Yearly physical with a chance of bloody nose

Posted on 12 Sep 2015 @ 10:56pm by Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Lieutenant JG Lenaris Marika

3,396 words; about a 17 minute read

Mission: Episode 09 - Empires
Location: Uss Galileo - Sick Bay, Deck 3
Timeline: MD 04: 0106h

[ ON ]

Marika walked the corridors with the carefree attitude of a six year old going about her daily stroll. There was more than a little spring to her gait as she moseyed on over to sick bay. PADD in hand, she was so engrossed by her reading she never realized she had almost ran over several crewmen on her way.

"This new paper on 'those who flew beneath the raptor's wings' by Professor T'Prin is just so great... but maybe a little dry. Could use some flourish and panache!" Talking to herself as she went about her way, she would have missed the door had it not been for a soft beep from her communicator.

Without looking up or around, she came to a sudden stop and would have collided with yet another crewmen coming from behind had he not thrown himself at the nearby wall.

Only the wall had been the entrance to sick bay and the young man found himself splayed on the floor like an expensive carpet. She turned 90 degrees to her right and headed in.

"Hey thanks!" Completely oblivious to what had just happened, she never registered the crewman was on the floor, even as she looked directly at him and beamed him one of her best smiles. He smiled back despite the situation, confused himself about what was happening.

Taking three big steps in, she stopped short of the medical dispenser near the entrance. "Hah! right..." She offered to herself, most likely in regards to what she was reading. Her brain registered movement on her right, and thus she sprung another 90 degrees and took the few steps that would bring her directly to whomever she had registered as present.

While the focus she exhibited might very well be extremely useful when one had to pull a double shift on an important project, it showed itself to be a very sudden and painful problem when she hit the glass wall, head on, with a very loud thunk.

Her nose took the brunt of it, quickly followed by the right side of her face and the rest of her body. Pain and confusion appeared on her features as she rebounded from the impact and found herself sprawled on the gray carpet.

It was slow currently at this time in the morning on the ship and there was little going on in the laboratory at the moment either. She had spread out on her desk various old fashioned pieces of paper and the book from the Warraquim library. Buried inside its covers was the key to how the long dead A'ksu had managed to induced regeneration in her species. The problem was that the language and the symbols of the writing had drifted over time and there were nuances that either made no sense or escaped her. Allyndra had been working trying to make a sense of translation of old Akkadian to current common one.

She heard the sickbay doors open. They were designed with a certain noise to alert any staff that someone had come in. Currently she had the wall of the office that looked out set to clear so that she could observe the sickbay if need be though no one was currently occupying the beds. She watched as a young lady came in reading a PaDD in a very distracted way. She watched curious as the woman walked in a most distracted way wondering if she was completely aware of her environment. The answer came shortly as she walked into the office wall with a thud.

Allyndra got up and went out. "A good way to break a nose, though if one must do so you are in the best place to have done it. Can I help you?" Allyndra offered a hand to woman that appeared to be Bajoran.

There was a chuckle, quickly followed by a full fledged laughter. Blood started gushing down her nose onto her uniform as the young bajoran accepted the helping hand, still laughing like this was the funniest thing in the world.

“Fanks… I’ve had fat coming foe at least fifteen yeaes.”

Attempting to stop the laughter, every chuckle brought out a new spurt of blood, which in turn brought out a new chuckle from the young lady.

"Come on," Allyndra lead the way to the nearest biobed and got a coagulator from the cabinet. "Why is it that lately everyone seems to want to waste good blood?" It seemed to be coming something of joke lately. Bloody hands, bloody noses and such and with a heamatophagic doctor. She went to work and got the flow stopped and then worked with a regenerator to heal up the offended appendage. "Allyndra by the way," she said in way of introduction.

Seeing that all seemed to be working out, the somewhat confused crewman left the infirmary, giving a quick wave of the hand towards the pair, which was promptly returned by the injured Bajoran.

Waiting until after the good doctor had finished with the regenerator, Marika stretched her mouth before answering. “Linares Marika.” She wiggled her nose carefully, testing it. “I guess I’ll need a change of clothes now.” With a wide smile she looked up at the doctor with a glitter in her eyes.

“I had about an hour until the computers in Lab 3 came back to life, so I figured I’d drop by for my yearly physical and new arrival checkup. Should I go change or do I stay all wrapped up in hemoglobin?” Marika observed the doctor with unfeigned curiosity, a lovely smile on her lips, eyes still sparkling with amusement. "If you have the time that is.."

Allyndra made that odd shrug which rustled the long gossamer wings. "I will leave that up to you. Trust me, I work around such things all the time," she said and added mentally, "and drink it periodically."

"It is your choice, I have no other place to go Linares," Allyndra remembered that Bajorans used their surname first and given name last but culturally one did not use the given name unless close friends or given permission.

Momentarily mesmerized by the wings, Marika snapped out of it and beamed another smile at the doctor. “Beautiful! Are they as fragile as they appear? Are the colors natural, or are those added pigmentation? Do the… Totally out of line!” She let herself slide off the bed still smiling.

“Really beautiful. But for hygiene’s sake, I’ll go change and be right back.” She briskly went for the door. As it opened she turned around and looked the doctor over unapologetically. “But please, call me Marika.” She promptly disappeared, a definite spring in her walk.

"I will be happy to answer any questions you have once you get back Marika." Allyndra almost said to an empty sickbay. Well while the woman was gone it was time to clean up. She did not mind doing minor janitorial chores and it gave her something to do other than try to puzzle over long lost languages.

The doors opened back about 10 minutes later with a freshly cleaned ensign and a new uniform. “There, guessing that wasn’t too long. So still available for that physical?” Without waiting for a response, Marika jumped back on the biobed and looked around. “I much prefer this sick bay to the one on the S.S. T’Vara. Sleeker, a lot less beige and browns.”

Allyndra had finished cleaning up the area as her erstwhile patient returned. "And a lot smaller, three beds can you believe it? We have to triage in cargo bays or use holodecks in a major emergency. First let me take a look at that nose of yours." She patted a bed and indicated for the woman to hop up. It was still the one nearest the office with all her real paper work scattered across it.

"Oh!" With a slight bounced, she jumped off the biobed she was on and scampered over to the one presented by the doctor.

"It is going to be tender, try not to hit it again but I think we have it straight. Now then other than a recent broken nose is there anything medically I should be aware of or something new since your last visit?" Allyndra asked while she got a PaDD.

"Everything should be in my file." She wiggled her nose slightly. "Nothing spectacular happened since my last checkup." She grinned. " That I know of anyways." She stared at the doctor's wings as she continued. "Bit into a sandwich two weeks ago that had mustard in it. Nothing too severe." Looking back up at the doctors face she beamed another of her magnificent smiles. "May I touch them?"

Allyndra was making a note on that comment when the question came. It was highly irregular. One did not do such things unless one where a lover or very good friends. Still, Allyndra could understand the curiosity factor and she put the PaDD down and turned.

“They are really beautiful. Do all members of your species have them? Would…. woah!” Stopping dead in her question barrage, Marika looked into the doctor’s eyes. “Your eyes are incredible.” Seemingly mesmerized, the young Bajoran sat there, unmoving, simply gazing.

"The females yes. Fertile males very rarely, though it is said that a long time ago they developed them as well." Allyndra turned around again. "Some have said the compound eyes tend to catch the light hence give a sort of prismatic effect. Well Marika, other than your nose, you seem to be just fine." Allyndra made a note on the PaDD. She was looking at information and had a thought. "What do you know about linguistic drift?"

Observing the wings and every other feature of the Akkadian as she could, Marika slipped off the bed. "I speak half a dozen dialects of Bajoran, in addition to my linguistics studies." She grinned and peered past the doctor to the books on the table. "Why do you ask?"

"I am having some trouble translating an old text. The language and symbols have changed over time." Allynda did not want to admit that she was a bit lost, but then she really was. "In fact some of them I am not sure what they are anymore."

Excitement came back rushing in like a tidal wave. "Can I have a look? I'd be happy to help. Of course there's this whole mining operation I'll be part of later today, but I can check it out before that. Or even now. Or later. Whichever you prefer. But I can definitely check it out." All this was said in a single breath, eyes wide with curiosity.

Allyndra made a low chuckle at the response. "There is no real hurry and besides it is all Akkadian. I can give you better references than what is in the computer. Come on, I will show you what I am trying to do," she stopped in mid-sentence looking a bit chagrined. "I am sorry, that is if you have a bit more time."

“Of course!” Myra exclaimed, closing in on the doctor, stopping about half an inch closer than most people would. “I’ve got plenty of time. It’s all Alpha shift stuff, so plenty of time.” She kept smiling at the angelic beauty, eyes darting all over her, attempting to refrain herself if only a little. Fidgeting in place, she kept glancing over the doctor’s head, then back to her, as if curiosity was driving her in different directions, which it was.

Allyndra lead the woman into the office and indicated the book. The fact that is was a real book was unusual enough, and it was also hand writing that much was obvious also. "This is from my homeworld, in fact out of the archives on my Guild House, House Warraquim - gatherers of knowledge," Allyndra translated what many took for a surname.

“Very interesting.” Marika it carefully without touching it. “Very good preservation technique. I couldn’t even guess at it’s actual age without testing.” She bent down until she was less than an inch from it and took in its scent. “Huh!”

"Yes it is old, very old and very very rare that the Council allowed me to remove it. However, in it is what a genius wrote of how he gave us the ability to regenerate." Allyndra let that sink in.

Taking a step back from the book, she looked at the doctor with interest. “Regeneration, as in rapid healing? Or are we talking full blown limb regrowth?” Marika looked her colleague over, as if an eyeball examination could reveal such a facet.

"Yes, indeed, loose fingers, they grow back, arms, legs, wings, even most organs if it does not result in immediate death. I have looked the way I do since my 15th year and will do so until the very end of my life."

“To the pleasure of everyone around you, I’m sure. I’m gathering this would expand your lifespan greatly also. All very interesting. Almost makes me wish I was a biologist. Then again I do have a good sixty to hundred years left barring any premature life cancellation plans.” She smiled and approached the book once more.

“So this is a book from the genius who made that possible, but the language is so old you’re missing pieces.” She nodded to herself as she observed the artifact. “Well I’ll need to start by learning your language, written and spoken. If all goes well, we should be able to get back to this in a few months, if we practice daily. My, the script is so very lovely. Reminds me of earth Arabic or Xindi Aquatic. The way it flows... could be music."

"Rada'ala o'e kumane'la," Allyndra replied and then translated. "It means a dance of words, very observant. You are welcome to borrow my notes, my references and the book itself." She then gestured to the guest chair.

"Please take a seat, there is something more I must tell and ask of you."

Still seemingly enchanted by the sound of the language, Marika took a seat, trying to contain her excitement if even a little.

Allyndra took the main seat and settled. "As I mentioned I have permission to borrow and translate the book from my House. However, I am not sure what all might be in there. What I tell you must be kept to yourself do you understand?"

“Aye.” The serious tone of the conversation seemed to subdue her a little. She leaned closer listening carefully.

"Once a long time ago we discovered there were those among us that could make intuitive leaps forward. We called them the Arbur'atu, or the ones that could do things quickly. We advanced very quickly with technology that still surpasses what the Federation or its rivals have. I shall not go into our full history now but suffice to say that we almost destroyed ourselves and thus we..." Allyndra took a deep breath and then said the phrase she had seen so long ago. "We put away the past in order to preserve the future." Allyndra was not about to say that some in fact most of that technology was not completely lost but just hidden.

Nodding sideways in comprehension, Marika looked back and forth between Allyndra and the book. “And your guild believes you are now ready to regain some of that knowledge?” She pointed towards the book. “Or is it personal curiosity?”

"A little of both, I suppose. I think we should move again from where we are but I have gotten an appreciation as well what too much too soon could do especially if it came out. We are not Federation members, just an allied. This is but a small gift to help heal others." Allyndra laughed lightly, "If I can ever figure out what this person wrote!"

“I can appreciate that. Seems like a worthy and noble goal. I’m all about the noble goals. Nobility of heart and all that, not some silly belief that your better to rule just because of your bloodline. Although in a sense, it might not be completely out of the questions. Genetics being what they were, if we didn’t screw up every time we push the envelope, it might work… but then that might not be very acceptable even if it did. In any case, I do believe I was trying to say, I’m all in. If you have a recorded dictionary, I can whip myself a self learn tool with the universal translator and get started.” She looked up at the doctor and beamed one of her smiles. “And may I add, that your laughter is very pleasant to the ear.”

Allyndra looked a bit hard at the woman. "While that might be, we use another word for those that had the gift. It is A'ksu, it means dangerous and they were. Often more interested in what they could discover without thinking of the consequences and in many cases those consequences were for the ill." Allyndra tapped the book, "Whatever this A'ksu did to give us that gift, he had the rare foresight to realize that keeping a blossom beautiful was good, there was a time for it to end. Our life span is no longer than most humans." Allyndra softened again, "I did not mean to sound harsh, and yes of course all my notes, doctrinaires, translations that have been made that I am aware of will be at your disposal."

Marika hadn’t taken offence. It wasn’t the first time someone got offended by what she had said. Whether it was because she spoke too fast and too much or because she had messed something up in her explanation, she probably would never know. Interspecies communications were never clear cut anyways. Her only hope was to identify the marker and file it with the rest, in hopes she wouldn’t repeat the same mistake.

“No worries.” Her smile had not wavered in the least, much like her mood. It was simply another fact of her life. “Now I’m still oh very curious about your species. Is there a file in the databanks, or do we schedule an appointment so I can ask you a thousand questions?” The last was asked with a pique of amusement. It would be much more fun to do it in person, but most preferred to send a file and run away as fast they could.

Allyndra looked the woman and then nodded. "There is an excellent reference in the medical database which of course I wrote since not many of us off planet. You may refer to that but I can of course answer questions if you wish."

“Awesome! Perhaps when we’re out of the mess we’re apparently in? In the meantime I’ll get started on my learning program. Ha! And they said I wouldn’t get much archeology done on a starship! Goes to show them. This is awesome.” She turned back to the doctor.

“So am I duty worthy? Does that nosebleed go on my file? Maybe I should have my peripheral vision checked. Nah! I’ll just try not to read when entering a new room.” She smiled ever so energetically at Allyndra.

"I think I did mention that, yes indeed it has been noted but," She shrugged that odd shrug. "Your not the first, the last or the only being aboard that has run into things periodically. The saying goes: 'If you are afraid of falling then never try your wings.' Basically, keep going."

“See? I knew we’d get along just fine. This is such an awesome ship. I got me real fun work, nice people and a new language to learn.” She beamed a smile at the doctor and quickly turned around, taking great pains not to slam into anything else while in sick bay. She waved as she walked out the door still smiling. “Bye!”

"D'amnaq'u ma'ikina" Allyndra replied. She did not translate it to Fair winds, but figured the woman would figure it out once she got deeper into the language.


Ensign Lenaris Marika
Archaeologist/Anthropologist
USS Galileo

LCmdr Allyndra illm Warraquim
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

RSS Feed