Lt. J.G. Trovek Arys - Family Ties

[Alora DeVeau]

 

((Ghemor Memorial Hospital, Andak, Cardassia Prime))

 

There were many aspects of Cardassia that had drawn Arys in, intrigued and fascinated her, and made her feel right at home. The larger cities were brimming with life, a fusion of Cardassian and Federation influence that kept the homesickness at bay, and yet sated her hunger for new experiences. The smaller villages were less cosmopolitan and more intimate, and much like the Cardassian community back on Starbase 118, offering artisan specialties and a glimpse into how old traditions could enrich new culture. Lukin’s home was located in the outskirts of Andak, and Arys never tired of admiring the the mountains that rose from the north and the west, and how the black rock glittered in the Cardassian sun.  

 

But then there were the harsh realities that came to light if one knew what to look for, and suddenly Cardassia was once more an alien planet, and so very different from the Federation. Arys had learned this the hard way when Geleth was in need of medical attention, and when the called emergency skimmer did not arrive because, as an orphan, her priority was not high enough. Arys had decided to cheat the system and used her own ID bracelet to indicate an emergency, and eventually Geleth had received the care she needed, but only as far as her priority allowed.

 

Lukin, Arys knew, had a meeting with Ferri and would return home late. She had found her own solution for the problem, and she wasn’t quite sure into how much trouble she had gotten herself with it. 

 

Nurse: Here is her room. 

 

The Cardassian halted in front of a hospital room, and the door promptly opened. Arys stepped inside, and decided then and there that she had made the right choice. The walls were pale but not sterile, and the lighting was less harsh that that of the rooms low-priority patients were kept in. A large window offered different settings and currently allowed a view on the Cardassian sunset, and a holoemitter allowed for entertainment if it was wished for. 

An adjustable hospital bed stood in the middle of the room, and between comfortable looking sheets of the standard grey fabric, Geleth was sleeping. The girl has been sedated when Rishon had discovered a growth in the girls lung, and decided that a sample was needed. 

 

Arys walked over to Geleth, pulling a chair to the side of the girl’s bed, and taking her hand. She looked pale, more pale than usual, and while she had access to Geleth’s medical file and was thus informed about the treatment plan, she still worried. 

 

And she wasn’t just worried about Geleth. Arys had, strictly seen, broken the law when she had used her own emergency beacon to call for help. She could claim that she didn’t *know* any better, had assumed that Geleth’s was broken, and perhaps people would believe her. 

What was a lot more difficult to explain away however was how she had essentially bribed a stressed and overworked head of Paediatrics to grant her privileges. 

 

When Doctor Ganra had taken Geleth away, Arys had - true to her word - sought out the interns superior. He had turned out to be a middle-aged Cardassian who was head of an understaffed department and hadn’t slept in days, and had stopped just short of hugging Arys when she had offered her help in exchange for an increase in priority for Geleth. 

 

And now? Now she was, apparently, working in a Cardassian hospital, and needed to figure out a way to explain Lukin why that was the case. No matter. She sighed and reached for Geleth’s hand. To say that she loved the girl was perhaps a little early, but she was her brother’s daughter. That made her family. And Arys had failed her father and grandfather, and she wouldn’t fail Geleth.

 

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Lt. J.G. Trovek Arys 

Medical Officer 

Starbase 118 Ops

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