On: Day 3/ 09:10 hrs Astrometrics
Lieutenant, jg Tyler Elbrun was hard at work going over to data collected during their pass by an asteroid field and what he found was not looking good for the Malinche or its crew. Tyler was reading mutliple energy/radiation signatures that could kill the crew and damage the ships systems.
Aaron entered the lab with the hopes someone there was able to find information that provided even a parital explanation of what in the asteroid field was hazardous. "What do you have for me lieutenant?"
"Well, truth be told, Lieutenant, I've got a whole lot of nonsense for you. This asteroid field is the worst conglomeration of energy signatures and radiation traces I've ever encountered. It seems that this field is hiding something and it doesn't want to let us in on the secret."
"Tell me something I don't know." Aaron didn't mean to be rude, he was just frustrated about the lack of answers and concerned for Sarah. "When we passed through the field I noticed large amounts of polaric radiation but couldn't pinpoint the source. What's your theory on all this?"
"My theory of the polaric radiation is a gravity well somewhere inside the field itself that is mucking with our sensors. But after I've run the diagnostics on the sensors doesn't come up with anything. There is something or someone else at work here. I would bet my life on it, Sir. Sorry I can't be of more help to you but, rest assured I will come up with something soon."
The man knew his field, which was encouraging. "I wouldn't trust diagnostics as whatever was in the asteroid field is continuing to have an affect. What does your theory say about lingering affects?" Aaron found it helpful to challenge others theories as it helped flesh out different ideas.
"It says there will be long-term effects on the ship if she isn't completely 'detoxed' and soon. My theory says that the things that we're already experiencing will grow and increase in intensity."
"Detox?, no offense but how can we detox when we're not entireley sure what toxin has been adminsitered?"
"We would need to expose the ship to a massive amount of barion radiation and that will eliminate any traces of lingering radiation much like the doctors of Old Earth used broad-sprectrum antibiotics to treat an infection that they didn't necessarily know which type it was, Sir," Tyler was growing increasingly impatient with Lieutenant Steele then tried to remind himself that he was acting they way a good Chief Science Officer should, exactly the way he had done so in his day.
The theory was no less farfetched than any of the others that had been put forth over the past few days. "I'll pass it along to the Captain. At this point I'd rather avoid such drastic measures, but it may come down to something like what you're proposing. I'm afraid my radiology is rusty, how do you plan on expoing the ship to such intense levels of radiaiton without affecting the crew?"
"We'd have to abandon the ship for the duration of the barionic pulse."
Aaron phrased his next comments carefully. "I was afraid you'd say that. Do you have any other theories that require less intensive solutions?"
"At this moment, no, Sir. There may be no other way to do this," Tyler said with a fear in his voice that he had not felt from him in years.
"Well if we have to do that, than we have to do that. Let's hope an easier solution is found before it's too late. If you could put together a detailed report of what you just told me it would be appreciated. I have a feeling the senior staff will have a lot of question when I give them this proposal."
"Already done, Sir. You forget that I used to be in your shoes. I left because I began to hate the things I was asked to do by my superiors. So, here is your report, Lieutenant. If you want, I could brief the senior staff on my findings," Tyler said before he could catch himself.
He had guts, something Aaron admired in those working under him. "That might be best, you know more about this than I do. I shall contact you ahead of time with the time and location of the meeting. Untill then just keep doing what you're doing."
"Always, Mr.Steele, always," Tyler said with a glint in his eyes.
"In that case, I shall see you later." Aaron turned to leave than turned back. "Oh and Lieutenant, you don't have to call me sir. Aaron or Lt. Steele is fine with me."
"Thank you. And Tyler is fine with me.
OFF
A Joint Post by:
Lieutenant, jg Aaron Steele
Chief Science Officer
and
Mission 12: When In Rome
Moderators: Tournneau, Korath, Kersare
On: Day 3, Sickbay 0945
Renna approached Adam, "I need you to get a Stasis unit out."
Adam hadn't worked with Renna for long, although the time he did spend with her lead him to believe that she was just as good a doc as Darkhelm. And at least she wasn't breaking patient’s arms just to keep them in sickbay
"No problem, do I even want to know?" Adam asked, heading toward the equipment storage locker.
"Quaid is not improving, as you can well tell, we don't dare start any surgery to remove the bone fragments with the ship in this condition. In order to keep him from getting worse, I am electing to put him in Stasis and move him to Recovery. They have less to do, and can keep track of the stasis unit until we can get things set up for surgery."
"I have been look at his latest scans, the bone fragments seemed to have moved even further into his brain."
"That is what I was afraid of. Every time the ship shutters that may happen, and opening his skull in these conditions is not an option."
"Unless you really don't like Quaid that is, I have a thought though."
‘Yes, and that would be?"
"We used the trick twice before, with success. It was something that Dr. Darkhelm came up with, using the transporter we can transport some of the deeper fragments out. He'd still need surgery but that would at least stop the injury from getting any worse. Its tricky process but not impossible."
"However with the condition the ship is in, Do you trust the transporters at all, I can do a bit, and I will try, but I am almost afraid to use the transporters, we just might add something instead of taking something out, in these conditions."
You have a point," Adam nodded. "Wait a second, what if we mapped everything first. If we could give the computer a complete and accurate picture of where they were could beam them out in seconds."
"Adam we don't dare trust the computer, last time I tryed to do anything I got a marching song, and until I turned the computer off, it just kept going and going. We can only use tricorders and padds that have not been near the computers."
"No worse then trusting the computer to run the status unit."
"Don't we have some with the Away Team stuff, that are independent of the computer, self contained? There should be."
"They won't work for that long without needing to recharge, once they do we are going to need to plug them back into the ships power grid."
"Well Pooh, then I guess I have to do something I didn't want to do. Come with me and hold him still, get a tricorders to check what I do."
"Um, doc what are you doing exactly?" Adam asked. The way that she talked was the exact same way that Amanda did before she did something risky.
"Exposing something that will get me in big problems with the Makhalian Authority if they ever find out." She walked up to the biobed in question. "I want him transferred to the Surgical Unit so I am free of interference."
Off:
JP by
Adam (NPC)written by
Lieutenant Jason Barrett
Executive Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B
And
Renna approached Adam, "I need you to get a Stasis unit out."
Adam hadn't worked with Renna for long, although the time he did spend with her lead him to believe that she was just as good a doc as Darkhelm. And at least she wasn't breaking patient’s arms just to keep them in sickbay
"No problem, do I even want to know?" Adam asked, heading toward the equipment storage locker.
"Quaid is not improving, as you can well tell, we don't dare start any surgery to remove the bone fragments with the ship in this condition. In order to keep him from getting worse, I am electing to put him in Stasis and move him to Recovery. They have less to do, and can keep track of the stasis unit until we can get things set up for surgery."
"I have been look at his latest scans, the bone fragments seemed to have moved even further into his brain."
"That is what I was afraid of. Every time the ship shutters that may happen, and opening his skull in these conditions is not an option."
"Unless you really don't like Quaid that is, I have a thought though."
‘Yes, and that would be?"
"We used the trick twice before, with success. It was something that Dr. Darkhelm came up with, using the transporter we can transport some of the deeper fragments out. He'd still need surgery but that would at least stop the injury from getting any worse. Its tricky process but not impossible."
"However with the condition the ship is in, Do you trust the transporters at all, I can do a bit, and I will try, but I am almost afraid to use the transporters, we just might add something instead of taking something out, in these conditions."
You have a point," Adam nodded. "Wait a second, what if we mapped everything first. If we could give the computer a complete and accurate picture of where they were could beam them out in seconds."
"Adam we don't dare trust the computer, last time I tryed to do anything I got a marching song, and until I turned the computer off, it just kept going and going. We can only use tricorders and padds that have not been near the computers."
"No worse then trusting the computer to run the status unit."
"Don't we have some with the Away Team stuff, that are independent of the computer, self contained? There should be."
"They won't work for that long without needing to recharge, once they do we are going to need to plug them back into the ships power grid."
"Well Pooh, then I guess I have to do something I didn't want to do. Come with me and hold him still, get a tricorders to check what I do."
"Um, doc what are you doing exactly?" Adam asked. The way that she talked was the exact same way that Amanda did before she did something risky.
"Exposing something that will get me in big problems with the Makhalian Authority if they ever find out." She walked up to the biobed in question. "I want him transferred to the Surgical Unit so I am free of interference."
Off:
JP by
Adam (NPC)written by
Lieutenant Jason Barrett
Executive Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B
And
Ensign Renna Samport
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Malinche
<Jack’s Quarters, 0820, MD03>
Jack awoke with a jolt, he had finally got to bed about 7 hoping to get a couple of hours before his shift started at 9, he looked over at the clock near his bed through sleepy eyes, “3.20?” he said once it came into focus. He stumbled up and walked to the desk and turned on the monitor and checked the time on there, it was the same, it was telling him it was 4 hours before he had gone to bed, it didn’t make any sense.
He tugged his boots on and opened the door stepping into the corridor, it was deserted and the lights were dimmed, just like it would be in the early hours of the morning. He rounded a corner and entered a turbolift, only it wasn’t a turbolift, the door opened straight onto a bridge, not the bridge of the Malinche, but the bridge of the Indiscernible his previous posting.
It too was dark and deserted, all the consoles were just a sea of static and the buzz seemed to fill the room he walked around checking each console when he saw something out of the corner of his eye, just for a second, then it was gone. He walked towards the door he assumed the shape had left through and stepped through it himself, back onto the mysterious tundra he had remembered on the holodeck a week ago.
Jack was back in his cold weather gear looking at the plaque on the wall, “Scott Polar Research Institute” the wind and snow pounding into him, chilling him to the bone, he looked at the heavy manual doors and decided to venture inside. He forced the doors open and pushed them closed again, straining against the wind and hoping to keep the cold out, it didn’t work if anything it was colder inside.
A long corridor spread out before him and he started to walk down it, lights flickered and whatever consoles and LCARS panels he came across where just showing static. There was a smell in the air that Jack couldn’t quite put his finger on, at least not till he entered a door at the end of the corridor...
Bodies littered the next corridor, on the floor, slumped against the walls, all of them with phaser or disruptor burns, and many of them had the wounds on their backs, they had been running, running from whatever had walked in here and started gunning everyone down. Jack checked a couple of them but knew they were dead long before he confirmed it by their lack of a pulse, he was checking their clothes, they all wore Starfleet uniforms.
He heard a bang, a bang then a yell, someone was still alive and he started running in the direction the noise came from, the corridor seemed to twist and turn forever and Jack was sidestepping debris and leaping over fallen officers until he came to the door that seemed to lead to the main control room for the facility. He forced the stubborn door open and pushed his way inside...
Again all the screens were all showing static, the large windows were filled with views of the blizzard outside, the lights were dimmed and the only sound was the howling wind outside. Jack couldn’t see anyone, no one to attribute the yelling to, not on his first pass, but when he turned round again he saw him, a scientist kneeling before him, pleading, asking for Jacks help, begging for Jack to save him.
Jack looked down at his hands, he was removing a Romulan disruptor slowly from his own pocket and raising it, pointing it square at the scientists head, the man was crying now, begging Jack not to shoot, to save him.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry...” The barely words escaped Jacks lips moments before he pulled the trigger, the blast shot from the disruptor sending the man crumpling to the floor.
The wind howled outside, it was all Jack could hear, just the constant howling, he stood there, still as a statue over the man he had just slain.
He felt a hand on his shoulder....
He span round to find a concerned looking operations officer, “Are you ok sir?”
It was the Malinche's mess hall...
Jack awoke with a jolt, he had finally got to bed about 7 hoping to get a couple of hours before his shift started at 9, he looked over at the clock near his bed through sleepy eyes, “3.20?” he said once it came into focus. He stumbled up and walked to the desk and turned on the monitor and checked the time on there, it was the same, it was telling him it was 4 hours before he had gone to bed, it didn’t make any sense.
He tugged his boots on and opened the door stepping into the corridor, it was deserted and the lights were dimmed, just like it would be in the early hours of the morning. He rounded a corner and entered a turbolift, only it wasn’t a turbolift, the door opened straight onto a bridge, not the bridge of the Malinche, but the bridge of the Indiscernible his previous posting.
It too was dark and deserted, all the consoles were just a sea of static and the buzz seemed to fill the room he walked around checking each console when he saw something out of the corner of his eye, just for a second, then it was gone. He walked towards the door he assumed the shape had left through and stepped through it himself, back onto the mysterious tundra he had remembered on the holodeck a week ago.
Jack was back in his cold weather gear looking at the plaque on the wall, “Scott Polar Research Institute” the wind and snow pounding into him, chilling him to the bone, he looked at the heavy manual doors and decided to venture inside. He forced the doors open and pushed them closed again, straining against the wind and hoping to keep the cold out, it didn’t work if anything it was colder inside.
A long corridor spread out before him and he started to walk down it, lights flickered and whatever consoles and LCARS panels he came across where just showing static. There was a smell in the air that Jack couldn’t quite put his finger on, at least not till he entered a door at the end of the corridor...
Bodies littered the next corridor, on the floor, slumped against the walls, all of them with phaser or disruptor burns, and many of them had the wounds on their backs, they had been running, running from whatever had walked in here and started gunning everyone down. Jack checked a couple of them but knew they were dead long before he confirmed it by their lack of a pulse, he was checking their clothes, they all wore Starfleet uniforms.
He heard a bang, a bang then a yell, someone was still alive and he started running in the direction the noise came from, the corridor seemed to twist and turn forever and Jack was sidestepping debris and leaping over fallen officers until he came to the door that seemed to lead to the main control room for the facility. He forced the stubborn door open and pushed his way inside...
Again all the screens were all showing static, the large windows were filled with views of the blizzard outside, the lights were dimmed and the only sound was the howling wind outside. Jack couldn’t see anyone, no one to attribute the yelling to, not on his first pass, but when he turned round again he saw him, a scientist kneeling before him, pleading, asking for Jacks help, begging for Jack to save him.
Jack looked down at his hands, he was removing a Romulan disruptor slowly from his own pocket and raising it, pointing it square at the scientists head, the man was crying now, begging Jack not to shoot, to save him.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry...” The barely words escaped Jacks lips moments before he pulled the trigger, the blast shot from the disruptor sending the man crumpling to the floor.
The wind howled outside, it was all Jack could hear, just the constant howling, he stood there, still as a statue over the man he had just slain.
He felt a hand on his shoulder....
He span round to find a concerned looking operations officer, “Are you ok sir?”
It was the Malinche's mess hall...
Lieutenant Jonathan "Jack" Hawkins
Acting Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B
-
Peters
- Senior Staff
- Posts: 202
- Joined: Mon Mar 20, 2006 2:17 pm
- Location: Space, the final frontier...
- Contact:
ON: <<Bridge, USS Malinche, MD 03, 0900>>
Will felt himself drifting off as he waited for three diagnostics to complete themselves. Earlier that morning, they had managed to get command and control back, but he still didn't want to risk powering everything up again, especially tactical systems and flight control, without making sure they wouldn't go haywire. Unfortunately, without knowing what had caused the upstart in the first place, he couldn't begin to find a solution to that particular problem. Part of him just wanted to let it be. If something's not broken...don't fix it.
Peters gave Schulz a gentle shake before rubbing his own eyes to fight the grogginess for another few minutes. "Hey, Schulz, you still anywhere near the land of the waking?"
"Wha...oh, yeah," Will said, coming back to the present, "I suppose we should make our reports to the captain. You find anything new?"
"I wish," Peters groaned and rubbed his eyes again. "I can give a laundry list of what malfunctioned, but no reasons for it... and while we've got the critical systems back online, and thankfully never lost life support or gravity, we've still only got a fraction of what we should have in terms of being able to see outside the ship or communicate."
A soft chime indicated the completion of Will's diagnostic routines. He quickly surveyed the results before downloading them into a PADD so he could present them to the captain. "I guess I'm ready when you are," Will said, getting to his feet and allowing another crewman to take his station.
Peters picked his PADD up off the top of the console and made his way towards the door to the Captain's Ready Room. On his way there, he veered towards the replicator mounted in the bulkhead adjacent to the Ready Room door and ordered a very large cup of coffee. "Want some wake-up juice?"
"Nah, I should be good," Will said, "Managed to sneak in a quick breakfast about an hour ago."
Nodding, Peters took his coffee and stepped over to the Ready Room door and waited for Shulz to join him. Once the Ops officer joined him, Peters pressed the chime. Then he took a gulp of coffee and waited for a response.
<Ready Room>
Isabel, rubbing the sleepiness from her eyes, looked toward the door as she heard her doorchime. Making an effort to sit straighter, she said, "Enter."
Will was the first to enter the room, PADD in hand. He took a step to one side, which allowed Lt. Peters room enough to stand next to him. "Morning, ma'am," Will said, hoping he wasn't seeming to be overly chipper.
Nodding to the two men standing before her, Isabel replied, "Morning. I'm guessing you have news for me?" At this point, she was exhausted enough that she felt it best to just get right to the point. Though she tried her hardest not to let it show - and really she was in one of the upswings when she really didn't feel all that bad, anyway - she was sure it did to some extent, or at least a trained eye.
Will nodded. "Good news, at that," he said, deferring to Lt. Peters for the technical explanation as he placed the report on the captain's desk.
Peters swallowed another gulp of his coffee before speaking. "Some good news at least. We have most systems functional right now... The turbolifts are still a bit iffy, but some ingenious soul opened a lot of access hatches and put up ladders between decks to get around that. The comm system has stopped serenading us for the moment. Unfortunately, we still can only see what's behind us. And I have to be honest Captain, right now I have absolutely no idea what happened or how to keep it from happening again. My best recommendation is that we try to make our way back to starbase for a full systems diagnostic and possibly a computer core swap."
"Back to Starbase 386?" Isabel frowned.
"The next closest base other than 386 is Deep Space 5, but they're almost all the way to Ivor and they don't have the facilities to handle a Prometheus class ship," Peters answered. "Starbase 185 does, but that's even further. Although it is on our current course. Of course, right now, we can't see the direction we're pointed, and I wouldn't recommend flying backwards."
She tapped her finger on the back of the opposite hand in thought, "Ivor Prime really needs the supplies. Are all the systems, other than what you mentioned, alright?"
"As far as we can tell. None of the malfunctions read on the diagnostics we've run, but they never did, even while they were at their worst." Peters thought for a moment, then a moment more before continuing, "If it is a computer problem we could restart the main computer core again as a stop-gap solution long enough to get us to Ivor Prime... but I can't guarantee that it is the main computer and not the entire array of sub-processors."
This certainly wasn't sounding good. She pondered aloud, "If it is the sub-processors, we'd have to take them off-line one at a time...that would probably take until we got to Ivor Prime..." She didn't like the thought. Isabel asked, "What do you think the chances are that that will help?"
"Basically, Captain, right now I can't guarantee anything on this ship will work longer than 5 minutes." It pained Peters to have to admit that he didn't know, but it was the truth, and it didn't look to him like there was any easy solution to their situation. He hated gremlins... especially when they decided to inhabit HIS systems.
"To be honest, it feels like we're on a bed of nails, ma'am," Will said, "Since we don't know what caused this in the first place, we'll be waiting for it to happen again. But I did have some thoughts as to what might have caused it, though we haven't been able to confirm anything. That unique energy field we detected in that asteroid field may have had something to do with it."
"How would that have caused the issues we've been having? I could understand a few anomalous problems coming up because of it, but the sheer magnitude and range of what we've seen..." she shook her head, trying to think.
"I'm not sure, Captain," Peters answered. "But from what I've heard about this region of space, I wouldn't rule out the possibility that something we didn't detect in that energy field sent our systems for a loop."
She nodded, "Go ahead with restarting the main computer core - at the very least, it should clear any bad data from the system. Keep myself or Lieutenant Barrett informed."
Will looked over at Lt. Peters and smiled. "Looks like you'll be needing more of your miracle drink, there," he remarked, indicating the engineer's coffee. Turning back to the captain, he said, "I'll be sure to inform the crew before we take any actual measures to restart the computer core."
"Thank you. Good luck," Isabel said. Hopefully everything would go smoothly, but it was hard to tell considering what they'd already experienced.
Getting to his feet, Will followed Peters out of the ready room and back onto the bridge. As the two of them entered the lift, Will hoped that this solution would at least clear things up so that they could dedicate more time to finding the cause instead of putting out brush fires.
"When we get the ship fixed," Peters said after a couple of moments of silence in the lift, "I'm taking a day off to do nothing but sleep. And God help anyone who wakes me up."
OFF:
This has been a JP with:
Lieutenant, JG Will Schulz
Chief Operations Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B
&
Captain Isabel Kersare
Commanding Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B
Will felt himself drifting off as he waited for three diagnostics to complete themselves. Earlier that morning, they had managed to get command and control back, but he still didn't want to risk powering everything up again, especially tactical systems and flight control, without making sure they wouldn't go haywire. Unfortunately, without knowing what had caused the upstart in the first place, he couldn't begin to find a solution to that particular problem. Part of him just wanted to let it be. If something's not broken...don't fix it.
Peters gave Schulz a gentle shake before rubbing his own eyes to fight the grogginess for another few minutes. "Hey, Schulz, you still anywhere near the land of the waking?"
"Wha...oh, yeah," Will said, coming back to the present, "I suppose we should make our reports to the captain. You find anything new?"
"I wish," Peters groaned and rubbed his eyes again. "I can give a laundry list of what malfunctioned, but no reasons for it... and while we've got the critical systems back online, and thankfully never lost life support or gravity, we've still only got a fraction of what we should have in terms of being able to see outside the ship or communicate."
A soft chime indicated the completion of Will's diagnostic routines. He quickly surveyed the results before downloading them into a PADD so he could present them to the captain. "I guess I'm ready when you are," Will said, getting to his feet and allowing another crewman to take his station.
Peters picked his PADD up off the top of the console and made his way towards the door to the Captain's Ready Room. On his way there, he veered towards the replicator mounted in the bulkhead adjacent to the Ready Room door and ordered a very large cup of coffee. "Want some wake-up juice?"
"Nah, I should be good," Will said, "Managed to sneak in a quick breakfast about an hour ago."
Nodding, Peters took his coffee and stepped over to the Ready Room door and waited for Shulz to join him. Once the Ops officer joined him, Peters pressed the chime. Then he took a gulp of coffee and waited for a response.
<Ready Room>
Isabel, rubbing the sleepiness from her eyes, looked toward the door as she heard her doorchime. Making an effort to sit straighter, she said, "Enter."
Will was the first to enter the room, PADD in hand. He took a step to one side, which allowed Lt. Peters room enough to stand next to him. "Morning, ma'am," Will said, hoping he wasn't seeming to be overly chipper.
Nodding to the two men standing before her, Isabel replied, "Morning. I'm guessing you have news for me?" At this point, she was exhausted enough that she felt it best to just get right to the point. Though she tried her hardest not to let it show - and really she was in one of the upswings when she really didn't feel all that bad, anyway - she was sure it did to some extent, or at least a trained eye.
Will nodded. "Good news, at that," he said, deferring to Lt. Peters for the technical explanation as he placed the report on the captain's desk.
Peters swallowed another gulp of his coffee before speaking. "Some good news at least. We have most systems functional right now... The turbolifts are still a bit iffy, but some ingenious soul opened a lot of access hatches and put up ladders between decks to get around that. The comm system has stopped serenading us for the moment. Unfortunately, we still can only see what's behind us. And I have to be honest Captain, right now I have absolutely no idea what happened or how to keep it from happening again. My best recommendation is that we try to make our way back to starbase for a full systems diagnostic and possibly a computer core swap."
"Back to Starbase 386?" Isabel frowned.
"The next closest base other than 386 is Deep Space 5, but they're almost all the way to Ivor and they don't have the facilities to handle a Prometheus class ship," Peters answered. "Starbase 185 does, but that's even further. Although it is on our current course. Of course, right now, we can't see the direction we're pointed, and I wouldn't recommend flying backwards."
She tapped her finger on the back of the opposite hand in thought, "Ivor Prime really needs the supplies. Are all the systems, other than what you mentioned, alright?"
"As far as we can tell. None of the malfunctions read on the diagnostics we've run, but they never did, even while they were at their worst." Peters thought for a moment, then a moment more before continuing, "If it is a computer problem we could restart the main computer core again as a stop-gap solution long enough to get us to Ivor Prime... but I can't guarantee that it is the main computer and not the entire array of sub-processors."
This certainly wasn't sounding good. She pondered aloud, "If it is the sub-processors, we'd have to take them off-line one at a time...that would probably take until we got to Ivor Prime..." She didn't like the thought. Isabel asked, "What do you think the chances are that that will help?"
"Basically, Captain, right now I can't guarantee anything on this ship will work longer than 5 minutes." It pained Peters to have to admit that he didn't know, but it was the truth, and it didn't look to him like there was any easy solution to their situation. He hated gremlins... especially when they decided to inhabit HIS systems.
"To be honest, it feels like we're on a bed of nails, ma'am," Will said, "Since we don't know what caused this in the first place, we'll be waiting for it to happen again. But I did have some thoughts as to what might have caused it, though we haven't been able to confirm anything. That unique energy field we detected in that asteroid field may have had something to do with it."
"How would that have caused the issues we've been having? I could understand a few anomalous problems coming up because of it, but the sheer magnitude and range of what we've seen..." she shook her head, trying to think.
"I'm not sure, Captain," Peters answered. "But from what I've heard about this region of space, I wouldn't rule out the possibility that something we didn't detect in that energy field sent our systems for a loop."
She nodded, "Go ahead with restarting the main computer core - at the very least, it should clear any bad data from the system. Keep myself or Lieutenant Barrett informed."
Will looked over at Lt. Peters and smiled. "Looks like you'll be needing more of your miracle drink, there," he remarked, indicating the engineer's coffee. Turning back to the captain, he said, "I'll be sure to inform the crew before we take any actual measures to restart the computer core."
"Thank you. Good luck," Isabel said. Hopefully everything would go smoothly, but it was hard to tell considering what they'd already experienced.
Getting to his feet, Will followed Peters out of the ready room and back onto the bridge. As the two of them entered the lift, Will hoped that this solution would at least clear things up so that they could dedicate more time to finding the cause instead of putting out brush fires.
"When we get the ship fixed," Peters said after a couple of moments of silence in the lift, "I'm taking a day off to do nothing but sleep. And God help anyone who wakes me up."
OFF:
This has been a JP with:
Lieutenant, JG Will Schulz
Chief Operations Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B
&
Captain Isabel Kersare
Commanding Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B
Tony
AKA
Lieutenant Commander Todd Peters
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
<<USS Malinche>>
<Main Bridge, 0935, Day 3>
Jason yawned as he stepped out onto the bridge. She was in considerably better shape then last time he was here, although he supposed that it had something to do with the fact that Peters and Schulz had been working around the clock to get all the little system glitches in order.
He drummed the PADD lightly against his leg as he made his way toward Kersare's command chair. She looked up as he approached.
"Glad to see that we haven't blown ourselves up yet," Jason smiled. "I just came from sickbay, Adam (NPC) reports that Mr. Quaid's injuries are more serious then they thought. He'll be out of it until we get back to starbase."
Isabel sighed; it wasn't good news. "Thanks for the update. I guess Mr. Hawkins will just have to continue as Acting Chief for Security/Tactical for the time being then."
"He seems to be doing a fine job to me," Jason stated, taking his seat next to Isabel.
She looked tired, like she hadn't gotten very much sleep, although he suespected that he really didn't look all that much better. Thank heaven for the inventor of coffee.
"Sir, have you been noticing anyone acting strangely lately?"
"Strangely?" Isabel looked at Jason, frowning. "How do you mean?"
"Hard to say," Jason said, trying to choose his words carefully. "I get the distinct impression that people aren't really acting like themselves."
She shook her head, "Hmm, not that I've noticed, no. Though I've mostly been here and everyone's just seemed a bit sleep deprived. Why?"
"It goes beyond that I just get the feeling that something isn't right around here, people jumping at every turn, the mutterings of ghosts, hell even Summers (NPC) isn't acting like himself. Did you know he walked out of sickbay without hitting on a single nurse."
"That does seem odd. Ms. Zeral told me she felt a presence - maybe that has something to do with it, though I'm not sure how it's connected. I also have to wonder if the ghost rumors are turning into something of a self-fulfilling prophecy though too," Isabel replied. Whatever was going on, she certainly didn't like it.
Jason had to agree with is CO on that one. Generally, once rumors got started on a starship they spread like a plasma fire.
"I think that you are probably right about that captain," Jason said. "Pretty soon people are going to start jumping at their own shadows."
Nodding, Isabel said, "At least most of the systems are back up and running - Mr. Schulz and Mr. Peters gave me an update not too long ago."
"Thank the gods for small favors," Jason sighed. "Although I'm still more then a little curious as to what caused them all in the first place. I hate not having answers for everything."
"I'm not even sure how some of them were resolved, which is at least as disturbing," she noted. "They suggested going back to the Starbase, but I don't really think that's an option right now. Ivor Prime needs the medical supplies."
"There's no doubt about that. I took the liberty of heading down to the cargo bay, everything down there still appears intact. With your permission I'd like to conduct on site inspections of the sensitive areas of the ship, engineering, the computer core, the bridge just to see if we can find something...well anything that would explain what happened here."
Isabel nodded, "Anything that would help explain any of this would be beneficial. You might want to find Lieutenant Grayson - I found his transfer orders in amongst the last round before we left 386. Right now he's assigned as an Intelligence Specialist. And there's always Lieutenant JG Hawkins, since he has experience with Intel and Security..."
"I'll round the two of them up and see what we can come up with," Jason said, standing back up and heading for the turbolift. "Just in case you might want to get the Ghostbusters on the line though."
"The Ghostbusters?" Isabel looked at Jason.
"Nevermind, ancient earth cinema. I'll let you know as soon as we find something."
She nodded, "Good luck."
OFF:
JP brought to you by:
Lieutenant Jason Barrett
Executive Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B
and
<Main Bridge, 0935, Day 3>
Jason yawned as he stepped out onto the bridge. She was in considerably better shape then last time he was here, although he supposed that it had something to do with the fact that Peters and Schulz had been working around the clock to get all the little system glitches in order.
He drummed the PADD lightly against his leg as he made his way toward Kersare's command chair. She looked up as he approached.
"Glad to see that we haven't blown ourselves up yet," Jason smiled. "I just came from sickbay, Adam (NPC) reports that Mr. Quaid's injuries are more serious then they thought. He'll be out of it until we get back to starbase."
Isabel sighed; it wasn't good news. "Thanks for the update. I guess Mr. Hawkins will just have to continue as Acting Chief for Security/Tactical for the time being then."
"He seems to be doing a fine job to me," Jason stated, taking his seat next to Isabel.
She looked tired, like she hadn't gotten very much sleep, although he suespected that he really didn't look all that much better. Thank heaven for the inventor of coffee.
"Sir, have you been noticing anyone acting strangely lately?"
"Strangely?" Isabel looked at Jason, frowning. "How do you mean?"
"Hard to say," Jason said, trying to choose his words carefully. "I get the distinct impression that people aren't really acting like themselves."
She shook her head, "Hmm, not that I've noticed, no. Though I've mostly been here and everyone's just seemed a bit sleep deprived. Why?"
"It goes beyond that I just get the feeling that something isn't right around here, people jumping at every turn, the mutterings of ghosts, hell even Summers (NPC) isn't acting like himself. Did you know he walked out of sickbay without hitting on a single nurse."
"That does seem odd. Ms. Zeral told me she felt a presence - maybe that has something to do with it, though I'm not sure how it's connected. I also have to wonder if the ghost rumors are turning into something of a self-fulfilling prophecy though too," Isabel replied. Whatever was going on, she certainly didn't like it.
Jason had to agree with is CO on that one. Generally, once rumors got started on a starship they spread like a plasma fire.
"I think that you are probably right about that captain," Jason said. "Pretty soon people are going to start jumping at their own shadows."
Nodding, Isabel said, "At least most of the systems are back up and running - Mr. Schulz and Mr. Peters gave me an update not too long ago."
"Thank the gods for small favors," Jason sighed. "Although I'm still more then a little curious as to what caused them all in the first place. I hate not having answers for everything."
"I'm not even sure how some of them were resolved, which is at least as disturbing," she noted. "They suggested going back to the Starbase, but I don't really think that's an option right now. Ivor Prime needs the medical supplies."
"There's no doubt about that. I took the liberty of heading down to the cargo bay, everything down there still appears intact. With your permission I'd like to conduct on site inspections of the sensitive areas of the ship, engineering, the computer core, the bridge just to see if we can find something...well anything that would explain what happened here."
Isabel nodded, "Anything that would help explain any of this would be beneficial. You might want to find Lieutenant Grayson - I found his transfer orders in amongst the last round before we left 386. Right now he's assigned as an Intelligence Specialist. And there's always Lieutenant JG Hawkins, since he has experience with Intel and Security..."
"I'll round the two of them up and see what we can come up with," Jason said, standing back up and heading for the turbolift. "Just in case you might want to get the Ghostbusters on the line though."
"The Ghostbusters?" Isabel looked at Jason.
"Nevermind, ancient earth cinema. I'll let you know as soon as we find something."
She nodded, "Good luck."
OFF:
JP brought to you by:
Lieutenant Jason Barrett
Executive Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B
and
Captain Isabel Kersare
Commanding Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
<<< Grayson's Quarters, 1000, day 03 >>>
Mark Grayson II looked outside his window and sighed. He wondered how long would take before Kersare and Barrett realize how hard and how low he had to play to get aboard the Malinche.
Last two years were dangerous and really tested him. It had been two years among pirates. Every day a challenge, every day a lie, a deceit and... And Mark had done a few things he wasn't proud.
What really annoyed Mark it was the way he was removed from the Malinche and from the Omega Directive. But as far he knew, highly capacitated people had taken his place.
Mark was using civilian clothes, since he was there only in the capacity of an intelligence specialist which was the best he could get for the transfer. The SI had been annoying and Foster (NPC) had made every effort to keep Mark working in undercover missions.
A sudden sound came from behind. It was a moan. A long and lound moan. A sound tha Mark identified in the same instant. He stiffened and slowly looked to the origin of the sound.
The image was disturbing. Enabren, the cardassian's resistance member, all broken and bloodied looked at Mark with accusing eyes.
The spook backpaddled and tripped over the couch, hitting his back on the wall. He closed his eyes firmly. "This is not real. This is only a memory. It can't hurt me" he said forcefully.
And the moaning simply disappeared. Mark opened his eyes and rose from the ground quickly, scanning his quarters. "What in hell happened?", he muttered to himself.
The memories from the Dominion War came to his mind and some weren't pretty. He had told himself several time that all that was done needed to be done and that he had no regrets.
He shook his head, burying those memories deep in his mind.
With a swift move, Mark opened a drawer and looked to the gray uniform. He had work to do and his work was gathering information.
And right now, it was time to find out what hell was going on.
OFF:
Mark Grayson II looked outside his window and sighed. He wondered how long would take before Kersare and Barrett realize how hard and how low he had to play to get aboard the Malinche.
Last two years were dangerous and really tested him. It had been two years among pirates. Every day a challenge, every day a lie, a deceit and... And Mark had done a few things he wasn't proud.
What really annoyed Mark it was the way he was removed from the Malinche and from the Omega Directive. But as far he knew, highly capacitated people had taken his place.
Mark was using civilian clothes, since he was there only in the capacity of an intelligence specialist which was the best he could get for the transfer. The SI had been annoying and Foster (NPC) had made every effort to keep Mark working in undercover missions.
A sudden sound came from behind. It was a moan. A long and lound moan. A sound tha Mark identified in the same instant. He stiffened and slowly looked to the origin of the sound.
The image was disturbing. Enabren, the cardassian's resistance member, all broken and bloodied looked at Mark with accusing eyes.
The spook backpaddled and tripped over the couch, hitting his back on the wall. He closed his eyes firmly. "This is not real. This is only a memory. It can't hurt me" he said forcefully.
And the moaning simply disappeared. Mark opened his eyes and rose from the ground quickly, scanning his quarters. "What in hell happened?", he muttered to himself.
The memories from the Dominion War came to his mind and some weren't pretty. He had told himself several time that all that was done needed to be done and that he had no regrets.
He shook his head, burying those memories deep in his mind.
With a swift move, Mark opened a drawer and looked to the gray uniform. He had work to do and his work was gathering information.
And right now, it was time to find out what hell was going on.
OFF:
Lieutenant Commander Mark Grayson II
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38897
<<USS Maliche, Zeral's Quarters, 1005, Day 3>>
Sometimes, waking up was very hard to do. Responsibility and a purely selfish desire for more sleep warred within her, and by the time she forced herself out of bed, Nora was wondering why exactly she had been so determined to join Star Fleet in the first place. Her brother had warned her that serving in the Fleet was nothing short of hard, unpredictable work. Rubbing the sleep from of her eyes, she smiled wanly and made her way out of her bedroom and straight to the replicator.
It was odd to think that her mischief making brother was right for once. Still, the fact of the matter was that she enjoyed the unpredictability that came with her job. Psychology may not have been the most glamorous choice, but it was what she loved, and that was enough for her. Current lack of sleep and possible paranormal activity aside, Nora was perfectly happy where she was.
Ordering coffee from the replicator and pleased that it seemed to get the drink right, she sank onto the couch and made herself comfortable. Fingers wrapped around the warm mug, Nora forced herself to relax, opening her telepathic senses and broadening them as much as she was able. It was back, that sinking feeling that something was decidedly wrong. She still couldn’t put her finger on it, and it was not nearly as strong as the brief connection she’d made on the bridge a few hours before, but it was definitely there. Determined not to waste anymore time in her quarters, she quickly drank her coffee, wincing as the bitter drink hit her tongue but desperate for the caffeine it would provide her. Slamming the empty mug down on the table, Nora changed into a fresh uniform and left for the bridge.
Sometimes, waking up was very hard to do. Responsibility and a purely selfish desire for more sleep warred within her, and by the time she forced herself out of bed, Nora was wondering why exactly she had been so determined to join Star Fleet in the first place. Her brother had warned her that serving in the Fleet was nothing short of hard, unpredictable work. Rubbing the sleep from of her eyes, she smiled wanly and made her way out of her bedroom and straight to the replicator.
It was odd to think that her mischief making brother was right for once. Still, the fact of the matter was that she enjoyed the unpredictability that came with her job. Psychology may not have been the most glamorous choice, but it was what she loved, and that was enough for her. Current lack of sleep and possible paranormal activity aside, Nora was perfectly happy where she was.
Ordering coffee from the replicator and pleased that it seemed to get the drink right, she sank onto the couch and made herself comfortable. Fingers wrapped around the warm mug, Nora forced herself to relax, opening her telepathic senses and broadening them as much as she was able. It was back, that sinking feeling that something was decidedly wrong. She still couldn’t put her finger on it, and it was not nearly as strong as the brief connection she’d made on the bridge a few hours before, but it was definitely there. Determined not to waste anymore time in her quarters, she quickly drank her coffee, wincing as the bitter drink hit her tongue but desperate for the caffeine it would provide her. Slamming the empty mug down on the table, Nora changed into a fresh uniform and left for the bridge.
Commander Nora Zeral
Executive Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
Sickbay, Day 3, 1000 hours
After moving Quaid into the operating room, Renna had Adam (npc) leave. She didn’t want anyone to see how she did what she had to do. She prepared two receptacles, one with a regenerative fluid, and one empty one, and set them beside the biobed.
Taking the tricorder, she located the bone fragments deep in Quaid’s brain and focusing on them she attempted to move them backward, but it sent his vitals into spasms. She was not going to be able to move them back into place. Too much swelling involved. Concentrating on the first of the fragments, she translocated it into the receptacles with the fluid. She then monitored him for a few minutes and saw there was a slight improvement in his vital signs. She located the second fragment, deep in his brain, and translocated it out too. Again she monitored him any changes in his vital signs. That made a world of difference.
She stood back for a few minutes to refocus. Moving something like that was much more difficult than picking up an asteroid and tossing it at another asteroid. That took brain muscle power, this was much more delicate. It had been quite a while since she had used those muscles either, on earth there was no call for asteroid tossing, or even translocating.
Taking up the tricorder, she again scanned, looking for pressure on the brain tissues from anything. She found a mass of clotted blood near where one of the fragments had been and translocated that into the other receptacle. Further scans were taken but nothing was found that could be taken care of now. At least with the bone fragments out, there was less to cause damage.
Moving to the door, she called the others to move Quaid into recovery, and to put the bone fragments into a cooler, to keep ready to put back.
After moving Quaid into the operating room, Renna had Adam (npc) leave. She didn’t want anyone to see how she did what she had to do. She prepared two receptacles, one with a regenerative fluid, and one empty one, and set them beside the biobed.
Taking the tricorder, she located the bone fragments deep in Quaid’s brain and focusing on them she attempted to move them backward, but it sent his vitals into spasms. She was not going to be able to move them back into place. Too much swelling involved. Concentrating on the first of the fragments, she translocated it into the receptacles with the fluid. She then monitored him for a few minutes and saw there was a slight improvement in his vital signs. She located the second fragment, deep in his brain, and translocated it out too. Again she monitored him any changes in his vital signs. That made a world of difference.
She stood back for a few minutes to refocus. Moving something like that was much more difficult than picking up an asteroid and tossing it at another asteroid. That took brain muscle power, this was much more delicate. It had been quite a while since she had used those muscles either, on earth there was no call for asteroid tossing, or even translocating.
Taking up the tricorder, she again scanned, looking for pressure on the brain tissues from anything. She found a mass of clotted blood near where one of the fragments had been and translocated that into the other receptacle. Further scans were taken but nothing was found that could be taken care of now. At least with the bone fragments out, there was less to cause damage.
Moving to the door, she called the others to move Quaid into recovery, and to put the bone fragments into a cooler, to keep ready to put back.
Ensign Renna Samport
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Malinche
<<USS Malinche>>
<Mess Hall, 1030, Day 3>
There was something odd about the assistant CMO shooing him out of the operating suite like that. Adam wasn't sure what it was but it wasn't something that Darkhelm had ever done. She had always used all available help to her. Adam shook that thought off as he entered the mess hall. He spotted Joey Summers sitting by himself, staring off into space.
"You ok?" Adam asked, sitting down next to his friend.
"Um, yeah."
"I don't believe me, usually you are hitting on anything with legs and breasts and put enough alcohol in you and you'll hit on anything with legs. Have you been drinking already?"
"No," Joey smiled.
"Then whats up man? You walked out of sickbay without so much as hitting on a single nurse, I have to admit that you have all of us very concerned."
"Just didn't feel like it man," Joey shrugged. "Anyway, I have been going over our sensor readings I think the answers to what happened to us lay in that asteroid field."
"Maybe but we need to get those medical supplies to Ivor."
"Aren't you curious as to what caused all the systems failures though?"
"Curious yes but we do have a mission to complete," Adam said, standing up. Looking down he noticed that they information displayed on Joey's PADD had nothing to do with the sensors but rather the navigational array.
"Joey, I thought that you said you were studying the sensor readings?"
"I man...I mean I was."
"Because that looks like the navigational array on your PADD."
"Um...look I got to go," Joey stated, standing up and heading out of the mess hall.
Adam shook his head, there was something bothering him he just didn't know what.
OFF:
NPC's Played By:
<Mess Hall, 1030, Day 3>
There was something odd about the assistant CMO shooing him out of the operating suite like that. Adam wasn't sure what it was but it wasn't something that Darkhelm had ever done. She had always used all available help to her. Adam shook that thought off as he entered the mess hall. He spotted Joey Summers sitting by himself, staring off into space.
"You ok?" Adam asked, sitting down next to his friend.
"Um, yeah."
"I don't believe me, usually you are hitting on anything with legs and breasts and put enough alcohol in you and you'll hit on anything with legs. Have you been drinking already?"
"No," Joey smiled.
"Then whats up man? You walked out of sickbay without so much as hitting on a single nurse, I have to admit that you have all of us very concerned."
"Just didn't feel like it man," Joey shrugged. "Anyway, I have been going over our sensor readings I think the answers to what happened to us lay in that asteroid field."
"Maybe but we need to get those medical supplies to Ivor."
"Aren't you curious as to what caused all the systems failures though?"
"Curious yes but we do have a mission to complete," Adam said, standing up. Looking down he noticed that they information displayed on Joey's PADD had nothing to do with the sensors but rather the navigational array.
"Joey, I thought that you said you were studying the sensor readings?"
"I man...I mean I was."
"Because that looks like the navigational array on your PADD."
"Um...look I got to go," Joey stated, standing up and heading out of the mess hall.
Adam shook his head, there was something bothering him he just didn't know what.
OFF:
NPC's Played By:
Lieutenant Commander Jason Barrett
Executive Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
[USS Malinche, Sickbay, MD03, 0700]
ON:
"There you go my dear, this should help ease the swelling," Cullen said with a smile and handed his patient a vial.
The Bajoran technician looked at him in surprise. "Takaria herbs? How did you..?"
"I spent time on Bajor some years ago. While I was there, I worked with a local physician by the name of Halek, who used quite a few of these medicinal herbs. I did some independent research, and was astounded to find that Takaria herbs are excellent for the reduction of swelling," the doctor said pleasantly.
The young woman smiled and pushed a lock of blonde hair behind her ear. "When I was a child my mother gave me Takaria herbs when I hurt myself playing with the other children," she said sheepishly. "I was a rough child."
Tim chuckled. "Your mother was very wise," he said. "Why I remember--"
The doctor's words were cut off by confusion near the door to sickbay. Whirling, Cullen saw Moira Sagawa, two medtechs and several Operations crew rush in carrying an injured man in Operations gold. Without pausing to speak to the young Bajoran woman, Tim rushed to the surgery area to deal with the situation.
"Report!" he barked as he entered the room, rolling up his sleeves as he did so. An orderly stood holding out a portable sterilization unit, and Tim passed his hands through it as he moved to the surgical bed. Gone was the good-naturedly grouchy doctor that most knew. This was Timothy Cullen, Surgeon. At this moment a life was at stake, and he was in his element.
Sagawa handed Cullen a tricorder as the orderlies attempted to position the injured man carefully on the bed. "A plasma conduit back-wash on deck eight. Plasma burns on the patient's right side, definite shrapnel damage on the torso from the serratus anterior to the sartorius muscles. Significant nerve damage to the arm and upper leg. Significant loss of blood," Sagawa recited, all the while preparing the equipment she knew Timothy would ask for.
Nodding as she spoke, Tim studied the injuries as the orderlies carefully removed the remains of the man's uniform. At one point Cullen made eye contact with the barely conscious crewman. The young man had been chuckling the entire time, but not moaning or crying out, despite the agony he must be experiencing. "What's your name crewman?" Tim asked, trying to keep the man's attention focused on him and not on the techs peeling away the charred uniform.
The man stared at Cullen for a long moment, his bright blue eyes boring into the doctor's own, and then oddly, he grinned and said, "Asden Dral of Thelkit!" His voice was deep and full, and held no hint of the pain he must be feeling.
Cullen nodded sagely and smiled. "Well Asden Dral of Thelkit! You will do your clan great honour!" he boomed, and added a belly laugh for good measure, which the injured man joined in. Everyone in the room stared at the two as if they had gone mad. Still laughing, Tim nodded to a medtech, signaling her to apply a hypo to the man's neck. His laughing faded slightly, and then he collapsed to the bed, sedated.
Abruptly Timothy went straight-faced as well and began barking requirements and orders to his still startled medical staff. By now the wounded area had been cleared, allowing the doctor to repair the damaged tissues and remove the pieces of shrapnel from the exploded conduit. As he worked, he explained his behaviour to the puzzled staff.
"When I heard the young man's name I realized he was from Gorash IV, a small colony world on the fringe of Federation space. They pride themselves on their good humour, believing that the best was to face any problem is to laugh at it. As such, the entire culture has shifted their psychological state significantly from the human norm. In fact, --Protodynoplaser; thank you Nurse-- they are so predisposed to good naturedness that it can be quite a shock for them to be around extremely negative events, or events where others are displaying extremely negative reactions. That's why I had to keep his attention focused on me and not on the rest of you." he said, still working on closing wounds. As he spoke, the doctor gestured to the items he needed.
"As it is, he'll be fine, although these burns will take a while to heal. Moira, put a call into the Counseling department and have someone ready to talk to him when he wakes up make sure they understand that he is from Gorash IV. The physical recovery will be a little slow, and I'd like the best psychological help he can get," Cullen said.
"Of course Doctor," Sagawa said quietly and left the surgical area, smiling to herself and once again amazed at the seeming split personality Cullen seemed to go through when presented with a medical emergency.
OFF:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Timothy Cullen
Chief Medical Officer
USS Malinche
"On Medicine: The life so short, the craft so long to learn."
ON:
"There you go my dear, this should help ease the swelling," Cullen said with a smile and handed his patient a vial.
The Bajoran technician looked at him in surprise. "Takaria herbs? How did you..?"
"I spent time on Bajor some years ago. While I was there, I worked with a local physician by the name of Halek, who used quite a few of these medicinal herbs. I did some independent research, and was astounded to find that Takaria herbs are excellent for the reduction of swelling," the doctor said pleasantly.
The young woman smiled and pushed a lock of blonde hair behind her ear. "When I was a child my mother gave me Takaria herbs when I hurt myself playing with the other children," she said sheepishly. "I was a rough child."
Tim chuckled. "Your mother was very wise," he said. "Why I remember--"
The doctor's words were cut off by confusion near the door to sickbay. Whirling, Cullen saw Moira Sagawa, two medtechs and several Operations crew rush in carrying an injured man in Operations gold. Without pausing to speak to the young Bajoran woman, Tim rushed to the surgery area to deal with the situation.
"Report!" he barked as he entered the room, rolling up his sleeves as he did so. An orderly stood holding out a portable sterilization unit, and Tim passed his hands through it as he moved to the surgical bed. Gone was the good-naturedly grouchy doctor that most knew. This was Timothy Cullen, Surgeon. At this moment a life was at stake, and he was in his element.
Sagawa handed Cullen a tricorder as the orderlies attempted to position the injured man carefully on the bed. "A plasma conduit back-wash on deck eight. Plasma burns on the patient's right side, definite shrapnel damage on the torso from the serratus anterior to the sartorius muscles. Significant nerve damage to the arm and upper leg. Significant loss of blood," Sagawa recited, all the while preparing the equipment she knew Timothy would ask for.
Nodding as she spoke, Tim studied the injuries as the orderlies carefully removed the remains of the man's uniform. At one point Cullen made eye contact with the barely conscious crewman. The young man had been chuckling the entire time, but not moaning or crying out, despite the agony he must be experiencing. "What's your name crewman?" Tim asked, trying to keep the man's attention focused on him and not on the techs peeling away the charred uniform.
The man stared at Cullen for a long moment, his bright blue eyes boring into the doctor's own, and then oddly, he grinned and said, "Asden Dral of Thelkit!" His voice was deep and full, and held no hint of the pain he must be feeling.
Cullen nodded sagely and smiled. "Well Asden Dral of Thelkit! You will do your clan great honour!" he boomed, and added a belly laugh for good measure, which the injured man joined in. Everyone in the room stared at the two as if they had gone mad. Still laughing, Tim nodded to a medtech, signaling her to apply a hypo to the man's neck. His laughing faded slightly, and then he collapsed to the bed, sedated.
Abruptly Timothy went straight-faced as well and began barking requirements and orders to his still startled medical staff. By now the wounded area had been cleared, allowing the doctor to repair the damaged tissues and remove the pieces of shrapnel from the exploded conduit. As he worked, he explained his behaviour to the puzzled staff.
"When I heard the young man's name I realized he was from Gorash IV, a small colony world on the fringe of Federation space. They pride themselves on their good humour, believing that the best was to face any problem is to laugh at it. As such, the entire culture has shifted their psychological state significantly from the human norm. In fact, --Protodynoplaser; thank you Nurse-- they are so predisposed to good naturedness that it can be quite a shock for them to be around extremely negative events, or events where others are displaying extremely negative reactions. That's why I had to keep his attention focused on me and not on the rest of you." he said, still working on closing wounds. As he spoke, the doctor gestured to the items he needed.
"As it is, he'll be fine, although these burns will take a while to heal. Moira, put a call into the Counseling department and have someone ready to talk to him when he wakes up make sure they understand that he is from Gorash IV. The physical recovery will be a little slow, and I'd like the best psychological help he can get," Cullen said.
"Of course Doctor," Sagawa said quietly and left the surgical area, smiling to herself and once again amazed at the seeming split personality Cullen seemed to go through when presented with a medical emergency.
OFF:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Timothy Cullen
Chief Medical Officer
USS Malinche
"On Medicine: The life so short, the craft so long to learn."
Lieutenant JG Timothy Cullen
Chief Medical Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B
<<Engineering, 0915, Day 3>>
Caleb (NPC) turned as he heard the beep signalling that the Level 3 diagnostic he'd been running on the warp systems was finally finished. While he knew that Todd and Will hadn't found anything wrong, it never hurt to look again - maybe whatever it was would return.
Paging through the results, he saw what he expected - everything was normal. Well, technically he didn't expect it per se, but considering the previous results he wasn't surprised.
Looking around, he couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. Caleb wasn't sure what exactly, but something. Actually not just something...something AND himself. Ever since earlier in the morning he'd felt odd.
Probably just the rumors and everything that's happened was just getting to him... Still, he had something of a headache, which was very odd for him. Maybe after his shift he'd stop in Sickbay.
<10 minutes later>
Caleb blinked and shook his head slightly, trying to regain focus. Looking down, he saw that he must have been doing something to modify the warp drive settings.
The engineer frowned, he didn't remember running a program or entering anything into the system, or intending to even. He must've just been so wrapped up in his thoughts that he'd just done it automaticallly. It didn't happen to him often, but it did sometimes. After all, once you get used to what you're doing, some of it just becomes second nature.
Still, it bothered him a little. Caleb tapped at the console to bring up what he'd just done.
The system prompted him for a passcode. That development made him pause. He already had access to the warp systems - he shouldn't have to re-enter his authentication details. The computer had never asked him to before anyway.
He tried his password. Nothing. Apparently it wasn't just his system log in. But what else could it be? What had he put in the system?
Tapping at the console again, he ran a quick diagnostic - all systems appeared functioning and ready. Caleb's fingers moved smoothly as he called up the apparently modified settings; everything looked right.
It was still odd though, the last thing he remembered was the headache and thinking he should visit Sickbay. Maybe that really was all he needed. After all, they'd been working long hours to get the ship ready again and he'd heard that the Chief Engineer was going to suggest that the main computer be restarted - it would certainly be a long day.
Either way, he had work to do.
OFF:
Warrant Officer Second Class Caleb Corrin (NPC)
Warp Systems Specialist
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B
Caleb (NPC) turned as he heard the beep signalling that the Level 3 diagnostic he'd been running on the warp systems was finally finished. While he knew that Todd and Will hadn't found anything wrong, it never hurt to look again - maybe whatever it was would return.
Paging through the results, he saw what he expected - everything was normal. Well, technically he didn't expect it per se, but considering the previous results he wasn't surprised.
Looking around, he couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. Caleb wasn't sure what exactly, but something. Actually not just something...something AND himself. Ever since earlier in the morning he'd felt odd.
Probably just the rumors and everything that's happened was just getting to him... Still, he had something of a headache, which was very odd for him. Maybe after his shift he'd stop in Sickbay.
<10 minutes later>
Caleb blinked and shook his head slightly, trying to regain focus. Looking down, he saw that he must have been doing something to modify the warp drive settings.
The engineer frowned, he didn't remember running a program or entering anything into the system, or intending to even. He must've just been so wrapped up in his thoughts that he'd just done it automaticallly. It didn't happen to him often, but it did sometimes. After all, once you get used to what you're doing, some of it just becomes second nature.
Still, it bothered him a little. Caleb tapped at the console to bring up what he'd just done.
The system prompted him for a passcode. That development made him pause. He already had access to the warp systems - he shouldn't have to re-enter his authentication details. The computer had never asked him to before anyway.
He tried his password. Nothing. Apparently it wasn't just his system log in. But what else could it be? What had he put in the system?
Tapping at the console again, he ran a quick diagnostic - all systems appeared functioning and ready. Caleb's fingers moved smoothly as he called up the apparently modified settings; everything looked right.
It was still odd though, the last thing he remembered was the headache and thinking he should visit Sickbay. Maybe that really was all he needed. After all, they'd been working long hours to get the ship ready again and he'd heard that the Chief Engineer was going to suggest that the main computer be restarted - it would certainly be a long day.
Either way, he had work to do.
OFF:
Warrant Officer Second Class Caleb Corrin (NPC)
Warp Systems Specialist
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B
Captain Isabel Kersare
Commanding Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
-
Peters
- Senior Staff
- Posts: 202
- Joined: Mon Mar 20, 2006 2:17 pm
- Location: Space, the final frontier...
- Contact:
ON: <USS Malinche, Computer Core, Day 3, 1230>
Peters let out a loud yawn and reached for his coffee cup again as he blinked the water from his eyes. He definitely needed some sleep. 'Right after we finish getting the computer ready for the restart,' he told himself. That would only be another little while, if all went right.
At this point it had been more than a full duty shift since he'd been denied his attempt at getting some sleep. Peters knew he wouldn't be able to keep going on Caffeine much longer, and he doubted anyone in sickbay would see fit to give him anything stronger... and he wasn't going to ask anyway. A sleep-deprived engineer was bad enough... a sleep deprived engineer on pharmaceuticals was worse.
Shaking his head to get himself back on track, Peters looked down at his display and shook his head. A chuckle popped out of his mouth. He looked at the display again and dissolved into a fit of laughter. It shouldn't be funny that his last 5 entries into the system were illegible, but it was somehow. In fact, right now it seemed like the funniest thing he'd ever seen.
"You okay, sir?" one of the other engineers asked, stopping next to Peters' chair. Unable to speak through his laughter, Peters just pointed at his console. The other engineer... Dirmit? Dirlick... Dirland! Dirland gave a puzzled look at the console and then shook her head. "Sir, I think you should go get some sleep... a couple of hours at least. All that coffee is going to give you an ulcer."
Nodding as his laughing fit started to subside, Peters suddenly yawned again. "Sorry, Miss Dirland," he said, "You, C'Eltor, and Altin keep things going here... I'm going to go find.... some... place... to lie down for awhile. Maybe that conference room a little bit down the corridor... I think I could lay across some of the chairs... Come get me if there are any issues."
Not waiting for a response, Peters stood and made his way out of the computer core. Thankfully his brief loss of balance control didn't come until after he was out of sight of the other engineers.
Catching himself against a nearby doorframe, Peters shook his head. This ship either needed more engineers or missions that were easier on the equipment.
OFF:
Peters let out a loud yawn and reached for his coffee cup again as he blinked the water from his eyes. He definitely needed some sleep. 'Right after we finish getting the computer ready for the restart,' he told himself. That would only be another little while, if all went right.
At this point it had been more than a full duty shift since he'd been denied his attempt at getting some sleep. Peters knew he wouldn't be able to keep going on Caffeine much longer, and he doubted anyone in sickbay would see fit to give him anything stronger... and he wasn't going to ask anyway. A sleep-deprived engineer was bad enough... a sleep deprived engineer on pharmaceuticals was worse.
Shaking his head to get himself back on track, Peters looked down at his display and shook his head. A chuckle popped out of his mouth. He looked at the display again and dissolved into a fit of laughter. It shouldn't be funny that his last 5 entries into the system were illegible, but it was somehow. In fact, right now it seemed like the funniest thing he'd ever seen.
"You okay, sir?" one of the other engineers asked, stopping next to Peters' chair. Unable to speak through his laughter, Peters just pointed at his console. The other engineer... Dirmit? Dirlick... Dirland! Dirland gave a puzzled look at the console and then shook her head. "Sir, I think you should go get some sleep... a couple of hours at least. All that coffee is going to give you an ulcer."
Nodding as his laughing fit started to subside, Peters suddenly yawned again. "Sorry, Miss Dirland," he said, "You, C'Eltor, and Altin keep things going here... I'm going to go find.... some... place... to lie down for awhile. Maybe that conference room a little bit down the corridor... I think I could lay across some of the chairs... Come get me if there are any issues."
Not waiting for a response, Peters stood and made his way out of the computer core. Thankfully his brief loss of balance control didn't come until after he was out of sight of the other engineers.
Catching himself against a nearby doorframe, Peters shook his head. This ship either needed more engineers or missions that were easier on the equipment.
OFF:
Tony
AKA
Lieutenant Commander Todd Peters
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
ON: <<Operations Office, USS Malinche, MD03, 1200>>
By mid-day, Will had retreated to his office to coordinate the preparations for a computer restart. This had the advantage of allowing him some peace and quiet to work as well as a chance to catch up on some needed sleep via a few power naps.
The sound of his door chime woke him from the third of such naps and it took him a moment to remember where he was. He must have fallen asleep at his desk. Sitting up a little straighter in his chair, he called, "Enter."
The doors parted and Lt. Summers (NPC) entered the room with a small stack of PADDs. "I certainly hope those aren't for me," Will said, eying the PADDs warily.
"Don't worry," Summers replied, "They're not."
"Good," Will said, looking at his desk, "Cause I think I have too many already."
"You and Lieutenant Peters have been up since early this morning," Summers said, "Are you sure you don't want me to take over for a bit while you get some rest?"
"I'll be fine," Will answered, smiling up at his acting assistant chief, "Managed to sneak in a few power naps. If I'm not careful, though, I'll end up on the night shift with this new sleep schedule." The two men shared a brief laugh at the joke, but then it was back to business.
"I've informed the other department heads about our attempt to restart the computers," Summers reported, "I also told them we would inform them when we were ready to begin."
"Very good," Will said, activating his computer screen. Reaching over a stack of PADDs, he lifted his mug to his lips and was surprised to find that his cocoa had gone cold. Frowning with disappointment, he set it aside.
"Everything alright," Summers asked, noticing Will's reaction.
"Just cold is all," Will said, "I must have forgotten about it." He leaned back in his chair and sighed.
"Well, I need to finish delivering these PADDs," Summers said, "Maybe we should take a lunch break afterwards. I'm sure Lt. Peters could use one as well."
"Lunch certainly sounds appetizing right now," Will said, "I'll check with Lt. Peters to see if he'd like to join us."
Summers nodded and disappeared back out into the corridor. As the doors hissed shut, Will looked forlornly at his mug of cold cocoa. With a sigh, he got up and depositied the mug into the replicator and watched it shimmer out of existence. If only their problems would disappear as easily.
OFF
Lt. JG Joey Summers (NPC)
Operations Officer
USS Malinche
played by
By mid-day, Will had retreated to his office to coordinate the preparations for a computer restart. This had the advantage of allowing him some peace and quiet to work as well as a chance to catch up on some needed sleep via a few power naps.
The sound of his door chime woke him from the third of such naps and it took him a moment to remember where he was. He must have fallen asleep at his desk. Sitting up a little straighter in his chair, he called, "Enter."
The doors parted and Lt. Summers (NPC) entered the room with a small stack of PADDs. "I certainly hope those aren't for me," Will said, eying the PADDs warily.
"Don't worry," Summers replied, "They're not."
"Good," Will said, looking at his desk, "Cause I think I have too many already."
"You and Lieutenant Peters have been up since early this morning," Summers said, "Are you sure you don't want me to take over for a bit while you get some rest?"
"I'll be fine," Will answered, smiling up at his acting assistant chief, "Managed to sneak in a few power naps. If I'm not careful, though, I'll end up on the night shift with this new sleep schedule." The two men shared a brief laugh at the joke, but then it was back to business.
"I've informed the other department heads about our attempt to restart the computers," Summers reported, "I also told them we would inform them when we were ready to begin."
"Very good," Will said, activating his computer screen. Reaching over a stack of PADDs, he lifted his mug to his lips and was surprised to find that his cocoa had gone cold. Frowning with disappointment, he set it aside.
"Everything alright," Summers asked, noticing Will's reaction.
"Just cold is all," Will said, "I must have forgotten about it." He leaned back in his chair and sighed.
"Well, I need to finish delivering these PADDs," Summers said, "Maybe we should take a lunch break afterwards. I'm sure Lt. Peters could use one as well."
"Lunch certainly sounds appetizing right now," Will said, "I'll check with Lt. Peters to see if he'd like to join us."
Summers nodded and disappeared back out into the corridor. As the doors hissed shut, Will looked forlornly at his mug of cold cocoa. With a sigh, he got up and depositied the mug into the replicator and watched it shimmer out of existence. If only their problems would disappear as easily.
OFF
Lt. JG Joey Summers (NPC)
Operations Officer
USS Malinche
played by
Lt. JG Aaron Masterson
Chief Security/Tactical Officer & 2XO
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
<<USS Malinche>>
<Corridor, 0945, Day 3>
Jason smiled as he made his way towards Grayson's quarters. Having him back onboard was a surprise indeed, although given Grayson he would have no doubt preferred that no one know he was back until the last possible moment. If there was one thing that the man was good at, it was paranoia. That brought a small smile to his face as he rounded the corner and pressed the chime to Grayson's quarters.
Grayson was quietly sat down on a couch, wearing civilians clothing and reading the third Intel report regarding that area of space. None of them were really informative. If nothing else, they were purposedly vague, which make Mark wonder the reasons. Maybe he would need to contact each officer that filled those reports.
As the door bell rang, he put the PADD aside. "Enter", he said, getting up.
Jason entered Grayson's quarters, regitering a slight surprise on Grayson's face. No doubt he hadn't had time to learn who the new XO was. In fact, Jason's placement was so smooth and fast he doubt that even the divisional COs were aware of it it. Smiling he quirked an eyebrow at Grayson.
"So, you've returned, thought that you could sneak onboard my ship without me noticing did you?
Grayson just gave his XO a shrug. "Well, with all that happened when I was away, I didn't think anyone would notice my return." Mark gave Jason a nod. "Executive Officer. You came a long way. How's Adam?"
"Still being Adam," Jason smiled. "He's getting pretty good at sufficiently kicking ass on the holodeck with his bat'leth as well as tier 7 of the Vulcan martial arts. Somehow I think that Darkhelm rubbed off on him."
Mark shook his head, amused. "Knowing Amanda, I wouldn't doubt it." He paused. "So, what brings you here? Want to know if I believe in ghosts or not? Or do you want to know about the Taevon Expanse? No for the first, and this expanse is barely mapped because of extensive unknown inteference. Intel sent at least two probes around this area and both were lost."
"You did your homework," Jason responded.
Although that really wasn't surprising given Grayson's history. The man may have been paranoid but he was very thorough.
"Actually no, I came to borrow you."
"For what?"
"I'm going to take you and Hawkins and we are going to go over every sensitive area of the ship, see if there is anything that we may have missed earlier."
Grayson's expression sharpened. "If you are considering this, it means you are considering at the very least alien infiltration. There were at least two other ships that came this way that suggested that, but, there were no physical evidences. Of course, both ships turned around and got the hell away." He have Jason a half smile. "But not Captain Kersare, right? She wants to go through regardless. Bold, as always."
"I doubt that the captain or myself are going to be scared off by a few technical glitches and what not. After all, we are explorers, some of this stuff is bound to happen to us every now and then," Jason smiled. "Although I doubt that anyone has actually infiltrated the ship, there is something going on around here and I intend to find out what it is."
Grayson nodded. "Knowledge is the first step to enlightment, sir", replied Mark cryptically. "When do we start?"
"Right now."
With that said, the two officers took off to find Hawkins.
OFF:
JP By:
Lieutenant Mark Grayson II
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B
&
<Corridor, 0945, Day 3>
Jason smiled as he made his way towards Grayson's quarters. Having him back onboard was a surprise indeed, although given Grayson he would have no doubt preferred that no one know he was back until the last possible moment. If there was one thing that the man was good at, it was paranoia. That brought a small smile to his face as he rounded the corner and pressed the chime to Grayson's quarters.
Grayson was quietly sat down on a couch, wearing civilians clothing and reading the third Intel report regarding that area of space. None of them were really informative. If nothing else, they were purposedly vague, which make Mark wonder the reasons. Maybe he would need to contact each officer that filled those reports.
As the door bell rang, he put the PADD aside. "Enter", he said, getting up.
Jason entered Grayson's quarters, regitering a slight surprise on Grayson's face. No doubt he hadn't had time to learn who the new XO was. In fact, Jason's placement was so smooth and fast he doubt that even the divisional COs were aware of it it. Smiling he quirked an eyebrow at Grayson.
"So, you've returned, thought that you could sneak onboard my ship without me noticing did you?
Grayson just gave his XO a shrug. "Well, with all that happened when I was away, I didn't think anyone would notice my return." Mark gave Jason a nod. "Executive Officer. You came a long way. How's Adam?"
"Still being Adam," Jason smiled. "He's getting pretty good at sufficiently kicking ass on the holodeck with his bat'leth as well as tier 7 of the Vulcan martial arts. Somehow I think that Darkhelm rubbed off on him."
Mark shook his head, amused. "Knowing Amanda, I wouldn't doubt it." He paused. "So, what brings you here? Want to know if I believe in ghosts or not? Or do you want to know about the Taevon Expanse? No for the first, and this expanse is barely mapped because of extensive unknown inteference. Intel sent at least two probes around this area and both were lost."
"You did your homework," Jason responded.
Although that really wasn't surprising given Grayson's history. The man may have been paranoid but he was very thorough.
"Actually no, I came to borrow you."
"For what?"
"I'm going to take you and Hawkins and we are going to go over every sensitive area of the ship, see if there is anything that we may have missed earlier."
Grayson's expression sharpened. "If you are considering this, it means you are considering at the very least alien infiltration. There were at least two other ships that came this way that suggested that, but, there were no physical evidences. Of course, both ships turned around and got the hell away." He have Jason a half smile. "But not Captain Kersare, right? She wants to go through regardless. Bold, as always."
"I doubt that the captain or myself are going to be scared off by a few technical glitches and what not. After all, we are explorers, some of this stuff is bound to happen to us every now and then," Jason smiled. "Although I doubt that anyone has actually infiltrated the ship, there is something going on around here and I intend to find out what it is."
Grayson nodded. "Knowledge is the first step to enlightment, sir", replied Mark cryptically. "When do we start?"
"Right now."
With that said, the two officers took off to find Hawkins.
OFF:
JP By:
Lieutenant Mark Grayson II
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B
&
Lieutenant Commander Jason Barrett
Executive Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
The Doctor is in...
ON:
[USS Malinche, Sickbay, 1100, Day 3]
"Moira, do you have that work-up on Andorian fever? I can't seem to find it anywhere," Cullen called from his office. "Sodding thing must have walked away on it's own," he muttered.
With a smile and a look of infinite patience, Nurse Moira Sagawa handed the PADD to the doctor. "It's right where you left it ten minutes ago, Timothy," she said.
Turning, the doctor smiled warmly and ran a hand through his rumpled hair. "Ah, dear, sweet Moira, I'm so glad you decided to transfer from the Merrimack." Tim paused a moment. "Why did you transfer? You had an excellent rapport with the crew. Why in the nine hells would you want to hang around a fool like me?" he asked chuckling.
Sagawa slapped his arm playfully. "A fool that happens to be a brilliant doctor and surgeon, even if he is a bit absent-minded," she quipped. "Besides, you'd never make it around sickbay without me," Sagawa said with obvious affection. "Now don't forget you have to go report to the Captain in about 10 minutes."
"Well I know that!" he said grumpily, but the smile never faded from his features. "Why do you think I've been trying to fasten this bloody straitjacket of a uniform," he muttered.
Sighing, Sagawa swatted his hands away from the neckline and fastened the top of his uniform, eyeing the new Lieutenant JG rank insignia on the doctor's collar. "Well isn't that new rank insignia shiny," she said with a smile, knowing what was coming.
"Bloody jewelry," Cullen muttered. He turned to the nurse and wagged his finger. The day they make a doctor an officer is the day he stops being a good doctor!" For her part, Sagawa simply nodded and smiled. When she had first met Dr. Timothy Cullen, she couldn't believe the man actually served in Starfleet. He was completely absent minded about things outside of medicine, and cared little for the bureaucracy and paperwork that came with being a member of Starfleet. However he was a brilliant, passionate surgeon and researcher who simply wanted to help as many people as he could, so he ended up in Starfleet. Why he always acted like he was twenty years older than his age implied was a mystery to her.
"Have you talked to Cassie this week?" Cullen asked, watching his nurse with amusement as he fiddled with his uniform.
"Not yet, I have to call her tomorrow. It's her birthday," she said happily. "She's a very precocious eight." Then with mock grandeur in her voice, she stood up straight and said, "She has informed her father that she would like a pony for her birthday!" They laughed softly.
Tim beamed. "Oh that's wonderful!" His face turned mockingly stern. "You promised me I'd get to meet her!" he scolded.
Nurse Sagawa reached out to him. "Soon Doctor soon, but now you have to go meet the Captain!" she said, watching him hurry out the door, only to come back in a few seconds later to take the crew physical report from her hand.
He sighed at her smile. "Thank you my dear," the doctor said and hurried to the bridge, leaving Nurse Sagawa giggling in his wake.
OFF:
[USS Malinche, Sickbay, 1100, Day 3]
"Moira, do you have that work-up on Andorian fever? I can't seem to find it anywhere," Cullen called from his office. "Sodding thing must have walked away on it's own," he muttered.
With a smile and a look of infinite patience, Nurse Moira Sagawa handed the PADD to the doctor. "It's right where you left it ten minutes ago, Timothy," she said.
Turning, the doctor smiled warmly and ran a hand through his rumpled hair. "Ah, dear, sweet Moira, I'm so glad you decided to transfer from the Merrimack." Tim paused a moment. "Why did you transfer? You had an excellent rapport with the crew. Why in the nine hells would you want to hang around a fool like me?" he asked chuckling.
Sagawa slapped his arm playfully. "A fool that happens to be a brilliant doctor and surgeon, even if he is a bit absent-minded," she quipped. "Besides, you'd never make it around sickbay without me," Sagawa said with obvious affection. "Now don't forget you have to go report to the Captain in about 10 minutes."
"Well I know that!" he said grumpily, but the smile never faded from his features. "Why do you think I've been trying to fasten this bloody straitjacket of a uniform," he muttered.
Sighing, Sagawa swatted his hands away from the neckline and fastened the top of his uniform, eyeing the new Lieutenant JG rank insignia on the doctor's collar. "Well isn't that new rank insignia shiny," she said with a smile, knowing what was coming.
"Bloody jewelry," Cullen muttered. He turned to the nurse and wagged his finger. The day they make a doctor an officer is the day he stops being a good doctor!" For her part, Sagawa simply nodded and smiled. When she had first met Dr. Timothy Cullen, she couldn't believe the man actually served in Starfleet. He was completely absent minded about things outside of medicine, and cared little for the bureaucracy and paperwork that came with being a member of Starfleet. However he was a brilliant, passionate surgeon and researcher who simply wanted to help as many people as he could, so he ended up in Starfleet. Why he always acted like he was twenty years older than his age implied was a mystery to her.
"Have you talked to Cassie this week?" Cullen asked, watching his nurse with amusement as he fiddled with his uniform.
"Not yet, I have to call her tomorrow. It's her birthday," she said happily. "She's a very precocious eight." Then with mock grandeur in her voice, she stood up straight and said, "She has informed her father that she would like a pony for her birthday!" They laughed softly.
Tim beamed. "Oh that's wonderful!" His face turned mockingly stern. "You promised me I'd get to meet her!" he scolded.
Nurse Sagawa reached out to him. "Soon Doctor soon, but now you have to go meet the Captain!" she said, watching him hurry out the door, only to come back in a few seconds later to take the crew physical report from her hand.
He sighed at her smile. "Thank you my dear," the doctor said and hurried to the bridge, leaving Nurse Sagawa giggling in his wake.
OFF:
Lieutenant JG Timothy Cullen
Chief Medical Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B