New Beginnings

[physicalstimuli]

Saval doesn't really know which part of this new assignment is more unsettling. There's the fact that he knows he's been chosen for it due to his lack of seniority among the doctors in his unit, none of whom wanted it, and then there's the fact that he's going to be spending the next several months as pretty much the only Vulcan on a starship, and

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[elizabethdehner]

Elizabeth had come to the Enterprise after the Romulan event. They hadn't put any unnecessary personnel on the ships at the time of the distress from Vulcan and so her trip had been delayed. Looking back, she was actually happy she missed all of that as her place in a starship was rather useless in a crisis since no one has time to sit down and talk about their feelings when they're fighting for their lives and the lives of the people on Earth

[physicalstimuli]

Saval has always been an extroverted sort of person, capable of endearing himself to people in social situations--at least, among Vulcans, where he knows the rules. Even then, it's a superficial sort of charm, good for making friendly acquaintances, not actual friends. Here, among humans, all of the rules of polite and civilized society have gone entirely out the window, and he doesn't even know how to be superficially charming anymore. Even in the sickbay, his new human colleagues come across like a pack of wild animals. Loud, raucous, laughing, pushing, groping, swearing animals. At least they do him the courtesy of trying to tone it down when they see him watching, but it doesn't make them seem very much less uncouth

[elizabethdehner]

Oh! He's polite. How darling. She isn't sure what to expect from him, exactly as her interactions with Vulcans has always been rather brief. Spock isn't the same as the rest of him, given his stronger understanding of Human norms, but that's no reason to assume that this one doesn't at least get part of it. The problem really is her ability to ramble on about seemingly nothing in a way that makes even her fellow humans uncomfortable. And that's on her, not them.

"I'm psychologist, specializing in research and human behavior," she answer, a bite of her salad on her fork, but she can wait. "And you're the new medical ambassador?"

Elizabeth, even with her quirks and insecurities and... well, more troubling quirks she prefers not to disclose, is capable of putting most patients at ease, however, he is not a patient and his psyche doesn't work the same. That is not stopping her from acting just as she would otherwise. She finds no use in hiding her feelings or personality. It doesn't do her any good in the end.

[physicalstimuli]

The mention of her profession doesn't provoke the same wariness that it might from a human. Psychology is just another branch of medicine, after all; the mind needs as much maintenance and treatment as the body does, if not more. Human psychology and Vulcan psychology must be very different, but that's just one more reason why it doesn't occur to Saval to be wary. Someone accustomed to studying the workings of the human mind has no reason to be discomfortingly insightful about a Vulcan's thoughts.

"I am, yes," he says. "I am Dr. Saval." It doesn't occur to him that this probably seems impolitely brusque to a human; it's polite by Vulcan standards. He's discreetly looking for a rank signifier on her clothing, though if she's a psychologist, it's probably most proper to address her as 'Doctor' as well. "And your name is?"

[elizabethdehner]

Well, his introduction doesn't bother her. She doesn't know exactly what one would expect from meeting someone new in their culture, but she assumes that he knows at least somewhat what he's doing. So far he's done nothing to seem offensive, but she doesn't doubt that the Vulcan mentality won't kick in sooner or later. She knows how they can be.

"Dr. Elizabeth Dehner," she smiles as she says, less excited as she had when she first arrived, but smiles no less. The signifier, should he know his Starfleet uniforms indicates she's a lieutenant, however most refer to her as 'Doctor' or not at all.

"It's very nice to meet you. We're glad to have new faces among the crew," especially ones that don't wince and look for an exit when she mentions who she is and what she does. "How did you get selected for this position?" she asks, wondering if it was by choice or appointment.

[physicalstimuli]

If she's introducing herself as 'Doctor,' that's what he'll call her. Vulcans are huge on titles and the etiquette surrounding them; it would strike Saval as terribly disrespectful not to have some kind of title to append to someone's name, unless he knew them very well, or unless they were so low in the social hierarchy as not to have one at all. He and T'Zad have been engaged for months now and they're still 'Dr. T'Zad' and 'Dr. Saval' to each other. He's not entirely sure that won't continue for a while even after they're married. Their engagement has all been rather rushed and strange

[elizabethdehner]

"I know a lot about research and teaching opportunities," she smiles at him, almost mischievous and playful, "I was previous off planet in a facility of limited people doing what they called 'research'. It wasn't so much research as it was sitting around and waiting for them to give me something real to do. I ended up there because I drew the short straw. I was right out of school and barely finishing my internship and... well, it lead me here, so I suppose all is well." And thanks again motormouth Elizabeth. You've yet again given information no one asked you for.

"I'm not sure you would call me 'senior' but seeing as I'm the only one doing what I'm doing, then, well, I'm it. I'm well versed in the needs of the crew's mental state and I'll be not only observing them but offering suggestions if tensions seem high or there's a sudden onset of cabin fever, but aside from requested therapy sessions, I'm assigned to research. I'm sure I make the crew feel like lab rats," she laughed, though it is mirthless this time.

[physicalstimuli]

That smile baffles him, because it seems different from the kind of smiles he usually sees on humans, and it's different from what she was doing before, but he doesn't know what that means. It makes him slightly suspicious, though he's trying to give all these people the benefit of the doubt. Why are they always smiling? Are they making fun of him

[elizabethdehner]

"Should and would are two different things. They don't like being poked and prodded and observed because it's 'invasive' even if I'm only watching. It's for their own good and anyone in the future of space travel," she explains. He already knows all of this, she's sure. He may even understand more of it than she does, though he seems rather uninterested in prolonged discussion but that may be more efficient to answer briskly

[physicalstimuli]

Nothing strikes Saval as odd about the silence. Vulcans aren't opposed to small talk, but neither do they see it as awkward or rude for two people to sit in silence when they had been talking. He's going over what she's said, wondering if she has a great deal of work to do as the only psychologist on the ship, and what exactly research into human psychology entails, and who takes care of the mental health of the small minority of non-human crew members. His thoughts are orderly, relevant to the conversation at hand, not drifting off into odd tangents.

Her question makes him arch an eyebrow. "Do you mean to work with me as a colleague, or as a patient?" He can't quite deduce which one she means. He'd mentioned learning from her in a more research-oriented capacity, but he's not sure how she would plan to ease his transition, if not through some kind of counseling. But then, if her field is specifically human psychology, she's not qualified to work with a Vulcan anyway, so she must logically mean the former...

[elizabethdehner]

Logically. But this is Elizabeth we're talking about here. She isn't always aiming for logical and she certainly isn't going to back down from a challenge, even if that means she's going to put herself into a position where she may not know much, but she's not afraid to ask for help either.

"As a colleague, yes," she replies, "I thought since you are teaching and learning we might be able to get something from each other for those means. So if that helps your work, I hope to help you. I'm certainly not qualified to be a psychologist for Vulcans, but not for lack of trying. I'm offering to help in any way I can if you'd like. You only have to let me know how I can."

[physicalstimuli]

That had started out sounding perfectly acceptable, and Saval would have been all for it, because that is, after all, why he's here. He'd share what little he knows about Vulcan psychology, or at least, what aspects of it aren't private and off-limits to outsiders, and she can explain how weird human brains work, and voila, information exchange.

But then she's talking about trying to be a psychologist for Vulcans, and Saval arches an eyebrow slightly, not appreciating the sound of that. He doesn't need the services of a psychologist, let alone one who isn't even his own species. At least she's not pushing him, but even the offer is insulting. This woman's known him for all of two minutes, and she's suggesting he needs counseling. From a human. Saval knows nothing about human psychology, but he imagines it involves a lot of talking about feelings, what with them being pretty much entirely composed of those

[elizabethdehner]

She nearly winces. There's a flash of something but it's so muffled and gone so fast she hardly has time to analyze. It doesn't help that these kinds of 'flashes' have been happening more frequently and each time they pull her attention almost entirely from what she's doing, should it be work or conversation. Liz glances down at the table, blinking a few times and then pulls herself together, not taking more than a couple seconds to deal with that mentally and return to the conversation

[physicalstimuli]

Saval's eyebrow is on the verge of disappearing into his bangs as she talks. How very strange this conversation is. Vulcans are known for their honesty--said to be incapable of lying, though Saval knows firsthand that that isn't true--and they have a tendency to mistrust people from cultures that aren't known for that quality, and yet Dr. Dehner is being blunter and more candid about her people than any Vulcan would ever be. Saval has no idea what to make of the assessment she's giving him. Doesn't she want to represent her people well? The things she's saying about humans are things everyone thinks about them anyway, but doesn't she know how to keep those thoughts to herself and spin the rest of it to present a positive front for outsiders? It seems almost...disloyal, what she's saying. No wonder humans are so disorganized and chaotic. There's no internal solidarity, no sense of pride or kinship among them

[elizabethdehner]

He seems surprised, or at least the Vulcan equivalent of it. Her field is normal for her, something that makes sense to her since she is in fact human and part of the studies. She falls under that. She knows what it's like to live in those minds. She gets it, but there's a lot that he can't possibly understand

[physicalstimuli]

"I cannot see how you would make my transition more difficult. You understand that human customs and behavior are unpredictable and therefore difficult for Vulcans to comprehend, and therefore I presume you will not be offended if I ask you for clarification on anything I cannot understand through research."

He may not be keen on the idea of therapy from a human psychologist, but she seems like a better candidate to answer his pressing questions about human social etiquette and other such things than anyone else he's met so far. That's the kind of help that he thinks will actually really come in handy, now that he thinks of it.

"I hope that my medical expertise will indeed prove valuable here." He's not going to articulate his concerns that they're not going to let him be useful enough to justify his presence, but she can probably read between the lines.