Practice Makes Perfect

Posted on Tue Sep 15th, 2026 @ 10:35pm by Lieutenant JG Anna "Elonat" Letchers

687 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: The Silence of Archanis
Location: Starbase 12

“Again.”

The breath that followed as Anna removed the surgical instruments was quiet. This was the eighth time she and T'Rel were practising this procedure. "What is to your dissatisfaction this time, Doctor?" She asked while placing the instruments back onto the tray.

The Vulcan glanced up as her keen hearing caught the sigh. "Your precision was off by half a millimetre," T'Rel replied. The two had been working on this procedure for the last few hours. "If this is frustrating you, we can resume later, Elonat."

Of course the Vulcan would be able to detect Anna's frustration. Anna looked to the other medic, "I am perfectly capable to continue, T'Rel." It was a long-running tradition for Vulcans to doubt her, and T'Rel was no exception. Despite being the same rank, T'Rel's subtle mannerisms hinted to an internalised sense of superiority. She began to reset the medical tray as the Vulcan healed the incisions left behind on the cadaver. At least she got further this time.

Brad was glad that Anna was picking this up quickly during her residency. While his position was still quite secure, he hoped she could eventually take over as CMO so he could step back into his true calling, which was trauma surgery. His black hair began to show a few grey speckles, and a couple faint lines hinted to years of humourous tales. He walked into main sickbay where his resident and another medical officer were working. "How's it going?"

"I would say we are making steady progress," Anna responded, glancing up at her mentor. She'd been working under him for two years, but she was quick to pick things up and knew she had his confidence. While Starfleet had given her the chance to be around Humans and adapt to their mannerisms, it didn't really prepare for them to "humanise" her. Brad was probably one of the more insistent ones.

T'Rel raised a brow at Anna's response. "That is an exaggeration."

Anna couldn't stop the glance toward the Vulcan. While to Brad it probably just looked like simple acknowledgment with a glance, there was no doubt that T'Rel read it as a frustrated glare. "We are refining the precision," she clarified to Brad.

The older man chuckled at the Vulcan-like disagreement. He was admittedly confused by Anna's personality when she first came aboard Starbase 12, but she made more sense once she explained that we was raised by Vulcans. He'd heard of Vulcans being taken in by Humans, but not the other way around. But who was he to judge? Brad raised his hands in mock surrender, "hey, no brawls in sickbay, please. What kind of precision are we talking?"

"Half a millimetre." Anna's response was curt as she finished resetting the medical tray.

Brad whistled at that. "That well exceeds Starfleet's margin of error."

"Perhaps." T'Rel's eyes were focused on the incisions she was healing. "However, half a millimetre can mean the difference between a successful procedure and hitting an artery. If Elonat is to be successful in her field, she must demonstrate both precision and accuracy."

"Is that the Starfleet standard, or the Vulcan one?"

"It is neither, Doctor Whitley," Anna interjected, before T'Rel could respond. The tray now organised, she turned her attention fully to the older man. "I requested T'Rel's assistance and keen eye for detail to improve my own performance."

The conversation was interrupted by a call from Commodore Haldane. Both Anna and Brad were to report to her ready room at earliest convenience.

Anna watched Brad take the call before addressing T'Rel. "We will resume this once Doctor Whitley and I speak to the commdore," she told her Vulcan counterpart, who gave a simple nod in response. Shrugging off the white coat and folding it neatly, she approached Brad. Well accustomed to Vulcan modesty, she opted for the uniform variant that best accommodated such a preference. The uniform itself was pristine, with every crease where it was supposed to be. "Shall we?"

Brad was curious as to why the commodore would summon both of them. He gestured for Anna to lead the way.

 

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