Medical Readiness

Posted on Fri Mar 13th, 2026 @ 2:16am by Ensign Nyxala Vireen & Lieutenant Jane Belanger Dr

1,191 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Echos on the Deck
Location: Officer's Mess and Sickbay
Timeline: Takes Place after Neighbors

Nyxala had been in the officer's mess enjoying her meal at a table in the corner, observing the many officers that popped in and out. Since childhood, the Orion had found people watching to be quite interesting. As an adult, she maintained the habit and even made it an effort to arrive early just to watch. It had business as usual, when she spotted the Chief Engineer and Chief Medical Officer arrive. A minor wave of excitement passed through her body. She didn't know much about the Tellarite, but her boss Lieutenant Belanger had quite the impressive record. There was so much that the Ensign wanted to ask her about the medical field and everything that she had experienced.

As much as she wanted to walk over and ask to join them. They were senior officers and the Ensign didn't know if it would be appropriate to interrupt them. Sitting back, she continued to observe until they finished up and exited the mess hall. Finishing up her meal, Nyxala made her way to sickbay to begin her shift. A few minutes later, she stepped off the turbolift making her way into sickbay. Several her staff, waved at her and spoke. Greeting each of them, the Ensign once again saw the Lieutenant. "Good morning, Doctor."

With the night shift ending came a report delivered to Jane with some comments as needed. Jane sent the medical officer away and tucked the report under her arm for now, responding to the Head Nurse with a nod and a pleasant smile.

"Good morning, Nurse. It seems we're starting the day with a clean slate, almost. When this situation with the Nausicans is resolved, we'll have to sort through personnel medical files," she motioned the woman to walk with her to her office. "We got a patient last night, one of our own who wasn't in them. I guess it had to happen, with so many arriving in a matter of days. We really need an updated roster and then to verify that we did receive everybody's medical history."

They reached the door and Jane quietly closed it after the Orion entered. There were many things to do in the days ahead but some things had to come first in her opinion. "Speaking of personnel files, and you don't have to go down into personal details but I've had a mind to ask since I arrived," she winked lightly, showing a seat opposite to her desk. "Are you a full on Orion? Is there anything I should be aware of?"

Picking up on the nod, Nyxala accepted the seat. In her hand was a data padd where she jotting down some notes based on what the doctor was requesting. The look on her face clearly showed surprised when she was asked about being a full Orion. "Full on one hundred percent Orion." She was tempted to ask about why the Belanger brought up being Orion, but decided to leave it alone for now.

Jane nodded and looked down at the night shift report for a few beats, thinking. Orions were not a part of the United Federation of Planets; it was really surprising to find that one of their people was serving in Starfleet. She had hoped that her question would open the door to a little more than she just got, but the time would come probably. She had no reason to push. Business as usual then. So to speak.

"Thank you. This being clarified... we have a few things to cover today. I should inform you that a Nausicaan ship is on its way to, err, negotiate over the release of their people. They are expected within a couple days. We don't know how that will go down so as a matter of caution, Sickbay will need to be ready to spring to action. I will pass the word around in a moment. But there's also the matter of the USS Frontier," Jane added with a little shake of her head as she made up her mind. "The ship is assigned to the station in case of need. I have a mission for you over this shift. Get aboard, assess the state of the medical section and report back. What is there, what's missing."

Jane was rather sure she was making the right call. Nyxala Vireen's didn't make it to Head Nurse in Starfleet without having an excellent head on her shoulders. Besides, Jane herself had her hands full as it was. As she talked, she was already filling the mission order so the Head Nurse could proceed.

The nurse definitely wasn't expecting this today. Nausicaans on the way, and now she was handed the responsibility of figuring out which supplies were needed on the Frontier. Hopefully, the ship wasn't in need of too much. "I'll get to it right away. By the way, what's going to happen to Zhordek Vaul?"

"Under the current circumstances, Mister Vaul is becoming Dr Larkin's patient. He's a sturdy guy, scrapes and bruises have been healing nicely. We see no reason to keep him confined to bed around the clock. Quite the contrary in fact. As soon as we can have a handichair assembled, Mister Vaul will be introduced to it. In the meantime he'll have the physiotherapy his condition requires to maintain his health." A pensive smile touched her lips. "Who knows. Given the right kind of support, maybe he'll reconsider giving up. He agreed to basic medical care so that leaves us that angle to work. And two days to do so."

Nyxala considered those reassuring words. "I hope that it helps realize that his life could go in a different direction. Different, but still with so many possibilities. Do I have mission orders?"

Jane handed her the mission order to access the Frontier. "There you go, Nurse. I'll hand the matter of an updated station roster to check against medical files to Jenkins, he's quite adept with administrative tasks. You'll get some help to refurbish the Frontier as needed after reporting to me. I'll finish checking on our stocks while you're gone. Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?" she relented.

"Must admit that I am impressed by your record," the Ensign admitted. "Would love to pick your brain sometime about some of your experiences in the medical field. If that's appropriate?"

Both got up. "When this whole thing is over," Jane said. "I'd like to take the time to socialise a little with the staff. Things were a lot less formal in the places where I worked for the past few years. And nobody knows anybody on the station really. We can't be all about work all the time, can we?" she finished with a smile.

Returning the smile with a huge one of her, the Orion was pleased with the chance of spending sometime with the doctor. Most people weren't eager to get to know her at first. Typically took a few weeks to earn her peers trust. "I highly agree and look forward to the process."

=================
Lt. Jane Belanger, MD
CMO
Sentinel Station

Ensign Nyxala Vireen
Head Nurse
Sentinel Station

 

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