Post #238: Environmental Factors

Posted on Fri Oct 16th, 2026 @ 3:31pm by Lieutenant JG Maddy Dale & Senior Chief Petty Officer Persephone Lynx

429 words; about a 2 minute read

Mission: A Leap of Faith
Location: sickbay
Timeline: current

It had been what would have under any other circumstances been called a routine few weeks in sickbay, but they were sat in the Delta Quadrant. Maddy had spent quite a lot of her time brushing up on her Delta Quadrant species making sure she had everything squared away in her head if there were a sudden medical emergency which she was really hoping there wasn't going to be. She was sat in the office she shared with Marty, something unusual in most departments but quite logical in medical where the need to consult on patient cases was quite apparent, though with Marty off base at the moment that wasn't really an option. She'd just grabbed a cup of tea from the replicator when Persephone walked in.

"Learned your way around yet?" Maddy asked looking at the still relatively new head nurse.
"Yep." Persephone said
"What have you got?" Maddy asked
"We've got an Ocampan on bed six..." Persephone said
"Yeah we're removing infected tissue from their left leg." Maddy said
"I did a routine scan... and I mean I did..." Persephone said "And it's different to the database."
"Show me." Maddy said

Persephone brought up first the database sample of Ocampan physiology and then placed a small cuboid shaped device on the panel which brought up the scan she'd done, "It's not uncommon to find a variation but this is odd." Persephone said
"Well yes because there's a lot of higher markers in some areas." Maddy said
"So I went and scanned this Ocampa's family and got the same sort of result." Persephone said "It's like there's an external factor."
"That's because there is." Maddy said giggling "The Ocampa live on the surface now."
"Environmental factors?" Persephone said
"Exactly." Maddy said "Everything we know about the Ocampa comes from Voyager and they only ever knew them as primarily a subterranean species but we know centuries ago they lived on the surface before whatever mistake the Caretaker made happened. So what if we've never really had a baseline for the Ocampa because of the change between surface and sub surface over centuries affected everything? And now even with just weeks of surface life we're starting to see that revert?" she looked across at where Persephone's jaw had dropped slightly "Feels good doesn't it?"

"Is it always like this?" Persephone asked
"Not always but take these moments when they come because they are why we do this." Maddy said

*************

Lieutenant Junior Grade Maddy Dale
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
Starbase Obsidian

Senior Chief Petty Officer Persephone Lynx
Head Nurse
Starbase Obsidian

 

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