Complaint Department

Posted on 06 Mar 2015 @ 12:39am by Jonah Chaparral M.D. & Captain Jonathan Holliday & Lieutenant Tuula Voutilainen M.D.
Edited on on 06 Mar 2015 @ 12:56am

1,476 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Episode 08 - NIMBUS
Location: USS Chronos - Captain's office
Timeline: MD -03: 1030 hours

[ON]

"...and then, the civilian doctor and that other one, the one with the chair and the non-regulation hair, started talking about their attraction to blue people! I'm blue!"

Shras was taught that sometimes, when you have a problem, you have to go straight to the top. And this was one of those cases. So, he found himself in the captain's office, with a list of minor violations of Starfleet regulations as long as his arm.

"I don't need to tell you, Captain, that this sort of behaviour is not tolerated in Red Squad. I'm not sure how you do things on the Galileo, and far be it from me to question your command style, but--"

"Thank you Cadet I think I've heard quite enough." Holliday interjected, holding his head in his hands as he contemplated the likelihood that Lirha had assigned him to this warp-capable kindergarten as some sort of punishment.

"Red Squad is just a club for those cadets who in some way feel they are better than the rest of Starfleet. Now...let me give you a few pointers for the next time you feel the need to bring a complaint to your CO...."


----A short while later----

The conversation was interrupted by the doors to the captain's office opening again, revealing the two doctors on board. "Captain Holliday, I need to talk to you about--"

Seeing Shras already standing in the office in conversation with the captain, Tuula froze in her tracks. "I'm sorry, I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Jonah was standing just behind Tuula a small smile playing at his lips when he saw the Red Squad cadet. It hadn't taken him long to go running to his mommy to complain and Jonah felt strangely satisfied.

With a sigh Holliday gestured to the two new arrivals to join him in the rather cramped surroundings of what was supposed to be a Ready Room on board this tiny vessel.

"Why the hell not? The more the merrier. Tell me, what can I do for you Lieutenant?"

Jonah not being Starfleet, didn't see a need to stand at attention, but did respect the chain of command enough not to slouch. So he stood, his back against a bulkhead, taking in everything that was going on, but choosing, for the moment, to remain silent.

Tuula glared at Shras for a moment, making it clear that he was not to speak out of turn. "Well," she said, turning back to the captain, "It's about sickbay. The medical facilities on this ship are quite frankly abysmal. Small, outdated, poorly designed... I don't know what we'll do if we have more than three or four patients at any given time."

Tuula was beating around the bush. Because of Shras' attitude problem and the personal nature of her issues, she didn't particularly want to share with him present.

John was well aware of both the advantages and the limitations of a Defiant class vessel - Sickbay was certainly one of those areas where resources were limited, and importance was placed on other design areas.

"Such is the nature of a warship Lieutenant. This ship is designed to go into battle, get a job done, and get out - she's not designed to work alone for long periods of time, hence the limited Sickbay. You will simply have to make do with what you have, and I'll do my best to keep casualties low."

"That would be appreciated sir," Jonah interjected.

"Yes..." said Tuula, taking a moment to glare at Shras once more. "It's not just that sir, it's... well..." She took a deep breath; she'd be shaking in her boots if she could. "It's just... I don't think this sickbay was designed with me in mind. It's causing me some... issues... and if we have a medical emergency..."

Holliday raised an eyebrow as he attempted to digest the rather bungled response that had come from his medical officer. He was still struggling to understand what exactly the problem was.

"Lieutenant, let me make this simple for you. You have permission to speak frankly, and off the record, for the next 20 seconds. Go."

Jonah did his best to stifle a chuckle, which he barely managed to do, but he was unable to keep a wide smile from his face as he waited to see what Tuula would come up with next.

Tuula took a deep breath. "Sir, whoever designed this vessel obviously did a poor job when it came to accessibility. The sickbay is cramped and practically impossible to navigate in my wheelchair. The biobeds are too high for me to do a proper surgery. And don't even get me started on the washroom and shower facilities in my quarters!"

Jonah was sympathetic to her cause, though he didn't see what the Captain could do, the ship's design did leave much to be desired, but Holliday had nothing to do with that.

"Sir," he volunteered, "Perhaps Tuula should trade with a physician on one of the other ships. I know this is a last minute thing, but she does have interesting challenges and I don't think you could retrofit the entire sickbay.

If her inability to navigate, especially in a precarious condition, causes someone to suffer or even die, the repercussions would be devastating."

Jonathan nodded in agreement - he couldn't have his physician being unable to do her job when they were going into a battle situation, simulated or not.

"Your thoughts Lieutenant Voutilainen? I will consult with Admiral Saalm about having you replaced if it is going to impact your duties?"

"No!" Tuula exclaimed, a gut reaction to the situation and the mention of the Admiral. The last thing she wanted was to be shipped out because she couldn't do her job. She wanted to build her experience, and couldn't do that by shipping out at every little bump in the road. "I mean... aren't our engineering cadets supposed to be the best of the best?" she asked, rolling her eyes at the smugness she had encountered so far from people who haven't even graduated from the academy yet. "I'm sure a few little renovations are well within their abilities? And might be a good learning experience for them?"

Jonah was a little surprised at her reaction, though he guessed he shouldn't have been. She was, despite her challenges a strong woman.

Holliday raised an eyebrow once again for what seemed like the millionth time today. This was a war games situation, not an interior decorating mission. Yes the cadets would have had the basics of starship engineering under their belts, and with Mr Quinn on board it would have been well supervised, but there was still no reason why the scope had to be the entire ship.

"I will allow basic renovations - and I do mean basic Lieutenant - limited to access requirements for Sickbay - I do not expect to find half the ship remodeled, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir," replied Tuula, feeling a little conflicted. On the one hand, she was thankful that the captain had agreed. On the other, she didn't feel like she should have had to ask. "And my quarters?" she added, hoping she wasn't pushing her luck.

"Again - minimal modifications only - these Cadets are brash enough to think that they can probably build a whole extra starship with the contents of a phaser rifle. Please let us avoid reinforcing that belief."

John made a note on the PADD that lay in front of him to check exactly what said engineering cadets got up to. He needed his crew focusing on the efforts to prepare the ship for simulated combat, not deciding how best to improve the existing starship design - that was a different challenge for a different time.

"Liaise with Mr Quinn - his engineering expertise is going to come in handy - and his sharp tongue might just make the job go a little faster."

"Thank you, sir," replied Tuula. She detected a bit of frustration on the captain's part, but felt her request to be more than reasonable. At least didn't have to quote Starfleet regulations around reasonable accommodation at him. "I'll talk to him right away," she added as she turned and left, making sure to glare at Shras on the way out.

"Well then...if you all don't mind, I have to try and swing a cat in here. Dismissed." Holliday replied, waiting for the plethora of personnel to vacate his office so he could try and figure out exactly where in this broom cupboard he expected to get any work done.

[OFF]


CAPT Jonathan Holliday
Commanding Officer
USS Chronos

Lieutenant (J.G.) Tuula Voutilainen, M.D.
Medical Officer
USS Chronos

Jonah Chaparral
Epidemiologist
PNPC Jared Nicholas
USSChronos

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