Because Starfleet cares 4: Cease fire... more or less

Posted on 30 Jan 2014 @ 3:45am by Federation Ambassador Ayren Kelan & Lieutenant Elas Vonti
Edited on on 30 Jan 2014 @ 10:57pm

2,148 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: M11: Feet to the fire
Location: Chief counselor's office
Timeline: Early mission: earth orbit

"Now...." she said. "You will not speak of the Captain on this ship on his forename, unless he gave you permission. And I don't think he did, to you he will remain Admiral Dan'al. I did not appreciate how you referred to him... as a "bear".... he is the Task Force Commander and has earned very single accolade and promotion he has received. Since you don't know me or him, or any of the crew, I will make this very clear: If you had spoken to me about any of the other crew member, whether the XO, or petty officer in that way, or came here with the preconceived idea that they are stubborn.... I would have reacted in exactly the same way. You have already judged Dan'al as being stubborn, made the assumption that he regards himself above psychological evaluation... how do you know that? Or holds himself to... "a separate standard"? You think he thinks he has a "free pass" because he is Klingon?" Ayren sat forward. "And yes, I am angry... you have preconceived ideas, "poked" a Klingon, and believe me, you probably would have been in sickbay if you did that to the Rondan, and also if you poked Avilla... but she is human and not flagged. She just has a short temper..." she said to make her point.

Areyn had unwittingly hit the nail on the head, Elas knew he had allowed bias and natural empathy to influence his own judgement, the Klingon had fed him feelings of contempt and condescension so he had mirrored it back. Areyn was frustrated and annoyed, so here was Elas, mirroring her emotions back. Ullians and Betazoids had an effect on each other, Elas made sure to follow up on that. Areyn was reaching a record volume for their conversation so far.

"That "Bear"... fits the same profile as many other highly successful Starfleet Captains, CEO's of corporates, heads of state... leaders.. in the Federation and Starfleet: Head strong, stubborn, decisive, risk takers, suspicious, careful whom they trust, often isolated and self reliant, difficult, disciplined, confident bordering on arrogance.... none of them Klingon... " Ayren stated. She couldn't recall being so harsh and annoyed in a long time.

After a sigh, her expression softened. "I don't say the tests are completely wrong, and that the crew does not need intervention, we have been through the most horrific war, we have ever heard of. There are crew members here that were exposed to violence and cruelty beyond comprehension. I am one of them...I still get images from what my cousin experienced as a captive in the hands of the Kzinti in my head and last time a checked, I most certainly checked all the boxes for PTSD... We all need healing and counselling and I know you can provide that. But to reach this crew and most of all the Captain, you need to be unbiased yourself, lay your preconceived ideas aside, be open minded realize that in spite of all the crew experienced, some are extremely resilient and will do it again to fight for freedom. I most certainly will....regardless..." she said softly.

"I realize you know all those things...but if it looks like you want to force an issue, or threaten, even if you don't mean it, like I experienced you earlier.... you will get nowhere. You will encounter resistance.. and you don't need that, neither do the crew need a counsellor they don't think they can trust..." she smiled softly. "You encounter me as highly volatile and on edge.. yes, I apologize for allowing my anger to surface, "I stand by what I said, but I could have handled it better... I am truly sorry... I don't want to harm you any more than you want to harm me or anyone," she continued softly. "I can sense that you really believe in what you have worked for, that you want to help, that you believe you can.. and you can help all of us..." Ayren said.

Elas sat in a respectful moment of silence allowing both of them the chance to breathe deep and compose themselves. Elas wasnt sure how to proceed, he had stepped out of line, way out of his usual line of reasoning. Was it her? Was it Danal? Elas knew Imzadi had a connection, but as to how it affected him he was uncertain. Speaking softly, and with a sincere desire to bridge the divide, Elas spoke with simple tones.

"Commander... I feel my empathic abilities are being fed by yours. But before we get into that, let me first say I am sorry for the disrespect I have shown to you and your mate, and that you are right on many things. I have bias against Klingons, I have treated a number of them and found it to be a genuinely unpleasant hostile experience. I feel personally that Klingons are given a wider berth with how Starfleet expects its officers to conduct themselves and I do not appreciate their personal views on taking lives. that being said, I feel that both of us can be objective enough to write the final report Medical is ordering I obtain, you can administer the review if you like, and I can observe."

"As to our current problem..." Elas paused, composing his thoughts before continuing. "Betazoids tend to excite Ullians, though I find I am feeling a mirror to your emotions. I also think your connection to the Admiral is detectable by me and has been acting on my subconscious. You were right earlier when you spoke of being aware of your own bias and prejudice, I hadnt checked myself before drawing conclusions... but understand that I need a counterpart for a second diagnosis in these cases."

He took a deep breath, her emotions still feeding into him, but he continued,
"Allow me to state one last time, that my work is not a threat to anyone, it is purely diagnostic, the whole purpose of the direct review is to obtain the in person real life perspective to determine if further therapy is warranted. Others have excused themselves from the review by virtue of showing they had no need of it. False positives are a factor we considered. I expected to work with the Counselor on board who already has a working relationship for the purpose of eliminating names or processing them. I seek Collaboration Commander, I truly apologize for the display I made with the Admiral earlier, your connection to him imprints his emotions onto me I think... but I felt his intent... he does not feel he needs to take the review and can exempt himself out of it by his simple wish."

Ayren nodded, and acknowledged his apology. It did make sense and she appreciated his honesty. She could work with that. She relaxed a little, mentally and emotionally..and physically, she had gripped the sides of the chair.

Elas knew he was revealing classified information but he didnt give a damn about Starfleet's secrets, he cared about people.

her hands loosened their grip and came to rest on her lap.

"There are charges... inquiries... Task force 47 is being scrutinized closely. A satisfactory review cannot come from you, it can only come from me at this point and it would go a long way to discrediting the charges and ideas circling Starfleet HQ. I was placed on the Achilles specifically to review the senior staff and a few other crew, I am not stupid, somebody is wanting to put the Achilles crew through its paces and I do not like being made a pawn. If Admiral Da'nal makes a problem by refusing to cooperate it will only add fuel to the speculations. I have worked on a program to detect early signs of mental injury, and will not be used as a ploy to injure someone who is only guilty of making a few too many enemies, my work is not for this underhanded political maneuvering. A clear review would mean one less round in the chamber for whoever has Achilles in their sites, and rest assured if any problems arise... later I will be there to refute them."

By this time Ayren had calmed down and acknowledged his summation of the reason for the emotionally loaded conversation with a dip of her head as he explained. While he spoke, she tried to process through the empathic mesh in her head. She was unconvinced of the instrument, but it made a little more sense now. "So... I need to get Dan'al to cooperate?" she asked cutting to the chase.

Glad for the breakthrough that had redirected their energies elsewhere Elas knew she wasn't seeing him as a threat anymore. Eager to finally arrive at the heart of the matter Elas responded simply. "Yes. I want to help, and am only asking for your help as well. My personal method is fast, but I doubt he will allow what he would see as a telepathic intrusion. If you want to take the reins on designing an appropriate review for Klingons I have other candidates on the list as well to vet. I can make my report based off of your sessions, with only one session between the two of us at the end as that is likely to be all he will agree to.... Everybody has burdens Commander I only offer to help people see them clearly, understand them better."

"I will consider speaking to the Admiral, but only for review purposes, not at this time for assisting to recover from "burdens" you perceive. If he does not experience his memories as burdens, then that is his reality. I know for him, and many other Klingons, that it is exactly those memories that drive them and motivate them. So unless he gives you explicit permission to begin an intervention, in any therapeutic process, you let that be. That is so for any crewmember. You will need to gain his trust, which he is willing to give, once he is convinced of a person's integrity and honour. If he even has an inkling of an alterior motive, he will not cooperate in any way. He also knows Starfleet by now. But, as said, I will speak to him..."

Elas knew the conversation was effectively over as their tempers had flared and now were cooling.

"Ayren, I hope we can work together, I apologize for the awkward nature of this encounter, I have never met a Betazoid with this effect on me before. Insofar as other matters aboard the vessel I would appreciate any opportunity to work alongside you, I even have a hope of cross training with medical to raise my knowledge base and effectiveness. It would please me to think you would be a part of my team, and I am of course available as a resource to you for anything you might need in your new position."

"Thank you," Ayren said as she got up and put out her hand, an odd thing for telepaths to do. It was a gesture of her willingness to build a bridge between them.

Elas was relieved beyond measure at her gesture of good will, raising out of his seat as he took her hand he was however shocked by a cascade of emotions, sensations...images. It was brief, and his usual methods of restraint were useless. He snatched his hand away but if she knew what he had seen she would feel beyond violated. The look on her face told him she likely did, and he froze in terror, unsure of how to proceed.

The shockwave hit Ayren too. The exchange was violent. Ayren dropped her eyes and regained her composure as good as she could. "What was a I thinking." she sated. Like a deer caught in headlights she backed away towards the door. "I am sorry...." she said for what she did. "I need to go...." The deer fled.

Elas's heart was beating furiously, he had seen her in the height of pain, the lowest moments of her life, along with rapture, ecstasy and her connection to the love of her life. There was more, a trauma... he heard a song but couldn't understand the words... Ayren was singing to him... He took a seat as she fled, too dazed to think. One of the aides outside had her, she was okay... he slid slowly into shock and he lost consciousness. His dreams were of someone elses life, and when he awoke he found the sleep was no help at all. All he could feel was the numb haze of the moment fading from him, and the faint sound of pianos with a golden voice singing a soft song.

OFF

Lt Commander Ayren Kelan ("You touch my mate, I will kill you!")
CDO

&

Lt Elas Vonti (Excited Ullian....)
Chief Counselor

 

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