round 5 JP by Capt. Reynolds and Dr Saveron - Absent Friends

[Sedrin Belasi]

((CMO’s Office, Main Sickbay, USS Garuda))

::Working with his door open as was his habit, Saveron looked up as a figure eclipsed the view of Sickbay beyond. The face, though familiar, was one to which he would have attributed a very low probability of seeing in that particular location. It belonged to a crewmember with whom he’d had little to do beyond the necessary.::

::The Vulcan doctor rose to his feet.::

Saveron: Sochya Captain Reynolds.

::He offered the ta’al, she replied with a nod.::

Saveron: Since your next physical examination is not yet due one can only conclude that you have come seeking myself. How may I assist you?

::He gestured to one of the two chairs that faced his desk in silent offer. If he was being overly officious it was perhaps because he was having difficulty anticipating what, exactly, might have brought Quinn to his office. There was also something in the principles behind Intelligence that he found disagreeable, but he'd had no cause to think the same about the person in that position.::

::She didn't take a seat, preferring to remain standing. Instead, she stood behind it, hands resting lightly on the back of the chair. It took her a few moments to speak, a slight frown on her face as she picked through the words she wanted to say.::

Reynolds: You were one of the last people to see Aron, before he left.

::A blunt, matter-of-fact statement, but her tone was cautious.::

Saveron: Affirmative.

::The Vulcan allowed. He noted her unrelaxed body language, the faint frown. Clearly the issues surrounding Captain Kells were not ones which she found agreeable. He remained standing out of deference to her rank, clasping his hands behind his back in what was, for him, a relaxed posture.::

Reynolds: What happened?

::It was a broad, open-ended question, requiring interpretation in context.::

Saveron: Captain Kells dismissed all but myself and Commander Rahman to immediate transport to the USS Garuda. He then informed us that he had resigned his commission. He had personal messages for both myself and Commander Rahman, and asked that we convey his apologies to yourself and Commander Ross for his recent behaviour. The five minutes that he had requested elapsed and Commander Rahman and myself were beamed out, leaving Aron Kells in the William Schirra.

::He regarded Captain Reynolds soberly for a moment.::

Saveron: I anticipate that answers your question without answering your questions.

Reynolds: Indeed.

Saveron: If you can elaborate, I may be able to provide more specific answers.

Reynolds: When he got back from the hearing, we spoke — if you can call it that. We've been friends for years, we've known each other for longer than that, and I've never known him to be that... vicious.

Saveron: He was particularly intolerant.

::The Vulcan had even said as much to Aron’s face.::

Reynolds: I don't know what he said to you in that shuttle, and I'm not asking you to betray his trust, but I just wondered… ::she shook her head.:: I don't understand what happened to him.

Saveron: What he said to me has no bearing on your question, but other factors may.

::How much of those he could reveal was an important question. There was the issue of patient confidentiality. Still, Captain Reynolds might already know more than most.::

Saveron: You state that you yourself are a friend of Aron Kells. Are you then familiar with his ‘Ring’ temporal events?

Reynolds: Both of them, yes.

Saveron: Are you also familiar with the events following the death of Captain Spock aboard the USS Enterprise-A and the subsequent attempted committal of Doctor McCoy?

::The question caught her off-guard and she didn't immediately answer, frowning as she watched him.::

Reynolds: Go on.

Saveron: Captain Spock transferred his katra to Doctor McCoy immediately prior to his death by radiation poisoning. Doctor McCoy subsequently displayed disturbed behaviour as a direct result.

Reynolds: You're saying it's… similar? The same?

Saveron: Even with Vulcan mental training, carrying another’s katra is a heavy burden and bearable only for a brief period. In addition to advancing his age by several decades — which in itself would be difficult to resolve — he took on the memories and personalities of his other selves; in Vulcan terms, their katras.

Reynolds: He did say there were three of him in there.

Saveron: It is my opinion that the only reason that Aron Kells maintained a successful mental equilibrium is that the katras he carried were his own.

::That, perhaps, might be closer to the answer that she sought.::

Reynolds: ::Quietly,:: I'm not entirely sure he was successful.

::Saveron wasn't either.::

Saveron: I am not privy to Aron’s thoughts, however one might deduce that recent missions and the aborted hearing by Starfleet JAG may have initiated a change in perspective.

::She raised her eyebrows, a tiny smile flickering across her lips — but only for a moment.::

Reynolds: *May* have?

::That earned her a quirk of one upswung brow.::

Saveron: You consider that outcome probable. ::He deduced.:: I will defer to your knowledge of Terran psychology.

::It was hardly his strong point. Sometimes members of other species thought the most illogical things.::

Reynolds: Did he say why he was leaving?

Saveron: Negative. You consider the reason important?

Reynolds: I don't know. ::She paused, bouncing the heel of her hand off the back of the chair.:: A part of me's sore I didn't this coming. The rest of me's worried that… well. Whether he's going to be alright out there, alone.

::That was a concern that they shared, however much the Vulcan might keep that to himself.::

Saveron: I… do not know. ::He admitted quietly.:: However I anticipate that Aron would claim that he is never alone.

Reynolds: True, but that's part of the problem.

Saveron: Nevertheless, he does have three lifetimes of experience upon which to draw. And he knows where his friends are, should he have need of us.

::She looked at him for a long time, then broke eye contact and nodded, breathing a resigned sigh.::

Reynolds: You're right.

::For a moment the doctor wore that thin-lipped look that was as close as he came to looking unhappy.::

Saveron: It would be preferable, if we could do more.

::But with Aron gone AWOL there wasn’t much they could do unless he contacted them.::

Reynolds: It would. But for now, I'll leave you be. Thank you.

::She'd already turned and taken a step toward the door when he spoke again.::

Saveron: Captain Reynolds.

::She turned back to him.::

Reynolds: Doctor?

Saveron: I believe there is a Terran expression; ‘A friend of my friend is a friend of mine’.

::The Vulcan was not particularly good at relating to others, the cultural divide could be so very wide. Yet in Captain Reynolds he thought recognised someone who also stood distant. The question was whether that distance was deliberate?::

::She breathed a wry huff of a laugh before she answered.::

Reynolds: It's something along those lines. ::She nodded,:: I'd like that.

Saveron: I also would find such agreeable.

Reynolds: Then I'll catch you later, Saveron.

Saveron: Dif-tor heh smusma, Quinn.

-------------------------

A JP by

Captain Quinn Reynolds

Director of Intelligence

USS Garuda

and

Lieutenant Commander Saveron

Chief Medical Officer

USS Garuda