Posted by Commander Brad Walker (Chief Of Staff/Second Officer) in Main Sim- Conference Room (All Senior Staff)
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Gutierrez held up a hand on the screen and offered a polite chuckle. =/\=I know you are miracle workers, but I am not the patient. Your questions about history, and test results are better directed to her or her assistant when she comes aboard, however I will be sure to send you the briefing packet that is available for their species, home world, customs, et cetera. I don’t believe there is any need for you to leave orbit just… treat the patient and send her on her way. If it is all in her head I am sure you can walk her through that as well. =/\=

Brad nodded, relieved. He’d learned quickly he was not suited to diplomacy, and while he couldn’t truly say he was allergic to diplomats, he was somewhat reliably able to make himself feign an allergic reaction to get out of functions where large concentrations of them were present.

She paused then and added, =/\= I believe they use a form of cartridge filter to take the oxygen out of the air. A breather similar to the Barzans. They have a Rubidium based physiology, similar to our own, but instead of potassium they have large amounts of rubidium. When exposed to oxygen rich atmospheres their blood ignites, thus the need for special protections in surgery as well.=/\=

Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Chief of Staff

“A species that spontaneously combusts in Earth-like atmospheres… No wonder diplomacy has taken so long.” Oscar leaned back, considering the ramifications. “I remember during the Dominion War, the Federation was adding members six months after first contact. On the plus side, these people will feel comfortable around me - I’ll just wear my iso suit like normal, and everything else will be fine. As long as none of them assume that I’m a physician, that is.”

“Make sure that the briefing packet has any k own cross-species viral vectors the Ambassador’s species may be susceptible to. Oh, and dietary restrictions. I don’t relish the idea of samples being sent to the lab that we have to start at ground zero to try and analyze. And hypochondriac or not… we can’t rule out the fact that they actually might be sick.” Kane said.

Kane, CSO / R&D

• Oscar “The Grouch”, CE

The Admiral smiled at Kane and Oscar’s observations before nodding. =/\= Yes of course Commander Kane. Starting from scratch would be a waste of everyone’s time. Their diet is mostly vegetarian, though they do eat meat on occasion. I suppose like humans in that way. Foods high in potassium of course. Generally they avoid alcohol as it metabolizes differently giving them a bigger bang as it were.

And chief I am sure you will be a good person to liaise with them then. They aren’t very trusting but kind enough. =/\=

GM Wombat

Bonner glanced at Walker. “It might be best to start from scratch. It seems it has been decided there is nothing wrong with her, and if we proceed from that perspective we will miss what is wrong with her.” Just because you were paranoid didn’t mean someone wasn’t after you. She turned her attention back tobthe screen. “Admiral, what is our medical exchange with the Kelakgh like? It would be beneficial to have a basic genetic work up for the Kelakgh in case the issue is a matter of genetics. I understand getting that information will be a matter for Salin Mero, but it would be a shame to offend her as soon as she arrives if we already know they are unwilling to share such information.” Of course if they were unwillingness share in order to help one of their own diplomats, then Alexis thought very poorly of them. The kick of information wouldn’t stop her from diagnosing and treating them. It just took away one of her tools.

Bonner, AMO

“I do not want to sit here and debate or try to speculate what’s wrong with her. I’d rather get to work. However I do agree with Dr. Bonner. It may be best if we start from scratch and do our own observations.

Brad gave a nod. In some respects, it would have been better had she not been here to hear the implied bias of the initial briefing, since they could not truly work ‘from scratch’ having done so, but there was absolutely merit in holding everything they were sent back from the main diagnostic team until after they were able to conduct their own assessments.

He would still look it over, and then meet with the team that handled the Ambassador’s intake and testing. If their results came back differently from the prior exams, he’d be able to tell them so, and they’d be able to go over the differences as a team to try and find a cause.

On his own PaDD, he sent a message to her:

Not going to say this in front of the Admiral, as she clearly is just humoring this woman and expects us to validate what Medical has told her, then send her away, but I agree. I’ll go over their results myself and hold them in my office, so they don’t bias our own diagnosticians. Assemble a team and brief them on the bare basics: patient’s species, gender, presenting with unknown malady. Full intake exam, subsequent testing to be determined.

Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Chief of Staff

Alexis read the note and nodded slightly. She would put some thought into who before she made a decision.

“Admiral, what is Ambassador Mero’s ETA? I think she should undergo a psych evaluation first before a physical examination is done on her.”

Almikaz, CoP

Alexis listened and very quickly sent a message back to Dr. Walker. It was his purview as Chief of Staff to decide how to handle it after all. The note read:

I disagree. For three reasons. First we will have to take several readings and samples for the lab. Those tests will take quite some time to get back. It would be ill considered to make her sit and wait when we can do a basic physical and she can use the down time to see you. Second it is SOP for medical patients to to see medical first and psychiatric patients to be seen by your department first. She is asking for medical help. Sending her to psychiatry first sends the message that we don’t think there is anything wrong with her and aren’t taking her concerns seriously. That is bad for the patient, no matter what is wrong. Which leads to my third objection. We want clear unbiased evaluations. If she is seen as psychiatric patient first it can skew the point of view from which the medical and psychiatric teams approache her diagnosis.

Bonner, AMO

OOC: Sorry Jennifer, I am a little confused and wasnt sure if I needed to respond here. Was your note for Surra or Brad? If for my character I will respond accordingly.

Mika

OOC: The note is for Dr. Walker. Sorry for the confusion.

OOC: Fixing Split

IC:

Kane scoffed loudly. “That should definitely not happen first. We’re bringing in an unfamiliar species with unspecified health complaints that have either been missed or dismissed by the previous attendings. Sticking them in a psych office first thing after jump is only going to serve to put them on edge… or just straight up make them mad. Medical needs baseline information before any, or at least the minimum amount, of external stimulus is brought to bear that could have implications to that baseline.” and he looked at Almikaz. “Besides, its SOP that any new arrival goes through a medical screening as a priority. Especially when we are dealing with an unfamiliar species. Let the Medical team get their tests and data first so they can start developing a plan and the labs can start getting processed… then we start talking mental health.” He looked at Walker and said “Last thing we need is for an ambassador to drop dead in the Counseling Suite because we decided to head-shrink them before we gave them an exam.”

Kane, CSO / R&D

Bonner pointed her stylus at Kane and nodded in agreement. In that typical seemingly, but not, distracted tone of hers, “What Dr. Kane said.” Amazing how similar his comments were to her own note to Dr Walker.

Surra fixed her eyes on him and said, “You obviously made your point. With that loud scoff and all. You certainly shouldn’t be the first person she come into contact with either. Wouldn’t want your angry and despotic tendencies affecting the friendly nature of the ship.” Then she rolled her eyes…hard.

Alexis looked up and raised a brow. How unprofessional and aggressive and in front of the Admiral. Then half a second later Alexis simply didn’t care. Her priority was the patient.

Kane looked at Almikaz with a blank expression for a moment… and then he grinned and winked at her before leaning back and smiling like the proverbial cat that ate the canary.

After she took a calming breath, because this man tended to upset her whenever she came into contact with him, she simply said, “Of course I will go with whatever the recommendation is. I figured I can at least speak with her upon her arrival and get a clear sense of her state of mind. Possibly alivate any concerns she may have, I do believe that a fear of medical facilities was mentioned? Maybe a ship full of doctors could put her even more on edge.”

Almikaz, CoP

“I think it would be beneficial to remember that the Admiral said Ambassador Mero specifically requested us. She saw the promo and jnows we are a hospital ship. She isn’t being forced on board. But keeping that in mind,” she turned to Walker, “We can endeavor, whenever possible, to make house calls. Patient quarters are equipped with most of the basic monitoring equipment if we need to use it.”

Bonner, AMO

She didnt know if Bonner was talking directly to her or just generally making a comment, but she didn’t appreciate her starting her sentence with I think it would be beneficial… The comment would have been better received if she wasn’t Kane girlfriend and if she somehow said it directly to her. Without looking at the woman Surra said, “I, on the other hand, think it would be beneficial to remember that the patient has fears, whether she is coming aboard the ship willing or not. Just as you can make visits to her quarters, so can my staff as well. It’s not like it will take a week or even a day to evaluate her and determine her stateof mind. I simply want to do a quick mental check and prepare her for her potential treatment. What, you want to just start poking her with all your instruments as soon as she step aboard the ship?”

Almikaz, CoP

OOC: Fixing Split

Kane looked at the CoP with a confused expresssion. “Uh, Doc? You know we don’t have to ‘start poking her with all our instruments’, right? Scans and biobeds have really helped alleviate the need for hypodermic needles and the like for the last… oh… several hundred years.” He leaned forward and put his arms on the table, looking directly at Almikaz. “And I and everybody else here gets the need to heal the whole patient… physical and mental. But we gotta prioritize. And first thing is we have to ensure that whatever is wrong with her isn’t going to effect the crew of this ship, right? Right.” He then looked up at the Admiral and said “And we’ll have a complete set of records for the Ambassador prior, correct?” His tone wasn’t one of asking a question. “And we need everything… for however long she has been seen. Every note, lab result, test request, consult, doodle, prescription, or paper airplane that anyone connected with her has made.” He looked at Almikaz again and said towards the screen without looking away “And I’m sure the good Doctor here would be most grateful for any notes from any previous mental health assessment, too.” and he looked back at the screen. “Whole patient health… right?”

Kane, CSO / R&D

You should know, her thought was in reference to him being hundreds of years old himself. “It was a figure of speech, I cant believe I had to tell you that seeing how sarcastic and condesending you are being right now. Futhermore, don’t patronize me, I am fully aware of the equipment we have on this ship and how it functions. Maybe you just can’t fathom anyone being as smart or smarter than yourself.” Narcissist she thought to herself. “And…for your information I have always been about whole patient health. Mind and body, so don’t try to lecture me on the concept.”
Oh how she disliked this man. He had the ability to make her blood boil with anger. And she was mad at herself for letting him get under her skin.

Almikaz, CoP

Kane looked at her with a mischievous glint in his eye and made a gesture in the air with his fingers marking two points for him and then turned his attention back to the screen.

Kane, CSO / R&D

With slightly raised brows, Dira exchanged a look with Willow. “Alright, you’ve made your points,” she said, clearly unimpressed. She turned back to the screen. “Admiral, we’ll handle this situation with all the delicacy“-she shot a brief look back over the conference room table-“required for a diplomatic visit. Ambassador Mero is in excellent hands.”

Commander Myqian, XO

Surra squinted her eyes at Kane as she crossed her arms.

Almikaz, CoP

Brad was equally displeased with the open squabbling. It also didn’t bode well that the chief of psychiatry apparently had such a thin skin. He personally didn’t find Kane unpleasant, though acknowledged his appearance could be unsettling and his personality abrasive. It was just as well he was a researcher, because he had the personality of a man nearly three times his age. Still, there was a time and place for blunt, honest assessments of a situation. It just usually wasn’t in a full senior staff briefing with a member of the Admiralty sitting in via subspace.

“We’ll be ready to receive her, and provide the full spectrum of diagnostic testing and any necessary care,” he promised. Even, he admitted to himself with a grimace, psychiatric diagnostics and tests. Though if he had his way, and he would, they would be the last tests performed.

Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Chief of Staff

Oscar had been smirking the entire time that the various medical professionals had squabbled openly in front of someone just giving them an assignment. At first, he had thought that the Admiral was being coy about Oscar being a useful resource for interfacing with the ambassador. Now, though… Oscar was definitely direct and irritable to the point of being abrasive, but he definitely wasn’t cruel. He did, in fact, have empathy for someone who had been ill as a child and who was still dealing with the ramifications. The amount of times people had assumed that he was from a bloodthirsty piratical society that, if the galaxy fell apart, would grab all the pieces and press gang everyone on said pieces, was a little ridiculous. Then the Spanish accent came out, and he became a curiosity. Since he was technically at the same level of heirarchy as the Chief of Staff, he looked over at Walker.

“And hopefully you all can manage to agree on what care is unnecessary, too,” Oscar said, the former patient overriding the experienced engineer, but only for a moment. “For my end, let me know of the Ambassador would prefer wearing a getup like mine to their normal breathing apparatuses. I can make sure that it’s comfortable and functional, but I won’t start on that unless requested.”

• Oscar “The Grouch” Cascarrabias, CE