Shuffling Staff

Posted on Tue Jan 24th, 2012 @ 5:16pm by Captain Nathan Cowell MD & Lieutenant JG Justin Chadwick MD

Mission: Crises and Consequences
Location: Various
Timeline: Following 'Plans and Portents'

[Admiral's Ready Room, Bridge, USS Arizona]

After returning to the Arizona following his meeting with the Romulan Senators, Admiral Nathan Cowell found himself with a laundry list of ships holding in orbit at various distances. Many of them, as predicted, were smaller patrol craft; Defiant-class, Akira-class, and even several Steamrunner-class starships had already arrived. The roster seemed mostly lopsided toward the smaller end of the starship spectrum, only three Galaxy-class ships and one other Sovereign were slated to be among the rescue crew. That presented Nathan with an issue that would be hard to overlook... even with the crew he had currently, he was still short in the places that mattered most. One of those places being the Medical department. He had good staff, but he didn't have enough staff to tackle a full on rescue effort that was becoming more and more apparent they would be engaging in not too far into the future.

He had asked his Operations Chief to get word to the small flotilla forming around the Arizona to designate people that could be brought aboard, not simply Medical staff, but anyone who might fit the bill to handle the huge number of refugees that were more than likely going to find themselves stuck on his ship until they could find a place to offload them.

"Bridge to Admiral Cowell," the familiar voice of Nathan's adopted daughter, Lieutenant Junior Grade Elizabeth Marion, called out through the lull of silence that had been dominating the office moments before.

"Go ahead," Nathan replied to the summons.

"I have an incoming transmission from the USS Liberator, her Captain wishes to speak to you about the transfer request you sent out," Liz explained the reason for her intrusion.

"Put him through in here," Nathan said, turning to face the desk properly after removing his feet from the desk surface.

The small screen that was encased in the desk glided out of its small enclosure and proudly displayed the Starfleet Delta image before flashing to the image of the Liberator's Captain, who was indeed just a Captain. Nathan did his best not to show is envy over not having nearly the amount of hassles and headaches Nathan was going to endure as an Admiral.

"Greetings, Admiral. I'm Captain Sedeyu Migoua," the young Captain said as way of announcement. "I understand you are in need of some medical staffing, can you be more specific as to what you need?"

"I thought I was being specific when I said anyone you can spare with a good bit of medical talent..." Nathan muttered at the screen, perplexed at how such simple things got so muddled sometimes.

"Admiral, save it for someone in your own fleet. The Liberator is on loan specifically by Starfleet Command."

"Look here, son... I've been running ships and commanding troops longer than you've been alive. I'm not about to sit here and take lip from you just because you think you're somebody special. You're not. We're here to do a damn job and you aren't going to have near the hassles and headaches I will. You're what? A Defiant-class boat? Hell, you'll be lucky to save fifty lives before you toddle off out of the system. I'll be stuck here savin' thousands. So when I ask for bodies to help me save these people, you just send me people, you don't throw me any sass, you got that, youngin'?" Nathan thundered, the full brunt of nearly five centuries of command experience boiling up in his veins.

"I'm happy you have had such a distinguished career. That doesn't excuse your lack of tact. You are the one that asked for help, if you don't want it, don't bother asking. Now, would you care to detail what your need is? I'm not a mind reader, and I don't have the benefit of your crew roster to know what 'talent' you are already in possession of." The young Captain didn't flinch a muscle. His own father was a senior Admiral at Starfleet Command, and he was more than used to standing up to them when he needed.

Nathan didn't miss the obvious lack of concern on the man's face, which prompted him to grunt, "Damn Admiral's brat..."

It took a second for the old man to calm down before he said, "I need as many doctors and nurses you can muster and move over to my boat. If they have experience in Romulan medicine, that would be a bonus. Since you're not going to take on the sick and injured, if you can get by with sending me some of your less senior people, I'm sure you daddy can front you more people when you get back the where ever it is we've inconvenienced you from..."

The Captain visibly chuckled. "Now, was that so hard? As it stands, you are in luck, Admiral, but sorry to disappoint you as it won't be any skin off of my nose. We were in the middle of transporting a doctor and a compliment of nurses and medics to Outpost 427 for a training exercise when we were summoned to assist your efforts. The doctor and his team have agreed to transfer if you need his assistance. He's served as a junior medical officer on a few ships, but he's never worked as the CMO before. Our own doctor has been impressed by his performance, so I'd be comfortable in making the recommendation for his transfer to you."

"Fine, send him. Have him meet me on my bridge when he comes over. My CMO had some family emergency and is jumping ship to a boat heading toward the Bolian home world. If he's as good as all that, maybe I'll break him in proper like," Nathan said as he leaned back, "See there, that wasn't so hard. You could have just started with that and saved yourself an earful. You've got your evacuation assignment from us already, right?"

"Yes, Admiral, we have, but...," the Captain started but was cut off by the old man.

"Good, then get to work. Cowell out," the Admiral said, making sure to have the last word as he hit the transmission command that broke the feed.

[Bridge USS Liberator]

"What a prick, too bad he thinks higher of himself than most of his staff do," Sedeyu said to his XO. "Get the doctor up here, I'll brief him in my ready room in 15 minutes."

"Yes, Captain," the Commander said and started punching buttons on his console.

20 minutes later, Justin was still busy packing belongings for both he and his son. Having Ryan in tow complicated matters a bit, but he was determined to make it work. He was a Chadwick, afterall. His parents spent years grooming him for whatever career choice he decided to make, and when he chose medicine, they gladly encouraged his studies. "Ready, champ?" he asked his son.

"Almost, dad. Weren't you supposed to meet the Captain like five minutes ago?"

Justin looked at the chronometer on the wall, and audibly cursed. "Yeah, I was. You okay for a bit?"

"Yeah, I've got this, go!"

Justin smiled and hugged his boy. After all the things they'd been through after leaving earth, the two had become closer than ever. They were always close, but during the last year, they had really bonded as a father and son. Ryan was his whole world, and every decision he made was for Ryan's well-being.

Justin left their quarters and made his way to the turbolift. As the doors closed, he gave the command to go to the bridge, and the lift obediently raced to its requested goal. As the doors parted, Justin took a deep breath before stepping out. Recognizing the XO, he walked up to the man, "Doctor Justin Chadwick reporting as ordered, Commander."

"Not to me, doc," the man said, pointing to the Ready Room door.

"Right!" Justin responded, turning on heal and heading to the door. As he reached it, the doors parted revealing the Captain.

"Ah, there you are. I was just about to find out where the hell you were."

"Sorry, Captain, if it were just me, I'd have been ready 10 minutes ago."

"Understood, come on in," Migoua said and led them both into the room. "I think it's fair to warn you, your new CO may be a tad bit hot at you because of how our conversation went. He's not mad at you, he's mad at me. Hopefully the old fart will have the sense of mind to keep that separate, if not, then it will definitely reinforce the things I've heard from some of the CO's under his command."

"Captain, no disrespect, but please. I have to work with the Admiral, and I'd rather not have my judgment clouded by your preconceived notions of the man."

Migoua's brow furrowed slightly, but was quickly replaced by a smile. "You are as honorable as your father, good man. And you are right, forgive me for venting openly."

"No sweat, Captain. Do I have my orders to depart?"

"You do. Thankfully you weren't a member of my crew. Honestly, I think the Admiral was surprised and happy to know you have a complement of medical staff coming with you. Do you have any experience with the Romulan anatomy?

"As a matter of fact, I do. I've treated several in the past year. I just hope my staff and I can help them out in their time of need. Who knows, if it works out, this could become a permanent posting. I wouldn't mind working on the Arizona. It's a good ship with a great history, and of course, dad has stories about the "old man" running her."

"You'll do alright, doc. Just mind your manners, and you should fit right in."

"Thank you, Captain," Justin said, standing to make his exit. "May your journey be safe."

"Same to you, Doctor Chadwick," Migoua answered with a nod. "Dismissed." Sedeyu waited until the doors closed behind the doctor and for him to be out of earshot to add one more warning... "Oh, and I hear he has a special... affection... for children." He sneered to himself, almost wishing he could be there when the Admiral found out about the boy being on his ship.

Justin collected his son from their quarters, and headed to the transporter room. Two of the nurses were waiting there for him. Two nurses and three medics had already transported over to the Arizona. "Ready to go?" he asked them.

"Ready as we ever will be, Justin," one answered.

They took their place on the transporter pad, and moments later, they materialized on the transporter pad of the USS Arizona. As they stepped down from the pad, Justin approached the duty officer, "Doctor Justin D. Chadwick reporting for duty. Permission to come aboard?"

"Granted, sir," the Ensign answered. "You have orders to report to the Admiral immediately upon arrival. I'd suggest you do just that."

"Thank you, Ensign." Justin signaled one of his nurses to tend to getting Justin to their quarters, and then headed to meet the Admiral. As he arrived on the bridge, he scanned around, but did not see the Admiral. Justin approached the Lieutenant at Ops and asked where he might find the Admiral. She advised him to check the Ready Room. The young doctor approached the door, and waited to be admitted. As soon as the doors parted, he stepped in and almost stuttered out, "Dr. Justin D. Chadwick reporting as ordered, Admiral."

Admiral Cowell looked up from his reading, a thick leather bound book that seemed to have been thumbed through many times before, and grunted, "What are you reporting, the weather?"

The puzzled look was enough to clue Nathan in to the fact that the man had never heard that one before and so he simply continued on with little more than a shrug as he tossed the book onto his desk, "You must be the doctor old Captain full-of-himself over there said he'd be sending me. What's your name, Chadwick?"

"Yes, sir. Justin Chadwick. I must apologize, sir. I have no idea exactly what was said by Captain Migoua, but I can assure you, he wasn't speaking on my behalf. As the son of an Admiral, I would never be so disrespectful. To do so would reflect poorly on the service that my father, and his father before him have dedicated to Starfleet." Justin stepped forward and offered the Admiral a padd. "My service record, Admiral. I believe I have all the qualifications you seek for a replacement Chief Medical Officer. I've served on two starships as a surgeon, but I haven't had the pleasure of holding the Chief's post as of yet. I do have nurses and medics with me, and I believe they should have little problem integrating with your existing medical team. I understand we are about to have our asses handed to us," he froze, realizing what he just said. "Beg your forgiveness, Admiral. It's not like me to use such language in front of my commanding officer!"

"Our asses, our balls, and everything in between," Nathan said as if he hadn't even heard the man apologize. The old man glanced over the certifications and medical training the man had. It wasn't overly impressive when balanced against Doc Cowell's grandiose resume, but it was enough to get him through the immediate crisis. Admiral Cowell began to say something before the thought struck him that his name was familiar.

"Wait a second... Chadwick... I know that name. Was your father a Robert Chadwick?" Nathan inquired.

"He is, sir. And my grandfather was Rear Admiral James Chadwick," Justin replied. He wanted to be looked at for his own merits, not for his family history.

"Well, I'm sure I've met your grandfather before but I can't place that name. Your father on the other hand, I know. I remember when I just got stationed at Starfleet Medical... oh... back in '47 I think it was... Anyhow, I was running the General Practice classes over there and your old man came in off of some shore leave or another. Come to find out he'd caught some nasty shit off an Orion whore. Something about sticking it up her brown hole and his bits started to fall off. Took me an hour to run the cultures to find out what it was. Nasty bastard, that virus... almost had to amputate the family jewels and the scepter that came with them. Should've seen the look on your old man's face when I told him I was gonna rob him of his manhood and give him a tube to piss in to teach him a lesson. I've never seen a grown man cry so damn much in my life. Guess it all worked out for you, though, didn't need to take them after all, had some luck with an injection series. Cleared it up pretty quick too," the elder doctor rambled on.

Justin could feel himself change an ashen shade of white. He knew his parents had met during their first year at the Academy, and were married during their second year. To think his father had cheated on his mother seemed inconceivable. Did he dare say something? He felt what he was hearing was impossible, and he had to stand up for his father's honor. "No disrespect meant, Admiral, but may I suggest that you revisit your memory. I don't believe what you are telling me is possible. Perhaps you are thinking of someone else?"

"Well... Robert Chadwick... Student number 66-Alpha Whiskey-002254-46," the old man recalled with vivid clarity, "Boy had black hair, blue eyes, about four inches or so higher than I am. Nice chap, just couldn't keep it in his pants I reckon."

Justin turned from white to red. "Admiral, I would caution you to watch what you say about my father. Spreading salacious rumors about someone in your direct chain of command is not only conduct unbecoming your position, but is also slanderous and I will not tolerate it, and I don't give a damn what rank you carry, or position you are in. We are here on loan, and can leave just as quickly as we came. I didn't come here looking for a fight, but I will not stand idly by while you sully the name and reputation of my father."

"Not trying to smear the man's name, just tellin' you how it went down..." Nathan said before it struck him, "Wait... you're right... your father was there, but he brought in the boy with the rotted off fuck stick. That's right, I remember why I know the name, I took down your old man's information because he was the boy's room mate and we needed a good contact once we got the kid cured. Funny how that all gets jumbled up after all the years in between the telling. Still a funny story though."

Justin could feel his cheeks instantly cool. That was too close for comfort. Then it dawned on him. "Silsby," he said more as a question than a statement. "Was the cadet's name Silsby? Seems I remember dad talking about something like that during his 1st year in the academy. I'm thinking that was the guys name."

"Yeah... Martin Silsby. That's the chap. Wasn't a bad kid, but he had this thing for green chicks and brown holes. I think he became a botanist or something..." Nathan said, chuckled to himself.

There was something about this gruff Admiral that Justin liked. Even though it appeared they had gotten off on a sour note, he was curious just how quirky this Admiral would be. For the life of him, he couldn't remember his dad ever talking about the Admiral, so he must have kept a low profile, or at least, hadn't caught his dad's attention yet.

"You know, sir, my father is still in Starfleet. He's the Director of Operations at Starfleet Command. I hope that doesn't cause a conflict for you having me as part of your staff. All I'm interested in is being a doctor. I have no ulterior motives, and actually would like to be treated on my own merits, regardless of who my family may be."

"Well, seeing as how your old man was roommates with a guy that probably wanted to fuck a plant... I think you're already one up on him. And anyway, I judge a man by his actions, not his name. Hell, I'll probably change your name before your time on this here boat is over with, kid. All you gotta worry about is doin' your job, doin' it right, and being the best damn Justin Chadman you can be," the old man explained, living up to his promise of name butchering rather early.

"It's Chadwick, sir, and thank you. Actually, I have something I want to suggest that may help us with our pending situation."

"Oh? What's that?" Nathan asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, sir... I know you've been a doctor for a hell of a long time. Remember the term triage? If I recall correctly, back in the 20th century they experimented with field hospitals in which large numbers of casualties could be examined and treated in rapid succession without need for long distance evacuation. Well, with 7000 additional guests expected, I think our medical staff will be quickly overwhelmed. There's no telling what types of diseases they will bring with them," he paused to see if he got any kind of reaction from the Admiral.

"Depends on what kind of triage you're wantin', son. There's normal triage and battle field triage," Nathan said, knowing full well how triage got started back on Earth.

"I wasn't specifically referring to either, I mean in general."

"Alright, son, I'll bite. What'dya have in mind?" the old man said as he leaned back.

"Actually, for now I am only inquiring for my needs; however, I could see such application being useful for other departments as well. With all the extra people on board, the holodecks will likely be sitting idle, doing nothing most of the time. I would like to inquire about running a holodeck program to augment the needs of the medical department. We can run simulated doctors who have the same abilities as any EMH. With that, we can add as many nurses, biobeds, medics, you name it as we need. The real docs, medics and nurses on board can handle situations that are more urgent, or that can't be brought to the sickbay, call them house calls if you will... but the majority, especially the Romulan patients, can be seen in the holodeck sickbay. That way we don't run such a great chance of contamination of our crew if we bring in a Romulan that has a parasite or other type of disease, and we run less risk of a... 'situation' involving Fleeters and Romulans." He paused, but couldn't judge the response he was getting from the 'old man'. "This type of setup would also help with security, since we can create as many holo security personnel as needed to keep things under control."

Nathan just stared at the man, as if he were weighing the man's words carefully.

"I mean, think of the other possible uses. Another holodeck could be used to create a larger brig, hell, you could even simulate a real Romulan brig to help them feel more at home!"

"Not to burst your bubble, kid, but the holodecks were already being slated to be an extra holding area for the civilians we brought on board. But, seeing as how I really don't want to catch some kind of Romulan herpes any more than I think anyone else would, you might be on to something. Tell you what, get with Bronco and see about converting one of the smaller holodecks into a hospital of sorts. Might as well have more than just the couple small facilities we have on board in case we beam up a hospital or something," Nathan said finally.

"Permission to speak freely, sir?"

"Speak your mind, son," the old man muttered.

"Well, sir, you've got no Marines to speak of on this ship, besides on Marine officer. You're taking on so many Romulans that they will out number us by 100 to 1. Even if you gave every man, woman and child on this ship a phaser, we still couldn't defend ourselves against a Romulan attack if they decided to try to get the upper hand. What's your game plan here?"

"Have you ever been a part of a mass evacuation?" Nathan asked bluntly.

"Of course, sir, but never with a species that would rather see me dead than to look at me. We aren't talking about evacuating any normal planet. This is Romulus. These people are our enemies. Regardless of what representations their government may make, I can't believe that all 7000 of them will have the same benevolent thoughts once they get on board." He stopped for a moment, and realized his hands were shaking. "Admiral, I've seen what those bastards do to their victims. If even a handful decided to attempt an uprising, you could have a riot on your hands."

Nathan didn't miss the man's trembling hands but continued nonetheless, "The one thing all mass evacuations have in common is the initial panic. The first things on their minds won't be how much they hate us, the Federation, or anything like that. They'll be trying to sort out everything they lost and how they will put their lives back together. At least for the first few days... And that's what I'm banking on."

The Admiral pushed himself out of his chair and walked over to the viewing window on the wall, "Most of them are going to be your average Joe Romulan. It's been my experience with most hostile races that the only truly hostile ones are the ones wearing the uniforms. The general population doesn't give a damn about the politics of how they continue to enjoy the lives they lead, they just enjoy them in blissful ignorance. Look at the Germans back in WWII. Most of the German people weren't even aware of what Hitler and his ilk were doing not even a dozen miles from their homes. They didn't want to. They just wanted to live and be left to it."

Nathan turned to the young doctor, "However, being a man of many wars, I also know that no everyone in the crowd is ignorant. And if we should have to resort to it, I'm not above gassing the entire ship. You and I both know there's several airborne gasses that will knock people out for hours, even days, if push comes to shove. It's not nice, but it's clean and effective. I'm just banking on confusion being our ally until we get them to the drop off point."

"Admiral, I'm not so much worried about 'Joe Romulan', I'm worried about the Tal Shiar. I know you are familiar with them, and I can guarantee, emergency situation or not... if there is a member of the Tal Shiar on board, and they can find an opportunity, no matter how minimal, they will do what they can to sabotage or obtain sensitive information about the ship or the crew. It's in their blood. It's what they do. I just don't want to see people get hurt because we got caught with our proverbial pants down. They are ruthless hunters, Admiral. I know you are an experienced tactician, and you've obviously earned your place, else people like my father wouldn't have put you in your position to begin with. As your new CMO, it is my duty to care for the medical needs of this crew. I fear that I may not be able to perform my duties to the best of my ability because of a lack of essential security. Perhaps we should consider placing up force fields to restrict access to vulnerable or sensitive areas of the ship. I know I'm coming late into the game, but I still have my helmet on and I'm ready to play."

"That, at least, we've already thought about. Engineering is going to have a hell of a time keeping this boat powered with all the drains we're going to be putting on her core, but keeping people out of sensitive things was part of my initial plans. Lieutenant Lischka is seeing to it that all the places that can be manned will be, and those that can't be physically guarded will have redundant force fields. Like you said yourself, this isn't my first rodeo. Plus, we've got our own bush whacking covert intelligence mistress running around. I'm sure she's all over how to keep prying eyes firmly out of our business. But I like to see a man with a go get'em attitude. I think you'll fit in around here," the old man chuckled.

"I think you are right. The reputation of this ship precedes her, and I look forward to being a member of her crew, even if it is temporarily. Permission to get to work on organizing my department?"

"Get after it, son. You don't have long to go before shit hits the fan and we all have to hit the deck running. Oh, one last thing. Get with Bronco anyway, he'll have your hot-racking assignment. We're running 8 hour sleep shifts once the refugees start coming aboard, so you best replicate you some linen before I cut off replicator use and we go to survival rations," Nathan said, almost forgetting an important bit of information.

"Will do, sir," he said pondering their impending situation. "I guess we are having company for dinner." Justin turned to leave, when he suddenly remembered one minor detail. "Sir, uh, what was that about hot-racking?"

"You're sleeping in someone else's warm spot. You get 8 hours to catch a rest and then you gotta unass the bunk. Why? You never done it before?" Nathan looked at the young Lieutenant dubiously.

"Well, sir, it's not me I'm worried about."

"Well who the hell else matters? If it isn't a problem for you then there's no problem, right?" the old man asked.

"With all due respect, Admiral, that's a rather cold attitude to take about my son! He's only 9 years-old, and I'm not sure I'm comfortable with people he is unfamiliar with traipsing in and out of his sleeping area."

"Hold on..." Nathan said, his brow tightening, "When the hell did a 9 year old come aboard my boat?!"

"Sir? I handed you my dossier the minute I walked into this room!" he responded, shocked. "Besides, didn't Captain Courageous over there brief you on it?"

"No, Captain Dingleberry failed to mention that..." Nathan grumbled, "But what's done is done. I can't be sending your boy off with some dipshit that can't even be bothered to mention him. Tell you what, I got a big couch, he can crash there if you like, and only because I'm not havin' anyone else bunking in my quarters. Ain't in charge of this boat just to give up all the perks..."

"I think that will be acceptable. We are only talking a few days, besides your other option would never work. I'd resign my commission before I'd abandon my son. I'm all he has, except for his grandparents."

"Yes yes..." Nathan waved him off, "Now that your boy is taken care of, go take care of the mission. Work to be done... this star isn't getting any younger and we're not gonna get a second chance to get this shit right."

"Aye, sir. You'll have my full support. I just hope we all get through this with some semblance of sanity." With that, Justin turned and took his leave of the Admiral. He was about to face conditions unlike any he'd ever known in his life. He just prayed they'd all make it through... including that crotchety old geezer he just left. He couldn't help but laugh outwardly as he boarded the turbolift. "He certainly is... consternatious." he thought to himself, then he thought, "Is that even a word?"