Ship’s counselor’s log, Stardate 8890976.2, Commander James Troi, reporting: I have been serving aboard the Asimov for two days now and I realize I am facing challenges as a ship’s counselor that I have never experienced before. I had thought the ship’s small crew compliment of fifty would make my job easier. However, the ship itself is equally small, less than a tenth of a mile long. This means, in Lieutenant Twig’s words, “The crew is crammed in like a can of sardines” (I’ve always wondered what sardines are?). Now that my cousin, Lt. Commander Gallagar, and I are settled into my quarters, I believe the next logical step would be to meet privately with the ship’s chief medical officer, Dr. Altara to get her impressions of the crew and the way they interact with each other at the next opportunity. On a personal note, it will also be a good opportunity to catch up with the doctor because, until I was transferred to the Asimov, we have only been able to communicate by video letter and an occasional live video or audio chat for the past ten years.

James walked up to the doctor’s quarters and even before pressing the door chime, the door opened and heard in his mind a cheerful, “James! How good to see you! I am so glad you asked to meet. I turned the heat up just for you.”

James smiled at this, since the temperature matched the rest of the ship, which was a few degrees lower than he preferred, but he appreciated the effort because he knew her quarters were now actually quite warm for her. As always, he noted his friend had found ways to personalize her quarters. She even had cloth curtains installed over her small window and a lace tablecloth on her desk.

“Aquina, you haven’t changed a bit, you are as warm as ever,” he thought, “even if your quarters aren’t.”

His friend’s tinkling laughter filled his mind, “Yes, James, but it does mean I get some privacy. Nobody else on the ship can handle the cold that I prefer. Now, I must be a proper hostess.”

She then said aloud for the benefit of the replicator, “Computer, two white chocolate mochas, one hot, one iced and scones with cream and jam.”

It was James’ turn to laugh, this time aloud, but then thought, “You are always thinking of others, that makes you such a good doctor and foster mother. However make no mistake, those children, regardless of how brief a time they spent in your life, must have fond memories of you. We don’t have time to catch up on them all. We do have actual ship’s business, but give me about the highlights.”

Aquina sighed contentedly and thought, “Well, where do I begin? Ah, Eve had her baby boy. I suggested the name ‘James,’ but she and her husband had other ideas. Well, I mustn’t be a busybody, just enjoy now my, goodness, twentieth grandchild!”

“Twenty grandchildren? How wonderful!” smiled James.

“Isn’t it?” she glowed, “And Ro’kor, he finally got married!”

“So the Klingon settled down? Marvelous! Was the bride as lovely as he hoped?”

“I am very happy to hear that, Aquina. However, it is clear that Ro’kor is not the only one with a taste for female Klingons.”

At this Aquina shook her head, “You mean Lieutenant Twig, yes?”

“Yes, from what I know of Klingons from my cousin, Klingon females are approached with caution by Klingon males, The lieutenant is risking more than a broken heart if he persists in approaching Lieutenant Kahra with unwanted advances. She could easily snap him like a ‘twig.’”

“Is it possible Twig simply doesn’t understand the danger he is putting himself in?”

“Or he has a death wish? I will meet with him,” thought James.

“Meanwhile, I am sure your cousin is monitoring the situation closely.”

“Hardly likely, my cousin is a warrior, not a nursemaid. His first responsibility is to the ship. He will not try to protect Twig from his own foolishness, unless that foolishness actually puts the ship at risk.”

“Oh dear, I didn’t realize that. So what can we do?”

“I will monitor the situation,” thought James, patting his friend’s hand reassuringly, “If necessary, I can give him tips on how to win the young woman’s heart, if only to save you from him making an unscheduled visit to sickbay.”

“Oh, thank you, James, I am so glad to be working with you, again.”

“As am I, Aquina. So, among your patients, besides Twig, who are your ‘problem children?‘”

“Hm, well, the first the first ‘problem child’ I think is actually, two, Jakob and Maya Hartetel.”

James took out a padd and looked up them and said, “Ah, would that be Lieutenant Maya Hartetel in marine biology and Ensign Jakob Hartetel in botony?”

“That would be them.”

“So what is the problem?”

“They are in the middle of a divorce.”

“Ugh, dealing with marital discord is not one of my favorite activities as a therapist, especially on a small ship,” sighed James and then sat up, “Wait, I just realized they both are in my department.”

“Yes, James, my friend, it seems you inherited both of your predecessors’ problems.”

James sighed, leaned back, closed his eyes and asked, “So, when did the problem get really serious?”

“Oooo, so a little spring fever set in, I take it?”

“And it was this couple’s first such mission together.”

“And in their case, familiarity bred contempt.”

“Exactly, which would have been fine,” said Aquina, “but they broke the captain’s rule about getting drunk when we are doing clandestine missions.”

“Oh boy, this does not sound good. So what happened?”

“Well, they got so drunk that they got into an argument.”

“That sounds normal.”

“But this one was so loud that it could be heard from one end of the ship to another,” said Aquina, shaking her head.

“Oh, dear,” sighed James.

“And the Ensign is bunking with some non-coms. We are just hoping they can work things out before the captain has to intervene.”

“In other words, before she has to transfer both of them off.”

“Yes, and as you’ll see, James, from their records, they are both good officers, when not drunk.”

“Ah, a ship’s counselor’s job is never done.”

“On this ship, definitely, James.’”

“So, who is next, Aquina?”

“Well, I could use help with the captain, Stevens is able to help her relax, somewhat, but she does not take as much down time as I would like.”

“Hm, my cousin seems to have some strong opinions on that subject,” he mused.

“What do you mean, James?”

“Apparently, a Klingon’s idea of relaxation and ours is quite different. I am not entirely sure I understand.”

“Well, James, neither of us is a warrior by any stretch of the imagination.”

“True, perhaps I might get some insights from my cousin.”

“You mean he actually came in for his initial physical!?” asked James incredulously.

“Well, it took some doing, and ultimately I had to go down to engineering and managed to do a basic scan just so I could say in the official record that I actually examined him, and that is when I discovered he usually treats himself.“

“That sounds more like him. I remember that when N’Ka was ten, he came to live with us on Betazed after D’edrak, his adoptive father, died. He would have to be dragged to the doctor and all the way there he would be kicking and screaming, ‘Warriors don’t need doctors!’”

“Boy, I am glad we don’t give people shots, anymore. I would not have wanted to be his pediatrician.”

“Oh, shots would not have been a problem for him. Remember, pain is not something Klingons try to avoid, but they do object to doctors since they can help patients avoid dying from battle wounds that would lead to a straight trip to Stovokor.”

“That would explain a lot of his behavior toward me,” said the doctor, “All the same, I also feel like he is trying to keep a part his psyche hidden from me, even though he knows I am stronger telepathically than a typical Vulcan.”

“Well, you do realize he is still in mourning over the death of his wife, correct?” asked James.

“What, wait, he was married and is now widowed? This is news to me!”

“Well, my cousin is a very private person. The main reason he and I are so close is that we both experienced the death of a parent as children. As you know, in my case it was the death of my Uncle Ian Andrew, who was like a father to me, and in N’ka’s case, he lost both of his natural parents and D’edrak by the time he was ten.”

“I can see how that would draw the two of you together,” nodded the doctor sympathetically, “I am glad you have each other.”

“So am I and despite his rough exterior, I think N’ka is glad to have me in his as well, which is why I am fairly sure I am the only family member with whom he stayed in contact after he left what others thought was a promising career in Starfleet to join the Klingon Defense Force.”

“I take it N’ka did not find Starfleet to be a good fit?”

“N’ka found the Federation not to be a good fit,” James shook his head, “but knowing I still find myself caught between the two very different worlds of Vulcan and Betazed, he knew I did not judge him.”

“Well, you are a therapist,” smiled Aquina, “Understanding is your job! So, tell me about his wife. Perhaps we can both help him.”

“Ah, yes,” said James and leaned back and closed his eyes as if trying to dig out the details from his memory, “He met and married J’ashih when he was thirty. I believe she was in weapons and of course N’ka was serving in the engineering department of the bird-of-prey the Agr’ash, the first Klingon Defense Force vessel to which he was assigned.”

“Any children?”

“Ah, you and children, Aquina” smiled James, “No, the Agr’ash did not have the medical personnel aboard to help them successfully combine their unique genetic backgrounds so J’ashih could carry a baby to term, not that they didn’t make an effort to have children. I believe she miscarried twice, after that they stopped trying.”

“Oh, the poor dears.”

“Well, for good or bad, in the eyes of Klingons, a child that does not survive pregnancy is viewed as one that would not have been a strong warrior. So miscarriages are viewed as Nature’s way of keeping the Klingon species strong.”

“Still, I am sure it wasn’t easy for N’ka,” said Aqina, “given his time among non-Klingons.”

“No, it was not. However, he kept up a strong front, like any good Klingon warrior. I believe that other than his wife, I am the only one I think who knew how much it hurt. After all, growing up, we would talk about what we wanted to be when we grew up and one of the things we both wanted to be was a Dad.”

“And I am so glad it happened for you, James,” said Aquina softly, “I am sure Aandon and Jurri have been a comfort to you since Jemeli passed away, goodness, it is possible ten years ago!?”

“That would be how long it’s been since you and I saw each other last,” James nodded, “I know the children were happy to have their favorite ‘aunt’ at the memorial.”

“They are hardly children, James, seeing they are both in their thirties!”

“Oh, Aquina, don’t you know once a Daddy, always a Daddy?”

“Back to N’ka,” said the doctor, “So how did his wife die?”

“Two and a half years ago during the Dominion War, my cousin was found unconscious near his wife’s dead body by the crew of the USS Farragut on a nearly destroyed Klingon outpost,” said James, “The outpost had been cut off from the fleet, due to mismanagement of his command.”

“I am surprised he didn’t commit ritual suicide after he was revived.”

“He most likely would have, except the Farragut‘s ship’s counselor got into contact with my cousin Deanna Troi. Given her knowledge of Klingon culture, she had advised N’ka be held in sickbay on a suicide watch and taken immediately to Starfleet Medical to recover.”

“I imagine he did not like that at all!” Aquina shook her head.

“No, he did not,” said Mr. Troi firmly, “especially when he was second in command of said outpost and the commanding general laid made N’ka the scapegoat for the general’s failure. So not only did he get unfairly blamed, but when he was rescued by the Farragut, he was charged with desertion.”

“Oh, no!” cried Aquina.

“Oh, yes,” said James, “Thankfully, Chancellor Martock has better sense than N’ka’s commanding general. He overthrew the charge and returned his honor. However, due to a request from Commodore Stevens, he was put on a long-term “loan” to Starfleet.”

“You say he’s recovered physically, but what about emotionally?”

“Emotionally, he still has a long way to go, Aquina.”

“So it appears that N’ka has transferred his affections from his late wife to the Asimov.“

“Well, Twig did tell me that that the Asimov is his baby doll,” said James.

“So, he is literally married to his job.”

“It would appear so. Now, Aquina, are there any other crewmembers I should be keeping an eye on?”

“Nobody else comes immediately to mind. As you may have seen, the biggest challenge is having so many crew members on such a small ship. Not everyone can handle such an assignment.”

“So perhaps I should begin with a general observation of the crew,” speculated James.

“Excellent idea, James. There might even be an academic paper in it for Starfleet Medical.”

“Always, thinking of my career, aren’t you, Aquina?”

“Of course, James,” smiled the Aquina, “what are friends for?”

“Well, only if you will co-write it with me,” laughed James, “It will be like the old days during our internships.”

“That would be lovely, James, but please excuse me for being rude, but I am getting quite warm and need to spend some time in the deep freeze.”

“Of course, Aquina, I imagine it must be stifling for you. I will leave and begin my observations at once and later we can go over my notes.”

“Thank you, and James, I am serious about you helping the captain gets her rest. Please do what you can.”

“Of course, Aquina,” smiled James, “anything for you!”

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