345: Parallels

by Avery Breaux
80615.16
Concurrently with Ballroom Blitz
Soundtrack: Ballad of a Well-Known Gun by Elton John


-=Sickbay=-

Breaux read over the last of the padds and set it on the desk. He'd lost count of the cases of he'd handled over the past two cycles. Rubbing his eyes he was trying to recall the last time he'd actually gotten a full night's rest. One consolation is that Avery had been able to deactivate the LMH without any fanfare...work had been finished and Avery was going to be left to his own devices.

Breaux leaned his head back in the large chair and simply stared at the ceiling. At long last some quiet moments.

There was a sense of fulfillment after working an extended cycle, but the coming down was the hard part. He knew it would be at least another two hours before he could actually fall to sleep as he was too wound up from the frantic pace he'd been keeping.

Rigelian flu...bout after bout after bout.*And who in their right mind would disengage the safety protocols?* he stopped thinking about it and tried to find a restful place inside his mind.

At least staying busy had kept him from reflecting on issues he'd played over and over in his mind....Angela and her mission, whatever that might be...the LMH looming over him...not having a drink or drops in some time now...when Starfleet Intel would call him up for an assignment...he found he'd opened his eyes and forced himself to close them and tried to relax once again. Trying to get the rest could be as tedious as not having it.

He was fighting himself again and he needed to let go. He'd decided to make the rounds and re-connect with the crew, but he wanted to relax a bit before heading to the usual haunts. Heading to London's would mean not having any alcohol; perhaps he could develop a taste for synthehol. He really had no choice given his current station in life. He pushed the thoughts from his head and got up and walked over to the bookshelf, which was pretty sparse now that he thought of it.

"The Fall and Redemption of Dr. Samuel A. Mudd," Avery said aloud...although he had read the book repeatedly, each time he fell into it, he garnered another life lesson. He sat for a while and re-read the events of April 18, 1865 and marveled at the intricacy of the story following the death of Abraham Lincoln. The doctor who'd treated the assassin embarked on a spiritual journey of his own following his humanitarian act. Mudd may have mislead investigators, but probably had no real part in the Lincoln conspiracy. Perception is reality. The ancient story never failed to beguile Avery.

Breaux read a chapter and pondered a Lincoln quote: "It is the eternal struggle between these two principles-right and wrong, throughout the world. They are the two principles that have stood face to face from the beginning of time."

Breaux replaced the book wondering what Lincoln would think of Starfleet and the galaxy as it is now known.

Avery decided to head to London's and and re-connect.

"Lights...off," he commanded the office as he headed out the door of his Sickbay office.

Lt Cmdr Avery Breaux
CMO
USS Serendipity NCC-2012