"The Good, The Bad And The Insane"
[Previous post: "Executive Operation", written by the promoted Serena Switt]
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Stardate: 60323.1125
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Sickbay
Lea had been busy getting sickbay ready for their next mission. The CMO hoped that her services would not be called upon, but the odds of that were slim. Going on a rescue mission would be dangerous at best, and casualties would be almost certain.
Lea checked one last time the set of medical tricorders on the tray. These would be the first tools to be used, so they needed to be perfect working order. The best Lea could hope for was that they would scan the survivors of the MERCURY *after* their rescue. The worst the CMO could fear was that those instruments would end up scanning one of their own. Intel, it seemed, dealt with varying levels of 'bad', with very little 'good' scattered in the midst.
The CMO turned to face the door when she heard it hissing open. Lea took a moment to take in the unexpected sight of Lt. Cmdr. Serenna wearing red. Ops officers normally wore the customary golden uniform, so it was with curiosity that Lea observed Serenna. When the Ops officer had been dressed as a Vulcan, the view seemed almost normal. Even if Serenna had been wearing the uniform of a Romulan Centurion, Lea would not have been as surprised as she was now. Seeing the hybrid dressed in the colours of a command-level officer just seemed wrong to Lea.
"What can I do for you Commander?" Lea asked, wondering if she would have to call upon Susan. Maybe the stress of their last mission had been too much for Serenna. Maybe the promotion of their CO to Commodore had pushed Serenna over the edge. The best thing to do was to remain calm and play along. At least for the time being until Lea could figure out what was going on.
"Just came to see how you were doing with the preparations," Serenna said. The voice of the hybrid sounded as it had always been: calm, controlled and assertive. Lea thought that maybe the Ops officer had just put on the wrong uniform when she had gotten out of bed. As strange as that might have been it would not require Susan's intervention, but it would still be enough for concerns. To think that Serenna could have not noticed this would be enough to warrant a few medical scans.
"Sickbay is ready," Lea said, taking a few steps towards the hybrid while hiding a tricoder in her hand. "I have set up extra beds to accommodate the crew of the MERCURY. I hope that we will find them in relatively good health, but I wanted to be ready. You know; hope for the best, plan for the worst, kind of thing," Lea continued.
As Serenna inspected the room, Lea waited for her chance to scan the woman wearing the red uniform. If Serenna had indeed *flipped*, upsetting her would be a bad thing.
"You know," Serenna said looking at the work Lea had done. "I was expecting you to ask."
"To ask what?"
"To ask about the uniform," Serenna said as she suddenly turned around. Lea had been caught so off guard that the now opened tricorder sat in her hand in plain view.
The CMO quickly flipped the medical device close and grinned. "Maybe I should have. I just didn't want to upset you."
"Upset me? You are sounding a little paranoid," the Ops officer said, looking at the CMO with an air of puzzlement.
"With all due rest Commander, I have been captured *twice*, held captive and tortured on both occasion. I think I have more than enough to be a little paranoid," Lea said in a half joking tone.
"You may perform your scans Doctor," Serenna added making Lea raise an eyebrow in surprise. If the Ops officer had gone nuts, she was certainly hiding it well. Maybe it had been all that Tal'Shiar training that was coming out.
Lea considered the words of the hybrid and reopened the tricorder after a few moments. The CMO ran the small device over almost every parts of the woman's anatomy. The majority of the scans concentrated on the hybrid's head and brainwaves. Initial scans showed nothing, so Lea tried her best to figure out an alternative explanation. Then it hit her. "Captain Rikar, she made you her ExO?"
"Well done Doctor," Serenna said with what could only be described as a smile. At least as much of a smile as the hybrid had ever been seen with in public. "I suspect that the Captain will make the official announcement at the upcoming senior staff meeting."
Lea put away the tricorder and sighed. "And in the meantime, we get to see who is able to figure it out without blowing most of their brain cells."
Susan walked in just at that moment, the look on her face being a priceless expression of confusion. "I have to learn not to walk in on a conversation like that. Whose brains cells are we talking about?" Susan asked, heading towards the two women.
"Mine!" Lea said in an irritated voice.
"Why? Were you expecting Cpt. Rikar to make *you* her new ExO?" Susan said, glancing at the hybrid. It had not required a degree in temporal mechanics to figure out that the 2nd Officer would take over the vacancy left by Sabrina's move to the big chair.
"You know," Lea said glaring at the Cns, "there are days when I can really hate you."
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Tiffany Rose {lady_tiffany_rose@mail.com}
Ensign Lea Summers 2005 post #253
Chief Medical Officer
USS ANUBIS
