I Say Doctor, Doctor
Posted on 03 Apr 2019 @ 9:14pm by Lieutenant Amiri Aldana 365, D.V.M., M.D. & Commander Juan Zamora (Dec [CDO]-Jan 2389 - TRSNFR to Gorn Dip.) & Lieutenant Commander T'Lara
Mission:
Ka Hakaka Maikaʻi - The Good Fight
Location: XO's Office
Timeline: Immediately after "Which Doctor?"
Tags: Sombra, 3CW4YMF696F
Juan stood next to his desk, tapping a finger on the surface, as he waited for the ship’s top medical officers to arrive. He wondered idly who was laughing, back at Starfleet Medical Command, watching the ship’s departments reorganize themselves in the midst of repairs, and departure preparations. Could anybody actually manage such a storm of activity and keep it orderly? He was shaken from his thoughts as his first “guest” arrived.
Entering a turbolift Amiri found hirself slightly miffed as Sombra tailed in behind hir. Commander Zamora had called hir to his officer right in the middle of some crucial resupply and repair. S/he tried to remind hirself it wasn’t his fault, he had mentioned something about new orders from Medical Command and he needed to discuss them with hir. Why, if SF Medical had new orders, hadn’t they come directly to hir? S/he was the department head after all.
As the turbolift car ascended Sombra noticed Alpha was pacing round and round. He could hear hir heart was racing, his nose told him hir adrenaline had spiked, and hir pacing was making him dizzy. Not to mention s/he’d nearly trodden on him; twice. He decided on an audible alert this time and whimpered. Seeing hir stop, he ventured closer and nudged hir.
~ What is it, luv? ~
~ Hold me. ~
“What?”
~ Hold me, that’s not a request. You’re on the verge of an attack. ~
Amiri looked into Sombra’s eyes, and they connected in a way together that few others – save maybe Luuna – had and s/he saw his concern. Amiri huffed and knelt. ~ I’m sorry little one. ~ S/he reached out hir arms.
Sombra stepped into them, and he pressed his chest into hirs as they closed their eyes. ~ Feel my energy. Caalmm… Match your life energy to mine, (he meant his breath) feel it. In… Out… Calm. Peace. Let the goo of your ‘fight’ (he meant adrenaline). Stroke my fur, feel the ‘calm’ flowing through you. (Endorphins and the like.) Feel my peace. Slow your ‘life rhythm’ to mine. (His pulse.) Feeeeeel it. Sloooww. ~ Sombra murred softly in Alpha’s ear.
Aldana opened hir eyes, refreshed, and stood. ~ “Thank you, luv.” ~ “G'bouy. I feel better now.” Just then the turbolift came to a halt. The pair stepped out and turned down the corridor toward the Ex-Oh’s office. It was a short jaunt before they came to the door. A new person, Doctor Aldana, rang the chime, hir companion at hir side.
T'Lara was still seated at the desk of Commander Zamora. She wanted to take her leave when the door chimed. She looked to the commander. “Are you expecting someone? I think I am needed in sickbay anyways.” She got up putting her hands behind her back.
“Yes, I am expecting our current CMO, Dr. Aldana, I believe they will be able to help you get started most efficiently,” Juan explained. “Enter, please!” He called a little more loudly to be heard on the other side of the door.
Once the doors swished open, Doctor Aldana and Sombra stepped through. “Commander? You asked to see me?” S/he glanced at the Vulcan in a uniform with Medical-teal highlights and wondered briefly who this was, and what she was doing here, but hir focus was on Zamora, s/he had never been here before, s/he stood tall with hir arms crossed behind hir back glancing at the various decor briefly from time to time. S/he wanted to make a point about how busy they were recovering from all the injuries during the battle, but s/he didn’t.
As it stayed quiet T'Lara turned over to Amiri. “Hello Doctor Aldana, I am Doctor T'Lara. I believe we have not met yet. I was down in Sickbay earlier, but there was no time to get my acquaintance with you, as I was sent up here by the head nurse. I was just briefed in by Commander Zamora about the state of sickbay.” She wasn’t sure how s/he felt about contact, but she offered her hand anyways. “I will be the new Chief Medical Officer. It is my hope that we can work together, doctor.”
“Yes, Starfleet has sent her to run the medical department for now, so, for the time being, you will be acting as her assistant.” Juan tried to word his explanation diplomatically, but he also wanted to tear the bandage of the re-organization off as quickly as possible.
Aldana couldn’t believe hir ears. “What.” s/he uttered. It wasn’t so much a question as a statement of hir disbelief. After all s/he’d done and accomplished; all s/he’d sacrificed. All despite hir condition and the opposition against it, the prejudice and stigma. Being told s/he’d never accomplish anything; never amount to anything; never contribute.
Amiri had worked so hard to get here; clawing hir way; clinging onto the minutest of optimism, of hope. S/he had finally done it; finally begun to see something for all hir effort toward hir goal. S/he was on hir way to showing ‘them,’ and now this?
Sombra couldn’t quite follow everything that had just happened, but he knew the implications; he could sense something in Alpha. He pressed into hir; tried to love hir all-the-more, tried to channel it into hir. ~ Breathe. Think, don’t feel. ~
Silently s/he took a deep breath. S/he made eye contact with Zamora. In this moment s/he only wanted to hear from him. “I don’t understand. Do they know we already have a replacement for Doctor Sthilg? With all due respect, sir, I’d like to verify these orders, please; who sent them? Do they know we’re in the middle of a shit-storm of repair, resupply and recovery?”
“I understand that this must come as a shock to you, but the administrative details are all in order,” Juan replied. He strode over to Dr. Aldana and held out a PADD for hir to check. “The orders are here, if you want to see them personnel has approved them. For my own part I am glad to have as many skilled hands in sickbay as possible, given the nature of what we face.”
Sombra picked up on a sense of loss Alpha was feeling. He wanted to ‘hug’ hir to let hir know it would be alright. ~ This, too, shall pass, luv. ~
Doctor Aldana 365 accepted the PADD with a slight smile – all s/he could muster under the circumstances – “Thank you.” Giving a few taps to it, s/he investigated the code of the document. There would be certain key items in the basic source code, lines of programming, that wouldn’t do anything, but would help authenticate the document and therefore the orders. (Things like watermarks and micro-printing didn’t work too well on a digital document.)
In the end Aldana was able to verify the authenticity of the document. It had indeed come from Starfleet Medical Command. Next s/he investigated the brass who’d actually issue these orders. “Wait a minute… something doesn’t add up here…”
“Really?” Juan questioned, “do you see an issue with the transfer?”
“Is this the Doctor Famo Diyou? She’s a professor at the academy, she’s not authorized to issue these orders… I mean last time I knew.”
“I did not see a professorship listed in any of the credentials,” Juan replied.
“According to this she’s the head of Medical Personnel now.”
“Well, it would appear then that she had moved on from the academy,” Juan noted.
“That… woman… was one of my instructors at the academy branch I went to. She was my biggest opposition. I had to bring discrimination charges against her on more than one occasion. You can look up the reprimands on her record.”
“These are very serious accusations you are making,” Juan replied. “Be that as it may though, the orders are still approved by fourth fleet command at Providence Fleet Yards, so I have no option at present but to treat them as legitimate.”
“Commander, you don’t understand, Doctor Diyou is a very ‘able-ist’ Zakdorn. However she managed to get promoted beyond her teaching position without being dismissed first is far be it for me to figure out, but if she managed to strategize her way up the ladder, then she could…”
Sombra interjected, ~Calm. Speculate not; logic the key is. ~
Aldana closed hir eyes and took a breath. S/he opened them again and started over. “Forgive me sir.” S/he stood up straight and at attention. S/he’d been here before. S/he knew s/he needed to dot hir ‘Is’ and cross hir ‘Ts.’ S/he needed to make this official. “Commander, I feel that these orders are unjustified, and possibly driven by prejudice, they violate my rights as a member of Starfleet.”
“If you wish to file an appeal Lieutenant,” Juan began, “I can begin the PADDwork. However, given the nature of warzone operating standards, and the fact that multiple authorities signed off on this reorganization, we will have to accept this situation as it is for the time being. Changes will be made if your appeal is upheld.” He placed a hand on the doctor’s shoulder, “we will get to the bottom of this matter.”
Juan turned back now to face the other occupant of his office. “I apologize Dr. T'Lara, I had not anticipated anything so dramatic coming up during this meeting. Allow me to assure you that I shall do as my position mandates and seek with all my power to ensure that you, as well as all the officers and crew under my care, receive the fairest treatment possible.”
“It's quite alright, I can understand the emotion. No harm done.” T'Lara turned around to Aldana.
Doctor Aldana finally turned to face the woman. “I apologize as well.” S/he smiled Commander Zamora was right, if nothing else, they could use the extra set of paws. S/he would have liked to greet the Vulcan in a hug – after all, it wasn’t her fault she was here – but s/he realized with tactile-telepathy physical contact usually made Vulcan’s uncomfortable. In fact, it was an honor she was meeting hir half-way by offering to shake, so Aldana accepted the gesture of an outstretched hand and shook Doctor T'Lara’s hand. “Welcome aboard doctor.”
“Thank you, Doctor, and again no harm done.” T'Lara sat back down. “Is there something important to discuss, Commander? Doctor?”
“Perhaps it would be best if we could discuss the nuances of the sickbay structure, I’ve setup so the staff and myself don’t have to adjust to major changes in staffing and schedule rotations during the middle of possible battle scenarios?” Doctor Aldana asked.
Juan J. Zamora
Commander, Starfleet
XO
&
Doctor Amiri Aldana 365 D.V.M., M.D.
Lieutenant, Starfleet
CMO (Incumbent)
&
Doctor T'Lara
Lieutenant, Starfleet
CMO (present)
