Patricidal Issues

Posted on Sun Nov 11th, 2018 @ 12:45am by Commander Rita Paris & Captain Enalia Telvan & Ensign Avendar Jurot

Mission: Escaped Pantheons
Location: USS Hera, deck 8, VIP quarters #11
Timeline: 2395

It would appear that Counselor Avender Jurot could not sleep, since she was sending out messages at 03:13 hours. At 05:00 when Rita Paris awoke, she saw the message, and had time to consider it as she started her day. Dressing in the bodysuit that comprised the pressure suit of the EVA armor, the Starfleet siren kissed Sonak on the cheek as she left. The kolinahr master did not offer to accompany the lost navigator, because he knew she desired time apart to process her emotions and plans on her own, which he respected. After all, while they had come together as one, still they were individuals, which was part of their strength.

Five minutes later Rita was suited up in the full MACO EVA armor, her own particular command yellow with the antique starburst pattern on the chest. She still didn't care for the fact that the modern command uniforms were red. Why had they changed it? She loved her gold uniform, and if the new uniforms weren't going to be something to be ashamed of wearing, she was going to have to adapt to the times. Which meant bright red and black for her- no more gold. She was command, and nowadays command wore red.

All of which had nothing to do with her current problem.

"Computer, a realtime representation of Starfleet Academy's running trail please. Other joggers as well, if you would." As the requested terrain materialized in the holosuite, Rita finished her stretches. "Thank you, Computer."

=^= You're welcome, Lieutenant Commander Paris =^=

Running the trail, Rita debated the pros and cons. Confronting Hera might get Jurot some peace of mind. Or it might present more questions than it answered. It might prepare her better for another confrontation with such powers. She might be more sensitive to them now. There were literally millions of possibilities, and they could be good or bad. The facts were immutable, however.

Ensign Jurot wanted to face off with Hera and ask her some questions.

While a potentially dangerous request, it was not an unreasonable request.

It could be very good for Jurot.

Hera was Paris' responsibility, and the more of the crew that she interacted with the harder it was going to be to keep Hera from enacting some mastermind immortal scheme that would leave them all endangered and the Captain looking at one person as the cause, and it wouldn't be Hera.

Rita was also protective of the crew, wanting to shield them from harm, because that was a responsibility of command, drilled into her since the Academy.

Tampering with forces beyond her comprehension bothered Rita.

Offering. She'd made an offering to a goddess.

Right now, the armored avenger was still standing there at the beginning of the trail, ready to press herself and the holographically-reproduced power-assisted armor to cover some ground. Taking the first few experimental steps to adapt to the muscular assists, within seconds Paris was charging up the trail at a superhuman speed. Bringing Hera aboard had been a gamble, but it was because Rita believed that there had to be a better way. She could keep an eye out for treachery, but looking for it in every action was not the way to diplomatically court an ally.

Hopefully Avendar Jurot would learn something that would bring her peace.

Chief Counselor Avendar Jurot lay in her very comfortable bed. Aboard her last assignment, she slept in a cot in a barracks area with other counselors. She wasn't used to this at all. This may be a warship, but it's almost like a civilian luxury cruiser, she thought. The ships clock said it was 04:30. In less than three hours, she would be speaking with a Goddess from Terra's ancient past.

She hadn't slept a wink.



Hera, for her part, had spent the night meditating and contemplating her new surroundings. While they had restricted the movements of her physical form, they had not restricted her astral form. So she was now silently exploring the ship which bore her name as it left the Meroset system, and headed towards its scheduled rendezvous with the Odin's Breath, her soon to be permanent home. She had no way to interact with anything, and she couldn't call her physical body through those static fields around her quarters- not that she would violate the pact that she had agreed to as their prisoner, but she could at least learn a bit more about this fine vessel that was named for her.

And the more she learned, the more she was proud to have been brought low by this ship and crew. It truly lived up to her name in all respects, and through unity proved far stronger than she could have dreamed. Even her personal vessel wouldn't have stood a chance against this starship, and she guessed that if she challenged this Captain Telvan to a game of wits, she might be the one losing.

When she decided to visit the command center of this mighty powerhouse, it was a bit difficult to reach for some reason and when she got there, she found that all the consoles were hidden to her. The people using them could see them, but to her astral form, they were hidden, unlike on the rest of the ship. To think that the Federation had developed such tricks...

Then she saw the Captain. As she stepped onto the bridge she should have been a normal mortal, but there was a double aura around her that compounded the woman to a degree that almost hurt.

Then Enalia Telvan paused in her walk from the turbolift to her ready room and looked up from her PaDD to glare at Hera's astral form.

The shock of what should be a normal mortal doing so, and with such an aura piercing into her shocked Hera out of her meditation, snapping her back into her own body. Panting breathlessly, she reached for a glass of water and drank a little as she tried to get her breath back, her parched lips at least a little refreshed. Just who was the captain of this ship?

Hera knew one thing - she wouldn't dare cross her.



Outside the VIP quarters on deck 8 at 06:52, the minidress-clad Rita Paris paced, a PaDD in her hand and worry on her mind. While she had considered going in first and briefing or trying to reason with Hera to take it easy on the already-rattled counselor, that wasn't giving either woman enough credit. While responsibility weighed heavily on the first officer, she also understood that some things had to be faced without a control element, and she was already being enough of a mother hen by being present for the meeting.

Reminding Goddesses to mind their manners and be gentle with shipmates who had lost a year of their lives to being possessed by another powerful galactic entity was definitely not covered in Diplomacy 101, back in John Gill's class back at the Academy 142 years ago. But Rita was nothing if not adaptable, and she'd see this through, because she'd come to the conclusion that this confrontation was important to Jurot, and she needed to be supported right now. To find some stability underneath her in a universe that had gone a little mad on her.

The two beefy security officers guarding the door watched the gold-clad commander of another age pace, and said nothing. Partially neither wanted to engage the first officer, and partially she looked a bit worked up and neither wanted to engage a conversation with a line officer building up a head of steam. Instead, they waited patiently for her to ask to enter- which wasn't gong to happen until Ensign Jurot arrived.

At 0655, Chief Counselor Avendar Jurot arrived at the door behind which sat a Goddess. She was dressed in her duty uniform, and her face was one of solemn determination. Using what Betazoid gifts she still possessed, she did her best to focus her mind on the Now.

"Thank you for agreeing to accompany me, Commander," Avendar said. "Yet, again, I am in your debt."

"Not in the least, Miss Jurot. Hera is my responsibility while she's aboard, and as a security precaution no one is ever alone with her. Gentlemen, stand to. Authorization Paris, Rita, L-T-C-D-R, 8675309." The door then chimed.

=^= Who is your favorite transformer? =^= the computer inquired.

"Bumblebee," Paris replied, and the computer chirruped once more.

=^= Dual identification process complete =^= the computer reported as the door slid open.

"Gentlemen," Paris nodded to the security officers as she led the way, Jurot close behind.

Hera was sitting in one of the more comfortable chairs, a glass of wine in front of her. Glancing up and seeing Paris and Jurot entering, she smiled and waved to the pair. "It's good to see you again. I see you brought the one that was infested with the sliver of Gaia with you this time. I'm glad you're feeling a bit better. I trust you're no longer screaming in your sleep?"

"Great Hera, thank you for granting me an audience," Jurot said. "I've come to ask you about that very topic: Gaia."

"And reverent too..." Hera was clearly impressed at the small respect that the counselor had paid her. It may have been flattery, but it gave her the slightest bit of energy and she couldn't ignore that so she smiled brightly and offered the two respite. "Please, sit and speak with me. I offer you what meager succor that I have and my ear is yours as I have nothing but time."

"Thank you, Great one. You've indicated that we've met, but I have no memory of that encounter, nor of the fourteen months preceding it," Avendar said, while sitting in a chair several feet from Hera. "I'm told I was possessed by a primordial being, and that you may be able to shed some light on what happened."

"You came before me under the control of one of the progenitors of my people, Gaia. I did my best to remove her sliver... Her mental probe, if you will... From your mind. I suspect that doing so has removed all memories with it." Hera tossed her head back and posed dramatically. "After all, I'm unforgettable and if you forgot our first meeting..." Turning to look back at Jurot, she frowned a bit. "And the fact that you survived speaks to why Gaia chose you. Your constitution and fortitude must be greater than I suspected."

"You flatter me, great Hera," Jurot said. "Apparently, she took total control of me, amplifying my abilities as well. All I remember of our meeting was being your prisoner. Since regaining my body, my Betazoid abilities have been all but eliminated."

Avendar stood. "So, no Hera, the screaming hasn't stopped. I haven't slept in days," she said, trying her best to keep her tone neutral, but failing.

Standing behind the counselor, Paris looked up sharply at that. She knew that the Betazoid counselor was having some trouble, but a lack of sleep for more than one night would lead to psychosis in short order. Which was precisely where no one wanted for her to end up- after having rescued her from Hera’s dungeons, Paris had been keeping an eye on the lost and lonely counselor, but she didn’t realize it was this bad. Hopefully this meeting bore some fruit, otherwise medical intervention was not far off.

But the fulsome first officer would prefer to see Jurot defeat her own demons if she could.

Hera stood as well, motioning for Avendar to come into her embrace. "Come here then, young one. I'll do what I can to sooth your burnt mind. I'm at least partially responsible for this, so it's my responsibility to help in your recovery."

Avendar reflexively jumped backward. She looked at Commander Paris, her eyes searching for guidance.

Pinching the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger, Rita Paris sighed. "You're the patron saint of mothers, and this is how you come on to the shellshocked empath?" Paris stepped up next to the counselor, sat down beside her, then made shooing motions at the ancient Grecian entity. "Come on 'goddess', a little decorum. Go siddown. Gwan, have a faint."

Hera, a bit miffed, returned to her seat and sulked a bit, staring out the window.

"So, Counselor. This is Hera, who drove the possessing entity out of your head the first time. She hasn't fought her captivity and she's been pretty beneficent so far. And I won't say this is without risk. But she's likely your best shot at 'unplugging your ears' as it were, honestly." Hopefully she's not doing it to harvest your telepathic energies, which if she is... she doesn't seem that determined to hurt the crew at least as far as I can tell. Guess I can live with that.

Gesturing to the goddess, Paris opened her hands and raised her palms. "It looks like she's sincere and wants to help. The choice is entirely yours, though. If you want to walk out, that's what we'll do. You want to ask her more questions, that's what we'll do. You want to let her try her hoodoo on you, that's what we'll do. This one is your choice, Miss Jurot."

Hera removed Gaia. She may help. But what if she has another motive? What if she's using me as a pawn in her game? Avendar thought.

"Great Hera, I am a counselor. My entire profession is built upon trust- both the trust of the patient in me, as well as my trust in the patient's sincerity. Since the possession, my inborn abilities have been muted," the Betazoid beauty said, sitting down again. "However, I am a Starfleet officer, trained on Betazed and Starfleet Academy to use my mind to help others. Perhaps I have relied too much on my birthright, and not enough on my training and my heart. Maybe it's time I begin to trust myself."

Avendar Jurot smiled. "Thank you for your very generous offer, Great One. However, I will endure and heal on my own."

Hera was still a bit put off, but she relaxed a bit with Avendar's reasoning. "Well, most mental scars do heal best when the patient works through them, after all. I wasn't very gentle when I tore Gaia's sliver from you and burnt it to a crisp though, hence my offer. I'm sure others aboard this magnificent vessel could do the same, if you don't trust me enough."

"And if you want a place to start back with your powers..." Hera turned back to Avendar, more serious. "Your mind has been asleep for over a year. Mortal minds are not made to sleep that long and you haven't had a chance to... Stretch your legs? So to speak, before I burnt you with my powers. As for your lost time, I'm sorry but those memories are gone."

"Well, I respect your decision, Counselor. Taking the hard road is often the most satisfying," Paris observed with a nod of respect. "So, do you have any further questions for Herself here? Anything you'd care to know from the ancient font of wisdom?"

"Yes," Jurot said. "Why would Gaia do this over a year before we encountered you? It seems too random."

"I've been back in this galaxy for over one hundred Merosian years. It took me that long to breed and build up my forces. Do you have any idea how long it takes for a minotaur to reach maturity? The average lifespan of a Merosian was over three hundred years when I met them. Reducing it back to sixty may be one of my regrets..." Hera mused over that one as she stared out the window again. "I know that those that made my return possible, and that are feeding the Titans energy are in the galactic core though, if that helps..."

"And?" Paris chimed in, the supercentenarian Starfleet space gal far less patient and flattering than Jurot, who clearly had a better grip on the situation. "Were you planning to share this knowledge, or was that just to tantalize us and build dramatic tension before the reveal?"

Hera looked back at the pair curiously. "I figured that that would have been one of the first things your intel types would have asked me if you didn't already know, but it wasn't. I assumed you already had an idea of why my people were returning from our long slumber among the aether. It happens to be the same cause. Of course, if you stop that source it won't stop the Titans returning - just more from being woken up."

"Important intelligence to be sure, but Azyek VI is on the other side of the galaxy. Why choose me? Why not say, a Captain or Fleet Admiral. Choosing a counselor on a hospital ship makes no logical sense," Avender said, standing and slowly starting to pace.

"It makes perfect sense," Hera corrected. "You have mental powers that no one else on the crew had and were in a position that could be easily ignored. When you're trying to hide a tree, do you hide it in a temple or do you hide it in a forest? The prior host of the sliver likely saw you as far more advantageous and far less likely to arouse suspicion so took you over."

This would imply she's precognitive, Avender thought.

"How casually cruel," Paris muttered with disdain. "So who's feeding all of this energy and why, Hera? Why are the titans out scouting the universe, and why have your people awakened again? Spell it out for the primitives in the room, if you will."

"That was actually one of the reasons I was building my forces up. My probes never returned. I just know they traced the source back towards the center of the galaxy and... Poof..." Hera pantomimed the poof with her hands, indicating that her probes were literally destroyed. "I'm not sure how much more simply I can spell that out for you. What little knowledge I have is nothing more than a heading from an Argonian Compass of Desire."

"Ah, come again?" Paris asked, unfamiliar with the terminology, which might be mythological or technological. Part of being perennially behind the times was that the antique Starfleet officer in near mint condition seldom understood precisely what was going on- she was just adapting as she went along. "Argonian Compass of Desire?"

"Ah, it's an old compass from myth," Hera waved one hand dismissively. "The simple explanation is that it points to whatever your heart desires most, but that's not important."

"Well, that's where we're headed," Paris offered with no small degree of satisfaction. "So if you have anything else to add, you might want to let us know. Because if we 'poof', so do you."

"Argonian... Argo.... wasn't the Argo a ship in Greek mythology?" Jurot mused.

"I remember Greece quite well... I loved the food there," Here reminisced, completely missing the point. "Rome was nice as well, but the food wasn't quite as memorable. The people were, though. In fact, Poseidon stole my quote that I had emblazoned on my main temple. Stole my minotaur idea too. I did get him back later though. And I guess I did steal a few of his ideas..."

"Hey!" Paris snapped her fingers in front of the goddess' face. "Focus. Remember? Galactic core? All your probes went poof? That's where we are going as we speak? Anything you'd care to add before this particular interview is over?" In her youth, Rita had often had conversations derailed by distractions, as she tried to get answers or make points only to have her father or brother ignore them to wander off on tangents, never actually answering her questions.

Listening the extraterrestrial despot who so casually mentioned reducing the lifespan of the inhabitants of a planet did nothing to endear her to Paris, and she wasn't really in the mood to hear the powerful alien being's travelogue of Ancient Greece. The Counselor had come for answers, and it looked like she'd gotten all she was going to get. Closure was likely to be rather unsatisfying for her in this matter it seemed, but if the USS Hera was headed into danger and the woman on the couch could give them some forewarning, that was entirely too relevant to Paris to let her just conversationally meander.

Hera snapped back to the present, a bit startled. "Sorry, I didn't mean to drift off like that. Whatever destroyed them, all I know is that it was some sort of energy barrier. The probe telemetry was too weak to return anything more than that. Sorry, but if we're heading there now, I can only wish you the best blessings because as much as it pains me to admit it... I don't know what's out there."

"Duly noted," Paris replied, not thoroughly satisfied by the answer, nor trusting it entirely. But it was what they'd gotten, so she would file it in her report and discuss it with the Captain. For now, she refocused on the reason for this meeting, and laid a hand gently on Ensign Jurot's shoulder. "Counselor, I believe we're done here- any final questions you would like to ask before we end this interview?"

"No, Commander" the Betazoid answered. "I should've known that Hera wouldn't know anything. After all, Gaia's power obviously dwarfs hers."

"Fair point." Rising from the couch, Paris ushered the Betazoid beauty to the door. "All right Counselor, let's leave our wayward tyrant to her contemplations, shall we? You and I can seek better company elsewhere, I think."

"Next time a flea asks me about poly-dimensional possession, I'll be sure to go into the science of it," groused Hera as she flopped down on her fainting couch and went back to staring out the windows. "And yes, Gaia is to me as I am to you. Thank you for pointing that out. Next time I'll ask you to teach warp mechanics to an ermine or something... I love ermines..."

While the grousing goddess might have gone on, the rest of it was lost by the closing of the door behind them, as the Starfleet officers left Hera to her ruminations.