Annual Counselling: Dr C. Vale

Posted on Mon Dec 8th, 2025 @ 10:13am by Commander Cressida Vale MD & Lieutenant JG Constance 'Connie' Montoya

1,574 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Prologue
Location: Counselor Montoya's Office
Timeline: 2389

Counsellor Connie Montoya sat back in her chair, the PADD held in her hand. The image at the top was standard issue: black hair pulled back, amber eyes looking directly into the lens, regulation backdrop washing everything in pallor. A doctor’s face, steady and composed, but she knew even these photographs were only snapshots. They were meant to look neutral. No one ever really was.

Her eyes flicked down the record. Academy years. Starfleet Medical internship. USS Jupiter, USS Tucker, USS Guinevere. Each line neat as a pin, dates in their places. It was the kind of file Command liked best: smooth, progressive, reliable. Promotions in the right places, responsibilities taken on and kept. Nothing jagged. No caution notes from commanding officers.

But the neatness could only go so far. There it was in the subtext: Breen attack on Earth during her student years. Borg engagement in the Hayre Expanse. Relief work on Cardassian border worlds, famine and plague still gnawing at them years after the war. Then the Briar Patch, where her career had taken root and grown. No disasters, but no shortage of scars behind the success either.

She tapped the corner of the PADD, thoughtful. These annual check-ins were not about crisis management. They were part of the rhythm Starfleet built into the system, mandatory in the way annual physicals were. Most officers endured them politely, some made them productive. Connie would give Commander Vale the space to decide which this one would be.

She stood and moved to the low cabinet, preparing the small ritual that steadied her before a session. The green teapot was already warm with water from the replicator, cups and saucers waiting beside a sugar bowl and milk jug. She poured carefully, Assam darkening into amber beneath the steam, and set both cups down on the tray. One for herself. One for Vale, should she want it.

Cressida, for her part, refused to be one of those doctors who didn’t listen to her own advice. Annual check-ins existed for a reason. However good she felt (or however good she thought she felt), it was crucial that she be seen by relevant health experts. So when she received the calendar alert that she was due to see the counselor, she found the time. She made the time. She moved things around so that she could have a proper appointment with Counselor Montoya.

When she admitted into Counselor’s office, she smiled politely and let herself be guided to the place that was meant for her. “I can’t believe it’s been a year since our last proper meeting,” she said. “Aside from department meetings, but those don’t count.”

"Of course they don't," Connie said with a small and knowing smile. "Usually I am just one face in the crowd, taking in the information. Now would you like some tea, or something else?" she met her eyes as they took a seat around the small table she had set up. Comfortable chairs, rather than the desk and the seats there. Not that there wasn't space for that too, yet some she knew preferred the more informal setting.

"I'd love some, thanks," Cressida answered. "What kind is it?" Not that she knew her teas, of course. More to preempt the question Alina would definitely ask.

"Assam," Connie said with a small smile as she reached to pour. "This is a second flush. I got it sent to me from Earth..." her eyes met Cressida's. "It's grown, not replicated. I know there is not much difference, yet...I swear there is."

"Oh there is," Cressida said with a knowing nod as she picked up her freshly poured cup. "I can't always taste it but my wife assures me it's there." She took a sip and smiled. "Now, what's on the agenda today?"

"Perhaps we can start simple," Connie said and sat back, holding her cup. She did not meet her eyes for a moment as she almost cataloged the questions in her mind. "How are you doing, Cressida? Really?" she met her eyes at that, not looking away. An honest check in. A temperature check.

“Really?” Cressida repeated. “Really, I feel pretty good! Sickbay keeps me busy but not overwhelmingly so. And it’s rewarding work. I love it.”

"Good. And outside of work?" Connie pressed, but there was a playful smile there. She was always trying to make sure that people weren't...workaholics. It was a real danger on a starship...you were surrounded in a culture where work was everything. People could lose their own identity in that.

“Outside of work has been pretty good!” Cressida answered. “Married life suits me. My quarters could be a bit less green, sure, but I knew what I signed up for,” she said with a laugh. “Seriously though I’m feeling great. Happy at work, at home, with friends.”

Connie nodded, sipping her tea as she studied the other woman. "You look great," she finally said. It wasn't a compliment on her appearance, more on her...spirit and energy. "You don't seem to carry as much tension as you did when I came on the ship and saw you for the first time in meetings."

“I’ve had a lot go well for me here since we first met,” Cressida noted as she sipped her tea. “I found a massage holodeck program that works wonders too.”

Connie gave a small nod of acknowledgement at that. "Holodecks are for more than recreation after all. It is great for therapy."

“Great for a workout too,” Cressida added. “I found a good sparring program. For when I want a challenge but don’t want to take Sergeant Morven’s actual hits. The man’s a great sparring partner with exceptional control but I feel those sessions. Usually it’s worth it but sometimes I just want to bounce around and hit something without treating my ribs after, you know?”

Connie raised an eyebrow at that. She suspected that part of the lesson was how to take the hits as much as learning from them. "I can imagine," she said lightly. "Holodeck is...good for the safeties. For letting yourself lose control without consequences on the body."

Cressida sipped her tea again and put her cup down on the table. “Mine or my opponent’s. You know Doctors in Starfleet, especially in command roles, sometimes need to put aside that whole ‘Do No Harm’ in favour of a greater good. More lives are saved if I land this punch or hit with this phaser against the pirate boarding party, you know?”

Connie’s expression didn’t shift much, but her eyes sharpened slightly. “That’s not something most people say out loud,” she said, her voice still level. “Let alone with that much ease.” She paused just long enough for the silence to feel deliberate. “For what it’s worth, I think knowing the cost makes it easier to trust the call. Not harder,” her fingers curved lightly around her cup, then she looked up again. “But...there must have been a reason you became a Doctor rather than...Security?”

“Ease?” Cressida said, a little bit hurt. “Nothing easy about it. I’ve just been doing this long enough that I’ve made a bit of peace with it. It still hurts every time, at least a little. But needs must. And I didn’t want to be dishonest with you.” She took a deep breath. “To your other question, security isn’t how I wanted to help people.” She smiled at a memory that came to her. “I remember in high school, some bully was picking on a new kid. Tripped him and he fell hard, and then just stood by laughing. I gave the bully a bloody nose and then helped the new guy up. His ankle wasn’t in great shape so I helped him to the nurse’s station. I was already good with first aid by then, so I replicated some ice for the ankle and stayed with him until the nurse came. That’s how I feel my best, Connie. Helping the victim get better, not knocking out the aggressor.”

Connie listened, watching the other woman before she gave a small nod. Her expression didn't change as much as soften a touch and she put her cup down. "The sword and the shield," she said, her voice soft. "Or fist and ice pack...And ease may have been the wrong word for me to use, Cressida, and I apologise for that. Perhaps clarity would have been more apt." She gave her a small nod, holding her eyes. "And thank you for not softening it. I would rather have the truth. And the balance...healer and protector...it's not an easy path to walk."

“It really isn’t,” Cressida agreed. “But we do our best. And I think I manage it well.”

Connie gave a small smile at that, giving her a nod of agreement. "I would say that is a very fair self-assessment, Cressida," she noted, and her eyes shone briefly with warmth.

“Thanks, Connie,” Cressida said. She picked her teacup back up and took another sip. It was getting cooler now. “It means a lot, coming from a counselor and a friend.”


END


Commander Cressida Vale, MD
Chief Medical Officer and Second Officer

Lt. jg Connie Montoya
Counselor

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