Recouping from Romulus

Posted on Sat Aug 3rd, 2013 @ 6:23pm by Lieutenant Anandra Delair & Commander Jonathan Coleman

1,488 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Mission 84 - Blockade
Location: Chief Counselor's Office
Timeline: After returning from the Mission 83

On:

Commander Coleman had just checked in with Main Engineering and had the meeting with his new Assistant Chief Engineer, so he thought that it'd be best to check in with the Counselor and make sure he was all good after the mission.

Coleman walked out of the turbolift and down the hall until he came to a door that said Chief Counselor's Office and pressed the pad.

"Come in!" Anandra called from her seat behind the desk in the office. She was just settling back into the 'swing' of things, and very pleased to be getting back to patients and scheduled appointments. She hopped to her feet as Jonathan entered, to show respect for her senior officer. "Hello Commander!" she smiled sweetly, then gestured to one of the empty chairs in front of her desk. "Have a seat." she said, waiting for him to settle into a chair before she sank back into hers. "What can I do for you?"

Coleman took a step inside, just enough so that the door would close behind him. He looked over at Anandra and smiled and said, "Well, with this lovely mission done and over with and the Admiral almost ordering us all to come to the lovely counselor, I thought I'd stop in to talk with the lovely counselor. What should I do? Lay on the bed or sit in the chair? " A big grin came over Coleman's face, teasing the dear counselor when he said the chair bit.

Anandra flushed ever so slightly and let out a laugh at his playful demeanor. She liked being able to engage her clients with lighthearted banter, and she could tell it would come easily with this one. "As it happens, I am fresh out of beds." she said, hands gesturing to the room around them. "Come have a seat here. I can hardly see you all the way over there." she jested, shading her eyes with a hand as if looking across a long distance with the sun beating down on her. She returned to her seat as he approached, and smiled brightly at him. "Much better, look at you. Bright and crisp and blue eyed, you look like you're doing just fine - how are you then?"

Coleman sat and rubbed his temples for a second. "I'm alright, but it was truly a hard mission. I'm just glad that it's done and over with because Romulans can be harsh people sometimes. Not all of them, but some of them." He didn't want to completely make the Romulans sound bad because there were some good ones, such as Ensign i-Ki Baratan. But, then, there were people, such as Admiral Tomalak. In the end, he has seen his fair share of Romulans like Tomalak.

She nodded at his words, smirking slightly to herself. She knew all too well how Romulans could be. "It was certainly a stressful mission for all of us, particularly those who could only sit on the bridge and wait for something to happen." She said, easing back in her seat and folding her hands over her torso. "Anything in particular about that mission bothering you today?"

Coleman scratched his chin and thought for a minute about all that was running through his head. He wasn't entirely sure what bothered him really. Coleman said, "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what has been bothering me. I guess one thing that bothers me is that we don't get along with the Romulans and the rest of the Typhon Pact. We've been neighbors, but no matter what, we've always seemed to be at a standstill with them, even in the Dominion War. You can call me an optimist, but I rather think that there is better than what we have."

"I would call that hopeful optimism, yes. And I certainly share that sentiment; it grows tiring seeing people at odds when it seems there are simpler, safer solutions to their problems. Sometimes I try to put myself in their shoes, imagine their ideals and their desires and how I would feel if I were in that position, and what it would make me do." She paused thoughtfully for a moment, pondering an analogy. "For instance, I spent years blindly hating the Borg. It wasn't until I started to realize that it was simply their way, that they were, in their own way, doing what it took to keep them alive. They were following instinct, not necessarily harboring ill-will. Their conquering of species holds no malicious intent, it is merely their way of making their species thrive. The Romulans, in their own way, are trying to do the same. They see the Federation as a threat to their species' well-being, and as they are a passionately driven people, they will stop at nothing to absolve the threat. And perhaps that passion that drives them is also blinding them a little from seeing and seeking more peaceful means of doing that. That's why it's important to keep an objective view, but also keep doing what you need to do for the survival of the Federation, and obviously yourself. We can do little to put the Romulans on our side, history has proven that time and again - and with the fact that they are indeed constantly at a standstill with us, we can only do what we have to to neutralize any threats they send our way. It's an unfortunate 'catch-22' as the Terrans might say."

Coleman nodded, taking in what the dear counselor had said about it all. After a few moments of quiet reflection, Coleman final spoke up and said, "Well, I guess that's true. Being El-Aurian, my species, as you may or may not know, are a species of listeners. So, when I came to the Federation and saw the good that they were doing, it made me feel good. However, seeing the various species that came and tried to harm us, just because of a few higher ups, it makes me wonder why and I've even seen it a few times within the Federation here recently. Too many big questions, I suppose."

Anandra smiled widely as he spoke of El-Aurians. Apparently he didn't know. "I am El-Aurian myself." She admitted. "I felt the same way when the Vulcans pushed me toward the Federation, and Starfleet. Too many big questions indeed, but as far as species trying to harm us - unfortunately we would encounter that no matter where we ended up in the universe. There is conflict, war, higher-ups who meet the disdain of others, anywhere you go. It is an unfortunate and unavoidable fact of all life. The important thing, again, is to stay objective, and to do what feels right in your heart - always do what feels right. You are a good man. I can also sense that you are a strong one. Some of those big questions you have will undoubtedly be answered in time, and surely the answering of those questions will raise still more of them..but you do have what it takes to keep seeking answers and to cope with them as well as the questions as they come along."

Coleman gave a little bit of a chuckle and smiled. He said, "Please forgive me counselor. I forgot that you were El-Aurian as well. But, I guess with the Borg conflict of 2381, the Dominion war of the 2370s, and other things in the past few years, it's been hard. But, I'll try and keep objective in the future. Also, you are very strong as well. You do well as a counselor!!"

"No need to apologize Jonathan, and I appreciate your compliments. I do try!" She said with a bit of a chuckle herself. "It has been difficult, but I think one of the most important things to remember is that you're not alone - it is difficult on many, and you can undoubtedly always find a proverbial shoulder to cry on if needed." She paused, and smiled. "Or a counselor who happens to relate on as many levels."

Coleman chuckled a little bit more, saying, "Yeah, thanks for that. I don't know. I guess I just needed someone to rant to about everything from this previous mission, as well as the past few years. Never told anyone about anything really until now. But, thanks for everything Counselor. It really helps to have someone to relate to."

"You're always welcome to rant at me anytime you need. That is why I am here, after all. No need to thank me." she smiled warmly.

He smiled warmly back, before saying, "Well, I better get back to Engineering. They're probably wondering what happened to the dear Chief Engineer. Thanks for everything counselor."

"Don't want to leave them wondering now, do we?" She said with a smile and friendly gesture of her hand, ushering him toward the door. "Take care of yourself, Jonathan."


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