| May 15th, 2155
| Medical Lab, Sickbay, E-Deck,
Discovery NX-04, Deep Space
| 1000 hrs[/b]
Behind the
set of double doors marked with caduceus symbols on E deck was the
Discovery's sickbay. Laboring in the medical lab was a lonely figure in a surgical gown. Laying on a table before her was the prone and still body of late Commander Dewitt Cayne. An autopsy is generally a solemn occasion and when the medical examiner is a Vulcan it didn't add the slightest bit of cheer. Crewman 1st Class Maria Ribbons was standing nearby in surgical scrubs assisting.
"I still can't believe somebody's died," Crewman Ribbons babbled, "and it's the first officer no less! Good God, if this is how our trip starts how is it going to end?"
"It will likely end with my calling Petty Officer Mercedes in here," Doctor Maya quipped dryly. "I understand your anxiety, Maria, but I find it distracting."
"You understand my anxiety?" Maria Ribbons blinked. "Really? I thought that Vulcans didn't have..."
"My apologies," Maya interrupted. "I really
don't understand your anxiety. I was merely being polite."
"Oh," the medical orderly muttered.
The door hissed open behind them.
"It seems we have a visitor," Maya commented dryly.
Leo was feeling tense as he strode through the sickbay doors, his jaw set tight and his lips thin. Since the explosion and his unexpected battlefield promotion to first officer he had done the same thing he always did when faced with a high stress situation; he gritted his teeth and focused on the job at hand. Whether it was conducting an experiment ahead of a high pressure deadline or leading an investigation into an attack on a starship, Leo would dive in head first and get the job done.
After issuing orders to the security teams and taking a brief report from the engineering department, he made his way down to sickbay for the next, grim step in his investigation. The body of Commander Cayne - it helped not to think of him as Dewitt - lay on bed in the centre of sickbay attended by two medical staff, one of whom Leo immediately recognised as the ship's Vulcan CMO.
"Doctor Maya," he said, getting the doctor's attention as he walked toward her and her junior colleague.
"Commander Carpegiani, welcome to sickbay," the little Vulcan replied while clasping her hands and gracing him with a formal nod. "It is unfortunate that we haven't gotten better acquainted before now, and a greater pity that it was not under more pleasant circumstances. Crewman Ribbon and I were examining Commander Cayne and attempting to recover any bomb fragments that could aid you in identifying the explosive."
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