:ON:
"Computer," Dennex called out as he
finished up a report in his office. "PLease locate Commander Marqusa."
The computer came back immediately with, "Lt. Commander Marqusa
is in the XO's office."
"Thank you," Dennex said. He picked up a PADD and headed out. It
didn't take him long before he was standing on front of the door
leading to the Executive Officer's office and chiming the door.
Gwen sat at her desk in her office. The place was still
rather bare since she rarely spent much time in here. Usually she was
up on the bridge. But, lately she had taken to spending more time
dealing with "paperwork" and other administration type things.
She had just gotten back from giving her report to the Captain on
the ship they brought aboard. Now she was dealing with other issues.
She looked up towards the door as she could sense that the counselor
was outside. She didn't know what it was about him, but it was always
easy to tell when he was approaching. It bothered her a little how
much her empathic abilities were starting to fill her life. She had
worked so hard to suppress them.
"Come in." Gwen called out.
Dennex entered the office. His
usual warm smile very apparent. "Good afternoon, Commander. I trust
your investigation went well?"
Gwen smiled, "Yes counselor, it did. To what do I owe this
pleasure?"
Without any further invitation,
Dennex strolled over in front of Gwen's desk and sat down. "Oh, just
usual chit-chat about crew morale and such. I must say, this crew
seems in rather good spirits."
"Yes, for the most part morale is good on this ship. That tends
to happen when the crew and the command staff have a good relationship
and both trust each other.
"There are, of course, areas of concern. But those are just spots
here and there."
"Well, those areas of concern is
what we should concentrate on," the Denobulan said with a warm smile.
"Of course. You've been on the ship for a little while. What's
your take on where to start?"
"There does seem to be some friction
in the medical ward."
Gwen chuckled. She wasn't surprised that he started there. It
did seem to be the most obvious problem currently on the ship.
"Yes, there are issues between Melody and Ratch. Issues that
aren't going to be solved overnight."
"This I have seen," Dennex agreed.
"They both need to ease up on one another."
"Yes, they both are at fault. Unfortunately, the hardest part is
going to be convincing them of that fact. They both see themselves as
the victim and the other as the one who is responsible."
"I am sure we can work something
out," Dennex said confidently. "Now what about..." He took a second
look at the PADD. "Lt. Lost. He has quite an obsession with games."
Gwen laughed, "Yes, that he does. And for most other officers, it
would be the down fall of their careers. But for Tru, that doesn't
seem to be the case.
"They don't interfere with his duties . . . usually."
"I see here, he was the helmsman but
is now listed at OPS. Any particular reason?"
"He loves flying. I don't think he's overly thrilled with being
moved to Ops. But, you don't move through the ranks at helm. He won't
really admit it, but I think he wants to eventually be Captain.
"Also, there was a shift with Lt. Haas to Engineering. And Tru
really was the best qualified to fill the Ops position."
Dennex nodded. "So Mr. Lost has
ambitions of being captain. Interesting."
"He'd probably deny it. But," She shrugged, "It's just a feeling
I get from him."
"And what about this ...." he tried
to find a simple way to put it. "Relationship between Dr. Melody and
the captain's son?"
"I am having a really hard time with that. To me it's wrong.
Very wrong. Mal is a kid. An extremely smart kid, but still a kid.
I'm sure he'd be hurt if he heard me calling him a child. I know he
works very hard at trying to prove himself as more then kid.
"Melody is a starfleet officer. She is considered an adult.
Maybe it shouldn't be that way. But that maybe doesn't matter as long
as she is an officer.
"What concerns me the most is that Melody has been told that any
romantic relationship with Mal is wrong. Yet, instead of working to
control her feelings for him, she fosters them.
"While that may not be legally wrong, I think it is ethically
wrong. It shows her immaturity. That, along with the two incidences
of mental break downs really makes me wonder if she just isn't ready to
be an officer.
"I see." Dennex mulled over Gwen's
explanation. "Both Dr. Melody and Mr. Fyrstk have expressed to me that
they are going on ...as friends."
"Yes, that may be what they are telling themselves. But,
unfortunately, I'm an empath and can sense the feelings very strongly.
Maybe I'm wrong. It's possible. Emotions are tricky and I'm not
exactly trained at this."
Dennex nodded. "And when you were
their age, at least Malachi's, were you ever in love?"
"At 14? No. I didn't even know what love really was. At 16, I
think I thought I was in love. But looking back, it wasn't love at
all, not true love anyways."
"But, when you were that age, did
you want to listen to anyone who would tell you you're not in love, or
it wasn't going to last?"
"I honestly don't see how that matters."
"It matters, because they truly
believe they are in love." Dennex shifted slightly. "Dr. Melody could
very well be immature in the ways of emotion, and Malachi is a normal
teenager falling in love for the first time."
"I never said they didn't believe they were in love counselor.
That's not the issue at all."
"The issue is whether they carry on
the relationship, Commander."
"The issue is whether or not it's appropriate. And, it's not
appropriate for an 'adult' to actively encourage feelings for a
'child.' It's a dangerous."
"Of course it's inappropriate, and
you have made both of them see that" Dennex told her. "But can you
simply turn off your feelings?"
"I'm not asking them to turn off their feelings. I'm asking them
to try to control them and not actively enticing them to grow."
"So how would you propose they do
that?"
"If they can't control their feelings seeing one another, then
maybe they should put some physical and mental distance between
themselves."
"What have they done that would
indicate to you that they are.... enticing these feelings?"
Gwen sighed, she disliked having to repeat herself. "I have told
you that already counselor. I had said that it's the empathic feelings
I'm getting from them. I also said that I could be wrong. Because of
that, I have not approached them about it or taken any legal type
actions. I only told you my concern because you are the counselor.
Maybe I was wrong in even expressing them to you."
"Maybe you were, Commander," Dennex
said evenly. "And maybe you weren't. Either way, this has been an
enlightening conversation. I will speak with Dr. Melody and young
Malachi again."
"I shall refrain from making any such comments again." Gwen hated
apathy and that was exactly what the Denobulan was showing. But that
wasn't the only thing that was bothering her.
"Do I detect a sense of hostility,
Commander?"
"Hostility? No. I am just stating that I've learned from my
mistake and won't be repeating it." Gwen responded, getting rid of any
of the irritation she had just been feeling. She wasn't going to let
it get to her. Or, at least, she was going to try not to let it get to
her.
"And what mistake do you feel you
have made?" Dennex kept his face as neutral as possible.
"Expressing concerns for which I have no proof for."
"Fear not, Commander, I won't tell
on you," the smile returned to his face. "Well I have taken enough of
your time. " He rose to his feet and turned to go. "Same time next
week?"
Gwen raised her eyebrows, "Tell on me for what?" Then she just
shook her head, "You really don't understand at all. As for next week,
that will depend on my schedule."
"Very well then, Gwen," Dennex said
as he made his way towards the door. He stopped just before he exited.
"I am at your disposal."
Gwen thought to herself that she would probably never call on
him. He had lost any trust that she had in him. She shook her head
and went back to her "paperwork."
:OFF:
Lt. Cmdr. Gwenivere Marqusa
AXO/CSec/Tac
USS Eagle
Lt. Cmdr. Dennex
Temp Counselor
NPC by Lukas Fyrstk
