Mystery Of a Mind Part I
Posted on Thu Feb 5, 2026 @ 2:06am by Lieutenant T'Lul & Lieutenant Raiden Kosugi
1,729 words; about a 9 minute read
Mission:
Chicken Run
Location: Counselor's office
Timeline: MD 02 Late afternoon
Raiden sought out the counselor, a lieutenant by the name of T'Lul. Through the grapevine, he heard that she was Vulcan and looking at the manifest, she was Vulcan. Maybe she will be able to help him out with his difficulty. Maybe she can even shed some light on the matter of what happened to him, and why he keeps on having the nightmare of that battle in the mind. He stepped into the reception area where the counseling offices were at. He rubbed his hands upon the side of his pants, feeling the palms of his hands become wet with sweat. He stepped up to the reception desk,
"Hi there, is Lieutenant T'Lul in? I'd like to see her." Raiden feeling his mouth go slightly dry.
The receptionist sent a message to T'Lul.
"Counselor, there is someone here to see you."
T'Lul calmly answered, "I can see this person. Please allow them in."
"You may go inside, Lieutenant." The receptionist motioning to where he needed to go.
"Thank you." Raiden said before he stepped inside T'Lul's office.
He gave a proper bow of greeting and respect towards the counselor, upon entering her office.
"Live long and prosper." he added with the bow. Even though he wasn't Vulcan, he had learned and was taught, to be respectful.
"Thank you for seeing me." Raiden looking at the counselor. She was pretty but also, she was the chief Counselor, he wasn't going to make a pass at her.
"Peace and long life," T'Lul appropriately responded. "You are welcome, Lieutenant. How should I address you and how can I be of service?"
"My name is Raiden Kosugi, and I am in need of counseling and perhaps a solution of trouble that had started on a ship I once was a part of.And if you are inclined, call me Raiden please."
He looked to have a seat upon the sofa, normally he would be a bit more cheerful, but this was something that weighed heavily on his mind.
"Have you ever counseled someone whose mind had been invaded by another? And a battle had been waged within the mind?" there was no preamble, Raiden just dove right in.
"I am a Vulcan," T'Lul answered simply. "As such, I am particularly familiar with the interactions of sharing of minds, whether voluntary or involuntary." She paused for a moment and then stated, "The premise of your questions implies that you have had that occur to you on an involuntary basis. May I inquire as to when this occurred and the circumstances surrounding such invasion?"
A pained expression appeared, "It was a year and a half ago. I was chief helsman of the USS Arcadia at that time and we had been dealing with some security issues. The there was an intelligence officer who was a Romulan/Vulcan mix. She was one who was just watching everyone, and being rather too quiet. Nothing wrong with that mind you, I have no problem with anyone who has Romulan mix. Just something about her bothered me. I had to take the time to try to get to know her. All she did was just be quiet. Others tried to draw her out as well. Then again, she may have felt uncomfortable with being brand new to the ship. That is what I had thought. I thought nothing of it."
He leaned forward, burying his face in his hands, elbows supported by his knees. His voice slightly muiffled, "And then I had that dream. That terrible horrifying dream of fighting her, struggling to stay alive then shoving her out of the airlock." He raised his head up from his hands.
"I thought I killed her; but I didn't. I found though that she had left the ship fifteen minutes before I checked to see if she were alive. And I found that the osol stick she loved to eat, one was on the floor of my quarters. I even found traces of her blood, upon the door frame which led out of my quarters." There was certainly a bit of anguish there, as he looked pleadingly to T'Lul.
"Now though, I am still suffering from that dream, having to fight that same fight in my mind. It goes away for a time after mediation, then it comes back. It's like it is stuck in my mind. and I don't know how to conquesr that. I have seen other counselors. There was one who helped me, she had helped me find out that a mind meld had been done." He stopped there.
T'Lul's eyebrows raised up at the mention of a mind meld. "Who told you that?"
"The chief counselor of the ship I had been on. She's El-Aurian. She left later on, having been called away." There was a sadness in his eyes. It passed though as he continued. "I found myself having an aversion of anyone touching my face, especlally ln some key areas. And went to her to see why." He llifted his hand to show the key points, flinching slightly as he touched his own face. "On occasion I have trouble touching there still. She put me in an hypnotic state to figure out just why I have that trouble. It was revealed that the points that were touched were from the spots that would be used for the mind-meld."
The Counselor sat silently as she considered the matter. First, she wondered why it was important to Kosugi that his previous counselor was El-Aurian. Perhaps he was explaining why she would know that a mind meld had been used. However, he later explained that he discovered it through hypnosis. So, that negated the first point. Perhaps she could delve into that later. While a mind meld might be the simplest and most direct route to solve this problem, T'Lul had no desire to traumatize the Lieutenant further. Therefore, she reasoned that they must build up some trust before even attempting it. "That is troubling," T'Lul concluded. "Do you know why someone would have used a mind meld on you? Or for what purpose?" A good deal of this lacked logic to the Vulcan Counselor.
"To perhaps to find out information about the crew especially the command staff. The El-Aurian I spoke of, she was the XO of the ship I was previously on, besides the chief counselor." He let out a slight huff at his own thoughts being scrambled.
"Perhaps this little outline would be more logical, to make things a bit more clear."
"1. Since joining the Gladiator, we were dealing with a planet which was in the throes of a civil war. We had been drawn into what we thought was diplomatic endeavor. Instead they tried to use us as pawns we had to escape. "
Doing some counting on his fingers.
"2. A former foe of the crew of the Gladiator, had risen up, the Gladiator had been overtaken by what was known as the Unholy Trinity, a horrible religious sect that seemed to have spread. The Unholy Trinity had taken the crew that had been manning the Gladiator, and left the ship abandoned, adrift in space. We found that there was evidence of people either being a part of that cult, or that dopplegangers were being put into place. With having been the chief helm officer of the ship, and perhaps a possible key person to be either persuaded to be a part of that cult or perhaps killed and a replacement put in place. after getting information from my mind."
"But what information would they be seeking?" T'Lul asked, not feeling any closer to the truth. There had to be some sort of logic to this Unholy Trinity's actions.
"The purest of blood to create their own Goddess. They took people of all ages and races to drain them of their blood to put in their chosen one. A pregnant woman who was a trill. They were seeking her and they found her. We went and got her back and destroyed their commune."
Raiden's voice grew hoarse with emotion, "Counselor, the crew of the ship I was a part of, they thought they had eradicated said cult before I joined the ship. The cult survived." Raiden looking into T'Lul's eyes. "For years, they had been spreading like a disease, a cult worshipping the Goddess they sought." Raiden scoffed, "That cult was illogical, insane. It didn't make any sense at all, but people joined."
"Most cults are illogical and those that join usually are looking for some sort of meaning in life. The cult of personality for the leaders are worth studying."
"Blood sacrifices to create their own goddess and perhaps their own savior as she was with child." Raiden shook his head at that thought. "The woman was saved, as well as her child. I will tell you in strictest confidence, the trill and her child in order to protect them, it was made to seem that they both died."
Raiden settled back in his chair, feeling comfortable in talking with T'Lul. His shoulders relaxed, much different from when he had started talking with the chief counselor, when his shoulders and body were tensed up.
T'Lul quietly noticed the change in Raiden's posture. She wondered what Raiden wanted her to say in response to all this. However, little of this explained why a mind meld would have been used on him. "Please, continue," T'Lul encouraged.
Raiden had been puzzling over why the intelligence officer, an ensign would have even decided to mess with him, unless it was-- hs spoke his thoughts aloud.
"I don't know why she had done a mind meld upon me unless she hoped that I had information where the Command team was concerned. I was becoming close to the command team. The captain had taken me under his wing, the XO she and I were getting to know each other having a connection. The second officer, Svidi, decided to prank me and gave me a kiss during a holiday gathering. The intelligence officer was there witnessing everything. Just eating her Osil Twist. Watching everyone, as if gathering information."
That was certainly a lot of extraneous information but that was not unusual for a human. T'Lul nodded reassuringly and encouragingly so that Raiden would continue relaying information.
TBC
Lieutenant T'Lul
Chief Counselor
DS5
Lieutenant Raiden Kosugi
Deep Space Five
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