Those You Meet Along The Way

Posted on 17 Mar 2025 @ 2:37am by Lieutenant JG Nusien
Edited on 17 Mar 2025 @ 2:38am

1,013 words; about a 5 minute read

“Chief Medical Officer’s log.

I have started to settle in here on the USS Galileo. Although very different from my previous assignments, I have come to embrace Captain Tarin's methods. What once was a means to an end has slowly become something I care about. It is not just the values, although those matter. Exploration, seeking out new life, new civilizations…discoveries. Advancement. It is all tenants which I can hold close. Of course, there are some things I find strange to this day.

Before I joined Starfleet, I didn’t realise that there were no designated therapists. While a medical officer is meant to also take care of the crew’s mental health as well as their physical, not all are suited for such a dual role. I myself lean more towards my old specialisms above being, for instance, Diagnostic and Emergency medicine. It doesn’t mean I am not capable, more that my natural interests rest elsewhere.

Piret and I celebrated the anniversary of our joining. It is rare that we get to celebrate these occassions since I joined Starfleet. She is on Edos with all the children. In fact they were all there to celbrate on the call with us. She misses me terribly and I her. However, she understands that this is the life that called to me and perhaps one day she will join me on assignment.

The USS Galileo is a remarkable place. There is a certain history here a viration or thrum throughout the ship. As if it says been there, done that but I am not done yet. I haven’t really had the chance to mix much with the crew yet, mostly due to everyone being naturally busy. The more people see of me, the more likely it is that there is something wrong if all hands truly are on deck.

Doctor Warraquim, excuse I am sorry Commander Warraquim. She is after all our newly minted Executive Officer. She is dedicated to her calling. It’s not a job for her, but truly a calling, the way that religious people were once called to serve their deity. She does seem to occasionally fall into what I would call…undermining comments. In all fairness, usually when she has been pushed into it. I think there’s a certain temper to her that reminds me a lot of my mother.

I have not really interacted with the others of the crew, but I am aware of it. The Chief Science Officer, a woman half my age, What I have observed of her seems to be someone who feels all the emotions. I think I vaguely remember that, not being afraid of feeling. She may come across as a little erratic, but there is a clear intelligence there which explains her quick rise in position. Sometimes, it is about what you can do, not about the years.

The Chief Engineer is someone I have managed to not only meet, but also work with so far. We have been working on whether or not units used by the Brikar can be adapted to be used underwater. I fear that I may have stepped off on the wrong foot with the woman. And for someone with three legs that is saying something. I can only hope that in time whatever damage I have caused can be repaired and perhaps even a friendship created. The Ensign has a mind like one I have never seen before.

The Chief Helmsman seems like most pilots I’ve met. You must have some sort of special heart to become a pilot if you ask me, a sense of adventure and danger. I remember a friend that I had at the Academy, Pete Mitchell always saying that pilots had a need for speed. If that is the mentality of pilots then I think they are courting death.

The First Officer and former Chief Medical Officer seems fascinating. An Akkadian, there are not many of her kind in Starfleet. So, I find it a special treat to not only get to know her but to be able to be her physician. I haven’t really had any dealings with her species at all, and so it is a learning experience. One that I wholeheartedly look forward to.

And then there is the Captain, a typical New Yorker or so I have been told. It is often said that the eyes are the windows to the soul. The Captain has brilliant hazel eyes which often belile her thoughts and show the feelings within. I’ve gotten used to hearing her voice when there’s ship-wide communication and seen her around. However, I have not had the chance to talk to her outside of work. She seems capable, like all Captains that are given that commission. Yet I know from experience that no one is what they seem and humans are good at adapting to situations. And she is a young Captain as well. Everyone seems…impossibly young, but I suppose age is just relative to your species. I probably seem impossibly young to say a Vulcan.

Do I sometimes regret stepping into the stars? Putting on a uniform and finding myself going into routines? Perhaps. Most likely, yes. It doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate being where I am. Starfleet is an exciting prospect and as a doctor, I get access to cutting edge technology.

I do miss diagnostic medicine though. I miss curing the incurable, the things that put a dampener on a person. I miss being able to know I’ve made a difference to someone’s life, not just healing an injury so that in a day or two they bounce back. I miss putting the work in as much as a patient does.

Of course, regret is futile. I am here I am, I am who I am and I know my own worth. Eventually, things might change.

For now, I have my sickbay and my work. Friendships and interactions? They’ll happen in their own time.

Computer, end log.”

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