Inside Blue Girl's Head
Posted on Thu Jun 29th, 2023 @ 2:07pm by Lieutenant Junior Grade Thex sh'Zoarhi & Lieutenant Vura
Edited on on Thu Jun 29th, 2023 @ 9:40pm
0 words; about a 1 minute read
Mission:
Episode 14 - The Poseidon Adventure
Location: Counseling Office - Deck 5 - USS Pioneer
Timeline: MD007 0900 hrs
It was another day and Thex was back to work insuring the ship had all the supplies it would need for the next mission. Thankfully this was a fairly easy task given how few of the essential supplies they used on the last mission. Clocking off she remembered she had her appointment with the new counselor she headed for her office.
Stepping up to her door she waited for the alert to notify the Deltan.
Vura was pleased. Her office was finally complete. At the entrance to her office, she placed some blooming lavender plants, that gave off a pleasant soothing smell. On a wall, over a couch, she had put up a copy of Katsushika Hokusai's "The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife" above a periwinkle couch that swooped up and then down in the middle and then back up again. The couch had definite sensual innuendos written all over the convenient shaping.
The walls of her office were of a deep rose with hints of purple hues. From there, she opted only for a small desk, so the desk would not set a barrier between her and her clients. It was a semi-circle and she placed it carefully in such a way where she could swivel on a chair and quickly type something on a computer or PADD and not interfere with her relationship with her client. The color of the desk nearly blended into the wall but was more mauve on closer inspection.
Warm wooded mahogany chairs were available in case her clients did not prefer to be on the couch. There was a small glass circle table between the chairs. The table contained a small zen sand garden and rake for clients to manipulate.
When the chime rang, Vura called out, "Come on in, please."
Thex stepped inside her antenna moving slightly as her eyes looked around the room. She wished her office could look like this. Far less padds and other forms dotted around the room as well. " Hello, Vura. I like what you've done with the place." She said politely.
"Thank you, Thex," Vura responded politely. "You should be feeling better by now, with all of those Deltan pheromones having passed. I promise that I won't touch you again. I would not want to re-enflame you. It was just a bit of frivolity on my part."
" Thank you and I am feeling better. It was certainly something. I thought Orion pheromone made your head spin. " Thex replied. " Still where do you want me to sit?" she asked.
"Orions...." Vura replied laughing. She then smiled warmly and professionally, "Sit wherever makes you comfortable, Thex. I have no preferences."
Thex nodded as she took a seat one off the couches. "So,what do you want to know about me?"
"I believe I learned quite a bit about you during our meeting on the Promenade, but since we're here in a professional environment, why don't you tell me about your upbringing first and we can go from there."
"Well..." Thex said as she leaned back on the couch. "I was born on Andoria like most Andorians, only I was born to a bunch of religious doomsday cultists. They believed the universe was doomed when some elder god from before the birth of the universe would return and consume the galaxy. Most of my childhood was learning survival skills and basically nothing else. It was ......... " she said pushing as she worked through her thoughts. "Hard. I didn't eat for many days and the complex was always cold."
"So, how did you end up leaving the cult?" Vura prompted.
" One day I just ran for it and never looked back. Found my way to the nearest city and ended up wandering into the Starfleet recruitment office. " Thex replied with a grin on her face. " I don't know why I decided to run it just came to me one day."
"And they did not come after you?" Vura wondered aloud. "Why would they not have tried to keep you? That seems odd that a cult could allow someone to escape so easily as you say."
" They chased me for a bit, but...." Thex said as she thought back. " I don't know I jumped into a lake and they just stopped when I climbed out the other side. I still have no idea why. I was paranoid that they would be there to snatch me back. I punched the first Andorian cadet I met in the academy. Poor guy I still feel bad about that."
"What happened when you punched him? Were you disciplined?"
Thex nodded. " I was an angry young woman. I did a lot of things I regret back then. "
"I have to wonder, Thex, why did Starfleet take an interest in you. It is not unheard of to have unorthodox tracks to Starfleet but yours is extremely so. And with the anger that you're discussing, I am surprised that you passed through the emotional and mental qualification tests. Mind you, that is a credit to you, but it is surprising. So, how have you gotten past all of that anger?"
" I'm still not sure myself. I was still learning Federation basics during my first year. Well, I found a way of burying my emotional damage and that was a fight club. It was supposed to be secret, but Starfleet intel was onto it from the beginning. When it got busted was when I met Nainaa. She seemed to see I could be saved and took me under her wing. She taught me to control my anger mostly through dancing. I owe that Orion so much. I hope she's okay." Thex replied her voice showing she really did care for Nainaa.
"A fight club in Starfleet? That seems so counter to the mission of the Federation. What happened to everyone else from this fight club?"
"I'm not too sure. Most ended up with warnings on their records. I know the guy running it got kicked out," the sapphire girl replied.
"I see," Vura responded, hardly believing that a warning was all that most received. She would have to look into it further at some later date. She was not posing a threat to the ship and that was the primary concern of Vura. "So, tell me more about Nainaa."
Thex paused for a second as she thought of how best to put it. " If there's a woman who can be the federation poster child than it's her. She was beautiful, caring and intelligent. I don't know why she took an interest in me, but I'd probably have been kicked out of the fleet if she hadn't helped me get my head screwed on straight. You want to know why she's even in the Federation and not Orion space. Books. Her family printed Orion history books the syndicate didn't like. So she and her mother had to flee to the Federation after they killed her father."
Such an idealized version. It is quite unlikely to be true. Nainaa probably thought that Thex was cute and overreached. "So where is this Nainaa now?" Vura asked.
" I'm not sure. She's with Starfleet Intelligence and the last time I heard from her she was going back to Orion space as part of an intelligence operation. I hope she's okay. " Thex added.
"I see." Possible, but unlikely. Why would someone from intelligence reveal even that information? "Exactly when did that happen?"
" Around half a year ago."
"Were you on Pioneer at that time, or did you transfer here thereafter? Also, were you dating Nainaa?"
" No I only transferred here a few months ago and no we never dated. " Thex explained. " She was more like an adoptive mother if anything."
"I see," Vura answered, not really comprehending, though the idealism that Thex showed for Nainaa, did seem to bear some of the hallmarks of a mother-daughter relationship at a child's age. The relationship with Nainaa and Thex bore a lot more inspection at some point. And why would Starfleet allow such an immature being into the Fleet? Vura started to feel her stomach turn at having stroked Thex's face, allowing Deltan pheromones to play with this juvenile. It had been reckless and potentially damaging to an already very emotionally damaged being.
"So why did you come to Pioneer? Are you making any friends here? Do you feel comfortable here?"
" Promotion," Thex replied honestly. " I was looking for a chief of operation post and this came up. " As for your other question yes I have been making friends here and I am very comfortable. "
She was promoted with this record? Very odd. I'll have to look into it more. "So, tell me about your friends."
"I've not been here long, but I feel like I'm making friends with the crew. I even found my old friend from the academy Rachel Sinclair here as well, which is a nice surprise. Wish I could have some more free time, but keeping this girl running will always be my top priority." Thex replied calmly.
"The Engineers might take exception to you stating that you're keeping the ship running," Vura responded with a hint of a smile. But right now, Thex, you're on shore leave, so, you have plenty of free time. What do you want to do with it?"
"Well you know about my dancing hobby, but I have others." Thex said leaning back in her seat. "I enjoy swimming and even trained as a free diver. I can hold my breath for fifteen minutes at my personal best. Other than that, I practice the martial arts I've mastered. Though I am up for trying new things especially if my friends want to try them."
"But none of that answers what you plan on doing with your free time."
" Well other than do my hobbies I'd be getting some extra sleep, working out and exploring the station," Thex added.
"No shifts to check out Ops?" Vura asked curiously. "You are the Chief, right?"
" I finished off all the tasks that needed doing before I began my shore leave. I check my inbox for any incoming tasks every day and make sure I take care of them before I do anything else." The blue girl responded.
Vura blinked a couple of times. "You did everything?' She shook her head. "Then why was Ensign F'rar here with Ensign Turner repairing my console and Ensign F'rar talking about repairing a refrigerator." The more that Vura talked to Thex, the more she became concerned about her mental health.
" No that's not..." Thex said running her hands through her hair. " I'm really messing this up aren't I?"
"There is no messing up, Thex. I simply listen to what you have to tell me and ask questions to clarify and understand. With all of that information, I try to assist you and anyone else on the crew to become their highest and best self so they can be most effective for this ship. Essentially, my job can be seen as issue spotting at some level. But remember, as the Vulcans say, 'Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations.' Right and wrong very rarely have anything to do with our discussions or evaluations. Those things only come into play if you're a threat to yourself or the ship."
" No, I know I must be sounding like a mad woman. " the blue girl said slumping back on the couch. " I've never been really good at letting people into here. " She said gesturing to her head. " Too much baggage from home and the dredd one feels given my people's condition I've been told. "
“I don’t judge,” Vura told Thex simply. “I’m simply here to listen and help.”
" And what do you think of me so far?" The blue girl inquired.
"I don't understand, Thex. Like I said, I'm here to listen and help with whatever you may need, not to make determinations as to what I think of you."
" Right, right, right," Thex said as she shook her head as she ran her figures through her long white hair. "So where were we?" she asked steadying herself as looked at Vura.
"You were saying that you were sounding like a mad woman, and I would like to know why," Vura answered.
"I didn't mention my temper for one thing," she said slumping back in the couch. "I know I'm not the perfect Starfleet officer. My academy counselors said my personality was erratic even for a non-neutered Andorian."
"It is a concern, Thex," Vura admitted. "So what do we do about it?"
" Take a breather and think before I say anything?" Thex suggested.
"If you can remember that," Vura replied offhandedly. "I would like to explore the cause of the anger and help you get over those causes so that you no longer feel the need to get angry. It cures the problem, not the symptom."
"I guess that makes sense," Thex replied slightly as she seemed to relax slightly. "Anything you like me to start with?"
"I want you to identify the things that trigger your anger. Once you can start identifying your triggers, then we can start figuring out what is causing those triggers and how to think differently about those situations."
" Sounds reasonable. Do you need me to think of when I first felt angry?" Thex added.
"I do, though it may be easier to go forward than backwards."
" I can do that. I'll start writing them down whenever I feel angry." Thex replied a weak smile upon her blue face.
"Good," Vura replied easily. "And once we know that information, it will be easier to sort things out from there. It is just a matter of changing one's views, Thex."
"Sounds like a plan. Anything else you need me to do?" The Andorian enquired.
"Just make notes as to when you feel yourself being angered and what triggered it and then we can talk again."
"Will do. Thanks, Vura I know my head is not the nicest place to be sometimes," Thex replied as she headed for the door.
"Oh, Thex, everyone needs improvement, even me." She then put her hand to the side of her face perpendicular to her lips and said conspiratorially, "Don't tell anyone that, of course."
A Joint Post By
Lieutenant Vura
Chief Counselor, USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Junior Grade Thex sh'Zoarhi
Chief Operations Officer, USS Pioneer
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