Under the Hood

Posted on Fri Jul 2nd, 2021 @ 5:03am by

Mission: The Thorion Conundrum Mission Brief
Location: Counseling Office
Timeline: Current

Alessa had requested Dougherty come to her office. Everything seemed settled and the office looked comfortable. Antique furniture, a leather couch, a food replicator, a medical drug replicator. She had a bust of a woman with no arms replicated from ancient Greece called Victim of Medusa and a large farmhouse painting she had painted on the wall.

She sipped on her coffee as she waited for the Lieutenant to arrive.

Outside, Jamie took a deep breath and exhaled, pressing the chime on the door. She wasn't really in uniform according to spec - she had her boots and pants on, her undershirt tank-top, and her tunic and jacket were unzipped, showing off her impressive cleavage. She had taken some time to clean up with a shower but lacked the energy to put her uniform back on completely. Luckily she had dried her hair before coming, which took a while after her long shower.

Alessa sat and smiled as the Counselor walked in, she gave her a brief look of admiration, then motioned for her to come in like she was stepping in from the cold. She threw on the most comforting smile she could manage.

Jamie walked in, her mood still cloudy. "Hello, counselor," she said, her voice sounding kind of dull and deflated, a big difference from her usual self-confidence. She had a mass of red, curly hair tied behind her with a simple hair tie that bounced as she walked in, as did other parts of her. "The CMO and the captain suggested I come talk to you." Her sentence ended on an uptone, almost a question.

"Well hello there, Jamie is it? Can I get you anything? Coffee, tea? Tulaberry muffin? I baked them myself!" She tried to sound upbeat and walked over to the drink station she had set up.

"Yes, I go by Jamie now. It's a nickname, but everyone just calls me Jamie," she replied, as she took a seat before it was offered, sitting down with a thump that jiggled a lot up top. "Maybe some pine needle tea. My mama and my Aunt Debbie made it for me when I was a kid, brings back memories."

Alessa watched the jiggle and swallowed, she wondered if somebody was having fun with her or testing the part of her she never let be on file. "You know I have a great pattern for that. If you want the real stuff I can call home and have some shipped to me. My parents own a coffee and tea shop." She replicated a cup of Betazed Nettle tea with cinnamon. She brought it over and handed it over.

"A muffin would be fine too. It all goes to one place on me though," Jamie added, muttering the second sentence in afterthought.

"I got to say this and I speak right now as a crewmember and not a therapist, you are amazing looking. Its got to give you a lot of unwanted attention. I find pretty women get hazed the most still. But here have a muffin, I consider my office to be a safe space. Anything you want to talk about stays between us." Alessa said.

oO Is she flirting with me? oO Alessa thought.

"Thanks," Jamie said, taking a bite, slowly eating the muffin as if it were a TV commercial from the 20th century, letting her lusciously full lips come back together in what could be a suggestive motion. As the slow-motion bite ended, time seemed to resume and Jamie continued. "Good muffin, by the way. I grew up on some good cornbread on the farm, but it's good."

"And thanks, I know I'm pretty damn hot, not to sound full of it," she replied, a flick of her eyes down for a second before looking back at Alessa. "I wasn't always a 'pretty woman, walking down the street,' as the song says, so it was all new to me when it happened, but I think I've acclimated to it. Just gotta embrace it, right?" She sat up a little straighter, again causing a little more motion than she might've consciously intended up top.

oO Keep it professional for now Alessa oO She thought.

"I like to think if you got it flaunt it." Alessa said.

"And I got a lot, don't I?" Jamie smirked in a playful voice, with a playful wave of her hair like a shampoo commercial, moving more than just her hair at the same time.

"Well, if you're the counselor, and this is all confidential, you know what happened on Bellringer Station? A group of freshly-minted ensigns kidnapped by the Orions to try to create infiltration agents to steal Starfleet top secret information and technology. They genetically altered us into, well, this," she gestured to herself. "No one would suspect someone this hot, late at night, as they whispered secrets, stealing a new faster warp drive, or beam weapon technology right under their noses, as she whispered sweet nothings after the best vigorous exercise of their lives..."

"Actually that was above my pay grade, I am sorry you were altered, having non-consensual anything is traumatic. Is there anything you want to talk about I will listen. You are more then a pretty face, more than a talented Engineer." Alessa said trying to be utterly sympathetic.

"..and then," Jamie's hair shifted golden blonde, and straightened on command, her chest seemed to shrink a bit, lips thinned, and her vivid blue eyes turned green, "with a little change, ready for the next mission." Then, she returned, hair curling and turning red, eyes going blue, lips plumping, and chest returning to her now-normal H-cup.

"Do you know why they altered you? Do you know that you are capable of being more then what they made you for? I mean you remind me of the Kriosian Perfect mate kind of engineering. How do you adjust to work and your personal life?" Alessa asked in genuine earnest.

"I think I was supposed to infiltrate Starfleet Command to grab fleet movements or something to be sold to the highest bidder," Jamie replied. "We got rescued before they could do any kind of personality grafting or erasure, so I'm still me, just in a heck-of-a-lot-curvier body made for, well, 'fun.'"

She paused to let Alessa process before continuing, "I'm trying to be more than effectively a courtesan or a sex slave. I wanted to be an engineer all my life, and I was a pretty damn good one back in the Academy, surprising for a farm kid," she added as an aside.

"Perfect mate? Hahaha," she laughed a little, coming out as a very feminine sound. "Not to worry you, counselor, but I don't know if I'd be perfect...I kind of need a lot more, well, stimulation, than a normal person. I can tire someone out before I've even warmed up. I can induce arousal and other...explosions of pleasure, shall we say, sometimes without knowing I'm doing it, so I don't know if someone's really into me, or they just can't help themselves. I take a pheromonal suppressant, but I can still get in trouble if I'm not careful. But, if that's perfect, well, color me perfect," she smiled and wagged her eyebrows indicating her somewhat sarcastic tone. "And miss perfect eats a lot. I mean, I can put down a 48 oz steak and two baked potatoes without blinking and still have room for cheesecake for dessert."

oO Pheremones, no wonder why I am getting turned on by her. oO Alessa squirmed in her chair.

"There is nothing wrong with a healthy libido or a good metabolism. To be honest I haven't had any experience when it comes to physical relationships. Most of mine die before they get to that point. I can write up more holodeck time for you if you need it?" Alessa asked.

"Honestly a little more time would be good," Jamie mused. "My quarters could use a break..."

Alessa made a notation in the CEO's treatment plan to give her eight extra hours of holodeck time a week.

"Adjusting was difficult at first, I have to admit. I needed a lot of...company...until I got under control, and a lot of holodeck time. I made a Vulcan meditation expert go into pon farr a few years early before I figured out how to get some control over my pheromones," Jamie explained, trying to stay on track. She felt her pheromones spiking a little, and she took a breath, getting it under control before continuing, hoping Alessa wouldn't be too affected. "So, if we want to get all counselor-y about it, I guess I kind of put up a bold personality to people...it keeps a kind of wall between me and others in a way so I can keep some kind of control. Sorry, I have a lot of extra energy, and I don't sleep as much as others, so I read a lot more and read some psych books. I guess normal girls have that problem too, right? Not knowing if someone's into you, or just into your body? If they're really there for you or just how good you can make them feel?"

"One of the problems with being a telepath is I can read when somebody is into me. I have broken the code a few times by reading my would be partners mind. When I find they just want sex, that's where it ends for me. There is a theory about good sex isn't the only thing that's important in a relationship, but it's definitely a barometer for what goes on in one. Once we've had the best sex we think we'll ever have, we become victims to our bodies. I mean right now you are having a profound effect on me physically, I want to hug you in an unprofessional manner and I know that's not what you need. You sound like a soul who is in search of themselves." Alessa paused to take a sip from her coffee.

"You are hot, not just hot but nasty hot, like men would leave their wives for you. That's a good exploit to have when it comes to dealing with others, it's a two edged sword. So you read and you like to eat. Has anybody ever sat down and tried to get to know the real you? The one you don't let folks see because you are afraid of what they will find?" Alessa asked firmly.

Jamie fluffed her hair again, running her hands through her voluminous red curls before responding, adding a little more background to clarify her response.

"I gotta admit I've had some relations with a few officers back at Utopia Planitia...I used my abilities, made them want me, used them, then moved on. It felt amazing," she emphasized the last word, "it was like a drug, really, but after I had another guy or two come up just for the sex, I realized what was happening and stopped. It felt...empty. I realized the power I held and...(sigh)...I guess I just...well...use my body and how intimidating I can be to keep people away with an equally intimidating personality. That way they can't use me and I can't use them and everyone's safe. I mean, on a subconscious level if we're being honest, I always want to use practically everyone for sex and I size up everyone's possible performance because my body's so amped up, but with my suppressor I can keep myself under control enough to do my job. There's the upside to all this, luckily. Eidetic memory and basically a doubled IQ...good metabolism...faster healing...pretty strong too. So no damsel in distress."

Jamie took a sip of her tea and breathed out, enjoying the aroma before continuing, "So, all that is a preface to saying no, no one really takes the time to get to know me except that Aktevan ensign, Tiira...in a way. I swear she's so bubbly and innocent, but crazy intuitive, it's like she's some savant or something. Every ship should have one. But I don't know how deep she can go in a friendship. A friend would be nice that I can actually trust isn't just looking to jump my bones, and I could actually be open and honest. Being hot can honestly be lonely." She said it with an actual tone of sadness.

"And thanks, I love a good compliment," Jamie smiled wide and winked, mood brightened. "Maybe we'll get a mission where I can be a honeypot or something."

"Well this is my plan of treatment based on everything you are saying, I want to see you once a week for therapy sessions, I am going to give you eight extra hours of holodeck time a week, its the maximum I can prescribe.." She adjusted her shirt and buttoned down a third button on her blouse.

"I appreciate it," Jamie nodded. She straightened herself in her chair, and uncrossed and recrossed her legs since one had started falling asleep again. "We can talk whenever my shift gets done."

"I am also going to recommend you find an officer to be friends with. Maybe more.. whatever you need it to be make a connection with somebody." Alessa then felt really bad for lusting after this woman. It was unprofessional. It tugged at her heart and a wave of guilt flooded her.

Jamie tugged her tanktop shirt down a bit, as it had ridden up as she adjusted herself in the chair, unknowingly revealing a bit more cleavage as she did so. It had bunched up on her back and got uncomfortable, so it was a bit distracting, as she leaned a bit forward, adjusting her arms, looking as if she were leaving as she adjusted the shirt.

"We aren't done here if you don't want to go, my door however is always open if you need to get your head on. If you want to catch me off duty, From 1800-2000 hours I am in the lounge. Sickbay put me on a high calorie diet so I get to indulge myself a little." She said with a smile.

"I'd appreciate it," Jamie said with a nod. She adjusted again in the chair, bouncing a bit as she sat back against the comfortable lumbar support. "I might take you up on that. I naturally need a lot of protein, so a nice, thick, juicy piece of steak would hit the spot after work."

"Now about you... there is a personality test I could walk you through but its so clinical, I need you to stop your flirtations a little so I can focus and ask you three questions would that be okay?" Alessa asked.

In her mind Alessa had already leapt over the table pulled this woman into a kiss and done things with her hands. She shook that away in a thought sphere and sent those thoughts into the Kul stone that sat on her shelf.

"Flirting? Huh, I didn't realize I was actually flirting," Jamie said, thinking for a bit. "Sorry if I'm distracting you. Sometimes I don't notice I'm that distracting, to be honest, it just...happens that way. I notice all this damn hair most of all," she said, gesturing to her mass of curly red hair.

"My first question is.. How does your relationship with your mind and body effect your emotions?" She took out her PADD and made eye contact.

"Deep thoughts, by Jack Handy..." Jamie said as she thought, referencing an old SNL skit. "I'd guess my mind still hasn't caught up to my body, to be honest. I still catch myself thinking of who I used to be, so honestly I don't realize the effect I have on people most of the time. I don't expect it, yet I'm turned on by men, so I guess that's something, despite admiring a 'nice firm apple of a heiney' as my Uncle Al would call it. I guess I'm getting crossed wires or mixed signals and sometimes I have to just go with the flow and kinda let my body act how it wants and enjoy the ride."

"My emotions, that's a tough one, though. I try to keep them bottled up while working so I don't dwell and get... sad? Wistful at what I lost? Frustrated? I guess if I had a chick maybe just once be interested in me, not just my overly generous dimensions, and my impressive stamina, that might help. Despite this window dressing, there's more going on upstairs, " she tapped her head to emphasize, "than just sex, despite the Orion meddling in my genes. I want my old body back, despite the benefits of this one, including getting my wisdom teeth back, and not having a 'regular visitor,' but it's not going to happen, so I have to deal. I do feel 'normal' now, but things just keep getting in the way," she gestured to her chest and hair," but I need more... 'release' than before, and sometimes the littlest things get me revved up, so frustrated I guess is the watch word. And a bit disconnected. "

Alessa made a note on her pad, and then said, "Thats what the holodeck time is for. Have you considered looking into getting the changes reversed, or transitioning gender? certainly the technology is there. But that's just food for thought." She pulled up a file on her computer.

"We all feel a little disconnected from reality at times, its how we choose to ground ourselves that matters." She offered.

"Are you aware of a therapy called Plexing?" Alessa asked.

"Well, I've thought about having the changes reversed, but one time through the chromosome blender is enough, given I was forced to be conscious through the whole procedure. The Orions used the pain of bones breaking and resetting, growing and shrinking, feeling like they're grinding together into powder as hair grew or fell out and other things grew and shrank to try to break me, but I broke quite a few of them before they stopped me," Jamie quipped a little. "Besides, when we got back, there wasn't any of my original genetic code left to go back to, unfortunately, so, here I am, in all my redheaded glory," she laughed a little at that. "I'd need the Orions' doctors to do it right, given the way they did it, and they're on the run, so I'm going to have to be comfortable where I am now, you know? Why mope about things when you can't change 'em?"

"As for plexing, not familiar with it," Jamie replied. "I remember some really old 21st century media software called Plex, but I like looking through the archives and seeing how people used to do things at the dawn of computers, but I'm sure that's not related."

Alessa reached over and placed two fingers just under the woman's ear, "When you feel stressed out, or over stimulated touch here. There is a nerve cluster that helps stimulate endorphin production. You take two fingers and give it a gentle tap like so." She gently tapped the spot.

"It can help relax you. greatly." Alessa offered helpfully.

"I usually don't have a problem generating endorphins, but this would be a lot more publicly acceptable," Jamie said, the second half to herself. She tapped the spot as Alessa did.

"There?"

"Right there., another trick is to wear a rubber band around your wrist give a gentle snap on it so the band hits the underside of your wrist where the hand and the center pressure point meet. It releases endrphons and causes a momentary sense of grounding," Alessa offered.

"Endorphins aren't usually a problem for me..." Jamie quipped, her mood souring again.

"These are grounding techniques you can use in every day life when you feel too distracted they can bring you back down to reality using basic tactile structure to your world," Alessa said.

"The endorphins act as mood stabilizers in some species," She added.

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Jamie gave her a nod. After a few moments she spoke up again.

"I guess both the captain and the Doc told you why I had to come here," Jamie said, with a sigh. Her mood changed on a dime, her brave front dropped. "You know what happened while the Orions had us imprisoned."

"I have been told that you suffered some abuse, my guess is physically at the hands of the Orions?" Alessa asked.

"Yes," she replied quietly.

Alessa took some notes and looked up what the best course of therapy might be for a humanoid suffering this form of trauma. She listened to what was said next very carefully.

"While the others got interrogated or whatever happened to them, the Orions knew I had been on their Bellringer Station," Jamie admitted as her voice quivered and eyes watered, her chin twitching as she tried to stifle the emotions. "One of the guards was from Bellringer. He knew I could make them feel really good, regardless of whether I cooperated or not. My body releases chemicals that cause just about every humanoid species to feel twice as good as they normally would, more if I'm not on a suppressant or if I control it. Make 'em see stars."

She offered over some tissues. "Go on/| She said in a confident tone, it was to more urge her bravery then the patients. As uncomfortable as this made her feel, The Lieutenant needed help/

"So they kept the neural collar on me, preventing me from escaping, but adjusted it so that they could..." she didn't finish her sentence before the tears started flowing and she choked up. It was difficult to get the words out, to admit the hurt and the pain, but also the betrayal of her body, since it was designed to feel good during certain activities.

Alessa took out her prescription pad and began to fill it out for a few different medications. She looked at her and said, "The humanoid response to outer stimuli is not your fault. You are only mortal. I want you to keep talking."

"...it was like my body betrayed me. It made me feel so damn good, while they took control from me. I mean handcuffs are one thing, but even that's voluntary," she continued, trying to break the tension a little, giving a little 'hmmph' of a laugh. "There I had no choice. The collar made me unable to move, try as hard as I did to escape, or punch him square in the jaw."

"As of now you are going to see me once a week for trauma and I want you to talk to the Security Chief about signing up for confidence building hand-to-hand combat. If she fails you come back to me and I will refer you to the Marine Corps for the training. I am also prescribing you two drugs, One is given to patients who have gone through severe trauma. It's called Hedrophexaline, It's normally something augments take to deal with the trauma associated with their experimentation, take it before bedtime, If you feel trouble swallowing discontinue and get an epi shot right away. Aside from that its a fantastic mood stabilizer. The other is a form of emergency birth control just in case, I also expect to see you once a week for the next six weeks to help get through all this." Alessa said.

"I don't have to worry about birth control," Jamie replied with a small scoff of a laugh. "I'm an induced ovulator thanks to them, and their collar interfered with my ovaries, so, I'm safe there...might make me go into heat early though. Tingling ovaries feel so weird. Never hurts to be safe, though, I'll stop by sickbay when we finish."

Alessa rather clinically took out her PADD, "Thumbprint here then saying you are refusing emergency contraceptive. Its so you will not hold the military liable for anything..unwanted."

Alessa began to prep other authorizations and formularies.

"I can use some of that holodeck time, perhaps roleplay some Mortal Kombat or something," Jamie mused to herself. "They say violence solves nothing, but holodeck violence can vent a lot of frustration."

"The time is meant for whatever you need it to be for distraction Lieutenant, though I cannot tell you how to use it, I would use it to direct to certain therapies, excercise and or confronting the ideas of your attackers are what it is primarily for." Alessa pointed out.

"Sorry, I got you off your questions," Jamie apologized. "I'll make sure we talk once a week and talk to Lt. Brannon on some self-defense maneuvers. I appreciate you being willing to talk to me, even if the captain and the Doc ordered it."

"I am here for you, I am trained to handle a lot of problems, believe it or not sexual assaults are the third most often cases a counselor deals with. We have a few marines who might be willing to help you if you do not want to go through official channels." She stated, she was now back in control and she was now focusing on how to help more then her hormones were overdriving her.

"The key is to get you through the next 72 hours mentally, if you can be kept stable and your trauma to a minimum, we can get you through this and I will do anything you need okay?" Alessa offered.

"Okay," Jamie said with a nod, appreciating her comforting tone and her words. "It's horrible to think this is more common than I thought."

The Doctor gave a nod and started to type at her computer some of thee case notes of this particular moment. She looked up as Jamie spoke.

"Being a woman's tough business," Jamie said with a sigh. "You're never ready for everything, you know?"

"I find that through coffee all things are possible, through patience and an attempt to understand all things come in time." Les said witha smile.

"I appreciate getting to talk to you Alessa, really," Jamie nodded, leaning forward onto the desk with her forearms. "It's good getting it out, and surprisingly, getting a good cry out helped too. I never really cried before my experience with the Orions."

Alessa templed her fingers, "It never means you are weak if you cry, its a natural reaction to stress. Pacifism is my way for a very big reason. I dislike the who killing aspect of this job."

"Well, let me get back to my quarters for a bit, and I'll work on that holo-therapy time you booked for me," Jamie said as she got up.

Alessa stood up and offered her hand.

Jamie shook her hand, giving her a smile and a polite nod. "Good to know I have someone to talk to, Alessa."

"Take care Lt. Dougherty." Les offered

Lt. Dougherty gave the counselor a smile of her red, full lips and a wave goodbye, as she turned and left.

Alessa sat at her desk typing adding a note to herself to get a hormonal difuser the next time the Lieutenant came in for therapy. She did not like the level of crazy. She did know two things, it was going to be a rough night of sleep for her and if word leaked out Betty would not let her hear the end of it.

[OFF]