Counselor Debriefing The Counselor

Posted on Wed Jan 18th, 2023 @ 8:22pm by Lieutenant Commander Teayana Starr

2,094 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Ghost Hunting Season
Tags: NPC-Admiral Bellania Koi

Admiral Bellania Koi smiled and made sure the scented candles were ready and the soft music was going before she beamed to the Aldrin’s bridge. “Lieutenant Commander Teayana Starr-House? It is time for your debriefing. Will you please come with me now?”

Dreading the moment she nodded "yes, ma'am" as she stood and followed the Admiral for he debriefing.

The Admiral beamed them both back to her office, which was set up as a personnel meditation place. “Please, make yourself comfortable, Commander. I read that your crew call you Teaya. May I do the same? And please, call me Bella.” She waved around the room to low chairs and couches and cushions scattered on the floor, the soft music going, water features running softly in the background, and lit the scented candles. The walls were covered in white gauze and the breeze was soft coming in from the bay and scented with the ocean.

Giving the Admiral a soft smile she lowered herself to a cushion on the floor. "Yes, Teaya is fine and thank you Ad… I mean Bella. This really was not much different from the room she had set up in her counseling and meditation center.

“Thank you, Teaya. Now then, I want to be clear with you about this. This debriefing isn’t so much about what happened, as what will happen now that it is over. There is a reason we keep all knowledge of the Furies classified and away from the public. Yes, we will talk some about what you encountered, but most will be about what happens next. Okay?” She took a seat on a cushion. “Did you want something to drink or snack on? We have a replicator right here, on the floor. I tell you Engineering had a fit when I asked for one to be put on the floor in here so I could meditate and still get my tea and such without having to get up. If you do, I can get it for you, or you can.” She waved to the almost concealed replicator in some foliage within easy reaching distance to them.

"Some hibiscus tea would be nice, thank you. I'm not sure I understand what you mean that will be happening after? I know there's a reason why the knowledge of the furies are kept secret, however I'm not understanding what you mean about what will happen afterwards."

Bella reached over and ordered a hibiscus tea for Teaya and handed it to her and got a lemon ginger tea for herself and sipped on that for a moment. “Well, Teaya, it’s like this, if people who had encountered the Furies talked about the others, then it couldn’t be kept classified and controlled. So we talk to all who have encountered them, and thank goodness it hasn’t been that many, and help them come up with strategies to deal with questions about the mission they were on when they encountered the Fury. This way, the mission can go on record for the public to read but the Fury will be edited out and yet the logs of the missions don’t appear to be edited for anything. Most can tell if mission logs have been edited and it makes them question why and they don’t stop until they are satisfied. And there is nothing the press loves more than digging up any kind of dirt on Starfleet and making it sound like we are the worst thing to happen to the universe other than the Dominion.” She explained simply.

"This I fully understand and could not agree more. I do have one crew member I'm quite concerned with and hope that maybe we could help her to deal, compartmentalize her experience and move forward." Teaya sipped her tea and allowed the warmth and healing properties to sooth her. " Don't want her to have a block inserted unless it's something she wants. I know first hand how hard it can be if a person is not able to have healthy coping skills." Teaya went back to her tea and contemplated all that happened on this last tour they had.

“I am certain there will be more than one that needs to have more intensive counseling than others. But my concern is you and what you will need. I can see you are well adjusted and while stressed out, not so stressed out that you are incapacitated. So it is likely your counseling won’t need to be as intensive as others and you will be able to start your shore leave all the sooner. But I do need to ask, is there anything that happened on this mission that still, in any way, no matter how small, still bothers you?”

Cradling the cup between her hands she took a moment to sift through her memory the same as you would if you were flipping through a stack of paper. " Aside from those who need intensive counseling, I do have concern for my husband and Mardel… they both have a tendency to bury things rather come see me in a professional setting or talk to me as a spouse or friend." Shaking her head gently and releasing a soft sigh. "Seems my husband has buried much of this. Most things he will talk about but this or other tours that are difficult, he buries it." A brief moment of concern and sadness passed across her face but quickly let it pass.

Bella nodded. “Okay, I will make note of that. But that isn’t what I meant though. I’m not asking what you think the rest of the crew is bothered by. I’m asking what you, Teaya, personally, is what are you bothered by. Right now, it seems that you are also guilty of burying things and avoidance by not dealing with your own personal issues and always thinking about others.” She smiled, recognizing that weakness that most counselors have and knowing they have to be coached out of it.
“Bella, I’m tired and worn down after this. I need time. Not only did this wear on the crew, but myself included. You understand the “need and want” of putting others first as a counselor, however after this, it certainly causes a pause for rethinking of my career choice. This one tour has caused me to contemplate my job as a counselor and if I’m still fit to perform well as ship's counselor.” Taking a breath and feeling the tears beginning to well in her eyes, she blinked them back. “This took more of me than I had to give. I just don’t even know right now.”

Reaching out, Bella gave Teaya a hug. “No, I do understand, Teaya. It’s a hard job being a counselor. Who is your support person on the Aldrin?”

“Typically I can sound off with Mardel or my husband but since I have my concerns about them and how they have been affected, right now there is no one. I can’t over burden either of them right now so there again there is no one. Our next assignment needs to be something that is not going to over tax anyone on the crew to give them time to adjust. Hell, I need time and I’m second guessing myself and qualifications. I know I personally need a week to 10 days in my family cabin just to even begin to feel like myself again and that does not even account for the fact of how I’m feeling about myself as a counselor any more. Do you see a pattern here Bella?” This time the tears came and there was no shame for Teaya because she knew she was useless to everyone at this point as a counselor and probably as a mother.

“Yes, I do, Teaya. It’s a crisis that happens in all counselors' lives and careers at least a few times. The self-doubt, the questioning of your choice to be a counselor, the feelings that overwhelm them. As for the support you have on the Aldrin, they are both excellent and I personally would recommend Mardel as your person to go to for venting and such, she was quite literally born to do that. So here are my recommendations for you, Teaya. You will get the full 10 days of counseling here on Earth, not because you are messed up in any way, but you need time to process and decompress and let go of the stress in a safe and controlled environment. Also, your orders are to never speak about the Fury again to anyone except Starfleet Command Personnel, Commodore Connor, and Captain House. If anyone else attempts to bring it up, you need to either play stupid if it isn’t someone from your ship and if it is, gently remind them of their orders and guide the subject to other aspects of the mission that could be troubling them. If anyone asks about the mission, you are to say the culprit was the Borg and not a Fury. That this was a new attempt at a covert assimilation of the Federation and you and the Aldrin crew were able to expose it and put us on alert to guard against more such covert attacks. This is so the press won’t dig any deeper and the Borg are the known enemy and panic will not ensue. Do you understand these orders?”

“Yes ma'am, I do. And 10 days of counseling? I just want 10 days alone with my husband and son at our family cabin in the woods. Is that too much to ask for?”

“I am not finished yet, Teaya.” Bella smiled. “The counseling is mandatory for the entire crew, how much is determined by the recommendations of the one debriefing them and the counselor they are assigned to. When the counseling is done, the crew will be released for Shore leave on Earth, the length to be determined by the same who set the time for the counseling, but my recommendations will be for at least 3 weeks, to purge the final stress in the minds and bodies of the crew and officers of the Aldrin.” She handed Teaya a padd. “This has the quarters you have been assigned while you are here in headquarters until your counselor releases you and your husband. Your son will be with you, along with his holo-nanny. Your communication black out will end after your first session with your counselor as long as the counselor agrees. I feel that you can handle it and won’t be tempted to break your orders to not speak of the Fury to anyone, even by mistake. Do you understand and agree with this?”

The sigh she released was far heavier than she had intended. “I do.” She would be alone with her husband and son and time alone with them, regardless if in counseling or the mountain home, is what she craved most. She had been desperately missing her family and the last two assignments had left her with little family time.

Bella understood the sigh. “I know, mandatory counseling is a pain when all you want is to get away from it all and reboot in nature. But I assure you, I am going to personally fight for all the Shore leave I can for you when the counseling is complete, so you can reboot where you want. Does that help to make it more palatable?”

Teaya nodded. “Thank you, I’m sure you do understand my predicament and where I am mentally. And thank you for the shore leave consideration. I do very much appreciate it.” Even though it was cold, Teaya swallowed the last of her tea as her mouth had gone very dry.

“Is there anything else Bella?”

Bella stood and offered her hand to Teaya. “You are free to come back anytime you need, even if it’s just to sit in peace and quiet and sip tea. There is the door and I am glad to have finally gotten to meet you and thank you for your time.”

Teaya took Bella’s hand and thanked her again, pocketed the PADD in her thigh pocket and took her leave. Once outside the building Teaya took a deep cleansing breath and allowed herself a few moments to feel the sun on her skin and it caressing warmth before withdrawing the PADD to see where she, Dean and Apollo would be staying till their counseling was done.

 

RSS Feed