round 20 [JP] Lt. JG Skyfire & Ens. Moonsong -- Penny For Your Thoughts

[Sedrin Belasi]

(( 0700, Counseling office, USS Garuda ))

::Raissa was surprised to see Skyfire at her door, since they had agreed that she was going to swing by his quarters this morning. It was early and she wanted a chance to go over his files. She was surprised to see the number of counselors that had annotated his file and she was not pleased::

Moonsong: Lt. Please come in. ::stands:: Would you like something to drink?

:: Chythar was clad in his black leather jacket, an Excalibur patch on one shoulder and 118 Ops patch on the other. It was a casual morning for him,yesterday having been crazy-like for him as every other day of shore leave he'd had since leaving the academy. ::

Skyfire: Black coffee?

Moonsong: ::walks to the replicator:: Would you be interested in trying something different? And please, have a seat. ::she gestured to the two comfortable chairs to the side and not the chair in front of her small desk.::

Skyfire: ::taking a seat:: So, how're you?

Moonsong: ::brings over two cups of steaming tea:: I'm finding my way. ::hands him one of the cups and sits down across from him:: The real question is what is on your mind? It's not often a counselor has someone anxious to set an appointment.

:: Resigned to the fact he was doomed to have some of that horrible tea that his brother Sal recommended, CD considered the fact that perhaps this particular blend of tea was something that would improve his mental discipline. That could be used to sharpen his mind, enhance his mental shields. And blast it, his neural inhibitor was wearing off. He didn't need that right now. oO I'd rather bury this blasted ability...[...] you, Azin. Oo ::

Skyfire: :: sighed heavily. :: I suppose I should start at the beginning, shouldn't I? :: he blew a strand or two of his blonde hair out of his eyes and began slowly. :: Some months ago, I was involved in an accident. The exact stardate escapes my memory offhand. During the treatment of one of my patients, he lost control of the situation and I woke up with these...abilities. Making me telepathic and empathic. It only seems to work on humans. :: Beat. He stopped himself, as he thought about whether or not to add more. About Sal. oO Nah. Not now. Oo ::

Moonsong: ::her eyes widened slightly yet her expression remained calm and serene:: I think I understand. ::she tapped her finger on her chin thoughtfully:: These abilities are new to you so I think the first thing we need to do is work on your control, if that is the problem. ::she paused:: Are you wide open right now or do you need to touch?

Skyfire: That's just it. I don't know. I don't need to touch them to be able to sense what's going on, if that's what you meant.

Moonsong: ::nodding:: Are you able to sense anything from me right now?

:: His eyes closed for a moment as he attempted to use his 'curse', the inhibitor wearing off. He detected calm, but still couldn't get a solid read due to the fact she was mostly human. The other, he may've imagined; because alien genetics were alien. ::

Skyfire: Calm, I think? Maybe mild bafflement that a human has this sort of power?

:: He sipped his tea and managed not to blanch at how unusual the flavor was. He drank it with a schooled neutrality. It obviously wasn't his favorite blend, but that didn't matter. He was here, and getting help. Or at least, that's what he tried to make himself believe. ::

Skyfire: I have no idea how to control it. When I first got out of the academy, I was surrounded by people who were telepathic or empathic to some degree. I learned how to shield, sort of. Then this accident happened that cursed me. And recently, while I was operating on Ensign Carter Greyson's life, I felt the pain he was in and my shields were gone. Had to inhibit my curse long enough to treat Captain Reynolds...

:: He fell quiet, and forced himself to take another sip of the unusual liquid that seemed to be in the cup. He did manage to relax, despite how bizzare the tea was. oO Tastes like something my brother thought up... Oo His breathing slowed, his body relaxed and he noticed he was calm once again. ::

Moonsong: ::she set down her teacup picked up the padd that was on the table beside her chair:: Lt... Dr. Skyfire, I think I can help you. I see that you've seen a number of counselors since this happened and I wonder why they couldn't help you.

:: Chythar sipped his drink slowly oO Here we go...Oo and took a deep breath, needing to start from the beginning of the list. ::

Skyfire: OK. I want to make it clear that with my first two counselors, this telepathy/empathy thing was not an issue in terms of my learning how to control it. I only had to know enough to keep myself shielded so I didn't set everyone else off. Sal Taybrim did help me, until I was assigned here.

Moonsong: I'm going to ask you a series of questions and I'm sorry if you've heard this all before, but if I'm to help you succeed, I need to know. And I need you to be completely honest with me.

Skyfire: Go ahead.

Moonsong: Alright, if I understand correctly, you can only read other humans and it doesn't matter if you touch them or not. If someone near you is angry, do you become so as well?

:: He shook his head, her interpretation being slightly off of what he was capable of. He took another sip of tea to relax himself, taking a moment to swallow it before he began to correct her. ::

Skyfire: I don't need to touch anyone in order to sense anything. Lieutenant Taybrim and I shared a mental connection before my accident, and he's the only non-human I can read like an open book. I do pick up on the emotions in the room. Example, during the rescuing of the captain I felt the adrenaline surge from everyone in the group and that was the only thing that kept my curse under control.

Moonsong: ::making notes on the padd and spoke more to herself:: Empathy and telepathy aren't the same thing. ::she looked up at him:: Sorry, I talk to myself. I'm trying to get read on where you rate on each scale.

Skyfire: You tell me. I can't read you as well as I can read Carter, for example. I only guessed you were sensing confusion at my abilities.

Moonsong: I am only one quarter Betazoid. I would have to touch you in order to establish a connection to read you. The result of that could have one or two results. You'll be able to fully read me, or nothing will change and I'll be able to empathically read you. ::smiles::

::Raissa didn't need to be a telepath to read his frustration. It was more than understandable::

Moonsong: We can wait on that particular experiment. ::she picked up her cup again and took a sip. She had chosen one of her more relaxing blends that her grandmother had been fond of:: Based on your files, you are using a chemical inhibitor to control your talent. Which formulation are you using?

:: That was one aspect he wasn't sure of. He remembered it'd been a mixture of chemicals that he composed in the lab, and tried hard to remember which ones. ::

Skyfire: Cortralathin and fistalan. Fifty fifty mix. This is the first time since the accident I had to use it...but why's that important?

Moonsong: Because the control needs to come from you, not the chemicals. You can't develop a dependency on outside sources of control. I'd like to schedule you for regular to start working on your mental blocks.

Skyfire: I'm willing to reschedule if you have other appointments.

Moonsong: I only had you so far, Dr. Skyfire. But I'd like to meet with you when you're not on the chemical inhibitors. It's the only way we'll make any progress. So we should meet daily for the next week and that will determine the best way to proceed.

Skyfire: I understand. Tomorrow morning, then?

Moonsong: Response

:: Skyfire nodded faintly and ran a hand along his face, realizing how tired he was. ::

Skyfire: Yeah, I will try to. See you tomorrow.

:: He got up and prepared to leave the room, downing the last of the tea before disposing of the cup in the replicator on his way out the door. ::

===

Lieutenant JG Chythar Skyfire

Assistant Chief Medical Officer

USS Garuda NCC 73809

&

Ensign Raissa Moonsong

Counselor

USS Garuda