Unexpectedly Serious

Posted on Thu Jun 4th, 2026 @ 5:26am by Lieutenant Xex Wang & Ensign Kaelira Tamsin

Mission: Port of Call
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: Mission Day 15 at 1443

[Sickbay]
[MD 15, Immediately Following 'Required but Mundane.']
[1443]


As Sickbay's doors closed behind Amarok, Xex tapped a few commands into her tricorder while Kaelira settled herself on the edge of the biobed and made herself comfortable as best she could. "Sure. Where would you like me to start?" she asked with a smile.

“Tell me about your sickbay duties on your last posting,” Xex began, without looking up from the tricorder's screen. It was another couple heartbeats before she was satisfied with whatever commands she had given it, and she raised her gaze, silvery expression pleasant and open, inviting Kaelira to share.

"Well," Kaelira cleared her throat and continued, "This is my second posting since leaving the Academy, and I was previously serving aboard the Solace as a Junior Nurse in the trauma ward before I became Lead Nurse in the post-op recovery ward."

As soon as she began speaking, Xex began her scan, moving the tricorder slowly over the nurse's body. Though she made appropriately interseted sounds, it was clear that most of her attention was on the tricorder. When Kaelira paused briefly, Xex glanced up, giving her an encouraging smile.

"My role as Junior Nurse was to care for the patients and administer treatments as required, whereas Lead Nurse was more admin and coordination based." She maintained a steady heart rate as she talked and watched the Lieutenant. "I've participated in relief efforts on New Xendi Prime following a tectonic disaster and assisted in containment and treatment during the Thalaxian Fever outbreak as well."

Kaelira sat quietly once she'd finished talking and continued to watch while she waited for a response.

Xex was too professional to have a change of expression at whatever it was she saw on her tricorder, which was making its usual soft beeping noises, but it didn't take a ten-year veteran to notice that the scan was taking longer than it maybe should have. “The Solace is Nova class, is she not? That should make the transition here fairly easy. We're only a small department,” Xex explained, finally meeting Kaelira's gaze again. Without the slightest change in her demeanor, she waved at the biobed. “Let's get a few more in-depth scans. And while you're there, you can tell me about New Xendi Prime.” Now her expression changed, becoming animated with almost child-like interest, “I've never been and I've always wanted to go. What was it like?”

"It's... serene." Kaelira smiled to cover up the worry that was starting to form in the back of her mind; she'd seen enough scans being done to know they shouldn't take this long to come back clear. "Beautiful lush forests that seem to give off a soft almost bioluminescent glow in the night, and the creatures of the night come alive with the most beautiful sounds to complement it. The people, for the most part, are quiet and reserved too and know the value of peace, which is perfect if you're wanting to go somewhere to rest and recharge."

As Kaelira lay back on the biobed, Xex activated the scan which washed soft blue light over her body, a counterpoint to her descriptions of bioluminescence. “That sounds even better than I imagined,” she breathed, keeping most of her attention on Kaelira rather than the data that was surely beginning to arrive on her screen. “I imagine the midst of a fever outbreak was not the most ideal time to appreciate the serenity,” she commented, making a few adjustments to the scan.

"If I could go back there in a non-Starfleet capacity, I think I would spend a lot of time there and it would surely become one of my favourite places." Kaelira admitted softly. "How about you, Lieutenant? What would your favourite place be?"

“Do you think you ever will go back? In a non-Starfleet capacity, I mean,” Xex asked, finally taking her eyes off Kaelira to run her eye over the results streaming in as the scan flipped through the layers of Kaelira's body, physiological system by physiological system. Her expression gave no indication about the contents of the data, remaining pleasantly interested and nothing more.

"Only if the Fates allow my path to align with an opportunity to go back, unfortunately." Kaelira knew that it would be a lot nicer to be there with someone else rather than just going there solo, but her work kept her busy enough to not want a relationship to be her top priority.

She glanced curiously between her Chief and the screen she was looking at. "How are all the results looking? Is there anything to be concerned about at this stage that might not allow me to perform my duties or is it looking good so far?"

Xex paused, looking to the unpracticed eye as though she were studying the diagnostics intently. Of course, Kaelira's eye was not unpracticed, and there was a distraction to Xex's face that didn't quite match the feigned absorption-- in point of fact, she was considering lying to the woman. Only a few heartbeats and the CMO discarded that notion however; it would serve no purpose in the end. Letting out her breath in a slow exhale, she finally looked up and met Kaelira's eye, taking a step back. "You can sit up now," she said, and manipulating the side of the biobed, she threw the diagnostics into the air in front of Kaelira. "Have you been feeling odd lately at all? Any fatigue, low-grade fever, problems with your vision?"

The information hanging in front of Kaelira was not a glaring red alert of danger, but rather an insidious, waiting sort of hazard. Most of her diagnostics looked like they had come back clean: lung capacity, kidney and liver function, GI flora counts, reproductive health, and every other system besides. All fell within human norms, even within Betazoid ones. Xex had checked. All seemed nominal until Kaelira ran her eye over the cell counts. It was subtle, and maybe even would have escaped notice, except that Kaelira had already mentioned her close brush with the Thalaxian fever. While Xex had had little first-hand experience with the disease, she'd certainly read all there was to read on it; the outbreak on New Xendi Prime had been tragic enough to warrant deeper research. Now, with Kaelira in front of her, she couldn't help but notice uptick in T-cell activity, usually seen concurrently with a whole-system immune response and instead seen here in apparent isolation. It was anomalous enough to share, Xex was certain.

Kaelira hesitated for a moment so she could form her words correctly and not miss anything in her reply. "There's been a few little bouts of fatigue over the last week or so, and I know it's bad to say this, but I kind of dismissed it because my normal routines have been upended on the account of this posting."

She shrugged it off but felt a ping of guilt in the back of her mind for not seeing anyone about it earlier. It was just fatigue, right? "I haven't noticed or felt any fevers or hot flushes either, and the only time I've had blurry vision is when I'm overtired and trying to read, but that's not exactly something new..."

Her tone shifted slightly, "What have you found? That's abnormal and raising concern?"

Xex held her face professionally neutral, the only slip being a sideways glance at Kaelira, which was enough to assure her that the nurse hadn't seen what Xex herself had. Taking a deep breath as furtively as she could to steel herself without being obvious, she collapsed the data back into the biobed's display and took a step back to give Kaelira a little more breathing room. “It may be nothing,” she started, in textbook doctor fashion, "but given your history with the fever, I think your elevated cell counts across the immunospectrum is concerning, at least insofar as we keep a closer eye on it than we might otherwise.” A comforting smile touched her lips, and she continued, “It might account for your fatigue-- or it might not--” she was quick to caution, “but if you experience any other symptoms indicative of the fever, it will warrant follow-up." With a casual gesture to invite Kaelira off the bed, she began clearing away the diagnostics.

As she stood up, Kaelira's mind began to tick over with medical texts she could read up on, the tests that could be done, the potential side effects certain medications could give. Of course, it wasn't a fatal diagnosis in any way, but Kaelira wouldn't just stand by and let something as simple as fatigue get in the way of her career.

"Of course," she nodded and gathered up her jacket to fold over one arm. "I understand. Don't do anything that could potentially cause these symptoms to flair up again.

“Now Kaelira,” Xex said, very deliberately using the woman's given name to get her attention as she stood. Her eyes sought out Kaelira's, catching and holding her gaze with unwonted seriousness, “This may be nothing. But I am a medical professional as much as you are, and I am very well aware of how easy it is to dismiss your own health. You absolutely must not do that. When we depart Pathfinder, the Sojourner will be very much on our own. There are no handy waystations, no passing Ambassador- or Constitution- class ships from whom we can request aid. We are the only help the crew of this ship will have, and if we are not at our very best, we are doing the entire ship's complement a disservice-- and I will not have that in this sickbay.”

Her monologue delivered, Xex broke eye contact and flashed Kaelira a friendly smile, very much at odds with the seriousness of her warning. “All of that to say that I want you to take care of yourself, and in this case,” she gestured at where the diagnostics had hung in the air, “The best way I can think to do that is to let us know if anything-- and I do mean anything-- changes with your health. Agreed?”

"Absolutely," Kaelira confirmed with a nod. It wasn't exactly a dismissal of care; it was more an acknowledgement that someone here cared enough about her wellbeing. She reiterated something she'd heard on an old advertisement for pain relief: "If any symptoms persist, see a doctor, right? I understand we're on our own out here, that we - you, me and the rest of the medical team - are all this crew has, and we need to have clear and open communication in order to be effective."

Shifting from one foot to the other, Kaelira continued, "I'm really looking forward to actually starting this assignment. There's so much I'll be able to learn, especially from yourself, and I'm looking forward to seeing what I can achieve too."

Apparently satisfied that the woman would take the condition seriously enough, Xex stepped back out of her space, her posture and expression relaxing into something closer to the ‘comrade’ end of the relationship spectrum, rather than the ‘scary doctor’ end. “The Delta Quadrant certainly has a lot to teach us,” Xex agreed as she tapped a few commands into the biobed’s controls, resetting it for the next patient, “So long as we are open to learning. You’re all set now on the medical end, feel free to take the rest of the day to get settled in to your berth– I think I saw you were assigned something on level four? And enjoy Pathfinder while we have it. It may be some time until we’re back. Oh, and Kaelira?” The doctor caught the woman’s eye as her newest recruit made to leave.

“Welcome to the Sojourner.”

A post by:

Lieutenant Xex Wang, MD
CMO

Ensign Kaelira Tamsin
Nurse