A check up... of sorts Part 1

Posted on Thu Oct 31st, 2019 @ 3:46pm by Chief Petty Officer "Chief" Alpha I CSH & Lieutenant Commander James Trallos MD
Edited on on Thu Oct 31st, 2019 @ 11:52pm

Mission: Delta Operations
Location: Sick bay
Timeline: 1600

Sitting in the virtual space of the main computer, Chief was going through some of the service records of the crew, trying to get a better understanding of his new colleagues by seeing who they are and where they have come from. It was a task that didn't take much time, having instant access to the data certainly helped, but Chief did notice a small issue.

That issue involved the Pennsylvania's Chief Medical Officer, Lieutenant Trallos. It seemed that the Doctor was overdue for a medical exam and it had not been noticed by anyone yet. Chief surmised that the small overlook was due to the short notice the Doctor had arrived, and then the incident with the Hirogen. Small details such as these get lost during the chaos of life.

Chief could have flagged the issue for follow up by the medical personnel, but he did not want to cause an problem for anyone. Besides, he had yet to interact with the Doctor, other than the small ceremony that Captain Kamar held recently, to remember those that had recently died and also to promote two members of the crew.

With this in mind, Chief spawned an avatar of himself just outside of Sickbay and then walked through the doors. The room beyond was large and open, packed with the latest medical technology that the ship would need. Chief saw a few staff working on various tasks, cleaning equipment or restocking supplies, but otherwise the room was quiet. No doubt a good thing for everyone.

Walking further into the room, Chief spotted Lieutenant Trallos working in his private office, no doubt updating patient records or reading up on the latest medical news. Chief headed up to Trallos's office and lightly knocked on the open door frame "Doctor, can I borrow a moment of your time?" He asked politely.

James looked up. He noticed it was the hologram that went by Chief. He was more then a little surprised to see him. "Of course Chief. Come on in and have a seat if you'd like. What brings you to my office? I'm afraid if you've developed a bug or virus my ability to help treat you may be limited but I'll help where I can."

Offering a small smile, Chief sat down in one of the chairs in front of Trallos "No, I am completely virus free as of my last self diagnostic. Actually, I'm here because of you" he leaned back in the chair and rested one leg on-top of the other knee, attempting to give a relaxed air to the meeting "I was reviewing all the service records for the crew, I noticed something odd when I looked at yours"

"Odd? In what way? The only odd thing about my record that I'm aware of is that there isn't anything odd there." James commented as he set one of his PADDs down and saved some work on his terminal to give the Chief his attention.

"Perhaps odd may have been the wrong word to use, missing is probably the better choice" Chief said "It seems that you are missing out on your latest physical exam Doctor. I imagine since you've been a little busy since you arrived, it may have slipped your mind" he offered James a sympathetic smile, knowing what the man and his staff had to look after those that survived the Hirogen ship. "I didn't want to flag the issue, you've had enough to deal with of late. Instead, I'm here to offer my help, if needed of course'

"Ah, that." James sighed. "Yes, getting pushed back seems to be the montra as of late. I was supposed to get my checkup at Starbase 11, but a medical emergency from a Ferangi freighter made me miss the Starbase entirely. Add in doing most of the crew and then the Hirogen incident, I admit that it slipped from my mind entirely now. You'll have to forgive me for asking, but what medical help are you able to provide? What medical ability are you capable of? Since your a secret program, and not a flesh being, I have no access to your file." James asked, replicating a strong coffee.

"Would you like...oh that's right. Nevermind. I guess there is not much I can offer by way of hospitality for you."

"No there isn't much I need, but thanks for the offer all the same" Chief said with a smile, it was gratifying to know that people were treating him normally "My program was built with support in mind, it was also heavily built on the EMH system. When needed, I can activate that part of my program and become a fully functional Doctor. I also have similar subroutines for Security and Engineering, I can fulfill any role that is needed simply put" he said with a matter-of-fact tone, being a Hologram he was not subject to narcissism or self boasting

James sat back down and sipped on his coffee in thought for a moment. "How about your projections? Is the whole ship hologram ready or are you only able to be physically in Engineering, the bridge and Medical?" James had his mind racing. He thought it very odd a ship of this size would only have a single doctor assigned to it. Normally there were a minimum of two. Would make sense why he was the only flesh and blood doctor onboard. The other doctor was "on-call" it seemed.

"I can access most parts of the ship, more holoprojectors were installednduring the last refit. There are some places I can't access, such as the computer core or Jeffries tubes and access ways, but otherwise I'm completely mobile" Chief answered with a smile "These days Holograms are becoming more and more accepted, I am the next leap in that progression, you could say I'm pioneering the Holographic frontier" he added with a slight chuckle

"Well, when they short staff your department, you get accepting in a hurry. I don't really care who or what staffs my department as long as they're competent. We deal with people's lives here. Other departments can make a mistake and have a chance to recover from it. We make a mistake and someone dies." James looked at the hologram seriously. "How close to a full EMH are you?"

Accepting the hidden challenge, Chief changed the colour of his collar to match that of the Medical staff, a deep teal colour. He stood up from the chair, backed away a little bit and then activated 4 more copies of himself. In tandem, they all said "Please state the nature of the medical emergency"

"So complete medical approval, including surgery?" James asked.

The central Hologram in the line nodded "Yes, as I said, my core programming was based upon the EMH. I have access to the same knowledge and database that they have access to." The other Holograms faded out until the middle one remained, Chief sat back down in the chair in front of Trallos "Though I haven't had any field experience, my program was extensively tested prior to deployment of course. My databases get updated regularly to ensure I'm on top form and aware of any new medical developments"

James nodded. "That sounds fine. In the event of a mass casualty incident, I would like you to run triage in the cargo bays. You can go between staging areas much faster then I or a nurse could and still make the same judgement calls." James thought for another moment.

"I'd also like you to be in my weekly staff meetings. In case I am ever incapacitated, or my usual staff is, I'd like you to be aware of what is going on, where we are at in patient care, and how the normal flow of things are here so you can integrate seamlessly. If you are in the staff meetings, I hope that the staff will feel comfortable calling you in ad a Dr. If I am unavailable. What do you think?"


Chief nodded, the meeting had turned out different than expected, but he was happy to help when possible "Sounds good to me Doctor, I am available 24/7, whenever you need me. Besides, the more we work together, the more the crew will accept me"

"Then it sounds like things will work well. I do have one last question before I'm ready to commit to my initial plan. I don't want to be making assumptions, but do you have emotions or the ability to turn off your emotions?" James asked seriously.

"I do have emotional sub-routines yes, they were designed to make me appear more real. That being said I don't feel the same way you, or any other biological being would. Part of my programming is being able to assess any situation subjectivity, detached from emotions but still Beit able to understand the emotional impact of said situation" chief reflected thoughtfully, it was difficult to explain exactly how emotions impacted him, as he had no other experience to base them off "I hope that answers your question, or at least gives you an understanding. It's difficult to convey that part of my design" he added with a sympathetic smile

James laughed some. "In a way it did yes. I will be specific and you can give me an honest answer. In a critical situation, like the one I described, being triage can be emotionally devastating. It is hard having people cry out for you to save their loved one, child, friend or spouse and knowing that if this was a different situation, you could save them, but because of mass injuries, they would not be able to be saved and you had to tag them as such so the resources could be used to save more people. Having been through all of this before, I know that position has a high emotional cost with it."

He paused for a moment and then sighed. "It is not something I would suggest lightly to anyone. I believed that you being a program would not have emotions. I only know enough about your program that you are a learner and are...'new' if you will and still young in your learning stages. I want to know for sure, that you do not feel anything or can disable that portion of program in that event. If you cannot, I will run triage and have you in sickbay. I would not send any of my biological staff into that situation and carry that burden and I will not ask you if you can feel that way. I just want to be absolutely sure first." James said. He did not bother to try and hide the concern and shadows on his face. He figured the Chief could read subtle queues anyway. He had paid that cost before, and it was steep. He would pay that cost twice before making another being, organic or otherwise face that burden.


"I appreciate your concern Doctor, it's heartening to see that you care about my welfare as much as you would with a biological crew member" Chief offered the man a warm smile, truely appreciating the man's concerns "As I said, I have been through several training scenarios prior to my deployment here. Some of those scenarios included triage and mass casualties, they were based on actual events during the Dominion war and the Tezwa conflict, both of which were truly horrific events" Chief paused for a few moments, using the brief seconds to rapidly replay his memory files on those training days, he continued in a softer voice "I won't deny that they didn't have some impact on me, the loss of life is never a pleasurable event, but I was able to complete the training with no lasting issues. I assure you Doctor, I am fully capible to assist you and your team as needed"

James paused and nodded after a moment and began to smile again. "Ok Chief, you sold me. I'll take your word for that. We may as well begin your practice. I do believe you came here to remind me that I'm do for my physical. I'll be your first patient on the Pennsy and our staff meetings are on Fridays at 0800." James said as he stood up. Then paused.

"Oh, Chief, if your going to be taking doctor duties, your going to need to manifest yourself a lab coat ontop of that blue uniform you've got there. Need to be easily recognizable as a physician."


"That shouldn't be too difficult to do." As Chief stood up, a light teal lab coat appeared over the top of his standard uniform. The fully tailored coat was clean and crisp, there were several large pockets ready to hold various medical tools. Chief held out his arm, indicating the exit with a smile "Shall we get started Doctor?" He asked with a friendly smile.

[End of part 1]