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Day 02 [1400 hrs.] Everything Old

Day 02 [1400 hrs.] Everything Old

[ Deacon | Main Sickbay | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan

He remembered pain, but it was gone now, nothing but a dull echo in the dark silence of his head.  If he tried, he could still feel its traces but there was a pleasant haze about it that kept it distant, just out of reach.  Why was it so dark?  Flashes of memory seemed to spark, but they seemed out of place, nonsensical, non sequitur.  His bed, his new bed, but he'd hurt himself, hadn't he?  A vast plains land and a monster in the mists.  He fought, but his arms and legs didn't work, did they?  Nothing made sense.  Was this some sort of dream? 

Dream.

Dreaming, he was dreaming.

He opened one eye, some instinct giving trepidation to the effort, fearing he may find himself staring into the very sun, or into the depths of an abyss, but instead finding only the faintly shifting display of the monitor over his head.  Sickbay?  Vague recollections of similar locations invaded his thoughts, making him uncomfortable, a shiver running across his body.

No, he was cold.  How?

Instinctively, he reached his hand across to the opposite arm to rub some warmth into it.  Something was off.  His arm moved.  He could feel again, even if it was the muted sensation he'd become accustomed to over the years, but still, something was off.  Lifting his head slightly, he held his hands out before his face.  Three fingers and a thumb, as always, but the coloration was... new?  Old?  The top layer of fur was gone, leaving only the silvery undercoat and its faint pattern of striping.  Had they shaved him in his sleep?  No, that didn't make sense.  Why only the top coat?

He sat up, tentatively, muscles now beginning to protest for over use, and regarded himself.  Not just is hands, all of him.  Was he going bald?  The only balding kzinti he knew where the telepaths and that was from addiction to the sthondat.  No, this was... familiar.  Hazy images tried to materialize in his mind.  Smaller, running, someone chasing him, pulling something over his head... but he wasn't afraid... laughter?  Why was such a situation amusing?  But at least now he had an answer for the cold.  Less fur.  It would take getting used to.  Why was he so certain that it would taking getting used to?

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he looked around for something reflective.  His face.  It felt... mostly the same.  But still, he needed to see it.  The black paneled computer screens weren't helpful, revealing little but shadows and glimmers of reflected light.  A faint sense of panic set in, driving back the artificial haze, allowing his headache to resume, though its force was greatly diminished from the morning's assault.

"Computer... where am I?  What's going on?" he asked, his voice a touch dry.  "How long have I been here?"  His stomach growled uneasily, prompting the latter question.  

Re: Chapter 32: Everything Old | Day 02 [1400 hrs.]

Reply #1 –
[ Theurgy "Thea" NX-79854 | Main Sickbay | CMO Office | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @steelphoenix 
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The voice command of the Kzinti male prompted a reply from Thea, who was quick to answer the first of his three questions without projecting herself in his presence. It was because of the simple fact that it was a standard answer automated by her subroutines. Her accented voice was heard from above his biobed.

[You are on the Federation starship Theurgy. Your precise location is the Chief Medical Officer's Primary Surgical Suite in Main Sickbay on Deck 11.]

Once she'd answered that, she projected herself inside the room where Deacon was in - appearing next to his biobed in the teal-coloured version of her chameleon bodysuit. She had programming equivalent to that of a nurse, access to all three EMHs' common database, but very little 'hands-on' experience to correct the theoretical implementation of her interface's knowledge. Nonetheless, she seamlessly began to assess the condition of the patient. Meanwhile checking the readings, she answered him.

"I heard your call for a medical emergency at 1030 hrs., and upon finding you in a poor condition, I had you transported to one of the Isolation Wards. The EMH Mk I diagnosed you with suffering critical symptoms of Virus 117 - a viral agent that has caused an outbreak aboard me and that is still spreading. A Level 2 quarantine has been issued here in Main Sickbay since 0900 hrs., and while the symptoms are not life-threatening in general, some species have symptoms almost as bad as yours were."

After relaying this information, having been busy with her task to assess his medical condition while she did so, Thea paused when she had determined that the new Lounge Proprietor for Below Decks was no longer in any immediate danger of a relapse. His condition appeared fully stable according to the biobed's readings, but further observation was definitely required. She looked down at the genetically reconstructed Kzin and gave him a faint smile, wishing to reassure him as best as she might.

"The present time is 1400 hrs., and your surgery lasted for two and a half hours. I have already alerted Doctor Nicander that you are awake, and he should be here soon to tell you everything you need to know," she said, then paused before she added. "I know you gave me the name 'Deacon' in the lounge, and if you prefer, I will continue calling you that. You should know, however, that one instrumental part of your recovery came from the fact that I managed to verify your medical history. It was found in the communication logs pulled from Starbase 84... only filed under another name."

Realising that the patient might not have any memory of the events listed in his file, her query to him was an unassuming one. She did not wish to upset him, but given the drastic change in his appearance since she beamed him from his quarters, she judged it apt to ask.

"Does the name Xander Maryk mean anything to you?"

Re: Chapter 32: Everything Old | Day 02 [1400 hrs.]

Reply #2 –
[ Deacon | Main Sickbay | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan

Deacon listened quietly as Thea spoke, more intent on a faint twitch and tremor that seemed to afflict his limbs at random.  Was this a hold over of the virus, or the cure?  Surgery, she had mentioned.  Well, monkey science had this over the hero's people... at least he wasn't screaming.  He was only half attentive as she divulged the timely recovery of some logs from the Starbase where he'd taken asylum.

"Does the name Xander Maryk mean anything to you?"

His reaction was as obvious as it was conflicted, the muscles from the scruff to the base of his tail tensing visibly, as claws wrapped around the edge of the biobed, ears flattening, the fur long enough to stand on end, doing so only to flatten moments later.  He released one claw and reached up to his mouth in consideration.  Of course they had confirmed his identity.  Why else would they have given him such liberal freedoms, such as they were?  And somehow that self-same record had found its way here.

She'd implied that the record held the answer to his cure.  It all made sense, the fur, the faint changes to his features -- even if he couldn't see them, there was a base familiarity, something that played at the furthest reaches of his memory.  He frowned.  Kzinti culture demanded he be incensed that someone might address him by a past name, but she hadn't, and with concerted effort, he subsumed that instinct in favor of rational discourse.

"My parents... my father... named me Xander when I was born," he replied after a pregnant pause.  "My mother couldn't say my full name.  Kzinretti can barely speak.  She called me Xan."  He didn't face her as he spoke, finding the disclosure less taxing if he pretended he was speaking to the androgynous machine and not the female avatar.  "They... died... when I was very young."  A deep swelling of sorrow threatened to erupt from those self same vague recollections of his youth.  It was a disclosure he'd not had reason to revisit in nearly a decade and a half, something that he'd kept a firm lid over, but now he dared crack the seal and the contents held within threatened to spill forth unbidden.

He took a deep breath.  "My grandfather had to raise me after that.  He taught me what it was to be kzinti.  I had to earn a kzinti name... but... how do you do that when you're six?  Kzinti kits would be known by their relation to their father, but my father was a human monkey.  My grandfather kept me at arm's length, I was an obligation, not family."  A part of him knew he'd disclosed too much, strove to silence himself, but the breach had grown too wide. 

"I begged to become like him..." he continued, his head lowering, his voice quiet.  "The doctors... it took three months.  They scraped away every piece of human they could.  Every piece that wouldn't kill me."  A splash of water against his bare leg drew his attention, prompting him to wipe away the tears that were already streaming through the short, silvery fur of his face.  "Kzinti don't believe in anesthesia.  I screamed for days until I lost my voice.  It took me almost half a year to learn to speak and walk again, but I'd survived, and I'd earned a kit's name, and then my age of ascension came, I left it behind and am Deacon until I earn another name of my own."

He then laughed.  "And your doctor managed to undo the lot of it in a matter of hours while I slept. Well, I suppose there's symmetry to it all."

Silently, he stared at the bulkhead for several moments, before continuing, "That's what that name means to me."

Re: Chapter 32: Everything Old | Day 02 [1400 hrs.]

Reply #3 –
[ Theurgy "Thea" NX-79854 | Main Sickbay | CMO Office | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @steelphoenix 
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Silently, Thea stood by the transformed Kzin's side, watching the emotion playing across his features. They were of a face she hadn't seen, but still, perhaps, reminiscent of the countenance of what he had been. His words illustrated a fate she could not possibly know as a non-organic, yet as Ishtar had granted her a glimpse of what it might be, she could still fathom the pain on some level. A sheer mathematical assumption, perhaps, grading agony, yet enough for her emotion chip to feed her processor with compassion for what he had gone through.

When he finished speaking, she did not have good references for the social situation she was in. Yet the common denominator for all such situations, hearing of tragedy and loss, of a child suffering for his mere wish to belong somewhere, they all pointed towards an inadequate couple of words.

"I'm so sorry," she said, and the emotion gave her tone of voice the credence she had feared she'd lacked. She thought she'd been incapable of expressing just how much his brief story moved her, doubting herself because of her digital nature, but she found that when hearing herself, she sounded exactly as honest as she wanted to be. "It is made clear, in the surgical log, that what Doctor Nicander did to you these past hours was the only means in which he could save your life. He did it without your permission, and I could tell it weighed heavily on his conscience."

Just saying that was hardly the whole truth about the matter, so Thea continued, pacing slowly around the biobed. "When the DNA re-sequencing began, as easy as it was given how your original DNA can never truly be shed, Nicander meant for the reverted process to just be temporary, merely for sake of removing the spread of the virus, but when the process was complete... he was unable to restore you to the Kzin you were when you came aboard. Not right away, at the risk of your life. He might be able to do it at a later point, when there is more knowledge of the virus... but not today."

Having said this, she suspected there was one need that this patient had that she could fulfil easily enough. "For better or worse, here is your face now, as it would have looked if you hadn't undergone the change in your early years, along with the only photo found of you where you were still in Federation space."

She used the holoemitter to create a reflective surface - a hovering mirror in the air before the patient along with the image in the file she had uncovered. Then, she stood by, hoping the reaction would not cause any psychological harm. It seemed, to her, quite harmless, yet she hardly knew the social convention for the present situation.

Re: Chapter 35: Everything Old | Day 02 [1400 hrs.]

Reply #4 –
[ Deacon | Main Sickbay | CMO Office | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan 

Deacon listened as the avatar gave her condolences, uncertain if her words carried the weight of sincerity, but they sounded genuine at least.  She went on to explain how the doctor had struggled with himself to perform the reversion, hoping to be able to restore him at a later date.  Slowly, he shook his head, still not fully turning his gaze back towards Thea, instead raising his hand dismissively.  "No, no need."  He wondered, if perhaps the Fanged God had not lead him to this place from the start, if this doctor was not the agent of a greater power. 

Haltingly, he turned his gaze back towards her, certain that the projection was little more than a conceit and that she could see him wherever he looked.  "The Fanged God disdains lies and that face... was a lie.  It wasn't who I was, just who I wanted to be.  He can rest his conscience.  He saved my life.  How can I fault him for that?"

"For better or worse, here is your face now, as it would have looked if you hadn't undergone the change in your early years, along with the only photo found of you where you were still in Federation space." 

As the reflective surface formed before him, Deacon's found his attention drawn more to the image: a man, a kzinrett and a golden-eyed kit between them.  He reached out a trembling hand to trace the image, running a finger along the female's face, tears swelling again in his eyes, breath catching in his throat.  "Mum..." he whispered, pain burning from deep inside him, his hearts and stomach weighed down by lead as a dozen half-remembered thoughts struggled to surface. 

He hung his head, sniffing loudly as he wiped at his eyes, struggling to collect himself, to remind himself that kzintoshi did not cry, men did not cry, but such assurances did nothing to quell the emotions that threatened to overwhelm him.  Instinctively, he reached out and took hold of Thea's holographic hand, giving it a squeeze.  Rationally, he recognized he was seeking support from a machine, but there was something comforting in his inability to read the avatar, and though she wore a female's form, he knew, logically, that she was ultimately a thing, neither male nor female.

After several long moments, his breathing returned to normal and he wiped his face with the back of his free hand before regarding himself in the reflection Thea had provided.  "I look like skaatch," he said, still wiping the moisture from his eyes and the silvery fur on his cheeks.  Releasing Thea's hand, he straightened out his hair, spiking it up slightly from his head.  "At least he didn't grow my hair out," he said, his expression giving way to something less dour.  "My father probably didn't know where my skull ended and the fur began... probably why he left my hair like that."  He gave a slight laugh.

Re: Chapter 32: Everything Old | Day 02 [1400 hrs.]

Reply #5 –
[ Theurgy "Thea" NX-79854 | Main Sickbay | CMO Office | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @steelphoenix 
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Thea should have suspected the emotional response from the patient when she showed the image and the reflection of his face, but even if she had, she would have remained quite unprepared for it.

When he took her hand, she did let him willingly, though, and when he cried, she put her free hand on his shoulder. In her background processes, she tried to derive the proper social response for the situation, but all she could find for reference had already been said. Repeating inadequate words didn't make them more effective, or at least she could not fathom they would. Instead, she relied on silence and stroking his shoulder comfortingly while he remembered and he cried from loss rather than reaction to his outward appearance.

In fact, he had seemed quite unphased by it, not giving the change spoken objection. Instead, he chose to reminisce about his family in the image had been shown to him. Fickle as the emotions of organics were, he appeared to be quite collected despite what he had been through, even jesting about the length of his hair. Without any other obvious resort, Thea let the emotion chip lead her, and she laughed a bit at his comment. She hoped it was the right thing to do, and she could see the conundrum his biological father might have faced in regard to his fur. There was a substantial amount of hair on the boy in the image.

"You said you 'wanted' to be like you were," she said, noting the tense he had used when he said it, "but tha-"

The sliding doors opened, and through them stepped Doctor Nicander - having received her notice that the patient in the primary surgical suite had woken up. "By the winds," he said, taking stock of how healthy the patient seemed despite the DNA re-sequencing he'd just gone through. "I suspected that the Kzinti were a hardy species, but you are already up? Where are my manners, Doctor Nicander. Give me just a moment, and please, lie down and take it easy. You have been through a lot."

Producing a medical tricorder from his lab coat, his tattooed hands quickly calibrated it for Kzin physiology. His pale, unusual eyes darted between the Kzin and the readings. "I take it Thea has filled you in to some degree?"

Thea nodded to the Chief Medical Officer with a small smile and answered for the patient. "Not in detail, Doctor."

"I see, thank you," said the dark-haired Câroon and continued his scans with a frown of concentration. "I can understand if you might be adverse to the method chosen, but it does seem you are well on the way to complete recovery... The only issue being I also had to recover your original genome in order to do it. My apologies, for I could not get your consent to do it."

OOC: Remember how Câroon - like Ferengi - are immune to empathic and telepathic abilities too, which could (possibly) have Deacon think Nicander is also a hologram? :) Sorry for the delay in posting too.

Re: Chapter 35: Everything Old | Day 02 [1400 hrs.]

Reply #6 –
[ Deacon | Main Sickbay | CMO Office | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan 

Deacon gave a half-jerk as the door slid open.  It was hard to tell if it was another uncontrolled muscle spasm or a base instinct unwilling to allow himself to be seen so emotionally exposed.  Either was sufficient, he figured, and both equally annoying.

He regarded the newcomer with a slightly arched brow.  Curious that he had the appearance of a human -- in fact, every sense he had told him this man took up space and had an aroma like that of any other monkey -- but he was almost as much a blank slate as the avatar, all but invisible to his ziirgah.  Certainly, any trained eye could read his mannerisms and perhaps assume what thoughts lay behind those pale eyes, but it would be little more than educated guessing; and such mannerisms could be easily suppressed or invoked by those practiced in the art.

A momentary sense of panic dug its claws into his hearts again.  Had this reversion stripped him of his ability to sense others?  Was that the true irony in this?  Years hiding his empathic gifts from the kzinti only to completely lose them thanks to monkey science?  No, no, he was certain he could feel the vague sensation of others beyond the walls of the room, faint as ever when not in his presence, but still there.  Whatever it was, this man was the source.

"I suspected that the Kzinti were a hardy species, but you are already up? Where are my manners, Doctor Nicander. Give me just a moment, and please, lie down and take it easy. You have been through a lot."

"I've been through worse."  With an askance look towards Thea, Deacon laid back on the biobed, his leg, now, giving an unexpected twitch.  "That will become problematic," he said, indicating the momentary spasm that had resolved as quickly as it came.  "And it seems to like to jump around."  The observation was more in passing than specifically addressed to those present, though he had little doubt that it was recorded dutifully amongst the various tricorder readings that the doctor was reviewing.

"I can understand if you might be adverse to the method chosen, but it does seem you are well on the way to complete recovery... The only issue being I also had to recover your original genome in order to do it. My apologies, for I could not get your consent to do it."

Deacon took a deep breath, barely resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the doctor.  It seemed a ludicrous idea that he should concern himself over such a thing as saving a patient's life.  Had he been left to kzinti care, he wouldn't've been shocked to wake up with three lungs pulsing outside his rib cage purely to assist with breathing.  Well, that was, perhaps, an exaggeration, but the comfort of a patient was secondary to the survival of the patient.  He waved his hand again, "I hold no grudge for you saving my life, doctor."

Propping himself slightly on one elbow, he regarded the doctor, his golden eyes narrow before he tilted his head considering.  "Kzinti follow the will of the Fanged God.  He challenges us, pushes us to overcome, to excel, to be great."  He lay back again, thankful that his headache had finally subsided.  "I told one of your female officers that hundreds of years ago, the kzinti called out to the Fanged God and demanded a challenge.  He gave us humanity, and we failed.  For the first time in ages, the kzinti people failed their god."  His words became more a rationalization, a train of thought that, now verbalized, he felt he needed to explore to their logical conclusion, whether the others heard them or not.  "And when I try to hide my human side, the Fanged God strips the lie away."  He sat up again, looking squarely at Dr. Nicander. "The Fanged God hates lies," he added by way of explanation.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose and looked from Thea to the doctor and back again.  "May I ask how long until I can return to my duties?  I was assigned responsibility for the Below Decks and I was going to inspect the reserves and prepare some meal plans for..." A grumble in his stomach caught his attention.  "I... haven't eaten since I came on board yesterday."

Re: Chapter 35: Everything Old | Day 02 [1400 hrs.]

Reply #7 –
[ Theurgy "Thea" NX-79854 | Main Sickbay | CMO Office | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @steelphoenix 
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Thea listened and filed away the information that the Kzin revelaed about his people and their deity, wishing that her database on the Kzinti was more detailed. The doctor, who just finished scanning the patient, seemed quite relieved when hearing there was no objection to the DNA re-sequencing.

"The crew that goes there will have to replicate their own meals for the time being. I worry about that twitch of yours since its far from minor," he commented, and Thea assumed he'd answer the request for food when the patient's health had been verified. "I am glad you see the sense in my treatment, though, despite how unorthodox it might have been. Believe me, it has been well proven to us that not everyone would take a change as apparent as this with ease, and I had no way of knowing the reason why your DNA had been altered in such a... barbaric way that it had. The pain of it... I have never seen such crude means of reconstructive surgery and gene manipulation."

If there had been a hint of a question in Doctor Nicander's words, Thea failed to hear it, but she did recognise the fact that what the Doctor said might seem offensive to the Kzin. Therefore, she spoke up.

"I am sure Doctor Nicander means no offence. Before Starfleet Medical, his service record says he was taught medicine on Aldea, and they are quite renown for how progressive they are in many scientific fields."

"Yes, yes, by the winds, my apologies," said the Chief Medical Officer and put away his tricorder. "Without trying to explain the delicate surgical process or the technology of this surgical suite you are in, I'll just say this: As painful as your experience must have been back then, it also made this treatment today a lot easier. The method chosen by the so-called 'doctors' that did this to you allowed me full access to what I needed, despite how hard it was to immediately detect your human genes. Even the EMH aboard this ship failed to see what you once were, but once I knew what to look for... it because that much easier."

Having said this, Doctor Nicander put his tattooed hands into his pockets and nodded towards the patient. "Could you please try to stand up, and if another tremor comes to your limbs, you shouldn't stray from the biobed. Use it for support, if you must."

Thea folded her hands behind her back and squared her shoulders, watching the one originally named Maryk as he tried to do as instructed. If there were complications, Thea expected the doctor to give the patient a muscle relaxant and have him moved to the Recovery Ward for rest and recovery. Hopefully, there would be no lasting issues, but it would be sound to keep him under observation. As for Below Decks, Thea would make sure to keep the holographic staff there activated until his return.

Re: Chapter 35: Everything Old | Day 02 [1400 hrs.]

Reply #8 –
[ Deacon | Main Sickbay | CMO Office | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan

Deacon listened quietly as the doctor and the avatar bandied about the relative cruelty of his prior caretakers, measuring their words with unnecessary apologies.  He considered his response carefully, not so much as a matter of accepting what ultimately amounted to extenuation, but to prove their initial points valid.  "We don't have a proper phrase for this... but I believe a human might say 'let's call a spade a spade.'  Kzinti doctors care little for the comfort of the individual, they care only for the health of the race.  Had I died on their operating table, they would have considered me unfit to have joined them in the first place."  He regarded the doctor squarely once more.  "It is only reasonable that it should appear barbaric."

He set his jaw slightly askew as he considered.  "You'll forgive me if I give them no credit in making today's procedure easier."

Truth be told, he was less interested in discussing the medical practices of the kzinti then he was in assuming his duties.  While the humans might be more considerate of his condition, the fact remained that he chaffed at failing in the task that he'd accepted as his own.  Back home, being sick brought no straakh.  In fact, those of the lower castes even risked the loss of straakh if they failed to maintain even a meager amount of patronage or productivity.  Only the higher castes, the patriarchs and sons of patriarchs, those with full names could afford such a loss.  As a Black Priest, he would have been above such concerns as well, secluded within the priesthood itself, his straakh linked inextricably to the whole.

And now he was a traitor to his people, light years away on a ship that was, in turn, being hunted by the enemies of his people.  The irony was not lost on him.  The Fanged God did, indeed, love his challenges.

"Could you please try to stand up, and if another tremor comes to your limbs, you shouldn't stray from the biobed. Use it for support, if you must."

Lost in his own thoughts, Deacon nearly missed the doctor's directive, taking a moment before it sunk in enough for him to act.  He swung his legs over the edge of the biobed and dropped down to his feet, rolling his shoulders and neck to loosen the muscles.  Folding his arms across his chest, he regarded the avatar and then the doctor.  It was a point of amusement to him that here in the Federation, he was considered tall while among the kzinti, he was a runt.  Still, he did his utmost to fixate on their faces and not simply the tops of their heads.

As they waited, he considered asking how it was that the doctor evaded his ability to sense him, but ziirgah was an instinct and not something that kzinti commonly discussed, and although empathic talents did not have the same stigma within the Federation, he had spent most of his lifetime hiding his abilities for fear of being labeled a telepath.  He was hard pressed, admittedly, to decide whether being labeled telepath was worse than traitor, but still he could not bring himself to ask the question, no matter how much his curiosity burned.

"Well," he stated after nearly a minute, "perhaps they've resolved."  He unfolded his arms and moved to sit once more only to have his right leg give a faint jerk that nearly sent him to the ground if not for his grip on the biobed.  "Or not," he growled, fangs exposed at his own weakness, steadying himself and sitting once more.  "Please tell me I don't have that to look forward to for the remainder of my days."

Re: Chapter 35: Everything Old | Day 02 [1400 hrs.]

Reply #9 –
[ Theurgy "Thea" NX-79854 | Main Sickbay | CMO Office | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @steelphoenix 
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When the patient almost fell, the apparent stability of his bodily frame proven false as soon as he tried to move, Lucan stepped in the same time as Thea did - helping him as needed back into a sitting position. The question was merited, of course, from his point of view, but Thea saw that Nicander had his reply ready.

"Of course not," he said in his exotic accent, but it was not in admonition to the suggestion, "The readings suggest nothing is wrong, so your muscles behaviour is natural given the changes your body has undergone. Your body just need more time to adjust to its restored DNA."

Turning  his attention to Thea, Nicander spoke to her directly. "Could you alert Nurse Maal that we're in need of his assistance, please?"

"Of course, Doctor," said Thea, the connection to the Klingon nurse's combadge already established. "Message sent."

"Thank you," he said, and then turned back to the patient. "You'll be resting up in the Recovery Ward, with regular check-ups, and with any luck, these residual tremors will subside sooner rather than later. Nurse Maal will be helping you get there, and I will make sure to visit you soon to ensure you are well on your way to complete recovery."

As if on cue, Nurse Maal appeared through the sliding doors. Klingon, brawny, and yet with a short haircut, the kind humans had. He looked towards Nicander and got his instructions. Soon enough, Nurse Maal extended a hand to help steady the Kzin while he left the room.

"One more thing before you leave," said Lucan, and Thea heard the same question she had asked him earlier. "Will you go by your current name, or the one we found in your medical journal?"

Re: Chapter 35: Everything Old | Day 02 [1400 hrs.]

Reply #10 –
[ Deacon | Main Sickbay | CMO Office | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan

"You ask that so casually," he replied.  "A kzin's name is his identity, his status, his place in society, his right to mate, his right to command." 

He looked at Thea and then back at Nicander.  "I don't have any of those things.  Only a superior may grant me a name as a reward for a feat of honor or a service in contribution to the Kzinti."  His shoulders slumped, his eyes diverting to the edge of the biobed.  "I serve drinks in a lounge to the enemies of my people.  I doubt very honestly that I'll ever earn a name."

Giving Thea a reassuring look, he added, "Do not mistake me.  I will excel at the task I've been assigned."  As she had been the first to propose his new position, he didn't want to give the impression that she had somehow chosen ill or that he was resentful for the opportunity.  It was simply a matter of perspective.  As a Black Priest, he could likely have helped shape the Patriarchy from the shadows for ages to come, but that would mean making himself a silent accomplice to the horrors his people were already unleashing on the quadrant.  It also meant trying to steer a boat with a thousand captains and a million rudders, but an ill-wind could forever change the boat's course.  Now he had to find a way to be that ill-wind.

Deacon sat quiet for a long moment.  Bad enough that he was disclosing something so sensitive before the avatar, but now the doctor and, of all things, a klingon nurse as well.  The wounds to his pride were raw as he gathered himself, finally turning his attention once more to the doctor.  "I suppose use whichever will cause you less trouble.  They were both me at one time and it's infinitely preferable to answering to 'hey you'."

Re: Chapter 35: Everything Old | Day 02 [1400 hrs.]

Reply #11 –
[ Theurgy "Thea" NX-79854 | Main Sickbay | CMO Office | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @steelphoenix 
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After hearing the Kzin's confession about his name, and how it was not an easy matter, Thea belived she understood the patient a bit better, and it seemed the words had given Doctor Nicander pause as well.

When the Doctor did spoke, it was in a compassionate tone.

"Forgive me, I meant no disrespect," he said to his patient, obviously having no desire to slight him with his question. Given the repercussions of the Phoenix Project, he had to already be discomfitted by what he'd done to the Kzin. To add insult on top of that, however slight or unintentional, had obviously not been how he'd wish to handle the situation.

"For convenience in handling your updated medical journal, you will still be filed under your original name, but I will add the name you went by when you came aboard to it as well. After the surgery, I... read the report about your reason for coming to the Federation, and if it was up to me, you'd earn any name you want. The winds you ride are bold in their path back to your origins, leaving comfort an acceptance behind because you believe in doing the right thing. You deserve any recognition you want."

Thea smiled, agreeing with the Doctor, and excused herself. "I am requested elsewhere, Doctor."

"Of course, thank you, Thea." Nicander inclined his head to her, and a tired smile touched his pale grey eyes. He then directed himself to the patient again, addressing matters of his recovery. "I'll prescribe you daily shots that are necessary after this kind of surgery, boosting your new immune system and your internal organs. Depending on the development with your muscular condition, you may be required to undergo some specific physical exercise to mitigate the reaction. And lastly, judging from the readings of your abdomen, you will have to resort to a more human diet, which entails other things than just meat. Your new body needs its diet to have all necessary nutritional elements. Not just proteins and fat, but vitamins, fibres, carbohydrates, minerals... In other words, vegetables and some fruit will do you wonders. I have also sent your file to Counselling... and they will schedule you for a few sessions. Just to make sure you can cope with all of this."

Before she dematerialised, Thea saw Doctor Nicander seat himself by his desk, and Maal standing ready to help the patient to the Recovery Ward.

OOC: One last from you, Steelphoenix?  :)

Re: Chapter 35: Everything Old | Day 02 [1400 hrs.]

Reply #12 –
[ Deacon | Main Sickbay | CMO Office | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan

Deacon opened his mouth as if to protest the suggestion of counseling, but closed it just as quickly, realizing that it was likely a precautionary measure that would amount to little more than some well-meaning staffer ensuring that he was doing well with the adjustment back to his old face and his new life on ship.  Were such a decision his to make, he would likely have insisted the same, although back home, such counseling would come at the hands of the priesthood.  The Federation was far less faith-based, it seemed, although he'd heard rumors that some on the ship had turned their need to believe in something greater towards one of the officers.  A shame.  Perhaps the Captain would consider allowing him to offer regular services to the crew -- if they wished to attend, of course.  It was the crux of his training, after all, although he suspected he would need to diversify his teachings.  Still, the Fanged God was not averse to sharing the heavens, as long as He received His recognition.

What brought him more concern was the thought of having to alter his diet.  Physical therapy, booster shots, these were minor inconveniences compared to the lingering effects of what he'd undergone as a child.  He supposed it meant that he'd have a better sense for feeding the remainder of the crew, but it also removed a comforting certainty in his life.  There was much he would have to revisit, rethink, just in his day to day existence.  Counseling made more sense by the moment.

He nodded.  "Of course," he said at last.  Focusing carefully, he moved past the nurse, fully expecting him to follow with eyes trained for any instability in his gait or risk of falling.  Deacon's careful effort with each footstep was meant to spare him the embarrassment of having to be supported by the klingon on the way to recovery.  He did, at least, have a little pride left.

Pausing, he looked back over his shoulder.  "Doctor," he asked, "the records you found... I don't remember much before I was sent to homeworld.  If possible, I'd like to be able to review them later."

Without awaiting a response, he stepped through the doors as they slid open, the klingon nurse dutifully at his back as he made his way towards the recovery ward.
 
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