Turn Off the Lights!

Posted on Thu Jul 4th, 2024 @ 3:45pm by Lieutenant Rowena "Rena" Campbell & Lieutenant Kevin Bianchi Ph.D. & Lieutenant JG Rosalind Paget

1,755 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Silver Rain
Location: Counseling Office
Timeline: MD01

Rena was in the Counseling office. She was ANNOYED, too, and she knew it was affecting the other medical staff, but the Betazoid couldn't help it. Not exactly. She was SUPPOSED to be helping the Captain right now, but Roaa had decided, at the last minute, to take a class IN PERSON at HQ and so here she was, stuck overseeing patient care until her new staff arrived. She was only annoyed at the change to her schedule-she otherwise loved her job, and was excited to see it again. It had been awhile.

She scheduled Miss Brix for a ten am appointment the next day, and sent the Yeoman a quick note. She should've asked Lorut to deliver the message, but on the other hand, she didn't want to scare Brix off, but really needed the woman to understand that addressing her trauma from jump was of utter importance.

Finally, the Orion woman had replied that she'd be there, and Rena forwarded a message to Max. She was, more or less, doing it as a favor for the Captain, but really didn't mind. Now that they were more removed, she could see the situation more clearly.

A moment later, her Comms badge buzzed. Lieutenant Campbell, Lieutenants Bianchi and Paget are here. Rena smiled.

=/\=Thank you, Petty Officer Jones. Please buzz them through," she said. She stood up, and gathered her things, organizing them into a neat, quick pile. She bustled around for a moment, putting her tea away, and plumping the pillow on the couch. She smiled when the pneumatic doors opened.

"Hello! Please, come in," she said. She stood, waiting. " I am Lieutenant Rowena Campbell," she said. "Call me Rena."

"Lieutenant Campbell... Rena. A pleasure to meet you," Kevin said as he and Rosalind stepped into the office. He extended his hand and flashed her his trademark smile. "Kevin Bianchi, new Chief Counselor. Great to meet you," he said warmly, then gestured to Rosalind beside him. "And this is Rosalind Paget, my aide. We're excited to join the team."

As they shook hands, Kevin's brow furrowed slightly, a look of concentration crossing his face. Suddenly, his eyes lit up with recognition.

"Hold on a sec... I think we might've crossed paths before," he said, snapping his fingers as the memory came into focus. "Advanced Xenopsychology with Professor T'Lara? I remember this heated debate about Betazoid empathy versus Vulcan emotional control, and I'm pretty sure you were there, making some killer points about cultural context."

Rena smiled. She, too, had been picking up a familiar signature but couldn't place it. "Yes, that was me," she said. "I still think I was in the right," she said, pursing her lips a little bit. "Anyway, lovely to see you again!!" She said. "Do either of you want something from the replicator? The one in here is just basic drinks-tea, coffee, juice. Usually, the crew brings their own but Commander Lorut likes Jumja tea usually, and the Captain is a coffee guy," she said. "And so on."

{So these two know one another}
Rosalind felt a reassurance at the fact, enough to venture a response.

"Please may I have juice?" she asked but quickly adding.." If you two are having something."

Rena smiled. "Sure," she said. She turned to the mini Replicator in the room. "This replicator only does orange, prune, and Rossaka juice," she said. "One Rossaka juice, please," she said. A moment later, she handed Rosalind her drink, and then replicated herself another cup of Uttaberry tea.

"I'm good for now, thank you," Kevin said, politely declining as he took a seat.

Once the three were settled, Rena began. "So I started here originally as part of the Seabase detachment," she said. "Captain Culver, myself, Dr Greene, and a few others were out there first. The Fleet shut that down, and we were all reassigned. Culver did his best to keep us together here on the Intrepid," she explained. "Before I walk you through the basics, do you have any questions to start off?" She asked.

Rosalind's attention had been on the juice. She'd never heard the name before so had no idea what the small glass held. The colour was similar to Apple juice, the aroma was.....not quite unpleasant but a little off putting to her. Politeness triumphing, she had taken a sip and initially wished she hadn't but the taste improved after a few seconds. Now she gave a slight shake of her head in reply before taking another sip.

Kevin nodded appreciatively; his expression attentive as he listened to Rena's introduction. "Thanks for the background. It's helpful to understand how the crew came together," he said, "and what bonds them." His tone became a bit more serious as he continued, "The captain filled us in on some recent events - particularly the situation with the El-Aurians and the Q's intervention. A lot has happened, clearly, so I'd like to take a triage approach to treatment for now: assess which crew are most in need and then schedule sessions based on priority. To do that, though, we'll need your insight. Official Starfleet reports are all good and well, but it's not going to tell me who's most in need of counseling. The captain mentioned Petty Officer Brix, so there's a start at least..." he trailed off to let Rena continue.

Rena nodded. "That's a good idea," she said. "The two crew members most in need overall are Commander Lorut and Brix, but from the incident...Dr. Greene, I think, might need an appointment. He saw the death and the injured...and he doesn't seek help on his own. I always have to go to him," she said. "I was there with Petty Officer Brix...frankly...I am a bit...hesitant to say that it was a GOOD thing with the Q, but...at least it saved some lives and made diplomacy easier," she shared. "My own counselor is back at HQ; we chat through the Relays or computer once a week," she said. "As far as the rest? Let them come to you. Besides the ones I mentioned, the rest are less hung up about seeing us and will come on their own," she said. "So that's good," she said.

Rosalind put her glass aside deciding that on the whole she didnt like the juice and its after-taste.
The situation under discussion appealed to her.
She felt that at last she could give support or be of use at least to someone in need and it would. she knew, be beneficial to herself much as she disliked the thought of self improvment due to the distress of someone else.

Kevin listened closely as Rena spoke. He leaned forward slightly, his expression thoughtful. "I appreciate you flagging Commander Lorut, Brix, and Dr. Greene as priorities. I've already set up a coffee meeting with Commander Lorut, actually. I'll make sure to reach out to Brix and Dr. Greene soon as well."

He paused for a moment, considering what Rena has said about Brix. "The Q situation sounds... complex. I can see how it could stir up mixed feelings. We'll need to tread carefully there."

Glancing briefly at Rosalind, he continued, "I'm glad to hear most of the crew is comfortable seeking help. That's a good sign. We'll keep an open-door policy and make ourselves available, in that case. Also... you're happy to keep overseeing the captain's personal counseling sessions?"

Rena smiled, and nodded. "I am," she said. "He gave me a chance when no other captain would," she said. "I was older when I joined the Fleet; did a bit of Civilian work back on Betazed," she explained, "Working with veterans of the Dominion War." She paused. "Most everyone else thought I was too old and inexperienced," she said, "Even though I grew up on Starships. Both of my parents were Starfleet," she said. "My older brother, Ron, is also in Starfleet but my middle brother is not," she said. "Also, my particular...abilities are usually helpful. He tries to be sneaky and not tell me everything," she said, tapping her head. She smiled. "Rosalind, anything you would like to know?" She asked.

"I'm fine for now..thankyou." came the quiet reply.

"Good, that settles it then," Kevin smiled, then asked, "Is there anything else you think we should know as we get started? Any quirks of the Intrepid or its crew we should be aware of?"

Rena snorted. "Well...quirky is what I would say, yes," she said. "But nothing out of the ordinary. The most pressing issue currently is Lorut; the rest seem to have decent coping skills and a willingness to overcome whatever they face," she said. "Not to disparage the woman; she's just been through a lot and I think that her seeing a professional much sooner would've been useful," she said.

Rosalind was wondering how Kevin would approach this, wondering too what involvement she could have. With the meeting coming to an end she gave the juice a last look determined not to ask for it again.

"Alright!" Rena continued. "I guess we're finished. I am always around; my studies will continue onboard, I just will be stepping back as Department head," she said. "I mostly will be on hand to see the Captain personally, as he's requested, but the rest don't really seem to have a preference. Plus, it's always good to have an empath around, I think," she said. Her skills had proven useful at least once before. "You're free to stick around and set things up or whatever. If you will excuse me, though, *I* am going to see the Captain," she said, with a sigh. The man was giving off a lot of off vibes lately, and she wasn't exactly excited to know why.

"Good luck," Kevin replied, offering Rena a wry smile. "And thank you for all the info... it will be a great help. I want to get started right away, but first, I think, lunch is in order," he added as his stomach audibly growled.

"Thanks!! Same to you," she said. "I'd recommend the Mess Hall; the special is a Betazed dish we call Oskoid salad!" She smiled. She'd go get some herself later on. Maybe with S'Tera. "See you later!!" She breezed out of the room with her PADD. That had gone well. A moment later, she returned to the doorway.

"Turn off the lights when you leave; that's how I let the crew know I am unavailable," she said.

 

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