JP Capt. Nugra & Lt Tasi - Not Your Usual Counseling Session (Part 1)
Renos SB118
:: It was expected. Nugra had served long enough in Starfleet to almost sense when a mandatory counselling session would be implemented by the chain of command. More than likely it was simply a computer realizing it was time. The Gorn had a pretty good guess why he was on his way to see a Lieutenant Tasi. The year he spent in the Gorn Space Navy and subsequent reactivation to Starfleet meant they needed to re-evaluate his mental health. He had done a lot of these and they were painful every time. ::
:: This time though, Nugra had chosen to wear his simple gray tunic with Bak'lir fur robe bearing the symbol of his family. Most of the time, he would have made sure to wear the four pips to intimidate the juniors but not this time. Things had to be different this time in the Federation. The galaxy was changing and if he didn't change with it, he would be left behind. ::
:: Arriving to the counselor's suite, Nugra quickly tried to familiarize himself with the layout from memory but gave it up. If Tasi was like the typical counselor, it was arranged in a way that suited her take on the profession. He rang the chime and waited. Inside the room, Tasi heard the door chime and pressed a button. The door slid smoothly open.::
(( Counselor’s Suite - Deck 7 - USS Gorkon ))
:: The door swished open and Nugra was met immediately by a comfortable heat. He could detect the tinge of water in the air and it impressed him. This person in front of him had done her research. For a second, the Gorn became suspicious but quickly shunted it aside. He walked in and at first, could not see the counselor. Just a high backed leather chair, which began to slowly turn. ::
::Tasi listened for the sound of footprints and once she was sure he was through the threshold, she slowly turned the tall backed leather chair around so she could face him. She stared intently at him, saying nothing just long enough to allow him to see her. She was stroking something small, something white, something with soft fur… It was snuggled into the middle of her lap.::
Tasi: Welcome to my lair Mr. Nugra. I’ve been expecting you.
Nugra: ::amused:: I did not realize you were also a member of Spectre, Lieutenant.
Tasi: There are many things you don’t know about me, but it is you we’re here to talk about. Please do take a seat.
::She grinned at him and placed the seal plushie on the table. Nugra made his way to the seat he was motioned to and flicked his robes out so they wouldn't be wrinkled when he sat. He adjusted them and sat there patiently like someone who was resigned to the fate that was awaiting him.::
Nugra: Hopefully I won’t be too difficult of a patient.
::She gave him a wide, amused smirk. She had ways of making him talk, and almost told him as much too, but it was time to get down to business. A little icebreaker was fun, but too much and the process wouldn’t be taken seriously.::
Tasi: Alright, before we get into it, may I offer you a drink?
:: The words came out before he had a moment to process them. ::
Nugra: No, thank you. oO She's not going to poison you, Drr'Tkk. Oo But I appreciate it.
Tasi: You’re welcome. If you change your mind, feel free to use the replicator. Now, as you know, we’re here conducting a routine psychiatric evaluation today to see how you’re settling in. Everything you share with me will be held in the strictest confidence…
::As she did with all patients during their first meeting, there were mandatory things she needed to go over, like boundaries and patent confidentiality and the expectations where she might have to share with other professionals what was shared within the room. It happened very rarely, and not to her to-date. She did know a colleague who once had a patient confess to illegal activities. They were duty bound to inform the authorities in such cases, with or without the patient’s consent. While she’d been doing this job a while, this was the first time she’d spoke to someone as their counselor since joining the Gorkon and now things were starting to feel more real for her. This was what she lived for.::
Tasi: With the formalities out the way, I’d like you to tell me how you’re settling in.
:: Nugra took a minute to think about it. How was his stay so far back on the Gorkon? He really did not get a lot of time to hang out with anybody. That was something new he wanted to try. For so long he had been only business and that's something he wanted to change. ::
Nugra: I'm actually doing good I believe with re-integrating. Even being aware of what Starfleet is, it is still a culture shock to return from my own people and see the difference.
::The dark-haired woman leaned forward a little. Her body language mirrored the Gorn’s and while this was a technique she often used intentionally, she was every bit as intrigued as she appeared. The first question was easy but tasi never liked to stop there. She always liked to dig several layers deep to seek better understanding. In the process the patient often came to realisations about themselves they’d never considered before because they’d never taken the time to dig under the surface where things were sometimes less comfortable.::
Tasi: In what way?
Nugra: Well, Starfleet's mission of science and is not the Gorn Space Navy's mission. Our directive is to protect the Hegemony from all enemies.
:: She could draw all kinds of assumptions from what he had said but she wasn’t here to do that. On ships with different goals, the culture would be different. The missions and approach to solving problems would be different, but how? She had no idea and that’s what she wanted some insight into. How was life in Starfleet different? In what was was it better? In what ways was it more challenging? Hopefully, the answer would be revealing.::
Tasi: That’s really interesting. I have no experience of the Gorn Space Navy, so no point of reference. I’d like to understand better how those different directives impact your daily life? How is life in the Gorn Space Navy different to Starfleet?
:: Nugra thought about it for a few moments to find correlations and decide what was different. It was everything from pomp and circumstance from handling a threat. How could one it all one easily understood idea. The light bulb came on in his lizard brain. ::
Nugra: Well, first and foremost. We don't have a Prime Directive.
Tasi: Why is that?
Nugra: Well, for the most part, there are very few other species within Gorn space. We're not as large as the Klingon or Romulan Empires. The few species we have encountered already have met other aliens like the Orions or Ferengi. We do have a contact protocol in place if we come across a new world but nothing like the Prime Directive.
Tasi: What other notable differences are there?
Nugra: My species is much more aggressive than Starfleet and the Federation.
::That was the one she had been wondering about most. She knew the Gorm were more militaristic of a society and she knew about Nugra’s own past and personality from the psych files but that was not the same as getting the individual’s own take on things.::
Tasi: I’m sure coming from a more aggressive environment to a less aggressive one has its challenges. What are they and do you feel the Federation should be more aggressive, or the Gorn less so?
::She wanted to gauge what level of aggression he personally thought was more appropriate. From his records, she could se he had clearly thrived in both environments, and he could probably have stayed with the gorn had he wanted, yet he had returned to Starfleet. That was interesting in itself. He probably prized both environments for different reasons and the questions were more than pure nosiness. She needed to understand Nugra as a person, what motivated him? What was his driving purpose? When she knew that she would know a great deal about the essence of his being.::
:: That was a question. At first instinct, Nugra felt that the Federation should be more aggressive to those threatening it's borders but had the Federation enemies they needed to face so strongly? He had been tainted with the knowledge of The Hunger that had been clawing for thousands of years at the great energy barrier, trying to get in and consume the galaxy. It was his first mission as the Victory's captain to investigate the threat. Maybe that was why he thought a more violent stance was needed. ::
Nugra: I think both are a good point. The Federation should be a bit more aggressive towards those who are interfering with Starfleet's directive while my kind could be less willing to destroy anyone who came in to their territories. There have been quite a few Cestus III incidents in my species history.
Tasi: So you served aboard the Gorkon previously. Are there many people still assigned here that you know? What friends do you have?
:: Friends. The dreaded question. One thing Nugra knew, comrade and friend did not mean the same thing in humanoid cultures. Friends were much more close sharing in relationships while comrades were those who fought, served, and died together. ::
JP By…
-------------------------------------------------------------
Lieutenant Tasi, Counselor - USS Gorkon
Simmed by:
Executive Council & Captain's Council Member
A238805EB0
-------------------------------------------------------------
&
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Captain Nugra
Taskforce Security Liaison
Publicity Facilitator
The Archivist
'17 Simming Prize Laureate
USS Gorkon, NCC-82293
V238008N10
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~