Backsim - JP Lt Skyfire + Cadet Tan: We Have A Problem
Chythar Skyfire
(( Location: Sickbay, USS Garuda ))
:: Sometimes you had a bit of good luck. ::
:: Safine Tan ran her hand along the long term stasis chamber. It held Alleran Mapak, formerly Alleran Tan. It held a body some part of her had been for the better part of a decade. ::
:: Chythar had performed a total of one Trill symbiont insertion operation into a host, and one extraction from a host. For what it was worth, he thought he did alright as Safine was still walking around and talking. His recollection of the events surrounding that caused him to suppress a shudder as he re-entered the Sickbay where he normally felt so comfortable. Maybe it was the nature of the surgery he was about to perform that made him nervous. He glanced at the stasis tube that held the body of his friend, Alleran, then at the woman who stood before him: Safine. He didn’t like her, she didn’t like him, it was a mutual feeling. ::
:: Safine didn’t like Chythar. Alleran had. It was unclear to her why she felt this way. She didn’t automatically hate everyone her previous host had liked -- Mikali sh’Shar was a testament to that -- and now he was dead, she should form her own opinion. ::
:: Probably. ::
Alleran: oO Hey, I’m not dead yet. Oo
Tan: oO Yes you are. Oo
:: Tan pulled herself out of the past and into the present. She had work to do. ::
Tan: So, doctor.
:: As he prepared the hypospray to put her under, he nodded faintly. . ::
Skyfire: Ready when you are. :: Stepping closer to her. ::
:: She held up her hand to stop him. ::
Tan: I meant about me, actually. ::she shivered:: Going to be honest, looking at Mr. Popsicle here kind of creeps me out.
Skyfire: Like watching yourself through the eyes of another, you mean?
:: A wry smile found its way to her face. ::
Tan: Something like that. But also not. He’s me, but he’s not me. It’s like...
:: She tried to find a good way to explain it. ::
Tan: You know when you have a dream, and in that dream you’re, say, Federation President. It feels normal for you to be that person; in the dream you don’t know any better. You think that way, act that way, and to all the galaxy everything’s normal.
:: CD never had dreams like the type she described, but perhaps she did have a point. Maybe this was Alleran’s version of waking up. He hoped. ::
Skyfire: Not sure I know, but I’ll take your word for it.
Tan: ::muttering to herself:: Eventually you gotta wake up. ::louder:: Kind of ironic, given the hypospray.
Skyfire: Truth. Ready?
:: She tilted her head back. ::
Tan: Dope me, doc. Let’s get this damn thing over with.
:: Chythar retrieved a tricorder and proceeded to scan her, silently praying he wouldn’t accidentally kill his friend in the process. This was still new territory to him, and he was not looking forward to the aftermath of what would happen to Safine. Then his brows furrowed in confusion as the tricorder beeped furiously. ::
Skyfire: I think we have a problem.
:: Well, “this might kill you” was already a pretty big problem. Beeping tricorders, though, were something else. ::
Tan: What do you mean?
Skyfire: The blocker I gave you some months ago when I performed the insertion failed. If memory serves me from my Trill physiology lessons, that means the memories have fully integrated with yours.
:: Well, that didn’t sound good. ::
Tan: So...
:: She took a deep breath. ::
Tan: What you’re telling me is, it’s too late to transfer it?
:: The grim line that threatened to form across his face didn’t, and he managed to revert his brows to normal configuration of neutrality. He wasn’t ready to admit a defeat on any front, but by the same token wasn’t ready to give her the smug satisfaction of watching him despair at not being able to save Alleran. He missed his friend, and allowed his gaze to wander to the stasis chamber. ::
Skyfire: Unless you experience a sybmionic rejection, yes. ~ I’m sorry, Alleran. ~
:: Well, she wanted to say that this was terrible news. That the death of a living creature, especially one that was, apparently, so close to her, was a horrible tragedy and that she’d do anything to prevent it. ::
:: She wanted to, but, you know... ::
Tan: You did your best.
:: Tan sat up, closing her eyes a moment. So close to losing the symbiont. So close to having her new found strength stripped away. ::
:: So close to being nobody again. ::
:: The smug grin that formed on her face as she sat up was not one that Chythar felt like returning. He turned his gaze away from the chamber and back to his not-patient. ::
Alleran: ~ Yeah, well, maybe you’ll get your chance. ~
Skyfire: To be honest, I didn’t do anything.
:: That wasn’t admitting defeat, it was an admission of fact. He was admitting that in the course of the preparations there was nothing he could do. It bothered him, but he wasn’t about to let it show through. ::
Tan: So I’m guessing I’m free to go?
Skyfire: Yes. :: He paused. :: What should I do with Alleran’s body?
Tan: Eh. Keep it in stasis for now. Ship the body back to Trill, or to Starbase 118 if you want. Whatever you think is the most respectful. Probably Trill; the doctors there are going to want to find out what caused this whole mess. Probably.
:: He nodded faintly and picked up the PADD, signing off on the discharge papers to release her from sickbay. There was nothing else he could do here at the moment. ::
Skyfire: You’re free to go. I’ll...I’ll make the arrangements.
:: Safine nodded politely, slid off the biobed, and then made her way out of sickbay. She made sure to keep her wide, growing smile hidden until she was well back in her quarters, alone, and then -- and only then -- did she allow herself a wide, happy, triumphant smile. ::
:: Sometimes, you had a lot of good luck. ::
:: Chythar ran his hand over the stasis chamber and the currently comatose form of his friend. He knew Alleran could still hear him, so was reluctant to send the body to Trill. Sometimes, medicines failed. Sending him to the starbase seemed like the best course of action. ::
Skyfire: ~I miss you, old man..~
:: Whatever part of Alleran’s mind that was in stasis, the part of him that was Mapak, was locked in an empty void. It was a white nothingness; a forgotten dream, a passing moment, gossamer and ethereal. ::
:: But he missed Skyfire too. ::
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Lieutenant Commander Chythar Skyfire
First Officer
USS Gorkon, NCC-82293
History Team Co-Facilitator
Medical Duty Post Facilitator
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Ensign Safine Tan
Security/Tactical Officer
USS Gorkon
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