First time for everything.

Posted on Sat Oct 31st, 2020 @ 3:50am by Major Naomi Sylan Griffiths

Mission: Survival of the fittest
Location: Office of Jane Doe

[ON]

Jane bid goodbye to Mrs Rhodes at the door with a tight hug and a promise that she would definitely come by to check on her and would speak to command about his service medals and having them sent to their son on the USS Saturn. Jane held the woman tightly as she again began to sob which made Jane's own eyes grow moist again. Tears were hard for Jane the last few days she had been seeking out the be grieved and coding them in to make sure they were in a safe state of mind. Mrs Rhodes had her worried. Giving things away, was a big red flag and apparently she had been steadily giving things away. Precious things in her grief. Still, it was the only red flag and sadly Jane wasn't yet familiar enough with her to understand if it was just her nature to be giving or if this was new behaviour. She'd need to look into it. No sooner had she let the crying woman go that she noticed her next appointment waiting for her.

"Major. My apologies." Jane said drying her eyes on a tissue she had clutched in her hand. She offered a soft smile and motioned to the ajar door. "Please come in and make yourself comfortable."

Naomi nodded with a smile and followed the Counsellor into the room.

Insides the walls were draped in a deep soothing blue that slightly shimmered metallic in the low light of lanterns that had been hung and placed around the room. Their soft glow like a warm blanket to the soul. The drapery hid the walls and the posters Jane had hung and pictures. This was her space, yes, But what happened in it wasn't about her though. Still, it gave her personal comfort to know that she was still surrounded in a way by the love of her old friends. Inhaling the soft but not overbearing scent of honeysuckle and lavender with a breath of mint. Tainted by the smell of fresh-baked cookies. The smell harmonized by the gentle music of falling water singing melodiously as it played over a pond with shallow rocks from its fountain on her desk. A couple of plush chairs could be found tucked in the far left corner of the room a small table comfortably between them. The couch was turned to face the room it's back resting against the desk. Multi pillows of various rainbow colours and fluffy textures sat artfully upon it. The desk held the customary plate of cookies and snacks with the bright pink tropical flowers. The colour screamed out against the deep blues and darker hues. A neat little coffee table of stone draped in a sky blue. The only other furniture was a cabinet partially hidden by drapery. It was slightly ajar but not enough for anything to be seen inside of it.

Naomi entered and was impressed by the decor "nice place you have Counsellor" she said but she never felt more uneasy, she had been a Marine to long to appreciate the decor which was done to ease a troubled person, suddenly she found she was missing that beach where she shared a drink with Trallos. The only thing that did seem to help a little was a floral scent wafting in the air, she could not place all the sent only the mint part.

"Where do you want me sitting?" Griffiths asked.

Jane tilted her head. "Actually I was thinking about something more casual. Have you had lunch yet?" Something in the marines body language told her that this was not an ideal setting. "I was thinking if you felt comfortable with the idea perhaps you could have the honour of accompanying me on my first visit to the lounge.". She watched closely smiling.

Naomi looked around the room and contemplated a session in the lounge "I can cope here thank you" she said finding a spot and sitting down, waiting for the counselling session to start.

"Very well," Jane said undaunted. "Can I get you anything to drink perhaps? Then you can tell me what is on your mind."

"Iced water please Counsellor and as for why I am here, you called me, but I am feeling like I am in an eggshell that could break to the open vacuum of space" Griffiths answered from her sitting position.

"You mean the condition of the ship? Or something deeper?" Jane felt compelled to ask. Though recently she felt she could relate. She had asked the Major to come not just because she wanted to get to know the strong woman who helped keep the ship and it's crew safe. Jane was feeling very vulnerable and exposed herself. A client of hers kept showing up and lingering longer than was usual. They had turned up again shortly after her meeting this morning with the doctor.

They had left her another 'gift'. Which like the others was innocent enough except that they had left them in her private quarters on her bed. A teddy bear this time. But what had made her feel uncomfortable wasn't that oddly enough it was the fact that he had still been in her bathroom claiming that he'd been waiting for her to talk to her in her office when he needed to well go. So hadn't thought that she'd mind if he just slipped in to use it. Then he seemed to linger after she'd assured him it was fine just this time. But in the future to please not do it again. She had been so thankful that Mrs Rhodes had shown up just then. He had left reluctantly. So Jane had felt compelled to ask for the Major to meet here today in an effort to not be alone.

She felt foolish now. Not to mention guilty for letting herself be so easily spooked over someone simply enjoying her company. How here she was face to face with the ships first officer and not exactly prepared. But Jane had felt like there was just nothing but a thin veil that stood between her small self and the larger man that to her utter despair seemed to promise her violence with his eyes while simultaneously trying to placate her with gifts. 'Like a stranger with candy.' she thought her body shivered at the idea. But she wanted to believe that her mind was making mountains out of molehills.

"The Ship, just the ship, the rest I am handling admirably I think" Griffiths answered, "you, however, seemed troubled to Counsellor, when someone who is charged with the mental wellbeing of the crew being out of sorts I as First Officer worry," the Major said giving the Counsellor an opening if she so wished.

Jane wasn't surprised at the Majors observation. She sighed. "It's probably nothing. I just think that I have acquired something of a fan in the last week. I need to figure out a better way of enforcing my personal and professional boundaries in a way that won't cause more misunderstandings than have already been incurred. If the issue persists I may need to get security involved. However for the time being I'd like to not jump to conclusions and possibly ruin someone's career just because I jumped the gun so to speak. Nor didn't give them every opportunity to change the behaviour." Jane smiled sheepishly. Feeling foolish. "That probably doesn't put you at ease much but believe me I am being attentive now and am confident that I can handle it."

Calmly speaking "tell me what unwanted attention are you getting Counsellor if it is not too private perhaps I might be able to offer an alternative method of avoiding such... difficult situation?" Griffith's said sitting back.

"Okay I'll tell you, but then I get to ask you some of my questions," Jane said. "As you know I am doing routine evaluations for the crew. During my second day here I met a crewman that I will call Jeffery. Very positive, very kind. He brought me a welcome gift a plant that I put in my private quarters until I could be sure it wasn't something someone else may have an allergy to. Which is lovely of course except that he came by the next day as well and stayed until I had appointments scheduled. He brought me lunch and tried to give me a bracelet. I had to tell him that I had no objection to having lunch with him as I don't. But the gifts needed to stop especially jewellery, That it breached my professional barriers. I felt awful for it, he seemed to understand. However, he began to show up between my meetings with the other crew. I figured he is lonely. He told me that maintaining friendships is hard for him."

*pause*

"But last night I was coming back from dinner at the lounge and found a teddy bear on my bed in my personal quarters. Which was a bit unsettling but I figured one of my other friends might have put it there as a joke maybe. But then Jeffery came out of my bathroom. It unsettled me a little. He explained himself, his explanation seemed plausible. I just. When I say it out loud it sounds so bad but he is so very nice. It's... I am sure I am just being sensitive for some reason. I mean aside from the one incident he's not much different than I am piping in on people and giving out cookies." She sighed deeply feeling foolish. "I was considering having security an extra passcode to my door. But it seems silly."

"Hmm, interesting sounds to me like he simply wants to be a friend and sounds like he has a bit of a crush on you, but unless you give him the passcode he should not be able to enter. Have you ever thought about going out on a date with him? Make it a public place, but it should allow you to assess his true intentions" Naomi responded knowing that questions will be asked.

The idea was simple enough. Jane sat back for a moment and thought about it. Yeah. That would make sense. "I guess I could do that. I have never really dated. I was in an arranged engagement since I was young up until quite recently. So I just. It never occurred to me to think about it that way." She sighed. She should have thought of that. "Thank you. How about yourself. I see you have been with the ship a long time tell me about what it is like to live here."

She looked away a moment before looking back at the Counsellor "being a marine I am used to terra firma or if I have to be on a ship only long enough to be transported to my destination but stuck out in the DQ with limited backup and a ship falling apart due to lack of parts, is not helping my feeling of helplessness any and I am also feeling the odd duck out, I am a marine with limited bridge training and most of the time the crew go straight to the Captain. I also think the reason why we have had so much trouble keeping Chief Science Officers is that they see a Marine First Officer and immediately think we are on a combat mission when this is not the case and I am the least trained officer on the bridge I have limited practice with bridge systems granted I am reading up on things, but I am still feeling like a stone in the middle of a river with the water moving around it" Griffiths said.

Jane nodded. "Time will correct many of these things on its own. Over time you will gain the experience and the respect of the bridge crew. As for the science officers they too will learn the truth of our ship and it's purpose in their own time. It just means we require a special breed of science officers is all. Just like we require a strong and dedicated executive officer whom the Captain to hear him say anything trusts impeccably. Maybe we are a bit bruised up and a bit far from home but isn't that just like deployments of Marines of old? Sure it's scary. But it is necessary to scout and know what we are up against. That's why I think the Captain picked you,. You are in his opinion the best man for the job. And I trust his judgment. Your insecurities keep you cautious and from becoming complacent. Therefore you are vigilant. However I would love to help you find ways to better bond with and make an impact on our crew if you want."

A timer bleeped and Jane silenced it quickly. It was the signal for her to wrap things up before her next appointment arrived. She smiled at the executive officer apologetically. "Well looks like you are free to go then. Please come back and see me if you want to discuss this further. Please and just think about what I told you okay.."

Jane saw the woman out and began to tidy up for the next evaluation.

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Major Naomi Sylan Griffiths
Executive Officer

Ensign Jane Doe
Chief Counselor