I Didn't Break it, I Swear!
Posted on Wed Jan 10th, 2018 @ 8:22pm by
1,374 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission:
S1: These Are The Voyages...
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: Idk, sometime after we got here
Rena sighed, tapping the diagnostic equipment with her finger, as if the act would get its attention. When properly working, the device assisted with the autopsy she was completing, or trying to at least. "Come on, you were working fine not too long ago..." she cooed. Checking the positioning of the scanners again, she tried to turn it on before giving in and tapping her badge. "Sickbay to Engineering. Would you be able to spare someone to take a look at the protein analyzer and a bioscanner up here?"
"We do not have the time," came a curt reply before the comm link was disconnected.
The Trill was a little taken aback by the tone before frowning and tapping her badge again. "Engineering, that equipment is going to facilitate autopsies. The longer these dead bodies sit, the harder it will be to give the Captain anything useful."
There was an audible sigh through the comm link. "I don't exactly have any teams to spare right now, and I hardly think your issue is important enough to deem me coming down there. Can it not wait for a few days?"
At least he didn't cut her off this time. "The short answer is no. By the time a few days comes around, these bodies will be less than useless." Rena found herself starting to pace in the room she was in. "Please? I really need these running to isolate a virus. At the moment, it's Sickbay's top priority."
The silence was almost deafening, but at least the comm signal was still open.
Then finally, "I'll be there soon," was heard and then the link was severed.
It was almost half an hour before Arivek Zhuri finally arrived in Sickbay. He strode in like he owned the place and set down an Engineering kit on the nearest biobed. "Who was the one who summoned me?" he called out to the few people that were going about their jobs.
"Doctor Kal, sir. She is in the back," a nurse answered, pointing toward the door that led to the morgue. He led the way through the doors, which revealed what looked like a miniature version of the main ward. There was a bed in the center, and storage units along the wall. Off to the side was smaller rooms with different pieces of equipment in them. "Doctor, visitor for you," he called out before nodding to the man and leaving.
Rena poked her head out of one of the rooms before stepping all the way out. "I appreciate you taking your time to look at these." She led the way into the side room before pointing out the two devices. "The protein analyzer is giving erratic results to the alignment samples, and the bioscanner won't turn on at all."
Arivek stared at the two large devices, "Have you tried resetting the protein analyzer?" he asked, his voice sounding disinterested and annoyed.
"That was the first thing I tried," the Trill said with a frown. "I also ran a diagnostic and consulted the manual, but out of five hosts none of them have technical experience beyond what they would teach in 101 at the Academy."
"Next time, I would appreciate if you not attempt to troubleshoot equipment without a licensed Engineering Officer handling it," Arivek said as he pulled out a tricorder. He slowly began to pass the instrument over each device. "It seems that the stress of the power system has overloaded these two devices during the ship's course."
"You did say you were busy..." Rena responded, placing her hands on her hips. She watched the engineer take a look while trying to figure out why he looked familiar. "It didn't cause irreversible damage, did it?"
"I haven't determined yet, but fear not, you aren't the only one experiencing these issues." Arivek placed the tricorder down and picked up another odd looking instrument, this one had a pulsing light emanating from the tip. Removing a side panel from the device, Arivek slipped the instrument inside, moving it around slowly. "The catapulting of the ship caused a lot of stress on the power systems, and I had them rerouted back through the grid to avoid overloading the warp core. Seems we had a few casualties along the way." Arivek stopped and smiled, giving a small chuckle and a shake of his head and went back to work.
Rena nodded, remembering the jump. Some of the trip was making sure things didn't fall and break, especially what was secured down. The science department was wise to wait setting up their equipment until after the jump, but she wanted the most important equipment set up for the casualties that would undoubtedly happen. Most of it was bumps and bruises, maybe a rug burn or a concussion, and there were maybe a couple more serious injuries at most. "Yeah," Rena said with a slight laugh of her own.
She shifted her weight. "Is there anything I can help you with, passing tools, or just stay out of the way?" she asked.
"The dyelitic converter over there would be helpful," Arivek said, making no move to point out which instrument he wanted.
"The..." Rena's expression blanked as she tried to figure out what a dyelitic converter was. She looked around, "right..." She spotted the kit he brought and looked in it, becoming more confused as she looked at the tools inside. Taking a guess, she picked up an instrument and handed it to him? "This one?"
Arivek looked up, "No, not that one," he said.
"Oh," she breathed, turning back to the kit. She reached to grab another one, but paused and reached for the tool next to it. "Uh... this?"
"No, not that one either," he said with a sigh, shaking his head.
Frowning, Rena grabbed a different tool, not knowing that she was holding it upside down.
Arivek rolled his eyes. "That was the same tool you grabbed the first time!" He pushed the large device away from him and walked around to his Engineering Kit. "Did the Engineering 101 class teach you anything at the Academy? Do you know what a warp core is?"
Rena scoffed at the gesture, crossing her arms. "Of course I know what a warp core is. I'm a doctor, not an engineer, I focus more on knowing the difference between my tools so I don't kill someone, than on the names of all the tools in your kit!"
"Then perhaps you shouldn't offer to pass tools?" Arivek asked, the side of his mouth turning into a smirk as he raised an eyebrow.
The Trill opened her mouth, then paused before grudgingly shutting it. "To be fair, you could have described it," she said with a pout.
Arivek grabbed the instrument and continued to work.
Crossing her arms, she watched him for a minute or two before it dawned on her. "I was wondering why you looked familiar," Rena began. "You're on the list of those who haven't completed their checkups." She frowned and added, more to herself, "you are the list, actually."
"How unfortunate for you," Arivek said, not looking up from the large device.
Rena was taken aback. While she had her fair share of difficult patients, especially among engineers, this was... new. "Before you go, I would like that we arrange a time of your convenience to get that out of the way."
Arivek looked up at the woman. "No."
What was up with this guy?? "As inconvenient as it is, it is required in order to continue your duties," Rena mentioned, hoping that her insistence would win over his stubbornness.
The man smiled as he set the tools down on the table. "You know, Doctor, you're right. I will schedule a time with you later to attend my physical with you. And actually..." He picked up the tools and walked back to his kit, "I will have to schedule an Engineer to finish the job here as well. Unfortunately I have a pressing matter to attend to."
Glad that she got some headway, Rena nodded. "I understand. I will send you my available times to look at later."
"Yea," Arivek said, walking towards the door. "I'll get right on that."