Following Currents

Posted on 28 Dec 2013 @ 12:45am by Lieutenant Olsam Mott & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim

2,862 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Episode 05 - Solstice
Location: Cafe Roka, Embarcadero, San Francisco
Timeline: MD 03 - 1015 hrs

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Dr. Olsam Mott chewed noisily on an apple as he walked at a brisk pace down the Embarcadero and skimmed through the personnel file on his PADD one more time: Lieutenant Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim, recently promoted upon return from Setisar VI and currently serving as the Chief Medical Officer of his new posting, USS Galileo. Evidently a high-ranking individual from Akkadian society, a people and planet completely unknown to him. Their hematophagic physiology was remarkable, but their reclusive nature seemed to account for the lack of studies in the Journal of the Federation Medical Association and similar periodicals.

Using his thumb, he flipped up toward the top of the file, once more astounded by her physical appearance. Diminutive was an understatement; she was downright tiny! At a full 70 pounds heavier, he felt certain he'd appear as a big blue meaty roly-poly standing next to her.

When he actually stood next to her, he reminded himself. The chronometer at the top of the PADD indicated that he was, of course, already a full ten minutes late for their encounter. He'd allowed himself to be distracted by that apple cart and then carelessly wrapped up into conversation with the cart's vendor. His personnel file already noted several instances of tardiness, and his forehead broke out in a light sweat over the thought that another one might pop up.

Allyndra still could feel the slight difference in the gravity of the ship and the gravity of the planet. Then there were real air currents that wafted on her face and more than once she wanted nothing more than to shed boots and socks and water dance on every decent sized pond, fountain, even the cold water of the bay except for one thing holding her back. There was a new doctor coming aboard and she wanted to meet him before the crew all dispersed for a period of time.

He had quite a background and his latest had been working at the prestigious Pasteur Institute. That worried her slightly hoping he was not one of those stuffy types. Well, she would find out for she had sent a message earlier asking to meet at Cafe Roka at ten. Yes, it had said ten rather than 10 hundred hours. She wondered if he would catch the nuance. It was her policy to avoid military rank unless needed and she much preferred to foster a camaraderie amoung the personnel she worked with so that they felt like colleagues and that went from the orderlies all the way up.

Thus at nine fifty she had already found a table was sipping on a light sweet tea awaiting Doctor Mott. She noted that the hand of the clock was already sweeping past ten. She gave other's a leeway but too many wacks on the knuckles had long taken being even a minute late out of her.

She spied one Bolian but he did not quite look like the picture and in either case he walked on by chatting with someone else. Allyndra was fairly certain that he could not miss someone with large dragon fly like wings.

Fifteen past ten and Olsam had both finished the apple - core and all - and found himself in front of Cafe Roka, an unassuming establishment wedged between the bay and the perpetually busy Embarcadero. When he stepped inside and allowed his eyes to adjust to the light he immediately noticed the prolific number of Starfleet uniforms, which really shouldn't have been a surprise given their proximity to the Presidio.

He politely waved off the restaurant's host upon spotting his immediate superior officer sitting on the far side beneath an enormous window looking out onto the bay; thankfully, she was also dressed in civilian clothing and not looking put out in the least about his tardiness. Maybe this wouldn't go so poorly...

"Dr. Warraquim?" Olsam asked from the side of the table, although it was really unnecessary since she was quite unmistakable. He felt like he was towering over her like some sort of enormous blue whale and that was causing him to shift nervously from one foot to the other.

"Doctor Mott, please have a seat," Allyndra said looking up. She had been daydreaming a little and had missed him coming in. She waited while he got settled and then said, "By the way, it is just Allyndra. Warraquim is not a surname, though many make that mistake it is my Guild House name. Think of it sort of like Allyndra of the House of the Library." She smiled, "Besides that I am not one for rank and titles, I think they get in the way of being colleagues and to me that is more important. However, I also realzie that some do like that so Doctor, Lieutenant or Olsam it is you choice. Now may I order you something?"

"Oh, thank goodness," he said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I feel just the same, and I was mortified you were going to be a Vulcan or something, running Sickbay like a bureaucrat. Really, I just prefer Olsam outside of Sickbay. In a medical environment, Dr. Olsam does just fine...Allyndra."

He placed a hand on the upper left portion of the table to activate the menu displayed on the table's surface. He scrolled through the selections with interest - typical Earth fare with a few creative fusions from the chef - and picked out a few appropriate brunch selections.

"I'll have the lemon crab & shrimp cake benedict, mango & blueberry brioche french toast and an americano to drink. With extra sugar, please." He looked up from the menu sheepishly, never sure how to explain his appetite to his dining companions. "I'm, uh. Hungry."

"Not at all, I actually envy you did you know that? So many wonderful smells and yet I can't handle any of them. I don't know if you know much about Akkadian physiology." Allyndra wondered if she was going to have to deal with that odd reaction most had to her people's natural choice of sustenance.

Olsam gave the menu another looking over to make sure he didn't miss anything particularly delicious, but continued rambling on as he did so. The casual air about his response gave no hint that her physiology was even out of the ordinary for him, part of the extraordinary Bolian capacity for accepting others as they were without a trace of xenophobia.

"Well, I'm certainly not an expert, but I did see you have an atypical diet." He looked up from the menu, satisfied with his second pass, and smiled. "I wanted to thank you for sending me the invitation after the meeting this morning. I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to catch you there, but my head is spinning a bit from my reassignment to the Galileo. I haven't been back from my previous mission for very long at all, so it was a surprise. And then the message from the commodore about this morning, even more surprises!"

Allyndra smiled and nodded. "It was for me as well. I came aboard from working on the Venture and started in the same position you have now. I really was interested in doing mostly research but I suppose the gods had other ideas and I ended up being in charge again." She sighed for a moment and then brightened, "So I was quite interested when I looked over your record that you have had some research experience. So I wanted to ask, along with helping run the department, and taking care of patients perhaps we can also collaborate on a medical research project as well?"

Olsam's eyebrows rose and his smile widened: cooperation was to Bolians as latinum was to Ferengi. "Why, I'd love to! Right now I'm working with the Pasteur Institute on a new drug to reduce the immune response during interspecies breeding. Pharmaceuticals aren't necessarily my strong point, but I'm finding it's really reigniting a passion for research and teamwork. Did you have anything particular in mind?"

Allyndra was surprised at that but filed it away. "Well, I had been working on artificial DNA motifs to form nanomolecular machines. It was the basis on the Galileo of stopping assimilation and then also used with other combinations that the EMH and several others gave input on to de-assimilate our recovered colleges. Perhaps something along those lines or..." Allyndra paused. "What do you know about Akkadian physiology?"

"Well, not too terribly much," he said, always leaning more toward humility than being a braggart. In truth, he'd read the entire file on the species in the Starfleet Medical xenobiology database. "I just looked over what I found in your personnel file and on record with Medical's xenobiology database; reproductive system, culture, respiratory and circulatory system, central nervous system, gender differentiations, let's see..." He looked upward to recall what else he'd read, realizing a moment later he'd listed virtually the whole file. "I guess I read more than I thought."

"Almost all I wrote," She smiled. "Well, sometimes we Akkadians are known as the Dorian Grey people are you familiar with the Terran story?"

Olsam shook his head. "No, I don't think so. Terran literature isn't a strong point of mine, I'm afraid."

Allyndra nodded and sat back, "It is a fictional tale but the heart of the story is about a young man who through some sort of magic does not age, does not take injury, but rather a painting of his instead grows old or displays injury. The point is Olsam is that Akkadians have a remarkable capacity for healing, we do not show age until the very end of our lives. It turns out that it is a genetic trait that we isolated and bred for. Many lower species show such aspects but it has been minimal in higher ones. I was thinking after our last encounter with the Borg that though we managed to de-assimilate everyone that certain 'modifications' could not be reversed. It got me to thinking that perhaps if we can translate some what my people discovered we could help others recover eyes, limbs that sort of thing."

Olsam looked surprised. Regenerative capabilities weren't unheard of in the natural world, but they were virtually unknown in humanoid species. "It certainly sounds promising. And revolutionary. Have your people been able to isolate the specific portions of the Akkadian genome that affect aging and regeneration?

"Yes," Allyndra replied and added mentally to herself, "a long time ago and then nearly forgotten." "Yes," she repeated forgetting exactly that she had answered already. "However there will be no doubt problems porting it across and hence why when I read about your working on an interspecies immunity suppression drug the idea popped into my head."

She realized she had been just talking and blinked. It was a long slow thing.
"I am sorry, I should not assume that you would be interested or if you have your own ideas to pursue. Please Doctor forgive me if I acted in a presumptuous manner."

"No, no, not at all," Olsam flashed a big smile, hoping to put her at ease. "I think it's an extraordinary suggestion. As we both know as physicians, the body is often much more effective at healing than any medical device or procedure, and fixing problems is just as much about administering medication as it is about encouraging or speeding up natural healing processes."

"Thank you, as I said it is a thought especially after seeing the effects on the assimilated crew." She did not need to mention limbs that had been amputated on some, missing eyes and other organs as the Borg saw fit to mold an individual to whatever purpose they had decided on for a new drone. Yes, the Federation sciences were good, artificial and transplant organs were there but she could help but think if it had been her wouldn't she have wanted her own back or at least regrown.

Olsam's brow knitted together in deep thought. "I'll need to update myself on the latest genetic manipulation techniques, of course." He looked up and smiled again. "But it sounds like a truly beneficial and challenging project."

"Take your time, the ship will be here for a bit and you might as well take the time to enjoy the time before heading into the fray. I am thinking of a small side trip on Earth but then perhaps off to my home planet if I can arrange it. On the later if you would like I could see if they will let me bring visitors directly to Akkadia." Allyndra smiled wryly, "We do have something of a closed society I am afraid, but there is Kylisandra a glaciated world full of mega-fauna and then parts of Anesidora which have thick jungles on them that are open."

Olsam lifted an eyebrow. "Are they populated? I'd love to join you, if you're able to get clearance and my schedule is free. I'm sure it would be informative as far as our intended research goes."

"Only Akkadia has intelligent life. Kylisandra and Anesidora have higher forms but non-sentient though some of the hunting creatures are quite clever and dangerous. We never colonized either one too cold and the other too warm for us. We are not homothermic, thus extremes of temperatures..." Allyndra spread her hands. Olsam was an educated man. It was the truth she told but not the whole truth. There was no reason to talk about that aspect though.

"I had someone on the ship invite me to Philadelphia for a bit, but after that I was hoping to get home. I will see about arrangements then. Is there anything you would like to ask about me, the ship or whatever strikes your fancy. I like to sing, play music, water dance and just recently have found I like cooking even if I can't eat most it." She laughed lightly.

"Water dancing?" Olsam asked. He was something of an uncoordinated whale on the dance floor, though he thought he'd do much better in the water. Truthfully, he was most interested in the cooking bit but he'd already made a glutton of himself with his order, so it seemed best to hold off on pursuing that for the moment.

Allyndra knew that not many had heard of it. "Yes, water dancing, it is sort of like Earth ballet though not so stylized but one uses ones wings to literally dance on the surface of a body of water. It is a test of skill to balance gravity, currents of the air and the vagaries of wave. I would be happy to show you sometime. Now your turn? What do like to do other than science?"

"I think that would be incredibly interesting to see!" He allowed his imagination to wander and guess at what the experience might look like if he were in her place - an overweight Bolian doctor, gliding "gracefully" across the surface of the water while aided by translucent wings. If only he had wings, he was confident he could do it. "Me? Oh, well. This and that... I love cooking! And holodeck adventures. During my last assignment, I began helping the ship's botanist with agricultural projects, which opened whole new horizons in cooking for me. I would love to be a chef! But it seems a waste, what with all the medical training...."

Allyndra shook her head. "Not at all. Just another skill. We have a saying on my planet: 'When one's curiosity is as wide as the sea, be prepared to follow many currents. Well holodeck adventures and cooking sounds like something I would love to share with you beyond the clinic if you do not mind."

"Of course!" Olsam said, doing a poor job of suppressing his excitement as he wiggled in his chair. "I'm excited about on-board. I like to host big dinners! And there are so many wonderful historical recreation holoprograms to choose from, especially Terran ones. They have such a rich, fascinating history. Not like Bolarus, which is a bit dull in comparison."

Allyndra almost laughed but she kept her console. "I doubt that sir, you have given me the impression of a very interesting and fascinating person." Her eyes caught the chronograph on the wall. "See, the time has gone by quickly. I am sorry, I could continue this for days but I have an appointment to get to."
Again, she held out a slim fingered hand, "It has been a pleasure doctor and again welcome aboard."

Olsam shook her hand and smiled, starting to stand up with her. The remaining piece of French toast on his plate caught his eye, causing him to waver in his resolve to depart with her. "The pleasure was all mine, Dr. Allyndra. Thank you, I'm looking forward to working with you."

He hovered over his chair and finally sank back into it, motioning toward the piece of toast.

"I'm, uh, just gonna finish this off..."

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LT CMDR Allyndra illm Warraquim
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

&

LT JG Olsam Mott, M.D.
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

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