At Her Right Hand
Lt. CDR Lair Kellyn
71220.12
Various locations aboard the Alchemy
--=0330 hours: the day of scheduled arrival at Bajor=--
Lt. CDR Lair Kellyn
71220.12
Various locations aboard the Alchemy
--=0330 hours: the day of scheduled arrival at Bajor=--
Lair Kellyn got the Doctor's permission to enter into Sickbay at this hour only because he knew her so well. He believed her when she said that she wouldn't wake up the Vedek unless her life depended on it.
Yes, this particular incarnation of the Emergency Medical Hologram knew Kellyn better than any other member of the crew of this ship, or the one he'd just been transferred over from. Due to the fact that she was the engineer who had hand-picked his personality profile from hundreds of available subroutines, she was the reason that he existed as he currently did.
She had also managed somehow to sell Starfleet on the idea that he needed the latest in mobile-emitter technology, to complete his transfer over to the Alchemy's systems. She and Salvek had even been able to make some upgrades to the device after its arrival. That took some doing, since the version that they had received was considered on the cutting edge of holo-technology within the Federation as it was. But Salvek had never tried his hand at altering one, and sure enough, given a few uninterrupted hours alone with it, he had been able to improve upon it.
She found that the EMH had finally talked Jariel into taking a blanket and resting on the biobed next to Zanh's stasis chamber. He'd achieved this goal partially by reminding Jariel that he would need the sleep if he was going to get through the day that was to come. Mainly, though, he had won the argument by telling the Vedek that either he was going to go to sleep in Sickbay, or he'd be confined to quarters and he could sleep there, instead. As soon as Jariel's head had hit the pillow, the EMH told her, he'd been fast asleep.
Kellyn saw that Jariel had nearly lost hold of that blanket now, tossing and turning as he was. He reached out, searching for it in his sleep. She covered him up again and he immediately stilled, sighed, and returned to a deeper slumber.
She placed a gentle kiss on the top of his head, and then moved toward the tube where Zanh Liis lay in stasis.
Closing her eyes and bowing her head, Kellyn softly prayed. "Jia'kaja, tre'nu'tol'a rem. La'por i'lanu kos. I'nar tan'a'tali nor." She sighed, and touched the chamber with both hands.
"So what happens now, Zanh Liis? Who protects the protector?" Kellyn spoke in their native Bajoran, barely above a whisper so she wouldn't wake the Vedek.
"I know you've never much cared for me. Honestly? The feeling is mutual. We probably won't ever see eye to eye on anything. But we have one important thing, person I mean, in common. Salvek." Lair's tone mutated and came to rest resonating an emotion existing somewhere in between bitterness and envy.
"I may never understand the bond that the two of you share. It began, well, when I was. . . away." Kellyn shrugged. "I don't understand what happened, not to this day, Zanh Liis. All I know is that suddenly I was home and Salvek was telling me that we had you to thank for that. Since then, it seems like I have had a lot of things thank you for. Watching over Salvek. Watching over Arie. Putting up with me." Lair looked down at her boots.
"As jealous as I can be sometimes of the relationship that you and Salvek have, I've grown accustomed to knowing that he could rely on you. That we could rely on you." Kellyn folded her arms over her chest and tilted her head toward Jariel. "He relies on you."
She stepped a pace backward, and pointed an angry index finger at the tube. "So, you had better hurry up and get back to work. You may not be the best captain I've ever served under. Not by a long-shot, in my opinion, anyway. But you're Salvek's captain. So act like it. Do your job," Kellyn found herself repeating the words of prayer to the Prophets, asking them to look on Zanh favorably, once again. When she was through, she moved into the exit.
"Yeah. You've always done your job up until this point," she concluded. "Don't bail on us now."
Yes, this particular incarnation of the Emergency Medical Hologram knew Kellyn better than any other member of the crew of this ship, or the one he'd just been transferred over from. Due to the fact that she was the engineer who had hand-picked his personality profile from hundreds of available subroutines, she was the reason that he existed as he currently did.
She had also managed somehow to sell Starfleet on the idea that he needed the latest in mobile-emitter technology, to complete his transfer over to the Alchemy's systems. She and Salvek had even been able to make some upgrades to the device after its arrival. That took some doing, since the version that they had received was considered on the cutting edge of holo-technology within the Federation as it was. But Salvek had never tried his hand at altering one, and sure enough, given a few uninterrupted hours alone with it, he had been able to improve upon it.
She found that the EMH had finally talked Jariel into taking a blanket and resting on the biobed next to Zanh's stasis chamber. He'd achieved this goal partially by reminding Jariel that he would need the sleep if he was going to get through the day that was to come. Mainly, though, he had won the argument by telling the Vedek that either he was going to go to sleep in Sickbay, or he'd be confined to quarters and he could sleep there, instead. As soon as Jariel's head had hit the pillow, the EMH told her, he'd been fast asleep.
Kellyn saw that Jariel had nearly lost hold of that blanket now, tossing and turning as he was. He reached out, searching for it in his sleep. She covered him up again and he immediately stilled, sighed, and returned to a deeper slumber.
She placed a gentle kiss on the top of his head, and then moved toward the tube where Zanh Liis lay in stasis.
Closing her eyes and bowing her head, Kellyn softly prayed. "Jia'kaja, tre'nu'tol'a rem. La'por i'lanu kos. I'nar tan'a'tali nor." She sighed, and touched the chamber with both hands.
"So what happens now, Zanh Liis? Who protects the protector?" Kellyn spoke in their native Bajoran, barely above a whisper so she wouldn't wake the Vedek.
"I know you've never much cared for me. Honestly? The feeling is mutual. We probably won't ever see eye to eye on anything. But we have one important thing, person I mean, in common. Salvek." Lair's tone mutated and came to rest resonating an emotion existing somewhere in between bitterness and envy.
"I may never understand the bond that the two of you share. It began, well, when I was. . . away." Kellyn shrugged. "I don't understand what happened, not to this day, Zanh Liis. All I know is that suddenly I was home and Salvek was telling me that we had you to thank for that. Since then, it seems like I have had a lot of things thank you for. Watching over Salvek. Watching over Arie. Putting up with me." Lair looked down at her boots.
"As jealous as I can be sometimes of the relationship that you and Salvek have, I've grown accustomed to knowing that he could rely on you. That we could rely on you." Kellyn folded her arms over her chest and tilted her head toward Jariel. "He relies on you."
She stepped a pace backward, and pointed an angry index finger at the tube. "So, you had better hurry up and get back to work. You may not be the best captain I've ever served under. Not by a long-shot, in my opinion, anyway. But you're Salvek's captain. So act like it. Do your job," Kellyn found herself repeating the words of prayer to the Prophets, asking them to look on Zanh favorably, once again. When she was through, she moved into the exit.
"Yeah. You've always done your job up until this point," she concluded. "Don't bail on us now."
--=Bridge=--
Kellyn exited the lift and stepped onto the bridge, an extra strong mocha latte firmly in hand.
She was not due on duty for awhile yet, but had come here looking for one person, and one person only.
"Where is Commander Salvek?" She asked, gesturing toward the command chair with her mug. "I thought he was here."
"No, Ma'am," Micah Samson responded, looking more rested and less pale then he had in days. She could understand why. Samson, like all the others, had by this point rotated through a sleep cycle, a couple of hot meals, and fresh linen, so to speak.
Not to mention the fact that everyone's mood had been bolstered considerably by the fact that they had seemed to lose the Romulans back at the point of their transwarp jump, incomplete though it was. Apparently whoever was commanding the Warbird had decided that Taris' ship was the more important target- and they would leave pursuit of the Alchemy for another day.
Kellyn had no doubt, though, that there would be another day.
"Well, do you know where he went, Micah?" Kellyn prodded.
"Yes, Ma'am."
She tapped her foot impatiently. "I'm waiting, Lieutenant."
"Oh! Sorry. I've just got my hands full here." He looked up from his work and thought a moment. "Oh yeah. He's in Engineering."
"What the hell is he doing down there? The people we left down there last night were on top of things."
"He said that the Doctor contacted him a while ago and indicated that he doesn't want to beam the Captain to the surface. We are going to land instead. He wanted to run a check over the landing gear and all the landing cycle controls and be sure that nothing was shorted out when the transwarp drive crashed and burned."
"Alchemy is probably safer on the surface anyway. Safer than if she remained in orbit, especially in this condition," Kellyn thought aloud, "Just in case anyone decides to come looking for us after all. Thank you." She turned to go, then turned back. "Micah, did Salvek say if the Doctor told him all this when he visited Sickbay?"
"No, Commander Lair. Far as I know, the doc called up here. I don't think that Commander Salvek has been to Sickbay yet." Micah averted his eyes. He had caught the first signs of a frustrated expression forming on Lair's face, and he did so hate the look of those.
"Thanks again." Kellyn returned to the turbolift. "I'll be back soon to give you a hand." She tapped her fingernails against her coffee mug as she waited for the doors to close. "Main Engineering."
"Don't get me wrong, I like Commander Lair," Micah said softly to the ensign currently at the conn, after Lair had gone. "But sometimes, I sure am glad that she's not chief of science."
She was not due on duty for awhile yet, but had come here looking for one person, and one person only.
"Where is Commander Salvek?" She asked, gesturing toward the command chair with her mug. "I thought he was here."
"No, Ma'am," Micah Samson responded, looking more rested and less pale then he had in days. She could understand why. Samson, like all the others, had by this point rotated through a sleep cycle, a couple of hot meals, and fresh linen, so to speak.
Not to mention the fact that everyone's mood had been bolstered considerably by the fact that they had seemed to lose the Romulans back at the point of their transwarp jump, incomplete though it was. Apparently whoever was commanding the Warbird had decided that Taris' ship was the more important target- and they would leave pursuit of the Alchemy for another day.
Kellyn had no doubt, though, that there would be another day.
"Well, do you know where he went, Micah?" Kellyn prodded.
"Yes, Ma'am."
She tapped her foot impatiently. "I'm waiting, Lieutenant."
"Oh! Sorry. I've just got my hands full here." He looked up from his work and thought a moment. "Oh yeah. He's in Engineering."
"What the hell is he doing down there? The people we left down there last night were on top of things."
"He said that the Doctor contacted him a while ago and indicated that he doesn't want to beam the Captain to the surface. We are going to land instead. He wanted to run a check over the landing gear and all the landing cycle controls and be sure that nothing was shorted out when the transwarp drive crashed and burned."
"Alchemy is probably safer on the surface anyway. Safer than if she remained in orbit, especially in this condition," Kellyn thought aloud, "Just in case anyone decides to come looking for us after all. Thank you." She turned to go, then turned back. "Micah, did Salvek say if the Doctor told him all this when he visited Sickbay?"
"No, Commander Lair. Far as I know, the doc called up here. I don't think that Commander Salvek has been to Sickbay yet." Micah averted his eyes. He had caught the first signs of a frustrated expression forming on Lair's face, and he did so hate the look of those.
"Thanks again." Kellyn returned to the turbolift. "I'll be back soon to give you a hand." She tapped her fingernails against her coffee mug as she waited for the doors to close. "Main Engineering."
"Don't get me wrong, I like Commander Lair," Micah said softly to the ensign currently at the conn, after Lair had gone. "But sometimes, I sure am glad that she's not chief of science."
--=Engineering=--
Kellyn discovered Salvek lying on the floor, on his back, holding a hydrospanner over his head as he worked to replace yet another fried wiring junction.
She placed her cup into the replicator for recycling and shrugged. This was not going to be a fun conversation.
Salvek heard the sound of her boots hitting the deck and from the cadence of her step, knew exactly who was approaching. Still, he did not look up as she reached into his kit and handed him the next tool he would need for the task he was working on.
"Thank you." Salvek said simply, taking the cable-cutters and handing her the spanner in exchange. She placed it into its proper slot in the toolbox, and dropped to the floor beside him.
"I can do that," She offered, next handing him a new roll of optic cabling to replace the one damaged in the works. "Free you up for other things."
"Mr. Samson has the bridge well in hand," Salvek replied, "I do not need to be free to do anything else."
"Are you sure? Isn't there something that you were supposed to do last night that somehow slipped your mind?"
Salvek finally sat up, and looked at her. He did not believe in 'beating around the bush' as the human expression went, and neither did his wife. "I am not planning on going to Sickbay before we arrive at Bajor." He informed her, cutting to the chase.
"You have to."
"No," Salvek stated, his voice never varying from its measured tone of calm. "I do not."
"Yes," Kellyn snatched the cable-cutter back from his hand, "You do."
"It would be an illogical use of my time. The Captain would not know that I had been there, nor notice if I had not."
"Everyone else will." Kellyn argued softly, as the morning shift began to turn over from the night shift and people milled about the room. She stood up and indicated the conduit to a fresh-faced ensign who had just reported for duty. "See to this junction, will you Ensign?" He nodded to her and Kellyn gestured toward the door to the Chief Engineer's office. "I need a moment of your time, please, Commander Salvek?"
If Salvek had been anything other than Vulcan he would have sighed. He was very much Vulcan, however, and so he simply rose and led the way into the office. Lair promptly shut the door behind them.
"What is going on?" She demanded. "You have never run away from a situation like this before. Why won't you go up there and see her?"
"I am not running away." Salvek objected, the first indication of emotion creeping into his voice. The emotion it displayed was irritation. "There is no logical reason to go when Captain Zanh will not know I am there."
"Jariel will know!" Kellyn barked. "The rest of the crew will know! You're not just an engineer anymore, Salvek. Not even chief engineer. You can't hide down here when it suits you. You're her First Officer! Her right hand,"
"Zanh Liis," Salvek interrupted, his eyes cold and distant as they looked into hers, "is left handed."
"Don't get cute with me," Kellyn snapped. "You are her first officer, and you are the CO of this mission. It's your duty to make an appearance, at least. She is also your friend, Salvek. So is Jariel. How can you not pay your respects? Everyone on the crew has been by to see her except for you. What does that say to them?"
"One does not pay respects to the living."
"By the Prophets!" Kellyn's temper grew ever shorter. "I swear, sometimes," she sat on the edge of the desk, and rubbed her temples. Salvek turned away, and began closely analyzing technical schematics displayed on a monitor on the far wall.
"Don't pretend that you're not scared to death by this. You might be able to keep your feelings hidden from everyone else, but I know better.
This is tearing you up."
"The Captain is going to recover. I have nothing to fear." Somehow, even he seemed unconvinced by his statement.
"Yeah. She's going to recover. And when she wakes up and hears that you never came to see her in Sickbay, what will she say?"
"She will say that it would have been illogical for me to direct my energy toward any action besides those which helped her to get home as quickly as possible."
"We're almost there. We're going as fast as we can. Everything is being attended to. The only thing, or person, that isn't ready for this is you."
"What do you mean, I am not ready?" His expression suddenly changed. Kellyn felt sorry she'd raised her voice the way she had and stepped closer, softening her tone as much as possible.
"There is a good chance that she won't make it through this."
He looked away, his eyes defiant as he attempted to block out the truth that resonated in her words.
"If she dies, Salvek, will you be able to live with the fact that you never said goodbye?"
Salvek tilted his head back, directing his eyes toward the ceiling. "I do not wish to say goodbye to Zanh Liis."
"Then don't. But say something. Anything. Not for her sake, because yeah, you're right. She probably won't hear you," Lair let her hand brush against his just slightly. "Do it for your own sake. So whatever happens, you'll be at peace with yourself."
Salvek showed no sign that he had even considered her words, but within seconds he had already walked to the door, and disappeared through it.
She placed her cup into the replicator for recycling and shrugged. This was not going to be a fun conversation.
Salvek heard the sound of her boots hitting the deck and from the cadence of her step, knew exactly who was approaching. Still, he did not look up as she reached into his kit and handed him the next tool he would need for the task he was working on.
"Thank you." Salvek said simply, taking the cable-cutters and handing her the spanner in exchange. She placed it into its proper slot in the toolbox, and dropped to the floor beside him.
"I can do that," She offered, next handing him a new roll of optic cabling to replace the one damaged in the works. "Free you up for other things."
"Mr. Samson has the bridge well in hand," Salvek replied, "I do not need to be free to do anything else."
"Are you sure? Isn't there something that you were supposed to do last night that somehow slipped your mind?"
Salvek finally sat up, and looked at her. He did not believe in 'beating around the bush' as the human expression went, and neither did his wife. "I am not planning on going to Sickbay before we arrive at Bajor." He informed her, cutting to the chase.
"You have to."
"No," Salvek stated, his voice never varying from its measured tone of calm. "I do not."
"Yes," Kellyn snatched the cable-cutter back from his hand, "You do."
"It would be an illogical use of my time. The Captain would not know that I had been there, nor notice if I had not."
"Everyone else will." Kellyn argued softly, as the morning shift began to turn over from the night shift and people milled about the room. She stood up and indicated the conduit to a fresh-faced ensign who had just reported for duty. "See to this junction, will you Ensign?" He nodded to her and Kellyn gestured toward the door to the Chief Engineer's office. "I need a moment of your time, please, Commander Salvek?"
If Salvek had been anything other than Vulcan he would have sighed. He was very much Vulcan, however, and so he simply rose and led the way into the office. Lair promptly shut the door behind them.
"What is going on?" She demanded. "You have never run away from a situation like this before. Why won't you go up there and see her?"
"I am not running away." Salvek objected, the first indication of emotion creeping into his voice. The emotion it displayed was irritation. "There is no logical reason to go when Captain Zanh will not know I am there."
"Jariel will know!" Kellyn barked. "The rest of the crew will know! You're not just an engineer anymore, Salvek. Not even chief engineer. You can't hide down here when it suits you. You're her First Officer! Her right hand,"
"Zanh Liis," Salvek interrupted, his eyes cold and distant as they looked into hers, "is left handed."
"Don't get cute with me," Kellyn snapped. "You are her first officer, and you are the CO of this mission. It's your duty to make an appearance, at least. She is also your friend, Salvek. So is Jariel. How can you not pay your respects? Everyone on the crew has been by to see her except for you. What does that say to them?"
"One does not pay respects to the living."
"By the Prophets!" Kellyn's temper grew ever shorter. "I swear, sometimes," she sat on the edge of the desk, and rubbed her temples. Salvek turned away, and began closely analyzing technical schematics displayed on a monitor on the far wall.
"Don't pretend that you're not scared to death by this. You might be able to keep your feelings hidden from everyone else, but I know better.
This is tearing you up."
"The Captain is going to recover. I have nothing to fear." Somehow, even he seemed unconvinced by his statement.
"Yeah. She's going to recover. And when she wakes up and hears that you never came to see her in Sickbay, what will she say?"
"She will say that it would have been illogical for me to direct my energy toward any action besides those which helped her to get home as quickly as possible."
"We're almost there. We're going as fast as we can. Everything is being attended to. The only thing, or person, that isn't ready for this is you."
"What do you mean, I am not ready?" His expression suddenly changed. Kellyn felt sorry she'd raised her voice the way she had and stepped closer, softening her tone as much as possible.
"There is a good chance that she won't make it through this."
He looked away, his eyes defiant as he attempted to block out the truth that resonated in her words.
"If she dies, Salvek, will you be able to live with the fact that you never said goodbye?"
Salvek tilted his head back, directing his eyes toward the ceiling. "I do not wish to say goodbye to Zanh Liis."
"Then don't. But say something. Anything. Not for her sake, because yeah, you're right. She probably won't hear you," Lair let her hand brush against his just slightly. "Do it for your own sake. So whatever happens, you'll be at peace with yourself."
Salvek showed no sign that he had even considered her words, but within seconds he had already walked to the door, and disappeared through it.
----------------------------------------
Lt. Commander Lair Kellyn
Chief Engineer
USS Alchemy NX-53099
Lt. Commander Lair Kellyn
Chief Engineer
USS Alchemy NX-53099