Posted by Lieutenant Commander Hilo (Counselor) in CNS Office: Cadet Riley Psychological Evaluation

Posted by Cadet Matthew Riley (Scientist) in CNS Office: Cadet Riley Psychological Evaluation

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Hilo (Counselor) in CNS Office: Cadet Riley Psychological Evaluation

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The door to the counselor’s office slid open automatically, obviously expecting Riley’s arrival for his appointment. The room inside was of decent size by dimension, but was filled with an assortment of furniture, art, and lots and lots of plants. In the primary space, a high-backed armchair sat facing a loveseat couch, both adorned with a warm brown cloth fabric and designed for comfort when sitting for extended periods. The loveseat was flanked by two intricate end tables made of dark wood, each of which had an arrangement of little statues, candles, and a tissue box. A hemp rug bridged the space between the two seating options.

There was a desk pushed up against the far wall, but it was almost obscured by an indoor jungle’s worth of potted plants on that side of the room that hung from the ceiling, stood in large vases, or sat on shelves with dozens of other specimens. The plants, in combination with the earth tones of the furniture and the slightly yellowed lighting in the office gave the space a tropical atmosphere. Indeed, the plant life might even make the air feel be a bit more fresh, to those with keen senses.

Among the plants, a tall man with tanned skin and pushed-back brown hair turned to peered through the foliage as the door to his office opened. A small circular symbol sat on his forehead, indicating that he was from Risa. He grinned as he maneuvered through the organic maze. “Cadet Riley! Welcome! I’m counselor Hilo. Please, come in! In fact, come over here,” Hilo said as he motioned toward the jungle, leaving the seating area ignored for now. “I saw that you got your degree in exobiology, and I was wondering if you had any recommendations for which flora I should add to my collection next.”

Hilo leaned over the computer screen on the desk, although doing so required him to push aside some broad leaves from a tall fern. He moved aside to let Riley access the console, which listed a variety of species from across the quadrant that Hilo was considering.

(Lt. Cmdr. Hilo, Counselor)

OOC: Welcome, Nathan! I’m excited to write with you! I’m looking forward to learning more about your character. In this thread, we’ll discuss your character’s personality and backstory. This way, we can explore some things to add to your character’s bio, if you’d like! Cheers!

Ben

Matthew froze for a moment, brown eyes sweeping the counselor and the jungle. “Um, hello, Counselor,” he responded, “Yes, at the Academy. Though my specialty is more in physics.”

He approached the desk, ducking one plant, pulling another creeper from his blond hair. “I thought it would be good to expand my repertoire.” He reviewed the selection of plants. “I may not be the best for this - we have a botanist on staff in Science who would be better.” He leaned closer to the display. “But I do like Centaurian lilies,” he said, pointing. “There was a garden of them outside the residential building I stayed in on Alpha Centauri. They bioluminesce as part of the fertilization cycle. It was quite pretty.”

He stood and pondered for a moment. “Though I think the water table there is more alkaline than ours, so you may need to use a separate watering source than the rest of your plants,” he gestured around. “Though… you may already be doing that with this many,” he added sheepishly.

• Cadet Riley, Science

Hilo nodded enthusiastically at the mention of bioluminescence. “Brilliant!” He made a note on his PaDD and sighed in content. “Thank you, cadet. There are so many plants in the galaxy that I don’t even know where to begin when considering new ones to acquire. And yes, a couple of these have different requirements based on their home systems,” he said motioning around.

The counselor extended a hand toward the seating area, inviting Riley to join him as he moved to sit in the high-back chair across from the loveseat. “Now, to your eval.” The risian man was obviously friendly, with a warm bubbly air about him. “You mentioned that you have training in a variety of subjects, including exobiology and physics. I’m curious as to why you diversified into such different fields. Most scientists seem to specialize in one, even if their education at the Academy is of course holistic.”

(Lt. Cmdr. Hilo, Counselor)

Matthew smiled at the man’s enthusiasm about the flower he had chosen, then laughed internally as he walked to the love seat, realizing the whole thing was probably meant to help him feel at ease. He’s very good at his job then, he thought.

He pondered the first question as he sat. It did seem a little incongruous, at first glance, and no one else had asked him that. “That might be a long answer,” he said, leaning back. He folded his arms and stared at a spot near the ceiling. “I’ve wanted to join Starfleet for as long as I could remember.” He felt the weight of the medallion in his pocket, unnoticeable until then.

“But I…” And now he looked to a wall. “I didn’t think I had what it took to be what I thought of as a Starfleet officer.” His eyes shifted to the counselor. “You know, the ones we see in the news vids, we learn about in the history books. The brave captains…” He shook his head, leaning forward, elbows on his knees. “That’s not me. But my parents did encourage me to go to university - ‘You’re too smart to waste that brain, son’ my dad would say,” he intoned in a deep impression.

“And I found I loved science. I mean, I’d enjoyed it in school before but I fell in love.” He grinned and his eyes shone. “Everything just made sense. I couldn’t get enough. I went to Cambridge for astrophysics, and then to Alpha Centauri for subspace physics…” His grin faded. “Then I wondered what I was going to do with this. I could teach,” he continued, sitting back again, one arm on the loveseat arm, and crossed an ankle over his knee. “But that just felt… empty.” He looked to the ceiling again.

“So I applied to Starfleet.” He shrugged. “That dream had never really left, and filling out that application I felt like I was eight years old again,” he laughed. “I had two doctorates and here I was applying for a new undergrad degree.” He shook his head at the memory, remembering his advisor’s face the first time they had a meeting. “They recommended I major in astrophysics, it would be easier for me, but that didn’t feel right.” He looked at the counselor. “Starfleet’s not supposed to be easy, right? I couldn’t be a great captain, but I could do something, and I could make sure I didn’t take the easy way out.”

He uncrossed his legs and leaned forward again. “So I majored in exobiology to add something else I could bring to the table for Starfleet. If I was going to do this, I was going to do this.”

• Cadet Riley, Science