Name: Jemima (Jem) Willoughby
Age: 40
DoB: 2345
Race: Human (British)
Gender: Female
Appearance: Jem is a woman with a curvy figure. She has always had a battle to keep her weight down, and works hard to maintain the shape she has now. Her hair is a honey blonde, cut to her shoulders, usually she wears it down as she is often in civilian clothes. Her blue eyes are a rich sapphire, almost lavender at times, and tend to change with her moods. She always keeps herself smart, but casual, saving her uniform for when she is on bridge duty or official engagements.
Personality: Always a quiet girl, she developed into a woman with a keen sense of peoples emotions. She is a pure human, but at times it does seem she has almost empathic abilities. She is a calm, confident woman, who exudes a sense of ease and comfort to those around her. She has never been one too get stressed, or even lose her temper. Jemima seems to be a woman who can deal with most situations, and not let things ruffle her. Jemima also has a fun, friendly manner and is a keen musician, enjoying pitting on concerts for the crew and developing others with musical talents.
Background: Born in the beautiful Sussex town of Horsham, Jemima was the third of five children. She was the oldest daughter, having three brothers - two older, one younger, and a younger sister - her childhood was warm and loving, and Jemima found from an early age that she had a deep understanding of the way her siblings interacted. When they all fell out, she was the one who made the peace and managed to get both parties talking again.
As she grew and attended school she was often seen mediating disputes and generally keeping the peace in the playground and later amongst her group of friends and peers. She left school with top grades in her exams, and went on to study at Cambridge University studying psychology and interspecies behavioural differences. She was at Uni for three years, thoroughly enjoying her time of studying and developing some friendships that would see her through many years to come.
Whilst at university, her older brother Raymond, graduated from Starfleet Academy and joined the USS Lord Nelson as an Engineering Officer. Watching the live commlink it set her mind to the possibility of joining Starfleet. As she began to do some research, she discovered they were calling out for Counsellors and psychologists. So during her third and final year she applied for the Academy, and was accepted to begin in the Autumn of 2366 as a Counselling Major, taking command as a minor. This way she felt she would gain an idea of the roles of a Commanding Officer and the other senior staff she would be dealing with.
Starfleet Career: Arriving at the Academy, she was the oldest in her year group, but her friendly persona and general attitude made her a popular cadet with both her peers and instructors. She spent the days learning how to use her degree as a Ships counsellor, and by the end of the first year she knew she had made the right choice, being a ships counsellor was a huge role, with many hidden sidelines, not only was the ships counsellor there for the individual crew, but they were also moral officers, confidants, and had the ability to remove a crewmember from duty. Even the Captain if it was deemed necessary.
The second year followed more onto the command path, where she learnt the various protocols and requirements of being a senior officer, the rules and regulations of command and what a counsellor was required to know in order to support the senior staff in their every day roles, as well as the way to talk and deal with a Commanding Officer. The end of year exams saw her flythrough with excellent grades and she was chosen to join the USS Odysseus for a Cadet cruise for six months. She would be mentored by a senior counsellor and expected to work independently at times.
The six months on the Odysseus were the best of her life. She was given true responsibilities and became a popular member of the counselling team. When she returned to the academy her report placed her top of her year group, all that was left was for her to take her bridge exam and her finals. The bridge exam was nerve racking, but in her usual style she passed it, showing her capabilities in the most awkward of circumstances. Her finals lasted for two weeks and where even tougher than the final dissertation she had had to write for her degree.
Her parents travelled to be there when she passed out as Valor Dictorian, walking out to give a speech to the gathered family and friends and Starfleet Officials. Counselling was one of the hardest career paths to follow because there was so much to it, but she proved in her speech that she was a good wordsmith, able to get across her point in a way that everyone present understood.
After a couple of weeks leave she joined the USS Forest, a Constitution class ship, as a Counsellor. She got to know those assigned to her, and helped the Chief Counsellor where she could. She spent three years on the Forest, earning her second pip and became a valuable confidant to the Chief Counsellor. IN 2373 when war broke out, she knew she would be tested as reports of the battles filtered back. The Forest was sent to DS9, with orders to help hold the station and offer what help it could. The counselling department was run ragged and Jem really saw the effects of the War and what a Counsellors job could be like. Most days she survived on six hours sleep, if she was lucky. In 2374 she was a Lieutenant JG by now, she was assigned to a group of men and women who had been prisoners of the Jem’hadar. She was shocked by the treatment of them and found her patience tested, but she was always able to keep control of her own emotions.
Shortly after this incident the Forest was caught up in a fire fight and sustained severe damage. Jem was severely injured, but she continued to help evacuate the ship, ignoring her own wounds until she knew those she had been responsible for were safely in escape pods. Then and only then would she allow herself to be treated.
She was out of action for three weeks, during which time she was pulled back to earth. She was placed in a specialist team to help those severely traumatised by the war deal with and cope with their experiences. She served in Starfleet Counselling for three years, working with many service men and women. Once the war was over in 2375 she remained on Earth, studying the effect of the war on a selected group of people. She wrote an in depth thesis on these effects and then was asked to help with an ex-borg drone who had been found and turned back. She spent weeks with the man, working with him, trying to help him accept his life, but he was so traumatised that he eventually took his life, and Jemima took this hard.
Jemima struggled to get back into things after the death of her patient. She began to think if what she did really helped people, but she only had to look around to see that what she had done for others had helped them. In the Autumn of 2378 she took up a role as an instructor at the Academy, needing to use her skills for something different. She found she really enjoyed teaching the new Cadets, spotting some very talented individuals. She remained at the Academy for 4 years teaching until she felt her batteries had been recharged and her faith in her profession was rebuilt.
January 2382 saw her join the newly commissioned USS Phantom, a Sovereign class ship as Chief Counsellor. It didn’t take her long to become a firm friend with the Captain, one Commodore Frank Leonard. She was someone he trusted and was always asked her opinion on things. She enjoyed her time on the Phantom and began to develop feelings for the CO.
She remained with the Phantom for almost three years, she thought that her and Frank were close and expected him to propose to her. When he suddenly announced his retirement and then a surprise marriage she was devastated and immediately asked for a transfer. The Phantom was on its way to Risa at the time and she was told about the Lancelot and its desperate need for a good Counsellor. Jemima had no qualms about taking it, it offered what she needed to leave her hurt behind her and to look forward with a focused eye.
Jemima was a very experienced counsellor, one highly sought after by many ships, to her; rank didn’t matter, what mattered was helping those who needed it, whether they knew it or not. And sometimes not in the way they expected help to come.