Posted by Lieutenant Commander Sage Brennan (2nd Officer - CMO) in Bellringer

Posted by Ensign Kesh (Engineer) in Bellringer

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Sage Brennan (2nd Officer - CMO) in Bellringer
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻
After that initial period of adjustment to life aboard the Genesis, getting to know the other engineering crew enough to communicate sufficiently, and learning the specific quirks and unique alterations made to this particular ship that made it different from the standard specifications, Kesh had grown reasonably confident. Enough so to take on lead of a minor project to replace one of the plasma filter assemblies. A fairly routine task, though it can be tricky due to the tight tolerances of maneuvering equipment and in alignment, so it’s a good test to throw at a young officer.

Kesh was not ‘young’ in the literal sense, though it had been so long since she last did one she was definitely rusty. Thankfully Dagen’s guidance as chief engineer had done well to scrape that rust off and get her back into the groove of maintaining the great beating heart of the ship.

It all went so very well, right up until the very end when a burst of excited energy turned into smacking her forehead straight into a low-hanging component.

A quick pass of a dermal regenerator undid the surface damage that was mostly cushioned by her own fur, but the risk of a concussion still bid the Caitian to visit the medical bay, just to be sure. Thus, a short time later, Kesh steps into Sickbay with a hand to her forehead and one eye shut to try to calm the headache that continued to throb. “Mnyyyyrreh. Percussive maintenance crew reporting. Rrrf.” Never hurts to start with a little dry humor.

-> Kesh, Engineering.

T’Lora hurried to the front of sickbay, stoping beside the Catian. “Come sit down Ensign, I’ll start a scan.” And grab a painkiller, T’Lora added silently, noting the signs of light sensitivity.
-Dr. T’Lora

Gosh, another Vulcan. Not that this is a bad thing. If there’s one area that Vulcans excel at it’s in logical and rational things, like medicine and engineering. ‘Bedside manner’ has never really been a concern for Kesh, as she’d just as soon get swift treatment rather than pleasant conversation.

Though she did immediately regret passing judgement on the other ensign, and the slight rattle of her head to pass that thought away made the headache worse. “Oookf! Junction seventeen-alpha-eleven. Rrrrnth. One point six two meters lower than that adjacent junction. Directly in the way.. of my face. Mmnf.” As she spoke, her open eye noted where the nearest biobed was then shut as she carefully stepped over to it where T’Lora could perform said scans.

Blessed as she is with long life, thanks to her augmented genes, not every part of the Caitian’s physiology was resisting the aging process, such as the arachnoid mater, the outtermost layer of the brain, which was now swollen in a manner not usually seen in only minor head trauma.

->Kesh, Engineering

Sage, who was catching up on charting, watched the interchange with some interest. It was a slow day in sickbay and she was using it to complete tasks that had been left undone. She sipped at a cup of coffee as she observed the two.

—Sage

OOC: Are you two continuing here? I wasn’t trying to interrupt, just thought I could post here to keep from being AWOL. Sage is just doing ‘paperwork’, she isn’t going to bother you.

D…

OOC: I’m waiting on T’Lora to reply, but they appear to be AWOL. I’ll give one more day then interact with you.

Concussions are one of many injuries that a dermal regenerator and a dose of pain and swelling medication can fix pretty handily, and so it was but a moment or two before Kesh’s light sensitivity and disorientation were all but gone. However, the brain is a complex organ that can still be quite unpredictable, so the treatment comes with a caveat of returning immediately if any pain or dizziness re-appears.

That being that, Ensign Kesh thanked the doctor for the swift treatment and stepped to return to duty. Two steps later a slight pause and glance to one side suggests she thought that the doctor had said something to her, but since that did not appear to be the case, her gaze instead roamed about searchingly, landing on Sage.

“What was that?” Expectant eyes and lifted felid ears conveying that she assumed it was the human that had said something.

->Kesh, Engineering

Aware of the Caitian passing her, Sage looked up as she spoke. ” Excuse me?” Then the words came together in her mind—what was that? “I didn’t say anything, Ensign. Neither did Dr T’Lora.” There hadn’t been any conversation since the feline was dismissed from the biobed. Sage looked over at the Vulcan who’d examined and treated Kesh and then came around the corner of the desk where she’d been working.

Standing in front of the Caitian, Sage had to look up to meet her eyes. “Did you hear something?”

—Sage

The way those quite large, golden-shaded felid eyes hold wide and blink owlishly conveys the spook that also made the mane ruff on the back of the caitian’s neck rise. A slight rattle of the engineer’s head shows her effort to dissipate whatever it was that had confused her. A long swing of that lion-like tail comes prior to an animated shift in posture to stand tall and fold arms behind her back in a proper stance of addressing a superior officer “Apologies, ah, Commander. I collided with a… ah.. object and am still a bit disoriented. Mmnnr.”

Those large cat’s eyes shift aside briefly, brow markings shifting their angle in a hint of distress before focus returns to the human. “I will notify my SO that I am going to lay down, rrrnm, for a bit.” Of course, her commanding officer had almost certainly already told her to take the rest of the day off after going to Medical.

-> Kesh, Engineering

“Actually, I think it might be best if you rested here for the next couple of hours. We can put you in one of these beds out here or in a containment room that will be quieter and more private. I just want to monitor you for a little while.” Sage didn’t like that Kesh was hearing things. Perhaps she was borderline concussion.

—Sage

A slight grimmace flexes the felinoid’s facial features, peeking fang tips out while those large ears tilt further back, punctuated by a jolting motion of her tail, when the doctor suggests remaining in Medical. While Kesh does not exactly suffer from nosocomephobia, she definitely dislikes being under medical observation for reasons going back to her creation. Hospitals and laboratories share a lot in common, unfortunately.

Still, the hierarchy on a startship puts doctor’s orders above all else, and being combative, as much as the urge was present in this moment, was not at all her want. So, with a long, slow exhale, Kesh’s head bobs once with eyes shifting around to consider the environment she was now going to be in for a while. “Alright, doctor. Ah… that is likely wise.. like-… yes. that is wise.” Head bob, slight grimace, then slight shift in posture to subtly show she’s at the doctor’s command now.

-> Kesh, Engineering

A reluctant patient. Sage had many years spotting the ones who would rather leave than stay. “It’s only for a little while, Ensign. I wouldn’t be doing my job if I let you go when I think you might have more severe symptoms than the computer picked up. So, pick out a bed and see if you can’t get a nap in.” She gave Kesh smile with her lips closed. No sense in displaying teeth to a predator…right?

—Sage

Under nearly any other circumstance, the tendency of humanoid to show toothy smiles does not bother Kesh in the slightest. Her earliest exposure to humans, orions, bolians, and the like and their grins was earlier than her earliest distinct memory, so such things are just the way of things. At this very moment, however, for reasons the doctor is not aware, that choice of close-lipped kindness is very fortunate. The only hints of these reasons come in the fraying of the felinoid’s neck fur and the slight hunch in her posture, while she moves toward the most obvious medical alcove and its padded surface. She nods her head once, but then grimmaces lightly at the dizzy feeling that provokes.

A moment later, on reaching the frame of the entryway to that medical bed, Kesh’s shoulders jolt up, her posture recoils to one side, and one hand lifts up to grasp the frame, causing a small noise that’s sharp in the ears, both from her own throat and from the spot where her fingers grasp. Whatever caused it is gone just as quickly, as two deep breaths calm her down enough to continue onward and then slide onto the observation bed, immediately covering her face with both three-fingered hands.

A small dent in the shape of the Caitian’s fingers lingers in that spot, not severe enough to damage it, but still noticible in the otherwise pristine medical bay.

-> Kesh, Engineering

Sage followed the Caitian at a respectable distance and waited for her to settle on the bed. The seconds of vertigo were noted by the doctor. She also realized it would be good if one of the biobeds were designed specifically for Caitian anatomy that allowed them to curl up comfortably. Engineering would have to take on the task of creating it in a way that medical scanners and sensors would still work properly.

“Ensign, I know you don’t want to be here, but you are not well enough to be released to your own quarters. I’m going to set the bed to repeat a few scans every fifteen minutes so I can keep an eye on what’s happening with you. Is there anything I can get you that would make you more comfortable?”

—Sage

OOC: I’m so sorry, Delta picked up like crazy.
IC:
“If you have specialized ear or eye coverings in your quarters, we can retrieve those for you.” T’Lora offered. Caitians had a similar sensory range to Vulcans, and T’Lora knew exactly how loud things could be with a concussion.
-T’Lora