Lt Alex Storm - Laughter Is Among the Most Powerful Forces in the Universe
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Karen Morris
Aug 4, 2025, 12:09:28 AM8/4/25
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(( Primary Sickbay - Deck 7, USS Artemis-A ))
Laughter is among the most powerful forces in the universe. More powerful than knowledge, more powerful than persuasion, even more powerful than most weapons aboard a starship. The right weapons can subdue a people on the outside, but only laughter can transform the heart of a stubborn two-year-old refusing to eat his vegetables into a heart that not only wants to eat his vegetables, but does so without a murmur of complaint. And that is a feat that no words, threats, or weapons could ever accomplish.
This wasn’t Alex’s first rodeo in sickbay. She had had a physical every year like clockwork since reporting to her first duty assignment. She had succumbed to only a small handful of illnesses requiring a visit to sickbay during her Starfleet tenure. She had given birth exactly once, and she had received two minor injuries in the line of duty requiring a doctor’s care. Physicals were about the least invasive reason you could visit sickbay.
Bancroft: I’m Dr. Bancroft, and you’re in luck – physicals are my specialty ::wistfully:: Scanning, poking, prodding… and, of course, everyone’s favorite question: ‘when was your last regular bowel movement?’
Alex cast him a wary glance, but a smile played around her lips.
Bancroft: ::casually:: I’m relatively new here, ma’am ::squinting with one eye:: and I’m betting you are too?
Storm: So new that I just came from reporting in to the Captain … Fortunately, sans airlock.
A triumphant look graced her face at her feigned good fortune.
Bancroft: ::wryly:: Airlocks are the leading cause of sudden-onset death here on the Artemis. Fortunately, Lieutenants and above seem to be immune to the affliction. Welcome aboard. ::pointing to the far side of Sickbay:: Is this your first time in our humble infirmary? I’d be honored to give you the tour. ::a pause:: Oh, and may I have your name, Lieutenant?
But as he pointed to the other side of sickbay and her eyes followed his direction, she felt a tickle at the periphery of her mind. That tickle usually meant that something …she hated to say ‘devious’, but that’s usually what that sensation meant. Unwilling to pronounce any judgment on the jovial ensign - at least not yet, she answered his question
Storm: Alexandra Storm. And, yes, this is my first time in this sickbay.
The ensign led her around the various parts of medical facilities, describing the assorted features and highlights like a museum tour-guide at a local Scandinavian doll display. At least he wasn’t monotone. But that tickle at the edges of her mind persisted, and she started paying more attention to Bancroft than she did to his tour. Something was amiss; she could literally feel it.
Bancroft: –and over there ::gesturing to a yellow line on the floor:: is our Null-Gravity Treatment Unit. ::conspiratorially:: I have no idea what it’s for and, frankly, I’m afraid to ask.
Alex caught the ensign fiddling with something in his pocket while he smiled jovially and explained the different attributes of diverse types of equipment, some of which he admittedly knew nothing about.
Storm: Ensign?
Alex tilted her head and looked at him quizically.
Bancroft: Response
Storm: Why don’t you pull that tricorder out of your pocket for me?
Alex couldn’t keep the smile off her lips. Part of her felt horrible for the doctor. Part of her thought he deserved to get caught like a Frigelian spider getting caught in his own web, destined to live out the rest of his days either in starvation or by being eaten by a larger creature.
Bancroft: Response.
Storm: Now, I want you to look at the species that it lists me as on your scans, which I assume you’ve been taking as you’ve led me around by the nose.
Alex nodded her head as she saw him scrolling through the information.
Storm: So what species of humanoid am I, Doctor?
She could have called him ensign again, but she didn’t want him to feel any more caught than he already was. She felt that Doctor, for the moment, was a kinder moniker.
Bancroft: Response
~*~
Tags / TBC
~*~
Lt Alex Storm
Tactical Officer
USS Artemis
O240103SK2
Laughter is among the most powerful forces in the universe. More powerful than knowledge, more powerful than persuasion, even more powerful than most weapons aboard a starship. The right weapons can subdue a people on the outside, but only laughter can transform the heart of a stubborn two-year-old refusing to eat his vegetables into a heart that not only wants to eat his vegetables, but does so without a murmur of complaint. And that is a feat that no words, threats, or weapons could ever accomplish.
~*~
This wasn’t Alex’s first rodeo in sickbay. She had had a physical every year like clockwork since reporting to her first duty assignment. She had succumbed to only a small handful of illnesses requiring a visit to sickbay during her Starfleet tenure. She had given birth exactly once, and she had received two minor injuries in the line of duty requiring a doctor’s care. Physicals were about the least invasive reason you could visit sickbay.
Bancroft: I’m Dr. Bancroft, and you’re in luck – physicals are my specialty ::wistfully:: Scanning, poking, prodding… and, of course, everyone’s favorite question: ‘when was your last regular bowel movement?’
Alex cast him a wary glance, but a smile played around her lips.
Bancroft: ::casually:: I’m relatively new here, ma’am ::squinting with one eye:: and I’m betting you are too?
Storm: So new that I just came from reporting in to the Captain … Fortunately, sans airlock.
A triumphant look graced her face at her feigned good fortune.
Bancroft: ::wryly:: Airlocks are the leading cause of sudden-onset death here on the Artemis. Fortunately, Lieutenants and above seem to be immune to the affliction. Welcome aboard. ::pointing to the far side of Sickbay:: Is this your first time in our humble infirmary? I’d be honored to give you the tour. ::a pause:: Oh, and may I have your name, Lieutenant?
But as he pointed to the other side of sickbay and her eyes followed his direction, she felt a tickle at the periphery of her mind. That tickle usually meant that something …she hated to say ‘devious’, but that’s usually what that sensation meant. Unwilling to pronounce any judgment on the jovial ensign - at least not yet, she answered his question
Storm: Alexandra Storm. And, yes, this is my first time in this sickbay.
The ensign led her around the various parts of medical facilities, describing the assorted features and highlights like a museum tour-guide at a local Scandinavian doll display. At least he wasn’t monotone. But that tickle at the edges of her mind persisted, and she started paying more attention to Bancroft than she did to his tour. Something was amiss; she could literally feel it.
Bancroft: –and over there ::gesturing to a yellow line on the floor:: is our Null-Gravity Treatment Unit. ::conspiratorially:: I have no idea what it’s for and, frankly, I’m afraid to ask.
Alex caught the ensign fiddling with something in his pocket while he smiled jovially and explained the different attributes of diverse types of equipment, some of which he admittedly knew nothing about.
Storm: Ensign?
Alex tilted her head and looked at him quizically.
Bancroft: Response
Storm: Why don’t you pull that tricorder out of your pocket for me?
Alex couldn’t keep the smile off her lips. Part of her felt horrible for the doctor. Part of her thought he deserved to get caught like a Frigelian spider getting caught in his own web, destined to live out the rest of his days either in starvation or by being eaten by a larger creature.
Bancroft: Response.
Storm: Now, I want you to look at the species that it lists me as on your scans, which I assume you’ve been taking as you’ve led me around by the nose.
Alex nodded her head as she saw him scrolling through the information.
Storm: So what species of humanoid am I, Doctor?
She could have called him ensign again, but she didn’t want him to feel any more caught than he already was. She felt that Doctor, for the moment, was a kinder moniker.
Bancroft: Response
~*~
Tags / TBC
~*~
Lt Alex Storm
Tactical Officer
USS Artemis
O240103SK2
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