Cross Training

Posted on 20 Sep 2026 @ 12:44am by Lieutenant JG Kelly Khan & Lieutenant Commander Kennedy Monroe M.D.

2,047 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Acceleration
Location: Medical

Lieutenant JG Kelly Marie Khan stepped off the turbolift on Deck 13 and checked her Command red uniform, flicking a spot of something off her left shoulder. Her fingers moved unconsciously to brush HG, the first pip she had received after getting a field promotion for taking command of a busted Intrepid and getting blown to another universe. Captain Harvey Geisler had given the pip to her from his own collar and she would never remove it no matter how many promotions she received in her career.

She shook her head, her long wavy brunette hair moving back and forth in a ponytail over her shoulders to clear her mind of her memories and continued on her path to Sickbay. Well, her memories were a part of the reason she was currently going to Sickbay. She had administered five cc's of Tricordrazine to a crew member aboard that Intrepid and could have killed them instead of making them jump up like a jackrabbit and want to take off.

Kelly headed into Sickbay and looked around, the normal hustle and bustle muted between missions, for which she was grateful. Now she just had to locate the Chief or Assistant Chief Medical Officer and work out a schedule and routine that would allow her to maintain her Bridge duties and have a bit of personal life time left over.

Kennedy was just about finished taking report from the shift's nursing lead when the flash of command red caught her eye. Naturally, people wearing all sorts of hues came to the ship's medical center, but red certainly stood out in a crowd. Noting the swing of the young woman's ponytail, Monroe didn't think the new arrival appeared sick or injured, but perhaps a bit unsure. Acknowledging what was on the PADD in her hand with the press of a finger, Kennedy handed the device back to the nurse and approached the young woman in red. "Hello," she offered warmly. "May I be of service?"

Kelly looked up at the taller redheaded woman and took note of the pips on her collar. "Yes, Commander," she said with a smile. "I'm Lieutenant JG Kelly Khan and I was wondering if there's classes available where I can cross train with Medical."

Kennedy smiled. “Hello. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Did Commander Barnes send you? She and I were just talking about me setting up some emergency medical refresher courses for the crew, so your timing is perfect. I’m putting together a message to send out crew wide, but if you like, we can come back to my office and discuss more of what it is you’d like to learn?“

"Er, no Commander," Kelly said with a smile. "But I would still like a refresher and additional training. I recently completed my Command training and I'm in Flight, but still have time on my hands."

"Congratulations on completing command training," Kennedy answered genuinely. "I imagine that wasn't easy and yet here you are, eager to learn more. You're a young woman after my own heart. Do you have time to come back to my office and chat by chance? I have a PADD going there with some ideas already and I'd love your input."

"Certainly!" the petite brunette chirped. "Thank you, too. I've wanted since before I was old enough to enter Starfleet, and I plan to keep expanding. Our horizons are limitless."

Kennedy smiled at Kelly and as she led them both back to her office, contemplating her youthful exuberance. Monroe was pleased to see the challenges of late hadn't dampened her optimism. Monroe was trying to hold on to hers.

Now seated behind her desk, Kennedy picked up a PADD, reviewed it for just a moment, and then put it down. "I was going to start offering ideas for topics to cover, but it occurs to me you've given me an opportunity to explore a larger issue. As someone whose specialty isn't medicine, but who has been tasked to learn a little something about it over the years I'm sure before now, what training methods have you found helpful?"

"Avoiding being hurt," Kelly joked as she joined the Chief Medical Examiner in her office. She gave it some thought for a moment, then gave the most logical answer she could think of. "Knowing what medications to administer for what situation."

Monroe chuckled at Kelly's joke. "Believe me, if I had that secret, I'd give it to you. Some days, I think it would be nice not to be needed quite so much." Monroe considered what Kelly said next and nodded thoughtfully, not expecting such an answer. "Alright. That can be a bit tricky because in a field emergency, you may not have access to information about someone's allergies or the other medications they may be taking that should be considered before administering something else, but we can talk about relatively safe options in cases where medication is immediately required. Is there something specific on your mind?"

"When I was put in command of the Intrepid class and were blown to the alternate universe, I gave a fellow crewmember who was unconscious five cc's of Tricordrazine," she admitted. "It was enough to revive a Klingon after five nights of drinking..."

Kennedy nodded. “I see where you’re coming from. That must’ve been really scary. Were you hurt?“ Kennedy wondered if Kelly’s description meant the crewmember in question had become aggressive with her. There would be plenty of time to focus on training implications, of course, but for now, she was concerned about what perhaps
Monroe didn’t know for Khan’s sake.

"No, but she was rowdier than a Klingon in the spring for a bit," Kelly laughed, then stopped and looked embarrassed. "I could have killed her."

“I’m glad to hear you weren’t hurt and I appreciate your willingness to reflect on your decision-making. I’m curious, what was your reason for selecting that particular medication and that particular dosage?” Kennedy knew if she was going to help anyone learn, she had the first understand their level of knowledge and understand their thought process.

"It was a stimulant and available, and I was alone and uncertain," Kelly admitted. "I shouldn't have done so much, but it was what I did." She didn't add that she was a Fourth Year Cadet at the time, but it didn't matter to her.

“Just to be clear, I’m not here to pass judgment, or criticize,” Kennedy reassured. “It sounds like you were truly trying to help. Had you ever encountered a situation like that before?“ Monroe knew basic first aid training was a requirement for all members of Starfleet, but the nature of those courses and what people recalled from them could vary widely.

"I was alone, terrified and the tricorder said it was a stimulant, so I used it," Kelly said. "I didn't know what else to do and we didn't have time or a working medical facility for me to take her to. My Academy classes covered the basics, but that's it unless you go into Medical as a career."

Kennedy listened carefully and nodded. "I understand. I'm sorry you faced that situation and I can see why you want to be so proactive."

"That and this ship being cursed," the petite brunette added. ""A little medical training can go a long way."

Kennedy could not tell if the mention of the ship being cursed was tinged with resent it or resignation, and she felt an urge to explore the idea further, but resisted the idea to go completely off topic at the moment. “I get the feeling you have many more stories to support that statement, and I will circle back, but for now, in addition to understanding medication‘s a bit more, do you have other suggestions for medical training I should incorporate to help all of us cope with the curse?“ The doctor’ s question did not contain a trace of humor or sarcasm. For the time being, she just wanted to meet Kelly where she was.

"No," Kelly said. "I really don't know what can happen at any given time." It was the pure, simple truth of the Black Hawk as she had learned. "A mix of triage would be best. Keep someone alive long enough to beam them to you."

Monroe nodded. "That's in line with what I was thinking. I find it's best to offer a mix of self-study materials and live group instruction to make sure the material is understood. Does that fit your needs?"

"I'll take anything that I can make time for," the petite pilot said with a smile. "I will warn you that I get excitable at times."

Kennedy chuckled. “I’ll take excitable in a student over bored to tears and terrible and faking it any day.“

"Oh, I don't fake it," Kelly said. "You'll probably end up telling me to tone it down."

“I can’t imagine ever wanting to dampen your enthusiasm, but I promise to let you know if it ever becomes a problem,” Kennedy replied with a grin. It was nice to talk to someone about something positive for a change and she found herself energized by Khan’s cheerfulness, and eagerness to learn. She wasn’t eager for the conversation to end, but knew it would be fair to keep her any longer than necessary. “ if you get the opportunity, would you mind spreading the word about what I’m planning? I intend to send out official notices, of course, but not everyone pays attention to notes from their doctor, especially messages that go ship wide. It would really help, I think, four someone like yourself, who isn’t already in medicine, to vouch for what we’re trying to accomplish here.“

"I'll certainly do that," Kelly agreed. "Dani Blake is one of your nurses and one of my best friends in the universe."

"Really?" Kennedy replied with bright surprise. "Dani is a wonderful member of the medical team and has proven herself to be indispensable. I hope any friend of hers will be a friend of mine."

"I'd like that," Kelly told the redhead with a smile. "Please don't tell her that I'm getting cross trained yet, though. I want to surprise her."

"Oh?" Kennedy replied, clearly intrigued. "I won't say a word, and if I can help with the surprise portion, do let me know. That sounds rather unique."

"Her not knowing is the surprise," Kelly laughed. "I just want to be able to help out when the feces hits the fan."

Monroe smiled. “I do appreciate that. Knowledge and experience can be useful,but even with that, I don’t know how to help people all the time. Just caring about people and making an effort to help is something. Some people would allow their fear of doing the right thing prevent them from trying to do anything at all.“

"I didn't join Starfleet to be afraid," Kelly said, "I've been with this ship since my senior tour more or less, was promoted in the field ahead of my classmates and nothing has killed me yet. I think I'm doing pretty good and don't need to stop."

"I think so too," Kennedy offered sincerely, pleased to see Kelly had not only come to terms with her past mistakes, but had chosen to use them as fuel for self-improvement and the betterment of her crew. "Well, I'd love to keep chatting with you, but I'm sure you have better things to do than talk to me all day," she added with a chuckle. "Maybe if this whirlwind we call work ever stops, we could hang out sometime? I know I'm ancient by comparison, but if you wouldn't mind hanging with an older doc who is sometimes crabby, I'd love to be around your kind of positivity."

"Bah," the short brunette huffed. "Age is a state of mind. Anyhoo, I'll spread the word. Once you get a class together, let me know and I'll be first in line."

Kennedy smiled. "You better be," Monroe teased.

With a grin and a laugh, Kelly headed out of Sickbay. She looked forward to the cross training and surprising her friend.

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