Counseling In Corridors [Open]

[Calandra Trilarck]

[USS Shran - Sickbay]

Sickbay had been quiet that day and although her initial psychiatric evaluations were underway, there hadn't been much action these last few weeks. Since the Shran's first encounter with their Mirrorverse counterparts, things had died down significantly and everyone had gone about their business until the next crisis should pop up. The counselor had noticed a general feeling of unrest as the crew anticipated their next mission from Starfleet Command. The counselor stood with arms crossed against her chest, her eyes fixed on a holo-emitter in the shape of a circular platform hovering in the air in front of her. Her eyebrows were scrunched in frustration while she wore a contemptuous smirk that indicated she was not happy. She closed her eyes for a brief second, hoping that the image would simply disappear but when she reopened them, it remained. Floating just above the platform was what appeared to be a velociraptor, mouth open in  a menacing smile, spinning slowly around its own axis.

If Calandra had her own office, she would have replicated a vase and smashed it against her wall. However, although the Shran was large, what had once been the Counselor's office needed to serve as a secondary armory and Calandra was relegated to spending her days in Sickbay. She dropped her arms to her side in submission as she sighed heavily, stepping over to her small station in one of the med-bay's corner. The holo-emitter floated behind her, following her till she whipped around to face it with her PADD in hand. Apparently, some genius aboard had initially created a holo-raptor to act as a sort of service pet to help those crew members who needed a distraction from the darkness that space had to offer. Well, the information had trickled down to headquarters and less than two hours ago, she had received word that she would be in charge of a test pilot program for holographic service pets.

Headquarters had asked for thorough reporting not only on crew morale but productivity and efficiency. What this meant for Calandra was coordinating with all the other departments to figure out how the ship was faring with these creatures in addition to filling out her own evaluation to ascertain how much esteem had been boosted. Between this and her evaluations, she would have enough paperwork on her hands to fill two Sickbays. This was her nightmare. A ship filled with animals. How would anyone get any work done? It felt to her that her responsibilities as ship's counselor were expanding but not in the direction that she had hoped. She rolled her eyes as she read the debriefing and her directives one more time before her gaze traveled over to the floating hologram once more. Somewhere, she had hoped to read 'April Fools' or that this was some elaborate hoax, but the Starfleet insignia on the document assured her there was no such thing.

"Counselor, your hearts are pounding at 120 beats per minute.  Should I page Doctor Meadows before you go into tachycardiac shock?" Sam's voice chirped in her ear before his voice dropped a bit menacingly at the end of his phrase. His programming was a bit too schaudenfreuden for her liking but she embraced the idea of Sam's budding individuality. Her breath began to even itself as she once again turned her back and the loud pounding of her hearts was nothing more than a faint palpitation. Satisfied, Sam's voice was silent. Calandra adjusted the bottom half of her tunic  then brushed some hair from her face. She craned her neck to the side once more, hearing a faint crack.

"Sam, terminate the holo-image." Calandra commanded the program. The velociraptor began to glow faintly before it completely vanished from sight. Reaching out she grabbed the platform from mid-air and pushed a button. The holo-emitter purred for a moment before dying down and she placed it on her desk. There was only one way to skirt her responsibility and that was by doing what had dreaded. Finishing crew evaluations. Calandra was disinterested in sitting down and counseling crew members one-on-one in sickbay, she preferred to see how the crew were performing their duties. This helped to create a more thorough psychological profile since work was a big factor in the psychological well being of the crew. The Haliian was not interested in getting to know the crew intimately so attending them while they were in the midst of their workday would be sufficient.

Calandra checked her holster at her waist to see if her tricorder was tucked away, satisfied to feel that it was, she scooped up her PADD in her arm and made her way to the turbolift doors. Sensing her body's heat, the door's opened smoothly and she stepped inside. Her PADD glowed with Starfleet's instructions and she hastily powered it down before calling out, "Deck six."

[USS Shran - Deck Six]

The turbolift rumbled softly to a halt and the doors opened up. Calandra exited the lift, placing her PADD in a small satchel draped at her side. Unsure of who to continue her evaluations with, she appeared to be walking with purpose when in fact, she was just sort of wandering aimlessly. Something caught her attention and she stopped mid-walk to peer over to where the deck's wall had completely been blown apart. A structural integrity field glowed a faint blue every few seconds to remind the officers that it had been put in place. However, even knowing that the ship was protected, having the vastness of space so close was still a bit unnerving. The stars did look beautiful, though, and all of the anger had began slowly to subside.

That was until a voice interrupted her thoughts and she peered over to find the source.

[Michael Ferdinand]

[USS Shran]
Half an hour. It had been half an hour since Alyssa had embarked on hunting down the counselor. "Doctor, she has changed locations again." Sam said. "Please turn around and go back into the turbolift and head for deck six. She is waiting there." Alyssa nodded, though she was unsure why she did so as Sam could not see her or give a nod of approval himself. The whole situation was weird...she didn't want to think about it.

[Deck six]
Alyssa exited the turbolift and began wandering the halls. It didn't take long for her to find the other woman-- she stuck out like a sore thumb here. "Counselor, I have been looking for you." Alyssa said grimly. "Can we talk?"

[Calandra Trilarck]

[USS Shran - Deck Six]

Calandra was surprised to see that it had been Doctor Meadows who had interrupted her thoughts. The Haliian had found the doctor's bedside manner somewhat interesting, there were times when she expressed a great maternal warmth and other times she could be absolutely cutting. However, their relationship had seemed more akin to a chief of surgery and a resident physician, where Calandra was the subordinate. In times when she required further assistance or a second opinion, Doctor Meadows was a good sounding board to bounce ideas off of. Recently, as evaluations were underway, Doctor Meadows had asked for her reports to attach to the crew's physicals. Yet, that had been the extent of their relationship. The doctor had made no efforts to get to know the counselor on a personal basis and for that she was grateful. She would rather save the pretense and carry out her work to the best of her ability.

Teamwork. Structure. Even the Maquis had a system of ranks and a chain of command. However, Calandra preferred to work on her own, being alone allowed her to work efficiently without the distractions caused by the incompetence of others. Although she had grown up on Earth and shared many of its customs, she couldn't help but feel that humans were a bit soft compared to the time she had spent on Halii. Her time of rebellion was over and she had settled into adhering strict regulations and guidelines. Her whole life had revolved around the pomp and circumstance that came with being the daughter of an Ambassador who worked closely with the Federation and serving aboard a starship was no different. Although her and the doctor shared a common space in the heart of Sickbay, if they weren't discussing a matter pertaining to work, then they simply engaged in a quiet dance around their workstations, avoiding too much interaction with each other.

Calandra interlaced her hands behind her back and rolled her shoulders up from their more relaxed state to suggest a more engaged posture. Her eyes focused in on the Doctor's face, meeting her dark Betazoid eyes. The two pertained to a species whose genetics had advanced that they were able to sense the emotions of other species. This, too, had made the counselor a bit wary of her superior officer, knowing that her true feelings could be exposed at any time. Typically, Haliians were able to to establish a strong empathetic bond with only one person but her days working with a Vulcan dissident aboard the Maquis had allowed her to be able to read a small handful of people at the same time. She made a mental note to remind herself to ask the doctor if there were any more exercises she could use to expand her abilities.

It seemed to Calandra that Meadows was complaining about not being able to reach her in over a half hour. Were the comm systems down? As far as she knew, the doctor had not been scheduled in Sickbay during her shift. "I apologize, doctor," she stated simply, her attention returning to staring out into open space. The twinkling stars were beginning to glow bright and the ebon vastness of spaced suddenly became stark white. The ship had jumped into a mid-level warp as it traversed the galaxy to its next destination. "I received a rather... vexing order from headquarters."

It took everything in her to keep from rolling her eyes as the memory of the pilot program began to make its way back to the forefront of her mind. The counselor noticed the doctor's tone had a serious edge to it. Curious, she shifted her body to face Doctor Meadows. "How can I be of service?" Her eyes opened slightly and her neck leaned to the side in a gesture becoming of a counselor. Engaged, open, and ready to listen. It was daunting.

[Michael Ferdinand]

Alyssa nodded. "I need you to do something for me." she said. She felt hesitant about asking, but she had to remind herself that times had changed. Things were different now. She had changed since the last one. "I need you to perform a psych eval....on me."

[Calandra Trilarck]

[USS Shran - Deck Six]

Calandra did not care for favors, time had shown her that if you scratch someone's back, they might just slap you in the face the next time. Favors were often left unpaid and the counselor was not interested in accumulating debts. Not only had this pilot program been dumped on her lap by command but now she was going to have carry out whatever task the doctor was about to ask of her. Mentally, she began bracing herself for whatever the assignment was and decided that it would have to take precedent before the initialization of the holo-service pet program. At least, the counselor had someone to blame if she was asked as to why she had yet to begin her project.

Her eyebrows crinkled in curiosity as the doctor prefaced her small favor. The way Meadows had proposed this task, it sounded of a personal nature. All the counselor really knew about the doctor's personal life was that she had a beautiful son who lived aboard the ship and whatever her file had to offer. Calandra noticed her voice was a bit tentative and unsure, which was very different from how the counselor had perceived her. The doctor was efficient, a bit brash, and very take-charge from what the counselor had gathered.

Here, Meadows was  a bit meek, her spirit heavy by an unseen burden that threatened to bubble over to the surface. "I'd be pleased to assist you in any way I can. What seems to be on your mind?" She blinked a few times as she waited for a response. A group of loud ensigns rounded the corner and walked past them. She rolled her eyes at the ruckus they were causing and waited for the noise to completely die down before she gave the doctor her full undivided attention once more.

Finally, Meadows had asked the counselor to conduct a psychiatric evaluation. This was not surprising, the last battle had taken a large toll on the doctor. Knowing that there was another 'you' out there, responsible for the deaths of countless people, was daunting. Having a child on board was frightening. These circumstances made for a very dangerous combination. "I normally tend to leave members of senior staff till the last round of evaluations due to their extensive obligations but I'd be willing to expedite yours if that's what you wish," she replied with a forced, faint smile, "Any reason for the immediacy that I should know?"

The counselor pulled out a PADD and pulled up the doctor's personnel file, scrolling for a minute before she opened another tab, a blank document file where she could take notes as need be. "We can conduct the evaluation wherever you feel comfortable, lead the way."