07-27-2024, 01:09 PM
As Beka took the pip and attached it to her collar she expressed her concerns about screwing up; not as a medic, but as an officer. About offending someone, about shooting her mouth off at the wrong time, and even about embarrassing her department head. Robin was sympathetic and wasn't a bit surprised at her worries.
"All I ask is that you try, Beka," the nurse giving her friend a soft smile. "I'm not particularly worried about it. I expect you'll offend some people, but that's their problem... and if it becomes my problem then I'll handle it. As Chief Medical Officer that's my job. You have a tendency towards social faux pas, yeah, but that's at most a minor issue. Remember, I've been there for a few of those." She laughed lightly.
"And to be a bit mercenary about it, that 'under pressure' Beka is exactly what I need. Because that's the job. That's what Sickbay is on this ship." She paused. "Almost no one on the Artemis at the doctor or nurse level has combat experience. You, me, Östberg, Sonaalk, Ito, Nalar, a few others. The rest are as green as an Irish summer. I've seen you run a surgical team like you were a symphony conductor and save lives in the process. And I've seen you put higher-ranking officers in their places when they weren't doing their jobs. You could be the most offensive jerk in the history of Starfleet and I'd still have offered you the position."
An unpleasant memory flashed bright green through the Augment's mind, vivid and sharp and perfectly detailed. Sickbay holed by a Borg plasma blast, doctors and nurses and patients instantly incinerated. It had been Robin's first battle, her cadet cruise, and she'd found herself the only officer in the area. The CMO was cut off, there was panic, and she'd done her job and even kept things running despite being hurt by flying equipment. Her hand involuntarily went to the small scar on her forehead, something she purposefully hadn't had regenerated after the battle.
"Everyone screws up, Beka. Everyone says things they regret, or lashes out under pressure. I mean, I got my head bitten off by Tyra Crawford back on the Callisto because I gave her exactly what she'd said she wanted and sedated prisoners." Robin felt no need to tell Beka why she'd done so, though... because executing the Cardassians had been put on the table by Calleja, and there had been no way in hell Robin was going to accede to that. "The Captain had been under unbelievable pressure and was snapping at people left and right, and I chalked it up to that." Not that Robin thought Tyra regretted it; she had a reputation for it. But it was understandable, at least.
She gave another slight laugh. "I'm CMO. It's my job to keep this circus running and to keep a bunch of highly-educated, egotistical monkeys performing. But I can't do it alone, and I need a second-in-command I can trust. I've got exactly three doctors that I can count on in a crisis, that I know won't crack under pressure. Sonaalk, Östberg, and you. Sonaalk doesn't want the job, Östberg hasn't earned it... but you have. And I stand by my decision. The position is yours, Lieutenant."
== Tag ==
"All I ask is that you try, Beka," the nurse giving her friend a soft smile. "I'm not particularly worried about it. I expect you'll offend some people, but that's their problem... and if it becomes my problem then I'll handle it. As Chief Medical Officer that's my job. You have a tendency towards social faux pas, yeah, but that's at most a minor issue. Remember, I've been there for a few of those." She laughed lightly.
"And to be a bit mercenary about it, that 'under pressure' Beka is exactly what I need. Because that's the job. That's what Sickbay is on this ship." She paused. "Almost no one on the Artemis at the doctor or nurse level has combat experience. You, me, Östberg, Sonaalk, Ito, Nalar, a few others. The rest are as green as an Irish summer. I've seen you run a surgical team like you were a symphony conductor and save lives in the process. And I've seen you put higher-ranking officers in their places when they weren't doing their jobs. You could be the most offensive jerk in the history of Starfleet and I'd still have offered you the position."
An unpleasant memory flashed bright green through the Augment's mind, vivid and sharp and perfectly detailed. Sickbay holed by a Borg plasma blast, doctors and nurses and patients instantly incinerated. It had been Robin's first battle, her cadet cruise, and she'd found herself the only officer in the area. The CMO was cut off, there was panic, and she'd done her job and even kept things running despite being hurt by flying equipment. Her hand involuntarily went to the small scar on her forehead, something she purposefully hadn't had regenerated after the battle.
"Everyone screws up, Beka. Everyone says things they regret, or lashes out under pressure. I mean, I got my head bitten off by Tyra Crawford back on the Callisto because I gave her exactly what she'd said she wanted and sedated prisoners." Robin felt no need to tell Beka why she'd done so, though... because executing the Cardassians had been put on the table by Calleja, and there had been no way in hell Robin was going to accede to that. "The Captain had been under unbelievable pressure and was snapping at people left and right, and I chalked it up to that." Not that Robin thought Tyra regretted it; she had a reputation for it. But it was understandable, at least.
She gave another slight laugh. "I'm CMO. It's my job to keep this circus running and to keep a bunch of highly-educated, egotistical monkeys performing. But I can't do it alone, and I need a second-in-command I can trust. I've got exactly three doctors that I can count on in a crisis, that I know won't crack under pressure. Sonaalk, Östberg, and you. Sonaalk doesn't want the job, Östberg hasn't earned it... but you have. And I stand by my decision. The position is yours, Lieutenant."
== Tag ==