Seeking Counsel
Posted on Thu Jan 21st, 2010 @ 1:47am by Lieutenant Commander Eliza McAdams & Lieutenant JG Lucy Carter
1,249 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
Balowlli System
Location: Counselling Offices
Timeline: Current
"Chief, can I have a word?"
Of all the senior department heads on board, the Chief Counselor was probably the least likely to favour being addressed by her position title but Sehra always managed to sound affectionate when she addressed her superior officer, firstly because the Betazoid often sounded affectionate and secondly because she truly liked the older woman. People had the perception that counselors were loving, maternal figures and that was certainly true of some of them but there were plenty of psychologists that Sehra had met who were in it for the science rather than the people. Those tended to put even her in a bad mood and she was infinitely glad that Carter wasn't one of them.
Peeking around the doorway, so often left open, of the Counselor's office, the vivacious brunette grinned and added, "Or maybe several." She was aware she had a reputation for having a tongue hinged in the middle but she didn't mind that. Talking was important and someone had to do it.
Carter was pinning a poster on her office wall when her visitor came in. She rather liked the old fashioned notion that visual aids would stay still when you looked at them and this one was a picture of a brain, cut away and labelled.
"Come in" she said, pressing the drawing pins in with her whole bodyweight.
Silence reigned for only the time it took the younger psychologist to arrive by Carter's side and gaze up at the poster with her hands clasped behind her back. It was a thoughtful silence, a reflective and appreciative silence, it just wasn't a very long silence.
"Human?" She eventually asked, grinning immediately after. "I'd recognise that somatic sensory cortex anywhere." Studying it again for a moment, the Betazoid then frowned with expressive confusion and added, "What's it for? Do you think you're going to forget which bit it is you're supposed to focus on?" Sehra wasn't a disrespectful woman, her casual attitude stemmed from true affection for life and she had a lot of time for her superior. Being prepared to joke around with her was, at least by the telepath's standards, actually a pretty significant indication of her respect.
Carter chuckled as she walked behind her desk to pick up her PADD. "Yes, it's human and it's up there because I like the look of it." She moved to the front of the desk and stood beside the other woman, looking at the picture with her.
"There is just something about the brain that is so fascinating. All the research that has been done - all the things we know about it and yet..." She dropped her gaze to her colleague and smiled "...and yet we still have never seen someone's soul. The part that separates the brain from the body. The essence of mind, I suppose."
Carter smiled again and asked "what can I do for you?"
"Well, two things. Firstly, the Christmas festivities went well, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves despite the impromptu blizzard in the middle of everything. I dragged the Assistant Engineering Chief along to help me pick the setting so I decline to accept full responsibility for that anyway. It worked well though, I think I'll check the database again in a month or so to see what else can be done." Sehra let her eyes drift back towards the poster and fell silent for a few seconds as she studied it. The next matter was less clear-cut but it wasn't bashfulness that kept the Betazoid careful about her phrasing; she just wanted to make sure she actually asked the questions that were really troubling her.
"The second thing is..." As much as it had taken her a while to move on, Sehra still paused to consider her wording. "Well, more personal." Turning completely towards the older psychologist, she asked frankly, "What do you know about Caitians?"
Carter had wondered when her visitor was going to get round to the real reason why she dropped in. She smiled at her and said "well.... I have not met many. Feline homonid species who purr a lot as I recall." She paused to study Sehra's face. "What do YOU know about them?" she asked at length.
Sehra didn't really get embarrassed, not as a general rule. Being 'caught out' as it were tended usually to just result in appreciative laughter even if her cheeks did sport a higher colour as a result. She was grinning now but it was somewhat sheepish, an expression that immediately gave away her guilt. "A little," she conceded, life's worst liar. "At least, a little more than I did a week ago, but I'm a little...lost."
Who counselled the counsellors? It was a timeless question but in Sehra's case, it tended to be anyone who listened since the girl wasn't shy and was usually honest when her mind was preoccupied with something. Now, as she folded her arms across her stomach, she hunched her shoulders to convey her confusion and turned fully towards her older colleague. "T'kaarch has expressed an...interest in me. Which I should add I'm not in the least bit offended by, I think he's a sweetheart. It just occurs to me that I know very little about his people or his culture and since this was rather...sudden, I'm not sure how I should proceed." Sighing, a rather exaggerated sound, she turned around to lean back against the wall. "I've read his file, he spent a long time by himself. I'm worried if I encourage this that what I'll actually be encouraging is overcompensation." The irony of the situation sudden hit the telepath and she laughed softly. Knowing when people were being genuine usually wasn't a problem for her, but now... "How do you know when a Caitian really likes you?"
It was a rhetorical question.
Carter thought for a second then replied "how do you know when ANYONE likes you?" She smiled again. "I suppose it depends on whether or not you like him too!"
"I suppose so," came the droll reply before Sehra laughed. "I certainly don't dislike him, I just worry that he's taking things a little too seriously, too soon." It was understandable, T'kaarch had been lonely for a long time perhaps and helping him through that was certainly something she saw value in. She also enjoyed spending time with him, Sehra was simply pragmatic about these things. They hadn't known each other long enough to establish a true connection or any notion of ongoing compatibility. Getting to know the Caitian, even on an intimate level, was not necessarily undesirable...she just hoped it was the right thing to encourage.
"Well, I guess morale isn't going to tend to itself." Flashing a grin, the Betazoid smoothed a hand through her loose hair and then fastened it in a loose ponytail at the base of her neck. Flicking her eyes towards the poster again, Sehra shook her head in mild amusement and then retorted as she made her way towards the door,
"Remind me not to mention to anyone that our dear Counselor has a human brain plastered across her wall." Turning, she winked and added, "I somehow don't think that would improve the crew's general disposition."
A little chit-chat between the head doctors brought to you by:
Lt. JG Lucy Carter
Chief Counselor
USS Archimedes
and
Petty Officer Sehra Vahn (PNPC Martin)
Morale Officer
USS Archimedes
RSS Feed