Looking For A 'Job'

Posted on Sun Feb 4th, 2018 @ 3:13am by Captain Rueben Gregnol

Mission: Mission 5 - Liberation
Location: Station above Ardana
Timeline: Previous Mission
1385 words - 2.8 OF Standard Post Measure

His head still pounded like his brain was a drum-set, and despite all the marvels of 24th century medical technology, it hurt to put any real weight on his left ankle after the fight with the three assailants he had saved Braden from. He would never admit it but he was out of practice fighting after a year on Rosie, he had grown soft since his imprisonment with the cartels. He looked up as a man sat down opposite him. “Um… can I help you?” Reuben demanded ready to leave.

"I'm not sure," the other man answered, as grey eyes seemed to size Rueben up. "Maybe it's more the question of whether I can help you. You seem to be in pain sir, do you require assistance?" While Romulan in all his fibre, Lhaes had no issue being straightforward when he needed to be, which might get him to be mistaken for a Vulcan.

Reuben looked at the man carefully levelling him with a look. "What exactly could you help with kid? Because I really don't think you can help with what I am going through." The man asked taking in the green tinge of his skin he couldn't decide whether he was Romulan or Vulcan as he looked and sounded like a cross between them both.

"Kid?" Lhaes arched a single slanted eyebrow, not sure if he should take offense. "I'm a doctor, why don't you try me?" He reached down and pulled out his tricorder, flipping it open. "I can sense your discomfort, it's as plain as day. Where does it hurt?"

"Cause you look about the same age as my kid brother." The man commented on as he started to talk about discomfort. Mott had kept his pain medication very low in an attempt to wean but to the point, he had chosen alcohol as his new poison to drown out the pain caused by his shoulder.

"I am thirty-six," Lhaes chuckled, "hardly a kid though I'll give you that I look younger due to my genetics. Can you tell me how you came to be in such pain? How and when did the injury happen? Have you only tried this medication or has your doctor attempted alternative therapy as well?" It was so easy to slip into doctor mode and Lhaes was very glad he'd kept his license valid over the years.

"Wouldn't have pegged you as older than me." The Captain said with surprise as he looked at the man again. He had to be teasing him, there was no way he was older than him. "Four years ago and it happened because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time." He said moving his tee to the side so the man could see the mass of scars. This man didn't need to know about his abduction and the fact he was held captive.

Knowing better than to press for answers, despite knowing ways of getting answers if he really wanted them, Lhaes just nodded. "You have never considered having the scarring removed?" he queried curiously. "And you didn't answer my question....have you considered alternative therapy other than medication?"

"I was ignoring that as you somehow might know Mott," If this man knew Mott somehow did Reuben really need to be talking to this man any more than he needed to. "It can't be removed in the civilian world I live in." If he had been back on a state of the art Starship it would have been a few weeks of therapy and he would have fall function back again but Rosie barely had stuff for simple skin regeneration let alone something as big as what he required.

The Romulan shook his head. "I don't know any Mott," he promised, "and I can remove it. Given proper medical equipment, I can remove it. But for now we can try heat therapy. We can replicate an infrared light, and apply it for several minutes a day. That should help with muscle pain. You will need to do exercises to keep the muscles soft."

"You are not my Doctor." Reuben commented on looking at his nearly empty glass. "You seem far too clever to be out in this pile of crap spacebase." Ardana might mine zenite but the base was a pile of crap but it sold good whiskey.

"But I can be a doctor. Circumstances have me out of a job..." Lhaes shoved a PADD across the table towards Rueben.

Rueben looked a the PaDD and nodded pushing it back. He did need a Doctor. "So how come you ended up here?" It was an easy question. No one ended up out there by choice anymore.

"That must be remaining between you and I. My complete orders will be transferred to you as soon as you accept my assignment. For all intents and purposes, I will be your doctor and on your staff." Lhaes gave him the most serious look he could produce; he wasn't going to discuss SFI in public. "And for those same purposes, I will be a civilian. We just need a plausible reason for me having left Starfleet."

Rueben slowly felt the anger and the rising realisation that Starfleet Intelligence was interfering in his new life, in his crew's lives. "You've got to be fucking kidding me." The man muttered half should up from his seat intent on just walking away.

"I'm afraid not Captain, my orders are quite clear. but I assure you I am fully qualified to serve as ship's doctor, and I won't let my assignment get in the way of being a doctor." Lhaes managed a small smile. "I will be your doctor, no matter what. And I will keep you fully informed, however, no-one else must know. This will remain between you and me."

The Captain heard enough and stood up downing his whiskey in one swoop. "Khamstvo..." He muttered knowing it was impossible to translate after all these years by any translator. Khamstvo is nothing other than rudeness, arrogance and insolence multiplied by impunity and it summed up Starfleet Intelligence perfectly. "You bet it will be staying between us and I will be getting rid of you once we get to the Trill Homeworld." Reuben had Jeassaho onboard this man was a danger to her and for all he knew was meant to kill her in revenge for him going off the grid.

Sensing something about the man, Lhaes leaned forward. "You have nothing to fear from me captain," he assured the man, "I am just a simple doctor with a job to do. And the details are for your eyes only, and I will keep you up to date as I just said. Nothing will happen without your knowing about it, however, once I find my objective you will do nothing to stop me from doing what I need to do."

Rueben leaned over the table himself and smirked. "Just try me 'Doctor'." The Captain had never been a man to be messed with when he was a Starfleet Officer but now that he was out in the wilds of the universe he had more of an edge to him. There was something about him that clung to the man that spoke of how deadly he could be.

"I hope it will not come to that captain..." Lhaes leaned back, the hard stare disappearing from his eyes, seemingly turning them a few shades of grey lighter.

The glare turned to a smirk as he realised this man didn't know him and wouldn't know how his painkiller addiction. "Well seeing you are Doctor. I suppose I'll be seeing you later to have a proper look at my shoulder."

"A proper look at your shoulder, and a proper look at you," Lhaes smirked back. "Permission to board the ship? I have a family to settle in."

"Family?" Reuben wondered as he was already walking away. That was just great. He was going to get hell and give hell over this one he just knew it. The man better be a bloody good doctor and happy with what he was getting in the way of the ship.

OFF::

Reuben Gregnol
Captain
SS Mary Rose

Lhaes Sommers
Senior Medic
SS Mary Rose