The Late Late Show

Posted on Mon Jul 12th, 2021 @ 8:39pm by

Mission: Onassis Discovery
Location: Sickbay

:ON:
{Sickbay, USS Chuck Norris}

Doctor Daniel Hauser had come onboard the defiant-class Chuck Norris while it had been docked at Starbase 10. Hauser’s parents and Admiral Yoshimeyer were good friends, and Yoshimeyer had managed to get Dan assigned to the Norris as a favour to them. That wasn’t to say that the young Doctor couldn’t have been successful in applying on his own, but it certainly made joining the Norris easier.

However, being an Ensign and the Assistant Chief Medical Officer did come with its own downfalls. Gamma-shift lasted between midnight and 8am, and it was Dan’s responsibility to be on-shift during that time period in case of medical emergencies. It was now 0400 hours, and despite trying to keep himself awake by cataloguing the crew’s medical files in alphabetical order, Dan could feel his eyes closing.

“Verdammt.” He cursed in his native German as he caught himself falling asleep in the Chief Medical Officer’s chair. He jumped into the air and shook himself to try and knock the fatigue away. “Computer, lower ambient temperature to 15 degrees celsius.” Within moments the room chilled. Dan’s hope was that it would help keep him awake.

The sickbay doors opened with a sudden whoosh, and a Caitian crew member walked in, clutching her wrist. She looked to be in some pain. “Doctor?”

Dan stepped out into the main sickbay area, grabbing a medical tricorder as he did. “What happened?” He asked, commencing the scan immediately. He motioned for the woman to take a seat on the nearest bio-bed.

“I’d rather not say.” The Caitian replied sheepishly. Despite the soft snow coloured fur covering her face, Dan could see that she was blushing. “It’s too embarrassing.”

Dan continued his scans, barely looking away from the tricorder, “Crewman, I pass no judgements here.”

The Caitian looked away for a moment before turning back towards the doctor, a sly half-grin now on her face. “I… fell out of bed.”

“You fell out of bed?” Dan raised an eyebrow, struggled to hold in a chuckle, and shut the medical tricorder with a loud snap. He placed the tricorder down and reached for the osteogenic stimulator to repair the fracture he had detected. “Aren’t Caitians supposed to always land on their feet? Something about a quick righting reflex?”

The Caitian crew member rolled her eyes and smiled, “I guess I’m not like the other Caitians.” Dan had finished repairing the fracture, and the woman sighed with relief as she realised she could now move her hand without wincing in pain. She looked at the man again and her smile enlarged, “How about I thank you by buying you a drink in the next port we reach?”

Now it was Dan’s turn to blush. He replaced the osteogenic stimulator carefully and nodded, “I’d appreciate that. Thank you.”

The Caitian hopped down from the bio-bed and smiled one last time before leaving. Dan returned to his seat in the CMO’s office. He interlocked his fingers behind his head and leaned back in the chair. Perhaps this posting wouldn’t be so bad after all.


:OFF:
Ensign (Dr) Daniel Hauser
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Chuck Norris, NCC-4005