Shrinking the Lizard, Part 1

Posted on Fri Mar 31, 2017 @ 3:03am by Lieutenant JG Noelle Bennett M.D. & Lieutenant JG Rhe'la Daughter of the Forty-ninth House

1,299 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Rumours
Location: Counselor's Office, Deep Space 5
Timeline: MD 5 1500

ON:

Counselors.

It was like a dirty word. A dirty, filthy Human word.

Rhe'la's species didn't have a word for psychologist, or psychiatrist, or counselor. Everyone just worked through their mental and emotional issues on their own. At most they talked to a friend or family member.

But here, on Deep Space 5, Rhe'la was alone. She hadn't really made any friends during her time on board; those she had were hundreds or thousands of light years away. Her family was still in orbit of the Gorn home world - guests of their king. So for her, it was either wallow in her neuroses or talk to one of the counselors.

When she got outside of the offices allocated to the station counseling staff, it took the diminutive Zarnac a moment to summon the courage to walk up to the reception desk. In that moment, the yeoman manning said desk caught sight of her and called out, "Is something wrong, Lieutenant?"

The Zarnac jumped. "Ah! Uh... yes... I mean no! I mean... is one of the, uh..." She quickly skittered over to the desk and whispered the last word like it was something uncouth, "counselors... available? I uh... don't have an appointment, but... uh..."

"She just began her walk-in hours," the yeoman answered politely. "If you want to go right in, her office is right across the desk here." The yeoman had seen far too many people nervous about seeing a counselor to be troubled by it and she was too professional not to smile or laugh and risk making anyone uncomfortable.

"Th... thank you." Rhe'la answered haltingly, bowing quickly before skittering off in the direction the woman had pointed.

When she reached Bennett's office, the little reptilian nervously peered around the corner, spotting the counselor seated at her desk. Though they were the same rank, she none the less came to attention after popping into view. "Goo... good aftern... noon, Lieutenant. Am I interrupting anything? Because I can come back later. No - you're probably busy. I should definitely come back later. I'm sorry for bothering you!" In a flash, Rhe'la bowed again and turned to retreat back to the turbolift.

Noelle looked up from her desk and was about to greet her new arrival when the female reptilian launched into her anxious offering. Bennett had certainly encountered anxious people before, but she couldn't remember the last time someone had actually walked away before she could offer any words. She stood from her desk and was soon beside her visitor, although she was careful not to interfere with what was usually considered personal space. "You're not bothering me at all," she offered gently. "It's okay to be nervous, but I promise, there is no right or wrong thing to say here, and no matter what is on your mind or how nervous you are, I won't turn you away."

At Noelle's urging, she turned back around and sheepishly walked into the office. "I'm sorry, Counselor. I'm just really nervous; psychoanalysis isn't... something my people DO."

"Not every culture does," Noelle agreed with a nod. "I've yet to encounter any people who are unable to communicate with one another, however, so if it helps, think of this as two sentient beings talking." Bennett gestured to her reception area. "Feel free to make yourself comfortable in any one of my available chairs. I try to have one to accommodate most of the species I've encountered," she added with a smile. "May I get you something from the replicator?"

Rhe'la's head shook rapidly. "No. Thank you. As nervous as I am... one of us would probably end up wearing it."

"Okay," Noelle replied gently. "If you need to, take some deep breaths to calm your nerves."

"I just... Counselor, have you heard about the Archimedes? She was thought to be lost for several months, but reappeared through a spatial anomaly. Captain Wyman is a personal friend - he recommended me for this position. His daughter is... she's like the little sister I never had. For months I had to fight through his loss. But now... he's not dead. But as bad as that is..." She paused, not sure if she should keep going. "Counselor - what I'm about to tell you is classified; none of it can leave this room. I only know because... well that will become clear soon enough..."

"Before you tell me, will any of what you're about to share represent a threat to yourself, the crew, or others? Most everything you say to me will be kept confidential, but I'm obligated to report anything that represents a danger to yourself or others. Past events don't apply as long as they don't impact the present. Does that make sense?" She just wanted to make sure she was clear and not misleading.

Rhe'la thought on that for a second. What was bothering her were events from a future timeline which, by way of the Archimedes not being destroyed, had been averted. If that timeline had come to pass, Deep Space 5 would already have been destroyed.

"No. The sometimes contradictory nature of time travel means that this isn't a direct threat to anyone. In fact - it may not actually happen now." she explained, hoping that it made sense.

"Alright," she offered with a smile, concealing the stress she usually felt about anything related to time travel. "What's on your mind?"

Shifting uneasily in the chair, the Zarnac blanched for a moment. "There are... four of my species in Starfleet. Commander Drakt on the Cavalry, my cousin An'ta, Major Drant, and me. When the Archimedes got tossed forward in time, they found that the great powers had all but been destroyed in a decades long war with the Zarnac. Twenty-one years... and most of the Federation had been destroyed."

"In that time... countless billions of lives were lost. Major Drant died commanding a small, vastly outnumbered force on some planet - I don't remember which one. But he died a hero. He betrayed the Empire because he followed his conscience, and Drakt has treated him like a pariah ever since. But on that day... on that battlefield... he was one of the Federation's greatest heroes."

"And... the Drakt and An'ta of that timeline survived. Hell - they followed the Archimedes back and now they're in THIS timeline. So now there's two Drakts and two An'ta's and that means I have an older cousin who I really don't know. But that's not what's bothering me."

She took a deep breath before continuing. "Drakt and An'ta survived a twenty year war where most of the Alpha Quadrant didn't. Drant died a hero. But... I... I survived the destruction of Deep Space 5, was posted to the el-Alamein, and died at the Battle of Axanar when the captain ordered the ship to ram a Zarnac mass driver. I was just one of hundreds snuffed out in an instant. For nothing. The Empire still took Axanar... they just couldn't bombard it first. It just made me feel so... helpless. This alternate me didn't survive, and died a pointless death."

Noelle listened quietly and acknowledged personally it would feel strange to her to know an alternate version of her did not survive in Starfleet. "Being confronted with our own mortality, however it happens, is never an easy thing," she acknowledged with a nod. "Answer me this. If we were talking about someone else who had died, say, at the Battle of Wolf 359, would you also say his or her death was pointless? Starfleet put up a fight there, but thousands of people died, were slaughtered, really, before they had much of a chance, but they came anyway."

***TBC***


Lieutenant JG Rhe'la
Chief Engineer
Deep Space 5

Lieutenant JG Noelle Bennett, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief Counselor
Deep Space 5

 

RSS Feed