ST:END106 | "Who counsels the counsellor? Part 6"

(24 February 2418)

"Enter,"

Tasha stood by the door of Sam's quarters. "Hey..."

Sam gave her a cursory glance from his position, staring out of the window at the docked Kassandra and MacAlpine, his arms crossed and his fingers by his mouth.

"Hey,"

Tasha detached herself from the door frame and made her way towards him. "Just coming to check up on you. You've been fairly busy, and we've not seen each other properly since I was deployed to the Thrres..."

"It's a busy time,"

"Sam..." she sighed. "Come on, you know this isn't like you... what's up?"

Sam gave her a hard stare. "Is that really the question you want to ask, Miss Larson?"

Tasha placed her hand on his shoulder. "Yes, it is,"

Sam softened slightly at the touch. "I've lost crewmembers, one of my close friends is dead, another has lost his ship, another has a ship that's barely holding together. Lara was close to assimilation, I have friends on this ship who have been assimilated, and my First Officer is locked in a JAG case," Sam stopped himself from talking further, exhaling.

"Feel better?" Tasha whispered.

"No," he said. Tasha gave him a look, and Sam gave her another quick glance. "Yes,"

"There was a 50/50 chance of you getting that one correct, and you got it wrong," Tasha smirked and gave him a hug. "It's okay Sam, you seem to be coping well, and as a friend and as your counsellor, it's really encouraging to see.

Sam's hug to her was a light side armed hug with one arm. "Thanks, Tash, I appreciate that. I'm... actually very proud of everyone. The Endeavour could have suffered a worse fate," his eyes glance outside. "I've heard reports of the crew performing above and beyond at all levels, to prevent that. We came off lightly..."

"The morale of the crew is fairly high you know," she nods. "It's a totally different feeling to when the Azedi attacked,", she looped her arm around his and rest her head on his shoulder.

"I'm glad..."

Tasha looked up at him. "Something's bothering you..."

Sam's eyes never left the two ships outside. "I enjoyed it..." he muttered quietly.

"Pardon?"

"I enjoyed that fight. I enjoyed being in that chair when we engaged. When the Borg entered the bridge, I was ready for a fight,"

Tasha blinked.

"People died Tash. Lives were risked. And there I am, someone who enjoyed the battle. What's wrong with me?"

Tasha didn't say anything straight away. "It's who you are Sam. It's what your countless years of experience have made you to be. A soldier. And... it's that experience that got us here now. It's because of you that the crew performed so admirably. It's why we got out with minor damage. Because of your experience. It's why you're in command of this ship, Sam. When things are tense, when shots start firing, you're able to keep a cool, calm, head. It's not something that I could do easily when the Azedi attacked. The entire battle, I was trying to keep my anxiety at bay, trying not to break down in the centre chair. You... probably fought that entire battle as if it was nothing more than a fight against a... a..." she frowned.

Sam smiled lightly. "A?"

"No, I have nothing, the entire metaphor ran away from me. But the fact remains..." she smiled too. "You did a good job. I think, I mean, I wasn't there to see it,"

Sam shook his head lightly. "I was mostly organising fleet movements and commands. It was Mischa who did the hands on command,"

"Well, that's what a Flagship does Sam," she grinned, resting her head on his arm again. "That's why the Endeavour has such a fast computer and communications systems. To coordinate with fleet movements. That's how battles are won,"

"When did you become such a tactical expert?" Sam tilted his head down at Tasha.

"Ever since reading a book called From Battleships to Starships: The evolution of Naval Military Tactics, by a certain Dr Bishop. Oh and when you decided that I needed to be in command of the Bark,"

The pair shared a laugh.

"Oh..." Sam looked at Tasha. "I might actually need a yeoman now. Can I get you to oversee a personnel transfer?"

Tasha frowned. "What's wrong with HoloJenny?"

Sam mumbled something.

"Pardon?"

"Her... program was wiped..."

"What how?" Tasha's eyebrows shot up.

"Kelly... when... the Borg arrived, she decided to use the holographic patterns on the bridge to throw up holographic images of me to distract the Borg. The console exploded as she did it. It... corrupted the holographic database and replaced all the holograms in the file with my own pattern,"

"You mean..." Tasha burst out in laughter.

"Yes, every single hologram on this ship is currently me," Sam replied bitterly.

Tasha was shaking with laughter.

"Engineering are working on restoring the patterns, but Jenny was completely wiped over,"

"Does that mean... the EMH... is..." Tasha said through fits of laughter.

"Yes," he replied flatly.

"Oh man. That's hilarious,"

"Very much so,"

Tasha punched his arm. "Cheer up. It could be worse,"

"How?"

Tasha thought for a moment. "No, you're right, it really can't,"

Sam rolled his eyes. "Thanks for the great support there Larson,"

Tasha smiled, and reached down to grab his hand. "I'm glad that you're okay. I was worried about what this battle would do to you. I'm happy that you're managing this well,"

"I have a great support staff," he smiles. "Mischa's been working overtime to help with the repairs, leaving me to focus on the administration,"

"Looks like I kept my promise," she grinned.

Sam shook his head, " Forget promise, you brought me a golden swan,"

"And Lara?"

"She's... struggling," Sam sighed.

"Want me to go sit with her for a bit? It'll free you up some time, so you can do a bit of a walk around,"

Sam glanced to his bedroom, and then back at Tasha. "Thanks Tash..."

"Go. I'll look after her,"

Sam nodded and left the room. Tasha made her way into his bedroom, to find Lara lying on the bed, asleep. A chair was placed on one side, next to her, and Tasha lowered herself into the chair, watching Lara. She had fresh scratches over her face, the most prominent ones being the two lines that were on her neck. Tasha leaned over, brushing the hair away from Lara's face, and traced the lines, wincing slightly.

"Vilik did it," Lara's voice made Tasha jump and pull her hand back.

"Lara! Sam's just gone for a walk, I'm gonna sit here for a bit, okay?"

Lara gave a small nod. "Vilik saved me from being assimilated. He... wanted me to make sure you knew,"

"Vilik... the Lieutenant?"

Lara nodded again.

Tasha blinked a few times. "Oh..."