Missing Pieces

Posted on Sat Mar 17th, 2018 @ 12:05am by Chief Warrant Officer Daytona Ral & Akira Zhuri

Mission: Curing the Black Blood
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: Current

Chief Warrant Officer Daytona Ral lay on a biobed in the recovery area of the Hera's Sickbay. The intravenous line feeding him fluids and, of equal importance at this point, painkillers, had been inserted into his right hand in order to keep his left side clear for the amputation of his left leg below the knee. Somewhere in Sickbay, in a tank, a new leg was being grown for him. At the moment though, a part of him was missing and had not been replaced. Though sleeping, his face twitched and he winced periodically, seemingly aware on some level of experiencing both pain from the amputation and phantom limb pain. Every now and again he would make a little noise, perhaps in response to a particularly noticeable twinge of pain. At least once, if the medical staff were paying attention, they would have heard him mutter a name.

"Akira..."

The medical staff may have been so busy to not notice, but Akira certainly noticed; the young hologram inhabiting the remodeled Herald android had taken a small break from the Hera's repairs to come check on her lover. Her heart ached to see Daytona in such pain, and she reached out to take his hand and give it a squeeze, hoping the contact would offer some sort of comfort in his time of need. She looked down at his distressed slumbering form, tears forming in her eyes at the sight of the void where a leg should have been; she knew they could fix him up good as new with a biosynthetic replacement, but it was still jarring to see him this way for now.

Daytona's eyes suddenly opened wide and for a moment he looked panicked. Then he became aware of Akira. He smiled weakly.

"You're here," he said in a raspy voice, his thoughts not entirely coherent. "You're...you again, while it seems that I'm...a bit less than myself. You are...unharmed? I was so worried. Even when I...couldn't remember...I could remember you...the idea of you. I tried to find you..."

"I'm fine, Daytona," Akira assured him softly. Her holographic matrix had emulated a warm, living body well enough, but there was something different about her now, something more solid, more real as she held his hand and gently stroked his brow; not to mention her skin was no longer blue... "My experiences thus far have taught me that in this part of the conversation I am to ask you how you are doing, but clearly you are not well; is there anything I can do to help ease your discomfort?"

Daytona swallowed with difficulty, his throat parched.

"Could you get me a cup of water?" he said, his voice scratchy. "Or better cup of ice chips and a spoon? I might need you to feed them too me. I feel like a Hellhound tried to eat me..."

"A hellhound did try to eat you," Akira informed him. "I don't know the full story yet, but... I'm not sure I want to." She leaned in to give him a kiss on the forehead, then released his hand to go get some ice chips and a small cup of broth (in case he wanted something that resembled sustanence) from the replicator. Then she pulled up chair and help lift his head to put an extra pillow underneath to support him. "They say you will be going into surgery again soon to get a new leg," she said as she gingerly fed him ice chips.

Daytona gratefully accepted the spoonful of ice chips from Akira and sucked on them, letting the cool water trickle down into his throat, soothing it. He looked over at Akira and reached out with his hand to caress her face.

"You're not blue anymore," he said. "And you feel...soft and warm as always, but more solid. I like it. Whatever you've done to your matrix...wait, this body isn't holographic, is it? How did that come about? I remember seeing you in the body you were in when my group linked up with yours...I knew it was you, without a doubt. But something has happened since then, I assume?"

"Yes, I was inhabiting a Herald probe android when we found you," Akira confirmed with a nod. "I guess I still I am, but this one... this one the Herald Lab customized for me, it is mine now. I suspect that once the chaos has died down that I will have much to do to secure this body for only my use so that it cannot be manipulated by someone else, but for now I am simply adapting to the new dimension of this frame, as well as all the new sensations."

"You look beautiful," Daytona said. "How does it feel?"

"It feels... foreign," Akira admitted as she fed him more ice chips. "But not in a bad way, it's simply new to me. And making contact, it feels the same, yet somehow... more... Truth be told, it is a little overwhelming, but I do like it."

Daytona let the most recent spoonful of ice chips melt in his mouth before speaking.

"I'm glad," he said. He looked down at his leg. "You know, thinking about it now, I'm surprised this is the first time I've lost a limb. I suppose I should be glad I lost it now and not a few hundred years ago. Back then, I wouldn't have had access to Federation bio-synthetics. I might have ended up with a peg leg, like some pirate from Earth's 17th Century. And, of course, if I did that, I'd have to lose an eye, so I could wear an eyepatch, of course, and a hand so I could replace it with a hook. Though...the hook might have made our first meeting uncomfortable for you."

Daytona's ramblings seemed to tire him out and he closed his eyes and rested.

"Oh my," Akira replied with a blush, chuckling softly when she noticed how he had tired himself out. She set the cup of ice chips aside for a moment, at least until he was more lucid. "I'm sorry you got hurt, but I am glad we have the medical technology and resources to fix you," she said, taking his hand and rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb in a soothing manner. "And I'll take good care of you while you recover; any minute I'm not working, I'll be here with you, I promise."

Daytona chuckled.

"I'll hold you to that, my love," he said. He stopped laughing. "I'm sorry. I should have taken the Hellhound more seriously. I won't let you down again."

"You didn't let me down; no one could have predicted that Nexi would be able to create one of those dogs or how it would react, so you have nothing to apologise for," Akira assured him with her gentle smile. "No regrets, just focus on getting better."

"At least I'll never have to see that damned Hellhound again," Daytona said, relaxing back against his pillow.

"Oh, I don't know about that..." Akira said uneasily, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. "Ah, Mister Pickles still follows Nexi everywhere... and so does the other one she named Sunshine..."

"Ex...cuse...me?" Daytona said. "You're telling me not only that there are two of those vicious, mangy things, but that I have to share the corridors of this ship with them?!?"

Daytona sighed, and then started laughing, though it was not long before he was laying back again.

"Oh, well," he said. "I'll try to get along with them...or maybe I'll bite...wait...which one of them bit me? Never mind. Maybe I'll bite one leg off of each them for good measure. Did Moriko make it through the crash alright? I need at least one quadruped on this ship that's not hostile to me."

"Moriko is fine," Akira replied with a smile. "All the pets on the ship got a little chilly, but they survived with no lasting injuries, and I'm sure Moriko can't wait to cuddle up to you once you're released from Sickbay." And Moriko wasn't the only one looking forward to a good cuddle... "As for Nexi's dogs, as I understand it Mister Pickles is the first one and the one that bit you, and when she came back from the Master's ship she had a second one with her as well, and apparently he's not too bright; I wonder if that's why he's called Sunny..."

Daytona shook his head and smiled.

"Ah, the indignity of it all," he said. "Laid low by a Hellhound named Mister Pickles. At least it was the smarter one that bit me. Having my ass handed to me by a stupid Hellhound might actually have been worse."

He winced again, and his body twitched once like he'd received a small electric shock.

"Ow," Daytona said. "For something that isn't there, my absent leg certainly hurts like it is there...and itches. I swear that I can feel an itch on the left side of my non-existent calf. Maddening, really. The very first thing I'm going to do after the doctor attaches the new leg is scratch that itch! Then I'm going to beg the doctor to let me out of here so we can try a little Rigelian medicine."

His tone managed to sound suggestive, barely, but the painkillers were making Daytona feel and sound a little 'floaty' and euphoric.

"There will be plenty of time for that later," Akira said with a sadness in her eyes as she watched her boyfriend struggle to cope with his condition. It was so strange to her that he could still feel the limb and that constant nagging itch even though it was no longer there. She would have to look into this, research this phenomenon so she would have a better understand of how to help him. "You are barely awake, would you like me to leave so you can rest?"

"Could you just sit with me a while?" he said. "I feel better with you here to make sure they don't cut anything else off or perhaps put my leg on backwards or some such thing."

Though his tone was light, he was telling the truth, a very real truth. He he felt safe when Akira was with him.

"Of course, anything you wish," Akira replied, then slipped her hand into his. For a long while she was silent, content to watch him rest, but the curiosity got the better of her and she could not contain the question that bubbled up. "Daytona, how did you know who I was when we found you on the Dyson Sphere?"

Daytona reached out and gently touched Akira's face.

"Rigelians have an uncanny sense of direction," he said. "And you are my true north."

Akira tilted her head curiously. "I don't know what that means."

Daytona laughed.

"I'm not sure what it means either," he said. "It was sort of a corny line. I think...I guess it means I'd know you anywhere. It's like...when I'm planetside, I can tell you, beyond the shadow of a doubt, which way is north, or any other direction on a compass. The ability has something to do with how Rigelian physiology interacts with planetary magnetic fields, at least that's what our scientists think. Regardless, I know. I felt just as absolutely certain that you were in the Herald's body the very first moment I saw you, but not because of magnetic fields...I'm not really explaining this very well. Suffice to say you can't hide your true self from me. I've seen your true self and you've made a lasting impression on me."

"Hmmm, this may require some investigation and study to see if we can recreate this unusual reaction," Akira in that emotionless way when she would get just a little too analytical.

Daytona grinned.

"That's my girl," he said. "When it comes to you and me, I enjoy exploring reactions."

Akira smiled brightly; in some part of her father's memories, she was vaguely aware that not everyone was so accepting of other people's quirks, and that her response had been one of those quirks, and it made her happy that he accepted her so completely, he didn't make her feel at all strange because she wanted to study emotional reactions.

"Here, your voice is sounding a bit dry again," Akira said, gently offering him some more ice chips. "I've got a broth for you to sip on if you want something more than just ice," she offered,

"Thank you," Daytona replied. He sucked on the offered ice chips and enjoyed the sensation of the cool water cleansing his mouth and soothing his throat. "But I'd better stick to ice if they are going to put me under again. Can I have a raincheck on food until after I get my new flipper?"

"Absolutely," Akira replied, then after a couple more chips she set the cup aside. "I'll do my best to be here when you come out of surgery, maybe I can feed you then," she said teasingly in the hopes of raising his spirits.

Daytona grinned.

"I look forward to it," he said. "I really do like the new look. I remember when you first showed it to me. Why did you decide to do away with the blue?"

"Actually, I don't know," Akira said with a look of bemusement as she came to that realization. "I guess, well... I feel different when I'm in this body, so I maybe it felt right that I look different?

"That is as good an answer as any," Daytona repled. He rested his head back against his pillow. "So, can you explain how it feels different? Is it the way your new physical body interacts with the environment? It's senses?"

"It feels... heavy." Attempting to put the sensation into words was difficult for Akira, but she was trying. "As a hologram, I have no weight, but I can feel every bit of this body, not just the weight, but the substance of it, and the mechanics of moving; goodness you would have laughed if you had seen my first attempts to move in the other body... But the longer I'm in here and the more I do, the more it becomes, I don't know, automatic? All the littlest things I notice in this body, it's starting to fade into the background as it becomes more familiar. But until my matrix is done adapting, there's still just so much input, it's almost too much, and that's not even counting my sensory perceptions!"

"Does your new body have enhanced sensory capabilities?" Daytona asked, and grinned mischievously. "Do you have 'X-Ray Vision' like that Old Earth superhero? Superbman or whatever his name was, and his cousin, Superb Girl? Are you sneaking a peek at my naughty bits through this blanket? Because that's cheating."

"Oh, I've got all kinds of sensors in my eyes, I'm still figuring out how it all works!" Akira replied. "I don't think I can see your naughty bits through the blanket, but I can try if you want..."

Daytona chuckled.

"Most likely you'd see through them," Daytona said. "Depending on how it works for you. If it was a true 'x-ray', it would bypass the flesh and go for the bone. Besides, you don't need X-Ray vision to see my naughty bits. I show them to you as often as I can. Is it just your eyes? Are any of your other senses similarly enhanced or expanded? I am I being to curious?"

"I don't know; as I said, I'm still figuring things out," Akira said with a perplexed yet thoughtful tilt of her head. "Maybe once you're feeling better, we can explore some of the new enhancements?"

"Of course," Daytona said. "That will be fun."

Daytona rested back against his pillows and closed his eyes again.

A corpsman walked up and politely cleared his throat. There was another corpsman with him.

"Miss Zhuri," he said. "Mister Ral. Sorry to interrupt, but they are prepping the new leg now and they asked us to get you ready as well. We're going to check your vitals, then we'll transfer you to an anti-grav stretcher and bring you into surgery. Once we're there, we'll get you set up on the operating table, and the nurse anesthetist will come by and put you under. The surgery is quite long, Miss Zhuri. If you want to go get some rest, I can update you in a while. We still don't know the limits of that new body of yours. Be careful not to over do it."

"Oh yes, of course, do what you need to do," Akira said, standing and pulling her chair away. Before departing completely, Akira leaned in to give Daytona a gentle kiss. "I will be here when you wake. Good luck," she said softly to Daytona, then pulled away so that the medics could step in and do their jobs. "While he's under, I'll go to Engineering to get this body checked out; call me as soon as he comes out of surgery," she then said to the medics.

"Yes, ma'am," the corpsman replied. "Alright, Mister Ral, let's get started. How's your pain?"

Akira watched as the medics took Daytona's vitals and prepped him for surgery, and she stayed by his side as they moved him to the surgical suite, waving to him as they finally had to part ways. She lingered for a moment longer, then headed out to seek out Thex in Engineering, her heart heavy as she counted the seconds until Daytona's surgery would be complete.