Exeter Symposium (Part 7)

Posted on 04 Mar 2016 @ 8:09am by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Lieutenant JG Drusilla McCarthy & Chief Warrant Officer 3 Greg Mitchell & Command Master Chief Markum Quinn
Edited on on 04 Mar 2016 @ 8:11am

3,535 words; about a 18 minute read

Mission: Episode 10 - Symposium
Location: Jupiter Station - Deck 75, Auditorium 4
Timeline: MD 82 - 1230 hrs

Previously, on Exeter Symposium (Part 6)...

It was at this point that Holliday decided it best to make his exit. He had remained for the first sequence of presentations, and as such had made his support of the crew clear. Nodding to his Yeoman, and taking to his feet, the Captain took one last look at the stage before discreetly making his way out through one of the various side doors.

Rebecca had been heavily distracted throughout the presentations, so much so the she barely took in the presenters and their presentations. If she was to be asked any questions, she already knew that was a test she would fail.

She was worried about Holliday, his behavior was so unusual and he was being so guarded about his plans. She could only hope that whatever it was, he took great care.

Duval came within inches of Holliday and his departure, he turned his head as he watched the man in silence before he polished off his drink, then he went back to fetch a second. "Whats all that about?" he asked of the people around him.

And Now, the Continuation...

[ON]

12:30 Drusilla McCarthy's Presentation

After the brief recess which had allowed for a bathroom break as well as some food, drink, and mingling, the audience members now shuffled back into the massive auditorium to once again take their seats and prepare for the second section of Galileo presentations.

Back behind stage with a Caesar salad wrap in her hand, Lirha munched away and chatted with her crew who had already finished their presentations. They had gone very well so far -- at least she thought so -- and now she was anxious to see how the next five presenters would do. She looked at the ship's chief counselor who was an old friend of hers, and gave the woman a reassuring smile as her name was called out by the director to summon her on stage. "You will do just fine," she said, giving Dru a gentle squeeze on her shoulder.

Pushing her hand through her up-styled hair, Dru instinctive straightened her uniform jacket as she cradled her PADD closer. At five months into her pregnancy, a bump was noticeable beneath her clothes but the over jacket she had begun to adapt helped hide the bulge somewhat. It had taken alot of time and research but finally she had found a topic which seemed relevant in today's society...one which she hoped would interest the gathered crowd rather than bore them to death.

When it came to counselling and psychology it was a minefield. Of course there was various topics which any counsellor could cover but not all were those which stroke the emotion of interest in a varied audience. There was the topics which were relevant, some of which had already been covered, but hopefully this one would work.

Smiling as she heard Lirha's words, she turned to look at her friend. "Thanks...I think. It's a daunting thought to have to talk infront of so many people."

"Just...pretend they are not there, and keep your eyes towards the scaffolding above them," Lirha replied with an old public-speaking suggestion she had learned many years ago.

Smiling at this, Dru rubbed a hand down along her arm as she tried to combat her nerves. "That advise sounds better than imagining that everyone in the crowd is naked."

Peering around the curtain, Dru watched as the crowd milled into the theater area. There seemed to be less than before but it seemed natural that this would occur as many people would claim themselves too full after lunch to handle another talk. And then there was others who would just claim themselves too bored after the morning to want to come back.

With near on a quarter of a million people assembled in the one area she couldn't find the one she looked for but she hoped he would be there. Tuula had cleared him to come to the talk and he had said he would be here for her...she would just need to trust in that.

As someone behind her cleared their throat, Drusilla looked around to see the assigned moderator smiling. “Ready?”

A quick flash of fear and nerves raced through her mind before Drusilla finally nodded her head. As the moderator indicated for her to take to the stage; the counsellor closed her eyes, took a number of calming breaths before taking the step and moving across to the microphone.

“Good afternoon all. I trust that everyone had a nice lunch? I hear that the gagh went down a treat.” Smiling as she heard the ripple of laughter, Drusilla entered a command into her PADD before a large image appeared above her head, “Love.”

She waited until she had the attention of a majority of the crowd before she moved to sit on the stool. “What is love? The definition varies depending on how you ask. It can be a strong feeling of affection. A great interest and pleasure in something. And even, as our very own Von Haeften touched on earlier, a deep affection or sexual love for someone.” As the counsellor spoke, bullet points of her words appeared on the screen behind.

“Look at the person to your left...anyone on the edge just grab anyone you can.” As the crowd seemed to hesitate, Dru smiled as she indicated towards them all, “Don't worry, I'm not going to ask you to kiss them.”

As a ripple of laughter moved through the theater, the shuffle of bums moving on seats could be heard. Aloud, Dru begun to count, “One...Two...Three..Four...Five...You are now in love!” Smiling as she could see some faces look around at her in confusion, the counsellor moved to the next slide.

“Some people believe that it can take days, weeks, months or even years to fall in love but that is untrue. The science behind falling in love is meeting a person who within five seconds causes your brain to release a cocktail of neurotransmitters across the brain, including oxytocin, dopamine, vasopressin and, our old favorite...adrenaline. The science behind love is that love is meeting a person who gets you high on these chemicals and the end result is your heart racing, increased sweating, the feeling that this person is different to others you have met. It is true, they are different but they are different because you weren't as attracted to the last person as you are this one. You are...in love.”

As mummers began amongst the crowd, Dru pressed another command as a new slide appeared showing two people kissing. “Did you realise that quite literally, a kiss can seal the deal. A kiss is what helps us ultimately choose that this is the person we want. Weather that person has soft lips, perhaps he or she uses just the right amount of tongue or quite simplify...it just feels right, that kiss will help you decide if this is the person you want.”

Smiling as she looked around at the people, she talked to the group at large, “So would anyone are to kiss the person on their right and test this theory?” Shy smiles peered back at her but in one or two sectors, cheers arose which indicated brave people who were giving it a trial. Smiling more broader, she directed her question to one such couple, “Care to share your findings with the rest of us?” Laughing as she watched them shake their heads and turn red with embarrassment, the counsellor proceeded to move on.

“Long term relationships...I think that this matters to alot of us given how working with Starfleet can mean prolonged times apart.” Glancing at her new slide and then back to the crowd, Drusilla continued, “There's a long term belief that long term relationships are doomed to fail but this is not necessarily true. In a long term relationship you are more likely to open up more. When you have so little contact with a person you store information, even the littlest of pieces, because you don't want the person in your life to miss anything. Because the time you do get together can be so limited, you ensure to spend every precious second showing that person what they mean to you...long terms relationships work for the right reasons aslong as you are ready for what it brings, the biggest of which is the distance you will be apart.”

“I think what we all want to know though is how to make a relationship work.” As she entered another command, a list appeared on Dru's next slide as she moved through from one point to the next. “Don't criticise. If someone does something wrong, instead of giving out why not help them to put it right? Did someone forget to buy a loaf of bread on the way home from work? Instead of giving out, give them a hug and tell then that it's ok. Did someone iron your shirt but forget a crease? Tell them thank you for making the effort. One crease is better than a fully creased shirt. If they made the effort, don't forget to say thank you.”

Looking around, Dru moved onto the next points, “Sarcasm...although sometimes it has a place, other times it's not appropriate. It comes back again to the simple matter that everyone makes mistakes, instead of cutting them down find something or some reason to just say everything will be ok.”

“This brings us around to the most important point of all...communication. When you stop communicating that is when walls are built and people get shut out. Part of being in love is opening yourself and your life to someone else and trusting that they will never take advantage of your trust. You need to leave that door open, because once it's closed then how is the other person meant to help. It takes two to fall in love...it takes two to make a relationship...And it takes two to make it work.”

Looking around as she saw the majority of the crowd listening, Dru pressed her PADD command once more as she shut it down. “Then again...there's the theory that you forget about the science and just believe...love is meant to be.”

As she stood up from her chair, Dru held her hands to her sides as she shrugged her shoulders, “Fairy tales can exist. If you can fall for someone in five seconds, why shouldn't you fall head over heels. Where fairy tales begin to fall apart is when people stop trying. People stop trying to make that small effort to give a compliment, people stop trying to make the extra effort to remind their other half that they matter.”

Stepping forward, Dru's eyes again moved across the assembled people, “Relationships are a choice, just as remaining single is. Both can work if done right. Love though isn't a choice. Our decision is made or us before the word love even enters our head. What you choose to do with this is ultimately your choice but don't forget about the other person, their feelings and emotions when you decide. At the end of the day, everyone has feelings and emotions and deserves to be treated the same as you expect for yourself.”

As her voice faded out, Dru smiled nervously as she was greeted by silence before a number of people lead an applause before everyone else joined in. Smiling shyly, she waited until the applause silenced before indicating towards the crowd, “So....anybody have any questions?”

Quinn stood up from the back of the auditorium and raised a hand. "I have a question. What about those that were in a traumatic event and once awoken, realized that they almost lost everything and now realize just how much they really love that person?"

Dru didn't need the video feed to realise who had spoken. Her eyes sought him out in the audience but found him too far away to be seen clearly. She settled with just looked down at her PADD before looking back up once he'd finished speaking.

Taking a few deep breaths as she tried to settle the panic, Dru reminded herself that she stood in a room full of people who wouldn't understand the situation fully. All be it that there was a handful who did understand. "First and foremost, as a counsellor I can't advise. I can delve out observations and suggestions and speak from my professional experience. Initially, I'd be concerned about the ramifications of this traumatic effect and the possibility as rash decisions being made too soon. When something bad happens in our lives we habitually seek out the good to be able to cling to. The good in our lives can act as a life raft of sorts because it's steady and it's something which lifts the spirits. The event itself causes an amplification effect, as such, that suddenly situations personal to us become a lot more clearer; we begin to look at the world in a different light. The good and the bad."

Pausing for a moment, Dru moved back to her chair, resting her tailbone against the edge as she just used it to lean against. "The instinct can be to cling to the good for fear of loosing it again but you need to be able to step back and ensure, that this is one hundred percent right for you. Deal with the physical and mental outcomes of this traumatic event. Mentally you will find that you go through a stage of grief, the level of grief depending on the level of the event which occurred in your life. Anger can also happen. The levels of grief and anger differ for each person and each situation."

Dru closed her eyes for a brief moment as she tried to save this. The question was personal, that much she knew. It was too much of a coincidence that he would say what he did there and then and if the counsellor knew anything about Markum she knew one thing...love played a key role in his life. He'd loved and hurt so many times before but still opened himself up again because he wanted that chance of finding the person who finally was the one. In some ways she was prepared, only weeks ago Tuula herself had suggested that love existed between Dru and Markum and the seeds had been set in her mind...she just didn't want to make an outburst here and now when she was still coming to terms with the fact she hadn't lost Markum and yes...trying to come to terms with the fact that she loved him.

"Once your life is stable again, take a second look at the person your in love with, with a clear mind. Look at how they've been during your period of recovery...look at how much they've supported you and been by your side. Look and see, do they truly love you in return. If you really love a person as much as you say, you'll find that nothing has changed, that if the person truly cares the same about you...loves you just as much...they will have stayed by your side through thick and thin. The strength of what you felt after the event will be just as strong now, if not stronger now there's nothing more cluttering your mind space. Love can grow and blossom if treated right, it's an extension to our personality and as we grow and mature it grows with you...if ever it weans you need to step back and ask why, ask if it is really what you've been looking for. True love will grow with your relationship and never stop growing until the day one of you dies but even then...if it's true love the person left will still love you until the day that they die too."

As silence greeted her response, Dru felt her face grow red as she smiled and tried to deflect away from herself, "I should have mentioned, counsellor's love to analyse and pick things apart. Sometimes a simple question won't have a simple answer...especially if you ask a counsellor."

Markum slowly walked up towards the stage, slowly, step by step, never taking his eyes off of Dru. He chuckled a few times at her wording and business-like, all-so professional explanation. He stopped at the front of the stage, and looked up to her. "Dru, I don't give a shit about all that. I only care about you, and the baby. I have always cared about you, and even when you were so far away, you were always on my mind. Now, you came back to the Gali, and then my near death experience that I don't remember, feels like something is trying to tell me to do whatever I can to make you understand how much I love you."

Quinn hopped up on the stage and walked to Dru, and placing a hand on her cheek, he kissed her tenderly. "I love you, Drusilla McCarthy."

Dru felt her knees almost buckle and she wasn't quite certain if it was from the overwhelming love that she felt for this man or from the comprehension of what he had just done infront of all of their colleagues and peers. I'm going to kill him... His words still continued to echo inside of her head, for a moment suppressing the need for his blood. It was hard to believe that it had been almost four months since they'd seen each other again. Both having changed so much in life but at the bottom of it all feelings still existed.

She remembered that first time she had seem him again, the joy she had felt inside, and how easy it had been to forget the time they had spent apart. So much had happened in between with her pregnancy and Markum's marriage and consequence divorce but those brief minutes in each other's company felt so much like old times.

When he'd been ripped away from her again...when she'd been told he may never again regain consciousness, her life had been torn apart again. For the briefest of moments it had felt easier to consider to end it all but common sense prevailed. She had a baby she knew she wanted to keep and while Markum still drew a breath, here was still hope. Hope that she had clung to every day she sat by his side and told him to come back to her.

"You bloody old fool...I love you too." Dru had lovingly whispered the words but, of course, her open comm badge picked it all up and broadcast it to everyone else. Closing her eyes, she rested her forehead against Markum's for just a mere minute more as she felt her face become red hot from the embarrassment.

Markum grinned and kissed her forehead. "You know how i like to keep you guessing."

As there was a sudden outburst of wolf whistles and cheers from the crowd, Dru took Markum's hand in her own before clearing her throat and turning back to the assembled crowd and trying her best to recover. "So...ye..." She cleared her throat for a moment before squeezing the chief's hand and regrouping herself, "I guess that's what happens when I ask for someone to volunteer to be a case study."

As laughter rang out through the stands, Dry cleared her throat as she noticed movement to her side. "Right...I apologise I wasn't able to give as much time as anticipated to questions but I will be available during the next lunch if you'd like to try and find me for further conversation."

Smiling her appreciation as the crowd once again applauded, Dru hurried off stage dragging Markum in her wake. She needed a serious chat with this man...he need not think he was going to get off lightly for what had just happened.

Should have given him the engagement ring.....Greg thought.

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

RADM Lirha Saalm
Mission Advisor
USS Galileo

CAPT Jonathan Holliday
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Lt Min Nicholas
Chief of Operations
USS Galileo

PO2 Eva Mercy
Propulsion Specialist
USS Galileo
[PNPC Min Nicholas]

Lieutenant JG Drusilla McCarthy
Chief Counsellor
USS Galileo

Petty Officer 2nd Class Rebecca Williams
Yeoman to Captain Holiday
USS Galileo

Lt. Jared Nicholas
Language Specialist
USS Galileo

Lt. j.g. Naois Mercy
Counsellor
USS Galileo
pnpc Tyrion

Cadet SO Wintrow Paragon
Support Craft Pilot
USS Galileo
pnpc Tyrion

Allyndra illm Warraquim
Chief Medical Officer
USSGalileo
as herself and some temp NPCS
(signatures for all PCs and NPCs)

Lieutenant Tuula Voutilainen
Medical Officer
USS Galileo

...and other assorted Galileans

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