Standing Guard

Posted on Wed Sep 17th, 2025 @ 9:17am by Ensign Kasm & Commander Samantha Howard & Lieutenant Imik S'Niohun

2,106 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Holding Pattern Hijinks
Location: Washington Sickbay
Timeline: current

::ON::

Kasm had stood like a statue in sickbay, guarding the door. All around him had been a whirlwind of activity, he will probably never get used to people just appearing out of nowhere as if by magic.

And time passed.

As the emergency drew to a close he continued to follow the last instructions he was given, to protect the ships sickbay from invaders.

Considering that he had stood like a statue for hours, leading into days, and the sickbay returned to some semblance of normal. The injured and dying having either been discharged or zipped into body bags, he continued to stand his post. As time wore on, he sort of became a fixture that the medical staff and crew coming and going from sickbay just stopped seeing and moved around like he was any other piece of furniture.

He didn't complain, didn't take a break, didn't ask for food or water. He just waited, being ever vigilant, ready to protect those placed in his charge. Discomfort? The threat of death? Unimportant, as with others from his world, doing what you have been directed to do, doing what you are meant to do, following your current life path as set forth by your consortium is all that matters.

So he stood, he protected, he waited.

Sitting in her office Imik checked off her list of KIA and missing, her department had been lucky only one dead and one missing. But the missing name caused her to double take, Kasm. Imik had kept him on board Washington and out of harms way simply because she had been unsure of his combat capability, mirror aliens had got onboard but surely not where Kasm had been stationed. "Computer, locate Ensign Kasm."

=/\="Ensign Kasm is in sickbay."=/\=. The reply now made Imik think, "Computer, how long has Ensign Kasm been in sickbay?" =/\="Ensign Kasm has been in sickbay for seven days."=/\=. Surely not possible, had he been wounded the CMO would have posted it and informed her, "Computer, what is the status of Ensign Kasm?" =/\="Ensign Kasm is guarding sickbay from Mirror intruders."=/\=. Imik closed her eye's and hung her head in disbelief, even as the Washington had returned to normal Kasm instead of asking or thinking had remained at his duty station for one week straight. "Computer, request the CMO contact me at her earliest convenience."

Dr Tarsis replied a few minutes later via the comm, being the senior medical officer currently capable and standing at the present. "Ensign Kasm...you requested contact?" His tired voice echoed through the corridor.

As the reply arrived Imik thought that perhaps things had been worse than she thought, "Sorry Doctor, I wish to know in what condition Ensign Kasm is in. And if he has at anytime been relieved in the past seven days?" Once she had the full details of Kasm's past seven days Imik could then move forwards, but it would appear for now that Kasm had stand down time owing big time.

[Main Medical]

Having given his report to the chief of security, Dr Tarsis stopped a passing orderly. "Ensign" pointing at Kasm "Has he really been standing there for an entire week?"

The ensign looked in the direction the Dr was pointing and it took her a moment to work out what he was pointing at. "Oh, ummm, the short security officer?" thinking for a moment "yeh, I guess he has, sorry sir, I kind of stopped noticing him since he never moves or speaks. I believe he showed up during the recent boarding action and just positioned himself there and, well, sir, that was that. He's so short I guess I started thinking of him as a small table..."

Tarsis shakes his head, takes half a step towards Kasm, pauses, thinks better of it, the short wide furry table is not his problem. So he goes on about the business of putting the medical department back to order and leaves this Kasm person to the responsibility of Security.

Tarsis returned to his office and sat, taking a moment to send the chief of security a message saying that whilst posting guards in Sickbay was a great precaution during the boarding, he felt it were no longer necessary.

As the report from the sickbay arrived, Imik again shook her head. How could anyone not notice that this person was still on duty? Her mind made up she now walked to sickbay a place she found uncomfortable to be in, upon arrival she went straight to Kasm. "Ensign, stand down and return to your cabin. You will report to me in three days, do you understand?" Imik wanted to say more but sickbay wasn't the place and this wasn't the time, in three days it would be the time and her office would be the place.

Kasm looked up at Imik and nodded his acceptance. Taking a moment to stretch, everyone in sick bay could hear the joints cracking as he worked the kinks out of his body. Turning to nod at the staff he strode out of the room and into the corridor.

Entering his quarters he is met by his room mate who jumps and says "where have you been? Imik was looking for you"

Pausing Kasm replies "I was standing guard in the sick bay".

Nalas did a double take and says "wait, you have been in sick bay this whole time? You're nuts." finishing his preparations he says "I gotta go my shift starts in 10, we'll catch up later" shaking his head and laughing as he leaves the room"

Kasm stands for a moment, then undresses and takes a sonic shower. Once done he heads to the science section to find Lt Haversill. Entering her lab he grins, which is terrifying to most humans as it reveals his very sharp incisors.

Upon seeing Kasm, Haversill jumps off her stool and bounces over to him smiling, "I'm so glad you are ok! I was so worried about you after you left me in my lab during the invasion." Leaning down to give him a hug, at which point she launches into a whirlwind machinegun blast of statements, comments and questions opening with "where have you been..."

A few hours later and a pitcher of some sickly sweet thing called tea that Haversill got from the food repilicator Kasm leaves the still chatty Lieutenant to her work to head to the holodeck, finding it empty he starts his program, disengaging holodeck safety interlocks and creating an environment similar to his home planet. He really needs a good workout...

After three days of digging out dilithium crystals on the holodeck with a pick and shovel Kasm cleaned himself up and headed to the security office.

Imik had been keeping tabs on Kasm while he "relaxed", and to say she was some what surprised would be an understatement. Now she waited for the Panda to arrive, she knew of no other way to describe Kasm as the Humans had always referred to him as such. Imik had done some research on both Panda's and Pandorans and now could see the resemblance, this for some reason amused her but she knew that mindset was wrong. A chime brought her back to reality, "Enter."

The door to security opens and Kasm stands there for a moment, then steps through the doorway, stepping up to the desk stopping far enough away so that Imik could see his face over her desk. "Reporting as ordered in 72 hours."

As Kasm walked in, Imik could see that his hands looked blistered and had probably been bleeding.

Looking at Kasm, Imik shook her head, "Ensign you were ordered to stand down, that did not mean for you to undertake three day's of extreme mining in the holodecks. And I may add against standing orders, you disabled the safety protocols. What do you have to say for yourself?" This sort of thing was unpleasant to Imik, her Ojnas upbringing made it difficult to understand why her subordinate would disregard orders and protocols to this degree.

Kasm's expression shifts to one of confusion (well thats what Imik thinks) "Yes, you instructed me to stand down, I returned to my quarters to clean up and change, your orders did not include that I was to remain in my quarters. As I have seen, when officers are not on duty, they are on R and R, which is to spend time doing things that they enjoy to help them relax. The extremely light gravity that this ship maintains is very exhausting to live in, and so I use the magic box holodeck to create my world for me where I can get proper exercise. I recognize the words safety protocols, every time I use the program the computer tells me this, I assumed it was for those not of my world so they will not enter and be harmed by my worlds gravity. Your gift of 72 hours allowed me time to relax and do what I enjoy."

"The safety protocols are there Ensign to protect you, not other people. The computer would warn anyone from entering, but the protocols are to ensure you will not be harmed while you do what you enjoy." Imik thought about how to proceed, Kasm clearly can't see what he has done wrong but who is to blame for that? "Ensign, I am pleased that the 72 hours allowed you to relax and enjoy some down time, but I must stress that from now on that you refrain from disabling the protocols, we do not wish to see you injured or harmed. Do you understand this?" She knew Kasm wasn't an idiot or lacking in common sense, simply an innocent when it comes to ships orders and procedures. Something she would have to address quickly and simply, without making Kasm feel uncomfortable.

"I understand., if I am not permitted to use the holodeck to maintain my health, where else on this ship can I go to maintain a 2.6 gravity to prevent bone degradation? I have tried the ships gym, but the equipment max's out at 500lbs, my bench press in this gravity is about 2.5 tons. Which is why myself and my fellow Pandorans have this holodeck program we were given at the academy."

Upon hearing Kasm's reply, Imik now asked a question. "Am I to understand that you can not indulge in your hobby without disabling the safety protocols?" The possibility of this had not crossed Imik's mind, now she needed clarification

"That is correct, to work in a 2.6g environment is hazardous for humans and can be deadly." Kasm takes a moment to think "when humans first came to our world they came in special environmental suits to sustain them in the planets gravity well. One of those suits had some defect and the gravity compensation field failed. The ambassador suffered, ummm, I believe the human doctor said a Coronary event due to the sudden pooling of the blood in the lower extremities." Shuffling a bit in embarrassment he huffs and says "We have a second heart near our pelvis to help support life as we work and exert ourselves, humans have no such advantage. Plus, I believe that if you were to step onto our world you would suddenly weigh about 350lbs?, most humans cannot carry 2 times their body weight on a good day, let alone 2.6 and then have to breath and carry that weight 24/7."

"This also goes both ways, we had to learn how to survive in this minimal gravity field. As I said, it is very exhausting, the first few months we all shuffled slowly as we walked. Without constant attention, we end up leaping forward when we walk and most objects we handle are crushed or broken. This caused much amusement amongst the humans at the academy, we received many disparaging remarks, I like this new word I was taught, like 'look at the fat panda, can't even walk'. Once we learned this was in intended insult, we dealt with them immediately as we do at home, strike the individual as an offering to begin a physical contest of endurance." Smiling and showing his beaver like incisors "Humans apparently do not have the same ritual as they would just collapse and not engage..."

Now she understood the situation, Kasm had to disable the safety protocols. "Ensign I would ask you forgo your program until I can get clearance from the Captain, this should not take long as I will express the urgency for your health and well being. I am sorry I was not aware of this situation."

::off::

 

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