Lt. Alieth - The Vulcan that Failed

[Bryce Tagren-Quinn]

@Alieth- the depth in which you write for your characters never ceases to amaze me. So many intricate layers, rich and vibrant worlds and lives. Real. Nicely done!! 
 

((Primary Sickbay, Deck 7, USS Gorkon))

 

Alieth had gone to the Gorkon's main sickbay, not as a medical officer, whether official or unofficial, but to undergo the mandatory medical check-up as she approached her first year of service on the starship. And, incidentally, to make an assessment of the minor injuries she had experienced on the Sasu Gol since, like a competent physician, despite being knowledgeable enough to know when the sickbay needed to be treated, she had a penchant for downplaying her own wounds or healing them on her own. 

 

Poorly, most times than not. 

 

This had even been a recurring point of argument with some of her fellow Academy colleagues, such as Ikaia or Robin, but she had never quite managed to get out of the habit, something that both of them, each stationed in a different part of the galaxy, never failed to point her out now and then.

 

The man in charge of her check-up had been the same newly arrived doctor from whom she had stolen the operating theatre to attend to Desoa's injuries, which had forced an apology, so the start of the process had been suboptimal in the Vulcan's estimation. 

 

However, the ensign had demonstrated far more bedside manners than she had ever managed to develop and had followed the process carefully, all the way up to the regulations and without dwelling on points that the Vulcan did not feel too inclined to elaborate on. Such as, for example, the physical consequences that stress had had and still was having on her. She could argue that it was a natural reaction, admittedly, yet she should have been overcoming or suppress it weeks ago, and she saw that a flaw in her behaviour that embarrassed her.

 

Bryce-Quinn focused however on the physical wounds, with special care on the sensitive Vulcan hands, to finally consider said injuries healed.

 

The process moved on, questions and answers, as the young-looking, elderly-eyed man kept taking notes.

 

At a certain point, the biobed dinged with an abnormal result, a red light flashing on the mirrored display near Alieth's face. The petite Vulcan's eyebrows furrowed as she tried unsuccessfully to read the reversed results.

 

Alieth: What is wrong, doctor Tagren-Quinn?

 

Tagren-Quinn: Your CMP and nutrition labs just came in. You are showing some deficiencies. 
 

 

The Vulcan's lips narrowed into a thin line. It was true that her meals lately had been sporadic at best, and that she lived on zhar-kur tei and coffee more days than not, but she didn't think it had become a problem. Yes, perhaps her cheekbones and jawline were more pronounced than usual, and perhaps the complexion of her face was more pronouncedly angular than customary, but he was not aware that she had reached a point that would show up on the scans.

 

She leaned forward to try to unravel the set of spider feet that rolled in the hologram in front of her.

 

Alieth: What are the deficiencies I need to be aware of?

 

Tagren-Quinn: Are… are you able to read this test result for me? 

 

He indicated the screen and swivelled it to give her a better angle. She squinted a little more until her eyes became two tiny slits.

 

Alieth: ::blinking in confusion:: No, I cannot.

 

 

The doctor's face contorted into that expression that each and every emotional doctor Alieth had ever met wore when they discovered something intriguing. The kind that made humans shout "Eureka" and Vulcans murmur "fascinating".

 

Tagren-Quinn: When did you first notice the visual disturbances?  

 

Alieth's lips tightened tighter than her eyes had ever tightened before. She stared at Tagren-Quinn, with a look that would have possibly turned the man to ashes at that very point if willpower could be turned into a burst of obliterating energy. Eventually, she let out the tiniest of sighs.

 

Alieth: About a month and a half. ::Her own lack of precision prompted the corner of her mouth to curl down minutely before she corrected herself.:: Forty-two days and seven hours.

 

Tagren-Quinn: Response

 

 

The petite Vulcan looked away from the meandering letters she couldn't read and focused somewhere behind the doctor's shoulder, on the dance of slightly blurred lights that was the sickbay to her. It soon became apparent to her that she recognised some of the crewmen there not by their features, but by the way they moved, a further sign that there was a problem.

 

Alieth: Indeed, that sort of defect runs in the family. Frequent in Vulcans who have spent a lot of time in the Forge's sands. My records probably contain information about my family medical background in that regard.

 

Tagren-Quinn: Response

 

The image of his father carrying visual aids appeared in her mind's eye, even though it was something that had happened thirty-nine years ago. A tiny grimace stirred Alieth's placid features for a fleeting moment. Even the solemn, graceful Saros had been little flattered by the device. And she would handle the thing with even less elegance.

 

Alieth: Indded, za-thakau-nosh1 and fa-thakau-nosh2  ::Her gaze returned to the young doctor.:: As far as I know, it is operable once it has reached its full development. At what stage is it?

 

Tagren-Quinn: Response

 

Alieth: That is inconvenient. 

 

Alieth: She anticipated that she would not like the answer, but she asked anyway.

 

Which measures can we take until it is fully developed?

 

Tagren-Quinn: Response

 

OOC:

 

1za-thakau-nosh → an abnormal condition of the eye in which vision is better for distant objects than for near objects. Often coupled with other eye musculature problems.

2fa-thakau-nosh →  eyesight abnormality resulting from the eye's faulty refractive ability; distant objects appear blurred; near-sightedness 


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Lt. Alieth
Chief Science Officer

USS Gorkon NCC-82293 
E239702A10  
Image Collective Facilitator /Art Director
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[Alora DeVeau]

I FEEL this so hard