Grief and loss are my oldest, steadiest, companions (OTA)

[magnetic_magpie]

Emotions have a way of hitting you strangely - or at least they did for Magneto. Almost all of those he'd forged close relationships with had gone, leaving him with not even a literal handful. Still, that didn't mean he gave up on those gone - sometimes people popped back, even if they didn't remember being here.

He had been lingering at what had been Julian Bashir's office. He missed his friend. And now he was just wandering, not really hoping but looking around, to see if any he'd lost had returned. And leaving him in position of not knowing if he was mourning them or not - it wasn't as if they had died, but if they didn't come back, they were certainly forever parted.

OTA - is there hope for Kylo Ren?

[forcefullyunstable]

It probably came as no surprise that Kylo Ren's two weeks in the brig didn't end after just two weeks. According to security, he was still a serious danger to the Enterprise. Recent interactions proved he could be just as dangerous to himself.

You have a chance to start fresh. That Jedi (a younger Luke Skywalker, unbeknownst to Kylo) said to him. The words haunted him as much as the lack of the force and the lack of the Supreme Leader's constant instruction. It's your choice. This is your chance. Don't waste it.

Kylo was never very good with choices, was he. Or chances.

Option A: Locked up

Even with a counselor's regular visits, on some days he was paranoid, on others timidly withdrawn. Angry outbursts were still par for the course. It was impressive that the cell was still structurally intact. It was equally impressive that Kylo was still mostly intact. Burned and bandaged bare feet and hands, along with a few worn shoulders were proof that he kept lashing out against that force field.

It wasn't as frequent, though. So maybe he was starting to understand... a little... Or maybe he was just starting to crack. Are you there to help him through it or make things that much more difficult?

Option B: Re-conditioning

Many people still believed they had a dangerous psychopath in that cell, but there were some that were starting to think that keeping Kylo Ren locked up was doing just as much harm as it was good. He only knew what he knew - decades of mental manipulation by a dark side master, brutally trained to harness anger and pain as fuel. Was it possible that Kylo honestly didn't know how to react in a normal situation? If so, then he needed to be taught. But who would teach him?

The rules of these experimental encounters were simple. With both parties' permission, Kylo would be released into someone else's custody for a short period of time. He is to remain cuffed at all times when out of the brig. Security will monitor each excursion closely. Violent behavior will have consequences, and he would quickly find himself back in the brig. Good behavior will be rewarded with further privileges.

OTA | Holodeck and Ten Forward Lounge

[electro_kinetic]

The holodeck is growing on Noriko. It really is, even if there are a few uncomfortable reminders of home every time she uses it: but the ability to fool all the senses short of self-awareness into thinking she's outside, in the sun, getting muddy and tired in Earth-gravity and -atmosphere is pretty worth that. It's also exactly what she's doing right now.

One of the holodecks has her name on the Occupancy sign, with 'Obstacle Race' as the closest thing she could find to a universally understandable version of 'Spartan Challenge': she's going on about a dozen obstacles and while she hasn't filled the course in with officials or other people to motivate her, she's doing just fine. The ropes are the hardest for her, because she can't ever figure out how to balance herself for a Tyrolean Traverse without falling off and into the water before she's rung the target bell. There are other things, though: a wall jump, atlas stone laying innocently on the ground, and barbed wire strung low to the grass between stakes.

Anyone up for a race?

-----

After all this, if you're more the 'sit back and drink' sort, or you think being non-muddy and sweaty is a necessity for conversation, she'll be in the lounge laying on one of the windowsills by the front-facing windows, looking out on the stars.

She has a bowl of chocolate-filled koala cookies (or the closest thing to it) resting on her belly and green tea in a bottle to drink. Do interrupt.