The Doctor's Arrival

Posted on Sun Feb 17, 2019 @ 10:56pm by Lieutenant J.M. Armitage & Commodore Michael Aravan & Captain Madelina Weisz

Mission: History
Location: Ready Room
Timeline: MD 1 || 0800 Hours

[ Transporter Room; USS Triumphant ]

Dominic rematerialized on the transporter pad onboard the USS Triumphant. It had been a three week journey from Starbase 21 on a cramped transport vessel that was carrying additional humanitarian supplies bound for the Merial system.

The incoming Chief Medical Officer stepped off the pad and acknowledged the Transport Chief with a head nod, “Thank you for beaming me onboard, Chief. Glad to be a solid again.”

The Chief rolled their eyes as if they’ve heard the same joke multiple times. The Transporter Chief’s smirk turned into the smile, “I haven’t heard that one before… Welcome aboard, Doctor.”

Dominic nodded his head while headed to the door before making his way down the Odyssey-class starship. He was tempted to inspect his new Sick Bay but he was well aware of protocol. He tapped the call button on the Turbolift panel. The Turbolift car arrived. He waited for line officers’ departure before stepping inside, “Deck 18, Bridge.”

The Turbolift reached his destination. He stepped onto the bridge and made his way. He spotted Captain Madelina Weisz and approached her.

Maddy was used to being approached by various people throughout the day, but this time, it stood out because she didn't recognize the man making his way toward her. That meant he was like a new transfer, and after a quick glimpse at his collar, she was able to confirm his rank. "Can I help you, Lieutenant..." she trailed off, hoping he'd supply a name for her.

"Doctor J.M. Dominic Armitage," the Chief Medical Officer provided her with his name and offered to shake her hand.

The redhead accepted his hand and gave it a shake. "Captain Madelina Weisz, Executive Officer," she said, gesturing with her free hand toward a door on the far side of the bridge. "How about we go meet Commodore Aravan and make things a bit easier on you? You'll be able to get settled in and get the lay of the land sooner."

Doctor Armitage's eyes followed her hand movement to the door on the opposite side of the bridge. He nodded in agreement, "Of course, Captain Weisz."

"I have questions for you, and you likely have questions for us, but we'll wait until we are with Commodore Aravan to handle all of that," Maddy said, moving toward the door and reaching out to press the chime.

Dominic followed the first officer's lead towards the door of the Commodore's ready room, "Of course, nothing like a meeting with the command staff on the first day."

At the approach of Maddy, the doors opened to reveal Commodore Michael Aravan seated at the head of a huge black surfaced table which dominated the center of the room which had a dozen chairs around it. Plants were at the corners of the room and most of one wall was filled with shelves which contained over a dozen species of bonsai trees, some elaborated sculpted around tree houses, some made to look like homes built into the ground and others that looked like they were just starting. Another table off to one side held a decanter of strong black coffee with several cups around it, a bowl containing sweetener and another for some type of cream.

The tall starship Captain came to his feet and started to address Maddy when he saw the man in the teal uniform behind him. "A new recruit, Captain?" he asked.

"Commodore Aravan, this is Doctor J.M. Dominic Armitage," Maddy said. "He's our new Chief Medical Officer."

"A pleasure, Doctor." The green eyed Commodore said as he looked over the much shorter dirty blonde medical officer. "Computer, bring up the record of Lieutenant J.M. Dominic Armitage," he said before he gestures towards the other seats around the table. The surface changed from a flat black surface to an active LCARS that displayed the human doctor's service record on it.

"Thank you, Commodore." Doctor Armitage nodded his head. He waited on Captain Weisz to approach the table as he was uncertain about seating arrangements.

As the same on the bridge, Maddy took a seat to Michael's left and gestured for Dominic to set to Michael's right or her right, if that's what he chose. "Tell us a little about yourself, Doctor."

The Doctor sat down on the Commodore's right. He looked down on table's screen that contained his personnel docket. He was certain it was a complete systematic analysis of his career in Starfleet, "I was born to two loving parents like anyone else. They separated due my fathers' commitments to their respected careers.

"I grew up on Earth, father George raised me. Encouraged me to follow in his footsteps to become a medical doctor. I never thought about enlisting in Starfleet until my father's ship was loss during the Dominion War."

The Lieutenant took in a breath of air and continued, "Seeing the FNN coverage of the war, I had a change of heart. Enrolling in Starfleet Academy and becoming a medical officer I felt was important. In 2376, I withdrew from university, and put in my application for Starfleet. Following my graduation, I was posted on the Frontier and then the Bonaventure. After a year of service aboard the Bonaventure, I was promoted to Assistant Chief Medical Officer."

"What would you say your best and worst moments in Starfleet have been?" Michael asked.

"As a junior medical officer posted onboard the Frontier I was placed on an away mission during a humanitarian crisis on Doiwei IV on our first assignment. Due to being junior compared to my colleagues, I wasn't expecting to be one of the first responders sent to the surface. We opened a triage clinic.

"I loss countless patients before I was able to save one life. These people were victims on their own homeworld, I felt I wasn't a pre-medicine university dropout turned Starfleet Medical Academy graduate. I was a medical officer. I still reflect on that very first hour on that planet to see if there was something I can do differently. That was both my best and my worst, sir."

"What would you say is your greatest weakness and how do you work to overcome it?" the Commodore asked the other man.

The coffee finally phased Doctor Armitage. He briefly closed his eyes finding himself back at his favourite cafe in Vancouver and sipping on a coffee. Judging by the smell it wasn't the replicator synthetic. His mind then jumped to the question posed by the Commodore about his greatest weakness, "Coffee, sir."

He closed his eyes regretfully. "I think my greatest weakness is also my greatest strength. I'm stoic, like a terrier, sir. If I put my mind to something, there's not a whole lot that's going to distract me. For an example, say that there's a crewmember in Sickbay, that's coming down to their final breathe. My Assistant Chief Medical Officer says there's not much we can do. While, I may know that myself, I'll always try my damndest to not make an attempt in saving that person's life. I may not succeed. Space is a dangerous place after all.

"That's when I need to remind myself of my own humility and humanity, Commodore. I need to be anchored and challenged. I live in those moments because whoever is on my bio-bed, I'll be their champion. Even in their wake of death."

Maddy rose to her feet. "What do you take in your coffee, Doctor?" she asked, reaching for a cup to make one for Michael. After so many years, she knew how he liked it.

The Doctor smiled, "I would like a bit of cream and sugar, please. Thank you, Captain."

"Have you had an opportunity to go over what you'll be in charge of as far as Medical goes?" Michael asked him.

Maddy made both cups of coffee and brought them back over to the table, placing the right cups in front of each man. "Or that we have two sickbays for when things get really bad? Thankfully, we've only had to use secondary just one time."

"Thanks again for the coffee, Captain." Doctor Armitage brought the cup up to his mouth and smelled the aromas that brought him back to that cafe. It was still too hot for his taste. He set the mug back down.

"I wasn't too familiar with the Odyssey class before my transfer was put through," Doctor Armitage was stationed on starship classes in a smaller scale to the Triumphant. "I've only assisted with the personnel management of seventy-five to ninety crew. I was told by Doctor Yeung that I was more proficient when it came to paperwork."

Michael accepted the coffee. "Thank you, Maddy," he said before he cleared the Doctor's bio off the table and brought up a schematic of Medical's two decks. "You'll have two hundred personnel under your command now, Doctor Armitage," he told him as the computer generated a 3D holographic deck layout of Medical and all that it contained. "And everything you see here."

The Doctor studied the holographic layout of what he was in charge of. It was a lot, overwhelming in comparison of what he was use to. But that was Dr. Armitage, Assistant Chief Medical Officer. He was now the Chief Medical Officer onboard the largest starship class since the Galaxy. He reached for the coffee mug and took a sip of it, "Great coffee."

Armitage continued to study the data before him, "How big is our civilian population onboard the Triumphant?"

"Fifteen hundred," the Commodore said. "We also have five hundred officers, fifteen hundred enlisted, and five hundred Marines. We're rated for a max capacity of twenty-three thousand if every single room, cargo bay, shuttle, runabout, Victorious and corridor is filled to maximum."

Armitage nodded his head, "Do we have any civilian medical clinics onboard?"

"Civilians are treated the same as officers and enlisted," Michael responded. "Medical treats everyone."

"I say this out of concern and wanting the best treatment possible for her, but the Commodore's wife is pregnant. Her last pregnancy was high risk due to blood clots," Maddy stated. "All of that is in her medical file, though, but she's a very good friend, and I want to see to it that she gets the best care possible."

The Doctor nodded his head. He was expecting that answer from the Commodore. The Triumphant in his mind was now a mobile starbase. It was massive with a large personnel and civilian populous onboard, "Understood completely, Commodore."

Armitage looked over to the Captain while she addressed her concerns about her close friend's pregnancy who happened to be the spouse of the Commodore. He nodded curtly, "I have delivered babies with complications before. I will review Mrs. Aravan's medical file personally. I would also like to schedule Mrs. Aravan in for a prenatal checkup. Would you like me to contact your wife personally to book an appointment or would you like me to leave that to you and your wife, sir?"

"I'll notify her," Michael said with a look of gratitude towards Maddy before he looked back at the Chief Medical Officer. "Also, I'd like an appointment for myself. It's about that time. You'll find on my file that I have occasional migraines that I've been getting treated for."

"Certainly Commodore," Armitage responded. "I would like to schedule appointments with the senior staff even if the allotted regulated Starfleet time has passed. Is that acceptable with the command staff?"

"It's acceptable," the XO stated. "I will notify our senior staff that they will be scheduled for check-ups. Myself included. At your earliest convenience, of course."

"How does 0900 tomorrow sound, Captain? I'll confirm with you later today once I've confirmed with my ACMO tonight." The Doctor looked over to the Commodore, "when would you like me to fit you in?"

"Sometime after fourteen hundred hours," Michael said after a moment. "All the mornings duties should be out of the way and everything should be under way."

Maddy nodded her head. "That time works for me. I'll have gotten quite a few things accomplished before then."

"Perfect," Armitage continued, "I'll pen you both in for those times."

"Do you have any other questions for us, Doctor Armitage?" the Commodore asked.

"I can't think of anything else to add, Commodore."

"Do you have any further questions for him, Captain?" Michael asked Maddy.

"I do not, however, I want to let you know that if you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to let one of know," Maddy stated. "And welcome aboard, Doctor."

Armitage nodded curtly, "Of course, Captain. Thank you."

"Dismissed," Michael said. "Welcome aboard."