Me: Hey Troi. So…about that hexagonal energy creature… Is he still single?
Troi: Yeah.
Me: Where does he live?
Troi: Not too far. He lives on 16 Cygni B b in the Cygnus Region. That’s only about 21 parsecs from you.
Me: That’s really far!!!
Troi: Only for pre-warp civilizations. Oh right…. You can only pretend to travel interstellarly.
Me: :/
Troi: Don’t be upset, there’s plenty of energy creatures in the stars. Besides, you probably couldn’t handle someone who operates at the highest of frequencies. You still need a lot of therapy before functioning at that level.
Me: I got great vibes thank you very much. Easily in the ultraviolet frequency.
Troi: Excellent by human standards. But your 7.5×10^14 hertz is nothing compared to his 6.0×10^29 Hz. Sorry, you are too low energy to be compatible!
Me: Were you trying to set me up with a high energy gamma-ray photon?!
Troi: That sort of description is derogatory to his kind. Besides, what takes you an hour to think of, he could do in 4.5 picoseconds. You guys would probably only last a few microseconds at best. Maybe you should just stick to dating humans for now.
Me: Still would last longer than Bill in bed. BOOM!
Troi: It’s this sort of immaturity that keeps you single.
Me: I was just playing, actually he could…
Troi: Let’s move on please.
Me: Okay.
Troi: So how can I help you?
Me: By giving me this session for free 😁
Troi: Not a chance! Anyways, how have you been?
Me: I’ve been doing okay. I had a touch of the lonelys and had been going to a support group.
Troi: What kind of support group?
Me: It was a trauma informed group that seeks healing and spiritual growth by listening to the body, utilizing breathwork and having open discussions about stuff you’re going through. I actually ended up participating a lot.
Troi: Do you feel that it helped with your feelings of loneliness?
Me: Unfortunately it did not. I didn’t really feel like I connected with anyone there.
Troi: Have you considered going to a more social group as opposed to this one where the focus seems to be more on inner work?
Me: I did but didn’t go.
Troi: Why not?
Me: That one was at a pub and I still sorta clam up approaching people.
Troi: Isn’t part of your job to engage strangers on a daily basis.
Me: Yeah but that’s a persona. When I approach people outside work,I try to be authentic me.
Troi: Why can’t you just approach with genuine curiosity about the person, find a common point of interest, be your usual kind self and go from there?
Me: Maybe because I am tired of trying that and I just don’t feel like people reciprocate it back over the long term. I’ve had a lot of friendships that seem great for a bit then they get busy with life and then we fizzle out. Or pull an Emily.
Troi: Pull an Emily?
Me: That’s not her real name but basically she’d call me when things were bad and have one sided conversations. After flaking a few times, I cut her off.
Troi: There’ll always be people like Emily. Is good that you got rid of that toxic friendship but don’t let past experiences color what the future could hold. Keep trying to do the right thing and good will come from that.
Me: True…
Troi: I felt a sadness awash over you.
Me: Yeah.. . I was just thinking about even when I do meet people, I wish we shared a frame of reference from stuff I’ve experienced. Sometimes you just had to be there to get it. And I’m not a great storyteller in person.
Troi: It is nice to to reminisce about the past with friends but you also shouldn’t let that be a barrier. Make new frames of reference here in the present.
Me: You’re right…its just that I hate the whole process of feeling people out and being on guard. If shit hits the fan, I want that someone I can rely on.
Troi: Is this something you actually need? You seem quite capable of dealing with crisis’s. If anything, it might be more accurate to say that people need you to rely on when things hit the fan. Isn’t that right Madrigal?
Me: Encanto reference?
Troi: You’re the strong one, your not nervous, you’re as tough as the crust of the earth is and shine cuz you know what your worth is.
Me: I dont ask how hard the work is. This is true hahahah
Troi: It’s nice to see a smile on your face.
Me: Thanks. Anyways, I was reminded on several separate occasions recently that I have a negative outlook and take on stuff that is outside my sphere of influence.
Troi: And how does that make you feel?
Me: This isn’t exactly breaking news to me, I think I’ve covered this before in the past. I know I can’t project the future but it’s hard to ignore my feelings of the past. I so very much want to be positive, live in the moment, have a big impact. I sometimes wonder if my imagination gets in the way.
Troi: How would your imagination get in the way?
Me: I dream frequently about all the cool possibilities at the very periphery of reality. And for brief moments there are times where I feel like I get to experience a taste of it before it gets pulled away from me. I look around and I realize that there are some things that just cannot be. Not here…possibly not ever. Even the more borderline things that could be possible seem to be slipping away.
Troi: You said possibly not ever, doesn’t that mean there’s still a chance, however remote?
Me: Yea
Troi: Do you know the future?
Me: No
Troi: Precisely. As you said in the past, the future could be terrible but it could turn out great. Since the future is unpredictable, being optimistic keeps you hopeful. Think about fighting
Me: Fighting?
Troi: In a fight, if a person starts losing and came in with the assumption that they’d lose, they are more likely to not try anymore and sure enough, they lose. Then that’s self-fulfilling prophecy comes in and says, see I knew I was going to lose. Even if there was a chance to win. And then next time you’re in a fight, the same mindset leads to more defeat.
Conversely, if you believe that this is a fight that you can win, even if you are losing, you keep trying and increase your odds of winning. In life there’s no guarantee that you will get what you want but continuing to try and believing that it is possible makes it more likely.
Me: I just wish the fight was more even from the start
Q pops in, Troi vanishes
Q: Oh boo-who life is unfair. You’re right, it isn’t. You most certainly have the odds stacked in your favor relative to others.
In other timelines, I’ve seen you assert your will on existence. You can’t continue to be a passive observer in your own life and expect to be spoon-fed. Out here in the concrete jungle, its survival of the fittest. It’s about time you get in shape.
Me: You’re right…
Q: Of course I am.
Me: Haven’t seen you in a awhile, where have you been?
Q: Unlike some people, I keep myself busy being productive.
Me: Like what kinds of stuff do you do?
Q: Stuff your watery meat mind couldn’t comprehend. If you ever get around to understanding advanced vector calculus, partial differential equations, magnetohydrodynamics, harmonic analysis and dynamical systems theory, then we’ll talk about how that relates to my latest project.
Me: Why are you always so mean to me?
Q: It’s my love language 😘. You know you love it!
Me:
Q: Your silence speaks volumes. Til next time, adieu mon capitane.
Me: I don’t speak French..
Q: Why am I not surprised… vanishes
Me: At least this session was free of charge.
Troi’s bill materializes into my hand
/ \
/ U.S.S. Zamora-A• SHIP'S COUNSELOR'S OFFICE \/________________________________________________\
Counselor: Cmdr. Troi
Starfleet Registry: NCC-1817-D
Location: Deck 10, Forward Counseling Suite
INVOICE ID: CT-TROI-0009
STARDATE: 11112025.7
DUE DATE: 11118025.7
CURRENCY: Federation Credits (FCR)
| BILL TO |
| Name: Christeana |
| # | SERVICE DESCRIPTION | QTY | RATE | FCR |
| 1 | Initial Counseling Session | 1 | 150 | 150 |
| | • Intake, history, assessment | | | |
| 2 | Individual Therapy Session | 3 | 120 | 360 |
| | • Ongoing support re: stress, | | | |
| | mood, and coping skills | | | |
| 3 | Trauma-Focused Session | 2 | 110 | 220 |
| | • Processing prior critical | | | |
| | incidents affecting duty | | | |
| 4 | Stress Management Check-in | 1 | 90 | 90 |
| | • Monitoring sleep, appetite, | | | |
| | and emotional regulation | | | |
| 5 | Psychoeducation Group Session | 1 | 180 | 180 |
| | • Communication and boundaries | | | |
| SUBTOTAL | 1000 FCR |
| ADJUSTMENTS | 0 FCR |
| TOTAL DUE | 1000 FCR |
PAYMENT ROUTING:
• Federation Credit Node: STARFLEET-MED-COUNSEL
• Account: TROI-ENTERPRISE-D-COUNSEL
• Memo: Session 9- CT-Troi-0009
NOTES:
• Sessions canceled with less than 1 starday notice may incur
a rescheduling charge as per Starfleet Medical Code §15.3.
• For acute psychological distress, contact Sickbay or on-call
counselor via internal comms:
Authorized by:
Cmdr. Deanna Troi
Me: Darn…