Killing Two Birds with One Stone (Conspiracy Theory of a First Officer)

[Rue Wydown 0]

Killing Two Birds With One Stone (Conspiracy Theory of a First Officer)

 

Rue Wydown's Side of the Story (Same events, different perspective)

 

"How did you get her into sickbay so easily?"Captain Kwai glanced at Commander Wydown while the two of them followed the medical technician and the Admiral's medical chair into sickbay. Wydown tried to suppress her glee that she might actually kill two birds with one stone. The medtech ushered the Admiral on to one of the private exam rooms, several of the doctors and nurses buzzing around her more in deference to her rank than her actual injury. Both officers paused at the door, watching BluRox disappear from view. "Did you drug her? Blackmail? Hypnosis? Wacked her on the head?"

 

"Nah. I just told her that I needed her to go to sickbay as bait to get you checked out." Rue Wydown grinned, rocking back on her heals.

 

Rian turned to look at Rue, "Why in the Alpha Quadrant would you tell her that?" The woman didn't look happy, but oh well. In fact, if she ran, Rue would enjoy the chase.

 

"Because you look like crap, luv." She gently pinched Kwai's elbow, knowing exactly where to pinch the nerve to get the officer to comply, and escorted her to the first vacant biobed while simultaneously waving over one of the nursing staff. "C'mon, won't take a tick. Sit here and let 'em have a look at you, mate." She whispered something to the nurse, who nodded and disappeared. Meanwhile, with Wydown busy organizing an impromptu physical, Kwai made her attempt to slip past Rue and out the door. It was by maintaining a firm grip on her elbow that Wydown managed to keep the Captain in place until one of the station doctors appeared. "Luv, ye gotta set a good example for 'er. If you walk, she will. And ye know what shape she's in. So just suck it up and be a good lass."

 

"Joined gods."

 

"Whot's a matter. Afraid of a little jiggery pokery?" The girl seemed to be scared and annoyed at once.

 

"You can say that."

 

Rue stood back out of the way to allow the station doctor to start his work. She leaned against the wall, arms crossed and legs crossed at the ankles as she studied the serious and quiet Republic first officer. The girl was an interesting case study. Rue detected a sense of humor, yes, but also a very serious no nonsense attitude. Quiet, bordering on shy at times, yet clearly able to come out of her shell when the situation demanded it, as evident with her rather authoritative attitude on the Excalibur bridge. And quite obviously scared of the medical staff for some reason. "Oh, it's nothin' luv. Not like they're gonna mutate your DNA with a simple scan."

 

"Oh, you'd be surprised what these quacks can do these days." Rian sighed, watching the doctor wave his scanning wand. The doctor scanning the Trill rolled his eyes to Wydown, muttering something under his breath.

 

Now there's a story in that comment I'd love to hear some day, Rue smiled to herself. "Ye callin' those in the medical profession quacks?"Rue asked the doctor's unasked question.

 

Wydown could see the wheels turning in the Trill's head. Kwai seemed to think better than to offend the doctor currently waiving medical equipment in her face. So she spoke softly, nodding her head towards a group huddled around the replicator. "Not all. Just those mad scientist type over there."

 

Rue glanced in the direction of the huddled medical staff. None of them looked particularly threatening. In fact they looked rather dull. In fact they could use an injection of 'personality'. "Oh, I see what ye mean. That one over there looks like a nutter." She smiled as unthreatening as she could. When she turned her head back to the Captain, she had her mouth agape, apparently trying to come up with a biting response.

 

Fortunately, Kwai's retort was cut off by a loud commotion in the lobby of sickbay. The doctor currently scanning the Trill stopped abruptly, and with a hasty apology, left both the human and the trill executive officers wondering what was going on. They watched as the whole story revealed itself moments later as badly burned station crewmember being hustled through sickbay with several doctors (including Kwai's) and nurses hovering around him.

 

"Joined gods, now I'll never get out of here."

 

The woman was obviously impatient. And Rue, being Rue in nature, was curious about what the heck was going on with the woman. She watched the Trill for a moment before stepping forward to volunteer to help, "Ye mind if I…?" She picked up a tricorder from a neighboring station. "It'll get ye out of here faster. You know, I used to be in medical. Well, before that nutter in the Captain's chair decided I'd be a good first officer. Not sure whot he was thinking." She grinned as she watched the readings on the tricorder. So that was it. Some sort of poisoning here. Biological in composition. Ingested, by the looks of the digestive tract. A plant of some sort, making her sick. Did she know she'd ingested something toxic? Or was it mixed in with her normal foods without her knowledge? Did she knew she was this sick? Was she doing this to herself? Or, maybe someone was trying to kill her to take her job? Wait, promotion by murder only happens on Romulan ships. So what the frell was going on here? After a moment she looked up again. "What happened to ye, luv? I know you were attacked, I read the report that the Admiral gave us. But I'd like to hear it for you."

 

"You want to know about the Oest?" Rian paused, watching Rue nod. "I'll tell you about the Oest." She spoke softly, calmly and without much emotion, recalling the highlights of her incarceration with the alien race. Everything from the pain sensor bracelet to the experiments on creating a melded breed, it was there in detail. Rue sensed her hesitation only when it came to explaining her role in the breeding program verses Dr Weber's.

 

"Let me get this straight. They essentially poisoned you to save you?" Bingo! Well, at least no one is currently trying to kill the woman. But if she didn't get rid of the toxins in her system, she was going to continue to waste away. Bloody hell, what a way to go.

 

"Aye. So I was told. So to speak, since it was done with telepathy."

 

"Have ye told your Admiral this part yet?"

 

"She's got enough on her plate. Besides, Weber's in worse shape than I. Although if you can find someone to pull the probe out, you can keep it for your records. Maybe your people would like to study it in case they're up against the Oest if you all return to the Gamma Quadrant." She indicated its location with her splayed fingers in the area where her shoulder met her neck. "We've got Weber's. And I believe we still have to remove Bardolph's soon." She paused. "That reminders me, I should have him looked at too."

 

Oh, here we go again. All business and no rest. "Do you ever slow down?"Wydown asked as she moved back over to the neighboring station, rooting around for the instrument she needed. Once found, she returned to Kwai's side and activated the device.

 

"Do you?" the woman's voice was sharp.

 

"Oh I know me limits." Do you? she added silently as she grinned again, and started to dig out the offending probe. She felt the Captain wince under her digging, but kept on going. She kept talking in hopes to distract the young woman. "I think ye better tell the Admiral. She's worried about ye. And ye need to start putting some weight back on. Someone could knock you over just by breathin' on ye."

 

"I'm not….." Rian stopped, sounding as if she was in pain. "I'm finding it difficult to keep much down these days." She frowned. "About the only thing that appeals to my stomach have been the MRE's."

 

"Have ye tried the onion rings in Quarks? They can do miracles." Wydown grinned, trying to joke with the serious young woman as she pulled out the small sensor device and dropped it into tray. She pressed a small cloth against the wound while she fidgeted with a regenerator to seal and heal the wound.

 

"That just doesn't even sound good to me." Rian winced.

 

Rue completed her work with the regenerator, then tipped Rian's chin up to look the Excalibur's first officer in the eye. "Look, in a few minutes, the station doc is going to come back out here and scan ye again for the official record. He's going to give you some meds to try to correct the damage to ye stomach lining. He'll suggest rest and relaxation. And he'll send you on your way." She paused. "Ye need more than that. Ye need to detoxify your blood and organs. From what I read on the scan, you'll be carrying around this crap for months, maybe even a year or more. Even two weeks of that med isn't going to help. And you'll get real bored of MRE's after six months."

 

"And how do you suggest I do that?"

 

"A tea." She nodded, thinking of the native herbal remedy from her home planet she'd used many times to do just this very thing. "I'll show you were to get the ingredients here. And write you the recipe. It's not half bad. Actually it's quiet brilliant."

 

"A tea, seriously? You think a tea is going to help me?"

 

"Aye. " Rue put her hands on Rian's shoulder. The girl looked scared, probably didn't trust Rue any further than she could throw her. And by the looks of things, that wasn't very far. She wanted her to feel comfortable. "Look, luv. I know don't know me from Eve, but I've got a lot of experience here. Where I come from, well, let's just say ye have to have a strong constitution to survive there. You do what I say, and in a few weeks you'll be off the meds and putting on the weight again. Even enjoying a pint or two."

 

"I don't know." Rian hesitated, Rue could hear the fear in her voice.

 

"Just try it. Two weeks. And if'n you're a smart girl, like I think ye are, you'll do the research. You'll see I mean ye no harm, luv." She picked up the tray, seeing the station doctor disengaging from the group crowded around the burn victim. "I'm going to take this back to me ship. I'll meet ye in a few minutes outside, by Quarks and we'll take it from there, aye?" C'mon luv, give it a shot. Rue silently pleaded. She felt for the first officer, knowing the weight the woman had to carry on a daily basis.

 

"Fine." Rian nodded slight.

 

"Fantastic." Rue flashed the largest grin she could.

 

 

 

 

 

(And for the other side of the same story, check out Captain Rian Kwai's log on the USS Republic's message board).