Bright Enough to Leave No Shadows

Posted on Mon Jun 1st, 2026 @ 9:39pm by Lieutenant Darik Moreau & Lieutenant Commander Lahki Bakshi Dr

1,054 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Ghost Starship
Location: Sickbay

Lt. Darik Moreau rolled his neck slightly as he walked, the motion small enough to pass without notice, more habit than necessity, easing the set of muscle along his shoulders as he turned into Sickbay. Tension was carried there, and in the jaw. Over time he had become better at easing them, at...working through it.

Sickbay itself was...well. Bright. Brighter than his eyes liked, making him turn his head a little against it until he blinked and they adjusted. Starfleet did not design medical spaces for comfort so much as clarity, and everything in the room reflected that, from the clean lines of the biobeds to the even lighting that left very little in shadow. It meant nothing could hide, which was, he suspected, rather the point. And he had to respect that.

A new ship always meant a medical. He was never worried about them. He was healthy, overall anyway. Some bad habits now and then, but he was good at...just putting wants aside to focus. He continued in, hands relaxed as he came to a stop. There were people working. As usual, he sought out the highest ranking out of curiosity. The officer ahead drew his focus more by contrast than anything else, standing where others moved, Betazoid if the eyes had not already made that clear, dark and steady in a way that suggested very little escaped her. Her hair was drawn back neatly, practical rather than decorative, and the rest of her presentation followed the same line, composed without appearing rigid, deliberate without calling attention to it. Chief Medical Officer, because she was a Lieutenant Commander. Or he assumed anyway.

He moved forward, but to a nurse, introducing himself before being directed to Doctor Bakshi...and he finally had a name to go with the rank of the Chief. "Doctor Bakshi. Lt. Moreau, here for my medical."

Lhaki was stood in the middle of Sickbay. It wasn't too busy today but she ran a tight ship. Not a strict one, just tight. Nothing was to be out of place-they were professionals. Still, she knew how to have fun and not take anything-even herself-TOO seriously all the time.

"Ok, Lieutenant, please move all non-emergent patients out of here. Get them back to work; Captain will be unhappy if too many people are missing. Like Petty Officer Stevens only has a goose egg. He's ok to go back, but you come back here if you start feeling like you're going to vomit, ok?" She said. Her "questions" were couched in gentle demands; a trick learned from both her long career and motherhood. Both of her boys were grown now; at the Academy but she had found that the sound of a mother's warning was effective on most-child, man, woman, alien. It didn't really seem to matter.

She sensed a new being in the space that hadn't been there a minute ago, and she turned around.

"Lt. Moreau. Nice to meet you, right on time. Thanks. Come on over," she said, stepping forward towards a private alcove where a biobed was setup and ready.

"Thanks for coming in today; I appreciate when I don't have to hunt you down," she said, helping him to sit down and then pressing some buttons. "Your file looks normal; mostly good health. Anything I should know before we begin?" She asked.

"No," he said and shook his head, watching her for a moment. She was older than he had initially thought. "I have a decently strong constitution. A bit sensitive to cold, but nothing to cause concern." And it was something he had lived with since he was a child. Couldn't trick the Cardassian parts of his DNA into thinking that Starfleet ship average temperature was...tropical.

"Ok, good," she noted. "That makes sense that you're sensitive to cold. How do you manage that? Heater in your quarters? A special lamp?" She was watching the data. She was pleased with this; he was fine so far.

"Turn up the internal temperature controls," he said with a chuckle, taking a deeper breath. "In my quarters. Not...so hot it becomes a drain on the ship, but enough so that I am not constantly walking with a chill on my cords."

Lahki nodded. "That sounds sensible. What do you do to keep in shape?" She asked. Physical fitness was important-not just for one's physical health and to meet Starfleet standard, but also to keep one's head clear and have an outlet.

"Mostly running or swimming," he admitted as he glanced at Lahki. He had never been one of those people to hit the gym and pump weights. Or do holodeck fights. He could fight hand to hand - who in Intelligence couldn't - but it was never something he would seek out and do on his spare time. "And archery," he added, which was his true passion.

Lahki nodded. "Those things sound good," she said. "Archery is good for upper body strength. What do you do to relax?" She asked. The data was satisfactory; he was, indeed, in good health.

He looked at her before a small smile curled his lips. "Archery," he said, before he chuckled at how it sounded. "And...I play this Earth instrument, known as an acoustic guitar."

Lahki smiled. "That one I know. My ex husband was Human," she said. "Rock and roll was one thing I never understood," she said. "Admittedly, though, I didn't give it much thought back then. He had to give it up when we had our children, but I know he wanted to do more musically. He was an Engineer and I think it helped him to quiet his mind."

She sighed. "Alright, I think I am done unless you have anything you'd like to share, or anything else I should know. Don't forget to visit the Counselor shortly, too. Starfleet Medical is on our sixes to get onboarding evals done."

Darik studied her for a moment before he shook his head. "Nothing else with me, Doctor," he said before he stood from the biobed, rolling his neck slightly. "I'm not adverse to doing an onboarding evaluation. Or scared of sickbays and counsellors," the last was said with a hint of humour.

----

Lt. Darik Moreau
Chief Intelligence Officer

&

Lt. Commander Lahki Bakshi
Chief Medical Officer

RSS Feed