A Commander's Evaluation

Posted on Fri Feb 13th, 2009 @ 8:32pm by Captain Elsie Halliwell & Lieutenant JG Lucy Carter

1,259 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Citadel Prime
Location: Carter's Office
Timeline: Current

Commander Lane entered the turbolift and commanded, “Deck Three, please.�

Whether his crew noticed or not, the Trill had always had a way of asking the computer to perform tasks politely. The familiar voice of hers, stern and monotonous, had a personality of its own, and he knew this. The older, wiser side of him reasoned that computers were just that. A series of programs and processes that were designed to function as they should. However, when he was a mere Ensign, fresh out of the Academy, he once entered into a Jeffries tube during a Red Alert drill at the order of his Chief Engineer. Closing the hatch behind him, he accidentally caught his hand in the closing mechanism and cursed loudly. Sealed into the Jeffries tube, it was four hours before he managed to release it. And those four hours of anybody's time, alone and isolated, is enough to cause irrational reasoning.

As the turbolift came to a halt, he planted his feet out firmly onto the decking and headed for the Chief Counsellor’s office. Every crew member needed to complete an evaluation conducted by the Chief Counsellor herself and, to lead by example, today’s was the Commander’s turn.

As he approached the door to Lieutenant Carter’s office, he tapped lightly at the chime and waited.

Ensign Carter was still pondering about the mystery about the tea stain in her quarters and how it had disappeared so suddenly. The door chimed and she dismissed such trivial thoughts from her mind as work beckoned once again. She had been rather busy now that the mission was underway and had a load of reports to fill out after her last appointment had ended for the day. She only hoped there would be enough time for that downhill skiing programme she had discovered in the holodeck's databank.

"Come in," she said in her friendly manner. She smoothed down her uniform and tucked her hair behind her ears. The doors opened and Commander Coltan was standing behind them. "Please, come in, sir," she smiled at the Commander. "Please come in and take a seat. Can I get you some coffee?"

“Why not??� he said with a smile. “Just black, please, if you don’t mind.�

Carter sat in her chair and realised this would be one counselling session where she would have to be as professional as possible. Ships' Councellors often heard classified and confidential information whilst performing their duties and had to keep it within the walls of their offices. With the Commander as a patient, Carter knew she might be privvy to such information and prepared herself.

"Well, sir. What's on your mind?"

“I thought I would come down here, voluntarily, to get my yearly Psych evaluation underway before you collared me for it,� he jested. “I have a feeling that you’re going to need to chase down a few of the crewmembers and I didn’t want to be one of them.

“If you’re busy, then, I can make a formal appointment with you, but I had a spare ten minutes and thought that I would ‘show my face,’ so to speak.�

"Well, sir, you have caught me at a free point in my day" Carter said, smiling. "First of all, do you feel you have any problems you want to discuss? I noticed you have a daughter on board and I appreciate this might be, well..." she paused, not wishing to cause offence "...I know of others who have served on starships with their children on board and found their presence difficult to reconcile to their own duties."

“Well,� he started with, taking in a deep breath and releasing it slowly. “I can’t deny that taking her from everything she’s ever known: friends, family, comfort… to this… almost spartan vessel, plays on my mind so. We have Mrs. Gray and she is just utterly wonderful. But, I wasn’t the Captain back then. And Rory always came first with me. But now, as great as Arkham is and I know that I could leave anything to her care, it’s a much greater responsibility to juggle.�

Carter made some notes on her PADD. She had never known any family of her own, instead dealing with the constant changes in the children's home on a daily basis. If you wanted to survive there, you had to learn to get on with everyone very quickly. It was these skills that had helped her become a counsellor.

“I just worry that, as I’m all she has, everyday I am actively taking her closer to the great unknown… and the great unknown dangers that lie just beyond the fringe.�

"Well don't forget that as she is now on board then she too can come to visit me if she wants to talk about anything. She is a lovely girl, by all accounts but it can't hurt to have another adult she can turn to if need be."

“Well, thank you for that, Lieutenant.�

Carter then began the list of routine questions she had to ask all personnel under Starfleet requirements. Unfortunately some of those questions were rather personal but duty was duty and she began.

"If you'll forgive me, sir, I now have to ask you a series of questions, as required by Starfleet. I appreciate that some of these my seem a little personal but please give as honest answer as you possibly can. Oh and rest assured that this is completely confidential."

“Naturally,� he said with a slight raise of his right eyebrow.

"OK. Question 1. Do you ever feel very down or deliriously happy for no real reason?"

“Not at all. I have learned, in my years, to compartmentalise and maintain my emotions. That’s not to say that I do not have them. But rather that, due to my position, I cannot be seen to be over emotional or erratic.�

"2. Have you ever had thoughts to harm another sentient being?"

Treading carefully, he replied, “In my youth, I guess. And, with the Dominion War what it was, naturally, you sometimes solely survive on that rudimentary instinct. As soldiers of the Federation, I believe that everyone, at one time or another, feeds off that emotion. But never rationally, no. And since Lorelai is now in my charge, I could never.�

"3. Have you ever been convicted of a serious crime?"

“I think the fact that I am sat here, with my own command, answers that question. But, simply, no… I have not, Ensign.�

"4. Have you ever taken illegal mood enhancing substances?"

“Never. Unless prescribed.�

"5. Have you ever lost your temper so badly that you lost control of your actions?

He stopped for a second or two and fixed his gaze on the Ensign. “Not lately. But, I think that I am capable of it. To what degree, I have never been tested.�

Carter took more notes on her PADD and said "thank you for those honest answers. Is there anything else you wish to ask me about or is there anything else you want to discuss? I know your time is precious".

“Not at the moment, Ensign… And if this completes your ‘interrogation,’ then I should get back to the Bridge. But, as much as I know that I can come and see you, you, in turn, can also come to me for anything.�

He smiled, with a nod.

"Thank you, sir," said Carter "I shall bear that in mind." And she observed the Commander as he walked to her door.

 

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