No Pilots Yet
Posted on Wed Nov 12, 2025 @ 3:50am by Lieutenant Commander Karzen Son of Arjune, Son of Ragan MD, MPH & Lieutenant Sarah Mackenzie
744 words; about a 4 minute read
Mission:
Things Past
Location: CAG's Office
Timeline: Prior to Chicken Run MD001
ON
Lieutenant Commander Karzen, MD, MPH, the new ACMO and Chief Flight Surgeon of Deep Space Five, found the office of Lieutenant Sarah MacKenzie. Her assistant didn't seem to be at their desk, so Karzen rapped his knuckles on the hatch and then hit the buzzer for good measure.
“Enter!” Came the response. Sarah was simply relaxing in her office, occasionally looking at her screen for responses from her personnel requests. Bring a CAG without an air groups was simply no fun.
Karzen entered. "Lieutenant Mackenzie?" Karzen said in a Klingon-like roar, bursting into the room dramatically. "Lieutenant Commander Karzen, Son of Arjune, Son of Ragan! Chief Flight Surgeon! Assistant Chief Medical Officer! I will be defending the medical honor of you and your pilots in the glorious name of Kahless the Unforgettable! May he never be forgotten... or else he would be Kahless the Forgettable... only no one would remember him... so what would he be then, I ask you?" Then he laughed out loud. "I joke with you, Lieutentant! I mean, my name is Karzen, and I am the son of Arjune and Ragan, I am a Lieutenant Commander, and I am the Chief Flight Surgeon and the Assistant Chief Medical Officer, and I will be caring for your pilots... so perhaps rather than joking, I was just being a parody of myself and half of my genetic background?" The old Klingon physician laughed again.
Sarah sat at her desk looking at the man for a moment, waiting to see if there was any more, “hmmm, feel better now you’ve got that off your chest?” She asked, standing up and extending a hand, “how about I just call you Karzen?”
"Perhaps when we get to know each other better, Lieutenant," Karzen said, smiling and shaking Sarah's hand. "Which I hope will happen in due course. Doctor or Commander will do for now," Karzen grinned a feral grin."With a 'sir' thrown in every now and then for good measure! A little formality may be helpful later. Sometimes my job forces me to do unpleasant things like temporarily or, worse, permanently ground a pilot. Familiarity can lead to the saying of things that are difficult to walk back and cannot be unsaid. Fair enough, Lieutenant?"
Sarah nodded, “fair enough commander, it’s a pleasure to meet you, though I’m afraid i don’t have a great number of staff for you to ground.” She said, motioning to the still empty fighter hanger outside her window, “but, hopefully, Starfleet will send some pilots our way and we can get this air wing off the ground”
"Do not misunderstand me, Lieutenant," Karzen said. "I take no pleasure in clipping a pilot's wings. I was a fighter pilot myself for forty years, for the Nyberrite Alliance, before I switched to medicine, and I've flown both in civilian general aviation for fun and for Starfleet to stay current with fleet craft. So, as I said, I take no pleasure in grounding pilots of any kind, whether they fly fighters, bombers, runabouts, shuttles, starships, or worker bees. And if I do have to ground anyone, on my honor, I will try to make it temporary, if possible." Karzen looked out the large office window into the empty fighter bay. "I can't help but notice that in addition to pilots, you also seem to need something for them to fly. I'd loan you my personal Type 9 shuttle but I'm rather partial to the little thing. And besides, as punchy and maneuverable as she is, she's no match for a combat aerospace fighter."
Sarah looked at Karzen with a slightly bemused expression. He’d just spend his breath trying to reassure her that he didn’t enjoy part of his job. Glancing out the window, Sarah gave him a smile, “we’re in the process of ordering some fighters from the shipyards. And while I’m glad to hear you don’t relish the idea of grounding pilots, I’d rather a grounded pilot than a dead one.” She said, standing up and offering a hand, “all the same, I’m glad to have someone I can rely on to keep my pilots in shape”
Karzen shook Sarah's hand. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Lieutenant," the old Klingon said. "Let's talk soon."
OFF
Lieutenant Commander Karzen Son of Arjune, Son of Ragan, MD, MPH
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
Chief Flight Surgeon
Lieutenant Sarah Mackenzie
CAG
RSS Feed