Posted by Lieutenant Commander Harrison Callahan (Chief Tactical Officer) in Pre-sim: Psych eval for the CTO

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Janna Kingston (Counsellor) in Pre-sim: Psych eval for the CTO

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Harrison Callahan (Chief Tactical Officer) in Pre-sim: Psych eval for the CTO
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

She nodded as she leaned back into her chair and took a generous sip of her coffee. Janna was a rather petite woman but she took up her space without a shred of obvious self-consciousness. “Subtleties control so much of our lives, even when we might not think so. What do you focus on when you’re not preparing for a potential battle?”

~Janna Kingston, CNS

Harrison considered that for a moment, his expression easing from the sharp focus he wore on the bridge to something more reflective.

“When I’m not preparing for a potential battle?” He let out a faint breath that might have been a quiet laugh. “I try to prepare for not having one.”

He folded his hands loosely in his lap. “On my last assignment, I learned that the best tactical victories rarely show up in the logs as ‘engagements.’ They show up as incidents that never happened. A tense border that never flared. A pirate cell that decided our patrol pattern wasn’t worth testing. A junior officer who didn’t freeze because someone took the time to run one more drill.”

His gaze drifted briefly, as if seeing the Athena’s corridors in his mind. “So I focus on readiness without paranoia. Training my team until responses are instinctive, but not fear-driven. Reviewing sensor data not because I expect trouble, but because patterns tell stories long before weapons fire does. Intelligence work taught me that the smallest anomalies—the missed shipment, the unusual power fluctuation, the captain who’s just a little too cordial—often matter more than the obvious threats.”

A faint, almost wry smile touched his lips. “And when I can manage it, I focus on the crew. This ship carries families. Children. That changes the equation. Tactical decisions aren’t abstract. They have names and quarters assignments attached to them. So when I’m not studying firing arcs or shield harmonics, I make a point of knowing who we’re protecting.”

He tilted his head slightly toward Janna. “Exploration isn’t the absence of danger. It’s the willingness to face it in pursuit of something better. My job is to ensure that when curiosity leads us into the unknown, fear doesn’t make the decisions.”

A brief pause, then more quietly:

“And if I do my job well, most days will feel… uneventful. I’ve found that’s usually the sign we’re getting it right.”

Lt. Cmdr. Harrison Callahan
CTO-USS Athena

Janna was not a mask. She did not conduct therapy that way. She would control her expressions to ensure they didn’t interfere with a person’s introspection and reactions. But she was not one to hide away from her patients. She was as real and fallible as they were. So when the smile tugged at her lips, she allowed it. “I think most of the command crew would agree with you. And we do have uneventful days. The ones that aren’t are often ones handed to us externally. Such is the curious nature of the Athena. A holdover from its previous life as a tactical destroyer. There’s a reputation here, of this crew that has ebbed and flowed. We take on the jobs that others might think unsuitable for a ship like ours, but we do so because we understand what is at stake. It is calculated risk.”

She leaned forward slightly, catching his gaze. “Thank you for sharing your philosophy. I think you will find it very compatible with the rest of the team, and the crew as a whole. But there is one variable that you are missing, Harrison Callahan. Do you have any idea what it is?”

~Janna Kingston, CNS

Harrison raised an eyebrow and sat silent for a moment with a quizzical look on his face.

“I consider myself a pretty observant person, sooooo I’m kind of embarrassed that I have no idea what you’re getting at. So, please, enlighten me.”

Lt. Cmdr. Harrison Callahan
CTO-USS Athena

A tiny smile tugged at her lips. Janna wasn’t one of those therapists that tried to create aha moments, nor did she think that was useful. Instead, she aimed to create openings for people to come to their own conclusions. That being said, sometimes, straightforward observances were the most useful.

“I’ve heard about preparing for battle, and preparing not to have battle, but nothing that tells me how and when you shut that off.” She lifted her mug to her lips and sipped. “That concerns me, because even if you aren’t existing in a heightened state every hour of every day, that sort of vigilance wears on a person over the day. So, is there anything you do to relax, to shut off, even for a little while?” Burnout was a real thing and he would not be the first one to be dismissive, but she wasn’t yet sure if it was actually an issue or one to keep en eye out for.

~Janna Kingston, CNS

Harrison laughed. Yeah, I kinda did leave that part out, didn’t I? It’s partially because some people might not consider it relaxing. But, I do, and that’s what’s important, right?”

“First off, there’s baseball. I’ve played pretty much since I could fit my hand in a glove. Was good enough that I earned a full-ride to the University of Texas. It was tempting, but I had been already been planning on attending the Academy. But, I still like to go to the holodeck and take some cuts, take part in classic games, or face some of the legends throughout history.. Test my mettle against them. I don’t look at it as a what-if? Or what-could-have-been? I do it for fun, though I did strike out Sadaharu Oh on four consecutive at-bats..”

“There are a few other things, but, again, I don’t think most people would find them ‘relaxing’.”

Lt. Cmdr. Harrison Callahan
CTO-USS Athena

Janna shook her head. “I never used the word relaxing. I said shut off that part of you that is hyper-vigilant and on-duty, even for a little while. Sports are a great way to do so.” She smiled. “Humour me, what are the other things?”

~Janna Kingston, CNS