An Apple A Day Brings the Doctor to Sickbay

Posted on Sun Dec 17th, 2023 @ 7:15pm by Colonel Josiah McEntyre & Lieutenant Commander Alexander Coleman
Edited on on Mon Dec 18th, 2023 @ 11:38am

1,454 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: First Deployment
Location: Main Sickbay - Unicorn Deck 5
Timeline: MD 0 - 09:00

[ON:]

First Meeting of the Day, and it was the new Chief Medical Officer. Josiah learned he'd arrived late last night and was getting set up in Sickbay.

He'd wanted to meet him at the airlock but he admired the rush to get things ready. From what he'd read of Dr. Coleman's records and the glowing talk with Ben Jones out of Starfleet Medical, he'd seem like the perfect choice for his Chief Medical Officer.

He brushed down his tunic, zipping up his vest before tapping the open button of the double doors to sickbay. They slide open as he walked into the cavernous space. Much bigger than even an NX Class sickbay, Unicorn's Sickbay was state of the art.

Josiah looked around before he called out.

"Doctor Coleman?"

Dr. Coleman was working in the back part of Sickbay, trying to get some of his first specimen onboard and to make sure that everything was up to his specs once he get onboard once he heard someone calling for him.

It was rather unusual for anyone to be calling out for him, especially by name by this point and it spooked him for a moment until he walked around the corner to see that it was the CO, Colonel McEntyre. Dr. Coleman was wearing a blue lab coat and his Starfleet Uniform underneath that as he came around the corner and said, "Ah, Colonel. What can I do for you sir? I haven't entirely set up Sickbay to my specifications quite yet, but if you're ill, know that I'm quite capable of treating any illness that you might have. What can I do for you, sir?"

"I came to welcome you aboard, Doctor. I understand you got in late last night, so I apologize for not greeting you at the Airlock."

Josiah reached out a hand, offering it for the doctor to shake. He looked over to see the specimans and equipment being offloaded by several enlisted staff who paused before Josiah nodded them off so the Doctor and he could speak in private.

Coleman took the CO's hand and shook it once he offered it up. As the enlisted personnel continued to offload the specimen into sickbay, Coleman followed the superior officer and said, "What can I do for you, sir? Hopefully, it's nothing too crazy about my transfer orders. I know that there was a hiccup since my family worked for Starfleet Medical."

Josiah chuckled a bit at that.

"It wasn't too much of a bother to get the orders changed. I was hoping to check in, see if you're settingly in, and if you needed anything before we cast off. I know that normally you'd get a lot of time to settle a sickbay before a ship launch but with the Romulan's trampling through Berengeria, we're down to the wire it seems."

"Well, luckily for you and I, I try and keep myself prepared for any position that I might take for Starfleet, Earth, and the Coalition of Planets. Most of the stuff you see here is most of the stuff that I require to be able to do my job, and do it well. I've just got one or two more shuttlepods that are bringing some live specimens onboard, but once they're onboard, I should be all set," Dr. Coleman replied, walking Colonel McEntyre and himself over to examine one of the specimens.

Holding the live specimen up and showing him off a bit, Dr. Coleman chuckled as it chirped and said, "Well, thankfully enough, Dr. Phlox onboard Enterprise and Dr. Anderson onboard Endeavor have helped to make sure I was well supplied when they were both last in port. Now, let me ask you. Is there anything I can do for you, Colonel? From the last I heard, the Romulans have been doing some damage to our front lines and making it harder for the Coalition of Planets to fight back against the Romulans to the point that Earth is almost doing this war on their own."

"Need a top notch medical staff. Unicorn is the tip of Earth's retribution for Berengeria, Salem One Starbase, and the Atlantis NX-05. Our orders are to deploy for Berengeria by week's end and I know for sure, that we'll be in the thick of it when we drop out of warp."

Josiah's tone turned serious, somber, he knew alot of folks on Salem One. He paused before looking back at the doctor.

"I'm glad to see Phlox and Dr. Anderson was able to get you well supplied. I know that Phlox is one of the best in the fleet and Anderson from the rumors ain't no slouch either so I know that this crew is goin be in fine hands with you, Doctor"

"Colonel, we've got you down here in Sickbay. I know that I won't have my full staff by the time we deploy, but rest assured that no matter what happens out there in the field, I'm well versed in making sure that everyone onboard is well treated. I got my medical degrees from the University of Virginia on Earth and Starfleet Medical Academy for our non-human officers. I promise to take good care of everyone onboard, no matter where they hail from," Dr. Coleman replied with a gentle smile on his face as he replied to the more senior officer. Dr. Coleman knew that many people were lost on Salem one and several other outposts for Earth within the last few weeks, so he made sure to keep that in the forefront of his mind.

“Excellent! I look forward to seeing you work, Doctor. I will be calling a staff meeting when we get the rest of the staff aboard. I’ll go over exact operational details with you and the others then. If there’s anything else you need, my ready room is always open.”

"Well, I know we're going to have that meeting with the senior staff. When we have that meeting, I'd love to see the reports from my fellow medical officers, especially from Salem One. I knew a few of the medical staff onboard, so anything that they might've had to share would be important in this war," Dr. Coleman replied, sadness coming across his face for a brief moment. But, Coleman quickly came back to normal and waited to see what the Colonel said.

“I’ll have that information made available to you. Strategic Intelligence should be coming aboard today and our comms officer, so I’ll see about getting an information download made available.”

Josiah stopped for a moment.

“I knew quite a few people aboard Salem One. Few of the guys I came up with in Special Operations were there. I had a brother on the Atlantis NX-05. So I know where you’re coming from. We’ll get them Romulan SOBs for sure, Doctor, you can count on that.”

"The scary thing is that we don't even know what they look like. All we know is what their ships look like and it's something that we don't get to see until it's way too late sometimes. That's what scares me to my core, sir," Coleman replied, shivering a bit before walking over to the console and inputting some data before turning back to the Colonel.

Dr. Coleman asked, "How many people have we gotten onboard thus far, sir?"

“We’ve gotten word on 8 of our Senior Staff appointments. We’re still waiting on a Chief Engineer and Chief Helmsman. We may have to launch without them if we can’t fill the positions in time for our new launch date.”

"They might assign them while we're enroute. That would make for a fun time, I'm sure!" Dr. Coleman replied, a smirk coming across his face.

Josiah chuckled a bit, a smile forming on his own face.

"Hopefully they'll get aboard before we have to launch in a couple days. I've got a few lines out, waiting to hear back from their Commanding Officers."

He says to the doctor.

Dr. Coleman smiled and replied back to the Colonel, "Well, I'm sure that we'll have them before too long. They always find a way to pull together right in the nick of time, don't they?"

“Indeed they do, Doctor. Indeed they do.”

Josiah agrees with him.

“Beyond that, I’m sure you’ll make a fine addition to the crew. Please don’t hesitate to come to me if you require anything”

Gently nodding, Dr. Coleman replied, "Thank you, sir. Like I mentioned earlier, if you need anything medically, just let me know!"

[OFF:]

Colonel Josiah McEntyre
Commanding Officer
SS Unicorn, NX-151

&

Lieutenant Commander Alexander Coleman, DO
Chief Medical Officer
SS Unicorn, NX-151

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