LtJG Gila Sadar - A Nightmare in Green and Blue
Gila Sadar
((3 Days Ago: Gila’s Quarters - Compartment 1217, Deck 3, USS Artemis-A))
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FROM: Lieutenant JG Gila Sadar.
TO: Lieutenant Commander Jashkaa.
SUBJECT: Regarding Scheduling for a Counseling Appointment
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Gila sighed as she looked at the painfully empty message she was penning to the resident counselor. The Orion Lieutenant Commander came recommended by First Officer Dakora, but Gila had no personal experience of the Chief Counselor to base her own opinion on. As much as she loathed the idea of attending counseling, her prior experiences had been in the company of Lieutenant Hiro Jones - an individual that Gila could very well have become friends with (given time and a massive amount of patience) - and as such, the experience was not recalled in as negative a light as Gila would’ve expected.
But this was her approaching a complete stranger for counseling regarding a specific issue that had been brought to the attention of her senior officers!
It was an altogether different beast that she was encountering than last time.
Gila had already been through the hamster wheel of panic in her mind multiple times since she’d left Lieutenant Commander Dakora’s office. Did she really have to make the appointment? Surely if she just waited a bit, the summons would come in? No. It was simply indecent for her to make an even bigger burden of herself to the First Officer by not even managing to make the appointment on her own. Should she approach the Lieutenant Commander in person? That idea had been quickly squashed, as the mere idea of approaching a stranger for the specific purpose of ‘gauging them’ prior to a counseling session both made her feel underhanded and unethical, and also extremely anxious.
To her credit, the idea of avoiding the issue which had triggered the recommendation from the Lieutenant Commander hadn’t crossed her mind.
She knew well that her minor meltdown in his office meant that this was an issue - a deeply personal and ethical issue - that she was nowhere near intelligent enough or emotionally robust enough to handle on her own. She needed a professional’s insight…
She only feared what other things this Lieutenant Commander Jashkaa might be interested in digging up along with it.
((Present Time: Counselor's Office - Deck 7, USS Artemis-A))
10 minutes.
Gila paced outside of the counselor’s door like a caged animal, much like the last time she made her way to this department. She realized that she was working herself into a panicked frenzy by giving herself this much time to worry and overthink the contents of the upcoming session, but the idea of arriving late was far worse, and as such, this was where she ended up.
7 minutes.
oO What if the problem’s all in my head? No, wait, wrong way to think of that - of course it’s all in my head! What if… What if there’s no solution? What if this is just my new normal and I have to get used to it? Oo
That thought was terrifying.
5 minutes.
oO Could I? Should I? Is this something that all officers have to go through, and whether you learn to accept it or not is what makes or breaks you? I feel like that’s something that should be put in a cautionary note on the Academy application! Warning: Starfleet Service is very likely to fundamentally break your entire worldview - galaxyview? Is that a word? - so be prepared for questioning your every waking second- Oo
A musical beep brought her out of her increasingly unhinged mental tirade, and she approached the door to the counselor’s office on the dot, as the door slid open for her. Inside, an adult Orion woman was seated by a desk near the wall, watching her with a patient and welcoming expression on her face.
oO Wow, she’s even shorter than Madi-net. Oo
Jashkaa: Ah, you must be Gila.
An unnerved shiver ran from the bottom of her nuchal folds all the way to the end of her spine at the sound of her given name from a stranger’s lips, but she did her best to avoid showing it. How successful she was, she wasn’t sure. She was fairly certain Orions did not have empathic abilities, but Gila had a tendency to be an open book… Then again, she was already visibly uncomfortable at the very idea of being in a counselor’s office, so an added degree of uncomfortability by an immediate breach of decorum surely wouldn’t be noticeable.
Right?
Sadar: Y-Yes Commander… I-I’m, uhh… Thank you for making time to see me.
The Orion Commander smiled, before pointing her towards a seat, which Gila slowly approached.
Jashkaa: Please, take a seat. And refer to me by name - we do not use rank ::she made a gesture that languidly took in the office:: within these four walls. What can I get you to drink? Alcohol is forbidden in my office, but I don’t believe you care for it much anyway. So what can I get you?
Gila paused as she was ready to sit in the chair, struggling to comprehend the order that the Commander had put to her. Oh no…
oO She’s like Lieutenant Silveira Oo
Sadar: ::slowly sits down while twisting her anxiety band:: … S-Some Iner, please? It’s, uhh, a hot tea-like beverage made from cinnamon from Earth.
Jashkaa: Response
Gila accepted the cup that was extended to her, seeking comfort in the pungent cinnamon scent that seemed to envelop her, creating a kind of barrier against the floral perfume that otherwise dominated the interior of Lieutenant Commander Jashkaa’s office.
Sadar: Th-Thank you, Co- ::catches herself:: Thank you. Umm… I-I don’t know how many notes Lieutenant Jones left from my appointments with him, but, uhh… S-Safe to say, they were, uhh… Unconventional.
oO Not to say completely unorthodox and barely usable for any significant evaluation. Oo
Jashkaa: Response
Gila’s feet shuffled slightly, uncomfortable as she had to come face-to-face with the reasoning for her appointment. She did not have many proud moments from the past year of service, but her discussion with the Lieutenant Commander was a decided low point.
Sadar: … On recommendation from Lieutenant Commander Dakora. I, uhh… The most recent mission had me- ::re-words:: was uniquely challenging. F-Finding peace of mind since our safe return has been… Frankly? Impossible.
Jashkaa: Response
TAGS/TBC
LtJG Gila Sadar
Medical Officer
USS Artemis-A
A240006GS1