Lt Commander Serala: The Man Had it Coming
Jim Davis
(( Counselor’s Office, Deck 5, USS Atlantis, en route to Earth ))
{{ Time Index: Shore Leave, Day 22 }}
Serala braced herself. She hated these sessions and had conveniently forgotten the Captain had even ordered them. Of course, it didn’t help that she hadn’t seen the same counselor more than once. When she had finally realized it had been a few weeks since her last mandated weekly counseling session, she looked for any excuse to not go until she realized she didn’t have one. Sighing, she had made a note to put herself on report with the First Officer - chuckling inwardly at her personal joke - and headed for the counselor’s office.
She had heard a civilian was on board taking up those duties. Former Starfleet, if she had read that correctly. At least he would understand the life of a Starfleet Officer. She wasn’t one for talking about her problems. She was Romulan and Romulans dealt with their emotions by following the mnei’sahei, The Ruling Passion. It was their personal code that dictated almost all aspects of their life. Despite a lot of preconceptions about her people, Romulans had a strong sense of duty and honor, and the two were inextricably tied together. How they set about completing those duties, however, was another matter altogether. Sneakiness, conniving and deceit were not out of bounds when it came to fulfilling one’s sense of duty and honor. And revenge for being dishonored could often come at the least expected time.
Romulans were a very passionate people, and Serala was no less in that regard, despite her human heritage. She had always had a bit of an issue with the sneakiness and deceit, owing largely to the fact that she had been born and raised on Earth with a combination of Federation and Romulan values. Where most Romulans applied their sense of duty to the Empire, or the Republic now, she applied hers to the Federation. But what Serala had in spades was the emotions. Especially Anger. And that was what had landed her in this position now. Her temper.
Almost a year ago, while on a mission to reclaim DS26 from rogue Valcarian operatives, she had brought along a Starfleet officer who had done his best to undermine her authority at every turn. While he was technically senior to her, she had been placed in command of the away team and had resented his constant attempts to make her look bad. Her sense of honor and pride had finally won out and she had executed a perfect palm strike to the man’s nose, breaking it. He had lodged a formal complaint with Captain Thoran. The Captain, while understanding of her reasons concluded that such an act was not fitting for a Starfleet Officer and had removed her from her post as Chief Tactical Officer and had ordered mandatory weekly counseling sessions.
And so, here she was.
She stopped outside the door and pressed the door chime, waiting to be admitted. Once the doors slid open, she stepped inside and quickly sized the Counselor up. He was rather ordinary looking, but that really meant nothing to her. Counselors could be just as quick with their minds and she could be with that palm strike.
Serala: Mister Mika. Good to meet you. I am Lieutenant Commander Serala.
Mika: Response
Serala: I apologize for dropping in unannounced like this, but I realized I have mandated weekly counseling sessions and I have been negligent in that regard. I had a little time to spare, so I thought now was as good a time as any. That is, if you are free?
Mika: Response
Serala: :: taking the offered seat :: Thank you. And to answer your question, it seems I had a bit of a temper flare up on a well-deserving recipient and our Captain deemed my response inappropriate. He’s probably right, but the man had it coming to him.
Mika: Response
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