Assistant Chief Counselor/Medical Officer's Log #13 - "Paving the Way"

Posted on 28 Jul 2013 @ 9:42pm by Lieutenant JG Delainey Carlisle

522 words; about a 3 minute read

I'm pleased to report I've completed my first Away Mission with the Galileo and it was more exciting than even I expected. As I've mentioned in previous logs, I was looking forward to the opportunity to explore uncharted territorty for the sake of it, but I also wasn't sure how useful I could really be in such a capacity. My expertise concerns people and medicine, and short of finding people to talk with or healing to be done, I didn't know what my role would be. I wouldn't have gotten through the training I have if it weren't for an interest and ability to apply the scientific method, but I have to admit, gathering samples and scans on a deserted planet or moon wouldn't have been my first choice of field assignment.

As it turned out, I got a glimpse of an ancient society's medical practices, or at least a glimpse of its social approach to addressing the needs of its disabled and injured. I felt a little guilty combing through ancient medical records, but I found my curiosity soon overwhelmed my embarassment. I'm only sorry I didn't have more time to explore. As we travelled from room to room within the clinic, it appeared as if the residents had been caught off-guard by a sudden emergency, as things seemed to be arranged as if whomever worked or resided there planned to return... I have to admit, it was every bit as creepy as it was fascinating, and I've had a few nightmares about that eerie room. And I haven't even mentioned the Borg discovery. For selfish reasons, I was glad we didn't have to contend with a firefight, but the Borg corpses were once living people who never dreamed of being assimilated. It seems almost cruel for them to be a footnote in the overall mission. I left the entire mission with more questions than answers and I know the rest of my team felt the same.

My promotion to Lieutenant almost feels like an afterthought. Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy about it, but I have to say my personal career path has been the last thing on my mind in light of recent activities. It feels like the cherry on top of my sundae, the bonus for just doing what I love. I won't lie, it's nice to be recognized, and if I'm feeling this way, I can only imagine the mixed emotions Scarlet is feeling. She jumped two rungs on the ladder and was promoted to Second Officer. I never imagined something like that could happen on a non-combat ship, let alone to one of us...to a counselor. I know what we contribute to a posting on any given day, but there are certain limitations a lot of us implicitly accept when we chose to become healers. It's exciting, and slightly terrifying, I'll admit, to see some of these perceived limitations being challenged. I'm not ready for the command track just yet, but I'm more than willing to support Scarlet as she paves the way. I know she'd do the same for any one of us.

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