Introspection and Communication
Helen took some time off after the session with T'Pun. She didn't write up her reports right away, didn't even contact the Vulcan to thank her for her time - that could wait. She'd seen a lot of things during the meld, and she was able to recognize the necessity of taking a step back and trying to come to terms with something this big. In her line of work, it was vital to keep a handle on her own mental state, before even attempting to help others.
But she'd never had to face anything quite like this before.
Nero was...damaged. She'd known that, of course, but even talking to him, doing her best to understand his losses, the effects they'd had on his mind, was nothing to actually seeing it, or feeling what he must feel every day. Even T'Pun, the stoic Vulcan, had seemed disconcerted when faced with...her.
Mandana. She'd promised not to say the name aloud, but she could think it. Nero's wife. Spock had been right - they had been bonded, somehow, and when that bond had broken -
She didn't understand exactly what had happened. But something had gone wrong. Mandana was dead, and yet Helen had seen her there, in Nero's mind. She'd reacted to them. She'd moved.
Helen shivered, suddenly chilled despite the almost tropical heat. Dwelling on this wasn't making it any easier.
She wasn't sure what would. She was used to difficult patients, patients that didn't want to be helped, that often actively worked against her. Even the cultural gap that made communicating with Nero so difficult was nothing she'd ever felt she couldn't overcome - with enough time and patience, she'd found, most things could. But this...
Time hadn't healed that wound. Helen wasn't at all sure that anything could.
And yet, she had never been one to back down from a challenge. Giving up now, betraying Nero's trust, would be the worst thing she could do.
But she couldn't go back yet. Nero's terms had been very clear. She didn't plan on giving up that easily, if complying with them proved impossible - but she would do her best to try, before returning to the prison and trying to get him to talk with her again.
She sighed, and sat down in her office, preparing herself to deal with the backlog of messages that had no doubt been piling up in her absence: a day for the meld, a day to recover from it.
In amongst the usual clutter of correspondence, one message caught her eye. It was from a Dr. Kuhn, a name she wasn't familiar with, but the subject read Progress Report: James T. Kirk [Displaced]. Helen opened the message with interest.
Dr Noel,
Records indicate that you were the psychologist assigned to Mr Kirk's case on the Vulcan colony on Sha'Kwai. My name is Dr Kuhn, and I've been seeing him, in compliance with his sentencing by the Vulcans, since his arrival here on Starbase 69.
Although the patient has been present and on time for each of his sessions, and cooperates with direct questions and requests, he seems singularly uninterested in putting forth any effort into improving his own mental well-being. He insists that the therapy sessions prescribed to him by the Vulcans are both unnecessary and a waste of his time, and has made no effort to disguise the fact that he is interested not in personal growth or progress, but in putting an end to these sessions as soon as possible.
Naturally, I cannot in good conscience end his sessions prematurely...
Helen read the rest of the message; it sounded like James, all right. At least he seemed to be behaving himself, though Helen was aware that that fact was likely more to do with his trying to avoid any more punishments than any deeper understanding of why physical confrontations were inappropriate.
Dr. Kuhn had, quite naturally, refrained from including any details about James' personal life in her message. Helen wondered idly how things had turned out between him and the nurse he'd been so smitten with. On a whim, she looked up Starbase 69 on the network.
She was intrigued by what she found. It was a new station, still under construction, and dedicated to studying the phenomenon of cross-universal visitors that had recently appeared on the Enterprise and elsewhere. And - Helen's eyebrows rose as she read - it was also dedicated to accommodating said visitors, when they hadn't made a home for themselves elsewhere.
Interesting.
A look into Starfleet's personnel records garnered her the name of the station commander, and soon she was composing a message. It was a long shot - but she'd promised to try.
Commodore Otrona,
My name is Dr. Helen Noel, and I am a Starfleet psychologist with a specialty in criminal rehabilitation. You may have heard of my current patients - Nero and Ayel, the Romulans responsible for the destruction of Vulcan.
I have just been reading about your station, and I have a proposal for you - or perhaps a favor to ask. Nero and Ayel are currently incarcerated on Sha'Kwai, the new Vulcan colony. Both Nero and the Vulcan people are, understandably, less than enthusiastic about this arrangement. Nero has requested a transfer to alternative accommodations to complete the rest of his sentence, but as you can imagine, I anticipate finding a place willing to take these men to be challenging at best.
Given the unique nature of your station, and its dual mission to study the phenomenon of transuniversal travel and to provide accommodations for those thus displaced, I wonder if there is a possibility that Nero and Ayel may find a place there. I understand that the station is still under construction; my patients have been carrying out manual labor in similar projects here on Sha'Kwai, and by all accounts, doing a good job.
I realize that this is a large favor to ask, and I am entirely willing to discuss it further. However, I feel certain that, with proper supervision, and with clear communication between myself, the prisoners, and station leadership and security, we can find a way to fulfil this request without putting anyone on Starbase 69 at risk. I would, naturally, accompany the prisoners to continue rehabilitation efforts, and to ensure both their safety and the safety of others at all times.
Please let me know if you are open to further discussing this possibility, or if I can answer any questions for you.
Thank you very much.
Helen Noel
Helen had just sent her message when the doorchime sounded. She looked up, surprised - she didn't have any appointments scheduled, and most Vulcans weren't really the sort to drop in unannounced. But the young Vulcan at the door simply nodded courteously, looking bemused but determined not to comment as he offered a wrinkled sheet of brown paper.
"Thank you," Helen told him, before moving back into her office to examine the paper curiously. And when she'd absorbed what it was, she laughed, surprised and pleased.
Despite Ayel's convictions, the Vulcans hadn't torn off the signature - as far as she could tell, the message had been delivered intact. It didn't make up for his threatening her, for grabbing her, ready to attack...but it was a start.
After a moment's deliberation, she went to her desk and, after a few minutes of digging, found a pad of paper. She'd been barred from coming back, yet, but she felt that it was important to acknowledge Ayel's note. Especially since he'd obviously worked so hard to get it to her.
The Vulcans had been eager from the start to defer to her judgement when it came to her patients' therapeutic needs - they wanted little to do with the Romulans, and less when it came to their emotional well-being. She had no doubt that that was why Ayel's letter had been allowed through, and it was why she felt no doubt that when she asked them to deliver her response, they would do so, no questions asked.
She smiled as she finished the letter. Her job was never easy, but the rewards could still surprise her sometimes.
But she'd never had to face anything quite like this before.
Nero was...damaged. She'd known that, of course, but even talking to him, doing her best to understand his losses, the effects they'd had on his mind, was nothing to actually seeing it, or feeling what he must feel every day. Even T'Pun, the stoic Vulcan, had seemed disconcerted when faced with...her.
Mandana. She'd promised not to say the name aloud, but she could think it. Nero's wife. Spock had been right - they had been bonded, somehow, and when that bond had broken -
She didn't understand exactly what had happened. But something had gone wrong. Mandana was dead, and yet Helen had seen her there, in Nero's mind. She'd reacted to them. She'd moved.
Helen shivered, suddenly chilled despite the almost tropical heat. Dwelling on this wasn't making it any easier.
She wasn't sure what would. She was used to difficult patients, patients that didn't want to be helped, that often actively worked against her. Even the cultural gap that made communicating with Nero so difficult was nothing she'd ever felt she couldn't overcome - with enough time and patience, she'd found, most things could. But this...
Time hadn't healed that wound. Helen wasn't at all sure that anything could.
And yet, she had never been one to back down from a challenge. Giving up now, betraying Nero's trust, would be the worst thing she could do.
But she couldn't go back yet. Nero's terms had been very clear. She didn't plan on giving up that easily, if complying with them proved impossible - but she would do her best to try, before returning to the prison and trying to get him to talk with her again.
She sighed, and sat down in her office, preparing herself to deal with the backlog of messages that had no doubt been piling up in her absence: a day for the meld, a day to recover from it.
In amongst the usual clutter of correspondence, one message caught her eye. It was from a Dr. Kuhn, a name she wasn't familiar with, but the subject read Progress Report: James T. Kirk [Displaced]. Helen opened the message with interest.
Dr Noel,
Records indicate that you were the psychologist assigned to Mr Kirk's case on the Vulcan colony on Sha'Kwai. My name is Dr Kuhn, and I've been seeing him, in compliance with his sentencing by the Vulcans, since his arrival here on Starbase 69.
Although the patient has been present and on time for each of his sessions, and cooperates with direct questions and requests, he seems singularly uninterested in putting forth any effort into improving his own mental well-being. He insists that the therapy sessions prescribed to him by the Vulcans are both unnecessary and a waste of his time, and has made no effort to disguise the fact that he is interested not in personal growth or progress, but in putting an end to these sessions as soon as possible.
Naturally, I cannot in good conscience end his sessions prematurely...
Helen read the rest of the message; it sounded like James, all right. At least he seemed to be behaving himself, though Helen was aware that that fact was likely more to do with his trying to avoid any more punishments than any deeper understanding of why physical confrontations were inappropriate.
Dr. Kuhn had, quite naturally, refrained from including any details about James' personal life in her message. Helen wondered idly how things had turned out between him and the nurse he'd been so smitten with. On a whim, she looked up Starbase 69 on the network.
She was intrigued by what she found. It was a new station, still under construction, and dedicated to studying the phenomenon of cross-universal visitors that had recently appeared on the Enterprise and elsewhere. And - Helen's eyebrows rose as she read - it was also dedicated to accommodating said visitors, when they hadn't made a home for themselves elsewhere.
Interesting.
A look into Starfleet's personnel records garnered her the name of the station commander, and soon she was composing a message. It was a long shot - but she'd promised to try.
Commodore Otrona,
My name is Dr. Helen Noel, and I am a Starfleet psychologist with a specialty in criminal rehabilitation. You may have heard of my current patients - Nero and Ayel, the Romulans responsible for the destruction of Vulcan.
I have just been reading about your station, and I have a proposal for you - or perhaps a favor to ask. Nero and Ayel are currently incarcerated on Sha'Kwai, the new Vulcan colony. Both Nero and the Vulcan people are, understandably, less than enthusiastic about this arrangement. Nero has requested a transfer to alternative accommodations to complete the rest of his sentence, but as you can imagine, I anticipate finding a place willing to take these men to be challenging at best.
Given the unique nature of your station, and its dual mission to study the phenomenon of transuniversal travel and to provide accommodations for those thus displaced, I wonder if there is a possibility that Nero and Ayel may find a place there. I understand that the station is still under construction; my patients have been carrying out manual labor in similar projects here on Sha'Kwai, and by all accounts, doing a good job.
I realize that this is a large favor to ask, and I am entirely willing to discuss it further. However, I feel certain that, with proper supervision, and with clear communication between myself, the prisoners, and station leadership and security, we can find a way to fulfil this request without putting anyone on Starbase 69 at risk. I would, naturally, accompany the prisoners to continue rehabilitation efforts, and to ensure both their safety and the safety of others at all times.
Please let me know if you are open to further discussing this possibility, or if I can answer any questions for you.
Thank you very much.
Helen Noel
Helen had just sent her message when the doorchime sounded. She looked up, surprised - she didn't have any appointments scheduled, and most Vulcans weren't really the sort to drop in unannounced. But the young Vulcan at the door simply nodded courteously, looking bemused but determined not to comment as he offered a wrinkled sheet of brown paper.
"Thank you," Helen told him, before moving back into her office to examine the paper curiously. And when she'd absorbed what it was, she laughed, surprised and pleased.
Despite Ayel's convictions, the Vulcans hadn't torn off the signature - as far as she could tell, the message had been delivered intact. It didn't make up for his threatening her, for grabbing her, ready to attack...but it was a start.
After a moment's deliberation, she went to her desk and, after a few minutes of digging, found a pad of paper. She'd been barred from coming back, yet, but she felt that it was important to acknowledge Ayel's note. Especially since he'd obviously worked so hard to get it to her.
The Vulcans had been eager from the start to defer to her judgement when it came to her patients' therapeutic needs - they wanted little to do with the Romulans, and less when it came to their emotional well-being. She had no doubt that that was why Ayel's letter had been allowed through, and it was why she felt no doubt that when she asked them to deliver her response, they would do so, no questions asked.
She smiled as she finished the letter. Her job was never easy, but the rewards could still surprise her sometimes.