About Mr. Turner
Posted on Wed Jan 24th, 2024 @ 8:28pm by Lieutenant Vura & Lieutenant Junior Grade Zhara Rynn
Edited on on Thu Jan 25th, 2024 @ 2:06am
0 words; about a 1 minute read
Mission:
Episode 15 - The Evil That Lies Beneath
Location: After 11 - Deck 11 - USS Pioneer
Timeline: MD002 - 1900 hrs
Deltans never let an opportunity to savor experiences go. Consequently, they were often slow eaters. Vura was no exception. It took her another good fifteen minutes after Milly left to finish what she could of her meal. She wondered if she would gain any weight from this indulgence. She knew she could probably use it, so she did not consider the thought too long.
However, she was bothered that she could have miscalculated so much on Connor Turner. Was she losing her touch? To check her calibration, she hit her combadge and contacted Zhara. =^= Zhara, this is Vura. I know this is after hours but do you have time to discuss a couple of our patients? =^=
"Of course. I'm in counseling." Zhara generally worked beta shift, but her schedule was light today. She wondered, briefly which patients Vura was concerned about.
=^= I'm currently in After 11 in a curtained booth. We could meet here or I could meet you in our department. Which would you prefer? =^=
Zhara checked to see if there was a counselor's aide on duty. There was. It might be better to join Vura. "I'll be right there."
Then she informed the aide where she'd be and to contact her if anyone came in to speak with a counselor, then she headed for the lounge.
It wasn't hard to locate Vura. "I'm here," she said outside the booth.
Before Zhara arrived, Vura had the waiter take away everything that was left over and merely had a cup of hot lemon and ginger tea before her, which she was sipping thoughtfully.
When she heard Zhara's voice, she invited Zhara in. "Zhara, would you like to order anything? I've had a most surreal evening."
"Herb tea. Lemon and chamomile," Zhara said. "What sort of surreal evening?"
"Well, it is about Mr. Turner. He seems to be a bit of a psychological phenomenon to me. Ensign F'rar, while she was still here, dragged him into my office to do repairs. He barely spoke, could not look at me, and based on everything that I saw and heard, was rather uncomfortable with women. Tonight, I have learned, not only did he have a girlfriend before coming here, but he has a new girlfriend. From what I can tell, many more women are interested in him, as well. I know that Paisley was. I'm at a loss, Zhara. I've been doing this a long time and I cannot think of a situation where I may have misjudged a person so badly."
She took a sip of her tea and continued, "I believe that you see him. Have I completely lost my touch?"
"You haven't lost your touch, but I do wonder if, because you want to savor life and often see the broad strokes, you sometimes miss the subtle nuances. You are a person I consider larger than life." Zhara sighed. "In many ways, I am an observer, but I like to look at the details, the nuances about someone that makes them unique." Her tea arrived and she thanked the waiter.
"Take orchestral music, for instance. Sometimes, all you hear are the brass and percussion sections. They are more obvious and thus easier to pick out. But listen for the piccolo or the flute--or even the strings, unless they are the focus of the piece. You have to learn to see all the parts and how they blend together to bring the composition to live. If all you see are the horns, you'll miss the xylophone. But if you take away the woodwinds, you won't know why, but the piece is lacking something. That's how I see people. I see them as parts of a symphony. I don't want to turn a piccolo into a trombone. I want to help it be the best piccolo it can." Zhara took a sip of her tea. "I see Mr. Turner as a piccolo."
"He came to me to talk about Ms. F'rar and about his girlfriend. Yes, she does exist and I hear she is lovely. But he is shy and not very comfortable around women. This can sometimes be perceived as a challenge by other women. Or some want to take care of him. Or take control of him, like Ms. F'rar did. Her behavior was questionable at best and alarming in many instances." She'd met Paisley only once, and it was not a pleasant memory. The woman lacked basic social skills.
"I'm glad Mr. Turner has a new girlfriend. He just needs to be given room to blossom and he'll be fine. Most people, regardless of species, do not fit into the mold we call normal."
Zhara took another sip of her tea and considered Vura. "I think your reaction to Mr. Turner and mine can be quantified in that you see a person as who they could and should be and so want them to become that ideal. You see the big picture. I see the details. I try to understand each person as a unique individual and want to give them the tools they need to grow and blossom. I see all of us as flawed in some way, but those flaws are what make us unique." She cocked her head to one side. "Does that make sense to you?"
"Paisley was rough around the edges but I particularly enjoyed her. We were just start making some breakthroughs with her. The fact that I could get her to admit her attraction for Connor was quite something. Her past was quite troublesome and she did not have any good figures to emulate for a healthy relationship. I was really looking forward to working with her on that." Vura sighed heavily.
"Ironically, she was worried someone would get to Mr. Turner before her. I practically assured her that would not happen." She shook her head morosely. "Obviously, I was blind to something, but that is why they make more than one type of counselor and I am glad to have you in my department. Before me I now have proof that one counselor cannot be right for everyone."
The Deltan crossed her legs and took another sip of her tea. "But I am curious what you mean that I'm larger than life." She laughed prettily. "I'm hardly anything, Zhara. I'm...." She sighed, not wanting to think about her past, "Well, just me...."
"You try to live life to the fullest. To experience and appreciate everything. Even your meals become a sensory experience. I try to appeal to the senses in my counseling. I use texture, aroma, sound, and ambience. I have Sofia. But you live that way every day."
"I can see how you would see that and it is a good philosophy, but it also may be part of my species. Most Deltans are like this, which is why we don't leave home. There's so much to experience there and yet, here I am amongst the stars."
"It's also why you're better for some people than others. Like Ensign F'rar. I think you were the perfect person to work with her. I would have told her off--politely but told her off nonetheless."
Vura threw her head back as she laughed heartily. "Oh, my goodness, Zhara. I very much would have liked to have seen that. Then again, there are ways to tell people that they might try another counselor better suited for them." She sighed and thought aloud, "Still, I have a lot to think about regarding Mister Turner. There is room for me to improve and I shall have to find a way to do so."
Zhara couldn't help smiling at Vura. "We all have things to learn, do we not? And it's especially important for a counselor to be aware that they, too, need to learn and grow. So, you are doing well indeed. I regret that I did not see the side of Ms. F'rar that you did. I was only exposed to her more...manic behavior." She paused, tipping her head to one side as she thought. "Mr. Turner is uncomfortable around most women. If you wish to get to know him better, find a place where he is comfortable--like working on computers. Or get him talking about computers. He's quite amiable." She wanted to meet this woman who was his new girlfriend, just to see what she was like.
Vura readily agreed, "I think we counselors understand that most of all. We're constantly working on ourselves, are we not?" She paused thoughtfully and said, "I will consider what you said about getting to know Mr. Turner. Perhaps I will make some time to drop in on him at some point, but I cannot make him a priority at this moment. I have some more pressing problems," she told Zhara with a slight downturn of her lips.
"That's fine. You don't need to make him a priority as it sounds like he's doing well." She looked at Vura for a moment. "Is there a problem I can help with?"
"I believe that you have already helped me today, Zhara. Thank you. I hope that I have not taken you away from anything too important to confer regarding my own insecurities."
Zhara waved that off with a hand. "No. I have no appointments, and if someone walks in, I left instructions to call me. Besides, when we work different shifts, it's often difficult to get together." She smiled. "I'm glad you called me."
"I am, as well. I shall be interested to see what more happens with your piccolo." Then she laughed and continued to play with Zhara's analogy. "I'll just make sure the symphony is playing beautiful music together."
Zhara chuckled. "Isn't that what we all want? Playing beautiful music together?" She was pleased to see that some members of the crew were doing well in that regard.
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," Vura answered with a small giggle. "That seems to be the theme for the day. Was just telling one of my patients about that just before you came in."
"True. We all see things in a different way. Beauty is no exception. I like to think that beauty radiates from the soul." She'd finished her tea and it appeared that the conversation was coming to an end. "I should let you get on with your evening and I should go back to counseling. I have a few files to review." She raised an eyebrow. "Unless you have further questions?"
"No, Zhara. Thank you again for coming."
"It was my pleasure." There were times, like this, when Zhara wished she could give Vura a hug.
A Joint Post By
Lieutenant Vura
Chief Counselor, USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Junior Grade Zhara Rynn
Counselor, USS Pioneer
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