Personnel File for Commander Autumn Darby-Holmes

USS Rhode Island, Counselor's Office
January 11 2387, 1315 hrs

A mug of tea in hand, Autumn made her way down the corridor towards Lieutenant Commander Ashshy's office. She knew him to be a kind-hearted person from previous experience, but she had legitimately no idea how this would pan out. As much as she touted and recommended regular counseling sessions for her crew to maintain what she liked to refer to as "a sound mind in a sound body," she knew there was often difficulty maintaining the disconnect between commanding officer and subordinate.

As she continued down the corridor, she encountered two crewmen standing in the hallway having a quietly hushed conversation. One of the things she dreaded about life on a starship was the rumor mill that ran rampant.

"...and did you hear? We have some disgraced Romulan Centurion as our Ops Chief? I heard that Commander Holmes..."

"Is standing two feet behind you," Autumn interrupted, "and would like for two things to happen. One, mind your own damned business about your superior officers. Two, make a hole, I have an appointment to keep."

The two crewmen snapped to attention and let her pass. She smirked as she took another sip of her tea, and paused briefly in front of the Counselor's office. Pressing the panel, she waited for a reply from inside.

Eiri stood from behind his desk and tugged on the hem of his uniform. "Enter!" he called out, before he concentrated on the mind on the other side of the door. He was both surprised and pleased to touch the mind of the Captain. He hadn't really expected her to keep her appointment. The life of a Captain is always filled with things that need doing, and a counseling session was usually the last on the list.

He had only worked with the Captain briefly, but he liked her. She was kind and funny and did the best for her crew that she possibly could. He looked quickly around the room to make sure everything was in order and this picked up his PADD and waited for her to enter.

Autumn walked into the room and smiled widely at the man. "Hello again Eiri," she said. "Thank you for taking the time to see me." She proceeded into the office, and sat down on a chair opposite him.

"I know this is probably a bit awkward...for both of us really. But I'm a firm believer in the thought that talking through something will help you past it."

"Hello to you as well. It's good to see you again, as well as work with you again." Eiri took a seat on the sofa, after having retrieved his own cup of Vulcan spiced tea. "Awkward depends on what you want to talk about, but I agree wholeheartedly that talking through problems assists in overcoming them." He smiled. "What is on your mind, Captain?"

"I've been having these...terrible dreams. I think they stem from my time on the Atlantia. I don't know if you've had a chance to look yet, but my previous, and first true command, was assaulted by the Borg. Out of 245 people aboard, I lost 175. It was...well it was hell, frankly." She chuckled softly, almost sarcastically at this.

"Anyway, I've been having dreams of being assimilated, losing my mind, losing everything that makes me me, and most importantly losing my family. I've been averaging about two hours of sleep a night, and I can't keep doing that. So...here I am."

Eiri frowned his eyebrows slowly furrowing as she talked. He shook his head when she was done as if to clear it. "None of that is any good. First off we must get you sleeping." He started to type on the PADD. "I'm going to send you to sick bay next so you can get something that will make you sleep with no dreams. Please do not make me hunt you down and go to sickbay." He shook a finger at her. "You should be relieved of duty until you get some sleep. How long has this been going on?"

"Trust me," she said. "After this meeting I plan on going and getting some sleep in the nice little couch in my ready room. I have no desire to be brainless while commanding a Federation Starship. This has been going on for the better part of two months. It's gotten progressively worse and worse over the last 2 weeks though, and I've had a very hard time getting any sleep whatsoever. I don't think a dreamless sleep aid is what I need, but something is definitely in order, even if it's just something to...keep me asleep even through my nightmares."

"I would like to ask you some further questions, if that is alright?" He set the PADD on the table and concentrated on his Captain. "Do the dreams consist of specific memories or are they just random in nature? and when you experience them do you wake up right away or does it continue for awhile before you are awakened?"

"To be honest," Autumn sighed, "it really varies. Sometimes they'll continue on and on, and sometimes they'll wake me up right away. The dreams themselves mostly consist of me being aboard the ship, with Borg invading as I'm running down through the corridors. I couldn't tell you if they're specific memories or not, as I was on the bridge the entire time that the attack happened. I know I wasn't actually running around through the ship like in my dreams."

Eiri puzzled for a moment, looking around the room and tapping a slender finger on his knee. "What about you eating habits? Do you eat before you sleep? and if so how long before you sleep do you eat? Sometimes, eating right before bed can add to an already stressed sleep schedule."

Autumn sighed heavily, rubbing her eyes a bit and said "I eat as healthy as I can really. I try my best not to eat too close to the time I go to sleep, but obviously lately the time I get to sleep has been so varied that I can't really determine, only estimate. This morning I've had a light salad and about four cups of black tea."

"First we need to address the sleep problem and then I suggest we start sessions to address the content of your nightmare. Try only drinking liquids an hour before bedtime and then I think we should come up with a meditation system that will help put you in a more calm mood before bed. Do you have any meditation routines that currently work for you?"

Autumn thought about the question for a moment. She replied "No, not really. I've tried all various types but none of them really work for me lately. Also, with all the hubub going on, when would I have had time to sit quietly and meditate?"

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USS Rhode Island, Counselor's Office
January 11 2387, 1315 hrs

A mug of tea in hand, Autumn made her way down the corridor towards Lieutenant Commander Ashshy's office. She knew him to be a kind-hearted person from previous experience, but she had legitimately no idea how this would pan out. As much as she touted and recommended regular counseling sessions for her crew to maintain what she liked to refer to as "a sound mind in a sound body," she knew there was often difficulty maintaining the disconnect between commanding officer and subordinate.

As she continued down the corridor, she encountered two crewmen standing in the hallway having a quietly hushed conversation. One of the things she dreaded about life on a starship was the rumor mill that ran rampant.

"...and did you hear? We have some disgraced Romulan Centurion as our Ops Chief? I heard that Commander Holmes..."

"Is standing two feet behind you," Autumn interrupted, "and would like for two things to happen. One, mind your own damned business about your superior officers. Two, make a hole, I have an appointment to keep."

The two crewmen snapped to attention and let her pass. She smirked as she took another sip of her tea, and paused briefly in front of the Counselor's office. Pressing the panel, she waited for a reply from inside.

Eiri stood from behind his desk and tugged on the hem of his uniform. "Enter!" he called out, before he concentrated on the mind on the other side of the door. He was both surprised and pleased to touch the mind of the Captain. He hadn't really expected her to keep her appointment. The life of a Captain is always filled with things that need doing, and a counseling session was usually the last on the list.

He had only worked with the Captain briefly, but he liked her. She was kind and funny and did the best for her crew that she possibly could. He looked quickly around the room to make sure everything was in order and this picked up his PADD and waited for her to enter.

Autumn walked into the room and smiled widely at the man. "Hello again Eiri," she said. "Thank you for taking the time to see me." She proceeded into the office, and sat down on a chair opposite him.

"I know this is probably a bit awkward...for both of us really. But I'm a firm believer in the thought that talking through something will help you past it."

"Hello to you as well. It's good to see you again, as well as work with you again." Eiri took a seat on the sofa, after having retrieved his own cup of Vulcan spiced tea. "Awkward depends on what you want to talk about, but I agree wholeheartedly that talking through problems assists in overcoming them." He smiled. "What is on your mind, Captain?"

"I've been having these...terrible dreams. I think they stem from my time on the Atlantia. I don't know if you've had a chance to look yet, but my previous, and first true command, was assaulted by the Borg. Out of 245 people aboard, I lost 175. It was...well it was hell, frankly." She chuckled softly, almost sarcastically at this.

"Anyway, I've been having dreams of being assimilated, losing my mind, losing everything that makes me me, and most importantly losing my family. I've been averaging about two hours of sleep a night, and I can't keep doing that. So...here I am."

Eiri frowned his eyebrows slowly furrowing as she talked. He shook his head when she was done as if to clear it. "None of that is any good. First off we must get you sleeping." He started to type on the PADD. "I'm going to send you to sick bay next so you can get something that will make you sleep with no dreams. Please do not make me hunt you down and go to sickbay." He shook a finger at her. "You should be relieved of duty until you get some sleep. How long has this been going on?"

"Trust me," she said. "After this meeting I plan on going and getting some sleep in the nice little couch in my ready room. I have no desire to be brainless while commanding a Federation Starship. This has been going on for the better part of two months. It's gotten progressively worse and worse over the last 2 weeks though, and I've had a very hard time getting any sleep whatsoever. I don't think a dreamless sleep aid is what I need, but something is definitely in order, even if it's just something to...keep me asleep even through my nightmares."

"I would like to ask you some further questions, if that is alright?" He set the PADD on the table and concentrated on his Captain. "Do the dreams consist of specific memories or are they just random in nature? and when you experience them do you wake up right away or does it continue for awhile before you are awakened?"

"To be honest," Autumn sighed, "it really varies. Sometimes they'll continue on and on, and sometimes they'll wake me up right away. The dreams themselves mostly consist of me being aboard the ship, with Borg invading as I'm running down through the corridors. I couldn't tell you if they're specific memories or not, as I was on the bridge the entire time that the attack happened. I know I wasn't actually running around through the ship like in my dreams."

Eiri puzzled for a moment, looking around the room and tapping a slender finger on his knee. "What about you eating habits? Do you eat before you sleep? and if so how long before you sleep do you eat? Sometimes, eating right before bed can add to an already stressed sleep schedule."

Autumn sighed heavily, rubbing her eyes a bit and said "I eat as healthy as I can really. I try my best not to eat too close to the time I go to sleep, but obviously lately the time I get to sleep has been so varied that I can't really determine, only estimate. This morning I've had a light salad and about four cups of black tea."

"First we need to address the sleep problem and then I suggest we start sessions to address the content of your nightmare. Try only drinking liquids an hour before bedtime and then I think we should come up with a meditation system that will help put you in a more calm mood before bed. Do you have any meditation routines that currently work for you?"

Autumn thought about the question for a moment. She replied "No, not really. I've tried all various types but none of them really work for me lately. Also, with all the hubub going on, when would I have had time to sit quietly and meditate?"

"I understand, but I am speaking of something that you can even do in bed before you go to sleep. I think it might work for you. Instead of trying to clear your mind we should work on the tension in your body. When you lay down at night I want you to start at the top or bottom it does not really matter and tighten each major muscle group one at a time for ten seconds. So... say... start with your hands." He held out his own hands and made tight fists. "As tight as you can get it and count to ten. Then release and count to ten before moving on. I think you might find that it is just what you need." He smiled a little, concern still playing across his eyebrows. "Try it for me a few times and let me know... maybe it will help with the tension."

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