"Take this, that will teach you!" A kid screamed.
Luthien turned around as soon as she heard the yelling, and noticed two kids in a brawl. "Algrenn, Samantha, stop!"
The Betazoid ran towards them as fast as she could and dived in between, keeping them both at arm's length.
"What is going on?"
"He keeps calling me tin can!" Samantha's voice was broken by anger and tears.
Luthien turned to the boy, "Algrenn, what have I told you about calling people names?"
"But she punched me!"
"You called me tin can first!"
"No, you punched me first!"
Luthien sighed. "Okay, stop. Both of you." The Counselor inspected the boy with her eyes and ascertained that no significant physical harm had come to him. "Algrenn, does it hurt?"
The brown haired boy brought a hand to his cheek and touched it lightly. "A little bit."
The Betazoid responded with an empathic smile and caressed the kid's face. Then she turned to another crew member who was talking to her before they got interrupted by the fight.
"Steven, would you mind taking a look at Algrenn for a second, make sure he is all right?"
"Certainly!" Steven walked up to Algrenn, took his hand and began to walk away with him.
Luthien grabbed the kid's arm before letting him go, without squeezing hard, but with enough pressure that he would turn around to look at her, "I don't want to hear you call Samantha, or anyone, 'tin can' again. Understood?"
"Okay." Pouted the boy.
"Good."
Satisfied that her colleague had everything under control, Luthien turned to Samantha. The kid had light brown – almost blonde – hair, and had a ridge on top of each eyebrow, like all the other Rikelians did. She couldn't have been more than ten maybe twelve years old. The Betazoid kneeled in front of her and placed her hands on her shoulders.
"Am I in trouble?" Samantha looked at the floor, her body rocked slightly from side to side as she spoke.
"How do you feel about going for a walk, hm?" Luthien's voice was like velvet and lacked any trace of scowl.
Luthien and Samantha walked hand in hand and reached a path surrounded by lush vegetation. A lake could be seen between the trees and was not far. The birds could be heard singing, and the sun was shining high in the sky and was warm. When they finally reached the lake, Luthien sat down and patted the ground next to her, as if to ask Samantha to sit with her.
The kid obeyed, but didn't say anything because she was too busy taking in the view.
The Betazoid noticed her awe straight away. "Pretty lake, isn't it?"
Samantha nodded quickly. "It is! Can I go swim there? Please?"
Luthien smiled. "I am sure that can be arranged." She placed a hand on the kid's head. "Listen Samantha, I need you to make me a promise."
"Okay."
"Okay?" The Betazoid wanted to make sure the kid understood her commitment.
"Okay." Samantha repeated.
"Right. You need to stop getting into fights with the other kids." Luthien caressed the kid's head gently, letting her fingers run through her hair. "I can't have you go around punch people all the time. And look at all these bruises you have. Don't they hurt?"
The kid looked down at the grass. "Yes."
"Do you want to keep them?"
"No."
"Then stop fighting, okay?"
Samantha didn't say anything for a little bit.
"Okay?" Luthien pursued.
"But they all hate me!" Samantha broke down into sobs and screams. "They don't like me because of the Borg, they say I am half robot… and they say mommy is half robot and daddy is half robot, and that's why they never go out of the house, because otherwise they turn everyone else into robots! And all the normal grown ups don't want the half robots around." The kid spoke quickly, without pause. "I hate them! I hate all the other kids! I hate them all!"
"Hey, hey, hey." Luthien's voice was calm and reassuring. Her hand travelled to the girl's cheek and remained there. With a thumb she wiped a tear off her face.
"Listen, Sammy. Can I call you Sammy?"
The girl responded with a couple of short nods while still sobbing.
"Okay Sammy. So… nobody hates you." Once more, the sound of Luthien's voice was like the touch of velvet on the skin. "They are just afraid. They saw their houses being taken away. They had to run. And it is not your fault. But they are afraid. With time, they will get used to aaaall the people that came back from the Borg. And they will start treating you like all the other kids. Do you understand?"
Samantha nodded again and her sobs became less frequent.
"Now, you are going to need to do something to show them that they have nothing to worry about." The Counselor looked at the kid straight in the eyes and very gently turned her face with her hand so that she would do the same. "So this is where I need a favour from you. Are you ready for this?"
The girl stopped crying and returned Luthien's gaze. Her eyes were safe, so safe that they almost put her in a trance. Without even realising, she nodded in agreement.
"Okay, you need to show them that you are a good girl. That you don't fight, and that you ask permission before using other people's toys. I promise you, if you do that, they will start sharing the toys with you, and they will ask you to go play with them."
Samantha just kept staring, enthralled.
Luthien offered her warmest smile yet. "Promise me you will do that. Even if at the beginning they are still scared, they will eventually realise that you are a good girl. And I will go speak to them and tell them. So, can you promise me that you will do this?"
The girl nodded again.
The Counselor responded with yet another smile and slid her hand off Samantha's cheek in a caress and then stood. She offered the same hand to the kid to help her up. The girl reached for the Betazoid and together they walked back to the village.