You Are Not a Physician, Sir!

Posted on Tue Feb 13th, 2018 @ 3:55am by

1,488 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: S1:2: Rubicon
Location: Sickbay/Engineering
Timeline: MD 14 :: 13.30h

Rena had been going over the updated report on the pods for about an hour while she was waiting. That minor glitch kept going around, but the maintenance crew had yet to find the problem. It wasn't dangerous, but she didn't want to take any chances. In addition to the casualty list that now stopped getting longer, to say she had her hands full was accurate. As she read, she couldn't get rid of that nagging feeling in her mind that she was forgetting something.

She was waiting... but what for?

"Computer," she said, her voice breaking the silence of her office. "Did I have any appointments for today?"

"There is an appointment scheduled at 16:30 hours."

That's right. Rena sat upright in her chair, pulling up her daily schedule on her computer. The Trill then did a double take when she saw that her schedule was empty, for at least an hour before and after the current time. "Why isn't it in the schedule?"

"The appointment was cancelled."

That confused her. "Cancelled? By who?"

"The appointment was canceled by Doctor Kal."

"When?? I haven't canceled anything today!" Rena argued with the computer. She began a recovery of past schedules to see if she could find a previous version.

"Please specify command."

Rena grumbled, looking through her files. "Who was the appointment scheduled for and when was it canceled?"

"The appointment was for Lieutenant Arivek Zhuri at 16:30 hours, and was canceled at 12:58 hours."

"But I wasn't looking at his file then..." Pulling up his file, she looked at the section for his checkup, and sure enough, it was filled in. Digging a little deeper, she found the authorization code, frowning when it read her name. "That can't be right... Computer, when did I last update this file?"

"Last update to file by Doctor Kal was completed yesterday at 17:32 hours."

"Huh?" That didn't make sense. It was her name listed as the signer for the checkup, but the last time she edited this file was yesterday...

"He didn't..." Looking deeper, she found the authorization code. It wasn't hers, but it was similar. Standing abruptly, Rena stormed out of her office and out of sickbay. At the moment, everything was stable enough that she could leave for a moment.

---

"ARIVEK ZHURI!" Rena closed in on her target. Stopping in front of him, she placed her hands on her hips. "Care to explain why your medical files were altered, WITHOUT my consent? You removed your name from my list and cleared yourself in your file, and I would like to know why!"

"You have no proof," Arivek said, stepping around the woman so he could continue his work.

Rena scoffed, turning to follow him. "Right, the 'similar but not exact' permission code used for the clearance isn't proof," she said with sarcasm. "You realize altering files like that can get you in trouble? Not only for tampering, but also for lying about your medical health."

"I'm not a Doctor," the man said, "I have no business being in medical files, nor would I modify them for any reason. Your accusation is baseless and I would appreciate you not trying to besmirch my name."

He did have point, as much as she hated to admit it. Even though the mysterious signature in his file didn't completely match her own, it was close enough to make it hard to say otherwise. "All right, I'll apologize for that. It was a bit blunt. But you seemed to have also forgotten the appointment you made with me."

"That appointment was canceled by the Computer." Arivek stopped and turned to the woman, "Perhaps because you signed off on my clearance?"

"The clearance did not come from my desk, or sickbay for that matter," Rena responded. "Besides, if there is doubt about someone's medical file, it's my job to make sure it is corrected. If that means redoing an alleged medical checkup, so be it." She stood her ground, her hands on her hips again. "As much as it pains you, engineers, to be away from work for longer than five seconds, don't forget that I do have the ability to temporarily remove you from duty if you don't comply."

Arivek took a step towards the woman. "You wouldn't," he said.

She rapped her fingers against her sides. "I would. Sickbay. Now."

"No." Arivek turned and began walking away. "We're barely keeping the engines online and I have a lot to do. Now is not the time!"

Never had she met a patient so damn stubborn. "Fine. Per Starfleet Regulation 121, Section A, you are hereby relieved of your duties until further notice, effective immediately," Rena called after him, knowing that those nearby would hear it. "You have an entire department who can take over for two minutes while you're gone, Lieutenant. Don't make me get security to escort you out."

The man stopped and stood there, his hands gripping into fists. "My office, now," he said, turning towards the rear hallway that lead to his private office.

As the two entered the room, Arivek turned towards the woman. "Computer, lock the door." A chirp confirmed the command.

Taking a breath, Rena followed the man, glancing behind her when the door to his office shut and locked. "Look, I understand that people don't like medical facilities," she began, keeping her insistence. While it was a little uncomfortable to scold a fellow crewmember, in this instance it was necessary. "... but if you get injured while doing repairs and I don't have an updated file for you-"

Arivek waved his hand in the air. "As much as I appreciate your incessant babbling, but I'm not actually paying attention to whatever lay explanation is coming from your wide open trap." Arivek sighed as he crossed his arms. "I need to tell you something and I need your assurance that we have...patient-doctor confidentiality."

Being interrupted by this man was starting to become annoying. But looking at how his expression changed, if slightly, made Rena think. Why could this man possibly be avoiding sickbay? "Of course," she responded, looking for body language and other nonverbal signs to clue her in to what he had to say. "Unless I think it poses a serious threat to your life, and that is very rare, anything you as a patient disclose to me remains strictly confidential. You have my word."

"Touch my hand," the man said, holding out his arm towards the woman.

Raising an eyebrow, Rena slowly lifted her hand to touch his, her eyes still watching his. There was a pause, and Rena wondered why she wasn't feeling anything yet, then looked down at their hands and gasped. Hers was going right through his! Pulling her hand away, she looked at him quizzically before grabbing her tricorder to be sure. She scanned his hand, her expression transforming into one of understanding. Instead of getting what she would normally expect from a Bolian/Trill hybrid, she got something completely different. "You're a..."

Arivek slowly nodded. "I am."

"Oh..." Suddenly his avoiding sickbay made a whole lot of sense. Rena was speechless for a moment as she processed it. "That... makes a lot of sense now," she finally choked out, finding her tongue again. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't realize..." She blinked and shook her head a little to snap out of her surprise. "I will write you off as having done your checkups." Rena paused before asking, "does anyone else know?"

"No, and I would appreciate if we kept it that way," Arivek said, resting his hands on the desk. "But I suppose I should be honest. It was me that tampered with my medical file."

"Unless I time traveled to engineering," Rena said with a slight smile, trying to ease some of the tension. She ran a hand through her hair. "Honestly, I don't blame you, now that I understand you had good reason to. But in all seriousness, you can trust that I won't tell anyone."

Arivek looked like he was mulling over something in his head. There were words in his mouth he was clearly chewing on. And then they finally came out. "Thank you," he said, his tone expressing genuine gratefulness.

Rena gave him a gentle smile. "You're welcome. Anything I can do for you, let me know. You are free to return to your duties, and... next time, please run it by me before you go changing your medical file?"

Arivek nodded, somberly, as the woman turned and left.

As the doors closed, Arivek slumped into his chair, letting out a sigh of relief as the silence and solitude once again became his companions. As he leaned on the chair, his fingers slowly stroked his chin.

The moments passed and slowly, and ever so slightly, the corner of Arivek's mouth turned up into a small smile.

 

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