No Side-Effects

Posted on 14 Oct 2012 @ 2:28am by Lieutenant Scott Parker & Lieutenant Commander Pola Ni Dhuinn M.D.

1,904 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 02 - Resupply
Location: USS Galileo (Vega IX surface) - Deck 4, Sickbay
Timeline: MD03 - 1546hours

[ON]

"Just hold on to the shipment for the time being, keep it out of the way of incoming goods. I'll speak to operations, see what kind of security storage measures they like to use."

"Do you think a forcefield will do the job, Sir?"

Parker shrugged at his colleague, a Bolian petty officer from his department named Gala, as he stopped outside of the sickbay entrance. "Yeah, I'm sure it will. I gotta' be honest here, I really don't have a clue. Ensign Rhodes might have a better idea of how to approach this."

"I'll speak to him," said Gala, who nodded firmly and departed, making his way at a brisk pace back down the corridor towards the turbolift. Their brief, but rather poignant, conversation had set a working atmosphere. Scott was certain that the crew member was just sizing up his new department senior. He really had no problem with that either.

Medical assessments for Starfleet personnel were by no means arduous or intrusive. Modern medicine guaranteed that. But for many, it was still something they prefered to avoid. Routine check-ups and health assessments were necessary for officers and crewmen. You had to be at your healthiest to serve in space-bound assignments. Scott knew this well and like his colleagues, he'd endured hundreds of meetings with fleet medical personnel. He just prefered to avoid them if it was possible. The CO, however, had insisted that he get it out of the way quickly. There was no room to manouevre there.

Stepping through the doors to the Galileo's sickbay, the new security chief, having been unofficially on duty for about three hours now, felt a pang of guilt and a tinge of embarassment seep up from the pit of his stomach. He wandered through the accessway and into the treatment area with his hands clasped behind his back. A passing teal-trimmed crew member caught his expectant gaze and offered a warm smile.

"Can I help you, Lieutenant?" She asked, blinking at him with dark, Betazoid eyes.

"Uh, yeah, you could. I'm looking for Doctor, uh - is it, uh, 'Dee Noon'?"

That brought a light chuckle. "The chief medical officer, I take it? It's Doctor Ni Dhuinn, she's right over there, by bed four. Is it an emergency?"

"No, no," said Scott, shaking his head with bashfulness. "Just a routine thing; assignment medical check, I think."

"Ok Claire...from now on, try to restrict the amount of alcohol you decide to consume. I know it's shore leave, a time to let your hair down and have some fun, but try to be mindful of your health sometimes." Pola smiled as she finished updating the patient's medical records.

Blushing, Claire looked down at the hands folded in her lap. "I'm sorry Pola....I will drink less next time. I promise."

Laughing, Pola squeezed the woman's arm before letting go. "I'm repair the tear in the lining of your throat and that analgesic will wear off in a couple of hours. If you are still experiencing further pain, just give us a shout and we will see about getting you something more." Nodding towards her nurse, Pola stepped back. "Nurse Jackson will see you out when your ready."

Thankful for the support of the Vega medical staff, meaning her people could get a well deserved break after what they'd been through, Pola absent-mindedly picked up another PADD and started reading as she walked, only to end up walking into what felt like a solid wall, sending her PADD to the floor. "Oh blasted! I'm sorry."

"No worries, Doctor," said the wall, which had somehow manifested itself into a nervous looking officer. He bent down and retrieved the PaDD, handing it back with an elusive smile, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry, I uh, well - I've never seemed to have a knack for looking where I'm going."

Smiling up at the man infront of her, Pola took a step back to give him space. "Please. In this case it was my fault. This sickbay is already small enough without adding me walking and reading , at the same time, to the equation. Can I help you in any way?"

"I'm Scott Parker, I've just been billeted. I spoke with the CO this afternoon and she pointed me in this direction; said that the sooner we get a medical assessment out of the way, the sooner I can pretty much get to work." He jerked a thumb back towards the doorway. "There's a lot going on out there. Terrestrial landing is always a big security issue."

Nodding her head towards a nearby biobed, taking back her PADD. "Well I guess I'm Doctor Ni Dhuinn but around here I prefer Pola, if I've got to be your Doctor, it's easier to be on less formal terms." Smiling, Pola leaned back against another biobed for a moment. "Settle yourself in and I'll be right with you once I get these notes finished."

"Sure," he remarked, glancing awkwardly around as she passed by before perching on the end of the bed. He leant upon his hands, swinging his feet backwards and forwards like a subdued child. Sickbay was active but not entirely busy. There was clearly a backlog at hand; the doctor's attitude had reflected that. But Scott sensed an easy-going mood from the environment and that helped him to relax. The issue wasn't the medical, of course, it was settling in with the new crew. First impressions were a dime-a-dozen in Starfleet but they were rarely positive.

Having managed to finish up her notes, Pola smiled at a passing nurse as she handed over the PADD and went to get herself a new one. Observing Scott for a moment, paying attention to his body language, she walked back over to his side. "You seem a little nervous. Everything ok?"

"Huh?" He snapped his glance from the door back to the doctor. "Oh," rubbing the back of his neck again, he smiled sheepishly, "yeah I'm fine. Just the 'new ship' jitters, I guess. It's been a while since I had a starship assignment."

Leaning back against the biobed behind, Pola started to read the Lieutenant's medical history, making notes on areas she would need to follow up on. "Well...I joined her a few days into her maiden voyage. She's given us a few scares, we lost a number of good people, but it's started to become home."

"Yeah that sounds like pretty much every single introductory speech I've heard at each assignment." Scott quickly raised a hand apologetically. "Not that I'm, y'know, suggesting that it's any less meaningful. It just seems like each ship rotates through the same old story for everyone."

Raising an eyebrow, Pola found herself smiling. Given everything which she had been through, she wasn't certain shed echo his words. "You're coming from..." Pola moved her fingers across her PADD as she check where the last medical was logged. "...Starbase 82? Do you consider your experiences and stories from there to be just the same old story?" Laughing lightly, the Doctor's eye contained a sparkle which showed anyone watching close enough that she was just teasing.

"Believe me, Doctor, if you've ever served aboard a starbase, particularly not as a member of the station's crew, then you're in for a long and dull ride," said Scott, the corner of his mouth turned upwards.

Laughing, Pola traded the PADD for her tricorder and started her scans. "Now...how about we get down to business and I ask the question you know is coming...you smoke?"

He swallowed and nodded, "Yeah, I do indeed. I know it's hugely frowned upon and lung transplants don't come cheap but I promise you, it's limited to after hours and my cardio is still strong."

"Hum...and how about your lungs? When was the last time you were put through a spirometry?" Pola raised an eyebrow at Scott, she hated to be strict but preferred to ensure every possibility was covered off on. Moving her eyes across to the bio monitor display, she also checked the readout of the oxygen saturations.

"I, uh - well I guess I have no idea. They're fine, though, Doctor. I can breathe, you know? Never had a problem with my fitness."

Shrugging her shoulders, Pola smiled as she looked back up. "As a matter of interest, if someone told you the shields were fine and were keeping enemy fire out, would you take their word or would you want to ensure yourself that the proper checks had been carried out? Even if the results back up what you were originally told."

He shrugged, "yeah, okay, I understand your point but considering that we're pretty much waiting until we're taking incoming fire to test those shields, well, I can obviously vouch that they're in working order, can't I? Just like I wasn't breathless during my morning workout while I was on my way to Vega. It's all relative, right?" He smiled thinly but there was frustration in his eyes. "Billions of people smoke."

Seeing the frustration, Pola matched it with her own. The thought ran through her head that why should she bother to be a Doctor to help people if they ignored her advise on the premises that she jump when things got worse. "Well then Lieutenant, I guess that's you done."

"Thanks," he slid off the biobed in an awkward fashion and brushed his jacket down out of habit. There was a momentary pause as both seemed to collect their thoughts, the room filling up with an uneasy silence before he spoke again. Parker could sympathise but he needed her approval before he walked out of the treatment area. "Look, you understand, right? I know it's your job to keep me healthy but it's my decision. Yeah, it's ridiculously unhealthy but it's not affecting my performance. Don't let it drive some kind of, uh - I don't know, a wedge...between us."

Looking down at a PADD for a moment as she suddenly realised that she'd spent alot of this medical trying to reason what she did. Letting out a sigh, she looked up at the man infront of her. "You make your own choices...you choose this habit. My only concern if the effect that it has on you, if you continue to smoke I am not going to try stop you, but I'd be irresponsible if didn't worry about onsets of possible issues. The point at which it starts to effect your performance...maybe it can be prevented with treatment before that."

"We live in a wonderous age, right, Doctor?" he grinned at her. "Whatever happens, I'm sure it's treatable. Like I say, I'm careful. It's just, um, well it's just my way of awarding myself for a lot of hard work."

Finding a genuine laugh leave her throat, Pola shook her head in response as the twinkle re-entered her eye. "Get out of here before you end up invalidating my job and we fall out. Your far too nice a guy to be falling out with Parker."

The grin widened before he turned to leave, offering a jovial "yes, ma'am" before he passed the accessway and stepped out through the exit.


[OFF]
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JP By:

Lieutenant Scott Parker
Chief Sec/Tac Officer
USS Galileo

&

Lieutenant JG Pola Ni Dhuinn M.D.
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

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