Peace Of Mind

Posted on Fri Jun 3rd, 2022 @ 3:56pm by Chief Petty Officer Noah Reed & Callie Marshall

Mission: In-Between (S1:E2-S1:E3)
Location: Deck 5: Sickbay
Timeline: Mission Day 10 at 1130
1579 words - 3.2 OF Standard Post Measure

{ON}

Having made her way to Sickbay Callie was hoping her latest check up would give her the all clear to get back to work. She wasn’t going to be crawling through any Jeffries tubes or running around the ship, but she could at least return to her bridge station. She paused as she looked around before seeing Lieutenant Reed.

He was studying the results of the latest scans he conducted the previous night on a biological analysis of a pet project he was conducting. If his ultimate plans were successful, it would provide the captain with another method of dealing with the Ocampa, not that they were any significant threat to the ship, per se. However, it was Reed’s standard to develop any potential biological advantage to counter hostility should the need arise. He glanced up to see Lieutenant Vali step into his sickbay. Still as beautiful as ever, he thought. Indeed she was, despite being pregnant with the child of the ship’s second officer.

He dropped the widescreen PADD to his side and walked over to the blonde woman with a ready smile. “Welcome back to sickbay, Lieutenant. I’m glad you could make it so we can run some additional tests. We wouldn’t want the little one to be hurt by what the barbarians did to you on the surface. How do you feel, despite all that?”

The Ocampa deserved nothing less than orbital bombardment of their insignificant world, in his opinion. They were a lesser life (like most the Empire had encountered) and Reed didn’t view them as even viable slaves considering their short lifespans. Evolution was destined to wipe them out at some point but Imperial weapons could certainly speed up the process.

Callie offered Noah a warm smile as she greeted him. "Thank you, actually given everything I feel fine. Well as fine as a seven month pregnant woman feels, my back aches, and my ankles are swollen, but from what I've read that's normal anyway." She rested her hand on her stomach. "This young man has one hell of a kick too!"

Reed smiled broadly at her and motioned with one arm for her to lay down on the main exam table in the center of the room. “That’s fantastic to hear. Please come over and we can run a full bio-spectral analysis. When I heard of what the Ocampa had done to you…” His voice trailed off as his piercing blue eyes flashed with rage and hatred before he took a steady breath. “The savagery lower life forms contain is quite sickening. Hopefully we leave a lasting impression that they never forget.” He didn’t know the captain quite well enough to know but Noah was fairly certain as an Imperial captain he would ensure the Ocampa would pay dearly for their transgressions.

Callie moved across to the biobed, getting up onto it she made herself comfortable. “I’ll apologise now if my blood pressure is elevated, last time I was lying on a bed like this...well this happened.” She motioned to her descent sized bump. “I’m still trying to come to terms with what they’ve done. At least my son is alive, and well.”

"And that's the most important factor," he said as he nodded at her with a broad smile. Reed activated the semi circular scanning apparatus and it moved into position around her abdomen with an electronic hum. His fingers danced over the control display and the computer began a biological analysis of the lieutenant. His blue eyes shifted with intensity as he observed the initial results coming into view. "So far, so good. You're a little dehydrated but that's not a major concern."

Reed walked over to a crash cart and picked up a hypospray and then made his way to a cabinet containing hypo containers. "I'll give you a vitamin booster to help with the sudden increase in the baby's size and the nutritional demands he is placing on you." He found the appropriate cylinder and popped it into the hypo before returning to her bedside. "So how long have you been aboard the Vengeance?'' he asked.

Callie listened and nodded as she took in what Noah was telling her. “Not long really” She offered a polite smile. “I came onboard just before this mission began, I met my husband fell head over heels, and the rest as they say, is history! This pregnancy wasn’t planned, and at the time I’d been playing the field a little. Thankfully it’s all worked out.”

One eyebrow curled upward at the mention of The Field. That was always a tricky game to play for anyone. Most people got burned along the way. At the very least it struck him as an interesting tidbit of knowledge about her. Most women didn’t use that terminology unless they were really on ‘the team’. Then again, Noah had observed through time that most biological species end up settling down right before (or because of) a baby entering the picture. He pursed his lips as they lifted on his face and he nodded politely. “That’s a rapid timeline, lieutenant. I’m glad you’re happy.”

His mysterious eyes gazed down her attractive facial features to her neck as he gently placed the hypospray against her skin and pressed the injector button with his thumb. A faint hiss was heard, indicating that the device released the contents into his patient. “It would seem that, given current events, you lucked out. Only so many potential mates on one little ship…”

Callie nodded. “I came here straight from my father’s ship, he was very controlling. Don’t get me wrong, there were only three men, and one woman in my life now it’s just Troy.” She offered a wry smile. “On another topic I’m still adjusting to the emergency surgical removal of my inhibitor, it’s not been as bad as I was expecting but blocking out the pain, and emotions of those put in the agony booths is proving difficult.”

Reed nodded as she told him what was still bothering her. Inhibitors were tricky technology and since the designers only built them to be minimally functional they had a tendency to cause complications due to almost no testing about removals. In fact, he suspected that Engineering didn't care at all about what might happen since the inhibitors weren't actually meant to be removed. After all, they were implanted to control crew so only really removed at a captain's level.

"I'm sorry to hear that. The inhibitors are junk technology, to be honest. They can have all sorts of side effects. I can give you a neutral inhibitor to mitigate the psychological link. It won't be perfect but it will help."

Callie paused. “To be honest I was glad to get rid of the inhibitor, it was just keeping my abilities under unwilling control. Is it possible to get a temporary dampener I can use when the booths are in use?”

“Absolutely,” Reed said. He opened a few drawers on the nearby cart until his eyes spotted exactly what he was looking for: a circular device approximately two inches in diameter. Returning to the bedside, he placed the device on her temple and activated it. Small green and red lights began to blink, indicating that it was working properly. “Let me know if you have any problems with its function and we can tweak the settings.” He glanced back at the main display and the biographical data streaming across the grid as it showed an easy graphical representation of her vital signs. “Everything appears to be in good order. Your baby is healthy and will probably want a change of scenery next week.”

“A change of scenery!” Callie looked at Noah in surprise, “I certainly hope not Doctor, being at seven months is shock enough without a super early arrival.” She offered a smile before motioning to the device he’d just placed on her. “Can I remove this when it’s not needed? Or put it under my hair out of view?”

He let out a chuckle as he observed her horrified face. “I was just checking to see if you were paying attention, lieutenant. Don’t worry, I have no intentions of performing a pre-term delivery.” He raised one eyebrow at her question. “Well, I know it’s not the prettiest accessory but it really does work the best when connected to the frontal cortex. However, you may remove it when you don’t need it. It will lift off without much resistance.”

He moved to activate the scanning table and it slid away from either side of the biobed and moved to the side to allow her legs to swing off. “Did you have any other concerns or issues you needed me to address?”

Callie shook her head. “No, thank you Doctor.” She smiled warmly. “I’ll keep this on my frontal cortex when I need it as per your advice. Thank you for putting my mind at ease regarding my son’s health and well-being.”

“Of course. That’s what I’m here for.” Reed gave her another smile and watched her walk out into the corridor before turning and going back into his office to look over a few reports that he had flagged for further study.

[OFF]