Canopus Care Act

Posted on Wed Sep 4th, 2019 @ 7:59pm by The Narrator & Lieutenant Chester O'Hamlin

1,239 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: S1.5:1:A Time To Heal
Location: Canopus Station Medical Centre
Timeline: MD12

Comparing the sickbay aboard the USS Traveller to the Medical Centre within Canopus Station was like comparing a medical kit to a surgical suite. A starship's sickbay might need to aid a crew compliment from as little as fifty to well over a thousand on the larger vessels of the Fleet. Canopus Station had been designed to provide succour to tens of thousands, in a variety of biologies and temperaments. Adaptive life support systems could tailor the environment of any room in the facility to meet the needs of most known species and some that were just theorised.

There was even a rumour there was a chamber within the facility designed to perform surgery on a Tholian, a silicon-based life form from a Class D world. High pressure, high pressure, high gravity: but if it got a cyst Canopus Station would be there to remove it and apply a bandaid.

So the waiting room Chet had been led to by an orderly an hour ago was nicely appointed. A planter of real flowers grew along one wall, a wall featuring a holoscreen depicting a grassy meadow in the growing warmth of dawn. The chairs were nice too, as was the Marine guard on the door who was very polite about the fact Chet had to stay in the room until the Facility Administrator could be found.

That didn't matter to Chet, of course. He could see enough of this facility to keep him occupied for years. Well, okay, maybe a year. So, he took a seat and contented himself with examining everything he could see from his chosen chair.

After a few moments, two labcoat wearing doctor's stepped through the door, presenting their wrist's to the Marine guard. The one who reached out a hand in greeting to Chet was human, the collar and wrists of his lab coat hemmed in the teal of a Medical practitioner. The second doctor wore the same but was of a species unknown to Chet. Glossy black skin, with yellow eyes flecked with gold, and frond-like hair follicles that glowed a sombre dark blue.

"Dr O'Hamlin, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Deputy Medical Officer Travis Willingham, and this is my associate Care Giver Prime Rank Kesik," Travis said with a warm smile. "He's a native of Messier 4-"

"And grateful of a chance to meet one of the explorers who brought our cluster t the attention of your Starfleet," Kesik said with a smile. His fronds were shifting colour, warming to seaweed green at the roots. "Without your exploration, and the arrival of this station. my people would have died on Xilos."

Chet shook hands with Willingham, but merely gave a polite nod to Kesic, as he didn’t know what the Xilosians considered appropriate. “Good to meet you both,” he said cheerfully, yet politely. “And glad to have been of help. And to still be of help, which is why I assume I was summoned.”

"Oh far from it," Travis said with a smile and gestured out of the waiting room. "We're currently glad of the influx of patients, though obviously regretting the circumstances that brought them to us. With the Traveller under repairs, we're more than glad to take the patient load. The Canopus Medical Complex has every medical tool known to Federation science, and a few we're figuring out on the fly."

"No our want to talk to you is more to do with the Concordance than with anything else. It would seem, " Kesik said as they walked. "That when your ship gave chase to the Myriad, you did so in a direction away from the advance of the Concordance. A rather distasteful alien race, though that hardly does them justice."

"We lost nearly half our Marine compliment to the fungal infection the Concordance spreads where ever it goes," Travis explained and gestured to the Marine they walked past. "That's why we have armed guards. If an infection of Concordance fungus breaks out, their orders are to stun everyone and let our back up Medical staff sort out the infected after the fact."

"Make sense," agreed Chet. "But where do I fit in?"

"Well...yeah that's a question," Travis said rubbing the back of his head. "With our medic's working on healing your crew, and our science team working on a medical vaccine or treatment for the Concordance infection...I think the real question is why are you here? You've been in the most stressful mission dynamic I've seen written down since the earliest days of space travel for over six months. My suggestion is to take some shore leave."

"Why would I do that when the most relaxing occupation in the universe just happens to be my own?" Chet pointed out. "Seriously. I love my job."

"You find your posting as Chief Medical Officer for your ship, an explorer that until a week ago was alone in Messier 4 to be...relaxing?" Kesik said, his head fronds shading purple now as the onyx skinned humanoid tapped the tips of his fingers together. "Having had some small experience in trauma mitigation, processing the emotional load out of what you've been through is just as important as getting back on the horse. You were in a high-stress situation, followed by the assault by the Reka and...well your Chief Nurse...Well, I know what it's like to have a trusted member of staff turn traitor on you."

The Xilosian smiled thinly.

"Believe it or not my own Chief Nurse at the primary Care Facility I worked at turned during the first weeks of the infection, kept it quiet and under our noses for a while until I caught them intentional infecting other patients. It was a base betrayal of my trust in them, and in the trust placed in all medics by the people we treat. How does Tsabina's actions make you feel?" Kesik asked.

"Not really one way or another," answered Chet fairly. "I didn't really know her that well. I suppose I should have known her better, being the chief medical officer, but I hadn't been that for very long. Anyway, in general, we all thought we could trust her, so I suppose it feels a bit betraying, but..." he shrugged. "I dunno. I feel sort of removed from it."

"It's not uncommon for traumatic events to leave one feeling isolated from the events, cocooned if you like. It's all the more reason you should take some time to your self, and process the events," Travis said. "Though, saying that I know how impossible it is to keep a Doctor from wanting to doctor when they have a need to. But if you are going to be hanging around this facility for a few months whilst your ship is being repaired, it'll be light work. No surgeries."

"Aw!" replied Chet, feigning disappointment. "But, cutting people open is the best part of the job. Yeah, that was sorta dark. Sorry."

"He's joking," Travis said as Kesick's hair flashed red with a look of shock on his face. "He is most certainly joking as we take the medical arts here very seriously."

With that the doctor turned and gestured out into the medical wing.

"Let's get you on the tour so you know where the bedpans are."

"Ah, yes, bedpans!" exclaimed Chet, feigning excitement. "The single most important life-saving device ever invented! Lead the way!"

 

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