Blood From A Stone

Posted on Mon Apr 19th, 2010 @ 3:05pm by Lieutenant JG Callaigh Roland

Mission: Commissioned
Location: Counselor's Suite

Callaigh glanced over her office one more time while she waited for the chime to alert her that her appointment had arrived. It wasn't the biggest office she'd ever occupied, but she actually really liked that. It was cozy, and somehow fitting, both for the ship and for her. Part of getting others to feel comfortable with you was closing the space between you, both physically and emotionally. She'd read the file that came with this particular officer, and she had a good amount of sympathy for her. By all accounts, and with all of her flags, Cal was surprised the woman was still in a uniform.

If there was one thing Allein hated more than wasting time, it was wasting time so that some Starfleet counselor could try and talk about her feelings. She scowled as she approached Lt Roland's office and pressed the chime. Lt. JG, she corrected herself, and took a small amount of pleasure in that. If worse came to worst she could just order the woman to shut up. Not that she wanted it to go that far. She just hated these sessions and she hated it even more that Starfleet thought she should go through them, as though some stranger could tell her more about her feelings than she could.

"Come on in!" Callaigh slipped her counselor's smile on like a second skin. She'd been wearing it so long it was practically a Pavlov-esque response to the door chime. The few brief times she could recall being in the same room as the Lieutenant there'd never been a chance to catch her eye and try to form any sort of opinion of her. She was certainly looking forward to this. While Cal didn't like to take files as proof positive of someone's personality and drive there was a natural instinct that told her Mara would be the tough nut to crack on the Jackal.

Lt. Allein entered and nodded once to the counselor, then, a moment too late, offered her hand. "Lt. Allein," she said by way of an introduction.

"Callaigh," the counselor's smile dimmed slightly as she reached for the hand offered as an afterthought. "It's nice to finally meet you properly," she intoned and motioned to the chair closest to the engineer. "Please have a seat."

The engineer nodded again and dropped into the chair, relaxing back into it. She didn't speak, wondering what sort of thumb-screws this counselor would pull out to try and get some information out of her.

There was always that moment of indecisiveness; especially when seeing an unfamiliar officer. The line between pushing and a complete hands off approach was a line that had to be walked tightly and finely, since pushing shut people down where hands off tended to lead to long drawn out silences from officers who resented having to be there. Ah, what the hell. Business first. "How long have you been ... encouraged ... to seek counseling??"

"Two years, four months, three days," she answered at once, folding her hands around one knee.

"And what reasons did they give you for regularly speaking with a counselor?" Cal asked this as though she'd never even picked up Mara's file. If nothing else this would help her to gage the Lieutenant's honesty.

"I killed my husband," she answered without blinking.

Callaigh raised her eyebrows but showed no reaction beyond that. "Well. I can certainly understand the concern on the part of your superiors. Usually that would quite effectively remove a woman from her standing as an officer. How did you manage it?"

Mara looked at the woman -- did she really expect her to answer these ridiculous questions. "By doing my job."

"So what end are we working toward here, Lieutenant?" Callaigh turned slightly and swiped a PADD off the desk behind her.

"The only reason I'm here, counselor, is because I have to be. I have no interest in discussing my life with you and I don't want your help." She shrugged, getting to the point. "Frankly, if you would like to sit here and do your paperwork while I review engineering reports I would have no objection."

“As tempting as that is, Lieutenant,” Callaigh smiled, “any paperwork I have to do is firmly centered around you. And after reading your file, I do have a few questions. You’ve got a decent record for not staying in one place too long, is there any particular reason for that?”

Mara crossed her arms, thoroughly displeased. "You would have to ask the COs about that."

"I'd love to, but since you are here, and they are not, it seems just as easy to ask you. Is it safe to assume that these transfers were not on your request?" Callaigh noted the defensive posture and mentally shook her head.

"No."

"The moves must allow you to work on a variety of ship classes," Callaigh tried again. "Do you enjoy that, or if it were up to you would you prefer to stay in one place?"

"I would rather be designing starships where I belong." She leaned back in her chair, arms still crossed. How long was this head shrink planning on keeping her here?

"That's not an answer to my question Lieutenant." Callaigh casually draped one leg over the other before clasping her hands in her lap. "As long as we're both here, it wouldn't actually kill you to humor me," she informed Allein. "Though I'm sure Lt. Daniels would be more than happy to give you a second opinion if that would make you more comfortable."

The engineer slowly raised an eyebrow. Did this woman really think that mentioning the doctor would make her spill her secrets? "I wasn't aware that you were authorized to order me to divulge details of my personal life to you. I thought you were here to help me with what I want you to help me with."

"You just told me you don't want any help." Callaigh shrugged. "And normally, I'd be just as fine not helping you. Your situation is different however -- I've never had anyone ordered to report to me, and certainly not with so little information to go on. Both of our lives will go a lot easier if I can put something in my report besides 'officer has an extraordinary talent for keeping her arms folded'."

"That's my point," the engineer growled but definitively didn't uncross her arms. "I don't want your help and you should feel no obligation to try to force me to take it." She shrugged. "I really don't see why we can't just sit here and then you can go back to your report and tell them what a well-adjusted little engineer I am." If she'd had a watch, she would have checked it. Instead she leaned back in her chair. "And to answer your question I really don't give a damn whether I stay in one place or not."

"Was that the arrangement you had worked out with counselors from your past postings?" Now Callaigh was frowning, but not at Mara. That was certainly an irresponsible way to handle an assignment.

"I wasn't usually around long enough for one of those," she stopped and corrected herself. "-them to try."

"I can't tell them that you're well adjusted if I don't know that. I can't know that unless you work with me." Cal made some notes on the PADD. "The best I can tell them right now is that your prior counselors have failed you and that you're unresponsive at best. I tell them that, they're going to want to see improvement. That's a path I'd just as rather not start down, don't you agree?"

"And the alternative is what? Crying about my childhood twice a week?"

"Possibly, though I have no way of knowing if your childhood is the root of everything that's lead you to my office." Callaigh raised an eyebrow and a slow small slight grin crept upon her features. She leaned forward a little, PADD at the ready. "Was it?"

Mara was not amused, but she sighed and uncrossed her arms. "I feel for you, counselor, but if my choice is between telling you things that, frankly, I have no desire to say out louf to anyone," she paused. "And a little ignorable pressure from Starfleet, I'll take the pressure."

Well good. Callaigh was pleased just to see that the woman did in fact have an arm span of more than a few inches. "You know, maybe you're right." Callaigh nodded as though she'd had an epiphany. "For the rest of this session, we'll do as you suggest." With that Cal turned her attention back to the PADD in her hands as though Mara wasn't even sitting there.

Allein offered a satisfied smile and lifted her own PaDD, beginning to go over the report at last.

[OFF]

by

Lt Allein Mara
Chief Engineer
USS Jackal

and

Lt. JG Calleigh Roland
Chief Counselor
USS Jackal