[DSX] Lieutenants Pouge Romey & Ari Kinan, "The final decision."

[Deliera Jay]

((Medical Level, DSX))

Kinan: Why not get her to Trill?

Romey: Her levels are dropping - they've only *just* started to become dramatic. For us to get there in time, we would have to leave two days ago.

Kinan: Then *race her there*. This is a medical emergency, I'm absolutely positive that a ship with a capable warp factor would understand the situation and respond immediately.

Romey: We wouldn't get there in time. Look, Lieutenant . . . ::he sighed, leaning against the bench as his eyes drifted down to the floor.:: You're the most qualified person on this station to become the next host. You were involved with the commission.

Kinan: Not as an initiate! I was acting as a liaison officer between the USS Fox and the commission when the Fox was dealing with some sort of parasitic intelligence that our CMO got stuck on his symbiont which turned him into this freaky evil mind-controlled thing that tried taking over the ship.

::She was glad that the one Trill was greatly outnumbered by the rest of the Fox's staff - and that he had, thanks to a fresh-out-of-the-Academy ensign on his medical staff, managed to survive the situation.::

Romey: Why didn't they just call the commission directly?

Kinan: I was already there in a diplomatic position. That, and it was much nicer and less stressful talking to me.

::The Symbiosis Commission didn't really take kindly to the news that one of their symbionts had 'caught' a parasitic intelligence that was hell-bent on taking over the ship and (apparently) the Federation. Kinan spent around ten days on Trill, relaying what may have been vital information about the symbionts to the Fox . . . not to mention filtering out the abuse that several upset Trill had for the ship and its crew. Regardless, her being on Trill did little to assist the situation - while more information about the symbionts was useful, it didn't necessarily help with removing the parasite.::

::The doctor rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. He finally turned his gaze to the Lieutenant - a woman with long auburn hair, spots typical for that of a Trill (of which were an odd, almost orange colour) and liquid brown eyes. She was a small woman, several inches shorter than Romey - she must have been five foot, maybe five foot one?::

Romey: I wouldn't be asking if I had other options. But believe me, I have been searching for months - I've run *out* of options. She's not responding to treatment, and if I leave it any longer, damage may be done to the symbiont.

::That was a very big *maybe*. From what Kinan had heard, it was more likely that Venroe's host would just "shut down" and the symbiont would remain there for days, several weeks at most, before finally becoming lifeless - it was in *that* period where damage would be done to the symbiont, majority of it irreparable.

::It was up to her now. She crossed her own arms, eyes glancing around the room as if looking for possible ways to work around having to join with a symbiont like it was just sitting there in that office. It was daunting, the idea of sharing memories with others, being part of a chain, and the responsibility wasn't for everyone.::

Kinan: How many others?

Romey: Other than Akyra? Just one.

Kinan: Two previous hosts.

::She nodded to herself. There were symbionts in existence with more than twelve previous hosts - the Trill joined with them often struggled to come to terms with the past lives they'd experienced. With two previous hosts - including that of a rather young host - the life times Kinan was looking at experiencing seemed easy compared to what she'd witnessed several other Trill go through.::

Kinan: You've definitely run out of options?

Romey: You wouldn't be here if I hadn't.

::There was a pause, nothing but silence and the hum of medical instruments for several moments.::

Kinan: Okay, then. When do we do this?

::The doctor stood upright, arms still crossed.::

Romey: I'd like to perform the transfer tomorrow morning. It gives enough time for Akyra to settle, for you to make preparations.

::To that was it. Tonight was her last night as Ari Renya Kinan, the last night she'd have her memories to herself. She nodded her head once.::

Kinan: Send me the details. I'll be here then.

::And with that, Kinan turned away to go back to her quarters, to enjoy some finer things, call her parents, and most of all, to read up on Ethan and Akyra Venroe. For tomorrow, the two strangers would become her memories.::


Tbc . . .

Lieutenant Ari Kinan
Aide-de-camp (Gul Dahjul & Ketanya)
Deep Space 10