From: Christine Fontaine <cfontaine@nac.net>
Date: Wed, 09 Jul 1997 14:05:44 -0400
Subject: USS CHESAPEAKE: Making Plans...
SD 90709.1405 EDT
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CMO's Office
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MD 10.0800
Derek Fielding stood at the CMO's office door somewhat uneasily. He
had meant to approach the CMO a lot earlier; the previous day, in
fact. But he had been so busy with seeing to Sereh's installment in
Sciences, and with keeping everyone working with the return of The
Dreaded Chief.
Now it was nearly a day since he had sent off his own report.
Perhaps he should have delegated this task to Anne. But no... Anne
wasn't too good with people. She would probably upset the doctor with
her erratic behavior. He would just as soon assume responsibility for
this talk himself.
"Excuse me, Doctor," said Derek, tapping on the chime as a
courtesy; the door was open. "I'm here to talk with you about some of
the biological findings you have gathered regarding the Delta Corellis
systems."
Looking up from the PADDs she had been perusing, Catherine said,
"please, come in, Lieutenant... Fielding I believe?" The vet hoped
she had his name right.
"Yes, sir. Lieutenant Derek Fielding."
Catherine smiled, blushing as he called her 'sir'. "Please, no sirs.
Doctor will do just fine. And yes, I had been hoping to coordinate
our research efforts with the Science teams. Please, have a seat,"
the doctor added as she gestured to a chair in front of her desk.
"Thank you, Doctor," Derek replied with a smile.
"Now, where would you like to begin?" Doctor Ledoux asked quietly.
"I was interested in any further physiological differences between
humans and the Delta Corellians as well," said Derek, "and whether or
not there are physiological differences between the Federation miners
and the Corellians."
Nodding, Catherine rifled through a few PADDs before she found that
one she wanted. "Have you seen the preliminary medical report?" she
added, handing the PADD to Derek.
"The Corellians are humanoid in appearance, used to slightly higher
average temperatures than Terrans, and capable of surviving under
lower levels of oxygen." Blushing, the vet paused, realizing that she
was in 'lecture mode'.
Derek nodded, adding, "and the miners?"
Tucking a loose curl behind one ear, Catherine stated, "well, it
seems that the miners are a rather diverse bunch."
Shrugging, she added, "I really can't tell you more, not until we
have more information from the miners themselves." Blushing again,
the Doctor felt foolish that she couldn't answer the Lieutenant's
question.
Sensing that he was dealing with someone quite different from
Anne, who would just as soon throw him out of the office if he asked a
question she couldn't answer, Derek relaxed slightly.
"That's to be expected, I suppose," he said with a resigned smile.
"Only a hunch... anything to understand the situation at hand." He
frowned slightly. "It seems as though there is a lot of... *risk*, I
suppose one might say, in conducting talks on the planets in
question," he hazarded. "I realize that we'll be investigating the
planetoids on-site, but I don't like the sound of those tri-borons, if
I may say so. Nor do those high levels of pollution make me feel much
better about going down there."
"Yes," the CMO answered, nodding slightly. "Crew safety will
certainly be a priority. However, the atmosphere is not entirely
unbreathable. It will not be pleasant, no; but neither will it be
lethal."
Derek considered this. He would probably be leading an away
team to the planet surface, and he didn't relish trying to tell his
staff that the atmosphere was *not* lethal. He also didn't relish the
higher temperature, but he tried to put on a brave front for the
doctor.
"Will the medical department be doing on-site investigations,
do you think?" he asked tentatively. If they were going also, perhaps
he could pare down the number of science department personnel to the
bare minimum required.
"I've suggested that a crew member trained in first aid accompany
each away team," Ledoux replied. "Beyond that, I'm waiting for
approval..." Pausing to think, Catherine figeted with the ends of her
hair.
"I'm guessing that only essential personnel will accompany the
intial away teams," she finally continued, dropping her hands back to
the desk. "At least, until we've determined how stable the situation
is."
Derek nodded. "After all, we don't want to be beaming our
personnel into the middle of a dangerous situation."
"That's it exactly," Catherine confirmed, as she retrieved another
PADD.
"Now," the CMO continued, looking down at the PADD in question, "what
kind of sensor sweeps does Science have planned? I'd like to be able
to access some of that data once its available."
"We are planning to do at least two separate sweeps, one for
toxic substances and another for the natural resources. Our idea is
to get as much information about exactly *what* it is that the
Corellians and the miners are so eager to get from the disputed
planetoids, at the same time assessing danger to our crew. Aside from
that... detection of electromagnetic waves corresponding to specific
milestones in technological development. Reports can go only so far
in assessing a society; the rest must be determined by direct
observation.
"We are also looking for any sort of unusual life forms that may be
in the planetary system. It's Anne -- er, I mean Lieutenant Murray
--'s idea, actually. She wants to see if there are any... 'monsters
under the bed,' so she put it. Potentially dangerous non-sentients
that might throw the wrench into diplomatic proceedings.
"Standard geological samples will be taken when we conduct on-site
investigations, of course... have to keep the Physical Sciences boys
happy. If we are granted access, the Computer Sciences wants to have
a stab at their computer system..."
Derek paused, took a deep breath, then smiled apologetically.
"I'm sorry, Doctor... I tend to get a bit excited about our work. But
I'm sure you've had experiences like that as well...?"
Smiling, Catherine nodded. Lieutenant Fielding was providing her with
information that was not only useful, but interesting as well. "I
appreciate the information," she stated quietly, "and I'd like to have
access to the results of the scans."
"Of course, Doctor," Derek replied with a smile. "I'll make sure you're
added to the distribution list."
"Thank you," the vet replied softly. "I do appreciate it." She smiled.
"Now, about those scans..."
Respectfully submitted,
Chris Fontaine Masako Goto
LCDR Catherine Ledoux, DVM LTjg Derek Fielding
Chief Medical Officer Assistant CSciO
USS CHESAPEAKE USS CHESAPEAKE
cfontaine@nac.net mfielding@aol.com
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