From: Bethany \ (mouse3of3_at_yahoo.com)
Date: Wed Jan 16 2008 - 13:34:30 PST
"Puzzles"
Cont. from "A Cast of Thousands" and "Our New Bitch and the Ghosts"
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Location: GS-2
Stardate: 2.80116.1521
Scene: Ready Room
"Just curious - do you believe in ghosts?"
"Actually...." Daisy smiled. Then, she paused for dramatic affect. "No comment."
Jeff's smile grew, and he said, "Ghosts or not, I need to go back to sickbay. I have to keep an eye on some of our patients."
Daisy waved him out of the room. "Just let me know if anyone else starts seeing ghosts." Once he was gone, she faced Tam. "So how about you, Counselor? Do you believe in ghosts?"
Tam had to think about that one. Eventually, she replied, "I think that the chances of their being an anomaly or something triggering latent telepathic abilities are valid. But if you're referring to an actual, physical ghost? Then no. Unfortunately, some of these reports I can't think of another way of explaining them." She looked like she shuddered briefly, although Daisy couldn't think what could have caused it.
She had to laugh, though. "Honey, you have less of a sense of humor than some Vulcans I know."
"Oh."
"Come on, walk with me. I need to let the science staff know about this, and I need a break anyway." Daisy stood and headed for the door, hearing Tam follow behind her. "You're with us until the PATRIOT leaves, right?"
"Yes. I don't know when that will be, though, so I'll be able to serve as counselor here as needed."
"Good. We don't have enough counseling staff to account for everyone onboard, and I don't think as many of them are taking advantage of it as they should." She set off at a brisk pace as she continued, "How many of the senior staff have you seen?" She had to surpress a smile as Tam stepped quickly to catch up.
"Not many. Department heads tend to put off seeking help until they have no choice. I still have to speak to several of them, both here and on PATRIOT."
"Have you talked to Ben yet?"
She hesitated, making Daisy do a quick double-step to avoid overbalancing. "I haven't. I understand that you're friends with him, and you have a counseling certification, so I assumed that you would want to talk to him."
"I would, but he's been avoiding me." She caught the sideways look that Tam tried to get in, and smiled grimly in response. "I know he has, which is why I think you should speak to him instead. If nothing else, try to get him to talk to me, because I don't think he'd want to discuss this with one of his own crew."
"I can try talking to him, then but I don't think he wants to."
"Well, do your best." Daisy stopped at a door, and this time it was Tam's turn to check her progress. "Even if you can't do anything, let me know what happens, please? I'm worried about him."
"Depending on where it falls within patient privacy limits, then yes, I'll let you know."
She felt the weight on her shoulders lessen slightly. "Good. I'll expect to see you soon, then."
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Tam walked on. She had to reach the engineering module, and speak to the person in charge-- Crichton, she believed it was? Neither he nor many of his engineers had been to see her, and since they had been almost as much in the thick of the fighting as the Marines and security personnel, at least a few of them would need to release some steam. It sounded straightforward, but those not still in sickbay were instead working around the clock, barely taking time to eat or sleep. She hoped that, by finding them where they worked, she could at least assess which crew would need her help. For all she knew, every single one of them was suffering from post-traumatic stress.
Eventually, she did arrive (after being misdirected once and ordered out of still-damaged areas twice), and even managed to find the chief's office. Amazingly enough, there was even someone there. "Lieutenant Crichton?"
"Yeah?" The man looked utterly worn out. "Tell me that the sickbay's releasing some of my engineers."
"Unfortunately, no." She stepped into the office. "Ensign Tam Niala, sir. I'm the counselor for the PATRIOT. I wanted to talk to you about your staff."
He groaned. "Great, more people being taken off duty. Who do you need?"
"Actually, I would rather avoid that. I just wanted to see if you noticed anyone that might be in need of my services. That way I can call them to the office separately or just find them here. I was intending to find them individually, but this would expedite it." **And then I can speak with the captain sooner.** She had no intention of shirking that duty, but she had to go through these crewmembers first.
"Oh, alright." Crichton looked marginally more cheerful at the idea of speeding up the process. "I think we can work with that. Come on over, I'll give you a list."
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NRPG: And so Tam's keeping busy. It sounds like everyone else is, too, what with the sudden decline in posts.
Shawn, Kim, whaddya think?
Bethany B.
Ensign Tam Niala
Counselor
USS PATRIOT
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Wed Aug 27 2008 - 03:11:05 PDT