Ease My Mind

Posted on Sun Jun 21st, 2020 @ 6:30am by Captain Nycolas Temple
Edited on on Tue Jul 7th, 2020 @ 1:40pm

Mission: Into the Wild
Location: Counselor's Office

A Mission Post by Captain Nycolas Temple & Lieutenant Mera Richmond MD
Mission: Into The Wild
Location: Counselor's Office
Timeline:
Wed Sep 6th, 2017 @ 5:47am


The stars looked the same today as they did yesterday, but Nycolas Temple stared at them from his office window all the same. It had become a common occurrence for him to get lost gazing into space like this, as the Pandora sailed gently away from their near-death experience and waited to see if they were really out of danger yet.

The apparitions the crew experienced had hung heavily on the Captain's mind. Though most of the ship had gotten on with their duties and each one passed him with a polite smile and cheery greeting, he knew they had been frightened by these events. Though they were professional Starfleet officers, they were people too; and even experienced crew had been rattled. Nyx hated the fact that he had no solution on how to make it better.

Mera Richmond was sitting at her desk in the Counselor's Office rereading the mission logs that recounted the crew’s visions while trapped in the dark matter. She had treated hallucinations before. Those were usually caused by extreme trauma or fever, but she had never seen anything to this scale. She was horrified. For the first time in her career she needed to take a break.

She stepped away from her desk and walked toward the replicator. “One half Earl Grey tea, one half black coffee. Hot.” she ordered.

Mera took the cup and leaned against the wall. She preferred to brew her own; something about the replicated version just wasn't right. Unfortunately, she had to rely on it this time because she hadn’t had time to unpack. She looked over the crates littering the office and let out a heavy sigh. There was so much work to do, but she didn't know where to start. The situation she was coming into on the Pandora was probably worse than any counselor could imagine.

Nyx had been pleased to see that Starfleet had seen fit to provide the Pandora with a new ship's counselor, especially one as qualified as Dr. Richmond. Her arrival on board could not have been more fortuitous, given their recent troubles and while he was keen to get the crew the help they needed, he also didn't want to overwhelm the Doctor so soon.

Arriving at the Counselor's office, Nyx pressed the door chime with enthusiasm.

The sound of the chime mercifully broke Mera’s stare. “Please, come in.” she stammered as she snapped back into the present. She took a moment before her guest entered to gather her thoughts.

“Good morning, Captain. I have been looking forward to a chance to talk with you. Please have a seat.” She pointed him toward the armchair near the bay window and cleared a box off the adjacent couch. “Can I get you anything from the replicator? Coffee? Tea?” Mera was nervous. She wanted to impress Captain Temple, but needed to make up for the state of her office.

Nycolas looked around and smiled as he sat down on the couch, "This looks exactly how my office did for the first week. It's not easy to pack up your whole life and move it around." He shrugged, "No drinks for me, thank you."

The Captain looked to the Counselor with an earnest grin, "So have you had a chance to read up on our recent events on the Pandora?"

Mera’s expression shifted to one of concern. “Yes, Captain, I have been working my way through the ship and crew logs regarding the Borg Cube illusion, sensor ‘ghosts’, and other, more personal, hallucinations, but I haven’t hit bottom yet. The last time I dealt with hallucinations it was caused by subspace radiation from a faulty combadge, but it was isolated to a single patient.” She paused and shifted in her seat, her mind starting to race. “Captain, once I get settled I would like to discuss findings and hypotheses with the science and research staff to develop preventative measures." Mera paused again and looked down at the drink in her hand. "Unfortunately, my office is a sort of physical representation of my mental state, and as you can see…” she trailed off and looked around at the boxes strewn about. An embarrassed smirk crept from her mouth.

"We believe it was contained to the ambush we found ourselves in and once we're repaired, we can find a way to shut it down." Nyx explained with a glib frown, choosing to ignore her concerns over the office. He knew what it was like to move around. "I don't want to rush you, I'm sure it'll take a little time to settle in. However, I do want to encourage anyone who urgently feels the need to seek counselling to see you right away. If your office is no good, you can use any of the ancillary meeting rooms or holodeck."

“I appreciate that, Captain, and please let everyone know that I am always available. Once repairs are complete and things are relatively slower I intended to meet with each member of the senior staff individually, but until then I will be settling in and reviewing mission logs.”

The Counselor’s eyes narrowed. “Are there any particular cases that you would like me to prioritize?”

Temple thought about it for a moment and shrugged, "Well you're about as likely to get him here, as you would a Klingon to a fancy dress party, but Lieutenant Griffin was particularly effected by his apparition. However, Lieutenant Brennan had a severe physiological reaction during the event that was quite traumatic and I really regret not being able to provide her with more comfort at the time. We were in the middle of the crisis and my focus was more on getting the ship out of the dark matter. I may visit them both and gently suggest coming to you, if that's okay?"

A concerned look came over Mera’s face. “That would be fine, but I fear that it will be difficult to drag them away from the their posts long enough to have a proper examination. I think I will have to try a more casual approach off-duty.”

"Sounds good to me. And if you have time, my wife, she's not an officer but she's a permanent resident, also had quite the fright herself," Nyx frowned, "Obviously the crew comes first, we've got to keep the ship going especially now, but I would be deeply appreciative if you could fit her in?"

“Captain, my door is open to everyone aboard the Pandora, crew or otherwise. I am here to serve in whatever capacity I can.”

Another thought crossed the Counselor’s mind and she grabbed the PADD that was sitting on the couch. “I understand that we are headed toward the Mendazian homeworld to make our repairs, and it got me thinking about your expectations of the counselor position. I am aware that some commanders utilize the counselor as a resource in first contact and diplomatic scenarios, and I would like to offer my counsel as the mission develops.” She looked down at her hands nervous. “Assuming that you find me fit to do so, of course.”

Nycolas nodded, a pleased smile on his face, "That would be acceptable. Only if it's not too much work for you, of course. From what we know of the Mendazians, they are a secluded species and the previous ship to come across them invoked the prime directive, meaning we won't be making direct contact. But I'm open to the possibility in any future meetings."

“Of course, Captain.Just please keep me in mind.”

"Alrighty," Nyx replied, slapping his hand to his knee like his father used to. "I have more rounds to make but I hope to keep in contact with you as much as possible."

The Captain stood and reached out his hand, "It's been a pleasure to meet you, Doctor Richmond. And in the interest of helping you to settle in, I'm holding a dinner for the new senior crew at Pandora's Box tonight. I do hope you can join us."

“That sounds great. I wouldn’t miss it.” she said shaking the Captain’s hand with a delicate grip. “It will be a welcome distraction from this mess.”

Nyx laughed, giving a sympathetic smile before departing from the room.

As the Captain left, Mera returned turned and sighed as looked over all the boxes left to unpack. “Looks like it’s time to get back to work.”