Author’s Note: This story takes place in the days following “All’s Fair…”
Captain’s Personal Log, Stardate 52952.1:
As the year nears its close
I’ve been reflecting back on all the major changes that have occurred in the
last twelve months. It’s been just over
a year since my Intrepid-class Dauntless was destroyed and
the resulting court-martial that followed.
This was followed by the launch, shakedown, and quick commissioning of
this Sovereign-class Dauntless in the
midst of the Dominion War and our many adventures since, the most recent of
which has resulted in the loss of our Chief Medical Officer and my dearest
companion, Commander Lotus Q.
“New Faces, New Places” By PJK and Christine Tromba
Fleet
As his
blue eyes casually glanced around, he noticed a crewmember on one of the biobeds, a nurse checking him over with a medical tricorder. The Fleet
Captain nodded at the crewmember, drawing a slight smile, happy to be noticed
by the ship’s CO.
Stepping
into the office of the Chief Medical Officer, Koester was about to say
something when he noticed the unfamiliar crewman sitting in the chair. Koester hesitated at the doorway until the
man’s blue eyes looked up at him and he said, “How may I be of assistance?” For a reason the Fleet Captain could not
place, the man seemed familiar.
“I’m
looking for… uh… Counselor Sutherland,” Koester stammered,
unable to shake off the strange feeling.
“Counselor
Sutherland is located in the surgical ward,” the salt & pepper-haired
crewmember informed politely before returning his attention to the half-dozen padds spread out on the desk before him.
Koester
nodded his thanks, running one hand quickly through his salt & pepper hair
before walking over to the surgical ward of sickbay, throwing a curious glance
back over his shoulder as he went.
The Fleet
Captain found Sutherland working with the ship’s EMH program, apparently
inventorying equipment in the surgical suite.
The Emergency Medical Hologram, whose original program had been salvaged
from the previous Dauntless before
its violent destruction, nodded in a very human-like gesture to Sutherland,
informing her of the CO’s presence.
“Captain!”
the half-Betazoid woman exclaimed with a smile. “What brings you down to my sickbay?”
“I was…
uh… coming to check and see how you were handling the transition…. Adding the CMO’s duties to your own Counselor’s responsibilities?”
“I’m
handling it pretty well, in my opinion,” Sutherland said, walking over to a
nearby replicator.
“Coffee?”
Koester nodded and Sutherland continued to speak after she ordered two
drinks from the wall mounted unit. “At
first the combined paperwork and scheduling between the two jobs was a touch
overwhelming, but I’ve managed to pull everything together with a little
additional help.” The Counselor handed
the steaming cup of coffee to her Commanding Officer.
“Speaking
of added help,” Koester said between sips of the strong brew, “I thought I had
at least met and reviewed the service records of everyone on board, but I don’t
know who that crewman sitting in your office is.”
“Sitting
in my…?” Realization dawned on
Sutherland’s face. “Heck, did I leave
him running?”
Sutherland
rushed out of the Surgical Ward toward her new office. Koester and the EMH followed close
behind. Koester arrived at the office
doorway just in time to hear Sutherland say, “Computer, save data and end
“EM… S?”
Koester asked in confusion.
“Emergency
Medical Secretary,” Sutherland commented.
“Designed and programmed by Lt Johnson and myself. He’s the only way I’ve been able to keep up
with the backlog of paperwork the two jobs have thrust upon me.”
“Clever,
Counselor,” Koester admitted. “I have to
ask though. Did you base the program’s
design on anyone in particular? I
thought he looked a little familiar.”
“Based on
anyone?” Sutherland questioned back. “No. I just gave a description of what I needed to
Mister Johnson and he programmed it all together.”
Koester
shrugged, and then said, “Well, I’m glad to see I’ve put the job of CMO in
capable hands.”
Sutherland’s
pleased smile turned into a sly grin as she added, “I’m actually glad you came
down here, Captain. It saves me the
trouble of sending for you. You see,
while reviewing all the medical records, I’ve come to realize you’re overdue
for your annual physical.”
“Uh….,”
Koester stammered, subtly moving toward the exit of sickbay. “I can see you’re terribly busy right now, Kethry, and I wouldn’t want to interrupt you. I can always come back another time, you
know, when you’re less busy…”
“Now, now,
Captain,” Sutherland said with a widening grin as the EMH blocked Koester’s
retreat and she took out a set of medical testing instruments from a nearby
supply drawer, a few of which seemed perhaps a century or two old. “You know I’ll always clear my schedule for
you.”
The End
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