New Challenges (Helen, Nero)
It had been some time since Helen had first found out about Nero. Lieutenant Commander Mulhall had been the first to let her know that the Romulan was not only alive, but was back on his ship and nearby, although the woman had seemed strangely reluctant to discuss it. Some questioning of the crew had eventually revealed the whole story of Nero's interactions with the Enterprise and her crew, including his capture and subsequent torture of the captain and his father.
At least, Helen had thought she'd heard the whole story.
So when she received the captain's message, telling her that the Romulans were currently in the Enterprise's brig, and requesting that she report there to evaluate Nero's mental health, she was...surprised. Not least because the captain himself had seemed less than enthusiastic about having a psychiatrist on board.
Still. This was what she was trained for, after all. She had enjoyed helping the civilians and officers onboard the Enterprise, but the idea of talking with Nero...
Perhaps it was arrogance to think that she'd be able to help him at all. She'd done well working with the inmates at the New Zealand Penal Settlement back on Earth; well enough that she probably could have had her pick of where to go next, if the assignment on the Enterprise hadn't come up before she'd had a chance to really look.
But no one in New Zealand had destroyed an entire planet. And, from the reports that the captain had included with his message, Nero's lucidity had decreased dramatically since his arrival on board.
The guards in the brig had been appraised of her arrival; Helen showed her credentials and they let her through.
She stepped up to the darkened cell.
He was a darker shape in the corner, curled up and watching her every move.
"Hello, Nero," she said. "I'm Helen."
At least, Helen had thought she'd heard the whole story.
So when she received the captain's message, telling her that the Romulans were currently in the Enterprise's brig, and requesting that she report there to evaluate Nero's mental health, she was...surprised. Not least because the captain himself had seemed less than enthusiastic about having a psychiatrist on board.
Still. This was what she was trained for, after all. She had enjoyed helping the civilians and officers onboard the Enterprise, but the idea of talking with Nero...
Perhaps it was arrogance to think that she'd be able to help him at all. She'd done well working with the inmates at the New Zealand Penal Settlement back on Earth; well enough that she probably could have had her pick of where to go next, if the assignment on the Enterprise hadn't come up before she'd had a chance to really look.
But no one in New Zealand had destroyed an entire planet. And, from the reports that the captain had included with his message, Nero's lucidity had decreased dramatically since his arrival on board.
The guards in the brig had been appraised of her arrival; Helen showed her credentials and they let her through.
She stepped up to the darkened cell.
He was a darker shape in the corner, curled up and watching her every move.
"Hello, Nero," she said. "I'm Helen."