Healing?

Posted on Thu Oct 22nd, 2020 @ 8:52am by Commodore Phoenix Lalor-Richardson

Mission: SEASON 4: Episode 1: Know Thy Self!
Location: DS16 counseling Offices
Timeline: MD7 - Sometime in the afternoon
604 words - 1.2 OF Standard Post Measure

The counselling office was dimly lit, at the request of the patient. Counsellor Miranda Harriman sat watching the woman, who normally would be wearing a captain’s uniform, but was dressed in jeans and tank top. It made her look way younger than the 27 years she knew the Erisian female to be.

Phoenix Lalor sat back on the couch and let her gaze fix on the coffee table.

They had been sitting in silence for 15 minutes of the 45 minute session. Aside from a greeting, Phoenix had not said a word.

Miranda knew how to wait. So she was waiting, watching the calm face before her. She knew that the captain had suffered a trauma, in fact if you wanted to be polite about it, the last 7 months for this captain and her crew was very traumatic.

Eventually as the chorno clicked over the 25th minute of silence Phoenix spoke. “I am not ready to talk about it.”

Miranda nodded and waited,

“I do not know if I ever will be ready to talk about it.” Phoenix admitted. “So much happened in so short a period of time…” she took a breath. “And its overwhelming.”

Miranda did not take any notes she was just there to listen. And it seemed that listening would suffice in this situation.

Phoenix lapsed back into silence. This time her fingers were tracing idle patterns on the jeans. Miranda noted that at first they were circles and then geometric lines and then her fingers stilled.

Miranda looked up at the face of the Captain Lalor and noted that for the first time since entering, her eyes were not a calm façade. They were showing emotion. Which, Miranda was not sure. She had done her research on Erisians. Their eyes have a rather unique function - They change colour depending on their moods. More noticeably then in humans. For example, Brown eyes will go black if angry or amber if happy and laughing. Blue eyes will go Icy blue when angry, almost silver, and can go a deep-sea blue if happy. Human doctors have determined that this is a form of Heterochromia. Erisians just consider edit normal. Captain Lalor’s eyes were almost grey with flecks of blue in it like a storm-tossed sea, Emotional upheaval was most likely the cause.

They sat there for another 10 minutes while, Miranda noted that Phoenix was struggling now to keep the façade up.

With five minutes to go, Miranda chose to give the Captain an out. They had another 3 sessions booked and she knew it would take time for the captain to be able to speak about the traumas she had faced and that her crew had witnessed. “Captain.. you know you can leave this office at any time right?”

Phoenix nodded.

“Okay, so why don’t you go take a break and I will see you at our next appointment. You should find a holodeck and relax on it, or go to the Arboretum on the Station.”

Phoenix stood and nodded. “Thank you counsellor. “

“Its what I am here for” Miranda stood as well and escorted the Captain out of the office.

She watched the woman leave in silence and noted that she greeted several of her officers as she moved through the halls, pausing here and there to speak with them in soft tones, and, Miranda noted, offer reassuring smiles and touches as she did so. Maybe Phoenix Lalor was not ready to talk about it, but she was ready to stand with her crew and be there for them, and that, Miranda knew, was a major step in healing.