A man takes his sadness down to the river and throws it in the river/but then he's still left/with the river.

Posted on Fri Dec 17th, 2021 @ 5:39pm by Ships Doctor Hiram Maitland M.D. & Beya & Oliver Lucas

Mission: Mission 14: Holoworld
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: MD3 1500
1789 words - 3.6 OF Standard Post Measure

ON:

One couldn't accuse Dr. Maitland of being fascinating; his idea of a team-building exercise came in the form of a call to action; a department-wide pot-luck (small department, small pot-luck) encouraging everyone to try and replicate an interesting dish from their particular culture. It left him a bit in the lurch, given he didn't possess a culture as such.

Adaptation was the key to survival-and to a good pot-luck. Hearkening back to many long nights roasting alvi lizards over a desert fire-pit, Hiram spruced up some soft, shredded reptilian meat made possible by a painstakingly-crafted synth combination and incorporated it into a cinnamon-and-habanero fueled curry, oily and bright and resembling a bit of butter chicken with rice by the end of it all.

He settled the dish onto the table along with some more basic staples like soda and chips, and mindlessly fixed the corner of a picnic-style plaid cloth he'd carefully placed underneath. Truth be told, social skills were not his strong suit. In his role as a medical professional he functioned well, but leadership was about more than managing the nearest crisis. You had to foster relationships with the people around you, to encourage trust and sharing, and that part was more elusive to the young pediatrician.

"Welcome," he straightened up with his hands behind his back as Beya and Oliver walked in. "I thought this might be a bit of a refreshing change of pace from the usual departmental meetings. We haven't had much of a chance to talk and I am hopeful we can rectify that."

"It's a nice idea," Beya said, placing her offering on the table - a large soup tureen on a platter stacked with breads and fried vegetable slices. She wasn't terribly happy with it as she'd had to improvise nearly everything. Mary Rose's replicators were programmed for mostly human fare and almost nothing Orion. But even if there had been Orion meats and vegetables, it would still have been lacking - the Federation labeled half the traditional seasonings as aphrodisiacs and/or controlled substances, so they were either banned or really hard to obtain. "I had to make a lot of substitutions, but hopefully the spice pot turned out okay."

Drawn by the smells, Oliver drifted closer to the food. The table looked nice - if a little bit out-of-place in an area where they were normally cutting people open and performing delicate surgery. The food, too, looked interesting. He offered a small container of his own, not particularly large, and put it down near the other things. "I've never been to one of these things before so I wasn't sure what to bring. When you said 'coolest thing' I thought..." he opened the container, which released tiny hiss and a roll of what looked like steam escaped. "Andorian ice flakes. Apparently my mom and dad's favourite."

"It's perfect," Beya assured him with a smile. "We needed a dessert, and this will be a nice 'cool' counterpoint to my spicy dish."

"I can't say I've tried either of those," Hiram returned with a grin, enlisting both of their help in getting things sorted and plated. It was a mite awkward, let's be honest. Hiram googled ways to break the ice and picked the seventh suggestion on a Space Buzzfeed article. At least the ice flakes were fitting! He didn't go around in a sharing circle, but he did inquire of them both-"is the Mary Rose your first assignment or just another in a long line?"

"One in a string of ships I've signed onto," Beya replied while filling her plate from the spread. "I started off apprenticing to my uncle's ship's doctor, but when he left the new doctor didn't think women had any place in medicine, so..." she gave a one shouldered shrug, a gesture far more casual and dismissive than her real feelings on the matter, but it was her way of displaying cluros in the face of an unfortunate twist of fate. "Anyway, I left and found berths on ships where I could keep learning and working in medicine."

Hiram was somewhat familiar with how Orions viewed women in the workplace-though this was as varied of an opinion as there were Orions, but he didn't react other than a blink and a nod. "I trust that you have had plenty of opportunity aboard the Mary Rose," he returned quietly.

"Some." Beya glanced away as a wistful regret at losing Doctor Vinny crossed her mind. "One of the previous doctors was even showing me surgical techniques and tutoring me so I could maybe apply to medical school someday." She tried to keep any hope or expectation out of her voice. In her experience, Doctor Vinny's were rare and asking for that kind of help was as likely to result in resentment or even dismissal.

"If that's something you are still interested in pursuing, I'm willing to offer any assistance I can. One thing I've been wanting to implement ship-wide," he added, addressing Oliver as well, "is the inclusion of first-aid courses to anyone who wishes to volunteer. Our medical department is small, and the more people who are trained in emergency assistance, the better prepared we'll be." He looked back at Beya. "And if studying for the MCAT is something you're genuinely interested in, I'd be happy to tutor you."

"Yes! Yes, I am!" Beya threw her arms around him, jumping up and down in a sudden burst of excited joy. Then, remembering her place, she stopped and let go, stepping back. "I mean, yes. I would greatly appreciate that, Doctor."

"I never really finished medical training, so of course I would, too," Oliver agreed, brightening for the first time since he'd entered the room. "How long have you been a doctor, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I graduated from Starfleet Academy in 2394," Hiram said. "So about three years. I did my residency in pediatrics and I completed a fellowship at the Federation Council for forensic pediatrics." It was a long way from the Mary Rose.

"Forensic pediatrics?" Beya's brows rose. "Your fellowship was studying child abuse?" It seemed an odd specialty, especially for a merchant ship's doctor. On the other hand, it was also the sort of subject that she could imagine might drive someone to drop everything and try to get as far away as possible.

"Not precisely studying," Hiram acknowledged with a nod. "My role was very narrow, as it was with the Office of the Prosecutor, and everything was very regimented. It was quite rewarding, but as you may have deduced, it is an emotionally taxing field of work." Hiram didn't seem particularly emotional about it, but he understood the reaction. He kept it surface; most people did not desire to hold a conversation about that topic for any period of time.

"I understand," Oliver nodded. "I was on the Borg de-assimilation programme for a while. I know firsthand how hard that process of recovery can be. Healing the mind is usually more important than the body."

Hiram's eyes snapped up at that, thoughtful. Suddenly their vivid quality, the sharp saccades that accompanied it, were less a distinct peculiarity and something-else. A movement in blinks, but it passed. It was easy to categorize it as the same sort of response as he usually got. Fear, or distrust. "Very much agreed," he just said, in as warm a tone as he knew how to portray, his features relaxing into an easy smile. "This is from Andor, you mentioned? I do not believe I have ever tried either of these." And he doubted they'd ever had Runi fare, so they were all peas in a pod.

"Oh. Well. Yes - they're not like some sort of homemade recipe or anything. I know they're Andorian and they're meant to be cold," Oliver replied.

Taking the hint to change the subject, Beya tried some of Hiram's dish. "Oh, this is nicely spiced. I don't think I've had it before though. What is it and can I get the recipe?"

"A facsimile," he said, dry. "It's from my homeworld." He did not illuminate what world that was. "Sadly the lizards we ordinarily use are not common outside of the system, but it's more-or-less the same." He looked down at his bowl of ice flakes and lifted his spoon. "This was one of my better ideas," he said after he'd tried both of theirs, amused. "You've both done a great job. I appreciate the fact that you've both humored me on this. I'm aware it's a little office party, but-" his eyebrows danced a shrug. "You also indicated an interest in pursuing your medical studies, is that right?" he looked to Oliver, recalling his enthusiasm earlier for the pilot first-aid program.

"Absolutely," Oliver nodded brightly. "It's been... interesting..." he looked at Beya, his comrade through the last few weeks, "trying not to make any mistakes or accidentally make things worse. I can figure my way around a protoplaser, but beyond the bumps and scrapes...we're lucky we didn't have some more serious problems to deal with!"

"That's a pretty typical experience," Hiram said with a nod. "A lot of our technology makes basic medical intervention snappy even for a layperson, it's knowing the unique intersections of treatment, management, conditions-the little things that get people killed. Or the big ones. A catastrophic trauma coming through those doors is less likely to survive, even with a doctor on board-a lot of our built-in technology is very old. The best way we can make sure that doesn't happen is to be as prepared as possible, and prevent injuries before they occur. Education, training, protocols. They're no substitute for experience, but it'll help."

Beya shook her head. "True, but experience without the education to understand it, and training to improve on it, is just a traumatic ordeal."

"And even then," Hiram inclined his head in agreement. "There are times when things simply catch us off guard, no matter our training or experience. I'm going to try and draft up two distinct programs and I'll get you both to take a look at them. One for this department and one on a voluntary basis for crewmembers who want to brush up on their medical skills. How does that sound?" he eyed them both.

"Good," Beya said with a nod. "Very good, in fact. I'll be glad to help with the crew course. I know enough to do that."