Clearing the Counselor
Posted on Sat Jan 10th, 2026 @ 2:42am by Lieutenant JG Jezra Siv MD & Lieutenant JG Leilani
Edited on on Mon Jan 12th, 2026 @ 1:31am
1,241 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
Peril at the Unification Accords
Location: Counselor's Office
Timeline: MD9, morning
A sign escaped the betazoid's lips as she waited in her office. This whole mess with Josef was one she was going to be glad to see the back off. Providing this didn't cost her career. When they'd gotten back to the ship, Xalanth was hugging her tightly almost instantly as they stepped onto the ship, and though he didn't show it, he clearly wanted to hit the man out of time.
Now she needed her boss to clear that she was still fit for duty. Something she was not looking forward to.
Leilani's arrest report was not what Jezra wanted to read when they had started their shift. The CMO was already stressed by T'Varel's death and Alex, and that stress stuck with them as they entered the counseling offices with what was probably a third cup of coffee. Jezra had been working since about 3am, partly to support the investigation and partly because she just couldn't sleep. How could she?
Ugh. What a mess.
Stopping at the door to the office, Jezra pressed the chime. While waiting, they rolled their shoulders to try and release some of the stress.
Leilani heard the chime and stood up. Making sure her uniform was in order, she answered with a quick " It's open."
The door slid open and Jezra walked in, taking a good look at Leilani. She was nervous. "Counselor," they began, pausing to take a sip of coffee. They kept their tone even as they continued, "I hear we have something to discuss."
" Yes, we do doctor, don't we. Would you like something to drink." she asked as she gestured for her to take a seat.
Jezra tilted their mug a little to show that it was about half full. "I'm alright, thank you." Settling into one of the chairs, the Trill crossed one leg over the other. The mug rested on the knee, with both hands wrapped around it to stabilise.
Taking a seat in her own chair, Lelani let out a frustrated sigh before opening, " Well, lieutenant, I've really put my foot in it with this one, haven't i?"
"Being detained isn't exactly standard practice in our field," Jezra replied, trying to diffuse the tension a little. They were disappointed, but at least Leilani could provide her side of the story. "Walk me through what happened."
" I decided to take Josef to let him see the event and let him see some of the aliens of the universe. I got changed, took him over, and we met Ensign Tenzi Sh'reyva. She got talking to Josef, and everything seemed to be going okay when..." sge bagn paushing slightly
" Then, when the panic happens, ee found a woman who had collapsed and me and the ensign began the standard first aid. he pulls a gun from his jacket. How it got i past are own security and the stations i have no idea. Then the stations security arrived and placed us in custody."
Jezra nodded slowly. They didn't have an answer as to why security didn't flag it, that was a question for Xalanth, but the security measures weren't the issue here. "Were you aware that Josef was carrying a firearm before that moment?"
" No, he gave no indication he was armed. " She replied honestly.
Another nod. Jezra was confident enough in their work relationships to trust when one of their own was telling the truth. "What was your risk assessment of Josef before you two left the ship?"
" Low." The beatzoid replied, pulling out a pad and handing it over. " In the field, he is in a stage we call wonderland. Still making sense of the world he has found himself in. "
Jezra read the results on the offered PADD while taking a slow sip of their coffee. They were perfectly content with letting the silence speak for itself. "A man from the 20th century entering a modern public venue isn't something I would classify as low risk, even if he is in that curious stage. That said, you've spent more time around him than I have, so your assessment should reflect that." Looking up from the PADD, Jezra then asked, "how did he even get access to his weapon?"
" That i can't answer. His weapon was stored with his belongings in one of the cargo bays in a security case. He shouldn't have been able to access it without security codes." Leilani answered reaching for another pad with all the relevant information. " Commander Xalanth is looking into it."
After what was undoubtedly an excruciating moment of silence, Jezra looked up from the second PADD. While Josef breaching a security case was concerning, that wasn't Jezra's primary focus. "I trust that the commander will resolve the security matter." Jezra set the PADDs aside, "I hope you understand how this looks, Leilani. At minimum, it's an oversight. We miscalculate sometimes. It happens." Jezra paused just long enough to take a sip of coffee while letting her words sink in. "A more concerning possibility is that your professional judgement was clouded by curiosity over how he would navigate this wonderland stage. With the benefit of hindsight... what would you have done differently?"
" I would start by introducing him to a simulated gathering on the holodeck, followed by, if he shows good progress, smaller gatherings on the ship. " Leilani replied before adding. " And have him manually searched for weapons. if he broke in to recover his weapon, he most likely would search for something else he could use as a weapon," she added.
Jezra listened and slowly nodded. "That is a sound corrective approach." It was probably the closest thing to response satisfaction that anyone was going to get. "This will go on record as a lapse in judgement requiring remediation. You'll review risk protocols, and until security completes their investigation there will be tighter oversight on Josef's case. We'll follow up once you have finished reviewing protocol." There was an exhausted edge to Jezra's tone; they had been in triage mode ever since the ambassador died, cleaning up messes left and right, and frankly, they were tired of it. "This was preventable, and you understand what went wrong, so I believe a formal reprimand and the time you spent in detention with Josef is plenty sufficient." The tone was firm, but it was not unkind. "I need every member of my medical team to be reliable, because not all mistakes can be as gracefully resolved as this. Do you understand?"
" Yes, ma'am." Lelani replied calmly, letting out an eternal sigh. The last thing she needed on her recored was this, but there was nothing she could do to change it now.
For a couple seconds, Jezra simply watched Leilani, the guilt clear in her body language. This whole thing had everyone on edge in some way or another, and they could only imagine how much worse it was for Leilani after being detained. "For what it's worth," Jezra added, their gaze softening. "You're still doing well with Josef. Don't let this one moment tell you otherwise. The incident at the reception could have been worse, but it wasn't, which says something about how he processed the moment." Jezra offered a faint, reassuring smile. "Just make sure you take the time to understand the lesson." With that, they stood to depart, leaving Leilani to process.
Lieutenant J.G. Jezra Siv
Chief Medical Officer
USS Astrea
Lieutenant JG Leilani
Counselor
USS Astrea
RSS Feed