Chief Counselor's Log #4 - The New Normal?

Posted on Tue Feb 21st, 2017 @ 10:56pm by Lieutenant Commander Marit Lantry M.D., Ph.D.

Although I am happy to report the births of several babies since my last log, I also regretfully report there continues to be a fair number of negative events to relate. Chief among them is the recent attack on the Captain and the Colonel. Security is still investigating, but it doesn't take someone with advanced investigative skill to deduce someone has clearly targeted the Captain and the Colonel, and seems quite determined to make sure their lives are taken from them. I have yet to fully understand how this most recent attempt on the station is related to the shuttle craft they both experienced not long ago, but the two life-threatening events involving the same specific individuals is too suspicious to be coincidence.

Naturally, I would prefer if the two of them never needed to be patients in the infirmary in the first place, but I took some comfort in being able to provide them with medical care as well as psychological support in the immediate aftermath of the attack. Thankfully, the two didn't sustain any truly life endangering injuries, although I feared when Captain Von reported the number of blows she had taken to the abdomen, the life of the symbiont was in serious danger. In fact, the injuries brought her closer to the edge than I would ever like to think about, but fortunately, Liarra and Von are more resilient than even I appreciated. The Colonel's injuries were also not minor, though I fear the attack did far greater damage to his psychological state, and damage he could ill afford. It seems the captain had to stop him from killing their attacker, which has only added to his sense of impotence and confusion over his purpose and ultimate identity. I refuse to give up on him, but over time, the more he continues to assert his agreement with his Overseer that Starfleet service has left him weak and a shell of who he truly is meant to be, the more I am confronted with the reality that ultimately, I can't single-handedly change anyone's mind or emotional state if he is determined to see things his way.

I've considered going to Samanthia or the Captain about it, but I can say very little without violating the confidentiality afforded the Colonel as my patient. Besides, even if I were to attempt to choose my words carefully, I fear I would only add to their stress and overwhelming emotions. The Colonel's mate is pregnant with his children facing a difficult enough hybrid pregnancy, and although I believe the captain has come to terms with events following the shuttle crash, I know her well enough to know she hates to see a member of her crew in pain, especially if that pain is remotely connected to anything she was involved in.

I know ultimately the Colonel is the master of his own fate, and perhaps the only thing I will be able to do is to help both women cope with the possibility of a new normal.