Lending a Hand

Posted on Wed Sep 27th, 2023 @ 12:26am by Cadet Senior Grade Toareth Darqa & Cadet Senior Grade Ki'ana

2,614 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: **ARCHIVED** 0 - Assignment Day
Location: Corridor
Timeline: Current

After perusing, again, the list of cadets going on the Cadet Cruise aboard the Stardancer, Toareth spotted the assignment of a Kelpien as well. Surprise made her nearly inhale and choke on her coffee. Kelpiens, though members of the Federation for a long time now, was still a people Toareth had not studied in great detail. This one, “Ki’ana,” she hoped she got the name right as she looked at the roster, was going to be working in Science. Seeing as how Science and Medical oftentimes worked hand in hand, Toareth found she really wanted to meet Ki’ana and get a good working relationship going.

Taking a quick glance at Ki’ana’s profile, Toareth saw that she, like every cadet (minus Toareth of course) was aged no more than 25. Excitement took hold of her as she felt there was a chance for her to study and gain valuable medical information on Kelpiens pre- and post-vahar’ai as well as see physiological changes going on during the process.

Toareth, after finishing up a project in the infirmary, and realizing she still had a few hours on her shift, made up a reason to go to the Sciences building as most of the classes were being release. She would have a chance to catch up to and introduce herself to Ki’ana. Finding a Kelpien among others in the crowd was akin to finding a targ among a large number of newborn canine pups. No real searching or scanning of areas was needed. Just look for…and Toareth spotted her; started in Ki’ana’s direction.

Of course just showing up and introducing herself would have seemed awkward, Toareth needed a reason to speak to her.

“Excuse me,” Toareth said. Only two students remained between the two in the hallway as Toareth came up from behind. “Excuse me. Ki’ana?” One student. “Am I pronouncing that right?”

Ki'ana seemed a little bit spooked at being surprised from behind, but for someone supposedly as jumpy and prone to flight as her people tended to be, she played it off rather well. "Yes, that's right." Ki'ana smiled at the brunette. This girl looked about twenty max - though she'd learned that there were plenty of humanlike long-lived species running around and she could've been anywhere from twenty to two hundred - but that wasn't as important at the moment. She carried in her arms a sizeable stack of books, too heavy for most humanoids to manage unaided. "Either you know me as the President of the Mess Committee, or you've taken the trouble to learn my name - so what's up?" People didn't usually seek her out in particular - if anything it was usually her doing the seeking - this was a rather refreshing change, to say the least.

“Toareth Darqa,” she introduced herself. “I am going to be the Cadet CMO aboard the Cadet Cruise you are likewise assigned to. I found you as I was looking over the crew manifest,” she explained. The pair moved along with the other students moving about the corridor. “I have a project I would like to work on while on cruise. It will take some scientific insight as well. I was hoping you might be able to find the time to assist me.”

"Oh? Do tell me more." So she'd found her while in the process of perusing the crew's medical files, she reckoned - par for the course for a medical officer, surely. That a medical officer would seek her out and ask her assistance with a personal project, though, was quite unusual indeed. What kind of project could it be, she wondered. "What kind of scientific input will you need?"

“Well, you may be aware that we will also have an Orion on board. You may or may not have identified me as El-Aurian,” she looked around awkwardly, behind them, then took a quick look at Ki’ana, all but a split second, hoping she would be able to spot Ki’ana’s ganglia. Didn’t. “We El-Aurians get confused for humans all the time. And, of course live a very long time. We are also hypersensitive to the…um…” Toareth lowered her voice and moved in on Ki’ana slightly in an attempt to have this conversation a little more discreetly. The population in the corridor had mitigated anyway. “We are hypersensitive to the pheromones of Orion females. Adverse even. El-Aurian females are the ones who find themselves falling head over heels in love with the Orion while El-Aurian males are the ones with an inexplicable disdain for the Orion. I do have medication that I can take. There are also pheromone blockers Orions can take to mitigate the effects.” Toareth moved a finger about the collar of her undershirt as she brought to mind the time she initially met an Orion female. Just thinking about made her break out in a slight sweat. “I was hoping you could help me with the scientific research in finding a permanent solution. If one can be found that it. If not, at least there is the medication.”

Oh, right. El-Aurian. Which sort of raised the age this brunette could've been from eighteen ro about three or four hundred. Wonderful! "I actually didn't know that about El-Aurians. I've never read any case studies on it in my classes." Ki'ana began to make for their dorms, exiting the main building and walking towards their acommodation in the cadets' wings. "My specialty is botany, not biology or biochemistry as this seems to fall under - but I'm sure I can link you up with a professor, and I'll be happy to help however I can." She fished a PADD from her pocket and began to scroll through names on a spreadsheet; she'd seen many professors for consultations and had by now memorized many of their names. "I'm not sure a permanent solution can be found aside from genetic engineering, though - this is a biological trait you're speaking of, yes?"

Toareth nodded. "It is biological, yes" she answered. So Ki'ana seemed unable to assist with this thus removing the possibility of them two working together frequently. All was not lost however. "There may yet be a botanical answer to this. Still, I would appreciate any links you can send me." In truth, Toareth was not interested in any links whatsoever. She did notice Ki'ana was having to carry her books all the while working her PADD. "Oh, I can carry some of that if you want...to free up and hand and all."

"I'll be sure to send them over if I can find any! Don't you worry!" Ki'ana flashed a disarmingly sweet smile. "Oh, my stuff? Sure, be my guest! I'd be glad for the help; these books are heavier than they look, heh..."

Toareth took what was handed to her and handled them as expertly as she could. "Yeah." They were a bit on the heavy side but not outside Toareth's strength or endurance, as long as they were going as far as the dorms.

Once part of her burden had been relieved she resumed walking to her dorm room with Toareth in tow. She wasn't quite ready to let her new friend go just yet; if anything she was just as eager to hear more about her life experience - surely an El-Aurian had to have some valuable life experiences to share.

Toareth followed close by Ki'ana's side. "So what brings a Kelpien to Starfleet. I know you have been a part of the Federation for some time now. I have not read of many serving in Starfleet however."

"Well, I wanted to learn more about plants, for one. In depth." Ki'ana replied as they entered the hallway of her dorm and made it down to the seventh door from the entrance. The light scent of jasmine or something floral hit the pair as soon as the door slid open; Ki'ana's side of the room was neatly kept as per regulation, of course, with the sole exception being some kind of diffuser situated on her bedside table. "I don't usually get a lot of guests," She admitted with a sheepish giggle. "Make yourself at home if you like. Would you like anything? A drink? Something to eat?"

"Nothing to eat, thank you. To drink...El-Aur spiced tea, please. The replicator knows it. It should, I programmed it myself." Toareth spoke as she placed Ki'ana's books down upon the nearest desk and looked about the place. The room was tidy and the smell of fantastic. "I am impressed with that you have done to the place. My dorm...well..." It was a shared room with someone else; the Orion mentioned earlier and her side was decorated with but two unpacked duffels. "...It is not much to look at." The smell about Ki'ana's room though brought a memory to Toareth and it saddened her visibly. She did not sit, just stood there and looked around, admiring the place somberly.

Ki'ana wasn't empathic in the slightest, but she could most certainly tell when someone was sad, or simply just off. "Is everything alright?" She asked as she brought over their drinks; El-Aur spiced tea for her friend and a tall glass of iced lemon tea for herself. "You seem a bit... sad. Has something happened of late?"

"As of late?" Toareth repeated the words with a singular laugh of irony. "No," she sipped her tea. "Not as of late. But a long time ago. This scent you have in the air," Toareth inhale a lung full and let it go, "it reminds me of my homeworld. It was the natural smell of the atmosphere because of a flower that was in abundance the world over." She sipped at her tea again. "This smell, what is it?" Then better judgment took hold. "No. Do not tell me." Shaking her head, "I don't want to know. It...um...just, don't tell me, please."

Oh, right. The El-Aurians had also lost their home a long, long time ago - the scent of jasmine in the air must've stirred up memories - memories Toareth could never relive again. Ever. "I can turn it off if you like." She offered, walking towards the diffuser with a somber expression on her face. "I just want you to be comfortable. I can do without it, don't worry."

Toareth showed a palm to stop Ki'ana. "No, it's...it's fine." The sadness started waning. "Sometimes, memories can catch you off guard. Please, leave it on. In fact," she raised the cup of tea as example, "I programmed this tea for the same reason. Since I do not know, and do not want to know, the name of this scent, you can bet it took a while of telling the computer to randomize until," she sniffed at, then sipped at, her tea. "I, of course, have no authority to tell you what to do, but keep your quarters aboard the cruise as close to this as possible. Don't make any changes on account of me."

"If you say so." Ki'ana replied, settling down on the sofa and patting the empty spot next to her. "Well, what brought you to Starfleet, Toareth? And medicine? It's not easy being here, but you know that, of course."

"Toar," Toareth said as she stepped forward accepting Ki'ana's invite. "You can call me Toar." She lowered herself onto the sofa beside Ki'ana. "Well, after the Scattering, that is us fleeing our homeworld, I was aboard one of three transports. We didn't not pick a destination. Our world was being destroyed. Our only objective was to escape. The pilots pointed in a direction and went to warp.We just happened to have been headed in this direction. I spent decades in the cramped confines of those transports. Early on though, I was asked to help patch people up, heal injuries. I became a nurse and that became second nature to me. After the Enterprise-Bravo rescue, I stayed on Earth a few years then ventured out in search of other El-Aurians and found work in a medical capacity here and there. I don't know why it took so long for me to do this, but I finally decided to join Starfleet; to turn my experience in the medical field into something official."

"How do you feel? Receiving training to become a proper doctor? You're going to be the cadet chief medical officer aren't you?" Ki'ana asked, leaning forward in her seat. "Surely you must be feeling the pressure somewhat. You're going to have a team of your own, and all. Right?"

"Yes," Toareth started. "I've not really had to lead a team before on a scale such as this. But that is what this cruise is all about. Learning real world experiences. In short, I feel good about it. Yeah there is pressure and stress. That goes along with all fields. It's not like we are going to find ourselves leaderless, behind the proverbial enemy lines, without a place to call home save for our ship." The remoteness of that scenario was amazing. "Yes, I feel good about it." Toareth looked at Ki'ana; finally spotted those ganglia. "I think we are all going to experience and learn a great deal. And you," she sipped her tea, "are you looking forward to all the science...stuff, the unknown and all?"

Ki'ana's ganglia lay flat against her head, which meant that at the moment she didn't feel threatened - a good thing, really. She smiled back at the El-Aurian a little wistfully. "Yeah." She responded. "But I'm going to miss stuff like this. You know? We're going to be very, very busy when we do start training on the Stardancer and we both know it. I guess then we won't have as much time to share meals like this then, will we? So I say we make these times last."

"We will be busy, but that does not mean we cannot find the time for things like this," Toareth gestured about the place with her cup of tea, "shared time like we are now. Should our ranking officers try to find something for us to do, that is when we make our own work. My request for your help in helping find out more about my hypersensitivity to Orion pheromones, you could exaggerate a minor injury, um..." Ki'ana may want Toar's help in getting through the vahar'ai, "things like that," she finished.

"Or I could simply say that I'm helping you with a project." Ki'ana replied with a smile. "And be honest about it. Our instructors will like that. Maybe they'll offer help. We'll be stuck together for a while. Maybe we'll discover something new along the way. And you know what? If everything fails, I suppose we can just put a clothespeg on your nose." Speaking of nose, Ki'ana's scrunched up slightly. "Hmph. What is a clothespeg, anyway? Somehow I feel like they don't actually fit on noses."

"It's a," Toareth began, "a pinch; a wooden pinch. It fits over a wire stretched tight between two posts and pinches closed to hold clothes in place as they dry after a wash." She looked at Ki'ana with a shrug of her brow. She had been to many places and seen many things over many years; clothespegs being one. "In your example, it would fit on my nose and pinch my nostrils shut, therefore keeping me from inhaling and being effected by the pheromones." After another sip of tea, she nodded. "Yeah, I think that too could work."

 

RSS Feed