Ensign Herrick: Is 2 better or worse than 1?
Mark P
((Corridor Outside The Counseling Offices, Deck Eight, USS ‘Oumuamua))
Josh stared at the label on the door in front of him. Lieutenant Rivka Brzezinski, Counsellor. The label seemed relatively fresh.
Now that he'd arrived just steps short of the office, he was figuratively wringing his hands. It had been almost over a decade since the incident, but the aftereffects were still causing him issues today, and after the explosion on his first day, all the bad side effects had come pouring back.
He had managed to get it under control enough to pass his entry psych evals, but he was worried that another assessment under these conditions would be enough to put him on leave. He was only a few months into his first posting, and the thought of having it taken away from him had been the biggest barrier to starting this conversation.
But, looking back at how he reacted at the Esh-o colony, up in the sensor pod, and finally while getting treated for radioactivity, he couldn’t ignore the signs. Plus, he figured that he should get ahead of it before Kovacs made good on his threat to report him. That, plus the doctor’s orders to get his head checked out as soon as he was ‘up to it’.
On his first visit to Sickbay, Lieutenant Kel had made a passing mention about a counsellor named Salo. He’d seen her around the ship a few times, her emerald skin helping her stand out amongst the crowd. However, the auto-assignment from the computer had other plans and assigned him to another individual he hadn’t bumped into yet… Brzezinski.
His combadge chirped quietly, indicating that the next item in his personal calendar was starting — this counselling session — and with that, he pressed the door chime.
After a few moments, Josh was wondering if he should press the button again. He didn’t hear anything over the chime, but he was sure he was hearing muted voices from behind the thin partition. As he reached for the chime again, the doors slid open and a tall man with ensign pips hurriedly came out.
He didn’t know exactly what to make from the way the officer was acting, but he simply brushed past him and went along his way. Counselling was such a personal endeavour and he had left many sessions feeling worse off than when he steps in the doors, but the road to recovery was often bumpy with many, many, pit stops along the way.
((Brzezinski’s Counselling Office, Deck Eight, USS ‘Oumuamua))
When Josh poked his head inside the door, he was greeted with not one but two faces. The first, was a woman that he suspected was in her late 20s, with long hair and large glasses; an odd choice given that any capable Starfleet medical officer could likely have fixed her vision. Second, and more surprisingly, was her emerald colleague.
Herrick: Uh… hi Lieutenants ::he waved, a bit awkwardly:: … is this time still good?
He was already unsure about having the counselling session, but having two people pick away at his brain and the defenses he built up seemed a bit much.
Salo/Brzezinski: Response
Herrick: I can… come back later if it works better for you two; I don’t want to interrupt.
Herrick started to pull his body backward out of the doorframe, as if his subconscious had already decided to end the session before it had begun.
Salo/Brzezinski: Response
Herrick’s body was now fully outside the office, but he could still make eye contact with both officer’s who were seated inside. He hadn’t exactly been excused and this seemed to be an order.
Herrick: Yes ::rubbing the back of his head:: It is ordered by Doctor Kel.
Salo/Brzezinski: Response
His body language shifted, a bit resigned to the fact that he would indeed not be escaping the grips of the duo and that he’d need to at least get through this session to check off the box.
Herrick: oO Keep the answers short and to the point; don’t let them pull on too many loose threads. Oo
He moved inward and sat down across from the pair in a relatively comfortable chair; he’d have to figure out exactly what model this was and request it be placed in his current quarters — Flinch owed him from the last mix up.
Salo/Brzezinski: Response
Herrick: Oh ::snapping his gaze towards the officer that asked the question:: Yes, I’ve been diagnosed with claustrophobia before.
Salo/Brzezinski: Response
Tags and TBC!