Rayek Fit for Duty Medical - Rayek and Lizzie only. (COMPLETED)

[Lizzie Vaughan]

Sickbay

It was a quiet morning. She had fed and changed her Daughter before putting her down for a nap and Lizzie was going though routine paperwork. After signing off several reports she came on the list of new joiners who still needed a medical. One immediately caught her eye. Crewman Rayek. The Romulan had only been on the ship a few days and he was something of a mystery to most of the crew. Most of his personnel file was heavily redacted and the medical file imply listed injuries and illnesses suffered and treatment given. No timescale or anything. She decided that since his could take the most time, she would get it done right away. She tapped her com-badge.

Vaughan to Rayek. Please report to Sickbay as soon as possible for your mandatory medical.

[Rayek trLhoell]

Crewman Rayek
[USS Challenger Á¢â,¬"œ Armory]

Following the Challenger's return to Starbase Columbus, Rayek had been tasked with inventorying the ships armory.  It was a good menial task that allowed Rayek a strong knowledge of where all weaponry was stored.

Sickbay

Vaughan to Rayek. Please report to Sickbay as soon as possible for your mandatory medical.

Rayek grimaced and tapped his comm before replying.    I am in the midst of an important security task at the moment Doctor.  Perhaps it can wait until next week?" 

[Lizzie Vaughan]

Crewman Rayek
[USS Challenger Á¢â,¬"œ Armory]

Following the Challenger's return to Starbase Columbus, Rayek had been tasked with inventorying the ships armory.  It was a good menial task that allowed Rayek a strong knowledge of where all weaponry was stored.

Rayek grimaced and tapped his comm before replying.    I am in the midst of an important security task at the moment Doctor.  Perhaps it can wait until next week?" 

Sickbay

Lizzie smiled, she could almost hear the grimace.

Unfortunately not Mr Rayek. I can wait until you finish your shift if you prefer, but this must be done before the end of the day. Failure to report will make you unfit for duty and I'm sure you don't want that! She replied, trying not to laugh.

[Rayek trLhoell]

Crewman Rayek
[Armory - Deck 9]

Sickbay

Lizzie smiled, she could almost hear the grimace.

Unfortunately not Mr Rayek. I can wait until you finish your shift if you prefer, but this must be done before the end of the day. Failure to report will make you unfit for duty and I'm sure you don't want that! She replied, trying not to laugh.

Of course not Doctor, I will be there just after the end of my shift

~ ~ ~
And true to his word, five minutes after the end of the Gamma shift, Rayek entered Sickbay looking none too pleased.  "Reporting as ordered."  As announced himself he looked over Sickbay, noting how many others were present and where exactly the medical replicator was located.

(Is your Sickbay so I'll let you determine those details... if you can please note them in your reply .. thank you)

[Lizzie Vaughan]

Crewman Rayek
[Armory - Deck 9]

Of course not Doctor, I will be there just after the end of my shift

~ ~ ~
And true to his word, five minutes after the end of the Gamma shift, Rayek entered Sickbay looking none too pleased.  "Reporting as ordered."  As announced himself he looked over Sickbay, noting how many others were present and where exactly the medical replicator was located.

(Is your Sickbay so I'll let you determine those details... if you can please note them in your reply .. thank you)

Sickbay

Lizzie was impressed. Less than 10 minutes after the end of his shift and Rayek arrived in Sickbay.

"Thank you Mr Rayek. If you will take a seat on bed two, we'll get started." She said, indicating the first of four beds along one wall.

She led the way over and pulled a trolley out that she had prepared in advance. She picked up the tricorder and waited for him to sit.

[Rayek trLhoell]

Crewman Rayek
[Sickbay]

Rayek's glance lingered a moment on the medical replicator almost wistfully before complying with the doctors orders, sitting on the bed with his legs hanging off the side.   Unfortunately, for Rayek, in addition to the doctor there were at least two nurses on duty, moving about the med bay.

Rayek wiped his palms on his slacks as he waited for the doctor to begin her scan.  He carefully kept his mental shields up in a foolish hope that if he didn't read her thoughts then her medical scanner would skim over the fact that he was able to pick up beta waves.

[Lizzie Vaughan]

Sickbay

Lizzie moved the probe of the tricorder over her patient. The initial scan revealed nothing other than he was a healthy male Romulan. However as the scan went deeper, she noticed several odd things. The most prominent was his Hippcampus, the part of his brain that involved memory and also any telepathic ability. Romulans, as most were not telepaths, had a Hippocampus approximately the same size as a human. In Vulcans, since they were touch telepaths, the Hippocampus was usually about 20% larger. Rayeks on the other hand, was even bigger. Though not as big as a Betazoids. This indicated that he had some telepathic ability, though what sort she was unable to tell. It as not of particular interest as telepathic ability, provided it was controlled, was widely accepted in the fleet.

Of more concern were the other points she could see. There was an elevated body temperature, signs of nausea and increased sweat production. She had seen symptoms like this during her service with the MSF. They were standard withdrawal symptoms for a large number of drugs, both legal and not. She needed to get to the bottom of this.

"You are basically healthy Mr Rayek." She said softly. "But I have found some things that don't appear to be recorded in your medical file. I just need to ask you a few questions. Firstly, please can you list any medications, whether prescribed or not, that you have taken within the last 30 days." She asked, her tone still soft.

[Rayek trLhoell]

Crewman Rayek
[Sickbay]

Rayek who had been studiously avoiding the doctors eye up to that point, briefly met eyes with her and what he saw was not good.  She had an alertness to her now despite her soft tones.

Rayek refocused his eyes ahead of him looking towards the medical replicator and refrained from wiping at his palms despite the sweat gathering there.  It was a tell - he knew.

He had only two choices at this point, despite the macabre imagery that played in his mind that suggested at a third option. He could feign ignorance and deny any drug use, and possibly gain access to the medical files later to alter them to support his claims if she did bring the issue up to his superiors - not an ideal solution given his goal to adapt to Starfleet life but entirely doable.  Or he could tell the truth now and face reprimand and possible dismissal or jail time.

The decision was far from easy for Rayek, his instinct initially after so many years of subterfuge was to lie and he opened his mouth to do exactly that when he paused, his eyes level with the doctors medical blue collar of her uniform when he turned to answer.  The same blue that Saqa7 wore.

Rayek let out a slow breath and raised his eyes to meet Dr Vaughan's. "I am recently off sseikae-khoi.  It is a synthetic beta-wave inhibitor."

[Lizzie Vaughan]

Crewman Rayek
[Sickbay]

Rayek who had been studiously avoiding the doctors eye up to that point, briefly met eyes with her and what he saw was not good.  She had an alertness to her now despite her soft tones.

Rayek refocused his eyes ahead of him looking towards the medical replicator and refrained from wiping at his palms despite the sweat gathering there.  It was a tell - he knew.

He had only two choices at this point, despite the macabre imagery that played in his mind that suggested at a third option. He could feign ignorance and deny any drug use, and possibly gain access to the medical files later to alter them to support his claims if she did bring the issue up to his superiors - not an ideal solution given his goal to adapt to Starfleet life but entirely doable.  Or he could tell the truth now and face reprimand and possible dismissal or jail time.

The decision was far from easy for Rayek, his instinct initially after so many years of subterfuge was to lie and he opened his mouth to do exactly that when he paused, his eyes level with the doctors medical blue collar of her uniform when he turned to answer.  The same blue that Saqa7 wore.

Rayek let out a slow breath and raised his eyes to meet Dr Vaughan's. "I am recently off sseikae-khoi.  It is a synthetic beta-wave inhibitor."

Sickbay

Lizzie listened to his response, nodding in understanding. She then picked up a PADD that had his medical file. It did not list that particular drug, so she assumed he had been self medicating.

"I see." She replied. "Well thank you for being honest with me. Can I ask why you were taking them, and more importantly, why you did not seek medical advice before doing so?" She asked, keeping her voice soft as she needed to see if this was something she could keep under Doctor/Patient confidentiality or if she would have to report it.

She had already figured at least one part of her question, and it was directly related to the enlarged Hippocampus she had seen on her scan. She hoped he would continue to be honest as she could not help him if he tried to deceive.

[Rayek trLhoell]

Crewman Rayek
[Sickbay]

Lizzie listened to his response, nodding in understanding. She then picked up a PADD that had his medical file. It did not list that particular drug, so she assumed he had been self medicating.

"I see." She replied. "Well thank you for being honest with me. Can I ask why you were taking them, and more importantly, why you did not seek medical advice before doing so?" She asked, keeping her voice soft as she needed to see if this was something she could keep under Doctor/Patient confidentiality or if she would have to report it.

She had already figured at least one part of her question, and it was directly related to the enlarged Hippocampus she had seen on her scan. She hoped he would continue to be honest as she could not help him if he tried to deceive.

With his barriers up, Rayek couldn't tell if the doctor was being honestly sincere with her thanks or merely placating him to get him to confess more. Rayek considered his answer carefully before speaking. "I would rather not go into details, Doctor, suffice it to say that I started the medication several years prior to joining Starfleet and medical advice on the matter was not a high priority.  I have since kept my reliance on them to myself as I am fully aware of their illegality when not prescribed."

With the cat out of the bag, as Terrans would say, Rayek attempted to pre-empt the beasts attack with some insight of his own.

"I did not intend to mislead Starfleet, but as no one was being affected, other than myself, I saw no harm in it."   He explained in quiet tones. "In fact, I rather suspect my long-term use of it was not commented on by previous Academy doctors as they realized my self-medication was benefitting all around me."

[Lizzie Vaughan]

Crewman Rayek
[Sickbay]

With his barriers up, Rayek couldn't tell if the doctor was being honestly sincere with her thanks or merely placating him to get him to confess more. Rayek considered his answer carefully before speaking. "I would rather not go into details, Doctor, suffice it to say that I started the medication several years prior to joining Starfleet and medical advice on the matter was not a high priority.  I have since kept my reliance on them to myself as I am fully aware of their illegality when not prescribed."

With the cat out of the bag, as Terrans would say, Rayek attempted to pre-empt the beasts attack with some insight of his own.

"I did not intend to mislead Starfleet, but as no one was being affected, other than myself, I saw no harm in it."   He explained in quiet tones. "In fact, I rather suspect my long-term use of it was not commented on by previous Academy doctors as they realized my self-medication was benefitting all around me."

Sickbay

Lizzie nodded, figuring that was probably the case.

"I understand your desire for privacy Mr Rayek." She replied soothingly. "And it is not my intent to get you into trouble. However, you must realise that synthetic compounds like these can be extremely addictive." She paused before continuing. "How long has it been since you took a dose?" She asked. "I only mention it because it looks like you are going through the early stages of withdrawal." She added.

[Rayek trLhoell]

Crewman Rayek
[Sickbay]

At her words, Rayek shifted on the med-bed uncomfortably, and kept his sweating palms against his pant legs.  He had thought that might be the case. Fvadt!

"Just a few days. The morning before boarding" he admitted not mentioning that he'd had to ditch his weeks supply because of the overzealousness of a particular Starbase security.

"What are my options from this point, Dr Vaughan?  Are you able to provide me with a valid prescription for the medication?" He left the alternative unsaid.

[Lizzie Vaughan]

Crewman Rayek
[Sickbay]

At her words, Rayek shifted on the med-bed uncomfortably, and kept his sweating palms against his pant legs.  He had thought that might be the case. Fvadt!

"Just a few days. The morning before boarding" he admitted not mentioning that he'd had to ditch his weeks supply because of the overzealousness of a particular Starbase security.

"What are my options from this point, Dr Vaughan?  Are you able to provide me with a valid prescription for the medication?" He left the alternative unsaid.

Lizzie thought for a moment before replying.

"I can give you a prescription for these, but only on two conditions. One, if I am certain they are the best option and two, why on earth are you trying to suppress your telepathic abilities?" She asked

[Rayek trLhoell]

Crewman Rayek
[Sickbay]

Lizzie thought for a moment before replying.

"I can give you a prescription for these, but only on two conditions. One, if I am certain they are the best option and two, why on earth are you trying to suppress your telepathic abilities?" She asked

Rayek once more seemed cautious about his words. The doctor was actually considering his request he didn't want to say anything that might jeopardize his chances.

"Initially they were to prevent another from attempting to access my thoughts. She was quite powerful and would easily overwhelm my attempts to block her."

He frowned suddenly realizing he'd all but done the same thing to Miss Moors his first day. He had been trying to help but he hadn't waited for her permission - just abruptly told her to not resist.

He looked up to the doctor "It is just best for all not to have a telepathic Romulan roaming your ship, Doctor.  I'm sure you can agree that people would accept my presence much more readily that way."

[Lizzie Vaughan]

Crewman Rayek
[Sickbay]

Rayek once more seemed cautious about his words. The doctor was actually considering his request he didn't want to say anything that might jeopardize his chances.

"Initially they were to prevent another from attempting to access my thoughts. She was quite powerful and would easily overwhelm my attempts to block her."

He frowned suddenly realizing he'd all but done the same thing to Miss Moors his first day. He had been trying to help but he hadn't waited for her permission - just abruptly told her to not resist.

He looked up to the doctor "It is just best for all not to have a telepathic Romulan roaming your ship, Doctor.  I'm sure you can agree that people would accept my presence much more readily that way."

Lizzie frowned, he seemed almost scared of his abilities. Something she had almost never come across.

"I understand your concern and I am willing to give you a weekly prescription for more effective and less addictive drug that will do the same thing. In return I will need you to see the councillor at least once before you come back to get it refilled. I will also refer you to a Vulcan Doctor I know who can teach to how to control your abilities without the need of medication, both for you entering someone else's mind and someone else entering yours. In addition I will give you something to ease your current symptoms. Do you accept this arrangement?" She asked.