Out For Blood

Posted on Sat Jan 7th, 2023 @ 12:25pm by Lieutenant Michael Amato & David Meddows MD-Ph.D.
Edited on on Mon Jan 16th, 2023 @ 8:32am

1,044 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: A Fool’s Errand
Location: Deck 7: Medical Section
Timeline: M1 MD08 (2268.23.05) 1700

Two hours passed since Dr. Amato had checked in on Mr. Dienstag. It took a long while but Toby had finally calmed down and was back asleep. Mike left Toby's quarters and headed towards the medical section. His blood was boiling.

His blood was so boiling in fact that he didn't notice his trip from Deck 5 to Deck 7. Before he realized it he was outside Dr. Meddows office. The office door was locked so Mike just stood there, seething. He would give his colleague the profession courtesy of explaining himself before taking the next step of talking with Dr. Kitchner.

Suddenly the door swished open and a young woman in wearing command gold and a big smile on her face nearly crashed into Mike as she exited the office.

"Oh, are you next?" smiled Thraxina, who had just had her post-fight counseling session. "He's just in there" she informed the irate looking medico, then, turning as she walked past him, pointed first at herself and then to him. "Oh, and guess what, Doc. I'm OK, and you're OK! Isn't that great? See you later!" and with that, she was gone, half skipping off down the corridor.

Dr. Amato rolled his eyes as the Andaran woman walked passed him. That catch phrase was already insufferable. He was trying hard not to grit his teeth.

Meddows was head down, completing his notes when Amato entered. "Gah! Andarans, eh! Who let them into the Federation? Nice girl, though." he looked up.

"Oh. Hello Doctor. Are you... OK?"

"No Doctor, I am not ok," Dr. Amato responded, trying his disguise the outrage in his voice, "We need to discuss a mutual patient... Now."

Dave gave a concerned frown and threw out a hand toward the chair on the other side of his desk. "Well, Doctor, if you're not OK then I'm not OK, perhaps you'd better take a seat."

"I'm guessing this is about Yeoman La'lei" said Dave, sitting back with a sigh "What you've got to realise Doctor is that Vulcan's aren't always the emotionless robots they make themselves out to be, in fact..." but Amato clearly had someone else in mind.

"I'm not taking a seat," Dr. Amato responded as he rested his fists on Mr. Meddows' desk, "And this has nothing to do with Yeoman La'lei. Ensign... Dienstag..." He tried to speak in his normal deadpan tone but was unable to completely scrub his voice of his outrage.

Meddows rolled his eyes in thought.

"Oh yes? Isn't he fit for service? He looked all right to me, I passed him 'fit for duty'. A few deep seated anxiety issues, perhaps, but we should be able to root those out with a few more therapy sessions... he seems to admire you a great deal." Meddows remembered.

"He was fit for duty until he came to see you," Mike responded glaring directly into Meddows' eyes, "He was perfectly fine, now he's not. He will not come to you again." He pushed his fists even further into the desktop, "How can act you like nothing outrageous occurred during that session?!

Meddows shook his head slightly confused. "Hold on..." you could almost hear the cogs clicking in his brain "I gave him the Mitsubishi Technique and he went crying off to you instead of the Captain. I'm obviously missing something here..."

Suddenly, Dr Meddows was staring at the furious Amato in a new way, mouth slightly agape and a frown wrinkling his forehead.

"What is your exact relationship with Ensign Dienstag, doctor?'" he asked with more than a hint of disapproval in his voice.

Dr. Amato straightened up as a his expression changed to one of confusion, "The Mitsubishi Technique?" he asked. The Psych rotation was one of three rotations he had yet to experience in his residency and given this assignment probably never would.

"He is my patient and my friend," he said, answering the question in a matter of fact tone, "And he did not run to me. I checked on him when he failed to report for duty. As I would for any newly discharged patient who fails to do so." His personal relationships were none of Dr. Meddows' businesses. He wasn't going to open his love life to being heckled or dissected.

Many knew of or at least suspected his relationship with Toby, but he would not admit to it as the fleet fraternization regulations were still very much in effect. It wasn't a subject he would discuss in a professional setting regardless.

"Failed to report for duty, did he?" Meddows shook his head, seemingly mollified by Mike's explanation of his relationship with the younger, more junior officer, but not so happy about this development.

"Well, if seeing me stroking a toy cat and lying on a couch upsets his mental equilibrium so much that he can't attend his station; what's he going to be like the first time he's in a firefight with a Bird of Prey or has to meet a Medusan?!" Meddows pressed a button and brought up Toby's record on his monitor.

"I'm not sure we can have someone like that taking turns in the Captain's chair." he opined "Friend' or not!" he added sardonically.

"I fail to understand the logic in testing and officer for command fitness right after serious brain trauma, particularly an officer fresh from the academy and a junior science officer" Dr. Amato responded. His outrageous was maturing into a mix of contempt and disgust. "He was in command when we picked up the distress call and handled it well. The Captain said so."

"Ha! I heard that call, he sounded scared to death." laughed Meddows, mirthlessly.

Mike crossed his arms, "Demanding trust, grabbing an officer and performing a mock exorcism is far more than sitting on a couch and stroking a cat. If it isn't unethical then it's certainly not helpful," he said.

"Ohhh, is that how he described it? Hmmm, interesting." pondered the psychiatrist, steepling his fingers in front of him "Well!" he focused back on Amato "If you believe that I have acted unethically, Doctor Amato, it's your duty to report it to our mutual superior." He waved languidly at the desk-top communicator.

"Please help yourself."

To Be Continued...

 

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