Pokes and Prods

Posted on Mon Sep 10th, 2018 @ 11:50am by Lieutenant Aeryn Vinia & Ensign Charles Bartowski

Mission: S01E04 The Outpost Has Eyes
Location: Medical Bay
Timeline: Backpost- before the away mission

ON:

Charles Bartowski sat at his station in Engineering, rapidly tapping away at lines of equations in an attempt to improve the efficiency of the engines by correcting small fluctuations in the warp field. Running the simulations, he kept running into the same problem- every time he corrected the warp field flux, the engines just shut down, leaving their simulated ship dead in the infinite blackness of space.

Looking down, he saw what seemed to be the upteenth flashing red indicator of an urgent message. Tapping it, he could see that there was yet another thing that had been forgotten- his medical exam. Cursing under his breath, he locked his workstation and walked out of Main Engineering, breaking into a jog as he entered the corridor.

A few minutes later, he entered the medical bay and was pleasantly surprised. From an Engineer’s standpoint, it was laid out quite efficiently with biobeds on one side and shining instruments on the other, waiting to be used in some emergency or other.

Aeryn entered the main sickbay from the office off to one side, when she'd heard the gentle chime of the door being opened. That was something she'd requested upon her arrival, just to make her life easier. Her practiced eyes, swept over him, and he seemed to be in no distress except for a crease between his eyebrows probably indicating annoyance. "Good morning, how can I help you?"


Charles was snapped out of his reverie by a pleasant but slightly firm female voice. Fighting the urge to snap to attention, he stood at ease and spoke up. “Cadet Bartowski reporting for medical clearance, ma’am” Trying not to ‘eyeball’ the woman in front of him, he noted that she had shocking blue hair in a haircut that was definitely out of regulations. She was quite attractive but he quickly pushed the thought as far out of his mind as he could.


"Relax Mr Bartowski, I don't bite" Usually. Her smile widened a little at his frank gaze, and how he immediately looked away from her. Taking a digital notepad, she flipped it on and tapped it with a stylus. Flipping to the B's medical records, she scrolled through the names. Bailey, Barrett, Barringer, Bartowski. There he was. "Are you Charles then?"

Clearing his throat a bit, he fought to maintain the stoic gaze at the bulkhead. "Yes' ma'am. Cadet First Class Bartowski, Charles Irving. But you can call me 'Chuck, ma'am." he caught her smile out of the corner of his eye but continued to look forward, lest he be told he was doing something untoward.

"Chuck then" she answered making a note of it in her logbook. His embarrassment was endearing- the young man not knowing what exactly to do about his reaction to her. "Alright, so I need to do a brief physical exam and take some blood for analysis. That will require me laying my hands upon you. "

Chuck nodded. The thought of someone poking and prodding made him feel somewhat similar to a lab experiment in a high school biology class "Do what you need to." he said, slightly nervous as he removed his uniform jacket, revealing a navy blue Starfleet t-shirt underneath. "Where do you need me?" he asked hesitantly, the words coming out all at once.

She gestured with an open hand to the nearest biobed. "Up there please, and hands either behind your head or at your sides, whichever is most comfortable for you at this time."

Chuck complied, albeit reluctantly and laid down on the bio bed. Clasping his hands behind his head, he stared at the harsh lights on the ceiling that caused kaleidoscopes on the edges of his vision. Trying not to move, he felt an odd loss of control.

"Any physical complaints?" Aeryn asked softly as she ran a scanner over him, and then rested her fingers on either side of his neck, checking lymph nodes and other physical markers of health. Nothing took the place of a proper physical exam, not any scanner yet designed.

"Just some minor nausea and stomachaches but I chalked that up to the food synthesizers, ma'am. Fake food doesn't usually agree with me." Chuck said, thinking for a short moment.

"Is that for everything synthesized or just certain foods?" her curiosity came across in her tone, as she slid his hand onto a sensor plate. Her fingers tapped the joints to test reflex action and then the sensor plate took a drop of blood from his thumb to analyze.

“Mostly everything on the fake side, ma’am. If my mother had seen these contraptions, she’d have a fit.” He said, ignoring the prick of his finger- those always seemed to sting an inordinate amount for such a small quantity of blood.

"I'd imagine mine would have a similar fit." she said quietly. They might need to take that into account when prepping for missions, that an area of the ship be put aside for the creation and cultivation of foodstuffs so that people didn't have to use the synthesizer.

“Heh.” Chuck said. “Where did you grow up?” He asked.

"I am Catullan by birth, but...I came to Earth when I was 15 and we turned 16 on the shuttle. I've never been back" When she spoke of her homeworld- she pressed her fingertips to the raspberry that decorated her forehead just between her brows.

Chuck mentally slapped himself due to the oversight. "Well, maybe we can head back on the way to wherever the Captain decides to send us." he said. "Granted, I'm not sure when that'll be but there's always someday." he said, quickly.. "

"It would be nice to see home again" she admitted, having missed the purple hills and dark green vegetation. Shrugging she continued her examination of the young man. "Your bloodwork looks good, quite good in fact."


Shrugging, Chuck gave Aeryn an ‘Oh, shucks’ half smile. “Well,you know what they say about Engineers. The radiation keeps us fit.” He said with a hint of mischief in his voice. “Mind if I put my jacket back on?” He asked, biting the inside of his cheek.

Flapping a hand at him absently she granted permission without saying a word. "As I imagine you're eager to get out of my clutches, is there anything else you want to tell me, or any questions you have?" When greeted with only silence she shrugged "Alright you're free to go Chuck. Don't be shy about coming back if you need something. I don't bite." Not hard anyway