Topic: Star Trek: Veiled Chimera
Subject: Following Up
Stardate 2365.02.21
USS Peregrine, Bridge – 1450
As compared to the simulated attack on the Peregrine that had precipitated Tochi’s arrival on the bridge this morning, the remainder of his command shift had been uneventful, perhaps even boring. There had been little for him to do aside from monitoring the goings on, tending the tedium of administration, and, on occasion, calling out for sensor sweeps or course adjustments. Monotonous as it had been, the Trill was grateful for it and, in fact, took advantage of the situation by letting the ship run itself, for the most part. He had occupied some time by compiling a series of training simulations and combat scenarios for Flight Control. Other moments he had given over to contemplating and, in some cases, modifying schematics for the Angel. Still others he simply let his mind wander; trying to remember when he had last shared a meal and a conversation with Asovil… wondering about the curious overlap and melding of his memories with his symbiont’s previous hosts; was it a side effect of his insomnia, perhaps, or something else?
As if cued by that last thought, his comm-badge chirruped; =/=Lt Reine to Commander Zai.=/=
Tochi tapped his badge in acknowledgement. “Zai here,” he replied, “What can we do for you Doctor?”
=/=Well, sir, I find myself with a bit of free time available,=/= came the response, =/=and I was wondering if I might convince you to come to Sick Bay following your shift? I’d like to follow up with you in regards to your last visit.=/=
Glancing at the chrono and taking note of the arrival of Beta shift personnel, Tochi nodded faintly. “Of course, Doctor Reine,” he said, motioning Lt Nyle over, “We’ll wrap things up here and will be down shortly.”
=/=Very well. See you soon. Reine out.=/=
Sliding from the Big Chair, Tochi looked up at the Daa’vit OPS officer. “If you don’t mind, Lt Nyle,” he said, “we’ll hand you the bridge a few minutes early.”
“I don’t mind, at all, sir,” Nyle nodded.
“Very good,” Zai smiled before briefing his relief on Alpha shift’s activities and status of the ship…
“…and with that, Lieutenant, we leave the Peregrine in your capable hands,” Tochi finished, turning for the turbolift as Nyle took his place in the Big Chair, “You have the bridge.”
USS Peregrine; Deck 4; Sickbay – 1455
Tochi was greeted by a few glances from the medical staff and a faint smile from Chief Cook as he strode through the doors of Sickbay.
“Good afternoon, Commander,” Chief Cook said, looking up from her PADD and nodding in the direction of Reine’s office, “The Doctor is expecting you.”
“Thank you, Dana,” Zai smiled back, making his way to the CMO’s office.
“Yes sir.”
At the door to Reine’s office, Tochi cued the call chime and waited. Once the response came, he stepped through the door to be greeted by the Doctor, smiling warmly at him from behind her desk. “Good afternoon, Melody,” he grinned, offering a nod as he slipped into the chair opposite her.
“Good afternoon Commander, I trust you have recovered from this morning’s excitement?”
“I have,” Tochi chuckled softly, “Though we imagine that Ensign Garner might be having a rougher go of it.”
Melody chuckled in response, “How did you put it? ‘The art of victory is learned in defeat’?” She clasped her hands before her on the desk, “I am sure he will be learning much in the days to come. Now, to business. How have you been since your last visit? Has the anesthizine seemed to help or have any other affect?”
The Trill seemed to contemplate the question for a long moment before offering a vague shrug. “It did help make actually falling asleep easier,” he said, “and, panic at being awoken to a Red Alert aside, we felt fairly well-rested when we woke up. There may have been some side effects, though… We… I…”
He fell silent, again, one hand lifting to absently rub at the spots on his neck as he wrestled with how best to explain the dream/memory. How did one go about making a human understand the complexities of having the memories and various personality traits of numerous lives, spanning hundreds of years? How best to explain that, in most cases, the overlap was a negligible thing, easily dealt with and adapted to, but that, lately, it had become more difficult for him and that the way Dirven’s memories had woven themselves into Tochi’s dreams just wasn’t a thing that was supposed to happen.
“Commander?”
“…Apologies,” Tochi smiled sheepishly, “We were just trying to figure out the best way to explain it.” He sighed, leaned forward a bit, and folded his hands together on his side of the desk. “I had a dream,” he started to explain, “more like a memory, really… a memory belonging to a previous host, in fact… but, in this dream, the memory actually seemed to be mine rather than his. It was like I had replaced him in his own life… his own memories… and replaced others, there, as well. It was… well… unsettling, we suppose.”
He shook his head, then, and, with a chuckle and an almost exasperated gesture, leaned heavily back into his seat, pressing his hands to his temples. “We’re sure this sounds entirely crazy to you.”
“No, Tochi, of course it doesn’t,” Reine mimicked his posture as she leaned back in her own chair, thinking briefly of the state her mind had been in after the accident, “Human minds alone are complex, varied, enigmatic at best even today. A Trill’s minds . . . well you see where I am going. For the time being, if the anesthizine is helping you sleep and feel rested, I would suggest continuing with it, unless your symptoms begin to worsen. In which case, stop taking them and contact me immediately.”
She looked away for a moment, already contemplating the steps she would be taking to look into occurrences like his in the past and what it had meant for the Trill it affected. “I will do some research and perhaps confer with my colleagues on what you have shared with me. We’ll touch base when I am able to provide you with more information and a more assured course of action. Are you comfortable with this, Commander? If the anesthizine is too unbearable as it is, I can find you an alternative now. It may not be as immediately effective as the anesthizine, but it may temper the, intensity of the dreams you are having.”
The Trill shook his head and smiled. “No,” he said, “The anesthizine seems to work fine for what was intended. We just weren’t prepared for the strangeness of the dreams, I suppose.” His spots went purple, then, and his cheeks might have flushed a bit as he recalled that particular fantasy. “I can’t even say that it was unpleasant,” he confessed, leaning forward again and resting his elbows on his knees as he smiled across the desk at the doctor, “just… disorienting.
We should be accustomed to that, I suppose,” he grinned, “and unsurprised by it, given the recent state of things. Now that the Captain has taken his command back, though, we imagine things will fall into place soon enough.”
Although she hadn’t given her consent for him to do so, the XO rose from his seat and took a tentative step away from the chair. “Perhaps a return to our typical routine will facilitate an end to the oddity of it all, yes?”
Melody stood as well and joined him on the other side of her desk, “It certainly wouldn’t hurt.”
The Trill chuckled softly, perhaps with more of a tinge of exhaustion coloring the sound than he might have intended, and took another step toward the door. He paused, though, and glanced back at the woman, an almost mischievous expression playing on his features. “That reminds me,” he said, “I believe you challenged me to a bout not long ago and we have yet to cross blades, Doctor. Perhaps we might remedy that soon, hm?”
A grin spread across her face, “I believe I had. Are you finally prepared to learn of the art of victory, Commander?”
“I look forward to it,” Zai grinned roguishly, “Thank you for your time, Melody. We’ll be sure to let you know how things progress.”
“Very well, Tochi, enjoy the rest of your day.”
The commander gave the doctor a swift nod before heading out of her office.
Posted on 2019-11-14 at 00:51:44.
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What game do you own the 
Return to Charadun - Q&A
The Morphing Game
Return to Charadun - Recr
Seriously, 100% of the time I fail this "random" system *throws table over* the average of my rolls came to 54, and I rolled a 33. I just did it again for shits and giggles with a different set of dice, the average came to 44, and I rolled a 29.
