BACKPOST: Assessment

Posted on Fri Jun 22nd, 2018 @ 3:46am by Lieutenant Rembrandt 'Remy' Batiste

2,493 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Pulling Together
Location: Remy's Quarters
Timeline: Current

"Computer," Arnon said. "Please tell me the location of Lieutenant Rembrandt Batiste."

"Lieutenant Rembrandt Batiste is currently in his quarters," the computer replied.

"You are talking about the man himself," Arnon said. "Not just his commbadge?"

"There is a small sentient lifeform, species: human/betazoid hybrid, present in Lieutenant Rembrandt Batiste's quarters at this time," the computer replied.

"Excellent!" Arnon said. "Gracias, Computer."

"De Nada."

A short while later Arnon was outside of his little friend's quarters. He rang the door chime and waited for a response from the diminutive intelligence officer.

Remy sat on the floor of his dark and untidy quarters. Pictures and furniture were knocked all over the place, some frames even broken, as the short Intel Chief heard the chime from his door. He let out a grunt as he stood up and ran his hand through his hair, brushing it to the side, before checking his white t-shirt and uniform pants. The small officer walked over to the door, kicking an empty bottle or two, before being close enough to tap the console on the side and opening the door.

"Come to make sure I haven't escaped yet, Lieutenant Wolfy?" Remy said before look up to see Arnon. His brow raised slightly as he cleared his throat and looked around, noticing the security detail still watching him, even though they weren't by the door itself. He cleared his throat before looking up to Arnon with a smirk and giving him a small salute. "Mister Barak. Glad you came. Here to see the monkey in his cage? Hmm?"

"I already saw Spock at the briefing," Arnon said. "And he wasn't in a cage. May I come in? I'm asking to be polite, Remy. The Commodore wants me to evaluate whether or not you can be of use in bringing Commander Tate back into the fold, so to speak. You want to help her, Remy. Anyone who knows you can see that. So invite me in and let's talk."

Remy shook his head slightly as he let out a sigh. "For someone who comes from a free-spirited race, you need to learn how to catch a joke." He took a side step before gesturing into the quarters. "You'll have to forgive the mess. The maid has decided to take the week off." He said jokingly, as if ignoring the other comments about Tate.

Arnon walked and sat in a chair across from Remy's couch.

"So," Arnon said. "Tell me about Jennifer."

"Jennifer is a woman. She's down on the planet making bad decisions." Remy replied quickly as he tossed some piles of books off the couch and took a seat, looking to Arnon, with an un-amused look on his face. "Next question."

Arnon sighed. Clearly Remy was going to be his usual obstinate self today. Arnon didn't say anything for a moment as he pondered whether to be more specific by asking Remy about his relationship with Tate or instead to go with the tried and true 'and how does that make you feel?' approach.

"Okay," Arnon said. "That was a wonderful example of avoidance. Let's try this: Please tell me about your relationship with Jennifer."

Remy leaned forward to Arnon and narrowed his eyes. "Why? Are you asking as a friend, co-worker, or Counselor? Are you here because you want to help me or because its your job? Are you curious because you want to understand why its effecting me or because you want to know what a beautiful woman like her would see in someone as me?" He hopped off his seat and took a few steps forward to Arnon's direction before stopping in his track. "Are you here for me, or her, Arnon?"

Arnon held Remy's gaze unflinchingly.

"Wondering what someone romantically involved with you sees in you from time to time is perfectly normal," he said. "In moderation. Obsessing over it is extremely unhealthy, both for your self-esteem and the relationship. Have you ever asked her what she sees in you?"

"I am not, nor have I ever, question our relationship and Damn you for pretending to think for me, Barak." Remy said quickly and with an angry tone as he slapped the vase of flowers from the small table, sending it shattering to the floor.

He stood there quietly, his small hands on his hips, before turning to face Arnon. "So its business then, is it Pointy Ears?" Remy said sternly. "Good to know I can always keep you hard at work by providing you with a fascinating specimen." He walked away, going toward a cabinet that held a variety of alcoholic bottles. "Get on with it then. On to your next impersonal question, Chief Counselor Lieutenant Barak. I am sure you're dying to get out of here as quick as possible."

"You know that none of the things you said about me are true, Remy," Arnon said. "If I wasn't here for you, I would take your insults personally and walk away, leaving you to wallow in your own thoughts and feelings. I actually am a bit insulted to learn that you think that I would even question what Commander Tate sees in you, let alone for scientific curiosity. You're in pain, Remy, and you're lashing out, deflecting my attempts to reach you. I want to help you. I want to help Jennifer as well. I think you do, too. Talk to me, Remy, without all of the ridiculous defense mechanisms getting in the way."

"Of course I'm in pain!" Remy shouted as he turned around to face Remy, his eyes slightly teary. "They took the only woman I have ever opened up to in such a long time, someone I felt was a kindred spirit, and brainwashed her into turning against us. Turning against me. They put my friend, my brother, in sickbay. Putting him on his death bed. His death bed! For that alone I should burn their entire planet." He whispered softly, holding up his hand and clenching his fists. "I don't think I can't do it. These little hands have a far reach and all it takes is a few trade secrets and encrypted messages to make it happen. York wants to save face and help them. At this point, Barak." He said sternly as he looked at Arnon firmly and added. "I say to hell with them all. To hell with them." He whispered before a tear rolled down the side of his cheek.

Arnon reached into one of the pockets in his uniform pants and pulled out a small package of tissues he kept stored there, a must in his line of work. He handed the package to Remy.

"I can hear how angry you are," Arnon said. "And I can hear the pain that anger is masking. My daughter took care of Logan herself. He's got the best care available to us at this time and I promise you that I will look in on him and make sure Rhiannon and Newmark aren't missing anything. As you know, I've been a physician for nearly a century, and not all of that was spent as a psychiatrist. As for Tate...it's not too late to get her back, Remy. I think we can do it but our chances of successfully bringing Jennifer back are greater if you can help us. I know it feels like you've lost her and I can't guarantee that she'll come back the same as she was before, that things will be as they were before, but she's not gone yet. Giving up on her does a disservice not only to her, but more importantly to yourself. You found someone who you could connect with, dare I say love? Someone who had similar feelings for you. That person is in trouble. She needs you to get outside of yourself and put her first. I know this won't be easy for you, but I also know that if you don't do this, you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

"Actions have consequences, Arnon." Remy said quickly and firmly. "She turned her back on Starfleet and, within that time she was not on the ship, she could have revealed critical information." He got off his seat and walked a bit closer to Arnon. "Now, pay attention, because this is the more important part. It doesn't matter what condition she was in when she turned on us, the fact remains, she still did it and they, meaning the big wigs in the power seats, can't take the risk in letting her float by because of it. The point is, as a member of Intel, she knows and can access critical information that can endanger the Federation and its allies. This also means, it doesn't matter who on this ship clears her, until Intelligence certified Officers do it, here career is done. Over. Finished. It doesn't matter who stands by her. Me. You. Captain York. Hell, even Max can't help Jennifer now because he knows she has to be vetted before returning to duty."

Remy turned to walk away, but than stopped, turning back to face Arnon. "And lets, you and I, get something very clear. I would gladly pull every favor I have, even go as far as resign, if I knew it would get her out of this mess." He narrowed his eyes slightly as he raised his voice. "I went down there, with the soul purpose, of giving her and that Jenefran Snake a way to get out of there! I did that! My decision! And when I saw the look in her eyes and heard the hesitation in her voice, I thought I could reason with her. But I couldn't. Even I, the man she loves couldn't bring her back to reality and make her see the harm she is doing. Now, here you are, all of a sudden telling me that I can help? That there is a chance? Do you honestly believe I don't want to help? Are you that sick in the brain that you believe that I am not capable of helping someone? What part of this entire conversation did I ever say I didn't want to help Jennifer? Where, in this whole conversation, do you feel that I care about no one else but myself? Please, Arnon, tell me what I am supposed to feel and say because clearly you know me better than I know myself because you seem to have all the answers? Clearly, you are, the superior species, Barak! Because you know everything!"

Arnon sat quietly and let Remy vent. He said nothing for a few moments and attempted to let silence calm Remy's temper. After a few moments he spoke again.

"Are you finished?" Arnon asked in a gentle tone. "Or is there more you need to get off of your chest? If so, feel free. I'll listen. I can tell how upset, how angry and hurt you are, how unfair you feel the universe is right now. I won't take it personally. And you are correct, of course. Life is profoundly unfair. No doubt about that. You have every right to be upset about that. Life is not fair...but people can try to be, which is one of the reasons it hurts so much when a person treats you unfairly rather than 'life'. People often, but not always, have a choice. So, I hear you, Remy. I'm not ignoring you or saying I'm better than you, despite the fact that I can come off like a pompous ass at times. So continue if you need to. When you are done, though, I'd like to discuss how we can help Commander Tate."

Remy narrowed his eyes slightly at Arnon before smirking a bit. "You are no fun if you don't fight back. Do you know that?" He ran his hand through his hair before adding. "At least we are both in agreement that you are a pompous ass." He looked at him sternly before smiling again.

Arnon chuckled.

"Yes," Arnon said. "Yes I am. So, if you're ready to talk about Commander Tate, let's get down to business. There are two important things to remember when attempting to break Stockholm Syndrome. Firstly, if you don't keep trying to communicate with the victim, nothing will change. No matter how much the commander pushes you away, Remy, if you want to help her, you're going to need to try and reconnect with her. Secondly, pushing too hard will just push the victim away. You'll need to use a gentle pressure if you want to reach her. She needs to know that you love her, that you're there for her. She'll need to see a difference between what she's experienced from her tormentor and what you're offering. And again, if you push too hard, it will seem like you are trying to control her. That will seem no different to her than what has already been done to her and will play into what she's been told to expect from you. She's been convinced that all of us are her enemy, so we need to prove those expectations incorrect."

"Did you get that all from a book or is it from experience, because there is a difference between first hand and second hand knowledge?!" Remy shouted before stopping himself. He let out a deep breath before closing his eyes pausing in thought. "I'm sorry." He said softly as he opened his eyes and look over to Arnon. "You don't understand it from my point of view. You're always throwing yourself in front of woman, but for me, its not so simple. Someone of my height has never had someone so beautiful and smart to care about me for who I am and not what I do. I can't lose her, Arnon. I wont." Remy stood up from his position on the floor and grabbed a hold of the almost empty bottle. He placed it on the coffee table and looked over to the Counselor, fixing himself a bit as he spoke. "I'll do whatever you need of me, Arnon. I just know that if I lose her than I would be like losing a part of me at the same time. I don't think it will be something that I will recover from so easily. I leave the planning to you. You have my support." With that, he walked away toward his room, stumbling a bit. "Help yourself to a drink before leaving, Arnon. I'm sure there is something on the counter to your liking."

OFF:

Lieutenant Rembrandt 'Remy' Batiste
Chief Intelligence Officer

&

Lieutenant Arnon Barak MD, PsyD
Chief Counselor

 

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