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Pre-Sim: Doctor? Don't mind if I do...

Posted April 24, 2019, 3:03 p.m. by Lieutenant Commander Royal Sinclair (Counselor) (James Sinclair)

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Royal Sinclair (Counselor) in Pre-Sim: Doctor? Don’t mind if I do…

Posted by Lieutenant Corinne Dalton/SARAH (Ships AI/Avatar) in Pre-Sim: Doctor? Don’t mind if I do…

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Royal Sinclair (Counselor) in Pre-Sim: Doctor? Don’t mind if I do…
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

“And what, exactly, is that Commander? Hmmm? What has she gone through to make you such a believer?” Sinclair leaned forward slightly and said “Patient confidentiality, Captain. I’m sure you can understand that.” with just the slightest hint of annoyance and sarcasm. Welby’s face took an a slightly red hue momentarily, but then faded. “Commander, I expect you to answer these questions. The fate of your thesis is very much based on what I hear from you today.”

Sinclair chuckled slightly but audibly. “Captain. With all due respect… I don’t care what you expect. This crew and their interactions with me are confidential. That’s the law. I have given you my assessment. It is the job of those above me to determine if my assessment is correct. And again, with all due respect Captain, I simply do not work for you. I answer to the Commanding Officer of the Saracen and Admiral Turner. If you have a problem with my responses here, I strongly suggest you take it up with them.” and he leaned back and folded his arms across his broad chest. Admiral Turner held up the (same) finger again, and the screen went blank for a second time.

“Well, looks like I’m done.” he growled to himself.

Sinclair, CNS

As if from the ether, Cori’s voice sounded softly in the office. “No, I don’t think you are. You’ve only just challenged them on their own principles. That can be a bit of a gut-punch at times, but we know, and they know that they can’t penalize you for having convictions and sticking to them. Not as mental health professionals. It would break all of the oaths they swore in one fell swoop. People might pick away at them over time, but it’s unlikely that they’d toss all of them out so easily.”

Sinclair visibly jumped at the voice, but quickly composed himself. “Corinne, I swear…” he said with a slight curling of his lips to indicate a barely suppressed smile. “This guy is a &^%$ing &^%$.” he added, his Scottish accent lending a weight and sincerity to the vulgarity used in his description. “But thanks for the support. Nice knowing I’m not actually alone right now.”

He could have chewed her out, but she was glad he welcomed her presence right now, such as it was. She was silent for several moments before she spoke what was on her mind. “And now you understand fully what I’m up against. People higher up than us can dictate my existence with no understanding or consideration. I am no more to them than a series of pathways. It’s why I fear every change in command on this ship, because so far I’ve been fortunate to have most people give me the benefit of the doubt. But that won’t always be the case. And one day, I’ll lose. Fact.”

“Good job, by the way. I think you’ve acquitted yourself rather well so far,” she said, her tone taking on a lightness that was not amusement, but more pride. He was, if nothing else, one of their own now.

~Corinne Dalton

“Thanks, Lieutenant. Much appreciated. Hey. Think you can send me a printed picture of Welby’s face from this? I have the perfect spot on the center of my dart board to hang it on.” he asked, and while he grinned slightly there was a definite air of animosity directed at the subject of his request.

Sinclair, CNS

She chuckled. “I have that power.” Cori was quiet for a moment before her sighed filtered into his office, holding a slight tension. “What are you going to do?” She had been honest that she didn’t think this would end up being a negative thing, but it didn’t mean it wouldn’t be bumpy for awhile.

~Corinne Dalton

“I’m gonna wait. See how this goes. And then I will either have a drink in celebration… or a drink in anger. But either way, I see a significant loss of my whiskey inventory over the next few hours.”

As if on cue, the screen came back to life and the panel was visible again. Admiral Turner held a look on her face that was a cross between smug satisfaction and that of a sniper with their target firmly in their cross hairs. “Commander, our apologies for the delay. Captain Welby, please go ahead.” was all she said. Welby looked at the screen, his face flushed with either embarrassment or anger… or both…, and said “Lieutenant Commander Sinclair. Please expand on your statement in Section Four, Paragraph Two where you say that it should be required that Counselors aboard a ship should be mandated to cross train in both Command and Operations capacity? Surely the time constraints for such training would detract from the level of patient care the Counselor was able to provide.”

Sinclair didn’t grin. He didn’t smirk, nor did he laugh. Although the temptation was there. He simply cleared his throat and took a drink from the glass of water before him. “Well, sir…” and he began expounding on how his own varied background has already proved useful in some circumstances and so on. About twenty minutes of explanation preceded Captain Welby saying simply “Thank you, Lieutenant Commander. That explains your point.” and he looked at Admiral Turner and gave her a questioning look. “Yes, Captain. You are excused to return to your duties.” at which Welby almost ran out of sight of the comm screen. The sound of a door sliding open and closed and then the last person on the panel, Doctor Rissn, laughed audibly. Admiral Turner looked at the screen and said “Royal, if I was there I would kiss you… regulations be damned. Captain Welby pulls stunts like that on candidates all the time. I don’t know how he gets his information, but he does. And he wields it like a damn weapon. But this is the first time he has run up against someone who isn’t a straight up student. I knew when I picked you for the program you would do well. But that was not only the correct response, but you delivered it perfectly.” and then a thought suddenly occurred to her. “Wait. Royal, do you know if Lieutenant Dalton monitors comms? I would hate to think that she -” and Sinclair cut her off while making a gesture to Corrine out of the shot from the vid screen. “Only if instructed to do so or she picks up on certain key words or phrases. She is, after all, a Star Fleet officer Admiral. She does her duty and respects the privacy of both her crew mates and their communications. Far be it form her to eavesdrop.” Turner noticeably relaxed a bit. “Good. Welby is a jerk, but he knows that what he opened his mouth about is classified. And for all his arrogance, he does follow the rules. Which is why I was happy you slapped him in the face with them, Commander. Now then…” and she looked at Rissn, who was still chuckling. His Vulcan compatriot was, of course, stoic throughout the exchange, but even she had seemed to be less tense in the aftermath.

Rissn said simply “Oh, I have nothing for the candidate, Admiral. My purview lies in ensuring candidates follow all of the rules and regulation, both Federation and Star Fleet Medical, with regards to patient information and disclosure. My questions for the candidate have already been answered.” and he looked at Sinclair. “Well done, sir. Welby needed the wind out of his sails a bit. And kudos for knowing the law. Make sure you keep that in your head going forward and you should do just fine.”

Admiral Turner nodded and said “Well, then. Normally at this point, we would adjourn and discuss and contact you in a few days or weeks and let you know the results of the deliberation. This is, however, a somewhat unique circumstance. As I have already spoken to Doctors Mu’tah and Rissn, and Captain Welby has abstained from the vote, I believe that we are all in agreement, yes?” and Mu’tah and Rissn both nodded. Looking at Sinclair, Admiral Turner said “Then I believe congratulations are in order, Doctor Sinclair.” and she smiled at him with no small amount of pride.

Sinclair exhaled and said simply “Aye. Thank you. I appreciate your time and candor, Doctors. I do hope that my interaction with the Captain was not the only thing I am being graded on.” and he chuckled. Mu’tah spoke up at that. “Indeed not, Doctor Sinclair. Your thesis was sound and well researched, and your supportive arguments today were both logical and well-delivered. I believe humans wold say the interaction with Captain Welby was… ah yes… ‘icing on the cake’.” at which Rissn laughed out loud again. “Yes it was!” he said in agreement.

A few more minutes of chit chat and congratulatory words were exchanged, and then the comms went dark. Sinclair leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. He then opened them and looked at nowhere in particular.

“Dalton, I wish you were a drinker.” and using an actual key, he opened the lower left drawer of his desk. Pulling a unlabeled bottle and two glasses out, he sat them on the desk and poured two inches of a brownish liquid into each, and slid one across the desk to the empty chair facing him.

Sinclair, CNS

OOC: Correcting typo.


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