Tea with the Captain

Posted on Wed Aug 5th, 2026 @ 10:19am by Captain Freya Mannerheim & Lieutenant Commander Savin & Jerant van Rijn

2,084 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Intermission: Safe Haven
Location: Forum, habitat area
Timeline: Late September, 2387

"Jerant, please meet me at the Forum," Savin stated as he tapped his comm badge. "I require your assistance." He glanced down at his PADD to read the response and suppressed a chuckle when he read his best friend was actually already there but he'd meet him at the front.

It didn't take him long to traverse the distance between the hospital and the forum, and even less to locate the captain's habitat. As he approached the door, Jerant jumped down from a level above and grinned. "You knew, didn't you?" He smiled as he rubbed his hands together. At Savin's nod, he presses the chime. "Well, let's do this then," he suggested.

After a few moments, the door opened to reveal a rather short, slender woman with black hair, cut into a bob. She was dressed extremely casually, in a simple white tank top and dark green skirt reaching to her knees. She was barefoot, revealing that her left leg, below the knee, was made of a dull, grey metal, with faded burn scars surrounding the area where her remaining limb met the prosthesis. Similar scars were all over her left forearm, and a large tattoo of a raven in flight was clearly visible, only partly covered by her top. Behind old-fashioned aviator-style eyeglasses that quickly adjusted their tint in the increased light of the outdoors, sharp grey eyes studied the two men standing in front of her.

"Gentlemen," Freya finally said, once again looking both of them over. "How may I help you?"

Savin smiled gently as he did the same and gave the woman a quick once-over. "I am Lieutenant Commander Savin, and I have been sent to assist you and your people when it comes to psychological matters. I am also qualified to assist in medical matters." He gestured to the dark eyed man beside him. "This is my assistant Jerant van Rijn. While he will not assist in confidential conversations, I require his presence in situations with multiple people. I am deaf and cannot focus on more than one person at the time."

Jerant smiled and bowed lightly as Savin introduced him. Unlike Savin, he offered his right hand in greeting, his dark eyes sparkling a dark blue hue as they caught the sunlight. "Pleasure to meet you ma'am," he said, "and I'm a civilian so Jerant will do."

Freya nodded and shook the hand Jerant extended towards her. "Captain Freya Mannerheim, commanding officer of the Independent Romulan Warbird Ourainavassa. Counselor Savin, Mister van Rijn, welcome to Haven Colony." She gestured towards her outfit. "If I'd known you were coming to see me now, I would have dressed up a little. But," she added with a chuckle. "I'm sure you know how it is when all you're doing is sitting in your office all day with no expected meetings or anything. Eilif did let me know he dropped you off, but I was certain you were going to be busy settling in still." After shaking Jerant's hand, she had begun to sign as she spoke, although it was clear that she was far from being an expert.

Smiling, she gestured towards the entrance. "Please, do come in. May I offer you some tea?"

"Please." Savin again noticed the ease with which another person signed and he flashed a grin at Jerant. "You may yet be redundant with the abundance of people knowing sign in this colony."

The Betazoid grinned back at him. "Good, the sooner you're independent the better," he teased, then looked at Freya. "Yes please to tea. And if I'm redundant I'm sure I can help with other linguistic challenges around here? If any."

"That depends, how good is your Rihannsu?," Freya asked as she led her two visitors into her living room. The room itself was functional, with a small kitchenette in one corner, a table and two chairs, and some comfortable armchairs arranged around a coffee table. A shelf against the far wall held some printed books, as well as her katana and its sheath resting on a simple wooden stand, flanked by a framed photo showing a younger Freya in Terran dress uniform, standing next to a man that appeared to be Eilif and a young, blonde girl, and another frame holding some medals.

The Captain gestured towards the armchairs. "Please, do take a seat." While Savin and Jerant made themselves comfortable, she walked over to the kitchenette and quickly filled a teapot with some boiling water and added tea leaves. "We haven't got residential replicators yet," she explained as she worked. "So, Romulan tea will have to do. I do prefer Earl Grey, but this stuff has been growing on me." She returned to the coffee table with a tray holding the teapot, three cups, and a small sugar bowl. Once she had placed it down and poured the tea for everyone, she herself sat in one of the armchairs. "I hope you have found the Colony welcoming so far?"

"We have only seen the medical facility so far," Savin answered, "that is, myself and NVeid have, the both of us have submitted to our physical and we have been introduced to the medical staff. I have no doubt NVeid will come to introduce himself later today. He had tagged along to the children's wing with Mister Gunnar. So far, I have not experienced any animosity, and I hope to keep it that way."

"I've been exploring the streets, and I think I've climbed the highest building by now, but not in record time. Still trying the fastest way to run from one side to the other. I've not really met a lot of people yet but I assure you my Rihanssu is better than his. I might not pass for a local just yet, but I will on a few weeks I promise. I love language."

"I see," Freya replied to Savin. "I am, of course, aware of Doctor Nveid's past, as much as is contained within the personnel file I was sent, anyway. A man's past is his own burden to bear, and so long as there is no trouble, it does not concern me. What does concern me a little, however, is having a surgeon with no voice. I understand that he does not wish to undergo surgery again, but I am certain that our resident scientist will be able to figure something out to make communication easier for him. She was, after all, born deaf, and uses a highly sophisticated implant to hear. I don't understand how it works, but it's wired directly into her brain and bypasses her auditory nerves completely. Given Doctor Nveid's telepathic abilities, she might be able to develop some sort of voice box that he can control using those." She shrugged. "Although that will have to wait until she returns with Ourainavassa."

The Captain turned to Jerant. "As for you, Mister van Rijn, it is always a pleasure to meet a fellow linguist. I myself was trained as a communications officer, initially. How many languages do you speak?"

"NVeid can make his own choices though i know he has also communicated by way of a PADD or telepathy when permitted to do so." He sipped the tea carefully. "I consider him a friend but I am not his keeper. He has saved my life in more than one occasion."

"Of course," the Captain replied. "I will discuss it with him at an opportune moment, once I've made his acquaintance."

While Savin seemed to answer the more serious questions, Jerant was visibly excited when asked about language. "Quite a number on a conversational level," he answered, "my native languages are Dutch and Betazoid, along with Federation standard. Having lived in Vulcan for years I'm fluent there too. I like learning new languages the hard way and I really loathe the universal translator." His dark eyes sparkles with the excitement he experienced. "I'm a civilian though, I never joined Starfleet. I'm mostly assigned as his aide and when he has no need I've helped out in operations."

Freya smirked. "I will admit, my Dutch is fairly rudimentary, and I never had the opportunity to learn Betazoid. My Vulcan is conversational at best." She shrugged. "I grew up speaking Norse, and then Standard and Japanese were required once I left home. I also very quickly learned German, Rihannsu of course. And a collection of others, to various degrees of fluency."

For a moment, the Captain was silent, watching the two men as she sipped her tea. "So," she finally continued. "do you have any questions for me?"

"I will admit we had expected to board a ship," Savin confessed, "but a colony is actually a welcome change and I am made to understand our help is much needed." He paused to sip his tea. "Perhaps not desired," he added, "as we are obviously outsiders but I assure you we will do our best to blend in."

Freya nodded. "I can see the source of the slight misunderstanding. You are part of the crew of a ship, however said ship is currently undergoing repairs and refits. Once Ourainavassa returns, you will of course be on board during operations, however there will be periods of time where we will return to Haven Colony. These are unpredictable times, Counselor. We must all adapt." She chuckled. "I certainly did not expect to be grounded at this age, at least not without it being a punishment."

"At which age ma'am?" Savin asked, genuinely surprised as he studied her. She didn't seem that old to him, but aliens were hard to judge in age anyway as well as he knew other aliens often gave him a hell of a lot younger than that he was. Of course, considering Vulcan and Romulan age spans, he was actually considered young. "Surely, you are not grounded if you are waiting for the return of your vessel? And a place to call home is no doubt a welcome feeling for the crew?"

"Well," the Captain laughed. "The question of age is a bit of a complicated one when it comes to me, let's put it that way. And of course, I wouldn't really say I'm grounded, I was just exaggerating a little. Still, with no viable way to actually get off this planet at the moment, other than hitching a ride with Eilif or one of the other cargo runs, I might as well be. We are expecting the ship to return in a week or two, though. I've been told the work is mostly completed."

"The question of age is always complicated, and does not require explanation," Savin suggested with a smile. "I am looking forward to seeing your vessel, and I hope to be able to be of assistance. I cannot force someone to talk to me, but I am always willing to accommodate someone on a location where they my feel at ease."

Freya nodded. "Considering what all these people here have gone through, they'll need it. Of course, they're Romulans, so good luck getting any of them to actually talk to you." She lifted her teacup to find it empty. "As for you, Mister van Rijn, I am sure we will find work for you. When we are out and about on operations, you will be assigned to Ourainavassa's communications."

"Awesome," Jerant beamed, "anything I can do to help here." He smiled happily at the woman. "Not to mention be useful since he won't be needing me apparently."

The Captain chuckled. "Believe me, just because our crew mostly knows sign, you won't have that luxury with the general populace around here. Now, I hate having to rush visitors out of the house, but I do have a lot of paperwork that still needs to be done, and then I have a meeting this evening. It has been a pleasure to meet both of you, and I am sure we will see each other around quite a bit. It is a small place, after all."

"I am looking forward to our next conversation," Savin answered as he stood, setting his cup down on the table. "Shall I send Doctor tr'Rehu this way when I see him next? Surely, you wish to meet with him too?"

Freya shrugged. "Of course, but that's probably best left for tomorrow. I do need to get my work done, after all."

"Of course," the counselor agreed amicably, "good day captain."

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