[JDL] Capt Irelle, LtJG Dr. Tyrn, MD | "Doing It Up Like Midas"

Posted on Sat May 13th, 2023 @ 3:35pm by Captain Eirlys Irelle & Lieutenant JG Reisuum Tyrn

1,988 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Genesis

‘Old’ ship. New Captain. New crew. New mission.

Same song and dance routine.

Most Starfleet vessels were like Broadway shows, each one with its own legacy and general mode of operation - a script to follow with rare deviations from the norm. Ad-libbing most things seemed to be generally frowned upon - but every once in a while the status quo was challenged and upended and the curtains fell, the lights darkened, and the final applause would echo through the concert hall.

Vindicator had seen that routine come and pass multiple times since its initial inception way back in the 1800s somewhere within the turbulent waters of the mighty Mississippi… Or was it the Ohio? It was one of those damned rivers somewhere smack dab in the middle of the former United States. Eirlys was almost certain it was the Mississippi, but the thought was idle enough and certainly unimportant. The curtains had come back up, and while the corridors were hallowed ground, sharing memories of her very heritage, none of them were hers.

There was no denying her tie and bond to the massive starship, and several iterations before it, but the future was now hers to shape and mold - and the shadow of the names that had once kept the great vessel primed and ready for action were shadows she refused to hide behind or under. They were ghost stories now, whispered about times best left chronicled in books - though she held no rancor or discord when considering them. Eirlys was… Eirlys. Well aware of her role to play, but imperious enough to want her name to mean far more than its past.

It wouldn’t come easily. It would be hard work, plenty of sweat equity put into keeping things on the straight and narrow. It wouldn’t always be the road to El Dorado, but the riches were there for those who reached for them - especially those new to the crew that hadn’t yet been tainted or spooked by those aforementioned ghost stories.

Pivoting around a door frame, the admittedly young Captain found herself in sickbay seeking out just one such new face. Her hands were clasped behind her back as she strode easily past empty biobeds, and good-natured nods and smiles were exchanged between herself and the nurses that paid her presence any mind. She wasn’t here for them and she certainly hadn’t come in having made a mess of herself - their attention on her was fleeting to say the least and, likewise, hers on them.

“Doctor Tyrn?” Her head tilted as she spied the man from behind, quickly checking collar color and the number of pips before committing to beckoning his attention and waiting for him to turn about to face her.

He wasn’t much taller than her and records indicated they were about the same age. It made him easier to relate to, less imposing than most of the CMO’s she’d dealt with throughout her career. Made it easier to offer him a genuine smile of greeting, “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to catch you when you came aboard. I’m Captain Irelle.” A hand came forward to offer a shake as she spoke. It may not have been the most orthodox of greetings - most COs seemed bent to demand the respect of a salute and forgetting the need to work with their crew rather than lord over them - but it suited her just fine.

The lithe young man was standing with his back to her and was carefully manipulating a console with a registry of medical supplies being brought on board. He hadn’t made any indication he’d noticed anyone new in sickbay and was otherwise consumed with attention to the work before him. Once she spoke though, his reaction was immediate.

Reis heard himself emit a yelp of terror, and a surge of energy lashed him up the spine. The PADD he was holding dropped immediately from his hand to the floor, its delicate frame clattering in slow motion as Reis very consciously noted the Captain, whipping around. For Reis time might as well have stopped. The hair he’d carefully coifed for this very event was yanked forward as he jerked back involuntarily. Much to his disbelief and agony, he watched as the Captain watched him, stepping back over the stack of equipment containers that were still being cataloged and unloaded. His foot slid, and all sense of balance left him as her figure turned upward… no. He was falling. The yelp completed, he took in a single breath and threw out a hand to catch himself on the console, but no it was too far. Another container tangled in his legs, and he could feel her gaze as he slammed his back against the biobed next to his terminal. Only one of his hands managed to grasp the side of the bed, but his shock had driven a rigor through every single muscle in his body and there was an audible “pop” sound from his wrist. He collapsed on the floor in a heap, his breath heavy before he managed to catch it with a cough.

As if he’d been recording the entire event, he instantly replayed it over in his mind for what felt like a thousand years as the pain in his back and wrist began to swell.

“OH!” He bellowed, instantly steadying himself with his uninjured hand. “Captain!”

At first his yelp made the young Captain startle. Her body involuntarily stiffening and taking a step and a half backwards and away from the perceived danger that had managed to ensnare the doctor. The PADD hitting the ground drew her eye, albeit it briefly - just long enough to register its existence and failure to stay seated in his hand - and from there everything else happened in rapid succession as a series of unfortunate events. For the quickest instant, she could have likened him to a chicken the way his head bobbed and his hair flew forward like a feathered crest just before he took a fated step into a quagmire of crates and began to fall. A hand shot out to try and reach him, but fell short and Eirlys soon found herself standing there with that hand outstretched and her mouth agape, her eyebrows knit together, and an expression that could only have been described as 'concerned disbelief' etched over her face.

It quickly changed to one of sympathy and horror at the audible 'snick' of his wrist and the sight of his body hitting the bio-bed and puddling on the floor.

And there they were... Staring at each other... Until he yelled and she jerked back into motion, closing the thin gap between them and kneeling beside him. "I am so so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you!" She babbled, wildly motioning for one of the inbound nurses to join her. The ruckus had roused them from their duties, and thankfully so, "I um... Stars alive, your wrist is already ballooning." Tucking hair behind her ear, she gingerly reached for his wrist, but drew back as a nurse closed in and took over the job, allowing a tri-corder to chirp and babble as it ran its readings.

“No no, Captain. Please forgive me.” Reis’ words were a stark contrast in timbre from his display just moments before, albeit with a slightly accelerated breath. In a moment he attempted his best effort at recovering whatever shred of dignity he might afford, accepting assistance from a nurse and standing to address the Captain. A gentle and well-spoken received-pronunciation British accent sounded clear. If he hadn’t grossly flummoxed his new CO, she might have thought him as collected as anyone, “It’s my fault, ma’am. A little too enthralled by my work I think.” He spent some effort to assist in stacking the equipment back into place, and placed his dropped PADD gently back on the console top.

“You strained the carpal radialis, Doctor.” A nurse chirped while moving from the hypospray station back toward them. “Do you have a preference on how-”

“I don’t, thank you. Standard treatment is fine.” Reis interrupted in the most polite manner he could muster, brushing his hair back into place with his free hand, feeling particularly raw in the moment. Standing there for even a second longer would feel like a lifetime of unease. He smiled and raised his eyebrows with excited irony, as if to both recognize how embarrassing it was for him, and how much it hurt both his ego. The wrist was the last thing on his mind.

He continued, “Are you here for your onboarding physical, Captain? I admit I assumed Doctor Macleod would handle that with you, though I’m happy to assist if you need.”

It was all Eirlys could do to watch him put himself back together, or at least attempt to reclaim what dignity had been thrown out a proverbial airlock with his reaction and then the chaos that had followed suit. The fingers of the young Captain's right hand found her lips and her own eyebrows rose in a combination of empathy and disbelief while she gingerly observed the nurse set about to repairing the El-Aurian's battered wrist and his ego hit the reset button. Finally she managed to find her voice, allowing her fingers to drop from her lips with a quick shake of her head, "What? Oh! No," Her head shook and she offered a small smile, "All that has been squares away with MacLeod." The shake turned into a nod as she spoke, "I'm just making the rounds and putting new faces to names and apparently picking the crew off one by one by sneaking up on them. Apparently it's a hidden talent." The painful attempt at a joke would likely fall flat on its face, but she could at least say she tried to salvage what had turned into a horribly awkward situation between her and the doctor. Her hands swung idly, fingers of one hand snapping before it met the palm of its made in a brief rhythmic beat that bespoke her discomfort in the situation, maybe even the twinge of guilt she felt at having scared him.

"Anyway..." The smile was back, "Like I said, I was just wanting to introduce myself and all that. I really do apologize for all of this. First impressions mean a lot, believe me I know, but I'm hoping we can just chalk this up to..." A finger twirled the air as she quickly tried to pull the right word out of it, "I don't know... An amusing beginning to a fine working relationship. We'll go with that."

Tyrn nodded, doing his best to coax a manner of confidence from his voice. "Admittedly this has not been my finest introduction to a commanding officer, Captain. If it'll help I'll install a door chime. I have been known to lose myself in my work on occasion.
"Please let me know if I can be of any assistance to you in any way." He smiled again, going to lean on the console, then quickly pulling his hand back a little, hesitant to risk another display.

"Or I can learn how to knock." Eirlys offered with a good humored wink, "Compromise and all that... But um... Yeah. Likewise. If you need anything, just yell." The awkwardness was contagious. She was absolutely sure of it, but the cure? Likely doing everything she could to avoid sickbay in the near future - at least until she was able to converse with the man without having him come completely out of his skin.

---

Captain Eirlys Irelle
Commanding Officer
USS VINDICATOR, NX-78213-F

Lieutenant Junior Grade Dr. Reis Tyrn , MD
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS VINDICATOR, NX-78213-F

 

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