The Commander's Checkup

Posted on Sunday February 23rd, 2020 @ 3:53pm by Lieutenant Commander Nivora T'vek & Captain Franklin Johnson

4,891 words; about a 24 minute read

Mission: Shakedown Cruise
Location: USS Poseidon; Deck 7, Sickbay
Timeline: Day 001 - 0430 Hours

[BEGIN]

It had been an early start to the morning. The Chief Medical Officer had requested of the Commander for an early appointment so he could begin his crew inspections. It was a rational request, one which Franklin was happy to obligate - though going without eating and fluids slightly irked him. He had dressed formally, appropriately for his station that morning and discarded casual attire. He'd report to the bridge after the check-up so it would have been pointless. Making his way from the turbolift, the Commander approached sickbay, gazing around for his CMO.

He had been in his office for several hours already, he had by now for the most part at least, managed to get his domain somewhat in order, although elements and aspects remained much, at least in his eyes, to be desired, and had began to also apply some of his order to Sickbay, already he had managed to instil a proper work ethic in the nurses, and rotad in a more effective working pattern, to also account for the various plants and medicinals he had set up in Hydroponics.

It had left him free to schedule in some initial checkups while he made preparations for a crew wide medical, especially given for some reason, seemed to be avoiding sickbay, he reflected as he went over several physiology notes from Starfleet Medical on a PADD. He had studied extensively before his arrival, yet a refreshed never did any harm, and then finally, the sound he had kept a pointed ear open for finally came, it would seem that Franklin had finally arrived, setting his pad down he rose, imperiously from the chair in his office to pad gently yet purposefully into the main area, "Ah Commander, I've been waiting for you, please, be seated."

"Lieutenant T'Vek!" the Commander greeted jovially, though in truth he was slightly irked by not having breakfast. "I am very impressed with how well you've managed to make Medical come along. No doubt Gregory would be as well."

During the process of his greeting, the Commander sat, obeying the rather imperius if yet perspective Romulan.

"I trust you are well? no complaints" T'vek enquired languidly, as he meticulously passed the sensor of a medical tricorder over the commander, pausing occasionally to tap onto the main device itself, "As for the ships medical facilities it has been, shall we say interesting, you were not exaggerating when you told me this vessel had been." Here he paused for a moment to consider, whether it was his words or a reading however was uncertain, "Mothballed yes."

The demeanour of the Romulan impressed Franklin. He had met maybe two Romulans in his career; one he met as a guest at Starfleet Academy, the second prior to that during his tour as a civilian freighter crewman. In both cases, they had always struck him as a very imperius people, with a beguiling that - if one were to respect such a position - surpassed even that of Vulcans. A slight smile played at the corner of the Commander's lips, hinting at his appreciation of the situation.

"I think I feel fine," Franklin stated honestly. He wouldn't start a position of distrust with his Chief Medical Officer, especially with his first checkup. To that end, he had made a mental promise to be as honest and true as he could in their association. "Other than my right knee feeling somewhat sore this morning, which I think comes from my time during the civilian logistics corps. I used to be a freighter a crewman, lifted heavy cargo and all that."

Listening to the Romulan, he chuckled after T'vek approached the situation of the Poseidon's aged facilities with some humor and carefulness. Franklin nodded in return.

"Yeah, she's an old girl," the Commander remarked with a gentle roll of his eyes. "Starfleet never saw fit that upgrading her would benefit anything. From what I was told by the Commodore, Starfleet didn't want to fully upgrade a ship they intended to mothball again. That was before us, of course."

T'vek's eyes narrowed slightly at the uncertainty of as to whether or not Franklin felt fine, uncertain patients always made for something of a headache, that or it could be some sign of distrust or apprehension, which, he reflected was to be expected given the historical stand offs between the Star Empire and the Federation. Nevertheless such things needed to be left in the past it wouldn't do for any of the crew not to come forward if they were in need, Pride or Caution, after all when not properly harnessed could be dangerous.

"Sore knee? I'm sure we can do something for that," he idly murmured as he ran the sensor of the medical Tricorder over the indicated knee his piercing gaze focused intently on the readings, pausing his tracking of the sensor to tap on the readout a bit more, "As for the ship, I can imagine there is some sense of nostalgia, after all this is a piece of history, I remember my days when I was a cadet at the Imperial Academy when we visited a T'varo class," his words somewhat distant as his eyes flicked across the readings, without looking behind him he put one behind him onto a nearby rack and grabbed a small transparent container holding a small wafer of what appeared to be stone.

"If you don't mind commander, can you open that and hold it in a lightly clenched hand," he murmured as he held the aforementioned container in his left hand with fingertips.

Franklin admired the intensity at which his new Chief Medical Officer performed his duties. He listened intently to T'Vek's reply, thinking back on his studies to recall what a T'varo class was. He then nodded as he took the instructed object, clenching it within his palm. He continued the exercise, only feeling minor discomfort in his fingers and wrist.

"If I'm correct in my history lessons," Franklin said as his hand continued to clench and unclench, "that would be what we call a Romulan Bird of Prey, correct? What was it like? Is it true that back then Romulans didn't have viewscreens?"

The Commander had recalled a bit of his time at the Academy. At some point, one of his instructors had likened old Romulan methodology to that of the submarines of Earth's old oceans; no view screens and completely reliant on sensors. He didn't recall whether that was a tactical choice or necessity.

T'vek continued checking his readings, more out of habit than anything else, if nothing else for some time to contemplate the readings, something very subtle, but almost imperceptible, yet during his considerations he was not blind to the body language of his patient, "How long have you had joint pain in general for?" he enquired mildly as he reached out with a slender hand to wrap his fingers around the commander's wrist, gently feeling with each motion.

"I believe so yes, however that term and Warbird seem to be bandied so freely about our ship designs," he murmured as he continued to feel the moving joint and eying up readings, "As for viewscreens, there were several differing schools of thought, so certain models did not utilise them in order to assess the merits, consider it perhaps akin to having variants for the testing of an idea and a modus operandi, more than equipment, I'm sure there have been similar such decisions taken in Starfleet," his tone now almost devoid of the drawl, quiet and gently rumbling as he set down the tricorder and nodding for the commander to open his palm and then eying up the slither of stone which along the side, showed a difference in striation, something almost immediately clicked within his mind, "Tell me commander, have you or any of your close friends been to Risa recently?"

"A little over two months now," Franklin said as he continued to listen to T'Vek's reply. It was rather fluid and interesting, his thoughts on the technological progress of the Empire something akin to a hobby. He nodded at the final question, "Around two months ago, actually," he said.

"Why, did I catch something?"

"That would explain the reaction," he paused for a moment to take the stone with a small pair of tongs, "what you could call, traditional medical equipment actually misses a remarkable amount in a general checkup, as you in many cases need to specifically look for conditions and such, fortunately I am not so confined, some would consider it to be a strange combination, the entire range of medical qualifications, and then to top it off doctorates in geology and metallurgy, however, you would be surprised at the interconnections," he gently put the commanders stone wafer back in it's capsule and produced another capsule and put them side by side, the one he produced seemingly the same as the one the commander has had, but now a comparison showed that the commanders one had changed in hue and seeming texture.

"Chemical reactions by the body's natural secretions with sedimentary composition, but yes," he continued as he folded up his tricorder setting the sensor back in it's recess and setting it down precisely, "in short commander, you have caught something, or rather something has caught you, Risan Dendrocatus to be more precise."

Franklin observed the proceedings with the stone, following the gentle instructions of his Medical Chief with compliance. His expression, however, went somewhat pale.

"R-Risan Dendrocatus? I've never heard of that before!" He exclaimed softly, then blinked. "What is it? Is there a cure?"

"A cure?" he replied almost mildly, a warm slightly confused and distinctly uncharacteristically friendly smile gracing his ashen features, "why would there be a cure for such a natural process, admittedly, it is rare for it to still be with you, then again," T'vek paused, nigh smirking sanctimoniously at this point, "if it had progressed you, and everyone around you would have most assuredly noticed, how curious, perhaps it could have something to do with it being shipboard, most curious indeed."

"As for what it is, it isn't harmful, per se."

Franklins expression began to slowly deadpan as the humor in the Romulans words began to process within the Commander's mind. He blinked, then rolled his eyes.

"Alright, what's the joke here?" he asked, nearly sighing. "Come on Doc."

"Risan fauna reproduces through a rather interesting process, by releasing fungal spores which then coexist with the native fauna, which then assists in there mating cycles while also spreading what is required for the flora's reproductive needs, a symbiotic circle as it were" he replied mildly as he recalled the finer details, relishing the fruit of having devoted time to learning of even the more obscure afflictions and conditions. "In short, you have become a part of the natural mating cycles of Risa as it were, a fairly rare occurrence for the more modest enjoyer of Risa or so I am lead to believe, it manifests in vivid colouration of fungal growths on the carrier, the coloration typically help the fauna in attracting a mate as well as having the added benefit of helping with longevity."

"In summary Commander, you will soon resemble a nursery finger painting, and unfortunately for the crew, it is highly contagious, and given the nature of this condition, no cure as can be defined as such, exists, it can only be suppressed for a time, but ultimately if allowed to do so, it runs it's course and fades away, of course in such confined circumstances such as this, it is entirely possible that the crew will be in a perpetual cycle of Risan Dendrocatus, on a more positive and personal note in regards to yourself commander, your joint pain will cease to be a problem,"

There was an audible gulp in the silence that followed. The Commander's eyes slowly trained on the Chief Medical Officer from being absent in a void of thought. He blinked, slowly.

"Is there a way to suppress it?" he asked, flatly.

"Yes there is, but ultimately not long term as the medication used to suppress has more effects than allowing it to run it's course, for the most part it hasn't been encountered in a closed environment such as a starship, the few incidents where it has been, the entire crew had to disembark to a nearby planet to allow it to run it's course before reembarking, the spores cannot be filtered out by standard life support systems," T'vek returned tartly, the prospect of potentially ending up adorned like a human comedian or something he had heard referred to as a clown now beginning to resonate in his mind with something approaching horror, "there are other effects, such as heightened libido, as well as other beneficial effects, in your case joint repair."

"Well," Franklin said as he rubbed a hand across his wrist, "I figure it's best to suppress it for now. We got a busy schedule ahead and frankly I don't envy seeing a ship-load of cadets going at it because some disease reinforced their reproduction systems to do so."

His expression visibly cringed after he said those words, mind automatically impressing on him the consequence of that vision. A soft grunt later as he massaged his wrist completely, he shook his head and looked back at T'Vek.

"Yeah, suppressing is best for now," Franklin said. "But I suggest you also find the time to bring up a notice to all crew about potential effects of this disease I accidentally brought on board. If or when it takes effect, I don't want everyone to freak out."

With a small dry chuckle T'vek returned idly, "it never ceases to amaze me how prudish Starfleet can be over what is natural, Apart from drastically increased Libido, which to some," he nigh rolled his eyes rolling slightly, "is hardly a detriment, this is a condition, as it has no negative effects, As for suppressing, we have two treatment options, each have their own side effects, the first; extreme irritableness, loss of equilibrium and arousal of the pituitary gland." His tone steadily shifting back to the customary drawl as he raised another hand and begun to detail the effects of the other treatment, "otherwise we have extreme and aggressive hair growth, temporary albinism and increased pungency of sudoriparous glands excreta, I can only apologise for this, the condition is rarely suppressed and usually allowed to run it's course in a non contained environment which means that research on such things is, understandably lacking."

"Alternatively I may have another option, I may be able to devise something with less inconvenient side effects?"

Listening to the list of side effects, Franklins expression noticably turned to slight horror. He then nodded slightly at the Medical Chief, voice somewhat lower and more controlled as he tried to reply in a reasonable tone.

"What is the alternative?" he inquired, dubiously, carefully.

"Why so suspicious commander?" returned wryly as he approached the commander holding a hypospray, "hold out your arm please I need to take a blood sample," his tone was even and measured as awaited the indicated arm. "As for the alternative, I believe I may be able to devise a method of suppressing your condition, that will have little to no side effects."

"Sorry," quickly stated Franklin as he realized he was staring at the good doctor in a wry fashion. "I just, I don't know. It felt like I was diagnosed with some kind of funnybone disease is all, but still, yeah, if there's no side effects we should take that route."

After carefully checking himself, he raised his arm, making sure to observe the Chief with more respect.

With little preamble T'vek took the sample and stepped over to an analysis station, and set to work, "I believe I should be able to formulate something, and also solve your low blood sugar, I'll spare you the lecture on skipping meals as I'm sure you're more than aware," he replied in imperious tones from a small distance away, "and I wouldn't worry too much, you are in safe hands."

The Commander relaxed and nodded slowly, "I know I am, Doc. And I'll be sure to eat more, it's just..."

He sighed, a dam bursting as the words began to fall out.

"It's just been a lot of stress recently. I'm not even sure what to do anymore half the time, and I barely eat anything expect in the mornings. I wake up, sit at my desk, and do paperwork. This job was supposed to be about exploring, but it feels worse than that, and I have a gut feeling that something bad is gonna happen soon. Maybe it's the lack of eating.."

Suppressing an initial roll of the eyes at the first excuse before swiftly sidelining those thoughts as the commander began to seemingly collapse, "come with me, it wouldn't do for any of the crew to see you like this should anyone come in for something," putting one arm around the shoulder of Franklin, in an almost fatherly gesture, the other somehow managing to grab the sample, PADD and tricorder and directed him through a door into his office and sat him down in a chair, gently before stalking over to the replicator and in clipped and rapid Romulan ordered something of a vivid violet hue which he handed on a plateto the commander, "Reman Onyx Flatbread."

as he set down the plate he also set down his tricorder and PADD on the desk besides a slender relief of a circle of Romulans upon a hill surrounding a wolf with a raptor in back, statuary seemed to be a recurring theme around the office, between vast amounts of PADD's and unusual equipment, some of it decidedly not of Starfleet issue, there were a large amount of anatomical statuette's in varying scales in one section, most of which were dwarfed by the large statue behind T'vek's chair, unoccupied as it were, of a large Raptor bearing the twin worlds, an artfully sculpted vision of the Romulan crest.

The Commander followed the almost fatherly gesture into his main office and was summarily quieted by the awe-inspiring displays within. The most prominent, that which appeared to be the Romulan Imperial Crest with the Raptor holding two worlds, was one of the particularly interesting pieces. The next was of the wolf with Raptor in background. He swallowed the lump in his throat, sighing.

"Sorry, Chief," he apologized. "Didn't mean to make a scene. Thanks for that. What's with the wolf? I don't think I've seen that in any Romulan art."

"Hardly a scene, more taking care of my patient, not all injuries are physical, and fortunately I am fully qualified in mental matters as well as those physical, it seemed remiss during my studies to be anything less than thorough, as for the wolf, that would be a plains Set'leth during the summer, roughly analogous to your Canine, it's an apocryphal tale that the scouts which discovered Romulus while exploring followed one while being followed by a Raptor, eventually they were lead to an open area on the coast upon which would eventually stand the Hall of State, it was quite an interesting tale, and the piece itself was quite enjoyable to sculpt, I was somewhat worried those brutes from security would have damaged it and my other works when they manhandled my effects, curious though, you make it seem like you've seen a lot of Romulan Art?"

T'vek's tone was somewhat wistful as he recalled it's creation, despite this he did not drop his professional demeanour, as he began tapping away on the computer with one hand reviewing his earlier readings and findings, "Commander, do not forgot that you can talk to me about more than just physical ailments, and while we do have a ships counsellor, I am equally as equipped for such matters, and you may find it easier to speak with a relative outsider not part of the Command Crew as it were."

Franklin nodded briefly before speaking. "On the SS Shipman's Quest, the civilian freight hauler I was on for three years prior to Starfleet, we had a few Romulans there. They considered themselves either renegades or outcasts, and I swear one had to be Tal Shiar, but otherwise they were quite vocal about their traditions and proud of them. Showed me and the crew a lot of their art and games."

He adjusted himself in his seat nervously. "As for my mental health, honestly it's been in the crapper. Stress, just undue stress, and the Commodore is constantly breathing down my neck and over my shoulder. It's almost like I don't own the ship or even command it sometimes."

"The Burden of Command, I could quote all matter of platitudes about burdens we must all bear," T'vek began in flat dismissive tones, "But quite frankly I have always had little patience for platitudes, and while we all haves roles to play I'd advise that you should take some time for yourself, or at the very least time to live, to laugh, to relax, to cry and to think."

"As for Art, Traditions and Games, we Romulans have a very deep culture, it is a pity that outsiders know little of it, understandable as it is due to our needed at the time Isolation, perhaps if you wish, we could engage in some sort of activity to assist you in unwinding, a friend as it were would certainly help," he offered reservedly.

The Commander almost gawked at the his Chief Medical Officer. The Romulan Lieutenant had actually openly propositioned his Commander for some safe, socializing time. It was beyond comprehension that a Romulan, any Romulan, would be so upfront - at least to Franklin. The expression he held was of mild surprise, which turned into a smile and a nod.

"That sounds extremely nice," Franklin replied, a bit of a cheer to this tone. "I appreciate that, Doc. What did you have in mind?"

It was taking some getting used to how excitable humans could be, first Lieutenant Serine and now Commander Franklin, he recalled his Applied Psychology during his varied and broad studies, had been fascinated by the applications of reading people based on their body language and microexpressions, and if he had grasped it correctly, he seemed to have Franklin on the back foot, if nothing else it was amusing as he rather enjoyed the unpredictable, "I am a man of many varied interests, perhaps it would be easier for you to decide and we could go from there?"

"Maybe share some sweet tea up in the Officer's Galley one time or another," Franklin suggested. "By the by, how are my test results? I realize this has been a long running check up, though I admit maybe our pleasantries have taken up most of the time," he said with a chuckle."

"Perhaps, that or something in the holodeck, perhaps in a few days as I have had little time, at present I am spending seventeen hours a day in bringing order to sickbay," T'vek responded neutrally, eyeing up Franklin for a moment before continuing, "for the most part, you need to make some changes to your lifestyle, my evaluation is apart from what we mentioned earlier, you are over-worked, over-stressed and your health is starting to suffer as a result, this is your ship, delegate more, take more time for yourself, as if you don't," he let this last hang, his tone steadily getting quieter.

Franklin nodded, understanding. It was best left unsaid, but he understood perfectly the extent that Starfleet - and by extension any civilized power - held in their Chief Medical Officers when it came to command. He cleared his throat.

"I'll make the necessary changes, Chief," Franklin promised.

"As for Treatment, or such as we discussed earlier, I believe I can offer a dietary solution," T'vek drawled idly as he tapped on a PADD and double checking the readings on his tricorder his fingers moving with all the deftness of a concert pianist, "Of course, this has its own drawbacks, but of a different type," pausing for a moment to idly cast a gaze at Franklin, "I presume you have no objections to drinking tea?"

Franklin shook his head. "None. I drink a variation of sweet tear, old Southern United States recipe. Cold tea, as they call it now, sweet with sugar."

"In that case the only issue should be making sure to have a cup three times a day, or rather a cup of what I'm about to proscribe," he paused for a moment to rise imperiously and take the handful of steps to the replicator, "Virinatian Nut tea, with a Reman Slate Cracker," turning round he set a large cup of vivid green liquid swirled with purple streaks seeming to spin in the cup, next to it was what appeared to be a small slab of grey stone.

"You dip the cracker in the tea before eating it, between the tea and the cracker as long as you have the combination three times a day, you should be fine," as he sat back down resting his elbows on his desk, interlocking his fingers and resting his chin upon them.

Franklin raised an eyebrow, examining the provided "treatment". He gave a cautious eye to his Chief Medical Officer before taking the "cracker" and dipping it in, munching, and then finding the taste not at all what he expected. He chewed and swallowed, nodding approvingly as he took the tea to his lips, taking a sip. Again, he was surprised. It actually tasted acceptable, almost....good.

"This is actually pretty good," he said, setting the cup down. "So I eat this in the manner prescribed, and I won't get any 'incidents'?"

"You shouldn't, no," he paused slowly, "there is a certain type of fungus on the Argiworld of Virinat which reproduces in a vaguely similar way, hence the tea, however Human Biology necessitates additional requirement therefore the cracker, which is best softened with tea, even then it has quite the crunch," Franklin's reaction to the somewhat unorthodox treatment had not gone unnoticed, "I take it you disapprove of the idea of being treated with tea?" he enquired languidly.

"I just never expected this to be any form of treatment," Franklin quickly offered. "There are a multitude of ancient examples of herbal teas being used for genuine remedies. I suppose it is my fault for not considering this to be a possibility as well."

"A hardly unsurprising attitude, The Star Empire is unparalleled for it's medical technology, throughout the quadrant but we have a healthy appreciation for unconventional approaches, and you will be surprised by how effective a non-technological treatment can be," T'vek replied evenly refraining from sounding too proud of his peoples prowess, though he seemed to sit even straighter in his chair even despite his already perfect posture, "remember what I first said to you about exceeding expectations and embracing the strengths of others."

A rather humbled expression befell the Commander then, who nodded as he took another bite and sip. "Yes you did, Lieutenant, and I thank you for that lesson. It has, once again, proved invaluable."

"Indeed," T'vek nodded imperiously, "I've already taken the liberty of programming the Replicator with a variety of Medicinal Romulan Teas as well as Romulan Cuisine in general, Virinatian Nut Tea is quite the delicacy, I'm somewhat partial to it myself," he replied mildly as he gestured towards a large fired clay pot covered in intricate inscriptions, set upon one of the shelves along with a similarly adorned tea set.

Franklin nodded and smiled. "We'll have to discuss your further choice of cuisine sometime, I actually find this tea of better taste than sweat cold tea. That's saying something."

"That is good to hear, Romulan Cuisine is usually on the more tart side, but even then, it is as varied as your own," T'vek replied evenly, with a gentle incline of the head.

He gave a smirk, reaching down to take hold of his prescribed goods for the moment. "Is there anything else or am I free to go?" he added, a slight bit of humor in that tone.

"I hope so Commander, you have for the most part given me a good impression thus far, I would hate for that to change, "he paused with a wry smirk "and yes I would say that you are free to go, for now," he nodded almost graciously.

"I do however expect you back however every three days for checkups, and more than that for my own piece of mind that you are not working yourself into the ground," T'vek drawled as he arced a thin eyebrow.

Franklin gave a smirk, then nodded. He almost started a quip, something along the lines of, "Did I detect care from you?", but realized that would have been inappropriate. He gave the Romulan a pat on the shoulder, standing up from the table. Franklin adjusted his uniform politely, giving T'vek a final nod before heading out.

[END]

----------

Commander Franklin Johnson
Commanding Officer
USS Poseidon

&

Lieutenant Nivora T'vek
Chief Medical Officer
USS Poseidon

RSS Feed