No More Ink

Posted on 03 Jul 2013 @ 11:38pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Petty Officer 1st Class Siren Hex Saalm & EMH Mark X-C "Shirley"

2,084 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 03 - Frontier
Location: USS Galileo - Sickbay
Timeline: MD 12 - 1440 hrs

[ON]

The gray doors to sickbay parted with a swish and Lirha let out a nervous breath as she entered the mid-sized medical bay. She had deliberately come during off hours - mid-Beta shift - in the hopes that no one else would be around and she could have a bit of privacy for a rather unorthodox procedure. Said procedure was in fact a simply tattoo removal, specifically of the many Orion scripts and symbols which Lirha had obtained during her youth and were elegantly displayed across her entire back.

Moments of second thoughts ran through her mind while she intricately remembered the reasons why she had originally gotten the body art applied...but now, fifteen years later, much had changed in her life and most of the symbolism and pride which adorned her skin was now unnecessary. Lirha was a Starfleet captain now; not a trader, not an Orion, and certainly not a teenager. She had much greater responsibilities to fulfill in her life at the moment, and her budding career as a commanding officer meant she wanted a fresh start. For her, there was no better way than to separate the past from the present...even if it meant a subtle change.

"Are you sure about this?" Siren asked for about the third time. Lirha had asked her to go with her for such an important change. And of course, Siren had said yes. But she was a little worried. Worried that Lirha might regret it. "Once they're gone, even if you get them replaced if you change your mind, they'll never be the same."

The captain looked back over her shoulder at her red-haired girlfriend and gave her a sad smile. "I think I am ready. The more I dwell on it, the more I might change my mind." she answered, then grabbed Siren's pale hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "And I think you might enjoy my skin without it being littered by my childhood reflections of life." she teased with a grin.

"Honey, I'll enjoy your skin however it presents itself," Siren assured with a soft laugh, pulling close to her and kissing her temple. "Sorry, I don't mean to go on. Just want to make sure you're doing the right thing. Which is silly. Because Lirha Saalm knows her own mind."

A soft chuckle escaped Lirha's lips and she leaned affectionately into Siren's shoulder. "Yes, very much so." she replied as she ran a hand across the dark fabric of the other woman's tight stomach. "It won't take long...I promise." she added, then straightened up and took a final deep breath while glancing around the empty medical bay. "Computer, activate EMH."

At the captain's orders the holoemitters sprang into life, and the holographic doctor quickly materialised ahead of them.

"Please state the nature of the medical emergency."

Already past his standard activation response, his optical subroutines had detected the presence of Captain Lirha Saalm, noted in the ship's log as being the Commanding Officer of this vessel. Whilst it's program had never had the chance to demonstrate it's social subroutines in person, it was well versed on her Starfleet records.

The familiar figure of the Federation's EMH program materialized in front of her, and Lirha gave the hologram a friendly smile. Strangely enough, she had not spoken to him since probably back in dry dock at San Francisco during a systems check, but he was a welcome sight considering there was no else currently present in sickbay aside from her and Siren.

"Hello, doctor." she said in a light voice. "I would like to get some of my old tattoos removed. I know that might not exactly qualify as an emergency...but you seem to be the only medical officer present..."

"Indeed..." the hologram replied, with a blank look on it's face, before reaching for the nearest medical tricroder as it seemed to do almost every time after it's program was activated. Whilst it was true, there was no real medical emergency other than another organic worrying about their physical parameters, this organic happened to be the CO of this vessel.

"You are correct Captain - this is certainly not an emergency, however luckily for you my program contains over fifteen teraquads of data on cosmetic surgery and reconstructive methods across over a thousand different species. Orions included. If you would care to indicate which tribal markings you wish to have excised I can begin my analysis."

The hologram proceed to move towards the nearest biobed before indicating to the Captain that she should follow the EMH should she want to receive anything in the way of treatment.

"Why organics worry about their appearance is beyond my program...my physical parameters are designated by my program and remain consistent at all times."

Lirha followed the doctor's instructions and moved over to the nearby biobed where she took a seat on the corner of the mattress. "I suppose us organics prefer to express our individuality in various ways, especially when we are young." she began to explain to the best of her ability. She wasn't quite sure that a hologram would ever truly understand why she had littered her back with various tattoos when she was younger, but she could at least attempt to explain. "Adorning our bodies with different kinds of art is often an expression of that individuality...albeit somewhat misguided at times." she admitted with a soft laugh.

Pulling her uniform top up and over her head, Lirha proceeded to disrobe for the doctor until her bare green torso was exposed and only covered by her bra. Reaching behind her, she unclipped the straps then turned her back to the doctor to present her mosaic of glyphs and Orion scripts which ran from the back of her neck down to her waist.

"Aging...another organic problem...not for me, as long as I check over my subroutines every once in a while I'll remain as effective and knowledgeable as the stardate I was programmed."

The EMH switched to it's optical subroutines and began to examine the markings on the Orion female's flesh. They were certainly extensive and covered a large proportion of the available skin area. With yet another advantage over an organic, the hologram could not only see the markings, but how deep they went, and the chemical nature of the ink that was used.

"Standard Orion script markings....nothing my program cannot handle. A simple ablation surgery should remove the ink residue from your tissues without leading to scarring or any further risk of injury. I can begin immediately, however it will take some time to complete."

"I am ready when you are." Lirha agreed with a nod, then looked over at Siren and gave her a nervous smile. She felt apprehensive, almost like a kid again, only this time it was an older Lirha who was attempting to present herself in a new and refined manner by removing some of her childish indulgences. She wondered what Nesh (who was also fond of body art) would think of this removal procedure...hopefully she wouldn't be too upset at her older sister for going 'clean'.

Siren gave a warm, bright smile back to her, her eyes full of confidence in Lirha knowing her own mind. "Wow, just think, it'll be like an expanse of emerald virgin skin........"

"Very well. If you would lay down on the biobed I will prepare the necessary instrumentation."

The hologram nodded, before turning and heading into the storage areas of sickbay, helping itself to an array of instruments that would be necessary, before collecting a small set of hyposprays and cartridges and depositing them onto a trolley for transportation back to the biobed.

"Crewman Hex...I believe I am capable of completing this operation without your supervision....unless the captain wishes you to remain?"

Following the doctor's wishes, Lirha scooted up on the biobed and rolled over on to her stomach to lie face down on the mattress with her head lightly resting on her folded green arms.

Siren tilted her head at the EMH's comment, folding her arms across her chest. "I'm fine where I am. Thanks," she replied with a pleasant smile, but firm all the same.

"Very well...Captain I am going to administer you with a light sedative to prevent tension forming in your musculature during my work. With your permission?"

"If you feel it is necessary, go ahead." Lirha replied with a light shrug. She wasn't particularly fond of the way most sedatives made her feel, but a bit of drowsiness wasn't exactly a terrible thing.

With the permission of his captain, the hologram admistered the small sedative dose, not enough to render her unconscious, but enough to ensure his patient was suitably relaxed without impairing her cognitive functions in the slightest.

After a few moments of waiting to ensure it had taken effect, the hologram turned bak to the instrument panel and picked up a subdermal laser, specifically programmed to target only the non-organic pigments below the emerald green Orion skin. Choosing a point nearest the captain's shoulders, the hologram began his work.

"Should you encounter any degree of discomfort Captain, please say so."

As the procedure began, Lirha felt the muscles throughout her body begin to relax, and she let out a heavy sigh as she buried her head deeper into her arms. A strange tingling sensation worked its way across her upper back and around her shoulders, the result of the subdermal laser's refined work. So far there was no discomfort and she remained quiet.

There was certainly a lot of work for the hologram to accomplish. Years of body art would not simply be removed with a hypospray. Slowly but surely, the hologram burned away the artificial pigments, watching with some satisfaction as the ink disappeared into nothingness.

"There will be some discomfort for a few hours once I am done Captain - there will be nothing to worry about. I estimate the chance of any scarring developing at virtually zero."

The EMH was almost done - just a last few wisps of ink left which soon fell victim. Eventually, the Captain's back was as clear of ink as it had been the day she was born. With a satisfied grunt, the hologram adminstered a second hypospray, firstly to relieve the effects of the sedative, and secondly to prevent any degree of cellular damage that would be considered cosmetically displeasing.

"There...as requested Captain you are back to your natural self."

"Wow," Siren breathed, watching with a warm smile and had to resist the urge to reach out and out it, reaching to her hand instead. "It looks beautiful, Lirha, just beautiful."

Lirha's grogginess from the sedative slowly started to clear which prompted her to sit back up on the biobed once the EMH had informed her of the end of the procedure. She couldn't see the work which the holographic doctor had done but judging from Siren's enthusiasm, he had apparently done a good job. "Thank you, doctor." she politely said to the EMH, then looked over at the intelligence officer. "Do you like it?"

"Ahh, some appreciation from a member of the crew? Unusual, unexpected, but welcome. Thank you Captain - I trust you'll find my workmanship up to spec."

With a smug smile, the EMH returned the instruments it had collected to the instrument trolley and continued clearing down the workstation in preparation for the Captain's departure.

"Oh it is," Siren assured with a soft laugh, nodding as she met Lirha's eyes so she could see it was true and she wasn't just being polite. "Good as new. Shiny," she grinned, managing to fight the urge to touch it.

"I feel relieved now that this is over with." Lirha admitted as she hopped off the mattress. No more anxiety or second thoughts, and now she had just erased a small portion of her childhood which she really had no desire to revisit. She collected her uniform top and snaked it back on over her head, then looked over at the EMH with a final satisfied smile.

"Until next time, doctor. Computer, deactivate EMH." she instructed, then took a hold of Siren's hand, gave it a squeeze, then led her to the exit.

[OFF]

--

CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

EMH Mk-X
Emergency Medical Hologram
USS Galileo
pNPC John Holliday

CN Siren Hex
Intelligence
USS Galileo
PNPC Scarlet Blake

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