07-04-2026, 06:52 PM
"Mr. Diaz? Or do you prefer Ethan?"
Ethan looked up to find a doctor standing in front of him, a blond woman with her hand outstretched. He quickly got to his feet and handed over his PADD. The question caught him a little off guard. Ordinarily, officers only addressed each other by name if they were of equal rank, but he noticed just then that the doctor's uniform bore no rank insignias at all. A civilian? That was the only plausible explanation he could think of; it wasn't unheard of to find civilian specialists working on starships for their dissertation or other university research initiatives. If that was the case though, why was this woman in uniform?
There wasn't much time to think about it as the doctor led him through to General Medicine. "Mister Diaz is fine, thank you," Ethan replied. They stopped by a row of empty beds, and the doctor gestured to one of them. "Hop on up there," she instructed. "Sorry about all the noise and small wait, we just got a few new additions to the ship's roster, though I think it will be a while before they appear on any duty roster. Infants are SO hard to train."
Ethan's eyebrows shot up. "A delivery? That's--good to hear," he answered, nodding slowly. It would also explain where most of the on-duty staff were. He stepped over to the bed the doctor had indicated and settled onto it, sitting with perfect posture like he was attending a lecture back at the academy.
"How are you feeling? Are you getting settled in alright?" The doctor continued.
"Fine, fine, thank you," said Ethan. "Just, uh--finding my feet, you know? It's my first cruise, but I'm sure you already guessed that. Just came aboard a few days ago."
The doctor paused briefly to activate a privacy screen that formed around the perimeter of the room before going on. "I'm required to ask you if you feel comfortable seeing just me. If you wish, I can have another member of the team join us, of whatever preference you wish. I want you to feel comfortable about this before we continue. I sometimes encounter people who are intimidated by me. I don't entirely understand why, but out of respect, I make sure I give patients a chance to express themselves. So, are you good with this, or shall I call in someone for you?"
Once again, Ethan wasn't immediately sure how to respond. He may be meeting this woman for the first time, but he couldn't see anything to suggest why anyone would be intimidated by her. As for being assigned a female physician, he was indifferent. At the academy, patients had usually been attended to by medical personnel of the same gender, but even then, a cadet's preferences would still take precedence if they requested it.
"I should be fine, thank you, ma'am," Ethan told her. "As long as I'm ship-shape, you'll get no complaints from me."
== Tag Lt. Kalli Thorn (NRC Cindy Talion) Sorry for the wait! And thank you very much for getting back to me so quickly. ==
Ethan looked up to find a doctor standing in front of him, a blond woman with her hand outstretched. He quickly got to his feet and handed over his PADD. The question caught him a little off guard. Ordinarily, officers only addressed each other by name if they were of equal rank, but he noticed just then that the doctor's uniform bore no rank insignias at all. A civilian? That was the only plausible explanation he could think of; it wasn't unheard of to find civilian specialists working on starships for their dissertation or other university research initiatives. If that was the case though, why was this woman in uniform?
There wasn't much time to think about it as the doctor led him through to General Medicine. "Mister Diaz is fine, thank you," Ethan replied. They stopped by a row of empty beds, and the doctor gestured to one of them. "Hop on up there," she instructed. "Sorry about all the noise and small wait, we just got a few new additions to the ship's roster, though I think it will be a while before they appear on any duty roster. Infants are SO hard to train."
Ethan's eyebrows shot up. "A delivery? That's--good to hear," he answered, nodding slowly. It would also explain where most of the on-duty staff were. He stepped over to the bed the doctor had indicated and settled onto it, sitting with perfect posture like he was attending a lecture back at the academy.
"How are you feeling? Are you getting settled in alright?" The doctor continued.
"Fine, fine, thank you," said Ethan. "Just, uh--finding my feet, you know? It's my first cruise, but I'm sure you already guessed that. Just came aboard a few days ago."
The doctor paused briefly to activate a privacy screen that formed around the perimeter of the room before going on. "I'm required to ask you if you feel comfortable seeing just me. If you wish, I can have another member of the team join us, of whatever preference you wish. I want you to feel comfortable about this before we continue. I sometimes encounter people who are intimidated by me. I don't entirely understand why, but out of respect, I make sure I give patients a chance to express themselves. So, are you good with this, or shall I call in someone for you?"
Once again, Ethan wasn't immediately sure how to respond. He may be meeting this woman for the first time, but he couldn't see anything to suggest why anyone would be intimidated by her. As for being assigned a female physician, he was indifferent. At the academy, patients had usually been attended to by medical personnel of the same gender, but even then, a cadet's preferences would still take precedence if they requested it.
"I should be fine, thank you, ma'am," Ethan told her. "As long as I'm ship-shape, you'll get no complaints from me."
== Tag Lt. Kalli Thorn (NRC Cindy Talion) Sorry for the wait! And thank you very much for getting back to me so quickly. ==