Reporting for Duty

Posted on Sat Apr 25th, 2026 @ 12:07am by Lieutenant Daltom Vesper & Captain Erik Norsgaard

2,010 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Friends and Traitors
Location: Captain's Office
Timeline: morning

Daltom had done his homework. The moment that he got his transfer orders to the Thunderbird, he started researching the crew. Of course, the first person he would officially have to meet would be the Captain. It was important to always keep appearances and keep the commanding officers pleased. Most often they had a rather inflated ego about themselves and wanted nothing more than to have their boots licked. That did not seem to be the case with this Captain, though he did seem to have an addiction to caffeine, particularly coffee, and was a bit of an adreneline addict.

Something had to make the Captain that way. What was it? He looked further into the file. Dead wife. No children. Perhaps it was his way of keeping his mind off mourning. Mentally, Daltom reserved his opinion. It was time to meet.

He rang the chime to Norsgaard's office and waited for entry.

Norsgaard started early most days. He caught up on the overnight reports before tackling the flow of information that came across his desk. A ship in port tended not to have a lot of issues and that was certainly the case this morning. His first cup of coffee of the day sat before him on the desk; as he took a first sip, sighing with pleasure, he heard the chime that indicated some enterprising idiot decided it would be a good thing to interrupt this (necessary) ritual. He took another long sip and wondered, not for the first time, where his yeoman had run off to as he called out, "Enter."

Daltom walked in slowly and purposefully. He wanted to observe and mentally record everything that he could about this office, so that it would give him more of a clue as to who this captain was. He noticed that there was a coffee in the Captain's hand, which was no surprise based on Daltom's research. "Captain Norsgaard, I apologize for the intrusion just as the crew has started shore leave, however, I was already at the base and thought it best to report in. My name is Lieutenant Vesper, your new Chief Counselor." Daltom left it at that, figuring that it might be better for the Captain to take the lead in further discussions.

"Counselor," Norsgaard corrected automatically. "We only have one position and you're folded into Medical though you'll still be part of briefings and the like." He gestured toward the chairs in front of his desk. "Have a seat though I won't keep you long."

Daltom wondered why the Captain felt the need to correct him. At the end of the day, he was the Chief Counselor, regardless of whether there was anyone under him. Whether he was in medical or not was irrelevant as long as he was in the briefings. Nonetheless, the counselor took his seat and politely responded, "As you wish, Captain."

"At any rate," Erik said, "since you will essentially hold a senior officer position, whatever the roster looks like, why don't you tell me a bit about yourself? The kind of counseling you've done before, where you trained, that sort of thing."

This was rather predictable. Had the Captain even read his record or was he just asking this to start a conversation? "Well, Captain, I attended the Ardanan Institute for Psychological Sciences from 2354 to 2358. I then had a residency at the Troglyte Medical Clinic. From there, I headed to Starfleet. It is not an unusual story for a psychologist. As to me, I'm Ardanan. My great-grandmother was Vanna, who met with Captain Kirk. I don't know if you ever read reports of the mission to our planet involving the zenite and its harmful effects of the gas...." His lips curled downward at the mention of Kirk and his failures to do anything more meaningful for the Trogs.

Predictable but then what did I expect? Erik thought though he nodded. "I'm aware," he said. "I understand there's still quite the disparity between the two cultures."

Daltom decided to be politically correct. "We both have everything we need to survive." He shrugged. "As I am certain that everyone here has what they need to survive," he added.

"There's a difference," Erik said, "between surviving and thriving." And then, moving away from a topic that he felt might be uncomfortable for the man, he continued, "especially for the people on this ship. They've been through a lot on the past mission and I'm looking for someone who can help them through whatever personal issues that have developed as a result."

What would he know of the difference between surviving and thriving? Daltom considered as he raised an eyebrow curiously. What is in his past? "Perhaps you can tell me what happened on the last mission so I can establish a baseline for any traumas?"

"We were ordered to facilitate an exchange of prisoners," Erik said. "A group of Bajorans for a Gul's son. Only one of the Bajorans ... wasn't. He was some sort of unidentified shapeshifter who made his escape but not before killing one of our own and wounding a few others. Still, we had orders. We completed the exchange and were heading back to drop off the Gul's son when our Counselor, who apparently was a Maquis sympathizer, tried to assassinate him. She failed but not for want of trying and committed suicide, by poison, right there at his bedside. The Gul's son, Relen, survived but it didn't help relations with the Cardassians any."

"I would imagine not," Daltom answered. "So, to sum it up, we have a crew that is going to be skeptical of any new counselor, the Cardassians are upset, and crew that is going to have to deal with the death of a crewmate." He heaved a heavy sigh. "Lovely. In other words, my work is cut out for me." He then looked at the Captain seriously and asked, "So where were you when all this was going on? Could any of this have been prevented?"

"The shapeshifter was gone within a few hours of arriving on board," Erik said. "Our scans didn't detect that he wasn't Bajoran which I find interesting ... and troublesome. And Trynn? No one saw that coming. I certainly didn't. As for me, I was here. I answered a crewman's call for help in my pajamas to the crew's endless amusement and coordinated the search for the changeling who managed to get away before we could figure it out -- he kept taking the shape of crew members he knocked unconscious. And I was the one who returned Relen to his father. I don't think it could have been prevented. We were caught unawares. Doesn't mean that I won't try to improve our security so that it doesn't happen again."

"So yes, you have your work cut out for you though I'm not sure it's fair to say that any one of the crew is mistrustful of counselors in particular. I'm certainly not. I speak to mine regularly. I think it's more that members of Starfleet have joined the Maquis. They know our systems. They know how to get around them. I think that's going to cause some problems for all of us until we can get this all straightened out."

"Likely," Daltom existed. "But finding out who they are and where they are if they are infiltrating will be tricky. If there are anymore on this ship, it will be harder for me to assist in discovering them as I am brand new and will be just getting to know the crew. Of course, there are new crew, as well, which will present its own challenge."

"Explain to me, if you will, confidentiality and how that affects your counseling members of the crew," Erik asked.

The Captain does not know how that works? Aren't Captains trained on this sort of thing? Or is he just jaded? "As you know patient-counselor confidentiality generally prohibits me from discussing anything that is entrusted to me in confidence. However, there are notable exceptions. First, if someone threatens to harm themselves, the ship, or anyone, I can abrogate the privilege, and must report. Second, if I find that someone may be a threat to the safety of a mission, I must report. Third, if anyone is threatening or committing a serious crime, I must report. Finally, if mandatory counseling is ordered, I must report in accordance with whatever the order for counseling orders me to do. If no updates are required and only attendance, of course, I will report attendance but nothing further."

"That's about what I remembered," Erik said. "thank you for confirming. Obviously, anything you can tell me with respect to members of the Maquis on board would be of great help. Trynn might not have been the only one."

This spoke to Daltom's cynical side. "I doubt he would have been. Would you throw all of your eggs in one basket? They may or may not have known each other, but if I were the Maquis, I would have at least two in place to accomplish my goals. I just wonder, why this ship? What does this ship have to offer them?"

"I would imagine that the are operatives on a number of ships in the fleet," Erik said. "Learning what they can. Passing what they found along. The Thunderbird was involved in a prisoner exchange; that was bound to track attention."

"So what are the next steps for Thunderbird? How long do I have to deal with the crew trauma from the last mission? Is there someone that you know needs my assistance immediately?" Daltom asked quickly.

"We'll be leaving soon," Erik said. "Admiral Schofield indicated there is the possibility of an attack on a summit meeting between us and the Cardassians. The Ocett, commanded by Gul Zelar, will be there as will we and Intel says so will the Maquis. Not due to start for about another week so you'll have time to talk to the crew. Trynn's reports gave no indication that anyone was in immediate distress ... but given what happened with her, I leave it up to you to check for yourself and of course notify the First Officer if changes need to be made to normal duty rotation."

"But would you trust the reports of someone that betrayed the crew? Even so, after what she did, the reports are no longer likely valid, even if Tyrnn was doing things appropriately. That is not normal, even for a Starfleet crew."

"Exactly so," Erik said. "That's why I'm asking you to check for yourself. Make sure. Their welfare is important to me."

"That is good to hear," Daltom answered. "I would suggest that they will need extra care right now. Is there anything else that you feel is important for me to know before I begin my duties?"

"Nothing comes to mind," Erik said. "Computer, I accept the transfer request of Lieutenant Daltom Vesper to the position of Counselor for this ship. Please make a record in the ship's log and assign him all the rights owed him. Oh, and notify Malbrooke that he'll be needing quarters and Ryan that he's aboard."

"Noted. Lieutenant Daltom Vesper is now Counselor for the USS Thunderbird. Lieutenants Ryan and Malbrooke have been notified," the computer assigned.

"Welcome aboard, Lieutenant. And now, I have an Admiral to talk to, so you're dismissed."

Daltom rose. Neither he nor the Captain learned much about the other. The Captain seemed like the serious sort and that was fine to a point. However, he would have to get to know him better later to discover the Captain's true nature. However, it sounded like there was much to do and that included his onboarding medical and setting up his office. "Thank you, Captain," Daltom replied politely. "Have fun with the admiral," he replied with a polite but sarcastic tone, as he waved and left.

---

Captain Erik Norsgaard
Commanding Officer
USS Thunderbird

Lieutenant Daltom Vesper
Counselor
USS Thunderbird

 

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