Posted by Lieutenant Lauren Shan (Doctor) in Sickbay 1: Ashford’s Physical Evaluation

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Valerie Ashford (Chief Science Officer) in Sickbay 1: Ashford’s Physical Evaluation
The trip to the Atlantis had been mostly uneventful, and having achieved everything she wanted to during it, Valerie felt accomplished.

Now that she was on board, however, Ashford had a new to do list, and at the top were the required check-ins that would allow her to start her actual duties on board. She intended to get those out of the way as soon as possible, so she could focus on other things.

First stop on her list was sickbay. As most people, Valerie didn’t particularly care for the physical and psychological evaluations, but she understood their importance. Still, she would want to have those two done first before doing anything else.

Having spent most of her life inside starships, and most of all, having grown up in one, Ashford found that her general knowledge of ship schematics helped her navigate any ship she had to set foot on for the first time. The Atlantis was no different. Still, she took the time to study her schematics deeply, even before Valerie herself had walked on board the massive Mythology-class ship. With her experience and her homework done, navigating the new environment had turned out to be smoother than she had anticipated, and the new Chief Science Officer found herself in Sickbay 1 slightly earlier than she had predicted.

Looking around the large sickbay, she flagged one of the nurses walking by.

“Excuse me, I’m Valerie Ashford, the new CSO.” She gave the nurse an apologetic smile, in a silent acknowledgment that she was almost certainly interrupting their work. “I need to get my physical evaluation done. Can you direct me to who I should talk to?”

Lt. Cmdr. Valerie Ashford, CSO

“Lauren,” the nurse yelled out as if she were a waitress speaking to a short order cook. “New chief is here.” Yvonne Washington was not a puzzle or a mystery. With one look at the woman, anyone would see a smart and sassy nurse who either amazing at her job or looking to get fired. She looked up at Valerie and back down at the PaDD on her desk checking the woman in. Leaning back in her seat she slightly side-eyed the chief and picked up the cup of coffee on her desk.

Valerie waited. Her hands clasped behind her back more out of habit than anything else. Any other person might find the nurse’s actions awkward, but Ashford had spent enough time in space to have seen almost everything. A small, almost imperceptible smile settled on her lips as she watched the scene unfolding in front of her.

“You transferred in from the USS Thresher,” she asked taking a long sip of her coffee.

“Yes, Ma’am.” Valerie added with a polite smile and a nod.

“My cousin Ravyonne Washington was dating that hot drink of water in your engineering department. Lieutenant Brecker? Hmmm mmmm hmmm,” she made a satisfying sound with her lips. Leaning in she postured her body as if about to tell a secret but never changed her volume. “Girl I saw one holo of that boy an’ half thought about transferring there myself. Lauren,” Washington yelled over her shoulder not missing a breath when speaking. “Not that I would want to change. The ‘Lantis is a big ship with a lot of hot drinks of water if you catch my drift.” She let out a long melodic laugh that tended to be infectious and made most want to laugh or smile with her. “Now the medical chief is not here right now but I might let him buy me a drink. You will like him. Avoid the graveshift. Dr. Reed is good but tends to be all business. Dr. Lauren is easy going but as you can see deaf.”

Ashford had a vague recollection of someone named Brecker on board the Thresher, but not really a recollection of a face to go with the name. Though to be fair, she didn’t usually hang around Engineering too much, or paid much attention to those around her that didn’t directly impact her work. She was mostly tagged as a loner, and of the only two meaningful relationships she had ever had, one of them had fallen apart because she had been so focused on her own work that she had forgotten about the poor soul. So not knowing specific members of a ship’s crew was very common for her.

The smile in Valerie’s face was wide now. There was no way she would be able to hide it, though she did contain her own laughter, not wanting to seem rude or unprofessional with someone she had just met. Though she had a sneaking suspicion that wouldn’t be the case. Still, better safe than sorry, as the old adage went. Indisposing the medical staff of the large tin can you’re getting ready to be stranded in for the foreseeable future might not be the best move right out the gate. Though Valerie said nothing, she nodded slightly in acknowledgement of the nurse’s words.

Turning in her seat she yelled back at a group of offices. “Dr. Shan,” she belted out again.

“What,” a voice finally yelled back.

Dr. Lauren Shan and Yvonne Washington (nurse)

Ashford kept a polite smile on her face, as her gaze turned to the direction of the sound. It seems she’s not deaf after all. The thought crossed her mind, but she stopped the words from leaving her lips.

Still silent, Valerie waited expectantly for Dr. Shan’s response, not wanting to intrude in the exchange, but she could already see that her time on board the Atlantis would likely be quite more eventful than she had anticipated.

Lt. Cmdr. Valerie Ashford, CSO