Ovam didn’t get much sleep, despite this he was in a good mood. It wasn’t anxiety but anticipation. A feeling of a fresh start. His record at Starbase Bravo wasn’t perfect. In a way, he felt like he was sent to the Valkyrie so he wouldn’t be Starbase Bravo’s problem. It was a sore topic and Ovam still felt strongly he was in the right.

To be honest he didn’t know much about Dr. Selara. He knew she outranked him, that she was also now his supervising physician. To think he had less than a year to finish being evaluated and if cleared would gain the title of Doctor himself. As he approached the door it hissed open, and he stepped in with confidence.

His eyes fell upon a female and he awkwardly cleared his throat.

“Ensign Ovam reports as ordered,” he said curtly.

“Ah Ensign, welcome,” Selara replied with her usual cheerfulness. “Fourth year, right?” She picked up a PADD. “Is there a particular area you feel you’re lacking? Or a specialty you’re interested in?”

Ovam looked at her blankly. She seemed to be a cheerful person. A type of temperament he wasn’t used to. Or was she mocking him? He couldn’t help but bite the inside of his cheek, something he did out of habit to stop him from wearing his emotion in his face. What would have been a look of complete disdain turned into a look of controlled annoyance.

“I am,” he responded bluntly.

She asked if there was something he wanted to work on he seemed pensive for a moment. Was this an attempt for him to find a weakness?

“I haven’t been able to get experience handling Xeno-Pathology yet,” he finally responded honestly.

Selara regarded the man as he spoke. He seemed… nervous? Annoyed? Definitely wanted to be somewhere other than here. He wasn’t the first tough nut she ever needed to crack though. Ovam reminded Selara a lot of her first husband: stoic and of few words.

“Ah, xenopathology… you’re in the right place for something like that,” she spread her arms to indicate the ship. “‘New life and new civilizations’, and all that,” she smiled.

“I’m going to send you something,” she typed into her PADD. “Where did I put- Ah, there it is! ‘The Works of Nenis and Veko, Volume IV’,” she read off the PADD. “Two doctors who are brilliant pathologists. They helped develop my surgical skills during my formative years. It might be a bit superfluous for your goal because they’re surgeons, but they use great detail. Sometimes too much detail,” she chuckled and shrugged, “but Vulcan writing tends to be… a lot.” Selara pressed buttons on the PADD and sent it to Ovam. “I’d recommend the holodeck simulations too.”

When she shifted her demeanor, he was taken aback. Suddenly, there was purpose as she started assigning him reading. When she mentioned Vulcan writing he broke out into a loud and boisterous laugh.

“You have no idea how hard I struggled in my earlier courses, my stubborn resolve is how I got through those bland journals,” he told her honestly.

Selara smiled internally; she was starting to crack the nut. She found that humor generally eases tension and puts people at ease. Laughter is the best medicine, after all.

Selara set down the PADD and looked at Ovam seriously. “What I really try to foster in my teams is a sense of belonging and connectivity. Yes, I’m your supervisor,” she waved away the notion, “but I’m also your colleague. We’re going to be working together, and we’ll succeed and fail on how our relationship works. I don’t like using ranks in non-emergency situations to make our focus on medicine, not Starfleet.”

Ovam was confused by this. Hierarchy and rank were important to his culture. It is one of the many things from Klingon Culture that made it easy to adapt to Starfleet. The idea of being more casual with someone who was his superior was uncomfortable.

“I…. Agree,” he said carefully even though he was still trying to figure out this idea of not using ranks.

“I am here to fight for people and to fight to keep them alive,” he said thoughtfully as a response regarding to focusing on medicine.

There was that hesitation again, Selara noted. She’d have to circle back to that later. “And fight you will, Mr. Ovam!” She cheerfully exclaimed, “It’s not always easy, and it can beat you down sometimes, but it’s always worth it. Do you have any questions?”

He gave her a genuine Klingon smile.

“No Ma’am, I mean Selara, let’s get to work,” he said gruffly.

“Doctor Selara, Mr. Ovam,” Selara emphasized with a smile. She began shuffling through the PADDs, “Let’s see what you can do. You’ll take beds 4, 6, and 7. I want full assessments and reports on each patient.” She handed him a PADD. “I look forward to your thoughts.”