On:

{Deck 8, outside Counselor Jades quarters}

:: Ingoldo pushes the enter button on the door to Counselor Jades 
quarters. She walks toward the door. ::

Jade: "Enter." :: Outside is Ensign Ingoldo looking a bit nervous, 
and his hair is wet :: "Ensign?"

Ingoldo: Good evening Counselor," :: He is still outside not wanting 
to intrude her privacy. :: ", may I enter?"

Jade: "Come on in." :: Smiles ::

Ingoldo: :: He enters just inside so the doors can close behind 
him :: "Counselor I have talked to a close friend about our session 
earlier and she gave me the advice we should talk again."

Jade: "It is a bit _late_ Ensign."

Ingoldo: "Yes i know, so I would like to ask you to come to Holodeck 
three deck 11 tomorrow at nine hundred hours if possible? I wish to 
show you my home."

Jade: "Betazed?"

Ingoldo: "Yes," ::Smiles:: ", so you can understand me and my people 
better."

Jade: "Very well I will be there."

:: They say good night and Ingoldo bows slightly and turns around and 
leave her quarters. ::

{Outside holodeck three, deck 11}

:: Counselor Jade steps before the doors of the holodeck. The doors 
open and before her lies a beatiful town with a great lake and at the 
horizon a jungle. The doors closes behind her. ::
:: The air is filled with strange gragrances from the nearby flowers. 
The weather is sunny and the sky is blue with orange and purple 
shades. ::
:: As Ingoldo is not there to meet her, Jade begins to walk toward 
the town. It is not far and within five minutes she is by the first 
houses. A man turns towards her ::

Betazoid: (Greetings stranger of Starfleet.) :: Smiles as he sends a 
telepathic hello to her. ::

Jade: "I am not telepathic so I can only "hear" you in my mind. Hello 
youself." :: Smiles back ::

Betazoid: "How rude of me, I am so sorry to intrude. I meant no 
offence."

Jade: "No offence taken."

Betazoid: "Then how can I help you stranger from Starfleet?"

Jade: "I am Counselor Jade and I am looking for Ensign Ingoldo?"

Betazoid: "Ah, I shall "call" him telepathicly. Go toward the square 
he will be there to meet you."

:: She walks down the street until it opens up into the square. It is 
a market place with stalls and lots of people. You can buy almost 
anything it seems to Jade. But people are not talking, at least not 
aloud. The silence is almost complete except from when they move and 
touch the things for sale. ::

Ingoldo: "Greetings stranger," :: Jade is startled by his voice :: ", 
I am sorry, I did not mean to startle you Counselor."

Jade: "It is all right. I was just surprised to hear your voice, any 
voice for that matter."

Ingoldo: "It is quiet compared to any other Federation world." :: 
Smiles :: "This was normal for me until I left Betazed. When I came 
to Vulcan and had to talk _all_ the time I found _that_ as strange as 
you find this silence."

Jade: "Where are we on Betazed?"

Ingoldo: "We are in my home town Bekor, our house is up on the hill 
up there." :: He points towards an estate on a hill just outside the 
town. ::

Jade: "You wanted to talk with me again Ingoldo. Where shall we talk, 
right here?" :: She indicates at the market place and smiles. ::

Ingoldo: "No," :: Big smile :: ", I belive the temple is the right 
place." :: He points toward a building which is close by the 
square. ::
:: They walk through the entrence of the temple. ::

Ingoldo: "This is... was a place of peace." :: There is pain in his 
eyes. ::

Jade: "Was...?"

Ingoldo: "Yes, as you know Betazed were occupied by Dominion forces 
during the war. This place was destroyed by them and they have just 
started rebuilding it. It was a place of joy, stillness and love."
:: They sit down to talk. ::

Ingoldo: "Counselor I belive we had a culturiel misunderstanding in 
our session yesterday." :: Smiles ::

Jade: "What do you mean by that?" :: Looks at him curiously now ::

Ingoldo: "When I said they "run from me" I expressed me badly. Words 
are hard to use when a telepath has to express emotions."
"I know for a fact that you have some disturbed feeling about me. :: 
His eyes has a painful look and he looks away from her. ::

Jade: :: She is a bit shaken by his remark, but she is a professional 
counselor and just says :: "You can feel my emotions that easy?"

Ingoldo: "Yes Counselor." :: He looks at the floor ::

Jade: "But your body-language told me that you feel guilty, as I can 
see right now that you are in pain right now." :: His head turns up 
and he looks straight at her ::

Ingoldo: "My mental abilities is never "off" Counselor."
"I always feel people around me, their thoughts and emotions is like 
noice to me if I not foccus my mind. Like waves at a beach, sometimes 
the sea is calm but a sea can become a storm. I need to screen my 
mind from the waves or I will loose my mind, or even my soul. So in 
that way I have to screen my abilities, all Betazoids have to."

Jade: :: She began to understand :: "So you feel guilty when you meet 
people that are disturbed by your abilities."
"Is it possible for you to show me your mind and emotions?" :: She is 
a bit disturbed by the suggestion, but the need to counsel him 
overrules her hesitation ::

Ingoldo: "It is possible for a mind to mind communication, there are 
such mental techniques among my people. But you hesitate to the very 
notion. Are you sure?"

Jade: "Yes I wish to help you!" :: As she says it she knows somehow 
that she realy means it ::

Ingoldo: (Very well Counselor, please take my hands.) 
:: She sees his smile but also feel it in her mind ::
(Holding hands strenghten the mental bond between us. Relax.)
:: She feels his emotions, what he likes and dislikes. The shame of 
reading other minds without their approval taught since childhood and 
almost is sacred to him. She has full access to his mind every 
thought, memory and emotion flies by. But she also feel that it is 
only oneway, he does not read her mind, do not feel her emotions, 
never intrudes into her mind. ::

Ingoldo: (Counselor I wish to give you a gift.)

Jade: (A gift?) :: Strange to talk without words ::

Ingoldo: (Yes feel the crew of the ship.) :: Jades mind opens up and 
feels the people of the USS Excalibur. Of all the emotions one is 
stronger than the rest, their desire to explore, it is almost as you 
could touch it ::

Jade: " I understand now your need for screens."
"Thank you for the experience."
"However I sensed that your grief over the Dominion occupation is 
still bothering you. We will need to talk about it later Ensign."

Ingoldo: "Anything you say Counselor. And I belive you said mental 
exercises one hour each day for a week.
:: Smiles ::

Off: I hope that is better.

Ensign Ingoldo
Chief Science officer
USS Excalibur NCC-2997