Lt Cmdr Quentin Beck - Thoughts and Proposals
Quentin Beck
((The Fishbowl, Celestial Tide Sanctuary, Logali IV))
Quentin's combadge made a dull sound as the comm line closed following his brief conversations with two of the people he trusted most, and his nose wrinkled a little as he peered down at it, unseen beneath the flap of fabric. While he hadn't been on the surface long, he'd noticed a similar sort of sound anytime he'd overheard someone using comms, and he wondered what the grid happened to look like on the planet and if it maybe needed some maintenance.
Then, silence fell over him like a warm blanket. There was the occasional lap of waves against the shore nearby, but the particular angle of the opening above his head muted much of that sound. It was… the first time he could think of in a long time that he'd really encountered such silence. There was almost always some background noise of some kind - the ship's engines humming, a computer processing, a patient snoring. This was actually quite peaceful in comparison. That was something he wasn't really used to, and it was a nice change of pace, even if he knew it wouldn't last.
His eyes were just starting to trace over what constellations he could recognize, though they looked quite different from this angle. He was pretty sure he could make out the string of three stars that made up Orion's Belt, which had always been one of his favorites back home. It was just clustered a little differently. He considered for a moment asking the computer if he was correct, but Karrod's voice carried across the room and pulled him out of his reverie.
Niac: Stargazing is an interesting hobby for a man who spends most of his time up among them, Doctor.
Quentin's brows rose, and he snarked a laugh, raising a hand to rub over his mouth to muffle it a little.
Beck: Spending time among them and gazing at them are two different things, y'know. And there aren't very many viewports in Sickbay, especially not a giant one always sitting right in front of my face.
Karrod huffed a small laughed and looked around.
Niac: At least tell me this...'tastefully'...appointed locale has a bar tucked away somewhere?
The Doctor nodded and stood, indicating a diving suit off to one side of the room.
Beck: Behind Jaques Cousteau over there. You gotta twist his knob a little and it'll open up behind him.
The Captain laughed before moving to the suit and opened the hidden sideboard there.
Niac: Good, last meeting I was called to I was promised a drink that never materialized...in fact here's the perpetrator now…
A freaking Basset Hound came bounding up through the door, dragging the Andorian doctor along with him, and Quentin blinked a few times in surprise before letting out a little laugh.
Kel: Gentlemen? How are we?
The Doctor dropped immediately to one knee as the dog approached, grinning a stupid doggy grin, and he immediately started stroking behind the dog's giant ears, seeking out the sweet spots.
Beck: Oh, hell, much better now that I get to meet this handsome fella. ::a beat:: Oh, and you, too, I guess, V'Len.
Kel took one of the glasses Karrod offered and moved past him to get a bottle of water. Quentin finished rubbing the dog's ears before moving to accept the final glass and settling back into the seat he'd been in before.
Niac: Well, out with it. You wouldn't have asked the two of us to come down here for mustache grooming tips. What's on your mind, Doctor?
Kel: If you're looking for ideas to punish Rox, don't ask me, I've not found anything that works in 4 years.
He snickered and shook his head.
Beck: Certainly not, I've already written the book on mustache grooming by now, you should know that. As for Rox… ::sighing:: Short of surprising her by actually being nice to her, I'm not sure how to throw her off, either. But that's not at all why I asked the two of you here.
He raised the glass to take a slow drink, letting the liquor pour over his tongue, which tingled with delight. He could actually feel some of his tension slipping away.
Beck: I've been thinking about what's next for me, especially now that I'm back from Division 14.
Kel poured the water into a bowl for the dog, who lapped it up happily before starting to sniff around the room.
Kel: Oh career advice. That's an easier puzzle to solve than our nurse friend.
Beck: I'll let Marty try to figure out that puzzle. As for why I asked you here - I wanted to run an idea by you guys, see what you thought about it. After the time I've spent at Division 14, I got a little experience leading more than just a small team of Doctors and nurses, and I found it quite satisfying.
Niac: Response
Kel: While I envy the number of letters you have behind your name I can't say I've had that as a personal goal. Half the time I feel like I'd be happy in a small infirmary on K-7 or DS9. Just a simple "country doctor" if you will.
Quentin smiled grimly.
Beck: Oh, I've considered that, too, but I'm pretty sure if I showed up on DS9 again and tried to take a shift at the Infirmary, they'd shove me out the nearest airlock. I may have overdone it there, just a little bit.
Niac: Response
V'Len smiled at the pair.
Kel: The other half of the time I have other goals in mind, but we're not here to talk about me. So what are your options Quentin?
Beck: Well… that's why I wanted advice from the both of you. I know last time we had a pow wow like this one, I ended up leaving the Ronin for an indeterminate amount of time, but that's not my intention this time around. I'm just… rolling some ideas around in my head and wanted to see if they were crazy or not.
Niac: Response
Kel: Have you tried making a pros and cons list?
Beck: Not yet, but that's mostly because I only just started thinking about this. The idea kinda came to me overnight, while I was still sleeping in my quarters on the Ronin before coming down here. Sort of a flash of inspiration, y'know?
Niac/Kel: Response
Cradling the drink between both hands, he propped his elbows on the arms of the chair and leaned forward, looking from one man to the other.
Beck: You guys are familiar with Hazard Teams, right? And Search and Rescue?
Niac/Kel: Response
He huffed out a heavy breath of air.
Beck: Well, considering how many times we've had shuttles go missing or someone needing emergency extraction since the ship's launch, I have been wondering if maybe we've got a gap in our support tree. Singh and her team do a great job when they're needed, but often they have to divert away from defending the ship to try to perform something a little more specialized, like extracting a prisoner or injured patients, or some such.
Niac/Kel: Response
His head tipped a little in a nod.
Beck: I was thinking we could put together a team to handle that kind of specialized mission. Not exactly a Medical Hazard Team, but not really the traditional kind, either. We would retrofit one of the shuttles to serve as our home base when we wouldn't be on the Ronin, and make it modular enough it could function as anything from an ambulance to a mobile operating room to a high security transport. Which means we would need to involve Security at the very least, but I kinda see this as a team that would pull from all departments.
Niac/Kel: Response
Beck: I… would kinda want to run the team, actually. I'm not sure I could manage it while also handling the CMO job, since I'd need to be in Sickbay, but I would like to at least start putting together the infrastructure for this kind of team. Thoughts?
Niac/Kel: Response
[Tags/TBC!]
Lieutenant Commander Quentin Beck, MD, FASFS
Chief Medical Officer
USS Ronin NCC-34523
A238810SA0