Karma karma karma karma karma chameleon

Posted on Thu Feb 27, 2014 @ 10:25pm by Lieutenant Nicole Anderson

1,295 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: A Whole New World, Part 2 - Durbatuluk
Location: Sickbay

Nicole sat back and rubbed her eyes for the sixth time. She'd been going over Yarin's skin samples and so far had only come up with two things:

1) It reacted much the same way as an Earth species called a chameleon, with a two-layer system
2) She had no idea how to weave it into a fabric

"I'm a Doctor, not a Tailor," she grumbled, then immediately mentally kicked herself. She'd been teased about her "Doctor Declarations" enough at the Academy, but to her mind, it was true enough, and it was certainly a complaint.

She was attempting to grow and replicate more cells from the samples she'd taken, but so far it wasn't proving to give her viable cells that would change color, and much like a chameleon, without a living organism attached, there wasn't a way other than chemicals to get them to change color.

She let out a sigh so loud it carried out of her office and throughout sickbay, causing a few medtechs to glance, but quickly go back to their work.

As the doors to Sickbay opened, one of the nurses nearby glanced automatically to assess if it was a visitor or a customer, and upon seeing the First Officer, discreetly made his way over and muttered, "tread lightly, Mount Anderson is due to erupt."

Alec took the advisement with a curt nod of his head and cast it aside. "Really? Then, she's going to love seeing me." He commented sarcastically."I'm going to give her a reason to blow her top." As he headed for her office, entering as she rubbed her eyes.

"Doctor." He said entering.

"Commander," Nicole grumbled, her eyes still on the screen.

He walked over and hit the override button closing the door of her office; they now had some privacy. "When I'm talking to you, I expect you to have the common decency to look at me, not at your computer screen." His tone was angry, his eyes reflecting his anger.

Nicole's face flushed to a distinct shade of "less pale"and she slowly looked up at him, willing her eyes to stay blue so she wouldn't rip him a new one (both literally and figuratively). "I'm sorry," she said in a tone that was both sweet and dangerous. "I was under the impression this was my office and you were interrupting me." She turned off her terminal and slowly turned to face him, sitting back and crossing her legs, arms resting on the armrests of her chair. "How can I help you Commander?"

With measured steps he crossed the distance until he was standing right in front of her. "Interrupting you? I can interrupt you any time I like." He gave a humorless chuckle, "I have three gold pips that's more than your two, in case you math skills are on the fritz."

Nicole rubbed her temples again and growled slightly, her hair starting to flutter. "Did you come here just to have a pissing contest or is there something you actually want?" she said, her patience waning.

"I came in here to find out just what you were trying to accomplish with that little grand standing display out in the corridor with the Captain."

"You mean when you shouted for a Doctor, I came running, managed not to run into her sitting in the middle of the corridor and then immediately brought her to Sickbay for treatment?" Nicole said, the eye-roll in her tone if not her eyes. "I'm pretty sure I was trying to fix her broken nose."

He rolled his eyes at her comment. "I'm referring to why I wasn't included in the trip to Sickbay.... Doctor."

"Because you are the First Officer...Commander," Nicole said. She was up out of her chair by the time she reminded him of his rank, standing toe-to-toe with him. "There was no medical reason for you to be there and I figured you'd be busy doing your job while I did mine."

He leaned forward, slamming his hands down on her desk so hard it sounded like a thunder clap. "ONE of my many duties, is the Captain's well being. I should have been here to see first hand, so I could monitor the situation."

Nicole tensed, ready to grab him and flip him over, pulling his shoulder out as she did so until his fist hit the table instead of her. "No, Sir" she said, her voice rising in volume. "MY duty is her well being. Yours is taking command when she is incapacitated. If you want to be by her side for personal reasons, that comes later. Don't come in here trying to step on my toes just because you felt left behind!"

His eyes focused on hers, boring into her like twin phasers. "One of the duties of COMMAND is to check on the well being of the crew. In this case the Captain. Something you are totally unfamiliar with." His voice matching hers in both intensity and volume.

"That's right," she shouted, "check on, not piggyback the medical staff and stand over their shoulders like they're first-year medtechs! I don't need you micromanaging my staff!"

"Perhaps I should! I'm not micromanaging your staff just you, since you obviously need it!" he said with a sneer.

"You want to inspect my skills at a biobed? Allow me to create my next patient," Nicole growled. "Spend all your time chasing her and you'll leave some Ensign in charge who'll probably cause me plenty of work you can watch."

Her words incensed him. "W....H....A....T did you just say to me?! Chasing her around? Is that what you said?"

"Well perhaps you can be my next patient after all!" Nicole shouted. "Since obviously you're hearing is impaired!"

His smile became feral. "Oh no, I prefer a real doctor. Not one that rattles bones or looks for signs in her soup."

"Well good thing you left Camdus Prime. You get to have a real doctor on hand, and they get a 6% reduction in average head size!"

He looked around. "There's a real doctor on hand? Where? It would be refreshing to meet a real doctor!"

"I'll introduce you to her soon as I find an XO who can learn to ride a ship rather than coattails," Nicole retorted.

"This from the "Doctor" from some backwater planet. What a joke," he replied derisively.

"Yes I only graduated from one of the top three medical schools in the Federation," she said. "As opposed to your home planet that was barely known for it's fine advancements in crop rotation." She stepped a centimeter closer. "So why don't you go 'rotate your crops' and get out of my office NOW!" The last word came out as a roar, her hair curling and fluttering around, her rage at a boiling point.

"BARELY KNOWN! That's what I'd expect from you! Camdus Prime is the most agriculturally perfect world in the Federation!!!!!!" He turned and headed for the door. "With pleasure!" His hand slamming the button to open the door. He gave her a disapproving look. "Top three medical schools? I doubt it if your an example of the doctors they produce."

She followed him to her office door and gave him a common but less-than-polite Rigellian farewell gesture, snorting fire as she glared at her medical staff who were doing their best not to see anything. She turned and vented her now smoldering anger by putting her fist into the console by her office, breaking both the screen, and her hand.

*Excessive asshole-tendencies, and a broken metacarpal. Finally something to report to the Captain,* she thought, retrieving a bone-knitter and a padd.


JP


Nicole Anderson
CMO
USS Victory


Alec Hunter
Executive Officer
USS Victory

 

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