Exurgency

Posted on 06 Mar 2013 @ 1:17am by

2,657 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Episode 03 - Frontier
Location: USS Galileo: LTjg Maenad Panne's Quarters
Timeline: MD4 0600

ON:

Trija and Kestra had finally fallen asleep, which had been Liyar's cue to get out of sickbay as quickly as possible. Of course, Trija had known he was leaving with sleepyawareness. Despite her vehement claims to confining him there, she let him creep away out the door. His body felt made of lead, as he trudged down the halls. He entered the turbolift, was running through a list of things he still had to do. 0540-- 0600, his internal clock corrected itself. 0600. Training. Rather than do the logical thing, which would have been to cancel and return to his quarters and sleep, he ordered the lift to deck two and headed to Maenad's quarters. As he had originally planned to do before being thrown headfirst into an eleven-hour long coma. Sleep would not be wise, not at this time. His brain was telling him different things. Mostly it was firing synapses, in vivid color, things went in and out of focus. His thought processes were a muddled up, not affording him a true comprehension of how irrational it was to even remain on his feet. He hit the chime on her door as he had unfailingly done for the past few mornings.

Unlike last week, Maenad was ready this time. The event from the night before had somehow left with her renewed spirits she hadn't known she'd lost. She awoke a half hour before Liyar had arrived, had washed up, eaten some toast, and was sitting on her couch waiting for him to arrive. She was going to impress him this morning.

When the chime sounded, she stood and made her way to the door. She looked oddly out of place in her training clothes, black form-fitting training pants and a pale yellow sports tee. Maenad pressed the button to open the door and a welcome smile showed on her face. "Good morning," she said. "I am ready this time, Mister Liyar," she presented herself and gave him a playful bow, imitating a graceful ballerina's. When she rose, however, she saw that Liyar was far from the joyful morning Vulcan she'd known.

She saw a Liyar that she'd never seen before. His uniform was wrinkled, his face was pale, his eyes were greenish and tormented, and she even thought that he wasn't standing as tall as he was. Her smile quickly faded. "Mister Liyar, what's happened to you?" she asked, obviously concerned. She touched the side of his face with her fingertips and turned his head to the side to look him over. "Come inside," she held her hand flat against the top of his back to usher him in.

Liyar stared at her for a split second longer than it normally would have taken him to reply and allowed himself to be guided in. "I see," he finally said, which did not at all explain anything. Like shutters snapping in place, he looked up, returning to clarity and speaking normally. "Did you wish to eat breakfast before we leave?" he asked, wondering why they were now going Inside instead of Outside. She was almost cheerful. He could feel it at first, sunshine, daisy, mellow... he blinked. Now it was raining, misting on his mind, confusion.

"I've already eaten," she said as she leaned back against the kitchen counter. She crossed her arms. "Did you get any sleep last night? You look like you've been up all night."

"Vulcans can go without periods of sleep for longer than Terrans," Liyar said offhand, which didn't answer her question in any detail. Or deny it, either. He remained standing awkwardly.

"Why are your eyes green?" she pressed.

Liyar blinked and rose a hand to his eye unconsciously. "There was an event. I assisted an individual. With their coma," he blurted out, and then frowned minutely. That didn't come out right. "Trija Natyal did the assisting. I assisted. Her." He wasn't sure that sounded any better. Language was grasping at straws, spindly, spiky things. Poking, watching them retract. Hedgehogs. He'd seen a hedgehog, once. On Terra. He leaned against the opposite counter.

"Liyar, what are you talking about?" Maenad was getting impatient. "Who is Trija Natyal? Whose coma?"

"The Federation News Network assistant producer. Kestra'lunaris Orexil." He answered her questions in consecutive order. "Kestra was in a comatose state. She was injured during the last mission. They are Betazoid. Trija enlisted my assistance, telepathically," he said. He still could not understand why Trija had chosen him, but apparently it had worked. "It was necessary to retrieve Kestra. Mentally." He glanced at a point somewhere beyond Maenad's shoulder. "I am functional," he insisted, and then right as rain, added, "Do you wish to depart now?"

Maenad's eyes narrowed on him as she ignored the question. She still didn't understand. "That doesn't explain why you look the way you do. Your eyes are bloodshot. Your uniform looks like you've been crawling through Jefferies tubes all night. You look ill." It was somewhat ironic coming from her; Maenad's eyes were purple ringed and she was deathly pale too, but she didn't feel the way she looked and Liyar obviously did.

Liyar pulled his hand away from his eye as though expecting it to come up bloody. It didn't. Small wonders. There was no blood in this world. He folded his fingers against his palm one at a time. "No. Not ill. I was taken, into the coma. But now I am awake. Your eyes are purple," he shot back in recalcitrance. He was fairly sure that Terrans were not supposed to be purple. Pink, maybe. Red. Not purple. Unless, perhaps, it was some new fashion, they seemed very preoccupied with that.

"I am ill," she pointed out. "You are not." Maenad licked her lips. "Did you say that you were in a coma?"

"For only a brief period of time," Liyar maintained absently. "You are ill? What has happened?" He focused on that rather abruptly.

"Well, not ill," she shook her head. "How did you go into a coma? Why didn't anybody tell me?" Maenad was clearly very unamused.

"You stated that you were ill," Liyar wouldn't be deterred that easily.

"I have anemia, Liyar. But I am not worried about me, I'm worried about you," she didn't mean to raise her voice to him, but she did. And discussing her health infuriated her; she had had to confess her health to Zaren last night and she was hardly keen on doing it again so soon. But, Maenad had seen Liyar at the hospital on Vega. He had told her about his trouble with containing his emotions, or whatever the word was that he had used. And then there was his difficult childhood and subsequent lifelong problems with being different from other Vulcans, his family problems, and the death of his wife and child only a few months ago. Seeing him like this was a first, which said to her that all the rest was somehow not as awful as whatever he'd been through recently. Liyar never left his quarters in disarray. No self-respecting Vulcan ever would. And now he said that he'd been in a coma. Human or not, being in a coma a serious thing.

Liyar tilted his head at the random slew of emotions she decided to hurtle at him. And then there was the yelling. He wondered if she was aware that she spoke very loudly. "I was only drawn into Kestra's comatose state for a period of eleven point six hours," he said, completely normally. "Anemia. That is the Terran equivalent of acupria. Are you being treated?"

"Yes, Liyar, I am," she sighed with exasperation. "Eleven hours? When is the last time you slept? Why are you all wrinkled?" If she didn't know any better, he might he looked like he'd been crying.

Liyar stared lopsided at her. "I most certainly was not," he muttered. At least, he didn't think he had been. He touched his eye again. No. Definitely not. That was not a sign of sadness in Vulcans, but rather serious illness such as Bendii or pon farr. Neither of which he had experienced. "I awoke on the floor," he pulled at one of his sleeves. "Yesterday. Morning. That was when I had slept. What type of treatment? Is your doctor competent?"

"Doctor Ni Dhuinn, I believe, is competent. I don't know, I have only seen her once." She stood properly. "But we're not talking about me because I am just fine." Maenad was getting tired of telling people that. She had to wonder who it was she was trying to convince. "We have just arrived at the Rojar system," she went on. "Commander Coleman has put you under my supervision for this mission and I need you at your best. Not sleeping for nearly two days will not do. And if you just came out of a coma, then you need to rest." She looked at him sternly for a moment, but then visibly softened.

"I was," Liyar said. "Speaking of you." He decided, apparently, that he would very well make certain that she was fine, as she so put it. "It was not my coma," he finished lamely. "I assure you, I am perfectly functional. Will you be seeing Dr. Ni Dhuinn again?" He wasn't sure if he liked her. And he liked her even less now that she was responsible for Maenad's treatment.

"Yes, of course I will," she smiled. Regardless of what Liyar said about being fine, he wasn't. Anyone could see that. "Follow me," she told him. Maenad led the way into her bedroom. Her bed wasn't made, but her covers were still mostly on it properly. She bent over and straightened them, then pulled back one of the corners so the sheets were up. "Take off your shoes, undress, and get in bed," she crossed her arms and turned around to look at him.

Liyar padded along after her and abruptly stopped halfway across the room, realizing she'd lead him into her bedroom, which didn't help things when she spoke again. "Excuse me?"

Maenad blinked. "You're going to bed, Liyar, and I'm not letting you go back on duty until your eyes are white again and you don't look like you're going to pass out."

"I have work to complete," he refuted, shaking his head. It would have been more convincing if he didn't look like he was ready to keel over.

"It will have to wait." She nodded to the bed. "What do you normally eat for breakfast?"

"It cannot wait. It is necessary," he sat down on the edge of the bed and looked up at her. "I should return. To my quarters." Where he planned to work. "Why do you insist on this?"

"Your health is necessary," she said. "You may return to your quarters if you wish," Maenad shrugged. "But promise me that you will rest a few hours." For a moment, she thought that he might have let her do something nice for him. The idea had felt pleasant, but now it was becoming a chore.

Liyar felt his mind tell him stand up, up and away but instead his eyes drooped to half-mast and he rested his chin in his hands. Up and away meant movement. Bodies of lead did not move very well. He inhaled slowly. Anger was so tiring. He let it float away. It would come back later. He shook his head. Quarters. Many unpleasant associations. The walls were moving pictures of nightmare worlds, now. "What do you consume for first meal?" he asked instead, mostly because he had no preference. "Without animal products." He pressed his lips together in an odd frown and traced his finger against the strange pattern on the blanket. He recalled Athlen's words. Life was weird. The ceiling was talking, words bounced off his skull. "If it is a chore for you, it would not be logical to remain." He rose an eyebrow at her and peeked with one eye open in her direction.

"Toast," she replied quietly.

He leaned forward on his hands, and bowed his head slightly in acknowledgment. "I was, ill mannered. I apologize."

"No need," she replied. "Get under the covers," Maenad gave him a smile and went to the kitchen where she replicated him two pieces of strawberry jam toast and a glass of orange juice without pulp. She remembered that he liked orange juice. When she returned to the bedroom, she handed him the tray. "I remembered you like orange juice," she said as she sat down near his feet. "And I hope you like the toast."

Liyar stared at her bed for a while and reluctantly tipped himself forward until his head touched the edge of the pillow. He decided he would lay just under it, on top of the blankets, and had curled up a little when she returned. He blinked up at her and took the tray carefully, setting it in front of him. His expression shifted into a much milder one than usual before it was replaced by his usual placidity. He picked up the glass and drained a good portion of it before he spoke again and then began unceremoniously demolishing the toast. "You are not consuming anything. It is important to eat. As you say, breakfast is the most important of the day." He quoted it awkwardly.

Maenad smiled as he ate. "I've already eaten," she said again.

Oh. Yes. "You did state that," he decided he was thoroughly fascinated with his toast.

With a widening grin, Maenad was pleased. "Do you like it?" she asked of the toast. "I think you would be more comfortable under the blankets," she suggested.

"As I am Vulcan, comfort is not..." he shifted a little, burrowing his head into the crook of his arm and blinking sleepily, "... a priority."

That Liyar had eaten both slices of toast so quickly said that he, in fact, did like it. Maenad took the tray from him after moving his juice to the night table. "Fine," she said, standing. "But, if sleep is your number one priority, which right now it is, and you can get to sleep faster if you are comfortable, then maximum comfort with minimum effort would be logical."

Liyar reached out and barely touched her arm with his fingers before she stood up all the way, unconsciously communicating in the way most natural to him, the way he'd been communicating for the last twelve hours. Miral yatekeyra. The words in her mind were alien, but the slight undercurrent of feeling made their meaning clear. Thank-you. Before she could respond, however, his eyes had closed and he conveniently drifted off back into dreams.

Maenad smiled down at him with her lips together, pushing out her chin a little. She went into the kitchen to recycle the tray and empty plate, then retrieved one of her quilts off the couch. She returned to her bedroom and carefully draped it over the sleeping Vulcan. For a moment she sat down on the bedside near his feet and contemplated getting another hour and a half of rest before duty. She watched him for a moment before leaving, giving his foot a softly affectionate shake.

Maenad closed her door as she returned to the living room after quietly retrieving her uniform from her closet. She set her folded uniform on the coffee table, then nestled herself onto her couch. She pulled another quilt over her body and went back to sleep with a soft gentle smile on her face, feeling quite like a mother.

OFF:

Lieutenant (JG) Maenad Panne
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Liyar
Chief Sleepy Officer, VDF/SDD
USS Galileo

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