Posted by Cadet Nala Shai’Mori t’Liriena (Scientist) in NALA’S FIRST STOP SICKBAY CHECK-IN

Posted by Lieutenant Ilena Rox (Chief Medical Officer) in NALA’S FIRST STOP SICKBAY CHECK-IN

Posted by Cadet Nala (Scientist) in NALA’S FIRST STOP SICKBAY CHECK-IN
Nala found Sickbay easily Deck Four, two turns off the main corridor. The doors parted with a gentle chime, revealing a bright, spotless medical facility alive with quiet purpose. Soft diagnostic tones hummed in the background, and the faint scent of sterilizing agents tickled her sensitive nose.

A nurse at the intake desk looked up as she stepped inside an ensign, human, with warm, professional eyes.

“Cadet?” he asked.

Nala straightened instinctively. “Cadet Nala Shai’Mori t’Liriena, reporting for medical check-in.”

“Welcome aboard,” the nurse said with a small smile. He reached for a padd. “Let’s get your intake logged. Standard procedure for all new personnel.”

Nala offered her datapad, careful not to let her excitement push her into rapid speech.
“Of course, Ensign.”

He scanned her orders.

“All right, Cadet Nala,” he said, tapping in a few notes. “Let me confirm the basics. Species: Caitian. Any known allergies? Medical implants? Ongoing treatments?”

“No allergies,” she replied calmly. “No implants or treatments. My physiological profile and Academy medical history should already be in the Federation database.”

“Already pulled it up,” the nurse said. “Everything looks in order on the administrative side.”

He offered her datapad back.

“You’ll need a standard physical upon arrival. One of the doctors will conduct that shortly. Please take a seat in the waiting area and someone will call for you.”

Nala nodded.

Straightforward. Predictable.
Good.

She moved to the seating alcove along the bulkhead, choosing a spot where she could see the entire room. Her tail tucked neatly beside her, she folded her hands in her lap, repeating her grounding phrase silently:

One step. Then the next.

Crew passed in and out—medical officers, support personnel, a tech rolling a diagnostic cart. Not one seemed bothered by her presence. Not one stared too long. Life aboard the Challenger moved around her effortlessly, like she was already part of it.

She inhaled slowly, letting the sterile air settle her nerves.

Waiting is fine, she reminded herself. Waiting gives me time to breathe.

Cadet Nala

“Hello Cadet. I’m Lt. Rox. How may I help you today?” a Betazoid woman in medical blue walked over with a warm smile and a husky walking beside her.

Lt. Rox, Chief Medical Officer

Nala rose a moment too fast, her boots clicking together as she steadied herself.
Her heart thumped once hard against her ribs.

A Betazoid.
Not just a doctor.
A telepath.

Her Academy instructors had warned her that nothing rattled a Caitian more than the idea of someone seeing behind their mask behind the carefully controlled ears, the trained neutrality of the tail, the layered disciplines meant to keep instinct from bleeding into public view.

She swallowed once, discreetly.

Her ears tried to flick back in instinctive caution, but she forced them still, keeping them in what she hoped passed as a respectful, neutral angle.

“Yes, Lieutenant,” Nala managed, her voice even but a little too soft. “I’m Cadet Nala Shai’Mori t’Liriena. I I’m here for my standard arrival physical.”

Her hands folded behind her back Academy perfect position but her claws pressed lightly into her palms, a tiny grounding point she prayed the Betazoid wouldn’t sense.

So many Cadets were nervous, Rox didn’t think much of it. “Welcome aboard, right this way.”

The husky beside Lt. Rox appered friendly and relaxed.
Nala wished she felt even half that calm.

The husky nudged Rox and she looked down at him and back at Nala. “This is Ril. He’s my service dog, but he would like to say hello if that is alright with you?”

Her tail betrayed her once giving a quick, uncertain flick before she clamped it still against her leg.

“I-it’s good to meet you, ma’am.”

She kept her eyes steady, her breathing controlled, her posture respectful but internally she was a flurry of thoughts:

She can sense emotions. Keep yourself steady. Breathe. Don’t seem afraid. Don’t seem… anything. Just be composed. Just be normal.

But the truth pulsed under that discipline:
Nala hoped desperately that the lieutenant’s telepathy was gentle and that her own nervousness wasn’t shouting loud enough to fill the room.

cadet Nala

Ilena had learned long ago to not listen to the people around her. She sensed presences, pings of emotions, but it was more like background noise in a crowded room. “Just have a seat up here, and we’ll get started.”

Lt. Rox, Chief Medical Officer