Posted by Captain Calvin Marius (Captain) in Ready Room - Discussing the Counselor

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Sage Brennan (2nd Officer - CMO) in Ready Room - Discussing the Counselor

Posted by Captain Calvin Marius (Captain) in Ready Room - Discussing the Counselor
Posted by… suppressed (10) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Not long after Ayeka left her office, Sage contacted the Captain. =/\=Brennan to the Captain. There is a matter we need to discuss. When can I meet you?=/\=

—Sage

=^=I’m on the bridge, we can meet in the Ready Room. Come on up.=^= Marius nodded to one of the lieutenants on the bridge, “You have the conn.” It wasn’t much of a responsibility with the Captain about 15 meters away but procedures were procedures. He spun on his heel and walked into his ready room.

Marius

It wasn’t long before Sage stepped onto the bridge. She took a moment to have a look around with the eyes of the 2nd officer—her new position. She decided she was going to need to schedule a few shifts for herself working as a bridge officer, to familiarize herself with command once again. Giving her decision a silent nod, she made her way to the ready room doors and palmed the chime. She didn’t usually get to see Cal while he was wearing his ‘Captain’s‘ hat.

—Sage

Marius looked at her with a slight squint trying to divine her purpose prior to her speaking. It would affect his response. His wife his second officer requesting a meeting… it was bound to be awkward especially the first time…

“What do you need commander.” It was not atypical to leave the lieutenant off when speaking to the ranks with two military titles.

Marius

His greeting was less warm than she would have liked, but Sage understood this was new territory for them. She rarely had to approach him with work matters and she was pretty sure her promotion and advancement in command were present in the room with them. “I wanted to talk to you about our new counselor, Ensign Lydia Ayeka.” Sage walked across the room to where he sat and gestured at one of the chairs across the desk from him. “May I?”

—Sage

“Take a seat.” Marius by temperament was formal while on duty. He couldn’t help but feel the pull of his personal attraction towards her. It was very odd because he didn’t feel confusion when he had to see her as a medical officer… He closed his moment for a minute.

“What do you have for me.”

Marius

“I’m curious how she wound up on the Genny. She’s very young and very green for a vessel like this. After having seasoned officers in the role of counselor for several years, I’m not sure what her welcome will be be once the crew sees how shiny and new she is.”

“We have a lot of old hands here. Maybe a burst of youth will keep us on our toes?”

Sage sat down and crossed her legs. Cal looked good sitting behind the ‘big’ desk. Their roles on the ship didn’t cross too often, so mostly when they were together it was off duty. She was sure after the meeting they would both have something new to think about.

“There is also the matter of her…uniform.”

—Sage

Marius had a confused look on his face. He didn’t take his wife for a ‘mean girl’ ostracizing a fellow woman for her clothes. “Uniform… how can there be a problem with her uniform. Uniforms by definition are unremarkable from one and another… you know… uniform.”

Marius

“Right, but it isn’t a uniform. Its a very shiny, silver, skin tight, micro mini dress. It’s cute, actually, and it looks exceptionally good on her with her slammin’ body. But that’s my point. Wearing that outfit off duty is fine, but during active counselling sessions it will probably be a big distraction to anyone who goes to see her.”

Marius squinted at her with a sour expression. “Really… How bad can it be? I mean she made it through the Academy they wouldn’t graduate a woman who doesn’t know the difference between on duty and off duty clothes.”

Sage watched Cal to see if he recognized what she was talking about. “Hey, you know I like to dress to tease you off duty, but even back when I was a counselor, I wore the standard uniform. Someone in that position needs to be thought of as professional and approachable, not as…a possible conquest.”

—Sage

“You can’t help what young men and women think. In uniform, on duty or off, if they are going to have questionable motives they are going to have questionable motives. That being said I can’t have someone dress like a Dabo dealer in charge of our ship’s mental health.” He looked at her for a moment. “I can’t make a fair assessment of that with seeing what she is wearing.”

“I’m going to need you to replicate that item for my viewing later.” He said flatly.

Marius

OOC: I actually burst out laughing when I read that last line.

IC:

The right side of Sage’s mouth lifted in the barest of smiles at Cal peeking through the CO position. “Of course, Captain—best to make an informed decision about such things. I’m also having her record her sessions so I can review some of them. I want to make sure she had a good understanding of how to counsel in any situation. In the beginning, we all make mistakes. I’m also curious as to her level of empathy. Too much isn’t wise for a counselor. It can suck you right down into the problem your client has instead of being able to show them the way out of it.”

—Sage

“Is that ethical? Can you review her tapes without the consent of the patients?” Marius mentally worked through ethics. “You aren’t officially her supervisor in counseling - so that isn’t your out. Wouldn’t that have to be by consent?”

Marius

“I am a licensed counselor. You know I always keep my medical and psychiatric credentials up to date. I’m also her department head since she’s just an Ensign. Anything I view while monitoring her appointments would be covered under doctor/client privilege, so why would it be unethical? There isn’t anyone else to guide her.”

—Sage

Marius threw up his hands, medical and psychological ethics was not his strong suit… hell any kind of ethics wasn’t a topic he could debate with any sort of effectiveness. “I’m just asking here. If you say it’s alright and all ethical… then I’m fine with it.” He paused.

“Hypothetically, she could be doing everything right and all her patients could be getting all crazy because they are all horn dogs… what would you advise? I mean she looks the way she looks no matter the clothes she’s in, and there is always that… transfiguration… thing where the patient falls in love with the psychologist anyways. I’m sure that happens all the time, she must have been taught how to deal with it.”

Marius

“Transference is the term you’re looking for. Yes, it happens, but not a lot.” She was smiling at his ‘horn dog’ comment. “You’re right in saying she will still be the same, her shape and all, but I’m concerned about her current wardrobe being a detraction from the actual progress she and her clients will be working toward during their sessions. I mean, if there were a man in a tight, little pantie sitting across from me while I was trying to counsel him, I’d find it hard to stay on track, myself.”

She wiggled shapely eyebrows up and down while watching Cal. “Sexual attraction is part of most species make up. It’s what keeps our species going. But when someone is there to spill their deepest secrets, it doesn’t help if the person who’s there to guide them in dressed provocatively enough to keep them off the mark.”

—Sage

Marius hadn’t seen the new counselor or her clothes so he didn’t feel that the could accurately debate the point. “All I’m saying is we shouldn’t crucify the newbie, just because she’s attractive and doesn’t hide it. What kind of world are we in, where women are treated in a negative fashion for being attractive. If the same rules were in effect for men, I’d never have made it to Captain.”

Marius

Her mouth nearly fell open. “Is that what you think I’m doing? Crucifying her because she’s attractive?” She couldn’t believe he’d actually said that. Sage shook her head, disappointed. “Her being attractive has nothing to do with anything. Her being distracting, does. Professionalism is very important in counseling and so is propriety. Sometimes we deal with unstable people, you know.” She was surprised Cal was taking the stand he was. Business concluded, she decided to get back to sickbay. Standing, she smoothed out the front of her uniform. “That’s all I wanted to see you about—to express my professional, not personal concerns.”

—Sage

Calvin pursed his lips, it was fairly clear that the conversation had ended. He both was allowed to be more, but expected to be less temperamental that all those around him. He paused for a moment as she stood people generally didn’t dismiss themselves from the Captain. “I never said it was personal. You are dismissed.”

Marius

Damn right I’m dismissed. Sage thought as she headed for the door. He’d made the meeting personal—Calvin and Sage, instead of Captain and Doctor when he’d suggested she model the questionable clothing choice of the counselor for him. News flash, she didn’t need her husband’s permission to leave the room. As Sage crossed the bridge and entered the turbo lift, she shook her head. Time to dust off those applications again.

—Sage

OOC: Ironically it an argument over a counselor that doesn’t exist.
Luke

OOC: I don’t know what you’re referring to here.