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Day 02 [1700 hrs.] To Choose Wisely or Poorly

Day 02 [1700 hrs.] To Choose Wisely or Poorly

[ Lt.Com. Vivian Martin | Outside CMO’s Office | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan
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Martin hesitated before as she stood before the door to Dr. Nicander’s office. She was admittedly nervous, though she didn’t quite show it, and she shifted slightly on her feet as she went over her list of items to go over in her head. Her first item was simple, discuss the think tank which she was putting together. This would require a collaboration between science and medical personnel, something to brainstorm methods of detecting and identifying the parasites, something to find a way to actually obtain one of the bloodthirsty monsters. Monsters. There wasn’t really any other way to describe them to be quite honest. A vile creature which latched onto a host and puppeteered them, which found almost orgasmic pleasure at breaking and bending the host itself, and who knows what else. These monsters who sought to undo the universe, to devour and slake their thirst for destruction and malignant decay. Or at least that’s what Martin had gathered from the recording of this Acreth woman. Hm, parasites that puppeteered their hosts… it reminded her of something, but she couldn’t quite place what.

Martin’s second concern was simple, just a small matter of relaying the information she had on the virus going around. She had compiled what she could from Mariner’s data, as well as from her own scattered information on the subject. It was a shame that Lyhn wasn’t still alive, or they’d have already created and distributed the cure for the virus. Lyhn. Martin still missed her. A pang of guilt from her romp with Daniel the previous night struck her suddenly. Lyhn was so smart and intelligent and beautiful and- Martin’s emotions began to run free as she thought about her former paramour. She missed Lyhn quite a bit still, wished she was here right now. Perhaps she wouldn’t be as nervous if it were her she was seeing, rather than a man she barely knew.

Her final matter was simple enough as well, but this revolved around a more touchy matter involving a member of the crew. While reading about Sarresh Morali, Martin had stumbled upon a mention of Petty Officer Dyan Cardamone, also known as Sar-Unga Neleo, who possessed a rather remarkable gift. Dyan’s strange and unknown species appeared to be able to regenerate from almost any injury using a sac of undifferentiated cells, a feat which Martin saw may be the holy grail of medical science, the ability to create new organs and limbs from scratch without the need for biosynthetics. With all these items on her mind, Martin raised her hand and chimed the door.

Re: Day 02 [1700 hrs.] To Choose Wisely or Poorly

Reply #1 –
[ Dr. Nicander | Main Sickbay | CMO Office | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Hastata-Nerada 
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Between surgeries, Doctor Nicander had taken the time to catch up on the administrative work relating to running not one sickbay, but counting the two fully manned and completely filled auxiliary sickbays on Vectors 01 and 03, three of them. He was seated by his desk in his office when there was a chirp from the door, making him look up with his pale grey eyes.

"Enter!" he called, and finished signing his approval to three medical procedures that had been suggested by his medical officers in order to treat three different patients, all three of them second priority injuries since the battle the day before. He had yet to hear ought from Thea in regard to the Level One diagnostic of the recently awakened LMH, but since he heard she was also decryption the communication logs from Starbase 84 whilst remaining in MVAM, he figured he should be patient about the A.I.:s current processing speed. After he had signed the last procedure, he rose to his feet and stepped towards his visitor, his white lab coat billowing out behind him.

"Ah, Lieutenant Commander Martin," he said in his Câroon accent, recognising her from the briefing in the Fighter Assault Bay the day before, as well as the announcement before noon about the new Departmental Heads on the Theurgy. He had been unable to attend to the Senior Staff meeting, but he was quite aware who she was and what her new responsibilities were. "Welcome to sickbay. You are lucky, for I had to lift the quarantine placed on this bay just a short while ago, since it was more of an obstruction than an actual means to contain the outbreak. It had already spread too far. Then again, since you are from the Resolve, I suppose you would not have been infected by Virus 117 anyway."

Realising that they had never been formally introduced, he took deep breath, studying the human female with his eyes while he put his tattooed hands on his hips. "Where are my manners? Doctor Lucan cin Nicander, Chief Medical Officer. In all the commotion of yesterday, there was hardly any time for introductions. What can I help you with?"

In the back of his mind, the parasite coiled in reaction to the sight of the woman. She was a delectable human specimen, and before the Battle of Starbase 84, Lucan would have indulged in the ideas that came from the presence within. Now, he swatted the imagery of raping her and tearing her flesh from his mind, focusing on the situation at hand with a warm - if weary - smile that creased the corners of his eyes.

Re: Day 02 [1700 hrs.] To Choose Wisely or Poorly

Reply #2 –
[ Lt.Com. Vivian Martin | CMO Office | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan
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As the door opened, Martin paused to take a moment to look over Dr. Nicander. From what she remembered from when she had briefly looked over the crew manifest, the man was a Câroon, a species she wasn’t entirely familiar with for once. She admitted she was fascinated to learn more about them, possibly in a more intimate setting if possible, but there would be time for that later. For now she had a meeting with the good doctor in front of her.

“Hello doctor,” she said, and extended her hand. “It’s very nice to finally meet you in person, I’ve got a number of things to discuss with you if you don’t mind. First off,” she reached into the pocket of her uniform and retrieved an isolinear chip from within its depths. “Contained in this is all of the data Ensign Mariner and I managed to salvage from the Resolve about the virus, I thought you might find it useful.” Martin paused slightly, a little bit hesitant before she continued. “I’d like to work with you and your department when you’re researching a cure for the virus if you don’t mind. I happen to be an expert in biology myself, and I’m sure that there are members of my department which could offer some valuable insights.”

Re: Day 02 [1700 hrs.] To Choose Wisely or Poorly

Reply #3 –
[ Dr. Nicander | Main Sickbay | CMO Office | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Hastata-Nerada 
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When being offered the isolinear chip, Lucan accepted it with a tattooed hand and looked down at it. He had not given much credit to the brief notification that a couple of officers from the Resolve might hold some new data on the virus, but here it was, right in his hand. He looked up from it with his pale grey eyes and met the brown-eyed gaze of the new Chief Science Officer.

"By the winds..." he said and then set off towards the back area of his office, thus leaving the front area and the comatose Amelya Duv - or Rez - in the primary surical suite that she rested in. "Let's hope we can synthesise a cure from it. My staff and I have already begun trying to find a cure ourselves, but in the wake of the battle, the time constraints have stopped us from coming up with any viable results. My time has been devoted to the surgery suites rather than the lab, but perhaps this contains the pieces of the puzzle we are missing. With your help, we might just be able to halt this outbreak and see it to its end."

When standing in front of the large screen on the back wall of his office, Lucan inserted the chip and keyed up the new data alongside the preliminary research that the Theurgy medical staff had been able to compile. The pattern of the virus was in the background of the two sets of data lit the foreground of the screen. Lucan stepped back, seeing how there was still 10 % missing for a match, certain elements to the cure yet to be determined.

"This is definitely progress," he said quietly, pale grey eyes darting over the connections of the formula. He stepped aside to let the scientist in his company take a closer look, standing behind her instead. "Tell me what you see. If we put our minds together, perhaps we can fill out the blanks."

While his concerns for the crew were predominant, Lucan found that the parasite inside was not inclined to give one whit about the cure or the fate of the infected patients. No, it began to size up the shapely rear of the new Chief Science Officer instead, and despite himself, Lucan found his gaze caressing the cut of her uniform trousers. Imagery sprung from the darkness inside, notions born from the malign presence within. They were mere shadows of what they had been before Heather McMillan rinsed his mind from the darkness with her light, but still, he could discern what it wanted to do.

Push her down over the console by the neck. Bash the head. Stop the screams. Tear the cloth. Bite her skin. Ravish her and dine on her flesh.

Lucan swallowed, pushing the dark notions from his mind. He made himself look back towards the screen with a sickened feeling in the pit of his stomach, and tried to ignore her beauty before it got the better of him. Despite how revolted he was by the parasite's putrid desires, it still almost made him hard - the shadow still a part of him.

Re: Day 02 [1700 hrs.] To Choose Wisely or Poorly

Reply #4 –
[ Lt.Com. Vivian Martin | CMO Office | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan
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Martin swallowed nervously as she watched Nicander look over her notes. For all the good having a brain did her, she honestly did not know what to say. The tall, tattooed man intimidated her to say the least, and here he was, looking over the haphazardly gathered and backed up data which Martin and her compatriots had accumulated. Martin expected to be able to say something, anything really, and yet nothing came. Her head seemed, to her, totally devoid of any reasonable thought or processes. It was strange to her, she was so used to it brimming with thoughts and feelings, and yet faced by this man she felt wholly unprepared and unready to make even the slightest of comments. Ordinarily her head was brimming with thoughts and ideas, so much so that she always carried a PADD with her. But for reasons she could not fathom, she currently had almost none at all. Perhaps it was the doctor? He intimidated her for sure, and it almost felt like… was there something else?

Regardless of how empty her thoughts had felt, Lucan now invited her to look over the data along with him, something which Martin was both proud of and nervous of. Was it to the doctor’s satisfaction? Martin recalled when her and Jess had worked on the virus back on the Resolve. It was the first time they had really been forced to work together since their awkward first meeting, and the first time they had truly begun to feel for one another. It was the first time they kissed when a cure was found… Martin pushed the thoughts out of her mind and focused on the elements of the cure before her. The infectious agent was a virulently adaptive one, and the cure necessitated introducing the proper amount of the drug into the patient’s bloodstream, while at the same time creating a protein carrier that allowed it to be replicated by the patient’s cells.

"Looking at this," Martin said, "We should be able to synthesize a cure in no time. Though there were other things I wished to bring to your attention." Martin hesitated as her voice trailed off as she turned her head and caught what she thought might have been the good doctor staring at the cut of her uniform trousers. She shook her head slightly as she pushed the thought from her mind, assuming it was merely her imagining things. Pressing on, she said, “I am going to be putting together a sort of ‘think tank’ between various members of the science department to try and tackle the problem of detecting and identifying the parasites, and I would like to request the aid of yourself if possible, and other members of medical. Again, if possible, I understand that as of late things have been somewhat ah… busy around here.”

Re: Day 02 [1700 hrs.] To Choose Wisely or Poorly

Reply #5 –
[ Dr. Nicander | Main Sickbay | CMO Office | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Hastata-Nerada 
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Meeting the human's eye when she turned to him, Lucan stepped up to the console she was at, reaching past her with one hand and starting to make come calculations based on the new data. He listened to her, standing right next to her, even if his pale grey eyes were nailed to the chemical geometries on the display, starting to combine loose ends with new nodes of the potential cure's compound. He didn't look at her so he didn't know if she stepped away to give him room, but he caught her scent, noticing how well she smelled. Perhaps it was just because he'd had his hands inside another person a few minutes ago that the contrast of her scent compared to the everyday ordeals of Sickbay made her stand out as something quite welcome.

When she made her suggestion, Lucan smiled and looked back at her. That she took such an initiative proved that she was a pragmatic woman with focus on the essentials, and he was pleased that someone other than himself was taking charge of that research. Not only was he biased - because of what resided inside him - but the fact was that if he had already known a means to detect the parasites, he would have divulged it right after Heather McMillan restored his sanity and control over himself. He did have a lot of insight to give this project of Martin's, if only he could find a way to divulge those details without incriminating himself.

"That is an excellent undertaking, and something I would have encouraged myself if the past couple of weeks hadn't kept me preoccupied. You have already read the reports, but between the Calamity, the Harbinger mutiny, Starbase 84 and this outbreak, I  have not been able to devote the kind of time that the research required. It was always a top priority, but when the crew is dying all around you, a doctor's first duty is to those who suffer. You should be in a far better position to spearhead this project," he said and finished his current calculations, having reduced the missing structure of the chemical compund to 7 %. Pausing his calculations then, he turned to face her fully and looked down into her eyes. As he breathed, he imagined their breaths mixing between them, and his warm smile remained.

"That being said, I was tasked to make medical examinations on the only known parasite-infested crewmember we had, this being Sonja Acreth... before she vanished during the latest battle. When the first tissue samples were collected down on Theta Eridani IV, she almost killed me and several other officers, but thank the winds, I have recovered from the injuries, and been able to scan her every which way possible here in the Brig, collecting a lot of data to work with in the hopes to find something that might stand out. If you undertake this project, I would be happy to share every shred of data I managed to collect. The problem is that I think we are dealing with interphasic parasites. If not, my personal reasoning is that any sensor or tricorder back on Earth would have easily detected something residing in the people in Starfleet Command. The only means that I know of to detect them so far is the 'high stun test' that was derived by Deputy zh'Wann a couple of weeks ago, but I hardly think that's is the normal procedure in Starfleet Headquarters, right?"

Since Captain Ives had already described the method, Lucan did not address it after his small joke, instead returning to his line of reasoning, gesturing a bit with his tattooed hands as he spoke. "So, if the parasites exist in a kind of flux, I think we might be bashing our heads bloody against a wall with my data. Nonetheless, this group you mean to put together should have access to all the readings of Acreth, if there should there be anything we can cross-reference there. I will happily partake, of course, but please understand that I am running three sickbays, not the customary single one found on starships, added with all the duties of a Department Head that you also have. So, my time is scarce, and if I need to devote a lot of time to the group, I need to name a new Assistant Chief Medical Officer.... since my current second-in-command has yet to awaken after her joining."

With a concerned frown, he glanced at the profile of Amelya Duv - or Rez - lying in the primary biobed right there in his office. Bathed in artificial light, one could see her blanket rising and falling minutely, but she did not otherwise stir.

"My time-restrictions aside, you should know that I look forward to working with you on this," he said and turned his exotic features back towards the human, smiling to her, "I can't imagine what sights and experiences you bring back from your three-year-voyage on the Resolve. You and the rest of your crew must have wholly new methods of and reference-points when you undertake scientific research, having seen things no one in the Alpha Quadrant has. I can't wait to hear every word of it, and to work this closely with you."

Re: Day 02 [1700 hrs.] To Choose Wisely or Poorly

Reply #6 –
[ Lt.Com. Vivian Martin | CMO Office | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan
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As Martin expected, Nicander was unable to provide much of the assistance which she required, given that his tasks in sickbay mandated his presence almost all of the time. Nonetheless, it was worth a shot, and she resolved to finish collecting the necessary people to her aide later in the day if she could. She felt that the time was right to take the initiative on tackling the problem with the parasites and the challenges that would pose. With a nod, she acknowledged Nicander's statement and listened intently to his next words as they left his mouth. He was quite a handsome doctor, and if she weren't handling business at the moment she wouldn't mind handling some of his other regions.

Luckily, Dr. Nicander seemed to have collected a vast myriad of data on Sonja Acreth while she had remained aboard Theurgy. This was good, Martin could dissect this to take apart and parse every which way until the secrets revealed themselves. Unless of course there was no way of detecting the parasites on normal scanners, in which case the entire venture was doomed to failure, but this was not the time for thinking of such gloomy thoughts. The idea that the parasites were interphasic was intriguing to Martin, and a tiny portion of her brain latched onto the idea like a cat with a mouse. She dimly remembered someone asking Acreth whether or not the parasite was from the Thanatos system, which in turn triggered a dim memory of interphasic parasites from a discovery on the frontiers she had heard about. Martin made a mental note to investigate the log further in her spare time.

Nevertheless, Martin had a task to see to, and returned her attention to Lucan just as he was saying "You and the rest of your crew must have wholly new methods of and reference-points when you undertake scientific research, having seen things no one in the Alpha Quadrant has. I can't wait to hear every word of it, and to work this closely with you."

Martin gave a hesitant smile. "Yes indeed we have, and had Doctor Lyhn survived..." She swallowed nervously out of guilt. "I'm sure she would have been able to provide you with no end to tales of our travels, but alas, she is no longer with us..." Martin trailed off slightly towards the end of her sentence as she experienced a flood of memories, before once more shaking her thoughts and returning her mind to the present. "Regardless, any data you can provide would be invaluable to me and my department, and if we could borrow any of your staff when they have the time that would be absolutely wonderful." Martin went through her mental checklist again before continuing. She looked sad for a moment, her gaze downcast, but only for a moment.

"There was something I wanted to bring up though," She said. "I looked into what I could from Theta Eridani IV, and I was interested in how you accomplished this transformation of Mr. Morali. Specifically this ah... Asuran? Asurian? This alien crewman of yours- or, well, I suppose ours now, donated something of herself to assist in Morali's transformation." She paused slightly to let it sink in. "I am hoping I can perform my own tests on whatever property of hers accomplished this, for if I'm right, this could lead to medical breakthroughs which could potentially get rid of the use of biosynthetic replacements." Such as her spine. "I believe that if I can find a way to harvest what I understand are undifferentiated cells then I may be able to develop a treatment which regenerates limbs and organs and cells without the need of a donor or prosthetic replacement." Martin paused to let Lucan respond as she attempted to push the last remnants of Lyhn from her mind. Jessica Lyhn had been kind to her, but their relationship just didn't work out in the end, there was no point grieving any further than she already had.

Re: Day 02 [1700 hrs.] To Choose Wisely or Poorly

Reply #7 –
[ Dr. Nicander | Main Sickbay | CMO Office | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Hastata-Nerada @FollowTomorrow 
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Nodding, Lucan had imagined that the healing properties of the Asurian people would draw the attention from the Science department as well, and given the fact that the Resolve crew had an abundance of new research from beyond Romulan space, it was rather interesting that the medical breakthrough of the Asurian people's abilities were such an eye-opener. It told him that he couldn't expect anything equivalent from the Resolve crew - with or without Doctor Lyhn.

"I am afraid that there are complications, but I am sure you already noticed this in the reports about the Phoenix Project, which I am still not proud of having carried out. The mental repercussions of the patient makes the entire endeavour ethically unsound, but that's not what the true complications are about. It is about the toll for the Asurians when harvesting the blank cells."

Saying this, Lucan turned back to the medical composition of the almost finished cure and started to make new calculations while he spoke. Having synthesised so many medical compounds, he could do it and still speak at the same time. "Asurians have a small specialized gland, called the Velsren sac. You might have seen in the report that it rest between the shoulder blades and it contains a unique composition of endorphins, adrenaline, stem cells, and other hormones. This gland operates with the sympathetic nervous system to release hormones to kill pain, stifle panic reactions, and heal wounds. It is possible to draw Velsren fluid from the sac, but it is excruciatingly painful and Cardamone - the Asurian aboard that offered the solution for the project and thus revealing her true nature - claimed it may result in a burst sac. The reason why the procedure is so risky should be evident. The Asurian that has her sac drained has no means to counter the pain, much less heal up."

Pausing in his calculations, Lucan turned his pale grey eyes towards Martin. "The production of this Velsren fluid requires a very high caloric intake, and it could take anywhere from a few days to a month for a completely drained Velsren sac to recover. The symptoms of an emptied sac is lethargy, low pain tolerance and hormone disruptions. If a sac is compromised, those may be permanent conditions, along with osteoporosis, early menopause, infertility, and a deficient immune system. Cardamone told me that only with hormone treatments could an Asurian without a sac live a healthy life."

Lucan had also learned that back massages were considered an intimate thing between Asurians, only to be performed by someone highly trusted. Massaging the sac could sometimes cause it to produce small amounts of Velsren fluid which upon entering the bloodstream produced a pleasant, relaxing sensation. Cardamone had told him this during the Phoenix Project, yet even if they had been intimate during that time, he had not been given leave to do it. Why was he thinking about this?

It was because the thing inside him had begun to imagine putting his tattooed hands on Martin, to close his fingers around her neck and lift her off the floor, to dampen her choking sounds with kisses until she finally stopped thrashing. Lucan made no motion towards that, however, his eyes merely resting easily on Martin, as if he was drowning in her beauty. Catching himself, he cleared his throat and resumed working on the cure - his fingers tapping new connections into the touch screen. Three percent remained, unless any contradictions surfaced.

"So, the Velsren fluid is a scarce resource, and in their early history, the Asurians were 'harvested' for this fluid. That was, until they revolted against their captors. Therefore, the draining of their sacs remains, as far as I understand, an issue of great stigma for them, and the reason why Sarresh Morali's recovery could happen was because Cardamone volunteered, unbidden, to undergo the procedure. She did it because she believe in the mission, and wanted to help. She had fought directly with Sonja Acreth, and knows what we are up against. The only reason why Morali is not breathing and speaking through machines and tubes right now is because of her sacrifice. My team and I may have re-sequenced Morali's genome, since it was the only way to make his body accept the Velsren fluid, but it was Cardamone that made his body regenerate. The... pain that she endured for sake of the patient and the mission is... not easily forgotten."

At the time, the parasite had relished the torture Dyan underwent, but in retrospect, Lucan felt ill when thinking about it.

"So, I guess that might describe the challenges of that line of research." He looked back at Martin, the side of his face lit by the screen, the other cast in shadow. "If you want to pursue it, then I suggest you speak with Dyan Cardamone, and get her consent to drain her sac anew."

Re: Day 02 [1700 hrs.] To Choose Wisely or Poorly

Reply #8 –
[ Lt.Com. Vivian Martin | CMO Office | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan
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This was a conundrum which Martin had not anticipated. "I see." She said, as she furrowed her brow. She had to admit, she was disappointed, but not entirely surprised. She assumed that if such a thing were feasible then perhaps Nicander would have already looked into it. While she thought on this her hazel pools of eyes managed to miss Nicander's own grey eyes staring at her as if drowning in her appearance. No, she was far too preoccupied for that.

"I suppose I can speak to Ms. Cardamone." She continued. "But I get the feeling she won't be too happy about me putting her through excruciating experiences for a pet project." Martin pondered and realized that just because she couldn't ask Dyan didn't mean she was out of options. "Perhaps... Doctor, what kinds of terms are we on with the Asurians?" Martin asked. "Is it possible that we could obtain some of their medical database? Perhaps we could somehow find out what makes the sac tick?" Just as Martin wished she could find out what makes the handsome doctor's tick, but she said none of that aloud.  Another question occurred to her then. "How is Dyan if I may ask? I understand she's undergone such a procedure to have her sac drained of fluid, has she suffered any ill effects as a result of that? I'd hate to worsen the problem by drawing from it further."

Martin stopped, paused, and placed one hand on her hip and another on her forehead to clear her thoughts. "Tell you what, I'm sure I can bombard you with a million questions so what say we discuss this in a more comfortable setting, say over dinner or something?" Why. Why did she just say that? Why did she just offer dinner for two to discuss the contents of an alien's glandular secretions? Maybe something about this ship was getting to her? He was probably too busy anyway.

Re: Day 02 [1700 hrs.] To Choose Wisely or Poorly

Reply #9 –
[ Dr. Nicander | Main Sickbay | CMO Office | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Hastata-Nerada
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Before Lucan got to answer Martin's question about the Asurians - who weren't likely the most amiable after what happened at Starbase 84 - or her second idea about studying the Velsren sac instead of the blank cells... Martin ended up asking about Dyan Cardamone instead. Having to rephrase how he was about to answer her twice, Lucan spoke about Cardamone's condition after the Phoenix Project.

"While the time after the Phoenix Project was... sketchy in terms of official reports," he said, deciding to forego the mentioning of the mutiny's nature since Martin had likely been briefed about already, "I did hear her sac had difficulty to compensate for the afflictions she suffered, not having recovered from what she did to save Morali. There are a lot of rumours circulating about what befell her, but I would not repeat hearsay in that regard. Then there was Starbase 84.... I do believe it better if she told you herself."

Rumour had it that she had been assaulted in the Brig by a Klingon security guard, and that she had been mind-melded by T'Rena, but Lucan had not spoken with her to confirm this, since it was an altogether private matter for the Asurian. Of course the parasite had enjoyed the imaginative images of what had befallen her, but Lucan was concerned for her. Especially after she lost her family at Starbase 84.

Martin seemed to catch herself with having so many questions, and Lucan chuckled at the admission. Her suggestion, however, gave him pause, since the immediate thought was whether or not he could trust himself alone in her presence. He smiled and did act as if there was nothing amiss, however, and ran a tattooed hand through his unkempt hair - thinking about what he had to do before he left Sickbay. "I think we have a lot to discuss, indeed," he said, keeping his pale grey eyes from wandering boldly over her, "and it might have to be a late dinner, since I am busy here until well after 1900 hrs. The Lounges aboard might not serve cooked food at that hour, so it would have to be a replicated meal. You are free to pick my brain in my quarters, or should I come to you instead?"

Oh, why would he suggest against a public space? The words had left his mouth before he could stop them...

Re: Day 02 [1700 hrs.] To Choose Wisely or Poorly

Reply #10 –
[ Lt.Com. Vivian Martin | CMO Office | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan
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As Nicander responded to her, numerous thoughts played in Martin's mind. How on earth did she wind up in a date with the chief medical officer after only having just met him properly? No, wait, it wasn't a date, it was just a meeting between two mutually inclined officers to discuss. But then why did she find herself agreeing so readily to the suggestion that they meet in quarters? But wait, she hasn't agreed yet, and the doctor did suggest that it would be a late dinner at that, perhaps there was a chance to reschedule? But... No, what would be the point of that? It was Martin who had suggested the dinner date- er... dinner meeting in the first place.

Martin briefly wondered what Nicander thought of her for suggesting that, but he seemed receptive to it, and even suggested that they meet in one of their quarters. So too did Martin wonder if she had spoken too soon, and whether or not she should reschedule for the next day and simply have a regular meeting. But, no, it was too late now, and she might as well go with it. After all, the nice doctor had seemed to go along with it. Another thought played at the back of Martin's mind. Should she go see Dyan at some point? Perhaps something to schedule for tomorrow. How did Tovarek manage to make the time for everything going on aboard the ship? Well, Martin reasoned, it shouldn't be too different from her time aboard the Resolve. Perhaps she had even found a suitable replacement for Dr. Lyhn.

And speaking of Lyhn... If she went on the date- No, it wasn't a date. Martin wished she would stop thinking of it as such. If she went on the date with Doctor Lucan, what would that mean for her and Sithick? The poor lizard had had his first time at Martin's own hands, and she would hate to simply dismiss him in favor of someone else. But then again, nobody said she had to be exlusive to- Oy gevalt, what was she thinking? It wasn't a date, it was just a simple meeting to discuss things, over dinner, in one of their quarters- okay so it was a bit like a date. She might as well just go for it.

"I think..." Martin said, choosing her words carefully. "It would be best to discuss the matters in your quarters if you don't mind. If you'd like we can have a replicated meal or I could prepare something ahead of time and bring it over. Or would my quarters work? Actually, no, let's go with yours. I can bring something to eat if you'd like. Would uh... Would 2000 hours work? I know you said it would be late and all."

Re: Day 02 [1700 hrs.] To Choose Wisely or Poorly

Reply #11 –
[ Dr. Nicander | Main Sickbay | CMO Office | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Hastata-Nerada
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Hearing something akin to nervousness in Martin's tone made the distant darkness of the parasite stir, coiling in glee at the notion that the Human was attracted to the host. Yet Lucan dismissed the notion, not wishing to give into base desires. He did not trust himself in that regard, never thought he would again, but at the same time, there was no way around it. Too late to dismiss her. He did not want to, but he wanted to spare her.

Let's make it 2030 hrs., just to make sure. Considering all the things that tend to happen aboard this ship, and the fact that you've just provided me the key to end the outbreak, I will likely not be free until then. Just... ask Thea were my quarters are. Let her guide you, and I will make sure to tell you all that you need to know about the things you said."

Having said this, and bid her farewell for now, Lucan turned back to the almost synthesised formula, and got to work. Whatever final combinations he could not make, he would ask Thea to calculate, and then take to someone else if so required. Either way, he was positive that he had just done something good for the crew and the mission, without any ulterior motives and contingency plans in motion. It made him feel strange...

The motions were the same, but the intent made all the difference.

Now, he just hoped he could be true to Vivan Martin, and not let the parasite take over.

- FIN
 
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