Doctor Daniels, I Presume

Posted on Sun Mar 21st, 2010 @ 4:09pm by Lieutenant Commander Melissa Daniels M.D.

Mission: Commissioned
Location: Messhall
Timeline: MD01 1200

Dr. Jaro picked up her food tray with a look of uncertainty. She glanced around, trying to gather how the other members of the crew were handling the slop and wondering whether she should be prepared for several dozen cases of food poisoning. Nobody seemed to be reacting badly as they joked over their trays and with a sense of trepidation, she looked around for somewhere to sit. The young Doctor caught her eye almost at once and Sydney hoped an unofficial introduction wouldn't be taken the wrong way. Lifting her usual smile in place she approached the young woman.

"Dr. Daniels, I presume?"

Melissa had only been aboard for a few hours. Certainly not long enough to really meet anyone. Yesterday she was on board shuttlecraft after shuttlecraft trying to get to her new post. She met this new doctor with her usual smile. She spoke, "Dr. Jaro, good to see you again."

The Betazoid was pleasantly surprised at the recognition, she wasn't sure if the younger woman would remember her after all this time. "Mind if I join you?"

Melissa nodded, "Please." She gestured to a Chair. "So, you decided to get another field post? Welcome aboard the Jackal, a Defiant Class Escort with fifty crewmembers, cramped bunk-bed quarters, and firepower."

"At least there's a bed here." The elder doctor laughed, remembering the last time she'd known Ms Daniels. "So what have you been up to since the sleeping arrangements weren't so tempting?" She asked and her voice entirely lacked sarcasm.

Melissa spoke, "Oh after I got my MD. I was transferred out to a Medical and SAR vessel near the Typhon Expanse. We got jumped by Pirates, and I got to patch up Marines. You know, you never really expect to be hit on by five or ten fifteen-year-olds with body armor all at once. They looked good too, but that's about it." She laughed a bit. "At least I didn't get complaints about bedside manner."

"Well, I'm not surprised there." Sydney admitted. While Melissa had never been exactly straightforward about her assignment the last time they met, she had always had a way with people.

"Afterward, I was assigned to the Niagara. Nice Sickbay, but Personnel called me and told me they made a mistake. So I've been on shuttlecrafts for the last two days, between two sectors, and thriving on four hours of sleep. All in a day's work." She stated with a smile.

"True," Jaro admitted and looked back down at the thick slop that neither of them were touching. "Apparently half-cooked mush is now a part of the job too." She tentatively tried a bite.

Melissa spoke, "I'll say. It's definitely not caviar or fillet-mignon. How were you doing Doctor?"

"Well, other than seeing both children married, life at Starfleet Medical is about as uninteresting as Cardassian literature." She took another bite of the food and was surprised by how easily it went down. "When the Captain asked if I'd be willing to come back into service . . . well, how could I say 'no' to all this?" Again, she sounded perfectly serious.

Melissa nodded as she tried to eat the mound in front of her.

"So why the hell did you decide to become an MD?"

She thought a moment, "Took a while for me to decide. After leaving the Volunteer Corps, it took me a while to figure things out. No home, no family, no life. Started over again from scratch, Sydney, and I was damn tired of seeing people die right in front of me. I wanted to do something about that. So I filled out the application." She noted. "I think of it as a form of redemption."

The doctor nodded. She had known more doctors than she had expected who had come out of the war and taken to medicine as a way of healing their histories. "Has it been working? This redemption?"

Melissa went silent for a moment. "It does, but I still have a lot of sins to make up for. Regardless, it gives me a purpose where I don't have to kill anymore."

"I can buy that." Sydney nodded. "So should I ask how you know the Captain?"

Melissa spoke, "Actually I've never meet him before in my life. The only Command Officer I've seen these last few days was the Niagara's Bajoran XO. I'm not too familiar with the Command types either, I'm just a doctor here. Some people call me Lieutenant, but I prefer Doctor."

Sydney nodded. She could definitely understand that. "I'm glad to hear it. You're a doctor first and a Starfleet officer second." She nodded again. That was something she could respect.

Melissa nodded, "That's all I ever want to be anymore, especially after the hell we've seen in our lives. I hope the darkness of this life is long past."

The elder doctor nodded, well knowing that this woman had seen more horrors than anyone should. Not for the first time, she was glad that her telepathy wasn't strong enough to pick up on these things.

[OFF]

by

Lieutenant Sydney Jaro
Chief Medical Officer
USS Jackal

and

Lieutenant JG Melissa Daniels
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Jackal