Caterwauling

Posted on Fri Jul 24th, 2015 @ 1:05pm by Lieutenant Mira Jayna & Lieutenant Arnon Barak MD, PsyD

1,334 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Deadly Diplomacy
Location: Mira Jayna's Quarters
Timeline: BEFORE Stryfe and Consequences

ON

Approaching a member of the crew because you've heard through the grapevine that they are having a hard time is unorthodox. One might even call it nosey. However a starship is an unusual work environment for a mental health professional and the crew of a starship is made up of unusual clients. Unorthodox methods are sometimes called for.

Arnon walked through the corridors to the quarters of Lieutenant JG Mira Jayna of the Intelligence Department. Arriving at the door, he rung the chime.

Jayna was surprised that someone had actually come to her quarters since she'd only been back for a day. "Come in," she said.

Arnon entered.

"Lieutenant Mira?" he said. "I don't know that we actually met when I was on the Ares, but I believe we were both there at the same time at least briefly. I'm Doctor Arnon Barak. I'm the chief counselor here on the Calypso."

Jayna raised an eyebrow. "No, I don't think we did. But I'm sure you met my sister. She was the First Officer. What can I do for you?"

"Well," Arnon replied. "That depends. Have you been going through anything that you think I'd think you might want to talk with me about?"

"No."

"I see," Arnon replied. "And how is your relationship with Mister Logan going? I notice that I discovered you in your own quarters, rather than Logan's."

"That would be personal," Jayna replied, her tone formal. "And if it does not impact my work, Counselor, it would be none of your business. Now, is there anything else I can do for you that doesn't involve my private life?"

"Absolutely," Arnon replied. "You can make an appointment with me sometime over the next few days. Standard evaluation of course."

Jayna nodded. "I can do that. Do you have the clearance to talk to me, or should we keep it general?" she asked, only half serious. She was being rude and she knew it, but right now, she was in a bad mood and he was the nearest target. She blamed Logan, drat his furry hide, for being such a hard-headed male.

Arnon smiled.

"I'm cleared, Lieutenant," he replied. "You will be able to speak freely with me."

"Good. Then I won't have to talk about the weather," she replied with a hint of a smile. Deciding she should at least try to be civil she added, "Since you're here, can I get you something to drink?"

Arnon raised an eyebrow, Vulcan-like.

"That would be pleasant, thank you," he said. "Hmmm...how about a mandarin orange sparkling water with ice? That would do the trick."

Jayna nodded and went to the replicator. She got him his mandarin orange sparkling water with ice and a glass of spiced nectar for herself and walked back to her small couch and chairs. She handed the counselor his drink and curled up on one of the chairs. "So, does the counselor often make house calls?"

Arnon chuckled.

"Sometimes," he replied. "When needs must."

"And you feel you must visit me?" she asked, one side of her mouth quirking up in humor.

"Who wouldn't want to visit you, Lieutenant?" Arnon replied. "Intelligence personnel, in my experience, tend to forget that Starfleet makes allowances for their security clearances. They get into a rut of feeling like they can't talk to anyone about anything. A starship's are deceptively small. Very little is missed. Who is with whom and who is getting along and who isn't. I made the possibly unfair assessment that you might be getting in over your head and that is a bad place to make life changing decisions from."

"You also forget that a lot of people mistrust anyone in Intelligence, so one in four people will avoid us solely based on our reputation. Much like Counseling, I imagine," she said.

"People do tend to think I am going to do all manner of terrible things," Arnon replied. "Some people are deeply attached to their secrets. That often means that they are using what I call private logic in their lives that they are afraid to have challenged. By private logic I mean logic that they think makes sense in the world outside of their heads but actually doesn't. The effect of these misconceptions can be minor or drastic. This type of logic, everyone has it, usually develops during our formative years. During that period of our lives in which we determine our place in the world and the basic 'facts of life' as they relate to us."

"A lot of people don't like to talk about things that are deep and personal. Me, I just don't trust people."

"Which would lead me to ask where did you get the idea that you shouldn't trust people?" Arnon said. "Do you remember when you first realized that trusting people led to a bad end?"

She sobered, her voice expressionless. "I grew up in the Bajoran resistance. My twin sister and I were taught to gather information and to trust no one outside of the cell. Later, I joined the Maquis. I was an infiltration specialist."

"That would lead to a certain wariness of trusting others," Arnon replied. "However, might it not be time to change that view? You aren't in the resistance anymore. While you work in Intelligence and that requires you to play things close to the vest, there are parts of your life you can share with others without running a background check on them. Perhaps you need to learn to separate who you can trust and who you can't and what parts of your life you can share and what parts you cannot? Fair warning, though: People are fallible and can let you down. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't trust people at all or even that particular person."

"I trust the people I work with in Intel. I trust the Commodore. I trust Admiral Hunter," she said. "I don't, however, trust you."

Arnon laughed.

"And what reason do you have not to trust me?" he said. "By that I mean what reason have I given you to distrust me? We haven't met before today."

"You're too pushy," she said. "And you want to know everything. That makes me not want to trust you." She shrugged. "Blame it on the way I was raised. Whenever people starting asking too many questions, you were in trouble."

Arnon laughed again.

"How else am I supposed help you learn anything about yourself if I don't ask questions?" he said. "How could this possibly work if I did all of the talking?"

"I understand myself, you're the one with the questions," she countered. "However, I do have a question you might be able to answer." She reached behind her sofa and pulled out a small brown box. "When I got back to my quarters yesterday, this was waiting for me." She handed him a box with a dozen rubber chickens of various sizes inside.

Arnon raised an eyebrow.

"It seems one of my clients has gotten a bit out of control," he replied. "It could have been worse. You could have found her outside your quarters wearing a lasso and sitting in an ergonomic chair."

Jayna raised an eyebrow. "A very good thing she wasn't. She and her chair might have ended up in the deep end of the pool to cool off."

The sounds of Peer Gynt came from the bedroom and she looked at the chronometer on her wall. "Lovely as this has been, I'm due in Intel in five minutes, so we shall have to continue this later."

"Absolutely," Arnon said standing up. "I'll check in with you soon. It was lovely to meet you. Give my regards to your sister when you speak with her."

Jayna nodded. "I will. Thanks." She grabbed a PADD and followed him out the door so she wouldn't be late for her shift.

____
OFF

Lieutenant Arnon Barak
Chief Counselor

Lieutenant JG Mira Jayna
Assistant Chief Intelligence Officer

 

RSS Feed