Leading by example

As soon as the message to report for the mandatory physical and psychological examination went out, the intraship channel opened and a deep resonant voice was heard.

" Kheren here; on my way. "

Chief Counselor Lyrya looked at the two Bynars and then toward Counselor Shree with a wink.

" As I expected; our dear captain leads by example and is first among this entire crew of over two thousands to report for his examination. "

" Unusual for a command grade officer, " commented Doctor T'Lynn with her typical dry Vulcan tone. " Not the leading by example of course, but this eagerness to submit to medical protocols. Captains in particular are notoriously allergic to doctors. "

"Don't get fooled by this apparent compliance, " the Aenar said to her and to the other persons present. " Of all people, Captain Kheren is most uncomfortable with medical personnel and in medical facilities; this comes from way back, from the peculiar circumstances of his birth... and from his very unique nature. But he is most of all a rational and pragmatic person; he knows that his very life might one day depend on correct knowledge and treatment of his peculiar condition... in fact, it did on several occasions already... And he knows that, by showing his own perfect discipline, he can afterwards be as strict and severe to all his subordinates as he wants to with no chance for anyone to argue with him. "

"I see, " the Vulcan doctor said, nodding. "It's a command decision more than a personal one."

"Exactly. If you ask him, he will tell you that he's not an Andorian; he's a Starfleet officer. "

Several minutes went by and the doors to the vast sickbay of the Horizon swished open, letting in the athletic shape of her commanding officer enter and come straight towards the CMO's office.

"Doctors 011 and 110, welcome aboard. I did not have the chance to welcome you earlier, so I apologize for my rudeness. If there is anything you require to make your department fully ready, just present me with your requests while you proceed with my examination."

"What about me, Captain?" then asked Lyrya with a hint of amusement in her otherwise very formal tone of voice.

"Are they of a professional or of a personal nature?"

"Both."

"Proceed accordingly," was his simple response. But there was no denying the similar trace of amusement behind the cold answer.

The Aenar then rose from her seat, looking at her Andorian assistant.

"I leave him into your capable hands, Lieutenant. Good luck. But remember; all those abomination rumors about him you heard on the homeworld are true... except for him. "

And with those cryptic words, she left the room for her own office.

With slightly tilted heads and what seemed like intent fascination, the Bynar CMOs waited patiently for the discussion to come to an end and then replied immediately to the Captain's earlier salutation. "Good morning, Captain, thank you for your welcome," said Doctor 011, followed by her partner adding, "Your apology was unnecessary. We have settled in quite satisfactorily."

They stood together and moved closer to the towering Andorian with a short, shuffling gait, until they were between the Captain and a nearby biobed. There were a few such beds set up in the Chief Medical Officer's office that was separated away from the massive regular sick bay room and additionally there were corridors around that room that were lined with private rooms for more intimate medical exams. There was no need for that however, for such a routine exam, so the glass between the office and main sickbay provided them the discretion necessary against the possibility of an officer overhearing some piece of sensitive medical data.

As they stood by Kheren, the doctors' line of sight barely reached the Captain's chest. Nevertheless, they both gestured commandingly to the left as they looked up at the dark blue face, and said, "If you would please... sit down Captain."

Kheren complied and sat on the appliance very straight, as if ready to jump off and run away at the first opportunity. But he stayed there calm and composed despite his posture.

"I suppose you read my medical file from Starfleet Medical, Doctors, and that you are aware of my... specifications..."

"Indeed... Captain," they said at once. After a few high-pitched words that were intelligible to the Captain, they began listing said specifications, each taking an alternating phrase. "As part of a genetic experiment... your gender is unique for an Andorian. Being both Chan and Thaan... your male attributres are enhanced. Concentrated testosterone levels... increased strength and aggressivity... retractable... antennae."

"We will take all this... into account for our examination, Captain."

As Doctors 011 and 110 began scanning him with the medical tricorder, they would occasionally communicate amongst themselves. Eventually they finished a preliminary scan, and said, "Captain, we understand you recently... suffered again from the effects... of the Azimuth Horizon anomaly... a fourth time within, is that correct?"

"I did go through the Azimuth Horizon four times, yes, " confirmed Kheren. " But on the second and third times, I suffered no ill effects, thanks to the metaphasic shielding of the ship. On the fourth occasion, I suffered only when the shield failed some fifteen minutes before being rescued from the ship's destruction. But that last moment was a more direct exposure than the first one."

They spoke again briefly, in what was only a couple seconds to the Andorian, but was in fact a full conversation discussing the scan results.

"Our mistake... Captain," they responded. "We are seeing slight damage to your occipital lobe... that was not present in your last examination. We can only assume it was... due to the stress of the Anomaly. From what we've studied, the effects are supposed to be temporary... but this time, we're seeing some lasting indicators."

They shuffled a few feet to the left of the biobed to a hold containing various medical gadgets and apparatuses and pulled one from within. "We would like you to wear this cerebral sensor... so that we can monitor your eyes and antennae for signs of degradation."

110 reached up to attach it to his skin under the temporal lobe, where on a Human it would have put it behind the right ear that Andorians didn't have. It was a small device that would be completely unnoticeable underneath his long, flowing white hair.

"I do hope you are not trying to assimilate me, Doctors, " the Andorian said. With his expressioneless face, it was truly hard to tell if he was joking or genuinely concerned.

"There's no worry... of that," they Bynars responded, either playing along with the joke or being serious. Their lack of expressions made it equally hard to tell, just as with the Captain.
 "While like the Borg, we possess several neurological and mechanical implants... to assist in computational thought processes and improved physical movement... we have no nanoprobes... to make assimilation possible."

Being on the receiving end of his own deadpanness was a new experience for Kheren. He found it it even more fun than he could have expected, the uncertainty making the effort of listening closely to someone else a challenging and almost exhilarating experience, especially for someone like him routinely able to read body langage as easily as someone could read a book. And here again, the task was daunting with the smallish, almost unmoving Bynars. 

"I will have to take your word on it, Doctors, " he conceded, "since we Andorians are probably the easiest species in the galaxy to assimilate."

The Chief medical Officer of the Horizon knew of course that he was refering to his species' osmotic circulatory system that made them extremely susceptible to the effects of medecines, alcohol and poisons... and therefore, to nanoprobes invading their bodies. They got drunk on a whiff and cafeine was almost poisonous to them because of it.

"But then again, I have every confidence in you, " he said, standing up. " Am I free to go now? "

"Everything else looks good... you are as healthy as in your last scan. Just remember you have a psychological assessment... to do with Doctor Shree at some point," they reminded him, and then shuffled back to their desk to get ready for the next patient.

"Thank you, Doctors. I will go see her right now."

And so saying, Kheren went straight for the counselor's office.

"Doctor Shree, I am ready if you are. "

-----------------

Not long after this Commander Redding showed up as well claiming that now was the only time he had free to under go this check.

"I still have 12 more departments to check over  today, so if at all possible I need to get this over with quickly. Besides, I underwent a battery of tests not two weeks ago at star fleet medical and they determined I was in excellent shape, for a 180 year old man."

At that he kind of shrugged. Indeed Redding did not mind taking physicals, it seemed yet another way for him to prove himself.

Doctor T'Lynn raised an eyebrow as she approached the First officer, tricorder in hand.

"The illogic of refering to past examinations, when regulations clearly states that all personnel must submit to a complete physical upon boarding a ship, never cease to fascinates me," she said as she went through the motions of said proceedings.

She didn't seem to hurry, yet the proceedings went faster than even the impatient ship exec expected. She noticed his surprised expression when she announced that it was over.

"As a matter of a fact, Commander, we do take into account your latest previous examination. It is automatically compared to your transporter signal when you come aboard and then again both with this reading I did. Any discrepancy or anomaly whatsoever then calls for further detailed protocols. But when all checks out after the comparative analysis of all three different sources, you are logically considered fit for duty. As you are now."

As he moved from the biobed, the Vulcan woman added:

"But watch out from consuming too much cafeine. It could prove detrimental to your nervous system in the long run."

"I've no doubt that will be the death of me in the end" He seemed slightly uncomfortable. "I guess I'm used to exams being more medieval, I didn't even take off my shirt, but thank you doctor, let me know if you require anything else from me." Gave a polite nod and headed out of the room. 

Watching from an open office across the bay councilor Shree made a note of interaction between Redding and T'ynn, a slight frown of thought showed as she reviewed the note.