Initial Checkup

Posted on Fri Jan 28th, 2022 @ 11:07pm by Lieutenant Johnathan Anderson III & Ensign Mika Petrova

Mission: S1 Episode 1: Caretaker, Part I
Location: ISS VENGEANCE, Sickbay
Timeline: MD 3 / 0900 hours
990 words - 2 OF Standard Post Measure

After getting his clearances from security, Johnathan made his way down to sick bay, to receive both his initial physical and certify his flight status. As he moved through the ship, he acknowledged several crewmates in the corridors, until finally, he reached his destination. Upon entering the medical facility, he looked for the medical staff. "Hello?"

Mika saw the new arrival in a command red uniform and approached him.

“Good morning, Lieutenant. How can we help you?” She asked, her voice sweet.

Johnathan couldn't help the slight grin that crossed his face when he saw the attractive cadet. "Good morning, Cadet...?" He paused, waiting for her to tell him her name.

“Cadet Mika Petrona, sir. Soon to be a doctor, hopefully, but for now, a very lucky student.” She said with a smile complimented by perfect teeth.

Johnathan gave Mika a boyish, lop-sided grin. "Well now, it's a pleasure to meet you. Sometimes, it feels like just yesterday that I was a senior cadet. I'm guessing this cruise will be you senior year shipboard requirement?"

"That and more. Daddy pulled some strings and got me assigned here for the entire year." she said, hiding her anxiety over the prospect. "It's a wonderful opportunity and I'm, of course, very grateful."

Not knowing what it was like to have anyone speak up for him, as he had been without family since he was only a few hours old, Johnathan merely gave Mika a friendly grin. "Guess it's good to know people in the right places."

She didn't quite know what to say to that, as she had always been in the circles of Imperial power. Her family had suffered a demotion in social status when her father was disgraced, but they still remained one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in Euroasia. Now that he was back and had been forgiven by the Emperor, she supposed they might be back on top again. Instead of speaking, and for an awkward amount of time, she offered the man a gentle, uncomfortable, and quite beautiful half smile.

"Ummm, right. Well, how about I get you on this biobed so that I can check your vitals." she said, and then realized how what she said could be interpreted. "Well...I mean, sorry. Just...sit on this biobed."

Johnathan blushed slightly when he heard her words. Then, when Mika seemed to blush as well, he felt a bit more comfortable. "Heh, thanks," he replied with a soft chuckle. Though he was of an age that most men would have had numerous sexual conquests by now, Johnathan was not like most men. In fact, there were very few like him, insofar as his current sexual activity is concerned, as he was still a virgin.

Moving to the biobed, he removed his jacket, revealing the sleeveless tank top underneath. What was also revealed, was the heavy scarring on his right arm.

Mika looked at his arm with interest, wondering where his scarring came from.

"You don't need to take your jacket off, actually. Physicals can be done with just the scanners at this stage." she said, forcing back a friendly smile. Her kindness was her weakness in the Empire. She moved in and placed a hand on his scarred arm. "Where did you get these?"

Johnathan got still and quiet. "I was scarred during my last assignment, when my ship was attacked by some kind of cloud creature. Killed most of my crew. I was the only bridge officer to survive..." he closed his eyes, remembering the hell he had gone through.

Opening his eyes, he continued the recall. "The creature would drain the iron in our blood on contact. As I was doing a site-to-site transport from the bridge, to the shuttlebay, the creature reached me and started to feed."

Mika winced involuntarily. She had never seen a real injury of that kind. Most of her knowledge was textbook and autopsy. And dealing with the trauma on top of it made her feel like she might cry. She cleared her throat, however, in an attempt to get a hold of herself.

"That's terrible." she said thickly, not knowing what else to say. After several moments of intrusive silence, she placed the PADD containing his medical history on a nearby table and reached over to activate the biobed scanner on the wall.

It took Johnathan a few moments to clear his mind, the emotions of the trauma clear on his youthful face. "I see their faces and hear their screams when I sleep," he said softly. "I have the biological curse to never forget anything that I'm exposed to."

“It sounds like it could make a very powerful gift as well.” She said, finishing the scan. “ our expertise in memory and brain function has come along way. We now have the power to remove unpleasant memories..”

Johnathan gave her a sad grin and shake of his head. "Unfortunately, none of the current processes are compatible with particular brain chemistry. Something in how the memories are stored. If the process was attempted, there would be no guarantee as to which memories were removed." He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Thank you, but, it's too high a risk for my liking."

"I understand. I wouldn't want it either." She responded, and then deactivated the scanner. "You're as healthy as a horse, sir."

"Thank you, Mika," he said with a pleasant grin on his face. He stood and put his jacket back on. Once done, he reached over and took hold of her left hand. Raising it to his lips, he gently kissed her knuckles. "I hope you have a pleasant day, Cadet. I'll see ya around the ship."

Mika blushed and demured slightly before catching herself and clearing her throat.

"Oh.., yes, you too, sir." she said.

Johnathan gave the cadet a very nice, boyishly handsome, grin, nodded his head slightly, then exited sickbay.

~OFF~