Training and Discipline

Posted on Mon Oct 2nd, 2017 @ 3:50pm by Lieutenant JuniorGrade Fethraie D'Darra & Ensign Danael Stephens

Mission: S01E01 - At the Brink of Night
Location: Sick Bay

Training and discipline. Meditation. Mental examinations. Conscience inventories. It was all giving Fethraie a headache and, despite drinking water, it worsened and did not seem to want to go away.

She marched from her quarters and forcibly kept her hands by her side not wanting to massage that area of her head in a futile attempt to lessen the pain. She did not want anyone to see her, a Vulcan as well as Chief of Security, ailing thus.

The doors to Sick Bay opened invitingly but she was pressing herself through as soon as the gap was wide enough.

“Doctor? Nurse,” she called as she finally placed her hand on her head. She found a bed and walked to it, hopping up and taking a seat.

Danael walked over to the bed he'd seen the Vulcan woman hop up on to, his face a mask of worry. Grabbing a scanner he began to go over her, focusing on her head, since she was obviously focusing on that part of her body. "Was there an injury?" he asked, not bothering with small talk, knowing it would just annoy the woman more than she already was. He wasn't showing any signs of injury, just a simple headache caused by a rise in blood pressure.

Feth was shaking her head. “No. No injury.” She allowed the nurse to pull her hand away so he could get a better look. “That is, of course, if you can get injured by all the meditation and discipline and mental control and emotional examination and mental training and…oh…” she leaned forward as her head began to swim in pain. The nurse before her was almost dizzying to look upon. Dropping her head in near defeat. “Just a headache. Migraine maybe.”

Danael was a bit worried by the amount of distress the Vulcan seemed to be in. "Lie back, please." he said, and assisted her in doing so. Switching on all of the scanners for the biobed, and supplementing them with the small hand scanner he continued to scan her head. He listened to the warble of the small device, keeping an ear out for any strange readings, which would be signaled by different sounds. Taking a look at the readout panel on the wall above the bed he frowned. "Yes, at first it seemed like just a normal headache caused by a blood pressure spike, which often is the case. Now I can see it is a bit more serious. You are showing classic migraine symptoms. I'm showing elevated sensitivity to light, and sound, as well as elevated activity in your inner ear, which is what is causing the dizziness. You will likely be experiencing nausea soon as well. I can give you something for the symptoms, but you will need to see the doctor eventually if they continue to occur. Migraines can be brought on by stress, but more often than not they have more underlying causes, some requiring medication." he said.

“Just don’t refer me to the counselor,” she said immediately. “I mean,” Feth regained her Vulcan fortitude, “if you find it agreeable that a counselor is not necessary.”

Danael gave a raised eyebrow to the decidedly un-Vulcan reaction he'd just received, but decided not to say anything about it. Instead he noted it in his memory, and resolved to include it in his report to the ship's CMO. Walking over to the desk on the other side of the room he picked up the hypospray and filled it with a mid-level analgesic. "This is going to feel cold, but it should begin to work almost immediately." he said, pressing the end of the device to her neck and depressing the plunger. A soft hiss issued from the device as it forced the medicine through the skin.

Feth could feel the pain mitigate a great deal. There was still a twinge of painful awareness there lurking and reminding her constantly of all the Vulcan discipline and training she still had to focus on.

“Now if you only had a hypospray for that,” she said. “I mean…I thank you…Ensign,” she finally got a look at the pip on his collar. “I already feel relieved of that hindrance.” She moved to sit up.

"Are you sure you are okay, ensign?" he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder, despite the Vulcan dislike of being touched, to halt her progress up from her supine position. "You are showing signs of agitation, and perhaps even mental distress. I can have the doctor here momentarily if you need to see him." he said, wondering what could be going on to have a Vulcan this worked up.

“I am fine,” she said a bit sternly. “No need for doctors. Besides, my duty shift has ended and I shall spend the rest of the day avoiding any Vulcan training.” She relaxed her voice and attempted to sound a little more personable. “This is known to happen to some Vulcans. Not all of us can suppress emotions and maintain mental discipline as easily as most.” She cracked the smallest of smiles. “If I were one to indulge in betting, I would wager actual money that you would hate to see the female version of Pon Farr.”

Danael had to suppress a grin at that comment. While it was far more well known than the Vulcan's wanted to admit, Pon Farr was still a very alien concept to most people. Only because of his mother's training as a medical officer did he know anything about it at all. "I'd take that bet." he said a bit wryly. "I will not alert the doctor at this time, but I will have to notate all observations I made in your medical file. I cannot promise that he will not seek you out on his own." he added.

“That is all well and good.” Feth moved to stand from the bed but stopped herself and looked at Danael. “You are aware I am the Chief of Security? And you do know that my medical information is considered Doctor/Patient Confidential? There is to be no sharing of this information without my or the doctor’s approval.”

Danael was a bit taken aback by the fact that an officer, any officer, much less a Vulcan would feel the need to so rudely remind him of one of the most basic particulars of medical practice. "Even had I not been aware of your position on this ship, which is completely irrelevant to this discussion, Ensign, I am very well aware of both the laws pertaining to my position, and to the basic ethics, and common decency of it. Your reminder was neither needed, nor appreciated." he said, a bit more firmly, and probably a lot more rudely than he'd intended. He'd never expected to be talked to like that, or his ethics to be called into question in such a way, by a shipmate. It had affected him more than it probably should have. "If you have no further questions about your treatment I'd suggest you leave, you will need to rest for the full effect of that analgesic to take hold." he added, turning away, and returning to his duties before he said anything that could get him in trouble.

’Training and discipline,’ Feth thought as she took a breath. She hopped down from the bed, straightened her uniform and started toward Danael’s location. ’Discipline is more that being a Vulcan. It is being a Vulcan and remaining personable.’ The word echoed through her head and she grimaced slightly at all the seemingly hard work just to work well with others.

“Ensign,” she arrived as his location. “You must forgive...,” she stopped herself. “I must apologize for my demeanor.” She stood erect and proper, like a Vulcan. Her hands were clasped behind her back. Her face stern and emotionless. “May I ask for one more moment of your time to speak with you?”

Danael considered the woman's nearly botched attempt at apology, and weighed the fact that she even cared enough to stop herself mid sentence to correct it. Finally he decided it would be counterproductive to pursue the matter further. "Of course. What can I help you with?" He asked, as politely as he could manage.

Feth looked around briefly and awkwardly as she sought the words. “I understand that Vulcans can sometimes be…prideful…and unwilling to admit…to wrongdoing. We tend to come across as coarse and as though we talk down to others. I...” she grimaced at the twinge of the lingering headache. It felt much better but was still present. “I admit that I found myself irritated at my affliction. I see now that my words were a product of Vulcan pride as well as my irritation. For that, I apologize and shall exercise greater mental and emotional discipline in the future. You have my word as a Vulcan.”

"Thank you." Danael replied sincerely. He hadn't meant to cause the woman any emotional anguish. He'd simply been angry at the insinuation that he would ever act unethically. For all he knew she had reason to be worried. "I also apologize. My outburst was rude, and unprofessional." He added.

“And I thank you,” she said with a nod. “I chose Starfleet over the Science Academy because I wanted to be around and study other species in the Federation. I cannot do that if I alienate myself from others.” She thought a moment and her Vulcan conditioning was nearly screaming in protest against her thought processes. There came another twinge of pain behind her eyes. “Perhaps…when we both have the free time, you could consent to my inquiry as I ask your assistance in learning what it means to…be human.”

Danael actually laughed a bit when he heard her question. "Please, don't think I was laughing at you!" He said, embarrassed. "It's just that I'm quite young, very inexperienced in life, and I'm not even sure I know what it means to be human. But I'm willing to give it a try!" He added. "I just hope you don't come away from the experience more confused than ever..." he finished, letting the thought trail off.

Feth could see his embarrassment but showed no sign of reaction to his uncomfortable laughing. She raised an eyebrow to him though, and said, “There are two Vulcan proverbs that are relevant to the situation. One. ‘The greatest teacher is oftentimes the one learning himself.’ Two. ‘Confusion is the attempt at knowledge, which is greater than no attempt at all.’ Have yourself an agreeable day, Ensign.” Feth gave him a nod and turned to leave.

Danael watched the young Vulcan woman walk away, and wondered if there had been anything else he could possibly have done to make that interaction more awkward. "You do the same." he called after her, as she sailed through the doors and out of sickbay. He wondered to himself if he would ever hear from her about that topic, and found that he actually hoped he did. It could be an interesting experience, to say the least.