Cmdr. Alora DeVeau - "More Questions"
Amanda Nordstrom
((Special Collections, Deck 2, Main Compartment, Deep Space 33))
As Ras took the lead on their travels from the archive, Alora’s eyes dropped down to note the change that had come upon him since she last saw her former cadet. That was how space was - it changed people. Most of the time, that change came in unseen ways, for it could fortify or break the character of anyone who dared to traverse across the galaxy. At others, however, it could change people physically. She had been transformed in such a way, though even that was not obvious. Ras’ scars, however, were too easily seen.
Lifting her gaze, she studied the man, then turned to face the hallway. Such topics weren’t always easy to discuss, and part of her wondered if she shouldn’t ask - but then again, she considered him a friend, and if he wanted it, she would certainly lend an ear.
DeVeau: Do you mind if I ask what happened?
He knew what she meant without her getting explicit, and his prosthetic hand opened and closed, as if reminding him that it was not his original.
El’Heem: ::clearing his throat:: I…did what needed to be done. Obviously at great cost. ::beat:: the alternative was a greater cost.
Alora understood the cost of being in Starfleet. She and Kalin both knew that far too well. Silence descended and she didn’t push. As nosey as she was, she respected others far too much to prod to the point where she was rude. However, a moment later, Ras seemed to shake off the gloom that settled upon his shoulders, and he finally turned to look at her.
El’Heem: There was a weapon pointed at the Khitomer that was in the process of charging a shot while the Khitomer was without power for shielding. At the time, ensign Lera Michaels had been incapacitated and unable to disable the weapon as planned. Me being…::wiggling his fingers on both hands:: all brute and hardly any force, I took it upon myself to disable the weapon’s tracking, and well….I had no other tools but my hands to get the job done.
Nodding slowly, Alora knew that in the moment, split decisions had to be made, and depending on the situation, officers didn’t always have exactly what they needed to get done. If he had been there, if he knew what needed to be done, he had only proven Alora’s initial thought upon their meeting that he would make a fine officer.
DeVeau: And because you only had your hands…
El’Heem: Yes Commander. I punched it. A lot.
Indeed.
El’Heem: It’s not so bad. Chief Ohnari put some pretty cool features in it. A tricorder functionality for one. ::beat:: besides, it’s mycelium based. State of the art. No idea how she got that approved by Starfleet, but I’m sure the regenerative capacity had something to do with it.
Nodding, Alora didn’t bring up the fact that for a while, she had been stationed on a research facility that was looking at using tachyons to regenerate cells so that people could regrow limbs. While some people joked about such things in Starfleet, it wasn’t yet possible. It had been her paper, “Morphological Regeneration of Saintpaulia Ionantha Induced By Tachyon Exposure” that had caught Starfleet’s attention. It had been that very place she had met Kalin, they had fallen in love, they had married, and then…the accident happened.
Yes, both of them knew that sometimes, service beget sorrow, and duty meant sacrifice.
DeVeau: I’m sorry Ras, but I am glad that you survived that encounter. And that you can see the positives.
She smiled at him and wondered if some of the research had gone into developing the prosthetic. While that hadn’t been their main focus, a lot of advances hadn’t come from direct attempts at developing something, and fungi were being studied alongside plant life in that research facility. She wasn’t going to ask about that, however. Tachyon experiments were generally classified, and she knew she couldn’t openly talk about what they had worked on.
El’Heem: Response
DeVeau: Of course, you know I have to ask you more questions.
She was, after all, a curious person. Yes, sometimes even nosey.
El’Heem: Response
Ras wasn’t a stranger, and she was glad of it. Seeing him again had thrown her back to that academy class where they had first met, and she could already seen he had come so far. Perhaps, some day, he’d be the first Kressari Starfleet captain. If that happened, she wouldn’t be surprised in the least. Of course, she wanted to know more about his life on the Khitomer, but it wasn’t about his prosthetic. Instead, her curiosity turned to another aspect of his life, especially as she recalled his reaction just a few minutes before.
DeVeau: So tell me about your friend…Semara?
El’Heem: Response
-- Commander Alora DeVeau Chief Science Officer USS Thor & Matriarch of the 15th House Betazed M239008AD0
