Medical Check Up: Chaika

Posted on Thu Aug 10th, 2023 @ 8:04am by Lieutenant Chaika & Lieutenant Roan Gaeta

1,389 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Mission 1 - Project Concord

In sickbay, Doctor Roan Gaeta rubbed his forehead before he looked at the PADD in front of him. The next appointment was with the Chief Engineer, an Asobi called Chaika. He didn't know much about the Asobi, except what he had now read. Caitians were more common in Starfleet and while they shared some similarities, the Asobi were also unique. He looked forward to it anyway, to meeting her and figuring out what she did. And a baseline medical was good for that.

He dotted down, using a pencil and paper, the things he needed to remember. The stamina being one of them, her being drowsy wouldn't be as concerning as with most humanoids. Same with her diet, the slower digestion. He also noted, from her records, that she had children. Now that was hardly abnormal, many serving Starfleet personnel did, it was just the amount that most humans would look at with shock.

The Asobi known as Chaika had been aboard a while now, longer than most of the crew already. She had been requested to report to the sickbay of the ship. Apparently Humans liked to 'check up' on crew health every now and again. She wasn't too sure why as she wasn't sick or injured.

However the tiny alien walked into the sickbay, a slight spring in her step. "Hello?" She asked looking around the room.

"Here" Roan stood, looking at her before he walked over. He kept a little distance, because the height difference between them was something he didn't want to crowd her with. "I'm Doctor Roan Gaeta. And you must be Lieutenant Chaika."

Chaika nodded once. "Yes. I am Lieutenant Chaika. You are correct." She stood there looking up at him before cocking her head to one side. "I believe the reason you summoned me is to do a medical procedure?" she asked.

"Not a procedure" Roan said with a small smile, motioning to the biobed. "I am capturing a baseline of the entire crew. With our mission, we don't know how our bodies may be affected. So, I am capturing all the information I can now, before we start getting worn down by extensive travel."

The short engineer raised an eyebrow. "I have been travelling in space for twenty nine cycles. So I am used to extensive travel," she explained to him. "Is this a Human concept that I am unaware of?"

"No," Roan said, with an easy patience of someone who didn't mind explaining things if needed. "It's standard procedure before deep space missions within Starfleet, which this is. We might encounter environmental situations and influences that changes us. This baseline allows me to see what is normal for you, not your species...you."

"I think I understand" Chaika said. "Please provide me instructions to follow."

"Alright...onto the biobed, I'll do a scan and you can tell me how you're feeling. Any aches and pains, concerns...basically, the usual things your doctor asks you whenever you end up for a medical check up," Roan said and got the tricorder, smiling to himself.

It took two hops for Chaika to get up onto the tall biobed. Her feet dangled over the side as she sat there, her long tail swished from left to right as she waited ptiently. "Asobi are quite resilient. The only real pain I have ever had was giving birth to my cublings. However, I am not currently pregnant so that is not an issue," she stated. "I do believe that I am in good health?"

"So no headaches, dizziness, that sort?" he asked to confirm, even as he started to scan her. He did believe her though, that wasn't it. But it was always good to verbally confirm again.

Chaika shook her head. "Nope. I don't usually encounter such conditions unless I have recieved a head injury. I was dizzy once in my sixteeth cycle. I don't recall being dizzy since."

He nodded, smiling at that. Well, her scans were good, so she wasn't underplaying something. "Well, it's good then," he said, lightly. He couldn't imagine how it was, to be that resilient against everything, to either avoid pain or just not be exposed to it so much. He wasn't jealous, biology had no room for that. But it was fascinating. "Computer, give me the heart rate, blood pressure and oxygenation for biobed 1," he wanted to just get that reading locked.

Chaika sat there calmly. Her two hearts beating in sequence. She didn't seem phased about the doctor scans. "How many cycles have you been a doctor?"

He met her eyes, briefly, before he looked over at the screen. "I'm not sure how long you consider a cycle," he admitted, because in truth he didn't. It had taken him a while to get used to the shorter days, as his planet had 29 hours in a day.

"Oh..." Chaika said. "I do believe that one of our cycles is the same time as seven of what you Humans call 'years'."

He nodded, watching her for a moment as he quickly did the maths. "I have been a Starfleet doctor for two of your cycles," he said, finishing the scan. "I've been...a zhe, a healer for...about three and a half of your cycles." There was a difference. When he was on Arise, healing was just knowing what plants helped, how to stitch a wound, how to care for the injured. "But Human lifespans are different than yours."

The small engineer nodded. "Yes. One cycle was one rotation of our star, the same applied for your Earth. Although our home planet moved slower," she explained. "Did your scans of my body detect anything? Do you have any questions? I have been informed by other Humans that my anatomy is unusual."

"Not that unusual," Roan said, with a reassuring smile. "The medical database has allowed me to catch up, so I understand your anatomy. And your body's fine, this has allowed me to see what your normal, happy, healthy baseline is." He put the medical tricorder down now he was done. "So, how are you feeling about our mission?" a blunt question perhaps, but she was the Chief Engineer...if she had any reservations, he'd like to know, if only due to curiosity. It would be easier as soon as their Counsellor arrived.

"It's exciting," Chaika said a slight sparkle in her eyes. "I've been in Space all my life, do going this far and seeing new things will be exciting. Plus, I owe the Federation a debt. So I can relay them by serving in Starfleet."

Roan took in the words, watching the excitement on her face with a smile. It made him feel better about all of this, if she was that excited. "I am looking forward to the exploring part too," he admitted, looking down for a moment. Because as a doctor, he wasn't really going to get that involved with the actual exploring, but it was still exciting. "And we might even make contact with species that no one from our quadrants have seen."

Chaika nodded. "Yes, and since this ship has an experimental engine that I helped design and build, we should be able to travel far!"

"Hopefully not too far," Roan said, with a straight face as well. "May very well fall off the edge of the universe..." he then smiled, a quick and almost cheeky smile that made him look younger.

"Well. Let's see," Chaika replied. "Is there anything else you wish to examine me for?"

"No, that was it," Roan said, giving her a small nod. "You're free to go back to Engineering and bark orders, if that is your style." He was glad she had been on time though, because he had been concerned he would have had to chase every senior officer down with a tranquiliser.

Chaika nodded and hopped down from the biobed. She looked into the doctors eyes for a few moments, flashed him a smile abd trotted out of the room her tail swishing behind her.

He chuckled as he watched her go, before shaking his head. "Yes, nice meeting you too," he murmured to himself, moving to clean the biobed with the movements of someone who did that sort on autopilot.

Posting by

Lieutenant Chaika
Chief Engineer

Lieutenant Roan Gaeta
Chief Medical Officer

 

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