S2 M1"Macrocosm"

[Julia Rellek]

[Captain's Ready Room]

"We have just left Galland IV and are returning to our mission of charting this unexplored region of the Gamma quadrant. We are on course to see a nebula that we picked up yesterday. Long range scans don't look too exciting, but nonetheless, definitely worth a look. I've been looking forward to getting back out there after taking a much needed break.

[Klizh]

Bridge

With Night Shift coming to an end and the Day Shift crew about to take their stations, K'lizh was fervently working on his PADD, putting the final touches on his program. This little stunt was probably going to prevent him from ever commanding Night Shift again, but he had managed to sit in the Command Chair of a Galaxy-class starship. His childhood dream had been achieved and he could die happy.

As soon as the chromometer hit 05:59, K'lizh stood, straightened his uniform, and instructed the computer to activate program "Career-Suicide 01." The bridge's holo-emitters, usually reserved for the ship's EMH, came online and projected an exact duplicate of the captain sitting in the captain's chair. K'lizh ignored the shocked gasps and snickers of the junior officers as he took the Ops station and waited for the real captain to emerge from her Ready Room.

[Solluk]

[Sickbay]

Solluk stepped into the ship's sickbay, glancing about to see who might be on call.  His recent shore leave had been quite enjoyable, for the most part.  He had trod through fields of snow for the first time in his life.  He had enjoyed the first snowball fight of his life, with Jada as his able opponent.   He had walked thrillingly to the edge of frostbite before acquiring some proper clothing.  There was something exhilerating about narrowly avoiding a bad result.

Then he had been talked into snow-skiing. And he had loved it.  In his mind, the skiis were nothing less than minimalist gravity-powered vehicles with an open-air cockpit, rocketing him down a mountainside.  His enthusiasm for the act- and a somewhat misguided attempt to show off in front of his friend, had landed him-

no... crashed him-

Into a tree.

Broken legs weren't so terribly serious in the modern age, and the break had been rapidly repaired by the ship's skilled medical staff.  Unfortunately, an admonishment to be 'light on the leg' for the following 48 hours had put something of a damper on the last part of his shore leave.

Now he was coming in for a routine follow-up to ensure that everything had healed properly.  Then he could get the medical clearance needed so that he could resume teaching his martial arts classes.

"Pardon me," he said to the staff on hand, "I don't quite have an appointment, but I had an opening in my schedule and hoped someone might be available to conduct my follow-up examination."  He lightly patted the affected leg in indication of what he was here about.

(tags)

[Nicholas Mortier]

[Main Engineering]

With the deuterium injectors long since fixed, and the next systems checkup not due for another two weeks, Nicholas had a slow and boring day. He could afford to lean back, relax, and casually sip a raktajino. He did just that, before suddenly noticing a use of the EMH holo-emitters on the bridge.

"What the hell is that about?" he asked, seemingly to himself, as he drew up more details about the EMH use. All ship's systems were at normal levels, so he could afford to look into these specific circuits.

[Kintiss]

Broken legs weren't so terribly serious in the modern age, and the break had been rapidly repaired by the ship's skilled medical staff.  Unfortunately, an admonishment to be 'light on the leg' for the following 48 hours had put something of a damper on the last part of his shore leave.

Now he was coming in for a routine follow-up to ensure that everything had healed properly.  Then he could get the medical clearance needed so that he could resume teaching his martial arts classes.

"Pardon me," he said to the staff on hand, "I don't quite have an appointment, but I had an opening in my schedule and hoped someone might be available to conduct my follow-up examination."  He lightly patted the affected leg in indication of what he was here about.

[Sickbay]

Kintiss only wished that his break had been longer. He'd spent most of it on the nearest desert planet, resting on the dunes and getting rid of the last of his old skin. It was perfect for a Selay such as him. Once or twice, he'd considered contacting his family, but decided against it. Selay weren't exactly exemplars when it came to family ties. Afterwards, it was back to business as usual, which he supposed was always going to happen.

And, almost inevitably, at least one crewman had injured himself. That was just something Kintiss expected these days, and he was never disappointed. The injury itself had been easy enough to fix, fixing broken bones being one of the simpler medical procedures, but he had insisted on a follow-up examination to ensure everything worked. He was glad that some of the crew listened to his advice, at least.

"Now'ssss a good time," he said, addressing PO Solluk. "Take a sssseat and we'll get sssstarted."

[Solluk]

Sickbay

"Now'ssss a good time," Kintiss said, addressing PO Solluk. "Take a sssseat and we'll get sssstarted."

Solluk looked at Kintiss warily for a moment before taking the offered seat.

He had served with Kintiss on a prior assignment, and had even come over to the Tempest with Kintiss, spending quite a bit of time in the same runabout with him.

That had been... three?  Four months ago?

It was hard to believe that so much time had passed since his arrival.  The Tempest had performed a plethora of tasks in that short time.  They had rendered aid to a Ferengi starliner, defended a space station from attack, moved to the Delta quadrant, Chased anomalous probes, and finally enjoyed shore leave on what amounted to an alien pleasure planet.

And in all that time, after all this exposure, Solluk had still not completely overcome his ludicrous fear of the giant snake-like humanoid.

Reminding himself that his Xenophobia was both illogical and rude, he finally moved to the indicated seating space.

Hmm.  Was it actually Xenophobia?  Or was it more properly Xeno-ophidiophobia?

Kintiss would be able to tell him, ironically enough, though it would never be appropriate to ask the man.

"Thank you, Doctor," Solluk said, "I feel that your treatment of the fracture has been a complete success.  I have been anxious to return to my athletic activities."  He frowned slightly, "I must confess to some embarrassment at interrupting the leisure of others due to my reckless maneuvers in a newly-discovered sport."

He realized it would be polite to inquire about the Doctor's own time off.

"I hope you were able to enjoy your leave," he added.

But then he spoke again.

"I think I was trying to impress a friend," Solluk said, "which is most illogical.  It's not something I would have done... in the past."

He paused, but just when someone might have assumed he was done speaking, he added:

"A female friend, actually.  It's possible I may have some latent attraction to her.  Perhaps that is why I felt motivated to impress her."

Another pause, then:

"Which is foolhardy, because she is one of the few people I've come to know since my brain injury who fully accepts me for who I am."

Another pause.  He was clearly done talking.  Until:

"Have you ever found yourself attracted to a friend, Doctor?"

It occurred to Solluk that his constant interjections were somewhat rude.  He supposed his anxiety was making him talkative, but that wasn't an excuse to continue doing it.

"I'm sorry, Doctor.  I seem to be monopolizing this conversation.  I'll quiet myself, now."

One second.  Two seconds.  Three seconds.

He almost opened his mouth to speak again, but killed the impulse while it was still in his mind.

(tag)

[Jada]

[Crew Quarters, Deck 32]

...She's come down to the lake for some fishing, and found the emerald waters still and sparkling in the thin rays of sun that spilled down from the jungle canopy, dappling the secluded area. She sits herself down, just as the water bubbles and ripples, and she rises in wariness of what might come out... With a splash, a face emerges, beautiful elven features and pointed ears, followed by lean and fit naked body, water running down his muscles... A fine catch indeed.

He comes to her. She takes her prize in her strong arms, lifts him up and carries him to a bed of soft moss, laying him down. He opens his mouth, and says... 'Beep! Beep! Beep!'

Jada awoke, and groaned, hamming the alarm clock into submission.

Yesterday had been a drag. Right after returning from shore leave, her high spirits had been brought low when they'd found a new patch from Starfleet Central had been faulty, crashing the ship's Security-department server and losing many logs and mission records. The majority could be regained from backups, caches, and other departments, but it had required long tedious hours of collecting logs, checking stardate stamps, and stitching them back together.

Someone had sold Starfleet Security to her as having adventures, space battles, and fighting alien monsters on strange planets. Someone had lied.

Still, she'd had fun on Galland IV before that, messing around with Solluk and discovering snow. They'd had a snowball fight (she'd won, she maintained, though they were hardly keeping score). She'd made a snow-beast (since it didn't look anything like a person, she'd revised her goal). Skiing was... different. She'd felt way too alarmingly out of control to go as fast as Solluk. Which was just as well, given what had happened to him. And she'd thought she'd be the one to break an arm Á¢â,¬"œ fortunately the microfractures from clipping that branch were easier to hide, orange bruise blossoming beneath her sleeve. Seeing Solluk crash into a tree, she'd laughed, then frantically administered emergency first-aid with a splint, and lifted him in up in her arms for transport back to the Tempest. Jada had the strength, though not the size, to really carry off carrying him.

After that, well, the traditional sauna and hot tub just weren't the same alone.

Jada was feeling really drowsy. She could try going back to sleep. But she knew that dream wouldn't restart. Besides, Snake had crawled out of her pyjamas and was flickering her forked tongue over her face. 'Ah, Snake, stop it.' she moaned, batting away the snek and sitting up. On the other side, Bex was also getting up, already dressing. How was she getting ready faster?

Jada felt weird. For one, she was hot: here, there, and down there. 'Cruk.' She must be in heat again: going from the tropical heat of her Thirat simulation to the dry cold of snow fields, with the dry, air-conditioned cool of the starship in between would've messed up her seasonal cycles. Damn it. She wasn't ready to change. It had to be her heat cycle, but that didn't explain the runny nose, sore eyes, and drowsiness. If she was in heat, she'd be raring to go hunt, every sense keened. She sniffed snot back into her nose. What was this? It was disgusting. It broke the code of cluros Á¢â,¬"œ she couldn't look sick and weak. And it really put lie to the myth of the Orion woman. How was she going to seduce anyone like this?

'I think you have a cold, chief.' Bex commented, finishing up her uniform already.

'Huh? I'm not cold.' Jada protested. 'I'm in heat.'

'It's a human disease. From the cold weather. I think you should see Doctor Kintiss.'

Jada groaned, flopped back into the sheets just as Snake shot out of the way. 'I think you should do me right here, because I can't be bothered getting up. You're on top, do what you like.' She was definitely in heat, she had to be.

Bex grinned, the smile seeming to split her Bolian face four ways. 'You're not my type, and I'm not yours. How about I send in your Vulcan boy?'

That got Jada moving. Just not very far, her head spinning. Maybe it was both?

'I'll tell Lieutenant Th'taraq you're sick.' Bex promised, heading out the door.

'No. Tell him it's a hangover or something.' she corrected without enthusiasm, but Bex had already left. Jada closed her eyes, wondering if she could restart the dream manually. That would make her feel better.

[Julia Rellek]

Bridge

With Night Shift coming to an end and the Day Shift crew about to take their stations, K'lizh was fervently working on his PADD, putting the final touches on his program. This little stunt was probably going to prevent him from ever commanding Night Shift again, but he had managed to sit in the Command Chair of a Galaxy-class starship. His childhood dream had been achieved and he could die happy.

As soon as the chromometer hit 05:59, K'lizh stood, straightened his uniform, and instructed the computer to activate program "Career-Suicide 01." The bridge's holo-emitters, usually reserved for the ship's EMH, came online and projected an exact duplicate of the captain sitting in the captain's chair. K'lizh ignored the shocked gasps and snickers of the junior officers as he took the Ops station and waited for the real captain to emerge from her Ready Room.

[Captains Ready Room]

Julia was reviewing a PADD containing status reports from throughout the ship. Everything seemed to be running well and given the recent respite she had an extra bounce in her step. Her usual stoic disposition was interrupted with a smile that didn't seem to break. She stepped over to the replicator and got a cup of coffee before stepping onto the bridge to take over for commander K'Lizh.

[Bridge]

Julia stepped out of her office examining the PADD in her hand and taking a sip of her coffee. She was oblivious to the high jinks going on around her, at least until she heard a chuckle coming from the operations console. She looked up and saw herself taking a sip of coffee in her chair. "Really?" Julia shook her head and chuckled, looking to the floor before looking back up. "Commander, im going to assume this is your doing?" She said over her slight chuckle. 

[Ian Galloway]

[Holodeck three]

Ian climbed down from the battered P-40B Tomahawk and patted the side of the 'Highland Gal' and met the angry gaze of his crew chief.

"Sorry Scruffy, there were too many of them this time, Nates and Oscars were as thick as ticks on a coon hound. I got two of them if that makes you feel any better, but I could feel her shudder when she got hit. I dived out as soon as I could, but I know she took a beating this time."

The mechanic scowled and spit a gob of tobacco juice into the dust that was so common in Kunming.

"Damn flyboys. We'll be up all night this time. Go on, git. I've got too much work to be jabbering with the likes of you."

Ian nodded and turned to leave completely mortified by coming back in a damaged plane. He'd only taken a couple steps when Scruffy called to him.

"Next time get one more!"

He didn't smile, he wasn't known for that, but he didn't look angry anymore and that's about the best you could hope from the grumpy mechanic.

Ian waved and felt a little better as he called out.

"Computer. Exit. Save and end program Galloway four four two."

He made his way back to his quarters, quickly changing from Flying Tiger pilot to Starfleet helmsman and headed for the bridge, musing to himself as he rode the turbolift.

"Galland was an interestin' place. At least I got ta see some mountains and have a drink with the captain before those two buffoons Solluk and Jada injured themselves skiin'. I'm just glad that Vulcan only buggered up his leg and not his fool neck. Last thing I need is ta be short a pilot this far out in the Gamma Quadrant."

Ian entered the bridge and saw two captains. One at in her seat, the other standing next to it and staring at K'lizh with a look of resignation.

"Oh bollocks. Looks like ths is goin' ta be a long shift Ma'am."

He chuckled as he relieved the on duty helmsman and took the conn station without another word.

"I miss S'murr. I guess Caitians just have humor coded into their DNA."

[Kintiss]

"I hope you were able to enjoy your leave," he added.

[Sickbay]

"I did," Kintiss replied. "It wasss good to get away for..."

But then he spoke again.

"I think I was trying to impress a friend," Solluk said, "which is most illogical.  It's not something I would have done... in the past."

Kintiss wasn't exactly surprised. Solluk seemed like the type who made friends easily. "I can't help but..."

He paused, but just when someone might have assumed he was done speaking, he added:

"A female friend, actually.  It's possible I may have some latent attraction to her.  Perhaps that is why I felt motivated to impress her."

Ah, so it was love, the most illogical of emotions. No wonder the Vulcan seemed confused. At least he wasn't going through Pon farr. That was a nightmare to deal with. Still, it sounded like he could use a bit of advice on the whole thing.

"I've ssseen..."

Another pause, then:

"Which is foolhardy, because she is one of the few people I've come to know since my brain injury who fully accepts me for who I am."

The poor doctor didn't appreciate the interruptions. If Solluk kept it up, he'd have more than one injury very soon.

"If..."

Another pause.  He was clearly done talking.  Until:

"Have you ever found yourself attracted to a friend, Doctor?"

"No," Kintiss stated plainly. Hopefully, that would get the message across before Solluk started talking again.

It occurred to Solluk that his constant interjections were somewhat rude.  He supposed his anxiety was making him talkative, but that wasn't an excuse to continue doing it.

"I'm sorry, Doctor.  I seem to be monopolizing this conversation.  I'll quiet myself, now."

One second.  Two seconds.  Three seconds.

He almost opened his mouth to speak again, but killed the impulse while it was still in his mind.

Thank you, Kintiss thought, slightly relieved. He liked the Vulcan (it was difficult not to), but, by the gods, could he waffle on for an age.

"I know nothing about the heart, but your leg ssseemsss fine." Again, Solluk was at least listening to medical advice. "It'sss healing well enough."

[Solluk]

[Sickbay]

""I know nothing about the heart, but your leg ssseemsss fine." Again, Solluk was at least listening to medical advice. "It'sss healing well enough."

Solluk nodded.  "Thank you, Doctor.  Illogically, I think it has been helpful simply to vocalize concerns, even when no specific resolution is achieved.  You are a... good listener.  Perhaps you should work as a counselor part-time."

He smiled, feeling that some kind of gesture was called for, like the clasping of hand to shoulder.  But as a Vulcan, Solluk was ill-suited to initiating such contact.  As a crewman, this was further compounded because touching an officer in a fraternizing fashion was not particularly encouraged.  And of course, there was Solluk's irrational fear of giant serpents.

A consequence of this was that Solluk merely shifted awkwardly, trying to send what might colloquially be called 'positive vibes' via anxiety-ridden body language and facial expressions.

"Does this mean I can resume my full normal activities," he asked hopefully.

(tag)

[Klizh]

[Bridge]

Julia stepped out of her office examining the PADD in her hand and taking a sip of her coffee. She was oblivious to the high jinks going on around her, at least until she heard a chuckle coming from the operations console. She looked up and saw herself taking a sip of coffee in her chair. "Really?" Julia shook her head and chuckled, looking to the floor before looking back up. "Commander, im going to assume this is your doing?" She said over her slight chuckle.

The Captain's holographic doppelganger merely looked up at her serenely and sipped from its own mug of coffee. If Rellek were to look closely at K'lizh's console, the small screen showing the captain's reaction from the hologram's point of view would indeed confirm her assumption. He rotated in his seat and showed his palms in a Caitian "you caught me" gesture. "Yes, Captain. I thought it would boost the crew's morale to have you on the bridge even when you're not on the bridge," he said, his sonorous voice lilted with humor.

[Jada]

Sickbay

About then, the other half of Solluk's affliction entered the room. Gone was her air of cluros, the sense of cool and control Orions tried to project, and gone was her health and vigour, along with any sex appeal she'd had. Jada was pasty-faced, drowsy, off-balance, and perspiring despite the ship's atmosphere normally being too cold and dry for her. She was also sniffling back a runny nose.

Not that she would admit to being sick. Getting sick was natural, of course, but showing sickness, no, showing vulnerability was against the way of cluros. Besides, Jada didn't get sick anyway, not ever, no. She was fit and healthy, she was strong, she had the constitution of, well, an Orion. The feverish heat, reduced inhibition, and confused thoughts had to be a product of being in her heat cycle. The rest of the symptoms she couldn't explain; maybe some fresh hormonal curse. If they were back on the other side of the wormhole, out of the Outer Dark, she could contact her mother for advice. Her badi would know.

Not being sick, Jada had therefore come to Sickbay on another reason, or an excuse. 'Hello, Doctor Kintiss.' she greeted politely. Growing up with all the snakes of Thirat gave her no particular fear of the Selay. In fact: she parked a small animal carry tank on the table; inside was a small black snake. 'My snek is sick. She has a cough.' Jada sniffed, but Snake did not. It regarded Kintiss as like a kindred serpent, forked tongue tasting the air.

Then she saw Solluk, and was immediately distracted. She advanced intently on him, her dangerous and mysterious smile countered by the glazed expression in her dark eyes, sniffling nose, and pallid face. 'Hi, Solluk. So, your leg's all better now? Ready to throw it over me,' she sniffed, 'In wrestling?'

[Julia Rellek]

The Captain's holographic doppelganger merely looked up at her serenely and sipped from its own mug of coffee. If Rellek were to look closely at K'lizh's console, the small screen showing the captain's reaction from the hologram's point of view would indeed confirm her assumption. He rotated in his seat and showed his palms in a Caitian "you caught me" gesture. "Yes, Captain. I thought it would boost the crew's morale to have you on the bridge even when you're not on the bridge," he said, his sonorous voice lilted with humor.

[Bridge]

Julia couldn't help but chuckle, although she wanted to be angry. "Computer." Julia said as the ship responded acknowledging her. "End the holographic program." She ordered. The image in the Captains chair quickly faded away. "Safe to assume you've had a quiet night, Commander?" Julia asked.

[Kintiss]

Solluk nodded.  "Thank you, Doctor.  Illogically, I think it has been helpful simply to vocalize concerns, even when no specific resolution is achieved.  You are a... good listener.  Perhaps you should work as a counselor part-time."

He smiled, feeling that some kind of gesture was called for, like the clasping of hand to shoulder.  But as a Vulcan, Solluk was ill-suited to initiating such contact.  As a crewman, this was further compounded because touching an officer in a fraternizing fashion was not particularly encouraged.  And of course, there was Solluk's irrational fear of giant serpents.

A consequence of this was that Solluk merely shifted awkwardly, trying to send what might colloquially be called 'positive vibes' via anxiety-ridden body language and facial expressions.

"Does this mean I can resume my full normal activities," he asked hopefully.

[Sickbay]

Why would anyone want Kintiss as a counselor? He'd do a terrible job. Imagine going into the counselor's office and seeing him snacking on a rat or staring at them with his big black eyes. Scary enough for anyone without a heaping of issues.

And now he saw why Solluk was so eager for a follow-up exam; he just wanted to get back to work. Wasn't impatience supposed to be illogical? Yet here he was, practically unable to sit still. The scans looked like Solluk was able to get back to his regular duties, and he was certainly more than willing. Why not clear him?

"I'd ssssay..."

Not being sick, Jada had therefore come to Sickbay on another reason, or an excuse. 'Hello, Doctor Kintiss.' she greeted politely. Growing up with all the snakes of Thirat gave her no particular fear of the Selay. In fact: she parked a small animal carry tank on the table; inside was a small black snake. 'My snek is sick. She has a cough.' Jada sniffed, but Snake did not. It regarded Kintiss as like a kindred serpent, forked tongue tasting the air.

Then she saw Solluk, and was immediately distracted. She advanced intently on him, her dangerous and mysterious smile countered by the glazed expression in her dark eyes, sniffling nose, and pallid face. 'Hi, Solluk. So, your leg's all better now? Ready to throw it over me,' she sniffed, 'In wrestling?'

Kintiss suppressed an angry hiss. Bad enough that Solluk couldn't stop interrupting him, now everyone seemed to be doing it.

"Don't worry, chief. I'll have a quick look at her." He wasn't exactly an animal doctor, but he knew a few things about reptilian physiology. "But, yessss, Ssssolluk, you're cleared to return to duty. I'll notify Lieutenant Galloway. He'll be glad to have hisss department back up to full ssssstrength," he added as he approached the animal tank. The snake inside was a breed he hadn't seen before, and he was intrigued by it. As he gave the snake a brief once-over with the medical tricorder, he heard Jada sniffing loudly. Was she certain that she wasn't sick?