A Check Up of Another Kind

Posted on 06 Jul 2020 @ 5:01pm by Lieutenant Jennin Rhula & Lieutenant Commander Camila Di Pasquale

2,983 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Sentience
Location: Medical
Timeline: MD 3 || 1400 Hours

Camila had just gotten off shift and noticed that she was feeling a bit off. It could have been the stress of the situation, which was constant, or it could have been the Klingon cuisine she had for lunch. Whatever it was, though, she didn't like how she was feeling and decided to go to Medical to have herself checked out. Instead of going to her quarters to change out of her uniform, she headed for the turbolift and requested the deck for Medical.

She debated turning around when the turbolift came to a halt, but the ombre haired woman forced herself to stand with her decision and headed into Medical. There, she looked around and didn't see the Bajoran Chief Medical Officer and was about to turn back around when she ran into a nurse.

"Hello," the Ensign said politely. "Can I help you, Commander?"

"Uh, yeah," Camila said a bit lamely. "I need to have a checkup with the Doctor."

"Just a minute," the nurse said as she handed Camila a PADD. "Just fill this out and I'll see if he's available."

The Security Chief took it and sat down while the nurse headed off to see if Doctor Jennin were available in his office.

"What?" Rhula asked, annoyed, when a nurse entered his office.

"A drop in just showed up."

"And?"

"Well, they requested a check up," the nurse replied.

Rhula sighed. "Why are you telling me this? Is there no one out in reception?"

"I don't know," the nurse said. "They just walked into the ward."

"This is unacceptable! We have reception for a reason," he said, throwing his hands up in the air. "Have this person take a seat in reception and have Kal-Irdu examine them when she's free."

"Alright, Doctor," the nurse said before turning to leave.

"Out of curiosity," the Chief Medical Officer said, stopping the nurse, "who is this drop in who is eschewing protocol?"

"Commander Di Pasquale."

Rhula froze. "Hold on, Ensign." He stood up.

"I can get Kal-Irdu. It's not a problem."

"You will do no such thing. Go out there and tell the Commander that I will be right with her," he instructed.

The nurse nodded and started to leave.

"And next time, lead with who is waiting."

The Bajoran took a moment to straighten his glasses and gather his tricorder and PADD before heading out to the main ward.

"Commander!" he said, seeing Di Pasquale. "What brings you to Sickbay? Nothing too severe, I hope."

"I'm not sure," Camila said. "Can we go somewhere private to discuss it?"

This was a bit concerning. The main ward was devoid of people, save a couple of his staff milling about. Perhaps this is security business, he thought. Or something even more severe.

"Exam two is open. Or my office, depending on..." He waved his hand in a general sign of 'whatever this is'.

"The exam room, please," she said. "I'd rather this not go further than you, me and the records that need to be kept."

The Bajoran nodded slightly before leading the way to exam room two. Once in the room, he motioned towards the biobed. "Have a seat," he said while pulling a stool over with his foot.

"So, what's going on?" he asked, sitting down.

Camila started to take a seat, then stood up again and started to pace a few steps left, then back right. "I'm having some...issues. I've found myself sweating when not working out and having rapid heartbeats. My hands tremor a little from time to time. I've been having problems sleeping, more restless than I've been in a while, and I'm easily agitated."

He had been listening, taking notes on his PADD, but froze at the last phrase. "'Easily agitated,'" he repeated. "This is unusual for you?"

"That depends on the circumstances," Camila said. "If you show me one of the Dolmoqour or a giant apelike being, I might get agitated. But this is for no reason."

"Tell me about this hand tremor. How severe is it? How often does it happen? Any common situations that seem to precipitate it?" He needed to be able to pin down as much information as possible in order to have confidence in a diagnosis.

"Stress, I'm guessing," the Security Chief said. "That and not having any real release for it now. The worse things are, the worse the tremors are."

"Good thing there's no stress around here," he said sarcastically. "I suspect I know the answer already, but I'm still going to ask: have you spoken to a counselor about this? Maybe not that Vulcan woman, but someone on her staff?" He lifted a handheld sensor module, looking for her consent to begin some medical scans.

Camila gave a nod when he raised the scanner. "I'd rather be sold to Nausicaans before I ever go see that Romulan slut again," she snarled. "And here you were saying something about no stress here."

He chuckled as he ran the sensor over her. "I noticed something going on there. How do you normally manage your stress? Hit the gym? Garden? Knit?" His eyes were locked on the readout on his tricorder. Normal neurological activity. Lung function normal, he thought.

"Lately, I just go back to my quarters and unwind," she said. "Maybe have a drink or two and read the latest Starfleet reports for Security before bed."

"It is important to unwind," the Bajoran agreed while taking note of elevated cardiac enzymes. "Anything interesting in those reports? Or are they mostly just good for helping you sleep? I know most of the stuff that comes out of Starfleet Medical is....well, let's just say that dull would be an improvement."

"It's mainly to help me sleep," Camila said. "It isn't like the Captain listens to my requests for enhanced Security measures most of the time." A hint of frustration entered her voice when she said that.

While the Security Chief spoke, his brain ran through a list of possible diagnoses based on the symptoms and exam thus far. He could eliminate hundreds by virtue of Di Pasquale being Human. He checked possibilities off his mental list as he went through them. Many were too exotic to be very likely.

He continued scanning, still running through possible causes.

Liver function is....not good, he realized.

"What's your go to drink?" Jennin asked. "I'm partial to Bolian whiskey."

"When I can get it, Romulan Ale," the Security Chief said. "But I'm out of stock, so whatever works is my go to. It isn't like I can't do my job," she felt the need to elaborate. "When I'm allowed."

"Real Romulan Ale? Not the replicated stuff?" he asked, legitimately jealous. "Too bad you're out; I haven't had any in years. How long does a bottle normally last for you?" He was both genuinely curious and trying to assess just how much she had been drinking.

"I tried to make it last as long as I could," she said. "And yes, the real stuff. It's insanely hard to get ahold of and our lovely new Counselor decided that in order to coerce me to go to appointments, she would hold my bottle hostage. When I refused, she smashed it, so I had her thrown in the Brig until the Captain intervened. I know she has something over him and that's raising my suspicion of her."

Having had his own run-in with the Counselor, Rhula could understand the Security Chief's position. "Quite a motley crew," he said, setting down the handheld scanning probe. He touched a control on his tricorder before closing it.

"Have a look at this, Commander," he said, pointing at a display screen on the wall that now showed some of the results of the scan. "Cardiac enzymes are out of whack. And your liver function is troubling. There is clearly something wrong with you, medically speaking."

Camila looked at the display and frowned. "Wrong with me?" She echoed. "I feel fine."

"Well, given what you've shared with me, and I appreciate your honesty, I think you have a substance abuse problem."

"I don't have a substance abuse problem," she said, a bit heated even as she realized it was true. It had started after the Consortium crisis and then she had been recalled back to the Black Hawk A by Captain Geisler and now it was starting again. "Check again!"

Rhula took off his glasses, rubbed the bridge of his nose, and then replaced them. "Commander," he started, "I can run more tests, do more scans, or get you a second opinion. But that won't change the diagnosis. There is no shame in this. And it is something we can work to manage. But you need to be willing to admit that you have a problem. I know that this can be difficult to admit, but you are strong. Certainly strong enough to beat this." He folded his arms in front of his chest. "If you want to, that is. The choice is yours."

"Who doesn't drink on this damned ship?" Camila demanded to know. "It's a flying curse," she spat it out. "We come out here for peaceful exploration and first contact and all we get is fucked mission after mission, lose personnel who are too young and inexperienced, and then...." She banged her fist against the display that had her readouts before she began to sob softly, her shoulders shaking.

He stayed quiet for a second, worried for a brief moment about the display. His time on the ship was short; he was a much more recent addition to the crew than Di Pasquale. In his short time on the ship though, the Bajoran had already seen a great deal of what she was talking about. "I'd be lying if I said that this assignment has been what I was expecting," he finally said. "This is only my second assignment off of Bajor. Between the Federation hospital complex in Ashalla and all of the smaller facilities around the planet, I was kept busy. I was ready to leave. I wanted to come out here and travel among the stars like my ancestors had. I didn't think I'd find myself on a ship getting taken over by an alien parasitic species. But, well, that happened." He stopped, realizing that he wasn't really addressing the problem.

"You've been through a lot," he began again, a few moments later. "Much of this crew has. I've read through some of the old missions logs, so I get it. But I also know that you're tough. You're resilient. If anyone on this ship can overcome this, it's you. And I'm here to help...if you want to make a change." He knew that this situation could really use a counselor, but that seemed like a bad idea at the moment.

"Do you want to get better?"

"I'm not tough or resilient or any of that other shit you keep thinking about me, Doctor," the ombre haired woman said softly. "I'm tired. I'm scared. I have the blood of innocents on me. I can't sleep. I can't think. I want out of this flying death trap!"

"If you're serious about that, I can get you a transfer off the ship. Is that really what you want?"

"Just give me a hypo or something and we can get on with this," Camila said. "There's got to be something. I refuse to let this ship beat me."

Picking up a PADD, Rhula quickly found the form he was looking for. He filled it out and turned the device so the screen faced Di Pasquale. "This is an order to temporarily remove you from duty for medical reasons. If you take some time off, and focus on recovery, I think you'll be surprised how much difference it will make."

She looked at it, then shook her head. "I can't accept that. The Captain can't accept that. I'm the only Security and Tactical Chief on the ship and I don't have an Assistant Chief right now. The only other person even capable of taking the Assistant Chief position is an Ensign. Don't do this to me."

"Captain Geisler won't have any choice in the matter, actually." He turned the PADD back around. "Your job is causing a level of stress that you can't handle without abusing alcohol. Being on this ship at all is doing that, but I don't want to recommend that you be transferred elsewhere. I'd rather you stay here, on Black Hawk. The ship needs you, we all need you. But we need you at a hundred percent, not dependent on alcohol. I want to help you. Do you want help? If not, why did you come here today?" He stared at her, his brow furrowing slightly.

"I came here because I've been having problems, not to be taken off duty," The Security Chief said heatedly. "It isn't that bad. Look, I'll come in for whatever when I'm off duty. Just don't do this to me. It's all I have left."

Rhula looked at the Security Chief. "Look Commander, let's level. What you need is counseling. You aren't seeking that very understandable reasons. As I said, I want to help. Since counseling is off the table, I think the next best course of action is you taking time off duty. We can do that one of two ways: you request it or I order it. I don't know that removing you from duty is the best thing for the ship, but it is the best thing for you." He set the PADD down. "How about a compromise? I will let you remain on duty, for now. In exchange, you will report to Sickbay twice a day, when you get up in the morning and before you hit your quarters for the night. When you come in, I'll test you for alcohol and we'll talk about, and work on, recovery."

"Fine," she snarled as she took the PADD from him. "I'll come in the morning and at night. Are you happy, Lieutenant?" She clearly wasn't happy and had the look of someone about to fight their way out of a corner.

Emotionally, he was concerned about what his continued talking would push Di Pasquale to do, but rationally, he knew that he was doing the right thing and needed to set the consequence for violating this plan. "If you fail to maintain compliance with this agreement, I will have you removed from duty. Understood?"

"I know!" Camila spat at him. "I told you I would. By the stars, doesn't anyone ever listen when I tell them I'll do something without feeling the need to follow it up with a threat to me?"

"I'm on your side here, Commander," Rhula said calmly. "I want what's best for you. I know that you might not see it that way though." He stood up and looked her in the eyes. "I'm here to help. Do you believe that?"

"I do, but I swear, if one more person even so much as implies a threat towards me or my career, there's going to be serious trouble and I don't give a shit if it gets me in trouble. I'm tired of it," she said.

Picking up another PADD, the Bajoran entered some information. "I'm writing you a prescription. Something to help you sleep. You'll have the ability to replicate a single dose in your quarters every twenty-four hours. I want you to try to sleep rather than become dependent on this. I'll be notified when you replicate a dose. And I'll be testing you for it when you come in every morning. If you rely on this too much, I will revoke the prescription. Please use this as a last resort."

Camila took the PADD and looked at it, then nodded. "So, I'm to use it for sleep when I can't any other way and shouldn't replicate it otherwise, and you're going to test me for it to see if I've been using it. However, if I used it daily, you're going to take it away. Is that right?"

"Yes." He adjusted his glasses. "Any time you need, or want, to talk, I'm available. I mean that. Any time." He gave her a smile. Or at least what passed as one in his case. It was an unnatural movement for him.

"Is there anything else I can help you with today?"

"Yeah, can you turn off any recording devices for a moment?" she asked. "This is an off the record request."

Should I be worried? he wondered.

Walking over to a wall panel, he input his security code and disactivated audio sensors as requested. "Go ahead, Commander."

"Would it be possible to replicate Resiniferatoxin?" The Security Chief asked.

Rhula thought for a second. Resiniferatoxin wasn't something that was very common in the galaxy. It only occurred naturally on Earth, and Human colonies that had transplanted specific spurge plants. There was, of course, laboratory-made resiniferatoxin. And modern replicators worked well enough to synthesize it, if needed. But no one ever really needed to. "Perhaps. Why?"

"I want to make Commander Tivan a going away meal and I heard Romulans like spicy food," Camila said.

"I can recommend a hasperat recipe that is quite piquant," he offered. "No resiniferatoxin though, I'm afraid. Was there anything else?"

"I didn't think so," she muttered. "See you in the morning." She grabbed the PADD with the prescription on it, clearly not happy with either outcome. "And don't pester me if I'm late. I do have an entire ship and crew to protect as well."

He gave the Security Chief a simple nod. "Till the morning, then."

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