Arrival

Posted on Thu Nov 6th, 2025 @ 2:09pm by Lieutenant JG Theodor Wishmore & Lieutenant Xex Wang

Mission: Port of Call
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: Mission Day 14 at 1555

[Sickbay, USS Sojourner]
[MD 14]
[1555]

If Xex had to come up with a single word to describe sickbay, she would have used: madhouse. While often a hive of activity, since their arrival at Pathfinder, the Sojo's sickbay was even busier than usual. Normally, this wasn't a problem. Normally, they took the patients as they came, triaged them as best they could, and worked through the steady stream of people.

This was not normal. A good fifty percent-- or perhaps more... sometimes it felt like much more-- of the bodies in sickbay were not even medical personnel or patients, but a cadre of repair techs who had descended upon the ship to survey the extent of the damage the Kodra-Lisrit had dealt and how the repairs would progress.

It was these folks that had Xex continuously combing her fingers through her short fuzz of gunmetal gray hair. At least it was too short to end up in any kind of disarray. Unlike her sickbay. Panels had been removed, EPS conduits were being diagnosed, engineering tricorders were beeping left, right, and center.

And through it all, there were still crewmembers trying to get their final medical releases as they transferred away from the Sojourner onto other pastures. It was one of these Xex was currently speaking to, giving the woman the final okay to depart the ship. “And who knows,” the doctor was saying as she walked the tall, willowy woman to the door, “perhaps you'll be back in the Dee-Cue sometime soon.” Xex's pleasant smile was only slightly harried, but the woman looked doubtful.

“Perhaps,” the woman said, and turned away, just as another unnecessarily loud warning bleeped from a nearby repair tech's tricorder.

Reminding herself not to grind her teeth, Xex took a deep breath and closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose and attempting to gather the frayed threads of her patience as the doors shut behind the woman. The tricorder shrilled again, disguising the sound of sickbay's doors opening again.

--

The corridors still smelled faintly of scorched insulation. Not overpowering - just enough to suggest that the repair teams hadn't quite finished scrubbing it from the vents.Theodor Wishmore paused halfway through a junction, fingertips brushing a bulkhead. Even after the structural seals were repaired. the ship felt unsteady, like a patient walking too soon after surgery.

Crew - and repair teams - passed him in small clusters, voices hushed, the soft rustle of duty jackets half zipped, eyes forward. No laughter. Theo offered a police nod to those who met his gaze, most didn't.

He stopped outside an access panel that had been refitted - the metal slightly off colour, the finish still raw. Crouching, he ran a thumb along the seam, Quick work he thought, expedient, necessary a repair made for survival, not aesthetics. He'd seen it before in field hospitals - scars left visible on purpose, as a reminder.

After a moment, he rose and continued onward.

With each corner he turned, the space had grown busier and busier and so when the sickbay doors parted to reveal a room almost overflowing with activity he was not a surprise. A slightly amused smile growing onto his lips as he moved deeper into the room, he'd had far more time than he'd anticipated to read up on those he'd be working with and so Doctor Wang was easy enough to identify despite the packed room.

"Doctor Wang," He spoke louder than he might have normally to ensure his voice heard over the ongoing racket, "Good afternoon..."

Xex's eyes popped open at the sound of her name, immediately snapping back to the unfortunate reality of her madhouse sickbay, a quick intake of breath preparing her for whatever mini-emergency was coming her way next. As her gray eyes focused on the teal-clad figure before her, a brief moment of confusion clouded her silvery features. The Sleep did sometimes addle her recollections, but usually not to the point of not recognizing someone entirely. "Guilty," she quipped, attempting to brush off her confusion with humor even as she stepped away from the doors and gestured the man further into the mayhem. "I do apologize for the-- well, you know," she said, waving vaguely at the activity and wincing as the especially loud tricorder sounded again. "What can I do for you?"

Watching for a moment as the Soujourner's CMO spoke, there was something oddly captivating about the controlled chaos currently unfolding in the relatively compact sickbay. It wasn’t unlike a living organism—voices, tricorders, and tools moving in tandem like neurons firing in quick succession. For a ship just limping home, it was strangely beautiful.

He stepped forward, a small, reassuring smile finding its way to his face. “Dr. Wang, my name is Theodor Wishmore—, your new assistant and, I suspect, soon to be in your way.” His gaze flicked toward an engineer balancing on a biobed to reach an overhead conduit. “Though it looks like I’ll have to get in line.”

He shifted the case on his shoulder and added more gently, “I thought I’d report in before I start making a nuisance of myself elsewhere. I imagine this isn’t quite the introduction you’d hoped for.”

"Wishm--" Xex began, and then understanding lit up her features, animating them with delight. "Ah! Welcome, doctor," she said, and it wasn't mere politeness in her tone, but actual welcome. Apparently the CMO had been anticipating her new assistant eagerly. "I suspect," she said wryly, voice raised over the din as she ushered him across the mayhem and into the relatively calm confines of her office where her tone dipped to a more normal level, "it will be the other way around, and I shall be in your way. Please, make yourself comfortable. So far as I can tell, they haven't needed to crawl all over the office, so we should have some quiet, if not peace. Can I get you anything?" she paused near the tiny, limited replicator the office boasted, hand poised over the controls.

For a moment, he simply watched her — the quickness in her movements, the deft precision behind the chaos. There was fatigue in the air, but also resilience; the kind that couldn’t be replicated by any engineering team.

“If this is the quiet part,” he said gently, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, “then I think I’ve already found where I’m most needed.”

He set his bag down beside the desk, his tone soft but purposeful. “You’ve all been through so much — the ship, the crew. I read the engagement logs, at least what wasn't redacted, on my way in; it’s a wonder anyone’s still standing. Tell me how I can help lighten the load, Doctor. Whatever you need first — extra hands, organization, diagnostics — I’m happy to get straight to it."

He glanced toward the doorway, where voices and tools still echoed through the sickbay, then back to her with quiet sincerity. “I know there’s no quick fix for this kind of aftermath. But at least we can start by making sure the people holding it all together don’t come apart themselves.”

A small smile touched her lips, like she was sharing some private joke with herself. She dialed an order into the replicator and two steaming cups of tea materialized. One she set on Wishmore's side of the desk, the other she brought to her lips, blowing on the steam. Her smile faded as he spoke, a look of distraction settling over her silvery features. "Not all of us," she murmured into the steam, then set the too-hot mug down on her side of the desk.

Xex regarded him thoughtfully for a moment without explaining herself, nodding contemplatively at his observations. "We are very fortunate to have a skilled ship's counselor who has done an absolutely unparalleled job of keeping us all sane these past two weeks or so. I encourage you to meet Doctor Qo at your earliest convenience; he has been an exceptional asset to this crew. Still, as you observed, there is much still to put back together. Your predecessor was not--" Rethinking her statement, Xex cut herself off and started again, "Your predecessor was already looking ahead to what next lay in his path, and if I'm honest, some of the work here suffered for it." Her polite words were too thin a veneer over some deeper truth, but she continued before she could be questioned about it. "So you see, we are especially glad to welcome someone of your caliber on board. That said, there is nothing that cannot wait another day or so while you settle in. Our most pressing patients have already been transferred to Pathfinder," a brief frown touched her brow at the thought of the Kazon warrior and his probable imprisonment there, but she continued, "and the arrangements for the deceased are already underway. That," she nodded seriously toward the racket going on in main sickbay, "will hopefully be wrapped up in the next few days. We may be on the edge of the Federation's reach, but I am finding that the engineers here at Pathfinder are old hands at making do with little support."

Xex's smile returned as she seated herself, gesturing for him to do the same. "Please, make yourself comfortable. Your journey here was uneventful, I hope?" Her arched eyebrows invited a true recounting, at odds with the polite tone that suggested mere pleasantries.

He listened quietly, taking in both her words and what she didn’t say. “Doctor Qo,” he echoed with a small nod. “Anyone who can hold a crew together through all this is worth learning from. I’ll make a point to meet him.”

Her mention of his predecessor earned only a mild, understanding smile. “Then I’ll focus on balance. Foundations can be rebuilt—with time, and a little patience.”

He accepted the offered tea, the faint steam curling between them as he sat. “Thank you. It’s good,” he said after a small sip, a simple truth rather than politeness. Tea had over the years become something of a comfort food for Theo and he was always quite please when ever he came about people who shared that particular love.

A low hum of repairs filled the pause. “The trip was mercifully calm—unless you count the runabout’s dampeners auditioning for a percussion ensemble.” His brow lifted slightly, a dry flicker of humor. “Consider me well shaken, if not quite stirred.”

He looked back to her, tone softening. “I’m glad to be here, Doctor. The Sojourner feels like a ship that refuses to give up—and I’ve always admired that in people too.”

Xex's smile at his joke reached her eyes, which sparkled. She may not have known anything about the reference, but she certainly could empathize with someone who'd been tossed about in a runabout for more days than they cared to count. "I count that an admirable trait in a doctor," she said, schooling her features not to change when her mind inevitably touched on Timmoz. His life had been changed forever, but he'd never given up, and she'd not given up on him. Perhaps that was something. Despite her efforts, a brief sadness dimmed the sparkle to her eye, and she quickly changed the subject. "Tell me, do you usually have much contact with your family while you're assigned?"

He smiled faintly, taking a small sip of tea before answering. “When I can. My sister makes sure I don’t forget to check in—she’s persistent like that.”

Setting the cup down, he added, “And my mother still insists on proper letters, so I try to keep up. It’s nice, really. Makes the distance feel a little smaller.”

A hint of humor softened his tone. “So yes, I try. Some weeks I even manage it.”

He glanced back to her, the question turned gently. “What about you? Anyone out there keeping you honest?”

"Oh excellent," Xex said, and truly sounded like she meant it. "Family ties are so important. Do give my regards to your mother in your next letter. I'm certain she will not remember me, but I appreciated her empathetic work on the ethics board." She did not explain further what contact she had had with the ethics board, instead taking a sip of her tea. "Honest?" she asked as she lowered the cup, gray eyes dancing with suppressed mirth, "I certainly hope not." Setting the cup down, she added more soberly, "But I do keep in contact with folks back home. I have a cousin in the diplomatic corps, so we even have something to talk about." Her slightly wistful expression sobered, solidifying into a more professional mien. "Now, rest assured I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I would like to make sure you have enough time to familiarize yourself with--"

Xex was cut off by a loud scream topping even the repair din in the main infirmary, followed by a marked increase in the amount of noise filtering through the office's doors. Frowning, Xex half-rose, casting a single glance at Wishmore. This was not the regular racket of repairs, this was the frantic noise of something having gone quite wrong. Without another word, she stepped around her desk and approached the doors, which obligingly slid open for her.

The scene that greeted them was even more chaotic than before. A couple of repair techs were backing hurriedly away from the far wall, where one engineer was kneeling in front of an open access hatch, yelling and shaking her hand. Another tech was approaching her carefully, as one would a wild animal. As they watched, the kneeling engineer's movements became less frantic, and her yells faded to perplexed noises Xex and Wishmore couldn't hear from the office doorway.

He’d opened his mouth to answer her comment about his mother when the scream split through the din outside. The teacup hit the saucer with a soft clink as he rose almost in the same motion she did, instinct and training overriding conversation.

Shrugging her confusion-- she didn't understand the tableau any more than Wishmore had-- Xex nonetheless moved purposefully forward, catching up with the tech who was approaching the kneeling engineer. As she got closer, she could see that the woman had a translucent globule on her hand-- presumably what she'd been trying to shake off-- but now she was staring past the globule into the middle distance, muttering incomprehensible things to herself.

Without taking her eyes off the afflicted woman, Xex held out a hand to stop Wishmore coming any closer, and put her other hand on the approaching tech's upraised coil spanner, applying pressure to make the man lower his arm. "Don't touch it," she advised seriously. Turning slightly to Wishmore, but refusing to take her eyes off the woman, she explained, "They have hallucinogenic properties. And they cause a helluva rash. We've got to get it off her before we can use a containment field on it. Grab the level three quarantine gloves, will you? There should be a set between the biobeds. They should mitigate the psychoactive effects."

The chaos was immediate — the kneeling engineer, the globule clinging to her hand, the air thick with alarm. Theo stopped just behind Xex’s outstretched arm, assessing in silence for half a second before moving.

“On it,” he said simply, crossing to the indicated station. He retrieved a single pair of level-three gloves, checking the seals as he returned.

Holding them out to her, he kept his tone level. “Respiratory involvement, or dermal and neurochemical only?”

The question was calm, professional — grounding the moment in order amid the noise.

"So far as we are aware, dermal only," Xex answered, equally professional. "But I haven't had a chance to check the most recent test results, so perhaps avoid eating them. There have been no respiratory contraindications," she added, almost as an afterthought despite it being Wishmore's original question. Returning her attention to the woman, Xex began to say, "Just relax, Petty Off--" but did not have a chance to finish as the woman rose abruptly, her face still slack with whatever it was she was seeing, her eyes welling with tears while her arm, still held in front of her, began to tremble.

Concern flashed across Xex's face and she gestured Wishmore forward hastily. "They are fairly solid. Just scoop the most of it off and the rest will come with it."

Around them, the rest of the repair techs had quieted and now were watching with rapt, fascination. All but the one, who had fled sickbay entirely.

“Understood,” he said, tone steady but with the faintest flicker of dry humor. “I’ll try to resist the temptation.”

He stepped forward as directed, keeping his movements unhurried, deliberate — the kind that calmed rather than startled. The engineer stood rigid, tears spilling freely, her arm trembling as if the globule’s weight was measured in fear instead of mass.

“Easy now,” he murmured, stopping just within reach. “You’re safe. Just hold still for me.”

The moment his gloved hand brushed the translucent gel, it resisted — elastic, almost sentient — then released with a faint ripple that shimmered blue under the biobed lights. He guided the mass away, slow and steady, until most of it clung to the gloves instead of her skin.

“Almost there,” he said quietly, the reassurance meant as much for the silent onlookers as for her. Once the last of it loosened, he angled his head toward Xex. “Containment tray or straight to a field?”

"Field," Xex said succinctly, ignoring the popping of her knees as she rose with him and the engineer. She watched with rapt fascination as he eased the goo off the woman. Once it was held in his gloved hands, with only the slightest shine of residue left on the engineer, her shoulders relaxed just slightly; she knew the hallucinogenic effects would quickly begin to ease now the contact was broken. "They can be damn clever about escap--" Before she could finish, the goo was already morphing, squishing out into a long arm that reached toward Wishmore's face, as though to caress his cheek. She lunged for the nearest biobed who's containment field was always prepped, and should be large enough to hold the mass of goo. "Here," she said, raising her voice over the chorus of cries that accompanied the goo's unpredictable movements, "Here, drop it here." Hastily, she activated the bed's field, ready to snap it closed once Wishmore moved clear.

For an instant, he went still—not startled, just sharply alert. The translucent arm stretched toward him, its movement unnervingly fluid, like mercury reaching for warmth.

“Confirmed,” he said evenly. “It’s reactive to motion.”

Pivoting toward the biobed, he kept his tone low, deliberate. “Easy now…” The goo pulsed once against the gloves, resisting, then sagged with a faint ripple as he guided it forward in steady increments.

At Xex’s cue, he lowered the mass into the containment field, withdrawing his hands the moment the blue shimmer flared to life. The goo pressed weakly against the barrier, then subsided into slow, rhythmic undulations.

Theo inspected his gloves for breaches, then gave a small nod. “Field integrity looks good. Neural activity’s dropping now that contact’s broken—I’ll log the readings for tox review.”

Only then did his composure ease by a fraction, a dry edge softening his voice. “Well,” he said, glancing at the still-rippling shape, “at least it’s polite enough to introduce itself.”

Xex's attention was almost entirely upon the field's read-out, which was not only giving them the a-ok that the containment was in place, but also some basic metrics on the thing in the field, which had coalesced into a half-dome while it pulsed. Xex wouldn't have been surprised if it was planning its next move, but it did look fairly quiescent. Behind them, the techs who hadn't fled had congregated on their fellow, who was making vague, confused noises as the hallucinogenic affects of the goo began to wear off.

Finally, Xex looked up, gaze sliding over Wishmore with concern. At his evident good health and clear expression, she grinned back at him, looking frankly delighted with the entire incident. "Welcome to the Sojourner, Doctor. I wish I could say such incidents were rare, although they are becoming less frequent. We had a run in with a mutagenic being, and these are apparently its... offspring? Progeny? We rooted out the most obvious ones, but there are still some hiding out in the bowels of the ship. If you don't allow them to contact your skin, they seem fairly harmless, but we're still running tests on those we've managed to contain. Those are some steady, fast hands you have," she complimented him as she took a few steps backward and turned a quarter to the repair tech.

He watched the readings a moment longer, following the pulse of the thing in the field, then let his shoulders ease a fraction at Xex’s obvious delight.

“An…enthusiastic welcome,” he said mildly. “I’ll try not to take it personally.”

His gaze tracked the half-dome of gel. “I’d be very interested to review your notes on the parent organism, when there’s time. If these are its offspring, it might be possible to map out whatever passes for their behaviour patterns—and coax the rest out of hiding on our terms, not theirs.”

Her compliment drew a small, almost self-conscious tilt of his mouth. “Thank you. Occupational hazard of handling volatile samples—people get very attached to keeping all their original neurochemistry.”

He stepped back just enough to give her space as she turned fully to the techs and their shaken colleague.

"Ensign?" Xex addressed the woman, eyes flicking briefly to her fellows. "Are you back with us? Please, have a seat." When the woman blinked blankly back at her, Xex gave her fellows a pointed look, and they hastily sprang into action, easing her into a seat on a spare biobed. "We'll just get you some fluids and you'll be right as rain," she promised, beckoning Wishmore closer and lowering her voice to explain, "Time seems to be the primary healing force when it comes to the hallucinations. If you can distract them for long enough to keep them still, the effects should wear off in a matter of ten minutes or so."

"Nurse?" Xex added, collaring a passing nurse and briefly explaining the situation-- it didn't seem to require much exposition-- then leaving the woman's rehydration and recovery in the nurse's capable hands.

Theo lingered a moment, eyes on the contained mass as its movement slowed to a lazy pulse beneath the field. Satisfied, he peeled off the gloves with care, disposing of them in the biohazard chute before returning to Xex’s side.

Her directions to the shaken engineer drew a faint nod of approval from him; the patient’s gradual clarity spoke for itself.

“Good recovery window,” he murmured, tone low enough for her alone. “No lingering motor disruption — seems consistent with dermal exposure only.”

He glanced briefly toward the field again, its glow casting soft light across the sickbay’s scuffed walls. “I’ll draft a preliminary report for your review once the readings stabilize.”

A pause, then a small, wry smile. “If this is a typical afternoon aboard the Sojourner, I may need a second cup of that tea.”

Xex's grin was generous, seeming especially wide in contrast to his small smile. Her gray eyes twinkled as she gestured in grand fashion back toward the doors to her office. "That, my good doctor, I believe I can arrange. We'll need to wait for the biologists to come collect their errant baby anyway," she said as she followed him back into the office. With her smile still firmly in place, she added, "And while we wait, I can actually get you settled in and fully briefed, ideally before the next mini-emergency arrives."

He fell into step beside her, the corner of his mouth lifting. “A second cup and a proper briefing—now that’s the kind of medicine I can get behind.”

As they stepped back into the quieter confines of her office, he cast one last glance toward the containment field beyond the glass. “I’ll admit, that wasn’t quite the introduction I’d planned. But if that’s the usual pace aboard the Sojourner, I think I’ll fit in just fine.”

He settled back into the chair, a glint of dry amusement in his eyes. “All right, Doctor. Let’s see if we can get through this briefing before the next emergency decides it wants an audience.”