Posted by Ensign Ranlei (Engineering Officer) in Please define sanity. A visit to the CNS.

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Katie Nunn (Chief Counseling Officer) in Please define sanity. A visit to the CNS.

Posted by Ensign Ranlei (Engineering Officer) in Please define sanity. A visit to the CNS.
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻

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Katie listened carefully and attentively to Ranlei as she introduced herself and smiled as she asked if she could be of service. She’d found in her short time as a ship’s counselor so far that it was remarkably rare for people to inquire into how a ship’s counselor was doing. In a way, that was an excellent perk of the job in her current circumstance. “Well, I think first I need to be of service to you and we should get your evaluation done. It seems like you’re overdue given the ship hasn’t had a counselor for a while.” She gestured to the chair in front of her desk. “I haven’t had much time to settle in, but we can still get it sorted out.”

Nunn, CNS

Ranlei didn’t sit as she hadn’t been given permission to do so yet. Her stint in a military academy made her a bit of a stickler for such details. “As you will maam. I know a herbal tea blend that will do wonders for your energy levels if your a bit run down Maam.”, she said taking the two steps over to the replicator while never facing away from the CNS. She tapped the command input button and said, ” two 8 oz mugs Oolong, boisenberry blend twist of lemon. A nd 4 raspberry danish. “, she ordered and picked up the teas and plate of danish in a way only a practiced server would and set them down on the commanders desk. “I was going to be in ops when I first joined the academy Maam and no meeting is complete without some edible componant. Of course I changed focus after I started getting comments on how I looked like a holiday decoration in a red unifor. That and It was made clear I was destined to never rise in the ranks because nobody would ever trust a Orion. So I entered Engineering where I can be of service to Starfleet without rank really mattering. I was upset about the willingness of Starfleet officers to judge me based on my spiecies at first but if I am honest when anyone anywhere says Orion everyone thinks syndicate in their head. So like it or not you play the cards life deals you.”, Ranlei said as she served the tea and Danish. As she took the spot she had stood in before and waited.

Ensign Ranlei Greene. Engineering.

Katie’s head bent to the side in interest as she carefully watched Ranlei’s actions. This was the first time she had been served tea and pastries in her own office by a crew member and she had to admit that it made her distinctly uncomfortable. Overhearing the order issued to the replicator, she did have to admit that it sounded delicious and she graciously accepted the goodies from the engineering officer when she returned. Respecting cultural differences was key in her field, even if they meant a moment of discomfort. Noting that Ranlei was still standing despite her previous gesture to a seat, she realized that she needed to be more explicit and, between sips of the delicious warm beverage, murmured, “please have a seat, Ensign.”

As she waited for the young woman to get settled, she took a small bite out of the raspberry danish, noting that she’d have to run a few miles further after her duty shift if she was going to have a midmorning snack. She chewed thoughtfully and then sat back. “I can’t say I disagree. Snacks are always welcome. How are you finding engineering to fit you?”

Nunn, CNS

Ranlei seated herself and smiled as the CNS sipped tea and munched on a danish, “Thank you sir. Engineering is the best possible place as far as I am concerned. Everything is inter related. Every system part of a greater whole. A new and exciting challenge every day. New puzzles to solve. New technologies to intergrate. It’s not just fix the whatsit with the whosit. Every ship is different. Far more than just parts that make it up. If you listen long enough she’ll speak to you.”, Ranlei said enthusiastically.

Ensign Ranlei Greene. Engineer.

Katie mumbled with her mouth full of danish, “please call me Katie,” in response to Ranlei’s use of sir and then chewed and swallowed her bite as she listened to the officer’s answer. “It sounds like transitioning from ops worked well for you, then.” The young woman’s enthusiasm was practically infectious and made Katie feel like she might want to learn something about engineering, which would probably be a disaster for everyone involved. “How did you end up interested in Starfleet in the first place?”

Nunn, CNS

Ranlei went quiet a moment, “Kind of a long story and I only have my point of view really. The short version is Orions do not usually stay in Federation space longer than nueeded to transact business and go anywhere but Federation space. The reason for this is simple. The Federation assumes every Orion is everything that the Federation stands against. My parents were traders. They delivered a load under contract to Starbase 17. I was born there. But I was a rare case in that I was born with with a compromised immune system. So A Starfleet doctor kept me in sickbay for a week. In the meantime base security started a intensive investigation into the Orions docked at the Starbase. Not a very gsubtle one either by the records as the Orion ships Captain chose to leave in haste before some trumped up excuse was found. There were a series of incidents at the same time that were blamed on the Orion traders crew. Turned out to be locals who were using securities preoccupation to act out. So I have generally found the Federation to be very willing to claim superiority on a moral level. But to be no better than anyone else in practice.”, and she shrugged, ” Not a direct anuswer. But I am getting there. So my parents never returned to get me once the week was over. Treatments fixed the immune deficiency as a aside. So I ended up being moved from foster home to foster home. Never in one place long. Because even a infant is guilty of something if that infant is an Orion Katie.” , Ranlei paused to reflecrt, “Should I continue? Or sum it up in one sentence? I am trying to explain this in a manner that won’t offend anyone. I have never had a great deal of luck with the why are you in Starfleet question.”
And she paused to sip her own tea.

Ensign Ranlei Greene. Engineer.

Katie crossed her legs and leaned back in the chair beside Ranlei as she spoke, looking down at the tea that she held in her hands as she listened carefully. “I’m following you so far,” she responded, her voice calm. “I understand how you ended up being around the Federation, but how did you go from foster home to foster home to Starfleet? That’s an ambitious undertaking for such an unstable childhood.”

Nunn, CNS