The next morning it was business as usual in Medical. While things weren’t quite a well-oiled machine just yet, the crew had a good working rapport. They all knew she was just as good at rolling up her sleeves when the work needed to be accomplished. Duty came first. Mnhei’sahe notwithstanding. 

Mnhei’sahe is Rihannsu Honor (Romulan)  

 It was a trait the rest of the staff appreciated. Life could be messy enough without rank and privilege getting in the way. The staff was on a first-name basis anyway. Having had to come up within the ranks more than once in her career, she was good at getting along with people, eventually. Her rough edges long having been sanded down by time with friends and crewmates she learned to trust and even a rare one or two she called friend. 

Several patients and normal follow-ups were conducted. One had to be threatened to stop resetting the safety controls on the holodecks since it was her third racing injury. 

Shahr stood outside the ship’s sick bay. He hated this part. He’d read somewhere that Starfleet captains were infamous for avoiding physicals, but he was only an ensign… a long ways from getting away with skirting medical requirements. He took a slow, deep breath, let it out, then stepped inside. He looked around the sterile, brightly-lit room for someone who didn’t look too busy to answer him. Unfortunately, everyone seemed occupied, so Shahr just addressed the general room “Good morning, Ensign Th’thollar reporting for a physical. I just transferred.” He spoke in a normal volume, and fully intended to walk out the door if nobody replied.

A blond Hispanic human female walked up the Shahr. “Good morning, Ensign. Right this way. It’s a bit busy, as usual on a new deployment. It will settle down. I am Sylvanna, your nurse today.” She pulled up his records on the console and saw the transfer from the central database. “I see Doctor t’Rehu is seeing you today.” Let’s get those vitals checked. Any complaints? Sleep patterns. Diet. How are you feeling?”  

Shahr sighed and reluctantly followed the nurse. “Oh you know if you’re busy I can just come back later,” he protested, but the nurse’s questions implied that wasn’t an option. Shahr accepted defeat and spoke. “Uh, no real complaints. I am sleeping fine; about 7 hours a night. I eat, I guess? Federation replicator food is not my favorite. But I’m adjusting. I feel a little tense. But maybe that’s just because I’m in a new organization, at the bottom of the food chain.” Shahr thought a moment. In his limited experience, Federation medical folks asked fewer questions if you just kept talking. “On the plus side, the holodeck seems to do a decent job of simulating the cliffs back home. Good for climbing, although when you know there’s no danger, it takes something out of the experience.”

From behind him, Shahr heard, “I have zero issue with that Ensign, as you long you are taking proper precautions.”
Doctor “t’Rehu said.”Thank you Sylvanna. Standard workup.” The young blond nurse set to retrieve the sample packs. “As for nutrition value, we can adjust the ships patterns if needed to supplement any deficiences. ” Logging into the system on her PADD, she transferred control to the wall display for both to watch as notes were made and scans came up.

“Though, I am going to ask for a few square meters in the arboretum and unused storage areas for supplemental plants.’ Hilea said. ”Though I agree. Sometimes the simulated environments are a bit….sterile?” Hilea offered in chat.

Grabbing her medical tricorder, she waved it methodically over the Ensign as she observed the results. “Your anxiety over a new location is understandable and temporary in most cases. Avoid caffeine at least 4 hours from bedtime and when you are in bed, no electronics. There are files on drinks and foods that well help you sleep. Any concerns or questions for me before I start the physical part of the assessment? ” Hilea asked, running her hands under the sterilizer and reinforcing her mental shields.

“That is very accommodating, regarding the arboretum” Shahr replied. He would have expected the Federation to make others adjust to their standards. Then again, growing a few extra plants wasn’t a big ask. “I did a little digging in the replicator and it looks to me like all my dietary needs are being met, though I’ll defer to your judgment on that, commander. I just meant the taste will take some getting used to.” Pausing, he considered mentioning alcohol. “Though I did have a really nice human drink called whiskey at Valhalla the other night. I enjoyed that flavor immensely. Apologies though, no questions at the moment. Please proceed whenever you’re ready.”  

Stopping for a second, Hilea offered, “It is odd the sometimes random patterns the replicator gets right and wrong. Bacon for example patterns very well compared to the times I have had it on-planet. Though a tomato slice tastes similar to a red plastic. Forget anything in the Romulan database, a decent replicated ale would hit the spot with some tweaking.” She paused. 

“Ah yes, good old red plastic. A delicacy back home.” Shahr tested the waters with some humor. His former superiors in his old IG flight wing would never joke with him, but Starfleet officers seemed much more open to that. Usually. 

“This will be a manual manipulation. Backing up what the tricorder tells me. sometimes I never had access to all the fancy tools”  She found and worked out a small knot or two in his neck, checked his reflexes, and finished making her notations in his medical log.

Hilea offered. “All done, Ensign. Questions, comments, concerns, or emotional outburst?” She said slightly teasing him.

“Oh, I reserve my emotional outbursts for particularly stubborn engineering maintenance, ma’am.” Shahr chuckled. “The other day I heard some enlisted joke that ‘a bitching sailor is a happy sailor,’ if you’ll pardon the curse. I’d never heard that expression before, but I imagine it’s pretty universal.” Shahr rolled his neck, appreciating the freedom of movement. “Thank you, commander.”

Hilea nodded. “You are welcome. A bit more stretching should keep it limber.” She paused. “There is an old Rihannsu proverb that is congruent. ”Love, Ale, Fire, and Politics all burn, but life would be cold without them.”

Shahr sat a moment longer, contemplating the proverb. He did indeed appreciate all those things – save politics – in his life, and yet, he couldn’t deny the place the latter held in a worthwhile society. “A wise saying. I like it.” He stood from the table, shrugged his shoulders one last time to check for any further discomfort. Finding none, he looked the doctor in the eye and nodded. “Thank you again. I realize I am an ensign, but if you have need for a pilot, or your EMH needs fixing, please let me know. I would be happy to help. Pleasant day, commander.” With that, Shahr exited sick bay, more pleased with the physical than he had expected walking in.