“What the actual…”, glared Doctor Nichelle Trova at Sydin, who had just made her way from the bridge to sickbay in order to update the CMO in the latest discovery and the Captain’s decision to send her to the Cardassian vessel for medical aid. Nichelle certainly wasn’t a fan of the Captain as it was, finding her decisions and leadership capabilities questionable at best. But this? This was outright cruel. 

“I know.”, sighed Sydin, and shook her head. “I don’t know what she was thinking. I tried to reason with her, but she insisted on sending you. Are you… okay?” 

“Okay?!”, hissed Nichelle, struggling to keep her voice down. “I am absolutely not okay!”

She had grown up during the last years of the Cardassian Occupation, and while her parents in many ways had protected her from witnessing the horrors it had brought upon Bajor, Nichelle wasn’t blind, and she wasn’t stupid. She had learned her first medical skills from her mother and father, who weren’t doctors, but physicians out of necessity. Most, if not all, of the injuries she had helped them treat at a very young age, were results of Cardassian brutality. 

“I understand.”, said Sydin softly, and placed a hand on the other officer’s shoulder. “I can talk to the Captain, but she seemed pretty set on sending you. I think the best thing you can do is assemble a team of people you trust, and who will have your back.” 

“Which will do oh so much.”, scoffed Nichelle. “Besides, I don’t need a protection detail. It’s more likely the Cardassians will need one.” 

“That’s the spirit.”, smirked the other woman, and paused. Then, slowly and carefully, she added. “I think Seta would probably feel the same way as you, wouldn’t she?” 

Nichelle considered this. Seta Jinean , too, was Bajoran, though she was a tad younger than she was, and from what Nichelle had leaned about the woman’s past, the horrors of the Occupation never really came up. Seta had other demons to deal with. Still, she was fairly sure that the Counsellor would understand how vile it was to send a Bajoran onto a Cardassian vessel, especially without consulting her first. 

“I would say so.”, she hesitated. Somehow this line of questioning didn’t sit right with her. “Why are you asking?”

“Oh, just wondering.”, replied Sydin with a dismissive wave of her hand. “I need to return to the bridge, but I will keep an eye out for you. I promise.” 

“Thanks….”, sighed Nichelle, not sure what to make of this.

It wasn’t until Sydin had left sickbay, that Nichelle wondered what the woman’s intentions really were. A few hours ago she had essentially tried to start a mutiny. Now she was relaying the Captain’s decisions and had earned herself a spot on the bridge. 

Nichelle didn’t like Captain Nassar and didn’t trust the woman’s competence, but when it came to Sydin, she didn’t trust her character. Which was infinitely worse. Competence could be attained. A rotten soul, however… 

She sighed. No point in wondering about that when she had actual problems to attend to. She knew her sickbay’s staff well, but when it came to how the felt about Cardassians and how they would operate under the pressure of being stuck on a Cardassian vessel, wasn’t something she usually thought about. Chances were that no one was particularly thrilled to go there. 

“Uh.”, she said, not getting out much more than that until she gathered her thoughts. “Ensign Scarlean, I need a team of five, including yourself. We are headed towards the Cardassian vessel.”

Jean Scarlean, a human female, nodded, and to Nichelle’s relief didn’t seem terribly bothered about it. 

“Meet me in transporter room two in five minutes.”

“Will do. Do you have any preference as to who you want on the team?”, asked the young woman. Nichelle shook her head. “I trust your judgement, and if you see someone being apprehensive, choose someone else. I am not going to force anyone to do this.”

“… Well you did pick me…”, said Scarlean with the slightest bit of irony in her voice, and that tone gave Nichelle pause. Despite her no-nonsense demeanour, she did enjoy a healthy dosage of sarcasm and cynicism, and she did like people not being shy to voice their opinions. Especially in a medial context, staying quiet about potential issues in an attempt to not hurt anyone’s feelings, could get people killed. 

“And I was picked by the Captain. Let’s not continue that down the chain of command.”, Nichelle said, allowing herself a smirk that, somehow, took the edge off.