Chief Navigational Officer: Counselor Check-in

Posted on Wed Jun 25th, 2025 @ 5:16am by Lieutenant Urvasi Elandorn & Lieutenant Amber Laurell

1,232 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Short Treks
Location: Deck 8 - Counsellors Offices
Timeline: 2429-03-21, 14:30 hours

It was a week since the newcomers had come on board the Enterprise. Urvasi figured that was a decent amount of time for the transferred personnel to have settled into their routines, especially as one of the newbies was a Chief Counselor. Urvasi headed that way as now possibly would be a good time to visit the counselors office for her on-boarding mental health check-in.

Urvasi paused a moment outside the counselors offices. She took in a quick breath, then blew it out her nostrils in a short burst. The 'cleansing breath' having been done, a way many Vulpine races in the L'Tandrey Protectorate used to calm and center themselves, she entered. On the Avalon, an Akira class, there was no receptionist as any Counselor who was available would have their door open. At the Academy, there was a receptionist. She looked around to see how the setup was done on board the Enterprise.

Inside her office Amber had purposely left the door open so those arriving knew she wasn’t busy. Sensing the arrival of someone she popped her head around the doorway offering a warm smile. “Lieutenant Elandorn, please come on in.”

Urvasi smiled as she saw Lt. Laurell's head from an office with an open door. Now she knew how the Enterprise counselor system worked for not scheduled appointments. She yiffered gently as she strode forward, her ears at a relaxed 45 degree angle with her whiskers moving up and down with her answer, "Coming, Lt. Laurell." As she reached to door and entered, she continued, "Thanks for seeing me without an appointment. I didn't make one as this is just the usual Social/Psyche check-in for a new command." She got an amused look on her face, then added, "Well, at least for me. I am not sure if others on Fed ships do the same or not, but, for me, it is the norm."

“Fortunately I’m not that busy yet, otherwise you may have needed to make an appointment.” Amber offered a smile. “Though I do try and see people who need to be seen in a hurry. Anyway, please feel free to call me Amber while you’re here, it saves using rank all the time.” She picked up a PaDD before sitting down in her seat. “Make yourself at home.”

Urvasi returned the smile as she replied, "Thank you. And, please, call me Urvasi as well." She primly sat down, making sure to move her tail off to the right side of her body to then go down beside her legs and cover over her feet, its tip moving gently. Her ears cupped fully towards Amber's face with her whiskers at a 45 degree angle away from her muzzle and head, while also gently hanging down at around 75 degrees.

Now that Urvasi was composed and ready, a thoughtful look with introspection followed, her eyes flowing with thoughts of the last week. "Okay, the last week. So far, I have made several acquaintances, mutual, no friendships as of yet, but that usually takes more time than just a week, and I am settling into learning the routines for the ship, duty roster, as well as taking time for myself in the evenings. The work/life balance is very important to keep my thoughts focused upon the job but allow de-stressing from that very same job. Being a Chief Officer is very new for me, which adds its own stressors, but so far, I don't think I have caused any umbrage or ran across any cultural lines." She sighed, then added, "It's just that, sometimes you can and it seems Fed Citizens are not ones to say when, which adds complexity." Her eyes focused onto Amber as she finished with, "On intimate encounters, too early, I think, so sexeo-social patterns and body well being markers should still be satisfied. So, I think that covers most of it. Do you have any questions or follow ups for me, Amber?"

Amber couldn’t help but smile at Urvasi’s prompt explanation of everything. “I wish everyone was as forthcoming as you Urvasi. That was a very helpful rundown on matters, which I appreciate. It sounds like you’ve settled in well, and are considering every angle of your assignment and duties. I understand about being Chief, this is my first assignment as Chief as well. May I ask more about your species?”

Urvasi yiffered gently as she said, "Your Welcome, Amber, for the rundown. In speaking of species, well, my race is part of the L'Tandrey Protectorate, and they perform Social, Mental Acuity, and Personality testing at many stages of growth. Thus, my self assessment. Next, I am not L'Tandrey Vulpenoid, I am Vulienrey Vulpenoid. Now, Vulienrey, our male to female ratio is 1 to 6. Not as large as an L'Tandrey, but still a rather large gap, hence why the extended testing. Our nuclear families are usually one husband to nine wives as other race wives can and will desire to be a part of the family. Now, specifically, Vulienrey are from a heavy G world, with varying densities of atmosphere, so.. I have two hearts and three lungs across my chest, which seems to be different from most races. However, as a typical Vulpenoid, I have the usual extra muscles through the reproductive organs which seems to give extra pleasure, and makes Vulpenoids targeted for slave trades. Umm, I went all over the place with my answers. Have I lost you, or.. do you have more questions?"

Amber smiled. “I think you answered that quite nicely, thank you for that. We’re all different, I simply like to learn about new cultures it helps to know who I’m talking to. I appreciate your self assessment, and your honesty. I think I have all I need for your evaluation.”

Urvasi returned the smile as she stated, "Thank you, and thank you." She stood up, then continued. "When it gets closer to my 22nd birthday, I will make the appointment to come in for the next Social/Psyche testing. That will be... April 22nd next year." She laughed, "The 22nd on the Terran calendar marks my 22nd birthday.. that's funny." She thought a second, then said, "My Terran years would be around 40, so however you would want to keep my age in your charts. *yiffers* Oh, yeah, one of my years is 1.85 Terran years, and our 'maturity' is around 12 to 14 of my years, which is 22 to 25 of Terran years. I never really think about the age difference except when it actually gets around my Birthdays."

“I’ll make a note of that thank you” Amber offered a warm smile. “I certainly have no worries, but if you should ever need to speak to me my door is always open.”

Urvasi performed a light curtsy with a head bow. "Your welcome, and thank you as well, Counselor Amber. I will make sure to stop in once in a while just to catch up. I think I would enjoy that, immensely."

Urvasi left the office with a small tune within her throat. Counselor Amber Laurell was easy to speak with and a joy to interact with. She looked forward to her next visit. And, on the next visit, she would ask more questions about the counselor. It was just, this time, first check in, she didn't feel it was right to do so.

 

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