Originally posted on fanfiction.net - Link.
Note: This story takes place after the main events in the episode "Moist Vessel".
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After Action Interlude
“So, let me get this straight,” Mariner gave Rutherford a look. “You went zooming through the ship’s Jefferies tubes while clinging to the back of a dolphin? Man, and I thought I had a rough time during the whole terraforming mess.”
“Oh, it wasn’t rough. It was actually pretty fun,” Rutherford smiled at the memory. “Well, except for the parts where I had to try not to drown. Good thing my implant is waterproof…ow! My arm!”
“Oops! I’m so sorry, Rutherford!” Tendi fretted nervously as she quickly worked on his shoulder with an osteotractor frame. She and Mariner stood on either side of Rutherford as he sat on a biobed in Sickbay. “I didn’t mean to dislocate your shoulder! Guess I just don’t know my own strength. It was an accident. Please forgive me!”
“Ouch! Sure, I forgive you,” Rutherford assured Tendi as she worked to repair the damage. “I know you were just obsessed about finding out which members of the crew might not like you. It’s just a personality trait. It wasn’t your fault.”
“Uh, yeah. It kinda was,” Mariner pointed out.
“We’re still friends, right?” Tendi babbled anxiously running a tricorder over Rutherford’s shoulder. “This doesn’t change anything between us. You still like me, don’t you? Don’t you?”
“Of course we’re friends,” Rutherford gave her a smile. “And don’t worry. I still like you. Nothing could change that.”
“Yeah, don’t sweat about it, T,” Mariner waved. “I’ve done way worse to Boimler over the past year. Even when I wasn’t drunk.”
“Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!” Tendi smiled in relief. “You’re the best, Rutherford. Your friendship means so much to me!”
“So does yours…ahhh!” Rutherford yelped as Tendi gave him a big hug. “Ow! My arm!”
“Don’t worry, Baby Bear! I’ll save you!” Shaxs shouted while lying on a nearby biobed. “Right after I get away from these quacks!”
“Sir! Please stay still!” Nurse Westlake pleaded while checking the micro-sutures in Shaxs’ abdomen. “That fast-growing alien coral broke three of your lower ribs and punctured your large intestine. If you move around too much you risk tearing open your bowel lining and going into septic shock.”
“I’ll be the one doing the shocking around here!” Shaxs roared in annoyance. “Grrr, stupid aliens and their lousy terraforming goo! I’d kill the lot of them if they weren’t already dead!”
“Eh, hasn’t stopped you before,” Mariner quipped. “Remember the Rock Fungi Confrontation?”
“You know, I expected Sickbay to be more crowded than this,” Rutherford commented glancing around. Only a handful of patients were being attended to. “You’d think there would be a lot more casualties after such a major ship-wide crisis.”
“Well, we were lucky,” Tendi said brightly as she continued to work on Rutherford’s shoulder. “Most of the casualties sustained only minor bumps and bruises. The few serious cases successfully went through surgery and are being kept here for observation.”
“Fly my pretties! Fly! Fly! Hehehehehe!” T’Ana cackled happily while strapped to another biobed. “Oooh, look! Bunnies!”
“Speaking of which,” Mariner shot T’Ana a look. “What’s up with the Doc?”
“Oh, she was exposed to some kind of alien plant that possessed various odoriferous properties,” Rutherford explained. “It kind of messed with her sense of reason, judgement and personality while putting her in a highly euphoric state.”
“Whoa, whoa. Back up,” Mariner held up a hand. “Are you saying the Doc got high on a form of alien catnip?”
“Well, the Caitian equivalent of it,” Rutherford said.
“Really?” An impish grin spread over Mariner’s face. “Oh, this is gonna be good!”
“If you say so,” Rutherford attempted to shrug. “Ow!”
“Stop moving so much,” Tendi scolded slipping a sling around Rutherford’s tender arm. “I relocated your shoulder and repaired the torn rotator cuff, but you still need to take it easy for a while.”
“I will, thanks,” Rutherford smiled. “Ooo, that does feel good.”
“Not as good as this is gonna be,” Mariner grinned walking over to T’Ana. “Yo, Doc! Got a minute?”
“Not yet, but I’ll catch one soon!” T’Ana giggled and attempted to catch unseen objects with her tongue. “Ha! Got one! Mmmm, tasty!”
“That’s nice,” Mariner smiled. “Say, how about we hold a little cross-departmental training exercise? You know, to help prepare the crew for the next ship-wide crisis?”
“Ooo, neat!” T’Ana chirped. “I love training!”
“Really?” Mariner smirked. “So do I!”
“Uh, what are you doing?” Tendi asked hesitantly.
“Don’t worry. I got this,” Mariner assured her.
“Hey, what’s going on here?” Westlake came over and imposed himself between Mariner and T’Ana. “Stop agitating my patient. She needs her rest.”
“I don’t wanna rest! I wanna train!” T’Ana insisted. “A bright, shiny train that has wheels and an engine and goes ‘choo-choo’!”
“That’s Chu-Chu,” Mariner corrected.
“Doctor, I really don’t think that’s a good idea considering your condition,” Westlake tried to reason with her.
“Hey, man. You heard the Doc,” Mariner brushed Westlake’s concerns aside. “This is her domain. Her word is law. She hasn’t been relieved of duty, has she?”
“Uh, no,” Westlake blinked at the question.
“She hasn’t been declared medically unfit, has she?” Mariner continued.
“Well, technically…” Westlake began.
“She’s still the ship’s CMO and ranking officer here, isn’t she?” Mariner pressed. “Are you gonna disobey a direct order from your immediate superior officer?”
“Uh,” Westlake gulped.
“Great! That’s settled!” Mariner smiled clapping her hands together. “Let’s get this training session started!”
“Yay!” T’Ana cheered.
“And since it’s a cross-departmental training exercise,” Mariner grinned wickedly. “How about we make it a little interesting?”
--------------------------------------
Meanwhile, nearby…
“I don’t believe this,” Captain Freeman hissed as she and Commander Ransom strode down the corridor. “It wasn’t enough for Mariner to make me look bad in front of Captain Durango, oh no. She had to make me look bad in front of Admiral Vassery too!”
“Look on the bright side. At least she didn’t disrespect you in front of the crew again,” Ransom pointed out.
“Oh, like that makes me feel so much better,” Freeman grumbled. “I swear, one of these days that girl is gonna get it!”
“I’d say she already did,” Ransom snorted. “Mariner more than earned her demotion back to Ensign. And if all else fails, you can always just transfer her off the ship.”
“And make it look like I can’t take whatever she dishes out? Not a chance,” Freeman shook her head. “Although we did briefly work well together during the recent terraforming incident. Maybe all Mariner needs is a little encouragement and acknowledgement that I appreciate her. Maybe she will start taking her duties more seriously and become more responsible and disciplined…”
“WAAAHOOOOOO!” Mariner appeared around a corner while pushing an anti-grav lift with a young Bajoran man lying on it covered with a medical blanket.
“Yaahhhhhh!” The young Bajoran man yelped as they shot down the corridor.
“AFTER THEM!” A still high T’Ana cheered and giggled insanely while strapped-down and being pushed on her own anti-grav lift. “DON’T LET THEM GET AWAY!”
“Yes, sir!” Tendi grinned guiding their anti-grav lift down the corridor. “Don’t worry, Doctor! Medical will win this race yet!”
“NOT IF I HAVE ANYTHING TO SCREAM ABOUT IT!” Shaxs bellowed speeding after them with Rutherford. “HANG ON, BABY BEAR! WE’LL CATCH UP WITH THEM!”
“Aaahhhhhh!” Rutherford yelped clinging to his anti-grav lift with his one good arm. “This isn’t right! I shouldn’t be here! I’m not even in Security anymore!”
“YOU’RE AN HONORARY MEMBER!” Shaxs roared. “BE HONORED!”
“SO LONG, SUCKERS!” Mariner taunted caroming off the walls. “SEE YA AT THE FINISH LINE!”
“What the…AAAHHHHHH!” Freeman yelped flattening herself against a bulkhead just in time. Ransom however was not so fortunate.
“Waaauuuggghhh!” Ransom yelled as Mariner’s anti-grav lift clipped him and sent him flying.
“OUTTA THE WAY, ROAD HOG!” Mariner snapped.
“GAAAHHH!” The young Bajoran man yelped. “HELP ME! I’M GONNA DIE!”
“You don’t have permission to die!” Mariner snapped. “Not until after the race!”
“Ohhh, that hurt,” Ransom lay sprawled out on the floor only to have Tendi and T’Ana’s anti-grav lift run over him like a steamroller. “AAACCCKKK!”
“Wheeeeee!” Tendi chirped stepping on Ransom’s prone form. “Wow, this is great!”
“PROPHETS GIVE ME WINGS!” Shaxs shouted stomping over Ransom as well.
“Aaahhhhhh!” Rutherford yelped as they passed Tendi and T’Ana.
“Hey, back off!” Mariner snapped as Shaxs and Rutherford rapidly caught up to her.
“ONE SIDE!” Shaxs roared trying to get by. “NOBODY OUT-RACES SECURITY!”
“SEE YOU LATER, SLOWPOKES!” Tendi cackled zooming past them. “EAT MY DUST! HAHAHAHAHA!”
“WANNA BET? GET HER!” Mariner and Shaxs shouted running after them.
“AAAUUUGGGHHH!” Rutherford and the young Bajoran man screamed in terror. “LOOK OUT! WATCH OUT FOR THE WALL! WATCH OUT FOR THE LIEUTENANT! NO, NOT THE TURBOLIFT! YAAAHHHHHH!”
“Ow,” A crumpled, battered Ransom whimpered. “Ohhh…medic!”
“Then again,” Freeman gritted her teeth as shouts and screams continued to echo down the Cerritos’ many corridors. “Maybe blowing Mariner out the nearest airlock isn’t such a bad idea after all!”
--------------------------------------
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek: Lower Decks.
Note: This story takes place after the main events in the episode "Moist Vessel".
--------------------------------------
After Action Interlude
“So, let me get this straight,” Mariner gave Rutherford a look. “You went zooming through the ship’s Jefferies tubes while clinging to the back of a dolphin? Man, and I thought I had a rough time during the whole terraforming mess.”
“Oh, it wasn’t rough. It was actually pretty fun,” Rutherford smiled at the memory. “Well, except for the parts where I had to try not to drown. Good thing my implant is waterproof…ow! My arm!”
“Oops! I’m so sorry, Rutherford!” Tendi fretted nervously as she quickly worked on his shoulder with an osteotractor frame. She and Mariner stood on either side of Rutherford as he sat on a biobed in Sickbay. “I didn’t mean to dislocate your shoulder! Guess I just don’t know my own strength. It was an accident. Please forgive me!”
“Ouch! Sure, I forgive you,” Rutherford assured Tendi as she worked to repair the damage. “I know you were just obsessed about finding out which members of the crew might not like you. It’s just a personality trait. It wasn’t your fault.”
“Uh, yeah. It kinda was,” Mariner pointed out.
“We’re still friends, right?” Tendi babbled anxiously running a tricorder over Rutherford’s shoulder. “This doesn’t change anything between us. You still like me, don’t you? Don’t you?”
“Of course we’re friends,” Rutherford gave her a smile. “And don’t worry. I still like you. Nothing could change that.”
“Yeah, don’t sweat about it, T,” Mariner waved. “I’ve done way worse to Boimler over the past year. Even when I wasn’t drunk.”
“Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!” Tendi smiled in relief. “You’re the best, Rutherford. Your friendship means so much to me!”
“So does yours…ahhh!” Rutherford yelped as Tendi gave him a big hug. “Ow! My arm!”
“Don’t worry, Baby Bear! I’ll save you!” Shaxs shouted while lying on a nearby biobed. “Right after I get away from these quacks!”
“Sir! Please stay still!” Nurse Westlake pleaded while checking the micro-sutures in Shaxs’ abdomen. “That fast-growing alien coral broke three of your lower ribs and punctured your large intestine. If you move around too much you risk tearing open your bowel lining and going into septic shock.”
“I’ll be the one doing the shocking around here!” Shaxs roared in annoyance. “Grrr, stupid aliens and their lousy terraforming goo! I’d kill the lot of them if they weren’t already dead!”
“Eh, hasn’t stopped you before,” Mariner quipped. “Remember the Rock Fungi Confrontation?”
“You know, I expected Sickbay to be more crowded than this,” Rutherford commented glancing around. Only a handful of patients were being attended to. “You’d think there would be a lot more casualties after such a major ship-wide crisis.”
“Well, we were lucky,” Tendi said brightly as she continued to work on Rutherford’s shoulder. “Most of the casualties sustained only minor bumps and bruises. The few serious cases successfully went through surgery and are being kept here for observation.”
“Fly my pretties! Fly! Fly! Hehehehehe!” T’Ana cackled happily while strapped to another biobed. “Oooh, look! Bunnies!”
“Speaking of which,” Mariner shot T’Ana a look. “What’s up with the Doc?”
“Oh, she was exposed to some kind of alien plant that possessed various odoriferous properties,” Rutherford explained. “It kind of messed with her sense of reason, judgement and personality while putting her in a highly euphoric state.”
“Whoa, whoa. Back up,” Mariner held up a hand. “Are you saying the Doc got high on a form of alien catnip?”
“Well, the Caitian equivalent of it,” Rutherford said.
“Really?” An impish grin spread over Mariner’s face. “Oh, this is gonna be good!”
“If you say so,” Rutherford attempted to shrug. “Ow!”
“Stop moving so much,” Tendi scolded slipping a sling around Rutherford’s tender arm. “I relocated your shoulder and repaired the torn rotator cuff, but you still need to take it easy for a while.”
“I will, thanks,” Rutherford smiled. “Ooo, that does feel good.”
“Not as good as this is gonna be,” Mariner grinned walking over to T’Ana. “Yo, Doc! Got a minute?”
“Not yet, but I’ll catch one soon!” T’Ana giggled and attempted to catch unseen objects with her tongue. “Ha! Got one! Mmmm, tasty!”
“That’s nice,” Mariner smiled. “Say, how about we hold a little cross-departmental training exercise? You know, to help prepare the crew for the next ship-wide crisis?”
“Ooo, neat!” T’Ana chirped. “I love training!”
“Really?” Mariner smirked. “So do I!”
“Uh, what are you doing?” Tendi asked hesitantly.
“Don’t worry. I got this,” Mariner assured her.
“Hey, what’s going on here?” Westlake came over and imposed himself between Mariner and T’Ana. “Stop agitating my patient. She needs her rest.”
“I don’t wanna rest! I wanna train!” T’Ana insisted. “A bright, shiny train that has wheels and an engine and goes ‘choo-choo’!”
“That’s Chu-Chu,” Mariner corrected.
“Doctor, I really don’t think that’s a good idea considering your condition,” Westlake tried to reason with her.
“Hey, man. You heard the Doc,” Mariner brushed Westlake’s concerns aside. “This is her domain. Her word is law. She hasn’t been relieved of duty, has she?”
“Uh, no,” Westlake blinked at the question.
“She hasn’t been declared medically unfit, has she?” Mariner continued.
“Well, technically…” Westlake began.
“She’s still the ship’s CMO and ranking officer here, isn’t she?” Mariner pressed. “Are you gonna disobey a direct order from your immediate superior officer?”
“Uh,” Westlake gulped.
“Great! That’s settled!” Mariner smiled clapping her hands together. “Let’s get this training session started!”
“Yay!” T’Ana cheered.
“And since it’s a cross-departmental training exercise,” Mariner grinned wickedly. “How about we make it a little interesting?”
--------------------------------------
Meanwhile, nearby…
“I don’t believe this,” Captain Freeman hissed as she and Commander Ransom strode down the corridor. “It wasn’t enough for Mariner to make me look bad in front of Captain Durango, oh no. She had to make me look bad in front of Admiral Vassery too!”
“Look on the bright side. At least she didn’t disrespect you in front of the crew again,” Ransom pointed out.
“Oh, like that makes me feel so much better,” Freeman grumbled. “I swear, one of these days that girl is gonna get it!”
“I’d say she already did,” Ransom snorted. “Mariner more than earned her demotion back to Ensign. And if all else fails, you can always just transfer her off the ship.”
“And make it look like I can’t take whatever she dishes out? Not a chance,” Freeman shook her head. “Although we did briefly work well together during the recent terraforming incident. Maybe all Mariner needs is a little encouragement and acknowledgement that I appreciate her. Maybe she will start taking her duties more seriously and become more responsible and disciplined…”
“WAAAHOOOOOO!” Mariner appeared around a corner while pushing an anti-grav lift with a young Bajoran man lying on it covered with a medical blanket.
“Yaahhhhhh!” The young Bajoran man yelped as they shot down the corridor.
“AFTER THEM!” A still high T’Ana cheered and giggled insanely while strapped-down and being pushed on her own anti-grav lift. “DON’T LET THEM GET AWAY!”
“Yes, sir!” Tendi grinned guiding their anti-grav lift down the corridor. “Don’t worry, Doctor! Medical will win this race yet!”
“NOT IF I HAVE ANYTHING TO SCREAM ABOUT IT!” Shaxs bellowed speeding after them with Rutherford. “HANG ON, BABY BEAR! WE’LL CATCH UP WITH THEM!”
“Aaahhhhhh!” Rutherford yelped clinging to his anti-grav lift with his one good arm. “This isn’t right! I shouldn’t be here! I’m not even in Security anymore!”
“YOU’RE AN HONORARY MEMBER!” Shaxs roared. “BE HONORED!”
“SO LONG, SUCKERS!” Mariner taunted caroming off the walls. “SEE YA AT THE FINISH LINE!”
“What the…AAAHHHHHH!” Freeman yelped flattening herself against a bulkhead just in time. Ransom however was not so fortunate.
“Waaauuuggghhh!” Ransom yelled as Mariner’s anti-grav lift clipped him and sent him flying.
“OUTTA THE WAY, ROAD HOG!” Mariner snapped.
“GAAAHHH!” The young Bajoran man yelped. “HELP ME! I’M GONNA DIE!”
“You don’t have permission to die!” Mariner snapped. “Not until after the race!”
“Ohhh, that hurt,” Ransom lay sprawled out on the floor only to have Tendi and T’Ana’s anti-grav lift run over him like a steamroller. “AAACCCKKK!”
“Wheeeeee!” Tendi chirped stepping on Ransom’s prone form. “Wow, this is great!”
“PROPHETS GIVE ME WINGS!” Shaxs shouted stomping over Ransom as well.
“Aaahhhhhh!” Rutherford yelped as they passed Tendi and T’Ana.
“Hey, back off!” Mariner snapped as Shaxs and Rutherford rapidly caught up to her.
“ONE SIDE!” Shaxs roared trying to get by. “NOBODY OUT-RACES SECURITY!”
“SEE YOU LATER, SLOWPOKES!” Tendi cackled zooming past them. “EAT MY DUST! HAHAHAHAHA!”
“WANNA BET? GET HER!” Mariner and Shaxs shouted running after them.
“AAAUUUGGGHHH!” Rutherford and the young Bajoran man screamed in terror. “LOOK OUT! WATCH OUT FOR THE WALL! WATCH OUT FOR THE LIEUTENANT! NO, NOT THE TURBOLIFT! YAAAHHHHHH!”
“Ow,” A crumpled, battered Ransom whimpered. “Ohhh…medic!”
“Then again,” Freeman gritted her teeth as shouts and screams continued to echo down the Cerritos’ many corridors. “Maybe blowing Mariner out the nearest airlock isn’t such a bad idea after all!”
--------------------------------------
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek: Lower Decks.
