Baselines

Posted on 10 Sep 2026 @ 1:02pm by Lieutenant Arel Vey & Commander Catherine Herrington, MD

2,215 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: The Quiet Between Pulses
Location: Sickbay, USS Balam

Arel had never particularly objected to medical examinations.

She objected to waiting for medical examinations, which was a different problem entirely. There were only so many times a person could read the same transfer orders while pretending not to notice that Sickbay was three decks closer to the classified laboratory section than her quarters were. The Balam had an irritating habit of putting interesting things just within peripheral vision.

Still, the physical had to be done. Host baseline, symbiont baseline, confirmation that Vey remained exactly where Vey was supposed to be and that neither of them had developed anything medically interesting since the last Starfleet physician had looked inside her. Joining had cured Arel of whatever modest belief she once held that a routine examination might remain routine. There was always another scan. Another comparison. Another doctor making the tiny thoughtful noise they believed patients did not notice.

This particular doctor happened to be Commander Catherine Herrington.

Chief Medical Officer and Executive Officer.

Arel had read that twice.

There were probably excellent organisational reasons for combining the positions aboard a ship as specialised and compact as the Balam. Vey's accumulated experience supplied several reasonable arguments in favour of it. Arel's contribution remained considerably simpler.

Still weird.

The Sickbay doors parted ahead of her with the soft pneumatic whisper common to Starfleet medical facilities everywhere. Inside, the lighting was brighter than the corridors outside, falling cleanly across diagnostic beds, storage alcoves and the quiet movement of personnel settling into their work. Arel entered with her medical PADD tucked beneath one arm, copper-red curls escaping around her shoulders despite the effort she had made that morning to keep them vaguely cooperative.

Her gaze travelled instinctively across the room before settling on the nearest member of the medical staff. She approached the desk and offered a small, friendly smile.

"Arel Vey. I'm here for my transfer physical." A beat passed before the corner of her mouth lifted slightly. "Apparently Commander Herrington gets the honour."

A blonde woman wearing the standard color uniform for an officer assigned to the medical department and a matching lab coat came strolling toward the trill officer at the entrance of sickbay. “I am doctor Herrington” she gave a smile and nod to the nurse that had been speaking to their guest.

Arel turned towards the voice, taking in the tall blonde woman in medical colours and lab coat. Herrington looked rather less intimidating than the combined titles of Executive Officer and Chief Medical Officer had made her sound on paper. The dark eyes were the first thing Arel really noticed, expressive enough to take some of the edge off meeting yet another senior officer on her first day.

“Doctor Herrington.” Arel returned the smile, shifting the PADD into one hand. “Hi. Arel Vey. Though I suppose you already know that bit.” Her smile crooked slightly. “I promise I’m considerably less complicated than my medical file makes me look.”

Interesting was the word that came to mind after Arel’s last statement. “Welcome aboard the Balam, Lieutenant, if no one’s taken the time to do so already.” The Commander knew the launch was being pushed faster than normal. “Right this way.” Doctor Herrington gestured toward one of the bio-beds that was closest to the two.

Doctor Herrington had only been aboard a few hours herself and hadn’t taken the time to review crew assignments or medical records. “When you say complicated,” she turned and looked at her patient as they arrived at the bio-bed “what exactly do you mean?”

Arel followed Herrington towards the biobed, a small look of amusement crossing her face when the doctor actually took the comment seriously.

“Mostly that I’m joined,” she admitted, hopping up onto the edge of the bed. “Vey and I have slightly untidy neural baselines. Apparently we overlap more than we’re supposed to on some memory scans. It’s harmless, just very exciting if you’re the sort of person who enjoys writing notes in medical files.”

Her smile softened a fraction. “There were some stranger readings after the Carpathia incident, but they settled eventually. So... complicated probably oversold it.”

“Well luckily I am one of those people.” Catherine smiled and held out her hand “I’m assuming that’s for me?” the doctor asked referring to the PADD in the Trills hand. She wished now that she would have had time to look into the assigned officers service and medical records, but time just didn’t permit it.

Arel glanced down at the PADD as if she had momentarily forgotten she was still holding it, then offered it across. “That’s the one. Full medical record, joining notes, baseline comparisons... all the thrilling stuff.”

She settled herself properly on the biobed, sweeping a particularly determined curl back over her shoulder. A small smile returned, but she let the explanation rest there.

There were a few moments of silence from the Chief Medical Officer as she reviewed some of the notes from past physicians. She was mostly reading through the patients history and physical and some of the notes from the doctors. “So how long have you been joined and have there been any complications?” doctor Herrington would go through Lieutenant Veys medical records as soon as she had some free time.

“Four years. I was joined in 2393.” Arel shifted back a little on the biobed, letting her hands rest beside her. “No rejection problems, no instability. Vey and I actually integrated pretty easily.”

She glanced towards the PADD in Herrington’s hands. “Trill Medical kept me around longer than I appreciated because our neural scans were... enthusiastic. Memory recall tends to activate more of Vey’s pathways alongside mine than they normally expect in a relatively new joining. They ran enough tests to establish there wasn’t any identity displacement or uncontrolled memory bleed, and eventually decided it was just a particularly close integration pattern.” Her mouth curved faintly. “I think the official wording was considerably less flattering than that.”

Arel tucked one loose curl behind her ear. “If I’m exhausted, or deliberately digging through an older memory, the distinction between where a detail came from can take a second to settle. I still know who I am, I’m not waking up convinced I’m one of Vey’s previous hosts. Trill Medical considered it stable enough that they stopped summoning me back every few months, which I took as a victory.”

Doctor Herrington took a look over the last scans in the Trills medical records “These are fine but I would like to repeat a full set of scans in three months.” This was something she wanted to keep a close eye on and wanted her own data to compare to others. She wouldn’t make Vey go through scans she didn’t feel were needed. “Any complaints or new issues?” she knew that no one wanted to be in sickbay and was glad that Vey stopped by and she didn’t have to track the Trill down.

Arel considered it properly rather than giving the automatic answer, eyes drifting briefly towards the ceiling before she shook her head. “No. Nothing new. No headaches, memory gaps, dizziness... nothing that’s made either of us wonder if something’s changed.”

She looked back to Herrington. “Three months is fine. If you want a clean baseline of your own, I’d rather you had one before the ship gives us something genuinely strange to compare it with.”

“Well shall we take care of it now then” Herrington asked the Lieutenant. Once she thought about what Arel said she knew she was right.

Arel gave Herrington a look of exaggerated resignation, then spread her arms out along the biobed with theatrical surrender. “Well, if we’re doing this, have at me. Scan everything. Leave no molecule unjudged.”

She settled back, copper curls spilling around her head, the corner of her mouth betraying the performance. “Vey and I submit ourselves to medical science.”

“Very well” the Chief Medical Officer said with a nod “it will just take a few minuets” she grabbed a tricorder and another small device and started her scans. “I’m sure everything will be the same as your baseline.” After a few second of silence the doctor needed to take some scans while the patient was stressed or actively using their brain. So what better way then to have a conversation “so tell me about your self, Lieutenant” Catherine asked, this would give her a chance to learn a little bit about some of the crew. Also a good way to see how they respond in a situation dealing with a superior.

Arel took a moment with that, her eyes dropping briefly to the small device in Herrington’s hand. “I’m never very good at that question,” she admitted, with a faint smile. “I grew up inland on Trill. Big family. I’m one of four, so home was... busy. My father worked atmospheric systems and my mother taught mathematics. I think between them I was always going to end up somewhere around science.”

She shifted slightly on the biobed, thinking past the obvious answer. “I miss the weather, actually. Storms especially. You don’t really get the same thing looking through a viewport.” There was a little more ease in her voice now. “Away from work I read, probably too much. Old stellar charts, mystery holonovels when I want something that doesn’t require much thought. I’ve started learning bookbinding as well.” Her fingers moved absently against the edge of the biobed. “There’s something nice about making something physical and knowing exactly where you left it.”

Arel glanced back towards Herrington. “That’s probably more me than the service record is, anyway.”

A smile grew across Catherine’s face as she listened to Arel speak about herself and it was exactly what she was asking for.! “I can read your service record anytime” she was taking the last bit of the scans she required. “I do enjoy science myself and I’m glad you decided to tell me about you” Catherine knew at times she would be working very closely with the science department and wanted to get a feel for the woman in front of her. “It’s interesting to me that with all of our advancements we still enjoy history and old things. Like books we can hold in our hands and turn the pages too.” The Commander enjoyed books as well, the feel of the paper between your fingers and the stories written in ink on the pages.

Doctor Herrington made a few inputs on a PADD and looked back up at her patient. “Compared to your last set of scans, everything is exactly the same.” She set her tricorder and PADD down “so unless there is something else else bothering you?”

Arel’s expression warmed. “It isn’t the same on a PADD,” she said, glancing briefly towards the one Herrington had set aside. “The words are there, obviously, but there’s something about actually holding a book. The weight of it, turning the pages, knowing somebody made the thing.” She paused, perhaps aware she was getting slightly more earnest about it than she had intended with her new Executive Officer. “Trill has a lot of old habits we’ve never been particularly interested in getting rid of. I suppose I inherited a few.”

The news from the scans earned a small nod, some of the tension she had carried into Sickbay finally leaving her shoulders. Whatever peculiarities Vey brought to a medical scanner, at least they remained familiar ones. “Good. I’d much rather give you boring results on my first visit.” She thought over Herrington’s question properly before shaking her head. “No, nothing else. I feel fine.”

“Let’s keep it that way” the doctor gestured for the Lieutenant to hop down off the bio-bed. “I’d like you to return if anything starts to bother you and again in about six months for an additional scan.” Commander Herrington knew this crew would face their share of stressful and unusual mission. It was strange to think that there were more unusual things to face out there. “Other then that I’ll see you on the bridge, Lieutenant.”

Arel slid down from the biobed and gathered her PADD, offering Herrington an easy smile now that the examination was finished. “Thank you, Doctor.” There was less first-day caution in it than when she had arrived. She gave the Commander a small nod, then turned for the doors and let Sickbay return to its work behind her.

The corridor beyond felt quieter after the bright sterility of Medical. Arel fell into step towards the turbolift, already thinking about the laboratories she had passed earlier and the sort of problems the Balam had been built to chase. People liked words such as impossible, paranormal, even supernatural when they ran out of comfortable explanations. She had never found any of them particularly useful.

The turbolift doors opened ahead of her.

Whatever was waiting out there, it would leave evidence.

 

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