Just a Matter of Routine

Posted on 16 Jul 2017 @ 11:42am by Commander Jayla Kij & Senior Chief Petty Officer Kalvin Maddox

1,216 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: The Finnean Crisis
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: Backpost:

New assignments came with their own set of priorities and routines. The first thing you did was interchangeable with the second, you either reported to your superior or dropped off your belongings in your quarters. Then you went to do the other thing. Then you checked out your office if you had one, luckily Kalvin didn't have a formal office. In lieu of an office, you toured the ship briefly to hit the high points or you unpacked your belongings and began to make your quarters feel like home. Eventually though, you found yourself where Kalvin currently was. Outside the doors to Sickbay to get your initial physical no matter hoe recent your last one was. He had a Padd in hand with his personal copy of his medical record, he preferred to keep a copy in case something happened to his official one in transition.

Unlike some others he had met during his career, he had no phobias regarding sickbay, physicals, or any other treatments. He stepped into the waiting area and took a moment to look around and orient himself. They were never quite the same as any others and it was his first time visiting the Black Hawk's. He stepped up to the desk that he guessed was currently the reception are.

"Excuse me, Senior Chief Kalvin Maddox. I've just recently joined the crew and need to have my initial physical."

"Of course," said Nurse Rigby brightly, offering him a toothy grin. "I'll bet Doctor Kij is already expecting you. She's so on top of things! Come on back and we'll get you squared away." With that, she bounced towards the door that lead into main Sick Bay.

'Certainly a bubbly one that one,' Kalvin mused to himself as he followed her back to the main area of Sickbay. Part of him wished he could be that outgoing, but he was who he was and so far it had served him well enough. Only about a dozen years in uniform and he was a Senior Chief. He couldn't find fault with his personality in that regard.

"Doctor Kij," said Rigby as they approached a female Trill. "This is Senior Chief Kalvin Maddox. Maddox, this is Doctor Jayla Kij. Maddox is here for his incoming physical." Her manner was that of one who had been honored with the task of introducing two celebrities of whom she was an enormous fan.

"Of course," replied Jayla, who had received Maddox's medical files a few hours ago. "Right this way, Mister Maddox." And she led him towards an empty bio bed, indicating for him to have a seat.

"Thanks." He smiled to Rigby as he made his way to the bio bed the Doctor was waiting beside. "I've got my own copy of my records, in case anything came through garbled by the transmission to the ship."

"I think everything came through, but I'll take a look at your copy anyway, just in case," Jayla replied. "But for now, how are you feeling? Any complaints?" she asked, pulling out her tricorder and starting her scans.

"Nothing in particular comes to mind Doctor." Kalvin shook his head. "I feel fine aside from a headache and that's nothing to be concerned about. Probably just overdoing it too soon on the job."

"Possibly," replied Jayla, automatically switching scans to the offending area. "Any other symptoms? Nausea, vomiting, light sensitivity, dizziness?"

"Pretty sure its just a headache Doc. Not everything is a symptom of some underlying disease." He said, waving off the concern of more than just a headache.

"It can be," she replied. "There seems to be some tension in your neck. That seems to indicate stress. I'll give you a pain killer and some stretching exercises to do to help relieve the tension. If the headache keeps reoccurring, I can run more tests to find out the cause." She retrieved a hypospray, loaded in a phial of Hydrocortiline, dialed in the correct dosage and pressed it to his neck. "Better?" she asked.

"Headache's diminished." Kalvin agreed. "Just stress from starting a new position Doc. I've got to get the flight deck crew set the way I want them."

"I'm sure you won't have any problems," Jayla assured him, returning to her scans. "Try not to worry about it. Just do your job and everything should fall into place. And if it doesn't, I'll kick its ass for you," she added with a wink.

"And then whose going to patch you up after you do that?" Kalvin asked with a small laugh.

"Hey!" laughed Jayla. "I'll have you know I can hold my own in hand-to-hand combat. I might be rubbish with a phaser, but I can punch with the best of them."

"You give all your new patients that offer?" He teased and shook his head in amusement.

"Nah, just the ones I like," she replied. "Of course, I like everyone, so..."

"And here I was feeling special for a moment." Kalvin teased with a smirk.

"Can't let you get a big head," she replied, stifling a giggle. "There's enough of those in Starfleet. But, if it helps, you're kinda cute."

"Only kinda? I'll have to work on that then." Kalvin said with a smile. "I'm an NCO, we don't get big heads, we have to keep deflating the officers. That's a fulltime job in a fighter squadron."

Stifling another giggle, Jayla punched a couple of buttons on her tricorder. "Is that part of the job description?" she asked in as serious a tone as she could muster.

"No, its one of those pesky inferred tasks." Kalvin said with a straight face as he shook his head.

"Ah," said Jayla with an understanding smile. "Sort of like doctors are supposed to insist repeatedly that they are doctors, not 'fill-in-the-blank'?"

"Something along those lines." Kalvin agreed with a chuckle. "So, where would you suggest relaxing after shift?"

"Talons is always good," Jayla answered. "The barkeep is a bit more cheerful than I am, if you can imagine that. I know she's been trying to get some live music in there, but no idea how that's going. Oh, and someone Loaded the latest edition of the Doctor Who holonovels in the ship's holodeck," she added with a cheeky grin.

"I can't imagine who would have done such a thing." Kalvin smirked. "I know I need to load some work into the holodeck to do some testing on some tweaks for the fighters."

"Not as fun as Doctor Who," she replied, wrinkling her nose and making a final note on his file. "But, I suppose what has to be done just has to be done. Cleared for duty, by the way," she added, snapping her tricorder shut.

"Never had a doubt about being cleared Doc." Kalvin allowed with a smile. "What can I say, I married my job. It's easier to handle than figuring out women and finding a relationship. I moved around a lot as a kid, so deep connections are unfamiliar terrain."

"Don't worry about it," she replied. "Worry about friends first. The rest will come later. And don't forget: come see me if the headaches keep returning."

"One step at a time Doc." Kalvin agreed. "Thanks for the hypo."

"That's what I'm here for," she replied.

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