Getting Started

Posted on Wed Jan 8th, 2020 @ 9:00pm by Lieutenant Nikki St. John

Nikki, having found one of the smaller conference rooms unoccupied, sat at one end of the table, one leg tucked up beneath her, reviewing security logs while she sipped from a glass of sparkling water. Her black hair hung loose framing an oval face dominated by intelligent midnight blue eyes, her lower lip caught between her teeth as she formed a mental image of the situation aboard the Astraea. She'd chosen the conference room as a place where she could meet crew members as well as the other members of the team sent by Starfleet to evaluate the situation on board. She looked up as the door opened.

Lieutenant Styveck entered the unoccupied conference room only to find a Lieutenant sitting there. Styveck was looking for a place outside the normal offices so he could review the security logs and medical records of the crew involved in the incident. It was his job to make sure the crew was mentally capable of processing their emotions and verify they are fit for duty.

Styveck spoke in his deep , monotone voice, “Lieutenant, my apologies, I did not realize this room was occupied.”

"No apologies needed," Nikki said at once. "I'm happy to share. I was just going over the security logs."

Styveck nodded, "Actually that was my plan as well. I want to get an understanding of what happened via the reports. There are less emotions in the logs than in interviews," the Vulcan stated.

"Agreed," Nikki said. "And too, I want to determine their level of performance since it all happened. It's not always easy, as you know, to shrug off difficult events. If there are holes in the ship's security, the team members we brought along can plug them during the evaluations."

“May I sit and review the logs in here?” Tavis sat across from Nikki without waiting for a reply, he logged into the PADD and opened the reports. “I’m going to review the after action reports, If you come across any incompetence post incident whether intentional or unintentional please notify me.”

"Of course," Nikki said, nodding her head as though to punctuate the statement. "I'll remove from active duty pending your evaluation as a precautionary measure. And of course if you find anything you think I should look into further, please let me know."

"Affirmative," Styveck responded as he began reading the logs and reports. He was silent for quite a while with only an occasional one word comment, "Intriguing, or Interesting." He made a couple of notes as he continued, "The elevated stress and adrenaline wreaked havoc with the crew."

"Yes, it did," Nikki said quietly. "It would be a stretch to say that the crew returned to normal though." She stopped for a moment, staring into her glass as she thought about her short while on board. "I heard more than a few minor arguments just walking to this conference room."

“Based on my preliminary findings, my hypothesis would suggest that it heightened existing emotions. For example I may dislike the way you tie shoes but normally I wouldn’t say anything. Under the effects of the aliens that small dislike became a fiery hatred. Y think that even though most of the effects have worn off there may still be some existing tension. It will be a chore to keep the crew from fighting over the next 30 days or so. I may suggest to the Captain that she increase some drills or inventory to keep the ship without causing extra stress.” As he finished Tyveck stood and replicated a Vanilla Chai Tea, he may have been Vulcan but his time on earth had given him a sweet tooth for tea.

"Really," Nikki said as she leaned back in her seat. "See, I would have gone for something more recreational and maybe slightly competitive. Channel it all into something constructive." She lifted her glass and finished the last sip before speaking. "Do you really think that doing inventory and drills will reduce tension?"

"I think getting everyone back into their normal routines is best, if we do competitions or recreation, we are still acting abnormal and allowing the incident to dictate our future events. I think some counseling is needed, but we need to help them get back to normal or a new normal," Styveck said as he sat back down at the table with his tea.

"Fun and laughter can be therapeutic," Nikki said as she stared at her now emptied glass and then rose with fluid elegance and headed over to the replicator. "Or at least I've always thought so."

“There are studies and reports of that working Lieutenant, but I believe that is part of the reason the Captain has allowed the current down time. It is my belief that returning to familiar work also helps. Lieutenant, how would you go about employing laughter to the entire starship as a method of therapy,” Styveck asked curiously.

"Yorkshire tea, hot," Nikki said. When the cup appeared she picked it up and brought it back to the table. The idea of making an entire ship laugh was an interesting one, no question. "Well, I'm not much of a comedian," she said. "Don't suppose the ship has a morale officer?"

Styveck lifted an eyebrow, "Intriguing, maybe a ship-wide karaoke, though I think the actual effects it would have are minimal and highly illogical."

"Logic isn't an absolute," Nikki said as she dropped into her seat, still holding the cup. "But something ship-wide could be interesting ... not karaoke but music? If any of the crew are musicians or ... maybe a movie night? We used to watch horror movies when I was back at the Academy. Everyone had to contribute their favorite snack and then we'd rotate among as many worlds as we could find." She took a sip as she leaned back in her seat, smiling through the memories, "... and you know, the ones that were the most fun were the truly terrible ones." She set the cup down, pursing her mouth as she dredged the names up out of her memories. "There was this really bad Klingon one, 'chaH HoH Hoch' ... and Plan Nine of course. We laughed all the way through them both."

“I fail to see how watching more killing and violence will help. You may as well just go to the holodeck and watch a fight in the Roman Colosseum. Personally I believe that gentle music and meditation work better,” the counselor responded.

Nikki chuckled at the thought of her meditating for anything longer than about a second. "For some of us, that just won't work." She shook her head slightly. "Not even a little."

"To each their own," Styveck said, human culture was so random and chaotic. "Maybe we could advise the Captain on a few events to help the crew out. Though I do not understand or find the same fulfillment, I do applaud the benefits."

"Really not my area of expertise," Nikki said after a moment, "and it could be that the Captain, knowing the crew so much better than I do, might have better suggestions of her own. Still, if you think it will help at all, I will send you the ones that worked well on other ships."

“I will discuss that with her when we meet later, thank you ma’am. I do have an appointment soon, could we schedule another visit soon?” Styveck asked.

"Any time," Nikki said. "Any time." With a small sigh, she shifted so that one foot was tucked up beneath her, readying herself to continue the log review, and paused long enough to add, "I'm certainly not going anywhere."

“We will meet next week, Lieutenant, send me your availability and we will coordinate our schedules,” he said as he stood up. “Thank you for the conversation Lieutenant.”

"My pleasure," Nikki said. She watched him and then returned to the work.