A Young Man from New Somerset

Posted on Sunday May 1st, 2022 @ 1:37am by Commander Kanaka Shakura & Cadet Freshman Grade Daisy Stanier & Lieutenant Commander Nivora T'vek & Cadet Senior Grade Cody Matthews & Cadet Freshman Grade Caleb Johnson

4,506 words; about a 23 minute read

Mission: S1-A1-Ep. 2: Our Foremost Virtues
Location: Counselling Offices, Deck 06; U.S.S. Poseidon
Timeline: En-route to Starbase 129, Stardate 72143.9
Tags: Cody Matthews, Medical, Counselling

Cadet Freshman Daisy Stanier was growing increasingly fidgety as time passed. She had reorganised the head desk in the foyer of the Counsellor's Office, which had essentially been her desk since she started as Commander Shakura's Aide, for the umpteenth time. Straightening the plant pots here, rearranging the PADDs there. She would leave it all for a few moments, satisfied, and then she would suddenly feel the urge to do it all again. Each time, she grew increasingly more agitated.

"Is something the matter, Daisy?"

Daisy almost leaped ten inches out of her skin at the sound of Commander Shakura's voice. Immediately turning on the spot to face her and straightening her uniform with a tight tug, she shook her head in an overly animated fashion.

"N-no, Commander! Everything's fine. Hehehe." She replied, pulling a sheepish grin as she did so. The Commander just stood there with her hands behind her back in the manner she always did, arching her eyebrow over at the Cadet with a wry smile of her own. Daisy's own grin dissipated as she knew all too well it was pointless trying to deceive Kana, aside from the fact that she was a Betazoid and could probably sense the vibrating anxiety running through the fibre of her very being.

"Well, okay, to tell you the truth..." She began, starting to fidget now with her long brown hair. "I'm a bit nervous about the new Cadet. I know he's a Senior, and I'm only a Freshman, which makes me worried he's going to look down on everything I do. And..." She went to say more, but stopped herself, almost too embarrassed to say what her mind was thinking.

"And?" Kana pressed, in the friendly reassuring manner that a Chief Counsellor ought to possess. While they hadn't been working together terribly long in the grand scheme of things, Daisy had come to really admire the Commander, and aspired to be everything that she was as a Counsellor. While she was still overly slow to trust others, she knew she could trust her superior officer.

"And...I'm just worried you'll think he's a better Counsellor's Aide than I am." Daisy finally admitted, turning to look away from the Chief Counsellor.

Kana simply smiled more, as she gently approached her junior Aide. "Now, Daisy: I appreciate you feel this way because of things that happened in the past, like we talked about before..." She started, noticing Daisy's eye twitch slightly, knowing that it was still a sore subject, "...but you know that this is a much different scenario than that, right? This is not just the Academy. It's a professional environment, with serious, committed and brilliant people. You're very much one of those people."

Daisy arched her head slightly, so that she could see the Commander again. Kana continued, "You should know that Starfleet isn't in the business of just casually disposing of people. It's a place of constant growth, and being honest with you for a moment, I need your help now more than ever."

"You do?" Daisy responded, a slight twinkle in her eye.

"Of course I do. Just as the Poseidon needs your new colleague, Cadet Senior Matthews. Besides, he'll be between here and Medical, due to how short-staffed and under-resourced they are currently. He may decide to focus more there anyway. Whatever the case though, he's new here and he's going to need some good crewmates that he can depend on..."

There was a brief pause as Daisy considered the Commander's words. "Okay, Commander Shakura. I'll do my best."

Cody checked his reflection on the mirror for the third time, making sure his uniform was straight, his cadets pips shiny, and hair not a strand out of place. He'd been showed his quarters, which he'd been told he'd be sharing at some point, and had been told to report to his department head. He hadn't unpacked, opting instead to wait to report in, get the feel for everything, then unpack. Satisfied that he'd wasted enough time obsessing, he left his quarters, transfer orders in hand, en-route to the Counselling Offices.

Soon, he entered the room, and saw two women standing by the desk. One seemed a bit nervous looking, and a quick glance, a Cadet Freshman, and another a no nonsense woman who had to be his superior. Walking over to them, he said "Cadet Senior Grade Cody Matthews reporting for duty. I am to meet with one of my department heads, a Commander Shakura? Would that that be you Commander?" He did his best to project calm in his voice, but could feel himself fighting the urge to straighten his tunic, or run his fingers through his hair. He felt a mixture of excitement at having the chance to complete his final term aboard a real starship, and dread that he wasn't going to be "good" enough to be kept around. A part of him worried he'd be shipped back to the Academy and end up in a dead end position as a gopher for someone. All of these thoughts were hidden, as best as he could, as he smiled at the two women.

As soon as the young man entered the foyer to the Counselling Offices, Kana could tell that he was the new kid on the block. The combination of his eagerness to impress that he exuded, along with the look in his eye that gave away he was seeing things for the first time, was what made it obvious to her. Daisy, for her part, stood rigid but tried her best to give a polite smile to Cody as he entered the room. The Commander was far more relaxed.

"Cadet Matthews, I am indeed Commander Shakura. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." She smiled warmly at him as she offered him a firm but brief handshake. "Would it be alright if I called you Cody? While you are on-board a starship, you are still a student, so I want this to feel as welcoming as any other Academy setting."

Before he could respond, she quickly turned on her heel just slightly to look at Daisy, who she could sense was still feeling a little tense. Turning back to Cody, she added, "This young woman here is Cadet Freshman Grade Daisy Stanier. She has been working as my Aide alongside her studies."

Daisy's eyes quickly shot a glance at the Commander, before she stepped forward and awkwardly offered Cody her own handshake, though the attempt was very sincere. "Nice to meet you, Cody." She seemed to perk up a bit after the initial introduction.

Kana flashed a brief smile at Daisy in recognition of her effort, before focusing on Cody once again. "So, you joined us at Starbase Forty-Seven, correct? Have you found yourself settling in well?"

Not knowing exactly what to say he replied "Yes Commander its ok to call me Cody. I'm not used to being called it by senior officers. Forgive me for seeming shocked. As to your question, yes I've been settling in ok since coming aboard at the starbase. I've been spending a bit of time reading up on the ship and its crew." Pausing as he started to get anxious, he took a breath and added "I apologize for running on there Commander. I tend to babble when I get anxious."

"Hm, he seems nervous in front of authority figures." The Betazoid mentally noted to herself as she registered his shock at her asking if she could call him by his first name, and then his bashfulness when apologizing for 'babbling', not that he had actually done so. Relaxing her own posture a little, Kana waved off his apology.

"You have no need to apologize, Cody. You didn't babble." She reassured him. "Now, in a moment I want to take you down to the Medbay on the deck below to introduce you to some of your colleagues there also, but while we're here let me briefly show you what we have here in the Counselling Offices..."

She proceeded to give him a brief tour around each of the rooms in the Counselling Annex. There were multiple small one-to-one rooms set aside for private counselling sessions, as well as two much larger rooms for group activities and therapy sessions. Upon showing him these, Kana informed him that, "As well as with assisting in the day-to-day administration of the Counselling offices, I think it would be good for both you and Daisy to run a peer support group for your fellow Cadets here; that may provide you with some hands-on experience of counselling in a much more relaxed setting. Myself and the other Counsellor's will be on hand should you need us."

Lastly, she showed him her office at the back of the annex, just so he was familiar with where it was but to also let him know that, "Should you ever need anything, anything at all, you will be able to find me here most days. As I'm also Executive Officer, this essentially functions as my office for both roles. If I'm on the Bridge, I'll leave a note for you at the Reception Area so that you know."

It was at this that Daisy also perked up, "Commander Shakura lets me use her replicator sometimes to get myself a snack or a nice warm drink if I'm working a double-shift. It certainly makes things a lot more comfortable." She smiled, a little less awkwardly now. Kana smiled back at her, before turning her attention once again to the newest recruit.

"Any questions or thoughts about our work here in Counselling before we head down to the Medbay?"

Cody, took a moment to take in everything Shakura had said, including the peer support group, which would give him at least a small group of people he could hopefully come to trust. Still feeling a bit embarassed about his anxiety, and wanting to clear the air with one of his new superiors, he said quietly "Permission to speak freely to you alone for a moment Commander before we go to the Medbay?" He wasn't sure she had read his file yet from the Academy, and if she hadn't he wanted to start off on the right foot with her.

Not hesitating for a moment, the Commander gestured for him to step fully into her office. "Of course. Daisy, do please give us a moment." She looked back and smiled at the junior Cadet, who hesitated for a brief second before nodding approvingly and going back to sit at the main desk while she waited, likely to start messing with things again.

Once the doors to her office closed and they had the privacy they required, Kana turned to face Cody and could sense - without even having to utilise her Betazoid telepathy - the ball of anxiety that was clearly knotting up inside of him. She had a feeling she might know what it was about, but didn't want to rob him of the opportunity to expel some of that tension himself by being listened to. Exuding a calm presence, she hoped it would do something to alleviate at least some of that, if only a little.

"What would you like to say, Cody?" She looked at him attentively.

Taking a moment to compose himself, Cody replied "I'm not sure how much of my file from the Academy you've had a chance to read, Commander. While I've been there I've been working with the counselling team to work through some severe traumatic experiences from my recent past. These experiences have lead me to have issues with anxiety and depression. I've also discovered that I have anxiety around persons in authority. I'm hopeful that I can continue to work through these issues while aboard, but also that they don't damage your impressions of me as a capable officer." He was proud of himself that he could get through what he wanted to say without his emotions overwhelming him, but was still worried he made a bad first impression.

Kana allowed the young man to say everything he needed to say, her expression remaining thoughtful and attentive as he did so. Once he was finished, she flashed him a kind smile.

"Cody, I read your file when we were considering our intake for this year. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind whatsoever that you have what it takes to fulfil your roles and do them both well. I'm also completely confident that we can do whatever is necessary to support you during your time here. In fact, I already intended to schedule an initial counselling session between us sometime this week. How does that sound?"

Slightly shocked, but trying to cover it with a neutral face, Cody replied "That sounds like a good idea Commander. I appreciate your understanding and support." Pausing he added with a small smile "We should probably get going to the Medbay right? I wouldn't want to make a bad impression to my other department head on the first day."

Kana gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "That's right. Lets get going."

Leading the way out of her office, Kana marched on forwards, hands held firmly behind her back as she led both Matthews and Daisy - who had jolted back to her feet and ran to come alongside Matthew as she saw them both pass - to the turbolift. As they went along, Kana spoke, "As you may already be aware, Cody, the Medbay is currently in a state of flux after a bomb was set off by some pirate saboteurs during our last mission in the Betreka Nebula..."

"Yeah, it was scary..." Daisy murmured, before thinking quickly and perking up as she said to Cody, "They were all apprehended though, and Security has done an amazing job in keeping the ship safe!"

"That's right." Kana nodded approvingly, as they all reached the turbolift and stepped inside. Giving the order for it to take them down to the next deck, she continued. "Unfortunately, Starbase Forty-Seven wasn't able to give us much of what was needed to bring the entire Medbay back to working order, and so as a result Lieutenant Commander T'vek - the Chief Medical Officer, and your other superior - is running a very tight operation. Our hope is that Starbase One-Two-Nine will be able to provide us with more, but we shall see."

Stepping out of the turbolift and leading them to the Medbay doors, Kana paused for a moment and turned to face Cody. "One last thing: T'vek, as I'm sure you've guessed from the name, is a Romulan exchange officer. He may come off as cold and indifferent, but he's a man that appreciates hard work and results. He also appreciates crewmembers who take care of themselves." She stressed that last point in particular for Cody.

Content that she had now adequately prepared the young man for what they were about to step into, she turned on her heel and stepped through the doors of the Medbay.

Two human Engineering ensigns slunk out through the doors to Sickbay before anybody could enter, if they had had tails they would most certainly be between their legs, paying only minimal respect as they avoided eye contact, looks of deep shame laid bare across their faces, the scene behind them was of utter devastation, where before there had once lain a pristine and highly regimented sickbay granted one with some more unusual Romulan affectations now instead, shredded deck plats with holes of varying degrees of severity on every surface, some connecting to the decks above and below, near the centre of sickbay was more akin to a large flicking crater in which attempts had clearly been made to begin to repair.

It looked highly unlikely that much of Sickbay would be usable for a great deal of time, there was scarcely enough safe undamaged real estate to place a bio-bed never mind tend to anybody in what could even remotely be described as a safe or reassuring environment. Even presuming of course that there was much in the way of equipment to tend to patients with, the space on the wall where a replicator should be present was a large blackened hole with flicking conduits protruding out of.

Several sections were sealed off by faintly glowing forcefields with what looked suspiciously like bodily fluids smeared across the walls near heavily charred sections of what were presumably body parts, juxtaposing what could politely be referred to as wreckage was a section that was nigh completely undamaged, T'vek's own office and a section on the other side containing several active stasis pods.

It was near these that the rail thin almost cadaver like figure of T'vek stalked checking reading meticulously sparing the merest of glowers as his hands danced across a console with all the speed and grace of a virtuso pianist, his expression distinctly neutral leaning towards arrogant boredom, his ashen skin mottled with a touch of viridian as ever reminiscent of a sheer cliff face crag both in appearance and implacably stubborn façade, his piercing eyes swiftly noticed that he was not as of yet alone but not bothering to approach. "Commander," where his only words, in a clipped yet bored drawl, a tone of superiority but one also tinged with a touch of tiredness, slight hollows ringed around his eyes as he paused to clamp a small device to a port on one of the stasis pods.

Daisy was quick enough to catch herself before she let out an audible gasp at the sight in front of them, covering her mouth. The Commander was already well aware of the dire situation in Medbay, which had led to plenty terse words with the logisticians of Starfleet as to how on earth they expected the Poseidon to carry out it's humanitarian mission with the vast majority of it's medical facilities inoperable. She looked disapprovingly at the spots where human viscera were still partially visible; she knew that the Romulan Chief Medical Officer probably still saw them as valuable forensic material, but she made a mental note to herself to make sure Operations would have them cleared, even if it meant making sure T'vek was absent at the time.

"Lieutenant Commander T'vek, good afternoon. You'll be pleased to know that fresh help has arrived just in time, as you requested: Cadet Senior Grade Cody Matthews." She brought the young man forward so that the Romulan could get a good look at him. As the two exchanged their first glance at the other, Kana caught the sight of another young man in the corner of her eye: Caleb Johnson. From the looks of things, he was trying to do whatever would keep him out of the Chief Medical Officer's path.

"Caleb, come and say hello to your new crewmate." Kana said in an almost motherly tone, which she only caught on as she finished saying it.

Cody stepped forward, took a deep breath and nodding, said "Nice to meet you Lieutenant Commander T'vek. I look foward to working with you. I'm sure I will learn a lot from your medical expertise sir. I am a quick learner, and not afraid to get my hands dirty."

T'vek arched an angled eyebrow, "Direct," he murmured in imperious tones, "I approve, Welcome aboard Cadet Matthews, you will find there is plenty of work for many hands dirty or not, and much to learn, some of which is decidedly broader than the federation curricula," the Romulan dryly returned before extended a cadaverous hand with a strength that belied it's appearance as the Doctor looked down both physically and metaphorically to examine Cody, apprising appearance, posture, mannerisms, potential or perhaps lack thereof. Within moments he turned to Kana, "I got your message about the new addition, unfortunately some of the new Ensigns we gained from the previous starbase are to be frank criminally inept and have as you seen been banished," he begun leaving the implied apology that was in several ways not one.

"They desired to shut off power to the entirety of Sickbay while the affected repairs, neglecting that we have over 20 crew members in medical stasis, suffice it to say if that is the best Starfleet has to offer I have my concerns, and were it not impolitic I'd suggest a diversion to Achernar, their shipyards and repair docks would be able to offer us the facility we require to restore the Poseidon to full operations." As he finished this statement fully aware that a reccomendation to detour to a major Romulan Shipyard would be dismissed out of hand, he tapped away at a console on another stasis pod glancing over at the Commander's other charge eying up her distaste at her surroundings, reading her like an open book, "It would be good to have some additional manpower several of my staff were caught up in the explosion and are also in stasis, the others, well there is reason why clean-up is yet incomplete, forensic investigations to actually ascertain all of what happened are still ongoing, admittedly it does little to put most at ease," with this last he finished with a pointed glance at Daisy which appeared to stare straight past her eyes and deep within.

Daisy was caught off-guard by the Romulan's pointed stare and shuffled nervously on the spot.

"I--Well, I, um--" she sputtered and flustered as she tried to think of adequate words to say, but there were none that came to mind immediately. Kana could sense her uncertainty both within herself and towards the Chief Medical Officer; she knew that the young girl possessed the potential for more confidence within herself, but it was still taking time to coax out. Her eyes quickly darted to the Commander, pleading for some assistance. The Executive Officer stepped between her and the eyes of T'vek.

"I'm sorry to hear that the Ensigns were not to your approved standard. I can assure you I'm doing everything I can to find you the hands and supplies you need. I myself am perfectly willing to assist in the event of a critical situation, as are my staff, but as you are also perfectly aware we will be taking on-board Cardassian refugees soon. The Counselling Division will be taking primary care of them during their transit back to Starbase Forty-Seven, so I will not be able to spare much." The Commander's tone was direct and sincere.

"I've already made sure Starbase One-Two-Nine is aware of the status of Sickbay and they will provide what resources they can to at least stabilise the situation. Once our mission is complete, we will be stationed for proper repairs."

Not knowing what to say, Cody kept his mouth shut during the exchange, knowing that T'vek was going to be a different type of superior than Shakura. He would have to get used to the man's approach, and try not to let himself be intimidated. He schooled his features to remain neutral, feeling like he was being examined and found wanting, something he'd have to talk to Shakura about later. As he waited for further instructions, he let his gaze take in the destruction in Sickbay, knowing it would, as advised, take a lot of work to get it back to the standard it previously was.

"Hardly lack of standards, I draw the line at attempted murder," dismissively waving a hand "as for staffing support, while appreciated, as you can see a minimal staffing profile would be best, unless you also intend to offer support to other divisions inadvertently," he drawled in haughty tones, looking pointedly at the large holes in the floor and ceiling where some of the activities of other departments could be seen, albeit not clearly. He paused for a moment eying up the new Cadet again, "Name two applications of Lectrazine," he retained his gaze at the commander leaving as to whom should answer the impromptu question before continuing to Kanaka.

"I do think however we can discuss or at least co-ordinate our combined efforts, perhaps we should arrange a discussion at our earliest convenience?" He off-handedly asked.

"I'm welcome to that, Lieutenant Commander T'vek. I'll have Daisy arrange the earliest time available in my schedule and confirm the details with you." Kana responded courteously, her peripheral vision tracking the new Senior Cadet's expression as she waited to see if he would answer the Chief Medical Officer's question.

After taking a moment to internally compose his thoughts, keeping Shakura's advice from the turbolift in mind, Cody cleared his throat and said confidently, "Lectrazine can be used to stabilize the cardiovascular and renal systems in humanoids. Also, when combined with hyronalin, it can be used for temporary protection against radiation poisoning, Sir."

T'vek smiled ever so slightly, a rarity for most thus far blinking slowly as he inclined his head slightly, before returning mildly, "Excellent, you will do nicely."

Caleb walked up to the newcomers. He had been completing a set of tests on one of their new patients. "Apologies to interrupt Commander Shakura, Lieutenant Commander T'vek. I've got those test results you asked for for Ensign Tyler over there. Everything seems normal." He said, handing over a PADD with the results and smiling. He then noticed the new cadet in the group. "New cadet? Hmmm." He said, intrigued. It was quite rare to see a new cadet come onboard mid voyage. He reached out his hand. "Cadet Freshman Grade Caleb Johnson, Nurse. Good to meet you..." He trailed off, not knowing the name, and hoping the other male would fill in the gap.

Kana, content now that everyone seemed to be getting along and that everything was at least in some form of working order - well, order - turned and politely began to take her leave. Daisy hung around for a few moments longer, curious and hopeful to see both Caleb and Cody strike up an immediate rapport, but eventually snapped out of it and began running after the Commander in a hurry.

Cody watched as Commander Shakura left the room, knowing he would meet up with her later. Turning his attention back to Johnson, he replied "Cadet Senior Grade Cody Matthews. It's nice to meet you. Do you mind showing me around? It would be nice to get a bit more familiar with where I'm going to be spending half my time on duty."

"Course!" He replied, smiling. "If that's ok with the boss?" He said, looking to T'vek for confirmation.

"Aye. What little there is left to show..."

[OFF]

Lt. Cmdr. Kanaka "Kana" Shakura
Executive Officer & Chief Counsellor
U.S.S. Poseidon

&

Cdt. Freshman Grade Daisy Stanier (NPC)
Counsellor's Aide
U.S.S. Poseidon

&

Cdt. Senior Grade Cody Matthews
Nurse/Counsellor's Aide
U.S.S. Poseidon

&

Lt. Cmdr. Nivora T'vek
Chief Medical Officer
U.S.S. Poseidon

&

Cdt. Freshman Grade Caleb Johnson (NPC of Maj. Phoebe Graydon)
Nurse
U.S.S. Poseidon

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