Posted by Ensign Ruth Rutherford (Nurse) in Counseling Center - Checking In (Tag Couns)

Posted by Lieutenant LeKeitah Naisyr (Counselor) in Counseling Center - Checking In (Tag Couns)

Posted by Ensign Ruth Rutherford (Nurse) in Counseling Center - Checking In (Tag Couns)
Posted by… suppressed (12) by the Post Ghost! 👻
After meeting with the Captain, Ruthie took a moment to freshen up before taking the turbolift to Deck 33. She checked her blonde hair–still perfectly coiffed–and picked up her valise, wishing she had left it in her quarters before all these meetings. She was 52 after all and it had to be about 40 pounds.

The Counseling Center in Mjolnir-Class vessels was truly a highlight of the vessel class, Ruthie had always thought. Not sure who the Counselor was, she stood timidly at the entrance of the center until she couldn’t take it any more, dropping her valise to the floor.

-Ensign Ruthie Rutherford, RN

Keitah appeared a few moments later. She’d made a quick trip to the bridge “Welcome friend.” She greeted the woman with a smile. “I am Lieutenant LeKeitah Naisyr, the ship’s Counselor. You can call me Keitah if you want. I take it you are here to see me for your onboarding psych evaluation?”

Naisyr, Counselor

She extended her hand in a careful handshake. “Ensign Ruth Rutherford, but you can call me Ruthie. I’ll be working in Sickbay, and I’m sure our work will overlap quite a bit.”

Ruth smiled, her thoughts guarded but barely. She knew the Betazed could likely sense how tired she was, and maybe her embarrassment about still being an Ensign after all these decades, and also how alone she could feel at night sometimes when the space around the ship was very deep and dark, and–

“You got it,” Ruth said, shrugging just slightly to ease the strain off her shoulders from the valise.

After all her years in the fleet, this check-in was just another part of the routine. This Counselor another in the line of professionals she’d worked with over her tenure. She breathed. “Just here for a little check-in and off I go! I gotta get this valise to my quarters.”

-Ensign Ruthie Rutherford, RN

Keitah looked at the bag. “Let me have someone take it to your quarters for you.” She grabbed her PaDD and tapped on it a few times. “You shouldn’t have to lug it around the ship. Are you hungry? I was actually headed to the lounge to pick up some food. I have only had tea and a bagel today, so I am starving. I would love if you walked there with me to pick up my order and then we can come back here for your evaluation if you have the time and most importantly if you are okay with it.”

Naisyr, Counselor

“You know,” Ruthie said. “That would be the nicest thing I’ve done all day. Are you sure someone would get that?” She motioned at the valise. “And what sounds good for dinner? I was going to hold off til I got to quarters, but I might have to reconsider.”

-Ensign Ruthie Rutherford, RN

“Oh yeah. Don’t worry about it. Someone will take it your assigned quarters.” NE hurried through the door and grabbed her valise. “Please take Ensign Rutherford’s bags to her assigned quarters.”
Keitah said. She looked at Ruthie then said, “Shall we?” As she extended her hand toward the door. “I ordered a beef tenderloin with truffle mashed potatoes. Felt like being a little fancy tonight. I usually eat something light like cucumber salad stuffed pita pockets.”

Naisyr, Counselor

“Now that sounds right up my alley,” Ruthie said, walking with the Counselor toward the door.

Her stomach was grumbling from the long day. Check-ins and first arrivals took ages and no matter how hard she tried to be good and presentable, she knew that by 8, she’d be asleep on top of her made bed, PaDD in hand again.

“Ya think I could snag something light? Cucumber salad pita sounds delish. So, um. Where is it that we’re heading, anyway?”

-Ensign Ruthie Rutherford

“We are going to the crew lounge my friend,” Keitah said as she lead the way. “Tell me a little about yourself. Where were you stationed before you arrived on the Chimera? Was this ship a random assignment or did you specifically ask to be stationed here?”

Naisyr, Counselor

“Oh, honey,” Ruth said, chuckling to herself. This was a bit of a sore spot for her. “Have you heard of the nursing shortage? I have been everywhere–nowhere long. Most recently some time on Starbase 375. Before that, a few months on the Vajra. On the Audacious, long ago. I go where they put me.”

Her stomach growled–she was glad the counselor was in a dining mood.

“What about you? How long have you been on board?”

-Ensign Ruthie Rutherford

They entered the turbolift. She found it endearing how Ruthie referred to her as honey. It had the same southern charm she’d read about in books about Texans and Carolinians on Earth. “I had no idea there was a nursing shortage. Is Starfleet having trouble recruiting nurses?” She asked.

“You know how it is,” Ruthie explained, “Everybody wants to be a doctor. Nobody wants to do all the physical work of nursing or being an orderly. The tech helps, but it’s a calling that’s hard on the body. They move us around as needed.”

“Hopefully the Chimera can be your forever” she made air quotes, “posting. I think you will like it here. I have been here for about a year now. Before that I worked as a Counselor at the Academy assessing prospective cadets before they were accepted in the Academy. I think it great how Starfleet has expanded its mental health services. They have started incorporating it into almost every aspect of its officers service.”

Ruthie nodded, enjoying Keitah’s company and assessment. “Mental health is very important, and people face a lot of trauma that needs addressed out here. It’s a good change. The Academy must have been very rewarding though!”

“It was! I applied to be on an Academy ship but the wait list was too long. My superior informed me that a counseling postion on the Chimera was available and if I wanted to be stationed on a ship, I’d better take what I can get. See we have the opposite problem with counselors than what we do with nurses. There are way too many counselors in Starfleet, however, there are very few good ones in my opinion. I think people see counseling as a cushy job and they do not always implement the best practices.”

“I understand that!” she said. “We have the opposite problem. People go into nursing, then move on to specialties, APRN, or physician, and we really need nurses and medics. And a lot of us remaining ones aren’t getting any younger either.”

She gave a sort of half smile.

They entered the lounge and she walked.over to the bar and smiled at the human woman behind it. “Hey Deidre. This is Ruthie.” She introduced the two.
She looked at Ruthie and said, “Ensign Fenty is an excellent host and the best event planner in the fleet. She is also a part-time Helmsman and communications officer.” Then she said to Deidre, “Ensign Rutherford is a nurse who has just arrived on the Chimera. We are starving. I believe I already called in my order.”
“Yes. It’s right here.” She placed a covered mess tray on the bar. Then she looked at Ruthie with a big smile and asked, “What are you in the mood for?”

Naisyr, Counselor & Fenty, Host (at the moment)

“Nice to meet you, Ensign Fenty. This is my first day, so Im still learning my way around.” Ruth said, a little shyly. “How about an arugula and chicken salad with a lemon tzatziki dressing, pita on the side?”

“You got it, Miss Ruthie.” Deidre said with a smile. “I will be right back. Um…did you want me to get you a drink while you wait?”

“Thanks, just a little water’s fine!” Ruth replied cheerfully.

“Be right back with that water.” She leaned over the bar before she left and then said, “I will make sure it’s not replicated water. It will come fresh out of the bottle. We got a shipment from Sol, a few days ago. I would just give you the whole bottle, but then everyone would go crazy and bombard me with requests for bottled water.”

“Ooh!” Ruthie’s eyes lit up. “It’s been a while since I’ve had the real thing. I mean, replicated’s fine. Chemistry and all that, but there’s something special about the fresh stuff. Thanks, hon.”

Fenty would have to go on the Christmas card list.

Ensign Fenty smiled as she left to go get both of their orders.

She turned to the Counselor. “Do you eat here or take it to go normally?”

-Ensign Ruthie Rutherford

“I try to eat here when I can. However most of the time I eat in my office.” She looked around and then said with caution, “With the arrival of the Marines on the Chimera a lot of people are anxious. Some are mostly due to not knowing if the Marines are going to replace the crew, others well…the Marines are a bit different than the standard Chimera crew. I like them though. I have a chance to chat with their leader and he is committed to ensuring that his crew and the Chimera’s crew get along and work together.”

Naisyr, Counselor

“Are the Marines a new addition to the Chimera?” Ruthie asked. “I’ve worked on a mixed ship briefly, but it was very regimented–no mixing, per orders, unless duty called for it. I thought it was fine, but strange.”
“They are new. However the no mixing rule doesn’t necessarily apply here. Their leader, Colonel Lardel, had made it a point to get his squadron and the crew of the Chimera acclimated with each other. I think its a great idea because honestly would you want to be on a ship with a group of soldiers you barely know?”

“If you’re a loner and keep your nose down, it’s not too bad,” Ruth admitted. “Sometimes Starfleet and the Corps have very different… ideological concerns, is how I’d put it.”

Keitah smiled at her, “You seem so charming, Miss Rutherford. Why are you a loner? At first glance, you seem to have to personality to mingle with anyone you want to. I also find you very easy to talk to,”

All the moving around had never given her a lot of time to establish close friendships, but she was a collegiate officer. It just seemed like it was harder to make any real connections with people at a certain point in her life.

“You’ll have to tell me about folks, because I’m not the most social butterfly at first,” she admitted.

-Ensign Ruthie Rutherford

“I will be happy to introduce you to everyone. But so I will know how to introduce you, why don’t you tell me about yourself. Where did you grow up? Do you have any family?”

Naisyr, Counselor

“I grew up in Santa Barbara. California girl. All I have left is my sister Cheri and her family, and my mother Irys, who’s 80. She lives on Risa with her third husband. What about you, Counselor?”

-Ensign Ruthie Rutherford

“California, huh? I often wonder what it would be like if I had been born on Earth. My mother is human, but she traveled the universe as a teacher of Federation Standard. She ended up getting a job on Betazed where she met my father, a Betazoid. He worked as a prosecuting attorney for the Judge Advocate General. They bumped into each other while they were both out and about on Betazed and the rest is history. Here I am.” she said with a smile. “My mother has never returned to Earth, and she says she has no desire to do so. Therefore I had a modest and happy upbringing on Betazed. I had aspirations to become a teacher, like my mother but quickly found out how much that job sucked. So I looked for other career opportunities and found I had a knack for social communication because I was extremely extroverted. Now enough about me. Tell me Ruthie what aspired you to become a nurse in Starfleet.”

Naisyr, Counselor