Fleet Captain Addison MacKenzie - Ejected

[Addison MacKenzie]

(( Captain’s Ready Room – Deck 1, USS Artemis-A ))

 
In addition to being a commanding officer, the captain of the Artemis was also a flag officer who had a decorated history of service to Starfleet, and a proven record as one of the foremost surgeons in the galaxy. Her oaths, be they to Starfleet, or to first do no harm, drove both her view of the galaxy and the ethics and contributed to her decisions. She expected that her officers would uphold the standards expected of them all via their service to Starfleet – standards she felt she exemplified – but also understood that sometimes there could be an occasional slipup… Yet somehow, with the Mizarian standing in front of her – the officer who’d sworn several of the same oaths as she had – who was now confessing to falsifying medical records, MacKenzie felt an obligation to dig deeper. Certainly one wouldn’t falsify their own records simply because it suited them. Not if they were now confessing to their criminality.

MacKenzie: Explain it to me.

 

Sadar: C-C-Captain? I-It’s all d-detailed on the PADD, s-so if-

MacKenzie rapidly swiveled back to face Gila.

MacKenzie: I’m a doctor, so explain it all to me. What did you notice, and when? (beat) ::waving her finger:: And then your choices.

 

Sadar: ... D-During Frontier Day... I-I... L-Lieutenant Gnai’s suit was assimilated... I-It was chasing u- ::shakes head:: me on the Bridge. I-It c-caught me, a-and I was... I-I d-don’t know h-how or why, b-but I... I attacked it.

MacKenzie’s eyes narrowed.

MacKenzie: You attacked it?

Gila took the PADD. Her fingers trembled as she recalled the real X-Ray – the one she’d tried to hide from her record. When the file loaded, she placed the PADD back on her desk. The commanding officer gave the device a long look before opting to pick it up.

Sadar: Th-These... ::twists anxiety ring clean off of finger:: Th-Th-These are... E-Extendable bone-like appendages that are housed in the h-hollow ramial bones that line my skull, a-and they can in t-times of great duress be expelled from the p-palate as a v-v-v-v- ::clears throat:: as a d-d-defensive m-mechanism.

MacKenzie: I see them. You mean to tell me you’ve been hiding them from Starfleet this whole time?

Sadar: N-No Sir... I-I attended e-every physical check-up in the Academy, a-a-and... Th-They didn’t exist. A-At that time. ::wrings her hands:: I-I was scared. I didn’t w-want people to know. I-I wasn’t r-ready to accept that I... That I... That I... I-I’ve b-been p-purposefully avoiding m-my check-ups for the past 11 months, adding f-fake X-Rays to my medical journal for the past three... T-To prevent them from being... D-Discovered.

Addison waved both her hands around slowly in a dismissive lackadaisical manner.

MacKenzie: And so you thought, rather than tell anyone, rather than come to me and explain what had happened so that we might be able to help you, that your best or only course of action was to try and conceal it? Cover it up and hope for the best? Like it’s not a danger to you or your crewmates?

 

Sadar: Response

 

MacKenzie’s face snarled and her open hand slapped the surface of her desk with a reverberating crack that could have broken the cosmos as she launched herself into a standing position.

 

MacKenzie: That is the most egregious lapse in judgment I have witnessed from one of my officers. And I’ve seen a lot. What do you have to say for yourself?

 

Sadar: Response

 

She gave the Mizarian a long stare before she finally broke her posture and moved to stand in front of her. After another few painful moments of silence, MacKenzie finally reached up and removed the two gold pips from the former doctor’s collar, along with her commbadge from the front of her uniform.

 

MacKenzie: Get your things and get off my ship.

 

Fleet Captain MacKenzie turned back toward her desk and tossed the objects in her hand meaninglessly onto the desktop’s surface, landing with several tiny clinks. As she moved to take her seat behind the desk, she heard the door swishing open and closed. She finally dropped into her chair with the same haphazard carelessness that she’d tossed Gila’s pips and commbadge to her desk, her gaze once again falling on the empty room and closed door. She pursed her lips and shook her head to herself. 

 

What a waste.

 

 

 

Tag, and End Scene for MacKenzie!

 

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Fleet Captain Addison MacKenzie, M.D., Ph.D., FASFS
Commanding Officer
USS Artemis-A

Captains Council Member at Large

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