Posted by Ensign Dr. P’Mala Dawes (Doctor) in Sickbay - Onboarding (Tag Medical)

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Stephen Stous (XO) in Sickbay - Onboarding (Tag Medical)

Posted by Ensign Dr. P’Mala Dawes (Doctor) in Sickbay - Onboarding (Tag Medical)
Posted by… suppressed (4) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Stephen’s shuttle trip from the Venture was long and uneventful. His arrival at the Europa’s Shuttle Bay was significantly shorter, but similarly uneventful. He did get a few strange looks when walking through the halls, especially from the Ensign he had stopped to ask for directions to Sickbay. She had glanced at his collar pips with a small frown, no doubt wondering who he was. By chance the woman had also been an engineer (he could tell by both the uniform color and the stains obscuring said color), and he had the thought of strange, she reports to me now, followed by the clarification, wait… no she doesn’t… and completed by the dazed thought of, her boss reports to me.

That string of thoughts being the most interesting occurrence on his journey from the shuttle bay, Stephen arrived in the ship’s primary Sickbay with a neutral, unsure-what-to-expect expression. Finding the nearest Medical personnel, he said, “Excuse me, Lieutenant Commander Stous, here for my boarding evaluation?”

~ Lt. Cmdr. Stous - XO

Bumping this so the CMO or lovely new Doctor can jump in when possible!

NE Nurse Deacon–a wiry man in his early 20s–jumped into a salute. “Yessir–right this way, sir,” he said, surreptitiously glancing at the XO’s pips. He gulped, and led Lt. Cmdr. Stous to an exam area. “Ensign Dawes can see you now, I believe.”

NE Deacon pointed the XO toward a room where the 6-foot tall half-Vulcan doctor, P’Mala Dawes, was restocking wrapped sterile medical supplies into a discrete cabinet.

“Dr. Dawes, a VIP–very important patient!” Deacon said, then ran off.

P’Mala Dawes wore a white doctor’s coat that contrasted starkly with her new navy hair–just growing in black at the root.

“Good afternoon,” she said, her back still turned. “I’m almost finished here.” She stuffed a box of sealed cotton swabs and a handful of wrapped tongue depressers into a drawer.

She turned and extended her hand. “Dr. P’Mala Dawes, Ensign,” she said expectantly.

-Ensign P’Mala Dawes, MD

After some amusement at the NE’s behavior, Stephen wondered at the doctor’s demeanor - handshakes had not been a regular greeting at any of his previous doctor visits, especially the one a year prior which had found his hand coated in blood. Nonetheless, he extended his hand in return, noting as he did so the striking impression made by P’Mala’s height, overcoat, and hairstyle.

“Lieutenant Commander Stephen Stous, pleased to meet you,” he replied. “I just arrived and assumed it best to get my medical clearance handled first thing.”

~ Lt. Cmdr. Stous - XO

Ensign P’Mala Dawes shook the man’s hand and nodded

“Absolutely, I’vejust finished getting some supplies placed. Would you mind sitting on the biobed while I wash my hands?”

Without waiting for an answer, Dawes turned to the sink and gave her hands a good scrubbing, dawning a pair of blue gloves and pulling out her PADD.

“Not at a…” Stephen started to respond, and trailed off as Dawes continued about her business.

“Now, Commander, are you allergic to anything?” she asked.

-Cadet P’Mala Dawes, Medical

He shifted in his seat, an unpleasant memory resurfacing. “Bicaridine, though that shouldn’t matter, I hope.” He thought for a moment back to other routine physicals. Most doctors enjoyed chatting with their patients, in his experience, but not all. He had a feeling this woman would be a member of the “not all” group, but figured he’d give it a show anyway. “Have you been on the Europa long?”

~ Lt. Cmdr. Stephen Stous - XO

“Bicaridine,” P’Mala muttered, tapping it into her PADD. “That shouldn’t be a problem and it’s good to know.”

She pulled up a rolling stool and took a seat, exhaling deeply. “Oof, I’ve a little tendinitis in my ankle from hiking while I was in between postings,” she explained, changing the subject.

At this, the Commander relaxed a bit, noting the clear effort to make idle chit-chat as a good sign.

The half-Vulcan doctor was a little nervous. Meeting with her XO as her first real intake aboard the Europa–but she pushed the emotion down into her the museum of her memory to meditate over later.

“And I’ve really just arrived last week! I knew who you were from the manifesto–and it’s nice to meet you, Lt. Commander. How about yourself? Have you been aboard long?”

-Ensign P’Mala Dawes

Stephen blinked, once more feeling that bit of shock at the respect that came with rank. The respect that, in that moment, felt oh so arbitrary. This was no different than countless other evals, except that this time his name was listed under a different bracket. “Just transferred in today. You were my first stop, actually - any tools of the trade you’ve picked up in your extensive week-long stay you can share with a newbie?” He offered a smile, mostly genuine.

~ Stephen Stous - XO