Fontana had managed to work on the bridge shift schedules with the help of his yeoman. He was making his way through the roster of his command team, getting familiar with the dossiers before he had to start meeting them. It wasn’t that he was out of practice; it was that he hadn’t practiced lately.  He handed the CONN to the next senior officer on the bridge and went to the turbolift, his destination sickbay.

Alcyone Brennan was excited. The approval of her transfer request had come weeks after she had applied for the position of Chief Medical Officer, and when no response had come, she had been worried that she wasn’t even worth a reply. Which, so her friends had assured her, was nonsense. Brennan had still kept her expectations low, which made for all the more joy when her request was accepted. Her arrival on the Valkyrie had been far from ideal – there was barely any time to get up-to-date with their current mission, and even less time to familiarise herself with sickbay. But then, those were circumstances she had already gotten used to. After all, it was never ideal when someone needed medical assistance, and a doctor’s job required quick thinking and the ability to adjust to new situations in the blink of an eye. So she was trying to make the best out of the situation, and now took the time to acquaint herself with the doctors and nurses she would be working with, making sure to draw on their experience as much as supporting them in their goals and with their current challenges. 

There was only one thing she hadn’t managed thus far – actually introducing herself to the new Captain. He, too, had arrived in the same (somewhat messy) circumstances, and their schedules hadn’t aligned until now. Brennan let her ACMO know that she would be gone, but available via comms if anything needed her immediate attention, and headed to the door – just to have it hiss open, and reveal Captain Fontana.

He met the surprised look of his Chief Medical Officer, “Commander Brennan – I was coming to see you.  Can we talk in your office?”

“Of course.”, Brennan said, and turned. Under the watchful gaze of the individuals she had joked with just a few moments ago, she led the Captain through sickbay and into her office. An office which she very clearly didn’t have the chance to decorate yet. Or perhaps she simply liked to keep her work environment as impersonal as possible. 

Probably the former. 

He followed her and accepted the offered seat, “We don’t have a lot of time, and I wanted to put a name to a face at least before we find ourselves in the middle of…whatever this ends up being.  Given your record, I’m glad to have you onboard.  Do you need anything here in Sickbay?”

“Not from what I could see at the moment.”, she said quietly, then reminded herself that she was CMO here, and that a little more confidence was appropriate. “Is there anything you know of that I should pay extra attention to? I think we’ve been arranging quite well so far. And I’m happy to be here, Lieutenant Sh’shiquil was saying she would show me the ship if time permits it. Then again, I am guessing you haven’t seen terribly much of it either?”, Brennan asked. She had been reading his service record, and she had countless of questions – though since they were about things that didn’t really matter right now, she kept them to herself. 

Fontana made some notes on his PADD, “We’re talking into a fragile peace, and you know as well as I do what happens to fragile things.  We will need to be ready to respond medically to any aggressive developments on either side.  They will be side-eyeing us the moment we show up, and I’d rather give a show of good faith and good actions to keep their faith in us at a stable balance.”  He noted, “I’ve got a list of auxiliary medical officers they’ve assigned us in other departments.  Don’t hesitate to pull them.”  He closed the PADD down, “Any questions I can answer?”

Well that was certainly to the point, and in line with I don’t have much time. “Is there either plan to collaborate with either side?”, she asked, frowning as she tried to wrap her head around what such collaboration would look like. But, medically speaking, it would be valuable. There were cultural and genetic intricacies they had no chance of honouring sufficiently without help. Over the course of her career, that had been a problem more than once and one she would like to avoid now that she had the power to do so.  

“That makes sense.”, she agreed. “I would want to avoid the impression that we are taking sides – from a medical point of view. I’ve learned that small errors can be easily misinterpreted, even if the patient outcome is positive.”  

Fontana stood, “I’ve found in my career that medical is the great equalizer if we do it well.  It’s a delicate path to walk.  I’m envious of you, in some ways.  I never got to be a doctor on a ship like this.”

Alcyone, too, stood and inclined her head. “I will make sure to keep a spot open for you when you desire a break from your centre-chair.”

Geronimo smiled a quiet and sly smile, “Don’t tempt me, Doctor Brennan,”