Prelude to Pie and Portentous Procedures

Posted on 15 Jan 2014 @ 12:24am by Lieutenant Olsam Mott & Lieutenant Teth Miir

3,020 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Episode 05 - Solstice
Location: Dusseldorf, Germany, Earth
Timeline: MD 10 - 1035 hrs

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A blue man in a blue uniform with a very large blue pie in his blue hands had been an odd sight for Kebolan, Seraa and Dynraava to see go strolling past the giant kadis-kot board in one of the neighborhood parks, but they'd quickly gone back to their game after he passed. The second time he walked by had also seemed odd, and now he looked lost, too. By the third time he went wandering past them Kebolan, the oldest of the three young caitians, decided maybe they should talk to him.

"Hey, mister," he said, trying to make his approach as obvious as possible so he didn't spook him. Just in case he was crazy. "You lost or somethin'? You don't look like you live here."

Olsam turned and didn't see anyone. He cut his eyes from side-to-side, momentarily doubting his sanity, and then moved his hands to the side to find three very small caitian children that had been hidden beneath the oversized pie plate. One of them - Seraa, the smallest - gave him a toothy grin.

"Oh, hello," Olsam said, smiling. Seraa thought his perfect white teeth looked kinda funny in a blue mouth. "Um, I think I am lost. I'm trying to find my friend. I think he's here visiting his family. Or he's supposed to be. I had some directions, but then I forgot my PADD on the train. And then when I went back to find it, the station master said to go to lost and found. When I got to lost and found, they told me to go to the baggage claim area and then they told me to go to the station master. So, anyway, I only vaguely remembered the directions and they got me as far as this but everything around here looks the same to me. I've passed three parks with a kadis-kot board just like that one!"

Kebolan blinked. This guy talked a lot. "Um. So, you're lookin' for somebody?"

Olsam nodded. "Yes. His name is Teth Miir, and he's in Starfleet, like me. Do you know him?"

Kebolan looked at the other two. Seraa shrugged. Dynraava squinted his eyes in thought before speaking up. "Isn't that Miss Ashar's kid?"

"Nuh-uh, Miss Ashar's only got one kid and that's R'lara, you dummy," Kebolan said, rolling his eyes at his younger sibling.

"But R'lara's got a brother, and I think his name is Teth," Dynraava countered, obviously used to arguing with his know-it-all older brother. "Anyways, maybe Miss Ashar can help."

Thus when Olsam showed up at the door to Teth's family home - already unannounced - he had three small children in tow. Kebolan and Dynraava seemed to take their escort duties quite seriously and stood at his sides while their sister Seraa held on to Olsam's leg and peeked around shyly.

"Are you sure this is it?" Olsam asked. "It looks just like that other house down the street, and it's not like the street signs are indicative of anythi-"

"Ugh," Kebolan said, out of patience with the weird and overly talkative Bolian. He reached up a long lanky arm and activated the door chime before taking his place back at the blue man's side.

A door could be heard slamming from inside the house, followed by a series of loud footsteps toward the entry of the home. The front door had an abstract design of triangular windows, covered by a light blue curtain. For a moment, someone pulled the curtain back and a large, gray eye peered down at the Bolian and his troupe of small caitians.

After a moment of hesitation, the door strung open and in the entryway stood a very tall, gray, and heavily pregnant young Caitian woman. She towered over Dr. Olsam easily by eighteen centimeters.

She gave the doctor a quizzical look before looking down at the children.

"Is there something I can do for you?"

Olsam Mott was not above arguing with children, so he cast a look down at Kebolan and harrumphed. He knew it was the wrong house.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, I was just looking for my friend, Teth Miir, and these lovely young children were helping me. I think we've just come to the wrong house..."

The woman gave the man a stern look, as if sizing him up for a meal. She yelled over her shoulder, "Teth, there is a Bolian and a bunch of kids here for you."

She waited a moment for any response and then frowned.

"Come in side." she said reluctantly before waving the group into the foyer. The house was modern in design and construction, cool colors and smooth lines, which were obviously of Caitian design. However, there was a distinctly ancient aura to the place. As if it had been gutted and rebuilt time and time again on the same tired old skeleton of now petrified wood.

The foyer lead directly to a living area where Teth sat cross legged on the floor, surrounded by PADDs and tightly gripping a cup of tea. He looked up and was somewhat shocked to see Dr. Olsam of all people standing in his mother's living room.

"Doctor..." he said, trying to make out the object in his hands, "It's good to see you. Were you in the neighborhood?"

Olsam had thanked the neighborhood children and followed the brusk woman who had opened the door as much out of obedient fear as anything. When he saw Teth in the living area, his face seemed to light up and he smiled.

"Teth! Oh, good, this is the right house. I knew it all along," he muttered. "It's good to see you, too. Yes, I was in the neighborhood. I mean, after I took the train from Paris and walked from the station. Then I was in the neighborhood. It's very...caitian. I lost my PADD and I didn't know where I was and I was afraid I was going to have to eat this pie all by myself...okay, maybe not afraid but certainly daunted by the challenge...and then these wonderful little children helped me find your home."

Olsam kicked his shoes off in the hallway and entered the living area with his pie, completely making himself at home without being really invited to do so. "I was picking these sylvin berries and I thought to myself, 'You know who would appreciate a good sylvin berry pie? Teth Miir.' It's true, I thought that to myself right there under the tree. So I made the pie and brought it to you."

"That is very thoughtful of you." Teth said, still not moving from his pile of PADDs. He was in civilian cloths, long black pants, a mauve sweater, and no shoes. His matted hair and glassy eyes gave the impression that he had just rolled out of bed, or perhaps just rolled down a flight of stairs.

The pregnant caitian woman peered from behind a doorway to the kitchen at the mentioning of pie.

"How rude of me." Teth said pushing himself from the floor and headed toward the kitchen. "Let me get some plates."

He motioned to the woman as he walked past her.

"R'lara, this is my comrade Dr. Olsam, Dr. Olsam, this is my twin sister, R'lara."

Teth set three plates and three fork like implements at the small dining area in the kitchen. It was silver padded booth, nestled into the wall And in the wall was a window overlooking a garden containing a variety of succulent and colorful flowering plants.

Olsam followed Teth into the kitchen and nodded to R'lara as he passed her; she was slightly frightening, and he wasn't so sure about speaking to her just yet.

He placed the pie on the table with the plates and forks and adjusted it so it wouldn't fall off as it was comically over-sized. Taking one of the forks, he sloppily hacked at the pie until he'd retrieved three abused and misshapen pieces of sylvin berry pie. Plating, sadly, was not one of Olsam's strong points.

"This is a Bolian dish," he explained, handing a plate each to Teth and R'lara. "I've managed to get one of the trees to grow behind my apartment building in Crecy-la-Chapelle. It's a bit...sad...but it produces a good harvest every now and then."

Teth was hesitant to take a bite at first, but his sister ravenously tore into it. She was halfway finished with her portion before his fork ever reached his mouth.

"It's... very tart." the counselor said, trying to sound approving of the doctor's baking. He was certain that the pie was of excellent quality, by Bolian standards. But to him it tasted positively revolting. He was dismayed and surprised by how much R'lara enjoyed it.

"Everybody likes pie," Olsam said, grinning and sounding like an idiot.

"Well I think it's delicious." R'lara said as she downed the last of the crumbs off of her plate. "If anyone needs me I'm taking a nap." and she stood from the table, grabbed Teth's plate and mostly untouched pie and headed for the hall.

Teth sighed and gave the doctor an apologetic glance, "I suppose I can't blame her. She's pregnant with four girls."

"That must lead to quite the appetite," Olsam said, lowering his voice just in case R'lara was still nearby. He was as familiar with pregnancies as any other physician, though he was definitely no obstetrician; however, his experiences with them in the fleet had been limited. Pregnant women made him nervous because he always managed to say or do something to upset them. For instance, suggesting they stop eating so much. "I didn't know you had a sister! See the things you learn when you drop in for a visit? Oh. Oh..."

Olsam seemed to realize for the first time that he had literally just dropped in unannounced. He'd been so focused on baking the pie and getting it here, especially after the mixup at the train station, that he hadn't spared a single thought to calling ahead. Then again, he rarely spared thoughts.

"I didn't come at a bad time, did I?"

"It's fine." Teth said wearily, transfixed on the spot where his plate had been. The past week had been exhausting and somewhat disturbing. He still had his cup of tea in hand, though nothing was left by a black, grainy sludge at the bottom. He had let the teabag steep for too long and the thing seemed to have deteriorated entirely. He continued drinking it anyway.

"It's just been a very long week. Maybe things will get better once we actually get into space."

"Things always get better eventually," Olsam said with conviction, as if he were quoting some Bolian adage. Sensing that his friend was down, he resisted the temptation of another piece of pie, folded his hands in front of him and furrowed his brow in genuine concern. "Is everything all right?"

"Do you have any experience with the experimental borg based neurological implants used in the mid 70s?"

The mannerisms that usually made Olsam seem jovial, the non-verbal quirks that people usually didn't consciously notice, all seemed to disappear. Suddenly, Olsam was serious.

"Yes, I know a good deal about them," he said, on the verge of frowning. Although many of his fellow physicians championed the use of Borg technology in the medical field, he remained deeply skeptical about virtually of it. Nanoprobes remained unpredictable, and the implants seemed almost worse.

"A lot of things have come to light recently. Most of which is still very difficult to process." the caitian said solemnly, not wanting to recount his mostly naked, panicked evening stroll through Starfleet headquarters.

"I have a set of borg implants and am not sure why, but I think they are making things worse."

Olsam's brow rose in surprise at the revelation. He'd not yet had a chance to review the caitian's medical records and made a mental note to do so as soon as he could. Borg implants were both serious and potentially dangerous as far as he was concerned, and it was something worth monitoring regularly.

"If I may ask, why do you have them, Teth? They weren't exactly widely used before the Federation Science Council issued its restrictions on civilian research and development using Borg technology," he said cautiously, concerned he was treading on thin ice.

After a moment's thought as to what he felt comfortable discussing, Teth sighed before leaning over the table as if he was about to share some top secret Federation weapon's schematic.

"I was... attacked. It was around thirteen years ago. I was abducted and tortured and robbed. Apparently I was more or less dead when they found me. As you know, there was a lot of experimentation going on around that time with borg technology- specifically it's medical applications. I had severe brain damage and extensive injuries throughout my body, I lost about a third of my skull. Not only did they use borg nanites to help repair much of the soft tissue damage. I also have two borg implants."

He looked around to make sure R'lara wasn't in earshot, not that she was unaware of what happened. She was in fact questioned extensively by the police at the time. But there had always been something dreadful and forbidden feeling when he discussed his medical history.

"The primary one controls my motor and visual cortices. The second one helps to regulate my autonomic nervous system." his voice suddenly turned more pained, "I really should have been dead. But so many people have died for the technology I am carrying with me. After talking to some of the Borg survivors here, I really don't want these implants any longer. Why do I get to live and have a normal life after so many were lost for the sake of Borg technological advancement?"

Olsam felt a little out of his depth as a stand-in mental health professional, but he did feel a sense of empathy from friendship.

"That's a heavy burden to carry," he said quietly. "I don't think the alternative would have been better. I mean to say, we wouldn't be better off had you died, yes? Doctors are charged with saving lives. It's a very black-and-white decision for us: do we take all measures to save the patient's life, or do we not? We're morally obligated to choose the former...sadly, sometimes, without thought for the consequences.

"I think they used the best techniques available to them at the time to make certain that you lived a productive life rather than allow it to be cut tragically short. The Borg technology inside of you is a product of the prevailing medical techniques at the time; you didn't ask for them."

Privately, Olsam fully understood the desire to be rid of the implants. And further, he was concerned about Teth's statement that the implants were 'causing problems.' The long-term effects of utilizing Borg implants and nanoprobes had been woefully under-examined, which was exactly the reason he'd advocated against the widespread introduction of the technology into the medical community. He'd always felt that you couldn't just program something like that and expect it to remain static, especially not devices that were designed to adapt by their very nature.

Teth nodded and then thought for a moment before speaking.

"The past few days, I have been doing research. The borg devices are very difficult to remove, but I think I could make it easier... of course I am not a physician. If i could just get these devices out of my head, maybe I can stop the memories and the visions and I can go back to actually be alive for the first time in thirteen years."

At this point, Teth's speech had reached a pitch and level of intensity Olsam had never encountered before.

"But I could really use your help."

Olsam reached across the table, took Teth's furry hand and squeezed it reassuringly. The Terran social taboos of males showing affection for one another simply didn't exist on Bolarus, and he wanted to demonstrate solidarity with his friend. Here was a person who needed, as much as anyone, the support of the healing arts and a friend.

"You'll have all my help, Teth. I promise."

Teth didn't flinch at the physical contact, he just Olsam hold his hand. It felt odd, he had become accustomed to minimal physical contact with others during his time in Starfleet. Caitian's had a tendency to be very affectionate people and there had been many time where Teth wanted to just hug a patient and tell them everything would be fine. But that would not be socially accepted by most.

"I really do appreciate it, doctor. I feel like I'm losing my mind."

Olsam nodded and slowly removed his hand. His eyes cut to the pie, but he managed to stay on task. For now.

"It sounds like it was a very traumatizing event in the first place, and then the methods... Well. Many of us would likely struggle with that, too, especially considering their ongoing presence. The good news is that there have been some important medical advances in the past fifteen years, and I believe there's some hope for removing the technology. If you'd like, I can contact some colleagues at Starfleet Medical and begin working on a way forward..."

"Thank you so much!" Teth said with both frantically and with excitement. "How soon do you think we can begin?"

Olsam seemed a little surprised. He never had enthusiastic patients. "Um. Now? I mean, not right now. I'll have to contact my colleagues, but I can try to schedule a preliminary appointment for tomorrow. If you're free?"

"I believe I can make the time."

END:

Lt. JG Olsam Mott M.D.
Asst. Chief of Medicine
USS Galileo

&

Lt. JG Teth Miir
Counselor
USS Galileo

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