Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Rand Farquharson (Yeoman First Class) in Galley/Lounge- Holding Boundaries

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Leah Hart (Nurse Practitioner/Counseling) in Galley/Lounge- Holding Boundaries

(snip)

Leah pushed the now empty bottle aside with a nod. “It’s a cliché story, but my father was in Starfleet. He had a doctorate in Engineering and not only had taught at the Academy, he helped design and test starships. I grew up listening to his stories and I always wanted to join too, but my mother dissuaded me.” She twirled the fork in her fingers. “After he died, so much changed. I changed.” She looked up at Rand and smirked. “I finally got tired of trying to live up to expectations that I would never meet. I had been considering a change in my career anyway, and wanted to study mental health more deeply, so I did both: I went back to school and I did so after I was accepted into Starfleet Medical. And here we are. Best decision I ever made though, hands down.”

~Leah Hart, NP

Rand thought it was curious. How many people joined Star Fleet despite the family being against it. Or joining because it was family legacy. Did anyone join, the first in their family, and people were happy for them? “Star Fleet is amazing. There are benefits you can’t put on paper, but make the sacrifices worth it.”

Yeoman Rand

A soft smile touched her lips. “Agreed. Doesn’t make the challenges less challenging. And I guess it’s good for me to be out here and experience what others are experiencing. Because it is different to serve actually out on space.” And she was going through it all first hand right now.

“What about you? Why Starfleet?”

~Leah Hart, NP

Rand didn’t like being asked personal questions. She didn’t like sharing about herself. This is why she liked keeping all her interactions professional. Except she’d opened this can of worms. “It seemed as good a place as any. I wanted to do something useful with my life, but I’m not really good at much. Star Fleet had a place for me though, in the yeoman corp, and it’s fits me perfectly.” A lot of people went into the yeoman corp hoping to move up, train, have extra time to study and learn what they wanted to do. No one really wanted to stay a yeoman, but Rand did.

Yeoman Rand

“It’s very important work,” Leah said. “People underestimate how much administration is actually required to run not just a starship or base, but the organization as a whole. Without people like yourself, nothing would get done, so know that at least form me, your work is greatly appreciated.” The tequila was making her feel warm and she could feel herself relax a bit.

“It bothers me when people crap on other people’s chosen work,” she said, her grip tightening on her fork. “And not just because my mom criticized my choices at every turn, but it’s like how does my work choices make anyone else worse of, you know?”

~Leah Hart, NP