Solutions (Part 1 of 2)

Posted on 29 Feb 2024 @ 9:50pm by Commander Morgan Tarin & Lieutenant JG Delainey Carlisle

3,099 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Episode 19 - Tomorrow's Galileo
Location: USS Galileo-A - Deck 3, Counselor's Office
Timeline: MD 01, 2045 hrs

[ON]

The door chime sounded within the counselor's office on deck 3 approximately five minutes following Commander Morgan Tarin's recently-concluded meeting with the starship's operations manager. Time was now in short supply ever since Galileo-A had been brought to this terrible future, and every minute seemed to count for more than it ever did in the past. Her crew was currently on edge, that much was clear by now, and if there was any hope in containing their growing recalcitrant attitudes toward the Galileo-B crew, there was perhaps only one person aboard the vessel who possessed such insight. The new chief counselor.

"Come in," the counselor called out. She didn't recall having anyone on her schedule at this time, but naturally, was available to see anyone without notice. This was a particularly stressful time for the crew, Carlisle knew and she was learning to move as deftly as she needed to once again, noting that things aboard a star base could get busy too, but had a completely different rhythm compared to life aboard a starship.

The entrance to the room swished open and in stepped Tarin who approached the blond blue-eyed counselor for the first time since they departed Regula I together. "Lieutenant," she greeted the blue-collared woman in her distinctive dry tonality. "Hope I'm not interrupting. I have a rather urgent matter to discuss with you. Mostly surrounding the crew's recent behavior."

"Not at all, Captain," Carlisle replied, "I'm happy to provide whatever assistance you need." In truth, Delainey only knew the ship's commanding officer up to this point by personnel profile and by personal observation. Seeing the other woman now, the counselor felt guilty about that, realizing she may have been avoiding the woman, not because of who she was as a person, but because of the office she held. It was true the Galileo held many fond memories for Delainey, but her feelings toward the ship's previous commanding officer were complicated, and Carlisle hadn't always felt the Orion appreciated the awkward positions Carlisle had been in in her previous tenure.

Looking at Tarin now, the counselor resolved to take a new approach. Her biases may have been unconscious, but that didn't mean she couldn't afford to look at them. Letting down a new captain because of her own personal baggage wasn't acceptable.

The red-collared commander walked further into the counseling room while quietly observing its familiar furniture and decorations. Perhaps in time, Carlisle would make this officer her new home and personalize it, but time had so far been an asset in short supply. She came to a halt behind one of the chairs in front of the counselor's desk then spoke in her familiar dry tonality. "I wish I had more time for pleasantries but I need your professional opinion on several matters. You'll have to forgive me." It was a curt and direct prompt which wasn't unusual for Tarin but it was now especially-so more prominent in her voice.

"We're twenty-five years into the future," the captain continued, "embroiled in a political landscape that's nothing short of our worst nightmares. The Federation is about to collapse after a decades-long conflict and we - our Galileo - have been brought into this period of time to apparently change our future fates." The summation of it sounded absurd when Tarin spoke it aloud, but her words were an accurate enough description of the crew's new plight. "There are some of us, here on the -A...who I believe aren't processing this new reality well."

Delainey kept her expression neutral as she listened to the recitation of where things stood. It was all true but also terrifying. Survival in Starfleet was not guaranteed. All anyone could do was meet the moment with courage and care. The latter was what motivated Delainey to get up in the morning. "Under the circunmstances, that's understandable. Are there specific behaviors or reactions you'd like to elaborate on?" Names would be helpful too, of course, but she needed a broader lay of the land so to speak.

"No," Tarin shook her head negative, her dark, loosely curled and shoulder-length hair bobbing across her cheeks. "No names," she clarified. Individuals weren't necessarily the heart of the issue, for she feared there was a larger phenomenon occurring. The commander reluctantly rounded the chair in front of the counselor's desk then sat down, her elbows perched on its armrests. "Have you ever studied Temporal Detachment Affliction during your career?" she then queried. "I only know of it from one of my Academy courses. It was a short subsection of my PSY-380 class. From what I remember, it's a rarely-documented psychological phenomenon that occurs when individuals - maybe even entire crews - are displaced from their own timeline."

Galileo's captain took a stoic breath to recall the knowledge from the lecture she once attended. "From the few subjects in Starfleet's history who experienced any form of temporal displacement, their limited interviews and studies revealed that many of them who successfully returned to our time struggled to process future or past events in the same manner as their original present...most likely due to a lack of perceived permanency. Secondary source research subsequently questioned whether or not the very nature of time travel produces longer-lasting effects, some of which might result in...unexpected and detrimental behavior."

Carlisle searched her memory for what she knew of temporal displacement effects. From what she could recall, TDA was a descriptor for a variety of psychological maladies facing the temporally displaced - everything from depression to trauma to psychosis. "I'm familiar with the concept generally, but I can't say I have specific experience with the displaced to be able to speak more in depth. From what I understand, just like any psychological ailments, there are different theories as to its origin. Some people believe time travel itself causes physiological changes to the brain that make manifestations of TDA unique, while others believe temporal displacement is a stressor like any other stressor and the symptoms people experience, like depression or anxiety, are not any different than what would be experienced from any other stressful situation, like when someone references drug induced psychosis. Psychosis as a disorder is defined similarly no matter the cause."

Tarin listened with thoughtfulness in silence while processing the counselor's interpretation of the affliction - if it could even be called that. Time travel was admittedly a rare occurrence within Starfleet and for good reason. Tampering with timelines, even accidentally, could result in devastating and permanent consequences. While the technology might have existed within the late 24th century, she'd never known of it to be intentionally deployed in a manner Saalm had explained to her in this future.

"What's your professional opinion, counselor?" Tarin asked after a long moment of silence. "Which theory do you believe is most plausible? Is our crew becoming perturbed because humanoids struggle to adapt to temporal shifts, or is this a side-effect of our experience and this...new and difficult reality we find ourselves in?" she gestured lightly with her hand to encompass the entire room and the cosmos beyond.

"I'm still formulating it, to be frank," Carlile answered. "I'm not aware of any specific brain changes that have occurred in this case, but to be sure of that, I need to evaluate more people affected. Prior to getting any personal experience with the displaced, I likely would've told you I believe TDA is just a stressor like any other that could induce common symptoms. Still, as you know, any good scientist has to be open to changing his or her theories as more evidence becomes available."

The captain slowly shook her head, her hazel eyes drifting down and to the side to scan a rather uninteresting patch of carpet within the counselor's office. "We don't have time to conduct a full-crew psychological evaluation. From what Rear Admiral Saalm has briefed us with, we have three days to finish repairs to Galileo-B before we're sent back to our original time. Many of our officers and NCOs are doing their assigned duties across both ships, and I can't spare their time for physiological evaluations." Tarin looked back up to Carlisle. "I can't give you much to work with right now aside from observation. This is a tough situation for all of us and I can't spare the limited work-hours we have."

The New York City-born commander reached up to push a stray lock of brown hair from her lightly-freckled cheek. "You mentioned 'stressors' as a possible source for recent behavior within the crew... How - or can - they be reduced over the next 72 hours?"

Delainey felt a sense of conversational whiplash. Somehow the Captain thought she was requesting to psychologically evaluate the entire crew. Carlisle was not. Tarin asked for Delainey's opinion about the nature and origin of TDA, and like the prudent clinician she was, Carlisle had pointed out she didn't have enough data to offer a well informed opinion.

Still, she recognized the Captain's desire for practical tools to help the crew and the stress which underlied such a conversational detour, so the counselor patiently shifted gears and turned her attention to her latest question.

"Without knowing the specific crew members involved or the specific symptoms you're referring to, it's difficult for me to offer targeted advice, but if that information won't be forthcoming, I can say with any stressor generally, the burden is eased considerably when people are given the opportunity to express what they're thinking and feeling in an environment that supports such acknowledgment and expression. Given the pressures all of us are under currently and in general as members of Starfleet, there could be a tendency, especially for those in command, to discourage what they may see as wasted time complaining about situations that cannot be changed, but in my experience, and I say this genuinely and without sappiness, resilience increases when people feel seen and not alone."

Tarin sunk her long torso back in her chair then inhaled a deep, frustrated breath. Her right hand rose to the side of her forehead which she firmly rubbed in an attempt to alleviate the growing migraine she'd been battling over the past two hours. The junior lieutenant's recommendation, as prudent as it might be, simply wasn't feasible at any scale right now. "Counselor - Carlisle," she corrected herself to use the woman's professional surname, "my door's open to any crew member who feels the need to discuss whatever moral or ethical dilemmas we're currently facing. I made that clear to all the officers during the briefing. But as captain, I now have a task to oversee...one more difficult and impactful than any of us have possibly faced." She leaned forward again in her seat, this time with her elbows on her thighs.

"Our future - this terrible one we've been brought to witness - is now in our sole hands to change. And from where I sit, there is no higher priority than achieving this new objective. Hundreds of billions of lost lives are at stake and I will do everything in my power to prevent this future from coming to pass. No matter the cost." It was a revelation given to the counselor in a somber and determined dry inflection, one which revealed Tarin's full commitment to the mission at hand and her hard, sometimes uncompromising command style. "I need solutions right now, not veiled critiques of my command style. In any other situation I would act on your suggestion but the needs of the many far outweigh the emotional needs of this few crew over the next 72 hours."

Carlisle's comments referred to the Starfleet experience in general for some people, but she realized then her words were taken as a critique of the command staff, and number of top of the chain of command before her in particular. It was the last thing she intended. "I'm sorry. Some of my words referred to the Starfleet experience in general for some people, and hearing them back, I can see how they came across as a critique of the command team or you specifically. I did not intend that at all, Captain. I will say I can't know exactly what it's like to be in your shoes right now, but it's clear to me you have a lot on your shoulders and are doing the best you can. I have no simple or quick solutions for the entire crew, but perhaps I can start by easing the headache I think you have if your behavior is any indication?"

Tarin held the counselor's blue eyes for a long moment while she privately evaluated the new officer. Watching, judging and forming fast, new opinions of the woman after every sentence exchange. "You're correct...I do have an onset migraine. They aren't uncommon for me," she casually admitted before refocusing on her previous query, "but it can wait for a few minutes. As I said, I need solutions, and I need you to think outside the box and within the constrains of our new tasking orders."

"If you like, I can get my med kit and help with that," the counselor offered, referring to the migraine. " I know it's hard for me to think clearly when I'm not feeling well, and in the meantime you and I can put our heads together. I can appreciate you want me to think outside the box in the short time we have, and to that end, I think it's important to ensure our goals for the crew's psychological functioning are realistic given what we're dealing with."

She was asking the captain to help her identify a reasonable goal for the crew's well being under the circumstances. Carlisle cared about the crew just as much, but she was experienced enough to know she couldn't spare them from all suffering, no matter how creative or dedicated she was, and certainly not without enough information.

The captain tightened her hazel eyes then held a hand up. "It can wait until later, counselor," she reinforced to the blue-collared woman. "I don't want whatever concoction of analgesics or sedatives you might give me to take me out of the picture or cloud my judgement." She let out a long breath then bit her bottom lip while still pondering a temporary solution to many of the crew's apparent stress reactions. Then an idea crossed her mind, albeit a controversial and unorthodox one. "Is there a way...you can administer a mild form of counter-anxiety medication to those most prominently affected?"

Delainey kept her expression inscrutable, but found the suggestion paradoxical as well as problematic. The Captain was refusing an analgesic for herself when clearly she was in pain on the grounds it might cloud her judgment, but by the same token she was suggesting others be drugged by sometihing far more delicate? She could appreciate a command officer putting others before herself, but in this case, it seemed clear pain was already affecting her. "With or without their knowledge and consent? I ask only because anyone who reports struggling with various symptoms is already free to seek treatment, including medication to address those concerns."

Tarin shook her head firmly to the counselor. "...And how many of the crew have so far 'volunteered' for treatment? How many of them have come through my ready room door to speak to me in private?" she asked. "I can tell you how many visited me after the briefing: None. How many have reported to sickbay since? None." The captain considered her sharp words to the new counselor, a woman who didn't quite have a full bearing on this motley crew of officers and NCOs. "It would be unethical to administer medication without any patient's knowledge. Yet here we sit, on the precipice of the Federation's defeat and the end of our histories. How would you make this decision, Carlisle, if you were in my shoes?"

"I don't accept those are the only choices, Captain," Delainey answered calmly, refusing to be pulled into a trap familiar to counselors everywhere. Everyone, from the most junior and green crewman to the most senior command level officer, frequently believed a counselor's job was to accept any premise offered and to offer advice based on those premises, thereby helping others escape responsibility for their own choices. Even in situations like this in which counselors were obligated to provide command guidance, clarity on both sides was key, and Carlisle certainly felt she had very little. "At the very least, I can't accept those are the only choices we have based on the information I have about the crew's mental state and the lack of information you've given me so far."

Carlisle spread her arms wide. "Again, if you know of people who are exhibiting behavior so compromising you believe the only choice is to drug them without their consent, please tell me, but if you've determined those are the only options merely based on the fact people aren't confiding in you, I would say drugging people without their consent is a move typical of the current reality they abhor."

The captain's sharp hazel eyes tightened at the unorthodox interpretation the counselor had made of her question. "Lieutenant, let me be frank with you." Perhaps more so than Tarin usually was. "I'm not in the business of 'drugging people without their consent'. Not without due cause and reason. Now, you're new here, and from where I sit? You don't seem to be fully understanding the situation we find ourselves in. I've noticed a problem with some of this crew's behavior and believe it will impact our mission, and I need a solution immediately; not in three days or five days, or a week...I need it now."

Tarin leaned back in her chair and flexed her long fingers before returning them to her lap. "If you can't - or won't - find a solution for me, then I'll find a more practical use for you aboard Galileo at the moment." Her distinctive dry inflection had turned severe and relayed an authoritative intensity lacking in patience. "This isn't an ideal situation for any of us, Carlisle. I don't like it as much as you, but I have limited personnel resources to assign."

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

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CMDR Morgan Tarin
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-A

Lieutenant JG Delainey Carlisle
Chief Counselor
USS Galileo -A

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