Petrovna's Physical Exam

Posted on 31 Dec 2017 @ 12:51am by Lieutenant Mikail Kolmak & Senior Chief Petty Officer Tanya Petrovna

1,584 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Errand of Mercy
Location: Secondary Sickbay
Timeline: ED 5, 2235

:ON:

After arriving on USS Redemption for her new assignment as a language specialist, Tanya Petrovna has avoided a medical protocol stating that all new crewmembers are required to undergo a physical examination. It has been a couple of weeks. Sickbay always give her the creeps as well as the feelings of her privacy getting evaded.

A voice has crept up on her subconscious, reminding her of the physical exam. She grunted while talking to herself in her head. I know! I hate it..., thinking while walking in the corridors. It was the hallway that leads to the secondary sickbay. She figures that maybe the smaller sickbay will be easier than the main sickbay and that the night shift would be less crowd.

Tanya turned a corner, her mind not in reality, and slammed into a man that is taller than her by six inches more. She cussed in Ukrainian. She gasped when she discovered it was an officer. She felt his hands steadied her for a few minutes before letting go.

Doctor Kolmak left sickbay, reading up on some reports on his PADD without paying attention when he turned a corner and nearly knocked over the young enlisted. "I'm..." He picked up the PADD from the floor. He looked at her in surprise, "what did you just say?"

Tanya was appalled. "I'm sorry, sir," her body went stiff to attention, showing respect while her face immediately warmed over with embarrassment.

"At ease, Chief. Didn't you just said, srat' for sh*t in Ukrainian?" He placed the PADD under his right arm to hold it.

"Yes, sir. How did you...?" She relaxed and thought, what are the chances that someone would know that word?

"I'm Russian. I'm Doctor Mikail Kolmak, Assistant Chief Medical Officer. And you are...?" He gave a smile, trying to ease her fear.

She was very surprised. "I'm Ukrainian. I'm Tanya Petrovna...language specialist."

Mikail looked around, "the science department isn't on this floor...you lost?"

Her face flushed. She wondered if her face is showing him redness again. "No...um, I'm heading to sickbay."

With a compassion to his face, "are you hurt? sick?"

"No...no. I needed a physical," she said, shyly. You finally said it, a thought said to herself. She still dread it. I should have a woman doctor...too late, now.

"Oh. Everybody does their physicals in the main sickbay. Everybody that has boarded a couple weeks ago...how come so late?" He wondered while studying her. A very young appearance as a Senior Chief Petty Officer had his curiosity heightened. Knowing that the Master rank is the highest rank for enlistment, it is a surprised to him for her to be a Senior CPO. She shouldn't be that shy.

In Ukrainian, she said, "I hate it."

He replied in her language, "everybody usually doesn't like it. You need it." Mikail removed the PADD from under his arm and fingered in information to find her name.

Tanya chewed on her bottom lip, a habit when she feels cornered. She switched to English, "I know, sir."

He shook his head, showing discouragement. "Too many weeks have gone by. Is there something I should know about that you are avoiding?"

Tanya noticed a few crewmembers were walking by, some giving them glances.

The doctor noticed her uneasiness and that they weren't in a private area. Before she said anything, he put the PADD under his arm again and put a hand on her back as if to guide her. "Let's move this conversation to sickbay which is a few feet this way."

His hand on her back felt like it was going to burn a hole as if there was electricity firing back there. What is wrong with me? Did he feel that too? I didn't come on this ship to stir up trouble... She went through the doors of sickbay with him behind her.

"I don't have any patients today and about to send the med tech on break since I'm going to be here," Doctor Kolmak said, walking ahead of her to turn to face her. "Or do you prefer to see the female doctor...Doctor Afton for your physical to be comfortable?"

Tanya noticed a young man off to the side that must be the med tech. "Here is okay, if you don't mind." She watched him went over to the man and came back. She figured that the doctor must have told him to go take a break.

"Have a seat over there," he pointed.

She watched the young man put away some instruments and left through the doors. She went to sit on the biobed while looking around the small sickbay. Still looks creepy and feels intimidating with all those medical equipment. She glimpsed at the doctor standing at a counter, pulling out a tricorder along with a PADD, and turned to approach her.

"You've never answered my question."

"I have a mechanical kidney," she replied, shyly. "I was born with one kidney and it got destroyed being shot at during an away team mission on the other ship. I am a private person and I don't like anybody to know. I've been teased by my peers calling me half robot."

"Believe me, you will not be treated wrongly on this ship and I know that the Captain will not allow that to happen. Did you reported that?"

She shook her head, "nyet". After a pause, "it was the reason I left to come on aboard this ship."

Mikail opened the tricorder. "I understand of your fears now. Your superiors do need to know this - the Captain, Dr. Afton who is the Chief Medical Officer, and your Chief of Science Officer. Everything inside sickbay remains in sickbay...patient's confidentiality. Let's go ahead and do this scan before I do the biobed scan."

Tanya remained quiet, watching him moved the instrument up and down as if he was holding a wand.

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-seven", she replied.

He frozed. "Twenty-seven? I thought you must be around twenty-two."

"Everybody have thought the same. I've been known to look younger than my age. Must be my upbringing in my country with such cold weathers...brutal at times."

The instrument beeped and he closed it. "Your blood pressure is a little on the high side. Okay, I need you to lay down. The sides are going to come up and go over you to do a full body scan. It's harmless... o-KEI?"

She turned her legs and laid backwards until she was completely laying down. "o-KEI," she replied. "I've done this before," she spoke in Russian. "Harmless."

"You speak my language very well," he said in his mother tongue and continued, "My Ukrainian is not that great. I was raised near Moscow as the only child. I've learned Ukrainian in primary school." Mikail touched a button that allowed the walls to come up from the sides of the biobed and over her front. "Hold still."

Tanya felt at ease with how the doctor was treating her with calmness. Not so bad after all, she thought.

"Now scanning. So, you must know a lot of languages if you are a specialist," he gave her a smile, getting her mind off of anything that might frightened her.

"Ten languages including English," she replied in his language. "I'm glad that my Russian isn't so bad. I've never been this relaxed before because I always feel so uncomfortable being in sickbays. I'm very independent and do my own thing", she added personally. "I was born and raised in Uvlad, Ukraine. My brother is the oldest. Just me and him in the family."

The biobed beeped. The sides came apart at top and went down into the sides of the bed. He nodded. Mikail went behind her head to look up at the screen on the wall of her scans. In English, "I'm looking at your scans now. Everything looks good except that the mechanical kidney is not running a hundred percent...looks more like sixty percent, causing your blood pressure to be a little high." He turned to move in front of her, helping her sit up. "You will need to get that replaced at least in a month or two."

She sighed.

"We can replicate one with a blood match like a real kidney," Mikail smiled, trying to make her comfortable. "The good news is that I'm a surgeon and I can put one in without complications." He picked up the PADD and entered the new information into her medical files. "In the meantime, I recommend that you go easy with activities. No swimming, running, jogging, and climbing. I will give this information to the Captain, Dr. Afton, and Commander Rhyan. If you have any problems at all, do contact me or Dr. Afton even if it is a small problem you don't know for sure."

Tanya slid off the biobed to stand and put out a hand, in Russian, "thank you, doctor."

He returned the handshake with a smile again, in Ukrainian, "no problem, Tanya. Have a good day."

She finally returned the smile to him and turned to head out of the secondary sickbay. What a relief, she thought. I like him.

:OFF:

Lieutenant Mikail Kolmak, M.D.
Assistant Chief Medical Officer/Surgeon
USS Redemption

&

Senior CPO Tanya Petrovna (NPC)
Language Specialist
USS Redemption

 

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