Novel Nonchalance

Posted on Mon Feb 8th, 2010 @ 2:14pm by Ensign Velia Moretti & Lieutenant JG Hannah Andeti

Mission: Episode 1.1 - "Now Boarding"
Location: USS Pandora; Library
Timeline: MD03, 1130

Velia finally found the library, still trying to rid herself of the discomfort of her encounter with Myrin. Oddly, under the vexation, she was a little proud of herself. It hadn't been the worst experience of her life, and maybe it was a foot forward on the path to making a slight change in the thickness of her armor. She greeted the librarian on duty refraining from asking why they'd made the place so hard to find. A brief perusing of the spines in the fiction section brought her to a surprisingly worn copy of Madame Bovary. Velia smiled. Many people were horrified by the actions of the young Emma, but not Velia. The faithfulness with which the heroine pursued the life she knew she was destined for was admirable, even if the means were less justifiable. She settled into a seat and opened the book. Page one.

The silence of the library was surprising to Hannah as she wandered in a few minutes later. It seemed as though even the hum of the ship had been muffled and she glanced around at the stacks of books. Entering fully the doors slid closed behind her and she nodded a smile towards the librarian who was on duty. For a moment she tried to put herself in his shoes and wondered how he could manage it. Sometimes she found the isolation of counseling hard to take as the crew around her explored planets and solved problems that she had no part in, but this man would be even more isolated than she. It was not a job she would have ever wanted.

Wandering into the fiction section, Hannah was surprised to find that she was not alone. She had wondered if she would run into Aris again, but it wasn't Aris who sat reading through a well loved book in front of the stacks. Quietly, Andeti moved around the woman, hoping not to disturb her as she reached past her and pulled a copy of Omar Khayyam's poetry from the shelf. It was a collection she had always loved, but had somehow never found a copy to add to her own collection. She felt the young woman look up and smiled at her, but didn't try to catch her in conversation.

Velia marked her place with her finger, trying her best to return Andeti's easy smile. "Khayyam huh? Interesting choice Counselor." Velia had dabbled a bit in poetry reading in her time, though most of it she found droll and romanticized. "I was always more of a Poe fan myself."

The counselor looked at her, surprised at her decision to speak. She had pegged Velia as someone who usually wanted to be left alone with her books, but Hannah smiled blandly. "Funny, I've always found Poe to be a bit romantic. Dark, of course, but romantic in the what we leave behind, sort of way. I like the way Khayyam deals with the concept of time in his writing. Not exactly a common theme for poetry." And a fairly appropriate topic considering her current situation, she realized. "So what are you reading?"

"Madame Bovary," Velia held it up to illustrate, curious to see the reaction of the counselor. She twinged with discomfort at Hannah's picking up on her thoughts, but wouldn't hold it against her. Velia'd often wondered why there weren't more Betazoids in Intelligence work. They had a valuable natural asset.

Hannah nodded, catching sight of the title. "It's well written even if its character's morals are . . . less than admirable." She admitted.

"I think everyone has a part of them where they wish that they had the freedom to be what and who they wanted in a way that we don't often get to." A sparkle appeared in Velia's eye. "Even Mr. Khayyam understands the pull of the carefree side; 'In the presence of flowers, my resolve simply went
In such company, I only regret that I ever resolved to repent.' At least, that's what it says to me."

The counselor smiled, envious of the Ensign's remarkable memory. "Yes," she nodded, agreeing with her interpretation. "But there's carefree and then there's callousness and disloyalty." She shrugged, with a wry look. "She's an interesting character and I like her but . . . well, maybe I've just dealt with the consequences of people's carelessness too often," she said at last.

Velia nodded. "Ah. Tell me something Lieutenant ... do you suppose that self service is an affliction primarily suffered by humans? Vulcans cling to their logic, Klingons to their honor, and Betazoids have their whole group dynamic. I can think of only a few other races that base decisions on how far ahead it puts them individually."

Hannah considered this question for a moment. "But that is a particular instinct that humans seem to feel the need to fight." She smiled. "While Klingons cling to their honor as a source of identity humans seem to feel that their ability to rise above individualism is what makes them unique. I would say the Q are a vastly more individualistic and self-serving species than humans. What makes you think it is what defines your species?"

Answering Hannah's question with a half smirk, Velia cleared her throat. "I'd like to meet the humans you've based your opinion off of. Maybe I've just dealt with the repercussions of my species ego boosting tendencies one too many times. Show me an altruistic human, and I'll show you someone who either has a hidden agenda or a mental handicap."

The counselor found the woman's pessimistic attitude towards her own species a bit sad. "I lived on Earth for almost ten years," she explained. "And while humans certainly can be self-serving, I don't think that is your dominant trait, or is in anyway unique to your people. A Klingon who seeks honour may do so to the detriment of others in his species. And I think there's a reason why most human religions preach self-sacrifice, the promotion of oneself through humility . . . a general tendency for you to reject those more reptilian aspects of yourselves."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to turn this into a philosophical discussion." Velia shifted in her seat.

Hannah smiled and laughed a little. "Not at all, it's interesting to hear such a negative opinion of humanity from a member of the species. I can't imagine how you would feel about Betazoids if you knew more about us."

Now it was Velia's turn to chuckle. "Is there a manual for that? Do you have any suggested reading?" She tried to lighten the mood a bit. There was no way she could help Hannah to understand why she felt as she did. Well there was but she wasn't about to give the counselor a map to the stash of memories in her mind. Growing up in a strict Catholic household Velia understood the concept of guilt and penance. She also had first hand knowledge of how easy it was to take the teachings of a church and form them to suit one's own needs. There was the face that one showed to the masses ... and then there was the face that was kept hidden and suppressed. She wondered if Betazoids had that kind of dimension to themselves. Being a telepathic species couldn't leave much room for cover ups and deceit.

Hannah laughed with her. "Hardly. But it's not exactly a mystery why many species don't like us. We are a bit . . . nosy when it comes to other peoples' business. Maybe that's what makes so many of us become counselors." She smiled, showing that it was a joke at her own expense.

Velia shook her head. "So it's not some ingrained need to aid others in the process of self awareness?" she raised an eyebrow. "Why did you become a counselor? Join Starfleet in general?" 'We're opposite sides of the same coin' thought Velia. 'Searchers of the Truth'. It sounded like a cheesy science fiction series.

The counselor laughed. "That's a bit complicated actually. I had a sister who had some mental problems and in trying to help her I became interested in psychology. I was working on a PhD in the subject but . . . well, she had always wanted to join Starfleet, so I thought by joining myself I might be able to help people like her." It was her standard answer. "It doesn't seem like much of a mystery why you joined intelligence: out to prove the deep dark motives of other humans?" It was a joke but Hannah hoped the woman would give her an honest answer about her decision to join Starfleet. For someone so introverted it had seemed like an odd choice.

"Not just humans," Velia explained. "If it were limited to my own species, I would have joined a police force or military branch on Earth. No, I guess for me, I'm not looking for the proof of the deception of others. I've experienced it. What I'm looking for is the disproof. I want to know why so many underhanded shadowed things exist. Can anything on a large scale be done in an upfront and honest manner? I just ... I don't understand it. So, I guess the short answer after the long one is ... I joined in the pursuit of knowledge."

Hannah smiled. "Did you ever consider becoming a counselor? Individual ambitions would probably be easier to discover and translate in that profession."

Velia looked at the counselor like she was daft. "I started out in psychology. I had a ... well a family member who had this ability to overlook things that should have affected her." Yet another reason Velia had for her intense dislike of monotheological teachings. Her mother had cloaked herself deeply in her faith in an attempt to ward off any sign of feelings about her father's philandering... and other even less admirable facets of his personality. "Don't you remember asking me that when ..." Velia trailed off. When HAD Hannah asked her that? It seemed like she had but now Velia couldn't recall any sort of solid memory. "Hmm," Velia shook off the deja vu. "Must have been someone else."

The counselor was surprised by her candor. "What made you transfer into Intelligence?"

"The fact that one of the unmoving guidelines of psychology is that you cannot tell anyone anything that they haven't told you themselves, for starters. It seemed ridiculous to me. The point of counseling is to help people come to terms with things they may not realize, or to get them to a point where they figure out avenues of coping that they hadn't considered. How are you supposed to do that effectively if you can only parrot back their own comments? It's redundant. Also, I found that most people who actively seek counseling aren't interested in getting help, they're looking for validation. The ones that Starfleet counselor are assigned that don't want counseling do everything in their power to make the experience unpleasant, and that's just as annoying." Velia glanced at Hannah. "It's not that I have a problem with counselors," she tried to explain, "just with the limitations placed upon them. It's just not for everyone." This was usually the part where people became offended or exasperated with her bluntness.

"So Intelligence was the natural alternative." Hannah nodded but didn't speak for a moment. These were all accurate criticisms of her profession and although she could get past them, she could see other, more hard headed officers having difficulty with them.

"It just seemed a little more free," Velia attempted. It wasn't often that she disliked giving her opinion, but Hannah seemed like one of those people who were truly dedicated to what they did; and the family aspect of it made it personal. She could understand that much of it. "But I also think that officers ... and people in general ... should be thankful that there are those out there who are committed to helping, regardless of how difficult it can be. I respect that." Her reasons for trying to appease the counselor were twofold. Velia honestly did find Hannah to be refreshing company ... and she didn't want the woman to be soured on her to the point that she'd be required to see Myrin for her required evaluations.

Hannah was surprised a little by the woman's dissembling, but appreciated that she seemed to care what the counselor thought. "Thank you, it's nice to know what we do is appreciated." She smiled a little awkwardly. She respected Intelligence just as much, but thought that following up Velia's compliment with one of her own would sound forced, at best. "I really hate to break this up, but I should probably get back to unpacking."

'Oh thank God' Velia thought. "Of course." She nodded and picked her book back up. "It ... well ... glad you came over to the Pandora Lieutenant," she said quickly before returning her attention back to the pages in front of her.

"Thank you for the very . . . enlightening discussion." Book in hand Hannah returned to the front of the library. Her meeting with Velia had been pleasant and the counselor hoped that it would not be their last.

End

by

Ensign Velia Moretti
Intelligence Officer
USS Pandora

and

Lieutenant JG Hannah Andeti
Chief Counselor
USS Pandora