"Confessions"
Written by Cyndi Fryar and Stephanie Gabai
Portraying Commander Rhea Kennit and LTJG Marissa Torme


There was a message waiting for Rhea in her office, a note from Councelor Torme asking to meet with her at the XO's convience. No time like the present.. Exiting her office, Rhea headed towards the Councelor's office. Along the way, she tried to get her own emotions under control. The recent events in the Ready Room with Lenti had reawakened feelings and emotions she'd thought had faded.

Knowing that the Councelor's job was to sense the emotions and stress levels of the entire crew, she therefore tried to get herself on a more even keel before she arrived. Reaching the door, Kennit rang the chime and then entered when the door slid open to admit her. "Good afternoon Councelor, how are you today?" she asked in a friendly tone of voice.

Marissa replied, "I'm well, thank you. How are you?"

Rhea shrugged her shoulders, giving a little shake of her head as she replied, "Oh.. I'm doing all right. I've been trying to retrieve some damaged files from the Livingston's computer. Even though it appears that the temporal effects are reversing themselves I'd still like to know what happened to them."

Marissa cocked her head a little, squinted her eyes a little and then spoke, "Are you sure you're okay? Maybe it's nothing, I thought I sensed something... bothering you. I apologize if I'm out of line."

::Damn..::

Rhea shook her head again, smiling a little as she replied, "I'm fine. Things have been a little hectic around here that's all. I just.." ::Just kissed Lenti as if those years apart never happened..:: Ignoring that sudden thought and not voiceing it aloud, she finished with "..just am bothered by the whole mess with temporal travel. The whole thing bothers me, I'd like to know what caused the Livingston to disappear and then reappear here with her crew in the condition they were. I'd like to know what happened, so we can try to make certain it doesn't happen again."

Marissa sensed that Rhea wasn't ready to discuss what was bothering her, so she continued with the Executive Officer's pretext, "Hmmm, how may I help, then?"

Rhea smiled, "Well, you asked me to come visit you when I had a moment, so here I am."

Marissa absentmindedly looked and then smiled, "Ah, yes, I did. I just wanted to meet as many of the crew as possible over time. Just to get to know them a little, and what my department can do to help their department or individuals. Things like new crew orientation, religious or philosophical practices and their impact on their professional and social lives, any questions they might...have about my department or me personally, any concerns they might have, things like that."

Kennit nodded, "How has that been going? Have you been able to speak with many people in the crew yet or am I one of the first?"

Marissa smiled, "Only a few so far, I'm still making the rounds. We've had a busy mission so far, not to mention the emergencies that seem to keep popping up around the ship."

Kennit nodded ruefully, "Isn't that the truth.." she said in a wry voice. "Never a dull moment around here it seems."

Marissa thought for a moment, then replied, "So, is there anything I or my department can do for you as Executive Officer or as Rhea Kennit? Any questions that you may have?" Marissa was getting a little frustrated playing dodge the question with her Commander and was hoping they could end the small talk.

Rhea was silent for a moment. Then with a sigh, she said "I suppose you could say that I do have.. something on my mind." She shook her head, sitting down and running a hand through her hair. "There is.. a history .. between Captain Utex and myself." She grimaced slightly, "Actually..that's the not accurate. There's a history between Lenti Tosh and myself.. which makes things.. complicated."

Marissa took a seat near, but not too near, Rhea, while trying to maintain eye contact. She then reuqested, "Please tell me what you feel ready to disclose and understand that unless someone's life is at risk, what you say to me is held in strict confiendence. I don't share that information without your permission. So, please feel comfortable to speak."

Taking a deep breath, Rhea released it with another soft sigh. "A few years ago, before Lenti Tosh was joined with Utex, we were.. close." Rhea paused again, her eyes seemed to be focusing inward on her memories. "Very .. close.."

She shook her head, "There were.. problems involved in his joining with Utex. A very long story I'm not going into..the ultimate result being that after he was able to join with Utex.. not all of Lenti's memories were intact. He pretty much had forgotten about some things. Us for example."

Kennit's cheeks flushed slightly, "When I was ordered to this position, I accepted without protest. After all, Lenti Tosh is not Lenti Utex. Or at least.. he wasn't quite the same. Not really, I mean.. he didn't remember right?"

Rhea sighed, closing her eyes as she ran a hand over the side of her face. "At least.. he didn't remember then... he does now.."

Marissa had been carefully listening to the tale, then spoke, "How much does he remember? Enough to make you reconsider?"

Thinking about the events of the past day, Rhea pursed her lips slightly. "Oh.. I'd say he remembers enough, if not everything I do."

Marissa asked the question again in a different way, "Does that make you feel uncomfortable?"

"No.. yes.. I don't know." Rhea sighed again. "When he came back after finding and joining with Utex.. and didn't know who I was.." She stopped speaking, though it was apparent just how that had effected her.

"Now.. God knows I missed him. I don't know how to react to what I'm feeling. I know .. when he said he'd regained his memory.. I felt .." she was silent again, though it was clear she wasn't unhappy about the discovery.

Marissa had waited to ask a question based on what Rhea chose to reveal. Seeing that Rhea took time to think about things, she waited a little longer. It was nice that Rhea seemed glad that her friend, Lenti Tosh still existed in some sense. She waited a bit more in case Rhea wanted to continue.

Marissa reassured her, "It's okay to be confused for now. You thought you had lost your friend forever, and then suddendly he was back in your life in full. It's only natural to be a bit overwhelmed."

Rhea laughed, "Overwhelmed.. that's a good word for it." She shook her head, then suddenly realized her statement could be taken two ways. Wanting to clarify her words, she added "Not that I'm unhappy about it.. on the contrary.. I was anything but unhappy when..." She stopped herself just short of saying ::When he kissed me.:: finishing instead with, "I'm just.. confused. Its a lot to take in."

Marissa explained, "It'll take time to sort out your feelings... and that's okay. You are both the Executive Officer and Rhea Kennit. He is our Commanding Officer, your friend and a bit of other people too. It's not a simple situation to sort out; but, I'll be here for you... to listen and to help out. Feel free to discuss with him those feelings, both resolved and unresolved too. He may be dealing with similar issues as well. Perhaps you could help each other as well as yourselves." Marissa smiled reassuredly.

Rhea nodded, "Good advice... but then, I guess that's why you're the councelor right?"

Marissa giggled a little at Rhea's joke, "I guess that's right. Thank you."

Kennit smiled softly, "No.. thank you Councelor." She shook herself slightly, taking a deep breath and then smiled again. "So, now that I've spilled my guts to you, is there anything I can do for you in my capacity as XO or otherwise?"

Marissa finally admitted, "I'm still a bit new to this job. In fact, both of my previous assignments were cut short by disasters among the crew. One captain died on his first Away Mission of our maiden voyage among other issues. The other ship had multiple saboteurs on maiden voyage, I heard. I was beginning to believe I was a bad luck charm. You can imagine the panic when this ship was about to be the third maiden voyage catastrophe." Marissa nervously looked about, hoping the roof diddn't cave in on her.

Rhea grinned at her, "At least we made it out of the dock without hitting anything. The last starship I served aboard was the USS Arleigh Burke. The first mission, the helm officer was fresh out of the Academy and had never piloted a starship of the Burke's size out of a dock before. He ran us right into a construction light support and rammed the thing straight through the hull." Kennit winked, "Imagine it.. hull breeched on two decks, a fire from the lights shorting out and exploding, crew injured.. and not even out of the space dock.."

Marissa continued to look up, "I keep expecting the ceiling to cave- in on me, or a virus to break out, or the hull to breach, or someone to sprout Borg implants and assimilate us. It's almost enough to effect my job performance. But, since we averted the first disaster, maybe my bad luck streak is over... hopefully."

Rhea smiled, "Always keep your eyes open, be ready for anything and keep a copy of the -0313 document handy. The survival manual comes in handy sometimes.."

Marissa teasingly giggled, "Way to reassure me that everything's going to be fine."

Kennit just shrugged, holding up her hands in a 'don't blame me' gesture. "Hey I'm just saying be ready for anything. That way, you're less likely to be caught out there. Strange things happen.."

Then, she smiled again. "But, if everything just stayed the same. All safe and predictable.. how boring would that be?"

Marissa liked this officer, "I guess you have a point. Um, thank you?!?" and then she smiled.

"You're welcome.." Kennit replied.

Marissa spoke up, "I'm glad we got a chance to know each other a little better. If I ever need a friend again, I'd like to consider you one. I hope you do too. Oh, and if you know anyone needing any of my department's services, please send them on down. Thank you for your time."

Rhea's smile was geniune, "I'd like that. Thank you for listening.. And the feeling is mutual. If you have any concerns, you're always welcome."

Standing up, Rhea smiled. "I guess I should get back to work. Have a good afternoon.."

Marissa stood and walked Rhea to the door, "You too," and smiled. .