checking up

Posted on Tue Aug 26th, 2025 @ 8:28am by Lieutenant Colonel Savannah Sorrel & Lieutenant Jade Celes-Johnson

968 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Licking our wounds

Sav was utterly exhausted. She had overseen the care of her marines. The battle had been savage and as the commanding officer they all looked to her to stay strong. She did not have many friends on the ship. As senior marine officer she needed to stand above the rest. And marines were apart from the navy contingent on a ship. Sav did interact with the Navy as she still helped to fill in for bridge shifts when needed. She was qualified after all.

The counsellor however was someone she sometimes socialized with. And she had heard the woman had been wounded. It might be a nice break to socially with someone without having to seem strong. Her own body hurt all over but of course Sav had been ignoring that. She winced as she stretched her arm to hit the chime.

Answering the door on her way back from the replicator, Jade offered Savannah a warm smile. “Hi Savannah, come on in. Feel free to grab yourself a drink and snack.”

"Thank you." Sav said as she walked to the replicator. "I heard you were injured but I am glad to see it was not too serious."

“Just a mild concussion, I have orders to rest and relax so here I am” Jade smiled as she got comfortable on the sofa. “It’s not been easy for any of us, the mission being a bust and all.”

"Yeah. It was a bloody shambles." Sav agreed as she sat down with a drink. "We need a lot more training to work as a unit." The crew had not been together long and had really not been ready for a battle like this, but in a war you could not choose your battles.

“We weren’t expecting any of this, at least not to the degree we were faced with.” Jade sighed. “We’ll be better prepared next time.”

"Absolutely." Sav sighed. "Some of my people may need help, is it ok to use navy shrinks? We haven't got one of our own on board yet."

“I can go one better, they can talk to me as well as the base counsellors when we get back. I have high enough clearance, or at least I think I do.” Jade gave a perplexed look.

Without thinking Sav rubbed her aching hip. "Thank you. I was raised with taking care of mental health because of one of my dads. He would be proud of me. Can your department handle the marines full time or should I put in for a marine shrink?"

“I think we can handle it” Jade smiled warmly. “If not me then it’ll be a temporary Counsellor while I’m on maternity leave. Not that I’m planning on going on leave yet.”

"Oh, I forgot about that." She laughed. "My dads did not have that problem. And we had a nanny."

“I don’t think I could cope with a Nanny doing my motherly duties” Jade smiled. “I think I’d turn into an overprotective mother forever wanting her baby back. I’ll figure it out as time goes on.”

"My dads both have a very active career but that does not mean they did not spend time with us. They did so whenever they could. I had a very happy childhood."

Jade nodded. “I guess that helps to know, I’ll give it some consideration.” She smiled warmly.

"You have to do what makes you comfortable of course. But just know that you have options to share the load." She stretched her legs.

“That’s true” Jade nodded. “I just have to learn to accept that I can’t do it all, once I get used to that I’ll be more relaxed about it.”

"Yeah." Sav sighed. "I think I had better get back." She was with her troops a lot at the moment being a leader. It kept her busy and helped her find less guilty about those who died. As the marine commaning officer the buck stopped with her.

“Savannah…don’t blame yourself” Jade added. “You did all you could, as much as the rest of us. What’s happened is done, now we need to move on.”

"Are you reading my mind, counsellor." Savannah smiled.

“Absolutely not” Jade shook her head. “I just know that’s what my husband will be doing, as will every department head on this ship, all second guessing decisions made in the heat of the moment.”

"And it is needed that we do so. We hold people's lives in our hands." Sav said softly. "We have to be absolutely sure that we did not contribute to their deaths. And if we did we have to learn from it so it doesn't happen again. It is the hardest part of command."

Jade nodded. “I guess it is, I haven’t been put in that position fortunately. I know that I’ll probably have to face it one day though.”

"You are at a bigger risk of secondary trauma." She smiled. "Sorry, my da is a navy psychiatrist."

“That’s useful to know, I guess you’ve picked up a few things over the years.” Jade smiled warmly.

"Yes it was hard not to. Medical as well. My other father." She shrugged.

“Then I’m grateful to have someone so well skilled in multiple areas.” Jade smiled warmly.

"Don't get worried about your job just yet." Sav laughed. "I only have superficial knowledge."

“Ohh I’m not worried” Jade grinned. “I’m just seeing an opportunity for an extra pair of hands if it’s needed.”

"I am absolutely not qualified for that." Sav laughed. "It would have to be a dire emergency if that was to happen."

Jade grinned. “I’ll bear that thought in mind.”

 

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