Spots of Tea

Posted on 16 Oct 2019 @ 3:44am by Yeoman 1st Class Halona Grayson & Lieutenant Perrin Arc
Edited on on 16 Oct 2019 @ 3:51am

Mission: Hahai i na pilikua nui - Hunting Monsters
Location: Counseling offices
Timeline: before the events in the mine with the colonists.

Halona hadn't actively sought out anyone from the counseling department before, mostly because she was usually good about dealing with what bothered her on her own. Using her artistic expression to let loose her troubles in origami paper figures flowers and whatever else she thought up. Failing that she would go cook in the lounge manager's kitchen. But this was different. She was still upset about what she had learned of the Gorn attrosities against the children of the Colonists. She couldn't talk about it because of the orders either. The only middle ground she figured was seeking out the counselor and see how things went from there.

Halona rang the chime and waited.

Perrin stood, laying down his Padd and walked to the door. He had a lot of tea waiting on his ebony wood table in the middle of the room. He opened the door.

"Good morning, miss," he motioned into his office, "what can I do for you?"

Halona gave a small smile of greetings to the elder Trill man, he looked a few year younger than her father. "Good morning uhm, I hope I'm not interrupting your work?" She asked as stepped into the office.

"Not at all," Perrin said, "I just made a pot of tea--nothing special, just English Breakfast. Would you like some?"

Halona gave a light shake of her head, "Thank you but no thank you, I have a problem I need help dealing with but I can't share the details of the root of it because of orders from the Captain and higher up."

Perrin sat in a comfortable chair. "Please sit down," he said, "You can say anything here." He looked up at her patiently.

Halona sat down slowly gathering her thoughts, "I can't discuss part of it because of orders. I saw something terrible, atrocious but I can't do anything about it. It makes me mad and upset at the same time." She shook her head as the images of the piles of colonists children and babies mauled, and who knew what else the Gorn had done to them as they had died?

Perrin leaned forward. "Would you tell me what you can then? I think it might help you work through this--whatever has happened."

Halona bit her lip, "I don't know what I can tell you, the root of it was something horrid had been done to lots of kids, babies and until the orders are officially released. I don't know what to do. It makes me sad, angry and most of all I know I can't do anything about it." She shook her head blinking her eyes that burned with tears that threatened to start flowing.

"Miss, it is completely and rightly, natural to feel sadness when we see the suffering of others. And empathetic in good ways to hurt when they hurt. Who did these things?" Perrin asked.

Halona shook her head, "orders the details are sealed. Best I can say is they aren't on our ship. The events happened planet-side." She didn't say which planet and couldn't yet. Once the whole mess became public knowledge it would be easier. For now she gave what she could without disobedience. Halona sighed wishing again there was more she could actually do. She was only a yeoman and translation specialist though and as far battlefield and such were not her forte.

Perrin had learned to be patient, but he was afraid that the crew itself might be guilty of war crimes. This young woman wasn't giving him much to go on, but he had to wait.

"Alright," Perrin said, "Yeoman, what is your name?"

"Halona Keira Grayson." She replied softly looking at his face.

Perrin nodded. "Halona, I'm here to listen. What can I do to help? Say anything you want to. It's my job to keep secrets."

Halona shook her head, she had wanted to be part of Star fleet to meet people and do her job, getting a posting on the Hawaii had seemed a blessing but with the last few encounters the ship battles, Gorn boarding the ship folks dying. Gorn killing children and babies and doing who knew what to the adults of the colony. She had been on the edges of most of it helping in the CIC directing the communication traffic and helping send the updates to the right department. She wasn't trained to deal with the horror of the images brought back by the reconnaissance team when they had been planning on how to get the colony and mine back. She sniffled and covered her face with her hands, letting the tears flow, her body shaking as she tried to keep the sound of her crying low...

Perrin reached out and patted the back of Halona's hand. He said nothing. He believed that sometimes, a person just had to cry.

"Halona," he said, "I can only help so far if you won't speak. But when you are ready, I'll be here to listen. You can stay here for another hour if you wish. I don't have another appointment until then."

Halona shook her head softly as she wiped her cheeks blinking tear covered lashes at him, " I am sorry... I don't usually... cry like that..." She wanted to tell him everything she had seen from the footage of the Gorn's mistreatment of the colonists' children. " I can only say ... I never understood the Gorn... but right now I hate them..." She said quietly as she tried to stop sniffling.

"Ah, so it's Gorn, they did something," Perrin said, "They are cruel. Abnormal cruelty is to be hated. Did you lose someone recently?"

Halona shook her head, "No my family is around not on the ship but easy to contact." She remembered her talk with her father recently and hoped his new assistant was keeping him from working too hard. Her mother and sister had been busy plus she hadn't been certain of how to talk about what was bothering her to them. Her father had seen a few cruel things in his lifetime and so had his symbiont.

Perrin couldn't figure out a direct way to deal with Halona's pain. So he just sat and said nothing for a time. Sometimes, all you can do is listen, even if the other cannot speak, he thought.

"Do you want to talk about your family?" he asked.

Halona looked at him a moment, "Mother is Terran my father is a joined Trill but he doesn't have the pigmintation that has become familiar to most when it comes to thinking about Trill.
I have an older sister, who had a lot to share over our ten years of age difference. She had horrible taste in make-up but I survived her makeovers." She shook her head slightly, "Do you have family?"

Perrin smiled. "A wife and three kids: a boy and two girls, both grown now. It's hard to imagine hurting people when we have close family, isn't it?"

"It is hard seeing others hurt and not being able to do anything about it. I know yeoman duties and linguistics, not really up for fighting."

Perrin nodded. "Is there anything you want me to do?"

"Any advice on better emotional control?" She asked softly though Halona didn't feel like crying anymore she was calmer than when she had arrived. So maybe the crying fit had been needed even if it had embarrassed her.

The old man nodded, more out of understanding how Halona was feeling rather than having a real answer to her request. "I suggest you talk about your feelings with someone you trust, and let your emotions out when you have a safe place, like you've done right now with a good cry. Of course, my door is always open but the person you vent to doesn't always have to be me."

Halona nodded her head lightly, "Okay, thank you for letting me vent I guess." She said softly, there weren't many folks on the Hawaii she knew well enough to feel comfortable letting them see her crying at least not yet. The counselor wouldn't laugh or tease her for it she wasn't so certain of the others yet.

Perrin scanned her face. "Do you have any friends on this ship?"

Halona shook her head softly, "Not friends really, I am usually just bringing tea or coffee to the command staff before heading to the diplomacy offices or since joining the Hawaii, I have been tasked with helping sort communications in the CIC during battles, all the linguists skill paying off in ways I didn't expect there." she paused with a slight frown, "Spoken briefly with a few of the officers but not really friends to the point of feeling comfortable to have them see me crying yet. Never know what will happen or turn out but for the moment no, not really."

The dark man, sat back in his chair. "It's hard to be alone in space. I think it would do you good to make a strong friendship. If you can. In the meantime, come back and see me."

Halona nodded as she gave him a small smile, "I will, thank you for your advice and time, Counselor."

Perrin watched Halona leave, and the door close behind her.


Off

Halona Grayson YN1

&

Perrin Arc, Lt.,
Chief Counselor