LtJg Lera Michaels - Seven?
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steve...@yahoo.com
Jul 4, 2026, 1:16:12 PMJul 4
to USS Khitomer – StarBase 118 Star Trek PBEM RPG
((Corridor Outside Main Engineering, USS Khitomer))
Michaels: ::to Prix :: That will be ample time. :: beat :: I am in a ... relationship... with an unjoined Trill. Perhaps, if it is permitted, I would like to ask you a personal question or two. oO or several Oo :: beat :: How long have you been joined and has it always been like this with your symbiont?
Prix: Eight months… Give or take. ::beat:: And no, it has not always been like this, because eight months ago there was no “this”. There was just me. ::carrying the regulator with one hand and tapping two fingers against her sternum:: His name’s Corval. He is a former host. Freight mechanic. He never met a machine he did not want to open up…. or a silence he did not feel personally obligated to fill.
Lera wrinkled her forehead. The way she understood the Trill naming system worked Jenna was the first name of the unjoined Trill host and Prix was the name of symbiont. Who was Corval? Was not Jenna the host? Lera shook her head once. It was so confusing. The Academy class she had taken on Federation species felt so superficial. It had been little more than a high level survey course with little more than a single hour on any individual species. She glanced at Jenna as they walked.
Michaels: Just eight months. That would mean you became joined shortly after you left the academy. It must be a significant change in your life. I do not know if I could become accustomed to such a different way of living in so little time. ::she shook her head:: Two intelligences seeking control of one body.
Prix: The long-joined talk about their past hosts like a quiet council they can consult. Coval is more of a very enthusiastic backseat. And he gets excited at the acoustics and the smell. I never wanted to shout at you.
They arrived at the turbolift and the door opened as though it was expecting them. The two women stepped inside.
Michaels: I suspected as much. :: Lera turned slightly to Jenna. :: Shuttle Bay. It may be presumptuous of me to make an observation here but it appears your relationship with Corval is not what you expected.
Prix: I don’t think anyone can truly tell you what you sign up for if you decide to enter the program as a Trill. And I have to say I have grown wary of anyone who says they can. The loud part, however, is not the whole part. Most days he is the reason I am good at half of what I am good at. Today, he is also the reason I yelled. That’s sort of the arrangement… And he is only one of seven.
Michaels: Seven?
oO Incredible. How is this different than the human dissociative identity disorder? Multiple distinct personalities switching who has control? How could anyone live like that? Oo
There were so many questions to ask and so many of them felt like prying into someone's personal life. But Jenna was the only joined Trill Lera knew. She was the only one who could possibly tell her what it might be like if Ezra were to take on a symbiont. If only she knew Jenna better. If only they were closer friends; someone you could ask anything. Jenna was not that close a friend but still, perhaps, the right person to ask.
Lera was shaking her head as the turbolift door opened and they stepped into the shuttle bay. She hoped that the motion was so slight that Jenna would not notice the motion. Lera came to an abrupt stop as a thought occurred to her. Suddenly she understood what Jenna had been telling her. Jenna turned after a few steps.
Michaels: Corval is a previous host for the Prix symbiont. I knew that symbionts retained the memories of their previous hosts. Do they also carry their distinct personalities as well?
Prix: Response
Michaels: You have seven of them. And some of those personalities can :: a moment as Lera searched for an appropriate word :: surface to talk to you? Do they try to control your actions?
Prix: Response
Michaels: Interesting. :: a single shake of her head :: If we are going to finish our task with Ozark in the allotted we had best get started.
The repair task was, from Lera's perspective, simple enough. The only complication came from allowing Jenna to witness and participate enough so that she might be comfortable doing the task on her own. Open the access panel, confirm the correctness of the part, loosen six retaining bolts, detach the existing seals, confirm their reusability, remove the part, inspect for additional damage, and reverse the process using the new part after confirming the alignment.
Michaels: ::to Prix :: That will be ample time. :: beat :: I am in a ... relationship... with an unjoined Trill. Perhaps, if it is permitted, I would like to ask you a personal question or two. oO or several Oo :: beat :: How long have you been joined and has it always been like this with your symbiont?
Prix: Eight months… Give or take. ::beat:: And no, it has not always been like this, because eight months ago there was no “this”. There was just me. ::carrying the regulator with one hand and tapping two fingers against her sternum:: His name’s Corval. He is a former host. Freight mechanic. He never met a machine he did not want to open up…. or a silence he did not feel personally obligated to fill.
Lera wrinkled her forehead. The way she understood the Trill naming system worked Jenna was the first name of the unjoined Trill host and Prix was the name of symbiont. Who was Corval? Was not Jenna the host? Lera shook her head once. It was so confusing. The Academy class she had taken on Federation species felt so superficial. It had been little more than a high level survey course with little more than a single hour on any individual species. She glanced at Jenna as they walked.
Michaels: Just eight months. That would mean you became joined shortly after you left the academy. It must be a significant change in your life. I do not know if I could become accustomed to such a different way of living in so little time. ::she shook her head:: Two intelligences seeking control of one body.
Prix: The long-joined talk about their past hosts like a quiet council they can consult. Coval is more of a very enthusiastic backseat. And he gets excited at the acoustics and the smell. I never wanted to shout at you.
They arrived at the turbolift and the door opened as though it was expecting them. The two women stepped inside.
Michaels: I suspected as much. :: Lera turned slightly to Jenna. :: Shuttle Bay. It may be presumptuous of me to make an observation here but it appears your relationship with Corval is not what you expected.
Prix: I don’t think anyone can truly tell you what you sign up for if you decide to enter the program as a Trill. And I have to say I have grown wary of anyone who says they can. The loud part, however, is not the whole part. Most days he is the reason I am good at half of what I am good at. Today, he is also the reason I yelled. That’s sort of the arrangement… And he is only one of seven.
Michaels: Seven?
oO Incredible. How is this different than the human dissociative identity disorder? Multiple distinct personalities switching who has control? How could anyone live like that? Oo
There were so many questions to ask and so many of them felt like prying into someone's personal life. But Jenna was the only joined Trill Lera knew. She was the only one who could possibly tell her what it might be like if Ezra were to take on a symbiont. If only she knew Jenna better. If only they were closer friends; someone you could ask anything. Jenna was not that close a friend but still, perhaps, the right person to ask.
Lera was shaking her head as the turbolift door opened and they stepped into the shuttle bay. She hoped that the motion was so slight that Jenna would not notice the motion. Lera came to an abrupt stop as a thought occurred to her. Suddenly she understood what Jenna had been telling her. Jenna turned after a few steps.
Michaels: Corval is a previous host for the Prix symbiont. I knew that symbionts retained the memories of their previous hosts. Do they also carry their distinct personalities as well?
Prix: Response
Michaels: You have seven of them. And some of those personalities can :: a moment as Lera searched for an appropriate word :: surface to talk to you? Do they try to control your actions?
Prix: Response
Michaels: Interesting. :: a single shake of her head :: If we are going to finish our task with Ozark in the allotted we had best get started.
The repair task was, from Lera's perspective, simple enough. The only complication came from allowing Jenna to witness and participate enough so that she might be comfortable doing the task on her own. Open the access panel, confirm the correctness of the part, loosen six retaining bolts, detach the existing seals, confirm their reusability, remove the part, inspect for additional damage, and reverse the process using the new part after confirming the alignment.
The two women stood back and admired their own work.
Michaels: Well done, Jenna. :: Lera turned toward Jenna and for a moment debated silently. Lera decided not to address Corval directly. Still... :: There is a difference between the amount of time you estimate a task will take and the amount of time you tell others a task will take. :: beat :: If I can ask a very personal question and please feel free to refuse to answer :: beat :: Did joining and acquiring the seven change your relationships with others?
Prix: Response
Tags/TBC
——— ○● ———
LtJg Lera Michaels
Engineering Officer
USS Khitomer
K240106LM2
Michaels: Well done, Jenna. :: Lera turned toward Jenna and for a moment debated silently. Lera decided not to address Corval directly. Still... :: There is a difference between the amount of time you estimate a task will take and the amount of time you tell others a task will take. :: beat :: If I can ask a very personal question and please feel free to refuse to answer :: beat :: Did joining and acquiring the seven change your relationships with others?
Prix: Response
Tags/TBC
——— ○● ———
LtJg Lera Michaels
Engineering Officer
USS Khitomer
K240106LM2
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