Unavoidable Encounters - Part III

Posted on Sun 25th Aug, 2013 @ 9:14pm by Commander Mikaela Locke & Commander Paul Graves PsyD

1,195 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: http://sb109.sim-station.net/index.php/sim/missions/id/5
Location: Deck 83 - Chief Counselor's Office
Timeline: Previously....
Tags: Graves, Locke

[ON:]

With her physical exam out of the way, Mikaela Locke figured that she may as well kill two metaphorical birds with one stone and, since she was already on deck eighty-three, she may as well pay an introductory visit to the office of the Chief Counselor as well.

She thought about messaging ahead, just to double-check that he was free, but, upon reflection, decided that she would rather chance her luck: Should Counselor Graves prove to be indesposed then she would happily postpone the encounter for another time.

It wasn't like he was going to unearth anything new.

Her defences were far to well honed for that. But, regulations required that each officer should submit themself for a psychiatric evaluation at the start of each new assignment, and she was quite prepared to abide by the regulations - however useless she believed said evaluation to be.

Rounding the final corner, she arrived outside the couselor's office and, with no pause, reached out and pressed the chime. Stepping back, she waited to discover whether Graves was available.

"Come in," Paul said at the sound of the chime. He had redesigned his office somewhat, to brighten the color scheme a bit. The walls now were a sky blue, with the furniture upholstered in sand shades while the same art--paintings of low stone bridges covered in ivy and flowers hung on the walls.

He glanced toward the door to see who had come in--thankfully not Drake, this time--and found himself regarding a rather nice-looking lieutenant with dark hair and blue eyes. He liked the air of confidence in her carriage and the impression of little wasted movement.

"Hello, Lieutenant," Paul said. "I don't believe I've met you before. I'm Counselor Graves. How may I help you?"

Mikaela took a couple of steps in to the counselor's office. "I'm Mikaela Locke," she replied evenly, "And I'm here for my pre-assignment psych evaluation... Of course," she quickly added, "that is, if you have the time." While she was keen to get it over with, she was certainly not desparate to participate, nor did she want to appear too pushy.

"No, you're fine," Paul replied. "Have a seat while I look over your file for a moment," he said, gesturing toward the sofa and loveseat. "Can I get you anything to eat or drink?"

"Just some water, please," Mikaela answered, as she moved towards the sofa. Perching herself on the edge, she gently intertwined her fingers and rested them in her lap, patiently waiting for the counselor's questions to begin.

Paul brought her the water and then took a few moments to scan through Mikaela's file before joining her at the sofa.

"Welcome to Protector, Lieutenant," Paul said. "You seem to have a varied range of experience--Starfleet Intel, Strat/Tactical, and Communications. I don't see that combination very often. What sort of Communications experience are you hoping to gain while you're here?"

"Well, my first degree is xenolinguistics," she replied casually, "So I guess I'm hoping to be able get back to utilising some of those skills again." She shifted slightly on the seat, to achieve a better posture, although she immediately wondered whether the counselor would interpret that as a sign of internal discomfort.

"Frankly, I admire anyone who can do xenolinguistics. As far as I'm concerned, that has to be a lot like shooting in the dark," Paul said. "But I'm curious, Lieutenant. Given that that's your preference, why come to a starbase rather than go to a deep-space exploration vessel?"

And there is was.

Within two questions, the counselor had managed to ask her something that required a deeply personal response. She presumed he didn't know that at this stage, but already she felt on the backfoot. Would being honest reveal too much? Perhaps expose a weakness? On the other hand, lying her way through her initial psych evaluation hardly demonstrated a willingness to operate with a 'team mentality'.

"I guess Colonel Drake was a big factor," she eventually replied, deciding, at least at this point, honesty might well be the best policy. "We're old friends. When I was reviewing the list of potential assignments, I saw his name and requested to be transfered here."

"You are?" Paul asked with a sudden smile. "I'm glad. Command can be rough, and sometimes, CO's isolate themselves or feel that they have to. With you, I don't think he'll have to." And he would be an idiot if he did, Paul thought, because this lady is rather nice-looking. He kept that to himself, however.

Paul considered his next question for a moment. Locke had seemed almost nervous about admitting why she'd come to Protector. On the other hand, perhaps she simply feared suspicions of favoritism if it became known that she was an old friend of Drake's.

"I see you progressed through the Academy pretty quickly and with extremely high marks," Paul went on. "How has that affected your career, the people you work with?"

"It's not been a problem, so far," Mikaela replied without really thinking about it. "But then I've spent most of career hanging with intelligence officers - pretty much all of them passed through the Academy quickly with really high marks."

"Good point," Paul admitted. "What about your personal life--with people who aren't in Intelligence? How do they relate to you?"

"It depends," she said, thoughtfully, "Some are intimidated, but most are cool with it. The problem is more mine," she admitted, more honestly than she'd planned. "I don't always make friends easily."

Her honesty about that was a good sign, Paul thought. He nodded. "It can be difficult, sometimes, when you have a talent that others lack. Some people mistakenly believe it's the talent that causes you to succeed, when really, the talent is only a tool. What usually makes you hesitate when you think about becoming a friend with someone?"

"Ignorance;" she replied, "And trying too hard." She shifted slightly in her seat. "I think that relationships have to develop naturally - you can't force them."

"I agree," Paul said. "For what it's worth, a smile works wonders. And, if nothing else, it makes people wonder what you're up to." He shot Mikaela a brief look of amusement and went on. "I'm a bit rolling my eyes inwardly, asking an intelligence officer this, but...Are there any concerns you have that you'd like to talk about with me? Anything you say in here stays in here. And if you don't feel comfortable discussing such things with me right now, my door is always open."

"Thank you," Mikaela replied politely, but in a way that was intended to assure the counselor that they were done. "I'll let you know if I think of anything."

She stood, inclined her head slightly, turned and headed for the door with the same grace and poise with which she had entered.

[OFF:]

---

This encounter was presented by:


Paul Graves
Chief Counselor

&


Mikaela Locke
Chief Communications Officer

 

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