A pause in preparations

Posted on Wed Apr 1st, 2026 @ 8:55pm by Lieutenant Commander Oscar McDonald MD & Lieutenant Chloe O'Connor MD & Sia Ishanni

1,391 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Forgotten Wounds
Location: Medical Bay

“Hello?”

Having safely avoided the somewhat chaotic scenes of crewmen ferrying supplies from the Medical Department to who knew where, Sia Ishanni was not sure what to expect when she stepped through the doors which led to the main medical bay. Certainly it was not this…

Crates were stacked on either side, the labels colour coded and a display listed the contents as well as a seemingly random combination of letters and numbers. In reality this last item of data was crucial, conveying the ultimate destination when the bay was ready to be converted into a triage facility. A decision based on careful planning and many revisions.

What seemed immediately lacking, to the woman’s eyes, were people. She had passed many on her way here but on first glance she saw no signs of life.

At least not at first.

Appearing from somewhere, she heard the young woman before she saw her. Emerging from behind a stack of crates, her uniform identifying her as one of the medical or science department staff, what struck her first was the crutches she used to move around. Which was not easy in the frankly claustrophobic surroundings.

“Can I help you?” The woman asked with a curious smile, moving to add a small bag of supplies into an open crate on one of the biobeds. As she did so she studied Sia for a moment before grinning, “you must be Sia…”

“Yes,” Sia confirmed, slightly confused. “Have we met? I’m normally very good at remembering names and faces but -“

“I’m Dr Chloe O’Connor,” the woman explained as she introduced herself.

“Chloe…” Sia frowned as she repeated the name in her head. And then it clicked. “Baby Chloe! That Chloe! Of course! Oscar told me about you but back then you were …. Well, a little one. And now here you are! Oh, he must be so proud of you!”

As she spoke she stepped forward, careful not to drop the tray of drinks and bag of food as she hugged the younger woman before stepping back. “It is so lovely to meet you. But what in the galaxy happened to you?”

Chloe glanced down at her leg, “oh, long story. Another few weeks and it should be good as new.”

“If she listens to her doctor for once,” another voice interjected. “And isn’t late for her physiotherapy.”

Back to her boss, mentor and friend, Chloe rolled her eyes in exasperation. “We are almost done, I know the system -“

“We have time to spare an hour,” he interjected. “After the current run I’ve told everyone to get some food and then we resume. So you see, the system is not going to fall apart. And I am fully capable. I helped design these protocols.”

“Of course you did,” Chloe sighed, resigned to the fact she was not winning this battle. It was his favoured argument. “Did it take a long time to carve the instructions onto the wall of the cave?”

“Actually I was quite adept at it, could outrun a dinosaur back then too,” McDonald retorted, pointing at the door, “go. And be grateful I let you do this much and don’t have you confined to quarters to rest.”

“Fine, fine,” Chloe sighed, heading towards the exit. As she passed Sia she whispered, “good luck” before leaving.

McDonald watched her go until the doors had closed in her wake, his expression almost unreadable. Sia offered a small smile, one full of understanding. “We can’t protect them from everything,” she reminded him gently before holding up her peace offering. “I guessed you would perhaps need some food and some coffee?”

Oscar’s gaze shifted to her, and then the items she carried. “Oh… right, come through,” he nodded, gesturing for her to follow as he led the way into his office. Which, thankfully was not as chaotic as the rest of the department.

“Her recovery is slow because she will not rest as much as she should,” he muttered, shaking his head as he gestured for Sia to take a seat. “But that is not why you are here.”

“No,” she admitted, unpacking two carefully packed dinners. “I may not be Starfleet but I do hear things. I know this is a dangerous situation and you will likely have your hands full before long. So I wanted to do what little things I could to help. Like making sure the Chief Medical Officer is not forgetting the little things - like eating.”

He studied her in silence, watching as his desk was transformed to a dinner table. Complete with a small yellow flower which she carefully placed to add a dash of colour. The food smelled delicious, looked mouthwatering and he decided he should just enjoy it for what it was. A meal.

With an encouraging smile she handed over his cutlery, wrapped in a yellow napkin. “It looks like most of sickbay is being moved, it’s -“

“Not my first choice,” he confided. “Dividing resources creates a risk but when we have an unknown number of casualties we have little choice. And the extra space should mean we can keep families together in most cases.”

Sia frowned, “so there are children involved?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” he confirmed as he took a bite. “It was why I agreed to stay aboard and see this one through.”

“You were planning to leave? I hope it wasn’t because of me?” Sia replied, looking concerned. “Because it was never my intention to chase you away from your career. Or your home.”

He held up a hand, “it was … unrelated… I had joined the ship at Rho’s request. And obviously….”

Reaching across the desk, Sia squeezed his hand and offered a sympathetic smile. “I heard what happened. I am truly sorry, Oscar.”

“How…?”

“I have my sources,” she grinned. “And there be a group chat. Novelty t-shirts and the like were discussed at one point.”

His paled. “You cannot be serious.”

“Of course not,” she chided him gently. “I would never wear a novelty t-shirt and you know it.”

His relief was almost palpable. Sia sighed as she leaned back. “And what about after this mission?”

“After this mission, I think we both have unfinished business on Risa,” he reminded her.

“That we do,” She said quietly. “Although is being married so bad?”

“I have a complicated relationship with the institution of marriage,” he pointed out. “And had no plans to repeat past mistakes.”

“I don’t think of us as a mistake,” she reasoned. “It was an adventure. A fun six days in the tapestry of my life. Or at least that is how I choose to remember us. Even if at the time I was not ready to leave Risa and you were not ready to leave all of this behind.”

“But now you are most definitely here,” he stated.

“Yes,” she grinned. “Indeed I am. And I am enjoying this new chapter. But as I said, I had no wish to chase you away. So if you want, if it will make a difference, I will find a new job and give you space.”

There was no doubting her sincerity. Frowning, McDonald leaned forward. “I would never ask that of you. And you will do good here. The captain wants me to stay, apparently someone at medical with a cruel sense of humour wants me to stay but …”

“You are tired,” she finished with a gentle smile. “I can see it. That same brilliance is there. But there is more than that. Look, you have a lot to do so for now, eat and we can enjoy a few moments of peace and then later if you want to talk, I am here.”

“And then you can also tell me more about Jade,” he added as he picked up his fork again.

“My favourite subject,” Sia smiled, “and greatest achievement. I saw you doing the math the other day…. Disappointed?”

“No,” he said slowly, “if I am bad as a husband, I’m worse as a father.”

“Now that is not true,” she countered. “Now eat while I tell you some of the strange stories I’ve heard since I came aboard. Which reminds me, who or what is The Gary?”


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