Debriefing the Medical Staff
Posted on Sat Jul 11th, 2026 @ 5:12pm by Lieutenant Commander Nathan Lake
Edited on on Wed Sep 16th, 2026 @ 2:27am
648 words; about a 3 minute read
Mission:
Mission 1: Through the Janus Gate
Location: Sickbay - Deck 8 - USS Resolute
Timeline: MD001 - 1000 hours
The senior staff briefing ended.
Nathan gathered his dataPADD and finished the last of his now lukewarm coffee before leaving the briefing room. Around him, the department heads dispersed, each carrying a different piece of the mission.
Nathan spotted Lieutenant Fox, head of Operations, but she had disappeared down a corridor. He wanted to catch up with her to discuss an operations and medical team-up.
“Lieutenant.”
He wasn’t sure if his voice carried enough to reach her, but either way, she disappeared.
He made a mental note to find her later.
His idea was simple: Monitor the vital signs of everyone going near Janus Core, maintain a continuous transporter lock on them, and beam them out if there was any sign of trouble.
Nathan turned to a free turbolift and headed for Sickbay.
Five minutes later, the familiar hiss of sickbay doors welcomed him back. The department staff was busy. Nurses and other staff moved between beds, completed reports, and other various jobs and tasks.
Nathan made his way directly to the center of the room and spoke.
“Medical staff, listen up!”
His calm voice carried across the bay. At the moment, there were no patients.
“Everyone, please join me in my office.”
Within a single minute, his office, normally spacious, had become crowded. At the moment, he had a staff of eight, including himself, on shift with five more off duty. He would catch them up later.
Three of the chairs were taken, including his, and the rest of the staff stood around the room. Nathan had given up his chair to a nurse and remained standing behind his desk.
He looked around the room, made sure he had everyone’s attention before he activated the wall display.
The words JANUS CORE appeared on the screen.
“I’ve just returned from a senior staff briefing. And I’d rather everyone hear this from me before rumors start spreading.”
The display changed to the limited hazard assessment.
“Here’s the short version: The Resolute is investigating a Dominion device known as the Janus Core. What exactly is it?”
He gave a small shrug.
"We don’t yet know. We’re still trying to get answers. What we do know is enough to justify caution.”
He highlighted the known readings.
“Potential chroniton emissions, subspace instability, and temporal effects.”
Nathan read the words as if he read them off a checklist. He also let those words settle over the room.
“Although the Federation and Starfleet have medical texts regarding these, we don’t have any medical data on exposure to this specific device.”
He folded his arms.
“So until someone proves otherwise, we’re treating it as an unknown biological and temporal hazard.”
He enlarged another section of the display.
“If away teams are assigned to go near and investigate this device, they will receive a complete medical baseline before deployment. Neurological mapping, cellular scans, cognitive evaluation, the full nine. When they return, we repeat every one of those examinations. If there is anything off, we isolate and sedate until we can get them to an advanced medical facility.”
A young nurse raised her hand.
“What symptoms are we expecting, sir?”
“We don’t know. But that’s exactly why we should be preparing broadly.”
He changed the display again.
“If a patient tells you something impossible, don’t dismiss it simply because it sounds impossible.”
He deactivated the display to speak to them directly without visuals.
“ANy final questions?”
There were none.
“Alright, let’s prepare. Dismissed.”
The office emptied almost immediately, and the staff returned to their stations. The atmosphere in Sickbay hadn’t changed dramatically, but there was a subtle difference now. Everyone understood the assignment. Whatever the Janus Core turned out to be, the medical department would be ready for it.
A Post By
Lt. Commander Nathan Lake
Chief Medical Officer
USS Resolute
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