Pandemic: Chapter 1
MEDICAL LOG 000-001: Day one of my new job. Just got out of the Dogstar Medical Academy, and the Council has already assigned me to an outpost. I am to be the chief medical officer at the Lone Wolf mining outpost on Xendarr IV, fourth planet in the Xendarr System, Sector 448 of the Beta Quadrant.
Apparently I am the first real medical officer to be sent here. They only have one medical assistant, and have been in need of a real doctor for some time. From the data disks I was given, Lone Wolf appears to be a fairly decent sized mining colony, approximently 200 fellow canids, male and female, ranging from 14 to 37 years. No major medical incidents to report. Some work-related injuries: broken bones, strained muscles and backs, and two fatalities due to a tunnel collapse last year.
I am on board the Saving Grace, medical frigate en route to Xendarr IV. We're making our final descent now. From what I have read, and the view from my cabin, Xendarr IV is one giant desert. Very few trees, all short and twisted, short scrub grass, red soil, and large red plateaus and rock formations cover much of the planet. Lone Wolf is built at the base of one such plateau, the main settlement is a tangled mess of metal prefabricated buildings, all one story tall, except for the building in the middle, a large two story complex that part trading post, part town hall. Across the street is a domed building. This is my new home, the Lone Wolf Medical Center.
We've just touched down, though not the smoothest landing ever...at least the pilot offered to help unload all my equipment.
I don't know the actual condition of this facility, so I took the liberty of ordering an entire, up-to-date mobile unit: gurneys, EEG reader, hazmat suits, surgical tools, microscope, and a portable body scanner/analyzer. That should be sufficient.
We're in boarding now. Time to meet the rest of my life.
Dr. Rufus Ryker, signing off.
Rufus stepped off the boarding ramp, his black and white husky fur blowing in the stiff wind, the hot desert sun beating down on him, and looking around, he immediately felt out of place. Canids were walking about through the town, either going about their business, or stopping to gawk at the offworlder. They all were dressed in brown pants and sleeveless shirts, some of the men wearing no shirts at all. The miners were easy to spot due to the steel paw pads they wore to protect their feet, and the yellow hard hats they wore. Most of the townsfolk were a common mix of wolf, husky, and Labrador breeds, with the occasional dingo or fox.
Rufus, on the other hand, was wearing his standard medical uniform. A pair of white pressed pants, and a solid white jacket with an offset pleated seam, crossing from his left should to his right chest, then straight down his right side. It overlapped the inner layer, with hidden interior buttons, and the seam, as well was the cuffs, were black. The white collar was raised up to his chin, with a V split in the front middle so the wearer could breath and turn easier. On his left and right shoulders was a silver cross with a small gold star in the middle of it; the universal symbol for doctors and hospitals across the galaxy. Slung over his shoulder was a hardshell white backpack, containing his other clothes and his portable computer. He also had a hoversled loaded with several bags and boxes of his medical equipment.
As he took his gear through the square and to the medical dome, he couldn't help but notice all the staring faces. Clearly this was a community not used to outsiders. Other than new equipment deliveries, the canids of Lone Wolf rarely saw beings from off planet, and all the residents had either volunteered for the colony, or were the offspring of those volunteers. But it was the Canid way. They would not shun him, simply stay wary for a while, maybe a few weeks, simply say a greeting in passing. But with time, he would be accepted into their pack as one of their own.
Rufus finally arrived at the medical dome, the grey building was a complete dome, ten meters high at its zenith, and almost fifteen meters in diameter, a small double door extended from the front of the building, the words MEDICAL CENTER were painted in reflective yellow across the doors.
"So you're the new doctor, welcome!" Said a voice behind Rufus, who turned around to come face to face with a jet black wolf with golden eyes. "I'm Maxum, the town Alpha. You must Dr. Ryker."
"Oh, yes sir," Rufus said, bowing his head and averting his gaze as a sign of respect, then looking back at the black wolf, "I hope my presence hasn't cause too much commotion?"
"Not at at. While outsiders are rare, a doctor is a necessity in these parts. We've had a medical assistant since this mine first opened, and for a time that was all we needed, but our colony has grown too large for just one Canid to handle. It was my decision, during the last supply run."
"We'll, thank you sir, I'll try to get acquainted with my partner, and with the residents of Lone Wolf."
Rufus bowed his head again, then turned back to the medical center and pulled his stuff inside. The building was divided into two main parts. The front two thirds of the center was the hospital itself; testing equipment, patient beds, a checkup table, and a medicine cabinet. The back third of the building was the staff living quarters; a bedroom with a small bunkbed, a bathroom and shower, and a small dining area.
After looking around, Rufus unpacked all the medical equipment he had brought and set it off to the side, deactivating the hoversled and setting it against the wall. He took off his hardshell backpack and set it on the top bunk, seeing that the bottom was being used.
As he walked back out of the living quarters, the front doors of the center opened, and a young female yellow Labrador in a white medical jacket like his walked in. "Oh, there you are!" She said. "Sorry I couldn't give you a hand at the landing site, one of the miner's came down with a case of dog flu yesterday, so I was just checking up on him."
"Sorry, I was just looking around. I'm not sure if you needed any, but I had some new medical supplies and equipment brought with me."
"Actually, we are in need of supplies, so thank you."
"Oh, I didn't catch your name." Rufus said.
"Rhea."
Feeling a little out of place, Rufus asked if he could go through the patient medical files, to get a better feel for his future patients. Rhea had no problem with it, as he was now technically the senior medical officer...if only in title.