Together Again

Posted on Fri Feb 3rd, 2023 @ 1:59am by Ensign Ivy Kinsley & Commander Lucy Heartfilia & Petty Officer, 2nd Class Harmony Stardancer & Ensign Avis Larant & Chief Petty Officer La'lei & David Meddows MD-Ph.D.
Edited on on Tue Feb 14th, 2023 @ 10:33am

1,750 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: A Fool’s Errand
Location: Deck 7: Ship's Psychiatry Office
Timeline: M1 MD12 (2268.27.05) 1300

The section of the medical area where most people tended to avoid was the psychiatry wing. The reputation of Dr. Meddows was mixed. Some viewed him as a miracle worker, others a quack or insane himself. Unfortunately for the officers recently recovered from Orion captivity, they had to be cleared for duty by the ship's psychiatrist per regulations. Ivy stood in the waiting area surrounded by the other officers, Commander Heartfilia, Cadet Larant, Petty Officer Stardancer and Yeoman La'lei. They were all together once again...

If anyone bothered to ask her, Harmony would have said that she'd rather be back in the auction pens, wearing that danged collar, than loitering here waiting for a psych eval. She hated those things, and was trying to center her chi, and to step back from her emotions. She'd done a couple of rituals, and honestly was feeling just fine, so she was reverting to her Tardigrade song to keep her distracted.

Avis felt about the same way even if neither expressed it aloud. This was her second time now she had to be 'cleared'. You'd think Dr. Amato examining her would have been enough.

"We should all just say the same thing, over and over," Harmony suggested with a grin, not that she was really serious, but it would be fun if they could pull it off!

"I already know what I'm gonna say, roomie," Avis smirked, "OK, I showed up. Can I leave now?"

The door to the good doctor's office swished open just at that moment and there was the dreaded 'Doctor Dave'!

"Sorry Ensign Larant" he remembered that she had wanted to be called that last time they met "But we're all stuck here for the next hour whether we want to be or not!" he joked. The man had hearing like a Tiburonian, he'd heard every word.

"Awesome....sir," Avis voice dripped sarcasm.

"And as for the Rigellian Repeat-Chant, Miss Stardancer, I'm afraid I've been banned from trying anything as interesting and experimental as that!" he said sadly "Please come in ladies."

Avis went in.

He had the room opened out, everything pulled back to the walls but for six comfortable looking chairs arranged in a circle.

"Ugh what is this going to be?" Ivy asked as she saw the place set up like group therapy, "Do we pass a pillow around when it's time to speak?"

"A pillow fight might be more fun," smirked Avis.

"Only topless," Ivy joked, following Avis's lead.

"I'm game!" Harmony laughed. "And really, a pillow is better than a 'speaking stick', since it doesn't hurt as much!" So, looked like group therapy, maybe? She'd never had to do that before, but she was certain it would be as useful as individual therapy!

"Take a seat" Dr Meddows invited them, but stood standing himself. "Now, before we start, this group is made up of the female members of crew who were most intimately involved in the Orion Slaver's depredations. Some of you may not feel comfortable talking about this with a male therapist. If that is the case, feel free to say so now, and I will summon Dr Karashka from the Science Department who is qualified to conduct basic group therapy sessions like this one." he said; following Starfleet protocols to the letter, as instructed by the Personnel Department.

Avis sat and listened then sighed.

"I'll stay. I'm fine. Just want to get this over with, please."

"May as well continue," Ivy agreed.

"Ditto." Harmony plopped into one of the chairs and slouched down, her legs extended in front of herself and crossed at the ankles. She knew some about 'body language', but really didn't care what she was portraying, she was confident with her own feelings.

As nobody seemed to object to his 'manly' presence, Dr Meddows, too, sat himself down on one of the chairs.

"Now, it's important to say at the beginning that this is not a session of psychoanalysis. I will not be observing or commenting on anybody's behaviour or what they say. Neither will what happens here today be recorded. I will keep out of things unless we reach an impasse, then I might say something to, perhaps spark the conversation off again." he assured them.

"The only thing I do ask is that, before we start, everybody fold their sleeves back a notch."

"What?" Avis frowned.

An odd request, but when Dr Meddows did this himself, it hid his rank insignia. He was no longer a full Lieutenant, he was just a man with slightly hairy forearms.

Seeing the doctor do it and also seeing what harm would it do Avis sighed and did the same.

As she folded back her sleeves, Harmony glanced at the others, then shrugged. Removing the rank didn't remove the rank, and suggesting that it did made her all the more wary. If this was all off the record, then why bother? But she was here, and she'd play along.

"My sleeves are blank, Doctor," Ivy responded. She did not comply with the request. Ever since her time on the Orion ship she was hesitant about revealing any skin unless absolutely necessary. Most of the bruises were fading but she still felt all of the trauma associated with them.

David smiled encouragingly. "Yeah, sure. It's ok to leave them down." he said, almost having to force himself not to read anything in to that. "Nobody has to do anything in this space." he assured them.

"Except sit here for the next hour and endure," Ivy responded with a neutral expression, "Of course we've had a lot of that recently."

Dave nodded understandingly, but didn't say anything. It wasn't for him to say anything or try and put words in their mouths. If they all sat in silence, just thinking about their experiences for an hour, that was OK.

Avis suddenly seemed to have developed an intense interest in the state of her fingernails. She had nothing to say....

Harmony was no stranger to Critical Incident Stress Debriefing -- CISD -- and had been to a couple in her day, and knew that the key was a no-judgement environment, where you could say what you wanted to, or say nothing at all, and there was no right or wrong answer.

But they couldn't all just sit and stare at each other, as much as she had no problem with that, things needed to start.

"I knew they were coming," she commented evenly, "we all did, but I didn't expect them to violate Sickbay, and I really didn't expect to be snatched away...that sucked."

"The Orions are animals... Look what they did to that poor little girl that Captain kept around as a medic," Ivy responded, speaking up. She shook her head, "Look what they did to us..." She sighed, "Sorry, all of that happened after we were taken... We would have had no idea before hand," she added.

"Yeah...well what's worse is we let them get away. So they can do it again. And we didn't rescue all of the captives. In my humble opinion, we failed," Avis now decided to be blunt.

"They got as much out as they could," Ivy responded, "It was a tough situation... For everyone."

"I can't imagine that they didn't send someone else to take care of that place," Harmony put in. "We may not be involved, but I'm sure there's some sort of rescue planned." That was what she wanted to believe, anyway.

"The Captain seemed to indicate the ones left were gone, already taken off station," Ivy responded, "Avis you were involved that Mexican standoff with the Orions... What else could anyone have done?"

"I don't know, I'm a lowly cadet not a captain or admiral. But the net effect was we did not catch and/or destroy the Pirates. I call that a defeat," Avis was frustrated was all.

"And he did give them back their crew mate," Harmony muttered. So much for not negotiating with terrorists! And that had shaken her confidence in the captain.

"Certainly not giving the Captain much credit," Ivy responded defensively, "He got us back, he got our shipmates back... The crew of the Detroit and most of the colonists... It's not as though it was his fault some of the colonists were already sold off and scattered. "And he was in a bind, unless you wanted any more dead... So what if this pirate got her shipmate back..." Ivy added with an eyeroll.

"We were told we could sound off here. So a few of us are saying what we are thinking, you are free to disagree. Remember though, none of this should leave the room," Avis addressed Ivy with just a touch of warning in the tone of her voice.

"I do disagree and I am making myself clear," Ivy responded and, "Are you threatening me?"

"I did not say anything threatening. Did anyone other than Ivy hear me say anything threatening?" Avis looked at the others in this little circle.

So far Meddows had kept his promise not to butt in, but he now looked very pointedly at La'lei and Heartfilia to see if they had anything to add to Avis, Harmony and Ivy's perspectives.

"Hey, now, chill." Harmony stepped in, keeping her own opinions to herself. There was a lot of 'what' with Arianna getting her friend back -- it showed that Starfleet would negotiate, which put everyone under their protection, including crew, at risk of becoming a pawn. And it gave them another pirate on their crew.

But saying that wouldn't accomplish anything, that was on the Captain, and it was over, nothing to be done about it. But arguing...

"I didn't hear a threat, just a reassurance that this is between us. And we have a right to our opinions...and I'm glad I'm back on the ship." Until they heard that the Orion pirates had attacked someone else...

And so the conversations, arguments, revelations, even, for some, the keeping of their own counsel, went on. By the end, perhaps, the wounds inflicted by the incident weren't healed: but they had been cleansed a little: things were more out in the open, most healthily, some deep, perhaps unconscious resentments, had been unearthed and expressed.

All in all, Dave could say, it had been his most successful session in his career on board as a ship's counselor. Probably because it was the one where he didn't say anything!

 

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