Conversations Continued

Posted on Tue Mar 24th, 2026 @ 2:57pm by Lieutenant JG Rowan Hale & Captain Rhenora Kaylen & Lieutenant JG Olivia Voight & Lieutenant Sarah Wilson

2,283 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Character Development
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: Current

Dr Sarah Wilson wandered into sickbay, 10 minutes before her shift started. No emergency calls over night, no late night catchup on overdue reports, no early morning drama. Just a regular morning, something she had almost forgotten was like.

"Morning!" She announced, far too brightly for the time of day it actually was. Sickbay itself was relatively empty, Dean resting quietly in a private room others had been discharged. Staff went about their daily cataloguing and maintenance. No immediate crisis in sight. Amazing.

Rowan was already at the central console when she entered, reviewing overnight logs with quiet efficiency. He didn't look up immediately hearing her overly bright greeting.

“Morning,” he replied, his eyes lifting from the display. “You appear optimistic.”

“No alarms. No triage. No captains attempting to negotiate their own discharge.”

The faintest shift touched his expression.

“Statistically improbable. Enjoy it while it lasts.”

"Do I detect a hint of sarcasm?" Sarah quipped, heading to the replicator and ordering two cups of black coffee. She handed one to Rowan. " Just cos we have a history of crisis doesn't mean it's going to happen again today.... then again...." She realised the internal conundrum in her own words. She was the one used to constant high workload - no need to inflict her burnout onto others.

"I messaged the Captain last night, she'll meet us this morning for a full blood work up"

Rowan accepted the coffee with a brief nod. “I do not waste sarcasm before 0800,” he said evenly, taking a measures sip, his eyes still skimming the overnight diagnostics. “She agreed to the bloodwork?”

He set the cup down beside the console. “Good. We’ll run a full panel. Compare it against her previous baseline - including the anomalous protein. If there’s been any shift since extraction, I’d rather we see it before she does.”

Olivia walked into Sickbay to start her duty shift for the day. She was still processing some of the events from the previous day. "I hope today goes better for us."

“Good morning, Lieutenant.”

Rowan's gaze assessed her briefly - posture, colour, movement. It was subtle but thorough. “How are you feeling today?”

"Morning Olivia" Sarah quipped, still in a fabulous mood after getting a full 8 hours sleep. "As for the Captain, yes she agreed, although het schedule may be pending. I'll believe it when I see her wall through the doors."

Olivia thought for a moment before replying, for she was trying to figure out how to mention the message she had found waiting for her this morning from her older brother Liam. He wasn’t to happy with her being injured during her first away mission since coming onboard the Sunfire. Olivia knew that if Liam could he would have more than insisted she stay on Trill and do more of what he considered a safer job rather than being assigned to a starship exploring the galaxy.

“I was feeling better, sir, until I started going through the messages I had waiting for me,” Olivia replied. “One of my brothers is insisting that I return home, rather than stay in Starfleet and risk more potential injuries. What he doesn’t realize is that I could get injured even while I’m at home on Trill.”

"You should tell your brother that it's your life to lead, not his" Sarah snarked, taking another drag of her coffee. "He can't force you to go home"

"I've been telling him that ever since I graduated from the Academy," Olivia replied. "Liam tends to be a more controlling than my other two brothers."

"You are your own person" Sarah said kindly "And if your brothers starts pushing you around, they'll need to come through me first" she said in an oddly protective manner.

Olivia smiled a little as she thought for a moment. "The twins are slowly starting to see that, but it can still be challenging with all three of my brothers at times," Olivia replied. "I think part of the problem with Liam is that I ended up being the only girl for our parents."

“Concern is not control,” Rowan added evenly, taking a sip of his coffee. “But they are often confused. You have already chosen your path. Choose it deliberately. Not reactively.”

He picked up the padd beside the console. “For now, Lieutenant, your only responsibility is this Sickbay and here we manage risk professionally. Not domestically.”

He turned back to the diagnostic display.

“Let your brother manage his own anxieties.”

Olivia let out a small laugh as she thought for a moment before responding. “Trust me, I learned years ago to let the Counselors sort out many of their issues. They have their hands full with Liam no matter what ship he serves on.” She looked around a little as she considered things over a bit more. “If they tried to get me to abandon my post, it they would have to drag me out kicking and screaming.”

"Now we're talking" Sarah laughed, and looked up as the doors opened again to reveal the Captain.

"Who's kicking and screaming and how can I join in?" The Captain quipped, making a beeline to the replicator for her ever present coffee.

Olivia jumped a little as she heard the Captain enter Sickbay. "That would be me, ma'am. I just request that it not be recorded should one of my brothers try dragging me out of here. It would not be a pretty site should they even attempt to do such a thing to me."

"No-one's dragging anyone off my ship without my express permission." Kaylen said solidly before taking a sip of her coffee. "Now what did you lot want me for before my blood type changes to caffeine?"

“Routine follow-up, Captain,” Rowan said, lifting a padd and crossing the short distance towards her. “Full blood panel. Comparative analysis against your previous baseline. Including the anomalous protein expression. No cause for concern at present. This is all precautionary.”

He turned slightly towards Sarah. “Doctor Wilson, standard panel plus extended protein isolation. And Lieutenant," he said, shifting towards Olivia. “Lieutenant, assist. Run the initial draw and monitor for any variance in real time.”

He stepped aside just enough to give them access to the biobed. “Captain, if you would.”

"This that weird ass protein thing you found ages ago? We never had time to follow that up did we? I feel fine though" the Bajoran captain shrugged and hoisted herself on to the biobed. "Which arm do you want?"

“Yes, Captain,” he said evenly. “The same protein expression.” He activated the display, bringing up the prior scan for reference.

“It was isolated and non-aggressive at the time. However, given your recent exposure to the harmonic field, prudence dictates reassessment. Subjective wellness is not always diagnostically reliable. Either arm will suffice.”

He stepped back, giving Sarah and Olivia full access. “Baseline sample first. Then we will determine whether further investigation is warranted.”

Rowan's eyes flicked briefly toward the secondary monitor where Dean's reading scrolled in quiet rhythm. He was the next patient they would need to address.

Olivia worked on drawing a sample of blood from the Captain to have it checked first before drawing more.

“Log the time stamp,” Rowan said calmly as he watched the first readings begin to populate. “Flag any protein variance above baseline threshold.” His gaze shifted briefly to Kaylen. “This will only take a moment.”

"So...have you worked out what it is?" Kaylen asked, intrigued as she watched Olivia draw the required blood from her arm. "Hey, what if my daughter has the same marker?"

The CMO's eyes remained on the developing scan as the comparative bands began to align. “Not conclusively,” he said at last. “It remains structurally stable and isolated. There is no indication of systemic mutation.” At her second question, his gaze lifted to her properly. “If it were inherited, we would expect to see it woven into her baseline genetic structure - not presenting as a separate anomaly. Doctor Wilson,” he added evenly, shifting his attention slightly, “have you conducted a familial comparative screen?”

He returned his focus to the display. “If not, we can arrange a non-invasive analysis at the Captain’s discretion.”

"Ahhh no, I haven't. We kinda hadn't gotten to that point yet" Sarah admitted, giving the Captain an apologetic look."I do have Patina's most recent blood work on file for comparison though"

“Load the file,” Hale said calmly.

The comparative overlay shifted across the display as Patina’s most recent scan populated beside the Captain’s. “We will run a passive comparison only.”

His eyes tracked the alignment bands without visible tension. “If there is no structural correspondence, we can reasonably conclude the expression is isolated. If there is partial overlap, we reassess.”

Rowan kept his focus on the display. “At present, there is no evidence suggesting transmission. But absence of evidence is not confirmation.” he said, folding his hands loosely behind his back. “We proceed methodically.”

"Sooooo Patina doesn't have it?" Rhenora replied, slightly confused by the medical jargon. Sarah never had the time to run full comprehensive tests on the random flurry in her DNA. It had appeared when the entire ship encountered something....and their memories were wiped. Many on the ship had evidence of medical experimentation, including childbirth and genetic tampering.

Rowan studied the alignment bands for several seconds longer, watching the comparative markers settle into place. “No,” he said at last. “There is no shared expression. Based on the available data, the marker appears isolated to you, not your daughter. If that assessment changes, you will be informed immediately. At present, there is no indication of transmission.”

"Well that's a good sign" The Captain quipped, relieved that whatever weirdassness that was going on was isolated to her. It was either medalling by the Prophets, or someone had done this deliberately.

"So, I know it's early days yet, but am I gonna start glowing in the dark? Growing a third boob, seeing things? What does it mean?"

“No luminescence detected.” Rowan replied, clasping his hands behind him. “Your anatomy remains within expected Bajoran parameters. If that changes, I will requisition revised uniform specification.”

He looked to Doctor Sarah briefly and then back to Kaylen. “The protein expression remains stable. That does not make it understood. But it does make it predictable.”

"So no third boob. Disappointing" Rhenora shrugged, keeping the tone light. "Do you think it's like q genetic tracking device, so someone can keep tabs on me?" There was a note of seriousness in her voice "cos you said it was inert...did you say it was inert?"

“I said it was non-aggressive,” Hale corrected calmly. "Inert implies inactive. That is not entirely accurate. It is present. Stable. Not currently interacting with your systems in any measurable way. That does not make it a tracking device.." his voice trailed slightly, "Nor does it prove that it is not. At present, it behaves like a silent passenger.”

Kaylen mused over this nugget of information, rolling it around her brain.

"Can we get rid of it?" It was a reasonable question from one with a limited understanding of modern medicine.

“Possibly,” he said at last. “But not safely. Not yet.”

He glanced at Sarah as if considering their options.

“It is integrated at a molecular level. We do not know its origin, its trigger conditions, or its purpose. Removing it without that knowledge would introduce more risk than leaving it in place. It is not harming you. And it is unlikely to be there by accident.”

He shifted his attention back to Sarah. "What do you think?"

"I think you're right in leaving it alone. Messing with it could uncover a can of worms we arn't equipped to deal with on a genetic level. This was done by someone with medical knowledge far greater than ours. It's not natural, but it's not hurting you either." Sarah explained carefully.

“Then we are in agreement. We observe. We learn. We do not provoke.”

"Why do I now feel like a ticking timebomb?" The Captain replied with a healthy dose of sarcasm. She didn't mean to be rude but she had more questions now than when she had arrived.

“If you were a ticking timebomb, Captain, I would not be permitting you to drink coffee.”

He paused as he folded his hands behind his back.

“You are stable. We will continue to monitor the expression. Map it. Understand it. If it changes, we respond. Until then, you are cleared for duty.”

"That's it? Go on my merry way saving the universe until some protein genetic whizbanger decides to kill me in my sleep...or my bath. No not my bath." She rose off the biobed and swung her feet to the floor. "If I start glowing...I'm ordering you to toilet duty for six months"

The CMO tilted his head slightly as a faint smile emerged. "I'll add that to the contingency plan, Captain. If you begin emitting light, I will consider that a development.”

"From the floor...in front of a toilet" Kaylen replied without missing a beat. These new officers hadn't quite figured out her dry wit, but they would, given time. With a smirk she turned and headed out of sickbay.

Rowan watched the doors close behind the Captain before his attention shifted back to the console.

"Log today's results and establish a new baseline," he said evenly.

His gaze flicked briefly to the secondary monitor where Dean's readings continued their steady progression.

"Let's prepare a comparative genomic analysis." he stated, picking up the padd and already moving. "Let's see if Commander House gives us better answers."

 

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