Lawful Orders

Posted on Sun Sep 18, 2016 @ 6:35am by Lieutenant Phen Caticasse & Captain Madelina Weisz

Mission: An Orion to Die For
Location: Executive Officer's Office
Timeline: MD 1 || 1730 Hours

On:

Finn was less than happy with how his meeting with the Captain had gone. That had all the hallmarks of making this an incredibly long station. Either way, he had a job to do, and he couldn't do that job until he had finished a conversation with the XO. So, he had rushed back to his quarters, switched into a uniform, and headed back to the XO's office. Of course, he wasn't convinced that was the right thing to do. He then returned to the XO's office, and hit the chime button on the edge of the door.

In her office, Maddy was going over some reports. The latest being the one sent straight from Captain Aravan. She cocked her head to the side as she read what was displayed on the PADD in front of her. This was certainly going to be an interesting meeting. Still, though, she had no idea what to expect from the man who was going to be coming to see her, or if their impromptu meeting would go south or not. It wasn't until she heard the chime, that she set the PADD aside and looked to the door. "Come!"

"Lieutenant Phen Caticasse - the captain sent me." He said with a smile. "I'm, maybe, the ship's new Chief Medical Officer." He gave a quick nod, "You can call me Finn, though, if you prefer." He gave a shake of his head, "And, I'm sure you are aware of why the Captain sent me."

"Lieutenant Caticasse, I've been expecting you. Please, have a seat," she said, gesturing to one of the two chairs opposite hers. "I have been briefed by the Captain regarding your very... unique situation. Is there anything you'd like to say before we get started? Can I get you anything?"

"No thanks," Finn said quickly, "I'd rather get right into this." He gave a smirk and shook his head, "The Captain wants me to provide you with proof as to why my staff will be forgoing uniforms while on duty." He paused, "I should make my stance abundantly clear up front. Uniforms do not help medical personnel do their jobs. As such, I will not require them - and will actively disallow them in infectious situations. I personally don't like them - but that doesn't weigh into this decision." He took deep breath as he moved to the seats offered and fell into one. "I have agreed that I will wear uniforms at official functions, but not in sickbay. We'll hash out the details, I'm sure, and come to a compromise after this discussion."

"Oh, before getting to that..." He said as he adjusted in the chair. "I'd like to have the traditional XO to senior staff conversation after this, if you haven't kicked me out of your office by then." He leaned forward a bit, "So, where would you like to start?"

Maddy kept her face a neutral mask as she listened to Finn speak. First impressions were everything, and most of the crew had left a lot to be desired. This meeting was no different. "First, Lieutenant Caticasse, I can appreciate you wanting to get straight to the point, but I do not appreciate being told what will... or will not happen... upon this ship. You are a Lieutenant. I am a Commander, as well as this ship's Executive Officer, which means I outrank and out rule any decision you think you can make."

She took a breath and leaned back in her chair, studying the man in front of her. "As I mentioned, Captain Aravan has briefed me on your meeting with him already, and while I can see some of the logic behind what you're saying, I can't help but point out to you that contaminates do not discriminate against the attire you, or your personnel, are wearing. Whether you are in uniform, or in civilian clothing, there will always be a risk. Sadly, the only way to prevent such things would be for each individual to do their duties completely naked, and I assure you, that will not be happening aboard this vessel. Not now, not ever. We have various decontamination stations throughout both primary and secondary sickbays," she said before continuing. " The fact that you feel uniforms do not help medical personnel do their jobs does baffle me, though. It is not the uniform that makes the man, but the man that makes the uniform. Your personal dislike for them should have no bearing on this matter, and despite your claims that it doesn't, I just don't believe that. Why bother joining Starfleet at all if you can't follow simple protocol like everyone else?"

"Okay, first..." Finn said quickly, before stopping himself. "You know, I'll come back to that. Just remind me." He gave a quick shake of his head, and sat up a bit straighter for a moment. "I'm here to argue medical necessity, and I don't think you or the Captain are understanding my base point." He took a deep breath. "Uniforms are a non-party. I want my staff, when working with patients, which includes any officer on the med-bay floors for more than just a few minutes, to change into medical attire," He looked at her for a second, "That doesn't mean I have some special clothes for them that makes them immune to disease, or think that uniforms are disease carrying monsters, but it does mean that the clothes they use will be specifically designed for protecting both the patient and the medical personnel." He leaned back a bit.

"And before I go on, yes, diseases and such do care what you are wearing until you have been infected. A simple example is the sneeze. If I sneeze on you right now, your uniform will simply absorb it, becoming damp and allow the infection to survive even if for a short period of time." He shrugged. "That sounds innocuous, except I'm Lorillian - we breath methane when we're born. So you can only imagine how differently our immune systems will handle different diseases. You pass by an environmental vent in front of a Bolian, and suddenly he is down with a disease his body simply doesn't know handle." He sighed. "Traditional medical garments are designed to be easy to spot such things, easy to clean, and easy to replace. A soft teal, mildly hydrophobic, medical shirt and trousers provided specifically to staff when they arrive at the medbay will reduce incidence of infection, and will maintain a much better level of sterilization and containment should anything become problematic. Period."

"On this ship, there are nearly five thousand people, hailing from a large number of different species and evolutionary paths, and who knows how many planets. The number of possible infection vectors are nearly astronomical. On a planet, this wouldn't be as much of a problem. Here. One wrong move, and a sickness can spread through this ship very fast. I have two hundred medical personnel, serving every foreseeable need of five thousand people. That means doctors, nurses, techs, and a surprising amount of essential, but not medically trained, medical staff. Think of how many officers, crewmembers, and civilians a nurse could walk by not realizing she has carried an infection out of sickbay in her uniform pocket or behind her pips." He shook his head, "Fact is, it is safer to provide medical garments, and have staff change and decon on arrival and departure from a shift. It takes five minutes both ways and it will prevent a lot of illness along the way."

Maddy listened as he spoke, and the more she listened, the more she understood his take on things. He was right about different species, and how they'd react to various illnesses, too. Of course, there were still questions to be asked. "I've got a few questions to ask you now, but I'm sure you realize that. I'm going to take them one at a time, though, starting with this one. You mentioned specifically designed attire. Do you mean like scrubs, or was there something else you had in mind?"

"I've heard them called that, yes. Also, theatre blues, I think, from Humans with European ancestry." Finn shook his head, "In our case, we'd use teal, but simple, hydrophobic clothes. Limited pockets, all in the same place. We want to be able to see," He winced a bit, "Not to be graphic, but blood and bile. And clean, if they aren't ruined. You'd probably be surprised how often clothes are ruined." He shrugged quickly. "But, ask away."

"You do realize you came across as being insubordinate, don't you?" the redheaded Commander asked. Now that he'd explained things to her, she had a much better understanding of things, and planned to sign off on what he wanted, but he couldn't know that just yet. "If you would have provided the Captain with what you've provided me with, we could have avoided the arguing entirely. The way it came across was that you refused to be in uniform period. That you preferred to wear only civilian clothing."

"Probably." He shrugged. "And, I likely will continue to appear insubordinate." He sighed, "You've seen my evidence. And I didn't have a chance to present that before." He gave a smile, "But, I will continue to appear insubordinate. This is not meant in anyway to be disrespectful." He stretched his back a bit and then looked her in the eyes, "I'm not here to be a good officer. I'm here to protect the medical and mental well-being of five thousand souls and any they come across." He sighed, "I will do what's best for them. And my duties as CMO. And that will bring me to odds with you and the Captain more than we'd like." He bit his tongue a bit, "I will try to do my best not to do it in public."

"Then, I will warn you ahead of time, Lieutenant, and I want to make sure you understand the next words that come out of my mouth," Maddy said, her German accent thickening just a bit. "Your orders will come from me, or they will come from Captain Aravan. Our orders come from Starfleet headquarters. Do not sit there for one second and think you're coming aboard this ship and doing whatever it is you feel like doing, because it isn't going to fly. For every single one of your acts of insubordination that comes in the future, there will be consequences, and I can assure you... you won't like any of them."

She paused momentarily before continuing. "That is not a threat, but a fact. Anyone on this ship who steps out of line and disrespect me, or Captain Aravan, will be dealt with accordingly. You are a Starfleet officer. You went through your four years at the Academy just as many of us have. You will act accordingly, and that is a direct order. I will not have you sit there and tell me that you will be insubordinate, but that you will try to do your best not to do it in public. You will act accordingly while you are on duty, and you will show the Captain and I the respect we deserve. I approve your use of scrubs, but they will be uniform colors at all times for everyone. If I have anymore questions for you, I'll let you know. Dismissed," she ordered, fighting back the anger that was beginning to rise inside of her.

"Of course, sir," Finn said standing. "I will follow lawful orders dutifully." He stretched. He gave her a smile, and a quaint nod, "And Commander, please remember that I am the Chief Medical Officer. I will give you the respect you deserve - but I won't hesitate to do my job, either, even if that means disobeying a direct order." He paused, "If you ever take that personally, I apologize, genuinely. I appreciate you coming at this situation, as you did." He said quickly, "And I can't be dismissed just yet," He added, giving a light point towards her. "I need a time to schedule you in for a physical. Whatever your preference on that. If you prefer, I can find another medical officer to do it. Once I have that information, I'll be out of your hair."

"I will be in for my physical as soon as time permits. I will contact you in advance to let you know when to expect me," the Commander said, reaching for the PADD she'd settled down on her desk. She looked back down to the information she was reviewing before his arrival regarding their current mission. "Now that we have that out of the way, dismissed means get out."

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