Posted by Lieutenant Hannah Lori Asimina (Medical Officer) in side - sim: Medical Prepardness

Posted by Lieutenant Siarram Ch’Thaanaq (Chief Engineer) in side - sim: Medical Prepardness

(snip)
For Siarram, it didn’t matter much. It would, if he needed a blood transfusion, but unlike Hannah, he wasn’t the overprepared type. His thoughts were, what were the odds he’d not only be injured, but injured in a way that required blood transfusion? He’d never thought of the trouble synthesising his blood and nor had any of his previous doctors. So if it weren’t for Hannah, it wouldn’t be getting done anyway.

Hannah nodded, serious but a hint of a playful smile. “Oh yes I did. I take the care of my patients very serious. Just ask Claire or the XO. I chased him across space for 5 years to make sure his knee replacement was done correctly.” There was a story there. And of course Hannah hadn’t really chased him, but it sounded funny. Of course there was no telling how Daniel would spin that story, depending on his mood. “Besides bringing the results myself meant I got to duck out of sickbay early.”

Her drink arrived and she thanked the man and took a sip. “How are you settling into the Saracen?”

Asimina, med

Siarram smiled again, “Five years, eh? So you weren’t just in it for the medical stuff, then?” He said, implying she had been interested in the XO. “It’s a great ship. I’m not too busy, but not bored either, and the crew has been good so far.” He shrugged. “I’m pretty happy here so far.”

~ Lt Ch’thaanaq, CE

Hannah grinned, it might have appeared that she was going to laugh, but she didn’t. She pointed at him and then tapped her temple. Implying he knew what was going on. “No, not just the medical stuff in that case, and it didn’t really happen that way, but makes for a great story starter.” She swirled the fruit in her glass and took a drink. “The crew is wonderful. I really like being here. The ship has been through a lot though. First time I saw her, my first thought was she had a lot of battle scars.”

Asimina, med

“An engineer can tell that before he’s even done with first system checks,” Siarram said. “All the patches, workarounds, not-exactly-by-the-book fixes… It all adds up to a lot of big ship boo-boos.” He glanced at her and shrugged, “Made me think of what you said during my onboarding. That this ship gets into a lot of scrapes.” He still didn’t think it was likely he’d need the blood they were making, but, well… He could see why she was so cautious.

~ Lt Ch’thaanaq, CE

“Big ship boo-boos. I like that. We’re kind of in the same business, fixing boo-boos.” Hannah thought about that, her first days on board. “The first day I came on board, I was woken up in my quarters to the ship shuddering and things exploding as we passed through a tear in space time. It was chaos. I hadn’t even reported for duty yet, but I went to sickbay anyway. It was utter chaos. Injuries of all degrees coming in, either carried by other officers, or transported in, before the transporters went down, turbolifts too. We were working with half a medical staff due to injuries too. I’m glad your first weeks were not so eventful.”

Asimina, med

Siarram smiled at her comment about fixing boo-boos, “Mine are easier to fix. Even if it’s completely broken I can fix it. Same can’t be said for people. Once you’re gone,” he shrugged, “You’re gone.” Then he raised a brow that would give away his Vulcan heritage if it weren’t for his pointed ears. “Me, too. No wonder you’re so worried about my blood.”

~ Lt Ch’thaanaq, CE

Hannah nodded, “We found immediately that allies we have here, were not allies there. There is no telling how close we’ll be to help or how different the universe will become. I prefer to be prepared. Ah, but right now, things are pretty quiet, so plenty of time for fun instead of work.”

Asimina, med

Siarram nodded again, hoping he’d not find that out for himself any time soon. He smiled to her last statement and decided to change the topic. “The Chief of Security. What’d you think of those giant dogs?” There was curiosity in his voice, as if he still wasn’t quite sure what to think of them himself.

~ Lt Ch’thaanaq, CE

“I love them! I always wanted a dog, or something like it. Hers are very well behaved and not quite the norm. I think that is probably because she took the time to train them well. When I was a kid I studied about dogs. I was trying to convince my parents to get one . Dogs are very intelligent, but you have to put a lot of work into training them. Atoded’s dogs though…their fur is soooo soft and thick.” Hannah stopped gushing and grinned. “I like them. What about you, what do you make of them?”

Asimina, med

Siarram had an amused smile on his face watching her gush over the dogs. When she asked his opinion, Siarram gave a half shrug, “They’re alright. Interesting animals.” He’d liked them but wasn’t admitting it.

~ Lt Ch’thaanaq, CE

Hannah openly smirked, “I guess that’s a good word for them. They were interesting enough you were sitting on the floor with one of them in your lap. They seem to like you though. It’s an interesting concept, every officer having a pet, but the logistics boggle my mind. I mean just for medical. Animals like humanoids, carry disease that don’t make them sick but can make other species ill. I wonder if they put a veterinarian on board. I think they would have to.”

Asimina, med

Siarram grinned and shook his head. “It was a… scientific study?” He tried. He was no scientist but that wasn’t the point anyway. He nodded. “They did seem to like me. I think it would be almost cruel not to have a vet on board. Animal carried diseases aside, imagine being told you have to get a pet, and then it gets sick and no one on board knows how to help it.”

~ Lt Ch’thaanaq, CE

“There is usually someone in science that studies alien fauna and can work with medical, but it would be like having a whole second crew aboard. I’m all for allowing pets on board, but the maintenance and care needs alone, plus replicator rations.” Hannah shook her head it seemed daunting, but from the way Atoded sounded all of that was accounted for.

Asimina, med

Siarram nodded. “It seemed like on Lieutenant Atoded’s previous ship they had it taken care of, but I can’t imagine how.” He shrugged then. “I’m not sure… I think it’s a good idea if it’s really going to help the person with the pet. Otherwise it would end up being a distraction and a draw on resources.”

~ Lt Ch’thaanaq, CE

Hannah had to agree with that. “Even for a responsible adult the care and training of a pet is a lot of extra work to be forced on someone. But there are a lot of studies and historical evidence of the benefits of pets and working animals. A friend of mine is stationed on a hospital ship. Her dog is a trained therapy-assistance dog. Frigga helps with physical and occupational therapy sessions by providing physical support and playing ‘games’ with the patients and even works in the counseling department to help patients remain calm. Apparently she’s very popular and the patients really like her.”

Asimina, med

Siarram listened interestedly about the dog… then promptly went back to pretending he didn’t care. “Patients on a hospital ship probably aren’t in high spirits. I can imagine any distraction would be welcome.” Then he made a mental note to read about the historical evidence, too. “It is a lot of work. Especially on a starship. You’re responsible for feeding, exercising, and caring for them without a lot of space or resources for it.”

~ Lt Ch’thaanaq, CE

“I find plants much easier. Plus the colors break up the monotonous grey/blue/beige of starships.” Hannah thought that having a pet on a starship was more work than anywhere else. Humans were adaptable, animals not so much. A lot of extra work had to be put in to meet their needs. She had the time to put into it, but what if the animal couldn’t adapt? What would she do then? Alexis had gotten lucky that Frigga enjoyed being on a starship and all the people. It was a thought for another time. She finished off her drink. “I won’t keep you, but I did want to let you know what was going on with the lab work.”

Asimina, med

Siarram nodded. “I’ll see you around then.” Then he stood and put his tray away, exiting to go to his quarters. He probably wouldn’t have a lot of time to chat with Hannah again until her results on his blood came in.

~ Lt Ch’thaanaq, CE