On the Couch

Posted on Fri Mar 8th, 2024 @ 6:54am by Lieutenant T'Pralik & Commander Kevin Lance

Mission: Thunderdome
Location: Starbase 364
Timeline: Current

On:
{Starbase 364}

Kevin had barely stepped into his quarters when he received notification about his scheduled appointment with the ship’s new counsellor. He cursed under his breath. He had been able to successfully avoid routine sessions for almost three years. His last one had been on USS Independence just prior to his assignment to the diplomatic mission.

The counselor on the diplomatic team had been so busy trying to establish and maintain personality profiles on the Odinskus that he had little time or patience, ironically enough, to minister to the emotional needs of the Federation diplomats. Then during flight training, he was too preoccupied with simulator training, at which he excelled, and examinations, at which he did not, to attend any of the scheduled counselling sessions. He had momentarily worried that it would prevent him from graduating but in the end, his poor written examination scores had been a greater threat than the missed sessions.

During his first six-months on the USS Chuck Norris, the role of ship’s counselor had been vacant but now Star Fleet had seen fit to fill the role and the new counselor was losing little time in cleaning up the backlog.

{Counsellor Officers, Medical Section, Starbase 364}

Kevin knocked softly on the door to the counsellor’s office.

T'Pralik was sitting crosslegged facing him, clearly expecting him. "Ah. Lieutenant Commander Lance, yes? Please, sit down". She gestured at the chair in front of her.

As the Lieutenant sat down, she continued "From my reports here, I can see that you haven't been seeing many counsellors recently" Laughing slightly, she continued "Well, fear not. I'll try and keep it short. First, tell me about how you feel about the serving here on the Chuck Norris. If you were to rate it from -11 to +15, overall where do you feel you lie?"

Kevin was glad that the counsellor wasn't a Betazoid but he made a mental note to avoid physical contact. Vulcan telepathic abilities required time and concentration in addition to touch but best to not take chances. Her question, however, took him a bit off guard. Most counsellors would take their time delving into a patient's psyche. Lieutenant T'Pralik approach seemed to be much more direct and analytical.

The counsellor's scale also seemed oddly subjective. Kevin noticed that she had not given any sort of labels to the scale, no indication of what was good and what was bad. It felt like a test rather than a measure of his feeling on service. "Without additional information," he replied, "it is impossible to give an answer."

T'Pralik quickly scribbled down a few notes, and replied "Well, what information would you require?"

"You have given me no indication of the significance of the scale you stated," Kevin responded, "Is a low score good or bad? Is the scale linear or logarithmic? Are you expecting responses to fall along a standard deviation or be weighted towards the extremes? How about this. I will tell you how I feel and you can give it a number you like."

He leaned back and let out a breath. "I am generally happier now than I was prior to the ship’s assignment to Starbase 364. I found the size of the ship confining. The Defiant-class was never intended for long term assignments and the ship's living arrangements are wanting. We didn't even have a proper gym. And with so many crew assigned to such a small ship, I can't turn around without bumping into three ensigns. Now, at least, there is room to move around and a really great gym."

"The promotion to Lieutenant Commander was a surprise," Kevin replied, "The appointment as Second Officer much more so. After the departure of Lieutenant Commander G'ginloss, I thought that the Captain might appoint Lieutenant Kronnelti to the role as he had been on the ship longer. Ultimately, the Second Officer gets all of the scut's work that the Captain and XO don't want to do. It is a path to bigger and better things but there is a price to be paid," he said with a dismissive shrug.

Rather satisfied with herself for having gotten her patient to speak so openly with her with only two questions, she scribbled down her final overview of Lance’s calculating and highly analytic character. "But you still prefer working as Second Officer over your previous role?"

"I get to do both," Kevin responded, "A ship with a crew this small doesn't have the luxury of a dedicated Second Officer so I am still the Chief Flight Control Officer. Honing my skill as a ship's pilot is as important to my career development as learning the duties of Second Officer. It does, however, mean that I am perpetually on double duty, although the isn't much to do aboard ship duty off duty hours other than eat and sleep."

T'Pralik wrote down some more notes "dedicated to his job." T'Pralik then asked "How about your relation to the crew? Do you feel they get along with you, and each other?"

"The senior officers and division heads are all very competent," Kevin replied blandly, "I am less certain of the junior officers. Ensign Mariten, in particular, seems ill-suited to service aboard a ship of this class. As for how the crew feels about me, it doesn't really matter that much. If they don't respect me as a person, they will respect the rank."

Hierarchical. "What specifically is it about this Ensign Mariten that you find incapable aboard the Norris?". T'Pralik disappeared under her desk for a moment, searching for files on the ensign.

"She lacks maturity and has trouble maintaining focus," Kevin answered, "I remember once Commander Rodale mentioning that she needed to keep Ensign Mariten busy lest she get into trouble."

T'Pralik made a few notes again, now into the ensigns file. "Well, back to you then. Do you have any problems you want to discuss?"

"No, life is pretty good right now," Kevin admitted, which was a surprisingly true statement, the late night visit from a mysterious stranger notwithstanding.

"Well, it seems you have everything under control then." T'Pralik smiled a little. "Unless you have anything more to say, we can leave it at that and I’ll let you go back to your job"

Relieved, Kevin stood and thanked the counsellor before departing the office.

:off

Lieutenant Commander Kevin Lance
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Chuck Norris

and

Lieutenant T'Pralik
Counsellor
USS Chuck Norris