Civil Obedience

Posted on 30 Sep 2018 @ 10:44am by Chief Warrant Officer 3 Alexion Wylde & Crewman Aure
Edited on on 30 Sep 2018 @ 12:55pm

1,095 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Episode 15 - Emanation
Location: Avondale Shipyards - USS Galileo-A, Sickbay
Timeline: MD 144, 2345 hrs

[ON]

Crewman Aure had been with the team aboard the Galileo for as long as they'd been docked at Avondale, which didn't tell the crew a whole lot about their new medical officer. Since his arrival, every day started exactly the same. At fifteen minutes before midnight, he showed up exactly when Alexion arrived, briefing him on what needed to be done and offering a helping hand. Sure enough, like clockwork, the Betazoid appeared near his elbow as soon as the sliding doors opened, holding a cup of coffee. The sickbay was as always immaculate. Two rows of boxes were open on a biobed at the end of the room, with inventory supplies packed in foam that had yet to be cataloged. "Good evening, Chief Wylde," Aure intoned in a mild voice, presenting the mug to his superior. "Did you have a pleasant day?"

"Pleasant? Thanks..." Alexion considered the word as he took the coffee, sipping it with a soft sigh. It was an alright substitute, but he missed the stones and smoke of his world. "I suppose pleasant is a good enough word for it," he shrugged lightly. "Laeon and I shared a meal, it makes a day better," he glanced to Aure. "And you? impossibly excitable about opening boxes?"

"We have received a shipment of bioneural tricorders," Aure said as Alexion entered the room. "I have been documenting their serial numbers prior to storage. Will your child be accompanying us when we leave Avondale?" he inquired politely, picking up the clipboard PADD he'd left on the biobed, swiping the screen to return to his work.

Alexion gave a brisk nod as he moved to a crate, flipping it open with firm hands. "Always. He's only just forgiven me for leaving him behind during the Dominion War," he murmured, shaking his head with a frown. "Is this the kind of thrilling work you imagined when you joined up?" he said drily.

"According to my recollection, the Dominion War concluded roughly twenty years ago, is that correct?" Aure had to wonder, approximating a brief frown himself. "This task is not particularly exciting, but it is necessary to ensure our supplies are properly inventoried." His eyes flashed in white, concentric circles before returning to their startling blue.

"Twenty years seems about right," Alexion had to agree, letting out a long, heavy breath at that. It only seemed like a beat of hearts ago. "He never forgets," he chuckled softly, glancing to him as he started taking the tricorders out and lining them up on the bed. His eyes had done that thing again. It was somewhat unnerving, the first time he'd seen it. He was sure that was a very 'un-Starfleet thing' to feel, but it had been a natural reaction. He was a little more used to it now. "Is...everything....alright?" he finally asked, motioning to the man's eyes with a tricorder. He had never been one for tact.

"Of course, sir," Aure tried to smile in that bizarrely eerie way, in an attempt to be 'reassuring.' "I'm merely calculating how much work is left for us to complete. Yourself and Laeon are quite long-lived, is that correct? Your perception of time would seem to indicate this."

"In comparison to humans, perhaps," Alexion said quietly as he handed the tricorder to him to catalogue. Indeed, it was one of the things he regretted most about their situation; that Laeon would grow up surrounded by shorter lived people than his own kind...that death would plague his friendships and relationships. "But he still rarely forgets," he chuckled gruffly, glancing to him. "I have never seen eyes like yours," he admitted bluntly, not one for dancing around a subject.

"My eyes are a product of physiological engineering," Aure answered simply. "Their function is aesthetic, to alert those around me to the fact that I am completing a cognitive task."

"Hm," Alexion pursed his lips, his head tipping to the side as he considered it, taking him in. "Physiological engineering..." he said quietly, clearly unsettled by the prospect. "As an adult?"

"No," Aure shook his head once, a practiced motion. "I was modified as a child. I do not recall the procedures. You needn't be concerned, I am not emotionally impacted by these events," he made sure to reassure the officer. Sometimes when other humanoids found out about his origins, they reacted with distress.

Alexion stopped moving at the words, to turn completely to him, just watching with darkened eyes, a frown etched on his features. Somehow, he suspected that he was meant to feel better by being assured they had done it to him as a child rather than as an adult. It just made it worse. "A child can't consent to something so...lifechanging."

"Indeed not," Aure agreed, holding a hand up placatingly. "It was not my intention to imply that such behavior was ethical, merely to ease any potential negative reaction you may have toward hearing this information." Yeah, this guy did not have the greatest social skills ever, sorry bud. "My time within the Federation has alerted me to numerous humanoid views upon slavery, but I have never known any other form of existence, and I was not mistreated in any significant way."

Alexion arched an eyebrow at the response. He wasn't sure that 'mistreatment' and 'not significant' entirely went together. He simply shrugged though, half turning back to pull more out of the box. "Humanoid views on slavery," he said lightly, musing on it. "So what are your views on slavery?"

"Somewhat nuanced," he answered honestly. "I would not engage with nor sanction the practice of owning another sentient being, however, for those who have lived this lifestyle, such a concept may not be as intuitive."

"I suppose we understand what is familiar," he said quietly, shaking his head with a frown as he passed him a tricorder. "Is medicine what you wanted to do?"

"My natural inclination is to assist others where I am able," Aure nodded. "And my training encompassed a wide variety of technical and medical skills. Is this career path something you desired to do?"

Alexis was silent for a long moment, opening up a tricorder to check it was working. "No," he finally replied bluntly but honestly, shaking his head as he watched the tricorder rather than the other man. "I suppose there are worse careers though..."

[OFF]

--

Doctor Alexion Wylde
Medical Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Blake]

Crewman Aure
Medical Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Rizil]

RSS Feed