Calm the Fast and Furious

Posted on Tue Jun 15th, 2021 @ 10:23am by Lieutenant Tate Sullivan Ph.D. & Lieutenant Tonya King ( Barclay de Tolly )

Mission: Season 5: Episode 2: Operation Save Humanity
Location: Tate Sullivan's Office
Timeline: MD 3
1330 words - 2.7 OF Standard Post Measure

Yesterday, Tonya put in a transfer to the Logistics Department. She had several reasons why she did this. One reason is she wants to musketeers sure there are no conflicts if her relationship with Victor becomes intimate. In both her words and Victor's words, they are only at first base.

Another reason on other missions as well as the last mission, she got herself injured. Eight times she had saved her fellow crew members only to get herself injured. Victor wants to make sure she does not have a death wish. She is an adrenaline junkie where she has done skydiving, bungee jumping, spelunking, scuba diving and other high thrill seeking adventure.

The last major reason why she has your see a counselor, it is routine when one person requests a transfer, they see a counselor to make sure there was no personnel issues.

Tonya walked in to Tate's office. She had other sessions with Tate, so it was logical she saw Tate again. Seeing Tate, she nodded as she developed the same habit Victor has. "Hello Tate. Great to see again."

"Hello, Tonya," Tate greeted warmly as she sat across from Tonya. "I'm glad you decided to stop by." Of course, under the circumstances, a counseling session was called for on many accounts, but Sullivan was encouraged that it was in fact Tonya that had reached out to schedule a session.

“Thank you Tate,” Tonya says as she had mixed feelings. She felt comfortable it was Tate she was speaking to in this session but anxiety because she will have to open up about her past, present and future. Tonya decided to sit in the odd shape chair which was designed for comfort. “So where do we begin? Should we talk about why I wanted a transfer? I feel those reasons are probably obvious. One is I want to explore and hopefully have a lifetime happiness with him.”

Tonya paused for a moment. As she thought more, “Or does Starfleet feel I am accident prone because I have hurt myself eight times in the line of duty in saving others”. Tonya scratched her forehead a sly bit. “Or maybe why am I leaving Engineering to go to Logistics. That answer is easy because I realize I need to settle down because I want a family with Victor. He has been the excellent and patient gentleman about it all. As far as Lara, I am calling her daughter now or more accurate Quantum Daughter because she is the daughter of the Tonya from Victor’s original reality. So where would you like to begin?”

Tate chuckled. "I think you already got us off to a good start. Although, I'm not sure I understand. Is this transfer your idea or Starfleet's?"

“My idea,” Tonya replied. “Kind of Victor’s idea as well. I feel it is in my best interest to do this. Eight times in this reality, I have been injured in the line of duty. Sometimes there is not a lot of time to think when I am getting shot at. This last time, it gave me time to reflect if I should continue doing this. The Logistics position will allow me…,” Tonya breathed in a bit as she paused. She exhaled a bit before continuing, “It will allow me to have a relationship again, hopefully get married, have children and be a mother. My reflections I did in that cave made me realize I had a death wish as the danger was my way of dealing with the trauma I have experienced. I have been damn lucky to still be alive, unlike my counter self from Victor’s reality which was killed in action. So this mainly was my idea.”

"It's commendable you have so much insight into what has driven your behavior, and I agree, the traumatic things you've been through no doubt have affected your thoughts, feelings, and judgment. Given that we agree on that, I think it's important to point out until you heal from that trauma, those impulses will remain, regardless of what department you serve within."

“Well this is me taking baby steps,” Tonya said as she was talking with her hands, “I need a less stressful job. Yes Logistics can be at times that way but that is only if you are not organized. The guy I am replacing did not stay on top of his job and he was micromanaging the Quartermasters, doing the work himself and delegating. Plus in my opinion based upon gut instinct, the Chief of Logistics seems to be distracted. My current job only was stressful because Engineers we want everything to be doing better than one hundred percent efficiency. I was glad when I came back from the mission, Kara was brought back on because she set a lot of protocols for us to follow when she use to be the Chief. So I feel Engineering will be okay after I leave. So all what I am feeling, how does one cope? I feel I can now provided my duties changes. Like the old saying, a change of scenery will do me some good.”

"I can see that," Tate replied. "You'll just need to make sure you don't carry that perfectionist attitude too far. It's great to be committed to your work, but I imagine it's hard to let go of that drive to constantly improve and tweak things. Any job can be stressful if we make it stressful. It'll be important for you to know what qualities you bring to a position across-the-board."

“I agree,” Tonya sighs quietly. “Perfectionism I know I can bring to my new position. I know Starfleet requests transfers have to be approve by counselors. I assure you that I was treated great in Engineering and there were no incidents to cause alarm with the exception of me putting myself in the line of fire. This one just needed to rethink what the priorities are. So do you approve my transfer?”

Tate didn't appreciate being put on the spot, but she could understand the other woman's eagerness to know what Sullivan was thinking. " I see no reason to block your transfer, but I would like us to continue meeting. As you acknowledged, you've been through a great deal, and that doesn't just go away overnight. Deal?"

“Of course,” Tonya nodded, “Once a month? Would that be okay with you?” I understand more than you know about PTSD. One just can not wish it away. There is not like support groups with ones with PTS Disorders. Plus if there was, would it be healthy for us to meet like an AA Meeting.”

Tate considered that for a moment. Normally, she didn't want to see anyone less frequently than every other week at first, but Tonya had a point about a support group for those struggling with post traumatic stress. It was something she had considered before, but at the time, she couldn't be sure any of the people she thought of would be comfortable being vulnerable in front of their fellow crew mates. In addition, she recognized it would be a bit challenging to come up with a meeting time that worked for a variety of people. Now, however, she could think of several people who could still use the support, but were far enough in the recovery they just won't feel comfortable meeting in a group. "I think once a month is fair, but I think a support group is also a great idea. I'll reach out to some of the crew to see if they would be interested."

Tonya smiled. “Thank you Tate. I look forward to everything.” Tonya felt this will help her in the long run.

Tate's smile matched Tonya's own. "Of course. I'm happy to help. I'll be in touch soon when I can get a group together. I can't promise others will agree, but I will certainly try. You are not alone in this."



End Post