Meeting the Doc

Posted on Mon Dec 9th, 2019 @ 12:29pm by Commander Billy Jo Rhodes & Lieutenant Sonia Kapoor

1,499 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Pirating Typhon resources
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: Current Afternoon

ON

Billy Jo heard there was a new doctor over on Typhon, and being a friendly soul, she decided a trip over to the starbase was in order. Besides, she could always stop by the promenade afterwards and have lunch. Food that didn't come from a replicator was always worth a short trip.

She walked into Sickbay and called, "Is there a doctor in the house?"

Dr. Kapoor came out of her office, head bent over a PADD of notes from a talk she needed to give to the civilian medical group. "Probably more than one," she answered, saving her work and then looking up. "I'm Sonia Kapoor. Are you looking for a cure or a particular doctor? How can I help?"

"Well, if you're the new doctor around here, I've come to see you. My name's Billy Jo," she said in her Tennessee drawl. "I'm in charge of the shipyards. I wanted to welcome you to Typhon."

For a moment, Sonia was confused. "You're here to welcome me?" she asked. Her manners and brain caught up at the same time. "Thank you, that's very nice of you. I've been so busy, I haven't gotten to meet many people this week. If you're in charge of the shipyards, that must make you an engineer ... and you're wearing gold, so ... yes, engineer?"

"Sort of. I'm a designer and administrator more than anything. I oversee the work and I approve the plans." Billy Jo grinned. "I do a bit of everything. This place is all in a tizzy over some pirate activity, and I didn't want you to think we weren't hospitable 'round here, so I decided to come say hey."

"Oh, the pirates, yes. They seem to be keeping everyone busy. I've even had a few injuries through here, though more from carelessness than from confrontation with the pirates. Though thee have been those, too, with the recent ship that limped in to dock. That was a sad thing." Sonja shook her head, remembering the ones she hadn't been able to help.

"Anyway, it's nice of you to stop by. We're in a bit of a lull right now. Would you like to sit in my office and share a cup of lime and peppermint tea. Strictly herbal, I assure you, but quite calming," the doctor invited. She wasn't sure why she had. She didn't normally reach out to people at all, but Billy Jo seemed friendly, with face-value worth. Maybe it was time to let someone in - at least up on the porch, using a house analogy.

"That's a fine idea," Billy Jo said, smiling. "If you haven't noticed, I'm a bit of a talker."

Sonia smiled back slightly, "Oh? I hadn't noticed." She led the way into her office and set out two mugs with spoons, a bowl with sugar cubes and tongs, and a red can with green leaves twining around it.

"One liter of water, hot, in a handled pitcher," she spoke to the replicator. It complied and she removed the pitcher, setting it on her desk.

"That's something I learned the first day. Always tell the replicator you want a pitcher with a handle if you're ordering hot water," Sonia told Billy Jo as she seated herself. Opening the tin, she added, "Help yourself. I hope you aren't one of those people who looks down her nose at teabags. They are far too convenient for me ever to do so."

Billy Jo laughed. "I ain't never had time for no fancy manners. I'm a simple girl with simple tastes," she said, helping herself to a cup of tea, heavy on the sugar.

While the tea bag was steeping, Billy Jo asked, "So, what brings you to Typhon?"

Sonia had little practice with small talk, and the question confused her. "Orders?" she said, question mark evident. "Isn't that what brought you here?"

"Not quite. I came here as a secretary to help set up the shipyards, but as time passed I took on more and more responsibilities, until finally I was runnin' the place. Admiral Burke decided I should have the job, officially, and that was that." Billy Jo grinned. "I guess sometimes it's an advantage to have the boss lookin' over your shoulder."

"Better than being the boss, anyway," Sonia quipped. "I served on a base once before, SB375, but it was laid out very differently, and I think somewhat smaller than Typhon. There was a constant flux of people in and out as ships docked, but I wasn't CMO ... or even assistant. I guess in many ways, this is a new experience for me. It's nothing like being CMO of a ship's complement of 500!"

She took out her tea bag and sipped at the cup. "Your accent is different from any I've heard. Where was your home?"

"Tennessee, Earth," Billy Jo said. "I come from a long line of hillbillies from the back country."

"Tennessee? That's ... North America on Earth, yes? My family's roots are on the other side of that planet, but I've never been there. In fact, I grew up on a moon so lost, it's named Dead End," the doctor told her. "What do people in Tennessee do if they are hillbillies?"

"Traditionally, we make music, moonshine, and babies." Billy Jo grinned. "We got the name hillbillies because, back in the day, we lived in the hills, away from the larger cities. The name sorta stuck." She cocked her head to one side. "Who in their right mind would name a colony Dead End? Unless it's like Iceland and Greenland on earth, and they want to confuse folk."

Kapoor smiled slightly. "Nothing like. It's an appropriate name. The end of the road. There's not much appealing there, but you can farm it. It's nothing but a moon with atmosphere around a planet without any. It's not so bad, really, just not near much of anything. In a way, I guess it is like your hillbilly country. The music and baby part, at least. I don't believe anyone made moonshine, but we grew plenty of sugar beets and wheat and pigs. It turns out pigs love beet greens."

She didn't often think of the place, though she remembered her family. They were all still on the moon, still growing beets and wheat, while other family members ran the pigs. She shook her head, "A long way from here, definitely. So ... you aren't home making music, moonshine or babies. What happened to derail that future?"

The doctor sipped her cooling tea, and pushed the still-warm pot of water toward Billy Jo, who seemed more like her than she would have imagined. Somehow, she thought the woman had that impact on most people she met.

"Oh, I haven't given up on the notion," Billy Jo assured her. "But I had a hankering to get out and stretch my legs, so to speak. And I ended up here. I go back home from time to time. I hope to retire there some day." An impish grin spread across her face. "And if I fancy makin' some moonshine, what better place than a shipyard?"

"Moonshine. It has a nice sound to it. Is the shipyard a good place because there are plenty of spare parts for the still?" Sonia asked. "Or because there are plenty of people to buy it?"

Billy Jo laughed. "A little of both. The still has its own room, and plenty of people who help me keep it goin'. I'll send you a bottle. Just be careful, it has a kick."

The doctor gave her a half smile, "I'll save it for my most troublesome patients, then." She thought for a moment and asked, "Do you still have people there? Family or friends? Is that why you'd go back when you've had enough of space?"

"I've still got kin back home," Billy Jo said. "My folks are dead, but I've got a younger brother, and a passel of cousins. Heck, I'm probably related to half the folk in the county."

"Must be nice," Sonia said wistfully. "I come from a large family, too, but I'm not familiar with most of them. We really can't wander our world, because it's a moon, and quite cold, in spite of some terraforming. My family still lived on the moon itself, but many live in orbiting habitats ... orbiting the moon and the planet which is lifeless and volatile. Your life sounds ... amazing."

"It can be," Billy Jo admitted. "If you don't mind everyone knowin' your business." She laughed, thinking of many conversations around a bonfire. "But there's nothing better if you're in a jam. So yes, I'm pretty blessed. The folks here are like family, too. You'll find that as you go along."

Sonia smiled, reserving judgment, but held up her cup and saluted her maybe-new-friend. "Here's to finding family."

Billy Jo grinned. "To family."

OFF

Dr. Sonia Kapoor
Chief Medical Officer

Commander Billy Jo Rhodes
Administrator
Athena Shipyards

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