Posted by Lieutenant Commander Todd Nyman (Diplomatic Officer / CNS) in Office of the Counselor - Psych Eval

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Llakar Harel (Chief of Operations) in Office of the Counselor - Psych Eval
He stood outside the counselor’s door for a moment longer than he probably should have—long enough to be aware of it, but not long enough to be obvious.

Mandatory psychological evaluation.

He had been through them before—after Turkana IV, after the Apollo, after the Ogawa, after the Leviathan… A litany of well-intentioned questions and carefully neutral expressions.

“This is routine, Commander.”

So was breathing. That didn’t mean he had to enjoy it.

He tapped the door chime, one sharp motion.

-Lt. Cmdr. Harel
Chief of Operations

The door opened to reveal the counselor, in uniform and looking slightly disheveled.

If one hadn’t read the briefing given to all Command level staff, you wouldn’t know he wasn’t human. And that was the point. He presented as 6’ tall, Caucasian, with sharp green eyes and shoulder-length blonde hair. A long face with a sharp nose.

He smiled, green eyes sparkling with a subtle charm,

“Oh, hello. You must be Commander Harel. Todd Nyman, I’m the ship’s new Chief Counselor. Well, come on in.”

He waved the officer in. The room was also slightly disheveled. Armchairs were moved haphazardly to different parts of the room. The Counselors’ desk was covered in small to medium boxes of miscellaneous decorative items he had yet to display. A couch sat at an odd angle in the corner, cluttered in a similar way but with at least one seat’s worth of room left free.

“Have a seat anywhere. And pardon the mess. I’m still getting settled.”

|Lt. Cmdr. Nyman, Diplomatic Officer / CNS|

Lieutenant Commander Harel had skimmed the personnel file and half expected to be greeted by a being with antennae, gills, or at least a few extra limbs. Instead, he found himself facing what looked like a perfectly ordinary Human—a touch disheveled, perhaps, but otherwise entirely unremarkable in form. Somehow, that was more disarming than any tentacled visage might have been.

“I’m not the sort to judge a messy office, Counselor,” Harel said, stepping inside. “Frankly, it’s almost reassuring. Proof that even counselors don’t have to have everything perfectly put together.”

He eased into the nearest available seat, brushing aside a stray holoframe and resting his hands lightly on his knees.

“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. And if I read the manifest right, it looks like I’m not the only new addition to the senior staff. Are you new to the ship as well?” He offered a small, wry smile—measured but not cold.

Still, he couldn’t help but glance at Nyman’s eyes—so distinctly Human, yet clearly by design. The curiosity itched at the back of his mind.

“You don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to, and I hope it’s not insensitive of me to ask, but… what do you actually look like?”

-Lt. Cmdr. Harel
Chief of Operations