If I Can't Dance Then I Don't Want Any Part Of Your Revolution

Posted on 29 Sep 2012 @ 4:23pm by Lieutenant Commander Pola Ni Dhuinn M.D. & Commander Andreus Kohl

2,403 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Episode 01 - Project Sienna
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 4, Sickbay
Timeline: MD 11 - 0247 hours

[ON]

The music playing inside Sickbay was thumping loudly enough to vibrate the transparent canisters on the countertops. The overhead lighting had been lowered to "night" levels, and the spot lighting in the storage areas made the multi-coloured hypospray cartridges glow brightly. The melody playing over the communications grid sounded like a fusion between folksy rock and electroclash, and it had been composed and recorded on the Idanian homeworld in the twenty-third century. Most importantly, it had a beat you could dance to.

The last of the patients from the Klingon attack had been released from Sickbay. The very last one had been discharged by Nurse Practitioner Kohl only twenty minutes earlier. Perhaps not all of the crew were at their full capabilities, but they were on their feet, and they had been made aware of their abilities-in-recovery. Even Drusilla McCarthy had been progressing well enough --through her physiotherapy and speech therapy with Kohl-- that she had been released to her quarters.

The medical staff aboard Galileo had been rotating through four hour shifts during the tensions in the nebula. Now that Chief Petty Officer Eda had stepped out for her meal break, Andreus Kohl was left alone in Sickbay. Alone where he could stare up at the ceiling and dance with abandon, his arms flailing carelessly.

Unable to sleep, she'd thought to pop down and ensure everything was ok. She knew that the patients were gone but she wanted to double check on her staff, still reeling from what they been through.

Hearing the music from down the hall, she had to admit she found herself very curious. It seemed to be coming from sickbay but that wouldn't have made much sense. Moving up the corridor the noise definitely was getting louder and louder. Stopping in the door to sickbay, Pola had to hold herself back from letting out a gasp.

Infront of her eyes seemed to be a Kohl she'd never seen before. He seemed to have his eyes closed as he just let loose with a wild abandon. Having only ever seen him stressed and angry this was a side she wasn't used to at all. Leaning her shoulder against the doorframe, she continued to watch, mesmerised by the movements and unwilling to ask him to stop...he seemed so happy.

The stayed that way for a couple of minutes. Maybe five. Pola standing sentinel in the doorway wrapped up in awe and curiosity; Kohl swaying his body in time with the rhythm of the music. It all changed with a suddenly gasped, "Oh," from Kohl, when he caught Pola in his peripheral vision. His body froze in place, except for his head, which he tilted to look Pola in the eye. He cleared his throat loudly. Sounding only slightly unsure, he said, "Is it that time already, Pola?"

Shaking her head lightly, Pola stayed where she was. "I don't think I've ever seen some of those moves before. Um...do you think you could teach me?" Pola blushed slightly. Her and Kohl had had so many issues between eachother in the last few days, all she wanted was to be able to start to build a bridge. He was her only nurse, in a sickbay where there was already so few people. Maybe this was something they could start with.

Dragging his feet languidly, Kohl turned to face Pola properly. He stood with his feet shoulder-width apart and he lowered his arms to his side. Watching her silently, he considered her through slightly narrowed eyes. Kohl spoke as if he had just been woken from a nap, as if spoken language was unfamiliar to him. "I-- I could dance. With you," Kohl said, smiling slightly, "But I'm not sure I remember any of the moves. We don't have 'dance lessons' on Argelius Two. It's more..." --Kohl paused to lick his lower lip and when he spoke again, it was in reverent tones-- "Where I grew up, dancing is spiritual."

Seeing that Kohl seemed uncomfortable with her presence, Pola felt something in her break. It seemed that in the last few days everyone was turning against her, was this what being in command meant? Watching Kohl, she wished that they could just get along. He was their only nurse. It didn't matter that she was his boss or anything like that, she just wished they could get along. Life was too short for people to fall out. "I just popped in to see how things were. Ill leave you be."

"Wait, I, uhm," Kohl said, shaking his head as if he could rattle away his confusion. He took a step towards the door. Just one step. Guileless and earnest, Kohl asked, "I thought you wanted to dance?"

Looking down at the floor, Pola suddenly felt weak and vulnerable. "I don't want to impose...that's the first time I've ever seen you just completely relaxed, letting you be your complete self."

While Pola was staring at the deck plates, Kohl's shoulders slumped. As he was no telepath, he couldn't understand why Pola was looking, and sounding, so defeated. "I'm inviting you. It's no imposition," Kohl said surely, but it came out as diffident.

Chewing her lip, Pola looked back up at Kohl. Now off duty she didn't see herself as his boss. Right now, they were aquantices, maybe they could manage friendship despite the issues they had been having. "I might be able to teach your something? Before the ankle, I danced a lot."

"Then step inside. You're letting the music out," Kohl said with a touch of playfulness, and a sweep of his hand towards the passageway. His cocked his head to one side and he languidly asked, "What are you in the mood for?"

Thinking for a moment, Pola smiled as she stepped in, allowing the doors to close behind her. "Something fun? Just be able to dance, forget and enjoy ourselves?"

"I think I know that move already," Kohl said teasingly, but he nodded in agreement. He stood where he was, while Pola approached. He asked the computer to lower the volume of the music. "Some Argelians dance to achieve catharsis," he said, "Emotional tension can be released through our sweat, rather than our tears."

"Why do you dance?" Pola flexed her ankle gently to test it. There was still an ache, she'd been on her feet so much and walking on it a lot so she hadn't expected anything less. She would manage dancing but may need to watch how long she'd be doing it for.

"My father..." Kohl said. His voice was deeper, and was duller, than usual. He looked in Pola's eyes with something akin to fear, but he didn't look away. He didn't blink. His body still, Kohl said, "He died the day I came aboard."

Parting her lips, Pola went to share something but stopped herself before she could say a word. If Kohl had been keeping this in, he deserved the chance to talk. "And you haven't had opportunity to grieve with everything going ok? What was he like?"

"I-- I have been grieving, in a way. I've been angry. I've been angry about his death," Kohl replied. His voice was dull, all the fire drained out in his sweat. His face was beaded with perspiration from all the dancing. His hair was sweaty and matted to his scalp. "I thought I was angry with you. I thought I was angry about Vera Lin dying, but..." --Kohl shook his head-- "But I hardly knew Vera. I didn't even like Vera. Her death wasn't your fault. I wasn't angry with you; I was angry with my Da."

Placing her back against the wall, Pola allowed herself to slide down to the floor before patting the place beside her. "Sometimes death does that...causes anger. It's even worse when the cause of your anger isn't there, it leaves your only avenue to be those who are around you." Pulling her knees into her chest, Pola chested her chin on them. "Do you understand why you're angry?"

Kohl laughed very briefly, and somewhat bitterly. His arms, hanging by his sides, suddenly looked like a burden to him, like dead weights. He padded closer to Pola, bumped his left shoulder against the bulkhead, and lowered himself to the floor. Leaning against the bulkhead on his left, Kohl tilted his head against the wall. He pulled his knees up to his chest, too, and crossed his arms over his knees. "No, no I don't," Kohl said, sounding annoyed with himself. He looked at Pola with wide eyes. Taking on a tongue-in-cheek timbre, he added, "I thought I was angry with you, remember? I haven't managed self-awareness yet."

Smiling gently, Pola tilted her head so as her cheek was now against her knee, "You can stay angry at me if you'd prefer, allow yourself to come to terms with your father's death without that anger."

"No, when I was angry with you, I was in denial about it or guilty about it," Kohl remarked, and now he just sounded tired. He smiled sadly. "Much simpler to just miss my Da."

"Sometimes someone close to you dying is something that takes awhile to recover from, especially where there's guilt embedded there..." Pausing for a moment, Pola just watched Kohl for a moment. "...If you need someone as just a friend I'm always here. Sometimes what you need most is just a friend who'll listen, or let you just cry on their shoulder."

"Crying won't bring catharsis for me. It's not wired into my exocrinology. I have to sweat it out," Kohl said. He brushed a hand across his forehead, pushing his hair away from his face, and unintentionally making it stick up at a peculiar angle. "What makes you talk about guilt?" he asked.

"Me personally? The last time I deflected anger on those around me was when my Grandmother died. I felt guilt at all the wasted years I'd pushed her away. It was only when I had her no more that I appreciated what she had actually done for me. I still have that guilt...at least it helped me understand what is happening this time around." Pola placed her chin back on her knee as she surveyed sickbay, the place she was in charge of. The scars could be seen on all surfaces showing what they'd all been through over the last few days. The stillness surrounding them now was in competition of the memories of the injured who swamped the place only hours before.

With his shoulder and head pressed against the bulkhead, he watched Pola study Sickbay. His thoughts remained with her words, caught up in memories, and the absence of recent memories. "Yes," Kohl said bleakly, "Yes, that does sound familiar after all. ...I don't get along with my adoptive mother. I think I've been avoiding my father, just because he lives with her."

"Sometimes we intentionally or unintentionally block out people in our current life and don't see what we've done until its too late. It's why its most important that we treasure what we have, and not move on with the guilt and regret. The memories we do have are important for preserving the memory of who we have lost." Pola kept her eyes focused on sickbay, suddenly realising that in her own life, history was in a way repeating itself.

Following the movement of Pola's eyes, Kohl stared at her intently. "So then who are you going to treasure more tomorrow than you have done today?" he asked.

"Noone...the opportunity is gone." Turning her head, Pole rested her forehead against her knee as she once again fought back the tears. After a moment or two, she looked across at Kohl, her smile strained but she made the effort. "So am I gonna give this a try?"

Kohl squinted at Pola, unsure what 'this' meant, and feeling like he was missing the context behind Pola's other words too. He asked, "Try dancing, you mean?"

Nodding her head, Pola chewed on her bottom lip. "I could teach you something if you wanted? Noone ever cashed in on the salsa lesson after."

"Yes, please," Kohl said with a quiet sincerity. He shifted his booted feet and pushed off the bulkhead to get to a standing position. Kohl proffered a hand to assist Pola up.

Taking the offered hand, Pola smiled shyly. "Ok...the thing you have to know about salsa is that even though there's a sensual aspect to the dance it's also dramatic. The steps are about competition for power and seducation. I'm going to teach you the leader's steps so when we dance you can follow. Is that ok?"

Kohl blinked at her once, twice, three times. "Yeah, no, I don't know what half of that meant," Kohl said. He winced apologetically, but he shrugged it off. Then, he remarked, "You'll have to show me."

Blushing slightly, Pola took Kohl's hands and lead him to the empty area in the middle of the room before moving him to stand at her side. "Ok...this is the basic step." Watching Kohl Pola stepped forward with her left foot, placing her weight on her left foot. After one beat, she kept her feet in place but transferred her weight to her right foot. Sliding her left foot back, she brought it in line with her other foot before waiting one beat and repeating the moves but backwards. "Make sense?"

Watching the way Pola moved her feet and her body, Kohl echoed the same steps. He stepped forward, shifted his weight, and stepped back. His attempt wasn't precisely accurate, but he demonstrated the general feel for the movements. Kohl, also, took the steps quite easily despite his chunky uniform boots. He looked up from his feet and looked to Pola expectantly. "Show me more," he asked.

Smiling at his eagerness, Pola nodded her head. "I've a few more tricks I can teach you...also some upper body movements you can throw in." Feeling a lightness she hadn't felt in a number of days, Pola threw herself into this lesson, immersing herself in the steps and the joy she felt sharing something she loved with someone else.


[OFF]

Ensign Andreus Kohl
Nurse
USS Galileo

Lieutenant JG Pola Ni Dhuinn
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

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