part, that has worked out just fine. I am also getting old. I may not have to worry about those decisions much for that reason alone."
"Patia, you are an attractive woman who should not count out future love," said Silvio.
"It is not counted out, but I am thirty four already. It is an age where my people have normally been married a decade and are considering children, if they don't have them yet. It is just another way I demonstrate I do not follow our cultural norms." Patia smiled slightly.
Silvio looked at Patia until their eyes made contact. They looked at eachother for a moment before he said, "You are only in a position to make your own happiness." Silvio wanted to add that he would like to help her make that happiness but he did not share that with her.
Patia chuckled. "If you ever have spare time, and would like to pursue something other than engineering, I think you should consider counseling."
Silvio could not really tell if Patia was even remotely interested in him. She had very strong control of her own emotions and body language. She was not going to make this easy on him. Before, with all the other women in his life he could be bold and brazen because ultimately he did not care if they rejected him, if the did he just moved on. Patia for some reason was different, he did care and was not going to be bold or brazen. It was a new experience for Giuseppe Silvio and for once in his life he felt like a small child not know what to do or how to proceed.
Silvio finished his drink and placed his glass on the table. "I do not think I would be a very good counselor. Trust me on that."
"I will take your word on it, then." Patia glanced at the chronometer. It was 2300 hours already. "Would you look at that time? The whole evening has gone by in a blink of an eye!"
Silvio chuckled, "Yes, I suppose I should be going. If you are heading back to your quarters I would be happy to escort you Counselor."
"It is most definitly time to head back to my quarters. Let me wrap up a couple items and I will be ready to go, if you don't mind waiting?" Patia arched her eyebrow at Silvio.
"Sure, not problem."
She stood quickly. She picked up the stray glasses and set them on the replicator. At her desk, she straightened some files and shut down her systems. Finally, she set the pictures back where they belonged. She smiled slightly as she brushed her fingers over the faces captured in time so long ago.
"Ready?" Patia asked.
"I am," he said smiling. "Do you have anything planned tomorrow night?"
"I have appointments scheduled until 1800 and paperwork after that. I would say I have nothing after 1900."
"Perhaps you would do me the honor of spending more time with me," he asked.
"Perhaps that could be arranged."
They crossed to the door. Patia paused briefly, "Computer, dim lights." The doors whispered opened as the room darkened.