Party of Two

Posted on Sun Oct 13th, 2024 @ 10:03pm by Petty Officer 2nd Class Ronan Drake & Lieutenant JG Kally Kellerman

Mission: Doing What We Do Best
Location: Sickbay

Kally looked up at the sound of Sickbay's doors opening again and smiled at what walked in. "Welcome," she said. "How can I be of service today?" She leaned back on the biobed, then stood up straighter when she saw the second newcomer. "And hello there to you too," she said, giving him a smile.

Axel walked into Sickbay, his steps purposeful as he glanced down at Finn. The boy stood straight, eyes darting around the room with curiosity.

"Thanks," Axel replied to the greeting. "We’re here for a check-up—standard protocol." He gave Finn a small nudge. "Make sure you report in right, Finn."

Finn perked up, standing even straighter. "I’m Finn Drake, sir....umm.... I mean Ma'am.... umm I mean Doctor?" he said with a grin, casting a quick look at Axel. "Reporting for routine medical inspection alongside Petty Officer Third Class Ronan 'Axel' Drake."

Axel smirked. "That’s how you do it."

Kally grinned ear-to-ear at the cuteness and gave the boy a salute. "And done very well, Mister Drake. My name is Kally Kellerman, and I'm the Chief Medical Officer, so 'Ma'am' or 'Doctor' is fine, but you can call me Kally." She nodded to a row of biobeds, leading them over. "You are up here Mister Petty Officer Third Class," she said, patting one bed. "And you, milashka, are up here." She pointed at the next bed over for Finn, pulling out a small kickstep for him to use to climb aboard.

Axel smirked as he settled onto the biobed, watching Finn enthusiastically climb onto the one next to him, using the small kickstep with exaggerated effort.

She grabbed a tricorder and moved over to Axel, scanning him slowly. "So, what brought you to this ship?" she said.

"Transferred at the request of some Senior Chief... not exactly by choice," Axel explained, shrugging slightly. "They requested a pilot named Markham, but for reasons above my pay grade, here I am."

Finn, not missing a beat, piped in with a grin. "No, he got transferred 'cause he’s a 'troublemaker' on the Orion—too many meetings with the officers!"

Axel gave Finn a look. "You done?"

Finn grinned wider. "Just keeping it real!"

Axel chuckled, shaking his head. "See what I have to deal with?"

Kally grinned. "Reminds me of how I was when I was younger," she said. "I had a perverse appreciation for the truth as well." She turned and gave Finn a conspiratorial wink then turned back to Ronan. "So, troublemaker, hm? You'll fit right in. I'm here for much the same reason." She gave a shrug. "Consider this the ship of second chances. Or, third in some cases." She tapped her tricorder, sending her readings to the medical computer, and turned to face Finn, giving him a smile. "And what trouble do you get into, hm?" she said, scanning him.

Finn puffed up his chest, dramatically thinking about it for a second. “Me? Oh, I keep this guy," he said, pointing at Axel, "out of trouble!” He shot Axel a playful look. “And sometimes I might... mess with the replicator a bit.”

Axel sighed, shaking his head with a chuckle. "Don't remind me."

Finn grinned wide. "I just like to experiment! I tried making pizza with the replicator last time, but it turned into some green goo... which tasted way worse than it looked."

Kally made a face. "Given how appetizing it couldn't have looked, that's saying something," she said.

Axel raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, and I had to sweet-talk the engineers into fixing the replicator after you nearly overloaded the whole system."

Finn shrugged with mock innocence. "Hey, can’t make perfect pizza without a few—explosions?"

Axel sighed. "This is my life."

Kally grinned and looked at Finn, leaning in conspiratorially. "One time, when I was about your age, I tried to make vegetable stew. I 'experimented' with several vegetables, broths and spices. It wound up like brown sludge, smelled worse, tasted even worse than that, and caused my mother to accidentally teach me a few new multi-syllabic swear words. But it was still incredibly fun."

Axel glanced at Kally after the lighthearted exchange. "So, what about you, Doctor........?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "You mentioned something about second chances—sounds like there’s a story there."

Finn, always curious, piped up. "Yeah, how did you end up on the Chimera? Do you mess with replicators too, or is your trouble more... fun?"

Axel smirked. "You seem too cool-headed for green-goo pizza incidents, though I could be wrong."

"Well," Kally said, grinning. "Goo, yes. Pizza, no. Fun, definitely. Inter-cultural diplomatic incident, unfortunately." She walked back over to Axel and gave a coy smile and leaned in towards his right ear. "And that's all I can say in mixed company. You'll have to get me alone for the rest," she whispered.

She straightened up and closed her tricorder, putting it down on the biobed next to her. "Well, gentlemen, you both appear healthy and fit. Ronan, you are cleared for duty." She turned to Finn and gave him a grin. "And you, milashka, stay awesome."

Axel chuckled at Kally’s whisper, letting her playful tone linger in the air. "Diplomatic incidents, huh? I’ll have to make time for that private briefing." His voice carried just a hint of teasing, but his grin showed he was enjoying the banter.

He didn’t move to leave Sickbay right away, leaning back against the biobed casually. “Maybe you can enlighten me on how a diplomatic incident led to a second chance here.” He gave Kally a sideways glance, clearly interested in keeping the conversation going.

Finn, catching the mood, grinned at the two. “I bet she’s got better stories than your boring flight ones,” he chimed in.

Kally glanced at her new cohort. "He's a smart one," she said.

Axel laughed. “Touché, Finn. Maybe she’ll share a few if I hang around long enough.” His eyes flicked back to Kally, his tone light. “So, what exactly does it take to get into that kind of trouble?”

Finn hopped down from the biobed with a serious, playful expression, positioning himself right between Axel and Kally. He gave Axel a knowing look, crossing his arms like a big little brother stepping in to save the day.

“Excuse me,” Finn said, raising an eyebrow at Axel, “but let me stop you right there.” He turned to Kally with a smirk, then back to Axel. “She’s way out of your league, bro. You might wanna cool it before you embarrass yourself.”

He shot Axel a mock-serious glare, shaking his head as if he were genuinely concerned.

Kally's eyebrows went up and she got a wry smile. "He may have a point," she said, then looked back at Finn. "Out of his league, hm? I dunno...he's not bad to look at. Does he snore? Pick his teeth? Wear the same socks six days in a row? What am I in for if I become friends with him?"

Axel leaned back, crossing his arms and shooting Finn a playful glare. “Oh, great, now you’re really gonna throw me under the shuttle.”

"You hush, I'm getting the truth about this," Kally said, looking at Finn.

Finn grinned, clearly enjoying himself. “Let me tell you, Kally—he’s decent, but... he snores like a freight shuttle, and those socks? Let’s just say six days is an improvement.”

Axel chuckled, shaking his head. “That’s not even true!”

Finn turned to Kally, ignoring Axel. “You’ve been warned. He’s got potential, but trust me, there’s some maintenance involved.”

Axel sighed. “Traitor.”

Kally smiled. "Well, nobody's perfect, milashka, not even me. But I appreciate you looking out for my well being." She bent down and gave him a kiss on the cheek, then stayed leaning down and said in a stage whisper that she knew both boys could hear, "just remember: he controls whether or not the replicator can program desserts, and he has the holodeck access. So I might cut him a break, if I were you." She stood back up and gave Ronan a wink.

Finn blinked, processing her words before crossing his arms again, trying to maintain his "big brother" act. “Okay, okay... maybe I’ll cut him a little slack... for now. But only ‘cause I need the dessert menu.”

Axel chuckled, shaking his head. “See? Always a negotiator.”

Finn shot Kally a grateful look. “Thanks for the tip. I’ll keep it in mind.”

Axel smirked at Finn, catching the wink from Kally as he leaned in and whispered. “Looks like you just got outplayed, little man,” he teased.

Finn blinked, processing her words before crossing his arms again, trying to maintain his "big brother" act. “Okay, okay... maybe I’ll cut him a little slack... for now. But only ‘cause I need the dessert menu.”

Axel chuckled, shaking his head. “See? Always a negotiator.”

Finn shot Kally a grateful look. “Thanks for the tip. I’ll keep it in mind.” Axel flashed Kally a grin before giving Finn a light nudge toward the door. “Alright, let’s get out of here, Finn. I’ve got to face Senior Chief Enor—apparently, he’s a real hard-ass. Can’t say I’m looking forward to it.”

"Oh, he isn't as bad as he lets on," Kally said. "Just be direct and don't try to pull something past him."

With a quick wink at Kally, he added, “Hope to see you around again soon.”

"Likewise," Kally said. "See you around, too, milashka," Kally said, blowing him a kiss.

Then, with one final glance, Axel steered Finn out of Sickbay, muttering under his breath, “Let’s just hope this goes better than I’m expecting.”