Navigating New Roles: A Routine Check-In with the Chief Medical Officer

Posted on Mon Jul 1st, 2024 @ 3:34am by Lieutenant Astrid Nyx & Lieutenant Commander Christopher Evans

1,094 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: To Boldly Go
Location: USS Fenrir - Sickbay
Timeline: Day 4

ON:

Lieutenant Commander Christopher Evans had managed to check into his quarters, which were pretty nice. He had managed to meet both of his superior officers and was ready to get his physical taken care of. He never understood why people didn't want to just check into sickbay and get them taken care of. It was literally a few questions and some scans and you were on your way back to duty.

As he entered the medical bay Chris gave a nod to one of the nurses and then headed for the Chief Medical Officers office. He hoped the doctor was in and could complete his physical or he would make an appointment with one of the nurses.

And as it happened, she was in. Ever since the work crew had finished the refit work, Astrid's time had been mostly occupied with making preparations for the work to come. The start of a new posting as CMO, she knew from advice and intuition, was one of the hardest parts. On the Valkyrie, she had enjoyed the benefit of moving up the ranks into her position. Things had been handed to her carefully, ceremonially. But Fenrir was a different ship, a different crew; here she set the bar for normality. There would be rosters to draw up, meetings to prepare, inventories to verify, and crew coming in for their physicals....

A chime from the door made her look up from the PADD on her desk. She frowned a little. Had she set up an appointment for someone? Or had someone set up an appointment for her? She felt a tightness in her chest, worry bubbling up that she'd already made a mistake. But a quick glance at a second PADD on her desk, this one with a calendar displayed prominently, told her that no, nothing was scheduled. Okey-dokey. Then this was just the first in what she anticipated would be a long line of unknowns. Somehow, the thought actually made her feel more comfortable.

"Come in," she said, drawing up her professional warmth alongside a welcoming smile.

Chris Evans walked in and smiled "Hello! I am Lieutenant Christopher Evans" there was a split second pause and he continued "how are you doctor?"

"Uh, Evans..." doing a quick mental gymnastics leap, Astrid shelved her current pile of to-do's and minutia and pulled the details at the edge of her memory into focus. "Oh! Lieutenant Commander Evans, yes, I've been looking forward to meeting you."

She smiled as she stood, stretching a hand over the top of the desk.

Chris shook the offered hand with a smile on his face "welcome aboard doctor Nyx isn't it?"

"That's right." He had a firm handshake, the sort that bespoke an honest man. It suited him, she thought. Something about his well-put-together demeanor and neatly trimmed haircut simply screamed 'honest Starfleet' at the top of its lungs.

"Things are still getting settled in around here," she waved, generally indicating the whole of the ship, "but I do have the chart system up and running at least." Astrid seated herself again and motioned to the free chair across from her. "So, what can I help you with today?"

“Well I wanted to come by and introduce myself” Chris replied as he took the chair the doctor had offered. “I also figured we could get my physical knocked out” he was hoping he didn’t piss the doctor off. He found some of them ran by schedules and would only see you if it were scheduled.

Astrid blinked, and said, "Ah, I see." The note she had asked the computer to send to all the command-level staff must have caused some confusion. It was protocol for Starfleet officers to have a clear bill of health from their last post before transfer, and as long as nothing came up on the incoming transporter log, there generally wasn't much need for an in-depth examination.

"I feel that it's important for all the department heads to have an introductory meeting with the CMO, but we don't need to run you through anything in particular. I can have the nurse do a check-up if you think there's something we need to know?" She paused for a moment, holding his gaze, "Otherwise, I don't see any reason to do a complete review."

Chris smiled "no nothing new or out of the ordinary that I'm aware of."

She smiled. "Well, that's good. This is more about touching base before we're under way. Particularly about ensuring that the people in your department get a proper health and safety briefing. I've asked the computer to ensure that everyone coming aboard gets a refresher sent to their PADD during orientation, but, let's be honest..." she chuckled, "who actually pays attention to orientation paperwork?"

"A refresher never hurt anyone but you are probably right doc" Evans smiled and shrugged "who actually reads the orientation paperwork?" he asked as if she hadn't just asked that same question. Then figured he must have been one of the odd ones because he actually did often read the paperwork, just in case something had changed.

"Decent sized sickbay" Chris tried to moved the conversation along "and state of the art from what I understand?" he was asking because he knew tech but wasn't up to date on the latest medical tech.

"Definitely an upgrade." Astrid laughed, thinking of her last post. The Valkyrie hadn't been ancient or anything, but it hadn't seen a proper refit since it first launched. Fenrir offered some nice new touches. "Did your team help with the upgrades?"

“No” Chris smiled “can’t say I got my hands on her until all the upgrades had been taken care of.”

Astrid studied the man for a long moment, then nodded as if coming to a decision. "Well, Commander... I look forward to working with you once we're under way." She stood, smiling, though her expression seemed a little distant. Clearly, she was signalling the meeting's end.

“Did you want to schedule my physical or could we knock it out” Chris asked raising an eye brow and waiting for an answer.

Astrid cocked her head to one side. "Well, as I said, I hadn't planned on running physical examinations unless something changed from your last report. But, I'm happy to accommodate you in the schedule. Just ask the computer to assign you to a slot and one of the nurses will see to it."

“Thank you doctor” Chris gave a smile and nod before making an exit.

OFF

 

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