Futuristic Transsolar

[BookWyrm]

Vince sighed, clearly frustrated. Adira was right and he knew it. "I don't guess it really matters now." It wasn't much of an answer but it was his way of agreeing to go see Doc. Whether he wanted to or not he needed to get this checked out, especially since it started to hurt him again. Vince grit his teeth together as the pain shot from his spine through his shoulder and down into the arm. He could feel the veins popping out under the skin on his neck as the pain increased some. "Alright, alright. I'll go to infirmary. Lets get out of here before someone else shows up."

 

[Dragongal]

Adira nodded and walked with him, but only took her hand from his when they entered the main hallways. She could tell that he was in pain. It was obvious to anyone who could read people decently well. It actually hurt Adira to think that he was in such pain and they had no idea why. Especially since she knew his fear about the symbiote. When they reached the infirmary she was glad to find it empty and went straight to Doc's office. "We need your help and a side room. A private room. I don't want the rest o the crew seeing this. If someone walks in for something... I don't want the risk."

 

[InsanEleven]

Dr Jones

​

When Adira barged in, Chrice had been organising and labelling some pill bottles. The sudden request startled her for a moment, but by the end of the sentence she had already put her mind to the newly given task. As a doctor she was practised in changing into different mindsets immediately, as you never knew when someone came in with an emergency, though this request seemed a bit off. It was strange enough that she didn't question it, but simply did what was asked.


"Alright, follow me, I'll lock the door behind us." She ushered the two into a room in the back of the infirmary, it wasn't big but it had a lock on the door and none of the medical staff ever needed to be in the data room of the medical pods. Clearly proven by a nice layer of dust that had gathered on the systems and computers.

 

[Spazzycat101]

For quite a long time, Lydia had simply sat on the ground with her back to the locked companionway door like a pouting child completely unsure of what to do next. She looked all but defeated, sullenly mulling over her next course of action. She knew she wanted to get through that door for the sake of raising and studying the plant which was still coiling around her fingers like a tiny, hyperactive python. Lydia had stressed over and used so much of her mental energy earlier, her thoughts were small incoherent birds flitting from one side of her mind to the next, difficult to catch and impossible to lure back again. Some of the little thoughts she willingly dismissed, others she wished to recall, but annoyingly, none were making themselves useful to the goal she had identified; find something, someplace that could replicate the environment she had found the little vine in.

 

[BookWyrm]

Vince looked slightly concerned about the dust in the room, but beggars can't be choosers. He looked over at Adira and sighed as he chewed on his lip. He wasn't happy about being there, but something needed to be done. But..where did he begin? It wasn't like the last time the two of them were here. Last time it had been on orders and Adira was getting a check up. Now they were both willingly present and Vince found himself at a lack of words. "Well....where do I start?" He more or less posed the question to Adira. It was her idea anyway.

 

[Dragongal]

Adira sighed. She could tell that Vince was uncomfortable. She wanted to make everything okay again, but they really needed Doc's help. In fact... what did Doc think about their being together at the moment? Adira hadn't left and Vince wasn't uncomfortable about her. Did it really matter in the end, though? They needed his arm checked and Adira wasn't willing to leave his side. "Your arm...?"

 

[BookWyrm]

It was a good question, or at least Vince thought it was. If he thought about it they would have to talk about his arm and the ATTD, of course they would also have to discuss the symbiote when it came down to it. "I've been having pain shoot from my shoulder down into my right arm." Vince held up the arm, which had yet to be covered in new synth skin. "Obviously there shouldn't be any pain. But...the last time it hurt I felt the pain radiate from my spine and shoot through my shoulder and down into the arm. I can rule out phantom pain because of the origin of the pain." Vince scratched at the scar on the back of his neck. I know it has something to do with all of this.

 

[InsanEleven]

Dr Jones

​

Chrice nodded at Woods' words, then left the room for a few minutes only to return with the necessary equipment.


"It took me a while to find, damn assistants misplacing things... I'll read the data in your arm first." It wasn't a question, more of a warning as she had already plugged the device in by the time Woods would have a chance to reply. The data showed up remarkably quick, and got even Doc to raise one eyebrow, as it was completely blank. "Do you keep top secret files in your arm? You're locked up better than the asteroid prisons of Silvic-7. Luckily we still have the good old way of scanning."


Holding out the scanning device, she aimed it on his right side. When the results popped up again, it warranted the raise of two eyebrows, which hadn't happened since the civil war on Ad'athan. "Well I'll be damned. I could make a joke about this but I think you already know. And I don't even want to know what they put in you, but it is everywhere. It's even in your bones..." She held out the device and showed it to Woods', nearly as if he wanted him to tell her she had misread it. Taking another look at what had to be the weirdest data she had seen in years, she noticed an easy to miss tidbit of information. "There's something in your synthetics too, but it's hard to read."

 

[BookWyrm]

Vince admitted to himself that he had been nervous about the diagnostic, but when it came back clear he wasn't sure if he should be happy or terrified. When Doc pulled out the scanner he felt himself tense up. He knew there was no going back now, but that was the point right? If something was going on they needed to know about it right now. Vince sighed and shook his head when he saw Doc's face, knowing what had popped up. But when he looked at the scanner himself he found the results to be a little more than what he expected. It had moved into his bones? Not only that, but something was picked up inside his synthetic arm. His hand instinctively reached back to scratch at the scar on his neck. "I didn't realize it had spread so far."

 

[Dragongal]

Adira had waited as patiently as possible, not knowing what to expect. She still couldn't understand why Vince hated the symbiote so much.... As much as it was a risk, it also was necessary. Despite the fact that Doc was there, she lightly took his hand. If Jones hadn't figured it out yet, it was over now, but Adira didn't care. She had seen the Doctor's files. There was, truly, little credibility in the Doctor's word in the eyes of the law. And right now, Adira just wanted to make sure that Vince was okay.

 

[InsanEleven]

"Well, it did. But I am not entirely sure what to do about it. You don't encounter this every day, so I doubt I'll have the right means to treat it. It doesn't appear hostile." Chrice had noticed the captain taking a very concerned stance towards Woods, but she knew better than to ask stupid questions. Instead she was more intrigued about this creature popping up in the back of their security expert.


"Is this everything you wanted to know though? It hardly warrants this level of privacy. And I doubt you're that easily upset by simply being seen." There had to be something else, either something he didn't tell her about this creature, or another thing. Even if the symbiote was probably uncomfortable, none walking in would be able to see it. Besides, the both of them seemed to hesitate, and she had dealt with enough patients to know when they weren't telling the full truth.

 

[BookWyrm]

"There is no way of getting it out of me without killing me in the process. I just want to keep it monitored." That is all Vince would say about the symbiote. Now it was time to get on with one of the real reasons behind coming to Doc. "I do have something important I need to ask you about. During the enhancements in SIAD they secretly insert an asset tracking and termination device into the heart of every operator. Even though I have been decommissioned I still have my ATTD inside me. I need to know how it can be removed."

 

[InsanEleven]

Doc just shook her head in disbelief, giving Woods a sideways glance. "They had a lot of fun with you hadn't they? Now my personal policy has always been that if it can get in there, it can get out. But it's tricky. I don't want your heart to explode in my face... that'd ruin my Tuesday." Still shaking her head she put her index and her thumb on the bridge of her nose, and the words she had spoken were merely so she had some time to figure out what there could be done about all of this. "They'll know by the time we get back on our cosy side of the galaxy though. I can probably get it out, probably, but even if it succeeds you'll be out of it for a fair while until it is certain your heart is still working as should. Whether you want to or not is up to you and Cap. I'm just the butcher, and I know not to ask pesky personal questions, but I'd advise you to take into account that this ship can't go long without it's security. And that Mr. Marshall is still next in line."

 

[Dragongal]

Adira looked from Doc to Woods. "We can do it when we're closer to home, so the recovery time overlaps with shore leave some. But we have to do it on this side of the jump, there's no question to that. By the time we're heading home, though, hopefully Marshall will have started to calm down. If not, we'll keep an eye out for potential leaders." Adira didn't want to tread on Vince's territory, but when she was concerned she tended to take control. "Just an idea."

 

[BookWyrm]

"It's better than turning that ape loose on the ship while I'm on leave." Vince nodded in agreement with Adira before addressing Doc again. "I don't care if they know it's removed or not. SIAD does't own me, and I won't let them have a say in my life anymore." He wasn't sure how they would feel about it being removed, but he didn't care. He knew their tactics. It'd be a bloodbath if they came after him, he'd make sure of it.

 

[InsanEleven]

"I will check when and how will be the best time to remove it. Though I can not keep it a secret within the medical bay, I couldn't do the surgery without assistance. They are all professionals and know to shut their traps; because I picked them. If anything else happens, let me know. Whatever is crawling in your body has to be monitored. If I need to know about something else, tell me now too, or ask for me if it pops in your head later." Chrice leant against the wall and thought of possible ways to solve this new problem thrown at her, occasionally glancing at the data still visible on the scanner. She'd have to prepare a ton of work for this one, see if they had the right equipment, and then work out how to do the surgery. "I will send you a date for a second, more thorough examination so I can pinpoint the ATTD. It's more tricky than sawing of a leg, that's for sure."

 

[Dragongal]

Adira had her own plans for if SIAD came after him. Though, since they had her records, they ought to know what happens to those who meddle with her crew. "But for the moment, what about the pain in his arm? Just leave it be for now, or...?" For a moment, Adira remembered that she should probably tell Doc about the Exdell causing her some problems. No, that's for another time. Right now she just had to make sure that Vince was okay.

 

[InsanEleven]

"I can't exactly tell right here and now if it is detrimental. It's worrisome, and if anything happens I strongly advise to return to me, but we do not have the technology on board this ship to deal with things so ingrained in his system, especially not in synthetics. If we go fishing we might just accidentally screw his arm up worse, and we don't have enough reserve parts to risk that. I'll look for medicines to try and calm it down, but for now it will indeed be best just to leave it alone and watch." Woods was giving her a lot of extra work, that was for sure, but then again, Chrice liked a challenge in her field. She'd have to be creative to work around all of this, it was like trying to fix something that had been meddled with beyond recognition. Even though she had some medical records and data, there was still the possibility of oddities presenting itself during the surgery. If anything she'd just have to see and improvise on the spot, which wasn't a nice thing to look forward to as a surgeon. Things could get tricky... really tricky, and she'd rather not be blamed for killing a deck commander. So she'd have to employ every last tidbit of expertise that she had.

 

[BookWyrm]

Vince growled quietly. Everything was ingrained into his system. SIAD liked their operators to be whole, not cyborgs with bits and pieces. "The symbiote was originally designed to control the genetic enhancements and splices that SIAD put into my system. They were experimenting on phasing out all cybernetic enhancements and trying to run solely on advanced splices. The symbiote was introduced into my system to kind of guide any mutations that might occur, but as you can see now it is literally a part of my body now." Vince bit his lips hard enough to draw blood. Did he tell them about the sedatives? If he didn't do it now and Adira found them in his room she could throw him in the brig like Marshall. Might as well come clean about it. At least everything would be kept quiet. "I've been taking sedatives since Arid Harbor to keep it suppressed. I didn't have any way to monitor what it would do to me...and...well.....it's not exactly a legally sanctioned enhancement. I did what I thought was best."

 

[InsanEleven]

Chrice nodded at Woods' words, indicating she understood them, and understood what they implied. "So sedatives help? That gives some promising options. However we can't have the head of security run around high like a kite. If this is to be solved I am going to need more data. Data, time and the right resources. For now I have to look into containing Wriggly though, on top of the usual daily chores that can take a while." Caught in thought she was still looking into the details of the limited data she got from the scans, her mind already trying to figure out the nature of what was going on inside of Woods. "I'll need tissue samples, and perhaps some blood as well. But it doesn't need to be right now, we can follow up on that." Mindlessly, and mid-sentence she switched a blinking light on one of the servers off and on, that had been irking her for a little while. In fact the whole room was irking her, but she didn't show it much. Rather she'd just gone back to her office and start her research on this rare occurrence, for doctors sure loved to research the odd ones out.

 

[BookWyrm]

Vince swallowed a lump in his throat at the thought of tissue samples. "Let's group this whole thing in on the day we do the exam for the ATTD. Might as well knock it all out at once." Vince thought for a few moments on his options. "So far it hasn't done anything life threatening to me. But I do agree that we need to keep it monitored. I'll go ahead and volunteer for weekly check ups, and Adira and I will also clean out my stock of sedatives. Like you said, I don't need to be high any more than Marshall needs a gun in his hand."

 

[InsanEleven]

Chrice slowly shook her head a bit and then chuckled at his words. "What is it with you security guys... one is drunk and the other sedated. You're nearly as bad as anaesthetists. Trust me, those guys know how to party." A few odd memories from a more carefree time in medical school crossed her vision, before she shook them away and returned to the matter at hand. "I agree that it will be best to lump it all together into one big day, and I wouldn't wait too long for it. The earlier I get the data the better I can work. So I suggest we schedule it within this week, definitely no later than two weeks from now."

 

[BookWyrm]

"That is fine by me." Vince scratched at the back of his neck before sighing. This was going to be a chore. "Hell, if you can get everything prepared I can be in tomorrow so we can just get this over with." Vince looked over at Adira and smiled faintly. He was curious what she was going to say about all of this. He almost expected her to chew him out in some way or another. He could deal with an ass chewing, what he didn't want was something he had done to form a rift between them.

 

[Dragongal]

Adira didn't know what to think. Vince had been taking unregistered sedatives all this time. He had put the whole crew at risk in a way. And then they were close, and... well, in his place, she wouldn't have told him, in all fairness.... They could talk when they were alone. She wanted to be mad, but it was only a very slight risk, especially since he had said that sedatives don't really work on him, and he did what he'd had to. If she was mad at anyone it was SIAD. Well Vince was right about one thing, they'd be cleaning out his stock of sedatives. She looked from him back to Doc and sighed. "Let's wrap this up soon... I don't want Vince having any issues if someone gets suspicious of why our doctor, Captain, and Defense leader are MIA, after we came in here. I don't think anyone saw but... just to be safe."

 

[BookWyrm]

Vince nodded and looked over at Chrice before saying, "Just send me a message the day before. If I think of anything else I'll contact you directly." With that Vince stood up and walked out of the room. He didn't say a word in the halls, figuring it would be best to get somewhere quiet before they began the oncoming interrogation. This isn't going to be fun. When they got to his room Vince opened the door, shutting and locking it behind Adira before walking over and sitting in a chair across from her. "I know it's coming. Go ahead, fire away." He propped his elbows on his knees and looked at Adira with an expectant yet frustrated expression. This isn't how it was meant to happen.