by Zanh Liis and Vol Tryst
80610.22
Following Be Our Guest and Gains and Losses
-=Sickbay, USS Serendipity=-
80610.22
Following Be Our Guest and Gains and Losses
-=Sickbay, USS Serendipity=-
Mim hesitated as the doors to Sickbay parted and Kellyn strode through them.
She realized suddenly that she didn't hear his servos whirring as he tread behind her, and she looked back.
"Come on, Mim. In here."
"Mim will not get into trouble?" Mim held his pincers nervously and somehow, even though technically impossible for a being which had no mouth, he seemed to frown. "Mim does not want to get into trouble."
"No, but you want to help right?"
"Yes."
"Then you have to come this way. It's all right." Mim hesitated, then finally rolled along after Lair.
Dr. Breaux was already pouring over medical readings and frowning himself as the LMH brought him up to date on what had happened, and why they were now stuck as to any way to further help Vol recover.
"There has to be something we're missing," Avery sighed, looking at Vol's most recent brain scan and magnifying the image.
"I've run hundreds of simulations on the computer in the past few hours," Doctor McKay concluded, grimacing. "Each had the same negative result." He didn't need to clarify for Breaux that the result had been untimely termination of Vol's life.
"Still I wonder if. . ." McKay became aware of others in the room and looked over at Lair. He had a special spot for her in his heart, after all she had been responsible for a great deal of the decisions which resulted in making him the man that he liked to think he was.
"Well, hello darlin', what brings to this neck of the woods? You feelin' poorly?"
"It's not me, it's Mim. I mean, it's Vol." Lair stammered. Finally, she just pointed to the robot.
"Leapin' lizards, that thing looks like the procreative result of a microwave matin' with a flashlight." McKay said, indicating Mim. "What's it doing here?"
"He's a new form of life, he was built by the Strasa," Kellyn said, pausing, "And he may be able to help you help Vol."
"We'll take all the help we can get," reported Breaux from the console where he analyzing brain scans of his friend. Kellyn, McKay and Mim approached from behind him, Kellyn asking the question that had been pertinent in her mind since returning to the Sera.
"How is he?"
Vol had returned to much the same sitting position he'd been in when the Captain had first checked in on him. He sat on his medical bed, facing away from everybody, and just sitting cross legged facing the wall. Although he looked much calmer now, and his breathing was normal, he refused to look at anyone.
"If he were Human, or even Bajoran, I'd send him home with a clean bill of health." McKay responded to Kellyn's question. "For a Betazoid however," he sighed as he didn't even know how to elaborate.
"Excuse me."
Breaux looked down from his diagrams to see a hopeful looking MiM staring back up at him.
"Can MiM look at your diagrams?" The bot eyed Lair warily, still nervous about crossing the lines that Zanh had so clearly spelled out for them.
"Yes." Kellyn encouraged him gently. "Please."
Mim chattered softly to himself and, curiously enough to all around him, began to hum a little, unfamiliar song as he took in the information.
After a moment, he began to beep and whistle and pointed to the panel excitedly. "Mim knows what this is! Mim. . ." he stopped, his eyes widening, and then he backed away, into the corner. He hid his face from the others.
"What? What did you do?" Kellyn asked, dropping to her knee beside him.
"Mim made this."
Everyone working in the room stopped, and turned to glare at the little robot. If it was possible, he seemed to be ashamed.
"Mim did not know it could be used to hurt. It was only meant to help." He insisted sadly as Kellyn managed to rotate him around to face her even as his treads kept turning in the opposite direction. "To enhance. To make empathic abilities clearer, and more defined."
"Enhance," Avery dashed across the room and stared at Mim. "Explain."
"Polarity of original device design has been reversed. Twisted. Altered." Mim continued. "Original device intended to work with telepathic and empathic brains to clarify impressions and images. In the same manner as brightness or sharpness control works on video display monitor."
"Like tuning in a channel more clearly, intensifying the signal." Lair surmised. She exchanged a glance with Avery- they were both thinking the same thing. If the device was originally designed to work that way- with a reverse setting from the one it was set to now, maybe it could work that way again. "I'll get McKay."
In a huddle, the research engineer, the two physicians and the mechanical discussed what would have to happen if they were going to flip the polarity of the device and hopefully restore Vol's empathic pathway function.
Zanh Liis, who had entered the room late but did not want to interrupt the intense planning session taking place before her, stood at the back of the room with her arms crossed over her chest, observing. She watched the way that the group worked, turning her attention every few moments to Vol, as he stared into space. Unmoving, she waited until the team had formulated their plan of action before approaching.
"I take it the bot has seen this before?"
"Yes, and he knows how to switch its mode of functioning." Breaux advised. "The only thing is that we don't know for sure how it'll effect Vol, being that he is only half Betazoid. If he were full blood, and the device works in the manner which Mim intended it to when they asked him to design it, then his senses would go from. . .black and white to full color, as it were."
Zanh understood. "Risks?"
"It may not do anything, or it could permanently disable the neural pathways and degrade them to the point where they will never function correctly again." Breaux admitted.
"But he would be alive." Zanh prodded.
"Would he?" Kellyn asked, shivering as she looked at Vol, the shell of the man they were all just getting to know.
"It's up to Vol," Zanh concluded. "Whatever he decides," she stopped, walking up to Vol at last and standing where she knew he could see her, even if he did not respond, "I will support his decision."
For the first time it seemed in a very long while, Vol moved his head so that he could look directly into the eyes of his Captain. The eyes were lulled, as if half asleep and reflecting pain. His face was serious however, and his voice did not waver.
"I do not intend to ask myself 'what if?' for the rest of my years, Captain."
"Then it's settled," Zanh prepared to deliver her famous line, but noticed that at the last second, Vol was not finished.
"I do ask that you send some sort of notification to my parents however..."
Zanh was puzzled, couldn't he have just taken the time to communicate to them himself? It dawned on her slowly, as she remembered the metaphor Trick and McKay had outlined for her last time she payed a visit to the Counselor. How would Vol's family react, when they realized they could not sense their own son?
"Of course Counselor." Zanh nodded.
"Hello." For the second time, everyone in the room looked down at MiM, who had rolled to Vol's bedside. Even Mr. Tryst was looking down from his perch.
"MiM is sorry his creation hurt you."
Vol blinked once, twice, before he leaned down and extended a finger to the small robot. MiM took the finger, and shook it gently. For a split second, and Zanh wasn't even sure if she had seen it, but she could've sworn she saw Vol smile.
Zanh Liis looked back up at the party of officers in Sickbay. "Go!"
-----------------------------
-=/\=- Zanh Liis
Commanding Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
and
Ensign Vol Tryst
Ship's Counselor
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
-=/\=- Zanh Liis
Commanding Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
and
Ensign Vol Tryst
Ship's Counselor
USS Serendipity NCC-2012