State Of Mind

Posted on Sun Nov 18th, 2012 @ 3:22pm by Lieutenant Elizabeth Lynn

Mission: Heart of an Explorer
Location: USS Iapetus - Counselor's Office
Timeline: MD42 0900hrs

Following his medical examination on the previous day, Ensign Thryskal had been left with much to do. Before checking into its new temporary living quarters, the Insectoid made use of the Iapetus's mess hall to eat a well deserved meal. After that, it took the time to rest comfortably for several hours. When it awoke from its slumber several hours later, the Ensign did as the Doctor suggested and booked itself an appointment to meet with the Counselor of the ship. It was best just to get that out of the way while it still had the time to do so.

When it was morning shortly before 0900 hours, Thryskal made its way down to deck seven. The appointment it had set up the day before had been approved for today. With the computer's help, the Ensign was able to locate the Counselor's office on deck seven and it made its way there promptly under escort by two security officers. The presence of the officers didn't bother it. It was evident that the Captain and the ship's Executive Officer needed to confirm its story before it would be allowed to roam freely on the ship. As the Ensign did not lie about what happened, it wasn't terribly bothered with being followed closely. The truth would come out with time.

A few minutes after setting out from its quarters, Thryskal arrived just outside the Counselor's office. It activated the door chime on the computer panel beside the door and then waited to be allowed to enter. It didn't expect that this session would last very long.

"Come," came the slightly higher pitched voice of the Counselor. The doors complied with the order, gliding quickly apart to allow the Ensign entry. The guards who had followed behind took up positions on either side of the door to allow the Counselor and her patient the privacy that was due her office and the nature of the visit.

"Ensign Thryskal, I believe," Elizabeth said from behind her desk, "Please make yourself comfortable."

The Ensign looked from side to side as it entered the room in an effort to take in its new surroundings. While the Iapetus was a friendly place, it was important to the Insectoid to be familiar with everything around it. The Counselor's office was pretty much what Thryskal expected it to be. <"Counselor,"> it finally greeted. <"Doctor Tenebroso asked me to be evaluated in light of recent events."> It then moved to one of the empty seats and sat down carefully enough as not to sit on its gaster.

"I see," Lt. Lynn said more to herself than to Thryskal. The tone that carried through the universal translator was far from last on the counselor. This patient, much like all the more humanoid ones she worked with, seldom found the point in good mental health. If Liz was to be honest, she didn't see much of a point in it at times herself despite having made it her life. If nothing else, she could meet pretty much everyone on equal footing.

"It says here you were trapped in an escape pod for... some inordinate amount of time..." the counselor skimmed the information rather abruptly, only vocalizing parts that seemed relevant, "And now you're being scrutinized because the upper echelons aren't sure whether to believe you or not..."

Liz tossed the PADD on the desk and leaned back in her chair, "I can tell by your posture alone you're none too thrilled about being here. Don't worry, I'm far from offended. I'm more interested in finding out exactly what was going through your mind while you were in the pod. What exactly were you feeling up until the time you finally got rescued?"

It wasn't too difficult for Thryskal to look back on its time in the escape pod. It had only been about a day or two since the Ensign was rescued by the fine officers of the Iapetus. It was easy to go back to the feelings it felt at the time. Although the Insectoid didn't really agree with one of the Counselor's statements.

<"I am afraid that you misinterpret the way that I present myself,"> informed the Ensign. <"While it is true that I would rather be doing something constructive with my time, I have accepted that meeting with you today is my simple duty as commanded by the Doctor and the Captain. I do what I must do. What is asked of me.">

Thryskal paused for a moment as it began to go through the events over the last while. <"I do not know how long I was in the escape pod. The chronometer in the pod's computer was damaged from the Mjolnir's destruction. After a time I lost count of the days... and the time completely."> The Insectoid shook its head slightly from side to side as if it was a bit disappointed in itself. <"I shouldn't have given up so easily. As time passed it became easier for me to become more angry and frustrated. I believed that I had failed my people. I didn't think that I would ever be rescued.">

Liz picked up another PADD and made a notation in it before speaking again, "Prolonged confinement does tend to play with one's sense of time. As far as that is concerned, I wouldn't advise you put much more thought into that. I haven't met a case study yet that shows a patient is able to keep accurate accounting of time in similar situations. I would, however, like to address your self-admonishment for giving up. From what I can tell, you managed to get yourself rescued, that's a triumph all its own given the circumstances. Why would you think you've failed your people?"

Like the previous question, this one was easy to answer as well. <"The Xindi Council appointed several of our race... a group comprised of Primates, Arboreals, Reptilians, Aquatics and Insectoids. We were placed in a program co-organized with Starfleet that allowed us to join Starfleet. Our history with Earth clouds the judgement of some towards us. Or so they believe. The Council is interested in knowing if applying for Federation membership in the future would be a wise course of action. As I believed that I would not be able to continue that mission, while trapped inside my escape pod, I surmised that I had failed my people.">

"And you consider your individual contributions to this project to be of great significance?" Lieutenant Lynn asked in an oddly neutral tone.

<"Of course,"> answered the Xindi. <"There are only a handful of us in Starfleet which makes it all the more important. Our reports will be analyzed by researchers and psychologists for years to come. The future of the Xindi people is at stake."> Thryskal paused to contemplate the young woman's question further. It had hardly moved or changed its posture during the session thus far. <"Wouldn't you feel that you were doing something significant if the leaders of your race entrusted you to be their ambassador within a vast alliance of worlds?">

"I'm only half-Klingon," Liz answered his question flatly, "Neither humans nor Klingons hold me in high regard for the same reasons people don't look at your own very kindly."

Lt. Lynn shifted in her chair for a moment, "How likely do you think it is that you might have died on the Mjolnir before ever reaching an escape pod? Have you considered that the mere fact that you survived when many others did not is, in all actuality, a very unlikely event to begin with? Does that thought impact your opinion of your ordeal in the life pod at all?"

Thryskal took a moment or two to mull the Counselor's words in its head. <"If you mean that I should consider myself lucky, I do. I have lost my colony of colleagues. Those that accepted me in their midst. Insectoids have short life spans. We only live for about twelve or fifteen years. We cherish and act on every moment that is available to us. I suppose... that if you believe in fate or destiny that my survival may have occurred for a reason. As I believe in neither I can only attribute my continued existence to being at the right place at the right time.">

Liz nodded and made another annotation in her PADD, "How do you feel about being followed around the ship. Protocol aside, as an individual... do you find it repugnant to have your integrity questioned simply because you just so happened to live through a tragedy and others did not?"

<"Being escorted by security does not bother me. I am a guest here,"> answered the Ensign. <"I find it... curious though, that they do not fully believe me. However, in the same vein, nobody knows of me here. The Captain would not be doing his job adequately if he didn't have someone verify my claims.">

Another annotation in the PADD before Lt. Lynn continued, "Have you contacted your people, informed them you are alive and well?"

It wasn't until after his appointment with Doctor Tenebroso on the previous day that it actually found out what the Stardate was. Although the Ensign still lacked sufficient information to know how long it'd actually been gone. One thing was certain, it's report to the Xindi Council was a little late. <"Not yet,"> the Insectoid informed the woman. <"However, it is a task that I will endeavor to complete very soon.">

Liz nodded a few times before setting the PADD down, "From what I can gather, you are in as good a shape mentally as one would be given your situation. I see no reason why you can't be put to work and perhaps given a little leg room. I'll send my findings to the Captain and we'll see what he thinks. In the mean time, if you feel the need to chat, please make another appointment. I won't, however, put you on the schedule as I'm not seeing any real need for it. Sound good, Ensign?"

While Thryskal was a little troubled with the loss of its former friends aboard the Mjolnir, it was forced to concur with the Counselor's findings about itself. In the end, duty was everything to it and that was all that mattered. It could not spend an excessive amount of time dwelling on the things or people that were now gone. If anything, Thryskal was in fact eager to have something constructive to do. <"Thank you for your time Counselor Lynn. It is much appreciated."> said the Ensign as it stood from its seat and then bowed slightly.

"Anytime you need me, Ensign," Elizabeth gave the Insectoid her most charming of smiles. Though it was likely wasted on the creature, it was a habit that she'd spent too long developing to stop simply because pleasantries were irrelevant to her patient.

As the counselling session was now over, Thryskal exited from Lieutenant Lynn's Office. The Ensign was met once again by the two security officers who had been charged to watch over it. With its first task of the day complete, the Insectoid really didn't have any idea what it was to do next. It assumed that it would be sent back to its quarters for now. <"Ensign, what is my next destination?"> Thryskal asked one of the men.

"We're to bring you back to your quarters for now," replied the security officer. "Commander Walex has notified us to escort you to the Observations Lounge at 1100 Hours to take part in a meeting with some of the senior staff."

Thryskal began to wonder if any of the suspicions against its mysterious arrival in the Delta Quadrant had already been put to rest by the Captain. Regardless if it had or not, it was most curious with what this meeting was going to be about. The Ensign knew, to a certain degree, that the Iapetus was currently involved in some kind of mission with the residents of the planet they were orbiting. Maybe it was going to be prudent for the Insectoid to do a bit of research in the hour or so it had available before the meeting.

<"Very well,"> it finally said. <"Take me to my quarters."> There was much to do and not alot of time to do it in. Thryskal would make do with what it had available. There was no time to waste, especially if the crew of the Iapetus were going to be counting on it to take part in the current mission.