Challenge #02029-E205: Humans Are Breakable
How do aliens deal with humans on board missions/crews with serious mental illnesses? As even those who have “recovered” can relapse and have issues now and again, especially after certain triggers. I know this isn’t as interesting or fun as some of your other prompts but I’d really like to see what you would come up with. Thanks! -- Anon Guest
Human Polli was a Team Mom type Human and the gentlest soul anyone could care to meet. But she had also proved her Space Orc credentials by almost wiping out a Vorax Raid Ship by entering Mama Bear Mode. After the Vorax carapace piece had been pried gently from her teeth, and after she had come down from the adrenaline overload, Polli seemed... distraught.
Mediks and Therapists alike classed it as Survivor's Guilt mixed with Action Remorse. Human Polli would not normally tear cogniscents limb from limb with her bare hands and sometimes her feet, but Mama Bear Polli had. There were depths of rage lurking inside Human Polli that she hadn't believed herself capable of. And now she knew what evils lurked inside her secret heart. And it terrified her.
She had nightmares, disrupted sleep. Flashbacks every time she saw a crustacean[1], and wouldn't go near her former favourite meal - Marinara Fry. She seemed... extraordinarily fragile as they limped their way back to Waypoint Station. She would jump at sudden noises. Have disrupted sleep. 'Zone out' and emerge in seeming terror. She needed more sleep than normal and lost her appetite. Her joints ached and refused to work at their normal capacity. And the Kavi who shared the ship with her could not find a medical reason why this would be happening.
Attempting to sing her praises with recountings of her mighty deeds only exacerbated the problem. Attempting to comfort her with haptic feedback ran the risk of her forgetting her own strength and accidentally harming her fellow crewmembers with too strong a grip. Which would, in turn, strengthen her guilt. They were at a loss for what to do, though being close to her and singing calming songs had a limited effect.
The Kapi had never heard of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and could not believe it was a thing that happened to Humans. Humans were tough. Humans were indomitable. Humans were savage. Humans were Deathworlders.
Most of those statements didn't apply to Human Polli.
They took her to the best expert in Human psychology and therapy. They had the right idea with comforting Human Polli. They had to avoid certain things while she recovered. Loud noises first and foremost. And because the Kapi could not withstand a Deathworlder talking about what terrified them, they had to have their offensensitivity filters on if they wished to be present to comfort Human Polli during her sessions.
Humans were stoppable. And when they stopped, it took a long time for them to recover. If they recovered at all.
They hired a second Human to keep the crew safe, including Human Polli. A huge brick of a woman from a heavier-gravity colony called Daisy, who was more of a 'punch first' kind of girl when faced with a threat. Her anticipatory capabilities were almost off the charts, and she gave the world's best massages, according to Human Polli.
The Kapi were rather delighted to see Human Daisy and Human Polli comforting each other and involved in companionable grooming activities. It was even more heartening to see Human Daisy walk Human Polli through her grounding activities whenever the former had a relapse.
Humans are pack animals. And this small pack was getting slowly better. Little by little. And some setbacks were expected. They would all learn how to deal with those.
[1] Vorax have been likened to the unholy matrimonial product of a prawn(shrimp) and a crab, with edges of C'thulu in the mix.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / kentoh]
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