PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATION - D'ARTEMIS
 

::Genevieve is standing at the door, smiling::

[D'Artemis] ~~ Why Doctor... :: smile :: no need to be so hard on yourself. I'm sure it's not that bad. ~~ * That was obviously a  memory...Dr. refers to Solart. *
 
:: Lt. Talt looks up, a momentary look of distraction clouding her gray eyes.  With a quick shake of her head, she focuses on the woman before her.  A smile warms her face. ::

[Talt] "Lieutenant, just the woman I was hoping to see.  I had a few questions for you about the legal/medical ramifications of our missions.  But first . . . "

:: Lt. Talt turns away before D'Artemis can respond and starts rooting around on her desk.  A quick survey of her office paints quite a picture.  There are a number of various sized packing crates stacked up in the corner of the office.  Some of them are half-open and spilling out a wide variety of items.  DataPADDs, antiques, holo-cubes, and a number of brightly colored fabric somethings drape over the crates. ::

:: Lt. Talt's desk is likewise cluttered and jumbled with things teetering dangerously near the desk edge.  D'Artemis can spot a Klingon D'K'Tahg, a small metal flute, a stuffed doll, a minature of an Excalibur class starship, two silver enamel plates, a copper and silver necklace with a tear-shaped pendant, a small fern in a clay pot, three small books and a statue of a wooden horse.  There are a number of other items too obscured by the general clutter to make out. ::

[Talt] "Where are they?  Where are they?"

:: Lieutenant Talt mutters to herself as she searches through the clutter.  Her actions disturb the jumble and several items drop off her desk onto the grey carpeted floor.  Mirifice glances briefly at the fallen junk, shrugs, and continues with her search.  After a few seconds, she finds what she is looking for and turns back to Lt. D'Artemis.  Proudly displayed in her hands is a medium sized blue plate holding 6 large cookies. ::

[Talt] "Would you like a cookie, Lt.?  I replicated them from my own recipe."

:: Lt. Talt beams at D'Artemis. ::

:: LT D'Artemis' thoughts stop wandering as soon as Talt begins speaking. She at first glances at the chair and considers sitting, but decides to stand where she is. Thoughts of wanting to help Talt find the object of her quest occupy her mind. ::

[D'Artemis] "No thanks." ~~ I've no milk, and what kind of impression would spitting cookie crumbs as I talk make. ~~ "But perhaps after the interview." ~~ Ouch, that hurt. They look so good. ~~

:: Talt shrugs, smiling and replace the plate on the desk, this time displacing nothing.  Then she leans against the desk edge with one hip and crosses her arms very casually.  She looks to D'Artemis with happy eyes. ::

[Talt] "Do you have any experience with Medical law, Lt - or am I just wasting your time?"  :: Talt will smile ruefully. ::

[D'Artemis] "No actual field experience, no. Only what was covered in Judge Advoacte General training."

:: Talt look downs at the floor, slightly disappointed but not sad or broken-hearted.  Then, she looks back up. ::

[Talt] "Oh, well.  I suppose I can wrestle this one out myself.  It's just that . . . "

:: Talt stands up and gestures with her hands as she speaks. ::

[Talt]  "This is my first shipboard mission.  I'm afraid that I've been a bit of a sheltered clinician up till now.  My patients have always had consent forms or referrals from their superior officers.  Now . . ."

:: Talt shrugs. ::

[Talt] "Now, I'm being asked to work on people like Ensign Sito - who will probably never even know that a psychiatrist had . . . done work on her.  It's kind of unnerving and I feel a little uneasy about the situation."

:: Talt's smile wavers a little and she looks down at the floor again and sighs. ::

[Talt] “I suppose that you are probably familiar with this kind of dilemma too."

:: Genevieve has studied while Talt spoke. Studied her actions, listened intently to her words and watching her gestures. ::

*  The slightest bit of...sympathy?...for the good Doctor. *

[D'Artemis] "It sounds to me like you don't legal advice, but rather ethical advice. I have a duty to take an official stand in such a matter: that being, your orders are clear, the Captain is working well within her jurisdiction, and you are performing your duties. You have nothing in the legal realm to worry about."

~~ Amazing how easy it was to have her get me on a roll. ~~

[D'Artemis] "However... :: she studies Talt's face for two blinks :: ...you are worried whether you're breaking some sort of personal, unwritten code. Duty aside, I think the situation stinks for you, but it will be best in the long run for all of us."

[Talt] "You're right, of course, Lt.  I just keep hoping..."

[D'Artemis] "Please, call me Geni?"
 
 ~~ If we're going to be bearing our souls, we could at least do it on a first-name basis. ~~

:: Talt looks up into D'Artemis' eyes with her own eyes sparkling brightly. ::

[Talt] "Why, thank you, Geni.  I will.  As I was saying, I just keep hoping to find an easier answer to this question.  I'm afraid that I'm just not as . . .  used to the hard desicions of the field as some of the more experienced officers."

[D'Artemis] "I think I have a feel for what you are experiencing. Have you read my file?"
* She has switched to 'help mode'... compassion mixed with a... bravado of sorts. The 'nothing can stop me now' attitude. *

:: Talt looks a little embarrassed. ::

[Talt] "I glanced at it.  I'm afraid that I find official Starfleet documents to sometimes be a little . . . misleading. "

[D'Artemis] :: interrupting :: "Sterile?"

:: Talt giggles and smiles a little impishly at D'Artemis. ::

[D'Artemis] "They have a way of leaving the personal aspect out, don't they?" ~~What am I doing, analyzing the analyst?~~

:: Talt laughs out loud. And nods vigorously. ::

[Talt] "Oh, they certainly DO.  I would much rather talk to a person than read some dusty old file, that has actually very little connection.  But what about your file were you thinking of?"

:: Talt leans back against her desk. ::

[D'Artemis] "It was aborad the Boundless. I was unsure of myself. I was fresh out of the Academy on my first assignment after my Cadet Cruise. I suppose I was wondering 'If do or die time ever came, would I have the... ~~ balls? no.. .~~ guts to do the right thing?" Then, it happened..."

~~  Is she still interested? ~~

:: Talt waits for a few moments, and then shakes her head a little with a concerned look. ::

[Talt] "Then what happened, Geni?  Or if you'd rather not talk about it right now - that's OK too."

* pride. nothing but pride in that head of hers. *

[D'Artemis] "I'm fine. I think it might help. Where was I? Oh yeah...the Boundless was assignedto Exploration. We had come across a race know as the Ma'en Shen. They're very ritualistic. I noticed because I have this habit of studying rather than just l looking sometimes. I don't know if you noticed...?"

:: Talt stands again. ::

[Talt] "I noticed that you were very observant.  I noticed that you were drawing conclusions.  Is that what you mean?"

:: Genevieve blushes slightly. ::  ~~ Conclusions? Yeah, I guess so. ~~

[D'Artemis] "Yeah, I guess so. Anyhow, Vice Admiral Paulson was apparently not as observant  ~~ what was he thinking ~~ because he accidentally made the 'peace' gesture, then immediately negated it with another gesture. He basically declared war on them
."

~~ D'Artemis vivdly remembers the event. The two aliens grab the Admiral and her Captain and pull an odd disruptor. ~~

[D'Artemis] "I was at Comm, transmitting the treaty meeting to Starfleet Command. The Shen's pulled weapons as they grabbed the Admiral and Captain MacDonald."

:: She pauses another moment. ::

:: Talt smiles easily. ::

* D'Artemis tries to find a name for what she felt. Duty perhaps who knows.*

[D'Artemis] "If you would have asked me ahead of time what my reaction would have been, I probably would have replied 'I'd hide under the Comm port'..."

:: She chuckles confidently. :: ~~ Man, I was pretty hopeless. ~~

:: Talt waits patiently with an interested look in her eyes. ::

 [D'Artemis] "But I didn't. I stood up. Didn't even bother turning off the Comm port. I just...started talking. There were security officers shouting and aiming phasers, and I was just talking and gesturing. The Shen started to ignore the Security and focused on me...” :: she smiles triumphantly ::  “An hour later, they released Capt. MacDonald. It took another hour and a half to free the Admiral, and another nine hours to finish the treaty."

[D'Artemis] "They gave me a Legion of Merit for that. Promoted to Lieutenant, Junior Grade. And all because I listened to my... self. That little voice that told me to get up and help them."

:: Talt's eyes sparkle and there is a look of admiration on her face.  She places a hand over her chest. ::

[Talt] "My, Geni.  That's quite a story."

:: Talt gives a little laugh. ::

[Talt] "I certainly hope that I can do as well.  In alot of ways, THIS is my cadet cruise.  Even though you'd think I'd be over the . . .  nervousness by now.  Oh, well."

:: She laughs at herself gently. ::

[D’Artemis] :: She pauses a moment to consider. ::

[D'Artemis] "I don't think it ever really goes away. Tell me... are you confident in your abilities?"

:: Talt thinks about it seriously, pauses a while and then responds. ::

[Talt] "Geni, I'm a heck of a psychiatrist.  I can help people rebuild their lives, their minds...their wholeness.  I'm not a bad physician either.  I think that I'm a decent Starfleet officer.  I've just never . . . "seen action" before.  So like you before this incident, I don't know how I'll react."

[D'Artemis] "There's one thing I realized from that experience... I have complete faith in myself. There is nothing I cannot do. You said it yourself... 'You're a heck of a psychiatrist, and physician.' Always keep that in the back of your mind, because it's true. You'll know what to do when the time comes. I'm sure of it. You should be, too."

:: Talt will meet D'Artemis' eyes again with a look of gratitude. ::

[Talt] "Thank you, Geni, I will.  I really do appreciate your advice.  You can tell yourself things, you know, but it always helps to hear from people who truly know.  Does that make sense?"

[D'Artemis] "Yeah. But I always remember this old saying: Talk is cheap. It doesn't matter what anyone tells you, or what you tell yourself to disguise what you really feel. What matters are the things you *know*, deep in your heart or wherever things like that are kept, to be true. So, every once in a while, just ask yourself "Do I believe what I just thought?" when you look in the mirror. When you can honestly answer, 'Absolutely.' you'll find you've spent all your time worrying about the wrong things

:: D'Artemis meets Talt's eyes and smiles. ::
 
:: Talt smiles back. ::

:: Talt seems to be searching around for a thought. ::

[Talt] "Ah, I DO wish that I had your confidence, Geni.  Which brings me to another thought.  Since you really do give good advice . . . I have been experiencing some . . . tenseness from some of the crew because of my position.  Ships' Counselors are -
 guess - kind of a . . . bogum for some people.  Do you ever experience anything similar, being from JAG?"

 [D'Artemis] "Was it Shakespeare who said 'Let's kill all the lawyers.'?" :: she smiles :: "It seems the saying still holds true today. They see us as a devious bunch trying to rationalive everything so we can get our way." ::She shrugs:: "I have a duty to do. I was gifted with the art of argument, communication and charisma. It seemed a natural to me. You seem to have been blessed with the art of compassion and setting people at ease, hence your line of work. People often need to realize the importance of having someone to talk to. Though they may not realize it, knowing the importance of what you do *has* to be the fuel that fires your desire to work day after day."

~~ I am such a lawyer. I have to learn to shut up once in a while. ~~

:: Talt will blush and smile at "compassion and setting people at ease".  Then she will get serious again. ::

[Talt] "Oh, I know my work is important.  It's just convincing other people of that . . . I guess my work is seen as kind of ... intrusive.  At that's what some people seem to fear.  And I guess it CAN be intrusive but only in extreme cases.  Certainly nothing likely to come up here."

[D'Artemis] "Changing people's preconceptions is one of the most difficult tasks we can undertake. I think the first step for you would be to get to know us all outside the office. Talking to a friend who happens to be Ship's Counselor is much easier to stomach."

[D’Artemis]  ~~ Easier to stomach? What the heck was that supposed to mean? ~~

[Talt] "You're absolutely right, Geni.  I've been doing some of that and honestly I hope to do more."

:: Talt gets a mischevious glint in her eye. ::

:: Genevieve raises an eyebrow. :: ~~ Really? I wonder who it is? ~~ * naughty thoughts, naughty thoughts *

[Talt] "This party that the Captain has decided I'll throw for example.  There'll be plenty of opportunity tonight to make friends.  But to get a little personal . . . What are you going to wear?  I just can't make up my mind!"

:: Talt starts laughing. ::

* She pictures a snug, royal blue dress...spaghetti straps, scoop neck...she absolutely loves how she looks in it. *

[D'Artemis] "I have this satiny blue dress. It's very..." :: she waggles her eyebrows. ::

:: Talt absolutely cracks up. ::

[Talt] "I just can't decide.  It's after 5 so formals are Ok.  But there's only the three of us and I hope there's no dancing!"

:: Talt keeps giggling.  She's very much enjoying herself now.::

:: Geni starts giggling as well. ::

[D'Artemis] "You want me to stop by your quarters...say 1730 hours? We can pick something out? Maybe teach you a dance step or two?" :: Geni's grin widens. ::

:: Talt covers her smile with one hand briefly and then leans forward and gushes. ::

[Talt] "Oh, Geni, that'd be wonderful.  I can't dance a step.  If you could please come to my quarters and teach me, I'd really appreciate it."

:: Talt's eyes get comically round and she blushes furiously. ::

[Talt] "Oh, MY.  That sounded like a pick-up, which was not what I meant at all."

:: Talt laughs gently at herself. ::

[Talt] "Pardon me, Geni.  I guess even counselor's are subject to Freudian slips."

:: D'Artemis winks. ::
 
[D'Artemis] "Not a problem. So, it's decided. And maybe there, you can tell me about *him*."

:: Talt leans back with a look of mock innocence. ::

[Talt] "Why, Geni.  Whatever do you mean." :: She is still smiling beneath the look and her eyes sparkle. ::

[D'Artemis] "Uh-huh...save it for the Consel...oh, yeah, right. So...enough about you, let's talk about me." :: Her smile widens. ::

:: Talt smiles back. ::

[Talt] "Certainly, Geni.  What would you like to say?"

[D'Artemis] "Give me one of those cookies."

:: Talt is laughing out loud as she turns back around to the desk top.  She lifts the plate off the desks and extends it to D'Artemis. She chuckles as D'Artemis takes a cookie.::

* The cookies are toll house with Risan white chocolate and Macademian nuts.*

[D'Artemis] "I *love* white chocolate...  ~~ and the punch-line ~~  ...you must have read my mind." :: She tries to stifle the laughter, but chortles instead. She covers her mouth and starts giggling.

:: Talt waggles her eyebrows.::

[Talt] "I've been accused of that before."

:: She starts laughing as well. ::

:: When D'Artemis calms down... ::

[D'Artemis] "Hmmm...I guess that's it for me. Nothing to talk about, really.” :: shrug :: “I dunno."

:: Talt smiles mischeviously. ::

[Talt] "Well, then, I guess we're done.  When a lawyer has nothing to talk about, I think that's as conclusive as a fat lady singing.  Don't you?"

:: Talt winks. ::

:: Geni purses her lips, then frowns... :: "Are you calling me fat?" :: She keeps up the charade for 2.3 seconds before cracking up again. ::

:: Talt joins in, laughing loudly. ::

[Talt] :: having trouble catching her breath. :: "Oh . . my, Geni. . . Thank you.  It's been just wonderful . . . meeting you." :: She has to stifle giggles again. :: "I really look forward to 1730.  Please take any more of the cookies you want, but watch  out for getting f . . ."

:: She won't be able to finish the thought as the giggles catch up with her again. ::  "Oh, and please, I'm Mirifice."

 :: Geni gets better at the charade... 6.72 seconds. When the giggles subside... ::

[D'Artemis] "So, how are you on hugs?"

:: Mirifice looks a little startled and then smiles widely. She steps forward with arms wide. ::

[Talt] "I get so accused of being "touchy, feely" that sometimes I forget."

:: Geni hugs Mirifice. ::

[D'Artemis] "That's OK, Mirifice...I don't mind."

:: She realeases Talt. ::

[D'Artemis] "See ya... later, alligator."

:: Talt rolls her eyes and stifles another bout of giggles. ::

[Talt] "After a while . . . crocodile.  Did I get that right?"

[D'Artemis] "I think so." ::She grabs a cookie and takes a quick bite:: "Not a word..." ::she says as she turns and leaves.

:: The door closes on the not-so-surpressed sound of laughter. ::