Deep And Meaningful Conversation

Posted on Wed Sep 16th, 2020 @ 2:48pm by Captain Bethsabée Leroux & Lieutenant Avira zh'Kenarh M.D.

Mission: Mission 3 - 100
Location: Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: Day 41, Month 2, Year 0 15:30
2270 words - 4.5 OF Standard Post Measure

Avira wasn't quite sure if it was her place to bring this up with the commander, but she had been made the chief medical officer and the health of each and every single one of them was important to her and the ship as a whole. She knew Sloan's living arrangements were taking its toll on him and she felt like she needed to act. So she had made an appointment with the commanding officer and properly prepared her research from the available information in the ship's databanks. There had been a lot of papers on incarceration, rehabilitation, and the like. Taking Sloan's particular predicament into consideration she fully expected that the conversation she needed to have with the Commander wasn't going to be quick and easy. She hit the chime on the side of the door and awaited word from within inviting her inside.

Beth looked up from the floor where she was sat in gym clothes and surrounded by PaDD of data trying to figure out more than a few things. She glanced first at the chronometer than her schedule and cursed at how she was not at all ready for the talk with the doctor but that it would just have to do. She rose not even moving to put her shoes on and pressed the door release to allow her in "Come in Doctor. I am very at ease right now." She admitted showing the mass of PaDDs and paper in a circle around where she must have been sat moments before.

"Oh. I.." Avira wasn't quite sure what to say in that regard and decided to keep quiet for a moment as she positioned herself in an empty corner of the room, where she stood at attention, "I was looking to talk to you about Mister Sloan's current living arrangements, ma'am." She stated, quite sure it wasn't doing anything to ease the tension but happy that she was able to just get that out before anything else could come up.

Beth looked at the woman and nodded sitting back in the empty spot and cleaned a few PaDDS to allow the woman to sit down with her. It had been something bothering her since they had spent the hour or so alone trying to survive and get the to the bridge but until now no one else had seemed to worry or question it. "Let us talk then." She offered.

For a moment Avira looked at the offered spot on the ground and wondered how to approach this. She then decided to sit down in the most respectful way she could think of and she lowered herself onto both of her knees and then sat back down on her heels. It wasn't the most comfortable position but at least in this fashion she could take her leave relatively easily if she were dismissed, "Even before taking the individuals well-being and circumstances into consideration, I want to officially state that the facilities provided in the brig are not sufficient for long term confinement."

Beth watched her stiffly sit down across from her and offered a small smile. They had not overly caught up like this in a while and the woman obviously did not know how to take her. There would be plenty of time to change that in the future. "Thank you for officially stating it but I have been thinking the same. I already have Engineering securing crew quarters to allow him more space and better facilities." Beth admitted holding out the PaDD for the woman to see. She was even enquiring discreetly about jobs that the man could do around the ship to make him a productive member of the ship again.

"Oh. I." Avira took a moment to reconsider her coming here, "I apologise for overstepping my boundaries, ma'am." She lost her train of thought for a moment, there had been other things she wanted to ask but the ease at which the first request had been taken care of she almost forgot what those were, "I've also spent some time with him, engaging him in a social manner, and I've all but ordered some of my staff to do the same. I would advise other senior staff members to do the same. He needs proper psychological help to deal with the reality of his situation, but a big part of coping with it is reintegration with the crew so that he can consolidate his two pasts into a new person."

"I believe that Leyton has visited as I have. I will add it to my schedule to go more often though." Beth tapped a PaDD to make sure she noted it to look at another time. it would not be something she remembered no matter how hard she tried as she needed to remember so much at the moment. "Another way I have been thinking is work release type thing but I am not sure who I could ask to lead on that as I want him in low footfall areas."

"Maybe something on the operational side, preparing food, scrubbing recycler coils," Avira knew there were always some nasty tasks that normally fell to low ranked enlisted personnel in the Andorian Imperial Guard, those tasks were perfect for situations like these. She left a moment of silence hang between them before locking eyes with the commander, "How are you doing, Commander?"

It was all doable options and ones that could easily be achieved. She would contact those areas of the ship and see if they were willing before she made it an order. It would create less resentment that way if they were happy to have him. Beth wanted to look away as the woman locked eyes with her and she knew what question was coming. "Sure am." She answered far quicker than was appropriate. "How about you?"

"Not so fast, ma'am, you appointed me to Chief Medical Officer, and part of that is that I need to assure the wellbeing of the crew, you're part of that crew, and you influence the rest of the crew greatly," Avira looked at her a bit sternly, she knew how closed off commanding officers could be and she also was aware of the fact that she was an 'outsider' on this boat, "I may not be human, but avoidance of questions is similar enough in Andorian. So, I will ask again, how are you doing, Commander?"

Beth sighed and put the PaDDs down and really looked at the woman. She knew the crew as a group knew her reluctance to take on Leah’s mantel to the point she corrected the use of Captain to Commander or Officer in Charge often. It was just hard to take on her friend's mantel there was too much of her past too close to the surface and she could not stomach anyone seeing it, could not stomach recalling it even for herself yet there she was putting her best foot forward to try and keep everyone alive. “I have good days and bad days like everyone.” Beth said with a small shrug of her shoulders. “Thank you for asking.”

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask, ma'am. It's a rough situation we're in, there's no shame in admitting that," Avira didn't want to press the commander into a depression, but the reality of the situation was bleak and she needed to make sure it wasn't getting to the commanding officer of this vessel as much as it was getting to some of the other people around them.

Beth wanted to spill her soul to someone anyone but it was impossible for her to do now, she was above everyone and no longer part of the crowd, she was meant to be leading the crowd/ "There is but thank you for thinking on me when you have issues like finding Sloan somewhere better or O'connery getting out of medical." The woman revealed than she had been reading the daily reports.

"Like I said, you're in command, your health reflects on the rest of the crew," Avira didn't want to make this a bigger deal than it was, but the fact was it was quite a big deal to begin with, "Even if it's just having a run or spotting you for benchpresses, you can always call on me Commander, I hope that you know that." The fact was that Avira herself also didn't have many friends on board, a load of colleagues, and quite a smattering of patients, but nobody she'd call friend. It was simple really, people didn't readily fraternise with someone that might have to see them nude at some point, or cut into their flesh to save their lives. It was better that way, anyway.

Caring and leading for everyone was rewarding but it was also becoming very tiring, putting a lot of demand on her physical and emotional energy. She knew that simply coping day to day and responding to the needs of others, it was easy to forget your own health needs. Beth nodded. “I appreciate that. I am sleeping a little better.” That had been her major complaint but it had never overly been addressed other than the early days of this ongoing situation.

"Sleep is good, very necessary for the body and mind to recover. There's been a lot of new impressions thrown your way, so it's not odd that your sleep would suffer because of it," Avira was happy that the woman seemed to be at least opening up somewhat to her, even if she wasn't much of a bedside manner type doctor in the first place. She realised that in their current circumstances she couldn't really afford not to be, "if you have trouble sleeping in the future, I'd be more than happy to provide you with some help. There are several forms of meditation that we could try, but if all else fails I'm sure I can cook something up for you that might help."

"I believe you will be doing a lot of cooking in the future. Our supplies will not last much longer I believe?" She knew that Min had refused to prescribe her anything else after the first few nights of them working themselves to exhaustion more physically and mentally. It would potentially do everyone a world of good to take a more holistic route once the Vrav finally left them alone. The medications unless they found a stash would not last long and she was not sure they had the equipment onboard to create much more. "I have never been the type to meditate." The Officer in Charge admitted.

"That probably means that you simply haven't found the right type of meditation yet," Avira gave a bit of a coy smile, "most things we can manufacture relatively easily with the help of the science department and the arboretum. We're lucky that the Enterprise's doctor instilled some of your people with a fascination for more holistic, self-sustaining, forms of creating medication." She wished that she had the extensive knowledge on exotic animals that the Enterprise's doctor had had, but none of the people in her department did so they had stuck to more traditional medicines and some herbs, "if we come across a planet, we'll just have to scan and catalogue every single bit of natural animal, plant, herb and mineral to see what we can extract from them." She smiled a bit, knowing that was an impossible task under even the best of circumstances.

"Well, I am more than willing to explore options." Beth smiled at how much easier it was to talk to the Andorian it was compared to the previous Chief Medical Officer. It made her feel guilty that she had never taken the time before despite her ability to talk basic Andorian. To be the only one on board would be hard but she knew at least now they were building a repore. "Our hydroponics bay as certain herbs and items. I believe Ensign O'Connery has been helping to keep it all alive. I would love to find a planet like that." She admitted.

Avira nodded, "I'll make sure to reach out to Ensign O'Connery and see what we can use to establish a sustainable cycle." She didn't want to use all of the stuff and not being able to create new medicines, "is there anything else you'd like to discuss, Commander?" She tried to be available for the CO of their ship, a happy captain made for a lot more comfortable life, she had found in her years with the Imperial Guard.

Beth quickly shook her head. She had spoken far more to the doctor that day than any other time in the last seven months. "I believe I have taken enough of your time since your original reason for coming here but addressed. Leave it with me I will organise this mess." She indicated the PADDs that she had been trying to organise. She would have to grab Leyton and get her working this stuff as the second officer. "And get back to you quickly."

With a simple bow of the head Avira pushed herself back up to her feet, from her seated position on her knees it was a single smooth motion backwards showing a glimpse of her athletic ability, "I will talk to you later, then." Another comforting smile before she turned on her heels and stepped away towards the door, pressing the button to allow herself an exit. "Thank you for your time, ma'am." She said right before she stepped out of the room.

 

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