Subject: Grail: "Unexplored Spaces" - 'Seeking Counsel'

Epic Terrakian walked the silent halls of the residential

apartments on Deck 9. He was satisfied that his order was met with

obedience, though he had hoped such an order would not be necessary.

Finally, he came to the door he sought. `Mirka Tzavaras' 9-107.

With a deep breath and slow exhale, he pressed the doorchime. After a

short moment, the door slid open to reveal a dark-haired young woman.

She looked at him for a moment, seeing first how he seemed to fill

the doorway, blocking the light from without. His uniform, all black and

not even remotely Starfleet issue, seemed to enhance his personal

darkness. His face was expressionless, but his icy blue eyes seemed to

glow. His voice was low and deep and she seemed to feel it as well as

hear it.

"My name is Epic Terrakian. I am the Captain. I was hoping you

would grant me a few minutes of your time so that I might make a request

of you."

Mirka was so suprised to see him that she couldn't answer right

away. To see the captain at her doorstep right after she finished

blaming him for all the difficulties of the Grail was...well, scary. It

was as if he had read her toughts all the way from the Bridge. She

quickly told herself not to be so paranoïd.

"Captain", she said in an unsure voice."I was just..hmm thinking

about you!" She smiled at him, looking staight into his eyes, they were

most unsettling.

The moment of surpise gone, she was now wondering what the captain

of the ship could possibly want with her. Had she done something wrong?

Did he disapprove of the advice she had been giving some of the

passengers and the crew? She felt like a high-school kid called at the

principal's office. 'Get a hold of yourself' she admonished herself.

She then remembered her good manners and what SHE wanted to tell HIM.

"Please do come in" she invited. She decided to let him speak his

affair before she told him what she thought of his attitude. Besides,

he had a request and it would be easier the critize him after she heard

him out.

Epic entered the younger womans quarters and stood rigidly. She had

flushed in surprise when he had first seen her and he had to assume that

she had indeed been thinking about him. An empathic impression told him

that her thoughts were not completely flattering. He cleared his throat.

"Since rumor travels faster than light, I assume you must know of

all the things the Grail has experienced in the last week. If not, allow

me to give you the condensed version.

"This ship has been transported almost 3000 light years from Earth

in the blink of an eye by the deific powers of the Q. Since then,

Captain Cochrane has died, leaving me in command of a ship full of

troubled people.

"After that, we were forced into a conflict with Romulans who had

launched a cowardly attack against a Federation deep space Science

Survey Vessel. We were able to overcome that enemy, but it was close.

Too close. We lost some people."

Epic fell silent for a moment, lost in a stray thought.

"Anyway, in that conflict, a viral agent was introduced that

threatens all of us. It is an engineered strain of virus that attacks on

the genetic level. Fortunately, the probability of a cure lies before

us, in a star system some 60 light years away. We speed now toward that

cure."

Epic looked her squarely in the eyes. Her gaze was just as strong.

For a moment, they just stood there staring. There was something of a

dare in the womans eyes. Epic did not know what she expected of him, but

he could easily sense her readiness to attack. She definitely had

something on her mind.

"Finally, to my point: This ship is without a Counselor. You, Ms.

Tzavaras, are the only person aboard with the education and ability to

serve in that capacity. You have exposed yourself to the psychology of

more cultures than I have even met. I need you. The Grail needs you.

"But before you answer, let me detail the responsibilities that

will go along with accepting such a commission. And I am offering a

commission. You will be enstated as an Acting Lieutenant junior grade.

You will also be expected to undergo some formal training to qualify you

for eventual permanent status. But, that is a minor consideration.

"You will see to the mental welfare of the crew, certainly, but you

will also be expected to report to me directly for regular Bridge

duties. Do not worry. Unless it is an emergency or Alert, it will divert

your attention for no more than a few hours a week.

"However, the reason I will require this is so that you will have

an intimate understanding of the operational procedures of the Grail, as

well as being kept abreast of all that transpires. You see, you will

also serve as a liason between command, and the rest of the crew. I am

no public relations expert, Ms. Tzavaras. But you are.

"In addition, we will be making contact with various cultures on

our continuing journey. Most of these contacts will be First Contacts.

You will be assigned to all First Contact Away Team missions so that you

can make educated reports on all new cultures we encounter."

Epic finally took a regular breath. "I am asking the galaxy of you,

Ms. Tzavaras."

Mirka blinked is astonishment. She was trying to digest all the

information he had just given her. Her first intention when coming on

the Grail was not to interfere in what was happening. But she had only

managed to do that for about a day. The ship's occupants (all of them)

were going trough very rough times and nobody seemed to know what to do

about it. Mirka quickly found herself being a pillar for many of them.

His proposal was big and asked a lot of her. She had to question if she

was ready for such a task. True, she was the first one to critize the

way things were handled on the Grail, so it would be very hypocritical

of her to refuse such an offer. Besides, this would be challenging.

She liked challenges.

"I'll do it," she finally answered. "When do I start?"

"As soon as you can" was Terrakian's answer.

"Good," Tzavaras replied "I'll start now."

She had decided to let him have a piece of her mind so he would know

where to stand with her. Somehow the speech he had just given her

seemed to anticipate a critique of the ship's management on her part. He

had answered a lot of her frustrations, but still they were things that

needed to be said.

"About the announcement you made throughout the ship. My opinion is

that declaring general quarters on an already very stressed crew and to

confine these people to their quarters for such a long period could and

probably will destroy what little morale they have left. The senior

staff might be accustomed to these situations but the majority of the

ship's passengers and crew are not. I know you felt you had no choice in

this, but did you really need to be so cold about it? A few encouraging

words, like telling everyone we were on our way to find a cure, would

have made a world of difference. The people of the Grail need hope and

nobody is giving them any. I feel like I'm the only one on this ship

that doesn't believe this mission is doomed. You captain must look like

you believe that too so the passengers can have faith in this ship, it's

crew and most importanly, in you. " She took a deep breath, "Now,

where's my office?" She smiled.

Epic grimaced and nodded in agreement. "You are quite correct, Ms.

Tzavaras. I have been remiss in my responsibilities to the crews

emotional well-being. You are my effort to correct that.

"As I said: I am not an expert in public relations. Nor do I intend

to be. It is my responsibility to keep everyone alive and to keep this

ship in one piece. I will not be made answerable to every single person

on this ship. I am grateful that you will help me help them, though."

Epic moved toward the door. It hissed open at his approach. "So,

now, if you'll join me for a stroll, I'll show you to your office."

Mirka Tzavaras nodded and Epic allowed her to precede him out the

door with an inviting wave. She realised how he had done his best to

turn the situation around. Now the ship's emotional status was her

responsibility. But she would not accept to carry that burden alone.

That, she would tell him at a later time. As she walked beside the rigid

man, he looked down at her and asked, "So. What kind of music do you

like?"

Mirka, surprised by the question, bursted into laughter.

Joint post by

Mirka Tzavaras and Epic Terrakian