A Probing Perusal

Posted on 25 Oct 2023 @ 9:40am by Lieutenant JG Zara Ghemora & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim

3,018 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Episode 18 - Cold Station 31
Location: USS Galileo-A - Deck 3, Sickbay
Timeline: MD 19, 0900 hrs

[ON]

It hadn't even been twelve hours since Ghemora had beamed aboard the Galileo but yet here she stood, deprived of meaningful rest, freshly showered, awaiting the CMO to do the expected and required onboarding examination, and all she could think about was the smell of her freshly-replicated uniform. Standing there just inside the doorway promptly for the first appointment of the day before the noon hour's systems test would rout the ship and her crew, the Cardassian couldn't help pulling her collar up to her nose to take a deep whiff of the synthetic fibers.

Frowning as she released her collar, when the doors behind her wooshed open, the woman reflexively turned, expecting them to have reacted to the top doctor she'd been awaiting. Despite knowing that the commander had just gotten off Bridge Duty only two hours prior, the repair and resupply that proceeded today's test meant all hands were expected to be available to ensure the Gal, as the crew tended to call her, was ready to depart promptly for its next exploratory assignment. Just in the same, Ghemora was expected to report to her chief later this morning, just over an hour prior to the ship-wide test.

Exhaling a deep breath as she focused her mind on the task ahead, the Cardassian was not excited at the idea of being scanned, poked, and prodded to be certified for duty. It wasn't that Ghemora was concerned the doctor would find anything of concern, but that the woman would have the usual questions about the numerous scars that covered the refugee's body, especially those that looked as if they'd not been from decades past, but only been healed over a handful of months earlier. While the newly reported Deputy Security Officer was in good physical health, especially for the role she was assigned, the woman knew a skilled eye, like that of a Chief Medical Officer, would more easily notice the fine details that seemed out of place.

Allyndra was convinced that all sickbays had been designed to make the doors as noisy as they could possibly be in order to alert personnel entering the facility. She glanced out the window of the office and noted the tallish Cardassian woman standing there. She had gotten indications that. they had a new onboarding just before heading out. "Please, come on back to the office." She called out.

Ghemora's head bobbed slightly as she blinked at the woman, "...Yes, sir." Following the sound of the doctor's voice through an open doorway to the quaint office, the Cardassian was clearly, immediately curious when she laid eyes on Allyndra. Twisting back slightly as spoke, "...Isn't this normally done out there?" she asked, though it was clear by the look in her eyes that Ghemora was more interested in the medical officer than the examination she was there for.

Allyndra nodded her chin toward the chair. "Allyndra, please. I dispense with formality here unless absolutely needed. Your check-in scan I can get done in thirty seconds. They wouldn't assign you to a ship if there was anything seriously wrong. In the five minutes they allow for this, my custom is to try to get to know my new shipmates and potential patients. To me, it is hard coming onboard a new ship, and everything is very new. Thus, I set this time so you can ask questions about me, the ship, or almost anything else if I can answer them. Let me go first. I am Akkadian. We are not a Federation world, simply allied and I can count on one hand the number of us off-world." She partially stood and spread the four long translucent wings for a moment. "And yes I can fly. One of my hobbies is water dancing. It is where using one's wings one hovers, just touching the surface of the water and dancing. I also love to cook. My specialty is Earth French region Haute Cuisine. And now you, if you wish. This is not a requirement, simply my attempt to let us start knowing each other."

Ghemora took her place in the chair at the doctor's indication, relaxing only slightly while maintaining a rigid posture with her palms resting on her thighs. She had been hoping for a quick and routine examination but found the medical officer's unorthodox approach rather curious, which was obvious in her body language. Staying quiet, the Cardassian seemed ready to raise when the doctor did but settled again once it became clear what the Akkadian was doing. The security officer didn't seem to react with much surprise until Allyndra mentioned cooking, causing one of her ridged eyebrows to raise slightly.

"I briefed myself on the crew and the database entries of your species during my trip to the sector. I do apologize for my previous staring, but the images in the files don't do justice to the clear grace your people have, nor the beauty of your unique physiology, especially your wings. Coming from a species with clear reptilian influence in our evolution, I always find it interesting to learn of other species that skew from the traditional primate-descended species," the Cardassian replied doing her best to speak casually even though her tone was clearly still grasping to formality.

"But, if you wish to know about me…" she continued, pausing for thought before continuing, "While I'm sure you don't need me to inform you about my species, I was a teenager who lived on Cardassia Prime during the Dominion Genocide. Unlike so many, I found a way to survive, for years after, before being forced to flee my planet and become a refugee of the Federation. Having migrated to Earth, I find that I have embraced the culture much more than many other Cardassian dissidents I've met. Still, no matter how far away I get, there are still aspects of me and my personality that are clearly the remnants of my raising with my previous society."

Ghemora paused, realizing she'd just spoken in a dry, informative way that probably didn't reveal anything to the doctor that she couldn't have already learned from her personnel file. Momentarily frowning, the woman blinked slowly, seemingly resetting her thoughts before taking in a breath to visibly relax further as she exhaled, realizing the doctor was seeking her to be comfortable and speak candidly, which was certainly not something the Cardassian was accustomed to.

"Much like you, I do enjoy cooking, but I don't know if I could say I 'love' it in the same way you do. I was originally taught to be able to present something that tended to disarm others socially. While enjoying good food, people tend to relax and not focus as much on being deceptive with their words.

"After Cardassia, cooking was the first thing that allowed me to connect to my new people on Earth, thanks to the diverse species that call the world home, and the sheer number of different cuisines available. I worked and learned in several restaurant kitchens before enlisting in Starfleet, including three months spent in a classic French restaurant, but have studied cuisines of various cultures, finding a wide variety of tastes appealing, but also useful as an icebreaker for building a repertoire with new people.

"Besides that, and most certainly as a result of my previous rearing and chosen career track, instead of something like dancing, I found a particular passion in studying several disciplines of Earthly martial arts: primarily Brazilian Jujitsu, Judo, and Muay Thai. I find the intellectual aspects quite enthralling, as well as the focus on speed and flexibility rather than strength.

"Beyond those..," Ghemora paused again before shrugging a shoulder, "I spend most of my time on things related to my career. I know. It's probably not the best thing to be so focused, but my service to Starfleet is very important to me, and there is a path I wish to achieve one day if I work hard enough and show the right combination of proficiencies and recognition." While she could have revealed her other recreational interest, the Cardassian was holding it back only because she didn't want to be pressured into sharing her self-described 'mediocre' skills.

Having revealed so much, Ghemora was sure that she'd given the doctor enough to comment and make conversation on, though she'd done so in a particularly measured and careful manner. Realizing this fact, a smirk flashed across the woman's face before she casually commented, "I didn't realize you doubled as a Counselor, Allyndra," she attempted to use and pronounce the doctor's name, but probably didn't do the language justice.

"I was the Chief Counselor for a planetary colony at one time. So, I've had some experience. As I mentioned, I like to get to know a little about others. Call it a curiosity." Allyndra took a quick look at the PaDD sitting there. "Interesting career yourself. Let me ask what is your feeling about tactical? One of my goals with what the humans call the second hat is I'm the second officer and have the third watch. That is usually fairly uneventful, so I like to bring others onto the bridge positions to let them have some experience. We are a small ship and there have been times when we have had to plug people into spots suddenly." She chuckled. "This last go around it got so bad that we even had a Petty Officer sitting in the command chair."

'Curiosity,' Ghemora fixated on that word, finding herself very much in agreement with the sentiment. While the doctor's may have been of a different nature or reason, it was an aspect that the woman could use to keep focus during the unexpected conversation. Allyndra didn't seem too interested in what the Cardassian had revealed but instead moved onto a topic that seemed well outside of the usual for a medical evaluation.

Scrunching her ridged brow at the doctor, Ghemora's reply came slowly uncertain at first, becoming more and more confident as she answered, "Besides my Academy and Cadet training, I served as an auxiliary Tactical Officer aboard a Defiant-class. Because of the nature of its tactics, I believe I would feel quite comfortable manning the Tactical Station on the Gal. While I don't have as many years of experience as others, serving aboard the warship required me to become very familiar with more advanced Starfleet tactical systems."

"Excellent, then I'll request for you, and see if the First Officer approves. I don't think it will be a problem. Anything else before we get to a quick scan?"

Twitching her head to turn it to the side, Ghemora felt the need to point out, "Commander Blake has already assigned me to Duty Team Two since I am coming aboard as the Deputy Security Officer. If I'm not mistaken, you are assigned to Team Three as Second Officer for Bridge Duty, correct? If I remember the duty roster correctly," which she would given the Cardassian's near photographic memory, "Ensign Turell is also assigned to Team One with Chief Rice, and Petty Officer T'Parru is assigned to your team. If you wish to have a Commissioned Officer assigned to your team to serve as the Tactical Officer, should the need arise, I believe that Ensign Turell would be a more acceptable choice, as it is customary to have a Commissioned Officer serving as the Tactical Control Officer."

Even though the initial purpose of this visit to Sickbay had been reintroduced into the situation, Ghemora, knowing she was expected to think about department management to some degree given her new position aboard the Galileo, was setting that aside for the moment to ensure the Second Officer wasn't going to unilaterally make a request that would seem as if either the doctor or the deputy was suddenly making decisions without Chief Rice's input.

"I'll see what Commander Blake's decisions are. Now then, are there any more questions for me?"

There was an abruptness to the commander's response that caused Ghemora to pause in concern before relenting, "...No, sir," as a reply. Once again the Cardassian was feeling as if Starfleet was going to yank on her 'strings' and put her in a less desirable position than she'd hoped for.

Allyndra wasn't sure if she had stepped on something, but with so little time she would have to figure it out later. "Please, Allyndra while we are here. If you hear me use ma'am, sir, or rank then you know it is very serious." She pointed her chin toward out the window. "Let's get your official scan and let you get on to your next appointment. I hate it when we have so little time."

Ghemora frowned at herself, "Apologies, Allyndra," though it was clear in her use of the name that she found using such uncomfortable, especially for the senior officer. Glancing out towards the main medical bay before returning her gaze to the doctor as she began to shuffle out, the Security deputy assured, "There's no reason to hurry. With Security having such a small footprint on this ship, the department is readied enough that I was able to schedule this for this morning instead of having to report," which was true given that Chief Rice wasn't expecting to Cardassian until closer to 1100 hours.

"Oh? Interesting. Well then, we can take a bit more time if you wish. Security might be small, but when it is needed it's needed. Have you considered cross training into another area. I'm not so sure about our current captain, but the old one though it was a good idea considering we are a small compliment." There was enough room here that she could spread her wings and she did a short hover. "As you might suspect, flight control was one, and believe it or not engineering was another. If I can fix a patient, then fixing a broken conduit is somewhat similar. I'll admit though I've not kept up on either of those already having two duty shifts."

"I have a degree in Sociology and have experience with criminal forensics and psychology, though I don't know where that could be applied besides in Security or Intelligence. I would be interested if you had any suggestions that you believe could pad my file a little?" Ghemora asked in an attempt to elicit some free advice from the senior officer.

"Sociology is interesting. Would you consider something in counseling? Of course, I could always need another person trained, at least in some medicine. Emergency field medicine would be useful. A security person is going to be dealing with injuries."

Ghemora grew visibly uneasy at the initial prospect but seemed to calm at the logic that followed. "I've had the required emergency first responder training that is required of all Security personnel, as well as was sufficient in my medical training and assessment as part of the ATTC. As for the counseling..." Her voice trailed off before she recovered, "I don't think I would be well suited for such a role. Cardassians, myself included, tend to come off a bit...aggressive, which I don't believe would serve a counselor well. It suits an interrogator better," she added with seemingly little thought to what that said about her.

"You might surprise yourself, but it is your choice. Anyway, no need to make a decision, but if I can pull a little toward medical to further your training, I would welcome you as an addition. Now then, take a bed and let's get this formality out of the way shall we?"

"I'll consider it," she replied, and she would. While she never envisioned herself as a counselor, she'd had classes as part of her Academy years that had trained her in such practices, learning alongside future Starfleet counselors given her choice of major. Moving over to the biobed, the Cardassian took a seat and waited for further instructions from the medical officer, including laying down as she expected to do.

"That is all I can ask. Now then, please lay back. This won't take long." Allyndra got the scan started. She noted the scars but didn't say anything. There were some notes in the medical record and she knew there were nuances of culture that she wasn't familiar enough with. As long as nothing was fresh, then she didn't see a need to comment. "There we go and compares well to the last one on file. I can sign you off as fit for duty medically. Welcome aboard, Lieutenant Ghemora. I hope I got the name correct."

"Yes, commander," she replied with a small nod before sliding off the exam table to stand. Obviously pleased to be officially cleared for duty without the need to explain her myriad of scars and scar tissue build-up, Ghemora was more than ready to see to her next point of business on this busy morning. "If there is nothing else, may I be dismissed? And should I discuss with my chief the prospect of joining your Duty Team, as you previously showed interest in?"

"Of course you can be dismissed and yes, discuss things. As I said I would love to have you. Best to you and I'm sure we will be seeing each other. The ship is small that way." Allyndra made a tiny curtsy as it was normal for her culture. "Thank you for sharing with me."

"Thank you, doctor, and I will see to that discussion after we complete today's systems test." Ghemora gave the woman a curt nod, apparently unsure how to react properly to the curtsy, before making her way to the exit to disappear into the corridor. Unsure how her chief would react to such a request, the Cardassian was sure Allyndra wouldn't have to wait long before the subject of the deputy was discussed amongst all of the connected parties.

[OFF]

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Cmdr Allyndra illm Warraquim
Chief Medical and Second Officer
USS Galileo-A

LTJG Zara Ghemora
Deputy Security Officer
USS Galileo-A

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