Meeting A Staff Member

Posted on Fri Oct 16th, 2026 @ 6:40pm by Lieutenant Luthor Volt M.D. & Warrant Officer Jyrranaz "Jaz" Rindo

Mission: CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT 09/26
Location: USS Diligent
Timeline: current

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Sitting in his office, Doctor Luthor Volt was leaning back as he read any reports that had come his way from the current Bridge officer in charge of delivering the USS Diligent to M-69. The current crew consisted of 60 fourth year cadets all on their final cadet cruise and grade for possible promotion as well as placement throughout the fleet. He had four of them assigned to Sickbay, with them currently having broke for lunch. Training and watching the 60 cadets were 40 Starfleet commissioned officers, all of whom took their training of the cadets very seriously. One such man, Commander Kenneth Bradley, was acting captain to get the ship to where it needed to be. According to the missive sent down to Medical, the Diligent's ETA for M-69 was roughly three hours, give or take. Reaching up with both hands, Volt rubbed his face and eyes out of sheer boredom, not lack of energy. His office door was locked open, and had been for the entire trip so that the cadets could walk up and knock on the jam if they had any queries. As he sat there in the silence of his office and the outer Sickbay, Luthor did hear the distinct slide-hiss of a door opening and closing.

Curious as to who was coming in at the height of lunch, Volt gazed out his office window which had a direct line of sight for the main entry for Sickbay. That door had neither opened, nor closed. Hmm. Standing up and going around the right side of his desk to avoid the open office door and remain somewhat hidden, he stepped to the corner where window met the right side wall, his eyes scanning the interior of Sickbay proper. His eyes fell upon a woman, her back to him, standing at the replicator, a cat tail swishing back and forth casually as she accessed the panel. She was not Caitian, and her hair and the fur of her tail was a darker shade of amber orange, almost copper in color. The hair upon her head was shoulder-blade length with long curls, and even from behind he could see that her hair was parted by two distinct cat ears atop her head. Curious, Luthor chose to remain where he was and observe what she was doing as he crossed his arms over his chest and his left hand came up to play with his chin and mouth area while observing.

Having just come from the laboratory compartments next door to Sickbay, Jyrranaz "Jaz" Rindo had quite an appetite built up. The past two weeks she had spent assisting in setting up all the lab equipment, making sure they all had power, and then locking what needed it in place. Here she was serving aboard a Federation starship, supposed to be in Medical first, and due to her other skills as an Operations officer from the Concordium, got wrangled into that task first. But, as was her way, she had not argued with the Commanding Officer. Jaz simply acknowledged the order and went to work, helping to instruct the cadets while setting up the lab equipment. Seeing a few items in the menu she could try, Jaz tapped the keys and the tray of food appeared. Inarizushi, congee, and kenchin soup. She could smell the aromas as she picked the tray up, went to an empty wall and sat down on the floor, leaning back against said wall with the tray on the floor to her right. Taking up a cloth napkin she draped it over her leather and cloth outfit in case of crumbs and drips. Picking up the small plate with the two rolled inarizushi on it, she lifted just that up to her face and huffed getting the full brunt of its own aroma. It was revolting, so much so that she did a full on forward pitch, tongue lolling out like she was going to vomit but caught herself at the last moment and quickly set that dish aside.

In his office, Volt silently chuckled and grinned to himself as he watched this felinoid take a whiff of a dish, and did what every house cat he had ever known does when it smells something wretched. A full-on vomit action without actually spewing, the tongue all the way out and quickly recovered to aid in not throwing up. It reminded him of his pet cat, Boo, who had been his faithful companion for fifteen years before she finally succumbed to old age. She went to sleep one night and never woke. That loss had affected Luthor deeply, and to this day he did not invest in any further pet companions. But, watching this cat girl do something so similar was amusing. He saw her pick up a bowl, remove its lid, and copy that action of smelling it. This time there was no adverse affect, just a bit of scrunch to the brow. Not horrible, that look said, just not right. But, she began to eat what looked like some kind of porridge with vegetables in it. After watching all this, Volt figured it was time to introduce himself since she had felt the need to use Sickbay as her getaway place to have lunch.

Jaz ate the congee willingly, it not smelling at all as bad as that inarizushi. Well, the facsimile that synthetic food could call inarizushi. Finishing the congee and setting that bowl aside, Jaz took up the smaller bowl of kenchin soup. After a spoonful she gave a nod of satisfaction. She was glad that the replicator could not screw up a basic soup like kenchin. Her mind marked that as one dish she could eat without regret. It was high time to use the kitchenette in her quarters to make her own dishes and put them in a bento box for her lunches if she chose to continue to eat traditional Catfolk cooking. The soup was missing the dried tofu, so she would have to bake some up and keep it in a sealed container.

Luthor had an epiphany as he watched the feline eat her lunch. Pulling his palm PADD out of his thigh pocket he called up his medical staff for the USS Diligent. Doom scroll, doom scroll, doom scroll...ah! There she was. Warrant Officer Jyrranaz "Jaz" Rindo, SFMC, goes by Jaz, assigned as a medical officer as her first duty post, Operations as her secondary. Quazi, also known as Catfolk, with medical training to the level of EMT and a field medic, making her a tad higher than just a nurse. More a nurse practitioner missing a few steps in her skills necessary to attain M-D. She had experience from the Quazi Concordium as a field medic, having saved the lives of her own kind, as well as, several other species. An Andorian, a few Humans, and a Vulcan. So, it was obvious that this Jaz had knowledge enough to save lives and participate in the invasive procedures necessary to mend internal injuries. Hell, she even knew how to use a needle to apply stitches if it were needed. Sliding his PADD into his pocket, Volt made his way out to his lunch squatter.

Merrily chewing the vegetables in her mouth from the soup, Jaz's ears both went forward as they heard the soft footfalls of someone approaching from further back in Sickbay. The bowl was set aside and she got her legs under her to stand up, still chewing to get it done and swallow even as she saw a man, a Human, approaching and wearing a Starfleet teal-blue uniform for the sciences. Jaz knew who he was from the photo in his personnel file. She swallowed the mouthful of food and stood tall and straight, arms at her sides as he approached. "Good afternoon, Doctor Volt." She gave a bow from the waist in greeting.

Luthor stopped his forward progress at a polite distance, not able to help the grin that formed on his face. He noted the Starfleet badge and rank pin on and above the woman's left breast. "Good afternoon, Warrant Officer Jaz. You know there are more comfortable places to eat, right?"

"Yes, Sir," Jaz responded, keeping her face stoic as she instinctively began to size up the Chief Medical Officer as to what kind of person he was. The grin seemed genuine and warm but all too often grins came with deception. She did not sense nor feel any deceptive behavior, but one could never be too cautious when meeting knew people of any species. "I was seeking a quiet place to eat and Sickbay is normally very quiet even when staff are present."

"True," Luthor replied. "If you don't already know, I am Lieutenant Luthor Volt, Chief Medical Officer for the Diligent. As I watched you eat it did dawn on me that you were assigned to Medical as your primary. May I ask why you haven't reported yet, Warrant Jaz?"

Jaz began to relax a bit, the Doctor's voice tone pleasant yet commanding, but not overly so. "Commander Bradley assigned me to aid the cadets with setting up the lab complex next door, Doctor. I intended to report to you when that work was finished. I intended no disrespect."

Volt's head tilted slightly, his expression pleasant. "None taken, Miss Jaz. I was merely curious as to why. Are the labs set up, then?"

"They are," she answered. Jaz watched as his head righted itself, her entire stance also relaxing even as she stayed standing tall, her tail back to its casual sashaying. "Warrant Officer Jaz reporting for duty, Doctor. My hope is that this misunderstanding will not cause a negative aspect to our working relationship."

"Not at all," offered Volt. "Please, relax, Miss Jaz. You may dispense with your tray if you wish, while we get to know one another."

"Thank you," Jaz responded. She squatted and took up her tray, heading to the replicator and depositing the whole thing into the refuse chute where it would be broken down into its basic particles and sent to the replication tanks. Turning back around, Jaz then walked up to him at a closer polite distance, extending her right hand. "Warrant Officer Jyrranaz Rindo, Sir. As you have surmised, I go by Jaz at all times. Rindo is my clan name and Jyrranaz is a mouthful during professional and personal conversations. Plus, my parents cut it down to Jaz many years ago and it stuck." It was her turn to give him a pleasant smile and expression, finding him easy to be around. He shook her offered hand before she dropped it.

"A pleasure, Jaz." Volt had noticed that her canines were a bit more pronounced than the average humanoid, as a part of her felinoid physicality. She gave off a slight aroma of flowers, an aroma he knew but could not put his finger on at the moment. Probably from soaps, shampoo, or a perfume of some kind. It was slight, not intrusive to his sense of smell. "Welcome to Sickbay. Is this your standard mode of dress?"

Jaz looked down the front of herself. She wore a combination cloth and leather. Both her pants and top were a combined effort of the two materials. The cloth areas were olive drab green, the leather a typical brown earth tone. Her feet were covered by a type of tabi boot, with toe inserts and knee high tops that were laced up so as not to slide back down. Her arms were covered in leather sleeves that went from wrist to bicep, with buckles at the bicep to tighten them enough to not slide back down towards the hands and bunch up. Her hands themselves were covered in fingerless gloves in a more tan color. Her fingernails anyone could see, were more than just nails. They were sharp, pointed claws that were withdrawn at the moment, to show only the tips that she had painted in an earth-tone black. How much of the claws were hidden within her fingers was anyone's guess, but they looked to be thick and deadly just from what one could see of their points. "It is, Doctor. I was told that as an exchange officer from the Quazi Concordium, I could wear this. If you demand I change to something more to your liking I will do so."

Volt smiled, liking how forward she was. How matter-of-fact. "I'll make you a deal, Jaz. You may continue to wear that uniform so long as I get an education on your Quazi Concordium. Culture, people, clans, physiology - all of it. Are you game?"

Jaz gave him a quirky expression and a smile. "That's it? Tell you about my government and people and I get to wear this as my uniform?" She shook her head in amusement. "You're easy to please, Doctor. I accept your request. And, it fits into a belief among Catfolk. Equivalent exchange."

"Equivalent exchange?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow. "How so?"

"Among Catfolk, when someone does a favor, gives you a gift, or simply takes something they feel they need, something of equal value must be reciprocated. You are granting me a gift of allowing my cultural clothing as a uniform, which I do appreciate. So, you requesting knowledge of my people and their ways is an equivalent exchange for the kindness you have shown me." Jaz finished the explanation and gave a slight bow with a grin still on her face.

Luthor returned the grin. "Sounds downright civilized. Can't wait to hear more. Anyway," he said, needing to inform her of quickly approaching events. "In roughly two hours we'll arrive at Starbase M-69. The cadets will offload and the old Capernaum crew will transfer over to Diligent. Those who are staying with their comrades, that is. I've seen to just about everything in here, so a quick once over to make sure shouldn't be too hard. Your record says you are a trained field medic and EMT. That makes you a step up from just a nurse. We have one other medical officer on staff, the rest nurses. I need an Assistant Chief, so you are now acting in that capacity. You good with that?"

Jaz's face quirked in a bit of confusion. Then, it quirked again, but this time to give him a bit of side-eye. "Are you trying to get me to owe you more, Doctor? Not fair to make me come up with an equivalent to that."

Volt laughed. "That was not the intention but, hey, if that's what it brings I'll go with it. Just know you don't have to, Jaz. This is professional, not a personal thing. We're out here in the wild west, emergency medicine is going to be what's needed most times. I'll take you doing a bang-up job as the equivalent exchange. Deal?"

"Acceptable," Jaz said with a giggle of her own. "When I make a bento box for lunch, I'll make enough for two. With real inarizushi."

"Bento box?" Volt was once again confused.

"A sealed lunch box full of everything a healthy body needs. I hope you like Japanese cuisine because ours is almost exactly the same. As if you couldn't tell by the name of the food I mentioned. In layman's terms, inarizushi is called sushi by others." Jaz gave him a grin. "And, I just happen to be a damn fine cook. My clan is one of the Wildling clans, learning to live off the land and remain as one with it. I'll even bring some matsutaki, roasted over an open flame."

Luthor could feel his mouth water a bit at the mention of Japanese food. Something he had an appetite for. "Looks like I'll be owing you a lot, then."

Jaz gave a nod. "I better get to work, Doctor. We'll talk more once we dock. I'll be doing a walkabout on M-69, to stretch my legs and see something I've never seen before. A full-sized Starfleet starbase that isn't spacedock."

Volt gave a chuckle, letting her go about her duties even as he turned to head back into his office. It seems he got blessed with an officer he could get along with.

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