Debriefing the Medical Staff
Posted on Sat Jul 11th, 2026 @ 5:12pm by Lieutenant Commander Nathan Lake
Edited on on Sat Jul 11th, 2026 @ 5:42pm
766 words; about a 4 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 biobeds, completed reports, and restocked supplies.
Nathan didn’t stop moving as he stepped inside. He stopped directly in the center of the ward and spoke.
“Medical staff.”
His calm voice carried easily across the bay. At the moment, there were no patients.
“If everyone could join me in my office, please.”
There was no urgency, no alarm. It was just enough of a direct statement to make it clear this wasn’t optional.
Within a single minute, the 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, making sure he had everyone’s attention before activating the wall display.
The words JANUS CORE appeared beside a simplified schematic.
“I’ve just returned from a senior staff briefing.”
His eyes looked around the room.
“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.”
“What it does…”
Another pause.
“…we’re still trying to answer.”
“What we do know is enough to justify caution.”
He highlighted the known readings.
“Potential chroniton emissions, subspace instability, temporal effects, and potential interaction with quantum realities.”
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.”
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.
We must monitor for neurological abnormalities, memory disruptions, cellular instability, temporal perception changes, unexplained physiological variations, anything inconsistent with the patient’s baseline.”
Nathan looked around the room.
“If a patient tells you something impossible, don’t dismiss it simply because it sounds impossible.”
His eyes settled on each member of his department.
“Also, we are going to coordinate with Operations regarding continuous transporter locks on any away team working near the Core. If anyone runs into trouble, we will transport them straight here.”
He deactivated the display.
“I don’t expect panic. I expect preparation.”
His voice remained calm.
“Medicine isn’t about predicting the future. It’s about making sure we’re ready when the future refuses to cooperate.”
Nathan smiled.
“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
RSS Feed