A Little Hello, And Some Whiskey Too

Posted on Wed Feb 5th, 2020 @ 1:26pm by Lieutenant Noah Reed M.D.

Mission: In the Family
Location: Deck 7 - Sickbay
1301 words - 2.6 OF Standard Post Measure

The U.S.S. Athena was still in drydock awaiting final crew transfers. It had been this way since Mortigar first arrived several weeks ago. As he understood it, however, that wouldn't be the case for much longer as the ship's roster was finally filling out. In fact, he'd overheard during his lunch in the mess hall that the Chief Medical Officer had just arrived earlier in the day.

Eager to meet a fellow senior officer, Morty delayed returning to his lab so that he could meet the new Doctor in Sickbay. His visit was a personal one, as he'd already completed his boarding physical when he first came aboard. Mortigar first went to his quarters to retrieve a little something for the Doctor; a stout, square-ish bottle with a green liquid inside it. It was more of an advanced apology instead of a gift as the Evoran expected that he'd be dropping into the ship's medical center a little too frequently in the weeks ahead. At least this time it wouldn't be for anything medically-related.

When the Lieutenant was finished in his quarters, he ventured down to deck seven. The doors to Sickbay swooshed open as he neared them, and Morty was immediately met with a flurry of activity from beyond the threshold. If the ship hadn't been stationary, he would have suspected there to have been some kind of emergency but it was likely that instead, the new Doctor was getting his house in order.

Mortigar attempted to flag someone down so that he could be directed to the CMO but he was having little success. To his own detriment in social situations, he could be a little shy.

Noah Reed had gotten an early start his first full day aboard the Athena getting the medical staff situated, getting to know their names, conducting supply inventories, and reviewing procedures. He was currently tapping on a PADD, trying to adjust the duty roster to fit the needs of the ship so he could submit it to the first officer for review and almost walked right into another officer right in the middle of the walking path. Fortunately, he managed to catch himself and stop just shy of that embarrassment. "Oh, I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. I suppose it's not a good idea to be walking without looking. How can I help you, lieutenant?" he said with a smile. Truth be told, he didn't know if this individual was also a member of his staff that he had not met yet, or from another department.

"Lieutenant Mortigar," the diminutive person added. "Actually, I was looking for the Chief Medical Officer. You wouldn't happen to know where he or she might be? I wanted to introduce myself," he said.

Noah pointed a thumb at his own chest. "Ah! That would be me. Noah Reed, at your service, Lieutenant Mortigar."

"Ah, Doctor Reed! Yes. Commander Horn mentioned your name to me." Mortigar smiled warmly and handed over the bottle of alcohol to the other man. "This is for you. The best Aldebaran whiskey that I could find in this part of the quadrant."

Noah took the bottle and looked it over, surprised. "Oh, thank you very much! That's very kind of you." He held it up and added, "We should share a glass sometime soon." He uncorked the bottle and took one whiff before blinking several times. "Oh, this is the good stuff. A little goes a long way," he said with a chuckle.

Mortigar smiled and nodded in agreement. He didn't really drink much alcohol except for special occasions. Even then, he drank minimally. The alcohol that most humanoid races at large drank were significantly different than what they had back on Evora. Ah, to have a refreshing cocktail. Morty couldn't help but salivate a little bit. "I expect that it will come in handy after those difficult days here," he suggested, whilst motioning to Sickbay as a whole.

"Hopefully not too many, for either of us, eh?" Reed smiled and patted Mortigar on the shoulder lightly. "Maybe I'll stop by your lab later so I can get the full scope of what you're up against."

“You’re more than welcome to do so,” the Evoran told him. “Although we haven’t launched yet, I have a number of projects in their preparatory stages.” Mortigar raised his right hand; his index finger was pointing up in a ‘matter of factly’ kind of way. “You know what they say: science waits for no one.”

Reed let out a friendly laugh and smiled in return. "That's very true! And as they also say: 'Learning never stops. Just ask the Borg.'"

The lieutenant shuddered. He wouldn’t dare ask the Borg anything. While others might, due to scientific curiosity, Morty was in no hurry to put his own life in danger. He was certain that there were other, more qualified people, who were eager to do so in his place. The mention of Borg, however, did bring his thoughts back to his encounter with Commander Horn in the science lab. “Have you met our non-Borg, nanite-infested, Human?” He asked the Doctor.

"As a matter of fact, yes. We arrived via the same shuttle. He seems pleasant enough. Large family in tow, which is interesting, considering his own ancestral makeup. What about you?" Though he had a decent conversation with the man on the shuttle, he didn't know him very well and still awaited to schedule his entire family for physical exams.

"He came to see me in my lab earlier," Mortigar answered before continuing, "It was a friendly visit. Nothing more. He suggested that I would want to analyze the nanites in his bloodstream. It isn't exactly the first thing that came to my mind, however, it would probably be prudent to put such information on file. Unfortunately, I am not qualified to draw blood so I advised him to stop by, here, at his own leisure."

"A very prudent suggestion," Reed said with a nod. "That offer would catch me off guard as well. However, if that's something up your alley, I don't have a problem helping you out. Any of my staff can draw his blood at his convenience and have it delivered to your lab."

“Thank you, Doctor. I appreciate your assistance in the matter,” Mortigar said. “Besides, learning more about the nanites may benefit you in the future. They can be used in a wide variety of medical procedures given a little modification.” Following Horn’s visit to his lab, Morty had read up about nanites in the Federation database and it seemed as if the U.S.S. Voyager’s Emergency Medical Hologram used a former drone’s nanites on more than one occasion.

"You're quite right. They are very useful in medical applications. Perhaps the good commander will submit to a blood-letting on a consistent schedule for my use." He smirked to show that he was kidding but the truth about nanites was very true. "Well, it was fantastic to meet you, Morty. I really must get back to my duties but maybe we can grab a drink in the lounge later."

"Yes, yes, of course. That would be wonderful. Until later, then." The Evoran smiled softly and lightly bowed his head before taking his leave of Sickbay so that the good Doctor could return to whatever it was he was doing. Like with Commander Horn, Mortigar could envision himself having a good working relationship with Doctor Reed. Whether or not that would further develop into a friendship remained to be seen, but Morty was optimistic on his chances.


Lieutenant Mortigar
Chief Science Officer

Lieutenant Noah Reed M.D.
Chief Medical Officer