The Counselor Gets A Cohort

Posted on Tue May 19th, 2015 @ 6:29pm by Lieutenant Commander Robin Swift M.D., PhD & Lieutenant Raj Amani
Edited on on Tue May 19th, 2015 @ 6:32pm

Mission: Breaking New Ground
Location: Counselor Swift's Office

* * * USS Samar - Crew Lounge * * *

Raj was restless. Two weeks on this ship was just about thirteen days too many. It was to be expected, since he was traveling from the very bottom of known space, near Tholian territory, to SB900. He’d had plenty of time to read, time to enjoy the holodeck, time to relax and too much of that ended with one very restless counselor.

A voice broke his reverie and he looked up to see the bartender standing before him and smiling.

“I’m sorry, what was that? I’m afraid I was daydreaming.” He returned her smile, sensing the tiredness in her. “I’ll take one more, then why don’t you have a seat? It’s quiet in here and you’ve had a long day.”

She was surprised that he’d noticed. “I will, thank you Lt. Amani.”

The conversation was interrupted by a call to Raj, informing him they had reached 900. The notice was music to his ears and moments later he was gone. Behind him, the bartender watched him go with a smile.

* * * Counselor Swift’s Office * * *

The trip through the station had certainly been eye-opening. After time on ships and small stations, this was...well...immense, pun intended. Raj laughed aloud and the young lady at the front counter gave him a wary look.

He winked back at her. “No worries, just a little inside joke is all. Point me to Counselor Swift?”

“Oh, sure.” Kiere smiled and gave him directions.

“Thank you ma’am.” Raj tipped an imaginary hat to her, then sauntered away. A few minutes later, he entered the outer office, only to find it empty. “Looks like I’m late to the party. Anyone home?”

Robin was in his office and heard the newcomer. “If you’re looking for Doctor Swift, I’m in my office. Come on in.”

Raj entered the office, a smile on his face. “Dr. Swift? I’ve been looking forward to meeting you. It’s a real pleasure.” He offered his hand to Robin. “I’m Lt. Raj Amani.”

Robin stood and shook his hand. “Lt. Amani? What can I do for you?”

The question took Raj aback for a moment. Apparently word hadn’t travelled as fast as it might have. So, he produced a padd, which he gave to Robin. “Orders, sir. I’m here to help you out.”

Confused, Robin took the PADD and looked it over. “Ah, a new counselor. Excellent! I don’t get many new personnel out this way,” he said as he seated himself and offered a chair to Raj. “Odd that I wasn’t aware of your arrival, though.” He looked through his inbox on the computer. “I take that back,” he said, somewhat embarrassed. “I did get notification. I apologize, Lieutenant. Things have been, well, very busy and very strange of late.”

Raj took a seat and relaxed back into it. “To tell you the truth, when I saw this assignment listed, I hounded personnel till they gave in. They apparently have been a little picky, due to the sometimes uncertain nature of this area. My years at Outpost 23 convinced them I’d make it, so here I am. Your work regarding the criminal mind is fascinating, sir, which was part of my desire to get here.”

“Ah-ah-ah,” Robin said, waggling a finger at him. “No sucking up on the first day.” He laughed at the joke. “Your experience and work so far seem to be quite fascinating in their own right. I’m sure you’ll do very well here. Mostly we just deal with the routine cases--depression, missing home, marriage counseling--that sort, but on occasion we get something a bit more ‘out there’, if you know what I mean? We’re on the fringe and sometimes people can’t deal with being this far from home. And then, as in my case, we wind up with a very unique and interesting individual who just needs help remembering who they were.”

“Being on the fringe can be a heavy burden to bear, Counselor. I understand things have been peaceful out this way at least?” The last of what Robin said, however, piqued his curiosity. “Remembering who they were? Care to share?”

“Not quite yet, Lieutenant,” he replied. “It’s a very special case and, well, there are some investigations going on that preclude me from being as open about it as I normally would--to another counselor only, of course. But I’m sure, once everything is settled, it would make for a good read.”

“It certainly sounds like it. I must apologize for arriving so late. There was a delay on the way through the beta quadrant or I would’ve been here four hours ago.” Raj glanced around the office, then back to Robin. “What of the rest of the staff? Miss Dupree I believe?”

“He doesn’t miss a thing,” Robin thought to himself. “Like I said, investigations. But, since you’re assigned here, you should know at least what everyone else does.” He took a few moments to let Raj in on Admiral Wegener and Hawke’s troubles, without divulging sensitive portions of the case, and how it had affected much of the crew. “That interesting patient I referred to? He is also involved. Prior to all of this blowing up, however, Petty Officer Dupree became romantically involved with him. So she is taking a little time off.” He didn’t mention the part about her being kidnapped and stolen away.

Surprise was evident in Raj’s face and he wasn’t sure which part of it affected him the most. “I suppose for once I might be glad I was dealing with Romulans rather than Cardassians. They tend to be far less sneaky.” He smiled at Robin for a moment. “This...romantic involvement. How is that going to play out as far as his future contact here is concerned?”

“I don’t see it as an issue, at the moment. She has been reassigned from any of his cases, but as my aide she doesn’t have any direct involvement in the sessions. And since much of this has come about, it seems that his mood is only better with her in his life, so I may have her attend some of his sessions.” Robin thought about what their next session would be like, after everything with Azoulay and the admirals was finished. Probably a mess. “She’s an excellent aide--I honestly couldn’t have found a better one, so she knows what their relationship means for his treatment.”

Raj shifted in his seat, casually resting his arms on his knees and smiled at Robin. “You’ll get no argument from me. Sometimes, in crazy and unusual circumstances, you have to go with what works. At the Outpost, when any second could mean it would all blow to hell, I had to get creative. That kind of stress, and from your description, in this case too, textbook doesn’t always get the job done.”

“Welcome to the frontier, right?” Robin said with a chuckle. “Have you been assigned quarters yet?”

“Deck 15, not far from the medical station there as I understand it.” Now Raj laughed. “Though on a station this size, I suspect ‘not far’ is relative.”

“Oh, you have no idea,” Robin said with a smile. “Just wait until you’re called in for an emergency and the turbolifts just seem to creep farther and farther away from you. But you’ll get the hang of it.” He stood and handed back the PADD. “In the meantime, I’ll assign you an office and put you on the rotation for patients. But I’m going to give you two days to get acquainted with the station before having you start. Seriously, this place is gigantic and you’ll need some time to figure out what’s here.”

Raj stood as well. “I have a feeling I’ll still be finding new spots a year from now.” He stashed the padd in his bag. “But two days it is. Consider me on call, however, if you need me before then.”

Robin nodded. “I’m sure we’ll be fine, but you never know around here. Enjoy your time off and I’ll see you again soon.”

“Indeed you will.” Raj shifted his bag back to his shoulder and departed. As he passed the front counter, he waved to Kiere and soon was out of sight.

“What a pleasant fellow,” she murmured, then got back to work.


*******************
Lt. Raj Amani
Back To The Frontier

Lt. Cmdr. Robin Swift
Happy For The Help