Psych evaluation

Posted on Fri Jul 1st, 2022 @ 12:12pm by Lieutenant Sky Jansen-Carey

Mission: The Lost Brother
Location: Counsellor’s office
Timeline: 1 hour after ‘unexpected interruption’

Boucher sat in the counselor's waiting room, for his appointment. He was a little early so he pulled a PADD and began doing paperwork.

Emerging from her office Sky saw Boucher sitting waiting, walking over to him she offered a smile. “Lieutenant Boucher, please come on in. Saves you waiting here.”

"Thank Ma'am," CJ stood up and walked into the office and took a seat.

Sky walked across to her desk and picked up a spare PADD, before motioning to the replicator. “Would you like anything?”

"Coffee, black." Boucher nodded. "Thank you."

Sky nodded before going to get them both drinks. She smiled as she returned a few moments later, and handed the coffee to him.

He took a sip and set the mug on the desk next to him.

Sky smiled warmly. “So..tell me what made you want to be a part of Starfleet.”

"I have a lot of family who served," CJ shrugged. "Guess I just wanted to see the galaxy."

Sky nodded. There was something familiar about Caleb, more than just seeing him around the ship. He felt familiar on a more personal level that she just couldn’t place right now. “I guess that’s as good a reason as any” She smiled warmly. “So is there anything you feel you need to talk about?”

CJ took a moment to respond, "I'm not sure how this works. I thought I'd show up here before, I'm ordered here. I come from a long line of hard headed individuals who believe in self reliance. For the first time in my life I feel out of my depth, I'm not sure what talking to you is going to accomplish. No disrespect intended Ma'am"

“Thank you for being honest about it” Sky smiled. “I’m here to help you with any worries, or concerns. So tell me why it is you feel out of your depth?”

"I grew up on Alpha II in the Orleans Bayou, I've had a rifle in hand most of my life." Boucher explained, "so when I enrolled in Starfleet Academy Security was an obvious choice. I thought I'd be able to use my rifle in service to the Federation, I guess I didn't properly factor in the cost."

Sky nodded, there was a memory forming in her mind of Caleb. “You...served with Soran correct?” She gave him a curious look.

CJ gave her a curious look. "Yes Ma'am, Commander Wagnor and I both transferred from the Lister. Don't believe everything he's told your Ma'am he's prone to exaggeration."

Sky smiled. “Commander Wagnor didn’t tell me anything. I err....I just have an image of you being there with him. It’s a long story!” She sighed. “So do you see yourself being able to cope with your duties here aboard ship?”

"Coping isn't the issue. I come from a family of survivors, we've been running the best survival schools in the Federation." The young man shook his head. "My father always talks about the price of survival, never understood what he meant about that. Until my uncle came home from serving in the Cardassian border war."

Sky nodded. “Survivors guilt can be one of the biggest causes of PTSD in those who’ve faced combat. The fact that they survived, and others didn’t.”

"I don't know if uncle Ray had a case of survivor's guilt, he might have." He shrugged. Before he joined star fleet he was the kindest open hearted gentleman in Orleans. When he returned he had what most people call the thousand yard stare and he'd get real mean sometimes. My daddy would tell me he didn't mean it, but it was scary as hell. After I saw combat on the Lister some of my comrades had that look and I understand why now.I don't want to end up like that."

Sky nodded. “I understand. All I can say is don’t be afraid to talk about your feelings, just like you’re doing now. A lot of men don’t talk about how they feel. They hide their feelings, and over time it makes you hard.” She paused. “That goes for anyone, not just men.”

"In most situations I've been known to wear my heart on my sleeve," he looked away. "I don't know how to feel about the engagement on Archanis III, I've never had to pull the trigger on sentient beings before. I killed them, the stun setting wasn't stopping them fast enough."

Sky gave an understanding nod. “It sounds like you did what you had to do Caleb. No one wants to kill, but there are times when it can’t be avoided.” She paused. “I would be more worried if you didn’t feel anything. Do you have nightmares?”

"A few," CJ said.

Sky nodded. “Why don’t you tell me about what happened.”

"The Lister was responding to a mining accident on Archanis III. The Security Chief wanted to send a security team down first to secure the site before sending a medical team. The captain and first officer rejected this and sent security and medical teams down at the same time."

"I was with the second security team checking we were separated when the Klingons attacked. We had the high ground so I made a sniper's perch and started picking them off from a distance. There were too many of them and the stun setting wasn't stopping them fast enough, so I ordered the team to set the rifles to kill." He looked away, "I've never killed before."

Sky nodded her head as she listened. “Go on..”

"Ren… err, Commander Wagnor and Commander Allen were trapped in a mineshaft with medical teams. We were able to flank them once the Marines arrived, Allen was hurt real badly and we suffered pretty heavy casualties." He closed his eyes.

oO So that’s what I saw when I did my phaser recertification in the holodeck oO She offered a brief smile. “You didn’t start that fight Caleb, the Klingons did. If you hadn’t stopped them, chances are none of you would have survived that day.”

"I know it's still hard," CJ said. "For the first time ever I had trouble calibrating my rifle sights.”

Sky offered an understanding smile. “Have you spoken to Commander Wagnor about this? It could be beneficial for the two of you to talk about this. You both survived it.

"Soran's been different since that day," he swallowed. "I haven't brought it up, he was having enough problems stepping into Chief Allen's position."

“I know Soran isn’t finding things easy, I can’t go into detail but I’m sure he’d appreciate a friend. Perhaps we should all sit down together, and talk about it?”

"Well Ma'am Soran’s very stubborn and I'm very patient and until recently I've counted on him to come to me when he's ready," he explained. "I think I'll try talking to him, I know something happened. I think he's drinking more lately."

Sky looked at Caleb curiously. “How do you know that? Have you seen Soran drinking?”

"I haven't seen anything inappropriate," he clarified. "He's been starting his morning with fried pickles and tomato juice, that's my family's hangover cure. My brother Biff taught him that."

“So that’s what the pickles and tomato juice are all about!” Sky grinned. “I just thought he liked them.”

"I like them too after a night of drinking." Boucher smiled. "I hope you don't tell him I told you that."

“No, of course I won’t” Sky grinned. “I can’t confront Ren based on what you’ve said, it’s a case of keeping watch on him. If you’re concerned then please let me know.”

"I will let you know," CJ smiled. "I'm going to try to have a conversation with Soran."

Sky nodded. “Sounds like a good idea. If you should need to talk again, you know where to find me.”

"Of course Ma'am," Boucher smiled and exited.

{OFF}