Taking Vitals

Posted on Wed Apr 12th, 2017 @ 11:26pm by Captain Daniel Westphalen & Lieutenant JG Lucy Maxwell

653 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: Taking Wing
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: En Route to Naldaya

Daniel found himself wandering down to sickbay during a quiet moment in the duty shift. He knew that a doctor had boarded, but a lax policy on reporting aboard meant he hadn't yet met them. Time to correct that, he figured, stepping through the sickbay doors and peering around.

Lucy was in her office getting acquainted with the crew manifest and any special medical needs that she might face. She heard the doors open. Her first visitor? Lucy stood and straightened her tunic. She poked around the corner of her office into the sickbay. It was her new captain. In all the excitement of getting underway she had not had the chance to meet him yet.

Lucy stepped fully into the sickbay and stood at attention. "Sir, welcome to sickbay. Lieutenant Lucy Maxwell, Sir."

"Wouldn't Doctor be more appropriate?" the captain offered with an amused expression. "Welcome to the Aurora. Hopefully you're settling in well? I know we hadn't had an opportunity to meet prior to now, but I thought I would be remiss if I didn't at least introduce myself to my senior staff."

"Thanks for stopping down. I'm just trying to get things in order down here. I would rather my services were not needed, but I should be ready when they are." Lucy pondered for a moment. "Is this your first command sir?"

"It is," he nodded. "But we've been in space for four years prior to this. Lieutenant Commander Quinn, the first officer, she was once the Chief of Science aboard. We've held onto this posting for a long time - trained quite a few budding scientists along the way."

"I must admit, I am excited about the deep space posting. Not that Trauma medicine isn't important, but there is something about the medical mysteries of deep space that is appealing." Lucy smiled in the corner of her mouth. "This young scientist is looking forward to some training herself."

Daniel smiled in response, seemingly bolstered by the information. "Excellent. Our upcoming mission might be of interest to you, from an exobiology standpoint. Four years ago, we made first contact with a new form of spaceborne life. Commander Quinn figured out a means to talk to them via modulating our shields. Another has shown up in the Naldaya system, and we've been dispatched to learn what drew it and see if we can urge it to move on. They eat star-stuff, you see, absorbing solar material seemingly in a version of biological fusion, and the system they've settled in for an apparent snack is inhabited."

"Interesting, did the modulations seem to communicate something in particular?" Lucy continued, "Or was it more of a basic fear, peace, basic needs kind of communication?"

"We were able to get a general vocabulary, but not enough to establish full-on diplomatic discourse. Just a little bit more than the whole 'we hungry, we eat' sort of discussions that have occurred with similar lifeforms.

"Well, that is interesting, who should I check in with to learn more about where we stand??"

Daniel's amused expression seemed positive. "Commander Quinn would be the person to talk to there."

"I will do that, thank you, sir. Can I offer you a complimentary physical while you are here?" Lucy didn't remember the COs last physical date off the top of her head.

The captain waved a hand. "Not necessary. I received a physical last month upon reporting back to the starbase, so my records should be up to date. Let me know if you need anything else, of course," Daniel said, taking a step back to indicate his intent to head out and leave her to her work.

"Very good sir, you know where to find me..." Lucy stood at a sort of parade rest while she waited for the CO to leave the room.


Captain Daniel Westphalen
Commanding Officer
USS Aurora

Dr. Lucy Maxwell
Chief Medical Officer
USS Aurora

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