Medical Necessity (back post)

Posted on Wed Aug 12th, 2026 @ 3:26am by Petty Officer, 1st Class Emilie Dovria & Lieutenant CASTIEL 'Cas' Johnson MD

1,784 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: ARYL 1X04: All the Friends We Can Get
Location: Sickbay

Emilie made herself busy as she arrived early, as was her normal pasttime when getting to work. Her orders had changed slightly in the past few days, instead of being sent out on a troopship as she had been comfortable to go to, she had been reassigned to the Ark Royal instead. She had started out not with Starfleet and the Federation, but as a part of the Trill Symbiosis Naval Infantry, gaining experience as a combat medic to the point where she could likely have become a doctor in her own right, but she knew she was no equal to a true doctor. Put them in a trauma situation, she figured she could do as good or maybe better, but that was her strength.

So being assigned to a starship with literally no infantry and only security officers was a downgrade in her opinion, but certainly Starfleet had their reasons. It also felt sortof wrong to not be in the infantry uniform that she'd worn for over half of her professional life, instead wearing the 'standard' Starfleet uniform whenever not actively on duty. She didn't even know how her new Chief Medical Officer would act in regards to uniform, but back during her time on Earth Starbase, they didn't mind her wearing what she wore now, which was more an old-fashioned nurse's uniform, skirt and shirt of the pale blue-green that was the color of Starfleet Medical. Her experience was that it made people feel better to see someone not in heavy-feeling red with pale piping. More 'personable', she had heard patients call it. She'd even been called pretty a few times.

Still, the doc was due in about half an hour, if the posted schedule was right, so she made herself useful checking the ready medical kits and supplies., for the time when he arrived.

Cas walked in a few minutes early, taking a drink of his coffee, and reached for his white coat. Something he enjoyed wearing, white meant calmness, unlike his old security colors. Sitting down at his desk he went over his list of appointments.

The Trisee-gault, no... She was no longer that rank, which was equivalent to a Sergeant First Class, but now she was a Petty Officer, First Class, heard the doctor come in and head to his desk and took a deep breath. She tidied where she was at and slid the door closed, then brushed down the outfit she wore and stepped around to his office and knocked on the side of the open door with a soft smile, "Good morning Doctor, I'm one of your new arrivals, may I come in?"

"Please do." He replied gesturing to a chair at his desk. "What's on your mind."

"Not much, sir, mostly just wanting to introduce myself to you. Petty Officer First Class Emilie Dovria." She pronounced it as 'Emiel', settling herself into the chair, "Formerly of the Symbiosis Special Forces, just went through the Starfleet transition course and a stint on Eearth Starbase before they shipped me out here. I was a combat medic with the Forces, so I'm very good at trauma situations, along with most of the general stuff too. "

"Symbiosis special forces, can't say I am very familiar with it, only stories."

"I may have to find out who was telling stories... For security purposes." Emilie gave a smile to soften the 'suggestion', "I'm sure you know that prior to our joining the Federation, we were called the Trill Symbiosis, governed by the Symbiosis Commission, which is a holdover from when we formed our first world government. The Symbiosis Special Forces are a part of the Navy, elite ground forces that can go anywhere the Navy can get us.. Them. We always tried to operate in the shadows, no news is good news to us, I mean, them. I'm sorry, it was such a big part of my life that I still think I'm part of them."

"No apologies, once a part of them always a part of them. Same with me being a security officer, there are aspects of it we never lose."

"That's true and I hope never to lose it." Emilie agreed, "I don't think I'm slated to be your senior nurse, but I'm definitely the one you'll want in a combat situation on board or to send as medical support for an away team. Quite frankly, sir, I'm expendable if it comes down to it."

"As a former security officer myself, whose seen plenty. I like the idea of a combat ready nurse leading the pack. Consider yourself senior nurse. Anyone complain... they have me to deal with."

"Decisive, I like that." Emilie smiled brightly, "I'll take the challenge, but I'm not a pushover myself. If I think you've gone and screwed up, I'm not afraid to tell you so, but respectfully of course, unless there's no time for it. I honestly think combat brings out the best in people, not just the worst."

"I'll make a Dr out of you yet." He paused. "So... lets get your medical out of the way shall we."

"Of course, sir." Emilie gestured towards the examination room before leading off towards it a step ahead of Castiel, "And then we can also get yours out of the way as well. However, Doctor, no matter how experienced I am, I am most definitely NOT a doctor. Have I performed field surgery? Yes. Have I done 'Hearts and Minds' duties among other peoples? Yes, that includes dental and medical procedures and diagnoses, but I'm not the match of a doctor on their worst days, sir, my knowledge is basically all practical."

"Only way to be one is to try."

"Which may happen down the line, sir." Emilie agreed with the whole principle of things, but for now she was satisfied with where she was. She stepped through the door and turned around to face the doctor as she walked backwards towards the examination bed, "All right, how do you want to do this, Doctor?"

"You tell me."

Emilie gave a low chuckle as she shook her head, "I suppose I should have asked it different: What's your particular style of examination?" The nurse gestured at the scanners, then at him, "Do you prefer to physically examine your patients or rely on scanners to determine what's wrong with them? If the former, what state of undress do you have them in? I'm talking specifically about routine exams, of course, because in a trauma situation, it's a whole 'nother situation."

"Depends on the patient, some scanners cannot pick up what the eyes can see, or the hands can feel."

"Well, I'm no prude, not enough privacy in the Forces to be squeamish about things." Emilie gave a shrug and undid the belt of her nurse's outfit and began to undo the old-fashioned buttons that held it shut, "Since you probably haven't had a chance to review my file, I have no outstanding injuries with only a few minor ones in my past, mostly from training accidents." She slid the outfit off her shoulders and laid it down on the end of the exam table, leaving her in sports bra and shorts that would prevent chafing if she had to move quickly. Her spots ran down her sides and were on full display for the doctor except where the cloth covered them, "I do have a chronic issue of minor respiratory infections, but whenever they crop up I'm always on the ball about treatment."

"The respiratory infections, can be an underlying factor of a larger issue." Castiel replied as he checked her out. No scars, nothing that would show anything physical wrong, which were in line with her file. The spots were a new one though. When it was done, he gave the nod, and looked over to the scanner as he picked it up, "When was the last infection?"

"Several months ago, due to a bit of a situation where we responded to a crisis in the Brazilian rainforest. It's the high humidity that makes the condition crop up, or at least that's what the common factor seems to be." Emilie shrugged as she reached up to adjust her glasses slightly, "I suppose you could say it came up again about three months ago, but it was just an annoyance for a couple days, doc said it was just a chest cold."

"The common cold was cured over a century ago." Castiel replied as he looked at her chart. "I would like to run a few blood tests, rule anything out that might be a little more serious. Don't believe anything life threatening, but if this is a common occurrence, then I would like to rule everything out."

"Of course, do what you'd like to do, sir, it wouldn't hurt at all, especially given the exposures I've had that aren't specifically Trill related." A roll of the shoulder that was definitely well-muscled, "If we can eliminate that chronic infection, it would relieve me greatly. One less thing to worry about."

Walking over to a small shelf, he took the necessary instruments and set it up. "It won't take long to get the results."

Emilie waited as he collected the blood sample and withdrew before reaching for her outfit and pulling it back on again, fussing over the buttons, "It's probably my immune system, nothing dramatic. Other than those potential results, how do you find me, Doctor?"

After analyzing the data, "A bit low on a few vitamins and minerals... which can be corrected with a hypo, but some of those you are lacking would cause the immune system to be a little weaker."

"They've tried some vitamin supplements in the past, works in the short term, in limited doses, but overloading my system sometimes causes a bit more harm than doing nothing. Still, sir, if you think it's for the best?" Emilie gave him a slight smile.

"It is your decision, in the end, the supplements, we can adjust the doses."

"It's worth a try, sir." Emilie agreed, "Another doctor tried something like this before, but I got reassigned and we never followed up. I discontinued the treatment when it didn't work, but I suppose I'll be here a fair sight longer than in that other assignment."

"We can do hypo, or oral supplements which ever you prefer."

"I'm here every day, or close enough to it to matter very little. Let's go with the hyposprays." Emilie smiled with her mouth, but not her eyes, "But, what's on the docket for the rest of the day, sir? And for the rest of the week?"

"Just routine physicals, checking out supplies make sure we have enough."

 

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