Invisible Wounds

Posted on Sun Dec 4th, 2022 @ 5:15pm by Captain Bethsabée Leroux & Ensign Isaac 'Zac' Hughes

Mission: Sojurn
Location: Captain's Office
2113 words - 4.2 OF Standard Post Measure

Hands stuffed in his pockets, having approached the imminent conversation from the viewpoint that presenting in his civvies was probably part of the entire ethos he was trying to project, Isaac stared at the closed door for a moment and wondered if now was the time. It was an affliction he suffered from in all walks of life, the excessive pensiveness that could trap him in a cycle of over-thinking. Nish's encouragement had got him this far, which was to say that the promise of her persistence on the matter had convinced him that delaying would just lead to ongoing repercussions until he caved, but when it came to presenting the basic gist of what was really just a fledgling idea without the supports and structures to back it up, he was on his own. Zac didn't feel intimidated so much as concerned that he was applying pressure where there was no room for more to be absorbed without injury.

With a sigh, he heaved his shoulders upwards and then dropped them. That's kind of the point of this..

He pressed the door chime.

Beth had been cleaning the office given that it was a bit un Captain like to have an office with dust on so anything that should have been around the office was piled on the desk. “Come in.” She called looking at the chronometer having thought she had more time.

The slightly-tousled head of the one member of her crew the Captain was liable to know the least about poked into the door first before the rest of Isaac followed. "Despite my best efforts," he observed with a faint smile, "it looks like I'm interrupting."

As the locked turned and the man opened the door Beth realised how dire the situation must have been. “I believe it is both of us, Ensign, so please come in and mind the mess that I am cleaning.” The woman undone the pet of her uniform around her waist and tugged her uniform back up over her shoulders doing it up before she sat down.

"I think you've had more than enough messes to clean up lately that another one is perfectly excusable." As he took a seat, Isaac did take the time to notice the slight disarray, if nothing particularly overwhelming. The room spoke to its inhabitant's preoccupation, and the fact that she'd probably spent less time here than usual recently. Gentle eyes regarded the Captain for a moment, a silent analysis, before Hughes smiled. "I won't take up too much of your time."

Beth appreciated that he did not want to take up much of her time, but she did have time for everyone on the crew. She had not given the alternative universe occupants as much time as she should have thanks to Smith. She shook her head and brushed aside his concern. “I have as much time as you want to give me and need.” She said simply sitting down at her desk moving aside an old naval device that had belonged to Leah once upon a time so she could see him better.

"As it happens, time and the allocation of it form a decent part of why I'm here." Isaac paused, despite having considered numerous ways in which to broach the subject. The biggest hurdle, as far as he could tell, was proving his credentials to an unknown party. Perhaps he should have recruited Jamesson's help with this. "I should start by saying I have no issues slotting into an adjusted role. Having run that Sickbay myself, I understand the benefits of a second shift manager, I'm certainly not retracting my services."

“Sounds intriguing.” Beth started before indicating he could continuing.

His hands lifted so that steepled fingers rested against his chin and Isaac inhaled quietly before releasing the breath as a slow relaxation. "I hope this doesn't come across as presumptuous, Captain, but my initial feeling is that your crew aren't faring much better than ours were with the compounding pressure of being out here this long. Add to it these recent issues and I think it's fair to say your overall morale is suffering."

Beth nearly snorted at the fact that he had got it so correct. But she held the noise inside her, and just nodded. He did not deserve her venom. “Very much low morale at the moment Ensign. This is why Ensign O’Connery has been trying to put morale boosting activities together.” Lexi had been trying so hard before her injury to bring every part of the crew together to boost them.

Hughes nodded. "Which will be important. My concern back with our crew, and I can see the same happening here, is that we have a situation here creating the conditions for compounding trauma and that typically requires more explicit intervention." Drawing in another deep breath, he launched into his offer. "I'm not sure what Isaac Hughes' dossier says in this universe, but I do have a prior history with counselling and support frameworks. Commander Jamesson and I had already started discussing what a dedicated mental health unit might look like before..." His voice trailed off and Isaac chose not to finish the sentence, instead diverting to comment, "If anything, my reduction in seniority makes the job of establishing something similar here far more manageable. If you're interested," he added.

Beth let him speak before she is a leant back in her chair, contemplating what he said. She would need to talk to Benjamin and look at the information from the pod to confirm what the man was saying saying. But She liked to think she was a good judge of character for the most part, apart from Smiths, and looking at him there and then he was earnest in what he wanted to achieve. He wanted to help the crew of the mental health, and their well being. “So how do you hope to achieve that?” She asked trying to not think about the what ifs. The first six weeks she had spent waking up hoping and praying that someone had not gone into crisis over night and they had bot been able to support them.

Hughes paused a moment, casting his mind back over the conversations he and Ben had undergone at length in an attempt to nail down what was feasible. "What Ensign O'Connery is doing is important. As determined and hopeful as you may all be to return home eventually, the lack of timeframe for that means we shouldn't be unintentional in our efforts to fill the intervening time with purpose. Survival wears us down. If this is going to elongate, which by mental health standards it already has, the crew needs opportunities to thrive."

The doctor leaned back in his seat. "Social events will be part of it, particularly those that establish themselves as a regular thing. Larger events spread across the calendar will do their part in imbuing a social and cultural structure and, since they divide the year into a series of preparations and celebrations, they do a great deal to combat the stagnation of motivation. O'Connery seems to have this aspect well in hand, I'd be happy to support her without needing to take over. My expertise fall towards the clinical. One thing we noticed was that, with the entire crew suffering from the same sense of loss and uncertainty, there was no focal point that allowed them to express their grief without feeling like they were compounding the suffering of those around them. Too many were falling to silence to cope. There is a definite need for counselling here, Captain. Whilst it very often resembles the same kind of conversations they might have with anyone, the formality of a designated debriefing space cannot be underestimated. We seek medical treatment for ease of symptoms but also for peace of mind. When people come to therapy, it's because it empowers them to feel proactive and there is the comfort of an authority presiding over them."

“So in the short term what do you need and what can you offer if your credentials line up.” Beth told him thinking back to her grief counselling when she had become a widow. It had helped her process the overwhelming feeling of loss and now that they had someone with the potential it could help the crew.

"Consultation space, primarily, and a dedicated scheduling framework. Keeping it under the auspices of the Medical Department will cover most of the administrational aspects and, of course, I would still answer to the Chief."

"Longer-term, I think we should also consider the wealth of personal resources we have here and how best to share them. Active minds demand fresh input and, barring the excitement of the occasional emergency, we have the long stretches of monotony to deal with too. There is a lot of knowledge here; cross-pollination of ideas and skills will help with mental agility. Not to mention," Isaac added, "render us more capable of redeploying crew when necessary."

“That is already happening.” Beth commented feeling for a moment judged like she did sometimes thanks to not being the Captain when it all started. She gulped it down and locked it away. He would not have known, it might not had started on his ship. She knew that most crew had started picking up other skills in other departments as that had been discussed early on.

Hughes had watched carefully, content to hide his scrutiny behind his even tone and lengthy explanations. Having already grappled with the inherent nature of command stoicism once, he was well-aware of the pressure the woman was under. The defensiveness in her tone was noted for reference and Isaac nodded, smiling, to convey his approval. "That's good news then. Over time, we may be able to dig deeper into other expertise; you are undoubtedly a talented lot. Artistic pursuits, physical fitness... All become the difference between just existing and finding purpose."

“Then we are agreed on something then. You are part of this crew as are fellow universe jumpers so what outside of medical are your skills?” Beth wondered. Beth knew she had languages and occasionally cooking but there was not much more than that did she have to offer other than being a figure head and a stable person at the top.

The question earned a huff of laughter from Hughes. "At a pinch, some chords on a guitar, a decently cooked steak and I used to be okay at soccer." The doctor's features relaxed into a wry smile. "Under better circumstances, things might be different. My veggie patch is a long way away," he explained, "and there's not a lot of wood for furniture making lying around."

“So start a football match in one of the cargo bays and help Crewman Jones in hydroponics.” She advised him hearing what things he could do outside of being a medical officer and counsellor. Both activities were needed as well as could help the greater good. Beth was sure that she could find a ball on board if not several balls.

A concessionary nod of his head was the only agreement Hughes committed to, though it went without saying that Isaac wasn't a man that expect of others what he refused to do himself. "There's nothing much else to the proposal at the moment, Captain. Commander Jamesson and I had gone over some of the operational elements, we could certainly sit down with him and try to map it out again for your ship. I'd just..." The doctor's brow furrowed gently. "...like have things in place before people sink too far into survival fatigue."

"I understand and I will arrange that meeting as soon as possible," Beth assured quickly. She needed to speak to Benjamin Jamesson anyway so it might be easier to have this as a subject other than what are you going to do with yourself on this ship now? Sloan had asked her the question weeks ago and it had raised the feelings in several people were the same Benjamin included. "I appreciate you coming to me with your proposal, Ensign."

Rising from his seat, Isaac inclined his head in gentle deference. "There's not a lot more I can do for the people this was originally intended to aid," he observed quietly. "But whilst a similar need is present here, I'd like to do something other than sitting around licking my wounds. Thank you for your time. Captain. The crew is lucky to have you."

Beth smiled embarrassed and ducked her head to hide her blushes. “Feeling is mutual.” She answered back and watched him leave.