Posted by Cadet Rhese Bowman (Scientist) in [Pre-Sim] Counselor’s Office - Psychological Exam (Tag CNS)

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Janusz Korczak (Counselor) in [Pre-Sim] Counselor’s Office - Psychological Exam (Tag CNS)

Posted by Cadet Rhese Bowman (Scientist) in [Pre-Sim] Counselor’s Office - Psychological Exam (Tag CNS)
Posted by… suppressed (5) by the Post Ghost! 👻

[snip]

Korczak’s face remained expressionless while Rhese spoke. When he was done, Korczak said “Tell me more about your home life, before the Academy. What of your family? Any siblings? And how did your family feel about your joining Star Fleet?”

Korczak, CNS

“Oh, they weren’t at all surprised when I told them I wanted to apply to the Academy,” Rhese said with a friendly chuckle. “Mom actually said, ‘Well, we saw this coming!’ They knew me pretty well, and knew how fascinated I was about other worlds, and the animal, plant, and insect life – or possibilities thereof – that I’d ‘discover.’ Growing up, I used to pretend I was on a science vessel, and would go ‘exploring other worlds’ as I used to go about the homestead doing my chores.” Rhese was very happy to relate these experiences; they were always pleasant memories, and he fondly recalled them often. Little things about his day-to-day life – even some from today, Rhese recalled – would conjure up memories from home. In some ways, it almost felt as if he’d never left; or like he was just away on a sort of extended vacation. Indeed, Bowman kept in regular contact with his family, as often as his studies and duties would permit. Feeling nostalgic again, Bowman realized he’d almost become lost in thought – so he continued: “I was named after my father; though rather than calling me ‘Junior’ they called me by my middle name, Rhese. I still keep in touch with Mom and Dad pretty regularly; oh, and my little brother, Josh, too. He’s the one that always liked to go on the hunting and fishing trips when Dad would go, when he got old enough, anyway. I would always prefer to stay back at the homestead to keep an eye on the place, and our greenhouses – and on Mom. We grew a lot of our own food there; and during really good harvest years, we’d also have plenty to bring to the markets for our neighbors, or anyone else who needed them. And Mom always needed an extra hand tending to the house,” Rhese concluded with a reminiscing smile.

Cadet Rhese Bowman (Scientist)

Korczak nodded encouragingly and listened as the young Cadet spoke of home. The talk of home sparked memories of Korczak’s home, but they were brief and he didn’t miss a word of what the young Cadet said. Looking at him as Bowman spoke, Korczak noted the look of nostalgia crossing his features. When he finished, Korczak said “Do you feel homesick much? With such close ties to your family and to the land, it would be completely normal to have those moments.”

Korczak, CNS

Bowman thought for a moment. He knew that, in some company, the ‘right’ thing to say might be a dishonest one, to avoid having to wonder what people might think of the truth, or perhaps even to spare their feelings; but this wasn’t one of those moments. Besides, it was important to Rhese that he always be honest. He’d always found it difficult to lie simply to spare someone else’s feelings anyway. “Well, not too much, really. But from time to time I do miss being there. Sometimes I feel like my family is missing out on things that happen in my life; but I try to keep mental notes about the stuff I think they’d be interested in, or find amusing, or otherwise important. That way, I can tell them about my day when we talk on the comm. It’s not the same as being there, though… but it is the next best thing. Though… being posted on a ship is going to be very different,” Rhese began. “Up until now, home wasn’t much more than just a transporter hop away. But now…” Rhese thought for a moment as he trailed off. He’d considered this before, that being deployed on a ship almost guaranteed that he’d be taken far from home – and oftentimes would mean that there could also be a delay involved – that real-time communication might not be possible, were the ship to be sent on a mission far enough that subspace communications would be required. And this seemed almost to be an absolute certainty. Though, Rhese had always thought, it’d be like ‘letters from home’ at those times – as if he were living in the past, having to write letters on paper and send them in ‘the post’ like people used to do so long ago. “… Now, it’ll be different,” Bowman continued. “I’ll be out of touch from them at times. They know this, and understand what it means. I imagine it’s a bit difficult for them, as much as it would be for me; but they wouldn’t have been able to support my decision to join Starfleet had they not also accepted that we’d be out of touch at times.”

“Nor would they have supported my decision if they hadn’t also considered that my service might also mean my death,” Rhese thought to himself. He knew that there could indeed come the time when he’d have to give his life for the mission, and he’d accepted that. He also knew that it was hard for his mother to come to terms with that; but she had, over time. It was something they’d talked about at length. It would be like the hunting trips he’d go on with his father as a child – hard living in nature, with no other human contact for days… and literally braving the elements in the struggle to survive. Those trips, like this one, could mean serious injury – or even death. Rhese had ensured that they knew the risks involved in his service, and that they – as well as he himself – had come to a place of being at peace with the possibility. If they couldn’t have done that, Rhese would not have applied to the Academy. He’d have made himself content to stay at home. But his parents had told him that they wanted him to be happy, and to have a fulfilled life full of purpose – which, they’d said, was more than even they could provide for him at home. Rhese smiled, then; it was a bittersweet feeling.

Cadet Rhese Bowman (Scientist)

Without pause, and almost as if he could see what the young man was thinking, he asked flatly “And how do they… and you… address the fact that your service in Star Fleet could lead to your demise?”

Korczak, CNS

Bowman’s face briefly expressed a slightly shocked expression as his eyes widened. Was this man a Betazoid? Rhese had familiarized himself with the roster of officers – at least, the ones whom he would be interacting with on a regular basis, as well as the command staff. But he could not recall any Betazoids serving on the Challenger. “Well, Commander, it’s something that both they, and myself, have accepted. We talked about it at length, actually. Mom was the one who had the hardest time coming to terms with it. At first, she felt uneasy about my wanting to join Starfleet; and though I never made her any false assurances that ‘I’d be okay’ or that ‘I’d always come home to see her again’ when I left, I did promise her that I would stay in contact. And that’s a promise I’ve kept, and intend to continue to keep, throughout the entire tenure of my service,” Rhese stated. “Knowing, understanding, and accepting the fact that missions are often dangerous, the possibility of death during service is very real. Everyone knew what that meant, or I would not have signed up. If my folks hadn’t been able to support my decision because it might one day mean that I didn’t come home, then I would have stayed home. But in the end, it came down to my realizing – and their understanding – that my life had led me here; that my purpose seemed… somehow, greater than what they, and life on the homestead, could provide for me. And they gave me their blessing,” Bowman concluded.

Cadet Rhese Bowman (Scientist)

Korczak watched the Cadet explain, and he felt comfortable that he was accepting of that sometimes hard to grasp reality. But one thing he said did concern him, although his face and body language remained completely flat and expressionless. “You say that you promised to keep in contact, that you have, and that you intend to keep that promise. What will you do if you are forced by assignment or circumstance to break that promise, Cadet? Because you must realize that sometimes our duty puts us in places where communication is far from guaranteed. For instance, there is a Star Fleet vessel stationed in the Delta Quadrant. That means even subspace communication can take days, even weeks, to reach their destination. And if I know the Captain of that vessel like I think I do, I doubt that regular communication would be permitted for security concerns. And that is a ship of hundreds… potentially thousands… who would not be allowed to communicate regularly with home. How would you deal with that situation? How do you think your family, especially your mother, would?” he asked.

While he applauded the young man for being forthright with his acknowledgment of the potential dangers, Janusz was concerned that he had simply replaced the unrealistic ‘I will be fine and always come home’ belief with a more palatable fantasy.

Korczak, CNS

Bowman thought for a moment, before answering: “I definitely do understand that, sir. What would I do? Well, I would want to regularly record messages – or keep a log, even – that could be sent via subspace if or when the mission did allow. If we were going to be on a mission that required radio silence, I’d either send my folks a communique before the ship were dispatched to mention that we’d be out of touch because of the mission, or simply let them know this with communication before the mission began – if possible – and then make sure to get in touch with them once the mission was complete.” Bowman knew well that missions, especially remote missions, would mean losing contact for a while – possibly even, a long while. Also, at the mention of the Delta quadrant, Bowman couldn’t help but be reminded of the story of the Voyager from the Academy history courses. He’d often wondered what it would have been like to have been posted to that vessel; and those kinds of thoughts had prompted him to have some similar discussions with his mother. Anyway, while he was reasonably certain that the Challenger wasn’t already assigned to undertake a remote mission (so far as he knew) in the near term, the possibility still existed; though a long, remote mission wasn’t a high likelihood for a training cruise. Of course, Bowman also understood that he wouldn’t be serving on the Challenger as a cadet forever, either. At least, he hoped he wouldn’t. “But,” he continued, “my folks do know, if I don’t make contact for some reason – say, we’re given a mission which required immediate radio silence – that they can inquire through the civilian channels to see if my ship has been dispatched on such a mission. So while those kinds of missions might make me a bit homesick, they certainly would not impede my ability to perform my duties. And – my folks understand that I’ll be in contact whenever possible and permitted, sir. I only meant to say that my promise meant, to me and to my folks, that I wouldn’t forget them, or where I came from.”

Cadet Rhese Bowman (Scientist)

Korczak filed the response away in his mind and then, for the first time nodded. He then said “That is a very healthy attitude, Cadet. Don’t lose that, and it will serve you well in difficult situations. Now tell me about what interests you about science, and your specific fields of emphasis. Why plants instead of, say, geology? Or astronomy? Or even meteorology? Why life sciences specifically?”

Korczac, CNS