The color yellow

Posted on Sat Feb 29th, 2020 @ 5:26pm by Lieutenant Commander James Trallos MD & Chief Petty Officer "Chief" Alpha I CSH

Mission: Discovery
Location: Deck 10 - medical
Timeline: February 2394 1030

Sickbay was silent. Nobody in their right mind would ever say those words as medical personnel are a little superstitious about saying the words "silent" or "quiet" or "slow" when things are in fact such, for fear of cursing them and things speed up to a chaotic pace. While no one would ever admit that it was slow, it was indeed that. It had been that way for the better part of a month. Some bumps and bruises, a broken nose from a sparring accident, a handful of minor injuries from the holodeck but nothing of any concern or significance that couldn't be fixed in just a matter of moments.

The doctor had taken this opportunity to get his staff either better trained or more up-to-date. In sick Bay, a couple technicians could be found studying various texts as they learned and studied for additional certifications. Lounging on a biobed was a nurse reading up on cardiovascular therapy and another nurse beside her reading up on the latest respiratory therapist recommendations. James was glad that is staff was excited to take that opportunity to further their training and education.

James himself was in his office doing his own homework. He had read as many documents on life in the Delta quadrant as he possibly could and was reading over various encounters. While not all of these encounters we're from the crew of the Voyager, most of them did however come from there and most of the detailed records came from the doctor. James was fascinated by the records of the different diseases, anatomy and temperaments that various races had.

Just as James found an interesting read, a chime sounded from the computer speakers and the wall lights began to blink a bright yellow. The ship just went to alert status. "Break time's over. Come on everybody, snap to it. Let's do this like we're professionals." James yelled out of his office as he stood up and grabbed his lab coat and slung it on exiting the office. He looked about the sick Bay and saw his technicians and nurses activating biobeds, checking supplies and double-checking the surgical suite. James tap the few buttons and brought the ICU Chambers online and activated all the resources on Deck 10 ready for whatever emergency may crop up.

James then walked over and stood with his staff against a couple bio beds and waited for a potential Rush of patients. They waited but heard no calls on the intercom and nobody had brought anybody injured in. There was alert status but were unsure why. They talked for a few more minutes and nothing happened but they stayed at alert status. They discussed trying to figure out what was going on but James did not want to bother the bridge in case they were the ones that set the condition to alert and they needed their full concentration.

"Hey, I've got an idea though." James said. "Computer, activate a copy of the Chief, Medical ready."

After detecting the call for assistance, Chief materialised himself in the middle of sickbay. Gone was his usual crimson coloured uniform, this time replaced by the same blue-teal uniform that the medical staff wore, he even came complete with a lab coat which matches Dr Trallos'. A few nano-seconds after appearing, Chief noticed that all eyes were on him, he studied those around him and saw the same look of anticipation and readiness, the look of highly trained Starfleet personnel just waiting to spring into action.

Chief looked towards the man that summoned him, the man in charge of the people assembled in the room "What can I do for you Doctor Trallos'?" He enquired in a polite tone.

"Hi Chief, do you know what this alert I'd about? I didn't want to bother the bridge incase they set the alert and needed to focus. I figured you might have a little extra processing power to give us the scoop." James asked for his curious staff and himself.

Chief chuckled slightly, this medical emergency could only be treated with knowledge and gossip. "We have encountered an unknown vessel on long range sensors, it is presenting some unusual sensor readings and Captain Kamar is just being a little cautious. After all, the Delta Quadrant is still largely unknown to us and it may have changed since Voyager's trip through the region." Chief pointed to a bank of unused monitors on the far wall "If you'd like, I can tie in the main view screen and you can watch for yourself"

The hologram paused for a moment, staring off into space as if he was making contact with a far away entity. "We are being hailed by the unknown vessel"

"That would be great Chief, thanks. Any one of the monitors will work. Knowledge is power and if we know we have casualties incoming and what caused them, it might give us the chance to be ready and save lives." James said and looked a little sheepish. "And with that aside, curiosity is also a factor and we're thankful you can help alleviate that."

Chief walked over to one of the free consoles and started keying in a few commands that would access the bridge's systems "So far the other vessel hasn't given any indication of being hostile, but it is always good to be prepared. Besides, the lower decks are often left blind during these events, it's good to be able to keep you all involved."

As Chief spoke, the monitor on the wall switched over to a dual display. On the left side was the security feed from the bridge, it provided a wide angle shot that encompassed the majority of the space, it even showed a duplicate version of Chief working at the Science console. The right hand side of the monitor showed a direct input from the main view screen, including the curious new race that was currently talking to Captain Kamar.

"There you are, you may not have front row seats but at least you can see what is going on now" chief added with a small smile

"Thanks Chief. It's nice to not be on pins and needles for who knows how long. Burns the mind out and when something does happen, we're trying to get sharp again." The doctor stated and shook the Chiefs hand. The Chief was also thanked by the whole staff who then turned their attention to the monitors.

"I appreciate having you around Chief. Glad you can be in two places at once."

"That's ok Doctor, one of the perks of being a hologram. At least you all know that we shouldn't be expecting any issues, so far the new comers seem friendly enough" Chief said warmly. As the medical team could see, initial contact seemed to be going quite well "They do have an interesting society, from current observations, it seems that these creatures value the rule of two. My preliminary scans show a double of every, I had thought there was some form of error with the sensors. However, after hailing the vessel and seeing it's crew, I do not believe that there are any errors." He added in a thoughtful tone, Chief was currently comparing the data he was gathering on the bridge with all previously encountered species "What do you make of them so far Doctor?"

"Well Chief, you are probably a step ahead of me. Based on visuals though, they must have some level of telepathic ability the way they keep reading sentences off and on. We're far enough out and this seems crazy enough that maybe they even share the same thought process on some kind of quantum level. Those robots they have there. Have they done anything other then stand there?" James asked looking intently. His staff was doing the same and making mental notes as well. James always found new species fascinating, although first contact is probably not the time to ask for their anatomy files.

Chief regarded the figures in question "So far based upon visual observation, I have not detected any movement or indication of activity from them. However, they may function via encrypted signals or ultra-low frequency sub-space signals. The configuration of the Dalakari vessel is making it difficult to get clear signals" Chief added, with a very slight hint of frustration creeping into his voice "Currently, I am dedicating 5% of my total processing power just to figure out a way we can reconfigure our sensors to get a clearer reading from that vessel. While 5% may not seem like a large number to some, I assure you that it is a significant investment for a hologram" he added with a sideward glance towards Trallos

"I can believe that if you are in your own dedicated core. It's amazing how much computing these cores are capable of and way outside my zone of practice." James replied and looked back at the screen. "Strange." James said looking closer at the stationary robots. "I wonder what their anatomy represents. I'm curious even to their power core. Some new battery or something? And this new race, they don't even seem to look at each other when trading sentences. Seemless, like they are one biological person."

"I was confused there Doctor, I had wondered whether I had accidentally came to engineering instead of sickbay" Chief looked at Trallos with a smile, he had recently updated his humour subroutines and was eager to try them out "Though, I suppose that medicine is just biological engineering, we are all machines of some kind" he added thoughtfully. "I was also wondering the same thing Doctor, our sensors have only been able to give limited readings of the vessel and the inhabitants. My current hypothesis is that the Dalakari share some form of telepathic connection which allows them to function as one. If this is the case, it would be interesting to study just how far that connection extends. Are they only able to communicate together or do they feel as one? Do they have individual thoughts or is it a collective goal? These are all questions in which I would like to answer, in time"

James smirked. "I pay attention to the engineering reports during staff meetings off and on. You are right though, biological creatures are highly complex systems working perfectly together, much like the Pennsylvania." He paused for a moment. "I love first, or firstish contact with a new species. It's always fascinating and thrilling, at least from the sciences perspective."

Chief nodded, he had access to thousands of reports made by Starfleet members on the topic of First Contact, they all mostly shared the same sense of wonderment "While I cannot fully feel the same excitement, I do understand it. Every first contact provides us a unique chance to learn new cultures and ideas. As a hologram that is based upon learning and growing, this situation is fascinating for me." Turning slightly, Chief faced the Doctor full on "First contact situations are one of the only times I can feel true uncertainty, while I can pull past reports to look at, no situation is the same. I have no data to work on, to form hypotheses with, I cannot form 'Leaps-of-faith' or follow my 'Gut' instincts as you can. I simply do not know, and that's exhilarating"

James put his hand on the holograms shoulder. "And that my friend is what everyone on the ship is feeling. That is essentially an emotion and we all are feeling it. I believe we will get more information this soon though. I appreciate your help getting us some information Chief. Nice not to be blind during an alert."


Chief gave the Doctor a small, polite nod "Glad to be of service Doctor, after all, that is my purpose. To be a Support hologram, helping wherever I am needed. It is my hope that I will be able to succeed in that pursuit and that Holograms such as myself are more widely used in the Federation" He replied with humility, after all, he wasn't programmed to have a desire to feed his ego

"Well, I think you've been very useful and will be useful. However, and don't take this personally Chief, I hope it's other departments that get to use you to your full potential and not medical." James said and smiled. "If we do though, I believe we will be in good hands."

"Don't worry Doctor, I don't take much personally, I'm not programmed to" Chief said with a wink "Now, if there is nothing else, I'll leave you and your fine team to work?" He asked, sensing that his work here was done

"Thanks Chief. You did good. Now we at least have an idea of what is going on and if the situation changes, what we can expect." James said with a grateful smile.

"Any time Doctor, if you need me again, just call" Chief said with a warm smile. Now that his work was done, Chief deactivated his avatar down in the medical bay, leaving Doctor Trallos and his staff to work.

Lieutenant JG James Trallos MD
Chief Medical Officer
USS Pennsylvania

CPO "Chief" Alpha I CSH
Chief of the Boat
USS Pennsylvania