Dale made sure he had a cup of hot, black coffee in hand before he shut the door behind him, sat down at the table, and tried to get the meeting started
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Joe snorted quietly at Dale's last line, vaguely amused to see him in this setting. It was different, definitely, not the way he'd seen Dale at any other point, not the way he'd seen many of the people on the Council at any other point, actually. Leaning back, he propped one foot up on the edge of the table and looked around, his eyes finally falling on Clarice, waiting to hear about what had been going on. The whole situation was mostly unknown to him anyway because Joe's world revolved around Joe and he only knew what Dale had told him.
On the far corner of the table, Eostre hugged her knee against her chest and listened intently, turning her cup of tea by it's rim. She hadn't expected to be elected, but, now that she had been, she guessed she had to do her best.
She picked up her tea and sipped it, glancing up the table at Dale. The whole thing made her inexplicably nervous, but that would pass, she figured.
Jim had settled himself into a seat when he entered the room, a cup of coffee in hand. He wasn't entirely sure how he was supposed to act at these things, so he sort of remained quiet, sitting near people he knew.
He fiddled with his ring thoughtfully as he listened to what was being said. It seemed like they were going to get right to business.
Leoben sat down next to Jim, missing Sheppard already and feeling that it was very important to be near someone normal, sane, and relatively familiar. He knew --if only in vague terms-- what they'd be discussing first and he was sort of dreading it.
Qui-Gon took a long look over the letter Faramir had written before passing it further down the table, in the case that not everyone had seen it already. "Perhaps we would do well to start our discussion of the request only after hearing Agent Starling's report," he suggested, unwilling to make assumptions about Faramir's progress without--at the least--considering the voice of personal experience.
While he did doubt that Faramir meant anyone further harm, the fact remained that he had meant to do no harm in the first place, but had ended up doing a great deal of it on the island's intervention. Perhaps he was not so ready to end his atonement as he seemed to think.
Perhaps others were not so prepared for an end to it, either. "I suppose the opinions of his victims may be taken into account as well, if necessary," he added after a moment.
Jim bit his lip thoughtfully, leaning forward on the table. He cleared his throat, hoping he wasn't speaking out of turn.
"Those opinions are just as important as the medical evaluation," he said. He knew if he had gotten attacked, he would want to have a say in the attacker being let out. The island was small, after all, and they would inevitably bump into each other. "Though, whatever we decide, and especially if we let him out? I'm putting my vote in on him continuing to get counseling. It'll be a way to keep checking up to make sure he's adjusting."
Qui-Gon held up one hand, conciliatory. "I agree. My thought is that we may spare those victims a certain amount of worry by determining whether the request is even a valid one--perhaps counseling has shown that he is in no way ready for release."
Eostre bent her head to take a look at the letter, one eyebrow raised slightly as she read. It was amazing what could happen even in such a small community without everyone being entirely aware of it.
"The opinions of victims should always be taken into account," she said, reading the letter for the second time before taking a sip of her tea. "Especially in so constricting an environment, I'd say."
The way that the island screwed with people made her nervous, made her angry, but there was no way that it ought to be used as an excuse. Too many people used too many things as excuses and justifications, in Eostre's long experience.
With the frequency that she was having to attend these meetings, Clarice was beginning to wonder if she shouldn't have kept her own Council nomination. Surveying the group, she felt a twinge of trepidation regarding what she needed to say, what she needed to request. There was going to be bias amongst them, to be sure.
With Dale's signal that she should begin, Clarice gave a nod to the gathering and an exceedingly polite smile. "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for inviting me here to discuss Faramir's progress." Social niceties first. "I have been working with Faramir since his incarceration at the beginning of October. In that time, he has shown considerable progress, in spite of some of the daunting barriers we have to face under the current circumstances." She folded her hands together and swept a glance around the room, ensuring that she made eye contact with each of them. "I realize that I am not a member of the Council, but you have asked me here twice now to give my opinion on this matter. The
( ... )
In the now seven months that Chris had been friends with Clarice, he'd never once seen her truly in her element. There were the occasional glimpses, like when he caught her doing work in the IBI office or huddled around papers, but Chris knew enough about her and her former occupation to understand that those times only showcased a small part of it. There'd been the introductions to the Council speeches as well, but that had also only been a glimmer. Seeing her then, watching her address the Council with the results of her sessions with Faramir, expressing her invaluable opinion and insight that Chris really, truly understood what she did and how good she was at it.
Well, she certainly seemed good anyway. It wasn't as though Chris had much basis for comparison.
"So, you think if we keep him locked up as he is right now, it will actually have a negative effect on him? Can I ask how?" Chris asked, leaning forward in his seat a bit, his lips quirked into a very smile as he addressed Clarice. A second later, he realized the
( ... )
If Clarice noticed the smile, she didn't acknowledge it. "As I mentioned, Mr. Cutter, he it likely that he would become more withdrawn, and emotionally stagnate. As you can read in Faramir's request, he is already planning on removing himself from the community at least temporarily as a sort of self-imposed punishment. He takes what has happened extremely seriously and has a great deal of guilt and remorse. Should he remain in such a restrictive environment, it is possible that he will sink further into depression. Faramir is used to being an actively contributing member of society. Allowing him to continue to be so is key to his emotional and mental growth, so that he may feel he is doing something positive, rather than spending his days meditating on the negative."
"Well, what if we gave him more to do?" Chris asked, feeling sort of a little unnerved by the obviously professionalism of the whole thing. Chris really wasn't used to it. "I mean, you said he doesn't like being idle or being contributing member of society, so maybe if we gave him more ways to help out that could help."
In all truth, Chris wasn't against lessening the sentence or whatever it was at all as he thought that everything Clarice had said made perfect sense. But, he knew that not everyone shared his opinion and for now it was an open discussion.
Comments 49
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She picked up her tea and sipped it, glancing up the table at Dale.
The whole thing made her inexplicably nervous, but that would pass, she figured.
Reply
He fiddled with his ring thoughtfully as he listened to what was being said. It seemed like they were going to get right to business.
Reply
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While he did doubt that Faramir meant anyone further harm, the fact remained that he had meant to do no harm in the first place, but had ended up doing a great deal of it on the island's intervention. Perhaps he was not so ready to end his atonement as he seemed to think.
Perhaps others were not so prepared for an end to it, either. "I suppose the opinions of his victims may be taken into account as well, if necessary," he added after a moment.
Reply
"Those opinions are just as important as the medical evaluation," he said. He knew if he had gotten attacked, he would want to have a say in the attacker being let out. The island was small, after all, and they would inevitably bump into each other. "Though, whatever we decide, and especially if we let him out? I'm putting my vote in on him continuing to get counseling. It'll be a way to keep checking up to make sure he's adjusting."
Reply
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"The opinions of victims should always be taken into account," she said, reading the letter for the second time before taking a sip of her tea. "Especially in so constricting an environment, I'd say."
The way that the island screwed with people made her nervous, made her angry, but there was no way that it ought to be used as an excuse. Too many people used too many things as excuses and justifications, in Eostre's long experience.
Reply
With Dale's signal that she should begin, Clarice gave a nod to the gathering and an exceedingly polite smile. "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for inviting me here to discuss Faramir's progress." Social niceties first. "I have been working with Faramir since his incarceration at the beginning of October. In that time, he has shown considerable progress, in spite of some of the daunting barriers we have to face under the current circumstances." She folded her hands together and swept a glance around the room, ensuring that she made eye contact with each of them. "I realize that I am not a member of the Council, but you have asked me here twice now to give my opinion on this matter. The ( ... )
Reply
Well, she certainly seemed good anyway. It wasn't as though Chris had much basis for comparison.
"So, you think if we keep him locked up as he is right now, it will actually have a negative effect on him? Can I ask how?" Chris asked, leaning forward in his seat a bit, his lips quirked into a very smile as he addressed Clarice. A second later, he realized the ( ... )
Reply
Reply
In all truth, Chris wasn't against lessening the sentence or whatever it was at all as he thought that everything Clarice had said made perfect sense. But, he knew that not everyone shared his opinion and for now it was an open discussion.
Reply
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