Mostly Innocent

Posted on Thu Jul 13th, 2023 @ 8:19am by Commander Benjamin Jamesson & Commander William Gerhard & Ensign Isaac 'Zac' Hughes & Lieutenant JG Calanthe 'Cal' Diaz

Mission: Sojurn
Location: Atlantis
Timeline: 337
3152 words - 6.3 OF Standard Post Measure

"Before you ask, this was not his fault."

Calanthe unravelled herself from the arm she'd draped over her shoulder out of sheer stubborn refusal to face facts. If Ben had toppled over, there would have been nothing her small frame could have done about it except possibly fall to pieces if he landed on her, but the engineer had managed the movement through the ship fairly independently, also owing to a degree of stubborn independence. It reminded Cal that this version was a Commander, someone who was used to leading this group of strangers with familiar faces, and that showing weakness in any sort of public arena was causing him arguably more distress than his head injury. She took his hands in hers and lead him towards an empty biobed, only switching her attention to the approaching doctor once she was certain he was safe and unlikely to pass out.

"We intercepted an assault on one of the locals, they weren't all that pleased about it."

A deep frown creased Isaac's face. Somehow, the crew had managed to keep their medical staff busier now than when they were in flight, which would have made sense had even half the injuries been related to the climate. Picking up one of the medical flashlights, he stepped forward and gently rested his hand against Ben's head to pull up his eyelid and peer at his pupil response.

"You could always try not putting your head in the way of incoming punches for once."

"That's what I said," Cal smiled ruefully, hovering whilst trying not to get in the way.

Ben had chosen to stay very quiet up to this part but his ability to stay quiet for only so long was in part to sheer determination and that was gone. “Bite me.” He said simply in a pained tone that revealed just how short tempered he was feeling as well as the fact his head really hurt.

"I'd rather keep my teeth," Isaac retorted, undaunted by the engineer's bad mood. Despite the fact that Ben had once been his superior officer, the pair had come through too much now for friendship not to override any professional connection. Isaac was well-aware that this second fight, coming so soon after the first, could just be a poorly-timed coincidence but a psychologist's perspective had him sceptical. The doctor moved away for a moment and returned with an ice-gel pack, which he settled against Ben's forehead and then forced the man to hold there himself by lifting his hand. "Any double vision? Nausea?"

“Both and pain.” The man admitted not looking at either of them. It had cost him enough to admit that let alone watch the sympathy that would ooze from both of them soon enough. He was not used to being the one ill and sick.

For once, Calanthe held her tongue, though the anxiousness in her eyes wouldn't have eased Ben's discomfort. Her gaze flitted back and forth between the two, an attempt to read the doctor's expression whilst looking for herself for signs of Ben's condition worsening. "Is there something I can do?"

"If you grab some warm water and a cloth, you may have better luck than I will letting him clean the wound site." Isaac, not without sympathy, was also not inclined to coddle the surly man, who had been a terrible patient even before his world had been ripped to shreds. "I'll prepare a couple of injections."

As he moved off to do that, using the opportunity to also reluctantly inform the command office that a pair of crew had returned from the planet with injuries resulting from an assault, Cal studied Ben's downcast features for a moment and quietly did as the doctor asked. When she returned with the water, and the fresh cloth, she hesitated, deflated somewhat and dabbed the wet fabric as gently as she could around the circumference of the impact site.

"You know, you probably saved that man's life."

Ben winced at the cloth on his wounds and gripped the edge of the biobed but made no other movements. "I know." He said quietly not quite meeting her gaze but keeping his eyes on the grey spot above her shoulder. He would have done it anyway even with knowing it might cost him, he was that type of person but it did not mean he was not at all a fan of what came next.

"Which is exactly what we're telling the Captain." The stubborn set of Calanthe's jawline was achingly familiar to anyone who knew her well, or thought they might. "And it's definitely what we're telling Gerhard. Hey," she moved her hand to his jaw for a moment to exert enough pressure to coax him into looking at her. "We did the right thing."

The man looked pained to move and frowned but nodded either way knowing it was exactly what was going to happen but it just hurt his head either way. “We will but does not mean that they will accept it or…” the man stopped as the sickbay door opened.

William stepped through the threshold having been notified of the latest incident while he was waiting to return to the planet's surface for the ice sculpting festival. It seemed that fates were aligning for him to miss the slight familiarity of home on the planet, and that tended to color his current mood. Upon hearing the familiar name had nearly sent him through the bulkhead, but he did his best to keep his temper in check before hearing all the facts. He made his way over to the biobed where the two individuals were and stood before them. The quick glance at the bio feedback monitor told him the patient was not close to death, so he fixed the two with a look before he folded his arms across his chest. The cold weather parka he wore rustled and was the only sound heard in sickbay.

"Care to explain," William asked directing his gaze towards Jameson.

"We intercepted a local being attacked." Of absolutely no surprise to anyone present, Calanthe didn't let Ben speak before she attempted to divert Gerhard's annoyance, turning from tending to the engineer's injury to place herself very noticeably between the two men. Far from intimidated by William's promotion, a very familiar stubbornness flashed as imminent defiance in her eyes as Cal pulled herself up to full height. "One of them punched Ben, the other grabbed me." For the first time, the brunette revealed the angry bruise around her forearm by rolling up her sleeve and holding it up for inspection, along with an expression on her face that dared the Executive Officer to find fault.

The commander in question opened his mouth to speak but the woman got there before him. He was in no mood to speak as his head hurt so much but he was not going to let Gerhard think too badly of him. “I could not see someone getting hurt.” The man said stubbornly.

Will raised an eyebrow as he looked from Cal to Jameson. He took note of the injuries on Cal’s forearm before looking at the bruising on Jameson’s face. “I see, and alerting the Releaian authorities did not cross your minds,” he asked. His tone was not accusatory, the injuries sustained by both leant their story some credence. He was surprised by this incident though. William had been led to believe that crime on the planet was well controlled.

"They mugged him in one of the service underpasses. By the time we realised it was an attack and not someone struggling with deliveries, it was too late." The look on Cal's face not only questioned Gerhard's assumptions but his sanity along with it. "Their authorities showed up after we'd already intervened."

As the executive officer finished Ben opened his mouth to argue but his eyes rolled up into his head and the man pitched foreward to the floor.

William saw the man start to pitch forward and he quickly put his arms out to catch the man before he impacted the deck with his full weight. He knelt down and tried to ease the man down to the deck easy before he looked over his shoulder. “Doctor,” he called out with alarm before he turned his gaze back to Jameson.

The flurry of activity resulted first in a Herculean attempt by Cal to assist William in managing Ben's bulk. It allowed her at least to cradle his head as Hughes rushed over and the men managed to wrangle the heavy-set engineer up onto the biobed.

"I'd hate to meet the guy who can lay Jamesson out," Isaac remarked, worried but doing his best to downplay it having caught the look on Diaz's face. "Commander, I think it goes without saying that I will need to keep him here and under observation for now. I can treat the concussion and the underlying exhaustion, and provide a detailed assessment of both Commander Jamesson's and Lieutenant Diaz's injuries for an official incident report. I would appreciate an updated threat assessment if one is deemed required, however." He shared a glance with Calanthe before adding, "If there are violent factions on the planet capable of doing this to Ben, imagine the state Calanthe would be in if a punch had landed. A warning to the crew wouldn't go astray."

William stepped back and gave Isaac space to work as he listened. He furrowed his brow at what the man said, but he agreed with them. "Very well, please keep me updated on his condition. I will speak to the Releaian authorities about this. The ambassador assured us there would be no trouble during our stay," he said in reply. Even as he said it, he realized it had been partly foolish to have trusted the ambassador's word. Every world had crime in some for or another, those that claimed otherwise were just fooling themselves.

Isaac inclined his head in silent thanks as his focus for the moment resided on examining the unconscious Jamesson. A small medical light shone into the man's eyes didn't provoke a lot of reaction, which furrowed the doctor's brow but earned no further comment. Taking several steps, he moved towards one of the overhead scanners and wheeled it into position to take a better look at what was going on inside the engineer's head, though Isaac wasn't sure even the Realians had invented the technology capable of solving that conundrum.

"Lieutenant, can I get you to go check in with the nurse?," Hughes glanced up at Calanthe, staring only a moment as she opened her mouth to protest. "I need imaging of your injury for my assessment report, it will aid the Commander in having a leg to stand on when he advocates on yours and Ben's behalf." It was a rather subtle yet masterful manoeuvring of the woman, appealing to a sense of self-righteousness that made it difficult for Diaz to refuse. The brunette still seemed to hesitate, and certainly didn't seem pleased about her eventual decision to oblige, but at least she went.

It gave Hughes an opportunity to lower his voice and, eyes tracking the departing woman's progress, Isaac then flicked his gaze up to meet Gerhard's just briefly before he wrestled one final time moving the scanner into place and then activated it.

"Commander, as much as I'm sure you can appreciate that this is a difficult subject for me to raise, I am concerned about Commander Jamesson. His capacity to absorb himself in his work is not new but it goes without saying that he has suffered tremendously. As have many of us," Hughes acknowledged, "but perhaps none with quite the Commander's capacity for self-recrimination. The loss of ship and crew weighs on him, as well as his...personal losses." Isaac chose not to elaborate immediately under the circumstances; he wouldn't have put it past Ben to feign sleep. "I noted that he was reprimanded alongside Cusack for the altercation in the bar. As the only witness presence, I can vouch that there was no provocation on Ben's part. Cusack attacked him before there was even time to properly register his arrival. I have already heard all the reasons for why Ben feels like he deserved it," Isaac held up a hand to stave off the interjection, "But that is my point. The Commander feels himself to blame for everything at the moment and I am worried that this new incident may be indicative of him seeking out penance."

William stole a glance down at the man laying on the bed as he listened before he turned his attention back to Isaac. He agreed that he could see the pattern, but William and the captain had discussed the incident before he had delivered the punishment. "What are you suggesting then doctor? The captain and I did not want to confine him to the ship for the duration of our stay since we are not certain when an opportunity like this would come again. I understand that he was not responsible for the incident, but he did share some culpability in his response to Cusack's unprovoked assault," William said in explanation.

The doctor's eyebrows raised. "Response? He wasn't happy about it but Ben didn't retaliate, Commander. All things considered, I think you'd still be scraping Cusack off the floor if he had. Regardless," Isaac moved on, not having intended to make questioning the command team's consequence his main point, "I thought only to bring it to your attention because I'm very aware that Ben is an expert in seeming in control, until he's not." Risking a glance behind him, Isaac lowered his volume slightly and added, "And if our universes are as similar as they have appeared so far, this particular combination may require some empathy sprinkled amongst the objectivity." It was further than he was willing to go, though his professional obligations would force him to divulge the private matters of a friend sooner or later. It wasn't a pleasant predicament but Gerhard deserved to know where the potential spot-fires were, especially when the situation was prone to volatility that even Hughes couldn't predict.

William nodded in response before speaking again. "I see your point. You'll have to forgive, but I did not know 'our' Ben Jameson well outside of a professional setting. Perhaps I was pushing my own expectations on how 'our' Ben would've responded in a similar setting," he said before continuing, "Especially since he was our previous executive officer and I was his subordinate."

Hughes considered the shift in dynamics a moment and, affording the unconscious man on the bed a moment's consideration, gestured with a bob of his head for Gerhard to join him a decent distance from earshot. This was, Isaac reflected, the worst part about offering to tend to the crew's mental health requirements; risking the sense of betrayal from a friend who would never ask for help himself.

"I say this reluctantly, Commander, because I really don't want to intrude. If I wear my professional hat, I'd also caution you not to intervene unless required but certain medical disclosures fall under a mandatory obligation to report and this likely counts." The doctor's gaze wandered back towards the room, where Diaz sat with her back to the pair of them as the nurse took images of her arm. "Kowalski, or Smith as you knew him, had a lasting effect on most of the crew. Yourself included, I'm sure." Here, Hughes levelled a pointed look at Gerhard, who was by no means off the man's radar simply because he outranked him. "Ben carries the weight of his inability to protect his crew..." Isaac sighed. "And his significant other." An angled glance made it unnecessary to name names. "Meanwhile, your Communications Chief has reported a memory dump courtesy of our unwanted guest that has blurred the lines considerably. They are both struggling," he put plainly.

"I understand your point, which is why the captain and I have encouraged everyone to take shore leave on the planet. We don't know when an opportunity like this will come again, and perhaps we may have been overzealous in making sure the opportunity wasn't taken away from us," William replied matching his tone with Isaac's. "Lexi has mentioned she is worried on how Diaz has been processing what happened to her," He added recalling a conversation he had had with his fiancé. He figured sharing this small bit of information with Isaac was appropriate given they both seemed to be in a disclosing mood.

"I'll do what I can for them," Hughes vowed, aware that it was his jurisdiction now that the Captain had agreed to extending medical services to include a mental health division under his guidance. "Starting with making sure Commander Jamesson gets a decent amount of sleep." He glanced over to the unconscious man. "But they are both showing signs of isolating themselves and that will be combatted best by the support system that places itself deliberately around them. The same could be said of all of us. I fear leaving the planet is going to be harder on the crew than if we'd never had the opportunity, in some respects."

"I agree, there's no guarantee that we will have this opportunity again. We should probably start preparing the crew for the inevitability of our departure, though we still don't know when that might be. The longer we stay, the harder it will be," William replied. His thoughts went back to the old tale of the mutiny on the HMS Bounty from ancient Earth history. From his time at Starfleet Academy, he knew that the Bounty's prolonged stay in Tahiti had been a large factor in that crew's decision to mutiny against the officers, though he didn't feel the same scenario would play out here.

"Lottie pointed out that there are a lot of simple pleasures here that it had become almost easy to forget about. Reawakening a longing for home will be a motivator of sorts but focusing on bringing some of those little things along with us will be vital, I think. A new deck of cards," the doctor smiled. "Some fresh art supplies. Updated sporting equipment."

"Anything you think will help, the captain and I will support it," he said before pausing and giving him an upraised eyebrow, "Just don't trade away something we won't be able to replace."

A faint smile softened the earnest concern in Hughes' eyes. "Aye, sir."

"Keep me informed of their progress," William said as he looked at both Jamesson and over where Cal had been surreptitiously glancing their way. He then turned and headed towards the exit, hoping he could still make the next shuttle down to the surface.