Counseling Shadows
Posted on Wed Jul 24th, 2019 @ 4:10pm by Lieutenant JG Mira Jayna
Edited on on Thu Jul 25th, 2019 @ 2:54am
1,723 words; about a 9 minute read
Mission:
Episode 7 - Home Again
Location: Deck 5 - Counseling Office - USS Pioneer
Timeline: MD004 1200 hrs
There were always lists of things that had to get done when reporting to a new assignment. One that always made Jayna leery was her psychological evaluation. It wasn't that she had anything against counselors. She didn't. Some of them were very nice. It was that many of them wanted to ask her specifically about her childhood. She wasn't sure if that was one of the questions taught to all counselors, but a good many felt that her childhood was an indication of her current mental health. Still, she couldn't avoid it, so she decided to make it one of her priorities so she could get it out of the way.
To be sure she didn't have to wait, or come back later, she set up an appointment first and arrived promptly on time.
This was not going well. Tallida was beginning to question this whole decision of being a counselor. So far she had lied to a marine, stumbled and made out with an enlisted crewman in the hallways, and made an ass of herself in front of the XO. She was lost in thought when the computer announced that it was time for the new intelligence officer to show up. "Perfect," She scoffed. Stopping just inside the door way she was surprised to see said Warrant officer to be standing in her office. "Hello." She said simply.
"Hello," Jayna returned. "I apologize for arriving early." The other woman looked like she was having a rough day, so apologizing seemed the appropriate thing to do.
"No trouble," Tallida replied with a smile as she brushed her hands down the front of her uniform jacket as if smoothing it out. "Please come in and make yourself comfortable." The phrasing tumbled out of her mouth and brought her back to the counseling session with the Marine CO. She had said the exact same to him.
Jayna pretended not to notice her pause and sat down. "Thank you."
"Tea or coffee?" The Counselor asked as she moved over to the sidebar where she kept both beverages along with the items needed to customize the beverage however it was desired.
"Do you have herb tea?" she asked.
"Fruit or herbal?" The Angosian asked. "I have a variety of both." She smiled.
That pleased Jayna, who enjoyed a variety of teas. "Herbal for now. Thank you."
Tallida made the requested tea, picking her favorite verbal tea and turned to hand it to the women across from her. With her own coffee cup in hand she moved to the chair she typically sat in and smiled as she took a sip.
"Thank you," Jayna said again. While she sampled the tea, she glanced around the room. "Have you been on the ship long?" she asked the counselor.
"No," Tallida replied with a laugh. "A few days at most." She took another sip of her coffee. "How about yourself?
Jayna's eyebrow went up. "Fascinating. So you and I are in a relatively similar situation. Then I should ask, how do you find the ship so far?"
"Great," Tallida replied with a light laugh. "Anywhere that isn't Starfleet Medical in San Francisco is amazing." She would have added that she was glad it wasn't the Yorktown, but that wasn't really true. Her heart was still there and she was simply going to pretend it wasn't until it was true.
There was a ring of bravado in the counselor's tone that led Jayna to believe that something was disturbing her, but since she did not know Ovaa or her story, she nodded. "I have not spent time in Starfleet Medical, so I will defer to your greater knowledge."
"Everyone is a bit too serious for my liking." She blurted before she caught herself. "Anyways," She smiled taking a sip from her cup. "So, where have your previous postings been? I could look it up, but it isn't quite the same."
One side of Jayna's mouth quirked up humorously. She was beginning to like the counselor. "Starships," she said, keeping to her Starfleet postings. "I've most recently been on the Miramar and the Ares. My sister and I served together on the ship. It was quite an experience. We're identical twins, and some of the crew had trouble telling us apart."
"Did she not come with you to this posting?" Tallida asked. "The idea of serving with a family member could be rewarding and stressful I would imagine."
"No. Most commanders prefer not to deal with the potential problems. Although we serve in different departments." They'd been in Starfleet long enough that she hoped their past experience with the Maquis would be overlooked.
"I can understand that." Tallida replied with a nod. "Do you miss her?" she asked bluntly before she cleared her throat and tried again. "I mean, how have you been adjusting to being on your own?"
"I've adjusted." Jayna shrugged. "It was lonely at first. We'd spent our lives together, depending on each other, and then we were forced to separate. We talk when we can, but it's not the same as it used to be. We are not the same, either."
Tallida nodded. "How do you feel about that?" she asked. The standard shrink addage escaping her lips before she could stop herself.
"It forced us to work as individuals and not as a team," she said. "It allowed us to grow into different paths. My sister is a security officer."
"So you diverged in disciplines." Talli replied. "That is facinating. Are you identical or fraternal twins?" She should have been paying more attention but she couldn't remember the answer to the question.
"Identical. That was one reason they wanted to split us up. Unless we wore our uniforms, it was hard to tell us apart." She didn't mention that when they were younger, they would use that to their advantage.
"You have mentioned all the reasons why they wanted you two to be apart." Tallida started as she set her cup on the table that was to her right. "Did anyone ever ask you guys what you wanted?"
Jayna had long come to terms with this. "No. We grew up in a resistance cell, then joined the Maquis. So they were suspicious of us and our reasons for joining Starfleet. And, since we used the fact that we were twins to our advantage, some did not trust us. So it was decided to separate us for our good as well as Starfleet's." She shrugged. "We have both come to accept it for what it was."
"Yes, you have accepted it and you have rationalized it," The counselor started. "But, if you were given the option, would you rather be on your own or have your sister?" She was curious why the women avoided stating her opinion.
Jayna considered that. "I don't know. I don't know what we would have done if we'd stayed together. I don't know if that would be better than what we have now." She shrugged. "These are the cards we were dealt. I choose not to dwell on whether they were for the better or not. I am who I am because of the way I was raised, the choices I made, and part of those choices came from being on my own."
"If only so many other people were as self aware." Tallida replied. She found the women fascinating on a clinical level. The fact that she was a twin made her curious was her sister was like. She allowed her mind to wonder for a moment before she realized that the Warrant Officer was watching her. "Sorry, I got distracted." She smiled before draining the remainder of her lukewarm tea.
"Our parents died when we were young. We were raised to be survivors." And they were stubborn enough not to let the tragedies define who they were. "Tell me something about you," she said.
"Me?" The Angosian asked slightly surprised. "Oh, uh," She laughed as she tried to think of what to say. "My story is pretty boring. I was raised in San Fransisco." Not a lie. "My parents died when I was little."
"How old were you?" Jayna asked. "When your parents died?"
"I honestly don't know." Tallida replied easily. "According to records, I was found when I was two but nothing is really known before then." she smiled. It wasn't a hard subject for her. Merriam was all the mother she needed so the rest was just facts.
"In some ways that's a good thing," Jayna said. She was grateful she had eleven years with her parents before they were killed. "What led you to become a counselor?"
"I'm not," Talli started. "I am actually a doctor with a specialty in clinical psychology. Counseling is ironically outside my wheel house, but it gives me a chance to do something new." She took a sip of her tea. "How about you? What led you to be in intel?"
"So a PhD in Psychology?" Jayna asked before answering. "My parents were part of a Bajoran resistance cell. Being twins, my sister and I were taught how to gather information. One would get the information and the other would be somewhere public so we always had an alibi. No one outside the cell knew we were twins. So, when we got older, it wad ingrained. I chose intelligence and my sister went into security."
"M.D. actually" Tallida corrected softly. "I am a medical doctor, I guess a psychiatrist would have been the term." She looked over the women who was only a few years younger than her. "So, is there anything in particular you want to chat about? I see no reason to not sign you off as fit for duty." she grinned.
Yes, Psychiatrist was the proper term. "No, I have nothing further," Jayna said, returning the smile.
"Well, you are welcome to come by for a cup of tea any time." Tallida replied as she set her cup down on the table next to her.
"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind," Jayna said. "Thanks."
A Joint Post By
Warrant Officer Mira Jayna
Infiltration Specialist, USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Tallida Ovaa
Chief Counselor, USS Pioneer
RSS Feed