She raised an eyebrow. "Your sentiment is appreciated, Commander. it is agreeable to see you as well."
The doctor observed them both. "I presume the two of you have a history together, right?" He asked with a smirk.
Kirk turned to Rass and smiled. He knew what Rass was trying to ask. "Well, yes and no. We graduated from the Academy together. We're very good friends."
Doctor Rass realized Kirk had misunderstood his line of questioning. Dorrin was simply trying to show off his observational skills. He had to admit, T'Nia wasn't unattractive to look at, but she wasn't Bajoran... and there was just something about Bajoran women. Perhaps it was the fire in their spirits, or their stubbornness...maybe it was just those really cute wrinkles above their noses. "Now, now, Commander," he said with an all-understanding tone, "don't read too much into that statement. But...I was right." Kirk merely shook his head slowly while T'Nia raised an eyebrow, apparently oblivious to what was 'not' being said. She decided to let it go. If it was important, Stephen would tell her later.
The doctor continued to look around. "This ship is deceptive, Commander. From the outside, it would seem this ship is enormous. From in here, it doesn't seem much larger than the shuttle we were in."
"Yes, it is," Kirk replied. "Most of the ship is taken up with either automated systems, redundant systems, or armor. It actually takes less than 300 people to fully man this vessel for all three duty shifts."
"Amazing," the doctor answered rhetorically. "You know...it concerns me. For as much as we hate the Borg for what they are, the more like them we are becoming." He concluded with a distant look in his eye.
"With one big exception, doctor," Kirk responded quickly. "For as advanced as our computer systems become, they're still nothing more than tools. They service us."
The doctor shrugged. "I'd be willing to be that's how the Borg started, too." That made Kirk think.
They came up on a door. Just ahead to the left was a door with the obvious snake on a staff symbol of medicine. It indicated the sickbay. "Doctor," Kirk started. He motioned to the door just to the right. "This is your temporary quarters. We're having to power down environmental controls on certain decks to free up computer core resources for more important functions. It'll all get cleared up once the new computer core arrives. In the meantime, you probably figured out where your office is. Um..." Stephen struggled to find the right words. "the sickbay may not be in exactly the condition you'd like. We've had some really critical issues to deal with, so...the sickbay didn't rank very high on the priority list. I do know that some of it got set up about a month ago due to some injuries. The EMH works, I know that."
The doctor's eyes widened. "There's an EMH in there? I really don't like those."
Kirk looked genuinely confused. "I thought doctors loved having an assistant like that. What's wrong with it?"
"Well, to be honest, Commander...I know the person whom they're modelled after. He's an arrogant, obnoxious, little man." Barrin shook his head. "And his EMH replica shares his personality."
T'Nia raised an eyebrow again. That personality closely fit another doctor she met recently.
Kirk smirked and shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry, doc. New Starfleet regs say we have to have one, in case something happens to you. Maybe they'll let you tinker with his personality matrix."
"Perhaps." The doctor let out a loud sigh. "Well, I guess I'll look at my office first. The living quarters don't concern me much. As long as it has a bed and a toilet, I'm happy. Thank you, Commander. It was nice meeting you."
"Same here, doc. If you need anything, give me a beep. Oh! Don't forget to contact the captain once you have everything squared away in there."
"Don't worry, I will. Thanks again." He headed for the frosted glass double-doors. T'Nia and Kirk walked past him as the doctor went inside.
Kirk turned to T'Nia. "I don't think the doctor's first reaction to his new work area will be a pleasant one." He smirked.
"Oh?" replied T'Nia as she cocked her head. It didn't take long for Stephen's predictions to come true.
"Ahhh!" the doctor's voice screamed from behind the doors. "Everything's still wrapped! I don't even have a computer!"
"An interesting complaint," T'Nia said, "coming from a person worried about having too much technology."