Two opposing forces

Posted on 09 Oct 2016 @ 7:44pm by Lieutenant Tuula Voutilainen M.D. & Petty Officer 1st Class T'Lin

1,218 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Episode 12 - Recluse
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 3 - Sickbay
Timeline: MD-02 1900 hours

A quick glance at the PaDD indicated that she was to report to sickbay for the official medical check in scheduled at 1900 hours. She neither hated them or relished them, for those were emotions and thus irrelevant. She had already memorized the layout of the ship and having been to the Counselors office which was nearby the sickbay would be located close by as well.

She entered letting the double doors make their distinctive whoosh of open and close. A quick glance told her this was a small place even for a ship this size. Three beds, a nurses station and what appeared to be the office nearby.
A nasty engagement would quickly fill this place.

Right now the only occupant in the place was a woman with the most.....interesting, yes that was the word, hairdo in the most......interesting almost fascinating colour sitting in a wheeled chair. That was defineitly a curiosity. It was not that T'Lin had not seen disabled before, but on Vulcan such a child would never have survived the Kash-wan, let alone the more severe one expected of an acolyte. She had suspected that many had hoped for her own demise for being wan-ker-veh was something of an embarrassment to traditional Vulcans.

She waited quite as a statue until the being in the chair responded.

It was a couple minutes before Tuula looked up to notice the new guest in sickbay. "Hello!" she exclaimed, putting down her PADD next to her coffee -- a latte with a whipped topping and chocolate flakes, served in a skull shaped mug. "Sorry, I didn't hear you come in. I was so engrossed in this article about the Tellarite bile duct. Or, I should say, bile ducts. They have two livers, you know."

"I am familiar. There biochemistry is interesting, and surprisingly not dissimilar to that of a Bolian. I am Petty Officer T'Lin and it is indicated that this time was scheduled for my check in. If this convienient for you?"

"Sure!" exclaimed Tuula, pushing her green hair to the side before rolling towards a terminal. "I'll just pull up your file; you make yourself comfortable."

T'Lin was the kind of person that took comments literally. She gently folded her legs and then planted her hands with the fingers touching on her knees. The same as she would do with her meditation, it was comfortable to her.

A few minutes later, Tuula returned with a PADD on her lap. She gave T'Lin an awkward smile. "If you turn to the side and let your legs dangle over the edge, I can get a good scan," she said as she pushed herself towards the biobed and pressed a button to lower it to its lowest setting.

T'Lin complied. "As you wish." She waited a moment and then commented, "though it is not my place, I can not help but note that your hair is either not regulation or you are a different species then I first thought or perhaps it has a religious connotation that I am unfamiliar with."

"Oh..." Tuula brushed her hair aside once more. "Just plain old human. And I like to think that my hair is better than regulation, wouldn't you agree?"

T'Lin carefully scutinized the hair style and then said, "If it does not limit your function and perhaps the individual style suits, then it would seem the most logical choice." It was about as much a compliment as an overly logical Vulcan would give.

"Yes, quite logical. I like that." Noting that her patient was a typical Vulcan, aside from her hair, Tuula continued her scans. "Your hair colour is a little unusual as well. I see from your file that you're a natural blonde?"

"I am a wen-ker-veh, a white one, what you would call an albino. Hence my hair lacks pigment, as does my skin and my eyes are green because of lack of pigment and the colour of my blood."

"Of course. I'm a natural blonde as well." Tuula paused for a moment as she kept scanning, a little jealous of T'Lin's porcelain skin. "Say, have you ever considered dying your hair? I think you would look hot with some pink and blue highlights."

T'Lin cocked her head slightly, "I fail to see why that change of hair colour would change my bodily temperature. The pigments would not pick up enough extra radiation nor change my internal regulation to effect much difference."

"I meant..." Tuula paused for a moment, realizing that it might be more difficult to explain than she was anticipating. "So... what do you do for fun?"

"Fun?" T'Lin questioned. "I believe that humans have odd ideas of fun or what I think is what they term relaxation. I meditate but there are times that I will play the Vulcan harp. I find it helps calm the mind and body." T'Lin remembered that her father told her that others expected the question to extend back many times, thus she added, "And you?"

"The harp?!" exclaimed Tuula. "That's awesome, I also play the harp. Earth harp though. We should jam sometime!"

"Jam? I fail to see what fruit preserves with sugar have to do with the formation of musical tones. Perhaps a form of music that I am unaware of?"

"Jamming is when two or more musicians play together, in an informal environment, playing improvised music." Tuula smiled for a moment. She had a Vulcan roommate at the academy once. They didn't quite get along -- T'Espera always thought that tattoos, hair dye, and bone saws on the walls were "illogical," not to mention the argument they had when Tuula first moved in about whether it was logical for a person with her condition to be a surgeon.

But one of the things that Tuula had learned from T'Espera was that Vuclans weren't the emotionless automatons that other speces often considered them to be. Just like everyone else, they get lonely and underneath that cold exterior, they tend to enjoy the company of others, finding humans to be "fascinating." "I'm not sure as to the etymology of the term," she continued, "but airlock two has the best acoustics on the ship. Perhaps tomorrow at 2100 hours?"

T'Lin listened and then nodded. "I will be there. I look forward to learning more about this 'jamming' as you said."

"Excellent!" exclaimed Tuula, glad that she had managed to get through to the Vulcan. "Well, you are in fairly good health. I would recommend you keep up with the vitamin D supplements, as well as stick to regular vision tests just to be proactive."

"Very well doctor. I will admit that when in the desert that I have trouble with glare."

"That is to be expected; it's a common issue among those with albinism." Tuula smiled for a moment and reached for T'Lin's PADD. "I'll just make a couple supplemental notes, but otherwise, a clean bill of health. Welcome aboard."

"Thank you I believe is appropriate answer," T'Lin got to her feet and began to leave then stopped at the doorway and turned, "2100 hours airlock two with harp in hand."

"Excellent, I will see you there!"

[OFF]

Lieutenant Tuula Voutilainen
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

PO2 T'Lin
Biochemistry Expert
USS Galileo
PNCP Allyndra illm Warraquim

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