Of Dual Nature

Posted on Thu Mar 19th, 2020 @ 6:12am by Lieutenant Commander Elizabeth Yamaguchi-Solusar & Lieutenant Taselle Dragon

Mission: Mission 98: Building Our New Home
Location: Various Locations - Starbase Vanguard
Timeline: 1000Hrs - July 14th, 2393

Lieutenant Taselle Dragon knew that she needed to deal with the aftermath of the recent psionic event, she sighed softly as her relationship with her mother had taken a very serious knocking from the incident in question. The older Dragon, her adopted mother who was her mother in all but biology had tried to reassure her that what happened wasn't Taselle's fault but the younger Dragon didn't see things that way.

The young Cardassian was sitting in a single person sofa which felt a tad overstuffed for her liking as she found herself facing a larger human-looking female who was clearly pregnant. "I don't know what to do about what happened..." Dragon commented quietly. "Mom tells me that it wasn't me but it was me." the Cardassian explained. "I was the one who did the deeds, I had her abducted and then tormented before she got to me."

Yamaguchi-Solusar knew what horrors that April Dragon had doubtless been subjected to while she had been held captive by the Cardassians, despite the fact that neither April or Taselle had been off of the Starbase for months, this was another casualty of the psionic event from a few days earlier. Yamaguchi-Solusar was meeting with Dragon now for the second time, the first time she had gotten the background details and the historical value of the infomation had become apparent when she had done some homework and fact-checking after Dragon had left before. "Your family had an Obsidian Order background, didn't it?" she inquired. "Your biological one, I mean."

Dragon nodded her head there was nothing to be gained by lying about it or getting angry that the other woman had done her homework on the topic. "Yes, Mom was an interrogator, by all accounts, she was a rather brutal one and dad was a systems analyst. He enjoyed head games." Dragon paused. "Had Cardassia not fallen then its entirely possible that I would have ended up in the order as well." she sighed softly. "Mom, err that is April took me in and gave me a new family, at first it was just me and her... She taught me the value of honesty, she was always the upfront type and she didn't screw with people... and I spent a week torturing her for it."

Yamaguchi-Solusar shook her head. "Taselle, the psionic wave affected everyone differently. For me, it allowed me to meet my son as an adult, I had been lost on a deep space assignment and my husband had taken his own life." she explained. "for mom, she was alone after a neutron star had destroyed the Courageous and all of her kin, along with her." she paused. "for Dad, he was a cold and bitter man after his spouse, my mother, had taken her own life." Yamaguchi-Solusar regarded the Cardassian before her. "My brothers weren't affected but Rachael, one of my sisters was. She experienced what might have been. A life without her present husband, she was actually with someone else and her daughter had a different life." she paused. "Some good, some bad and some you must decide for yourself."

"But how do I separate the hallucination from real memories." Dragon inquired. "It felt so... real.."

"I know," Yamaguchi-Solusar answered evenly. "I know exactly whereof you speak Taselle." she paused. "During my event, my son shared his memories with men so I understand what his life was like, even though it was a mass hallucination. Those memories were real. Watching Robbie grow up calling another woman his mother, my sister took him in after his dad died and I disappeared." she explained. "So I do understand where you are coming from Taselle. Except your case is much more simple than mine and much more complicated at the same time."

"I tormented the woman I call my mother. I had my guards torture her." Dragon answered quietly. "I don't know how to get past it."

Yamaguchi-Solusar nodded in understanding. "This is going to be with you a long time Taselle, same as mine will be with me."

"But she holds me blameless," Dragon answered. "My mother, I mean."

"I do not doubt it, she holds you blameless as she knows that you would not be able to contemplate doing what happened in your event," Yamaguchi-Solusar answered. "She considers you the same person you always were, the person she knew since she took you in. But you feel differently."

"But you didn't torture your mother..."

"Actually..." Yamaguchi-Solusar regarded the other woman before her. "I did. I took her babies from her otherwise she would have died from medical issues and concerns," she commented. "I acted to save her life and their lives... But that still doesn't make what I did, right." she paused "But that said. I do understand where you are coming from Taselle. She doesn't see the issue as worth holding against you, you can't be held responsible for something that you didn't do."

Dragon held her silence as she considered it. "But it all felt so real..." she responded in a quiet tone of voice.

"Oh, I can believe it Taselle... But what matters is not that we find the unexpected. What matters is how we face the unexpected as we're not going to be ready for every challenge that comes our way. But I have a feeling that you'll come through this test with shining colors, you're experiencing the same issue as me, a crisis of faith. Faith in yourself."

"You've given me much to consider." Dragon paused a moment. "I didn't think anyone else was dealing with my level of insanity."

"I can understand except one thing... Your event was a hallucination, mine was very real.. Oh, mom forgave me for it but it took much time and a lot of yelling and shouting, mostly she did the yelling and I did the enduring." she sighed "But Paul and Tressa are both alive and well." she paused as she sighed. "I do understand how you feel though Taselle. If you feel you need to come back and see me, then I'm here... "

Dragon nodded her head, in understanding and in acceptance of what she was hearing, she then rose to her feet and departed in silence as the meeting came to a close.