Prophets and Loss (Invite Only) with Lorut Vila

[Tekin Nevir]

[Holodeck 2]

It really wasn't often that Nevir would use his authority to make unorthodox orders to his crew.  But in the case of an Ensign like Lorut, he felt he needed an unorthodox angle.  He had a crewmate who was having issues.  A chip on her shoulder.  And as much as he would never admit it openly... a Bajoran. They were a traumatized species and quite stubborn people.  And some more so than others.

So, he gave the order.  Ensign Lorut report to holodeck 2 on the Captain's orders.  Currently there was no program running on the holodeck, but Nevir stood in the middle, fiddling with a Bajoran Phaser.

[Lorut Vila]

Orders to a HOLODECK?! That was a first. Still, since she had the morning off, she had no way to skip out of it-she'd been assigned to the Beta shifts because there was less trouble for her to get into. Which was fine with her-it was also quieter, so she could mess around more.

She turned up in jeans and a sweatshirt, her brown hair hanging down-more casual than most people saw her-she didn't "mingle" much, though, anyway, so it would've been a surprise if she'd shown up in a three piece suit or something, anyway. She was still armed to the teeth, but this time-more openly, the holster slung around her hips. She entered after a knock.

"Ah, I miss those," she said. "I am here. Can't we just agree that I will stay out of the Ferengi's way, that you can put a note in my file, and be done with the charade?" She asked. "I need to call my mom, and you will know better than anyone else that you don't leave a Bajoran mother hanging."

[Tekin Nevir]

Orders to a HOLODECK?! That was a first. Still, since she had the morning off, she had no way to skip out of it-she'd been assigned to the Beta shifts because there was less trouble for her to get into. Which was fine with her-it was also quieter, so she could mess around more.

She turned up in jeans and a sweatshirt, her brown hair hanging down-more casual than most people saw her-she didn't "mingle" much, though, anyway, so it would've been a surprise if she'd shown up in a three piece suit or something, anyway. She was still armed to the teeth, but this time-more openly, the holster slung around her hips. She entered after a knock.

"Ah, I miss those," she said. "I am here. Can't we just agree that I will stay out of the Ferengi's way, that you can put a note in my file, and be done with the charade?" She asked. "I need to call my mom, and you will know better than anyone else that you don't leave a Bajoran mother hanging."

Nevir smirked as he heard the doors open and close.  He turned around to her and stayed silent as she spoke.  He waited a moment after she finished, and then gave her a smirk.

"No." he said, finishing his fine-tuning of his phaser.

"Computer, privacy." he ordered, locking the holodeck with the Captain's security code. "Miss Lorut, I've read your file.  Lek isn't the first time you've been short with a senior officer.  Its not the first time you've been acting rudely against your commanding officers.  So clearly you are on the path to just be shuffled from ship to ship until you're drummed out."

"So, I think its time I took care of that." he stated, walking over to the control panel and activating a program.  With a shimmer, they were on Bajor.

"You're older than me... which means I know your history.  So... I'll deal with the wrath of your mother, I have for decades myself.  We are going to talk."

[Lorut Vila]

"I am only "rude" to people when I need to be," she said. "I don't take kindly to people who think they're better or smarter. They're not. Just in a different place. If the Fleet had counted my years of service to the Resistance, I'd be at least a Lieutenant," she said. After she'd left the Resistance and Militia, she'd served the Federation as a Civilian representative. They wouldn't count that, either, even though she felt like it was owed to her-her dorky ex-husband had had the audacity to haul her accomplished ass throughout BQ as if he were Neil Armstrong himself, after all.

"Fine. Talk," she said, standing against a wall. It was sure to be more of the same. "You need to learn to get along with others (she didn't-she did her job just fine)," "Have you considered counseling? (Yes. They're stupid and ask too many questions)," and "Another write up means you'll be back at HQ, doing yeoman work until we can flush you out (Cool, at least it was closer to Bajor than wherever the hell they were in this god-forsaken galaxy)."

[Tekin Nevir]

"I am only "rude" to people when I need to be," she said. "I don't take kindly to people who think they're better or smarter. They're not. Just in a different place. If the Fleet had counted my years of service to the Resistance, I'd be at least a Lieutenant," she said. After she'd left the Resistance and Militia, she'd served the Federation as a Civilian representative. They wouldn't count that, either, even though she felt like it was owed to her-her dorky ex-husband had had the audacity to haul her accomplished ass throughout BQ as if he were Neil Armstrong himself, after all.

"Fine. Talk," she said, standing against a wall. It was sure to be more of the same. "You need to learn to get along with others (she didn't-she did her job just fine)," "Have you considered counseling? (Yes. They're stupid and ask too many questions)," and "Another write up means you'll be back at HQ, doing yeoman work until we can flush you out (Cool, at least it was closer to Bajor than wherever the hell they were in this god-forsaken galaxy)."

"Then why aren't you a lieutenant?  You're not the only Bajoran in Starfleet.  The poster child of Starfleet for our people started her career as a Commander, following a long career in the militia and the Resistance before that.  Speaking of, computer, begin at Level 4."

The sky turned a bit redder and more ashen.  Nevir took a position behind cover as the sounds of approaching soldiers started to get higher.  He checked his phaser one more time while looking over at her.

"I didn't really get a lot of fighting done at my age.  The Occupation was just about over by the time I was 7.  My only actual fighting took place when I was 9 and even then, it wasn't that I was put on the line.  I just refused to stay back.  You, however, got into fighting early, according to your records.  So I expect you to do better than me." he stated, as the first shot hit nearby.  Cardassian soldiers were coming out of the cover of the city and trying to get for their position. Nevir waited for a gap and peeked out, firing in controlled bursts.  Two of the opponents immediately went down as Nevir returned to cover to avoid more shots.

"I'm not going to give platitudes to you.  Thats an insult to me and you, and you've already heard it.  So, I used my rank to drag you into my own physical training program and throw you in. But I'm talking to you Bajoran to Bajoran.  Survivor to survivor.  Let's start from the beginning... tell me your thoughts."

[Lorut Vila]

"I am not a Lieutenant because apparently, the Federation cares more about how I get along with people than wether or not I can do my job with any kind of aptitude," she said. "And in case you didn't notice, I don't get along with people well," she said. "Most of them are smart enough to leave me alone at least, and the ones who aren't are the ones who tell me that it's been 20 years and I should be over the things that happened to me already, Captain," she said. "Plus, there's also the small fact that I nearly killed a guy at the Academy, but in my defense, he tried to feel me up, so he's lucky I only hit him in the head with the butt end of a practice phaser," she said. "Kira and I have different philosophies on how Bajor should have moved forward when we were liberated. That's one of the reasons I am no longer with the Militia. The other one is that I was stupid enough to get married," she said, cutting him off at the pass so he didn't press her about THAT. "She and some of the others thought that remaining neutral was the right idea. Believe it or not, I was pro "join the Federation." Maybe it would've help saved the Betazeds or whoever has to go next," she said. "But at this juncture, I sort of understand the outlier opinion of "nuke Cardassia Prime into the nether." She shrugged. "And I don't think that makes me a bad person. Sometimes, bullies only understand things in like kind."

She went quiet, but noticed the sky was changing. The distant sound of gunfire set her on the edge. She tensed, and moved further against the wall. "What is that?" She asked him. She moved closer, curiously. Her hands instinctively moved to her waist holster.

"You were lucky," she said. Comparatively, of course. ALL of them had faced loss, subjugation, and trauma. "Kind of," she said. "We all...well." She was trained on the scene in front of her. She could feel her own walls leaving and the fight taking over. She watched him.

"Aim lower; they will think you can't shoot. Then head them off at the pass," she said, absently, moving into a firing stance. "Watch," she said. She hesitated only long enough to get her target. She fired, hitting a holo-cardassian squarely in the stupid spoon-shaped marking on his ugly head.

"I don't have any thoughts," she said. She was moving closer-she turned her mind "off", now operating on pure adrenaline and the years of operating in fight mode.

"Captain. Cover my six," she shouted, louder than she intended to. "I'm going that way," she said, moving towards a large boulder. Better to perch on top of for maximum effect.

[Tekin Nevir]

The Captain nodded, even as holographic debris and shrapnel flew around him. "If I recall correctly from the announcement to the Ministers, the decision to stay neutral came directly from the Emissary.  We were too central to the conflict, either we ally with the Dominion and have Starfleet bombard us, ally with the Federation and have the Cardassians bomb us, or stay neutral and be a host to the controlling power at the time.  Obviously, all three of those were terrible options, but it was the difference between being at the top of the fire caves, or at the bottom of the firecaves.  Both got you burned, but one you could walk away from."

Nevir took her advice on aiming and had to force himself to reaim.  A group of cardies decided to spray and pray, and their overconfidence allowed him to pick them off easily.  He moved up in cover towards one of the structures of the Capital city.

"No... no you're right.  I am one of the lucky ones.  I made it through the Occupation with both of my parents intact. Not many in our generation can say the same. I'm sure there are people who would resent me for that." he answered.

He came out of cover and started firing at the Cardassians, giving the cover Vila needed.  Of the group of 5, he was able to knock down two, which when a kill shot was registered they vanished, and one was shot backwards but not registered as a kill. Of the remaining two, one fired back at him and the other.. vanished.

"Careful, possible flanking.  And we have a shuttle on the horizon." he said, gesturing towards the skyline.

"I'm going to drop rank for now, Miss Lorut.  What you are saying is a load of bull.  You do have thoughts, you are just hiding them.  I brought you here because I thought some good old-fashioned racial justice would make you less defensive about talking to me.  Thats also why I don't have anyone else here.  You said Starfleet doesn't understand... but I hope you don't think I'm more Starfleet than Bajoran." Nevir overcharged his phaser and fired a shot low... but it hit something flammable and explosive, taking out another guy as another group of Cardassians were coming from the alleyways.

[Lorut Vila]

"What do you want to know?" She said, jumping out of the way of phaser fire. Christ, these Cardassians were relentless. Usually, you could just turn up the air conditioning and blast them away as they shriveled, but in a holoprogram, that wasn't a thing, apparently. Whoever programmed this was an idiot.

"We were taken when I was ten," she said. "We'd managed to outrun the Cardassians for a bit," she said, with another jump. "I always blamed myself. I still do. I was crying; upset about losing my toy, and I thought they had heard me and that's how we were found," she said. She took out two Cardassians with rapid fire. She was a good shot, but they were good at dodging, and it was requiring her to focus and remain so.

"It was much as to be expected for awhile. We were taken to Batal, at first. Then to Terok Nor...before that....Dukat took over, they made me work, too. I was a CHILD," she said. "When they learned I wasn't going to just comply, I was moved-by myself-to Elemspur." She stopped talking, pausing to eliminate a few more. She knew they would escalate shortly-they always did. "You bring any explosives?" She called out. A moment later, she ducked, a fireball whizzing past her head.

"Anyway. Whatever that...doctor did to me....well. At least I didn't die. When we were finally released, I was sixteen...we lived on a medical ship for a bit, but I left as soon as I could to join the Resistance," she said. "Liberation happened a bit later. You know I have an excellent kill record? Every single Cardassian I've attempted to kill? I did," but she didn't say it in a bragging tone, just a matter-of-fact one.

She fell to her stomach to fire as the Cardassians got closer. "If you've got a plan, Tekin, this is a good time to tell me," she said. Christ.

"After that, I spent five years with the militia while going to school. Then I met my ex-husband, and left Bajor while he hauled my accomplished ass to the furthest ends of the Universe," she said. She sighed. This was probably going to trigger her for a day or so, she couldn't lie about that. "He was a Fleet science officer, you know."

[Tekin Nevir]

He was silent as he let his officer talk about her past, using the simulation as a means of letting her air herself out.  Meanwhile, the Bajoran was slinking away around the debris, using the covering fire as cover.  He was still listening to her, and trying not to drown in his own memories.  He was at least shaken out of any stupor when she shouted for him to tell her his plan.  With that, he jumped from cover, flanking the cardie firing on her and taking him out.

"A plan?  This is just a training program.  The plan is to just to shoot, kill, and let off steam.  Like our own version of a Klingon relaxation program." he said, gunning down another two holographic enemies.

"Here.. there's a defense nest in the building ahead of us.  We should have access to more powerful arms in there.  Enough to take out a shuttle." he stated, looking over where the street started.  He made a quick count... there were only two left before the shuttle.  Nevir grinned.

"Just two left in this round, down the street.  I think its time they saw the faces of their rebels." he said, standing up and showing himself in a different light as he walked boldly towards them, firing at the two Cardassians until they were finally taken out by the two of them.

Nevir walked up to the two fallen combatants, firing at them for a bit until they vanished.  The shuttle on the horizon turned around and headed out.

"It'll be back.  This is the part where they call for reinforcements." he said, turning to her.

"You had a hell of a life, Lorut.  Are you saying you have an issue with science officers because of one man?"

[Lorut Vila]

Vila sighed, squeezing one eye shut to have a better view.

A plan?  This is just a training program.  The plan is to just to shoot, kill, and let off steam.  Like our own version of a Klingon relaxation program.Here.. there's a defense nest in the building ahead of us.  We should have access to more powerful arms in there.  Enough to take out a shuttle.

She nodded. "Excellent," she said. She waited for him to return, firing away. She was determined, serious. Also covered in dust and debris as the landscape around them exploded from the land of phaser fire. She winced as she took some back. Damn. Her aim wasn't what it once was-she was having to work harder to make a kill.

Just two left in this round, down the street.  I think it's time they saw the faces of their rebels.

Vila hopped to her feet. "Be careful," she shouted, shaking her head. She followed him, firing as she did, as more Cardassians appeared. Why were there so many?

It'll be back.  This is the part where they call for reinforcements.You had a hell of a life, Lorut. Are you saying you have an issue with science officers because of one man?

She nodded. "Yeah...thanks." she replied, watching the skies for more shuttles. "This is supposed to be relaxing?" She asked, an eyebrow cocked. "But no. I don't dislike science officers, in general. Just Ben," she said.

[Tekin Nevir]

Vila sighed, squeezing one eye shut to have a better view.

She nodded. "Excellent," she said. She waited for him to return, firing away. She was determined, serious. Also covered in dust and debris as the landscape around them exploded from the land of phaser fire. She winced as she took some back. Damn. Her aim wasn't what it once was-she was having to work harder to make a kill.

Vila hopped to her feet. "Be careful," she shouted, shaking her head. She followed him, firing as she did, as more Cardassians appeared. Why were there so many?
She nodded. "Yeah...thanks." she replied, watching the skies for more shuttles. "This is supposed to be relaxing?" She asked, an eyebrow cocked. "But no. I don't dislike science officers, in general. Just Ben," she said.

Nevir laughed.  "To be honest, I created this program in my younger years as a junior officer.  I was plenty more hot-headed than now.  Use to use this program every day once I was off duty.  Only cut back after I met the woman who ended up becoming my wife.  But dealing with your record and the incident in Engineering reminded me of me, so I dusted this thing off. Obviously you can tell I've run this program so many times I know what the stages are."

"Glad to hear about the science officers... it would be very awkward considering you are serving on a ship led by a science officer.  And trust me, I've had my fair share of distasteful Federation types. Someday maybe we can have drinks and I'll tell you the time I was framed for espionage and nearly sent to a penal colony because of some humans."

There was a sound of shuttle whine, and from the horizon there were a couple of shuttles coming back.  "Let's get inside quickly... better weapons." he stated, running up to the door of a building that would eventually be restored to an apartment complex.  Inside he made a beeline for one of the rooms where there was a pretty nice selection of heavy equipment.

"Alright... so tell me about your commanding officers.  What were their problems?"

[Lorut Vila]

Vila was listening, but keeping a careful eye on the horizon. Even though it was quiet for the moment, she knew it wouldn't stay that way.

It never did.

To be honest, I created this program in my younger years as a junior officer.  I was plenty more hot-headed than now.  Use to use this program every day once I was off duty.  Only cut back after I met the woman who ended up becoming my wife.  But dealing with your record and the incident in Engineering reminded me of me, so I dusted this thing off. Obviously you can tell I've run this program so many times I know what the stages are."

"Glad to hear about the science officers... it would be very awkward considering you are serving on a ship led by a science officer.  And trust me, I've had my fair share of distasteful Federation types. Someday maybe we can have drinks and I'll tell you the time I was framed for espionage and nearly sent to a penal colony because of some humans."

She cocked her head to the side. "Espionage?" She asked, interested. To be fair, she'd done some of her own while she was with the Resistance, but she didn't count it as serious as a charge like that for a Starfleet officer. For HER, it had been survival. And a bit of retribution.

"Yeah, I generally like the science types. I appreciate the logic with which they handle things," she said. "It's a good contrast to those of us who are ruled mostly by emotion," she said. She watched as shadows re-emerged. She took a firing stance again. "It um...if I can be frank...it's a bit alarming that you'd purposely program a holotrainer solely to kill Cardassians," she said. She knew it seemed a bit ironic, and maybe even hypocritical, but she knew her days of purposely seeking out and killing them were over. She'd not forgiven, nor forgotten, but she'd simply matured a bit.
"I realize you're younger than me, and missed most of the Occupation. Trust me, it's not as...stimulating killing Cardassians as it seems," she said. "It was...scary. And tense, and constantly dangerous. I was only a teenager when I was recruited. Well, my brother was, I volunteered," she said. "Fifteen. My brother was seventeen. Some of us were even younger," she said. "Were your parents....involved?" She asked. She liked to hear others' stories of survival. It gave her whatever sense of hope she could still feel.

Let's get inside quickly... better weapons...[size=78%]Al[/size][/size]right... so tell me about your commanding officers.  What were their problems?"

[size=78%]

[/size]"Got any C-4 in there?" The old, quaint Earth explosive might seem a strange ask. It was, but it was her favorite explosive. IT worked quickly, didn't have too much blowback, and didn't cause the sickly smell of dead Cardie-a smell like burnt leather and maybe a piquant of rot. She wasn't exactly proud of the fact that she knew this, it just was. "Well, you're my first real Commanding officer outside of the Academy and cadet cruise," she said. "I did a lot of civilian work at various postings, though, before I left to just handle contracts," she said. "Mostly, it was the fights that Ben and I would have that they would give me hell for. We were both very passionate," she said. "There was never violence except words," she said. "But still. In the militia, it was...different. We were new, and less organized. I was pretty much [size=78%][/size]free to do as I pleased, so long as I reported back in alive at the end of the day. Mostly, I was a runner. I ran things back and forth from each outpost to the other. I was small and fast, and quick on the phaser," she said, explaining. "I got caught up in a gun fight with a Cardassian who wouldn't succumb. I got seriously injured, and was relegated to desk stuff at DS9. Hated it, so when Ben came along with the Fleet, before it was turned over, I jumped at the chance for excitement. It was fine for awhile, but I realize now that we didn't really KNOW each other, and each following bad thing was more trauma on the rest. Several miscarriages and things really do a number on you, and I was already struggling. If he cared, he didn't show it. I know now he was dealing with his own losses but my problems seemed so big at the time." And they HAD been. "But at the Academy, they wanted me to fit into a dumb little box. I am not that person. I can't be that person. I am older than the rest, have seen a lot of life-even more than most of the instructors. They couldn't contain me. They asked too many questions, and didn't let me thrive in the way I needed-I need to be constantly kept busy, otherwise the flashbacks start and I am useless," she said. "I struggled. They struggled. Then, the cadet cruise came. I made a team, barely. We got in a bit of a pickle-wandered too far into Dominion territory, and took some hits. Lost a few cadets," she said. "That's when I realized that the Prime Directive was stupid, and I refused to agree to it. If I could save just ONE life by disregarding it, then fine. We were supposed to be docking at a science outpost...the nearby planet was dying from a plague of some kind, and they wouldn't let me...." she trailed off. "They wouldn't let me step in," she said. [size=78%]