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Guest Laarell

"Final Arrangements"

Laarell entered Sickbay quietly, avoiding the main hub of doctors and medical personnel in search of someone not so currently buried in gossip or a project. She was lucky; that Caitian male was off to a side of the commotion, not appearing particularly entrenched in anything.

 

She approached him, stopping a few feet behind him before addressing him lowly. "Doctor, might you have a moment?" she ventured, barely quirking an eyebrow.

 

Mreh had heard someone coming up behind him, but had long ago learned that he couldn't turn at every footfall that approached him, or he would go mad. As she addressed him, however, he turned. and quickly looked her over. Ah, the Orion female he had spotted on his short visit to the bridge when the Captain had bumped his head. Since his nostrils weren't flaring, he assumed she took a pheromone blocker. He inclined his head slightly, and as she had spoke lowly, he repsonded in kind, his words coming out in a purr. "Of course, Lieutenant Commander. What can I do for you?"

 

The woman glanced around herself, almost as if fearful another doctor would overhear; as if fearful it would be of more than a passing interest to any of the others. "To be blunt, I wish to request that I be dispensed one of the cyanide tablets," she paused, collecting herself for a moment before continuing. "to be used as a last resort in case an operation goes south. That is acceptable, no? We were given Captain Corizon's approval should we choose to procure them. I choose to." She spoke very rapidly, spewing out the words.

 

His overly fluffy tail, in its usual position curled around his left leg, twitched a bit at the request. While that option was made available for such occasions, he had never truly expected to be in the position of handing one out; by the way she had requested it, he had a feeling that the Orion didn't think she'd ever be in a position to request one, either. Yet, here she was. "I see," Mreh said. "I will require a written command level authorization to be able to unlock that particular supply chest. But first..." He stuck out a paw and signaled for her to follow as he made his way back to the currently unoccupied medical lab. She was clearly hesitant to have the conversation noted by the others, and to discuss it further, he thought it best to have some privacy.

 

She nodded slightly, following him into the anteroom. "It can be arranged, I am certain. And I am forced to demand that the nature of this conversation remain classified, for mission security."

 

He nodded. "Understood," he said as he faced her. "But before we trouble with any of the niggling details, I must be certain that you have truly considered this option, and understand the very permanent nature of it. The concept is long lived on Earth, and has been used quite successfully over the centuries. In fact, with the advancement of medical science, it has become very effective." He paused, unning a paw through his mane. "There's no coming back from it. Within twenty seconds of it entering your stomach, the cyanide is released, and quickly absorbed. It also holds an extended release tablet within, which will continue to release the poison into your body even after the initial dose has killed you." His tail uncurled and swished around behind him. "It's not an entirely comfortable process, either, though it is fast." All the while he had been speaking, he watched her reactions.

 

She had remained expressionless until the last addition, when she barely flinched. "I'm aware of the process behind it. As I am aware that there's no going back once it is taken. And that it is preferable to capture under these circumstances." The officer straightened a bit, tugging at the fabric of her uniform uncomfortably.

 

"All right," he said. As he was about to continue, a message came into the sickbay communications system, and he raised a paw to excuse himself while he went over to the console. Using his authorization code, he opened it, and found the authorization he required to be able to distribue the tablets. Transferring the code to a padd, he turned back to Laarell, and somberly nodded. "The authorization just came in from the Captain. Remain here, I will go retrieve one," he said, and quickly passed through the doors to the lab and disappeared, heading for the heavily locked cabinet which held the fatal pill.

 

She nodded a few times silently, pulling her hair off of her face. Had the room suddenly dropped a few degrees in temperature? Not likely. She waited for the Caitian to return, silently cursing fate and rubbing the side of her arm in the hope that the chill might soon depart. But at least they weren't having paperwork delays. She did not need one more thing to postpone the dispensation of her decision. The Orion could get the tablet and forget about it; quit focusing on it.

 

After unlocking the cabinet with the collection of authorization codes required, Mreh logged the caplsule into the log as dispensed to LCdr Laarell Teykier, under classification, and then extracted it. He locked the cabinet, and then returned to the lab, coming up to the Orion officer. He uncurled his paw, and what looked to be a black licorice jellybean rested upon it. With his other paw, he extended two of his claws and clicked open the case. Fitting snugly within was the capsule; its white outer coating glittered in the light, except where a black 'x' was marked on the center of it. "This is it," he said to her. "Use your claws... pardon me, nails, to click open the case. The coating is very smooth, you can dry swallow it easily, despite its size. Keep in mind, however, that cyanide it can be absorbed through the skin as well as ingested, so keep it in the case." He clicked the case back closed and held out his paw to her so she could take it.

 

Laarell took it, holding the case in her hand for a moment. "But small, to be so deadly." She balled her hand -- with the case and capsule within it -- into a loose fist, burying it at her side. "I take it there are no necessary modifications for Orion physiology."

 

He shook his head. "No. The cell oxygenation process works the same in Orions as it does in Terrans, and Orion stomach acid is actually stronger in concentration, so it would actually break down the capsule even more rapidly for you." His tail flicked a few times before it was forced to curl back around his leg. "When you get back, return it straight to sickbay."

 

"If I return," she corrected, "I shall." She started to turn towards the door to the lab. "Is there anything else I am required to be informed of, regarding it?"

 

"When," he reiterated. "A complex medical scanner would detect it on you, but the case is specifically designed to be unremarkable to both the eye and scanning equipment, and while the case is sealed, it's quite sturdy, though not indestructible. Try not to bang it around too much," he said, with his rather unusual toothless grin that he perfected having grown up among humans. "If necessary, the case can be swallowed and... 'retrieved' later if you feel that you can't keep it on your person."

 

"Understood." The woman mulled the options, keeping it in her grasp firmly. It was rather unlikely that she would undergo in-depth medical scans before she would have already implemented the cyanide. "Now, if there's nothing else..."

 

"Nothing, save that whatever dire mission you're going on, I sincerely hope that you can avoid having to use that. I expect you to return that nasty little package to me so that I can put it back in the disaster closet, where it belongs." With another flick of his tail, he inclined his head. "Good luck, Lieutenant Commander."

 

She nodded, replying softly. "Thank you, Ensign." Turning to leave, she paused for a moment, brown eyes nearly tearing for the first time since the announcement of her assignment to the detail. She looked back at the Caitian. "I do have one more thing to ask of you -- you might find it rather odd, but... I have a pet... a spider. A large spider. It's not exactly the most pleasant of creatures, and it's disliked by most of the crew, but I'd hate to think that if something happened to me..." Her voice trailed, leaving the unspoken request hanging in the air.

 

He couldn't help it; he laughed. "Primates have trouble with arachnids, for some reason. Especially in light of our current situation, and the enemies at hand. I'll see that it's taken care of until a more permanent solution can be had. But it won't be necessary, you'll be back to see to it yourself," Mreh said with confidence. He didn't know the details of her mission, but it was obviously bothering her. If she couldn't be confident, he'd be confident for her.

 

"Appreciated." A faint smile crossed her lips. "It could be worse. I could have a pet Emperor Scorpion."

 

"It can always be worse."

 

"That's more of an intimidating and frightening thought than I care for at the moment." She sighed, the moment of levity fading. "Thank you again, Doctor. I'll do my best to return it," she assured with far more strength in her tone than she felt.

 

"That's all anyone can ask of you, including yourself. Take care, sir," he said.

 

"Thank you." Tossing off a nod, she turned, exiting Sickbay in the same hasty manner she had entered, carefully placing the pill in a side pocket of her bag on the way out. She could decide how exactly to carry it after she arrived on Morningstar. Gods, what was she getting into?

 

She wished she knew.

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I had to pop in with a reply. This is a wicked serious log guys. Love it.

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