A Surprising Routine (Backpost)
Posted on Thu Feb 19th, 2026 @ 3:56am by Lieutenant Soyo Hamada & Lieutenant Commander Nyxala Valentine
Edited on on Thu Feb 19th, 2026 @ 3:58am
2,595 words; about a 13 minute read
Mission:
The Return
Location: Main Sickbay
Timeline: March 1, 2397- a few hours before "The Names We Carry"
Nyx settled the last of the tricorders back into it's place in the main storage drawer with a sigh. There were only two patients presently in sickbay at this time, both of them relatively routine in nature, the last of the casualties from Denmark and the Starbase conflicts having been transferred two days prior. One of the two was getting final instructions from Nyx's head nurse, Soyo Hamada, and the Betazoid smiled as the crewman worked his shoulder around after the muscle tear had been repaired. The other patient was asleep, down with influenza, which wasn't quite responding as it should, but in a day or so, even she would be back in her own quarters and would leave sickbay empty.
Finally.
"Alright, that should cover everything in so far as the medication is concerned," the senior nurse explained as she finished affixing the patient's compression wrap. "Now, in order to ensure this injury heals properly, make sure you get lots of rest, apply a cold compress to the effected region once every 4 hours, and keep the shoulder immobilized as much as possible. Provided there are no additional complications, you should be ready to return to active duty in the next few days, but just to err on the side of caution, be sure to check in with Doctor Valentine and get her approval before you return to work, got it?"
"Yes, Lieutenant, absolutely ma'am." The enlisted man nodded, "I'll come back in a couple days for that followup." He excused himelf rapidly and left.
A low two-toned whistle from the doctor resulted in a brief sound of flapping as the drakeling clambered over the side of the platform hanging from the ceiling and dove for Nyx's shoulder, alighting there before pressing her head against one of the doctor's hands as it came up to give the attention that the small dragon craved. "Well, Soyo, it looks like we're actually free for the first time in... How long?"
"Two days," Soyo answered with a sigh of relief. "At this rate, we just might be able to make it to the memorial service later today..."
"I know I wouldn't miss it for worlds." The doctor said somberly, "I still feel dirty with how many we had to leave behind but... We will never forget them and the Iconians will pay. But, I also just realized that I got on board over a month ago and because we've been so damned busy, nobody's actually given me my own welcome-aboard exam. With Doctor Hinamori trying to get used to her newborn, I really don't want to bother her with it, so... Care to do the honors?"
Soyo chuckled. "Well, this is probably a first- my own boss asking me to do an onboarding exam?"
"Well, someone's gotta do it, make sure that the new senior officer is actually fit to do her job." Nyx laughed herself as she gave a gentle wave, "After a month of a combat operations where she's been treating patients left and right and forward. I know, it's sortof silly, but I did get a notification that I was due for it and it would be cheating if I did it on myself."
"Well, I suppose you have a valid point," Soyo remarked as she reached over to retrieve a medical tricorder. "Alright, so let's get the basic questions out of the way, and then we'll move on to a quick body scan? Shouldn't take more than 10 minutes, if it all goes swimmingly."
"Sounds like a plan." Nyx made the quick decision and stepped out of her heels with a smile, "Better this way than making you ask me to take them off."
"Right, so- since the time of your last exam, have you had any procedures or major illnesses?" Soyo asked as she began to calibrate the tricorder.
"I had a minor surgery to repair a couple broken ribs from a training accident, simple fractures and Doctor Waterman just stabilized them before going in and doing some minor repairs before letting the rest heal on their own."
"Have you experienced any new or worsening symptoms that you believe relate to the procedures or illnesses described?"
"Nothing, nada, zero."
"Do you have any known allergies?"
"No allergies to any medication, food or substance that I'm aware of."
"Do you have a family history of the illnesses and/or allergies as described above?"
"My father had an allergy to latex products, but those were easy to ignore. Other than that, a fully healthy history."
"What prescription medications, over-the-counter medications, vitamins, and supplements do you take?"
"Nothing on a regular basis, I've considered a multivitamin a few times, but it really isn't needed for anything in particular. My iron and zinc levels were on the low side of normal last exam."
"Have you taken any additional medications in the past?"
"Only as needed and prescribed for injuries sustained, no addictions to any opioids that have been prescribed." Nyx shook her head slightly.
"Since your last exam, have you been caught in an active combat zone, wherein the belligerents engaged one another in physical conflict?"
The Betazoid gave a snort of laughter, "If you count the Iconians, yes, otherwise... Actually, there was one engagement I was in that was close combat. No injuries from it, no complications or anything out of the ordinary after."
"Since your last exam, have you used any substances that are not officially categorized under Federation drug and alcohol guidelines?"
"That is a qualified 'No.'" Nyx remarked, "Not worth the risk to my career."
"Since your last exam, have you engaged in sexual activities...?"
She looked up at Nyx and blushed. "Whoops; maybe shouldn't be so direct when asking about my boss's sex life..."
"But it's one of the right questions to ask." Nyx reminded her, "Because sometimes it's got important information attached. The answer to that one is: I'm not a nun, I'm not a nymphomaniac. Three times since my last exam, just some recreational fun, nothing serious."
That seemed to garner a look of surprise from the Head Nurse; and while that was hardly to say that she was much of a nun herself (she was the mother of three fully-grown men, so it was safe to say that her chastity was long-gone by now), but the way in which the creases in her expression seemed to contort- if only briefly- to silently convey feelings of concern seemed to indicate that the casualness in which Nyx had brushed off her past flings didn't quite set well with her.
"...Um... quick question, for my personal curiosity?" she imposed.
"Go for it, I'm an open book, even if I can't talk about some parts of my career." Nyx chuckled at the thought of telling the nurse about some of the more classified operations she'd been on.
"Were these encounters in a holodeck simulation with the safety on, or...?"
"Nope, real flesh and blood men." Nyx shrugged, "Heat of the moment, really, but I've always been able to tell between real and simulated, even if I'm not that powerful in my mental abilities. But none of them had any STDs, I can guarantee that, plus no itching or burning or anything of the sort on my end." The look on Soyo's face was something different, no laughter or smile from the playful response, "Why, what's up?"
Soyo shook her head. "Oh, nothing, really; just a little bit of a red flag whenever I hear something like that is all. Now, if you'll hold still for just a second..."
The two of them fell silent as Soyo proceeded to run the tricorder over Nyx, before turning the device over to study the readings.
"Oh..."
Despite her inability to really sense anything from anyone, even full-blooded Betazoids, the emotions were roiling off of Soto, “What? Am I dying or something? I could have sworn all of the shrapnel was removed a long time ago.”
Soyo leaned in to make sure she was looking at the readings correctly, pulled up Nyx's personal file to make sure this was even possible, and then glanced up at the Betazoid. "I, uh... I think you're going to want to sit down for this, Doc..."
Now it some annoyance in the voice of Nyxala Valentine as she plunked herself down on a stool, her smile becoming more fixed, “All right, I’m sitting, now spill it!”
Soyo began to pace back and forth as she searched for the right words with which to break the news to Nyx.
"Um, so... when, exactly, was the last time you had sex?" she asked. "Just for a ballpark."
"Well, about two months ago, and then the week before and the week before." Nyx remembered, "Before that was a long as hell dry spell." She waved that away, "But for one of them, it was one of my old team members back when I was in special operations, that was Tanis, then the others were from the 'End of Voyage' parties on Unicorn. Rollan managed to convince me when I was really drunk, apparently, and I don't drink often... Vereix? Well, he was really cute and he'd been holding a candle for me for nearly two years.. I felt sorry for the kid and he really was a good doctor."
Slowly, Soyo turned the tricorder around and handed it to Nyx for review. Displayed prominently on the screen was what appeared to be a small, kidney bean-shaped growth- about the size of a raspberry, if the readings were anything to go off of. And the more Nyx looked at it, the more there seemed to be some disconcertingly... humanoid features on the growth; two small, brownish nevi that almost resembled eyes; a pair of nubs that sprouted out from the side that mushroomed out into vague, webbed hands; and two smaller bumps towards the bottom that almost resembled legs.
"I'm... very reluctant to admit this, Doc, especially at this time," Soyo began with a nervous gulp. "But if I didn't know any better, I'd say that we're looking at a fertilized zygote, at approximately... eight or so weeks of development."
Nyx started to laugh again, “Oh that’s a good one, Soyo,” She shook her head slightly, “I think I needed that one.” She got a look of the nurse’s face and the laugh died suddenly, “No, it’s impossible, literally. Check my file, I’m up to date on my shots and they’d had theirs, I’m sure of it.”
Soyo shook her head sadly. "I did, Doc; I even checked to make sure the tricorder was calibrated correctly, and even then I don't think it would lie about something like this..."
"No, no, no no no no no, this can't be happening." Nyx reached up with both hands and ran her fingers through her hair, "You don't get it, Soyo, this can't be happening for SO many reasons, I can't even begin to explain things." That last was a lie, but it was semantics.
"Well... there are a few options," Soyo pondered. "Granted, there's a few of them that I'm hesitant to even be suggesting to you, but then again, these are some pretty abnormal times, and it's hard for me to say what's necessarily best for you at this time."
Nyx closed her eyes as she leaned back a few degrees and tried hard to think of her options. "God, Grandmother would be over the moon about this, maybe think I was trying to make up for being defective." She muttered in a barely audible voice, then opened her eyes again, "Have you ever performed an abortion procedure? I mean, an elective one, not an emergency or for some medical reason."
"No, I haven't," Soyo shook her head. "Back when they first taught me about it in the Medical Academy, I was so appalled that I decided I was never going to do something like that. That being said, there are people on board who do have the credentials to perform an abortion procedure, but I would only pursue that option in an absolute worst-case scenario; once it's done, there's no going back."
"I'm aware of that." Nyx snapped back, then raised a hand as if trying to soften the blow of those words, "I'm one of those credentialed ones, plus I've performed one on someone else. I'm not taking that off the table of options, though, I'm leaning towards it right now. Look, I cannot be pregnant. I really don't know where to begin to explain things, but me? Have a kid? Be a mother? It's not in my nature. What kind of kid would I raise? No, just no."
"Well, another option- if you're willing to see the child through to term- would be to put it up for adoption," Soyo proposed. "I happen to know that Nurse Miyafuji and her partner have discussed having children at some point, and if given the choice, I'm sure they would be happy to step up and raise it for you."
"Do you know what carrying a pregnancy to term would do to my figure?" Nyx shot back, "Stretch marks, sagging skin, blotches no doubt! Gods... The Four know that I'd have to put in extra exercising just to get back into shape... And If I remain pregnant, I'm going to look like a freaking whale!"
Soyo chuckled. "Respectfully, Doctor, I believe your figure should be low on your list of priorities right now."
"Never stand between a woman and how she looks." Nyx asked, realizing that it really was rather silly and giving a laugh of her own, "Remind me, when I've got my wits about me, to tell you why. All right. I'm pregnant." Her head slumped, "I have about a month to really decide what I'm going to do before it begins to show, maybe six weeks. Do I have that about right?"
"Considering Counselor Johnson's pregnancy, that sounds about right," Soyo remarked.
Suddenly, Nyx started to shiver uncontrollably, as if suddenly frozen to the core, "Is th-there anything else wrong with me, aside from this situation?"
Soyo quickly scanned Nyx with the tricorder again.
"No, I think it's just a combination of stress and exhaustion," she replied. "You've been through a lot these past couple of days, and a revelation like this certainly isn't helping your mood at all."
Putting the tricorder away, she moved over and gently helped Nyx to her feet. "I'll tell you what, Doc; what's say you get some rest, attend the service, and after that you can decide on your next course of action?"
"I think that's probably a good idea.." Nyx said as she reached up and found... Nothing. Even Gigi had abandoned her at some point during the examination, "Do you think you could spare me the rest of the day? Obviously if anything happens, I'm just a room or two away."
"I'll be more than happy to take it from here, Doc," Soyo assured her as she laid Nyx down on a nearby biobed and proceeded to cover her up with some blankets. "You just let me know if you need anything, got it?"
Nyx allowed the nurse to settle her on the bed and clutched the blanket close to her chest as if it would help her warm up on the inside where she was frozen solid. "I will, but..." She shook her head, "No, I will."
Posting by:
Lieutenant Nyxala Valentine
Chief Medical Officer
USS Tokyo
Lieutenant Soyo Hamada
Head Nurse
USS Tokyo
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