Medical Check-Up: Captain Cooke

Posted on Mon Feb 3rd, 2025 @ 7:11am by Captain Patricia Cooke & Lieutenant Sara'draphia T'eseri

1,519 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Impending Midnight
Location: Sickbay, deck 5
Timeline: Prior to Field Promotions

Standing in the middle of her new Sickbay, Sara was eager to give her new sickbay a test run. All this fancy equipment just sitting here waiting to be played with. “Alright, let’s make a start” she said to herself before tapping her combadge, “Captain Cooke, this is Dr T’eseri, can I see you in sickbay at your next convenience?”

"Of course, I'll be right down." Came Patricia's response.

Patricia could appreciate a doctor that took initiative in getting their crewmates' exams done. She hadn't had one since she was still First Officer on the Sandusky. When the call came down, Patricia stopped what she was doing and made her way out of the ready room to the turbolift, taking it down to deck 5 where Sickbay was located.

"Is there something not right, Lieutenant?" Patricia asked as she arrived. "I know the place has been a bit of a mess since Commander Bakshi was reassigned."

"oh, no nothing is not right Captain, I simply wished to give each member of the senior staff a physical check before we were too far from a Starbase. Please, take a seat on a biobed of your choice" Sara replied before turning around to retrieve a medical tricorder, "and as for the state of sickbay, I'm sure I will have this room cleaned up in no time at all. Although, some doctors prefer their sickbay's to be a little disorderly. They say it helps patients feel more relaxed"

"I see." Patricia nodded, moving over to the nearest empty biobed and taking a seat on it as instructed. "Well, hopefully I make a good first guinea pig." She said with a laugh.

"guinea pig? oh, yes, you're referring to a test subject" Sara said, not completely understanding the expression, "i'm sure you will be fine." Joining Patricia at the biobed, Sara pulled the wand from her tricorder and started her scans. "is there anything you'd like to tell me? any allergies? latent injuries or lingering pain?"

"Well, I got hit in the knee by a disruptor blast a couple years ago, and I don't think the damn thing ever healed properly." Patricia grumbled. "If I do a lot of bending and stooping down, it's hell on my knee, and sometimes if I step wrong, I'll tweak it and it hurts like a you-know-what for a bit."

"hmm, interesting" Sara commented as she knelt down and began to scan both of Patricia's knees, "the impact, was it from the front or from the rear of the knee?"

"Front." Patricia specified. "We were shooting directly at the Romulans, and they were shooting directly at us."

Carefully examining her knees as she read the scan results, Sara gave a ‘hmm’ of intrigue, “I believe I may have found what is causing your pain Commander. It appears that there is a small sliver of your knee cap that has embedded itself in the tendons around you knee. A very simple thing to miss if one is in a hurry. I would say that it was broken off by the impact of the disruptor and thrown backward”

Patricia was surprised by this revelation.

"Would it be easy to correct? Or since it's been a couple of years-?" She asked.

Sara paused for a moment to think before answering, "it will be easy to correct, although the recovery time might take a week at least. I prefer to allow the body to heal naturally rather than overusing regenerators or hypospreys. I would require you to refrain from walking for a few days after the surgery" she explained, laying everything out for her patient.

"So, you'd put me in a wheelchair or something?" Patricia asked, imagining the indignity of rolling around the bridge in a wheelchair. "Because there's no way in hell that I'm not captaining for a few days, not with everything the way it is. Maybe once our current crisis has been resolved, we can come back to the topic?"

“That would be fine Commander, I do not foresee any further injuries from delaying the procedure” Sara said as she made a few quick notes. “So, are there any other concerns?”

"Not for me, no." Patricia said. "I am wondering how well you're settling in, though: You are the third Chief Medical Officer the Missouri has had: After Dr. Bakshi was reassigned, Dr. Araala briefly took over, but she too was reassigned. When you hear me saying stuff like this, you probably must think I'm doing something wrong, given my inability to maintain a steady crew:"

"I don't think that at all Commander, I believe being reassigned to different postings is a common thing. I'm sure it is not a comment on your command style. As for me, yes I'm settling in quite nicely. This ship is quite the piece of technology, more advanced than any Federation ship I've been on"

Patricia smiled.

"She is the pinnacle of Starfleet technological advancement right now." She said. "That being said, I've also made it a goal as captain to maintain traditions as well, in the hopes that we can look proudly in both directions."

Sara found this perspective surprising, "oh? are there any traditions that I should be aware of? I may not have been in starfleet as long as yourself, but I can appreciate maintaining some traditions"

"Well, for starters, how familiar are you with the concept of a breakaway song, Lieutenant?"

Sara shook her head, “I’m afraid I haven’t heard of a ‘breakaway song’ before. I cannot even guess what it is as my grasp on human language isn’t that strong. What is it?”

"Well, it's an ancient Earth naval tradition conducted following the successful conclusion of an UNREP." Patricia began to explain before realizing Sara probably wouldn't understand the slang. "Sorry, underway replenishment. Though the tradition was always at the Captain's discretion, some Starfleet captains chose to carry on the tradition into the Starfleet age. Basically, it's a song that's played as the newly replenished vessel begins to maneuver away from the vessel that had been resupplying it. The Starfleet version sees the tune begin as soon as the vessel jumps to warp."

"hmm, an interesting tradition. It almost sounds ceremonial in nature." Sara responded, before giving the original question a moments thought. "has a song been selected for this ship?"

"Not yet, but it is something I'm looking to do." Patricia nodded. "I could always just pick something, but a breakaway song always works better if it's something the crew selects. The problem is, I'm not sure if voting on a breakaway song is at the forefront of everyone's minds right now."

Sara nodded in agreement, “I concur, perhaps a once we are underway and the crew have settled in a little. As for myself, noting in particular comes to mind”

"Don't sweat it, doc." Patricia said sympathetically. "Quartermaster Jinryo tells me you're still learning about Human culture, so I don't expect you to have something for this right away."

"I appreciate your patience Captain. Among my own people, We've never had the same sense of urgency that I've seen with Federation species. I suppose having a life span as long as mine allows me time to learn about different subjects slower then most."

"How long do you live?" Patricia asked before realizing how curt she sounded. "Just out of curiosity."

Sara gave her a smile, “my people have life spans of around 1000 of your Earth years. I am currently just over 200”

Patricia let out a long, low whistle.

"That's a mighty long time to do things." She admitted. "I'm sure your people must be wise beyond their years with such a long lifespan."

Sara nodded, “the Matriarchs are, they are our elders who have lived many centuries and learned much. They guide out people as leaders and as teachers. My people go through three distinct phases of our lives. The wanderer phase, where we seek knowledge and adventure, are generally our younger years up to 300 or so, then we enter our Maiden phase where we find a mate and settle down to build a family, then around 700 to 800 years, we enter our Matriarch phase, where we impart our knowledge to the younger generations and help to shape our society”

"That long, and I think you've got even the El Aurians beat for longevity." Patricia chuckled. "Anyhow, was there anything else that you need me for?"

After a quick mental check, Sara shook her head, “no, I believe that the information provided with suffice. Thank you Commander, you may go” she said before reaching into her pocket, pulled out a cherry flavoured lolly pop and offered it to Patricia.

"Ooh, cherry! My favorite!" Patricia said, gleefully tearing open the wrapper and inserting the hard candy end of the lollypop into her mouth. "Oh, and welcome aboard, if I didn't say so already:" Patricia offered a hand for the Doctor to shake.

Sara smiled happily, “thank you Captain, I look forward to to seeing what this assignment has for us”

Posting by

Commander Patricia Cooke
Commanding Officer

Lieutenant Sara'draphia T'eseri
Chief Medical Officer

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