Stims and Addictions

Posted on Sun Dec 14th, 2025 @ 11:23pm by Lieutenant JG Kally Kellerman & Lieutenant JG Jenna Jade & Tessa di'Orion

Mission: Lower Decks
Location: Kally's Office

Jenna had waited until it was approaching shift change time. She had a very good reason for why she slid into sickbay without any sort of fanfare, indeed, the nurses walking in for the evening shift made for perfect cover for this particular operation. F’Arra was going to be there in about a half hour, so there were Kally and Tessa there, but Kally would have her hands full with Henry getting the nurses up to date and getting a last readout on any patients. That would leave the youngest of the medical group there essentially unattended and that’s what the engineer was counting on.

Kally and F’Arra had already given their verdict that she had been working too much and that the stumps she’d requested would not be refilled until she’d gone a week without them, but there was still too much to do with too few people. Already she could feel irritation growing within her as the heavy-duty stim was wearing off and she needed another, soon. Jenna put a smile on her face as she stalked up to Tessa as quietly as possible, “Good afternoon doc, how are ya’ today?” Even her voice was modulated to not carry very far, so as not to draw any unwanted attention.

Tessa’s smile came naturally, it was one of the first things that she’d been taught: always smile, even when the shit hit the fan, it was always reassuring tot he patient, “Good afternoon Lieutenant, what can I help you with?”

“Ah was supposed to come in earlier to see Doc Kellerman, but unfortunately Ah see she’s a bit busy at the moment, so Ah was hopin’ that you may be able to help me fill a prescription? It’s really embarassin’, but engineerin’ keeps me so busy that Ah only just got away.” The engineer proffered the PADD onto which she’d very carefully screenshotted the record of her issuance of stumps, but it wasn’t the current one in her file, though the date she’d altered on it made it look that way. It wasn’t the other reason she’d chosen Tessa, she wouldn’t look that closely, or even if she did, she probably wouldn’t recognize the alterations made.

The Tialan took the PADD and perused it, noting both the full name of the medication as well as the shorthand, wincing at the strength it called for, “Are you sure you don’t want to wait?” She asked, glancing over at Kally, who was giving a full rundown of the current status of sickbay, “This looks like an awfully concentrated dosage..”

“Ah’ve gotta get back to my own people pretty quick like before they get too deep into somethin’ that isn’t a priority.” The engineer sighed heavily with a ‘knowing’ look. “As you can see, the doc did sign off on it and it’s got a couple refills left before she wanted to pull me in again for a review to make sure it isn’t affectin’ me too bad.” She helpfully pointed at the relevant (and altered) part of the PADD.

Tessa bit her lower lip with another glance over, then nodded slowly, “I suppose it should be okay?” She said hesitantly, tapping a few keys on the PADD as she did to acknowledge the refill taking place and affixing her thumbprint to it. She’d been authorized to fill valid prescriptions, her familiarization with the pharmaceutical stores was pretty good and she took the few steps over to it, keying in her authorization to open the proper drawer, taking the three hypospray vials and checking it against the prescription once more to verify again, “Are you sure you can’t wait? It’ll only be a couple more minutes.”

The drugs partially held towards her made Jenna want to just snatch them and go, but she had to play it cool, maybe Kally wouldn’t even notice she was there if she did it right. Her body was angled so that her face wouldn’t even be visible to the doctor, “Ah have a warp manifold diagnostic runnin’ as well, Tessa, Ah really do need to get back there pretty quick-like.”

“I understand.” Tessa nodded slowly, with a sigh and held out the PADD and vials, “But if you start showing symptoms of overdose, like headaches, nausea or irritation, I want you to report back to sickbay immediately for an exam, okay?” Her tentative smile was once again full bore, reassurance and confidence in the face of a patient, perfect.

“Of course, thank you Tessa, Ah really appreciate it!” Jenna tucked the medication into a pocket very carefully, “Ah will see you around soon, all right?” And she slipped out the door without any sort of additional fanfare, as quiet as a mouse.

Kally walked over to Tessa as the younger woman approached a console, the older doctor rubbing her eyes. "Doctor F'Arra asked to come in fifteen minutes late today, and I said of course she could, and I am so regretting that now," Kally said, giving a tired smile. "As soon as I am done, I am going to the holodeck, creating the most comfortable hot tub I can think of, and begging Jadizon to give me a massage until I pass out." She let out a sigh and leaned on the counter, a hand on her hip, watching Tessa work. "You are getting fantastic at the paperwork," she said. "I know it's the dull part, but it's always necessary."

“I actually don’t mind it at all, especially since I don’t have to hand-write everything anymore!” Tessa grinned up at her mentor, her hands continuing to type as they had gotten to know the keyboard by heart, “Honestly, watching over the ‘pharmacy’ is pretty relaxing, it even gives me a chance to get some additional studying in, not to mention you don’t have to nip over here to grab something if I can bring it over! Saves you time, so you can help the patients more.”

Kally smiled at her and gave her a half hug, then glanced at the screen and froze. "When did you give Jenna a prescription?" she said, frowning.

“She was in just a few minutes ago, said she was running late to see you by a lot and didn’t want to disturb you.” Tessa glanced at her notes, then nodded, “She had her prescription for cordafin with her, I verified that it was good on her PADD, it had your signature on it and two refills left on it. Apparently you were supposed to make sure it wasn’t affecting her poorly, but she was in a real hurry.” She glanced at the readout again. “I mentioned that it was an awfully concentrated dose, fifty milligrams per milliliter, but that’s what the PADD said. I presume she has one of the dilution hyposprays? Again, that’s what the prescription said it was in use with.”

Kally pulled up Jenna's file and showed Tessa the actual entry. "She wasn't prescribed anything," she said. "Next time? Verify it in our system, not the padd of an engineer."

Tessa's eyes went wide as she saw the same prescription, but in a much lower dose and clearly having been notated as no more to be dispensed, "Oh my... Urd's..." She looked back up at Kally, "I'm sorry, Kally, I just didn't think.. It won't happen again, I promise."

Kally sighed and tapped her combadge. "Kellerman to Kellerman. I need you in my office immediately."

"Kal, I'm really busy," Katie said.

"Office! Now, Lieutenant!" Kally snapped, loud enough that the others in Sickbay turned to look at her. She glared at the room and everyone turned back to their duties immediately.

"Why is everyone yelling at me this week??" Katie whined before the channel went dead.

Kally sighed. "You too," she said to Tessa, albeit quieter and walked to her office quickly.

"Yes, doctor." Tessa looked at the ground. She was going to get yelled at officially for this, but now she felt really dumb for not insisting that Jenna stay. Still, she followed Kally into the office, "I didn't even think she would forge something, I mean, why would she do that?"

As the doors to her office shut, Kally sighed and sat in her chair. "Because she knew if she asked properly we'd say no."

That blew Tessa's mind. Why would someone want to take a substance that affected their sleep? Sleep was a wonderful thing, not to be avoided at all. "It's a stimulant, to keep her awake, but I wasn't aware that she was having trouble staying up or anything. Why would she want to take this without you knowing?"

"Humans have funny reactions to some substances," Kally said. "We take them to stimulate us, and they do, but then we begin to grow accustomed to it. We build up a resistance to them, and then we grow dependent on them. I'd say Jenna is dipping her toes into that last part."

"Then we need to stop her which..." Tessa trailed off with a sigh, "was what you and Doctor F'Arra were doing until I did something stupid. What would she have done if I had said 'no' and that she needed to wait until you were available, do you think? I've seen some people at home get a bit crazy when they get addicted to pain medication."

"I doubt she'd have assaulted you," Kally said, "but she'd become desperate and probably agitated. We need to act before that happens." She paused as her office doors opened and Katie came in, pre-annoyed.

"You bellowed?" Katie said, dropping into a chair and scowling.

"Jenna was just here," Kally said. "What's going on in Engineering? How are her stress levels?"

Katie's eyes got wide. "High. She's been really upset lately," Katie said. "Flying off the handle at everything. Keeps assigning us work, then insists on doing it herself 'to do it right,' and bullshit like that. We've been kinda whispering about it because no one knows what's going on."

Kally tapped her stylus on her desk. "I have a theory," she said.

"Well feel free to clue me in!" Katie said.

"I can't," Kally said. "Confidentiality." She sat back in her chair. "Keep an eye on her. If the behavior gets worse, call me."

Katie nodded, concern for her friend etched in her face. "All right," she said. "She's okay, though, right?"

Kally nodded. "She'll be fine," she said.

Katie nodded, stood and came around the desk to give Kally a hug and a kiss.

Kally returned the affection and squeezed Katie's hand. "Dinner tonight?"

"You bet," Katie said, squeezing back. She came back around and gave Tessa a quick hug, then left the office.

Tessa gave Katie a squeeze in the hug, "Be safe."

"Now comes the part I am dreading," Kally said. "Kellerman to the Captain."

The rank title told Cally that this was business, not pleasure, "Yes, Doctor, what can I do for you?"

"Captain, I need to speak with you in my office. It's urgent."

"I'm not due for a physical exam, I had one recently, like about a year ago." Cally dodged the possibility.

"Cally," Kally said, and her voice sounded heavy. "Please report to my office."

Okay, not an exam, "I'll be there in less than five minutes, I promise."

Kally breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you. Kellerman out."

"Um..." Tessa began, glancing towards the door, "I guess I should ask how much trouble I'm in?"

"Not as much as you should be," Kally sighed. "You're young, you're new, you're not a member of the crew, you're not a previous offender and you were duped by an engineer who falsified records you had no reason to doubt. You're going to have a note in your file about not following procedure and checking the computer, but it's the career equivalent of stubbing your toe. Move on and don't make the same mistake again and you'll be fine."

"That's a relief, I think..." Tessa exhaled deeply, "I really am sorry, Kally, I just thought that it was okay."

"It's all right," Kally said. "There was a time..." she got a small smile. "I did something I thought would be okay. It wasn't okay. It was very not okay, as it turned out. I got a second chance, and it changed my life. I don't see why you shouldn't be afforded the same opportunity."

It was only a few more seconds before Calypso walked in, flight suit uniform partially unzipped as it was apparent she'd just gone off duty herself, but hadn't had time to change yet, "All right Kally, what's the emergency?" She glanced at Tessa with a smile. "Did our little medic do something horrible?"

Tessa looked at the Captain glumly, but opted to let Kally speak.

"Computer," Kally said, "seal doors from the outside, opaque windows."

The computer beeped and their privacy was assured. Kally sat back and looked at Cally. "I'm worried about Jenna," she said.

"Jenna?" Cally glanced at Tessa and back, "Why are you worried about her? I think she's doing a heckuva job keeping Engineering running and the ship in one piece."

"She came into Sickbay with a forged prescription for a stimulant I'd previously cut her off from, and convinced Miss Orion to fill it for her."

"Oh..." Cally's face fell, the thought of the engineer overdoing it on something proscribed. "That's.. Bad. You know what this means, right?"

"I know, this is a serious accusation," Kally said. "And I don't want to ruin her career over this, but...Cally she crossed a line, and we need to catch her before she trips over it completely."

"It all depends on how we handle it." Cally glanced around, then picked a chair and sat down in it. "If we take official notice of it, she's going to lose a lot and by coming to me about it, we're going to have to. I can't leave her in charge of engineering if she's going to abuse drugs like this, who knows what she's going to do if we let her think she can get away with this."

Kally bit her lip. She started doubting if she'd done the right thing by alerting Cally, but she knew if she hadn't, and things had gone sideways, which they always did, it would've taken down her, Tessa, possibly Katie too, not to mention undermine Cally, which she hadn't wanted to do.

"I need to relieve her of some of her stress, that may get her to the point where she can actually relax and have some fun rather than think she needs to fix everything. This is my fault, you know, for putting her in charge when I did." The Captain shook her head.

"It's my fault, Lady Skyie." Tessa interjected, her voice quiet, "I should have checked the prescription against the master files. I've learned my lesson though, and it won't happen again. I... I still have a lot to learn."

"Don't we all," Kally said, quietly. She looked at Tessa who was still wilted in her chair. "Tessa," she said, "tell Henry I want you two to clock out now. Go back to his quarters, indulge your feelings for ten minutes, let him cheer you up, then put it aside and come back tomorrow ready to work, and this is not spoken of again by anyone until I bring it up. Understood?

"Tomorrow, ready to work my buns off." Tessa agreed, "I won't even tell Henry what's going on, though I really don't want to do that.. I tell him everything, usually, but probably for the best."

"You can tell him you made an error, but can't discuss the patient, per my orders. If he has an issue with that, he can come see me. Now, off you go," Kally said. Once Tessa left and the doors resealed, Kally stood up from her desk and came around it to take Cally's hand and pull her to the couch. As they sat down, Kally crossed her legs. "You need to handle this...carefully," she said.

"I know," Cally said quietly as she followed Kally over to the couch, "But this is something serious, something that affects the morale of the ship and even the Fleet has a standard to uphold, despite Chimera's reputation."

"i know, but we can't lower the boom on her," Kally said. "What she's going through is affecting her judgement, and if we crush her completely, she may spiral harder."

"What choice do I have?" Calypso sighed, "I can't leave her as Chief Engineer and something like this in her record means that I can't even justify her promotion anymore to Starfleet Command. If I report it, which I have to, they'll demand her demotion to Ensign and a courts martial. Oh, they won't cashier her for her first offense, probably, but they'll require me to throw the book at her, hard."

"Cally, I was lucky," Kally said. "The Ambassador with whom I caused the incident that sent me here is the same one who went to bat for me. The only reason I'm here and not court martialed is because of his influence." She bobbed her eyebrows. "Putting me in awkward positions ironically got me out of one." She tried to muster a smile with her pun, but it faded. "We can't strip of her of her dignity. It's all that's keeping her together. I can handle her rehabilitation quietly, personally. We can say she's just having work stress and she's choosing to step down from her position due to stress. She keeps her pips, she keeps her commission, she keeps her reputation, we keep her." She bit her lip and looked Cally in the eyes. "She's one of us. We have to take care of her."

The pain in Cally's eyes was evident, because she'd been the one to evince the confidence in the young woman to handle a department so critical to the well-being of the ship. "Someone is going to have to convince her to do it." She temporized. "I can't be the one to do it because the minute I step in on it, it has to go into a report. Hell, if I keep my mouth shut now and someone finds out, it's my career, too." She slumped on the couch, "I can't go to Alex about it either, he'll try to rescue her himself, she was his star pupil. And who the hell do I put in as Chief Engineer? I picked her because she was the best choice, but I've got a few JGs down there only! I'm sorry, but Katie can't do it, Jeanine is too inexperienced, Ramirez has discipline problems of his own. Fuck."

"Someday she will be, but, yeah, right now Katie's not ready to lead a brigade," Kally said, sighing. "I don't know if Sakura is either." She looked at Cally and then leaned over and kissed her softly. "Let's tackle one sticky situation at a time. Let me get Jenna to step down and while she does, we'll let Engineering sort itself out. Either someone rises to the top, or we figure out how to have them prop each other up. Either way....we'll handle this, okay? Give me two days. I can protect you, and we can protect her. If not...then you step in and we do what we have to."

"Besides, Sakura's enlisted, not an officer." Cally muttered, then drew herself up. "Two days, Kally, not an hour longer. If you have proof that she's abusing and she refuses to step down, I'll do what needs doing to keep her from making some critical mistake because she's too damned tired to think straight."

Kally nodded. "Two days," she said. "I won't let you down."