PNPC Provisional Crewman Vhysa'lia - Perhaps I Should Stock Up On Apples...
Lich
(( Counselor’s Office – Deck 7, USS Artemis-A ))
One thing that she loved about the Federation and Starfleet, despite how tense their initial meeting with her people might have been, was their unbounded curiosity. Curiosity and openness were the keys to relieving people of their fears, and maybe allowing the good doctor the chance to ask what was on her mind might make her a bit less on edge.
Vhysa’lia: ::nodding, smiling with a light twinkle in her eye:: Now that we’ve squared away everything regarding my duty… Is there anything I can elaborate on for you? Any questions you have for me ::pause:: or about me?
Maybe that wasn’t the right thing to ask, as the good doctor immediately seemed to freeze up. They waited for a few seconds, as various questions probably filtered through her mind. What would she ask? Hopefully something interesting…
Sadar: Oh, uhh- ::shifts uncomfortably in the chair:: N-Not particularly... Uhh- ::refers to the PADD before her:: D-Did you receive a physical check-up on the Kitty Hawk prior to boarding the Artemis?
Now it was Vhysa’lia’s turn to stare. Did she really have no interest in anything relating to their Kobali nature, or about what work they’d done in the past? Just… asking if she’d had a check-up?
They blinked back the confusion, steadying themself in their chair.
Vhysa’lia: No, no yet. ::awkward laugh:: The Kitty Hawk was… a bit preoccupied while I was there. I’m sure I’ll get around to it at some point soon…
She wasn’t really keen on getting a check-up, not from Starfleet. As far as Vhysa’lia was concerned, whoever they had been when they were alive was dead and they wanted nothing to do with her. An examination from Starfleet would obviously end with her kyn’steya rearing her ugly head and making her current life far more difficult.
So, until she could find a doctor on the ship that would swear not to tell her a thing about any non-Kobali DNA they might find in her (or report her kyn’steya’s identity up the chain of command)? Vhysa’lia was perfectly content to dodge any offers. Orders might be a bit harder, but with luck, by the time someone decided to order them to get a physical, they’d have found an ally in sickbay who’d not even think to poke at any residual DNA.
Sadar: I see. ::pause:: Your own duties take precedence, but it probably goes without saying that you need to be mindful of your own health as well. ::face grows grim:: You’re going to be very busy…
The hands carefully folded on their lap slowly interlaced themselves, repeatedly squeezing together then separating, as Dr. Sadar reminded them to be mindful of their health.
Vhysa’lia: Oh, I don’t doubt it. ::their smile becomes a bit strained:: I’m certain I can take care of myself though.
Sadar: A healthy work-life balance is mandatory, particularly for our counseling department in these coming weeks, so please keep that in mind. ::considers:: And while I know you’re here on a temporary basis, you are a member of the Medical Division on the Artemis for the duration, so please, make sure to utilize our facilities, both for recreation and for any research you might want to do.
All the medical research that they were working on had stayed back with the rest of the Kobali - Starfleet and the Federation were accepting, but maybe not of their work on more efficient reanimation pathogens. She’d just have to stick to chasing other curiosities while aboard the ship.
Vhysa’lia: ::nodding:: Thank you, I’ll certainly take you up on the offer… ::relaxing a bit again as she tries to shift the focus off of her health and back to Dr. Sadar:: What sort of research do you find yourself partaking in aboard the Artemis? It seems like a strange vessel to be aboard if your goal is medical research in particular?
Sadar: Response
It was always delightful to get to hear about the work that others were doing. Medicine was so different across alien cultures - she’d grown up with stories of the Vidiians and their frantic transplanting, as well as the coldly clinical Jye approach to triage and treatment (to name a few), but she knew little of what the field looked like in this quadrant.
Vhysa’lia: ::genuinely intrigued:: Interesting! If I can ask, what drew you to medicine? ::jokingly:: Someone cute in a class? ::laugh, then back to being a little more serious:: A childhood interest? Intellectual challenge? Something else?
There were other reasons that came to mind - influenced by what she’d seen and heard back home (plagues, phages, violent attacks from the Borg or the Undine or the Kazon) - but those seemed a bit presumptuous to bring up. It wouldn’t do to start off on a baseless accusation of some past trauma, whether it was personal or species-wide. If there was something along those lines that inspired her career in medicine, it was for Dr. Sadar to mention first.
Sadar: Response
There was something there under that deflection, Vhysa’lia was certain. Something to be uncovered later, when Dr. Sadar was more comfortable talking to her.
Vhysa’lia: Oh, me? ::they give a knowing smile, Dr. Sadar, you’re deflecting!:: It gives me something to give back to my community. It’s hard to wake up in someplace new, surrounded by aliens, after ::pausing, trying not to be morbid:: something quite physically traumatic in most cases. Medicine and counseling are two sides of the same chip in that regard - I liked approaching the patients I’ve had holistically to minimize distress.
Sadar: Response
Tags/TBC :)