Unfinished Business Part 2

Posted on 29 Oct 2026 @ 7:46pm by Ensign Mimi & Lieutenant JG Delainey Carlisle

2,700 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Episode 21 - Helix
Location: Dr. Delainey Carlisle's Office, USS Galileo
Timeline: Md02

OLD:

Mimi squirmed a little, there was the inevitable question of intent or nature. "I have seen other Nekomi become extremely violent when pushed hard enough, sometimes almost blind with rage, overriding everything. It can be hard to control. I did not always understand what I was seeing when I was little but I have experienced it myself."

"It's not uncommon for other beings to experience similar reactions, especially during fight, flight, or freeze," Delainey offered. "Will you tell me about the more recent times you've encountered Klingons? My understanding is, there have been a few."



NEW:

"Kreanus... It is a long story. The original Galileo was destroyed by rogue Klingon ships, the survivors were beamed aboard one of their ship, the moment I materialized I leapt one one and had my claws and teeth into him before he could even blink. Then his friends stunned me and hit me with pistols." Mimi unconsciously rubbed her jaw slightly. "They put us in a camp with all kinds of different groups but the Klingons were in charge of a lot of it. Lirha ordered me not to get into fights with them, I tried my best not to, they did not make it easy."

Delainey was not one to condone violence and naturally advocated for self-restraint whenever possible, but she noted Mimi's reaction was once again in response to life-threatening circumstances. "And did you? Avoid fights with them?"

Mimi nodded slightly. "I managed to avoid them most of the time we were there, then they put us all on a Klingon ship together and it was a lot harder. One I had trouble with before stopped me in a corridor, I tried to turn and leave but another one blocked me." Her demeanor slowly changed as she remembered that incident, ears flattening backwards a little. "They said they had met my people before, the only way they could have done that was to be at Kemi when they killed everyone, said they took the tails off the ones they killed as trophies and then he grabbed my tail."

Carlisle continued to listen carefully and remain attentive. She knew what she was asking Mimi to recount was not easy, no matter how many times she might have done so previously. Records showed she had her jaw broken twice twice during this particular experience experience, and while the counselor might have gotten more specific, she decided to keep her questions open ended. “What happened next? Just to reiterate, if you need a break, please say so. This is not an interrogation, and I don’t want it to feel as though you cannot speak up here.“

"I am ok," Mimi replied. "I do not need a break though some more tea would be very nice."

"Sure," Delainey replied, standing and heading to her replicator to fulfill Mimi's request. It didn't take long but it gave them both a moment to reflect. Carlisle didn't see Mimi's attitude toward Klingons as a prejudice. Prejudices were born out of irrational fears. Mimi's fears weren't irrational, and it seemed evident her behavior was born out of trauma. That didn't mean they weren't problematic, but it certainly made a difference as to how they could be addressed. "Here you are," she said, passing the cup to Mimi before seating herself across from her once more.

Mimi took the cup and a quick sip. The warm liquid soothing her parched tongue. "He grabbed my tail, I grabbed his hand trying to remove it but he grabbed it even harder... so I hit him."

“What happened next?“ Delainey asked. Carlisle knew, or at least had a sense of subsequent events, but she appreciated hearing it from the source.

"He hit me back and the other one grabbed a knife. So I fought both of them together." Mimi chuckled slightly. "I was doing quite well till they managed to pin me down. Then they tried to cut off my tail."

Carlisle was just getting to know Mimi, but she recognized laughter could be a sign of many things besides amusement, including anxiety and deeply suppressed trauma. “I can’t imagine how you got away,“ Delainey offered sincerely.

"I have always been lucky." Mimi replied, she paused for a moment, it had been pure luck that saved her tail that day. "Just as they got me down to the ground Marisa, the old Galileo's chief science officer was coming down the corridor. She was not fully Vulcan but had the strength of one, pulled them off me and beat them up a bit till they both ran off. Though I got a..... parting gift? from one of them, he kicked me as he ran, rebroke my jaw."

Carlisle wondered if Mimi truly saw herself as lucky or if that was just a statement full of dark irony. She inwardly winced, imagining the intense physical pain. Mimi must’ve felt after this attack, not to mention the deep emotional wounds she carried. “I’m so sorry. I can only imagine how traumatic these experiences must’ve been for you, physically and psychologically.“

"It was an experience I will never forget that is for sure." Mimi told her. "Luckily Allyndra was able to fix my jaw again and it feels good now."

“What about the wounds not so easily seen?“ Carlisle Mimi would understand she wasn’t asking about any of the physical remnants.

"You mean mental injuries?" Mimi asked. "I feel fine, I do not think anything has changed."

It seemed they were right back where they started, and Carlisle didn’t know what to make of that. “So are you saying you don’t believe there’s any reason you should be in counseling?”

"I... do not know." Mimi replied, mental health was never her strong point. "I do not think I will ever stop hating Klingons, I know not 'every' Klingon was involved but..." she squirmed slightly not really knowing what she was saying.

“I don’t expect you to suddenly like Klingons after your experiences,“ Delainey answered. “Prejudice refers to irrational beliefs. As I said, your beliefs are anything but irrational given what you’ve been through. What others have labeled prejudice, I see as an understandable trauma response that can be managed with proper coping skills, not punishment.”

"Which is all I seem to get whenever Tarin is involved." Mimi told her. "Almost everyone else understands, she says that she understands but then finds a way to blame me and punish me for it. Even when she was responsible for one of these incidents happening."

“How so?“ Delainey asked. She didn’t know exactly how Morgan felt about Mimi and Mimi‘s attitude towards Klingons, but it didn’t surprise her to hear Mimi felt misunderstood by the Captain.

"A while ago we were attacked by some Ferengi and then... rescued by a Klingon cruiser." Mimi began to explain. "The Captain decided to have me on the away team to go over there to thank the Klingons in person, I was so tense I could barely think straight so just tried to stay quiet, then she decided to invite them to dinner on the Galileo."

Delainey nodded. She remembered reading the details of this incident but still saw tremendous value in hearing about the experience in Mimi's own words. Carlisle continued to view Mimi's behavior through the lens of trauma rather than prejudice, and in that light, Delainey's working hypothesis was that Mimi recognized the importance of managing her own behavior and was even capable of doing so, if only for so long. A traumatized nervous system could only regulate for so long untreated. "How are you feeling right now? Safe to continue?"

"Mmhhhmm." Mimi said after taking a long gulp of her tea. "I want to get all of this out, even if it ends with you saying I am crazy."

"I would never call anyone crazy," Delainey reassured.

Mimi smiled. "I am glad of that." She chuckled slightly before continuing. "I asked Tarin almost immediately if I could be excused from going to this dinner, she refused. then just before the Klingons came onboard I asked her again, still she refused."

"What explanation did she give you for refusing your request, if she gave any at all?"

"I do not think so," Mimi replied shaking her head slightly. "other than 'permission denied' just like the first time I asked."

Whether Mimi remembered Tarin's reasoning, if offered, wasn't a critical detail per se, as naturally, Carlisle could ask Tarin herself, but it could be helpful in discerning the way the Captain wished to be perceived by others. "So you came to the dinner," Delainey said matter of factly.

"And I tried hard to be...diplomatic, tried their bloodwine and their food.... did not go very well." Mimi visibly licked her long canine teeth. "I thought as a forced meat eater it would be nice but everything tasted horrible... and I made the mistake of saying so."

Carlisle’s expression was one of puzzlement. “That seems contradictory to making an effort to be diplomatic.”

"I know...." Mimi said, her words coming across meekly. "If it had been anything other than Klingons I might have been able to pick my words more carefully but I was so tense I was not thinking straight. One of them then called me a 'racist'"

The irony of that particular label wasn’t lost on Delainey, not because it came from a Klingon, but because it matched Tarin’s label of Mimi. “I offer this without judgment, but rather than trying to make an effort to be diplomatic, would it be fair to say you wanted to be so, but couldn’t?“

"Maybe, I tried." Mimi replied. "Maybe I should have just kept quiet the whole time."

“Knowing what you know of the circumstances, do you think that would’ve been possible for you at the time?” She was less interested in what should’ve happened and was much more interested in what was feasible.

"I managed it on the Klingon ship, might have been able to for the whole dinner. Though I bet one of them would have asked something about why I haven't said anything yet." Mimi gave a slight shrug.

“If that had happened, what do you think you would’ve said?“

Mimi's face went through many different expressions as she tried to fathom a response. "I think anything I might have said would only have led to more questions and the same outcome... me telling them why I hate their species."

“Because you wouldn’t be able to control yourself or because you would want them to know that?“

"Maybe a bit of both," Mimi replied. "That is what I told them, what a group of them did to my people, that I was the only one left, that I would kill any one I found out was there."

“At the time you said this, how did you think they were going to react?“ Carlisle asked.

"I would not say I was looking for a fight but I knew they might have seen it as a challenge." Mimi said wanting to make that first part clear. "I was not expecting their Captain to tell us he was there, at Kemi, in command of the attack."

"Of course not," Delainey acknowledged with a nod. "Going back to your knowledge they might see your comment as a challenge, what was your assessment of that probability, and assuming that happened, what did you think could happen next?"

"Klingons like to fight," Mimi replied. "one of them would have offered to fight me even if they were not involved with Kemi." She paused for a moment. "It probably would not have been in the middle of a diplomatic dinner but I took that option away from the Klingon Captain."

Carlisle appreciated the honesty but recognized it provided a more nuanced picture of Mimi and her particular struggles. As was so often the case with all sorts of beings, they could not be categorized in discreet boxes. She was neither exclusively prejudiced, nor exclusively traumatized. “Is that acknowledgment something that occurred to you after the fact or something you were aware of at the time?“

"I was not thinking anything at the time, apart from digging my teeth or claws into his neck, maybe if I was thinking straight we might have done it in a...... safer place." Mimi made a huffing sound at the thought of having a vicious fight in a 'safe' environment. "But the moment he said he was there leading the attack I lost all thought except getting revenge."

"You said if you had been thinking straight, you might have fought in a safer place," Delainey offered, her tone one of scientific curiosity rather than judgment. "I'm wondering, why, if you were thinking straight, your goal wouldn't be to avoid fighting at all?" Carlisle was attempting to determine whether Mimi wanted to avoid confrontations truly, and the idea that, if given the chance to think straight, her focus would have been on having the violent confrontation occur elsewhere rather than not at all, was not what she expected.

Mimi pondered the question for a moment. "Thinking straight or not the moment he said he was at Kemi I wanted to kill him."

"Wanting to kill him is understandable and isn't cause for therapy," Delainey acknowledged. "What you and I have to explore now is whether learning to act differently around Klingons is something you value and want for you life. I know there are many things we can do to help you face all of this trauma, but even if we do that, you still have a choice as to what comes next. I can present you with tools all I want, but if you don't think you need them, none of it will make a difference. I need to hear your assessment of what you need and want from therapy, not just what others have told you."

"I want the Captain to not think I am a bigot, racist and mindless killer, " Mimi replied. "Maybe now Keh'g, the one in charge is dead, I have what I thought I never would, justice for my people. I might be better now I am not judging every klingon I see."

Delainey smiled wanly. "I wish I could give you or anyone the power to control how other people think and feel, especially Tarin - it would certainly make some things a lot simpler. Alas, I left my magic wand elsewhere."

More seriously, she offered, "I don't know how your behavior will change now Keh'g is dead, but in my experience, true healing is more than just the absence of acting out in ways that affect you and others. True healing is about learning healthy ways to cope with thoughts and feelings, not just about what happened to you, but how it has shaped you, in healthy ways and unhealthy ways. You've been feeling a great deal, but it seems these feelings always catch you by surprise in circumstances you weren't expecting. Therapy is an opportunity to unpack all of that at your pace."

Carlisle paused. "Is this something you're willing to invest in because you believe it has value?"

Mimi stayed quiet for a considerable time. Tarin had ordered this counselling and it would be easy enough to go through the motions for a few sessions to satisfy her but the chance to process everything at her pace in a safer controlled environment away from her couldn't be missed. "I am willing to try." She eventually said.

“OK,“ Delainey replied with a nod, her tone and indication of support, but not one that conveyed so much enthusiasm Mimi would be left with the impression Carlisle expected her to manage the counselor‘s feelings or seek approval. “Perhaps we can start by exploring possible relaxation strategies. I could teach you that you think actually sound useful?“

"Relaxations strategies..." Mimi smiled slightly, she'd recently found a new one of them already, the arms of her husband. "could be interesting."


END:


LTjg Delainey Carlisle
Chief Counsellor
USS Galileo-A

Ensign Mimi
Deputy Ops Manager
USS Galileo-A

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