Woman In the Mirror

[Capt Rian Kwai 0]

Woman In the Mirror

Captain Rian "Kiwi" Kwai

 

Joined gods, who is that woman in the mirror?

 

Rian stared at her reflection for 5 full minutes, trying to find something in the spotted waif in front of her that she recognized. Her spots were dull. Her skin shallow and sickly. Her hair was an overgrown nest. She carried enough baggage under her eyes for two trips to the Alpha quadrant. And if she turned sideways, she might loose her reflection altogether.

 

This was not the woman she remembered. Nor did the little rest she received do much to improve her appearance. Granted, she had just awoken from a nap, so that might explain the hair thing. But still...Why did Wydown assessment have to be so spot on?

 

She looked like crap.

 

Well, this just sucks, Rian thought as she sank back down on her bunk in her temporary quarters. What am I going to do now? If the meds from the station doctors didn't start working and showing results soon, she would be forced to try that damned home remedy Rue had foisted on her. And she wasn't about to do that until Dr Weber took a look at the ingredients.

 

Rian sat quietly for a moment, reviewing her options:

• Option A: The 'Just Eat It" model - force normal foods down her throat at normal time feeding times and hope that everything stayed down.

• Option B: The 'Just Survive It' - which was to survive on bland tasteless MREs for the next two weeks in hopes that the meds showed results.

• Option C: “Get another opinion” – The station doctors didn’t know Rian’s history. And Rue seemed too nutty to trust. Too bad Weber was off duty at the moment.

• Option D: “The ‘harebrained home remedy.” – Self explanatory. A cup of tea to keep her from yakking up food. Oh wouldn't that make Wydown happy?

• Option E: “Food Challenge” – Figure out which foods did not make a encore appearance in the refresher toilet and try to survive on those. A kinder, gentler version of “just eat it.”

• Option F: “Overstock Cases Bismuth Subsalicylate*” – Would this be acceptable to StarFleet?

• Option G: ‘Panic’ – while not truly an option, it was contemplated for a short time. It troubled Rian to know that “Whoa is me” option (The sympathy ploy) was shot down faster than “Panic”.

• Option H: “The shot in the dark” – experimenting with any or all of the above option in hopes that something would trigger a reaction. Also known as the “Hail Mary” pass to the humans.

• Option I – “Transplant The Digestive System” – Not sure where Rian got this option, but considering where her thought process was degrading, it followed in natural order to “panic”, “shot in the dark” and “whoa”.

• Option J – “Upload the Brain” – Maybe she could become like Holly and….no, this is was getting a bit silly.

• Option K – “Consult The Fellow Freckled Ones.” – consult civilian Trill medical corps for help. They knew her body’s chemistry better than any creatures. Maybe they’d figure something out.

 

Rian frowned. The person she’d normally bounce these ideas off of was off ship and, hell, probably wasn’t speaking her to her anymore anyway. So where did she go from here? She glanced at the mirror again. Joined gods, who is that woman in the mirror? And what were we going to do about her?

 

(*Bismuth subsalicylate – active ingredient in Pepto Bismal)

[STSF_BluRox 0]

Might have to start calling you 'Scarecrow'