Lt.(jg) Dr. Toz: Three for the price of one special
Patty Boyle
((USS Octavia E Butler - Sickbay deck 5))
Toz: Ah, yes. Those little metal bugs.
Little metal things, really. They looked at the screen together as Xaivis's half haemoglobin/half nanite blood stream flicked onto the monitor.
Xaivis: There they are…busy little bees. It’s one of the…for want of a better word…benefits.
Toz: Well, Jacen, they are keeping you healthy. I don’t see any reason -or way for that matter- to attempt to remove them.
Borg implants were the very devil to remove and Toz wasn’t the kind of doctor that could do such a thing. Besides, there was no reason to… unless an infection occurred. That was possible but not likely. The doctor made several notes in Xaivis’s record then looked gently at him.
Toz: You’re as healthy as can be, lieutenant. I’ll make a note in your record now that you’re cleared for duty. After your psych exam.
::later::
Within the space of three hours ships time, the doctor had treated a Klingon for an allergy, a Bolian for exhaustion, then a liberated Borg just because.
In the first instance, she supposed it was an allergy since her allergen treatment had worked so swiftly. Of course, Loq might sleep a bit longer than normal for the next couple of days. But that would do him good. She would not make a note in his record that she’d been guessing about that allergy diagnoses. Yinn seemed none the worse for wear. To the doctor’s consternation, she was bent on trying just about anything she could get her hands on. Just like a Bolian. They were just as curious as humans. And her third patient, a liberated Borg, was just a healthy hybrid with metal parts.
As Dr. Toz placed the last medical padd on the stack to her left, she heard the soft footfalls of another patient. It was a busy day. Toz picked up one more padd and stepped quickly into the exam room. This seemed to be another simple checkup. Or so she thought.
A familiar face from the Oumuamua, Jack Kessler was smiling from ear to ear. Toz couldn’t help but return that smile.
Kessler: Hey doc, happy to see you.
Toz: Jack. I heard rumors that you were back. I heard you’d been killed, that you were taken prisoner by the Romulans, and, of course, that you were sent back to earth for some reason or other. ::lightly laughing:: But I also knew you’d be coming back. How are you? I’m so glad to see you.
Kessler: Doing better than I think most think I should be. How have you been.
Jack hopped up on the biobed. Toz noticed that he seemed to be watching her movements closely. Closer than patients normally do.
Toz: Jack, are you afraid of what I might find? ::smiling:: I promise, this won’t hurt a bit.
Kessler: That’s good. I guess you have your hands full now with Doctor Kel gone.
Toz: My workload has increased a bit. You were best friends, weren’t you? ::pause:: You do realize that Starfleet transfers personnel back and forth from ship to ship all the time. You’ll still get to see him once in a while. Besides, there’s always the communication portals.
Over the bed, the readouts were a bit erratic for a second. Dr. Toz took a deep breath as lines jumped then began to settle into a normal rhythm. They were both silent for a few moments. Then Toz just had to ask more out of curiosity then anything else.
Toz: Jack, are you okay? You seem very tense. There’s nothing to worry about, you know.
Kessler: No, I am fine but Commander Promontory wants a full medical work up to make sure I am really ok to return to duty. (beat rolling his eyes) You know, protocol and all that stuff.
Toz: ::tilting her head slightly:: This is just protocol. Everyone goes through their medical check ups when coming onto the ship and before every mission. You know all this.
Lt. Kessler was one the the best tactical officers Toz had dealt with. When he’d lost contact with his parents he almost lost it all. But training had instilled an automatic response to his ‘job’. He knew what to do and when to do it. But, the doctor admitted to herself, being in charge of weapons and shields was a heavy responsibility. She had no doubt Lt. Kessler was capable and Starfleet obviously thought so, too. After all, he was still a full lieutenant. But Commander Promontory was another matter. She didn’t know him well but he was most capable.
Kessler: response
Toz: I’m going to release you for duty but I want to do another checkup in 14 days.
Kessler: response
Toz: We need to get around the commander’s concerns and we can’t do that unless there’s positive medical results. Have you spoken with the counselor yet?
Kessler: response
Toz: I’ll make a note of that. ::waving Jack off the bed:: You are free to go do whatever it is you need to do. Say hi for me to Kel when you talk with him.
Lt.(jg) Doctor Toz
Acting Chief Medical Officer
USS Octavia E Butler
T239801T14