BACKPOST "Meeting the Medical Crew."

Posted on Sat Feb 14th, 2026 @ 9:11am by Lieutenant JG Rowan Hale & Captain Rhenora Kaylen & Lieutenant JG Olivia Voight & Lieutenant Sarah Wilson
Edited on on Sat Feb 14th, 2026 @ 9:34am

2,344 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Beholder
Location: Sunfire
Timeline: Just before the arrival at Skygowan

Captain Kaylen Rhenora looked over the profiles of the newest arrivals on the Sunfire as the transport shuttle launched into warp outside of her ready room window. They had taken on another 12 crewmembers, lost a couple to transfers but were maintaining their equilibrium when it came to officer numbers. She noted two new doctors arriving, one to fill the sorely needed CMO role, one that their ACMO had been filling for what seemed like forever. The other was another doctor - slightly junior in years and experience but none-the-less a very necessary additional to the crew.

"Captain to Lt's Hale and Voight, please report to my ready room at your convenience" She paged the two new officers, and sent a message for Dr Wilson to also join them in the ready room.

Olivia got the page to report to the Captain's ready room not long after coming on board. She had a couple bags with her and didn't want to show up in the Captain's ready room with them in tow, so she made the quick stop by her quarters to drop them off. After being away for awhile from what seemed like normal duties, due to her going through the Initiate program, Olivia was looking forward to some sort of normal routine again.

Olivia reached the Captain's ready room, pressed the buzzer and then waited for acknowledgement for entrance.

"Come in" the Captain called as the chime sounded announcing there was someone at the door. She wasn't sure which of the three it would be, not that it mattered. She closed the document she was working on and reached for the nearly empty cup of coffee to her right, grimacing when the liquid within was cold.

Olivia entered the Captain's ready room when the door opened for her. Walking over to the Captain's desk, Olivia came to attention. "Ltjg Olivia Voight, reporting as ordered, ma'am," Olivia said.

"At ease Lieutenant" Rhenora smiled warmly, rising and extending her hand in the traditional Earth greeting, something for a Bajoran still felt a bit odd but she respected the custom that had intergrated itself into Starfleet. "Take a seat"

"Thank you ma'am," Olivia replied as she took a seat. She looked around the office a little taking everything in a bit. "It would appear that I am the first to arrive."

The ready room door chimed again, almost on cue.

Rowan Hale stepped inside when the panel slid open, uniform already settled into him like it had always belonged there. He paused just long enough to take in the room, the Captain, the seated officer, then came to a precise stop a few steps inside.

“Lieutenant Rowan Hale,” he said evenly. “Reporting as ordered, Captain.”

His gaze flicked briefly to Olivia, a single acknowledging nod, then returned to Kaylen without lingering.

"Please, join us Lieutenant" Rhenora motioned to the vacant seat as Dr Wilson, the ship's ACMO jogged in, smoothing her uniform as she entered.

"Good, we're all here. Thank you for coming, and welcome aboard." The Captain started, shaking Rowan's hand behind taking her seat behind the desk. "Let me intorduce our current ACMO, Dr Sarah Wilson. She has been filling in for the past period until we could get fresh medical staff." By period she meant years. Poor Sarah had been run ragged.

"This means I can take some leave finally, right?" Sarah quipped, taking in the newcomers.

"You'll need to discuss that with your new boss." Rhenora laughed as Sarah paled. "Of course you can get time off, you've more than earnt it."

She turned her attention back to the new officers. "Don't believe anything she says about me....now, tell me about yourselves"

Rowan took the seat indicated, resting his hands loosely in his lap. His posture was relaxed but attentive.

“Lieutenant JG Rowan Hale,” he said again, this time less formal, eyes on the Captain. “Human. Starfleet Medical.” My focus has been emergency medicine and long-term recovery. I tend to work best when things are… complicated, and when patients need someone to argue on their behalf.”

His mouth twitched, not quite a smile. “I don’t promise miracles. I do promise I’ll be honest about limits, and loud when I think we’re about to cross one.”

He glanced briefly toward Olivia and Sarah, a quiet acknowledgment of shared ground.

“I’m glad to be here, Captain.”

"Lieutenant JG Olivia Voight," Olivia spoke up when Ltjg Hale had finished speaking. "I recently finished the Initiate program to be joined with a symbiont." Olivia thought for a moment before continuing.

"My main training focus has been Interspecies Medicine. During my last duty station, I was selected to spend three months on a Klingon ship to see how they handle medical situations and to give them recommendations on how to improve their medical treatment at the same time." Olivia then looked briefly at Rowan before continuing once more. "So don't be surprised if you hear me going off on a tangent in Klingon." Olivia smiled slightly herself briefly. "A couple of the Klingon Officers learned the hard way on how to handle interactions with me on a daily basis during my time onboard the IKV Stonedagger."

"Then I can say you'll both be busy and well suited here" Sarah said with a wry smile. "This one tends to only accept high stakes, high risk missions that generally end up in mortal peril, then decides to lead away teams herself without security backup....so plenty to do"

Rhenora had the decency to look a tad embarrassed. "She's right though, as much as I don't like to admit it"

Rowan’s expression didn’t change, but there was a flicker of understanding in his eyes. He didn’t look surprised. Just… prepared.

Olivia smiled slightly as she reached into the small pocket on her pants leg and pulled out her fighting pike that was disguised as a small medical scanner and rolled it slightly between her hands. "Lets just say that if push comes to shove, I can easily fill in as a back up security detail for the Captain," Olivia replied. "Very few would think twice about a medical officer handling security detail for upper brass."

Sarah chuckled and gave the Captain an unsympathetic look " Don't pout, you've brought this on yourself. These two will have complete unedited, unredacted access to your very long medical file" There was way too much mirth in her voice.

The Captain sighed, knowing she had well and truly lost this argument. She changed the subject to avoid any further embarrassment. "So, do either of you have any questions of Dr Wilson or myself?"

Olivia thought for a moment as she continued to slowly roll her fighting pike between her hands. "Has the Captain considered doing a little role reversal so to speak?," Olivia asked. "Where you trade places for a shift or even part of a shift depending on what was happening with someone else. It might give a certain Captain a refresher on a few things."

Kaylen inclined her head and raised an eyebrow. " What exactly are you meaning there?" She asked, curious as always but just a tad guarded.

Olivia laughed a little before speaking up once more. "Well if you remember," Olivia began, "there are certain courses that one has the option to take while at the Academy no matter what track you decide on. It is so that you have a basic understanding of certain aspects of how each department works." Olivia thought for another moment. "Maybe spending a day in the life so to speak for a duty shift as a Security or Medical Officer might give you some insight as to what we go through to ensure your safety and well being."

Rowan shifted his gaze to Olivia, not sceptical, but measuring.

"On that Klingon exchange," he said evenly, "when security and medicine conflicted, which one won?" He paused for a moment not challenging her but making an assessment. "I'm less interested in how well you can hold a pike," he added calmly, "and more interested in how you decide when not to."

Rhenora breathed a sigh of relief as the attention was diverted away from herself. Sarah watched on with a curious gaze, heading over to the replicator and getting herself a drink as though she were more than comfortable in this space - which she was.

Olivia smiled slightly as she thought for a moment. "It was about half and half on when it was security or medicine won," Olivia replied. "That is when the Captain would let one side win."

She thought for a moment before continuing. "Very few are able to pick up on the fact that this was a fighting pike instead of a scanner," Olivia said as she stopped rubbing her hands over the pike. "Ever since this particular one was gifted to me, I pull it out of my pocket out of habit at times and run my fingers over it as a reminder that there has to be a balance at times between medicine and security. Some days it more challenging that others to remember that."

Rowan let Olivia’s answer settle for a moment before shifting his attention back toward the Captain.

“When security and medicine conflict in the field,” he said evenly, “what’s the standing protocol on this ship?”

It wasn’t a challenge. There was no edge to it. Just assessment.

“If an away team lead is injured but refuses extraction, who has final authority on medical removal?” He folded his hands loosely again, posture unchanged. “I prefer those lines to be clear before we need them.”

His gaze moved briefly to Dr Wilson, acknowledging shared territory, then returned to Kaylen. “I don’t intend to undermine command,” he added calmly. “But I will advocate for my patients. I’d rather we agree on how that works now, not during a crisis.” He didn’t smile. He didn’t need to. “I’ve found ambiguity is usually what causes friction. Not disagreement.”

"You have full automomy when it comes to medical situations, I won't interfere" the Captain replied honestly, her hands open and palms upward on the table.

"Unless she's the one who is the patient....but I'm sure you're well versed on the joys of Captains as patient's" Sarah quipped, earning herself a glare from the Bajoran CO.

Rowan nodded pleased with the Captain's response. "Understood."

He shifted slightly towards Dr Wilson. "You've been steering this department alone for some time," his tone was even, "Before I start rearranging bulkheads - metaphorical or otherwise, what does Sickbay actually need?"

There was no criticism in his question. No assumption either. “I’d prefer to reinforce what’s working rather than undo it.”

Olivia smiled slightly as she nodded slightly at the same time. She knew that Captain's tended to be the most difficult at times when it came to being patients, but they weren't the only ones that could be difficult.

Sarah took a breath and her look turned thoughtful. "Honestly, we just need staff, we've been stretched so thin for so long I think those of us who are left need to be reminded that there is time and others to share some of the load now" She replied honestly.

Rowan nodded acknowledging Sarah as she spoke. She had no defensiveness. No guarded phrasing. Just fatigue wrapped in humour and honesty.

If he'd been honest with himself, he had anticipated some resistance upon his arrival. It would have been reasonable given the circumstances. Dr. Wilson had been the acting CMO for a lengthy period of time and he knew that sometimes, that could cause friction when being replaced.

But there was none.

If anything what he observed he would identify as 'relief'. That told him more about about her leadership than any commendation file would have. He inclined his head in acknowledgement.

"Then we start there. No restructuring. No sudden policy shifts. We stabilize the rotation schedule first."

"I would agree with that, and grant leave for those of us who havnt had it in forever..." Wilson added with a smirk. "I don't ask for much"

Rowan nodded at Sarah's addition. "That's not asking much," he said quietly. "That's overdue," he agreed shifting his gaze briefly to Olivia. "Lieutenant, I think we can manage the coverage. We'll review the current rotation and adjust before the next duty cycle."

Rowan folded his hands loosely again and returned his attention to Captain Kaylen.

"Well I believe you have appeased our good Doctor Wilson" Rhenora smiled, and could see Sarah planning her holiday already. "Do you havr any questions of me?" She asked both of the new officers.

"I don't have any currently," Olivia replied. "Though I think I might better give you a heads up just in case it comes up in the future." Olivia tilted her head slightly to one side as she thought for a moment. "Should the Commanding Officer or any of the warriors from the IKV Stonedagger contact you asking for either Doctor Alden or Doctor Bunny, then they are looking for me."

"I'm sure there's a story behind that one, one to bring out at a more opportune time" The Captain laughed, looking to Rowan to see if he had any questions before she concluded the meeting.

Rowan regarded Olivia's final comment with the same neutral composure he had maintained throughout the meeting, he made no visible reaction. He shifted his focus back to Captain Rhenora.

"Captain, from a medical standpoint, my priorities are staffing stabilization, preventative monitoring, and clear operational authority in the field. Those are in motion." he paused briefly, "If there's nothing further, we'll begin reviewing Sickbay protocols and duty rotations immediately?"

"Thank you both, and once again, welcome aboard. " she inclined her head towards both of them, indicating the conclusion of the meeting.

"I'll give you access to the necessary databases, including one fat file on a particularly stubborn Bajoran captain" Sarah smiled as they headed out of the Ready Room.

 

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