Posted by Captain Alexander Cochrane (Commanding Officer) in CNS’ Office- Troubleshooting

Posted by Civilian Sair Songz (Counselor) in CNS’ Office- Troubleshooting

Posted by Captain Alexander Cochrane (Commanding Officer) in CNS’ Office- Troubleshooting
Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻
It was a strange feeling, this uncertainty. It swirled around in the pit of her stomach and made awkward appearances at the most inconvenient of times. So far, most of her interactions with the crew had been pleasant and productive. Mostly evals and sessions and naturally she felt comfortable in those situations. They allowed her to do what she was good at: help people. But the rest of it? Well, that was a bit more difficult.

A part of her thought that it was mer Kobliad culture shining through. After all, her people liked a good hierarchy. They like order. Sair herself, meh, she could take or leave it. As a doctor she had worked in those hierarchies and understood why they were necessary. Here on the Manhattan, she felt… perhaps adrift was the right word for it, but all she knew for sure was that she needed to sort out her place here very concretely before her son Koro arrived. And time was running out too. He was going to be on his way here very shortly.

Sitting at her desk, she knew that the only way to figure it all out was to talk to someone about it, and who better in an hierarchical situation than the person at the top. She opened a message box on her computer to Captain Cochrane and made a simple request: Do you have time today to discuss a personal matter that affects my work?

~Sair Songz, CNS

There was a pause of several minutes before a return message blipped into her console. 1300 hours in my office? Does that work for your schedule, Counselor? it read.

Cochrane, CO

Checking her schedule, Sair saw that she could squeeze in a quick meeting with him between appointments and just be mindful of her time. She rather disliked keeping patients waiting and tried her best to keep to schedule, but then again sometimes things happened and you just needed to go with it. She replied back quickly: 1300 hours works just fine. I’ll see you then.

---

Her last session ran a tiny bit late and she didn’t want to skip writing at least a few notes, knowing how notoriously imprecise her memory could be at times. Her notes were very important to her. So at 1307 hours, Sair stepped onto the bridge and over to the ready room door. Drawing in a quick calming breath, she pressed the chime, straightening her blue tunic over her black trousers.

~Sair Songz, CNS

“Come in.” came the voice of the Captain as the door slid open. Looking up from his desk, he nodded and stood. “Counselor, please come in.” and the door slid closed. “Have a seat. So what -” and he sat down again, “- is the personal matter that you wish to discuss?”

Cochrane, CO

She had rushed, but at least the turbolift ride up had given her a chance to catch her breath. “Hello, sorry I’m late,” Sair sad as she took a seat and rested her arms on the edge of his desk.

For a moment the Kobliad just gathered her words, though her mouth curled downwards. Lifting her gaze, her pale brown eyes were confused. “I… I’m experience a bit of confusion, I guess is the best way to put it. While i’ve been a civilian working with Starfleet before, me tenure was relatively short and I was the Chief Medical Officer then. I could approach that position much like working in the hospitals I had before. The title was different, but the role was the same. Here on the Manhattan though, it’s different. My role can be much more fluid, sometimes seemingly less defined. I have powers as the head Counsellor that I had as a CMO, but it… feels awkward. I’m not a Starfleet officer. I have no rank or standing with the officers and crew. And while it doesn’t affect my work as a therapist directly, it creates an awkward situation for me on the ship Even your civilian Diplomat was a Starfleet officer previously. People will and do treat her differently than they will me. I guess… I guess I’m just trying to better understand how I fit in here, because I’m second-guessing myself already and I just got here. and that doesn’t bode well for my long term view of my job here.”

~Sair Songz, CNS

Cochrane listened and was focused on the Counselor and her words. When she was done speaking, he remained silent for a moment, thinking of a proper response that wouldn’t come off as pandering or dismissive. “Hmmm. that is a conundrum, isn’t it? Well, let’s see where we can start…” and he took a deep breath.

“Firstly, I don’t think your feelings are unfounded or unjustified. I also don’t think are too uncommon for someone in a new position. But I also understand that this environment is unique in many aspects. And I think, at least here, people gravitate to the familiar as a means to feel closer to a home that is so very very far away. Mrs. McKenzie, the Diplomatic Attache, is not only former Star Fleet, but her husband is a celebrity most of the crew know. So that helps her, I would assume. And yes, I’m sure that that familiarity helps bring people’s guard down a bit.” and he chuckled slightly. “Sometimes too much, from what I’ve heard.” and he laughed. “For you, you don’t have that common ground… at least, not yet. So I can certainly see how it makes you feel a bit disconnected and isolated. The question then becomes… how do we fix it?”

Cochrane, CO

She drew in a steadying breath and sighed. “I’m not sure other than to give people opportunities to get to know me, but I’ve been discovering people are more skittish around therapists than doctors. Just a fact I suppose. It doesn’t also help that my work before I came here involved mostly counselling those that were at end of life, regardless of their age, and then counselling loved ones.” Sair drew her lower lip into her teeth for a moment. “You have to understand, Captain, that while there is tremendous hope for my people, there is a whole generation, mine, and the generation before for which hope is not something we have. We know our time alive is more finite than those that are being born now. It means that I’m also having to quickly adapt my perspective. Because it wouldn’t do to be dismissive about someone’s feelings over a matter that back home on Kobliad would be considered miniscule.” Maybe she’d spent too long back home, immersed in the mire of dying people . She had moved out of emergency medicine for that reason and yet had somehow found that counselling the dead and grieving was just as hard as treating those same people medically. She had hoped leaving Kobliad would allow her to shake some of that cultural melancholy, but it was like it had somehow gotten stuck in her when she wasn’t looking. She used to feel immune to it. Maybe not so much. Was that because she had become a mother?

~Sair Songz, CNS