Counseling the Wounded

Posted on Sun Jul 22, 2018 @ 8:20pm by Lieutenant Miki Matsutaki & Commodore Michael Aravan

Mission: Falling Star
Location: Romulan Capital Hospital
Timeline: MD 34 || 1300 Hours

"Lieutenant Matsutaki, please report to Transport Room Three," came the voice of the Commodore.

Miki quickly downed her tea from the cup already at her lips before responding, "On my way, Sir." She handed the cup to her 2IC, and gave a cursory glance over the rudimentary booths she and half of her staff had been putting together in the cargo bay. They weren't much to look at, but that would have to do in a pinch. With the sudden summons, she was going to have to leave the rest to him.

It didn't take her long to get to Transporter Room 3, and the officer therein. Although she didn't like the formality between them, she accepted that there was probably reason behind it... but she wasn't going to let it change her... at least, not without a fight. So it was with a studied smile that she greeted him.

"Good afternoon, Commodore, Sir." She took up a position roughly a foot to his left, and faced the transporter pad, "So, are they coming? Or are we going?"

Michael looked around as the Counselor entered the transporter room and gave her a nod. "I wish it were good," he said. "The first batch will be coming as soon as they're treated. Have you set up the facilities for treatment in the cargo bays?" he asked her.

"They're not exactly state-of-the-art, since we're psychologists, not structural engineers, but I have reason to be proud of my team's skills at improvised construction, I think. They'll do in the short term, and I'm already working on solutions for when that is no longer the case." Miki looked over at Michael's grim countenance in profile, and reined in the fullness of her smile, "On my single worst day as a child, someone older and wiser than myself took my hand, and told me that when things look like they can only get worse, it means that they are not really as bad as they can be... I've never forgotten that, and he has been proven right, time and again."

"Wise words," he said. "But why didn't you have Operations set up the cargo bays?" he asked. "That's one of the things that they cover."

Miki looked hard at Michael, and suddenly burst into laughter, then paused long enough to hold a hooked finger to her temple, "Because I didn't think of that, of course. The years haven't changed me as much as they have you. Really obvious things still slip my mind... if I can find a more complicated way of doing something, then you know that's the way I'll choose to do it."

"The first group is ready, Commodore," the transporter operator said.

"I hope you're ready for the rest of it," Michael told her before he gave a nod to the transporter chief. "Energize."

A group of eight Romulans appeared on the transporter pad. Six of them were children ranging in ages from six to twelve and were accompanied by two stern looking Romulan women.

"Welcome to the Triumphant," Michael said. "I'm Commodore Aravan and this is Lieutenant Matsutaki, our Chief Counselor."

"I am Thenan," the older woman said. "And this is my companion, Bini. We have been placed in charge of these children as their parents were killed in the attack."

The younger Romulan woman indicated the children from left to right. "The three boys are Chutal, Kejiso, and Vuldaim. The females are Dirratha, Bivin and Vuvuka," she told the Commodore and Counselor. "We will be staying with them at all times."

"I wish I could say it was a pleasure to meet you all," Michael said. "But the current circumstances..."

Theman held up a hand. "We are not here for pleasure, Commodore. We are here to help these children. Counselor, if you would lead the way?"

Miki half-smiled, enough to show a certain openness, but not enough to make this stern woman think that she was trying to be friendly, "Of course. Being the first group here, your party will have the opportunity to stake out your choice of emergency berths to best suit your needs."

She led the group to a large bulkhead, which opened when she turned to face it. "My staff have prepared a series of booths, for private therapy sessions, at least one of which will henceforth be continuously manned, should any of you need to talk with someone. Likewise, if there is anything you need, please don't hesitate to let one of the Counselors know, and they'll do their utmost to attend to that need."

Miki's brow furrowed momentarily, as she moved on to broach the topic of housekeeping, "I would ask, for the sake of goodwill and in consideration of the circumstances that see you on a Starfleet vessel, that you restrict your movements, and those of the children, to this room. I'll let you get settled in, and in the meantime, I'll return with a few personal items to help keep the children entertained."

Five more groups joined the first, an assortment of men, women, old, young and in between, escorted by Security. Personal hygiene items were brought in and they were shown where their temporary bunks were. The Security officers helped as much as they could while remaining vigilant before they moved back to discreet positions.

Miki, in the interim, had been back and forth between her quarters and various replicators, each time returning with a selection of instruments, curios and toys, to keep the refugees occupied. The kendama were proving surprising popular among the children, many of whom, she noted, were coordinated enough to be quite good at it, and some were even trying quite advanced tricks with the simple game.

She also noticed that a group of the adults were showing interest in several of her instruments, and not just among the Romulans. She walked over to see that it was the largest of them that was drawing most attention. Smiling, she took up a playing position at the head of the instrument, "This is called a 'Koto', a traditional instrument from the region of my homeworld that I was born. Here, I'll play something for you that'll show what it sounds like."

It had not been since her first year at the Academy, a good half-decade or so, since she had the opportunity to play for any sort of audience. She decided on a particularly fast piece from the first few years of the millennium, called "A thousand cherry blossoms" for which this was an especially good instrument, and started to play.

One of the Romulan women approached with a young girl. "This is Mitrola," she said. "Both of her parents died as a result of the attack. Can you help her?"

Miki focused on the girl, only glancing at the woman, whilst responding, "I would be happy to try... if she wants me to." Keeping a straight back, she crouched to bring her face to the girl's eye level, and smiled softly, "Would you like me to try to help you, Mitrola?"

The little girl looked up at her with sad eyes. "Why did it happen?" she asked in the saddest voice imaginable.

Miki takes a deep breath. "That is a question that children, whether Romulan or Human, have asked for a very long time. First, we did it to each other, and when we met, we started doing it to each other. Exactly why is anyone's guess: it could be because one group sees that another group has something they want, and don't want to trade for it; it could be because they are afraid of someone because they are different; it can be because other people have done something to them in the past, and they think that by hurting you and your family, that it makes things better somehow; it can even be because one group believe that they can feel better about themselves by hurting other people."

She reached out, and gently touched the girl's arm, "I am sorry that I cannot tell you exactly why this happened. I just don't know. But I can try to help you cope with what has happened, and to not become the sort of person that will do what these monsters did to you to someone else... because then some other child would have to ask the same question."

"Can we kill them back?" Mitrola asked.

Miki sighed. This was precisely the response she wanted to avoid, but she knew it was most normal, regardless of race. "I know that you are not a bad person for wanting that. It would be the easiest thing to do, but unless you do that to the exact same people who did this to your parents, then the children of those you do kill will ask the same question, and do the same thing to more of your people, because it would be the easiest thing for them to do. Even if you didn't want that, I'm sure there will be others that want it. Wanting revenge and taking revenge is easy, but all it does is make others want revenge against you. In the end, everybody loses. It takes more strength, more honor, to grit your teeth and not do what others did to you, because that is a battle fought and won inside yourself, a battle of will against instinct."

Miki locked Mitrola in a direct gaze, "You want to be strong, don't you, Mitrola? I think you do. You are a Romulan, after all, and the Romulans are a strong and proud people. Do you think you can show me that kind of strength?"

The little girl listened and finally nodded after a moment of being quiet. "I do, but I miss my mommy and daddy."

Miki sighed heavily, but drew a slight smile to her face and eyes. "You are not alone in that regard. I miss my okasan and otosan... my mommy and daddy, too. But every day I do what I can to make them proud of me, and knowing that they are smiling makes their absence much easier to bear. So I'm sure that if you continue to be a good girl for whoever must look after you, your parents will smile upon you too. You might not see it with your eyes, but you will know it here," Miki put her fingers to Mitrola's forehead, "and here." She moved her fingers from the girl's head to press them lightly against the girl's chest.

"As long as you remember your mommy and daddy, and continue to love them, then not only will their spirits live on, they will always be with you whenever you need them, and will continue to give you their strength and their guidance."

She turned to the woman who had brought the girl to her, "Mitrola needs to understand that the desire for revenge is natural, but ultimately counter-productive. It is better for everyone if such events as those that brought these feelings are prevented, rather than perpetuated as seeking revenge will do. That would be the ultimate vengeance. She's got too much potential in life for us to let it all be consumed by fury, no matter how righteous it may be. I'd like you to reinforce what I've said to her. It will carry more weight with her, I think, coming from a fellow Romulan than just from a human."

She sighed softly, and looking across the room, where her team had arrived and had started attending to the other refugees.

The Romulan woman pulled the little girl aside and spoke to her for a moment, then looked back at the Counselor. "She understands now. Thank you. Sadly, there are many, many more to go."