Old Scars

Posted on Tue Sep 17th, 2024 @ 7:32pm by Lieutenant Azree Kar & Lieutenant Astrid Nyx

829 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: To Boldly Go
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: Day 5

ON:

Azree walked off of the bridge after her first duty shift. The Trill had spent the entire time running flight control system checks. All she really could do since she couldn't fly the Fenrir yet. She still needed to do more, but she'd get to that at her next shift, after she started the flight tests for the Fenrir's embarked craft. Her intention was to go to ten forward, but her badge had other ideas, since it chirped only a few minutes later.

"Lieutenant Kar, this is CMO Astrid Nyx. I know this is probably the last thing you want to do at the end of your shift, but would you mind swinging by medical for a few minutes?"

Azree tapped her badge. "Right away doc. Is everything alright?" She asked in a concerned tone.

A slight laugh sounded through the comm system. "Nothing to worry about, I'm having all the department heads and senior staff in for short meetings before we get under way. It'll only be a few minutes of your time, I promise."

"Understood" Azree said. "I'll be right over" she said before making a detour to the medical bay.

When the trill reached medical, Astrid was wrapping up an informal briefing with two of her nurses. She looked up as the doors hissed open and gave Azree a warm smile. The red-haired woman instantly caught Astrid's attention. There was something magnetic about her, a confidence that a few of the other pilots Astrid had known also shared.

"That's all for now, we'll go over the stock of C-reactor injections tomorrow," she said to the nurses, dismissing them back to their other tasks. To Azree she said, "Welcome! Lieutenant Kar? I'm Astrid Nyx, it's a pleasure."

"Ah Doctor Nyx, I'm Lieutenant Kar" she returned the smile. "The pleasure is mine."

"I was hoping you had a few minutes to talk?" Astrid motioned toward one of the nearby biobeds, and seated herself upon one directly across from it. With the nurses dispersed to deal with various tasks, the sickbay was empty aside from them. "I've been having some introductory meetings with all of the senior staff and bridge crew. Nothing incredibly formal, just making sure I'm up on the needs of the crew before we head out..." she paused for a moment. She wasn't quite sure how she wanted to broach the subject at hand. "Your file has some pretty extensive notes regarding your injuries a few years ago. I just wanted to see if you needed anything, or if any new conditions had arisen since your last medical eval?"

Azree quietly took a seat on the biobed before letting out a sigh. She wanted to avoid the accident if she could. She shook her head. "Not to my knowledge, at least physically" the Trill alluded.

Astrid raised an eyebrow. She considered the Trill woman carefully for a moment before speaking. "If there's anything else, anything that's been weighing on you—whether it's related to the injuries in your file, or something else entirely—I'm here to listen. What I do here isn't just about physical health. We both know that the mind and body are deeply connected, and Starfleet officers see more than most."

She paused, giving Azree the space to respond.

Azree looked at the CMO. "Mentally, things have gotten a little better since my accident. Less dreams, if you know what I mean?" She wasn't even sure if the doc fully knew the extend of her medical history, but the less she could divulge, the better, she lied to herself. Realistically, she knew she needed to talk about the accident to someone, and in some ways she had. However she struggled with that.

Astrid did know what Azree meant, though for reasons vastly different than the Trill's. It had been a long time since she felt the sharp pang of all the ills she'd experienced as a child back in Taras City. But the road from there to here had been rocky, for sure.

“I’m glad to hear things have improved, but dreams can be tricky." She tried to find a cautious path ahead. Words were tricky things, and she wanted Azree to feel supported, not pushed into anything. "Dreams have a way of sticking around, even when we think we’re past something." She smiled. "You're clearly fit for your duties here, but that doesn't mean you can't also have things you'd like to work on or improve. Talking can sometimes help put things into perspective, even when we think we don’t need it.” She paused, her gaze steady. “You don’t have to carry it all alone, Azree. I'm here to talk, at least until we have a full-time counselor on board.”

Azree gave a slight smile. "Thanks doc. I'll probably take you up on that."

OFF:

Lieutenant Azree Kar
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Fenrir

Lieutenant Astrix Nyx
Chief Medical Officer
USS Fenrir

 

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