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USS Endeavour: Just Checking In

[Lt R’Rori | Chief Counselor’s Office | USS Endeavour] Attn: @YasyraTrill

Administrative work was vital to the effective maintenance and management of any organization, R’Rori knew, but even that knowledge did not make the task palatable. Still, as chief counselor, it fell on hir to ensure that the psychological needs of the crew were being met and that did include organizing and filing the reports that both Command and administrative branches required to show that. There were also plenty of more private notes to write and organize as part of her sessions with hir patients. S/he finished the most pressing pile of paperwork and took the moment to stand and stretch hir body, the motions eliciting a satisfying yawn from the feline hybrid. A quick look at the ship’s chronometer and hir schedule confirmed it was about time for hir lunch after this next appointment.

Who do I have next?

A quick series of taps on the screen confirmed who it was as well as the relevant psych profile and notes.

Ah, Cadet Okhala. I hope she’s getting more integrated now.

R’Rori knew that the Tactical cadet’s primary counselor was the other more experienced counselor, Jordana Reynolds, whom s/he trusted was doing well based on the last report that counselor had filed about her. Reynolds indicated they were starting to make some real progress after some initial reticence on Okhala’s part, which was understandable given the history and heritage that R’Rori could see. S/he had scheduled short appointment primarily just to more informally check in on the cadet rather than as another psych session.

The door chimed and hir ears perked towards it as hir head moved up to greet the arrival. S/he greeted her with a smile and a quick flick of hir tail, gesturing to one of the chairs in the room. There were four in the room aside from the one behind the desk, three of them clustered in a corner opposite of the desk in view of the door and the two landscape paintings that hung on the walls. Hir gesture indicated the newcomer could sit in any of these chairs as she wished.

“Welcome, Miss Okhala! Thank you for coming.” R’Rori’s voice was a soothing purr as s/he spoke and straightened hir uniform tunic to hide the strip of slightly furred stomach that got exposed during the stretching. “Please sit. Would you like a drink?”

Re: USS Endeavour: Just Checking In

Reply #1 –
[ Cadet Laurel Okhala  | Chief Counselor's Office | USS Endeavour] Attn: @patches

Taking a calming breathe, Laurel attempted to center herself. She had spent the entire ride down to the counselor offices fighting instincts that told her it was all a trick. That Reynolds had gained her trust just so it would hurt more when R'Rori told her the news that she wasn't making enough progress, that she wasn't to be trusted. But . . . everyday Laurel's paranoia about such things lessened.

At first she had been sure that it was all a trick. That Blue had spurred her on, got her over confident and set her up for the ambush with the Cadets, right in front of the man she had told her to seek out for help. That he was being lenient on her by sending her for psych evals instead of just having her demoted to a true pencil pusher or booted from Starfleet completely, so that when she was questioned they could claim that they had been nice to her. That Reynolds and her dog were a trick because it had somehow made its way into her file that she like and trusted animals more than people. But slowly she was seeing that maybe there were people here that wanted her to succeed and that she needed to stop making blocks for herself where there weren't any there.

So she swallowed before pressing the chime and being told to enter. She stood in the doorway, inspecting the room for other entrances or exits, hiding places, and obvious listening devices. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, Laurel chose the chair that allowed her both a view of the door and easy observance of the other person in the room. "Hello Counselor." she acknowledged. "Green tea with lemon, if I may?" One of her father's lessons was to always accept when someone offered you food from a source you could trace. You never knew when you might be offered such a courtesy again. Plus people with nothing to hide need not fear psychotropic manipulation.

Once she accepted her beverage she took a small sip of the warm liquid and observed the person across from. Laurel took in the stature, the soft grey furred appearance and the sharp intelligent eyes. This person may not be able to take her physically but she was more than a match mentally. She would have to be careful, especially since she suspected that Reynolds would have had to share at least some of their meetings with her superior just to give Laurel the all clear.

"You wanted to see me?" Laurel felt slightly awkward around the other Counselor. She had grown quite accustomed to Wyatt's warm and steady presence in her meetings with Counselor Reynolds, she felt off balance without his heavy head on her knee.

Re: USS Endeavour: Just Checking In

Reply #2 –
[Lt R'Rori | Chief Counselor's Office | USS Endeavour] Attn: @YasyraTrill

R’Rori nodded at Laurel’s request, requesting a cup of the same for hir as well. It had been a while since s/he had some green tea and the addition of a lemon sounded like a good idea. As s/he headed to a chair across from Laurel, R’Rori noted the location the cadet chose, filing it away as a mental note. It meshed well with the note on her psych profile about her paranoia and general state of caution. During hir time with survivors of the Dominion War, R’Rori had dealt with this often and found that gaining that essential and tackling the source of that paranoia required sometimes very different approaches. S/he idly wondered which approach Jordana was using in their sessions together.

The dog, if I recall, is playing a crucial role. I’ll have to ask Reynolds sometime about her use of her pet in practical terms.

S/he followed Okhala’s sip with one of hir own, taking a moment to allow the cadet to get situated before they began and organizing hir own thoughts for the meeting. The green tea was a good choice. Not quite as soothing as the type s/he usually drank, but it said something of the woman when she chose this tea. When Laurel spoke, R’Rori nodded and set down the cup of tea before replying.

“Yes. I have been reading the reports Jordana sent me of your meetings with her.” The use of the first name was deliberate, meant to evoke an informal atmosphere that was often critical for therapy. “Of course, the exact details of your sessions are kept confidential between you and the counselor you work with. The nature of these reports are strictly to keep me apprised of the progress you are making and I am glad to see that you are making progress.

“As a counselor,” R’Rori opened the palm of hir hand on hir chest momentarily, “my job is to ensure the mental well-being and health of the crew. I wanted to get your input on how we are doing there. It seems like some balls were dropped leading up to your altercation. Are things improving for you now?”

Re: USS Endeavour: Just Checking In

Reply #3 –
[ Cadet Laurel Okhala | Chief Counselor's Office | USS Endeavour | Attn: @patches

Taking a sip of her tea, Laurel used the motion of setting her cup down to stall, and watch how the Counselor responded to her silence. She was unsurprised that the person, whom Reynold's seemed to trust and admire, had already caught on to many of Laurel's more obvious testing moves. Plus a few, she was sure, that were so ingrained even she didn't realize she was doing them.

She took in the attempt to establish the informal conversation by using Reynold's first name. Laurel would rarely be so rude as to call a superior anything less than their name or station unless asked to do so, such as in the case with the chief engineer Blue. Counselor Reynolds had never said she should use her first name and so she did not, usually Laurel simply called her Counselor. That being said, she could respect the attempt, and made the physical effort of appearing more relaxed, though she was certain Counselor R'Rori would catch the affectation she was using.

"Counselor Reynolds has been nothing less than thorough and professional. I respect her greatly for her insight into my . . . psyche. Laurel shifted her weight in the chair slightly, attempting to relieve pressure off a bruise she had from her most recent sparing session. It had been Counselor Reynolds' suggestion to reach out to Laurel's former adversary in a relative form of peace. In a controlled environment where the two could duke it out and perhaps learn a bit more about each other. The first few sparing sessions had ended with both of them storming off in different directions unable to stand each others presence any longer. But more recently, Cadet Julbi and herself had been able to spar without the heat of their usual insults. Laurel had learned that Julbi too, had an older sister who was top of her field and left him with a huge shadow to struggle to come out from. They had finished a sparing session both lying on the mat sweaty and bruised and had lamented that their older sisters were also both unable to be in contact with them at this time. Laurel wasn't sure what Julbi's sister did exactly, he didn't tell her, she didn't push, but she got the feeling that it was dangerous.

" As for my emotional needs, Counselor Reynolds has suggested that I reach out to my peers with whom I have been at odds, and attempt to negotiate a truce. So far I have been marginally successful. Most of them at least no better than to attempt to start a fight at least. I think they forgot partially, about why Rihannsu are feared. They remember now. It has not necessarily gained me friends among the other Cadets but . . . things are better. I have found that spending my free time helping in engineering has been a great form of stress relief. Chief Tiran is . . . an interesting woman, who despite her strange diet and crass language, is quite insightful. I have learned much about the ship which I think will be highly useful once . . . if I am ever to fly her." Laurel glanced down at her hands which were clutched at her knees to keep from fidgeting, she might have said to much. 

"Counselor Reynolds and Chief Tiran have also suggested and instigated a couple of meetings between myself and Chief of CONN, C'Rusar. I have been given a fairer amount of training time than I was receiving before and I think I am beginning to leave the impression that I am a capable pilot, at least. I have some way to go before I gain his trust I think . . . but it is looking better."

Re: USS Endeavour: Just Checking In

Reply #4 –
[Lt R'Rori | Chief Counselor's Office | USS Endeavour] Attn: @YasyraTrill

A ghost of smile played on R'Rori's mouth as s/he saw Laurel change her posture. Whether or not it was fake remained to be seen, but the counselor was glad that she was at least making the effort. It signaled to hir that Cadet Okhala was conscious of how she appeared to others and apparently willing to play along in at least some circumstances, which wasn't unusual. R'Rori hirself did it frequently as part of hir counseling sessions and mingling with the general crew, deliberately cultivating an appearance of utter calm and acceptance. For all the Federation's vaunted ideals of radical acceptance and diversity, appearances still matter quite a bit and as Cadet Okhala's experiences showed, there were plenty of bigots left.

S/he listened carefully as Laurel spoke, nodding in acknowledge her praise for Reynolds, but otherwise remaining impassive but attentive. R'Rori assumed the shift in position was just to be more comfortable in the chair. The hands on her knees did catch her attention, however, which made sense given that in R'Rori's experience, cadets tended to be fairly uncomfortable talking to senior officers.

A smile threatened to break R'Rori's impassiveness at the mention of "Chief Tiran" and s/he, hopefully smoothly enough that Laurel didn't notice, took a sip of hir tea to disguise it. I should have known Blue would adopt this one. It's right up her alley.

"It's great that C'Rusar is starting to give you more training. He is usually not as hard on cadets and junior officers as he has been on you." S/he replied once Laurel was done. "In time, you'll find your balance with him."

S/he let a smile through this time, her voice taking on a more gentle tone as well. "The Federation has had an ... interesting history with Romulans and they are rightfully known as good in battle, which you've reminded the other cadets of. I have asked the other officers to ensure they're doing more to curb bullying in general and bring everyone into the groups as you're not the first within the group to note it happening. Commander Tiran is a good friend to have. I'm told she, ah, had some words with C'Rusar on your behalf. The scores on your record certainly speak to your competency and he should be noting that."

Hir silver eyes searched for Okhala's own hazel gaze as s/he continued, hir voice returning to its careful neutral warmth. "Surely, as delightful as Tiran's company is, you don't spend all of your spare time down in Engineering?"
 

Re: USS Endeavour: Just Checking In

Reply #5 –
[ Cadet Laurel Okhala | Chief Counselor's Office | USS Endeavour | Attn: @patches

Laurel barely managed to suppress a surprised snort of laughter at the idea of free time. "Counselor, between my regular duties, simulation time, scheduled counselor meetings, and the additional tasks all of the cadets have been assigned by Commander Ducote - to keep us out of trouble - free time is general relegated to eating and sleeping. The only reason why I've been able to spend some extra time down in engineering, is because I require less rest than many of my classmates." She covered a smile by taking another sip of her tea.

"When I do have time to myself, I have endeavoured to branch out, at Counselor Reynolds' request. Cadet Julbi and I have taken up sparing together. In an attempt to work out any tension we've built up throughout the day working together in a relatively controlled environment." She admitted, shifting her weight again, and disguising it by placing her cup on the table before her. "I have also spent sometime trying to find common ground with some of the other CONN officers with whom I share duties. Those have had varying degrees of success. "

It wasn't entirely a lie, she had been attempting to start conversations when she was on duty. Make small talk as it were, but she was not particularly good at it, and many of the other cadets still blamed her and Julbi for getting everyone put on 'bitch duty'. The other officers were still a bit uneasy on her standing, and as a cadet there was only so much she knew to talk about with them. She didn't want to overstep her bounds and possibly get them in trouble. Although, a few, much like the Chief Engineer, didn't seem too worried about it and would sometimes ask her about life on Alpha Centauri or share piloting experience.

- FIN
 
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