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Day 15 [1500 hrs.] Remember

[ Lieutenant Amelya Rez | Main Sickbay | Recovery Ward | Deck 11 | Vector 2 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @P.C. Haring
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Amelya Rez sat at her desk, sipping on a hot Raktajino as she flipped through all the old notes left behind by her comrade, the late Kate Foster. It wasn’t as though they just had another Doctor laying around, so it had fallen to Amelya to try and catch up on any work Kate had left behind. It also wasn’t as simple as Kate having left a todo list laying about, Amelya had to dig through Kate's patient charts just to find out where she’d left off. Most of them had been straightforward procedures, with minimal or no follow up needed, however there was one note that had piqued her curiosity, causing her already curious mind, further driven by the incessant goading of Jona Rez, leaned against the console behind her, to dig deeper. To what purpose, and to what end Amelya had no clue.

What she’d found in the note had been vague, vague to a flaw. If not to a flaw, then at the very least left in such a state intentionally. Shifting the gaze of aquamarine orbs, they found the top of the PADDs screen and the name of the crewmember in question.

“Hathev-” Amelya said aloud, leaning back momentarily as her mind whirred through all the possibilities. The labs were strange enough on their own, but Kate’s note is what truly had garnered the Trills attention. After a long moment of silence, she felt a hand on her shoulder, and a deep, confidence-loaded voice speak behind her.

“So?” He canted his head to the side as Amy shrugged him off, a venomous look about her as she glared at him.

“Why do you care, why are you even here, I’m just trying to work.” She sounded exhausted and absolutely at her wits end with the man. “You aren’t even here.” She snarled at him, rising to her feet and stalking over to him, with an evident chip on her shoulder. Halfway to him though, she stopped and reached up to her face, massaging her temples. “I’m going crazy.” She said to herself, repeating the statement several times before she tapped her combadge, “Doctor Rez to Hathev, I had something I wished to speak to you about, if you have the time?” She waited a few moments for a reply before she grabbed her white coat off the back of her chair and pulled it over herself.

Amelya wanted to dig deeper into what she’d unearthed, not only out of her own curiosity and empathy for her patients, but because of all those among the crew, she felt that a Vulcan Counselor may have been one of the select few she herself could go to for help. The awakening of her symbiote had been a harrowing, terrifying experience, and she’d had to endure it entirely alone. The emergence of the various previous hosts wasn’t a new one for the Rez symbiote, twice over it hadn’t meshed properly with the host, instead of memories intertwining into one great synaptic ecosystem, the personality constructs of each host seemed to survive, creating ‘avatars’ that could interact with Amelya, even touch her if they wanted. Up to that point, only Jona had been able to do that much, the rest still seemed like phantoms, memories of the past. Jona however, very well could have been flesh and blood if Amelya didn’t know better.

“Don’t be stupid, they’ll lock you up if they know I’m kicking around in your head, after what I did last time.” He hadn’t bothered to try and apologize for his acts, as he simply wasn’t sorry. To him, he’d done the right thing. His concern for Amelya was genuine.

She didn’t see it that way however, she didn’t trust him. Whatsoever.

“I have a patient.” She cut him off, and left the room, wandering to a private exam bay as she awaited the counselor.

Re: Day 15 [1500 hrs.] Remember

Reply #1
[ Lt. Cmdr. Hathev | Chief Counselor's Office | Main Sickbay | Deck 11 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @BipSpoon‍ 

Hathev too sat at her own desk organizing her patient notes into her confidential database.  She had recently taken on a few new patients and while most of them seemed routine to the Vulcan, a few stood out as interesting cases, not the least of which was Ensign Nix.  As a rule, Hathev tried not to single out one patient over the other as doing so was illogical and risked the appearance of favoritism.  Even so, that session had stood out to her.

Having completed her preliminary work, Hathev had intended to permit herself a few minutes break and take a walk in the arboretum, but the chime of the ship’s comm system interrupted.

[[“Doctor Rez to Hathev, I had something I wished to speak to you about, if you have the time?”]]

Hathev paused in her mid-stride to listen to the summons before casually tapping her own badge to respond.

“I am on my way, Doctor.”

It took but a moment for the computer to locate the good doctor.  It seemed that her walk in the arboretum was to be replaced by a walk across Sickbay.  She had yet to meet Doctor Rez in person, having previously worked with Doctors Foster and Leux.  But with Doctor Foster’s death and Doctor’s Leux transfer back to the Oneida, Hathev realized she once again needed to find a physician.  Perhaps Doctor Rez had been looking over patient files and seen that both of her prior two caregivers were no longer aboard.  If that supposition were true, then it was logical to assume that was the topic about which she wished to discuss. 

The Vulcan found the Trill in one of the private exam rooms.

“You wished to see me, Doctor?”

Re: Day 15 [1500 hrs.] Remember

Reply #2
[ Lieutenant Amelya Rez | Main Sickbay | Recovery Ward | Deck 11 | Vector 2 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @P.C. Haring
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Amelya set the PADD containing the patient file down, and glanced at a console itself, comparing the record she had to some prior readings. Her face looked…curious, though not confused. She had no clue. Jona was standing next to her, leaning against the console, tapping his foot.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. The repetition continued nonstop, until Amelya slowly turned her gaze up at him, “Do you absolutely have to be so intrusive? Tapping your feet, singing in the middle of the night, constantly offering me medical advice when you were a spook, not a surgeon.” Her voice raised to the point that a nursing tech poked her head into the room, and briefly glanced around. Amelya gave her a quick smile and a dismissive wave of her hand.

The private exam bay was much more comfortable than the recovery bay, which far more resembled an ICU or anesthetic recovery unit. Those were its uses after all.

Amy tapped her badge once again and with a peppy tone responded, “Good! I’m in one of the exam bays, just find a nurse they’ll point you in my direction. Rez out.” She tapped the badge a final time to cut the connection before she tapped a few controls on the console again, this time a holographic projection of Hathev appeared, though Amy quickly ordered, “Please remove the integumentary organs, viewing from subdermal layer down.” She was going to have to pick through for what she was looking for, using the hologram and her patient herself to find the correct diagnosis.

“I did.” She turned to Hathev as she entered and motioned to the end of a biobed and a chair both, whichever she preferred. “Given recent events I’ve been trying to look over the medical charts left behind by Doctors Foster and Leux. I found something interesting.” She reached for the PADD and quickly found the remark she had been looking for, in all its vagueness.

“I was hoping you could shed some light on this for me.” Her eyes quickly darted behind Hathev, where Jona had found a spot to stand, his face looking entirely irritated with the situation. Not because he cared if Hathev found a solution or not, simply because he had no desire of being found out. Not yet at the very least.

Re: Day 15 [1500 hrs.] Remember

Reply #3
[ Lt. Cmdr. Hathev | Main Sickbay | Recovery Ward | Deck 11 | Vector 2 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @BipSpoon‍ 

It was a most curious query from the physician, Hathev decided.  It was also the second time someone on the medical staff had questioned her about her medical history which Hathev did not take as coincidence.  The Vulcan also noticed the brief break in eye contact as Doctor Rez seemed to look past her for a brief moment, but it bore no significance to the Vulcan.  Most other species had a difficult time maintaining consistent eye contact.  Therefore despite her noticing it, she ignored it.

She took the offered PADD from Rez and reviewed the note from Doctor Foster.  It was imprecise to say the least and it was an understatement to call it vague.  It alluded to an anomalous result from Hathev’s blood testing she had run while treating the injuries Hathev had sustained when the Klingons had laid siege to the Theurgy’s sickbay.

Hathev returned the PADD to Rez.

“I regret to inform you, Doctor Rez that I have very little pertinent information I can share with you.  In the aftermath of my injuries during the Klingon attack, Doctor Foster inquired as to whether or not I had any medical history not noted in my records.  I told her that, to my knowledge, my records were complete and while she did not elaborate on the reason for her inquiry she implied there was an unexpected result in my tests.  She hypothesized the sickbay instrumentation might be at fault, a logical assumption given the damage sustained at the time, and said she intended to re-run the tests at a later date.  Whether or not she did, I could not say.”

Hathev took a moment to regard the Trill in front of her.  She seemed distracted, though Hathev could not immediately determine why.

“Am I to assume there are no further records on this issue, Doctor?”

Re: Day 15 [1500 hrs.] Remember

Reply #4
[ Lieutenant Amelya Rez | Main Sickbay | Recovery Ward | Deck 11 | Vector 2 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @P.C. Haring
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Amy watched the Vulcan counselor with curiosity. She’d seen her fair share of Vulcans within the counseling departments she’d worked close with over the years and it was always a career choice she’d found peculiar. She knew full well that Vulcans experienced the same suite of emotions that everyone else did, they just kept them under wraps. In her opinion, it made Vulcans the perfect objective voice when there was an issue. She knew others however, would claim that the Vulcan couldn’t understand because well, they didn’t feel.

As Hathev took the PADD, Amy eyed her closely, Jona pacing behind her, before placing two hands on her desk and leaning over Amy from behind, causing her to sit up a bit straighter. He enjoyed every moment of making Amy uncomfortable she figured, otherwise why would he be doing what he was doing? It made no sense. He hardly even allowed her to get sleep. Was he trying to break her?

She reached forward, and took back the PADD as it was offered. Slowly she nodded her head and rose to her feet. “No that was the only record I could find at a quick glance. I can do a little more digging but I’m not sure how much I’m going to find.” Given that the records were all computer based, there was no further record of the result or they had been squirreled away somewhere for some unknown reason.

“Mind if I just run the test again? I just want to be absolutely certain.” She pursed her lips and headed over towards a tray with a hypospray and a blood syrette attached to it, empty and waiting for a sample. She, of course, waited for ascent before doing anything. “If it was just an anomalous reading than so be it, but if not I’d like to get to the bottom of what exactly it is and why its showing up.”

Re: Day 15 [1500 hrs.] Remember

Reply #5
[ Lt. Cmdr. Hathev | Main Sickbay | Recovery Ward | Deck 11 | Vector 2 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @BipSpoon‍ 

It did not surprise the Vulcan that Dr. Rez would want to re-test her.  It was logical to determine whether the test results Dr. Foster had found were valid or due to equipment error.  She set the PADD back on the desk and, as was customary, took a seat.

“Please proceed, Doctor.  I would like to have a full understanding as well.  I am happy to assist in any way I can.”

As she waited for Dr. Rez to take the sample, Hathev returned to her observations.  The Vulcan had not had much interaction with Amelya Rez up until now but it did not take someone to have known the doctor for an extended period of time to sense her distraction.  Hathev did not distrust the doctor nor did she question the Trill’s competence.  Yet, something seemed off about her.

“How have you been, Doctor?  Are you well given the stress of the mission?”

It was more direct than she had intended and as such, she ran the risk of pushing the trill into a corner and causing her to turn defensive if there was something distracting her.

Odd, Hathev realized.  Years ago she might not have even considered how Rez would react on an emotional level.  She would have taken the most logical approach and carried it through to it’s natural resolution. 

Perhaps there was merit to this blend of emotion and logic that she needed to adopt.

Re: Day 15 [1500 hrs.] Remember

Reply #6
[ Lieutenant Amelya Rez | Main Sickbay | Recovery Ward | Deck 11 | Vector 2 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @P.C. Haring
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Once the approval had been given, Amy gingerly placed the end of the hypo against Hathev’s upper arm, watching the green substance pour into the vial with trepidation. She didn’t have any idea what answers she was going to find or on the other hand, not find. Jonah leaned up against the console that housed the device that would run her bloodwork for her, a grin on his face, foot tap-tap-tapping away on the standard issue starfeet carpet, holding his ground as she approached the console.

Briefly offering Hathev a small smile, she motioned with her eyes, facing away from the Vulcan for Jonah to move…and he was unyielding. Instead, she made a sort of…sidestep motion, though to observers whatever she was sidestepping was entirely non-existent. Perhaps just another of the odd doctors little quirks, perhaps not. In any case, she inserted the device into the machine which sprang to life with a hum and a chirp of assent from the computer. She sauntered back over to Hathev, and sat on the edge of the biobed as she waited for the bloodwork.

“It’ll take about ten minutes.” She said, ignoring Hathev’s question for a moment. Her eyes popped up to make contact with the Vulcans own, but instantly hopped back to a figure looming behind the Counselor, one that wasn’t even there besides in Amy’s own shattered psyche. She forced herself to don a smile, one she’d practiced countless times with her patients, and did her best to cover her own discomfort, again…something she’d done countless times when having to give patients or their families the worst news, or when treating an embarrassing ailment.

“I’m-” She thought for a moment before nodding, mostly to herself as if telling herself ‘its okay’. “Still adjusting to a symbiote. I never in a thousand years would have thought that I’d end up with one, but…” Circumstances hadn’t allowed for it to be anyone else, and her poor symbiote had been moved from person to person at breakneck pace over the past months. Maybe that’s what was wrong with it…did it need more time? Or had it been irreparable damaged at some point, during some transfer.

Jonah shrugged, being privy to every thought that ran through her head as he walked towards Amy, and stood behind her, towering over her as he placed a hand on her shoulder. Was he trying to comfort her, or intimidate her into saying no more? Either way, she visibly tensed up, eyes darting to the computer to check the progress of the test, and plotting her escape from the phantom that tormented her.

Re: Day 15 [1500 hrs.] Remember

Reply #7
[ Lt. Cmdr. Hathev | Main Sickbay | Recovery Ward | Deck 11 | Vector 2 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @BipSpoon‍ 

Although she sat still as Dr. Rez ran her tests, Hathev never stopped observing.  That was her nature both as a Vulcan and as a counselor.  It struck her that she had been considering this aspect of herself more than usual lately.  Ever since her brief shore leave with Cross, she seemed to be both more at peace with herself and more cognoscente of her own patterns.  Yet, it would not take a practice observer to see that something was not right with Amelya Rez.  She kept looking away, focusing her attention on empty spaces.  She made an odd side step as if trying to move around something in her way when nothing blocked her path.  Finally, as she was taking her scans of Hathev, her body tensed for no apparent or logical reason.

The Vulcan was no physician, of course, but she wondered if there had been something in the joining of Amelya to the Rez symbiont that was causing this.  The Trill had just confirmed that she was unprepared for the joining.  From what Hathev knew of the process, candidates underwent a rigorous, years long screening, testing, and evaluative process before even being considered for symbiosis. 

“How has that process been, Doctor?  May I ask what adjustments you find yourself going through?”

If she were human, one might say she was ‘fishing’.  It would be a more or less accurate assessment.  Hathev sensed something was wrong, but could not identify it.  By asking these probing questions, she hoped to elicit her patient into revealing something she could use to uncover the source of a potential problem.  With that information in hand she would then be better equipped to determine whether or not Dr. Rez herself needed direct assistance.

“As I understand it, you did not receive the training or conditioning often required of Trill before they are joined.  Is that correct?”

Re: Day 15 [1500 hrs.] Remember

Reply #8
[ Lieutenant Amelya Rez | Main Sickbay | Recovery Ward | Deck 11 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @P.C. Haring
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Amy cleared her throat, and moved away from the monitor, and from Jona. He could feel her every thought and impulse, and she could feel his. Their thoughts, wishes, and desires tangled up like a disorganized web of christmas lights. When he wanted to scratch his face, she felt the urge to scratch her own. Usually she just ignored that urge, but sometimes she didn’t even realize it when she was doing something that she may not usually do. The screen still ran through page after page as the test went through the various protocols that Amy had input, anything she could think of trying to figure out what exactly she was looking at in Hathevs file.

Jona was of no assistance, though Amy tried to focus for a minute, to see if she could remember anything from her past hosts that could help but when she took that dive into the sea of memories she knew she possessed but the waters were too dark, she couldn’t quite grasp the thoughts like she should be able to, instead only bits and pieces presenting themselves at times, as though it were things she was being shown, instead of her digging into her memories. Were her other hosts like Jona…or was it just him?

She turned her head towards Hathev, and for a minute, thought of a deflection but…instead, she answered, “It’s been hard. It’s honestly not really what I expected and…well, I just thought I’d feel different but I don’t.” That was a lie, a white lie, but she certainly did feel different, “Having thoughts and memories that aren’t my own is…strange, and I know the integration can sometimes be harder for some than others.” She stopped, unsure if she felt comfortable sharing more. She couldn’t let down her crewmates, and she knew full well what she was experiencing was strange…but she didn’t want to risk getting pulled off duty. There was simply too much to do, too many sick people to care for, and most of all…people relied on her. She wasn’t going to let them down, for all she knew this was a failing of her own mind and not the symbiote, whatever her subconscious told her contrary to that.

Slowly, she shook her head, “No. I never thought I’d even get one, truthfully I was happy with just being Amelya but…I was there, and it was either me or nobody.” She was glad she did it, certainly, but it had been a much harder experience than she’d expected and deep in her soul she felt like her identity was being slowly chipped away and remolded with…something else.

The monitor chirped and amy frowned, heading over to it, “It still detects an anomaly so…not an equipment failure.” She pursed her lips, “Okay then…” She bit the inside of her cheek as she scoured her mind for ideas. She stood up straight as a thought struck her, and she ran the test through a different variance filter, this time a different sound escaped the computer, locating where the anomaly was at the very least, and…it was in her DNA. A sequence of basepairs that shouldn’t have been there, but it was something she’d never seen. Her brows furrowed, “My turn for some questions I guess…do you feel…normal? Anything of note that might answer what this could be would help, it’ll help me narrow things down.”

 

Re: Day 15 [1500 hrs.] Remember

Reply #9
[ Lt. Cmdr. Hathev | Main Sickbay | Recovery Ward | Deck 11 | Vector 2 | USS Theurgy ] Attn:  @BipSpoon

Hathev saw the lie as much as she sensed the hesitation on Dr Rez’s part.  Most humanoid species were a proverbial open book of behavioral and physiological cues that if read and properly interpreted revealed the true nature of one’s sense, even if that person did not consciously know it themselves.    The Trills pupils had dilated when she said she did not feel different.  Her respiratory rate had increased almost imperceptibly, and her pheromone response had altered as well.

In all, it was not enough to indicate that the Trill was lying, but certainly enough to indicate she was holding something back and both logic and her professional instincts told her to continue to probe, but to do so carefully.  So, she waited and allowed Doctor Rez to continue her answer.  However, before Hathev could continue, Rez posed a question of her own and asked Hathev how she felt.

“Curious that you would ask that question, Doctor.  Physically speaking, I am experiencing nothing that would be considered out of the ordinary, though the muscles in my arms are sore from my morning swim.  Physiologically, I am not necessarily able to answer that question and I assume that your scans of me would provide a more accurate answer than I could.”

The Counselor was content to leave it at that, and exclude the emotional self that had started to wake within her.  It was not something for outsiders to know.  Yet, logic dictated that if she wanted to earn Dr. Rez’s trust enough to learn what she was concealing, that Hathev herself, might also need to show some trust as well.

“That being said, Doctor.  And it is my wish that you keep what I am about to tell you confidential, I have recently discovered I am having difficulty keeping my emotional responses suppressed.  Despite my own training and discipline I have begun to exhibit emotional displays.  While these moments are generally mild and I have had some…much… help in learning how to process what it is that I feel, it is still a disconcerting thing to be sure.”

There it was.  She had made the report and while it was not necessarily the most closely guarded secret on board ship, if Doctor Rez felt that her current state prevented her from doing her duty, Hathev had no doubt that the logical and most practical outcome would be that she would be relieved of her duties.

And as that concern came to her, Hathev started to wonder if whatever it was Doctor Rez was keeping to herself elicited the same concerns for the Trill.

 
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