A/N:
This is a disclaimer that Star Trek belongs to CBS and Paramount, not me. No copyright infringement is intended with this work.
Chapter One
Stardate 2266.189
"Cutting it very close aren't we Bones?" Jim wondered as he looked at McCoy who walked briskly inside the shuttle. A moment later the flight officer closed the shuttle door behind him and headed for the front of the shuttle.
"I'm here aren't I?" McCoy replied as he sat down beside Jim and buckled himself in. He could feel the shuttle begin to take off a few moments later. Lieutenant Sulu sat on his other side. The pilot leaned in closer to him.
"Permission to speak freely Doctor?" he asked. McCoy nodded in agreement.
"Congratulations to you both. Just know that if you hurt S'nell then I'll kick your ass even though you do outrank me." Lieutenant Sulu quietly threatened him. McCoy realized that Lieutenant Sulu must have noticed the two of them leave to talk and had probably seen the fond glances he and S'nell had shared after they had both rejoined the party.
"Understood Mr Sulu. I'll try to avoid that if I can." McCoy stated. The pilot was the last man he wanted to fight, he admitted to himself.
"Wait a minute. You and S'nell got together last night? You're a couple now?" Jim said as he looked at him in dawning realization.
"Yeah." was all McCoy said. He smiled fondly as he remembered their kisses last night.
"I've never slept with an Andorian before. Did she beat you badly?" Jim wondered.
"Jim, that's none of your business." McCoy protested firmly. He knew that Jim wouldn't understand why he and S'nell wanted to wait to have sex when his friend would sleep with women after very little acquaintance. Even when he and S'nell did decide to become more intimate McCoy didn't intend to talk about the details with anyone, he resolved.
"All right. I won't ask for any more details. But if S'nell breaks your heart then she'll regret it because she'll have me to deal with." Jim warned him.
"Jim, don't fight with S'nell. I don't want to have to patch you up from a fight that you will lose." McCoy told him.
"Fine. I'm glad that you're coming with us back into space Bones." Jim changed the subject.
"It's just as well that I was ordered to come on this mission. After all, I don't trust anyone else to look after your reckless ass." McCoy stated.
"Don't worry Bones it will be fine. Besides, spending five more years in unexplored space will be fun." Jim assured him.
"Jim, how many times have you said that and then later discovered it wasn't fine or fun?" McCoy wanted to know.
"That's a rhetorical question right?" Jim asked. McCoy rolled his eyes when he heard that.
"Just stay away from alien women who want to sleep with you and alien creatures that want to eat you. If you can manage that then this five year mission will go more smoothly then the last one." McCoy advised him.
"I can't make any promises Bones. Especially not about the women." Jim responded.
"That's what I'm dreading." McCoy stated. Before Jim could respond to that Commander Dh'lar laughed. McCoy looked at him.
"What's so amusing Commander Dh'lar?" he asked.
"It is only that your banter with the Captain reminds me of my dialogue with my third wife at times. We often bicker but I personally think that is part of her charm. She enjoys our heated conversations and so I indulge her by arguing back." Commander Dh'lar responded.
"Will you miss your spouses Commander Dh'lar?" wondered Lieutenant Sulu.
"The proper term for all spouses in a Denobulan marriage is a marriage group and yes I will Lieutenant Sulu. But I will do my best to stay in touch with my marriage group as much as possible. Denobulans are very social people so I'm going to do my best to get to know this crew very well." Commander Dh'lar answered.
"So that's why you mingled so much at the going away party. I think you introduced yourself to everyone there." Lieutenant Sulu observed.
"Yes I did. More of this mingling as you call it will happen in the days and weeks ahead as I get to know the crew of the Enterprise A further." Commander Dh'lar stated.
"May I ask you a personal question Commander Dh'lar?" Jim wondered.
"Go ahead Captain." Commander Dh'lar stated.
"What is it like to have a marriage group? I mean, how do you keep them all happy?" Jim asked. McCoy wondered the same thing. After all, Commander Dh'lar had three wives all of whom had three husbands.
"It is complicated to be sure." Commander Dh'lar responded.
"Is it true that faithfulness is not required in a Denobulan marriage?" Jim questioned.
"Yes. You see, Denobulan women are much more likely to initiate sex then the man outside of the mating season. So in order to keep our wives happy we have allowed them to seek other companionship in the bedroom. However much you dress it up in cultural mores sex is about hormones and the exchange of bodily fluids for pleasure and procreation. So why would I deny anyone a chance to indulge in such a desire even if they did not wish to do so with me?" Commander Dh'lar explained. McCoy had always thought sex was about the emotional as well as the physical so he didn't quite agree with the Denobulan about that. But it did remind him of something he'd been taught at the Academy.
"Speaking of sex you can get violent during your mating season don't you?" McCoy demanded.
"Yes I can Doctor McCoy. So I would recommend that you sedate and restrain me for that week and have someone else take over my duties." Commander Dh'lar stated.
"I'll remember to do that Commander Dh'lar." McCoy told him. Commander Dh'lar nodded then fell silent.
The shuttle soon landed in the shuttle bay and then they all disembarked onto the Enterprise A. McCoy knew the quartermaster would ensure that his luggage would get transferred to his quarters. He had confirmed that his quarters were in the same location as when the Enterprise A had left Yorktown so he headed to the med bay. While most of the medical equipment in the med bay hadn't changed much there was a brand new version of the bio bed. McCoy approached one and pressed the button that should have turned it on. But the screen above the bio bed instead remained black. McCoy looked around the room and soon saw Ensign Pajari, who was one of the medical technicians. He examined a medical scanner with Doctor Chapel who stood beside him.
"Ensign Pajari, give me a tutorial about this bio bed now." demanded McCoy. Ensign Pajari nodded to Doctor Chapel then walked over to McCoy.
"They changed the automatic start routine on this model. Instead of a button now you have to apply a certain amount of pressure to the surface of the bed before the bio bed starts functioning automatically. If you sit or lie down on the bio bed then it will turn on." Ensign Pajari stated. In order to demonstrate he sat on the bio bed. A moment later the computer console lit up and turned on. Both men looked at the display.
"As you can see the information about the name of the patient, heart rate, breathing rate, metabolic rate, blood pressure, and the attending medical officer are all the same. Now let me explain these buttons. The first button displays an awake or resting state based on the vital signs and movement of the patient." Ensign Pajari stated then pressed the first button. Another screen flashed on the console. "This second button is for the restraints. Ankle, wrist, and waist restraints are all automatic now. If there is a computer malfunction then you'll have to use manual restraints. Those can be found in the compartment at the foot of the bio bed which is also the location of a pillow and blanket. That will certainly free up space in the cabinets." he explained.
"Do these bio beds operate on a continuous running manner like the old ones?" McCoy wanted to know.
"The bio bed will remain on if it senses continuous pressure or movement on the surface. If not then it will turn off an hour after the last pressure or movement in an attempt to conserve power. If the pressure sensors malfunction then you can turn on the bio bed by pressing the third button then placing your palm print on the screen. In that case the bio bed will not shut off until you press this fourth button. Do you have any further questions Doctor McCoy?" Ensign Pajari stated.
"Not right now Ensign Pajari." he replied. Ensign Pajari nodded then walked over to Nurse White who had motioned him over to where he stood beside a blood analysis machine. McCoy opened the compartment at the foot of the bio bed, which did indeed contain restraints, a pillow, and a blanket.
"Hello Doctor McCoy. I have the complete supply inventory and the personnel rooster for you to read and verify here." stated Nurse Chang as he walked up to McCoy. McCoy nodded and then took the PADD the other man held out to him. McCoy scrolled relatively quickly through the inventory as he'd already read and approved the preliminary list a few days ago. He took a little more time to look at the personnel rooster. He was the attending doctor on alpha shift, Doctor Chapel was on beta shift, and Doctor Zima was on gamma shift.
"Why did you put Nurse Robson on alpha shift with me?" wondered McCoy as he finished the paperwork and handed the PADD back to Nurse Chang.
"Given that she's new to the Enterprise I thought you might want to inspect her work. I'm sure Nurse Robson is competent. But it will take a while to figure out what her strengths and weaknesses as a nurse are." Nurse Chang explained.
"Fair enough. Submit these to Commander Dh'lar as soon as possible Nurse Chang." McCoy told him. The other man nodded and walked out of the med bay to do so. McCoy looked at Doctor Chapel then gestured to his office. He turned and walked there as he was confident that she would follow him. Doctor Chapel did so. She stood on the other side of his desk once the door closed behind them.
"Have a seat Doctor Chapel." he invited her. She did so as he sat down as well.
"So what brings you to the Enterprise A?" he wondered.
"I liked working on a frontier planet but after a while I wanted a new challenge. So I returned to Earth and went back to school to become a doctor. In my option this is the best ship in the fleet so I was glad to be posted here. Permission to speak freely Doctor McCoy." Doctor Chapel replied.
"Go ahead Doctor Chapel." he told her.
"I won't question your orders unless I think they are wrong. But if you could keep the yelling to a minimum that would be appreciated." she frankly requested.
"With all due respect that is as likely as an oasis in a desert Doctor Chapel." he answered.
"Then I'll take what moments of calm I can get. Now shall we go over the crew's latest physicals? I've read the updated files but we need to verify them for Starfleet Medical and it will take less time if we go through them together." Doctor Chapel replied. McCoy nodded. Doctor Chapel moved her chair beside his. He turned on the computer console in his desk and they got down to work. He just hoped that this five year mission was somewhat less exciting then the first one had proven to be, McCoy thought. Though given what he knew about Jim he suspected that there would be plenty of surprises to come in the next five years.