Counseling A Cowgal

Posted on Sat Jul 25th, 2026 @ 3:48am by Ensign Melantha Hastings & Ensign Grace MacKenzie 'Sabre'

3,383 words; about a 17 minute read

Mission: Flight Of The Valkyries
Location: Counselor’s Office
Timeline: Before The Attack On The Iconian Starbase

The events of the previous day had shaken the young pilot and despite the reassurances of Zach, Zed she reminded herself, the shivers that ran down her spine were anything but reassuring. While she hadn’t remembered speaking French to him, the fact that she had no memories from the time a hand came down on her shoulder in the mess hall to the time that a glimmering coin had distracted her out of that catatonic state told her everything she’d needed to know and that meant one thing: She needed to see a counselor and soon. She sent a message off to her squadron leader, who’s been understanding, that she would be late today and set off for the counseling offices.

As Grace arrived in her flight suit, her last name ‘MacKenzie’ and callsign ‘Sabre’ on the patch perched on the left side of her chest, she became suddenly lost. This place was much different than where the counselors had been on Foch, there was a main office, then doors leading to several rooms where presumably the counselors were. What made it worse was that there was no one in that main reception room when she went to the door and her throat closed up that maybe she’d made this particular trip in vain. She certainly couldn’t go knocking on doors, because everyone may be in with patients, which meant that she may just be SOL. But was that really for the worst? It had taken her screwing up her courage to even come here now, would she be able to come back again? The warring thoughts kept her teetering at the door to the main reception area while she considered whether to abandon this as just a bad decision.

Melantha was heading into her shift. Charlee was at her side. She paused at the sight of the pilot hovering at the doors. She could read the trepidation in the woman's form. "Hello" she said her strong accent, stronger than most who now lived in what had been England. "Can I help?"

The voice from behind her made Grace nearly spin in response, but instead her legs wobbled in relief as she turned and saw the woman in yes, the right color uniform. “Yes, ma’am, Ah believe you can. Ah don’t have any appointment or nothin’, but Ah was really hoping to task to one of y’all if there was the possibility, presumin’ you are a counselor, ma’am?” Her Texan twang was smooth, but the stress in her voice was palpable.

"I am a counselor. And I do have a vacancy right now if you wish." Melantha said, sounding more confident than she really felt. "I am Melantha" She held out her hand to shake the other womans'.

"Grace." The pilot reached out to accept the hand and by doing so forfeited her chance to flee the scene without some sort of consequence. "Ah probably should, but Ah'm thinkin' that..." She trailed off and shook her head, "Ah need to. If Ah don't, Ah'll never get the nerve again."

Melantha nodded. "Fully understandable. Please, come this way." She guided Grace down the hall to a small office at the back of the counseling offices.

Inside there was no desk. Just a comfortable couch, two wing chairs and a coffee table between them. "Make yourself comfortable." She said to Grace. "Can I get you a drink?"

"No, no thanks." Grace perched herself on the edge of the couch at the beckoning, "Ah was passing by and Ah, Ah figured Ah should come by. Besides, my wing commander suggested it as well and a suggestion from her is effectively a commandment from the right hand of God, wouldn't you say?"

"I believe so. I try not to argue with people of higher rank" Melantha smiled. Melantha sat opposite her. "So tell me, are you nervous being in here?"

"Ah'm... Ah'm terrified, ma'am," Grace admitted truthfully with a nervous laugh, "Ah've never been all that comfortable with counselors and on my last ship, they... Weren't much help at all."

Melantha nodded. "You have to be comfortable talking to someone for them to even know how to help." She said honestly. "It can be daunting when you have to spill your guts to a stranger."

"That's the truth, ma'am." Grace agreed, "Ah've gotta ask, but anythin' we talk about here, that's all confidential, right? You can't just go and tell anyone about anythin'?"

"Completely confidential unless you say you are planning to off yourself. Sorry, I mean commit suicide, then I have to contact medical. But other than that what ever is said here, does not go any further."

Grace gave a dry chuckle, "Well, ma'am, you don't gotta worry about that, if Ah were gonna off myself, as you say, Ah'd have done it long ago." She squeezed her hands together briefly, "But needless to say, Ah had a bad time of it on my last ship and my boss thinks Ah should come here to talk about it, even though Ah'm not really sure Ah wanna."

"Thats ok. You dont have to. We can just chat about other things. Like where are you from?"

“Ah’m from outside of Pecos, in Texas on Earth, it’s a smaller place, not much of anyone around to speak of, Ah’d say the entire county has maybe thirty, thirty five thousand max in it? Mah family has a large ranch, authentic beef cattle farmed with sustainable practices and all, but we knew most everyone immediately around us, even if it made the commute to school a bit longer than most. Aside from some aunts, uncles and Ah think one of my great grandparents, Ah’m one of the only of my family in the Fleet, of course, those aunts and uncles… Were durin’ the War and they didn’t make it out. So my daddy didn’t want me to join up, forbade me from it in fact… Last time Ah talked to him, really, was the day Ah left for the Academy. Mama just said to let him be, so Ah have, but Ah don’t think he’s ever gotten over it.”

"So can you ride a horse?" Mel asked curiously. She had not herself ridden since her awakening, the horses long gone but she knew that some people still had working ranches and such.

"Can Ah ride?" Grace finally grinned widely, "Sure, we used shuttles for some of the bigger drives, but the cows responded better to horses when we needed to pull in any that seemed ill or the like. You're lookin' at one of the best cutters in the whole of Texas! Miss Teen Texas two years runnin', no less, and if Ah had Whirlwind here. Ah could really show you a thing or two. She's got the best cow-sense of any horse Ah've ever known, predicted them before they knew where they were goin' themselves."

"What about on the holodeck?" Melantha asked. "Didn't I read somewhere that the holodecks can be used for recreational things.. horse riding included?"

"Ah suppose so, but Ah um..." Grace glanced down at the floor for a second, "Ah don't know how holodeck time is divvied up on the Tokyo. On Foch, it was given out as rewards for exemplary performance or there was a weekly allotment, but Ah never had the opportunity..."

Melantha stood. "Come on then" She said brightly. "I happen to have a few hours saved up."

Grace's eyes opened wide, "Ah couldn't let you do that for me, Ah couldn't imagine how much you've had to save up to get a few hours available and, and, and," She was flustered even as her heart yearned for it, "And besides, Ah was told that all my holoprogram files Ah put together were corrupted and deleted and all that.."

"pish posh" Melantha said. "As this is part of our session, its perfectly fine." She went to the terminal and checked. "Holodeck 1, Deck 5 Free for the next 60 minutes." Melantha smiled. "I ride English Saddle but I can keep up."

"Ah've always gone Western, for the obvious reasons, nothin' on the English saddle to tie off a rope to and besides, a better center of balance, no offense, ma'am." Grace stood from the couch, helpless but to follow, "Not sayin' that it's a bad thing in any case, everyone has their own preferred style. Workin' horses, that's where Western is clearly the best."

"Did you just ma'am me? We are the same rank. Call me Melantha or Mel." Mel led Grace from the office and briskly down the hall to the turbolift bank. She summoned the Turbolifts. She gave Grace a smile. "I must say Turbolifts are fun, much more fun than the old elevators of my childhood."

"Your childhood, ma-Mel?" Grace gave her a curious look, "Ah don't think Ah understand? Did you grow up on some backwards planet, or maybe in one of those 'old timey' places that re-enactors like runnin'?"

Mel shook her head. "I will tell you one day." The lift arrived and Mel ushered Grace in. "So tell me about cattle drives?"

"They really aren't anythin' special," Grace waved it off, "For us it was mostly just gettin' them moved from one pasture to another to keep from overgrazing one area. It's nothin' like the old movies anymore, 'cause we're not havin' to do that to get them to the harvest location. Usually movin' the herds takes most of a couple days, just gettin' them to go in the right direction. Get the leaders goin' to the right place and the rest follow and it's all just a good ride for the day unless some of them are feelin' their oats and try to break out."

"So do you just use the horses or do you have dogs as well?" Melantha asked as the lift dropped to the requisite deck. When it arrived, they exited and headed to the holodeck.

"For the herding? Just horses. We have a couple dogs at home, Labrador retrievers and you can bet that they absolutely love the puddles and ponds." Grace gave a chuckle, "They'll do some herdin' of the chickens and keepin' them outta trouble, but not in among the cows. Daddy considered gettin' some trained border collies, but was worried about stressin' the cows too much. So we keep to the horses."

Mel's dog Charlee had been following them silently but now she moved up beside Grace, her tone giving Charlee an opening. She leaned against Grace's side as Melantha studied the console at the holodeck.

Melantha's lips moved then her tongue poked out the side as she input a program code. "I hope this is the right program."

Idly, Grace reached down to scratch Charlee behind the ears without thinking about it. It was a completely natural move for her. Sudden nerves hit her as she watched the doors slide open in front of her. This wasn't normal to her, it was almost a brand new experience outside the Academy. The nudge of a cold, wet nose snapped her out of it and she smiled down at the golden retriever to continue her scritching as she waited for the photonic world in front of them to come to life.

The holodeck changed into a large farm. American style, it was clear to see as it was vast and had hills in the distance. The smells of an active farm scented the air. "Well that worked" Mel said brightly.

Grace stood there transfixed for a moment, memories flooding back into her from a lifetime before, three years ago when she had last visited home prior to her graduation from the Academy. Oh sure, it wasn’t her family’s ranch, but the smell of horse was prominent, cows, chickens, the sharp tang of pigs were there as well while the musty scent of morning dew on wool also indicated at least a few sheep. All were familiar with one another and she smiled in welcome and wordless relief as her feet took her over the threshold into what could be considered paradise to someone like her.

Mel stood back and let Grace enter the program. Charlee followed Grace carefully, looking around. Mel watched Grace's shoulders drop slightly, a sign of a weight being released and the person relaxing.

There was a barn a short walk away, Saddles were clearly visible through the open door.

It wasn't her ranch and there were protocols to follow and Grace glanced back at Melantha, question in her eyes and a voiceless ask. The nod she got from the counselor pushed her back into action and she let her feet take her towards the open door of the barn and vanished into the relative cavern. Once inside she saw three horses in stalls, three heads turning towards her, six ears pricked in interest and she approached the first one as a palomino head shoved it's way through the open upper door with a gentle whicker of greeting. Her hands reached out with sheer gentleness and the silken skin brushed against her fingers. Grace grinned as she pressed her face against the nostrils, feeling the hot breath on her cheek.

Melantha watched and smiled. She moved into the stable and took a seat on a small stool. Sometimes people just needed peace and quiet in their mind and this sort of thing helped. Had she been still in her old time, she would have taken Grace for a walk in a park. Part of her knew that being on a starship could cause a lack of connection. "I think she likes you."

“Horses always..” Grace trailed off, ‘Always know when something’s wrong.’ She almost finished, but this was just a program. Sure, they were able to capture individual personalities often enough, but their sixth sense of finding the people who were having issues? “Have liked me.” She finished instead, planting a gentle kiss on the delicate skin of the nostril while running a hand up between the eyes with a gentle rub, “And they’ve always been my happy place, where Ah’ve always gone, when able, to just settle my nerves or that sorta thing.”

"Animals are often most caring." Mel said with a smile. "A lot of people speak about the benefit of Animals being used in medical and counseling. I think, personally that being somewhere you feel safe is also of value."

“And the sayin’ ‘Horses never lie’ is the absolute truth.” Grace giggled as the palomino playfully nudged her again, pushing her off-balance a little bit, “The most guileless creature out there when you know what to look for, how they carry their head, their ears, stance, tail action, you can tell exactly what’s goin’ through their little minds. It’s why Ah probably should never have left the farm, but Ah wanted to do somethin’ other than continue the family tradition. Daddy didn’t like it one bit, Ah haven’t talked to him but once when Ah was in the Academy.. That wasn’t a fun talk, neither, ended up with us screamin’ at each other. Both of us said things we didn’t mean, but he’s got his pride and Ah take after him, so mama says.”

"Sometimes its hard to say things to people's faces." Mel said. "I used to rehearse in a mirror when I had to speak with my mother about things of importance. If you had not left the farm, what would you have done?"

"Besides helpin' with all of the herdin' and crops?" Grace asked, playing with the lips of the mare, "Ah don't know. Probably see what Ah could do with rodeoin' on the national stage, get married, have some kids and raise them on the farm alongside those of my siblin's kids." She shook her head, "Ah've got two sisters and three brothers, all older than me, so Ah'd never be runnin' the place, just always a hand there. It would have been borin', safe, but borin'."

"So you chose to fly." Melantha smiled. "You chose a life that made you happy. There is nothing wrong with that. It takes a bit for people to understand that not everyone is suited for what they grew up doing."

Grace shrugged, "Ah joined Starfleet as an undeclared major." She said, "Just to get away from home. When Ah got there, they ran me through some tests for aptitude and flyin' was what they thought Ah would be best at. Started off studyin' for the helm, but when they put us into shuttles and fighters for the tests, Ah just found that flyin' fast and hard was the right thing for me."

"Did you like rollercoasters as a child?" Melantha asked unsure if there were such things in this weird future.

Rollercoasters? Old-style Elevators? Grace was confused, because while she'd heard of them, they were relics, oddities. The mag-lev coasters were faster and far safer than the rickety wheeled coasters that were relegated primarily to museums. Was this woman from the past? Or maybe she was one of those re-enactors? "Ah had fun on the mag-levs, yeah, pretty thrillin', what with the sharp turns and the high speeds."

"Not surprising. My brother was a pilot. He loved speed as well." Melantha smiled. "Its something that sets pilots apart."

"Speed is a wonderful thing, but it's not everythin'." Grace shrugged, "Ah really don't know how Ah'd describe the thrill of flyin', aside from just the feel of freedom. It's the one place in Starfleet that Ah ever felt like there was only me relyin' on myself, where no one could hurt me."

Melantha studied Grace for a moment. "Is NASCAR still a thing?" She asked curiously.

"NASCAR?" Grace gave Melantha a confused look, "Ah've never heard of it... If you're talkin' about car racin', like aircars or somethin', there are some travelin' groups that do that and Ah've heard about some street racers that think they own some of the streets in the major cities. But whatever this NASCAR is? Ah dunno. But whattaya mean 'still' a thing? You know, Ah've been thinkin' about it and you mentioned elevators as different as turbolifts and well, you just seem... Ah don't know."

"Weird? Out of place? Yes I get that a lot. NASCAR is or was highspeed car racing in the 1900's. Lots of noise, speed and exhaust fumes. Some people paid to ride in the cars for fun when the races were not on, as an adrenaline high."

"Ah think people hafta be crazy to want to do somethin' like that. Sure, flyin' in combat is dangerous, but it usually means somethin'. Back in the 1900s? Their safety procedures were a joke, if Ah remember correctly. No shock frames or quality restraints, just a strap across the lap and body that was more likely to snap your neck than save you if you were goin' anythin' over a hundred fifty kilometers per hour!" Grace shook her head, "No thank you, Ah will pass on that ten times outta ten."

"What about Orbital Skydiving?" Melantha knew about NORMAL skydiving. Had done it once on a dare from Oliver and hated it. But she knew there was a new version in the 2300's. "Have you done that?"

Grace went pale at the memory, "Ah had to, as a fighter pilot, just in case Ah got shot out of my bird and there was no rescue incomin'. It's a long fall and you gotta deal with the re-entry burn along with just how far it is to the ground. Again, not somethin' Ah'd do if Ah had any choice in the matter."

"Yes jumping out of a perfectly good aircraft is not something I like the idea of either." Mel smiled. "I think I have found the best thing for you though Grace."

"Ah'll have to make sure Ah behave, then." Grace smiled, "Then Ah'll see if Ah can get my parents to send me a holoprogram of the farm back home. Thank you, Melantha."


"You are welcome" Mel said "So.. shall we ride?"

END:

By
Ensign Grace 'Sabre' MacKenzie
Starfighter Pilot
USS Tokyo

Ensign Melantha Hastings
Counselor
USS Tokyo

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