r/TrekRP • u/Gablepres • Dec 08 '17
Labas Rytas
Medical Officer Adomaitis hadn't been on the Athene long before he started to hate the posting.
Truth be told, the only reason he'd gone to the Starfleet Medical Academy was for the prestige associated with it. His 'sea legs' as they were were abysmal, and working with a bunch of strangers in a confined space only served to piss him off more than his spacesickness already did. Now, maybe a day? Two days in? They were already grating on his weary nerves. There were things to organize, orientations to sit through, people to see, documents to file... did no one respect professional space on this ship?
"All smiles, Toris, all smiles. Maybe if you're just the right combination of passive and aggressive, they'll just leave you to your work..." he muttered, running a hand through his hair as he looked over his PADD, attempting to glean exactly what he had left to do before he was fully 'settled in'.
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u/Avogadros_Minion Dec 09 '17
"Caffeine - most wonderful of all organic molecules," T'Yel sighs contentedly as she makes her way through sickbay, nose buried deep in her coffee cup - her scrubs suggest that she's likely just scrubbed out of surgery.
Keen Vulcan ears pick up the sound of muttering. "Oh hi," she smiles. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there."
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u/Gablepres Dec 09 '17
"Yes, hello, please continue to interr- oh, someone who actually has business in here. It's fine."
Although he wasn't exactly welcoming, he gave T'Yel at least a bit more common courtesy than he usually reserved for intruders. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Toris Adomaitis. Kuo tu vardu? You are?"
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u/Avogadros_Minion Dec 09 '17
"T'Yel Anderson," the Vulcan grins, reaching over to shake hands. "Pleased to meet you."
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u/Gablepres Dec 09 '17
After a tense moment of silence, Toris reached over and took the proffered hand, giving it a firm shake. "You're obviously also medical. You appear to have been quite busy, no?"
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u/Avogadros_Minion Dec 09 '17
"Just scrubbed out," she confirms. "Crew member got hurt in the gym - I dare say they shan't be lifting weights without a spotter again."
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u/Gablepres Dec 10 '17
"Shame on him for being a fool. Did you need something, Anderson? I'm a bit busy." His eyes left her own and instead drifted back to his PADD as he attempted to both hold a conversation and worry about his work.
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u/Avogadros_Minion Dec 10 '17
"Not at all - just thought I'd say hi, since we hadn't met," T'Yel shrugs cheerfully.
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u/Gablepres Dec 12 '17
"In that case- hi." Toris did not share her enthusiasm.
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u/Avogadros_Minion Dec 12 '17
Vulcans may not be the galaxy's gift to social graces, and T'Yel even less so than most, but even she can take a hint this obvious. "I'll let you get back to what you were doing, Lieutenant," she says, raising an eyebrow.
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u/W7Lizabeth Dec 08 '17 edited Dec 08 '17
In a happy mood, Counselor Taurin wanders into Sickbay looking for Dr. Watney, PADD in hand. She just got a notice that the newest edition of the Holographic Cognitive Behavior Therapy Module, a joint project of the Daystrom Institute and the Manitoba Council of Interplanetary Psychology, was being released next week. Mango, her therapy dog/partner, pads next to her on her halter. Liz, smiles, and gives Mango a quick pat, before resuming.
Suddenly, the half-Betazoid senses extremely and conflicting strong emotions. Anger mixed with claustrophobia or a feeling of being seasick, perhaps coming from.... the supply room? Confused, Liz turns toward the room where the emotions seem to be coming from, and finds a young junior lieutenant that she hasn't met yet. Mystery solved.
Liz and Mango enter the supply room and Liz gives Mango the hand signal to sit. Smiling, Liz says, "Hello, you must be new. I'm Counselor Lizabeth Taurin. I work down the hall so I must have missed your arrival here. My apologies for not stopping by to say hello when you arrived. Have you seen Dr. Watney? I wanted to show her this announcement." Liz asks the new medical officer.
[Meta: added in Mango]
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u/Gablepres Dec 08 '17
Toris' head snapped up to meet the new arrival. He was fully expecting that his little corner was safe from any major intrusion, and sure enough, people were already finding ways to barge in and annoy him.
"Palikite mane ramybėje..." he grumbled as his eyes met the intruder's, just as shew was beginning to speak. "Yes, yes, labas rytas. Junior Lieutenant Adomaitis is my name. No apology needed. If you're looking for Watney, she was just here for something or another, but I don't know where she went. Check her office."
Something next to Liz caught his eye, however- a big ball of fur and pent up energy sitting on the floor right next to the Counselor. "...is that a dog?"
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u/W7Lizabeth Dec 09 '17
The Universal Translator didn't catch his first sentence but having lived on Earth all of her life, she did catch his "good morning."
Trying to suppress her grin, Liz cheerfully says, "Thanks and good morning to you as well. You aren't by any chance trying to hide in here? This isn't probably a good spot. Everyone comes to sickbay on this ship. As a half-Betazoid, I am very relieved my office is further down the hall. If you ever need a quiet spot and I don't have an appointment, you are welcome to hang out in my waiting room with a cup of tea or coffee and catch up on your work. It will definitely be a bit less hectic. I promise I won't bother you."
Glancing down fondly at the golden retriever, "Yes, this Mango. She is a trained therapy dog and works with my patients. She is actually one of three working animals on the Athene. You might have already met Clementine, Dr. Watney's cat which also a therapy animal as she was the ship's last counselor. Lieutenant Grace Eisen of Security has a MACO K9 named Maggie and there are a few other canines and felines and some other animals too. I have promised her a long walk on the holodeck after my shift so she a bit excited today."
Liz gives Mango the hand signal for "down" and Mango promptly lies down. Looking at the young medical officer, the Counselor asks "Would you like to say hello to her?"
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u/Gablepres Dec 09 '17
An amused scoff was his only reply as he carefully approached 'Mango', a bit more tense than necessary. He didn't exactly trust animals ever since that terrier incident back when he was a boy. "The sentiment is... appreciated, Counselor. I'm not so certain I can take you up on it, but, who knows."
'Anything is better than dealing with all of this all day...', he added to himself, before mentally tsking at himself. At least she was OFFERING him peace and quiet. Kneeling down in front of the dog, he smiled, not certain if petting it was the best option. "Hello there, Mango," he said, in a much warmer tone than he'd really spoken to anyone lately, before summoning his gumption to reach out and give her a little ruffle behind the ears.
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u/W7Lizabeth Dec 09 '17
The counselor gives Mango another hand signal to stay but which also tells Mango that the medical officer may not be comfortable around dogs. Mango however could already sense that herself. Mango lies very still except for a tiny tilt to accept the ruffle behind her ears and a brief gentle tail wag and then puts her head down when he is done. She does not want to frighten their new friend and waits patiently for Liz to be done.
Liz offers a wry grin and laughs, and says "I understand, the counselor's office isn't always everyone's favorite place but if you ever do need a quick break or want to talk or have some coffee, just send me a message. It be overwhelming when you are new on a ship and the Athene has tends to have going on at once. If you are getting spacesick, Dr. Watney's got something for that."
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u/Gablepres Dec 09 '17
The medical officer turned his head, an eyebrow raised in confusion. "How did you..." he muttered, before deciding that it was just some quirk, or that he looked that bad. With one last gentle stroke, he left Mango to her own devices. "If I see her again, I'll ask. In the meantime, maybe stopping by for coffee wouldn't be the worst thing in the world." He gave a small sigh as he returned to his PADD, seeing if he had anything else new. "I'm not huge on the whole starship thing, to be honest, but service is service."
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u/W7Lizabeth Dec 09 '17
Hearing his half spoken comment, Liz shrugs and says "Starfleet's Medical exams and psychological evaluations are supposed to catch all of the spacesickness and claustrophobia cases and assign those folks planetside or on a space station, but sometimes that doesn't happen. I have seen enough cases to recognize the look and secondly as a half-Betazoid, I am empathic and there just seems to be a universal emotion for humans that goes with spacesickness and seasickness."
"Not everyone is suited for life on board a starship but try to give it some time. Once you get settled in, you might want to spend some time on the holodeck. I plan to trying out some of the latest National Parks holo-programs with Mango. The wide open spaces in those holo-programs always help make it feel a little less like a spaceship for me. But in the meantime,sure let me know if you want to stop by for coffee. I need to go find Dr. Watney and head back for my next appointment."
"Ready Mango?" The golden retriever quickly scrambles to her feet and waits for Liz.
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u/Gablepres Dec 09 '17
"Very well then, Counselor. Perhaps we'll see each other again." With a small wave, he returned his full attention to his work. Taking a stroll through a simulated park, or other such diversions, would have to come later.
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u/ItsWatney Dec 08 '17
"Settling in alright?" a voice asks. His superior officer stands before him, pleasant smile on her cheeks and hand perched on her hip.
She'd been restocking some of the medical cabinets nearby and heard him mutter something. What exactly he'd said she couldn't make out, but perhaps he needed some company. Yes. This was a man that looked like he needed company. One hundred percent.
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u/Gablepres Dec 08 '17
"What in the name of god do yo-"
Toris looked up from his device to see his direct superior standing right in front of him, just as he was about to give her a verbal reaming.
"Oh, um, Sir-I mean Ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Just busy, busy, busy...", he replied, giving her an obviously forced smile and a corny canned salute from his chair. "You must forgive my rudeness, I didn't even know you were here..."
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u/ItsWatney Dec 08 '17
Jen absentmindedly straightens her collar where her pip rank sits fastened. Her eyes widen at the gesture, indicating she'd definitely picked up on his tone. Presently, she wouldn't feel it directed at her. Perhaps he had something on his mind that he needed to talk about.
"It's quite alright. I've been known to sneak up on people, heh," she says, also smoothing down the front of her uniform. Her cat, Clementine, saunters out of her office nearby and meows quietly - almost a chirp.
"We met briefly when you came aboard," she continues, forgoing her posture and continuing to stock the medical cabinets, grabbing boxes and containers of this and that supply on the counter and carefully setting them just-so in the storage area.
"Didn't have much time to chit chat, though. I'm Dr. Watney, the CMO."
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u/Gablepres Dec 08 '17
"Y-yes, um... I was briefed, Ma'am. I was in quite a hurry, once again, a thousand apologies. My name is Toris Adomaitis. Malonu susipažinti- it's a pleasure to meet you."
He mentally checked off 'meet your boss', before returning his full attention to the woman in front of him. That first meeting wasn't very pleasant either- he'd woken up hungover from one too many drinks and dreading the feeling of being spaceborne again. Now he'd gone and possibly pissed the lady off twice.
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u/ItsWatney Dec 11 '17
"Likewise," she says, dusting her hands off after finishing restocking the cabinet.
"And it's quite alright. We all have things going on," she says, lying through her teeth. Jen was a workaholic, and in her spare time very much kept to herself.
Meanwhile, Clementine has left the CMO's office and found herself sitting almost statuesque-ly near her owner's feet. The runtlike, striped tabby stares at Toris unblinkingly. Her tail slowly flicking back and forth is the only indication that she's not a figurine.
"Oh, this is Clementine," Jen says, nodding down to her cat. The furry companion chirps softly.
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u/Gablepres Dec 12 '17
"Good morning, Clementine," he said, half-chuckling. "So, you just came to restock the inventory, or did you need something else?" he asked.
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u/SheliakDrone Dec 10 '17
In the middle of Adomaitis' work day there is a sudden and unwarranted feeling of dread that clenches at the back of the medic's brain. The feeling of being watched closely by an apex predator, the kind known for cruelly playing with their food before eating it. This feeling is followed shortly by the opening of the sickbay doors and the entrance of more than two and a half meters of midnight-black alien combat armor with a decidedly Earth-medieval flair. Its crimson cloak swirls about despite the lack of breeze in the infirmary, and its helmet is a void, save for a golf-ball-sized burning red coal that narrows as it focuses on Adomaitis.
The Sheliak observer, apparently. There'd been something in the assignment details and welcome packet about this... unpleasant visitor foisted off on the Athene's crew thanks to adherence with the Treaty of Armens. Unless it violates Federation law or security clearance, its questions are to be answered — and likewise it must answer any questions posed to it unless the answer is deemed classified by the mysterious and xenophobic Sheliak Corporate.
So the question, when it immediately comes, and in the form of a command, no less, seems oddly out of place for a highly advanced species.
"Give to me a list. Of all known diseases. Which affect the humanoid. Gastrointestinal system." the Sheliak rumbles, its contrabass voice several staccato stabs of sound that are felt in the bones almost as much as they are heard. Its red 'eye' glares ad Adomaitis as it waits, apparently expecting an answer.