Scars Beneath the Hull
Posted on Sun Jul 19th, 2026 @ 9:36pm by Captain Connor Nolan & Commander Tal'Shara
1,158 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
Preamble
Location: Sickbay - Deck 12
Timeline: MD 0 0900
The steady hum of Spacedock operations echoed through the docking ring as a lone figure stepped from the transporter alcove onto the decks of the USS Venture. Cargo teams moved around her with hurried purpose, engineers argued over power relays somewhere deeper in the corridor, and the scent of scorched circuitry still lingered faintly in the recycled air.
Dr. Tal'Shara paused only briefly.
Tall and poised, she carried the composed stillness of Vulcan discipline tempered by the warmer, more observant nature of her Denobulan heritage. Dark eyes swept across the corridor, taking in every detail — the fatigue in passing crewmen, the patching of the bulkheads, the subtle tension hanging over a ship still recovering from whatever had nearly broken her. It is usually a joyous time the end of a refit.
A slim medical case rested at her side as she adjusted the collar of her uniform.
“Commander Tal'Shara,” the dock officer greeted. “Welcome aboard the Venture.”
Her expression remained calm, though not cold.
“I have reviewed the preliminary refit reports,” she replied evenly. “Your medical department appears… she's a beauty!”
The doctor gave a chuckle. “That’s one way to put it.”
Tal'Shara inclined her head slightly before continuing down the corridor toward Sickbay, her measured footsteps disappearing into the wounded heartbeat of the ship.
The Venture was still scarred. She was still healing from the war, we all were. She headed to the nearest Turbolift and called out for the Sickbay.
The doors to Sickbay parted with a soft hydraulic hiss.
Tal'Shara stepped inside and paused for the first time since boarding the Venture. Everything gleamed.
Fresh biobeds lined the ward in perfect symmetry beneath crisp white lighting. The faint scent of sterilizing agents still lingered in the air, untouched equipment sat precisely where it had been installed, and new LCARS displays shimmered softly across polished workstations waiting for their first true emergency.
For a long moment, she simply observed. The Venture herself still carried the scars of war beneath her hull plating, but here… here was something reborn.
Tal'Shara slowly moved deeper into Sickbay, fingertips brushing lightly across the edge of a diagnostics console. New surgical suites. Expanded trauma stations. Modernized xenomedical labs. Someone had spared no expense rebuilding the heart of the ship.
A crewman nearby straightened nervously as the new Chief Medical Officer entered.
“Commander, welcome to Sickbay.”
Her dark eyes shifted toward him, calm and assessing.
“It appears Starfleet Engineers have attempted to compensate for years of medical inefficiency with polished surfaces and upgraded hardware,” she said evenly.
The crewman blinked once before realizing the faintest trace of amusement hiding beneath her Vulcan restraint.
“…Thank you, Commander.”
Tal'Shara allowed herself the smallest smile as she turned toward the main ward.
“Let us hope the Venture requires this facility less often than her previous records suggest.” Tal'shara attempted her humor.
The shipboard tannoy pinged and the Computer's automated voice, "Now hear this, as of zero nine hundreds hours this morning, this vessel is now under the command of Captain Conor Nolan."
[30 Minutes Later]
The double doors to sickbay, which had been silent since the Doctor arrived, hissed open was again. This time, a tall redheaded officer wearing the maroon variant of the Starfleet uniform strode through the door without breaking his stride. He paused for a moment, visually located the Doctor, pivoted his path and continued to her.
"Commander Tal'Shara." he approached with a hand outstretched in front of him, offering it as a welcoming gesture.
Tal'Shara looked over her shoulder and fought a smile, "Oh, a red head!"
She went to extend her hand and looked down as the piles of goop seeped from her hand. "Hip Bump?"
"Uh, next time." Nolan's arm dropped back to his side, "Commander, I appreciate you're busy getting settled in. I have here on this PADD by medical report, from Starfleet Medical. It was only completed the other day, so should still be valid."
"That," Tal'Shara scrutinizing from a distance, "should be acceptable. I usually do not like Starfleet Medical doing my job. I would prefer that, I do it from this point forward. With all the happenings with the war and the Shape Shifters, it would place my Vulcan Curiosity at ease."
"I have no issue submitting myself to you for a Medical Doctor, I'm just a little pressed for time right now." he answered, before continuing.
"While I have you Doctor. I've been informed that the colonists onboarding at Deep Space Nine, will need to go through an inoculation and basic medical checks before being allowed to officially join this cohort of settlers. I'll make Shuttlebay 3 available to use as a temporary medical facility, if thats useful. Alternatively, we could utilise the holodecks." As Nolan finished his sentence, he pulled one of the fitted sheets of a nearby biobed and presented it to the Doctor as a towel to catch the still dripping 'goo'. "Here," he finished.
She caught the towel and wiped off her hands. "Let's use the holodecks, it will allow for my holographic counterparts to participate."
She fingered the padd diligently there was nothing of note, no discrepancies, she eyed the Commanding Officer and nodded. "My Medical Staff will be up to the task Captain."
"A full holographic medical department? That sounds power intensive Doctor. Please liaise with the Chief Operations Officer on ensuring that it can be adequately resourced. I look forward to seeing how it works." he nodded, "Anything else?"
"Negative Captain, I shall liaise with the Operations Chief for the Holodecks to be set up, have they arrived? Usually Sickbay is the first check in for the Senior Staff." Tal'Shara looked concerned.
“I’ve decided to retain Commander Nasra sh’Zarath as Chief Operations Officer. She oversaw much of the Venture’s refit here at the dockyard, so no one knows the ship’s systems better. She’ll also serve as second officer.”
Nolan let his gaze travel around the infirmary.
During the war, many Galaxy-class ships had been stripped of the comforts once intended for diplomats, families and visiting dignitaries. Fabric partitions and decorative finishes had given way to dark metal, sealed surfaces and fittings designed to be repaired quickly—or replaced entirely.
The Venture’s refit had not erased that history. The infirmary still possessed the clean, functional geometry of a wartime medical facility, but some warmth had been restored. Carpet softened the deck beneath his boots, and fabric-lined panels broke up the expanses of grey alloy. The effect was restrained rather than luxurious: a modern Starfleet sickbay built inside the bones of a ship that remembered combat.
“I hope I won’t have reason to visit too often,” Nolan said, turning towards the exit. “Thank you, Doctor. Keep me informed.”
The Doctor nodded and looked down at the Captain as he left, Her appointment tracker, no appointments for the the morning. Walking around to her surgical console she wondered what she could do.
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