Trust has to start somewhere

Posted on Fri Jul 31st, 2026 @ 9:06pm by Centurion Nancy Gable & Lieutenant Commander Savin & Nveid tr'Rehu
Edited on on Fri Jul 31st, 2026 @ 9:22pm

4,929 words; about a 25 minute read

Mission: Intermission: Safe Haven
Location: Medical center, Haven Colony

Letting Jerant go to explore the colony, Jarron deciding to go with him, the two Romulan doctors followed Nancy towards the medical facility. Savin knew he could rely on NVeid to rely anything to him hat happened outside his line of sight so he didn't need his best friend to stick around.

"Would it help if I changed into a civilian attire?" Savin asked, genuinely not wanting to get off on the wrong foot with anyone over being in uniform.

Nancy thought on that a moment. "It might a bit. No matter what help was belatedly offered, Starfleet was the enemy for a long time. Looking less like you might be gathering HUMINT on them can't hurt." She turned along a passage to the changing room for staff and opened a closet. "I'm afraid I can't offer much but scrubs, but there should be something your size here."

"Scrubs are acceptable. Or someone could find me some robes, I am not picky on the colours as long as it is comfortable." He shrugged out of his uniform jacket and top, leaving only the tank top he wore underneath the other two layers then pulled out a slightly oversized scrubs shirt from the pile and pulled it on. He felt his dark pants and boots were sufficiently nondescript they wouldn't scream Starfleet.

Nveid, already dressed in civilian robes, gave him an approving nod. He said nothing, unknowingly looking a little anxious about being among his own people again. It had been years and his circumstances had been more than dire at the time. The closer they got, the more anxious he felt, afraid he would have to fight for his own survival once more.

Savin rubbed his temples as the fear washed over him. "Easy," he soothed, "you will be safe here. You have nothing to fear here." He smiled comfortingly. "You are a refugee among other refugees NVeid, if anything you know better than anyone here to help how they might feel." He cast Nancy a look of apology as he concerned himself with his colleague and friend. "You are not alone here" he added.

Nveid shook his head. [Spies are everywhere. I haven't been among others in such a long time. I need time, and patience. But mostly patience.] It didn't occur to him that after so many years, his old enemies might not even remember he survived.

Imagining Tal'shiar under every rock was how most of them felt in Nancy's opinion. Not that she could say their fears were wrong, given that Kali's family had buried enough Tal'Shiar that had come after them even on a federation core world. "We do have security here, and I won't allow anyone to be harmed in my hospital," she assured, as she led them out. Still, she was hoping to find more easy-going staff to start off.

As they came to the nurses station, she spotted Gunnar grabbing coffee. The tall blonde human was about as far from threatening as anyone, except possibly Kaol, and far more inclined to be sympathetic and welcoming than most. There was only thing that put him at a higher 'difficulty setting'. Remember that I told you one of our human staff would find telepathy uncomfortable? This is him. He's too polite to refuse, so I appreciate it if we kept to signing for introductions.

NVeid nodded sympathetically. [As I explained before, I don't use telepathy until granted permission. The only exception being an emergency situation.] He repeated, his signing fluid as his expression was earnest though a little anxious at the same time.

Savin nodded as well, though he was very capable of normal speech. Signing was second nature and it required conscious thought for him not to do it. "Did he have a bad experience with telepathy or is it a cultural disposition?" He asked carefully, not wanting to pry but needing to understand all the same.

[My request was only that you not ask for permission.] Nancy signed. [The sensitivity is because of what was done to him, both by his captors and later by Starfleet's requirement to prove he hadn't been turned. Before that, he had no problem with it, and he feels like not being back to who he was before is a sort of failure; like letting the bad guys win. So, because he's also stubborn, he would likely agree to telepathic communication, but he'll suffer for it later.]

She thought moment longer, and it occurred to her that T'Ango had been helping in the hospital more often than not and might in fact have taken over soothing babies in pediatrics. [While he's former Starfleet, his wife is Dosadi, and they do have a cultural disposition against telepathy.] To say the least - the Dosadi word for telepath translated literally as 'mind thief', but that was something the new doctors didn't need to add to their discomfort. [But they met when she was exchange officer, so she's less chary of it than most of her people.]

With that, she headed toward a man who would have blended in easily among the crew of the 'vikings' on their cargo transport. "Gunnar," she called, signing as she spoke. "I'd like to introduce our new doctors, Nevid tr'Rehu and Savin. Doctors, Gunnar Arnason."

Picking up on the signing, Gunnar set his coffee down to have hands free and with a welcoming smile followed her example of signing as he spoke. "Pleased to meet you, doctors. Help is very welcome. If there's anything I can do to make settling in easier, don't hesitate to ask."

"I am Savin, though a doctor of psychology, I would prefer to be called counselor. Line of sight would help in my case," Savin offered, deciding that it would help in the matter of trust if he was up front about his hearing disability. "I am deaf, so you will need to draw my attention first. I would rather avoid appearing rude." He smiled pleasantly, also signing as well as speaking. "I can understand speech, as long as I see it. Most of the time."

[I am NVeid tr'Rehu, and I'm happy to assist in any surgical or immunological matter that arises. While I can hear you just fine, I'm afraid my voice has once again failed me.] A look of apology and mild distress at the memory flitted across his features. His motions were fluid as he signed, though they had an air of sadness about them. [You can call me by my name if you desire. Or doctor, if it's urgent.]

"Counselor," Gunnar acknowledged, continuing to sign and trying to not to let the thought show that on a colony full of traumatized Romulans the poor guy was going to feel like the lone person with a candle watching everyone in the dark absolutely refuse to even glance toward his light. "I'm a nurse practitioner, but I'll answer to 'nurse', or my given name, which is what most people use. At least when there aren't five other Gunnars around from one of the Ceran supply runs," he added with a slight smile. "I started my career as an RN, so I'll also fill in regular nursing roles as needed."

"And veterinary," Nancy added with a slightly teasing grin. "He basically grew up in a vet practice, which makes him as close as we've got for the moment. So, if you see him carrying a set'leth or hlai'hwy, that's why."

"Then I probably need you to clear my cat," Savin realised, "I have a white longhair, who very much acts like the queen she thinks she is."

"I can certainly manage clearing her majesty," Gunnar replied with a slight bow, and chuckled. "Cats really never have gotten over being worshipped in ancient Egypt."

"And why should they?" a petite cougar-like felinoid asked as she entered, walking to Gunnar's side, and her tipping her head to look at up at him. "After all, I think I first start thinking of you as potentially more than a friend when you compared me to Bastet."

"A comparison that still holds," he replied, then as introductions were in order, he indicated the new doctors. "This is Counselor Savin and Doctor Nveid, who have come to join our medical staff. Gentlemen, this is my mate, Lt. T'Ango of the Dosadi Imperial Marines. If you heard rumors before Hobus about Dosadi raiding Romulan worlds and carrying people off, well..." he smiled fondly at her, "their government may have officially disavowed it, but there's a long tradition of allowing personal raids and all of those civilians somehow wound up at embassies where they could apply for asylum."

"Pleased to meet you," she said, signing as she spoke as she'd seen Gunnar was doing. "And he was my partner for most of those 'raids', so don't worry about your little queen." She glanced up at him, whiskers flicking in a grin, her tail lifting around him in a loose semi-circle. "As you can see, he's very comfortable with felines."

NVeid slightly inclined his head in acknowledgement of the greeting. [So I see] he smiled, glancing between the pair with sparkling dark green blue eyes. [Do we require to be medically cleared before we get ourselves rostered in?] He didn't like sitting idle, not when there was work to be done.

"I will arrange for Sheba to be brought here," Savin said, "but she will not listen to verbal commands, if at all. She is... feisty." He glanced between the pair and it was easy enough to pick up the genuine affection between them "I too will submit to medical examination if required. We do not wish to bring anything undesired to your colony."

"I would be quite surprised if a cat listened to verbal commands, or any commands for that matter," Gunnar laughed, and glancing at T'Ango with a slight grin, added. "And 'feisty' is just what I expect from felines."

She hip-bumped him, but laughed as well. "You know it."

"Your consideration for proper medical protocol is appreciated," Nancy put in. "It can wait as I'm sure Starfleet did exams before sending you, but I would like to get baseline medical scans of you and your other companions, just to make sure we have those readily accessible in case we need them. The colony is fairly safe," she assured, though couldn't help thinking that might become less so for anyone with a Tal'Shiar history or associations. "But we're still learning about the environmenta; factors here and there are a lot of construction hazards."

"Protocol is there for a reason," Savin answered, then openly grinned at the couple before them. "Sheba will not listen because she cannot listen," he elaborated, "she is as deaf as I am. She will occasionally respond to light if her mood is like it "

"Ah, good to know," Gunnar said. He knew from experience that an animal with a limit on its senses might react more poorly in a new situation, especially if the person handling them wasn't aware. "I'll make sure she sees everything I'm doing."

"You can have someone bring your pet in," Nancy offered. "We can do your physicals then or now if you want."

"Jerant can bring her in later," Savin answered, knowing his friend hates the creature with a passion despite being his own gift, and the feeling seemed mutual. "I would prefer to have my physical done now, so that I can get settled and then to work."

Nveid merely nodded in agreement. [I would like to get to work too.]

Mindful of the busy waiting room, Nancy tapped her comm. "Emni, do we have an exam room open? I'd like to get our new staff checked over and cleared to work."

- "Ie, room 7 is open. I can mark it taken." -

"Thank you, do so." She tapped the comm off. "Gunnar, if you have a moment, this will go faster if you take one of the exams." And it would give them a private space to tell him about Nveid.

"Of course." Gunnar nodded and picked up his coffee. "I'll meet you in pediatrics when we're done," he told T'Ango before heading with Gable toward the exam room.

The Romulan pair followed the others to the indicated exam room. Savin sensed NVeid's increasing anxiety though the man seemed to show nothing in the outside. Not wanting to overstep it show he had sensed it, the counselor stepped forward past his friend. "I will go first," he volunteered. "I have a few allergies listed in my medical file and a recently healed injury to my torso." He handed over the PADD will all there was to be known from a medical perspective. "I am deaf, and I have tried surgery in the past but it drove me to insanity. I do not wish to attempt it again as my condition made me who I am now."

Savin was never consciously hiding his condition, but when not necessary to do so, he didn't volunteer the information either. He sat on the bed and glanced at Nancy and Gunnar. "You can take all the scans and samples you require," he consented.

Nancy took the padd and handed it to Gunnar to link the records into their system. "Samples shouldn't be necessary," she said, facing him, since one hand was going to be occupied with a medscanner. "But even though most of it repurposed from the James Bedford our system is set up like the Ourainavassa's so records transfer isn't as straightforward as if you'd transferred to a Starfleet ship. Gunnar's gotten pretty good at it though, so it should only take a moment." Her brows drew down a moment as she scanned him. "What was the injury to your torso?"

"Scared patient," Savin answered, shaking his head mildly, "the patient was severely injured and in a terror. He kicked me as we were trying to keep him down, and I broke a few ribs in the process." He didn't mention that it took a while to get treatment for himself as sickbay has been overwhelmed with scared and injured crew.

"That explains it," Nancy remarked, cocking a brow as her eyes slid toward Gunnar. "I've certainly seen the signs often enough."

As if feeling her gaze, Gunnar briefly cocked a brow back, though without interrupting his work with the padd. "I'm not that bad." And then, as though thinking of the stories she might tell, amended that with, "Anymore."

"Only because T'Ango has gone from enabling it with praising you for being so 'honorable' to telling you to stop being stupid," she shot back, then gave a wry smile to Savin. "In any case, I hope to never face the situation here, but Gunnar will tell you how little I like seeing my staff work wounded, so if it happens remember that setting ribs takes less time than the cumulative delays from moving more slowly to avoid puncturing a lung, or dealing with someone who wasn't so careful and did."

If anyone were watching him, they might have noticed that Gunnar ducked his head a bit at the last word, as well as a slight pink cast coloring his cheeks. Not that he was going to acknowledge it. "Records are entered. Doctor Nveid, if you have yours, I can begin entering them."

Nveid handed his over without pause though he cast Nancy a wry grin. [He did puncture a lung, but in his defense, we were all overwhelmed and he didn't want to add to the burden.]

"I shall endeavour to remember that," Savin promised in response to her statement. "As this is a small colony, I have no doubt this will occur."

[As will I.] NVeid promised equally. [Though I should note that my right eye occasionally acts up, it requires occasional maintenance.]

Nancy had glanced heavenward as if asking whatever deities might be listening what she'd done to deserve two medics crazy enough to work with a punctured lung. But she nodded at the promise from both to remember her admonition. "Thank you. See that you do. In a MassCal I should be able to focus on patients, not have to have an eye out for which staff might need care." She finished her scan and checked it, then signed her padd with a smile toward Savin. "But you are healthy and cleared to work. Dr. Nveid, I'll start my scan with that eye."

NVeid nodded in consent as he switched places with Savin. [I have no recent injuries.] He signed quickly as he settled himself on the bed. While there were no recent ones, he knew scans would show an abundance of old ones from various causes, most notably and evident: torture. While most were healed, some had left deep scars of both physical and psychological nature. He shuddered visibly as he considered that his eye might need to be taken out for examination. It wouldn't be the first time and certainly not the last.

As she began to scan Nveid, Nancy felt as much as heard the moment Gunnar saw the evidence of torture - the sudden halt in the steady tap of fingers on the console, a shift followed by stillness that even with her back to him made her picture the tense stiffening and frozen stare, followed a moment later by the slow, deliberate pattern of breaths he'd learned to center and regain control. A part of her felt a stab of guilt for choosing to let him see it this way. But she knew it would make him more inclined to believe Nveid had indeed left the Tal'Shiar, and if she had to be careful of how she spent the trust the colonists had in her, Gunnar - someone they knew had brought many of them to safety, sometimes even making himself a target so they could flee - had a surfeit to spend. Besides, he hated being 'coddled' for his triggers, so she was just doing what the stubbornly stoic idiot would insist upon.

"Is the eye bothering you?" Nancy asked Nveid. Despite noticing Gunnar's reaction, she hadn't missed the shudder in her patient. "I'd prefer to do any work on it in the 'Vassa's medbay when she's back, as we have better cybernetic diagnostic and repair systems there. But if it's causing difficulty, I can do something here."

The surgeon shook his head in a negative; no the bionics weren't bothering him. [Just a bad memory.] He confessed. [How I got it is a sensitive subject and still causes distress. I'm lucky that the people who gave me the replacement were able to match it with my remaining eye so it isn't all that obvious.] He offered smile, but while genuine it was clearly a pained one. [It'll pass.]

"All right," Nancy said gently. "Then I'll continue. Let me know if you have any concerns or need a pause."

Hearing Gable's question, Gunnar had latched onto a potential medical issue to pull himself back to calm. For all that Nancy chided him (rightly, though he'd never admit that to her) for ignoring his own injuries to focus on others', that tendency was what helped him most to recover. So, he had turned to see Nveid's signed reply and both words and expression struck a deep chord. He'd suffered no permanent mutilation, at least none visible, but he'd seen that pain often enough in the mirror. "The mental scars can be the hardest to heal," he offered sympathetically. "Your friend is a Counselor so I'm sure you have psychological support, but if you ever feel it would help to speak with ...another survivor... I'm at your disposal."

Though his expression changed to sympathy and gratitude as he looked up at the man, NVeid shook his head at him for now. He knew it would help but with the man's bad experience with telepathy and his own inability to get that much emotion across while restricted to sign, he wouldn't be able to just yet. His expression however spoke volumes before he acknowledged the doctor's query. [I can continue.] He signed slowly. [I'll be alright doctor, please, continue. I will answer what I can when needed.] He knew there would be questions and he would answer them to the best of his recollection, no matter how painful the memory. Gaining their trust was so important to him he was willing to suffer through painful memories to do it.

From the side, Savin watched him closely and unconsciously rubbed his temples to will the headache the overwhelming emotions were causing away.

"I generally don't need to know the cause of past injuries, only their impact on you," Nancy assured him. "But if anything I'm doing is uncomfortable for you, let me know and I'll adjust."

After brief acknowledging nod to Nveid - Gunnar certainly understood not wanting to talk - the man was about to return to his task. But he noticed Savin rubbing his temples in seeming discomfort. "Are you all right, Counselor?"

"Yes," Savin answered, briefly closing his eyes to steady himself, "just willing a headache away." He remembered Nancy's warning but he wasn't going to lie. Besides, unlike NVeid he was a touch telepath and sensing emotions could never be helped. "I am unable to block out strong emotions, especially with the force of his washing over me. I was unprepared for them." He nodded towards NVeid, whose attention was on Nancy. "It gives me a headache."

NVeid on his part gave him an apologetic look before returning his attention to Nancy. [I will, please continue doctor. This needs doing, and the longer I would wait the more anxious I would get. I am never opposed to treatment, it may just take me a little longer to acknowledge it. I know I am among good people. I will tell you about my injuries as they give you insight into who I am now. I said I would answer questions, and I will.] Again, he was trying to be upfront about himself, show that he had no secrets, had nothing to hide. [My file shows everything.] He added, looking away for a moment, still feeling shame over some of the entries. [I am stronger now than I was then, I am in a better place but there is always room for improvement if I have support.]

After a moment of confusion - Romulans were not known for empathic ability, to say the least; most barely had the latent touch sense Vulcans had developed into touch telepathy - Gunnar realized he had missed a beat. The 'noise' of his reaction, a visceral echo of torture evident in Nveid's records, had nearly drowned out the pertinent fact that the doctor was half Betazoid, and a glance at psi rating showed he had nearly the abilities of one who was full-blooded. He felt his gut clench as the earlier shock of prior Tal'Shiar service lined up to suggest that at some point he had used that in interrogation, and likely torture...

...his mind flashed to the burnt orange light in the narrow room, the restraints...

NO. He had fought every one of Fleck's attempts to bend his mind. He would NOT give in now by allowing the memory to make him cause further distress to a Patient.

A patient who, he reminded himself firmly, had suffered at the hands of the people he'd formerly served. He had no illusions about the Tal'Shiar, but at the same time he didn't think they were all irredeemable. After all, Sec31 had a similar reputation, but one of the people who had been the most kind and supportive during his recovery had been a former agent. She'd also left and nearly paid for it with her life.

He also realized Nveid was not projecting. He would have felt it. And he had not. Which meant Savin's headache was a result of the connection between the two men.

He felt immediately abashed at having been triggered by evidence of deep friendship. Normally he was good at observation. He'd been trained in it and had those skills further honed in situations where his survival had depended on it, so he chided himself for not picking up on it sooner. And also not picking up Nancy's body language. In some ways, she was the bossy acerbic older sister he'd never had, but overprotective was not normally bundled in with that. Yes, he was stressed. Yes, it had been triggering and in all likelihood he'd wake T'Ango with a nightmare again. And yes, there might have been a time when he had needed this kind of shielding. But Not Now.

"I am also stronger now than I was," he said with a look at Nancy, though he was careful to keep his voice soft. "There is no need to suffer, especially on my account. I assure you I'm far more uncomfortable with people walking on eggshells around me than I am with being around telepaths. So if you need something to ease your headache, you only have to ask."

"I am sensitive to other telepaths and very sensitive to emotions," Savin explained, "because I am deaf, my telepathic senses are enhanced. I assure you, without touching you I cannot read your thoughts, only your emotions. As NVeid is distressed over resurfacing memories, his overwhelming distress causes my headache. Yes, I would prefer something to ease it, thank you."

Truly apologetic now, NVeid's expression mirrored his feelings. [I am fully telepathic, my Betazoid half has enhanced an innate Romulan ability. I have never been proud of it, it was drilled into me from a young age that among the Romulan people, a telepath is inferior, to be used as one's superior pleases. I rebelled again last that and it made me even more the outcast than I already was.] He paused, sighing visibly but inaudibly. [While I could read your thoughts, it goes against my personal ethics to do so. I don't even communicate telepathically unless I have permission to do so. The last thing I want is for you to be distressed over something I could do.]

He looked directly at Gunnar as he signed, his expression earnest, but sad. [I may slip up, but you have my word that barring an emergency I won't use telepathy until such time you will trust me enough to do it. I will do the best I can not to.] And his word, on his personal honour was all he had to give. And keeping his word meant a great deal to him, at that. [But like Savin, I can't help sensing emotions, it can't be avoided no matter how hard I try.]

"Then I apologize to both of you for whatever pain my own emotions caused you," Gunnar said, loading a hypo and crossing to Savin to apply it. He took care to touch him only with the head of the hypo, but it was as much habit with Romulans as desire to avoid compounding distress for everyone.

He then placed the hypo aside so he could sign while speaking directly to Nveid. "Thank you. I do appreciate your consideration. But I need you to understand that it has nothing to do with trust. The Romulans here may be distressed at the idea of someone being aware of their emotions, but I am not. My sensitivity is to telepathic contact and..." He paused, much like Nveid, discussing it raised painful memories and he'd subjected them and himself to more than enough emotional turmoil today. "...I suppose it would fair to call it a lingering disability; a consequence, much like the loss of your voice and natural eye. Before that, telepathy didn't bother me - as a cadet I dated a Betazoid. And we're still friends. So, I understand if you slip, and in an emergency there's no question but that you should. I ask in return that you not be offended by whatever reflexive ...negative reaction... you sense from me if it happens."

[To me it is a matter of trust, and honour.] NVeid offered a genuine but small smile as he briefly reached out and touched the man's sleeve. He made very sure not to make skin contact, and just as quickly pulled his hand back. [I won't hold it against you as I know it's not personal.]

Savin sighed in relief as the headache faded as soon as the medication was released. "If we are cleared, perhaps you can show us where we can help the most," he suggested, "as I am qualified to assist with regular medical procedures I can also be called upon as needed. Unlike NVeid however, I am not qualified to perform more than basic surgical procedures."

Nancy had been smiling to herself watching the exchange. She felt slightly bad about semi-ambushing Gunnar, but it had worked out for the best. Finishing her scan of Nveid, she signed off on his exam as well. "You are cleared. And fortunately for you, we don't have any surgical needs at the moment. But we do have a busy waiting room of mostly pediatric patients." A quick visual assessment told her Gunnar was holding up fine, which would let her divide the work. "I'm going to have Gunnar assist you, Doctor Nveid. Most of the colonists don't know sign language, at least beyond military signs, so he'll interpret." Plus, people are less likely to be upset if he's there, she thought.

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