by Lara Valera Ryn
90222.00
Time: Current
-=Starfleet Health and Wellness Center, Medical Ward =-
90222.00
Time: Current
-=Starfleet Health and Wellness Center, Medical Ward =-
Dr. Omer Stanislaw gently patted Lara on the knee, his way of indicating the examination was over. Not that the results weren’t a foregone conclusion. They had been for months.
“Well, my dear, you’re all clear,” he announced as he signed off on his report. Stanislaw looked over at her and gave her a warm smile. He truly was a kind and gentle soul, and he had been her biggest advocate while Lara had been locked away.
Lara jumped down from the bed, and with no sense of modesty, slipped off the archaic examination gown that protocol in the looney bin required and began to put real clothes back on. And for the first time since graduation, she was putting on a Starfleet uniform, something she had never bothered to wear in the field -- they just were not practical.
As she tugged at the collar of her shirt, Stanislaw gently laughed. “You’ll get used to it.”
He stood up and walked over to her, where he gently adjusted the rank pips so that they lay flat and even. He took a step back and smiled. Again, it was that warmth that Lara found so endearing, probably because it reminded her of her maternal grandfather, the one who had always had time to sit down with her, no matter how big or small the issue.
“Do you have your orders yet, Lieutenant Ryn?” he asked, his manner anything but formal.
Lara scowled. “Can you explain to me one more time why I cannot keep my own last name?”
“Lara, we’ve been through this before. Antagonizing the symbiont will do you no good. It is as much a part of you as you are of it.”
“And I would not want to upset the Trill government.” The words out of her mouth were bitter, sarcastic.
“Especially when they were kind enough to send you this.” Stanislaw walked over to a stack of PADDs next to her medical report. He picked up the top PADD and handed it over to her.
She could not deny that her curiosity was piqued and did not even ask what the PADD contained before she opened it. It was a simple list of eight names -- Ryn’s past hosts, the last one of course being Julian.
“It’s generally tradition for the new host to learn about her symbiont before the transfer,” Stanislaw indicated.
*Nothing like bucking tradition,* Lara thought to herself as she looked over the names again, noting that each had a personnel file attached. But she would have time for that later.
For now, she had a schedule to meet and a shuttle to catch.
Turning her attention away from the padd and back to the doctor, she said, “Thank you for everything you have done for me.” Her words were heartfelt and sincere. Stanislaw really had helped her keep her sanity in this place when everything else had fallen apart.
Again, he smiled -- one last warm smile for the road Lara noted. It made her sentimental, so much so that she leaned over and hugged him.
He returned the gesture, squeezing her slightly, and silently letting her know that everything would be okay. And for the first time in six months, Lara believed it.
Lieutenant Lara Valera Ryn
Science Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
Science Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012