A Moment's Pause

Posted on 25 Jun 2013 @ 8:11pm by Commander Scarlet Blake & Lieutenant JG Delainey Carlisle & Lieutenant Dawn Meridian

1,288 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Episode 03 - Frontier
Location: USS Galileo: Deck 3 - Counsellor's Office
Timeline: MD 08 - 11:00

[ON]

Leaning back in her chair at the desk, Scarlet let out a long, tight breath. She had mixed feelings about the events of the last few days. But in truth, it didn't really matter. They were irrelevant. What mattered for now was the effect it was having on the crew. She sipped her coffee, rubbing her temple for a moment as she scanned down over her computer screen. The meeting with her fellow counsellors would start in a few minutes and she wanted to squeeze in the last of the reports.

Delainey entered the office, and seeing Scarlet was reading, presumably reports, she remained quiet as she sat nearby. Carlisle knew, both in her prior tenure as Chief Counselor and now in her dual role as a physician and Assistant Chief, there never seemed to be enough time to get fully up to speed and to actually do the job.

Scarlet looked up to Delainey with something close to surprise, despite having been expecting her. She chuckled at herself, shaking her head as she pushed the padds aside. "Grabbing a moment here and a moment there can make a difference," she shook her head with a smile, moving to get refreshments. "Thanks for coming, can I get you anything?"

Carlisle chuckled and gestured to the PADDs. "I know. I read some of those before I sent them up to you. I get the medical reports now too. I can't believe I thought a change in positions would somehow mean less reading." She shook her head. "No, thanks. Any more to drink and I'll float away."

"I'm getting through a lot more coffee recently. My stock of the real stuff isn't going to last," Scarlet shook her head with a playful tut at herself. And then went and got herself another one anyway before sitting with Carlisle.

Dawn herself came in with a large blue thermos of coffee, which she sipped tentatively as the door shut with a 'whoosh' behind her. "Hello," she said, as much to the thermos as to the other counsellors. She plopped down into a chair and crossed her legs, swinging one foot back and forth. She decided good morning wasn't appropriate. Mornings were rarely good - they were more of a bother than anything else, really. Still, she had coffee. That was something.

Scarlet settled back down as she watched the counsellors, shifting a regular notebook onto her knee, with hand written notes neatly listed across the pages. "I thought this would be a good time to catch up on where we all are with patients and the ship in general," she started the meeting, taking a good sip of her coffee. She looked between them to see who wanted to go first.

Delainey took the cue and offered, "I think the death of Jeremy Stone has impacted the crew, though not in the ways people typically associate with the death of a crew member. It seems the people who interacted with him, the few that did, did not think well of him. Still, it's served as a reminder of their own mortality."

Scarlet nodded in agreement, meeting Delainey's eyes seriously at the somber topic. "You know, I'd wondered if it was just me, that was my experience too. I've heard of a lot of guilt, which isn't unusual, but it hasn't all been survivors guilt. I've had a few people now express guilt that they don't feel all that they think they should for such a loss. Guilt that they feel bad or felt bad about someone who has now died in service. I think the biggest concerns I've heard though, are what you just mentioned. The reminder of their mortality in what can be a dangerous line of work."

Dawn remembered her own conversation with Kiri. Kiri had felt all of those things, even though she hadn't known Stone that well. Stone had died right in front of her, mauled by... whatever the creature had been. That wasn't something easy to get over... not that it should be. "I quite liked him," she said, again to her thermos. "It's hard to be reminded of how easy it is for a life to disappear. Just like that, it's gone." She blinked. There wouldn't be any more awkward meetings with Stone to look forward to. He'd wanted to leave the ship, and he'd never had the chance. "It's affected people quite a lot. All of that, I mean."

Scarlet nodded, watching Dawn's features, seeing she meant what she said. She gave a small smile, sipping her coffee. "The memorial service will be later today. It should allow some of those feelings amongst the crew to be resolved. Although we should be ready for an increase of meetings as it could also stir more up in others."

"Agreed," Delainey replied. "Memorial services tend to be pro forma in Starfleet. Resolution of feelings only happens if the attendees are motivated to get something out of the service that has personal meaning. In this case, many of the crew didn't know what to make of Stone in life, so it's unlikely they'd know how to resolve those feelings in death, during a ceremony they've likely attended before for others in other postings."

"At least it will be a chance to bring everyone together," Scarlet said quietly, shaking her head with a frown, rubbing her forehead thoughtfully. "There's been a lot going on recently, a lot of away teams overlapping and coming and going, as well as the fatalities. It's a hectic time, especially for pilots, security and science."

Carlisle nodded. "It might be good to drop in on those department heads to do a random welfare sort of check for the departments as a whole. I know some people are more candid about their personnell issues if I catch them in the midst of trying to manage them."

Scarlet nodded as she thought it over, giving a 'hm' sound. "We'll wait until the bulk of the surveys are out of the way. I don't want to add to their stresses. Then we'll do a check in. Are they any flags either of you need to raise about patients or crew?"

Dawn tilted her head, thinking it over for a moment. Now that Stone was... gone... there wasn't really anyone she found particularly difficult. There was something really sad about that thought.

Delainey shook her head. "I think we're on top of things for the moment. Fitting in therapy sessions has been more challenging because of the Away Teams, but my sense is that we're doing ok. Are you concerned about anything in particular?"

Scarlet shook her head, giving a small smile as she leant forward. "No. Only the fatality, but it seems we have it covered. It seemed a good time to touch base. If there's nothing else, I don't need to take anymore of your time."

"Fair enough," Dawn said, taking a big sip of coffee out of her thermos. She was somehow always surprised that it wasn't cold, even though she knew better by now. It was a little bit like the ship, really; it kept warm even though everything around it was colder.

"No worries," Carlisle offered with a smile of her own. "It's always good to check in to make sure the right hand knows what the left is doing. I know I try to keep everyone in the loop as needed, but lately, it hasn't been easy. At the very least, I get to check on you." Delainey chuckled.

[OFF]

Lt. Scarlet Blake
Chief Counsellor
USS Galileo

Lt. JG Delainey Carlisle
Assistant Chief Counsellor
USS Galileo

Lt. JG Dawn Meridian
Counsellor
USS Galileo

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