By Dr. Terasha and Ensign Dane Cristiane
80320.00
Following A Better Mousetrap
-=Sickbay=-
80320.00
Following A Better Mousetrap
-=Sickbay=-
Dane Cristiane was seething. He had been busy. Very busy, and he did not wish to be disturbed.
So what happened?
The ship's gigantic prison warden decided for some reason -surely a reason so sick and twisted it could only have come from the mind of Zanh Liis- that he needed to report to Sickbay. Right now.
Staggering into the medical facility, Dane found O'Sullivan waiting for him.
"Am I allowed to send a subspace message asking for legal counsel before you throw me in the brig?" Dane slurred, folding his arms over his chest. "I suppose that's where I'm going next?"
"You'd be lucky to be goin' to the brig, boy." Keiran pointed to the biobed. "The Captain and I have a little assignment for you, and you'll be requirin' a disguise."
"Now? Are you freaking kidding me?"
"No, Mr. Cristiane," said Terasha as she walked out of her office, "We're not. Today, you get to experience life from the captain's perspective." She held up a tricorder and began to scan Cristiane's face.
"You're medically capable of turning me into a crazy bit-."
"Mind your tongue, lad. That's our Captain you're speaking of," O'Sullivan warned, clapping a hand on Dane's shoulder and squeezing. Hard.
He 'encouraged' Dane to sit down on the biobed, which the younger man reluctantly did.
"You don't know her like I do." Dane protested.
O'Sullivan had summoned Terasha by telling her that she was needed to perform an alteration to Cristiane for a covert operation, but he hadn't mentioned that the Captain had also requested that she go on that mission as well. He wondered how she was going to take the news, when the Captain informed her.
Observing that Dane continued to tilt randomly from side to side even once seated, O'Sullivan grabbed one of the overhead lamps and pulled it closer, shining the bright light into Cristiane's eyes. He observed Dane's reaction and sighed. The lad was absolutely polluted.
"Ow." Dane complained, raising a hand to shield his bloodshot eyes.
O'Sullivan sighed. "Sober him up, Doc. We don't have time for this." He watched as the doctor nodded slightly and then prepared a hypospray to do just that.
Terasha listened to the exchange between O'Sullivan and Cristiane. The Chief of Security was showing a lot of patience dealing with the sniveling little whelp, and she respected him for it.
Terasha admired a strong warrior.
"The scan is finished," said Terasha. "I'll need to upload the information to the computer, then the medical replicator will manufacture the prosthetics. It will take a few minutes, then I'll be able to apply them. A few touch-ups here and there, and we'll have a brand new Bajoran. I've decided to give you traits that show you're from the worker d'jarra. You know, a menial."
Dane's jaw set. "Why not go all the way down the totem pole and make me an undertaker."
Terasha's antennae rotated, displaying her curiosity. "Why is that, Mr.Cristiane?"
Dane simply continued to scowl and list from side to side, offering no response.
"They're considered the most unclean of all," O'Sullivan rumbled softly.
Terasha chuckled.
"Fortunately, we left the d'jarras behind us long ago, otherwise we never could have been approved for membership in the Federation." A voice spoke up from the back of the bay.
"Though I applaud your creativity, Doctor. It would definitely serve Mr. Cristiane well to mind his place more often before he speaks." Once again dressed in uniform, Captain Zanh approached the assembled group.
"Just having some fun with the young man, Captain," said Terasha with a quick smile. "Mr. Dalca told me I needed to have some."
"Yes, well that's commendable, but it appears that Mr. Cristiane has already had a little too much fun this evening." Zanh sighed, immediately taking note of the fact that Dane was drunk. She wondered if he was going to be up to the task assigned to him.
"I gave him something that should help with that," said Terasha. "However, he's going to have a headache for the next couple of hours. Would you like for me to give him something for that?"
Zanh reluctantly agreed. Ordinarily, she would have insisted that Dane suffer the full consequences of his actions, but tonight, she had no time.
She considered for a moment the life and death necessity they had of making Dane's appearance especially convincing. Given the number of Bajorans who had joined the Maquis, especially with the resurgence in interest in the past few years, he could encounter more than one and he had to seem the real deal.
Not everyone from her home world had wanted to throw a party to celebrate the day that Bajor finally joined the Federation, and those unhappy people would think nothing of killing him, of killing the whole security team immediately, if they discovered they weren't who they claimed to be.
They needed Dane's cover, all of their covers, to be flawless.
"I need to ask you to consider my own features closely in your alteration of Dane's, because he's going to be using my history as his cover story if questioned about his identity." Zanh held a PADD between her hands. "With a few minor alterations to make the timing work."
"You want me to change him into a girl?" asked Terasha, her antennae twitching questioningly.
Not certain from her expression if the Andorian was having more fun with Dane, Zanh allowed her brows to migrate upward, her left hand resting against her chin for a moment as though she was actually considering it.
"That's it. I quit." Dane announced, attempting to rise from the bed. Zanh and O'Sullivan each clamped a hand down onto his shoulder and held him in place.
"Never you mind, bright boy. We're adding here, not taking anything important away." Zanh responded, finally letting him off the hook. "Commander O'Sullivan, I believe that you have arrangements to make? You can leave Cristiane in my care. I will bring him up to speed on everything he needs to know. When are you planning on leaving?"
"As soon as possible, Captain. For some unknown, unforeseen reason, the first transport to the surface has been..." O'Sullivan tilted his head toward Zanh, "Unavoidably delayed. So we have bought ourselves an hour and ten minutes or so before our target can depart."
Zanh smiled slightly. The man was good at his job.
"That will rattle him a bit. Good work, Keiran. I'll do my best with Dane and have him ready to depart as soon as that first transport leaves."
"Thank you, Sir." O'Sullivan turned, and then he was gone.
"You," Zanh poked Dane in the chest with her index finger. "Stay put. I'll be right back."
Zanh approached Terasha as she began to remove the prosthetic pieces of Dane's new nose from the medical replicator as they appeared.
"You've been doing a fine job in your duties, Doctor. I haven't had much of a chance to tell you that since you've arrived here, but your care in tending to Lair, and O'Sullivan, and your work with Reece and the LMH on the Grace situation... not to mention having to balance whatever it is that you've been dealing with, with Dalca..."
"Thank you, Captain," said Terasha. "You honor me. I appreciate that."
Zanh thought again about O'Sullivan's request to take Dalca along.
"You know that I have not pried into the details of Mr. Dalca's situation because it has not been necessary for me to do so. Until now. I just need you to answer one question for me. In his current condition, with whatever threat he may be facing, would you think it unwise to send him along with O'Sullivan and Cristiane on their covert operation?"
"Extremely."
"Very well." Zanh had suspected as much from the tone in Terasha's voice when she had given the initial report, but she wanted to double check. "I only have one more question. Dalca's life is not in danger, is it?"
"No, it's not. The situation isn't anything like that. There's also no risk of anything dangerous or infectious spreading throughout the ship."
"Glad to hear it." Zanh watched as Terasha finished assembling all she'd need to finish Dane's transformation.
When Terasha was ready to apply the prosthetics to Cristiane, she looked at the captain. "Is there anything else? I'm ready to proceed."
"Yes, there is actually. Your history, in the Andorian Imperial Guard."
Terasha stopped in her tracks and looked at the captain, her antennae twitching nervously.
"Your abilities, and your intelligence, all make you a highly valuable member of my senior staff," Zanh began. "They also, especially when combined with your heritage, the potential it provides for you to blend into just about any environment undercover, make you a very valuable asset to Officer O'Sullivan for the task that he must perform. I am assigning you to his covert security team."
Terasha stared at Captain Zanh, not sure if she heard what her brain was telling her she had heard. Go on a covert mission? Get a chance to return to her original training and service? Yes!
"Thank you, Captain. I will do my best." Terasha allowed herself to show a brief smile.
Zanh moved away, but not too far away- giving Dane the eye every now and then so he would sit still and behave himself as Terasha continued her work. While the Andorian completed the alterations, Zanh busily programmed instructions and information into a PADD for Cristiane to study afterward.
"Soon as she's finished," Zanh watched as Dane glared daggers at her from the corner of his eye, "Your crash course in all things Bajoran begins, young one."
Dane sighed. "Swell."
As angry as Cristiane was about going on the mission, Terasha was excited. While placing the prosthetics on his face, she had to slow down several times to quell her excitement. She had to do this job right, in order for the next job to be a success.
"He's all yours, Captain," said Terasha. "A shiny, new Bajoran, at your service."
Dr. Terasha
Chief Medical Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
and
Ensign Dane Cristiane
Communications Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
Chief Medical Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
and
Ensign Dane Cristiane
Communications Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012