Glitches in Sickbay

Posted on 30 Oct 2025 @ 11:02pm by Lieutenant JG Thalla zh'Ennev MD & Chief Warrant Officer Rommie Rath RN

837 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Shakedown
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: Current

The soles of her boots squeaked slightly as Thalla navigated the corridors of this brand-new incarnation of the Cygnus. Unlike most of her colleagues, she would have no trouble locating Sickbay, even though the computer's locator module wouldn't be installed until Tuesday. All Starfleet vessels designed around a saucer section had one thing in common - Sickbay was always located right in the center of the saucer, the most secure location there was, the one farthest away from the outer hull. The Cygnus's saucer section had 27 decks, so Sickbay would be located on Deck 14.

She stood at the doors to Sickbay and took a deep breath, her antennae twitching in expectation. The facilities on Starbase 375 had been impressive, compared to the old Cygnus's Sickbay, but even those were getting a bit old. Now she expected the new Cygnus's facilities to be state of the art, bleeding-edge technology. And certainly no carpet that would require histamine blockers for a quarter of the crew.

She pressed the controls by the side of the doors, and watched them part with a sigh. They revealed exactly what Thalla had expected. A pristine environment, sleek biobeds lined up against the far wall, with diagnostic monitors mounted alongside. Three hubs of six biobeds were visible, and there was little doubt in Thalla's mind that there were more hubs farther down the corridor.

To her far left, a corridor led to the medical staff's offices, where the Chief Medical Officer's office was located, along with private offices for the ship's Counselor, staff lounge, and exam rooms where patient and doctor could meet in private. To her far right, another corridor led to the dispensory, the medical labs, and the surgical suites.

She took a step into the room and was continuing her visual inspection when the air shimmered before her and a human form appeared.

"Please state the nature of the medical emergency," the horrid thing said.

"I did not call for you," replied Thalla, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Then you may turn me off," replied the rotund Emergency Medical Hologram.

"Computer, deactivate Emergency Medical Hologram," she instructed.

The computer chirped. "The Emergency Medical Hologram is not active," it said.

Thalla's antennae bent backwards in frustration and she let out an Andorian curse word under her breath.

"It keeps turning itself on and off," came a voice from the corridor to her right. She turned and saw Nurse Rath coming out of the dispensory, carrying a data PaDD. "I've been taking inventory, and it keeps popping up every ten minutes asking what's the emergency." The Tellarite blew a sigh, her lips quivering next to her tusks. As if hearing her protests, the EMH vanished.

"Did you make a note of it?"

"Of course," replied the Tellarite nurse brusquely. Orders were clear on that. Any and every bug they found in the new system was to be catalogued and reported.

Thalla nodded her head in the direction of the dispensory. "How's it going in there?"

"I'm only halfway through," explained Rath. "Quantities of several medications are off from norms."

"Let's take a look," said Thalla, waving for Rath to lead the way.

"We don't have the recommended minimum quantities of eighteen specific medications," began Rath, listing the drugs that were required to be available - in case of an emergency, these were too time-consuming to replicate, and had to be prepared in advance. "I was just finishing up the list before moving on to the equipment."

"Make a note of the missing medication," said Thalla, "I'm sure Doctor Ravi will want to include that in her report to the First Officer."

"Of course!" replied Rath, her tone slightly offended - or otherwise perfectly neutral for a Tellarite.

"Please state the nature of the medical emergency."

The EMH appeared once again next to them.

"Computer, disable the Emergency Medical Hologram," ordered Thalla.

"The Emergency Medical Hologram is not active," replied the computer.

"How rude," complained the EMH.

Thalla didn't dare ask if it was referring to her command to deactivate the thing, or to the computer's claim that it was inactive.

Rath rolled her eyes, and turned back toward the equipment cabinet. She pressed a control on the front of the drawer, and it slid open with a soft brushing noise.

Inside the drawer, compartments were built-in for eight medical tricorders, but only six were present.

Thalla's antennae sagged in frustration. She traded looks with Rath, who made a note on her PaDD without being asked.

Once again, the EMH shimmered out of existence. Thalla paid it no mind, which was probably more than it deserved.

Rath pushed the first drawer shut, and pressed the button to open the second one.

And nothing happened.

Rath pressed again. And nothing happened. With a sigh, Rath made another note in her PaDD.

"Please state the nature of the medical emergency."

Rath hurled the PaDD through the hologram.

-------

A post by

Lt JG Thalla zh'Ennev
Medical Officer, USS Cygnus

And

Nurse Rommie Rath
USS Cygnus

 

RSS Feed

Comments (1)