Medical Checkup

Posted on 29 Sep 2013 @ 3:48pm by Commander Andreus Kohl & Ensign Ariadne Fleming

978 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Episode 04 - Exodus
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 2, CMO's Office & Sickbay
Timeline: MD -01 - 1014 hours

[ON]

The ship's corridors were more familiar now. She found it possible to go from on deck to another without getting lost. She smiled, glad to longer feel like an oaf, bumbling from one deck to another with no sense of direction and no idea where she was going.

Perhaps a starship can be unique,

Ariadne was nearly done with routine, but rather stressful meetings.
and this particular meeting had little to make her nervous. She was predominantly healthy, no chronic illness or anything else that would send her immediately back home.

She found herself in front of his door. She rang the bell. "Ensign Ariadne Fleming, sir."

Standing inside the office, behind a curved desk, was a tall Argelian in a teal-highlighted Starfleet uniform. He looked up from an LCARS terminal and he cocked his head to the left. "Lieutenant Kohl, Andreus G. Serial number TE-792-8949," he said in an impassive timbre.

Ariadne halted, taken aback for a moment. She still had some trouble adjusting to the unfamiliar species on board.

She cleared her throat. "Yes, I, ah, had an appointment scheduled with him?"

"Oh! Oh I see," Kohl exclaimed, in between the bleats of an abrupt laugh. He shook his head in mild embarrassment, when he said, "I thought we were playing hostages. I would say I much prefer playing nurses, though." --He smiled at Ariadne and he began to walk around his desk-- "I'm Andreus. That would be me. We should step into the ICU for your appointment."

"Of course," she replied, albeit a bit uncertainly. People can be so weird, she mused as she followed him.

Walking ahead of Ariadne, Kohl introduced himself further by rote. "Before we begin, I'd like you to know that my medical background is as a Nurse Practitioner. I was assigned to Galileo just after her shakedown cruise," Kohl said. He walked followed the corridor into the intensive care unit. "I will be performing a series of tests to create a baseline record of your health status aboard Galileo. The results will be compared against your last baseline examination and, of course, one of the ship's doctor will be reviewing your results as well. What can you tell me about how you've been feeling lately?"

Ariadne reviewed in her mind her transfer from Earth to the Venture to the Galileo. She could remember nothing out of the ordinary.

"I've felt fine."

Nodding vaguely at her assurance, Kohl instructed, "Take a seat on the biobed, please," and he indicated the one. He stepped away long enough to snag an antigrav instrument tray and he dragged it over to the biobed. Once he lifted the medical tricorder on the tray, he set about accessing his new patient's medical records. As he swiped his way through the interface, he asked, "What can you tell me about your eating habits?"

Ariadne cocked her head as she thought of an answer, shifting uncomfortably. Doctors appointments always made her a bit edgy. "Well, they're normal I supposes, except...well sometimes I forgot to eat, actually. Usually when I'm absorbed in my research, or something."

Staring down at the tricorder, Kohl reviewed Ariadne's chart when she had been considering her reply. When she spoke, though, Kohl looked up and met her eyes. He asked, "How do you feel when you forget a meal entirely?"

Ariadne thought about this. She had rarely thought about it before, actually. If she realized she hadn't eaten, she usually remedied the situation immediately. "Well, a bit sick, I suppose, but nothing too troubling. If I remember I've missed a meal, I have something right away." Ariadne sighed imperceptibly. She knew it was all necessary but need it be so--trifling?

Kohl swiped his finger across the tricorder's control pad to hide the LCARS and focus on the new sensor readings. He synced the tricorder with the biobed systems and he began to review her vital signs. As he did, he asked distractedly, "Have you visited any non-Federation worlds since your last physical examination?"

"I have never visited a non-Federation world." As he focused on her vitals, she studied him surreptitiously. Why is that important? she pondered, unsure and confused.

Softly, Kohl vocalized a surprised, "Hunh." He blinked at the tricorder display and focused his gaze on Ariadne. "Never ever?" he asked.

"No..." she replied slowly. "I mean, I was supposed to, when I was a cadet, but it was cancelled abruptly. I think war broke out, or something. It was instant death for any federation member to set foot on the planet, anyway," she finished quietly. Was it really so singular, that she'd never strayed outside the borders of the Federation?

"Why do you ask? "

At the corners of his lips, Kohl quirked a small smile. "Here's the thing," he said conspiratoirally; "We can't test your blood and your DNA for everything. It would take a hundred laboratory technicians with a hundred different analyzers to be able to do that. And we don't have one medical technician in our crew compliment." --Kohl silenced his tricorder, focusing his attention entirely on Ariadne-- "I can make a better guess at what tests to run if I know about any off-baseline symptoms your feeling, and what environmental factors your body has been exposed to. Food, drink, narcotics, away missions... That sort of thing."

"Oh." she said, somewhat embarrassed. "Well, no, I have never strayed onto a non-Federation world, and as far as I know, I have not been exposed to anything potentially dangerous." Scientist or no, Ariadne always found the medical profession something of a mystery.

[TRUNCATED]

--

LT Andreus Kohl
Asst. Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

ENS Ariadne Fleming
Oceanologist
USS Galileo

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