Counselling or Walking?

Posted on 22 Mar 2012 @ 8:09pm by Crewman Nazhzhalh & Lieutenant JG Drusilla McCarthy

2,036 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 00 - Pre-Deployment
Location: LTJG McCarthy's Office
Timeline: MD05 1600hours

Mandatory psychological evaluation.

The words blinked on Ziyal's PADD as he placed the last of a few duotronic relay casings on top of the shelf he'd been stocking in his part of Lab 3. The alien slumped at those words. They usually involved grueling sessions with counselors who interrogated him relentlessly about his readiness for duty before finally conceding that he was capable enough to do so. Ziyal picked up the PADD and read off the instructions to himself, blinking a little as he made his way out of the lab and down to one Drusilla McCarthy's office on the medical deck.

After a long journey through corridors and turbolifts, Ziyal ducked through the archway to McCarthy's office and raised a few tentacle-arms in her direction by way of greeting. If he seemed unhappy to be there, it didn't show as he resolutely sat down, piles of limbs shrinking a little closer to his body as he tried to fit in the small leather chair by her desk. He tilted his head at the counselor behind the desk, and the clicks of his native language could be heard under the translated Standard, lending him an excited, fascinated air. "Reporting as requested, Counselor!"

Dru had been distracted by the report she had been reading on her PADD and hadn't hear anyone enter the room. As she looked up smiling to great the person infront of her, she suddenly found herself lost for words. The person she was confronted with wore a starfleet uniform but shed never met anyone of their species before. Dru wasn't even sure who stood infront of her as she'd request alot of people to report to her. Trying to recompose herself, Dru held out her hand.

"Counsellor McCarthy at your service, and you would be?"

Ziyal leaned forward and shook her hand lightly, as if he were afraid he might break it somehow. His skin was warm and surprisingly dry, but leathery. He dropped her hand and gestured a little as he spoke, whistling long and loud in an enigmatic manner. "Crewman Nazhzhalh, or Ziyal if you like," he elucidated cheerfully. He leaned forward to examine her face a little more, blinking largely at her.

Dru laughed at the eagerness the crewman seemed to be showing,"Well I can't see myself being able to pronounce Naz...Nas...nazkz....Ok best to give up there. I'll stick with Ziyal." Dru smiled up at Ziyal and indicated for him to take a seat in the padded seat across the room. As dru looked up she suddenly realised Ziyal's height and build,"Will you be comfortable sitting in the seat I have here? If not this is just a general get to know eachother. We could go for a walk of the ship if you'd prefer."

Almost immediately, Ziyal seemed much more fond of that idea and stood up again, clapping in some bizarre expression of emotion. "I like this vessel," he told her, his antennae waving slightly in her direction. "I just met the commander and set up my laboratory space," he babbled on as they walked out. As they walked down the hall he suddenly gave another whistle and slumped a bit. "I apologize, Counselor McCarthy... sometimes I have an unfortunate tendency to ramble," he said, almost sheepishly.

Dru smiled softly, finding it difficult to keep her professional composure as she was enjoying Ziyal'a openness, it wasn't often she met people willing to be so open,"Well first of all it is Dru. When I'm in counselling or friend mood I hate formality. I like that people feel relaxed. Second of all, ramble away! If you weren't I'd just be asking questions to get you to talk anyway." Dru briefly touched her hand against Ziyal side in order to try reassure him before pulling her hand away and placing both of them behind her back while keeping pace with Ziyal.

Ziyal blinked down at her in confusion, touching his hand to his own questioningly. He wasn't used to people touching him, though the W'qa'arr were a pretty physical species. It was something he missed, but humanoids seemed not to be able to engage in casual contact without adding layers of subtext, so he'd learned to avoid touch. His confusion was short-lived as she kept talking and he was distracted again. "I have had to speak with a lot of Starfleet counselors," he told her, bobbing his head. "I am used to it," he said simply, shrugging all four of his arms as they walked.

Dru frowned slightly as Ziyal went quite,"I tell you what. Why don't you tell me what you want me to know? Who are you? And you seem to be enjoying your new position here on the USS Galileo, how did you end up here?"

"I am Ziyal," the alien answered with a blink. "Yes, I am enjoying it very much!" he tacked on more enthusiastically. "I came here from Starfleet Academy," he interpreted literally once more, before getting it a bit more correct as he added, "I came there from my home planet in the Andromeda galaxy. It is very far away."

Dru folded her hands together, looking at the floor as she concentrated on listening to Ziyal,"How are you managing being so far from home?"

Ziyal just gave her another one of those bizarre blinks. "I like it better in the Alpha Quadrant," he responded, a simple answer for a very complicated question. "My species does not tolerate deficiency well."

Dru was becoming concerned at the short answers from Ziyal,"Is there something in our mind you wish to discuss with me Ziyal? I get the impression either myself or my questions are making you uncomfortable. The purpose of this meeting is so as we get to know eachother so your comfortable with me."

Stilling a little, Ziyal swiveled his head to look at Dru and he gestured a little with his arms. "Not uncomfortable, Counselor Dru," he confirmed with a light tap of his hand against his head. He looked like he was trying to figure out how to word his next statement. "Sometimes I do not know what to do, or say," he came up with a little lamely. It seemed like he had a few good pre-scripted responses ready for dealing with the majority of people he came into contact with, and most conversation after this delved into unknown social parameters, by which he just mostly looked confused and uncertain.

"I am given to understand that it is more complicated to judge someone as mentally competent without interacting with them..." He trailed off, his arms and claws and hands gesturing as if trying to convey some enigmatic intent. "Sometimes I do not know where to go next when it is my turn to talk." He shrugged a little and blink-smiled at her.

"Well lets look at it this way. At the beginning of this conversation you were rambling. Then that changed to you finding it difficult to talk about any subject. What caused the change?" Dru looked over at Ziyal briefly before looking back infront as they continued walking.

"I am not sure what subject to talk about," Ziyal elaborated simply with a few clicks and shrugs. He found it hard to talk with counselors most of the time, and they usually tended to misinterpret him. "I do not mind talking!" he assured her. It was usually that people found he had a tendency to talk too much. "Do you like birds?" he asked suddenly, clicking excitedly. "They are my favorite Earth animal... Their seat of intelligence lies in a separate part of their brain than in most humanoids... so some actually possess the intelligence of a humanoid child," he exclaimed rather at random, gesturing randomly. Without waiting for an answer, he asked, "Is there anything in specific you want to talk about?"

Dru pinched the bridge of her nose before placing her hand behind her back again. She honestly didn't have a clue where to go with this. Ziyal liked to talk but when she choose the subject he seemed to claim up. Dru had one last idea,"You obviously love your job, why don't you tell me back what it is you do?"

"Ooh!" Ziyal whistled, oblivious to her assessments. "I am a biotechnologist! I work with biological and technological components and work to fuse them into a mechanical gestalt." he shrugged. "The main part of my job is analyzing biological, living tissue, to examine how it affects technology. Most biotechnological devices work faster...they work off of the nucleic and neurological structures..." he said, launching into scientific babble. "My species is advanced in biotechnology, so I use our applications to help." He blink-smiled, gesturing a little as he spoke.

Dru nodded her head. The science technobabble went over her head, she instead tried to focus on the information which would tell her more about Ziyal,"I must say, I've heard very little about your species before. Such advancement in biotechnology must mean you are a very caring race, focusing on medicine and science?"

Ziyal shrugged again. "My race is not known for its kindness. Most of our technology evolved as a method of survival. Our homeworld is very harsh!" Ziyal explained chipperly. "I was diagnosed with a genetic defect when I was very small. They managed to fix enough of my linguistic cortex so that I may be functional, but I was not treated very well." Those clicks and whistles were a little sharper, more defined. "The Federation is very different. W'qa'arr value peace and harmony, but that does not make us kind. We value intelligence and cohesiveness," Ziyal explained. To go against the mold was chaotic, to the W'qa'arr. "When someone is less intelligent... less harmonious... they are essentially not part of our society. Their lives do not mean as much." Ziyal gave a few blinks at that, but shrugged. "I am fortunate that I was allowed to travel here!"

"And do you still feel out of place here in Starfleet or have you managed to find yourself a new family of sorts?"

"I felt more out of place on my homeworld," Ziyal answered honestly. "It is still alien to me, living here, but the experience is much more than what it was back home!" he told her, pausing slightly to consider his next words. "If I could find a family, I hope it would be here," he clicked out truthfully. "I hope that I will be able to integrate fully. I still do not understand many things! I have only been here a short time. I am confident that I will learn eventually," he said, accompanied by gestures enigmatic in origin.

Dru nodded her head with a slight smile on her face. There seemed to be a few things in Ziyal's past which he had dealt with in his own way and came out well on the other side. "You seem to be settling well. How have you got on with the people you have met so far?"

Ziyal gave her an enthusiastic nod. "It is still a little difficult to understand some social constructs but everyone I have met on board has been very nice!" he told her clicking rapidly in excitement.

As the reached back to Dru's office, the counsellor turned to smile up at Ziyal, "Well there's stuff I hope you'll allow me to help you work trough but at the moment you seem to be doing well by yourself. I'd like to see you again in a week to check up on how your settling in once the mission is under way but otherwise, my door is open 24/7 I hope you'll contact me if you need someone to talk to."

"Thank you, Counselor!" Ziyal replied as they stopped off at her office. He gave her a quick wave of goodbye with two arms, and a cheerful sort of high-pitched noise, before he blinked and was off once again exploring.

Lieutenant JG Drusilla McCarthy
Chief Counsellor
USS Galileo NCC-80010


CN Nazhzhalh
Biotechnologist, U.S.S Galileo NCC-80010

RSS Feed