Posted by Civilian Cerenity (Luna’s daughter) in [Arrival] - Hope is a Thing With.. Claws.

Posted by Lieutenant Tal Abara (Senior Researcher (Cognitive Science)) in [Arrival] - Hope is a Thing With.. Claws.

Posted by Ensign Luna (Security Officer /RTF) in [Arrival] - Hope is a Thing With.. Claws.
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻

[SNIP for the sake of legibility]

OOC: Yay! Picard wiggles. :)

---

“Research?” Abara inched forward, the base of her synthetic glass clicking shamelessly against the Admiral’s desk. She lifted her eyebrows in mild interest. “‘Research’ has many implications. Would you care to elaborate, sir?”

“Of course.” He mirrored her gesture, resting his elbows centimetres from her abandoned glass, and steepled his fingers. “I understand you served aboard Viking as her counsellor, until..”

“I was ensnared by an avaricious void?” Tal tapered her gaze to narrowed slits and delayed long enough to consider him. “A paltry was of putting it, sir, but yes.”

“And did your service aboard Viking alter the way you approach or consider psychology?”

It was a strange question. Tal’s service had more than ‘altered’ her practice. It tested every regulation and oath she’d sworn to uphold and transmuted the essence of her resolution into a weapon equally protective as it was lethal. Mors Vincit Omnia. Death conquers all. The lines between ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ had become so blurred and indecipherable that Tal had neglected them altogether. Viking hadn’t ‘altered’ anything - she flat-out obliterated it.

“No,” Tal hummed. “Viking taught me that ‘psychology’ is a term riddled with subtleties so vast that a single word cannot begin to encompass them. My service didn’t ‘alter’ anything,” she blinked, “it just left me with more questions than I have answers for.”

“What kind of questions?” The further he dug, the deeper her curiosity reached.

“When I was trapped,” her breath hitched, “I often doubted whether I was comatose. I wondered if my misery was a product of hallucinations or a mind so detached from my body that it tethered to some semblance of reality borne of memories. This lingering question of my being got me thinking…”

“Go on?” He tilted his head, eyebrows taunt.

“What we consider ‘real,’” she cupped an invisible token, “and ‘fake’ is so absolute. We do not allow for a grey area. But I do not think it’s that simple.” Tal hesitated. “The notion of consciousness is serpentine – we understand that it’s the product intrinsic and extrinsic factors developed over a person’s lifetime. But we don’t consider how those factors impact the fabric of our reality – or if our reality is autonomous. I’m not speculating different universes, which we have the empirical data to suggest may exist, I’m suggesting a difference of reality between individuals..” She tensed in her seat. “..and questioning whether we can medicinally manipulate reality as an instrument of therapy.”

“If I’m not mistaken, isn’t that the purpose of Kolinahr?”

“Not quite, sir.” Tal hardly noticed the smile etching its way into her lips. “Kolinahr is a type of desensitisation. It basically dampens emotional capacity to the point that such input is rendered insignificant and therefore ignored in the thought process. But it doesn’t purge emotions.”

“So, what are you proposing?”

“Trauma has lasting impacts on the amygdala and hippocampus, yes?” Tal prompted. “Simply put, it changes the way we process and respond to stimuli- the way we think, our reality. With therapy, medication, mindful activities.. trauma is tamed and we can help a patient restore functionality in work and their livelihood. This is perhaps the most fundamental psychology when treating Starfleet Officers.” She waved a dismissive hand. “But I’m curious about less… standard methods of treating trauma and other reality-distorting ailments. I want to know if we can.. reverse engineer the brain, almost like–” she was cut off by the sudden realisation of the Admiral’s wild grin. “What’s so amusing, sir?”

“Research, Lieutenant.” He leaned forward and clasped his hands together. “How interested would you be in pursuing this kind of research?”

“It’s not exactly ‘moral’, sir.” Tal furrowed her brows, clutching the cane nestled between her knees. “I doubt it would fall within Starfleet regulation.”

“I’m not overly concerned with matters of morality, Lt.” He assured. “But I am curious what your research could reveal about anomalous psyches.”

“Anomalous?” It was safe to say her interest was piqued once more.

---

Tal could not recall the last time she ventured onto a starship without a moan sending shivers down her spine or a leery eye stalking her from the shadows. It was strange. She became so accustomed to Viking’s idiosyncracies – knowing the endorsement of fear would only encourage their lust – that the notion of ordinary grew as grotesque as it was unwelcome. But winding through Leviathan’s labyrinthine halls with the knowledge it would afford her a new breed of “aberrant” gave a sense of.. content? (Peace was a terrifying word.) She had no idea what she was getting herself into, and that alone was unsettling, but she at least knew it wasn’t ordinary.

Stealing a glance at her PaDD, Tal took a brief note of her quarters assignment and made a crooked beeline for the nearest turbolift.

– Tal Abara, incoming Researcher

As Tal headed for the turbolift a small child came around the corner. She had long blond,hair bright blue eyes , and what appeared white and black spotted wings conning from her back. She stoped looking at the strange woman. ” Are you new onbord?” She asked.
Cerenity

OOC: Welcome aboard I could not resist having Cerenity say Hi. Feal free to ignore my response id you did not want anyone to join this thread or you can enjoy the creepy three year old.
Christina

OOC: It’s great to be writing with you again, Christina! And likewise. Cerenity was barely a year-or-so old the last time Tal was around, so this will be a surprise! – Trin

OOC: I know I recognized Tal.– Christiana

IC:

Tal lifted her gaze to the young girl, a flicker of nostalgia kindling in her belly, and smiled. Her face was achingly familiar – like an echo, Abara couldn’t quite place it.

“That I am,” she favoured her left side, “I’m Tal. What’s your name?” Tal leaned forward, her cane a balancing point, and offered a calloused hand to Cerenity.

– Tal Abara, Cognitive Researcher

Cerenity tok a step forward opener her wing with a small jump and a few flaps she was having infront of tall. Her wings silent at the move but now Tal would not need to lean forward. ” your voice is familiar. I’m Cerenity have we met before, and are you hur” she asked.
Cerenity

Cerenity. Where had she– “Is Luna your mother?” The words slipped from her tongue before she’d the chance to consider them. “Uh,” a bashful chuckle escaped her as she extended a hand to the corridor in a gesture to walk– or glide. “I used to serve aboard the Viking. Do you recall that ship?”

“Am I hurt?” Tal blinked, momentarily confounded by her question, before she realised how strange a woman roaming through halls by the whim of cane must seem to a young girl. “No.. no. I’m just a little unsteady,” she tapped the cane, “this just makes sure I don’t trip over my toes.”

– Tal Abara, Cognitive Researcher