Posted by Lieutenant Commander Sage Brennan (2nd Officer - CMO) in Sick Bay, Medical Check-in for Lydia Ayeka

Posted by Ensign Lydia Ayeka (Counselor) in Sick Bay, Medical Check-in for Lydia Ayeka

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Sage Brennan (2nd Officer - CMO) in Sick Bay, Medical Check-in for Lydia Ayeka
After unpacking and arranging her quarters to her satisfaction, Ensign Lydia Ayeka decided to change out of her Starfleet uniform and into a sleeveless silvery top with a matching miniskirt and go-go boots. Her new duties as counselor gave her the option for civilian clothing if she felt that the official uniform would prevent her appointments from relaxing and trusting her. She had to get her head in the game, for with new personnel came the mandatory appointments with sickbay and counselors to affirm that the Genesis’ new people were both physically and mentally ready for their new duties.

Wait a second, AYEKA was a new officer! When was HER appointment with sickbay?

Glancing at a PADD Lydia discovered that it was less than two minutes from now! She had to get to sickbay at once!

Dashing off like a madwoman, the Genesis’ new counselor ran out of her quarters and down the corridor towards the turbolift.

“Deck Three! Sickbay!”

When she reached Deck Three, that corridor was more crowded than the one on Deck Five. “Gangway! Make a hole!” she screeched in her high pitched, birdlike voice.

Huffing and puffing, the lavender haired girl managed to reach sickbay. “Lydia Ayeka, Ensign,” she gasped to the nurse behind the desk. “I have an appointment for fifteen hundred hours.”

Counselor Lydia Ayeka, a character created to poke fun at Deanna Troi

The woman behind the desk looked up, surprise showing on her face. “Of course, Ens…did you say you are an Ensign?” Her brows drew together. ‘The Chief isn’t going to like that part…’ she thought.

“If you’ll just wait here a moment, I’ll get Dr Brennan for you.” The nurse left and found Sage in one of the stock rooms at the back of sickbay. “Oh yoo hoo…”

The CMO looked up from the list she was examining, saw the look on Nurse Lexi’s face and was intrigued. “What’s up?”

“Your next appointment is here—an Ensign Lydia Ayeka. She says she’s the new counselor.”

“Oh yes…I remember seeing her on my calen…did you say ‘Ensign’?”

Lexi looked pretty pleased with herself then. “I knew you wouldn’t like that…”

Sage set down the PaDD she’d been working on and headed out into the bay to meet Lydia Ayeka.

She found her still standing near the front desk. “Miss Ayeka? Ensign Ayeka?”

—Sage

“Yes ma’am!” Ayeka chirped as she stood at attention. Technically Counseling was a subdepartment of the Medical department that was treated as its own department when the ship’s counselor was lieutenant rank or higher. That wasn’t the case right now. Therefore this was visit was not only a physical checkup but a report to her department head as well. Doctor Sage Brennan was technically Ayeka’s immediate superior. “Counselor Lydia Ayeka reporting for duty Ma’am! And my physical too if you’ve got the time,” she added guiltily.

ENSIGN Lydia Ayeka, noobie and ship’s counselor

Emerald colored eyes looked over the young female with interest. “Tell you what—let’s get your physical out of the way and then you and I can talk in my office. How does that sound?” It was a rhetorical question, but if Ayeka didn’t agree, Sage would listen to her concerns.

“Good, good,” Ayeka nodded in a failed attempt to act casual.

Meanwhile, Sage led the way to a bio bed and motioned for the counselor to take a seat.

While Sage busied herself with pulling up the proper files in the medical data base and equipping herself with her trusty tricorder, she kept the conversation going. “You seem quite young for a counselor, Ensign. How did you land the position?”

—Sage

“I did very well academically,” Lydia Ayeka began, full of the energy and confidence that both youth and recently graduating from the Academy tended to give green inexperienced ensigns. She stopped and blushed as she sobered in reflection. “Funny you should ask that question, ma’am,” she continued in a more sober tone. “As you know, one of the advantages to being in counseling or medicine is that we get to look at personnel files that normally wouldn’t be available to those of my rank. After I received this assignment I managed to get ahold my own. It turns out the thing that impressed my reviewer wasn’t my academic record or my performance but rather something I said.”

Lydia Ayeka, ship’s counselor

Already running a bio scan on the Ensign, Sage watched the screen for results as she asked the questions. “And what was it you said that was impressive enough to land you here?”

—Sage

Ayeka blushed looked away for a moment before gathering the courage to reply. “At our graduation party I told my classmates that despite all of our training and the simulated scenarios we had experienced that the real galaxy was going to be much different. That outside of the holosuite we would find situations that none of us had trained for. At the time I was just trying to act mature, but later when I read my file I found out my reviewer thought I was being really insightful and forward thinking” she admitted. “Funny how things work out huh?” she laughed weakly.

Lydia Ayeka green as bowl of peas

There had to be more to the story than that. What Ayeka had said wasn’t impressive in the least, it was common sense. “Yes…funny.” Sage answered. She ran the standard scans over the new counselor, letting things progress automatically while she thought on the situation. She was very uncomfortable with an Ensign being in charge of the psychological welfare of the crew—especially if she wasn’t reporting to someone with more experience. This girl was fresh out of the Academy!!

(Is there anything to find that needs fixing?)

Once the physical evaluation was concluded and the proper notes had been made in Ayeka’s record, Sage motioned for the Ensign to follow her to her office. As soon as the entered, the door swished closed behind them and Sage took a seat behind her desk. She gestured for the counselor to sit opposite her.

“Tell me what kind of experience you have in counselling.”

—Sage

Ayeka gulped and then cleared her throat. “Well, I assure you have completed the mandatory hours,” the purple haired ensign assured her. “I have spent over two thousand hours counseling Dominion War veterans at Starfleet Medical and over two thousand five hundred hours counseling the children at the Anderson Interstellar Center for Child Psychology. I also have a degree in education, if that is relevant.” There was an awkward pause as Lydia searched for more sessions where she was the primary therapist and not merely a student or assistant, but those instances seemed very scant indeed.

Counselor Ayeka who is as green as an Orion Slave Girl.

“Really? Your record shows that you are fresh out of the Academy and yet the hours you claim you have counseled amount to two extra years of actual work in the field.” Her voice wasn’t accusatory, but the psychological well being for the crew was not something to be taken lightly. Sage had no idea how Ayeka got the position of counselor on the Genesis without first having to serve under the guidance of an established officer, but she was certainly going to look into it.

“That was my internship ma’am,” Counselor Ayeka muttered a touch more resentfully than she meant to. The fact that Doctor Brennan pointed out that Ayeka hadn’t completed a single hour of counseling outside of her intern hours was apparently a sore spot.

“How do you feel about the responsibility you’ve been given? Do you feel able to handle it?”

—Sage

“Certainly Ma’am, I look forward to the challenge!” the young counselor announced with a nervous chuckle that died when Ayeka stood at attention. Her smile was a bit too forced. For an empath, Lydia Ayeka appeared very easy to read. “I’m ready serve and explore the great unknown, Ma’am!”

Lydia Ayeka, hopelessly transparent

Sage didn’t believe Ayeka was anywhere near ready enough to run counselling on the ship. “Before you counsel anyone without supervision, I want to have a word with the Captain about your readiness for the position. I’ve never seen an Ensign put into the position before and I just want to make sure everything is as it should be.” Sage could feel some anxiety in the room. “This inquiry won’t take long and it doesn’t reflect negatively on you. Its just that I used to be the counselor and then my best friend, LtCmdr Dekker, held the position before your arrival. Since you’re part of my team, I just want to verify a few things.” She hoped she had assuaged any fear she might have instilled in the young woman. “Until I get back to you with my findings, you are to record every session you have so I can evaluate it if the need arises. Are we clear on that?”

—Sage

“Yes of course Ma’am, I understand that when the ship’s counselor is below the rank of lieutenant, counseling is to be considered part of the medical department,” Lydia assured her. “As my department head, I report to you. I understand perfectly. You don’t need to worry about that!”

Inside Lydia Ayeka was dying. Her new boss had had a relationship with her predecessor. He was her best friend no less! There was no way Ayeka could ever fill his shoes. She would constantly be compared to Counselor Dekker as long as she was aboard the Genesis. All she could do was try her best and try to tough it out.

Despite her attempt at projecting a professional optimism it was obvious that a light had gone out in the young counselor’s eyes.

Ayeka, feeling totally #%&@ed

The light leaving Lydia’s eyes had not been lost on the doctor. “I sense some disappointment in you now that wasn’t there a few minutes ago. What’s wrong, Ensign?” Sage leaned on the desk, resting her arms there as she studied the young female. Something important had just happened and she couldn’t place what it was.

—Sage

A lifetime of living with father who could read minds made Ayeka used to being so easy to read. It may have even been the cause of her difficulty in hiding her mercurial nature and her interest in psychology as a profession in the first place. Nevertheless it was time to put on the professional mask of Counselor Ayeka and get young Lydia hidden from view as quickly as possible.

“I would just like to apologize if my presence is causing so much more work for you, Ma’am,” the younger woman replied as she once again stood at attention. “I’m sorry that I haven’t had a chance to earn your trust. I hope my performance can dispel any doubts you have about me.” Gone was the nervous and guilty schoolgirl who had entered Doctor Brennan’s office. In her place was a solemn and professional officer whose face was as unreadable as any Vulcan’s.

Lydia Ayeka, Counselor?