"A Heck of an Introduction"

Posted on Sat May 2, 2015 @ 7:01am by Lieutenant JG Noelle Bennett M.D.

414 words; about a 2 minute read

Mission: Eye of the Beholder
Location: Corridor outside the Infirmary, Deep Space Five
Timeline: MD 3, 1300 hrs.

Having just arrived aboard the station less than a day ago, Doctor Noelle Bennett, physician, therapist, and Starfleet Medical representative, was using the time to familiarize herself with the station. She'd come from Leto Colony, so she wasn't too unfamiliar with large spaces with lots of activity, but it was still something to get used to being surrounded by space with deck plating under her feet. There were certain trade-offs, of course. She already missed Leto's beautiful sunsets, and she enjoyed having a real home, with real sidewalks and a beautiful view. Noelle could imagine living there with a spouse and children someday while working in the large Leto Colony Hospital surrounded by some of the brightest physicians and mental health professionals the Federation had to offer.

Leto may have been a bit of a backwater world with all that entailed, including several criminal elements, but Bennett had to imagine she wasn't the only Starfleet officer who wondered from time to time what it would be like to work for Starfleet but also put down real roots in a city. She enjoyed the freedom she'd had there. One advantage of being a lone representative from Starfleet Medical was that she could offer assistance wherever she wanted to, provided the locals didn't mind. There was a hierarchical structure in each department, as one would expect with any Starfleet operation, but because everyone was expected to collaborate with the locals wherever possible, that became less important compared to getting the job done.

However, there were also some disadvantages. She missed the camaraderie associated with being around other Starfleet officers. Everyone was rather spread out, and there wasn't the same level of cohesion within Leto she would normally expect aboard a ship or station. Leto also didn't have representatives from the Federation Marshall service or the Border Research Institute. Noelle jumped at the chance to serve aboard a place that offered so many unique opportunities to apply her medical and psychological skills. She couldn't wait to go exploring and to soak up the feel of the place.

For Noelle, that meant stopping at the infirmary.

Unfortunately, that was when all hell broke loose. Alert klaxons blaring, Noelle didn't know what was going on, but she knew what she had to do. Entering the infirmary, she prepared to roll up her sleeves. It would be a heck of an introduction to the CMO and the rest of the staff, but at least she could say it wasn't boring.

 

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