How to Make Friends and Influence People

Posted on Mon Aug 18th, 2014 @ 8:17am by Ensign Robyn Maxwell

1,580 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: In the Dark
Location: Klingon Shipyards
Timeline: Current

After an extensive flight through space the transport finally touched down at the Klingon Shipyards.

Norbert Bernard III sat in his seat holding his thigh in pain. He groaned loudly. "Somethings Wrong!!", he grunted at Robyn and slammed his hand into the armrest while squirming in agony. "Do something", he snapped at her.

Robyn had managed only a fitful sleep due to her fellow passengers restlessness. He had twitched and muttered his way through what had seemed a 'very' long night and now Robyn, who had finally drifted off to a semiconscious state, opened her eyes to see Norberts agonized face staring at her.
"What?" she asked "Ow"
She raised her hand to rub the back of her neck which twinged in complaint when she moved.

Norbert groaned in pain again as several people took notice. "I need a Doctor", he shouted to the other passengers as they were preparing to disembark.

Moments later the flight attendant appeared, "Are you ok?", she asked.

"DO I LOOK OK??" Norbert shouted. "I need a Doctor something is wrong with my leg." He leaned back as the pain in his thigh intensified and slammed his elbow into Robyn's side.

"Hey!" she exclaimed drawing back as far as she could. "I've just about had enough of you!"
The words were out before she could think about it and all her intentions of remaining polite evaporated in the instant. She got to her feet with difficulty.
"Ummm...this young lady is a doctor." the Stewardess said hesitantly, recognizing Robyns uniform. "perhaps she..."

"He's got a cramped muscle" Robyn exclaimed."Its hardly life or death!"

Norbert squirmed for a second and tried to extend his leg in an effort to quell the cramp. He sighed as the pain slowly subsided and he stood up to stretch the muscle. After several moments he looked back at the two women and took a deep breath. "I am going to need a stretcher", he said holding onto his thigh, "I don't think I can walk", he looked at Robyn, "Some Doctor you are". he shot.

Robyn had busied herself collecting her luggage, fastening it securely and making ready to disembark. The Stewardess, standing by a little lost as to what to do next asked Robyn if a medical team should be summoned.

"Certainly not!" came the indignant reply. "He's making a mountain out of a 'minute'.." she lifted her hand and held forefinger and thumb a tiny distance apart to illustrate the size "...molehill! Ok he has cramp, I'm sorry for it..... as are we all." she said glaring at Norbert "..but its already abated. Should it occur again or is a regular occurrence then he should consult his own doctor for advice."

She pulled her baggage out of its tight position which took some effort.

"Cramps can occur when a muscle that is already in a shortened position is stimulated to contract. As the muscle is already shortened, to contract further may cause the muscle to go into spasm. This commonly happens when sleeping or sitting for a lengthy time in a chair...as now for instance. As the natural position we lie in is with the knees slightly bent flexed and with feet pointing slightly downwards,the calf muscle is relatively shortened and may be prone to cramps.
In some cases, the cramps may be a symptom of another problem such for example, medication,over-exertion of muscles, dehydration, conditions that affect a high or low sodium or potassium level, peripheral arterial disease, uncommon disorders of nerves, alcohol in excess or pregnancy."
She paused, smiled to the stewardess and ignored Norbert though aware of his attention.

"Cramps could just be one of various other symptoms. Therefore, if your passenger is otherwise well and has no other unexplained symptoms, then the leg cramp is likely to be idiopathic ...unknown cause.. and not due to a secondary condition. Now if you will excuse me I have a ship to join."

She hoisted her rucksack onto her shoulder and, as the Stewardess stepped back, hauled her holdall upright and moved off down the aisle.

Norbert grunted and waved the attendant away. After a few moments he grabbed his bags and moved off of the transport with a noticeable limp.

Exiting he looked at the long line of people slowly moving through what appeared to be some sort of security checkpoint. He hobbled to the front of the line and pulled out his credentials.

Speaking to the two armed personnel at the checkpoint.

"Norbert Bernard THE THIRD", he said with an air of dignity. Cutting in front of someone, "I have been injured as you can see", he motioned to his leg, "And I seek medical attention so if you will please hurry this along".

Unfortunately for Norbert security was extremely tight in this area of space and anyone deviating from the normal security procedures, such as avoiding the line was viewed as hostile. The guards drew their weapons and one ordered Norbert to stop and drop his bags while the other called in backup over a radio.

Most passengers in the slowly moving queue patiently waited their turn and passed the time by gazing at their surroundings, chatting to a companion or even to a total stranger so the diversion of a sudden shout to 'HALT' echoing through the hall accompanied by three very powerful looking individuals in full body armor brandishing weapons came as a welcome interruption.

Heads turned in Norbert's direction eager to see what was going on and one such inquisitive passenger was Robyn standing further up the line.

"Whats he doing?" someone close beside her asked. "Doesn't that guy know its unwise to cause a fuss around here?"
Peering through the crowd, Robyn recognized her former fellow traveler who was now arm in arm with two guards, his precious luggage discarded in a heap.

"I- wouldn't- struggle- if -I- were- you." the nearby passenger murmured in a warning tone to anyone caring to listen then : "oh dear..."

Norbert of course didn't heed the strangers warning, "Do you know who I am?", he said, clearly flustered.

"ON THE GROUND", one of the guards said kicking Norbert's leg out from under him and forcing him down. Norbert fell with a grunt and shrieked in pain as the guard began to bind his hands.

"Excuse me?" Robyn called raising a hand but not daring to leave her place. "Excuse me? May I help? I'm a Doctor."
One of the guards strode towards her staring at her suspiciously.

"Do you know this man?" he asked.

"No, not personally." Robyn replied and the guard began to turn away. "But I sat next to him on the transport." she added hurredly. " He had a...a..problem with his leg. He needs medical attention really." she finished lamely.

"Are you are a doctor?", he said looking at her uniform, "Is he your patient", the guard added as he looked back towards Norbert who was now being patted down for weapons and his luggage searched.

"No...as I said, we sat next to each other on the transport. He complained of a problem with his leg." she added.

"He's clean sir", one of the other security personnel signaled.

"Look I've got enough to deal with, I'll let him go if you take responsibility for him", the guard said to Robyn, "But if he gets in any more trouble it's coming back to you".

Robyn could only nod for how could she say she didn't want the responsibility of this obnoxious little man? She had thought to be helpful to him having been briefed before hand on the level of security here.

"Okay." she replied without a stitch of enthusiasm.

"Get this mess cleared up!" one of the guards ordered giving Norbert a shove towards the mound of his belongings on the floor."...and make it quick!"

Norbert grabbed his bags and stood up. He looked back at Robyn as she was being let to the front of the line and followed her. He decided it best not say anything more, and with a limp they both walked through the security gates. Once through he stopped and looked at Robyn, "Thanks", he said sincerely, "Nobody has ever done something like that for me before", he felt embarrassed and defeated, but tried his best not to show it.

{I wonder why!} she thought but kept her own counsel on the subject.
"That's OK." she replied simply readjusting the weight of her bag on her shoulder.. She stopped.

"Look...lets try to find someone to help with this luggage...you do seem to have quite a bit of it." She gave him a weak smile then glanced at the bulging cases.

Norbert sighed nervously, unsure of how to respond, 'she obviously likes me' he thought to himself, "Look, I have somewhere I have to be, and thanks and everything, but I'm a very important person and I can't hang out with you", he said as he grabbed his things more securely and turned to walk away.

"Well if you're sure." she said loud enough for the retreating figure to hear.
{What a strange man...} she thought. {.....a very important person indeed...and don't worry about the not hanging out!}
She watched him hobble away, the bags banging against his sore calf muscle making him limp even more.

"And see a doctor" she called.

---

Ensign Robyn Maxwell
Medical Officer
USS Vindicator

&

Norbert Bernard III
Lounge Manager
USS Vindicator

 

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