Twists and Turns

Posted on Tue Jul 29th, 2025 @ 3:55am by Lieutenant Commander Zuub & Lieutenant Katya Davi

1,265 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: On the Trail
Location: Medical

Katya slowly limped into the room being used by Zuub for medical and looked around for the doctor.

On such a small ship, the tall lanky Andorian was easy to find. This sickbay was hardly of a size to be of any consequence. Even so, the Andorian had turned to find her well before Katya had looked for her. In her soft, wispy voice, Zuub asked, "May I ask what you did to yourself?"

"I was dancing and twisted my ankle," Katya explained. "I waited for several minutes, but it's not easing like it usually does, so I came here to have it checked."

"Dancing?" Zuub asked, her antennae starting to whirl. "This is not exactly a ship of luxury...." She pulled out a medical tricorder and started to examine the ankle. "What kind of dance were you doing?"

"I dance to keep in shape. It's a good way to work on strength and flexibility. Both are important when working in Jefferies' tubes and access corridors. Plus, it's fun." Kat was not going to tell the doctor what kind of dance she was doing, so she gave her a more general answer. "I also like to dance sometimes when I'm working, just for fun. This time, I did a spin and ended up twisting my ankle."

"That did not answer my question, Lieutenant," Zuub responded, her antennae whirling into a combination of a twirl and twitter. "It does not matter to me whether you were doing a waltz or Orion slave girl dance. Knowing, however, could help me determine how best to treat you. The doctor-patient privilege always applies to these matters." As she said this, her antennae leaned in toward Katya, showing her interest. "Bur for the moment, I concur with your analysis of a sprain. You would have been hopping here had there'd been a break."

"I would have used an air car if I'd broken it. It's a bit far to hop." Kat flashed the doctor a grin. "the move is just what I said it was. A spin. It's not quite a pirouette. It's a step on one foot, then you lift the other and spin, holding your foot close to your leg. So, all my weight was on the one foot, but when I spun, my foot didn't and I fell."

Silently, the Andorian looked at her readings. She moved the tricorder up Kat's leg up to her hips and back down again, "According to the scan, you also appear to have some strain to your hips. It appears that prior to making your turn, you improperly had your hips tilted backwards. This caused you not to get the proper knee bend to make the turn, leaving too much pressure on your foot, and thus, the collapse." The Andorian's antennae twittered lightly and satisfied. "A dermal regenerator is going to assist your healing, but you're going to need at least 48 hours before doing this sort of activity again."

"It happens. Sometimes I start off wrong and just hope to finish the move and try it again. It didn't work so well this time."

"That is apparent," Zuub answered. "Perhaps it would be best to strengthen your ankles, thighs, quads, and calves. That will help support the knee more and aid your form."

Kat already did a series of warmups to strengthen her muscles and limber up, but she wasn't going to argue with the doctor. "I will do so."

"Good. That's the best that I can advise; however, the ship does not have a great deal of resources."

Kat nodded. "I've noticed. We're slowly adding things, but it's a bit sparse. Normally, I dance on the holodeck, but I'm making do here." She looked at Zuub, as they hadn't really spoken before. "How do you find the Adelaide so far?"

"Antiquated," Zuub answered simply. She then spread her arms out. "I hope that we do not come into a situation where we have some obscure disease. My lab equipment is nearly as primitive as that of the Terran's 21st century. I suppose that it will give me leeway to stretch my proverbial medical legs." She put her hands down and then slightly gestured towards Katya. "Other than injuring yourself, do you like this ship?"

"I do. It has character. At one point, I think it was used by smugglers because I found some hidden compartments. One had some tools and Amy found one with old Twinkies, but it's fun to speculate about them."

"I have encountered the Twinkies. She brought them." Zuub's antenna warbled backwards.

"Amy gave them to you?" Kat smiled. "She said she would." She wiggled her foot. "So, am I good as new?"

"Yes, she did. I do not understand why anyone would ingest such vile things, nor do I fully understand why they were ever called food. I had considered that maybe they were used for other activities given the filling...." She shook her head again. "But, yes, you will be fine as long as you do not reinjure it in the next 48 hours."

"I don't know why people liked them, but they seem to be well-preserved. I prefer fresh pastries when I can get them." Kat shrugged. "I will be careful not to do any pirouettes or spins for the next 48 hours. I need to look up what sort of car the rescue team was using when they got stuck so I can have the right tools. Since you and Lieutenant Dalziel will be working on the colonists and their health."

"The Twinkies are, as you say, well preserved, but would likely taste stale, at best. Also, I appreciate you looking into the car. My antennae are twitching at this situation. Something is off."

"I agree. Too many oddities. I don't like the sound of their air filtration system, either." Kat shook her head. "I have no idea what else will be wrong, but I doubt we've been told all of it."

"Scan everything so maybe I can find something, anything irregular. However, if they are covering something up, they may already disguise their scans. The big question for everything is why."

"I agree about scanning everything. Whether they're hiding things or not, it sounds like everything is a mess." Kat shook her head. "We won't have the time or resources to fix it, but we can at least find out what's wrong and fix the most critical. Starfleet can send more help for whatever can wait."

"If there is time," Zuub replied ominously.

Kat sighed. "Yes. If there's time." She paused for a moment to consider what they might find, then sighed again. No use asking for trouble they may not encounter. "If there's nothing more, I should go make an inventory of everything I might need to help with repairs."

"There is nothing more I need. You came to me," Zuub reminded Kat. "But if you require any assistance, you know where to find me."

"Well, I didn't want to just walk out." Kat grinned. "Thank you, doctor." She still had some things she wanted to do before they arrived at the colony, but she'd be more careful with her dancing. At least until she had access to a holodeck. As she made her way back to the room she'd adopted as her office, she wondered if there would be a need for ropes and climbing equipment once they got down to the planet...

Zuub watched as Kat left, considering the view from behind. Perhaps someday....

A post by

Lieutenant Katya Davi
Chief Operations Officer

Lieutenant Commander Zuub
Chief Medical Officer

 

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