New Counselor - Part 1

Posted on 30 Dec 2013 @ 8:40pm by Commodore Da`nal of the House of Varal & Lieutenant Elas Vonti

1,045 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: M11: Feet to the fire
Location: USS Achilles / Earth

[Ready Room]

Taking a break from preparing for the upcoming hearings Da`nal picked up a PADD for one of the crew due to transfer to the Achilles upon their arrival. He reached over to the replicator and retrieved the blood wine he had ordered and drank as he read the file.

...Lieutenant Vonti, Elas

...Ullian

He could definitely see the advantages of a Ullian counselor. Their ability to extract memories would be an asset in traumatic cases but he was curious to just how well he dealt with the day to day issues that came with over seeing the mental health of a star ships crew. Placing his endorsement on the transfer order, and transmitted a summons for the Lieutenant as he set the PADD aside and waited for him to reply.

One thing was for certain...he would probably get an ear full from Ayren when she got wind of the transfer.


Elas wasn't exactly afraid of the impending meeting but to say he was would almost certainly explain the flutter in his stomach. His empathic reach was short, but he could feel the burning ember of the rear admiral on the other side of the bridge. He was a broil for sure, emotions and tensions were being held back with an iron will, Elas at least felt confident in why Medical sent him here.

With the patent Starfleet 'swish' the doors parted and he stepped off the turbolift. The ship was in Earths orbit, most of the crew were off ship, but the Conn and XO were still at their post. He would meet them later, the Security officer next to the doors directed him to the ready room. He had prepared a dozen speeches mentally but he discarded them all when he saw the man, and read his intent. Instead of resentment or annoyance he felt Cautious Optimism. The Klingon had depth to him and it exuded with the proximity of Elas to him.

"Admiral, Lt. Elas Vonti reporting for duty."

He stood at attention but it was wrong, his posture, his attitude all of it was almost defiant in its uniquely wrong way. He wore the uniform as if it itched him and seemed to resent the formality of his words....

Taking in the defiant air of the man, Da`nal's mood did not improve. Cracking his neck with the twist of his head he look over the man before him and decided to see if his tone matched his posture before reacting. "Greetings Lieutenant. I must admit, in all my time in Starfleet you are the first Ullian I have met. Doesn't your people prefer to remain on your home world?"

Elas knew he had struck the wrong chord, but his persistence had carried him so far in his career. " Nice to meet you Admiral, it is no secret most of my people reject any military authority but I am a man of my word and take my Oath seriously." He paused for a moment, only to continue in a rush, " Can we put our ranks aside and speak directly, Cards on the table so to speak?"

Medical had sent him here to complete an assignment but part of it required him to do so without interference or knowledge. People behaved differently if they felt they were observed and the Admiral across from him was formidable enough already that Elas knew he would soon detect any subterfuge.

Da`nal leaned back in his chair as he grinned at the request. It was rare that such a junior officer would propose such a thing. However as he was the crews new chief counselor a level of trust needed to exist. "Granted".

"I was inspired to join Starfleet by Voyager... or rather a study that was published shortly after their return. I had been taken in with the tales of heroism and wondered along with the billions of Federation citizens who also carried dreams of the romantic ideals of far flung explorers... The simple fact was we didn't have adequate debriefings to handle the depth of the crisis these people had endured. Many of these officers ended up accepting an offer to retire, usually after career ending mistakes had been made. They weren't damaged but they were changed, unfit for further service due to extreme conditioning brought on by survival instinct. Something this paper focused on was the steps that should have been taken to properly recognize and cure psychological maladies..."

He squirmed a little in the middle of his long winded explanation, he had done as much pre-cushioning as would be effective.

"Medical feels that given my career and interests, I would be a good fit to vessels having endured significant losses, or traumas. The Achilles has caught their eye, and more specifically... you. To be clear, nobody is accusing or questioning your command or ability, my presence is to make sure people aren't exhibiting signs of subconscious mutations from their usual norms. I have a list of officers who I believe already show signs of therapeutic need, based on performance reviews, personal logs, a variety of methods..."

He presented a small data PADD to the Admiral, the names burned into his memory already. They had shown clear deviations from norms, even physiologically they were showing signs of aberration.

~~~~PADD MESSAGE~~~~

Assignment details: Lt. Elas Vonti Chief Counselor aboard USS Achilles.

Detail: Starfleet Medical acting under the authority of chapter 115.7 of the Starfleet Code hereby requests a review of relevant facts pertaining to Critical Incident Stresses endured aboard Achilles for it past 2 year missions. Blind assessment is suggested for purest results, therapies to be applied at discretion. By order of priority, interview the following officers to ascertain whether efficiency has been truly compromised due to CIS and possible other trauma:

Rear Admiral Da`nal
Rebecca Post
Lantiq Ryal
Cammy Valentine
Jessica Logan
Lema Rogers
Teresa Wendsar
Philip Kasmierski
Suteyo Alahanu
Telemachus Radhe
Jason Frey
Tekran Theldore

... (continued on next page)

You've done good work Elas, do us proud, these people have been through the ringer more than a few times.

Commander Jara Sito, Starfleet Medical Commission, Betazed

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Da`nal looked up as he set the PADD aside, "Take a seat Lieutenant." The statement more an order than an invitation.


TBC....

 

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