Lt. JG. Gnai - Are You Sure About That?
Lich
(( Primary Sickbay - Deck 7, USS Artemis-A ))
Hearing the confirmation from Dr. Meyers that it was stress that was the root cause, and not something that could be easily solved with a hypospray was worrisome.
Gnai: This just… if that’s true, is it grounds for dismissal from duty?
If it had to leave Starfleet… what else was there that it could do? It would have to return to Galador II, in shame, because all of the other Galadorans had been right. Apparently Dr. Meyers thought that was a strange reaction, from how the eyebrows on her face tried to emulate those of a Vulcan.
Meyers: ‘Dismissal’? As in a break?
Gnai: …Yes? This would very much prefer to stay in Starfleet, rather than go back to its homeworld?
What else could it have meant…? At least her eyebrows had returned to normal a bit, and she was smiling at it.
Meyers: Lieutenant Gnai, if a bit of stress was sufficient grounds to lose your commission, Starfleet would go through officers faster than any other organization in the history of civilization. ::checks with her PADD: But it’s clear to me that we need to make adjustments to your duties in order to allow your body time to recuperate. In my understanding, Cnidarian lifeforms have a longer recovery process to stress-related health issues than most humanoids, so it’s not as simple as just saying ‘take it easy this shoreleave’.
She was right, after all. That was part of why Galadorans were such homebodies (to use an Earth term it had learned), sticking to Galador II and preferring to work on improving conditions there to be better than perfect to ever leaving. There were basically no stressors on the planet, nothing to threaten their delicate physiology, just a calm and peaceful life. Why waste that utopia to chase a life elsewhere, exposing oneself to unnecessary and unhealthy stress?
Gnai: This was afraid of that…
Meyers: You said yourself that you’ve noticed a deterioration of your physical and mental well-being when removed from the Artemis, yes? I will want to run more tests in the coming days to verify my diagnosis, but if your observations are true, I will be making a medical recommendation that you are restricted to ship-board operations for the foreseeable future. At least until your body recovers. ::slow nod:: Does that sound agreeable to you? Or do you have any concerns about such an arrangement?
Gnai: You’re certain that this wouldn’t be discharged?
It had to ask, even if the question was stupid. It had to be sure before it would want that on its permanent medical record.
Meyers: Response
Gnai: And that it’s not… medically inadvisable to have this stay aboard the Artemis rather than return to Galador II?
It really didn’t want to go back, but if it was serious serious, life-or-death serious, it would be willing to give up its commission. That had been what it was warned of, at times, before it left - that it would end up working itself to death, alone and surrounded by humanoids that never understood it. But that couldn’t be right, Gnai wouldn’t believe that!
Meyers: Response
That was good to hear, that even though she recommended that it be restricted to ship-only duties, she wasn’t going to ship it off back to Galador II for good.
Gnai: ::bobbing in its tank, colors slightly muted:: Then, yes, it is agreeable. Thank you, doctor. ::pause:: So… what other tests do you need to run?
Meyers: Response
Slightly calmer now, with an actual plan forwards for fixing the issues it was having, Gnai fell into a rhythm of movements for all the various tests she planned to administer for it, complying with every instruction. Funny, wasn’t it, how going to see a doctor had actually perhaps made things better for it (granted, it had yet to get permission from its Department Head to be reassigned to ship-based experiments), rather than worse? Gnai hoped that it would remember this lesson the next time it was dreading sickbay, but it presumed that was a tall order. Some apprehensions were hard to shake.
Tags/End scene for Gnai :)