Head Shrinking

Posted on 16 Jan 2015 @ 4:13am by Lieutenant JG Kalos Jang Ph.D. & Lieutenant Prudence Devin Ph.D.

1,961 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 07 - Sojourn
Location: Starbase 84 - Deck 22, Office 11
Timeline: MD 09: 1100 Hours

ON:

The final step in Kal's settling on the USS Galileo was the psychological evaluation. It wasn't exactly Kal's favorite step in the whole procedure, but he'd been to his share of shrinks in his time. It was something he'd gotten used to, if not entirely fond of. He'd dated a woman going into the counseling department, back at the Academy. Always seemed to be wondering what he was thinking, which led Kal to realize he didn't think about much when he wasn't working. The relationship never seemed to quite bounce back after that.

When Kal looked into getting in touch with a counselor, the computer referred him to a Lieutenant Devin, the new Chief Counselor with temporary offices on the Starbase. The offices were all located together, one after another. Places for officers who needed a place to set up while their ships were being repaired. A small hive of Starfleet officers packed together. Kal found Devin's office with only a little minor trouble and rang the chime.

"Enter!" Prudence called out, finishing watering the plant. She looked at the door and smiled gently to the man who entered, walking to put the small watering can away. "I am Prudence Devin. Would you like some tea?" A quick and easy introduction. She had fallen behind her usual schedule, she only had the tea brewing on the side rather than ready on the table.

Kal shook his head as he took in the office, then the counselor. "No, thanks. Never been much of a tea drinker." Even though the office was temporary, it felt like it'd been set up with some care and thought, more like a permanent office than a temporary spot. "You been on the Starbase very long?"

Prudence looked around, chuckling as she took the pot and one cup and put it on the table. "Does it show? Yes...I have. About a month now. I did have some shoreleave too, no one chained me to this desk," she added and smiled as she motioned for him to sit.

Kal said, "I'd feel weird about this whole thing if they did." Sitting down in one of the chairs, he settled back. It was a damn comfortable chair. It occurred to him he hadn't introduced himself. "I'm Kalos Jang, and I'm here to prove my sanity. Or is it stability? I'm never sure with these psych evaluations what you're actually looking for."

She chuckled at that, sitting down as well. "You have nothing to prove," she said and shook her head. "You passed your intake tests during the Academy. This is just to make sure you are okay. And should you ever fail...don't worry. We'd get you back on track soon."

"Fair enough." Kal smiled at Prudence and said, "Well, I think I'm doing okay. I've been wanting a field posting for years, now, and here I am. I get to focus on my own research, I get to see new things, I don't have anything to not be okay about."

"What is your field?" she asked with interest, sipping her tea as she held his eyes. It was clear he was genuine in what he was saying. And for a first posting, a science ship was a wet dream for most scientists.

"Nanoengineering. I've always been good with machines, and that's where I thought I could do the most good." Kal crossed his legs as he sank in a bit more in the chair. It might've been a bit overstuffed. "It's an exciting field."

She smiled at the words, giving him a small nod. "It is rather...vogue," she said softly, with warmth. "You must be happy to be going on a ship full of other scientists. Do some...different experiments?"

"That's the plan. I've got a research list as long as your arm, and being on a starship is just going to give me more. It already has, a bit. I'll be busting my ass for the rest of my life just based on the work I'm going to find available here."

"That's not a bad thing for a man like you, is it?" she asked as she sipped her tea, arching an eyebrow. "Boredom is after all the alternative to this."

"Yeah, I know. I spent all my time back on Earth until I got out here. And that was boring. I mean, it was good work. Important work, and they were all good people back there. But I just hated it."

She chuckled at the words, nodding as she watched him. "You need to spread your wings, so to speak. Adventures. Some will tell you that the restlessness is a bad thing, but if you ask me...it means you haven't lost that childlike need for exploration. It's a positive, not a negative, to want to see everything and explore. For a scientist in any field, it is vital."

"Exactly," Kal said. She'd just said it better than he ever could. It felt good talking to somebody who he knew could see it his way. "What about you? I always wondered what led somebody into counseling with Starfleet."

She met his eyes before shaking her head, considering the words. "I was newly divorced and between jobs. It seemed as good an opportunity as any," she confessed, meeting his eyes again before smiling. "A way to see more and experience more than I could have done on Earth."

He smiled back, nodding. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Make a change of things, do something wildly different." It was an answer he could respect. "My dad asks me when I'm going to settle down and get married all the time. I think he worries I work too much."

"I hear most parents do. It is how it should be," Prudence said with a chuckle, shaking her head at that. "Do you think you work too hard? It's not a loaded question, just a curious one. I find myself working more than I would in...a civilian role."

"They keep you busy, don't they?" Kal had to think his answer over for a minute. "I don't know. I mean, I love my work. It's important and it means a lot to me. But it's sort of been all I've done the last ten years. I guess it gets a little lonely, sometimes. I've dated. I'm not some kinda monk. I've dated and had friends, but it's all been shallow, because I've got all this work I need to do. It's never anything I can't set aside if I have to focus on work."

"Perhaps you just haven't met a person who can both cope with that...and who draws you in so that you can set work aside on the free time?" she asked, her eyes gentle. "Sometimes, you have to force yourself to be a bit more out there if you want to meet that person. Even if it means going out when you could have been doing research."

"True enough. I'll have to think about that. I used to go out all the time when I was younger, back home. I didn't do much else but that, really." Kal shrugged. He'd had a brief go-around with counseling once back on Farius, after his sister died. But back then, he'd been too angry and confused to take advantage of it. He looked at Prudence then, thinking. "Have you ever served on a ship before the Galileo?"

"Yes, I have," She admitted before shaking her head. "There's a bit of a workaholic culture on ships. But I think it's something we set ourselves up for. We can't...help ourselves." She held his eyes before tilting her head with a small smile. "What changed?"

"What, with the partying?" Kal shrugged, not sure for a moment if he wanted to open the can in a short counseling session. He hoped he wouldn't really have to make it a regular thing, if he was being honest. But, there was also no reason to hide it, either. "My sister, Bimi, died. Back home, there's a lot of crime. She got into some things, I got into some things. Trying to impress big sis. Her things were more serious, and they involved the Syndicate, and eventually she did something they didn't like, and she was murdered. I didn't really see much future in the lifestyle after that. I always had a brain, so I started using it again." He said it all simply and straightforward, the events always sharp in his mind but well-trodden by now, like a picture he'd memorized so deeply that he could sketch the image's outline without thinking about it.

She watched him for a moment before nodding weakly. "I am sorry about your loss," she said, finding it important to acknowledge that. His story was...a sad one. But he had changed his life so much. Even if she found his delivery of this information a bit too matter of factly. Like emotional detachment.

"It was a long time ago," he said. "Actually, that was my first go-around with therapy. My parents were worried about me and tried to get me to go, but I wasn't really good with it then. I was angry and just...well." Kal spread his hands out as if that explained it. "I had my own way of working it all out. And that's how I ended up here."

"And now? Are you...finding a better way of working things out?" she asked him, holding his eyes at her question. She was impressed by how he had progressed from such a...background to this.

He met her gaze and smiled at her. "You're looking at it. It's why I'm here. I wanted to get out and see the universe and make machines and chase bad guys and explore the galaxy. I don't see why you'd want to confine yourself to one gray, rainy planet when you've got all this." He gestured around, then seemed to realize their surroundings. "Well, not this. It's a nice office, but not this. You know what I mean."

She chuckled warmly, nodding in agreement. "There's so much more beyond these walls," she said gently before shaking her head. "I must say, you sound like one of the saner Starfleet personnel I have spoken to."

"I sound mostly normal when I'm not talking about my work," Kal replied, smiling back. "That's when it gets a little questionable. But if that means I'm cleared to work, I'll take it."

"Good, because I am doing that," she said and smiled gently, shaking her head. "If you do ever need to talk, my door is always open and I always have time. But you are cleared for duty. I know you will do well here."

Kal grinned. It was the last step he needed. "Great. Thanks, it means a lot to me. Catch up with me sometime, I'll buy you a drink. This...you have no idea how important this was to me. I'll tell you all about my work. You'll regret ever letting me on." His grin got a little bigger with his joke.

Prudence smiled quickly and stood, a signal that the session was now over. "Nonsense. I am yet to have someone bore me to death and I once counselled someone with a fascination for different shades of orange..." she joked, her eyes warm as she watched him.

"Orange? That's weird. Uh...yeah, real weird." He shook her hand. "Thanks, doc. I ever need my head shrunk again, I'll come see you." He turned and stepped out of her office, then, ready for work.

OFF:

Lieutenant JG Kalos Jang
Nanoengineer
USS Galileo

&

Lieutenant Prudence Devin
Chief Counsellor
USS Galileo

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