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Sidesim: Sickbay – Kajhel reporting for physico-medical exam (tag CMO)

Posted June 3, 2022, 10:17 a.m. by Ensign Kajhel (Security Officer) (Richard A)

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Haadok (Chief Medical Officer) in Sidesim: Sickbay – Kajhel reporting for physico-medical exam (tag CMO)

Posted by Ensign Kajhel (Security Officer) in Sidesim: Sickbay – Kajhel reporting for physico-medical exam (tag CMO)

Posted by Ensign Kajhel (Security Officer) in Sidesim: Sickbay – Kajhel reporting for physico-medical exam (tag CMO)
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻
On his first day on board the ship, after he had met his chief security officer, and Rand shown him all around, it was time for his medical exam to be declared fit for duty. It did not worry him much, but he hoped he would not get speciesist attitudes and questions about his telepathy and precognitive skills. There were too many humans around him – more than he cared for – and humans were the most curious, but also the most bigoted aliens he had encountered. It was an odd combination of values and attitudes.

He reported at Sickbay desk, having received his appointment for 15:00 hours. It was now 14:58. He was right on time. He sat down and waited to be called up by the appropriate staff member responsible for his examination.

– Ensign Kajhel (Security)

Haadok had been deeply engrossed in a pathology report when Crewman Jarillo alerted her through the comms that her ‘3 o’clock’ had arrived.

“Thank you, Jarillo. Let him know I will be with him momentarily,” Haadok lifted her finger from the panel and rose, brushing the wrinkles from her tunic. The journey from her office to the reception area, where a PaDD containing her patient’s medical file lay waiting, was rather short and unremarkable. She lingered by the nurse’s station to receive and briefly consider the contents of the device before tucking it under her arm and approaching who she assumed was Ensign Kajhel.

“Mr Kajhel?” She announced her presence before she was within a meter with him. “I am Doctor Haadok. I will be handling your physical today. We will be at biobed one in the examination room, directly across from here.” Haadok was still getting used to Sickbay and the general layout of the Sentinel, so her directions were as much for him as they were for her. “Are you ready?”

— Haadok, CMO

“I am ready, doctor,” Kajhel replied. The doctor seemed non-human, and this comforted him. He found safety in other non-humans, as they were more prone to share the understanding of existing in a human-dominant setting. The signs all over the ship were in Federation Standard, a human language. The very name of the ship was taken from human mythology – nothing was named after his people.

The directions that Haadok audibly gave were helpful, they made Kajhel feel more at home. He further sensed that Haadok was of similar height as him, and this too gave him a feeling of camaraderie which was comforting on this his first day.

“Excellent,” Haadok remarked, warmth touching her tone. Friendliness, in her experience, helped reduce new patients’ epinephrine levels (their ‘nerves’) before settling onto a biobed. She found a simple tone change offered some comfort that made both of their jobs considerably easier. Clearing her throat, Haadok turned about her heel with a mild-mannered ‘right this way’ and walked toward Biobed I.

As he followed Haadok, he could not help but ask. He felt comfortable enough to ask this non-human what species she belonged to.

“I am Aenar, doctor, we’re from Andoria’s northern wastelands. May I ask what species you are? I fear I have not met enough people of your species to recognise it. I am quite curious.”

– Ensign Kajhel (Security)

“Your people are peaceful and devoted, from what I understand, but I admit that my knowledge is limited to literature. I am to curious to learn about your culture, if you ever have the time or interest.”

“Oh, yes, of course!” Kajhel beamed. “I’m used to being an unofficial Aenar ambassador ever since my parents and I took me to live on Earth a few years when I was 11…”

Two seconds passed.

”… in Earth years that is,” he added.

Haadok wavered when Kajhel directed a question that she often asked others: who are you? She was not accustomed to discussing her ancestry, especially after decades of piecing together stories from civilisations that long predated the Aenar and Vulcans. Bones were awful listeners, anyway.

Kajhel’s genuine curiosity, however, warmed her to the mild and fleeting discomfort.

“I am Vulcan. My clan hails from the S’Lara region on the homeworld,” she explained, “but I am from a colony in the Evekh system. I find that is an important distinction to make when discussing ancestry as my knowledge of and experience with Vulcan culture is fundamentally different than those raised on our homeworld.”

“Thank you,” he said, appreciative of Haadok sharing much more than his question had warranted. He was though too embarrassed to ask any thing else, he had no idea where the Evekh system was, how far it was from Vulcan, if Vulcans were a majority or minority there… “Like I said, I spent a few years on Earth when I was a child, and as such, I might not act like a typical Aenar, as that have affected my cultural, social and psychological development…” He stopped himself from elaborating more, feeling like he had taken too much of an analytical approach to something as deeply private as his own development.

He did feel safe in Haadok’s metaphorical hands. She had an aura of calm and peace, he sensed.

“Sit however you prefer…” Haadok paused to recalibrate the tricorder to Kajhel’s biochemistry, “…but keep your legs uncrossed. When you are ready, I will run a brief, non-invasive scan to assess your present health.”

He sat down, careful not to cross his legs.

“I am ready, doctor.”

She waited for him to get settled before initiating the scan with another alert.

“I presume today is your first day?” She chose to fill the silence created by the tricorder’s assessment with light conversation to better understand how Kajhel was doing in all aspects of his life. “How is it going?”

— Haadok, CMO

“Yes it is,” he said. “It’s going well, thank you. Everyone has been awfully kind and welcoming so far. I even met my department head, Mr Anders, and he seems really nice too. And Yeoman Farquharson has been kind enough to give me an extensive tour of the ship. It already feels like home.”

He wanted to reciprocate the question. “How long have you been on board? How have you liked it here?”

– Ensign Kajhel (Security)


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