Star Trek: Theurgy

Day 21 [1600 hours] - Drawing Out the Less-Than-Axiomatic Answers

April 16, 2023, 07:41:26 AM

[ Lt Reika Sh’laan | Upper Gym | Deck 6 | Vector 1 | USS Theurgy ]  attn. @P.C. Haring 

It was just before the end of Alpha shift, but the stately Andorian made her way to the gym wearing a baggy red pair of sports shorts and a matching sports bra. Her platinum hair was tied up in a messy bun atop of her head - it perched directly between - thought slightly be hind - her antannae. She kept telling herself that it is likely protocol to meet with a counselor after you’ve been revived from stasis.  The physical trauma of whatever the injury was along with the mental trauma of finding out that you’d lost months of your life would throw anyone for a loop, but with the issues aboard the Theurgy … Yeah, that mentally, and emotionally, and even physically could make things much worse.  And with my lingering physical issues, I may have hit the trifecta.

When Hathev contacted Reika to set the appointment - per post-thaw protocol - the Counselor asked if she would rather meet at an alternate location, and Reika had suggested the gym.   It certainly wasn’t the ‘normal’ counseling session, but that suited the lanky Andorian much better than a couch in an office where she wouldn't know what to do with herself.  She was much more comfortable in her element in the gym and it would be easier to dodge some uncomfortable questions if the counselor was spotting for her.   Ingenious really.

But as she rode the turbolift, she thought over the various aspects of the past five days since having woken up, and she leaned her head against the turbolift bulkhead and rocked it from side to side.  So much had happened.  Between just the knowledge that she had been out for months, that many of the people that she knew were gone, and that her condition hadn’t been completely healed was immense enough.  There is the debacle of my evening with Hirek, my time on Q’onos and being accosted by Klingons, but - and an unconscious smile wound across her face, then there is Kino. The very unexpected and lovely part of her renewed life.  Whatever it is that we have … a contented sigh escaped her lips as the turbolift came to a halt.  Whatever it is that we have is real, honest, amazing, and I can’t get enough of it.

Exiting the Turbolift, Reika had a little more spring in her step.  Her azure eyes twinkled, her antannae stood erect and even the casual observer would have noted her dimples in the short distance from the turbolift to the gym.  When she arrived, she looked around to see if she could spot the counselor unsure of what else to do.

Re: Day 21 [1600 hours] - Drawing Out the Less-Than-Axiomatic Answers

Reply #1 – April 27, 2023, 03:54:59 AM

[ Lt Cmdr Hathev | Upper Gym | Deck 6 | Vector 1 | USS Theurgy ]  Attn: @rae‍ 

As a general rule, Hathev avoided the ship’s gyms.  She had nothing against them, understood the logical need for them, and often referred patients to the gym to find more productive ways to vent their emotions.  However, for Hathev herself, the Gym per se, held little to attract her interest.  Her exercises were more suited to the pool in the Public Baths or an open studio wherein she could stretch and work to extend her range of motion, or a quiet darkened room in which she could directly meditate.  The gym itself just did not suit her needs.

Yet, when a patient reached out to her and asked for a session  at the ship’s gym for a session, Hathev was not one to refuse.  She considered wearing her duty uniform to the meeting, but given that Lt. Sh’laan was to be wearing workout clothes, it seemed only logical that Hathev do the same, even though her ‘exercise’ would be more of a supportive role, she assumed. 

Hathev stepped out of the locker room, clad in her own workout gear, and saw her new patient enter on the far side.  Crossing the gym, closed in on her patient.

“Lt. Sh’laan.  It is good to see you.  You are looking well.”

---

OOC - Hathev's Wardrobe for this thread

Re: Day 21 [1600 hours] - Drawing Out the Less-Than-Axiomatic Answers

Reply #2 – April 28, 2023, 08:03:50 AM

[ Lt Reika Sh’laan | Upper Gym | Deck 6 | Vector 1 | USS Theurgy ]  attn. @P.C. Haring

Reika tilted her head to the right, hearing and feeling several pops along her cervical vertebrae.  She repeated the process tipping her head to the left as several cracks reverberated in her ears.  Spotting the Vulcan emerging from the opposite side of the room, she walked toward her.  She had her boxing gloves in one hand and a heavy curved kicking/boxing pad in the other. 

When the met somewhere near the middle, she heard, “Lt Sh’laan.  It is good to see you.  You are looking well.”

Reika nodded. “Thanks, Counselor.  I feel well.  Like I’ve pretty much recovered from my stint on ice.”

Wanting to be courteous and return the compliment, the Andorian noticed how pristine the Vulcan’s outfit looked.  Almost too nice - like it didn’t see much action.  But if not, she’s sure fit as hell anyway.  “You’re looking nicely put together,” she settled upon.  “Great outfit,” but feeling the need to switch topics as the complement, while honestly meant, sounded stiff.  “By the way, thanks for offering to let me choose an alternative option to meeting in your office.  If I’m honest, I’m probably going to be more comfortable here than I would sitting or reclining on a couch.”

“I’m assuming that you want to do something other than run on one of the treadmills or jump rope or anything like that, and since I’m used to sparring, I thought you might like to be my punching bag - not literally,” she grinned wondering if the Vulcan had any sense of humor. “So to that end,  I brought something for you,” the Andorian said as she set her gloves beside her feet and turned the padd around.  “If you’ve used one of these before, just stop me, so I don’t make a fool of myself.  But if you haven’t, this is a martial arts or boxing pad.  It will allow me to strike you without causing you any pain or discomfort.  This is a strap to put your arm through to brace yourself.”  Reika handed the thick pad over to the Counselor and picked up her own boxing gloves.

“Is that how you saw this working out or did you have a different idea for our time here?”  She watched the black eyes opposite her as she strapped on her gloves.

Re: Day 21 [1600 hours] - Drawing Out the Less-Than-Axiomatic Answers

Reply #3 – August 23, 2023, 02:47:16 AM

[ Lt Cmdr Hathev | Upper Gym | Deck 6 | Vector 1 | USS Theurgy ]  Attn: @Dree‍ 

It always intrigued Hathev whenever one of her patients who requested an ‘alternate’ setting for a session would solicit her opinion on what an acceptable alternative might be.  As a counselor it was her job to assist her patients with their mental health needs.  Logic dictated that as each patient was unique so too were their needs and so too were the circumstances under which they would be most at ease for counseling.  To that end, the logical extension was that it should be the patients preference as to the activity and not hers.

The memory of her Lurian patient who insisted that she counsel him while he took a nude mud-bath with his harem returned to her and she was grateful that he had only insisted that she wear proper swimming attire in lieu of her uniform and had never asked her to strip or to join him.  She would have, more than likely, but it would not have been her preference.

“Thank you,” she said in reply to the compliment about her wardrobe before continuing on to respond to her question about the choice of activity.  “My preferences as to the choice of activity is less relevant than yours,” she replied.  “A sparring session is more than acceptable.”

Hathev followed Reika to the mat.  The Vulcan was, indeed familiar with the pad, but had never used it, so she quietly accepted the tutorial and allowed her patient to help her strap it on properly.  Already she had noticed something about the Andorian and she wished to pursue it a little further.

“Curious,” she said, her eyebrow arched.  “I do not see a second pad for yourself.”

Re: Day 21 [1600 hours] - Drawing Out the Less-Than-Axiomatic Answers

Reply #4 – August 30, 2023, 03:41:58 AM

[ Lt Reika Sh’laan | Upper Gym | Deck 6 | Vector 1 | USS Theurgy ] attn. @P.C. Haring

Counseling was always a slippery slope for Reika.  After a close friend got killed in an accident when they were at the Academy together, Reika was ordered to see one of the staff counselors.  The sessions were interesting enough if you wanted to know more about how counseling worked than you wanted to be counseled.  She always felt like she was walking a tightrope.  Don’t say enough and they accuse you of holding back.  Say too much and they can think that you’re embellishing.  Say the wrong thing and that could be the end of what was a promising career in Starfleet.

And while she was the one who had spoken with the counselor in the first place, it was hard for her to not fall into questioning how little or how much or what she shared. 

After the two made their way to the mat, Reika bounced on her toes a couple of times and twisted her head to the left and then to the right.  She wiggled her shoulders as she continued to bounce.

“Curious,” the Vulcan said with that particularly…frustrating…amusing…(Reika wasn’t sure which) stoic arch to her brow.  “I do not see a second pad for yourself.”

“Well, Counselor, that’s because those pads are meant to be hit not meant to hit.  I’m just going to hit the pads.  So unless you want to take a swing at me, I don’t likely need pads,” the Andorian explained. “But I’m always happy to swap you if and when you’d like.”

Re: Day 21 [1600 hours] - Drawing Out the Less-Than-Axiomatic Answers

Reply #5 – September 09, 2023, 08:44:25 PM

[ Lt Cmdr Hathev | Upper Gym | Deck 6 | Vector 1 | USS Theurgy ]  Attn: @Dree‍ 


Hathev had wrongly concluded that this session would be more of an even physical spar between Reika and herself, however it was clear that her Andorian patient had a different idea in mind which, for Hathev, was acceptable. 

“That is acceptable,” she confirmed.

It took the Vulcan a moment and a minor assist from Reika as she adopted the proper stance and prepared for Reika’s strikes.

“At your Discretion, Lieutenant.”

The Vulcan held her silence as Reika began her exercises, observing her as she moved.  The Andorian’s tension was evident and Hathev suspected her patient was not completely comfortable with the idea of speaking with a Counselor.  This was not a new phenomena for Hathev as over the course of her career as she had dealt with many patients who were apprehensive about talking to a counselor, to say nothing about a Vulcan counselor.

So, Hathev waited and focused her efforts on defending against Reika’s attacks, blocking, dodging, and parrying as appropriate.  The Vulcan chose her moves not to frustrate her patient but to change up the sequence and pull her focus deeper into her exercises and less on the counseling.

After a few minutes, Hathev sensed Reika start to relax and it was then that she began her work.

“Tell me,” she made sure to not invoke her rank or any other honorifics, “how are you settling in?”

Re: Day 21 [1600 hours] - Drawing Out the Less-Than-Axiomatic Answers

Reply #6 – September 12, 2023, 07:14:23 AM

[ Lt Reika Sh’laan | Upper Gym | Deck 6 | Vector 1 | USS Theurgy ] attn. @P.C. Haring

Once Reika heard “At your discretion, Lieutenant,” the Andorian fell into an easy stance.  She danced around the Commander lightfooted every now and again, she reached out with various styles of strikes.  Sometimes she used xi’for’al.  Sometimes it was an old-fashioned punch. 

She took a step back and maneuvered into a position where she could administer a few kicks.  The more that she moved, the more at ease she felt.  Moving this way and that way, a strike a kick, a dodge all in different combinations changing things up more with each movement.  As her body limbered, her mind began to loosen and relax as well.   And the more that she moved, the more she felt like she could answer a question if asked.  So much had happened in the short time since she was thawed.  Some of it was rather personal.  Some of it was very mundane.  Some of it, she hadn’t been able to disentangle in her own mind. 

Once before she found a conversation with a counselor helpful - when she had been requested and required to accept a new position.  The outside perspective had been more than helpful as she felt too close to the situation to be able to tease out all of the applicable parts enough to ascertain her own feelings.  And of those feelings, she felt comfortable sharing some.  Others she didn’t feel as comfortable with.  Sometimes it’s hard to come to grips with your own feelings - especially when they aren’t what you had expected or hoped for.

As her body danced from position to position, her mind hopped from topic to topic.  But eventually, the counselor broke the Andorian’s reverie with, “Tell me, how are you settling in?”

Reika kept moving, a bob here, a duck there followed by a strike and a dodge.  Always in a different order, always mixing up the combinations.  “Well, I’m unpacked.” And without even realizing it a smile graced her lips.  She unpacked with Kino’s help.  She had enjoyed sharing the memories with the Trill as item after item was extracted from the two totes.  Her room not only looked so much more lived in, but felt so much more homey after the time that she and Kino spent setting out remnants from her past and spending precious hours together in each other company.    “I suppose that has to count for something,” she said after a decent-length pause between her earlier statement and finishing the thought.  And with that, she stepped back and pivoted on one foot while bringing her other around to make firm contact with the pad that the Vulcan was holding for her.

Re: Day 21 [1600 hours] - Drawing Out the Less-Than-Axiomatic Answers

Reply #7 – October 05, 2023, 04:16:39 AM

[ Lt Cmdr Hathev | Upper Gym | Deck 6 | Vector 1 | USS Theurgy ]  Attn: @Dree‍ 

Under most circumstances, Hathev would watch the body language of her patients as they interacted.  In the case of Reika Sh’laan, that was presently impossible.  The Andorian’s body language was buried by her fighting stance.  The Vulcan was more than ready for each of Reika’s strikes.  The Andorian did not telegraph her sequences per se, but for any Vulcan, especially one trained in the art of observation, her motions telegraphed her training routine, giving Hathev more than enough to properly block and deflect as appropriate.

“It does indeed count for something,” she agreed as she braced for Reika’s kick before redirecting the momentum of the strike down, so as to not throw her off balance.

“Tell me about the process of moving back into your quarters?  What feelings and memories did you experience through the process?  I would imagine that given your lost time, the process must have elicited some thoughts and feelings?”

It was a bit more on the nose than Hathev typically preferred but her professional instinct told her that the direct approach would be the most logical.

She re-set herself, adjusting her pads as they had shifted, and prepared for Reika’s next attack.

Re: Day 21 [1600 hours] - Drawing Out the Less-Than-Axiomatic Answers

Reply #8 – October 06, 2023, 04:11:46 AM

[ Lt Reika Sh’laan | Upper Gym | Deck 6 | Vector 1 | USS Theurgy ] attn. @P.C. Haring

This time there was an extra bit of bounce when the counselor asked her about how she moved back into her quarters.

“Well,” she said before hitting the pad with a well-placed punch.  “Someone helped me move back in.”  Reika spun around and hit the pad with her elbow.

And knowing the next question and when talking with the counselor, she really didn’t mind answering it.  But she couldn’t answer too quickly, so she spun in the opposite direction and rounded with a kick to another pad.  Then she pulled back and landed several punches at various places on the pads that Hathev was using.

Still keeping her hands in front of her, the Andorian stopped taking shots at the Vulcan for a moment, but she still kept her feet moving.  “In all honesty, I had a hard time unpacking for about a week, because it was hard.  There were a lot of memories associated with each item that came out of my storage trunks, but I had a visitor and she offered to help me unpack.  It eased my stress over it, and even gave me a chance to remember the good things about almost everything that I took out of storage.”

But after that moment, her feet stilled and she swung her long hair over her back.  “Parts of it were still hard, but Kino made it easier.”  Once she said that, her feet started moving again, but this time there was an unmistakable smile on her face.

Re: Day 21 [1600 hours] - Drawing Out the Less-Than-Axiomatic Answers

Reply #9 – November 04, 2023, 08:46:12 PM

[ Lt Cmdr Hathev | Upper Gym | Deck 6 | Vector 1 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Dree‍ 

For as well trained as Reika was in her technique, Hathev found it a simple matter to predict and absorb her attacks, parrying some away at opportune moments.

Hathev listened to Reika’s answer and felt the Andorian finally relax a bit as she spoke of her unpacking and her time with PO2 Kino Jeen. Hathev had not yet met Jeen, but that did not surprise her as there were many on board she still had yet to meet. With a crew this size and the number of people transferring in, coming out of medical stasis and, unfortunately, dying in the line of duty, it was difficult to keep up with the exact crew manifest.

The Vulcan found herself curious as to the nature of the relationship between Jeen and Sh’laan, but until the Andorian opened up more about it, Hathev decided to leave that topic alone. 

“What, specifically, was difficult about unpacking?”

Hathev realized as she asked the question that it as rooted in more than just professional curiosity.  While she understood that many species often assigned ‘sentimental value’ to physical objects.  As a Vulcan Hathev had had no use for ‘sentimentality’.  But if her experiences on Qo’Nos with Cross had been any indication, she was also discovering emotional sentiment and she needed to understand it from more than just a clinical perspective.