First Impressions

Posted on Fri Sep 14th, 2018 @ 12:30am by Captain Enalia Telvan & Lieutenant Asa Dael

Mission: Holographic Horrors
Location: USS Hera
Timeline: Stardate 72664.7

Morning came too early, as it often did for Asa. They woke from a refreshing slumber in their new quarters to the gentle chime of their alarm beckoning forth the day. Mid way through their morning stretches Asa froze.

“Oh gods. I meet the Captain in an hour,” they spoke to the empty room.

Asa deliberately completed the stretching regimen they adopted growing up on Bajor. It had been taught as part of a religious practice, but Asa still found value in the early morning activity. They had compiled ample research on the value of physical activity to justify continuing the ritual to their anti-religious way of thinking.

Once limber, Asa chugged a breakfast drink in three huge slurps, brushed their teeth, and took a quick rinse off while rehearsing the upcoming meeting with the captain in their mind. Looking in the mirror practicing friendly-yet-professional-smiles, Asa ruminated to themselves.

Oh gods, if I make a bad impression, it will set the tone for my entire time on this ship. If my first posting goes poorly, then my whole career is tanked. If my career with StarFleet doesn’t work out I can’t advance medicine, and if I can’t do that I’m going to be a failure my whole life- AND THAT IS FOR ANOTHER 500 FREAKING YEARS!!! Oh Gods, I should just call it quits now and transport myself into space. It would be quicker.

Settling on a facial expression, Asa dressed in their uniform; at least that much they knew they could get right. Exiting their quarters and walking to the turbolift, they realized they left their tricorder on the bedside table and sprinted through the corridor to retrieve it. The young doctor arrived five minutes early to the turbolift that would take them directly to the bridge and began to pace up and down the nearby corridor.

Now I look like an absolute maniac pacing in front of a lift door. I look like the biggest idiot to ever be allowed to go anywhere ever. Pull yourself together, Asa. Don’t let anyone see what a disaster you are. Gods, the elders were right, I was way too young to leave home, much less serve on a ship. Ok, time to go. Smile on, and press the button. You got this.

The lift gently rose to the bridge, doors opening with a pleasant swishing sound. Asa sucked in their breath quickly, reminding themself which direction to walk to the Captain’s ready room. They put their shoulders back and stood as tall as their stature would allow. Combined with the effort of smiling and trying not to goggle at their surroundings, Asa was certain their new crewmates were looking at them wondering who let a hairless bipedal giraffe on board.

Lifting their hand, Asa rang the chime to the Captains ready room and mentally steeled themselves for whatever may come.

"Come in!" called Enalia, looking up from her desk terminal's holographics and clicking them off for the moment. Seeing the tall woman, she squinted, trying to remember who this was and if they were her next appointment. She'd had so many transfers over the past week, it was starting to get hard to remember all the new names and faces. "You are... Our new surgeon and assistant medical Chief, right? Doctor Dael? Please, come in and have a seat. Would you like something to drink?"

Asa hurridly took the indicated seat and perched on the very edge, back as straight as they could make it. "Yes Captain, I am Lieutenant Junior Grade Dael. Um, no thank you, nothing to drink."

Their voice was slightly reedy with intimidation, but Asa was trying their best to maintain the confident smile they spent the morning practicing.

"It's a pleasure meeting you. I was confused by something in your records though. If you don't mind..." Enalia took a moment to pull up the woman's file. "Could you please confirm your age for me?"

Asa took a steadying breath. Thankfully they had already practiced their particular question in the mirror this morning; it wasn't a hard one to predict, it was often something people wondered about. "Twenty seven, Captain. I assure you, I am fully versed and trained in all required Starfleet training and medical knowledge."

The spotted captain shook her head and smiled politely. "Just checking. The last El-Aurian we had aboard was over four hundred years old and didn't look really any older than you so I really can't judge. Of course, he also caused a time travel fiasco on one of our missions and nearly caused a time-space fucknado that would have consumed this whole universe... You're not going to do anything like that, are you?"

Asa gulped, wishing they had accepted an offer of a drink, if for no other reason than to have something to do with their hands. "No Captain, I endeavor to cause minimal fucknados," they replied, attempting a genuine smile at the term.

"Excellent," Enalia replied, clicking her terminal back off and leaning back in her chair. "Well then, welcome aboard the Hera. We fall under Intel Command and most of our missions never see the light of day. You should expect to deal with some rather unusual injuries along the way. Nothing too exotic, mind you. Things like people being bitten by giant infectious animals, gored by minotaurs, shot repeatedly by experimental weapons in secret laboratories... Things like that."

Asa's face lit up at the information. "That sounds like an excellent chance to help others and learn about new environments. I look forward to the challenge. I mean, not that I want anyone to get hurt..." they trailed off, realizing the misstep in their enthusiasm.

"Yeah, it would be best if no one got hurt... But it seems someone does on every away mission. Hence why we need a skilled surgeon like yourself." Enalia couldn't help but smile at Asa's enthusiasm. "So what are your goals while aboard? Is there anything I can help with?"

Asa felt immediate relief and gratitude that their enthusiasm was not misconstrued. "In addition to serving the crew, I would like to investigate any pathogens or diseases we come across, in a safe manner of course. Immunology and pathology are passions of mine, as is discovering new methods for administering medicines."

Enalia grinned wider. She had a suspicion that Asa would be a very good asset to the crew. "I'll have to clear you for the classified database of pathogens then. We've had to shut down experimental bio-weapons labs before and I suspect we'll have to do so again in the future. One of our missions, we had to destroy a Romulan station that was experimenting with combining Borg nanotech with the Kobali virus to produce... Ah... I'll let you read about that disaster later... Just... I don't recommend watching the body cams from the EV suits. It was pretty gruesome."

Asa suppressed a shudder, "I can imagine, Captain. Gods, Borg nanotech is bad enough...I look forward to reading it. What would you like me to focus on, if I may ask, Captain?"

"For now, we need to make sure the crew is healthy and ready for what may come. We also need all medical data we have on the human gods compiled. They've appeared to other races, but conveniently, most of them have focussed on Earth for some reason so it's what we're calling them for now until we get them to tell us what their actual racial name is." Enalia clicked her terminal on again and pulled up a holographic display of one of the scans covertly taken of Hermes. "We know they have a special organ that can convert energy into other things but that they need a power generator. They also consume mental energy in the form of worship and praise, it seems. Apollo could create lightning. Danu can create healing energy. We need countermeasures against them, their powers, and their tech in case more come calling."

"Excellent!," Asa replied, "I look forward to compiling research on this! Just think, if we could replicate and transplant the energy conversion organs into field personnel with photosynthetic energy processes, why, the number of people who perish from lack of resources could be so greatly reduced! When can I begin, Captain?"

Their puppy-dog energy was reaching fever pitch, and the young El-Aurian was practically vibrating with excitement. A new challenge! After the long days of skills reinforcement in the academy they relished the possibility of being of use.

"I also look forward to meeting the crew. I hope to make the physicals as quick and painless as possible."

"You can begin right away... ah..." Enalia glanced towards her terminal nervously, wondering if she should mention a Section 31 project that had tried to do the exact same thing with humans some years back after Kirk and the Enterprise had encountered Apollo. The experiment had gone poorly, the augments being able to absorb an average of twenty one thousand calories per day after the procedure and being unable to use even a quarter of them even under the best conditions. The other experiments along the same lines were similar failures, resulting in the deaths of all subjects as far as she knew. "I might release classified experiment data to you as well, in case they prove useful. Just promise me that nothing will come of it, ok?"

"Of course Captain," Asa replied, "I will report any findings or proposals to the Chief Medical Officer and any other officers you request. The crews safety is my utmost concern."

"Excellent. It sounds like you have everything well in hand then. If you need anything from me, just let me know." Enalia smiled and nodded. "Do you have any questions for me?"

"No, Captain. My dossier indicates my next meeting is a formal meeting with Lieutenant Commander Paris, I look forward to seeing her again, and meeting with the Chief Medical Officer."

Lieutenant Dael was practically buzzing with the possibility of a new mystery to crack. They had long desired to see the mysteries the universe held, and turn those mysteries into ways to improve the lives of all sentient beings. The unconsciously were sitting up even straighter, if such a thing were possible, and their eyes were bright with excitement.

Enalia couldn't help but grin wider at her enthusiasm and wonder if she was ever that young and full of energy. "Well then welcome aboard. It's good to have you as a part of the team. Dismissed."

"Yes Captain, Thank you!" Asa said as they practically sprinted back to their quarters to read and prepare for the meeting with the first officer.