(( Primary Sickbay, Deck 7 – USS Artemis-A ))
Bancroft: ::pulling up Meris’ medical record:: What an interesting way to see the world. Do you usually greet new doctors by loitering in powered doorways until they develop a complex, or is that just a today kind of thing?
Meris: As this is only my second day aboard the Artemis, I do not believe that anything I do from one moment to the next could be characterized as 'usual'. At least not yet.
Roy blinked. Then cocked his head slightly, as if trying to solve a puzzle with no edge pieces. He opened his tricorder with a flick that looked casual but had taken three weeks of practice to get just right.
I do not believe that anything I do from one moment to the next could be characterized as ‘usual’.
Well. That was putting things mildly.
He began his initial baseline scan of the Ensign, attempting to make polite small talk – although he had a growing suspicion that polite small talk with Meris might be akin to explaining sarcasm to a replicator.
Bancroft: ::gesturing to Meris’ PADD:: So, what’ve you got on that PADD that’s so engrossing? The newest issue of Fleet Monthly?
Meris glanced at the device, then flipped it face-down on the biobed with the flourish of someone hiding a gambling habit – or worse, a Voyager fanfiction draft.
Roy’s eyebrows lifted. What could possibly be on there? An Andorian romance novel? A purchase order for 300 Horga’hn? A sketch of Captain MacKenzie with snakes for hair?
The possibilities were as intriguing as they were endless – and probably inadmissible.
Meris: It is... an assignment for Lieutenant Vailani. The Deep Space 224 engineers have requested that the Artemis perform a series of tests to ensure their maintenance activities are completed satisfactorily and that the Artemis suffers no lasting consequences from its prior mission. The list is extensive, and I have been asked to review their requests and triage them by priority so we can complete as many as possible in the least amount of time.
Roy nodded slowly as he moved to the head of the biobed, scanning Meris’ cranial region as though it might yield further insight into how exactly someone could make a sentence sound like a user manual and a warning label.
Vailani.
He wondered whether Meris had simply drawn the short straw – or if someone higher up had found a more creative method of administrative punishment.
Bancroft: Well, I can certainly understand why you were so deeply invested in that PADD. Lieutenant Vailani’s one of those officers who expects perfect results yesterday. I wish you good luck and great fortune on this undertaking, Meris.
Meris: Response
Roy froze mid-step, then gave Meris a slow, sideways glance – the kind one might reserve for a checkers opponent who had just announced “checkmate”.
Well, he should have seen that one coming.
He flicked the tricorder closed and deposited it neatly on an adjacent table, then turned to the console with the gravity of someone aiming a warhead. The overhead scanner thrummed to life, bathing the biobed in soft pulses of diagnostic light.
Bancroft: ::deadpan, tapping the console:: Time paradoxes aside – I’ve seen more than a handful of officers work under Vailani. Most of them quickly developed a thousand-yard stare and several unfortunate tics. ::beat:: Cough twice, please.
He watched with a keen eye as the results from the scan began to filter in on his console.
Bancroft: ::mildly:: But you seem emotionally intact. Are J’naii known for exceptional stress tolerance? Or is Lieutenant Vailani’s… uniquely weaponized directness actually refreshing for you?
Meris: Response
TAG/TBC!
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Ensign Roy Bancroft
Medical Officer
USS Artemis-A
A240205RB1