The shuttle slid into the shuttle bay, and Lieutenant Sienna Frisco picked up her bag, annoyed.  She’d been pulled away from the Valkyrie and her position as Chief Medical Officer.  Now, she’d received an urgent transfer order from Captain Geronimo Fontana asking her to become an executive officer on the Sovereign class starship.  Sienna fought the urge to stomp off the shuttle and into the bay.  It took a few minutes to get checked in, but the dock officer glanced at her orders on her PADD and then stared at his console.

“Lieutenant, you’ve been assigned quarters. I’ve transferred the location to your device.  Welcome back aboard the Valkryie.”

She caught a panicked look on his face but decided to let it go. She was late as it was, and she hated having to catch up from where she should have started. She followed the map and eventually entered the Executive Officer’s quarters. She wondered why Fontana had sent such a furtive and terse message, but she’d grown used to that quality in the man. “Computer, please locate Captain Geronimo Fontana.”

Captain Fontana is not aboard.

Sienna felt her heart speed up, “Computer, where is Captain Geronimo Fontana?”

Captain Fontana is currently on assignment at Starfleet Command.

She grumbled, “You gotta be kidding me.”  Sienna glanced around the room, wondering what kind of adventure Fontana had gotten her into now.

A nervous voice interrupted her thoughts, “Sickbay to Lieutenant Frisco; your assistance is needed.”  She responded that she would be there shortly and closed the channel.  Why would they need the XO in sickbay?  Especially as they were working on a changeover in command and crew.  She walked out of her quarters, a million questions swarming.

“Lieutenant Frisco, thank you for coming. Nurse Harley. We’ve got a patient presenting with an allergic reaction to an unknown substance. The reaction is under control with antihistamines, but only so. We’re not quite sure what is happening.”

Frisco accepted the PADD. “Have you run the allergen testing systems?” she read the reports as the nervous nurse and orderlies looked at her expectantly. “And where is our Chief Medical Officer?” The blank look on the nurse’s face confused Sienna at first and then concerned her.  Her lack of a response after staring at her shifted her into worry.  “Nurse Harley?”

“It’s you, ma’am.  You’re our Chief Medical Officer.”

Sienna blinked several times, “I’m…”  The words were there, but she was having trouble forming them.  She glanced around sickbay, amused and alarmed.  “I’m the Chief Medical Officer?  How?” was the only way she could express her growing flabbergasted status.

“We…uh…they haven’t managed to find someone willing to serve in the position.  We’ve only just been informed of your additional responsibility, if that helps?”

The newly informed Chief Medical Officer grumbled, “No, it does not help, ensign.  I will kill Captain Fontana the next chance I get…and since he’s off galavanting for Starfleet Command, it will have to wait. We should probably work on diagnosing the patient.”  She turned her attention to the biobed, “Allergy panel?”

“Clear.  Nothing of note, Doctor Frisco.”

Sienna walked over to the bedside, “What is his genetic makeup?”

Ensign Harley tapped at the console at the bedside, “Human.”  She clicked her tongue as the readings shifted, “Mostly.”

“Mostly?”

“There’s some…additional genetic readings we missed.”

Sienna replied, “Then let’s find out the missing pieces – that will help clear up this allergy mystery.  What’s our medical staff status?”

“We have three general medicine doctors, two trauma surgeons, and one triage team.”

She closed her eyes as she centered herself into the mode of a department head.  She opened her eyes and ordered, “Wake ‘em up and get them all down here.  We’ve got a sickbay to get in order and not much time.  Someone find me a uniform with the proper colors?  You – Ensign…Marsa.  Get every version of the duty roster you can find.  Let’s get to work, people.”