Posted by Lieutenant Commander Janusz Korczak (Counselor) in Counselor’s Office - Cadet Paul reporting for Psych Eval with LCDR Korczak on USS Challenger

Posted by Cadet Grayson Paul (Engineer) in Counselor’s Office - Cadet Paul reporting for Psych Eval with LCDR Korczak on USS Challenger

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Janusz Korczak (Counselor) in Counselor’s Office - Cadet Paul reporting for Psych Eval with LCDR Korczak on USS Challenger
Posted by… suppressed (4) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Grayson Paul walked along the corridor. His were long, casual strides, eating up deck plating easily. Ship’s regulations required he make a couple of check in’s to acclimate to the new environment and he figured he might as well get the conversation with the counselor out of the way; though, he was far more interested in checking out the ship’s Arboretum, Stellar Cartography and the Gymnasium. Gray was really hoping they had a basketball hoop.

Rounding the bend, Cadet Paul discovered that he had arrived at his destination. The name styling outside of the door read: “LCDR Janusz Korczak, Counselor.”

::Holy Hell, how do you pronounce that name?:: Gray thought to himself as he stretched forth his hand and pressed the door chime button.

Cadet Paul, Engineer

OOC: Hi there Grayson, welcome to the Challenger! Great first post. A little tip is that we try to keep the thread titles a little shorter if we can, mainly because once a thread gets a little longer, it tends to look funny on the page especially on mobile devices. We can normally just leave titles to ‘Location: Activity’ style without needing to add in who and what ship etc. Our CNS should be with you shortly, cheers!

-Dave

OOC: Welcome aboard! Terribly sorry about my late response. I was in the process of moving across the country.

IC: An oddly accented voice came from the other side of the door and said “Please come in.” and the door slid open.

The office was lit in a more subdued manner than the rest of the ship, with the light coming from wall lamps rather than the typical overhead lighting. Multiple bookcases with glass enclosed shelves lined one wall, filled with copies and originals of many texts on many different subjects, and a quick glance would show multiple languages as well. The desk was set at an angle against the opposite wall to the door in the corner, allowing for a large open space in the middle. Here there was a couch and a few chairs, one of which sat in front of and facing away from the desk. Pictures hung on the walls, some were even old photographs. Each depicted either places, individuals, or groups of people, and many were in black and white.

Seated at the desk was a plain looking human male with brown hair and brown eyes. He average looking; the kind of person that would be lost in a crowd of more than four or five people. He wore the blue uniform of the Science and Medical Sections, and Lieutenant Commander pips showed on his collar. There was one distinguishing feature about the man, however. Actual glasses were perched on his nose. He looked up, and a very odd accent issued forth, as if multiple accents were vying for control. “Hello, Cadet. May I help you?”

Lt. Cmdr. Korczac, CNS

Grayson walked in, glancing around the office quickly. He hadn’t often seen actual books, most reading material could be had on a PaDD, or other electronic reading device, and his own skill at handling the paper pages of books was limited. Still, his journey from door to desk revealed a couple of subjects that intrigued him. Grayson stopped short of the desk and stood at attention.

“Cadet Grayson Paul, reporting, sir.” Grayson’s eyes narrowed, “Pardon me, sir, do I refer to you by Commander, or Doctor?”

Cadet Paul, Engineer

Korczak pushed the glasses up his nose a bit and said “Whatever makes you most comfortable, Cadet. Counselor is fine as well, if you like.” in his oddly accented speech. “Do have a seat. Would you care for something to drink? You may help yourself to the replicator, if you wish.”

Korczak, CNS

“Thank you, Counselor.” Grayson moved to the replicator and ordered a lemonade, then made his way to the chair as directed and took his seat, sipping slowly. “Not as good as Grannie’s, but that’s alright.”

Grayson set the glass down and looked squarely at Commander Korczak, “I’m never really sure what to say in these meetings. What would you like to talk about?”
Cadet Paul, Engineer.

Korczak’s expression was flat and expressionless, and even when he spoke there was almost no hint of any kind of emotion or judgement. He simply said “That is entirely up to you, Cadet. If you wish me to ask that standard evaluation questions, I am willing to do so.”, his accent giving a strange cadence to his words. “Or if there is anything you would prefer to discuss, we can do that instead… or in addition to. It is entirely up to you.” Korczak paused and peered directly at the young Engineer for a moment, as if weighing some kind of decision.

“Of course, if you wanted to delve into some of the more… let us say potentially challenging… areas, we could also do so. But it isn’t entirely necessary for such needs as your on-boarding assessment. It would, however, provide a more complete analysis for me and Counselor’s with you on your future postings. But that is entirely up to you, Mr. Paul.”

Korczak, CNS

Grayson responded immediately, “What do you think of dreams, Counselor?”

Grayson leaned forward, retrieving the lemonade and taking about sip. And then another. Finally, he put the glass down again. “I’ve had this recurring dream lately, it’s particularly… frightening. On this dream, I’m in the woods. I don’t recognize them, I don’t think I’ve seen them before. And I’m not alone, there’s another man, whom I don’t know yet I recognize as a friend, and two women, whom I also don’t know, yet they represent love interests for my ‘friend’ and I.”

Grayson stood, making his way over to one of the collections of books lining the wall. The smell of leather was invigorating, grounding. “Somehow, my friend and I get separated from the ladies. It’s dark night, and we know they are in trouble. In our search, we stumble across a log cabin, real old school, early 20th century vintage if I had to guess. We circle the cabin, looking for clues, and find a storm shelter door is open in the back. It’s dimly lit, and just peering in reveals that it does not lead to the basement. It’s a tunnel, dark and steep. The air at the entrance is heavy and stale. My friend says something to me, which I can never make out, but just as he speaks we can hear our women scream from inside the tunnel!”

Grayson turned back to the Counselor, eyes wide, beads of sweat beginning to accumulate on his brow, “Without any thought, we both plunge into that tunnel. Oh I don’t know what happened in my life that introduced such vicious imagery as what I encountered in that tunnel, that endless shaft that promised only misery and death. I never get to the end. I always wake sometime after I go in that tunnel, and never find out what the hell happened.”

Grayson picked up the glass and drained it, sighing hard once it was gone, “So, Counselor, I’m not trying to make you out to be like Joseph of Egypt, but what do you think of my dream?”

Grayson sat down and folded his arms across his chest.
Cadet Paul, Engineer