Drill, Baby, Drill
Posted on Tue Jul 22nd, 2025 @ 3:50pm by Commander Martin Sorenson & Commander Jonathan Mantell & Ensign Hakunetsuno (Hakune) Hinkyaku & Chief Warrant Officer Srivas & Chief Petty Officer Calley Loreth
Mission:
Take My Hand
Location: Medbay
5252 words - 10.5 OF Standard Post Measure
Dr. Sorenson walked the floor, pad tucked under one arm, coffee mug in the opposite hand, just like on any other day. The staff who had stayed on after this last incident, and especially the ones who had also been around for the ones prior, were unflappable, but they'd taken on a lot of new personnel so it was important to project a sense of calm and normalcy for anyone who might be feeling jitters about their first drill on a new ship. Of course, his usual circuit also allowed him to scan each section and be sure nothing was amiss; this drill was scheduled, but the scenario would be a surprise. Given the enhanced holographics installed during the upfit, it could be anything, up to and including a variation on the insanity they'd recently survived. But he expected something more standard for the first drill, maybe a twist or two thrown in, but if he read the new CWO right, this would primarily be data for designing stressors for surprise drills later on.
Catching Nurse Ssi surreptitiously checking a drawer, he gave a sage nod. "Always good to be sure every station is properly stocked."
From where she was perched on her customary stool, before the collection of petri dishes that were something of a trademark, Dr Hinkyaku grinned to herself upon Sorenson's words. With so much of the crew spending most of their time familiarizing themselves with the new systems in their own departments and the subtle changes they inevitably bring, no-one had much opportunity to get themselves injured, wounded or maimed, and so most of the shift had been spent understanding the newly installed technology themselves. Despite being less tech-dependent - some would say less tech-savvy - than the other medical staff, making that adjustment did not take long even for her, leaving her time and leisure to pursue her own research.
"Certainly doesn't hurt to check from time to time, Boss, but there hasn't been any urgent reason to go into the drawers today, so everything that was in there when you left is still in there, unless those new toys we got have developed a penchant for hiding things."
"I've seen stranger things," Martin observed. After the last couple missions, that was all too true. "It never hurts to check." Besides, having things missing from expected places was a twist he'd seen pulled on his first drill in Starfleet, but he didn't say it; no need to make anyone paranoid.
Several minutes early, though not so much so that he was wasting time spent in duties elsewhere, Srivas arrived through the main Sickbay doors. Tucked under one arm were a couple of PADDs, no doubt those containing both simulations to run and standards to grade against kept off the main computer system for purposes of not biasing the tests to come, for this Vulcan needed no reference to the libraries of regulations. With as near to perfect-recall about Starfleet procedures as made no difference, he could quote line and detail of regulations going back decades. In his other hand... a paper cone with the fluffy, pink, cloud-like substance of spun sugar, the human confection called Cotton Candy.
"Commander Sorenson," Srivas said after swallowing a mouthful he'd taken before stepping through the doors, and addressing the CMO by rank as a sign of respect and the formality of the drill, the Vulcan strode over without hesitation. Was that amusement in his eyes though as they met the human doctor's, a sort of sadistic glee for what was to come? Surely not, those dark brown depths were as emotionless as his face, just a momentary trick of Sickbay lighting. Only the barest of nods was given to others nearby, the briefest of acknowledgement of their presence. "I wish to express gratitude for your cooperation in these efficiency drills, sir. It speaks well to your department and staff to be the first among the crew to do so." It had been delivered in the same cold tone of voice one might use to describe a particularly mundane and average slime mold grown for research purposes in the medical lab. "Would you or any of the others care for some of this?" he held aloft the cotton candy.
Martin barely kept his brows from more than a slight rise at the incongruous sight of a prim and proper Vulcan carrying pink cotton candy. He hoped Srivas wasn't one of the Vulcans with more than touch-telepathy, because despite being psi-null himself he could almost hear Ziks thinking 'well, that explains the cavity'. However, it also felt a bit like a trap - fingers sticky with sugar was no way to start a drill. "Thank you, but no," Martin replied politely. "We're glad to cooperate with ensuring that everything runs as it should in an emergency."
Calley stared at the Vulcan carrying the Cotton Candy, it was a strange sight that she had never seen before, infact she could recall very few times ever seeing a Vulcan indulging in something so.... human. "We've had a few chances recently to work under emergency conditions that have helped us figure out what's wrong and what needs to be worked on."
One of the many hardships of being the Executive Officer was that the ship's departments now reported directly to him first. Jack didn't delight in all the extra paperwork, and ear exercise fielding complaints and questions, that went along with it, but this he was an opportunity he couldn't pass up. The doors to sickbay opened to admit one Only, without spanner or injury, stepping voluntarily through what might have otherwise been the Gates of Hell itself. That was last week, today the diminutive commander came to watch and eat popcorn. Bringing along his own popcorn, of course.
"What's up, Doc?" He had hoped to surprise Commander Sorenson with a sudden appearance, though not much got past the man's arched brows. Which were currently directed toward a pink, fluffy cloud captured in the hand of the ship's bosun, standing in the middle of sickbay like a floral arrangement with his gold and pink...and mild green. Jack could forgive the latter for the sake of the cotton candy. "I came to watch your drill, Doc," the boy gave his bag of popcorn a shake, and giving the pink confection a longing sort of look, "and here I thought I was the clever one."
The laugh Martin had contained at a Vulcan with pink cotton candy, burst out - perhaps a bit louder than intended - at Jack arriving with popcorn. "Commander, glad you could make it for the show." He flashed a grin at the Only. "Stick around after, and we can get your annual physical done too."
Hakune slipped off her stool and took up a position next to the Engineer, resting a hand gently on his shoulder. "If I had been made aware that I would be sitting in on a show, I'd have made some kourshah for the occasion, instead of staring at cultures for the last 7 hours. So what exactly are we watching, Commander?"
"You didn't tell me your department was so funny, Doc!" Jack remarked, trying hard to pull his attention from the temptation that was cotton candy. He was going to get a bite of it at some point, that was for certain, the only real question was when. Instead, Jack flicked a piece of popcorn into the air with a practiced hand, catching it with his open mouth and a satisfying crunch from the kernel. His cheek pulled his lips into a victorious grin, "Cool it with the physical threats and I just might stop by more often."
Martin shook his head with quite chuckle. "Next time we'll set up a snack bar for drill observers." Turning to a more serious tone, he looked around at his department. "Those of you that have been here awhile may feel that any drill pales in comparison to the actual emergencies we've dealt with recently. However, drills keep us sharp and ready for when those wild emergencies hit. Those who are new, I expect you've had drills before on prior ships or in the Academy, but if you find yourself confused or out of step, look to others for guidance. Also, congratulations, you'll have found a potential failure point to eliminate. Which is another point of having drills." With that, he nodded to Sviras. "At your direction, Chief."
The Vulcan had been listening, of course, though his eyes and apparent attention had been upon the bag of popcorn rather than defend his drills as paling in comparison to the 'real thing'. What would the point of an emergency drill be if it could not approach the stress and tests of a real life emergency?. One eyebrow arched slightly as he considered that perhaps his own choice of snack could have been better chosen. Popcorn, as he understood the human rituals around it, leant itself towards a certain kind of expectation - that one was hoping to be entertained. Srivas wasn't about to admit anything so uncouth as that, but maybe the symbology of a bag of popcorn could represent his hope that the medical personnel would do well in their tests-
"Aye, Commander," Srivas cut off his line of thinking and stood up straight, giving a slight nod and pausing only long enough to help himself to a small pinch of the cotton candy. "Computer, begin program, Srivas-Echo-29." Immediately, the lights in Sickbay cut off, plunging them into sudden darkness lit only by the glow of some equipment and wall panels, not enough to make navigating that easy, especially if there were any equipment carts out of place this time. His face lit up from the glow of a PADD he carried as he moved to the side and about as far out of the way as he could get. "This drill will test your emergency preparedness, adaptability, and general skills when cut off from the aid of the rest of your crew. We may assume that you have only what patients that may be present currently. You may proceed."
The voice of the Computer rang out right after Srivas stopped speaking, as if he'd timed it exactly, "Warning - Power loss on Decks 6, 7, and 8. Life Support and Turbolift systems are offline."
So... no-lifts-and-life-support-down drill. Martin tried not to smile. It took a bit of effort, especially when Ziks pulled the lever to activate medbay's dedicated back-up power. Usually, it would have come on automatically, but glitches could happen and that's why there was manual start as back-up. Lighting returned, albeit at low energy-conserving level, revealing that medics had already moved to check on existing patients and place breather masks. "Good, but make sure you grab life support belts for yourselves for back-up in case there's any sudden loss of atmosphere," he reminded, retrieving one from a drawer by way of example and buckling it around his waist, but leaving it off since medbay should have at least three hours before the air started getting stale. "There are other decks affected. Dr. Ghosh, take Tovi and Azan, grab scanners and climb up to 8 - the school is the first priority. Dr. Tedeki, take M'Bel and Jamison and check 6," he ordered, waving them toward to ladders. "And grab a crowbar in case you need to crack open the holodecks."
Martin tapped his comm. "Sorenson to Ops. I need status on decks above 8 and below 6 for the best evac route." Even as he said it, he glanced toward Srivas, knowing that the comm request would be routed through the drill program.
Moving back toward one of the biobeds, Jack set the popcorn bag on the cushion before hopping up. It was to his full advantage to sit here while Dr. Sorenson was occupied, at any other time he might be at a real risk of coming under a tricorder scan, or worse! He slipped the PADD out of his pocket and opened a file the Bosun had sent his way. Smiling at the thought of a crowbar being enough for the sturdy holodeck doors, the Only figured it was time to act like an Executive Officer, even if it was only acting.
Hakune suddenly spoke up, "Umm... small detail... Before we get this thing started, whose shift is it that this Greek Tragedy happening? I mean, if we are playing this out from the beginning, any medical personnel who are off-shift are going to be somewhere else, so they are going to have to make their way here, and the time it takes for them to get here will inevitably have an impact on how things develop. Right?"
Martin sighed inwardly. There went his hopes of Medical scoring well on this. "Ensign! In case you haven't noticed, it has started," he snapped. She was a special circumstance, but how had she made it through the Academy without knowing how drills worked? "All personnel in medbay are part of it. Focus on your role here. What to do in an emergency when off-duty, is something we will review off-line."
Hakune accepted the rebuke, it was fair, she was too slow in asking. However, she did not allow it to phase her... she instead bowed her head, bringing her mind and body into focus. A soft glow started to light the space around her. A moment later, she lifted her face, and she stood calm and ready for coming onslaught. Her eyes homed in on each of the biobed until they fell upon the Engineer, "We're going to need that bed, Commander. If you're not injured or in need of care, welcome to temporary medical duty."
Calley looked over at the Commander as she moved towards the storage cabinet with the extra emergency medkits to be handed out to the roaming teams, setting them on the tables by the doors. She started handing them out one by one to the doctors and medical support personnel as they left to follow Martin's orders, "Doctor Sorenson, do you want the waiting room set up for triage or for overflow?"
"Overflow," he called back, and tapped off his comm, giving up on a reply. Srivas had said the drill would test being cut off from the aid of the rest of your crew, so he had to assume that also meant comms offline. "We'll bring people from decks 6 and 8 here since medbay has capabilities for oxygen generation, but tell the crews going out to scan for evac routes. Ideally, we move everyone to unaffected decks."
"Oh, I'm not here," Jack told the woman, bringing up his palm to wave it in front of her face as a hypnotist might. Now there was a brand of medicine never seen in this sickbay, not under Doc Martin's eye that is. He almost laughed at the thought of suggesting it, only kept terse by the ghostly demeanor of the Elix standing in front of him. It was the Only boy's first encounter with the newcomer, and for a moment he thought of offering the biobed to her; no one survived the disapproval of Vesta's chief doctor without a good respite. Instead he grinned, Jack wasn't about to make it so easy for the fresh Ensign to get out of the chaos of a ship's drill. Going for his foot instead, he held it cradled to his body and nearly cackled out, "Nope, scratch that. I'm a patient with a foot injury, very painful to walk on, right? But you can treat me as low priority since I am, as you can see, not walking at the moment. Carry on, doctor!"
Martin swallowed a rueful chuckle at Jack's improv. On one hand, he was glad to see the Only relaxed enough in medbay to pull that. On the other hand... chances he'd stay that way to allow an exam once the drill was over didn't strike him as high. "As long as you're over there, run a bioscan to be sure nothing else is wrong. That one might not be up to date on innoculations."
On a quiet day, Jack's scowl might have been loud enough to be heard across the room. He aimed it at Martin long enough for the doctor to know that he knew what game he was playing. To the Elix doctor, the acting XO took a very different approach. "It's gonna look pretty bad on the report if Sickbay fails because someone," he sang the word, as if it wasn't already clear to the blue-hued woman, "was dilly-dallying with a non-critical patient." With a lower voice, Jack held up his bowl and added, "Plus, I'll share some of my popcorn if we agree that order can slide for now."
Hakune had indeed turned her attention to the Chief Engineer, having already noticed that no-one new had yet come through the doors, and wrapped her fingers around the Only's boot. She looked him squarely, "Don't think for one moment that I consider you unimportant, Commander. I imagine it would look worse on the report if Sickbay fails because no-one on the medical staff attended the one and only person in the room reporting an injury, in favor of sitting on their hands waiting for others to show up. Especially if that person is the one most responsible for repairing the damage that caused the emergency in the first place, neh? As for the popcorn, you heard the Doctor, all personnel in medbay are part of this, and besides, you may not have noticed, but you've already shared it," she winked as she held up her free hand, a trio of kernels between her slender fingers. "You really should pay more attention to what's happening, your lives are too short to let things happen around you unnoticed." She dropped the popcorn back into the bowl she had purloined them from.
Having removed Jack's boot, Hakune closed her eyes and slowly slid his foot between her fingers, gently applying pressure as she did so. "Hmm... I'm not sensing any pain in you from this, so you haven't broken anything, nor are there signs of Achilles or peroneal tendonitis. I would say... tired feet. Your feet are way too important not to show them more love. Spend your off-duty time barefoot, first for an hour or so, increasing by 15 minutes each day. A mild analgesic cream rubbed into your feet daily should take care of any pain in the interim. Any replicator on the ship can provide you that on a single dose basis."
Overhearing the exchange, Martin suppressed a chuckle, both at the assumption that the Only was 'short-lived' and that he didn't already go barefoot the moment he was off-duty and back in his quarters. Though it occurred to him that he might soon get a comm about Jack wandering the corridors, or - God forbid - mess hall, barefoot and claiming he was following medical orders.
"Hey, no touching!" Jack protested as the ghostly-pale doctor took hold of his boot, stripping it off to begin an examination. It was everything he had feared by walking into sickbay, and every instinct in the Only told him to struggle and fight off the Ensign's probing fingers. He stopped when his ears caught the quiet mirth from Doc Martin from his corner of the room, beady eyes watching the exchange between doctor and unwilling patient. Bristling, Jack finally pulled his foot back from the fingers of its would-be kidnapper, throwing a glare across the room to the head Doc before addressing the subordinate. "Okay, you can stop now, obviously I was just pretending to be hurt so I can watch your drill. But I'm taking back your popcorn privileges, just so you know."
Srivas had maintained studious, imperious silence from the spot he'd selected, just about as far out of the way as he could manage for any potential traffic. He'd allowed the back and forth to play out without a response, besides a few taps of fingers upon the PADD, and a very slight arching of one brow around the time of 'dilly-dallying'. Eventually he settled on a response from the computer for the simulation, the same steady inflabble voice pretending to be the OPS response sounding quite out of character at least by word choice as if it were pretending to be a regular crewman, "Sorry Sickbay, we're a little busy up here. We've run right into a quantum filament. Power is out on most of the ship, and what is available comes-and-goes so this connection may not last long. We are setting up runners to check in on effected decks and so far no reported injuries. See if you can restore power to your section and stand-by for casualties. OPS out."
"Understood. Our back-up generators are running and we've already sent medical teams to decks 6 and 8, so you can call back those runners. Medbay out," Martin responded, tapping off his comm despite awareness that it was more just reflex here. "You heard that," he called to the rest of medbay. "Keep emergency clear to receive casualties. When teams return with anyone left on 6 and 8, non-casualties go to recovery and any excess to PT. Transport is out, as are escape pods with a filament out there, so medbay is the oasis." Medical personnel immediately began moving, knowing exactly what that meant: (1) get every O2 generator set to maintain levels and (2) thermal management. That didn't mean the CMO didn't need to direct anything. "Consolidate to main medbay, close the counseling center and research labs. Move a couple NICU units into main medbay and close that and ob/gyn as well." He knew no one was anywhere near a due date, but if a holographic obstetric emergency showed up, emergency could handle it. Ignoring the presence of the chief engineer as he was currently playing patient and observer, he pointed to his senior med techs. "Randolph, Endi, as soon as that's done, do whatever you can to optimize and conserve."
With the Only reshod, and holding together the shreds of his dignity, he hopped off the biobed. Thrusting his chin out in the direction of Vesta's CMO, Jack made it clear where the younger doctor should take her ministrations. "Better hop to it, Ensign, you've got a bigger mess headed your way." The bowl of popcorn came back off the biobed as well, freeing it for more of the drill's imaginary patients, and Jack held it close to his chest to ensure there would be no more theft. He made a quick show of munching on a couple kernels for good measure, too. "Come to think of it, imaginary lives for shipboard drills are prolly shorter than mine, too."
Almost on cue, a number of those 'imaginary lives' streamed into medbay. Holographic kids in various states of agitation from keyed up by the emergency to crying to panicked were ushered in by Ghosh, Tovi, and Azan, assisted by a couple teachers trying to keep smaller children in some sort of orderly line. Each medic also carried a child, two apparently injured, and one a toddler clinging to Tovi like ironwood vine.
"Lower extremity injury," Ghosh reported, setting a boy with a visibly swelling ankle on a biobed. "Likely sprained but need a scan to confirm." He pointed to the child Azan was moving to bed. "Head injury - climbing." She rolled her eyes as only a mother might in summing up the cause. "Pupils responsive, but he complained of dizziness."
"Okay, I'll let you handle that since you have experience," Martin half-joked. "Hakune, you get another foot injury. And this one?" he asked, going to examine the girl who seemed to be trying to burrow into Tovi.
"Just scared," the nurse replied, attempting to disentangle the child, only to have arms and legs frantically clasp even tighter. "A little help?"
"It's alright," Martin coaxed as soothingly as he could while trying to gently unclasp the death grip on Tovi. "I'm Doctor Martin. I just want to make sure you're okay..."
"NO!"
The shriek was right in his ear, and Martin shook his head and blinked. Whoever had programmed the kids had put serious lungs in this one. "Okay, how about if we go get a treat? I have candy for -"
"Candy!!" The cry came from one of the other kids but was immediately echoed by a dozen more. Martin heard one of the caretakers give an exasperated huff and braced himself to be mobbed. But the kids rushed right past him.
Turning he saw why: Srivas was a short distance behind him and still holding the big fluffy mass of pink cotton candy, which might as well have been a blinking a sign for sweetie-seeking little kids.
Hakune sighed at the situation... Holograms... Really?... Fine she muttered to herself. For all the holographic injuries for which she could make no sense, the first priority was going to be crowd control, as nothing was going to be achieved without it being in place. Despite always having been by far the youngest person on her homeworld, she truly excelled during her training in pediatrics at Starfleet Medical Academy. If she could distract these children from the cotton candy that was starting to pose an existential threat to her Vulcan assessor, at least long enough for him to rid himself of it, she might yet recover some control over the situation.
Rather than shouting until she was hoarse commands she knew the children were going to ignore anyway, she started to sing, not in words but clear notes, not a lullaby but the prelude to Matins, which had always made her take a moment's pause back at the Abbey where she had grown up. As her voice rose in volume, she started to add layers, as though more people were starting to join the song in harmony. As she did so, the candy-lust fueled screaming quickly subsided, and all eyes to turn on her in a sense of enthrallment, augmented by the soft glow emanating from her body. As her singing continued, she started issuing urgent hand-signaled commands to the staff around her, pointing first at them, then to a child, then to a station. It was far from the ideal way of operating a medical facility, but needs must, and would at least give a couple of minutes' peace before the chaos would resume.
Still singing, she hefted one of the children up and carried him over to a biobed, and gently examined their foot. Normally, she eschewed scanning devices, as her old-school methods gelled better with her abilities to sense pain, but these were holograms, figments of the computer's imagination and a programmer's perversity, and so provided none of the signals that her subconscious would normally pick up on. "Let's get the rest of them scanned and into a recovery room for safe keeping."
He had worked hard at programming this simulation, thank you very much, in deep cooperation with the computer. Hypothetically, if Starfleet computers could feel annoyance, and if Vulcans let themselves feel it, what would they dislike about shipboard life? Well, Srivas hadn't taken into account singing as a method to disarm rambunctious, undisciplined children. The oversight gnawed at him. Had the arch of his eyebrow seemed to shift from judgmental to one of reluctant approval, perhaps? A clever deflection, too, for the attention suddenly redirected toward the boatswain at the mention of candy, even if singing wasn't exaclty in any procedure like this. Swiftly, he consumed the last of the cotton candy, tucked the paper stick into one of his pockets, gave Hakune a long, studious gaze - and even gave a very soft, "Hmm," - and then began typing on the PADD again, fingers tapping with renewed purpose.
Sickbay and its staff indeed seemed to work well, a little unorthodox perhaps, but that wasn't exactly against regulations either. With backup lifesupport being arranged, they had taken care of another potentiality. Runners sent to roam the halls and find the few holographic "victims" to a sudden deceleration that inertial dampners could only partially compensate for due to the intermittement power failures. No confusing a quantum filament with a cosmic string and, as the humans said, going down a rabbit hole looking for telepathic crew people who wouldn't be effected any differently than anyone else by this phenomena. Calm, organized, efficient. Another, "Hmm," this one sounding ever so slightly, a tiny bit, approving. Srivas lowered his PADD and watched, judgingly, from his spot as the simulation reached the final stages.
Martin directed a nod and approving smile toward Hakune. The solution was unconventional, but effective. If he weren't her CO, he'd buy her drink ...if her species imbibed. He made mental note to set some time aside to look up on more than the barebones outline he'd gotten on her people.
But the thought was quickly pushed aside as the doors opened again, with the team that had gone to deck 6 helping a baker's dozen of
affected crew into medbay. Most looked more shaken than hurt - a smudge here, a torn uniform there - though cuts and bruises that would need to be assessed, but two being physically supported had clear lower limb injuries. One wore a temp walking cast, and from gait he guessed a metatarsal break, and the other looked to be a knee injury. He was about to head for that one when Dr. Tedeki motioned him toward a man with his arm in a sling and an abashed expression that seemed out of place for the scenario. A glance at his medscanner quickly showed why. "You're not a hologram."
"I forgot there was a drill until I heard the alert. Tried to get out up a ladder, but just as I grabbed it to swing on..." he looked miserably at his shoulder.
"The deck shook," Martin guessed. He could just about picture how that had gone. "That explains the rotor cuff injury. I'm afraid I can't do more than stabilize it while we're in an emergency, but as soon as the drill is over," he threw a meaningful look at Srivas, "we'll get you into surgery and repair the torn ligaments."
Overhearing the need for surgery, Srivas called out, "Computer, end simulation." Instantly, the power was restored, lights came back up to standard illumination, and systems were once again active. It was, of course, only proper procedure to ensure that with a true medical need that a drill was not the priority. The safety and health of the crew, took precedence. He keyed in a final score - for the Vulcan, no one was perfect, not even himself, and there was always room for improvement, yet he did give them high marks. Commander Sorenson would get a full report and breakdown at a later time. Quietly, and without any ceremony, no 'thank you' or 'by your leave' or any such pointless niceties, the boatswain's long legs carried him out of the room.
With an appreciative nod toward the Vulcan - or his back, since he was on his way out already, Martin turned his attention to the injured crewman. "Prep him for surgery," he told the nearest nurse, pausing on his way to the OR only to say. "Everyone, thank you, you did well, but back to work. We'll celebrate later."
