---to hangar deck
This message was last edited by the player at 01:13, Fri 29 July 2022.

After Fours hours  Justin strolled across the Hangar deck as he headed from the fighter bays towards the Medical area. Greeting the Guardians and MedTechson tbat are duty. Stopping at the Medtech Desk he asked if Doc Verault was available?

She was.

Having finished the shift and secured her office, Alison made her way out toward the reception area.

Keeping spare clothes in her office, just in case (no pun intended ;)), Alison had changed from her staff uniform to a silk teal blouse and a black, midi-length skirt.   Her hair was gathered into a side-swept ponytail.   She smiled.

"Mr. Kase, great to see you again. So, shall we go do this?"   
This message was last edited by the player at 01:33, Fri 29 July 2022.

Sure thing! Justin replied; he'd learnt not to offer any woman on the 351 his arm. Slipping beside the Doc they headed towards the elevator down one level to the Recreational level.

---- to the Rec deck

For her part, Alison could think of any number of good reasons he might not do so, and it wasn't anything like a faux pas in her eyes.   And with no more ado, she left and accompanied him to the Rec area.

---- to the Rec deck

---------->>>>  From the Tunnels

Entering her office, Alison removed the field training suit, placing its pieces aside, leaving her in the under tunic and her lingerie.   Fortunately, she kept a spare uniform here, so there had been no need to stop at her quarters first.    She donned it, mind already turning to the work she needed to do.

Which mostly consisted of polishing up and entering notes, as well as profile and case reviews.   It was the less interesting part of her job;  what she really liked were the sessions themselves, and interacting with people.

But she worked diligently, and it was all routine.   And soon began making a dent in her backlog.

Her thoughts kept straying to Bura, however.   Where she had never set foot before.   Taking a break, she turned on the office's holo-screen, and called up some images, remembering as well what Samantha had told her about it.

Alison had made studies of both Angel and Demon culture, as part of her efforts to understand the psychology of both races.   And Bura was interesting, in that regard;   once Demon occupied, before Angels came to reside there, and with the aid of the Hermes, wrested it out of the Demon's control.

As an environment, it had virtually everything she might've asked for, to pique her interest, both professionally and personally.

She smiled, gazing at a final few images, before turning her attention back to work, and giving a last push to get it all done.

Alison looked away from her work, upon hearing the chime that signaled an incoming message:



She smiled, and sent back "Sure thing;  I'm in my office, just finishing up.   Do you want to stop by here, or should we meet somewhere else?"   

On my way... Justin replied. We can head to either the Observation Deck, Officers Club or Rec Deck. Unless you had somethingelse in mind... he added.

"The view from the Obs deck is always romantic," she smiled.  "I love the stars.  So why don't we head over there?"   

--- from Officers Quarters

After cleaning up and changing Justin headed to the Hangar Deck to escort the Doc to the Observation Deck. Strolling into her office he gave her a smile.
 Hi Doc you expecting an escort. he asked

She arose from her desk, and walked over to kiss his cheek.

"In fact, yes I was.  Right on time!   Shall we?"  With a touch of her Com, she re-encrypted and locked the files she'd been working on, which were private, like any medical records.

------>>>   Flex-Thread
This message was last edited by the player at 04:31, Fri 02 Sept 2022.

------->>>  Rec Dec #11

Setting up for the coming sessions, and still mulling on the things Justin had broached, Alison found her thoughts drifting to the tailed and whiskered enigma she'd encountered during her last hours in the Burian wilds.

Although she had a lot to do, she couldn't resist, and instructed her vidboard:  "Display known specifics for Burian feline, local name nyrie-veth, on the second monitor."

The system complied, and text appeared, along with an image of the silver furred, mini-lion like cat.   Alison began to read...it was, of course, its psychic ability in which she was foremost interested...

Some time later, Alison had concluded her reading, as well as finished her prep work, relating to her next scheduled patient.   One of her monitors displayed the basic file information for that patient:

:: Marcus Alan Barrett
Age 26 : DoB 02/17/2086 : Gender M
Enlisted 09/12/2109 : ESN Flight officer : Rank = Ensign : Status = Temporary limited duty
Awards: Earth Purple Heart, Earth Bronze Star, ESN Bronze, Silver and Gold Stars

Diagnosis: PTSD (Complex) | Date of diagnosis: 10/28/2111 | Primary symptoms: feelings of alienation, feelings of emptiness, challenges controlling emotions (spontaneous anger/resentment), distrust of superior officers, nightmares

Prior treating doctor: Charles Holden | Primary therapies: CBT, EMDR, education/advice | Meds: previously SSRI (milnacipran, cyloprax), currently SNRI (venlafaxine)

Overall Progress: Minimal | Prognosis: Poor; trend = progression of condition, strengthening of symptoms

Following which were session specifics, that Alison had of course reviewed well in advance.  The chime sounded that heralded Mr. Barrett's arrival to the lobby, and she in turn tapped the button that signaled the receptionist to send him in.

Marcus Barrett didn't look especially depressed; in fact, one almost might have thought he'd just heard a good joke.

"Hello, Dr. Verault.  I hope your day's going well. Hm. You're not what I expected in the new shrink, I admit."

She turned from the screen to give him her full attention. "Hello, Mr. Barrett. My day's going well, thank you for asking.  Please, have a seat, won't you?"  Once he had:

"So. I'll bite.  What did you expect in the new shrink?" 

"Heh," he smiled.  "You ever see an old, black & white Earth flick, called The Three Faces of Eve?"

She shook her head. "No. Sorry. Not that one."   

"Ah. Well, someone like the guy who played the doctor in that movie, maybe."    He shrugged."I mean.. are you old enough to have the long experience to take on a shitty case like mine?" 

"How about if we place success above years, Mr. Barret?  I've got the track record of improving and cracking cases like yours, that makes me qualified to try and help you." 

Message from Tarja Vanska: Hello Dr. Verault my name is Corporal Tarja Vanska and we met in the tunnels the other day, I realise that you are probably busy but could we have a little chat in private sometime please?

(responded to shortly after the above session concludes)

Of course, Corporal Vanska.  I do remember you.  Certainly, my office offers privacy that I can guarantee.   Would you like to make a formal appointment, or just stop by sometime when my shift is over?   

After having concluded the session with that last patient, and responded to Corporal Vanska and several other communications, she took some moments to check her appearance, and then headed out to the OC...

------->>>  To the OC

------>>>  From the OC

Note:  I'm out the next two days for the holiday, but will be around on monday, quite a bit, for any continued posting.

Other note:  I know I've agreed to see both Tarja and Lizzie;  I think with Tarja, it was more 'come by in the evening, after I'm done for the day' and with Lizzie, 'let's get together after lunch.'    So I believe Lizzie should go first, chronologically, though I agreed to see Tarja first.

However, I'm happy to proceed with whoever shows first, and will get to the other right after that.   

Having returned from the OC, Alison went to her vidboard and responded to a few messages, prior to the arrival of one of the two she'd recently arranged to speak with...

---->>>>> From Rec Dec

 Lizzy walked up to Alison's Office and she hit the com for the door to open. " Hello Doc it is Ens O'Conner may I come in."

"Yes, of course," responded Alison, "Please come in."

Once Lizzie had done so, there was a choice of either a comfortable chair or sofa for her to sit in, and Alison invited her to take her pick.   The office was plainly intended and designed to be more comfortable rather than clinical.

There were plants, pictures, a small holo-image or two of the recent trip to Bura.

"So, we meet at last," she smiled.  "And let me congratulate you on your engagement.  I'm sorry I didn't get to hang out with you and the group on Bura.  But I had a long list of 'must do, must see' and shore leave was too damn short." 

"Can I get you anything to drink?  Water, juice, ice tea?"   
This message was last edited by the player at 17:37, Mon 26 Dec 2022.

 Lizzy walked in and took a seat in the chair," Yes Doctor it is nice to meet you finally, oh thank you very much, Izzy actually proposed again on Bura and gave me this." Lizzy held out her hand with the beautiful ring Izzy got her diamonds and emeralds the same color as her eyes.

 "Oh I am fine hopefully this will be simple and wont be too long, I have been having horrible nightmares about my father. He had my mother's ship attacked I was the only survivor of the Neutron, he then tried to take me off the Hermes, he as a member of the EDT and did many loyalty feasts. He used plasma against a carrier station, he was an evil monster. I watched as they executed him by having plasma eat him alive it was pretty brutal, but he deserved it, I guess the hardest part was listening to him scream and beg me to help him, I just stood there and watched as the plasma ate him until he finally died. I have been having nightmares of him begging for his life and in one I tried to save the monster. Ok so how fucked up am I doc?"

Alison firstly admired the ring. "Oh wow, that is beautiful! And such a match for your eyes.  It's good to accessorize," she smiled.

And then listened to Lizzie speak of her father, what he was like, the events of his death.

Alison was good at keeping her councilor's face on, during sessions, or conversations that were somewhat session like, such as was this one.   Still, she hadn't expected to have this in common with Ensign O'Connor.  A father with the EDT...

But where Alison's dad had recanted, and come to the ESN, Lizze's was hardcore EDT to the (very gruesome) end of his life.   She'd been born after her own father defected, and hadn't known him as an EDT member.

By Lizzie's ending question, she had one of her own:

"Well, how fucked up aren't you, Lizzie?   I'd rather start there.   That you went through all of that, and it didn't break you, how about that?   That says something about your character and strength, doesn't it?"   

"And, the nightmares are of course normal, for anything so extreme.  May I ask, how frequent are they?   How often do they disrupt your sleep?" 
This message was last edited by the player at 00:02, Tue 27 Dec 2022.

 Lizzy actually took a sigh of relief and responded," Ok so my reactions are normal, I get my strength of will from my mom, I never knew her she died on the Neutron shortly after I was born and taken off the ship. The Neutron was damaged and from reports my mom was seriously injured, she took a demon sh with her." Lizzy takes out the picture of her mother and shows Alison her mom. Her mom looked exactly like her they could be identical twins and her mom looked around Lizzy's age in the picture.

" Yes it does, I did have help. Izzy helped a lot being there for me, Nikki, Harry before she went mental and self-destructive. I do have another major flaw which I have dealt with, I get umm how to say this correctly get very emotional at times, but lately I have been using my emotions channeling them while I am in combat in my fighter, I call it controlled chaos."

" At first, they were every few nights but recently 1 or 2 a week, but the main reason I came to see you is I guess I had a flashback memory while I was in the Sim. I have been out in combat before and had no episodes I just want to make sure that never happens again, I know saying this you might ground me but if I need that to make sure I am ok with that as long as you think we can fix this." Lizzy was nervous she might ground her but if it was to protect her and help her prevent those from happening, she would accept it, not happy but accept it.

She glanced at the picture of Lizzie's mother, noting the uncanny resemblance.  "She sounds as though she was a remarkable woman. If she knew you were being taken to safety, it must have brought her solace in her final moments."   

Then:  "I should tell you, I don't have the final word on grounding anyone. Though I am in a position to make recommendations.  And you have my word, I don't recommend it unless it appears there's a very real safety risk." 

"So, the frequency of nightmares has decreased with time.  That's a good sign.  But you got triggered in the Sim.   By what, specifically, if I may ask?  What was being simulated when it happened?"

 Lizzy smiled somberly; she thought her mom was amazing as well. Lizzy then replied," Yes, she was, I am not sure if you heard this when it was on the air, but I have the original. I will play it for you." Lizzy opened her coms and then played both messages.

 Beth sat down, she rubs an eyes again, taking a sip of her coffee, she begins to read.... Elizibeth...'Beth' O'connor...  her eyes look up at the others in SEC.....this was sealed.. the seal to be broken, the search on 'blood kin'..... this is the first anyone will hear it.... he says this as she motions to Lizzy   Chip.

 ...  this is dated ..some..25..going on 26 years  ago....Listen....

 an old COM crackles  on the Puter's   speakers...when this is activated.. i assume  my daughter will  have  found a way to crack the  encoding.... To whomever  is listening.. please  get the information to  whom it needs to   get to... 3 months ago... I was awarded  command of the  ESN 1B  Neutron .. a destroyer  meant to  Hunt  Aliens   past the Kiper Belt..Lt   Nil Si, was to have  had  Command.. . My Husband, JAck…'wombat'..MAris dug up detail   about   The Angel LT and had her  removed  from command.. giving me.. the  2nd  in line for command.. the ship... Nil and I were both upset...she is one of my dearest friends, despite her being an Angel...There was something wrong... I could tell... LT HAck, who was rumored to be   romantically envolved with the Angel.. He protested  the Removal... But I hear JAck talking to Ge-Fi..he said  its better to  keep  Nil on earth...I assumed he just wanted his daughter close?   Nil   was supportive..  though it hurt her  to be denied  a command , because of her   tryst with   LT HAck.

 ... 3  months  later..i understood  ....It was   a set up.. the Neutron was  supposed to follow a prescribed path, layed out to catch  any alien  vessels that might try to  sneak into the  Sol System.. we  suffered  a minor   hit to the engines  from a  stray   asteroid.. I  broke our    path  to cut through the Outside fringe of the  Kieper belt.. it also   helped shield  us   ..what we thought are Demon scanners... that's when we  found them.. 4  Demonic  cap ships hiding in the Kiper belt...monster ships... we were on them before either side  knew  … we  fired into the   stern of  the first two... damaging the   Engines.. causing   a lot of damage  to the  2nd  one.. the   4th one    shot off towards  Jupiter .. the  third  one  came about   and send  broadsides  at  us  as  we tried to  escape the belt.. we  took a lucky hit to the Bridge.. I lost 4  crew members  and was   wounded.. pretty bad..it would seem..  The  ship that  hit us   came out of the Belt to chase us... we saw the two  damaged  ships leaving.. thier  heading should  put them in the Delta Quad..one was different...Lizard ship? I don't know never  saw one before... Who knows where the   one that escape went...

 in the Back  round ..Commander?.. I'm sorry..its now or never...

 ..Ok Needles..  get started.. I'm almost done....

 ..Had  we  not   lost our  full engines.. I believe  we  would  have  never   found the  Demons...never  crippled  2 of them... and we  would have never died.... I am close to ..giving birth... My Med Tech.. has  rigged  a incubator.. we are sending  my daughter  in   one of our fighters,  to  earth.. the Pilot  CAptain  Norman Mara..has a  daughter in Sandiego…hoping  for another pilot... I am hoping he gets my daughter to earth, and he gets  to see his daughter  fly for the ESN.. he is ordered  to fly dark.. no  COMs  until he reaches  moon Base... I...I won't survive  the  procedure .. I may last long  enough to  punch the demon in   the nose, before we  are gone...  MAra is  not to say anything , Until he can  find LT Hack... or Captain Hennings..he has a disc..it will show  what  we  found.. and   what my proud little ship did....The Demons?.. They don't know what  they're  facing....but they'll learn..

 one last thing... My .. it sounds like she spit the word,..'husband'.. he knew? He knew they were out there.. but the board    wanted scouts... the change in command happened  after Jack met   with Ge-Fi..Jack  got  a promotion.. supposed to  be teaching  fighter Jocks in SD...at first, I was  proud  of him...but now it makes  sense... he traded us..me..my daughter, for  a  promotion, and a chance  at Nil...Nil..only has eyes  for this LT HAck…don't know why.. he's  rough around the  edges.. he gets in more fights  on the ground then he does in the air.. But someone has  an eye on him...Beware.. a..and I hope..some day.. this log is opened..and Maybe..Ge-Fi  and   JAck are made to pay....Lets go Needles.. MAra's gotta  take  off  if they are gonna make it...

it clicked off....but one message was still blinking... Beth clicked it.

 (( sounds of battle)).....This  is  Med Tech 2  Carrie   Simmons.. i'm..not  needed any longer... Captain Mara  left with the Commander's  daughter... they should be ok.. if they don't get shot  down....... The Commander   is pumped to the gills with   pain killers... she's on the bridge... won't be long  now.. I handed out pain killers and stim gum... we'll all be fighting  until this tin can's  rivets pop..... I ..I have a  daughter..Stefi.... she's   about..2  years old.. I hope she  becomes a Med tech..though? she seems more like a Marine!..(( soft giggle))...

I am on the hanger Deck.. our other  two pilots  took off to  Cover Mara... one of them  RAmmed  the CAp ship in the thrusters.. crippling it .. the other one..turned to debris  by the CAp ship's   fighters.. Ugly looking   things...Its a fair  fight now.. as long  as we  don't trade  Broadsides...they are slower then  us   I think the Commander wants to cross the T?.. I dunno..

 the PA  goes off in the BAck  round...

 Attention... this is  the Commander....  Power cells    are  breached... we have 8 minutes  before the ship  is gone.... we're  taking these bastards  with us...…I am proud  to have served with you all... I don't know who will know...but the ESN 1B Neuron  gave the Demons the   first punch in the  face...... All Gunners... fire   Until the ship goes...everyone else..   just...gather  around each other....

 The   Ships  computer  began  the   Count  down...... collison in  10.......9......8.....7..


 sounds  of the   ship being  hammered  screams of pain and surprise...

 6....5.....4...3.....2.....

 the sound of 'half' of an explosion as the feed died  with the ship...

 Beth sat back..it was  quiet....


 Lizzy took a moment she was crying she got a hold of herself and then added," Yes she was a remarkable heroine. They made a action figure for her and the Neutron I have them. I thought you should hear that Doc."

 Lizzy then replied as she finished wiping her eyes." Ok great I just wanted to say if it could endanger others or myself, I am willing but let's see if we can help me deal with it then, thank you Dr.

" That is good then, I did have an episode in the Sim, I was going for an attack shot and I had a flash back and almost crashed my fighter, but I took a killing shot. So if that happened in combat who knows what happens. That was almost a month ago, but I had the worst nightmare I ever had about a week ago, havent had one since but that is the one I rescued him and joined the EDT that rocked me Dr."

Alison listened throughout the recording, surprised, but remaining silent until it had completed in full, rising from her chair to hand Lizzie a tissue, before sitting again.

"No, I hadn't heard that previously. Not easy to listen to, but I think, if I were you, I'd rather know what happened than not.  And you're right, she was plainly a heroine."   

"As for the nightmare, this kind of thing too is not so uncommon. When someone has, or had, a parent who wasn't a good person, to have fantasies or dreams of either bringing them to the light, or the opposite, joining them in their darkness."   

"The inner child, if you've heard that term, usually has a desire to be with the parent, even when consciously it's nothing you'd ever want.   It's purely subconscious, and nothing to feel guilty over.   He's still your father, whatever he did;  watching his execution, listening to him cry out for your help, must have been terrible. If on some level, you still have a wish to help him, it only means you have a healthy amount of compassion."   

"As to the episode in the Sim, I'd strongly advise doing more sessions in the Sim. Before you fly again. Specifically to see if the trigger comes up again.  If it does, then yes, there are ways to work through that, and I will help you do so."