A Gorn Doctor

Posted on Sun Mar 21st, 2021 @ 10:25pm by Administrator LordeEmp

Mission: Heroes of the Hov'hurgh
Location: Colonel's Ready Room
Timeline: 2383

There was flurried activity all over the technologically advanced behemoth of a starship, as the dedicated crew of the Hov’Hurgh worked to ensure that the ship would be prepared for their scheduled test of their top secret temporal device. She knew that Doctor Mirra was on the station that served as the shipyard, continually monitoring the health readings from the connection to the odd medical console on the bridge. He would be staying on the station during the test, a decision that made the short Klingon woman that ran the ship a bit apprehensive.

The captain sat in her ready room, surrounded by schematics and drawings. VaQ’taj had put off some of the crew interviews for as long as she dared. Though it was one of the more tedious jobs that she insisted on seeing to herself, she believed it to be necessary. They always made their way aboard, reported to their department head according to orders, then, if they made their way through the gauntlet like interview of Hov’qIj’s design, they showed up in front of her.

Now the curious Colonel eyed the personnel file on the PADD in front of her, “A Gorn doctor?” she muttered under her breath and took a moment for a good chuckle at the Chief Physician’s expense. She wondered how Mirra Maltox and Sthilg were likely to get along. She made a mental note to have a personal conversation with her Bajoran friend and Doctor. Tapping the communicator on her desk, the ship’s HoD ordered the medically minded reptilian officer to her ready room that was just off of the rather enormous bridge.

Within a short while there was a sound of heavy footsteps on the floor of the bridge that could be heard even inside the ready room. The door slid open and stepping through the portal came the greeny grey lizard towards the captain.

He hands were covered with a pink liquid which he was wiping off hands with a cloth around his belt which several other crude medical instruments hung. Many looked like long crude knives or scalpels along with a reel of what looked like fishing wire.

“Hello Colonel Lon'HocH'tul. A pleassure to make your acquaintance.” The Gorn said to the red headed captain in the normal, slightly hissey speech of his people.

As the Klingon woman rose from the seat that she was in, it became immediately apparent that she was short for a woman of her race. Standing only five and a half feet tall, most beings that inhabited the ship that she commanded towered over her. VaQ’taj wasn’t wearing her command cloak at the moment, instead it was draped over the back of her chair, which left her in the sleeveless, customized black and gold armor that everyone on the mighty vessel seemed to wear.

“Doctor Sthilg,” the sharp, brown eyes of the captain moved over the, scaled, muscular form of the medical officer and she gave him a toothy grin, motioning to a sturdy, backless stool on the other side of her rather large desk. It was apparent that she was used to dealing with other races, “Have a seat. I have to admit to being rather curious about you. I have worked with your people before, though it was normally in a combat situation. Not many of them have been,” she paused, as if looking for just the right word, “... thinkers.”

Returning a very toothy grin, Sthilg slowly lowered himself onto the chair. Even when he was seated he still towered over the colonel. “ I undersstand Colonel. Mosst of my kind are of, how do you ssay? Lower intelligence. I can assure you, I am more than capable of handling Klingonss. I’ve been sstitching bat'leth cutss. Your raw recruitss are a little too eager with their training.” replied the medical officer as he looked at the stool hoping it would not collapse under his bulk.

Surprisingly, the stool appeared to have been constructed with just such bulk in mind. The seat was wide enough to actually perch upon comfortably, even for the scaly doctor, “It will not drop you. While some may not mind continually replacing broken equipment, I designed this ship to be a bit more accommodating to the varying needs of my crew,” the red-haired Klingon said as she settled back into her own seat.

She took up a mug that was about half full of what appeared to be blood wine, “I do recommend that they train with the safety protocols in place, but we are Klingon... we build bonds in such ways.”

“So tell me, why medicine, Doctor? I do understand that your people have such things, however, most do seem to enjoy rending flesh more than repairing it,” she asked before taking a sip of the alcohol, still eyeing the Gorn over the rim of her mug.

The Gorn was silent for a while as he thought back along his long life. “ There iss a ssaying that fate rarely call upon uss at a moment of our choossing. I wass ssixteen when the ssickness came to my home. We had no medical facilitess sso it sspread like fire. Sseeing no choice, I ssat down and taught mysself. By the time I had found an anti pathogen it had killed ninety eight percent of my home. I found I had a talent for medicine sso as ssoon as the next sship docked I bought my passage off world sselling my sskills as~s a doctor. I have what people call a talent for it.”

The Klingon captain could appreciate the idea of talent. She had spent her career striving to be nothing more than an engineer, but fate had handed her far too many cards against that goal, until recently. Now commanding a ship that she had more than a hand in designing, VaQ’taj sat back in the high backed chair that almost seemed to swallow her, “Illness is never a good way to lose those that you love. I can understand your drive and I welcome your skill. Most doctors that make their way to me from the Empire have only served to infuriate our Chief Physician.”

At that, the short-statured Klingon woman chuckled darkly, “Mirra Maltox can be a dangerous man to irritate. That Bajoran has more than earned his place here, and has earned the respect of the crew. Do you think that you can handle working under the Bajoran as his Second Chief, Doctor?”

“Providing he dossn’t endanger patientss we sshould get along ssplendedly,” the Gorn replied. He really didn’t mind taking orders from anyone. Providing they weren’t stupid or would endanger personnels’ lives.

That brought a merry bout of laughter to the neatly appointed, newly refit ready room, “Maltox is not in the habit of endangering anyone unless they deserve it. He is a dedicated Physician and one well trusted! He is gruff, he is surly, but his skill is definitely not lacking. I think that you may get along well with him once he is actually back aboard the ship and not seeing to these tests.”

Leaning forward, VaQ’taj pulled open one of the drawers on the desk and produced a bottle of blood wine and another mug, the symbol of the ship along with the legend, ~I.K.S. Hov’Hurgh~ emblazoned on the dull, metal surface. She pushed both across the surface and towards Sthilg, the friendly grin still sitting on her face, “Welcome aboard. Do you have any questions for me? I am certain that you must be curious about this odd ‘Klingon’ ship that you have stepped onto.”

“I am indeed Colonel. Sshe is certainly an impressive sship. Sshe has many improvementss over the sstandard Klingon vessel esspecially in the medical facility. I’ve heard you are an accomplisshed engineer. Are the improvmentss your doing?” The big lizard said as he took the mug. Drinking was harder due to his species face, but he’d learned to manage.

That grin widened as the Doctor calmly went about opening the sturdy, metal bottle and attempted to drink out of the oddly shaped vessel. She pulled a strange looking cap with a short, fat tube out of the drawer that had remained open, “I just wanted to see if you would at least make the attempt. I developed this to help our more... snouted crew, to enjoy the perks of serving aboard the Hov’Hurgh.”

She motioned for the green-scaled, beefy Gorn to hand her the mug and when he did, she affixed the odd attachment to the top, “The tube allows you to pour it in near the back of that toothy mouth, instead of having to pour it in at the front and work it back.”

“Before I went to the Academy, I spent two years designing and building a transatmospheric, long range interceptor. That design is currently in full scale use and production aboard this ship,” VaQ’taj explained as she handed it back to Sthilg, “With a few modifications and upgrades to keep up with current technologies. Including the underbelly stasis rescue pods that can be affixed to the fighters for search and rescue efforts.”

It was becoming rather obvious that the lives of her crew held meaning for the red-haired spit-fire, “I led the design team that designed her, and the construction team that built her. Everything here is a visual proof of what having technologically advanced allies can accomplish, if you have the mind and spine to do it.”

“Your medical facilities are meant to save lives. Warriors will complain about your attempts to heal their scars, however, in the long run, they are more effective when healthy. It is your job to stand for that belief no matter how much they might howl,” the HoD said, her tone growing a bit serious, even though the good humor still danced in her dark eyes, “Can you do that?”

Sthilg took a small drink from his mug as he listened to the colonel talk. There was no better way of seeing someone for who they were than listening to what someone’s passion was. It was clear that she had put her heart and soul into this ship. “I have handled Klingonss before Colonel. As~s much as~s they complain I will do my besst to keep them in perfect health.”

“If I may make a ssmall requesst? I need more power for my quarterss. I have a very delicate sspecimen there and it would be very hard to replace.” The Gorn doctor asked. It was clear by his voice he was wanting to keep what he had to himself. “ I can assure you it can’t harm the sship.”

At that, the short Klingon woman leaned forward and her gaze narrowed to one that spoke of renewed scrutiny. After a moment of silence and another draught from her mug, VaQ’taj said, “I do not like secrets aboard my ship, Doctor. You will find that I and the other ‘thinkers’ on this vessel are rather open minded when it comes to experimentation and I would prefer to know what it is that you have apparently already brought aboard My ship.”

There was a note of command in the tone, as well as a hint of curiosity. The studious nature of the Hov’Hurgh’s HoD was rapidly revealing that she was, indeed, one of those ‘thinkers’ that she seemed so fond of speaking about, “If it is something that may be helpful to the Empire, this crew or this ship, you will enjoy full support and a proper lab with proper equipment and security, rather than having to skulk about and try to house it in your own quarters and afford it on your own pay. Which, while considerable, would probably stretch a bit thin.”

The Gorn face turned a very odd mix of annoyance and understanding as he took another sip from his mug. “Very well. Have you heard about your peopless’ attempt to create what the Humanss call augmentss? “ he replied with a very inquisitive smile.

“I have never studied any specific information, though I have heard the tales,” VaQ’taj answered, shaking her head a bit and issuing a soft chuckle, “You are working on something along those lines, I take it? You will not find the same resistance to such things here. While most Klingons would likely turn down the enhancements, there are some that would welcome them. Even if it is a dangerous process that could turn bad.”

The red-braided Colonel took up one of the customized PADDs and continued, as she expertly tapped at the device, “You seem uncomfortable with the idea of support though. I would ask why?”

Sthilg gave a slight smile. It wasn’t every day that he had someone from the Klingons behind his research. “Forgive me Colonel. Mosst timess I have been forbidden to do my ressearch and I have to look out for my sspecimen. SShe iss very rare and replacing her would be out of the question.” It was only after he spoke did he realise what he’d said. He’d started calling it she again.

“Is this, ‘she’... sentient?” VaQ’taj asked, her tone dropping a bit lower. They had all kinds of odd little experiments literally running around on the ship, but even the nanite duplicates of their Chief Engineer and Chief Science officer had their own ‘village’ set up for them, “Or some kind of lab animal?”

“Oh no Colonel sshe’s an embryo. One of the ssurviving Human augmentss. I need her for a basse comparission for my tesstss. Your people ussed burnt cinderss from augmentss that had been exposed to outsside conditionss. With an unaffected sspecimen I believe I can fix what your people did wrong in their original experimentss. Sshe meanss a lot to me... without her my tesstss would be impossible.” The Gorn replied as he leaned back in his chair. In truth even if she was just an embryo she meant a lot to him. He had considered growing her, but he doubted he’d find a captain willing to have an augment on their ship.

There was a palpable pause as the Klingon HoD eyed the Gorn across from her. While she was open minded when it came to experimentation, the idea that he’d managed to get a hold of a Human augment embryo was both tantalizing and disturbing. Her House’s allies in the Federation had helped them to build the ship that they were sitting on, after all.

In Colonel VaQ’taj’s mind, those that were too weak to defend themselves were not worthy prey. Thus they were either to be defended, or taught how to do so on their own, “These... tests. They will not destroy the Human, will they? Would it be better to grow this Human for further tests, rather than risk losing the embryo to some future lab accident? What would the risks be of raising such a child...?”

Her voice trailed off and she began tapping at the PADDs device again, her ridged brow furrowing. It was obvious that there were not only scientific questions that were arising from the situation, but also apparently personal ethical questions, “I have approved your laboratory space. Tell me, Doctor, what would you recommend as an appropriate course of action? I am rather curious about the science behind the augment process, though unsure if hindering the growth process of a sentient that could be a potentially powerful ally in years to come is wise.” It was obvious that the ‘embryo’ was viewed as more than just random material to be utilized for testing purposes.

Sthilg face turned to a look of disgust as he heard the colonel words. “Colonel, I am a doctor. I would never kill a patient or tesst ssubject. My oath iss to heal life not take it.” He took another long sip from his drink to calm himself before replying.

“My tesstss need a pure ssample of augment DNA to run my analysis against. I can sscan her DNA into the computer and usse that for my tesstss. Sshe issn’t hurt. As~s for your idea on growing her it would be possible but it would sstill be dangerouss. Human cryogenic freezing wass primitive even by the sstandardss of time. It would be faasccinating to ssee an augment grow into adulthood , but would you want one running around your sship? Two augmentss in their teenss killed the crew of a Klingon bird of prey?”

The Marine Colonel pushed herself up out of her chair and issued another excited laugh, “I think that you and I are going to get along well, Doctor!” she nearly bellowed as she moved to the screen behind her that was displaying a rotating, three dimensional image of the ship and again tabbed at the device in her hand. After a moment, the image on the screen was replaced by another three dimensional schematic that began relaying data about the odd pod shaped device.

“You are new to the crew, so you are likely unaware of our history,” VaQ’taj began, stepping back to the desk long enough to sweep up her mug and motion towards the screen, “We started off on a small Bird of Prey.. which became a heavily modified vessel in relatively short order. A bird of prey is normally only expected to support a small number of functioning crew, and as you are well aware, facilities are sparse, understaffed and ill-equipped.”

She paused in her tale long enough to take a long swig of the blood wine, then continued on, that delighted look glinting in her eyes as she eyed the design, “We needed more personnel as we worked further from the Empire, but weren’t being given a bigger ship, as we hadn’t earned it in their eyes. So we worked it out, I and my thinkers, and we designed this. It is a stable cryo-stasis system with all of the specialized gadgets that you could want. It is completely enclosed when locked. Defensive security lockout, multi-phasic shielding to prevent both escape as well as tampering.”

The red-haired Colonel turned to look at the reptilian Gorn officer, that light of humor and the pride in the skill of her people dancing on her features, “You will likely hear us referred to as ‘Freezer Marines’. And there is a damned fine reason for it. Eventually we earned a larger ship and we implemented it even there. Everyone had a rotation in the freezer, unless you were main crew, and we have even endured it, as I refuse to order someone to do something that I am unwilling to do myself. Only cowards lead in such a fashion!”

Again the image shifted, this time into a much more sleek pod, definitely an upgrade to the previous design. VaQ’taj winked at Sthilg as if she was letting him in on some big secret. And well, she was.

“This,” she said, grinning widely, “This is our newest incarnation of the technology. We now employ fully functioning medical stasis pods. While our crew compliment lists us as being able to carry three thousand on an emergency basis, we have medically monitored ‘Cryo’ bays that will house another thousand. A quarter of which are in use as we speak.”

“There are many reasons why this ship is classified beyond the point of whispers and innuendo, Doctor. All of this only scratching the very surface. And simply the fact that you stand here today, means that my father has personally dug into every facet of your life and found you to be worthy to be here,” she turned back to the Gorn, crossing her well sculpted, muscular arms across her chest, “Your duties extend far beyond the normal patching together of over-eager recruits and battle damaged warriors.”

“During this testing, you will be at the medical station on the bridge where you will be coordinating with Doctor Mirra on the station. You will be responsible for deployment and management of medical response teams. I imagine that this is a larger job than you might have been prepared for, but your skill and expertise in combat medicine is rather invaluable.”

The excitable Colonel tilted her head to the side momentarily as if in thought, then she nodded, “Safety and health of my crew comes first, then experiments. While you support us in our endeavors, allow us to support you in yours, strengthening us all. We will make decisions after appropriate debate and study; Daj’Ral is likely to be most interested in talking to you.”

Leaning back in his chair, Sthilg took all of the information in. It was all very interesting but there was one question that was concerning him. “Colonel how do you prevent ccell disscretion from the cryo fluid? Having thiss many men under musst causse some problemss. Would you like me to run a sscan on the crew.”

“Scan the crew all you like, Doctor. I am certain that Doctor Mirra will want to explain all of this to you, anyway,” VaQ’taj said, setting her cup on the table with a heavy hand, creating an empty sounding thunk, “As for the cryo units, I will have one installed in the lab that I am assigning for your purposes. It will come with all of the pertinent data as, at this moment, I am a bit busy to give you a technical rundown on the process. There is still a lot to be done before the tests begin and I have some tube crawling to do.”

The last was said with a widening grin, as though that idea seemed to please her much more than sitting behind a desk, or performing crew interviews and assessments, “Do you have any further questions before I unleash you on the masses?”

“No quesstionss for the moment Colonel. If I may be excussed, I sshould get back to my patientss. “ The Gorn replied as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before placing his mug back on the desk..

Taking up the mug that Sthilg set down, VaQ’taj laughed, “No, no. Take the mug and use it in good health, Doctor!” the somewhat congenial Klingon woman said, handing it back to him, “Everyone gets one from me when they sign on.”

If what she said was true, that meant that the red-headed warrior had personally seen to a rather large number of these meetings. But in the coming days, the Gorn doctor would notice that there was rarely a belt that didn’t have one of the customized mugs lashed to it. Either she was the strangest, friendliest Klingon out there, or she heavily subscribed to the teaching that a leader that treated their warriors like family, had warriors that would follow them through the gates of Gre’thor.

Or perhaps it was a bit of both.

“Thank you Colonel. Good health and long life to you.” The reptilian medical officer replied as he offered a salute before turning to leave the small room and the odd, small Klingon woman to the work that was obviously her passion.