Currency

Posted on Sun Aug 4th, 2019 @ 1:01am by
Edited on on Mon Aug 5th, 2019 @ 10:27pm

Mission: For Whom The Bell Tolls
Location: USS Majestic, Senior Officers' Quarters
Timeline: MD05, 0530
1849 words - 3.7 OF Standard Post Measure

USS Majestic, Deck 3: Senior Officers' Quarters
MD05, 0530

Three days after coming aboard the Majestic, Lilith was beginning to get into some sort of semblance of a routine. Traveling through space for days on end after being accustomed to the day/night cycle of being on a planet wreaked havoc on the human circadian rhythm, but having experienced it several times before, Sullivan had her ways of combating it. For her, a little discipline about when and what to eat combined with a good workout early in the "morning" seemed to be the solution.

This particular morning, however, was proving to be difficult. Sleep had been difficult to come by the night before, and despite staying away from caffeine and the exhaustion that came with being on her feet all day, Lilith found herself tossing and turning throughout the night. The environmental system slowly brightened the lights in her quarters in a facsimile of the rising Sun back on Earth, but the duvet seemed to be getting heavier by the moment.

"Get! Up! Sullivan!" Lily chastised herself.

Slowly peeling herself out of bed, she turned and habitually remade her bed. At this point in her career, it was as habitual as breathing. This iteration of her morning routine was a step slower than most, but eventually she walked out the door with her gym bag and began the journey five decks down to the ship's gymnasium. Dressed in her usual gym-going garb, Sullivan had earbuds in and the hood of her jacket up as she tried to jog herself awake.

A few minutes later, she arrived at her destination having worked up a good sweat and set about her usual morning routine. The gym was sparsely occupied that early in the morning. Sullivan was already off in her own little world as she started stretching and warming up.

Not usually such an early riser, Lhaes was certainly early today. Having been unable to sleep, and knowing he had several appointments in the morning, he had decided to head to the gym. It had been a while since he had practiced with his blade and since he used the real one he knew it was safer to go early, when it was less likely for others to be around.

He paused mid-stab as someone walked in. "Can't sleep either Miss Sullivan?" he asked, as he finished his move.

"Hello Commander." Lily pulled one earbud out and gave a small wave to Lhaes. "No, I wouldn't say I've been sleeping well since I got on the ship. It happens," she shrugged as she slowly descended into a leg stretch. "Whatcha got going on over there? I've never seen a blade like that."

"This?" He held out his blade to her. "This is my Honour Blade. I earned it and am allowed to carry it as it is part of my people's culture."

"Oh, duh, of course. Sorry, I'm a step slow this morning, I didn't put two and two together," Sullivan replied sheepishly. "I guess I'm in good hands if it come time to do any close range combat training. Speaking of which, I should be by sometime later today for that recurrent small arms training."

The Romulan nodded. "You are already on my schedule," he informed her, "and close combat is my area of expertise. I have no love for ranged weapons though I am better with a rifle than a hand phaser. I do prefer melee weapons like my blade."

Sullivan got up and walked ambled towards towards Lhaes, curiosity piqued by the Romulan's preference of close combat over the less personal, almost apathetic act of using an energy weapon from range. The overhead light glinted off the blade of his weapon. Reflections of light danced on the walls.

"May I see the blade more closely? I always appreciate craftsmanship in all of it's various forms."

"Of course." He held it out to her, handle first. "Do please be careful, the blade is coated in a sedative and I'd really not like to see you be affected by it."

"Oh don't tell me that. I might ingest a little bit on purpose so I can finally have a good night's sleep," Lilith deadpanned, breaking her straight man routine after realizing that her sense of humor might not translate well to a stranger. Taking the blade by the handle, she took a step back before raising it nearer to her for a close inspection. "Ah, that's a poor attempt at a joke by the way. I, uh.... well never mind. It's a beautiful blade, the detail work is impeccable. It also has a sense of being very, very old about it. These are passed down from generation to generation, yes?"

"You would not ingest this...this would enter your bloodstream through a cut. Since I prefer not to kill my opponent when I don't have to, I use a sedative instead of a poison. My kailune are coated in the same sedative." he paused as he considered her next question. "I don't know if they're passed down from generation to generation. I earned mine after spending four years on the homeworld. I was born and raised on Betazed, and taken to the homeworld against my desire after I graduated from the academy."

"Ooh, that's quite a story. I can only imagine how it feels to earn this with all of its cultural significance after working towards it for so long," she was beginning to wake up a bit. "Like reaching the end of a very long mental and physical journey. I appreciate you allowing me to take a closer look."

Lily paused for a moment to wipe some of the sweat out of her eyes. She turned to hand the Honour Blade back to Lhaes, but out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a thin line of crimson forming on the outside of her arm. "Oh no," was all she could manage before crumpling to the floor.

Alarmed, Lhaes put his blade safely away in its sheath before kneeling at the woman's side. Of course he knew the effect of the sedative, and knew it wasn't long-lasting despite its immediate effect. He made an effort to make her comfortable, then quickly retrieved his tricorder to help him monitor her vitals. After a few minutes he saw a change in the readings and noticed she was beginning to stir. "How did you manage to cut yourself?" he asked, straight to the point.

"Whoa," she took a deep breath as her senses came back to her. "I don't know, but judging by the angle of this," she held up her left arm. The look of confusion was apparent. "I guess I did it when I went to wipe my brow. I'm usually pretty sure-handed, so um, I don't know what to say. Thanks for making sure I didn't hurt myself any further."

"Comes with the job ma'am," Lhaes smiled as he helped her to sit up.

"I, um," Lilith paused.

Still attentive, the Romulan waited patiently for her to gather her thoughts.

"Uhhh, listen, something's off for lack of a better way to put it. I haven't really been myself since I got on the ship, and I don't know what's going on. When I checked in with medical, everything was fine, but I don't feel fine. Just the other day, I was standing upstairs at the Grand Hall when I swore I heard a voice coming from behind me, but when I turned around, nobody was there. Physically, I'm way more lethargic than usual. It takes way more effort than usual to accomplish anything, I'm sweating more than usual, now this," she held up her arm again before letting it drop in frustration. "I'm sorry, I should be telling this to a doctor, I don't mean to vent."

"Ma'am, you are telling a doctor..." He gave her an empathic smile. "Have you been engaging in any activities that might make you feel such?"

Knowing that she was dealing with a trained medical professional seemed to put Lily at ease. Her unfocused gaze wandered as she tried to recollect anything out of the ordinary from the past few days. "I don't know, I can't remember anything specifically unusual. I mean, I'm always restless for a few days whenever I switch between being on a planet and being on a starship, but I don't ever recall this happening." Sullivan turned to look at Lhaes and offered a weak smile. "Maybe the stress is just getting to me. I don't know."

"Perhaps you just need some time to get acclimated," Lhaes agreed, "what do you usually do to unwind?" He pulled her sleeve up to examine the cut. "It isn't deep and not bleeding much," he concluded, pulling off his shirt to rip it up into strips which he used to bandage her arm. "Go to sickbay if it keeps bothering you."

"Thank you again Commander, you certainly are a man of many talents," this time, Sullivan's smile was a bit stronger; the color was slowly returning to her visage. "I have a couple of long running simulations in the holodeck I escape into. Or I might go visit the ship's chef and ingratiate myself to him - I enjoy cooking. Whatever the case, I'll try and take some personal time soon."

"Well I used to be the intelligence chief," Lhaes chuckled, "in intelligence you're supposed to have many trades so you're able to pose as someone else if needed. As far as chef is concerned you might want to be careful, though a civilian he's fiercely possessive of his galley."

"I'm sure I can find some way to butter him up, pun fully and completely intended." Finally, a small laugh. "Here, can you help me up?"

After accepting a hand, Lilith scrambled to her feet and took stock of the situation. Her favorite jacket had a slice in the sleeve that would need to be repaired. Luckily for her, the cut itself was truly just a scratch. Jackets were replaceable, arms less so. With an apologetic look, she turned to face Lhaes before speaking. "I feel I'm in your debt sir, thank you. I owe you another shirt."

"Not at all. I can just replicate a new one, it's no big deal," the Romulan replied, smiling ever so slightly. He released her hand as soon as she was back on her feet, his expression relaxing a little as it had turned a little strained as he touched her. "Just please be more careful with any kind of blade in the future? This time it was just a sedative, another's blade might not be so safe."

"I promise," she stated, placing her hand over her heart. "I'm going to grab breakfast, I'll be by later for that appointment. See you then?"

Lhaes nodded. "If you feel up for it. Remember...sickbay if you start feeling unwell."

---

LtC Lhaes Sommers
CTSO

LT Lilith Sullivan
CFCO