Part II: Post-Op
Posted on 01 Feb 2026 @ 2:07am by Lieutenant Commander Claire Dunross MD & Lieutenant Commander Riah Amberlyn XMD
1,456 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission:
Lathira Shoreleave
Location: USS Arawyn Sickbay
Timeline: Dunross' Arrival to Sickbay
~~~ Riah's office ~~~
"Have a seat, Doctor. What's your preference?" asked Riah, standing by the mini-replicator in against the side wall of her office.
She followed Riah into the office, taking in the space with the same quick efficiency she’d applied to Sickbay. Compact. Functional. Personal touches without clutter.
Claire exhaled softly, the tension finally easing from her shoulders.
“Scotch,” she said without thinking, then added, a touch drier, “Or the closest the ship can manage.”
It was half a joke. Half a truth.
"Me too." Riah ordered the drinks and sandwiches and brought the tray to the table between the two occasional chairs that made up a small sitting area to the side of her desk. "So, I just this morning returned from almost a week of shore leave. Forgive me for not knowing to meet you at the gate for your arrival. I'm Riah Amberlyn, CMO, and I think I'm delighted you're here," she said warmly. "You've already proved your worth as a surgeon. Mr Reyes is a lucky man."
When Riah returned with the tray, Claire’s brows lifted just slightly in surprise at the amber liquid in the glasses.
She accepted one, holding it up to the light for a moment. The color was right. The clarity was right. She watched the liquid shift as she tilted the glass, the familiar ritual grounding in a way she hadn’t expected.
She took a small sip.
It was… adequate. Smooth enough. Close enough to memory to be comforting, but not close enough to fool her. It never was.
Still, she nodded her approval.
Claire’s gaze drifted back to Riah then, really looking at her for the first time now that the urgency had passed. Young, not much older than herself. Fair hair, soft lines to her features that gave her an almost elfin look. There was warmth there, and intelligence, and something quietly resilient beneath it.
When Riah spoke of Reyes, Claire inclined her head slightly.
“Right place, right time,” she said. “In hindsight, I’m glad I was there. I wasn’t meant to be.” A brief pause. “But I’m much happier to be off that transport shuttle and aboard the Arawyn.”
She took another sip, slower this time, letting the glass rest loosely in her hand.
"You say you weren't meant to be where you were. How's that?" asked Riah.
Claire reached for one of the sandwiches, breaking off a small piece and taking a thoughtful bite before she answered. It gave her a moment to order the explanation without rushing it.
“I was meant to rendezvous with the Intrepid,” she said. “If that had gone to plan, I’d have been aboard the Arawyn a full day earlier.”
She paused, considering that, then added quietly, “But I’m glad I was where I was, if that had to happen at all.”
Claire set the sandwich down and turned her attention fully back to Riah.
“So now that I’m here, Dr. Amberlyn, I’m ready to jump in wherever you need me most,” she continued. “I served as CMO on my last posting. It was… smaller.” A faint, dry smile. “Your reception area alone is about the size of the entire department I came from.”
She leaned back slightly, composed and open.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how you run things here.”
“I’ve been very lucky to have the best staff possible. Chief Lucy Engerman is an excellent department manager on a daily basis, does all the scheduling of lower level staff. Doctors McDavid and Kim, the physician’s assistants and I coordinate our schedules in a weekly staff meeting. Lucy works with the head nurse and the head technician to schedule their respective staff. Did you bring a personal yeoman with you?” asked Riah.
Claire gave a short, surprised laugh at the question of a yeoman.
“No,” she said. “I’ve never quite had the luxury.” A faint smile followed. “I’m not even sure I’d know what to do with one if I did.”
She shrugged lightly.
“I tend to stay on top of my own reports and scheduling. It keeps me honest. If it ever becomes a problem, I’ll reassess, but so far it’s served me well.”
"That works. We rotate into the Annex, on deck 16, during its hours of operation, which are 0800 to 1800 daily for routine exams. We don’t do surgeries there except on an emergency basis, which hasn’t happened since we launched. As far as main sickbay goes, we are all on call if there is a need, of course, but by adding you, the number of clinical hours we each have duty per week will be less stressful, if not less number of hours. I'm not a big fan of meetings, but we have a day staff and night staff meeting every week, on day 1, and a supervisor meeting on day 4 to make sure we are still on task. Dr McDavid usually runs that day 4 meeting. He'd be glad to turn that over to you now though if you prefer. How would you characterize your management style?" asked the CMO.
Claire listened through the rest without interrupting, committing names, rhythms, and structure to memory as Riah spoke. By the time the question came, she already had a working mental map of how Sickbay functioned day to day.
“My management style is fairly simple,” Claire said after a moment. “I’m not interested in micromanaging people who know their jobs. I set expectations clearly, make myself available when decisions are needed, and otherwise trust my staff to do the work they’re trained for.”
She tilted her head slightly, considering.
“I value predictability in operations and flexibility in execution. If something’s working, I won’t fix it for the sake of change. If it isn’t, I’d rather address it directly than let it fester.”
A brief pause, then, more lightly, “I’m not especially fond of meetings either. If Doctor McDavid has a rhythm established on day four, I’m happy to let him keep it. I don’t need the chair to contribute, only a seat at the table.”
Her gaze returned to Riah, open but assured.
“My priority is patient care and staff sustainability. If adding me eases the load and sharpens response time, then we’re doing it right.”
She leaned back slightly, the edge of a smile barely there.
“And if you find I’m overstepping, I expect you to tell me. I won’t take it personally.”
"No, on the contrary, I think we will mesh very well on sharing management. I tend to focus on long-term development. I want the staff, all of them, to exceed their perceived potential. I encourage innovation, but not change for the sake novelty. And you will find the staff here is very competent. Once people figured out their responsibilities, we've not had any trouble. I say all that with one exception."
Riah stopped and took a generous sip of her drink. "Somehow, during my absence on shore leave, this Department was left without staff, at least visible reception and treatment staff. I'm gonna find out how that happened in a full department meeting tomorrow morning. You are expected at that meeting, though I realize you were not party to the situation in question. I'll say no more, since I don't know a lot more ...yet. But I know for damn sure it will never happen again."
Claire considered that quietly. There were any number of explanations that could account for what Riah described, and she’d been aboard the Arawyn for just a couple hours. Drawing conclusions now would be premature, and she had no intention of doing so aloud.
“I look forward to meeting the entire team tomorrow,” she said instead, tone even and receptive. “Whatever happened, it’s clearly not something to speculate on without context.”
She inclined her head slightly, acknowledging both the situation and Riah’s authority.
“And I appreciate being included,” she added. “I’m happy to observe, contribute where useful, and stay out of the way where I’m not.”
After a brief pause, her expression softened just a fraction.
“I am genuinely looking forward to this assignment. My internship was split between a starbase and a colony, and since then I’ve worked in a far smaller, more condensed department.” A faint, thoughtful smile. “It’s good to be back in a larger operation again.”
She settled back comfortably, meeting Riah’s gaze.
“I think you’re right,” Claire said. “We’ll mesh just fine.”
LtCmdr Riah Amberlyn, XMD
Chief Medical Officer
USS Arawyn
LtCmdr Claire Dunross, MD
Asst Chief Medical Officer
USS Arawyn
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