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Day 03 [1000 hrs.] The Leaves Due to Fall

[ Lahkesis Saugn | Brig | Deck 7 | USS Theurgy] attn: @Doc M.
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Due to the recent viral outbreak and the tension aboard the ship a medical check of those being held in the ship's brig was ordered and while this task would normally go to a lower ranking medical aide or nurse, Lahkesis had volunteered to do it. She did this partially to get some time outside of sickbay, the environment there was not the same given some of the recent goings on, and because some part of her wanted to see her friend, or at least the woman she had considered her friend.

Entering the brig area required that she first check in with the guard on duty. Given that she was a qualified member of the medical team on official duty she was allowed in with little concern, though she was told to be on her tones, with the recent uprising of the fanatics obsessed with Morali some of the prisoners were more than a little aggressive. But Lahkesis had not forgotten her own encounter with several of the fanatics and how they would have raped and murdered her if Sithick had not intervened.

Once in the main area she moved from cell to cell, doing a deep tissue scan with her medical tricorder to check for any abnormalities, really anything out of the normal. She took her time, though she could not help glance at one particular cell, the cell that held Doctor Maya. She had already decided to do that one last, thinking she would be more likely to be able to have a conversation under the pretext of doing a deeper scan. She had even gone so far as to bring a bring a more advanced scanner, which she carried in a case that hung from her shoulder. She had been told to do the deep scan on all the prisoners, but that extra bit was mostly her own want to tell someone, someone she trusted, or at least had once trusted, about what had happened in her life recently.

SHe finished each prisoner in turn. Some simply glared at her, others said disgusting things, some seemed to simply ignore her. Finally she came upon Doctor Maya's cell. She began the scan as normal, pausing after a moment to look up and into the face of her friend. She was looking for something she wasn't sure was there.

Lahkesis wasn't sure how she felt, given what she had heard her friend had done. She had heard talk of medical misconduct and miss use of medicine, even the release of a prisoner. It all seemed so unlike her friend that she didn't know what was true, what was real about it.

She took a breath to steady herself and did her best to smile, though the smile did look more forced than natural. "Hello Doctor Maya, are you feeling well today?" she said, doing her best to sound pleasant.

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] The Leaves Due to Fall

Reply #1
[ Doctor  Maya | Brig | USS Theurgy ] Atten. @Absinthe, Any character in Security

Doctor Maya was sitting in a lotus position on a small pillow that had been placed in her cell.  Her hands were held out before her in the ten o’clock and two o’clock positions, the tips of her long fingers touching her thumbs.  Her eyes were shut but Lahkesis could see the movement under the Vulcan’s eyelids.  Finally she blinked twice, opened her eyes, and rose to her feet in an eerily fluid motion. 

For most observers the little Vulcan’s jerky, yet fluid were unsettling, running into what psychiatrists on prewarp Earth called the “Uncanny Valley,” but for Lahkesis, Maya’s actions were perfectly explainable.  Two and a half centuries ago, before medication and therapy controlled the malady known as “Ponn Farr”, or “the blood madness” also known as the “time of mating” there was a need for sex therapists for unmarried Vulcans.  A Vulcan in blood madness choses his or her mate via a combination of psychic and biological factors, which was why it was common for betrothals to be conducted at an early age to insure that when the blood madness occurred during adulthood the two Vulcans would naturally choose each other over everyone else.   Nevertheless, every seven years unmarried Vulcans found themselves in dire need of a specially trained sex therapist euphemistically called a “medical facilitator.”

During Vulcan’s 19th century (Earth’s 22nd century) medical facilitators were specially chosen from young people who exhibited a high psi score during mandatory testing.  These individuals were trained telepathically contact their patients suffering from the mating urge and temporarily become their ideal mate.  Afterwards, it was necessary for the facilitator to purge themselves from any psychic residue left behind in their consciousness to erase foreign emotions and memories and the trauma of contacting mental contact with patients at their most passionate and irrational.  

Maya had the ability to compartmentalize her mind and purse her psyche of foreign influence.  It was as if her brain was a computer system that would erect firewalls and run antivirus software.  There was no guarantee that her mental disciplines could eliminate a foreign influence but unlike most people aboard the Theurgy at least she had options.

Lahkesis couldn’t know how long Maya had been in the kash-sok’i trance, but without any distractions in that Spartan cell, it wasn’t like the little Vulcan had anything else to do. 

“Hello Lahkesis,” Maya replied in a dreamy voice as she widened her large hazel eyes, clasped her hands, and tilted her head to the left.  Maya believed that staring with wide open eyes let the person she was conversing with know that she was giving that person her undivided attention, but most people aboard came away with the impression that the greenblooded physician was either surprised or strange.  “How are you?  Are you taking your nutrients?  Getting enough ultraviolet radiation?  You are remembering to stay hydrated aren’t you?”



OOC:  Making the assumption that just as Earth numbers its centuries from the time of Christ, Vulcan numbers its centuries from the time of Surak.  Making a lot of other assumptions too, based on Ponn Farr related episodes involving Spock, Tuvok and T’pol.

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] The Leaves Due to Fall

Reply #2
[ Lahkesis Saugn | Brig | Deck 7 | USS Theurgy] attn: @Doc M.
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Though some of the rest of the crew was awkward about watching Maya when she moved to reacted to the world, for Lahkesis there was nothing really out of the ordinary about it. Lahkesis was aware of her own unique perceptions about some things. She saw things somewhat differently to the rest of the crew and seeing some things they might see as threatening or unnerving as not very threatening at all. But it should also be noted that Lahkesis herself was so firmly in what was called the "uncanny valley" in terms of her appearance, that she seemed almost unnatural to some. And perhaps she was in some way. She had been created through less than natural means and though from a distance she looked like a mammalian humanoid, she was in fact quite different to them.

"I am well," Lahkesis replied, her pale blue pupilless eyes gazing at her friend. She lowered her hand, unconsciously closing the tricorder and slipping it into the holster at her side. She wasn't sure how she should react, so she simply answered the line of questions in a simple and straightforward way. "My nutrient levels are within acceptable levels of variation. I have been using my solar lamps often. And I am well hydrated."

She paused for a moment as she considered herself.

"Are you well?" she asked, beginning her own line of questioning. Some part of her wanted to ask a million different questions and before she could restrain herself they spilled out of her. "Have they been treating you well here? Why is this happening? Are you providing you with nutrients and hydration? Why did you do it? Has their questioning been to intense?"

Very quickly she found herself trembling. Emotion was flooding into her. She had no clue how to handle it.

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] The Leaves Due to Fall

Reply #3
[ Doctor  Maya | Brig | USS Theurgy ] Atten. @Absinthe, Any character in Security

“Now Lahkesis, find your center,” Maya instructed in a quiet, soothing, calm, motherly tone as she raised an open hand and pointed her palm at the younger woman while being careful not to touch the force field that separated them.  “All will be well.  Relax and feel the air entering your pores.”  Due to the younger woman’s alien biology, the greenblooded physician had found a more accurate way to tell Lahkesis to focus on her breathing.  “I still cannot explain my actions.  I can only conclude that I was telepathically influenced by malevolent entities when I performed the actions that resulted in my confinement, but the situation does not appear to be as dire as I initially assumed.  After the first day, they stopped questioning me.  It is almost as if they had somehow become bored with me,” she commented dryly as she placed the fingertips of her hands together and curled and uncurled her long spidery fingers. 

“When I was first questioned, I was concerned that I was infected by the creatures that have taken over Starfleet, but after two days it appears that those concerns were unfounded.  I would assume that I am being kept under observation in order to determine if I will undergo the stages of possession, but so far I have seen no evidence of any such studies taking place.  I have not even been fitted with a neurocortical monitor.  I suppose that eventually I will be pscyhoanalyzed to determine if I should return to duty or be put in stasis.”

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] The Leaves Due to Fall

Reply #4
[ Lahkesis Saugn | Brig | Deck 7 | USS Theurgy] attn: @Doc M.
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Though the breath helped her relax significantly, Lahkesis did not feel at ease. The whole situation was beyond her. Her friend had done things so unlike anything she had known her friend capable of, and yet the answer seemed to convenient. Some evil force somewhere close was responsible. Lahkesis did not know what to believe. She thought she knew her friend. She thought she had known a lot of things.

With another breath Lahkesis did her best to steady herself, to say Maya had said, 'find her center.'

"Y-yeah, I think I have something about you seeing one of the counselors in my notes," she said awkwardly looking to her PADD. "I'm supposed to do a scan to ensure you are in good health."

For a moment Lahkesis shifted uncomfortably. Her mind was trying to deal with the situation at hand. There was so much about it that just left her lost and confused, grasping for answers.

Finally she came to a decision and planted her feet. She had to do this formally, doing it any other way made her feel even more awkward. She took a breath. "Maya, if I may be open with you for a second, I am unsure how recent events have changed our relationship. I am confused by all of this," she said simply. She knew enough to know the problem and she desperately just wanted her friend to explain that everything was ok, that they were still friends. That everything was going to be fine.

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] The Leaves Due to Fall

Reply #5
[ Doctor  Maya | Brig | USS Theurgy ] Atten. @Absinthe, Any character in Security

“As am I,” Maya replied as she glanced down and rubbed rubbed her long spidery fingers.  “I had assumed when I woke up that I was in the early stages of infestation, but now it appears that I will retain my identity after all,” the little Vulcan added as she tilted her head to the right instead of shrugging.  The greenblooded physician then narrowed her eyes and tilted her head to the left as she gazed through the invisible force field at the younger woman.  “I sense that was not the answer you were asking for,” she said as she leaned forward and placed her hands in front of her chest, palms together as she drummed her fingers against each other.  

“When you ask how recent events have changed our relationship, I must confess that is is a fair question.  Between the infestation and betrayal of Starfleet, the contagion we caught at Planet N9GA Majoris, the emotion warping effects of the Ishtar entity, and the psychological corruption that Commander T’Rena forced upon the us, the list of allegiance and ethical altering influences becomes very long indeed,” Maya admitted stoically as she stood up straight and clasped her hands before her.  “But rest assured, I am still the same woman who started on this star trek with you,” she assured her as she clasped her hands and tilted her head to the right.  “I am, and will always be, your friend,” she announced as she raised her right hand to press it against the invisible barrier between them. 

Rather than touching glass, the Vulcan’s hand touched the electrostatic force field that delivered a shock with a loud zapping noise causing Maya to blink and draw her hand back quickly.



OOC:  I must find a lighter shade of teal if Maya is going to have so much monologue! 

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] The Leaves Due to Fall

Reply #6
[ Lahkesis Saugn | Brig | Deck 7 | USS Theurgy] attn: @Doc M.
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For a moment Lahkesis said nothing. Her gaze drifted down to her hands and the scanner case she had set down next to herself. She was uncertain what to say, her own life in the past few days had taken some strange turns, but she wasn't sure if she should tell her friend about it. Part of her so wanted to tell, to reveal what had happened that morning and how she felt about it. She wanted to tell her friend what had happened, she simply did not know if she should.

She could not help but feel odd about speaking of her sex life in the open, in the brig, to someone behind the containment forcefield, yet...

"So much has happened since I last saw you. To me and I guess to you too. I only know what I've heard other people say about it. No one really tells me about that kind of thing," she admitted looking back up and into the face of her friend. "I wish I could tell you about what has happened. What has hanged in my life in these past few days. I just don't... I don't know. I am unsure how to say it or if I should."

She began to fidget, like a small nervous child. Lahkesis may have had the body and mind of a woman, but thanks to her life before she had joined Starfleet she had never learned many valuable social skills and coping mechanisms that others seemed to know so easily. She tended to come across as selfish at times because of it. It was really that she had very little experience in how to relate to others. She was an outsider. Sithick was an outsider too. Maybe that was why she felt so safe with him. 

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] The Leaves Due to Fall

Reply #7
[ Doctor  Maya | Brig | USS Theurgy ] Atten. @Absinthe, Any character in Security

“Why Lahkesis what has happened?” Maya replied while clasping her hands and tilting her head to the right.  Her large hazel eyes were wide open and staring at the younger woman, inclating that Lahkesis had Maya’s undivided attention even more than she did before.  “Lahkesis, you know you can tell me anything,” she continued in a calm soothing voice.  “I am aware of what has happened to me, but what has happened to you?  Did it have anything to do with the Devoted?” she added, using her head to indicate the cell across the hall directly in back of Lahkesis.  Behind the younger woman and in perfect view of Maya was a tall young man in a gold collared Starfleet uniform standing behind a force field in a cell that looked perfectly identical to the one that confined the little Vulcan.

“Hi,” Ensign Sean McGee nodded awkwardly.  “So, uh, I guess that stuff about Starfleet being taken over by sentient anaphasic parasites is all real after all?” he asked awkwardly.

“Ensign McGee is from the Resolve,” Maya explained serenely.  “He told me all about the Devoted.  Are they trying to hurt you t'hy'la?”

OOC: 

T'hy'la = Vulcan term for affection = dear, sweetie,

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] The Leaves Due to Fall

Reply #8
[ Lahkesis Saugn | Brig | Deck 7 | USS Theurgy] attn: @Doc M.
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For what could not be considered the first time Lahkesis wished they were alone. She spared a glance to the man in the cell behind her, unsure if she should speak to him or not. Was he one of the devoted? Was that why he was in a cell too? Or had he done something else? She didn't know and it was unlikely she was to be told.

"I was attacked, yes," she said after a moment. In the events that had followed the attack, the whirlwind of emotion and sensation of the past few days, she had almost forgotten it, but it came back to her and with her free hand she found herself touching the spot on her neck where she had been punched and where she had been opened up to allow her to breath. "I would have died as well, only I was rescued by a knight in scaled armor." Her gaze shifted for a moment, her mind drifting to that morning, to the feeling of being held in his arms and the feel of his leathery skin against her own.

She blinked and dragged herself back to the present. "I have done things now, with him. And I have spoken with a counselor of the memory and she has helped me a great deal. And I have wanted so to tell you all the things that have happened. I want to tell you how I feel and how I am now. So much has changed," she said and then hesitated. "Yet I am loathe to speak openly here." She glanced around, noting the other prisoners, some of whom were now looking at her with eyes that did nothing to comfort her.

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] The Leaves Due to Fall

Reply #9
[ Doctor  Maya | Brig | USS Theurgy ] Atten. @Absinthe, Any character in Security

“Your knight in scaled armor?” Maya repeated.  “Who is he and what have you done with him that concerns you so?”  She narrowed her eyes and peered over Lahkesis’ shoulder before pursing her lips in a somewhat stilted, exaggerated style.  “One moment Lahkesis, allow me to secure us some privacy.”  She then spoke in louder tone.  “Mister McGee, would you please be so good as to turn your back and cover your ears for us?”

“Do I have to?” the incarcerated ensign whined petulantly.  “There’s so little to do in here, and I’m already out of the loop as it is.”

“Nevertheless, I must insist,” the greenblooded physician retorted.  “This is a delicate matter and your discretion is in doubt.”  When he seemed hesitant, Maya stepped sideways so that his view of her was unimpeded.  “If you are unwilling to comply, I should inform you that since I am likely to lose my medical license in any case, there is little to stop me from using my telepathic disciplines to condition you.”  She added as she raised her hands before her curled her long spidery fingers into a claw pattern.  “You have been subjected to a great deal of stress and are in dire need of counseling; I am certain that any preparatory procedure I can perform will greatly aid in the facilitation of your treatment…”

“All right!  All right!” McGee surrendered.  “I’ll do it; there’s no need to put the whammy on me.”  Sheepishly, he turned around and placed his hands over his ears.

“Thank you Ensign; it is gratifying that you are being so indulgent.  Your compliance is greatly appreciated,” the little Vulcan nodded serenely.  She then clasped her hands and returned her attention to the woman in front of her.  “Now Lahkesis, you were saying?”



OOC: Whether or not Maya could really affect Ensign McGee's mind from a distance the way Spock did in the TOS episode A Taste of Armageddon remains to be seen.  Could Maya actually do it?  Although Vulcans never bluff, they do have some of the best poker faces in the galaxy.

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] The Leaves Due to Fall

Reply #10
[ Lahkesis Saugn | Brig | Deck 7 | USS Theurgy] attn: @Doc M.
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Perhaps it was the simple gesture of pointing out that he could be listening in on them at all, but whatever it was, Lahkesis found herself suddenly self conscious. She shifted her weight from one foot to another, running her tongue against the inside surface of her teeth.

"Erm... Petty Officer 2nd Class Sithick..." She explained awkwardly. "Three of the men disabled me, one punched me hard enough in the throat to cause the fibrous tissue to begin to harden. The EMH performed an emergency tracheotomy in order to keep my airway open." She could not quite make eye contact as she spoke, instead her gaze would dart up for a moment and then back to the floor. She did not know exactly why, but she felt nervous, as if she were confessing some secret sin to a parental figure. "Afterward we spent time together. After I met a couple of time with the counselor... Well... we engaged in sexual activity in the steam room of the gym."

She stopped there, unsure if she should explain more than that or not. She could feel her pulse pounding in her ears and she did her best to just breath. She felt nervous, like she was awaiting judgment of some kind. Yet she could not explain why. In some ways Maya had always filled some sort of maternal role in her life, and now she feared some judgment because of that.

"It was... more intense than I would have expected. He didn't force me to do anything... or anything like that..."

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] The Leaves Due to Fall

Reply #11
[ Doctor  Maya | Brig | USS Theurgy ] Atten. @Absinthe, Any character in Security

“Was Sithick one of the three men who attacked you?” Maya interrupted with a blank catlike expression on her face.  The fingertips of her oversized hands were pressed together and her elbows were placed at right angles to her body.  “No that does not make sense,” she decided as she narrowed her eyes and lowered her hands to curl her fingers around each other, so that each hand formed a hook that fit snuggly into the other.  It took less than a moment for the little Vulcan to have an epiphany.  “Ah.  Sithick.  He was your knight in scaled armor.  He rescued you from the three men.  I see.  Your narrative makes more sense now.”  Maya seemed more casual and animated that she had been when Lahkesis had been struggling to relate her recent experiences.  She seemed uncannily comfortable for someone confined to a cell. 

Maya’s next words seemed comfortable and conversational, but like any Vulcan she could not completely avoid being analytical.  “When one considers it, you are the ideal person to share intimacies with him.  You are one of the few people aboard who does not have an instinctive fear of such a large powerful carnivore.”  To the little Vulcan, it was difficult to imagine who else would volunteer to be the Gorn’s willing partner.  Lahkesis’ nearly unique biology shared more in common with plants than animals.  Who else wouldn’t have an instinctive phobia of a meat eating creature with sharp teeth, a scaly hide, and deadly claws?  Nearly anyone else’s innately fixed pattern of behavioral response to such stimuli would spoil any attempts at intimacy, but biologically Lahkesis had as much to fear from Sithick as a fir tree had to fear from a mountain lion.  “So how was it, t'hy'la?  Was it as invigorating and fulfilling as you hoped it would be, or did you find the experience violating and shameful?” she asked pleasantly. 

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] The Leaves Due to Fall

Reply #12
[ Lahkesis Saugn | Brig | Deck 7 | USS Theurgy] attn: @Doc M.
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She had been sloppy with her words and there had been confusion, for a moment Lahkesis was unsure if she should explain in more detail, her face showed her momentary panic. But as Maya quickly figured it out, Lahkesis sighed in relief. "Yes, Mr. Sithick was the one who came to my rescue, he... killed the three who had attacked me," she said, pausing when she came to the grisly detail about the fate of her attackers. "And then he acted to save my life. If he had not been there... I would have... would have..."

She trailed off as images of the men flooded into her mind. The way they had looked at her, the way they had touched her, the feeling of their hands on her body. She closed her eyes and looked away. She could feel her pulse pounding in her ears. She suddenly wanted to run away, the feeling from that moment flooding back into her. But she swallowed it back. She tried to remind herself she was safe, that she was in no danger.

Though her breath shook she managed to regain control, to bring herself back from the memory. She instead focused on her feelings for Sithick. On his touch on her body. On the way he looked at her.

"When i am with Sithick I feel safe. As I feel safe when I am with you, only I feel differently toward him," she tried to explain, opening her eyes and focusing her pupilless blue eyes on the small Vulcan doctor once more. "When he holds me close I feel as if the rest of the universe fades away and I could exist in a single moment, in a single place with just him. I don't know how to explain it. The books I read, the novels I showed you before, they have mentioned feelings like this, yet i did not expect it to feel so..."

She paused and considered her next words. "It took over everything. There was nothing else that I even cared about in that moment. All I wanted was for that moment to continue. And now that it is over I feel as if I am simply waiting for the next time I may have another such moment. As if the parts of my life in-between are somehow less important to me," she explained, sounding as if she were slightly concerned by this realization.

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] The Leaves Due to Fall

Reply #13
[ Doctor  Maya | Brig | USS Theurgy ] Atten. @Absinthe, Any character in Security

“That is wonderful news, t'hy'la, I’m happy for you,” Maya replied before pausing to grimace strangely at her young counterpart.  After a moment or two of effort, a strange artificial smile was on Maya’s face before she thankfully abandoned it to resume speaking.  “You are very fortunate Lahkesis.  I am glad that you found something real.  I’m sure that Mister Sithick is a credit to the fleet and I look forward to meeting him.”

As far as Lahkesis knew, Maya had not met anyone with whom she had shared a relationship like she and Sithick did.  Maya’s facilitator training caused her to place her partner’s needs before her own, empathically becoming her paramour’s ideal partner.  This made every physical coupling a sacrifice as Maya was always meeting someone else’s needs instead of her own.  As a matter of fact; she had even temporarily changed her needs to suit that of her partner.  Never once had Maya been sexually satisfied as herself.

If this bothered the greenblooded physician, Doctor Maya didn’t show it.  Instead she seemed to be going straight into ‘nosy parent mode’ asking questions.  “So… tell me about him.  What is he like?  What position does he serve onboard the ship?  In your assessment, would you conclude that he is officer material?”

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] The Leaves Due to Fall

Reply #14
[ Lahkesis Saugn | Brig | Deck 7 | USS Theurgy] attn: @Doc M.
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“I don’t know where to begin with him. He seems to see himself as some monster, yet since I left the facility I have met hardly anyone so gentle and kind as him. He protected me from those men without asking anything of me. He simply saw my need and defended me. And then when I was afraid and damaged from the memories still inside me, he held me close. When I could not cope with the situation he only blamed himself, never me,” she explained softly as she closed the gap between herself and the forcefield and thus the gap between her and Maya. “I think others see him as more monstrous only because of his appearance, because of some inbuilt fear response I lack. I am a plant, I think I may be more afraid of a descendant of a biological herbivore than one who is clearly the descendant of a biological predator and carnivore.”

“He is an engineer, at least I am pretty sure he is. We have not spoken much of our jobs. He knows I am a Doctor as I have given him medical aid for a very bad burn her got. But I have not inquired much into his duties,” she replied when asked about him on a more professional standing. “As of his position as an officer, I would say I am not qualified to make much of an assessment beyond simply my own observations and what I have seen of him off duty. And I would hardly say that gives me much to go off of. But he is gentle and he is kind, both are good, but both can be used and abused by some.”

She paused, thinking of him made her feel warm inside, as if she could glow. In truth it did make the color in her hair seem to increase in saturation and brightness, not giving off light, but looking more vividly colored and shiny, like a flower in full bloom, even if she was not.

“He has a good personality, or as some would say a good heart or maybe soul. But he seems so used to being tread upon,” she went on sadly. “I want to take care of him. I want to tend to him. Like a fragile plant needs good soil I want to be the soil he can thrive in.”

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] The Leaves Due to Fall

Reply #15
[ Doctor  Maya | Brig | USS Theurgy ] Atten. @Absinthe, Any character in Security

“On reflection, it may be that all three of us have become accustomed to being tread on,” Maya observed thoughtfully.  “Normally I would be adverse to initiating what may be a codependent relationship but in this case I think that it may be beneficial to you both,” she decided.  “Perhaps in the process of encouraging him to build himself up, you may be able to build yourself up as well.  It can be difficult to find the objectivity to solve our own problems when we are too close to them, but when addressing the difficulties of another the solution becomes obvious.” 

She paused and narrowed her eyes as she came to a decision.  “I must confess that in other circumstances I would not normally counsel the rushing into such a relationship,” the little Vulcan admitted.  “Nevertheless, all things considered it would be senseless to ‘play it safe’ under the present conditions,” she commented dryly as she made ‘air quotes’.  “It is illogical to concern ourselves with long term ramifications when we don’t know when this voyage will come to an end.  Feel free to follow your passion to whatever destination it will take you.  Life is too short to choose the safe course and not take risks.  You owe it to yourself and your paramour to try something new.”

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] The Leaves Due to Fall

Reply #16
[ Lahkesis Saugn | Brig | Deck 7 | USS Theurgy] attn: @Doc M.
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She could not deny the truth in Maya’s words, even if she wanted to do so. “I suppose you are right. I am just so unused to all of this sort of stuff. I find myself second guessing a lot. I don’t know what to do or how to act and I worry I might make a mistake or hurt him in some way. And I think he feels the same way,” she explained softly. “We are both just feeling our way through this and it is complicated... and messy...” She smiled as she recalled the degree of mess the morning sexual encounter had left her in, cleaning up the smeared on fluids from both of them. The act of cleaning herself afterward had been in someway sensual and now as she remembered it she could not help but feel more sexually alive than she had felt before.

I guess i have never put much thought into anything very long term. Given I know very little about my own life cycle or the complexities of my biology beyond what the non-invasive scans can show,” she replied thoughtfully. “I do not know how long I had before I joined the crew of the Theurgy, much less how long I have now. I can only do what I think I should, what feels right to do.” She paused and looked up at her friend. “I am uncertain if that is a good thing or a bad thing. I have never been taught to plan for my own future. Indeed most of my medical training has been in taking care of what is right in front of me. So that is how I handle almost everything. I deal with the here and the now.

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] The Leaves Due to Fall

Reply #17
[ Doctor  Maya | Brig | USS Theurgy ] Atten. @Absinthe, Any character in Security

The prisoner’s eyes narrowed and she tilted her had ever so slightly to the left.  Lahkesis’ story sounded familiar.  Vulcan was a different world during Maya’s childhood than the planet Vulcan of the present day.  Back in those days, Maya’s future had been planned for her.  Would she had even entered the field of medicine if it weren’t for the quirk of both genetics and fate that had granted her such a high psi rating and the temperament that allowed her to compartmentalize her mind like a computer?  Like Lahkesis she had simply taken care of what was right in front of her.  It wasn’t until she had volunteered for the Interspecies Medical Exchange did she have a chance to leave her people and discover that there were other ways to live one’s life.  Even now, after all this time, was Maya still dealing with the here and now instead of planning for her future?

That concern was almost immediately compartmentalized, filed away in her Vulcan brain until she could meditate on it.  At the present time, focusing on the here and now was all most of the officers and crew aboard the Theurgy could do.  It was wasteful to concern oneself with a future that nobody aboard was likely to survive long enough to face.   Even though it went against her people’s doctrine, it was time to face the facts that now was the time to live because even if the Theurgy’s mission was successful it was highly probable that all aboard would die.  

This wasn’t about Maya; it was about Lahkesis.  The girl was taking a big step in her life and was looking to Maya for comfort and guidance. 

“Currently the present is all we can realistically concern ourselves with,” Maya replied gently before quoting one of Earth’s 21st century poets.   “We must spread our branches and soak in the sun while the days are long and the rain still nurtures us.  Now is the time to bloom and allow the industrious worker in gold and black to share in the joy of pollination.  We do not know when it is time for the flowers to wither, but the changing colors are attire of the leaves due to fall.”



OOC:  Is this a good place to end the thread?

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] The Leaves Due to Fall

Reply #18
[ Lahkesis Saugn | Brig | Deck 7 | USS Theurgy] attn: @Doc M.
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“Quite poetic,” Lahkesis observed thoughtfully. She noted the choice of words, specifically in reference to the behavior of plants within seasonal cycles. Being that she was normally isolated from the elements she experienced no seasonal cycle and had no reason to believe she had one, however given the poetic nature of the comment she guessed it was meant more metaphorical than literal. “Then we grow when we can, because we do not know when such opportunities will be denied us. We grow leaves today because tomorrow they may be due to fall.”

The idea was interesting to her, though she was uncertain how to use it or how using it would even change anything. If anything it seemed to tell her to not hold herself back, to risk her heart and her emotions because she might lose the opportunities she had, especially if she held off too long. Thus she should take advantage of her feelings and her connection with Sithick while she could, because there was no guarantee for the future, if there was any future at all.

She blinked and looked to the chronometer built into the tricorder, she was already running slightly behind schedule.

“I fear I cannot linger any longer, my friend,” she said softly as she picked up the scanner. “But I do not think a more detailed scan is needed. Based off of the reports parasitic infestation has numerous psychological effects and you do not seem to be exhibiting them, at least none that I have noticed. I think my base level scan of your brainwaves will prove that should any care to analyze them. I will notify the counseling department and submit my report.”

She held up her hand, wishing so deeply she could reach out and touch her friend, but knowing that was not possible.

“Be well my friend,” she said sadly and turned to leave the brig.

~Fin

 
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