Strength In Sickness

[m_k_tksa 0]

Strength In Sickness

Daise'Erei'Riov tr'Aieme/Daise'Erei'Riov t'Ksa

 

 

 

Could there be anything worse than feeling this ill and na having the power to do anything about it? To na have the access to or ability to alleviate the pain oneself, instead depending on the mercy of others to assist au was humiliating. Pain and suffering made worse by maenaken staff that cared na io iota that io was suffering so greatly.

 

Kheinsa tr’Aieme, interim Daise’Maenak, sat on the biobed in main medical waiting for yet another dose of the medication prescribed to him by Galae Medical to decrease the symptoms of his space sickness. He was told that eventually he’d become accustomed to space travel and that his symptoms would lessen over time. Pffft. It was his Erein years all over again.

 

Who ever heard of a space-sick Galae officer anyway?

 

An older woman, a nurse by the look of her uniform approached. Io he was embarrassed to find he could na place her name. His space-sickness so profound, tr’Aieme had na yet to be introduced to the all Talon’s medical staff, tour his new facility or had been able to do much ‘work’ since leaving port. If this was the Khre’Riov’s plan to neutralize tr’Vatrix’s advisor, it was succeeding surprisingly well.

 

“Here again, Daise?” She smiled sympathetically. Maec responded by growling, both to indicate his discomfort over the situation and prevent any further loss of his stomach’s contents. “Au are on Dymendrynato, ie?” She took her time, scrolling through his medical history before pausing with a puzzled look on her face. “The Da--err..t’Ksa. She has treated au before too?”

 

“Ie, twice. I came to visit while the ship was at station keeping.”

 

She gave a little nod, then motioned io of the maenaken over. This io Maec recognized - Ura tr’Paine, who lived up to his House name very well. The smug fvadt man sauntered over with a grin on his face. He delighted in teasing the Khiensa over this perceived weakness in his ability to manage surviving in space. “Jolan tru, Kheinsa.” He grabbed the hypospray and started to prepare a dosage. “Did they na teach au that space-sickness is mostly in au’s head?” He teased the Kheinsa.

 

“Wait,” the nurse laid a hand on tr’Paine’s should and shoved the ISD into his eyesight. Once he took the ISD from her, she disappeared from sight.

 

He read a line or two in the area that the older woman indicated, his smug look fading to io of concern. “t’Ksa treated au?”

 

“If au call jabbing me in the neck with a hypospray without so much as a warning and cursing Galae Medical in the process, then ie.”

 

“Did it help?”

 

“It worked considerably better than what the ch’Rihan bound maenakenn gave me, ie.”

 

“Scopelmyre and Promezyne,” tr’Paine scrutinized the record. “Unconventional. I na have thought to put the two of them together.” He continued researching to find reference to how the former Daise’Maenak came up with such an odd pairing.

 

“One for common allergy treatment, the other used as an antispasmodic.” Maec raised a brow, wondering if t’Ksa had been experimenting on him at the time or what.

 

“Ah here, we go,” tr’Paine’s eyes scanned the ISD, his face turning from skeptical to acceptance of t’Ksa’s unusual treatment. When he was done, he passed the article over to tr’Aieme to read while he prepared the hypospray. “Erwi Journal of Medicine. I would never thought to read a civilian research initiative.”

 

“Article is only three years old. But it has several suppo---OUCH!” Maec slapped his hand over his neck and glared at tr’Paine who just smiled sweetly before taking the ISD away.

 

“Next dosage is scheduled for twelve hours. Fhaen let me know if this works,” tr’Paine made a notation in the ISD before handing it to the nurse on his way out of the room.

 

“Pardon him, rekkhai. He’s a bit full of........himself lately.” She held the ISD to her chest as she watched the Kheinsa slip down from the biobed.

 

“I’m sorry, I do na believe we’ve --”

 

“t’Culli, rekkhai. Ro’Wena t’Culli. Lead shift nurse,” She bowed her head.

 

“t’Ksa spoke of au. She seemed fond of au. Said au have been here quite a while.” Maec managed a slight smile, motioning for her to follow him to Daise’s office.

 

“Ie, fifteen years.” She offered.

 

“That’s a long time for a Galae officer to be posted on io ship.”

 

“I’m good at my job.” She answered simply with na hint of arrogance.

 

“Ie, I heard that too,” tr’Aieme took a look around what was once t’Ksa’s office, now his. He would have prefered to use the Kheinsa’s office down the hallway, but as temporary Daise, he was forced to use Morgana’s. It was an awful reminder her missing presence and he vowed to stay out of it as much as possible. It hurt to be in there. “I I have na had a chance for a full orientation to the medical bay. Would au be so kind to give me a tour when au have a moment?”

 

“Of course, rekkhai.” She glanced around the room as if she too was hesitant to step foot inside. When she did so, she motioned to the various parts of room as she spoke. “As far as au’s office, fhaen be aware - the third drawer sticks.” She waved her hand to the fish bowl on the bookshelf, “tr’Walter should be fed twice daily. There’s an emergency escape hatch behind au’s desk in the console there and...” She waved her hand towards the seating bench. “And, if needed, this converts to a sleeping cot, the linens are stored in the drawer below.”

 

“A sleeping cot?’

 

“She...she spent a lot of time here,” t’Culli answered hesitantly.

 

“I see.”

 

“She’s not coming back, is she.” t’Culli spoke quietly, watching tr’Aieme careful as if she was looking for some sign, io way or another.

 

Maec closed his eyes, bowing his head. The odds of finding t’Ksa were decreasing exponentially by the hour, if not by the minute. Adding in the factor that Morgana had not activated the homing device by this point, the odds of finding t’Ksa alive were extremely slim. He’d be giving t’Culli, and himself, false hope if he told her Morgana would be returning. He shook his head slowly, “Na.”

 

He added, “But maybe we’ll find those who did this, and bring them to justice.” mentally continuing ...eventually....if the crew united together instead of pursuing their own agendas. Given that the crew was captained by an irate Khre’Riov who could barely see past her own fury, and an executive officer who’d been prematurely thrust back into duty, he doubted even that would happen within the next decade. He would do his best to keep them on track, focused, if nothing else but for her. Morgana had lived for the betterment of the Empire, had been loyal servant for all these years, and would have liked nothing better than to bring those to justice that threatened the Empire. In her spirit, he would do whatever he could to do just that. To protect and serve the Empire.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Could there be anything worse than feeling this ill and na having the power to do anything about it? To na have the access to or ability to alleviate the pain oneself, instead depending on the mercy of others to assist au was aggravating. Pain and suffering made worse by maenaken staff that cared na io iota that io was suffering so greatly.

 

Delirious with fever, the serum sickness made Morgana a next to useless prisoner until she recovered. t’Kayton, t’Prin’s second in command, was growing impatient. If she did na produce some results, her mistress would relinquish command of the integrations to far more adept officers. At this point, none of interrogation sessions had reaped much information. t’Ksa either confounded the new integrators (a conversation that infuriated t’Kayton when she watched the playback as as the Maenak back-talked her way out of a direct line of questioning), withstood a beating or, as in the case of the serum sickness, found to be too ill to continue (and those were her best shoes!)

 

“Make her ready for another session. Dev suiren.” t’Kayton snapped at the underling manning the door. If this delirium was an act, the Maenak would suffer. If it was na, perhaps it would serve a useful purpose. She’d prove her worth to t’Prin. All she had to do was to change first.

 

Edited April 5, 2012 by Capt Rian Kwai