<snip>

Posted by Lieutenant Fey Kastil (Chief Medical Officer) in Sickbay - Cobb seeks out some curious company

Posted by Captain Zachariah Cobb (Commanding Officer) in Sickbay - Cobb seeks out some curious company

“Oh,” Cobb sputtered. It had never occurred to him that direct communications with family members would be restricted. But then why would it? Not a single soul existed back on Earth, or indeed anywhere in the four quadrants, who held a desire to hear from Zachariah Cobb.

He leaned in again and studied the screen more intently then, as if to prove the matter in his own mind, made a humorous face at the woman’s image. When she did not react he sat back again, mostly satisfied.

“Ah, no need, no need,” he dismissed the Doctor’s offer with a wave of the hand. “I am sure you will have explained our circumstances as best as confidentiality would allow to your sister before she made her decision.”

So, a few formalities aside, that was settled then. The Leviathan would soon be graced with a new and exceedingly talented chef to add to their ranks. But while the captain was indeed happy with the turn of events, it was not the reason he had sought out the good doctor in the first place.

“Well then, all family matters aside, how are things in your department?” he decided to abandon his seemingly futile attempts to persuade the woman to drink with him and instead got down to business. “Are you still inundated with exhausted engineers?”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

Doctor Fey let loose a sigh as she sat back down in her own chair. “Engineering is fine now, no more exhaustion and they’ve taken to a more manageable rotation. As for my own department, we’re out of ideas for missing equipment and stores of non-replicateable components. I’m rather hoping whatever the Einstein has in store for us is easily managed, otherwise we’ll not be equipped to handle it. This is something you already know though, so it shouldn’t be a surprise. Now it’s just frustration when we take inventory or look for specific tools and materials but can’t find them.” The doctor took a drink from her tea as she thought about more going on in Sickbay. “Doctor Feira has taken to be GLaDOS’s personal doctor as she’s also a cybernetics specialist. I brought her on board in case of amputations but she proved to be helpful with the former borg. Doctor Korvoh misses his family, in his normal Vulcan way. The other doctors are taking things in stride as they can. To keep minds occupied I have everyone working on a new major to add to their Doctorates.”

• Doctor Fey Kastil

Cobb stared into his tea and allowed his frown to intensify. “So I guess when the ARU say they’ve spared no expense, it’s a load of baloney then? Or,” he raised his head to meet the Doctor’s eyes with his own, “are the non-anomalous crew not considered worthy of spending money on!”

He felt angry. For weeks he had been stressing to Roebuck and his puppet masters of the need to offer the crew the same standards of care that they gave to the anomalies. But if one was not a monster, then one was instantly expendable. Or so it seemed.

“I’ll put in another request,” he offered, already knowing that it came to little more than hot air. “In the meantime, the Einstein is crippled. She won’t be heading anywhere except for the base once this anomaly has been squared away. So if there is anything worth salvaging from over there, you have my full permission to make it yours.”

Sitting back once more, Cobb gulped down a few more mouthfuls of the tea, the initially jarring taste of peppermint now easing across his palate in a not-entirely-unpleasing manner.
“And how about you, Fey?” he asked more gently. “How are you finding life onboard the ship? Not troubled by the things in captivity?”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

Fey smiles seeing the tea growing on the captain, “I am doing well, I’m a little homesick but that isn’t uncommon for most that have little surviving family. As for the things in captivity, while I’m not fond of them, I understand that until we understand them better, it’s significantly less safe to have them roaming around free. I only consider it a shame that I will not be as privy to the information gleaned from their study as others are.” Fey refilled her tea and the plate of tea cookies for the Captain. “How about you Captain, how have you been handling things? Keeping stress low as best as you can?”

• Doctor Fey Kastil

“Aye, you and me both,” Zachariah replied to Fey’s comment on being denied full access to study results. “I sometimes wonder whether I’m given the full picture on what we’re even carrying with us onboard this bloody ship!”
He sighed and stared into his tea, as if the green-tinged liquid could transform into a scrying mirror of old and reveal to him every secret of the ARU.
“Still, Commander McHarrie has been more open than I’d been expecting from one in his position. Have you met him? I can highly recommend having a peek inside his lab!”

As to the Doctor’s query on his own general state of body and mind, Cobb released a leaden sigh. “I’m plodding along in a mostly forwards direction, as I always do. In truth I feel like this whole business with the ARU has become commonplace a lot more quickly than I expected it to. I mean, only a couple of months ago and I’d never heard of an Abell-level anomaly. And now here I am, discussing them as if I actually know what the bloody hell I’m talking about!”

He laughed and drained the rest of his tea. “It’s a marvel, how quickly the mind can adapt. Although I have not entirely shed all anxiety for what might lurk around the next corner.”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb