Tempus Praeteritus

Posted on Sat Nov 3rd, 2018 @ 2:53am by Commander Rita Paris & Ensign Avendar Jurot

Mission: Hera v Hera
Location: USS Hera, Deck 12, Chief Counselor's Office
Timeline: 2395, cleanup on Meroset 347

Time had passed, and while she had tended to a great number of other duties, there was still a rotating guard on the as-yet-not-debriefed Ensign Jurot, under her orders. While there were others more qualified, and others who could bear the responsibility, First Officers didn’t shirk duties. Whatever had happened to Jurot, she had certainly changed, and someone had to either clear her for duty or recommend her transfer.

Which ‘someone’ was looking an awful lot like Lieutenant Commander Rita Paris.

Visiting Jurot in her quarters might ordinarily be a more comfortable atmosphere for her, except that if circumstance were to be believed, those quarters were all new to her as well. Professionalism indicated a neutral ground, so Paris chose the Chief Counselor’s Office on Deck 12. Given that the last meeting she’d had with the woman was there, it lent some circularity to the cycle that Rita found appealing, and it seemed a logical choice.

Thus when the security officer escorting the Counselor delivered her to the office, Paris dismissed him. Whatever was going on, Jurot had been a model counselor for the past few days and had given no one any trouble, so it was time to give her a little breathing room and make the recommendation. Which meant a frank conversation had to come to pass. Rising, she offered a handshake to the Betazoid beauty.

“Take a seat wherever you like, Miss Jurot. I know we’ve met, but harrowing circumstances being what they are… I’m Rita Paris, first officer of the Hera.”

The Betazoid accepted the offered hand. "Thank you for taking the time to meet with me Commander Paris. I haven't had the opportunity to thank you for rescuing me. And, if it's not a breach of protocol, please call me Avendar." She smiled broadly.

“It isn’t, but this is an official report, so I’d prefer to keep it professional if it’s all the same. So,” Paris gestured broadly as there were a number of seats about, and she had chosen one on a couch to not take a commanding position. “Have a seat, and let’s start from the beginning. You mentioned the last thing you recall is being on the USS Hood, is that correct?”

Jurot sat in one of the many chairs. "Wow, this is a big office! Commander, I was aboard the USS Nobel, an Oberth class hospital ship where I am... was... one of the counseling team. We were in orbit around Azyek VI, where we'd stopped a large epidemic of plasma flu. I was one of many wounded when the Azyekian fringe group that released the virus tried to stop us from treating members of the ruling congress."

The counselor shifted uncomfortably in her chair. There was a doctor in sickbay 3 where I was recovering that I'd never seen before. She was very beautiful, and I sensed she was hiding something. I also sensed that she was very, very old. She turned to look in my direction, and the next thing I remember was waking up in a prison. I tried to reach out with my mind to discover a clue to my whereabouts, but my telepathic ability was gone. I felt intense pain, and passed out. When I awoke, there was an old woman bringing me food, then a Minotaur. A few hours later, you broke through the door."

"Since then you've had a security detail attached to you, because we haven't debriefed you and we weren't certain if you were a danger. So I'm going to come clean, Miss Jurot." The officer in the anachronistic uniform leaned forward in her chair, knees tightly together. "The best we've been able to piece together is that you were possessed by a probe of one of the titans that are awakening- powerful godlike alien entities that are ancient and powerful who have been dormant or imprisoned, but are making a comeback."

The blonde paused to run her fingers through her asymmetrical bob cut to sweep the hair out of her eyes, then held her hands out before her. "I know this sounds a bit far-fetched, but the being who freed you is the goddess Hera, who had enslaved the planet we freed you from. But she claims it was Gaia who had possessed you- or some tiny sliver of her sentience, at least. Gods and titans end elder beings of the universe have become a problem, it seems, and you've been dragged into the middle of it."

"For what small comfort it may be, I'm genuinely sorry this has happened to you, Counselor." Paris was earnest as she spoke the words, because she understood what it was to lose your life in a second, and have to adapt to an all new one while crippled by loss.

"Gaia," Avendar repeated. "I never heard of her." She thought for a moment, then shook her head. "I've lost over a year of my life, and transferred to a warship of some kind, and somehow..." A tear formed in her left eye, despite her attempt to stop it. "Do you think this 'Gaia' could be responsible for the loss of some of my abilities?"

Grabbing the box of tissues on one of the end tables, Paris got up and sat next to the counselor. "That's one theory. Another is that the shock of having her driven out of you may have short-circuited them, and you can reboot them. Or it might be that you retrain them. Again, we don't know for certain. But those patterns and neural pathways still exist in your brain according to your scans, so the possibility is there. So there's hope- it may just take some time."

"Time." The Auburn haired Betazoid smiled sadly. "I never saw time as an issue, really. Now it scares me. What if this 'Gaia' comes back?" She grabbed a tissue as the tears started to flow more openly.

This was a far cry from the woman who boasted that she could casually rewrite your brain. This was a very broken traveler, and Rita knew what that was like too well.

"Then we’ll deal with it together, Miss Jurot, now that we know what’s happening. I know this is awful. There's nothing we can do about the chunk of your life that's just gone, though I wish there were. What we can do is help you in the here and now. This is a warship... I'm afraid you're right there," Paris admitted regretfully. "But we have a lot of good people on this starship who go through an awful lot of bad experiences. Like you. And I can tell you from experience, they could really use someone to talk to. Somebody who cares, who can help them frame the experience and find coping mechanisms."

"It might not be the assignment you wanted nor asked for nor were given much of a choice. And the captain has said that you can transfer if you wish, and we'll happily deliver you as close to your destination as we can. But we're a bunch of travelers just like you. We've all lost something, we've all got just enough damage to make us interesting, and we all lead somewhat traumatic lives. We need you, Counselor." The woman was nothing but honest, forthright and earnest the entire time. She meant every word she said, and her intentions were pure. Her expressed regret matched true regret in her heart. She was, for lack of a better term, genuine.

Ensign Jurot looked at her superior officer. "It's nice to feel needed." She sighed. "I'm here- now- Commander. I can't go back. I can't get my time back. If the Hera needs me, then I will serve the Hera." She smirked for a moment. "I should look at the bright side- apparently I was awarded the D.O.G for Azyek VI." She tried to smile, but she felt it was half-hearted.

“We do need you, Avender. And I think you just might need us, too. We’ll do whatever we can to make you comfortable and help you settle in, and I swear we’ll do all we can to prevent you from ever experiencing that ever again. We have some very able doctors and scientists on this starship, and you are one of us, now. We protect our own… right?” Wrapping a shoulder hug around that of her shipmate, Paris knew it was a breach of professional etiquette. But she’d been there herself, and she surely would have appreciated a hug in such a moment. Sometimes a bit of... sentient contact was what was called for, and Ensign Jurot had been hit pretty hard by the universe on this one.

Ensign Avendar Jurot accepted the hug, and hugged Paris back. Even with her senses reduced, she felt the sincerity of her superior officer. She let her tears flow, and cried on Paris' shoulder- two women out of time. Fellow travelers in a strange and wonderful universe, aboard the USS Hera