The Pip and the Targ

Posted on 22 Feb 2016 @ 11:56pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Lieutenant Tuula Voutilainen M.D.

2,624 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Episode 10 - Symposium
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 7, Observation Lounge
Timeline: MD 90 - 1200 hrs

[ON]

Lirha had just finished up her brief meeting with Holliday in Galileo's large observation lounge. As much as she would have loved to chat with him following the recent personnel changes, she knew there was much to do over the coming days to prepare the ship for their upcoming deployment, and Lirha herself was also busy with her own administrative matters.

First on her list was to address a couple of her crew members in person and deal with their recent performance reports which had been submitted by their department heads. One of said people was a familiar name, and the Orion wasted no time in summoning her for a conversation.

"Miss Voutilainen, report to the observation lounge immediately," she said with a light tap against the commbadge pinned to her breast.

"I'll be there shortly," replied the voice on the other end of the comm badge. In the background could be heard a patter song, perhaps from Penzance of Pinafore, and the sounds of the computer beeping and whirring as it performed calculations upon calculations. "Doctor Voutilainen out," she added, emphasizing slightly the word 'doctor' in her reply.

A few minutes later, the doors whooshed open to reveal Tuula, in her chair, rolling into the observation lounge. Her hair this time was mostly black, with just a hint of turquoise, perhaps a hint more than regulations would allow, to match her sciences blue. "Admiral," she said, her back stiffening in anticipation. She had not gotten off on the right foot with Lirha, and had had only limited contact with her since then, so as soon as she saw her, the vision of the phaser being pointed at her flashed before her eyes.

Blinking hard, she pushed that vision out of her head. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" she asked, trying her hardest to put on a positive attitude.

"I was not aware you enjoyed my company," Lirha replied with a teasing, sideways smirk. Human pleasantries were still somewhat humorous to her, at times. Discreetly, she then unclipped her PADD from her belt and began to scroll through it.

"You didn't answer my question," countered Tuula in a cautious but firm tone. Gripping her chair tightly, her eyes fell onto the PADD as she wondered what could possibly be on it. It could be one of any number of things, not all of them good.

Lirha's eyes snapped up from her PADD and stared icily at the junior officer. "No, I did not. Do you have a problem with that, lieutenant?" The Orion was never in the mood for dealing with insubordination or attitude, and certainly now was not the time.

"Well, I would like to know why I've been summoned, ma'am," replied Tuula, attempting to choose her words carefully in order to avoid unnecessarily offending the Orion. "This doesn't feel like a social call, and unless I'm mistaken, there isn't enough blood on the floor for this to be a medical emergency."

"Not yet, I suppose," mumbled Saalm to herself while suppressing a bit of private morbid satisfaction at such a concept involving Tuula. Returning to the task at hand while wondering why the woman in front of her seemed to desire career-suicide, Lirha looked back down to her PADD and began to read off some of the details.

"This is your performance review for the past calendar year, a compilation of your supervisors', colleagues', and subordinates' comments regarding your recent work aboard Galileo." Lirha paused and looked back up at Tuula. "Is there...anything you wish to say for yourself before I proceed?"

Upon hearing the words 'performance review,' Tuula cringed. She had a bad feeling about this, particularly if it was being carried out by Lirha. "No offense, but if this is my performance review, shouldn't it be done by someone with medical training and who has worked closely with me?" Tuula tried to conceal her anxiety about the whole situation. "Allyndra, perhaps, or Dr. Mott?"

Lirha continued to let her eyes roam across the letters on her PADD, and casually responded, "On the contrary, performance reviews are conducted by members of the command staff, such as myself and Captain Holliday. The purpose is to evaluate your performance outside of your department's niche as it pertains to the greater performance of Galileo." She paused then looked back towards Tuula and cocked her head.

"In this case, your colleagues and supervisors have recorded several logs regarding your performance. One of them makes mention of you as 'morbid, fascinated with archaic techniques from ancient centuries'...another mentions you as 'punctual yet over-ambitious and willing to forgo medical doctrine to further her own private fantasies'...do you wish you wish to comment on any of this?"

"One doesn't get through medical school without being at least a little ambitious," countered Tuula. "As for the other comments, I don't know what this could possibly be about, I mean..."

Tuula paused for a moment. Morbid? She didn't think of herself as morbid. In fact, the accusation was a little offensive. She was usually quite cheerful, especially when she was putting on her dark makeup, showing off her tattoos, admiring her collection of antique medical instruments, or most of all, getting her hands dirty performing complicated surgeries.

"I mean, okay, I collect antique medical devices, but so what? Everyone has hobbies. My sister won't get her nose out of those romance novels. But I don't see what that has to do with my performance as a doctor."

Saalm remained silent while she continued to sift through the PADD's contents, eventually settling on one parental comment regarding the doctor's appearance. And that of one of her created colleagues. "Would you say that your dress and professional appearance is...'less than professional'? Possible 'uneasy to young children and gives pause to the competency of sickbay'?" the read admiral continued.

"My dress and personal appearance?" asked Tuula, her eyes squinting slightly as she considered the accusation. "Is this about my chair?"

"No...it is about your hair and makeup. Surely you are familiar with Starfleet standards of personal appearance which state that no extreme presentations of self are allowed, and that we are all required to project a professional image of one's self at all times while on duty?" Lirha replied, again with more scrutiny.

"What could be more professional than turquoise and black?" asked Tuula, referring to her hair and makeup which, at this point in time, happened to match her department colours. "It's the same colour as our uniforms. And this is professional; I spend a lot of time every morning making sure my appearance is just right. Besides, little Revan Mercy seems to think I look, and I quote, 'awesome.'"

Lirha shook her head slightly and softly sighed. "Little children also love candy, because they are not aware that too much of it is bad for their health." An appropriate analogy, or so the rear-admiral thought. "Well...despite all of these strange comments...and your personal appearance, the majority of your department seems to believe you do excellent work in sickbay, especially your department chief. I believe that, considering the circumstances, you are deserving of an advancement."

The Orion reached into her pocket and fumbled around for a small ornament, then produced a solid gold rank pip and showed it to Tuula. She stepped close and leaned down to remove the woman's hollow one from her collar, then pressed the new pip into place next to the first pip. "Congratulations, Miss Voutilainen. You are hereby promoted to the rank of full lieutenant with all the right and privileges therein." She paused to give her a small yet genuine smile, for promotions were an exciting moment in anyone's career.

"I believe you mean 'Congratulations, Doctor Voutilainen,' corrected Tuula instinctively, before the reality of what was happening had sunk in. When she first was summoned, she was expecting to be chewed out for something or other or railroaded off the ship based on some trumped up charge that Gyce had brought against her. But instead, she was getting promoted.

"Thank you, Admiral," exclaimed Tuula, excitedly, as she pushed herself forward and wrapped her arms around Lirha's waist, holding her tightly in a warm hug. Her eyes welled up with tears of joy. The promotion in and of itself didn't mean too much to her; after all, 'Doctor' is a higher title than 'Lieutenant,' at least in her books. But what it signified meant the world to her. It signified acceptance. Acceptance for who she is, quirks and all. And it signified a recognition of her talents as a physician and as a Starfleet officer.

Releasing Lirha from her grasp, Tuula backed away slightly and straightened her uniform. "I mean... thank you, I won't disappoint you, ma'am," she added, a hint of anxiety in her voice, before giving the senior officer a quick salute.

Lirha had been surprised by the sudden show of affection. It was not often that members of her crew were so forward with her, and yet she strangely didn't mind it at all. Despite their past differences, she saw the young doctor as a bright Starfleet officer with a promising career in front of her. And also as a person...albeit a strange one.

"I am sure you will do just fine," Saalm reassured her with a pat on her shoulder. Perhaps a bit less makeup in the future, but you will be fine nonetheless..."

The Orion suddenly remembered another somewhat pressing issue, this one also related for sickbay. Perhaps the newest blue-collared lieutenant could take care of the situation for her. "I actually have an assignment for you, one I feel you are very well suited to handle."

"Oh?" asked Tuula, raising an eyebrow. "You don't need surgery, do you?"

"What..?" Lirha frowned at the woman and shook her head adamantly. "No, of course not." A long and second-guessing stare ensued while Lirha began to wonder if she had done the right thing by promoting the woman. "A member of my family requires care," she then explained. "Follow me." The rear admiral turned on her heels and headed towards the exit and the turbolift, looking back to make sure the new lieutenant was in tow.

****** A few moments later ******

The doors to the turbolift swished open on Deck 1 and deposited both of them on the command quarters deck. Lirha's room wasn't far away and she quickly began to approach it with the wheeled woman behind her. The door hissed open upon registering her biosigns and her furry companion trotted quickly to her feet.

Snuffles, in all his juvenile targ glory, jumped up Lirha's leg and enjoyed a brief scratch between his ears from the Orion. His leash was still attached to his collar but Lirha had never really used it before, and so when he saw the large, tempting wheels of Tuula's chair rolling near, he engaged the new toy.

A hefty gruff sounded from the animal as he playfully dashed towards the young lieutenant. His strong jaws and sharp teeth latched around the rubber of the left wheel and deflated it with a loud hiss.

Tuula was so excited to see the pet that she wasn't even fazed by the damage to her chair. "Oh wow," she exclaimed, reaching down to pet him, "he's so cute!"

As Snuffles snapped at her hand, Tuula pulled it away just in the nick of time, and, dodging his jaws, managed to reach around and under his chin, petting his fur and calming him down. "Who's a cute little targ?" she asked in a cutesy voice as she petted the boar-like creature. "You are, that's who."

Quickly making friends with Snuffles, Tuula looked up at Lirha. "You know, I almost became a veterinarian. I just love animals so much... especially cute little things like your pet here. So," she added, "what's wrong with... whatever his name is."

"Snuffles. My former partner named him when we adopted him from the targ farm on Varjripam," she recalled to Tuula. "He is young and has just entered his juvenile stage. Naturally, he is very...energetic and playful." Lirha noticed the way that the Human seemed to enjoy the company of the targ. She hadn't known many homo sapiens to be fond of aggressive animals, but apparently today was full of surprises.

"There is nothing wrong with him, I suppose. But he does require neutering and some companionship. I have been rather busy lately so I would like to entrust him to your care for several days. At least until I have taken care of our new deployment preparations." Essentially the Orion was forcing Tuula to babysit the targ for a week or so.

"Oh, I'd love to!" exclaimed Tuula as she pet Snuffles, quickly making friends with the targ. "He's just so cute, and I know we're going to have so much fun toget--"

Suddenly, Tuula paused for a moment as she realized that Snuffles wasn't the only animal who would be staying with her. "How does he get along with tribbles?" she asked, thinking of poor Gilbert, who will no doubt be shocked to be sharing a room with a targ.

"He would most likely eat a tribble," Lirha confirmed with a confident nod. Her own tribble, Belle, was kept out of Snuffles reach inside its cage in order to protect the fluffy animal. "It would be best to keep one protected from the other."

"Oh." Tuula frowned; she hoped Gilbert would be okay staying in a cage for a little while. Or perhaps Allyndra would let her keep the tribble in sickbay; surely its calming coos would help patients with their recoveries. At least, non-Klingon patients.

"That's all right," continued Tuula, regaining her enthusiasm. "We're going to have so much fun together, aren't we, Snuffles?" she asked, scratching the targ's chin, to which he responded by looking up and giving Tuula a smile with his sharp teeth. "Ummmm, would you mind helping me with a spare tire?" asked Tuula, looking up towards Lirha as she played with the pet. "You can replicate one, just ask the computer for pattern Voutilainen Charlie Six."

The rear admiral wandered over towards the nearby replicator and tapped several commands into the console to bring up the woman's custom material fabrication. Within a few seconds, the replicator whirred and blue particles gave way to a small, new tire for her chair.

Lirha took the wheel back over to Tuula and knelt down to perform the repairs of removing the old one and replacing it with the new one. Fortunately it was a relatively simple procedure that didn't require the use of tools, but the Orion couldn't help but wonder how much more convenient it would be for the doctor to have a wheel-less hover chair.

"I believe I have fixed it," she finally announced.

"Yay!" exclaimed Tuula, wheeling herself back and forth to make sure it was working. Wrapping the leash around one hand, she pushed herself towards the door. "Is there anything else I need to know, ma'am? Housetraining, favourite foods, anything like that?"

"No, that is all," Lirha answered with a light shake of her head before stepping back to allow the lieutenant to depart. "If you have no further questions, you are dismissed. I will come check on Snuffles tomorrow afternoon."

"Okay," replied Tuula, "Good day, Admiral." As she did so, she pushed herself towards the door and, the second it opened, Snuffles was bounding out into the corridors of the ship, dragging Tuula behind her.

[OFF]

--

RADM Lirha Saalm
Mission Advisor
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Tuula Voutilainen
Medical Officer
USS Galileo

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