Introductions All Around [BACK POST]

Posted on Thu Oct 5th, 2017 @ 7:39am by Fleet Admiral Donatella Figueroa & Lieutenant Commander Ezekiel Hill

Mission: S01E01 - At the Brink of Night
Location: USS Musashi | Sickbay

Danael felt the familiar tingle of the transporter as he rematerialized aboard the Musashi. He'd spent the last several days aboard the small transport ship, and his head was still hurting from the incredibly tedious data entry job he'd been assigned while aboard her, but it was quickly washing away under the sheer elation he felt at finally being aboard the ship that was to be his new home. Stepping down from the transporter pad he walked up to the officer on duty. "Ensign Danael Stephens, Nurse, requesting permission to come aboard." he said, following procedure to the letter, as only a truly green officer really would. With a genuine smile the woman nodded, after checking the incoming transfer roster, "Permission granted, Ensign. First assignment?" she asked, knowingly. Danael grinned, "That obvious, huh?" he asked. "Just a little." she replied, teasingly. He could see her eyes switching from one of his to the other, a common reaction when people first met him, and couldn't figure out which eye to look at. He'd heard it was a known phenomenon for people who had heterochromia, so he never let it bother him.

He waited while the woman transferred some information to a data slate and then handed it to him. "You will find all the needed information on that slate, including your assigned quarters, your first duty shift, which doesn't appear to be until tomorrow, and there is even a message in there requesting you report immediately to the Captain, and the CMO. If I were you I'd knock both of those out first, I can have your things delivered to your quarters." she offered. Danael nodded, "That sounds like good advice. Any idea where those two persons might be?" he asked. Checking the console she nodded to herself. "Looks like Commander Hill, the CMO, is in Sickbay, and the Captain appears to be on the bridge. She's a really nice person, I'll bet if you asked her to she'd come down to sickbay so you can all meet at the same time." she answered. Danael smiled again, "Thanks, but I should probably do things a bit more by the book on my first day aboard." he replied. "But I will take you up on the offer for my stuff. I'd like to get right down to work if at all possible." he added.

Five minutes later he walked into the ship's sickbay, and found the CMO working at one of the computer terminals. "Ensign Danael Stephens, reporting for duty, sir." he said, standing at attention.

There was a lull in the day, and Zeke sat at the terminal in his office, reading Starfleet medical journals with his legs propped up on the desk with a cup of coffee in his hand. Every so often, he'd nurse the hot mug. It was a pleasant moment in an otherwise uneventful day.

Then a man walked in. Stephens he called himself. He was young, Zeke figured mid twenties. He made a note of the ensign ranking on his sleeves, and his eyes. Zeke remembered being briefed on receiving new staff, and that Stephens was going to be his new nurse.

Zeke put his coffee down and stood up to shake the ensign's hands, "Ensign Stephens," Zeke forced himself to smile. "It's good to meet you. I read that you graduated from Starfleet's nursing program with honors. I'm glad to have such a top nurse."

There was something about seeing a fresh Starfleet Medical graduate in the sickbay of a battleship, that gave Zeke a certain sense of despair that he tried his best to hide.

Spare him the trauma. Zeke prayed the silent prayer to nobody in particular.

"Care for some coffee, Ensign?" Zeke pointed to the food synthesizer behind his desk.

Danael thought about it for a moment, and then nodded, "Yes, sir. A cafe cubano please." he said finally. "And I am glad to be here. Thank you for accepting my application." he added.

Standing there in the doorway, leaning against the frame appeared the USS Musashi's Commanding Officer. The Captain had been notified of a recent transport and the arrival of a new officer. Staying put on the Bridge was not her style. She quite preferred the element of surprise. If it worked damn well on the Klingons, it would work just fine on young green ensigns.

"Well, you're welcome Ensign" she interjected and cleared her throat. "Though fresh out of the Academy with honors and your qualifications? I'm skeptical that you'll be an ensign for too long" the Captain said with a small flash of a smile. "I do hope you find the Musashi a suitable home" she added.

Doing a tolerable job of hiding the small jump he gave when he heard the voice from behind him Danael turned, "Thank you, Captain. I was going to head to the bridge when I was done here to introduce myself. I hope that was not in error." he said, with a nod.

Fig looked at the nurse and smiled. "Not an error at all. I just like to stay on top of everything. Received notification that you had come aboard and I wanted to cut you off before you dropped in on me."

Noting the woman's smile Danael returned it. "Good to know, ma'am. And I am quite sure I am going to find the Musashi to be a more than suitable home in the end. From what I've seen already, and what I knew previously she's a beauty of a ship, and has a very well rounded crew. I am glad to be joining you all." he said, quite sincerely.

"Excellent" replied Fig. "So, tell the Doctor and I something we did not possibly read on your academy records and personnel file" said the Captain. "What are your interests outside of medicine?" asked Fig, trying to get a read on the man.

Danael gave her query some thought before answering, folding his arms across his chest and stroking his chin absently, wondering what to tell her. Finally he settled on his answer. "Sports, and horror movies. If I had to choose just a few things I would want to do on my off time it would be either play sports, or watch them, and to watch old horror movies." he said in reply. "Not the gory kind, I prefer the type with a story to them." he added. When most people heard horror movies they thought along the lines of the gory, he much preferred the creepy, the macabre, or the downright unsettling. All the rest could be left implied for all he cared.

Zeke smirked as he handed his nurse a hot cup of coffee. He also shot a quick glare at the captain, a looked that, he hoped, expressed his mild displeasure with her surprise visits. For a moment, Zeke wondered if she'd climb through the ship's ventilation system if it suited her.

"I don't care much for horror films myself." Said Zeke as he prepared a cup of coffee for the captain, "For instance, how do Vampires avoid blood borne illness? Maybe fifteen years of being in medicine has ruined me."

Danael could sense a little tension in the way the doctor was standing, and the look on his face when the captain showed up unannounced. He guessed that the doctor didn't like surprises much, but then, in their line of work surprises could be fatal, so it made sense. Letting him add his two cents in about horror films Danael chuckled lightly. "Yeah, they aren't for everyone. They do require a certain suspension of disbelief when it comes to the more supernatural ones. What about the more realistic ones, though? Things like Psycho, that deal with the human condition, and the warped things that can happen when a damaged mind is unleashed on innocent people?" he asked.

The Doctor's expression and body posture did not go unnoticed by the Commanding Officer. Though Fig had respect for the Doctor and would typically leave him be to rule over his territory of Sickbay. Sickbay fell within her Kingdom and she was one 'Queen' who did not back down. However, she knew when to pick fights and when not to as well as where. This was not the time nor the place.

"I am sure the Doctor has plenty to show you. I am due back on the Bridge" she said, excusing herself. "Doctor, I'll leave you be to show the Ensign around Sickbay" she said with a polite nod.

Great. You've offended her , Zeke. He wondered if he was too standoffish with the captain. Truth be told, he had an impulsion to be that way towards Fig. Something about her confidence unsettled him. She'd seen at least as much bloodshed as he had, if not more -- but it didn't seem to affect her.

Envy?

"Don't forget to read my monthly report Captain. Just because this is an old warship doesn't mean I don't need supplies." Zeke tried to make it sound more like a joke than a command. "If anything, it means we need more supplies."

Zeke turned his attention back to his nurse. "Are there any particular supplies that you need, Ensign? The ship's physical therapist practices Denobulan medicine, and she requires lots of particulars."

"No, sir. I'm good with the standard supplies. But if that should ever change I'll let you know immediately." Danael replied, a bit uncomfortable after the strangely tense exchange between the Captain and the CMO. "Thank you for asking though!" he added, almost as an afterthought.

The Comm channel interrupted. It was coming from the Bridge "Nurse Danael Stephens, please report to the Bridge" the announcement was made calling the man away from Sickbay.