<snip>

“Unfortunately, I can’t do that,” Brad said, “because I’m doing it as well. Particularly since while Alexis and I do spend a lot of time here, there’s always part of every day where neither of us are in here or potentially available.”

Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Chief of Staff

Dira tapped her fingers on the desk for a moment. “It’s your department. What do you think are viable solutions? What would an imperfect plan look like? Because I have no illusions that it will be complicated and possibly messy. And don’t forget that the other Doctor Kane is also medically certified, so he can be a viable backup in an emergency as well.”

Captain Myqian, CO

“True,” Brad said. “But he also tends to work similar hours to his wife, so if one’s unavailable, the other likely is as well.”

“I think schedules go out the airlock during an emergency, but you point is taken.”

He leaned back in his chair for a moment, placing his fingers under his chin as though to stroke a non-existent beard.

“That said, we do have the benefit of a medical practitioner that is available at all hours,” he said. “Now, granted, an EMH is an absolute last resort in any case, but it can also know what it needs to know about Lt. Dalton to properly treat her without having to worry about it going and gossiping about it in the lounge afterwards.”

Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Chief of Staff

Dira nodded. “Yes, that might actually be the way to go. Alright, let’s consider that our backup plan. Any other concerns we should go over before I get out of your hair?”

Captain Myqian, CO

“Not unless you have any more physical or metaphorical bombshells you want to drop on me,” Brad said with a small smile.

Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Chief of Staff

Dira tilted her head up towards the ceiling for a moment. “Well, I don’t know that bombshell is quite correct, but I did want to give you a heads up about something Commander Sinclair and I are working on.” And then she proceeded to fill him in with the basics so he could be prepared for when the moment came. It was all rather hush-hush, but it needed to be that way to be in any way useful.

“And that’s all I have,” she said, a gleam in her dark eyes.

Captain Myqian, CO

“Well, at least that’s something semi-normal,” Brad replied. “Can’t say I’m wholly onboard with the method, but the general premise is common enough. I’ve been meaning to do something similar with the medical staff, but this will certainly add a more realistic element than any scenario I could conjure down on Triage Deck.”

Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Chief of Staff

She nodded. “I’m not thrilled with the likelihood that we will have to deal with actual consequences that are not controlled by ourselves, but as you say, it’s realistic. This crew, on this vessel, haven’t truly been tested in such a manner and I am concerned that if we leave it too long, we’ll be to complacent to respond as needed. So anything you want to add or prepare for, do let me know.”

Captain Myqian, CO

“Emergency-wise, this should probably cover just about everything,” Brad said. “But if you want something to consider for a ship-wide in the future, an escaped bug from a science lab could offer some interesting possibilities.”

Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Chief of Staff

She nodded. “I figured after our contagious fungus episode on the starbase, we might want something different but I do want to come back and refresh our infectious disease protocols. We’ve got areas on the ship that are quite different from the starbase and juggling all that would definitely be its own challenge.”

“Alright, I think that’s all and frankly I’m sure I’ve dropped more than enough on you,” Dira said with a smile as she rose to her feet. “I’ll keep you in the loop on both issues as needed but otherwise, business as usual.”

“Later, Brad,” she said, before she stepped out of his office.

Captain Myqian, CO

“Bye, Dira,” Brad said, before the door hissed open and allowed her to walk out.

Once he was alone again, he leaned back in his chair as far back as it would go and kicked his boots up onto the desk. That had the potential to go incredibly well, or incredibly poorly, and honestly, both she and the XO could face a court-martial over it.

Well, it was on their heads, he’d just have to handle the metaphorical fallout, as it were. And hope his staff was up to handling the physical fallout.

Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Chief of Staff