Background Checks

Posted on 06 Sep 2014 @ 2:02pm by Lieutenant Olsam Mott
Edited on on 07 Sep 2014 @ 12:28am

2,113 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Episode 06 - Legend of Souls
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 3, Main Sickbay
Timeline: MD 9 0830 hours

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Olsam loved babies. A lot. Almost as much as he loved food, which was saying quite a bit, really. So he'd actually cajoled the other physicians and nurses into letting him take over Ensign Murray's post-natal, pre-release examination just so he could see and hold the baby. He excitedly grabbed up his medkit from the Chief Medical Officer's office and shifted from one foot to the other, staring at the chronometer. It was five minutes before the examination was schedule...but he couldn't wait any longer. Bursting through the doors like a bull through the gates, he made straight for Ensign Murray's biobed with an enormous grin on his face.

"Someone looks mighty happy," T'Vanna chuckled as she saw the Bolian burst in. "Good morning doctor."

"Gooood morning, Ensign," Olsam said, laying the medkit down on a nearby medcart and opening it to reveal the standard medical tricorder and various other instruments and medications. "You and the baby sleep well, I hope? Did they bring you some breakfast already, or can I replicate you something?"

"Apart from the several feedings she wanted during the night, we slept remarkably well. This will change though won't it? Her irregular sleeping?" She sighed at the mention of breakfast. "Buttered toast and some milk would be great sir. Slice of cheese if possible?"

Olsam nodded several times and made his way to the replicator, which wasn't all that far from the biobed. He began programming the meal into the computer and spoke over his shoulder. "Uh, it will change...eventually. The frequent feeding is the partially Vulcan metabolism, of course. And virtually all babies are fussy in the beginning. And then occasionally for awhile after. And then some of them just stay fussy their whole life." He retrieved the tray after it had materialized and shuffled over. It had the requested toast and milk, as well as about eight different sorts of cheeses (the Bolian equivalent of "a slice").

"Thank you," the Vulcan woman answered, accepting the tray, hungrily digging in. "I assume, you want to see her?" She smiled between bites, nodding over to the crib. "I can hear her fuss, she'll be fully awake shortly. I named her Emmaline Tuula."

"Mm-hmm," Olsam said, nodding as he moved to the crib with the medical tricorder. He began taking very routine scans of the infant, looking from the baby to the tricorder to the cheese on the tray and back again. Finally, he did a cursory visual check, not wanting to wake the baby any earlier than necessary, and shuffled back over to T'Vanna. "So far, so good. Emmaline's vitals all check out, and her cellular growth is on target. No complications whatsoever. A very healthy Human-Vulcan-Betazoid baby, who's likely to be very hungry and fussy for weeks to come. Have you spoken to your department head about adjusting your schedule accordingly? Will you be taking maternity leave? What department are you in?"

The last question seemed more to himself than to her as he glanced down at her personnel record.

"I am assistant chief intelligence officer," T'Vanna answered patiently, "and no I've not discussed any kind of adjusted schedule. I won't be taking maternity leave per se but I may negotiate working half shifts for a little while. Several people have offered to help in taking care of Emma, including watching her when I'm on duty. Why?"

Olsam nodded several times. "Well, I'd like you to spend as much time as possible with your newborn - it's important for her development, especially considering her Vulcan and Betazoid heritage. I'll make a notation in your file and send a request to Lieutenant Markos to grant as much leniency as possible for you in your duties." Ordinarily he would have gone directly to the department head, but Olsam had seen Amynta Markos a few times at a distance and that was sufficient enough to make him slightly frightened of her. No need for a visit; a message would surely do. "Emmaline Tuula," he muttered to himself, making more notations in the PADD. Suddenly, he gasped. "Did you know she has the same name as Dr. Voutilainen? What a coincidence!"

Chuckling, clearly amused, T'Vanna nodded. "Not quite a coincidence doctor, I named my daughter after her, because she delivered the baby."

"Oh, oh, right. Yes. Of course. Clearly," Olsam said, turning a darker shade of blue and chuckling as if he'd known that the entire time. "Well. That's very appropriate, it's a lovely name, really." He cleared his throat and searched for a new topic. One came to him suddenly, in a flash of brilliance. "Uh, say... So. You work in intelligence, right? Monitoring...things...and stuff?"

"Basically yes, though I only graduated a couple of months ago. This is my first assignment. Shipbound, anyway. I still don't really understand why you ask."

"Oh, just...uh...academic curiosity?" Olsam said, answering absolutely nothing. It seemed like he could dance around the real reason for an eternity, as evasive as he was. "So, let's say, in theory, someone was trying to conduct...oh, I don't know...a medical investigation. Say this person is trying to conduct a medical investigation without anyone knowing about it, but they still needed to utilize Starfleet resources to do it. Uh, how would they..." He leaned casually on the medcart, which creaked a little under the strain of his weight. "How would they go about doing that? Hypothetically speaking."

"Piggyback," T'Vanna answered without pause. "Piggyback the request onto the signal of others going out."

"Uh-huh, piggyback," Olsam repeated, making a few notes on a PADD he'd picked up from the medcart. "And, say, uh... You know, they needed, I don't know, maybe some classified files. Does that happen a lot? People accessing classified information above their security clearance? Is that illegal? Would someone get imprisoned and stripped of their medical license for that?" Olsam looked genuinely worried then coughed loudly and dramatic to over it up. "In theory, of course. This isn't about Dr. Allyndra, just so you're aware. I don't want to start any rumors."

"That is illegal. Doctor what are you trying to get at here? You're not about to engage in something highly illustrious are you? Yes, if caught the person could lose their license, or worse."

"Who, me?" Olsam asked, wide-eyed. "Oh, no. It's not me. It's a friend. Doctor...uh...Ol...sur.... Dr. Olsur. A colleague. He's also a Bolian. We went to the Academy together. Heh. Yep. Doctors Olsam and Olsur, they used to call us. A couple of troublemakers." His eyes shifted around the room. "So, okay, I'll pass along the piggback and legal advice to him. I don't know what he's doing with it. Probably nothing good, you know. He was always sort of a bad seed. I feel like I'm talking a lot." He abruptly stopped and fumbled for the medical tricorder. "So, how are you feeling?"

"I feel fine. A little tired but I think after I sleep some more, I'd like to return to my quarters. You know, have all the comforts of home...as much as it is home as I got here 2 days ago."

"I hope you settle in well," Olsam said, cracking open the tricorder and detaching the sensor wand. He recovered some of his composure and began taking routine postpartum scans. "It's a little cramped but an otherwise pleasant ship. Not as bad as a shuttle craft, not as nice as a Sovereign-class. You should focus on getting as much rest as possible. I know everyone in the fleet likes to shine with their industriousness, but this isn't exactly the sort of thing you immediately bounce back from. I'll be checking your activity logs to insure you're getting proper amounts of rest and not sneaking to work." He gave an exaggerated frown over the lip of the tricorder, as if to emphasize the seriousness of the situation.

"I'm sure my roommate will make sure I won't," the Vulcan woman chuckled, clearly amused, "and you realise as intelligence officer, I'm quite capable of forging logs, right? Not that I will but just so you know." She cast him a flirty grin. "So...what's the verdict doc? Am I good to go after another few hours of rest?"

Naturally, the flirty grin went right over his head, as did virtually all other forms of romantic advances. Anything short of "I want to have sex with you, Doctor Olsam Mott" was generally misconstrued as something entirely different; in fact, he'd once even misunderstood that particular statement and embarrassed a very charming young Andorian girl at the Medical Academy.

"Are you good to go?" Olsam repeated slowly, as if chewing the words over in his mouth. He looked very thoughtful for a moment and then finally nodded. "Yes, I suppose you would be good to go in another few hours, if you feel up to it. But no strenuous activities. I'll be following up with you regularly, including surprise inspections at any hour of the day, so be prepared."

"I think I will... I don't like staying too long in sickbay especially if I'm occupying a bed someone else might need, with all that's been going on around here. I have a perfectly good bed in my quarters and a very nice roommate who's offered to help. AS well as a few others, I might add."

Olsam's brow furrowed, giving him a very serious look. Who else could possibly be helping care for a baby besides a doctor or a nurse? "You shouldn't accept medical assistance from anyone who isn't qualified to dispense it."

"Medical? Doctor,do you have children at all? I meant in terms of watching when I have to work, or helping me with feeding, changing, you know basic parenting."

"Oh, no, I don't have any children. I'm far too busy," Olsam said, falling back on his standard excuse with a smile. People with babies always seemed downright obsessed with other people having babies! And no one in their right mind had ever actually suggested someone like Olsam Mott was parental material, despite whatever high opinion he might have of himself. "Well I've met a lot of the people on this ship, and I wouldn't trust half of them to help me feed or change anything." He picked up the PADD again and started accessing files. "Who volunteered to help? I'll just do a quick background check..."

"I don't think that's any of your business doctor," T'Vanna answered her voice changing from flirty to downright acid. "Who I ask to help me care for my child is my business. It's personal, and not even you are authorized to pry."

For the most part, the concept of privacy was lost on Olsam. He stared at her for a moment, blinked, and then shrugged his shoulders before replacing the PADD. Some things you had to attribute to cultural misunderstandings, postpartum hormones or both.

"It's a wonder anyone volunteered at all if that's the attitude you take when people offer to help," he said in a flat, matter-of-fact way that didn't imply any malice.

"There's helping with my child, and there's checking to see if someone's fit or whatever you imply to do. Isn't it up to me to find out if someone's fit to help me? But, if you really must know....Oren Idris and Vermeer Talbot."

"No less up to you than it is to care for your child, and you agreed to accept help for that," Olsam said, letting the PADD hang in his hand. He could go around and around in circles debating the matter for days, but he'd discovered most people didn't find that nearly as enjoyable as he did so he quickly moved on. Besides, there was little use in arguing with a woman shortly after childbirth. He'd been assaulted no less than three times for just such an act, and he had finally learned his lesson. Mostly. "Oren Idris and Vermeer Talbot..." He appeared thoughtful as he placed the PADD back on the medcart then shrugged. "I don't recall them having any questionable visits to Sickbay. I'm sure they'll make fine assistants. Right? Right..."

The Bolian didn't really even wait for an answer before turning away to a computer console to begin updating the medical records of T'Vanna and the baby, satisfied that the child's health probably wouldn't be in danger. Mostly. Sorta. Except maybe that Oren Idris... He'd have to keep an eye on him. A very close eye, indeed.

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Lieutenant Olsam Mott
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

&

Ensign T'Vanna Murray
Assistant Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Galileo

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