13
Explanations
Ta'Rex Da Od nervously made his way to the chancellor's office and waited to be let in.
Ta'Bob Bobba Dus, looking nothing like his polite and friendly self, stared coldly at the chief of planetary security, waiting for him to explain.
Ta'Rex Da Od didn't know where to begin. "Chancellor," he acknowledged. "The renegades, those that we've tried so hard to contain-,"
"The savages," Ta'Bob Bobba Dus spat.
Ta'Rex Da Od nodded. "Yes. They-," he hesitated.
Ta'Bob Bobba Dus glared at him.
"They attacked the commanding officers of the new ship. I think they killed Captain Christopher."
The chancellor slammed his fist into the table-top. "Tell me he made it to the hospital at least."
The security officer shook his head. "It appears he was beamed back to the ship, sir."
The anger evaporated from Ta'Bob Bobba Dus as his curiosity piqued. "Beamed?" he asked. "What is that?"
"Could that be how the savages made it to the surface as well?" Ta'Rex Da Od wondered aloud.
The chancellor leaned forward in his chair, elbows on the table-top as he tilted his head upwards to look at the, still standing, chief of planetary security. "See what you can find out about this technology. Brief the house of science immediately. I will call the Enterprise."
The chief of planetary security turned to leave.
"Where are they now?" The chancellor asked coldly.
Judging by the tone Ta'Rex Da Od instantly knew the inquiry was made about the whereabouts of the savages.
He sighed inwardly as he turned around to face his superior. "They are lurking somewhere," he admitted.
"Somewhere?" Ta'Bob Bobba Dus stated in disbelief. "I laughed when Captain Christopher questioned whether or not our security measures where adequate. Yet you have the rudeness to tell me that you have no idea where they got too?"
Ta'Rex Da Od glanced down at his shoes.
"This will severely damage our reputation amongst our visitors!" he shouted and slammed his fist on the table-top. "You assured me this was all under control."
"They are vicious, spirited and they fight with no mercy. I have lost several men while tracking them," Ta'Rex Da Od admitted. "A few of them arrived to the hospital on time to be rescued but my men are still hesitant to-,"
"Enough of this," the chancellor interrupted. "What do they want? Where do they come from?"
"I am afraid I can't give you all the details but I can offer you a post-mortem of the one savage who got killed in the fight with the Starfleet officers," Ta'Rex Da Od offered.
Ta'Bob Bobba Dus brightened, the call to the Enterprise temporarily forgotten. "Splendid," he remarked. "Maybe our chief physician can give me some answers."
OOOOOO
Teelar could no longer hear the calming, rhythmic beat, of a heart beneath her ear. Nor could she feel the faint rise and fall of the torso her head had been resting on. She began to panic, she felt disconnected and lost, as her eyes flew open and she started panting.
"Deep breaths," a steady voice commanded.
She glanced around to find her surroundings alien to her. She was inside a building without windows; in a large room filled to the brim with advanced medical equipment. She felt a strange, very faint hum that she couldn't explain, like an engine running.
"Hello, you," an older woman said, her voice soft and kind.
Teelar tried to focus and, finally, the smiling nurse swam into view. The woman had long, dark hair with a few strands of grey and her eyes were deep brown. Teelar noticed she was tall and lean as she hovered over her. Her uniform was a glossy and light blue and the insignia carried a medical symbol instead of the star she'd seen on the captain's chest.
"Deep breaths," the nurse repeated. "You're doing fine."
"Where-," she croaked.
"All in due time," her caretaker replied. "My name is Lusanna Giles and I'll be your nurse for as long as you need me. Now, what is your name?"
She swallowed. "Teelar," she managed as she took in her surroundings. "You're humans; all of you."
Nurse Giles nodded. "Welcome onboard the United Starship Enterprise," she said with a smile. "Are you in any pain?"
Teelar shook her head, still marveling about the fact that she was no longer on the planet. "I am in space?" she whispered.
"Thank you for saving our captain," the dark-haired woman across the medical bay said sincerely.
Teelar tilted her head to get a better look and saw the woman who'd accompanied the man she'd saved and the man with pointed ears back at the hospital. She cringed as she found she was still hypersensitive, homing in on the pain radiating off the bedridden woman.
"You are in pain," Teelar said in a subdued voice.
"Pain can be ignored," she replied curtly. "My name is Una. I am the first officer onboard this ship."
Teelar suddenly stiffened as if realizing something for the first time.
Una saw fear in the younger woman's eyes. "You are safe here. No one is going to hurt you."
Teelar shook her head. "You mustn't tell anyone on Circusia what I did," she said suddenly. "They will prosecute me for murder."
OOOOOO
The Circusian doctor took in the dark looks he received from around the conference table. He couldn't help but to feel he was the victim of an alien interrogation. Seated at the conference table with him were the chief medical officer of the ship, Doctor Boyce, the chief engineer, Commander Louvier, bridge science officer, Lieutenant Spock, coordinator/navigation's officer, Lieutenant Amin and chief communication's officer, Lieutenant Nicola. He took in their different appearances, their gender, their age, the color of their skin and hair, the variations in color of their uniforms.
"Forgive my curiosity, doctor, but you seemed baffled earlier, when we beamed the captain and a petite young woman back onboard," Matthieu Louvier said.
"Yes, I have never experienced anything quite like your beaming technology before," he managed smoothly.
"That is not what Commander Louvier meant and you know it," Boyce pointed out, his voice reserved. "You mentioned she was an empathic being."
Ov'Da Bob Da sighed as he ran a hand through his greying black hair. "It is-," he hesitated. "-complicated."
"Why?" Chris asked as he appeared in the doorway.
They all jerked back at the sound of his voice, totally unprepared to see him up and about.
"Captain," Louvier acknowledged in surprise.
"Sir," Amin said.
"What in the blazes-," Boyce began. "What are you doing here? You should be flat on your back in sickbay."
"Doctor Boyce," Chris began kindly yet is voice was measured and the tone professional. "I can assure you that I am perfectly fine."
The good doctor rose from his chair and took a step toward the captain who'd come to stand at the edge of the table. "If you were fine, Chris, you would not have ended up in sickbay in the first place," he protested.
Pike had the decency to look down his ruined and bloodied yellow uniform tunic; a sudden and brutal reminder of what had occurred down on the planet's surface. He leveled his eyes with the doctor's. "Is Una going to be all right?" he asked with a deep concern, needing the second opinion from Boyce.
Phil managed a nod. "She'll make a full recovery in a week or so, provided she'll do as I say and stick to a combination of rest and medical exercises."
Chris exhaled with relief and tilted his head downwards, to stare absentmindedly at the table-top for a moment.
"I'd strongly advice that you sit down before you fall down," Phil added kindly as he studied his friend with great concern.
Ov'Da Bob Da, on the other hand, studied the pale human before him with great interest. This was the man in charge of this magnificent vessel. To the Circusians status was important, appearances were important and a polished surface that hinted absolute perfection was necessary. However, these people, in the room with him, they seemed to care deeply for one another and weren't afraid to ruffle each other's feathers a bit. He did see hierarchy but it was not applied in the same way as on his home planet. These people showed respect for one another but also empathy for one another – they worked as one giant team – as a large family.
The captain turned to the doctor and acknowledged him with a nod. "I understand that you helped my XO after the attack," he said. "You have my sincere gratitude for that."
The Circusian doctor gave a faint nod in return as his thin lips carefully twitched upwards in a smile. "I am a doctor. I was only trying to help and to do my job," he answered kindly and then added. "Your first officer can be very – adamant."
Chris chuckled fondly at that. "Yeah," he admitted.
Boyce tried to ignore the blood on parts of his captain's uniform but he wasn't succeeding. As a doctor, seeing blood was the same thing as seeing an injury and he hated seeing anyone injured, least of all his near friends. He tried to tell himself it was just make-up for a party but he had a hard time coming to terms with the fact that Chris was still alive – he shouldn't be alive. But then again, like he'd told him earlier, Boyce didn't know how many times he'd patched up the man against all odds.
Pike leaned forward in his chair; his focus solely directed upon the alien doctor. "Forgive me for being blunt but you have a lot of explaining to do," he said.
"Captain?" Ov'Da Bob Da stated with a frown. "I am afraid I do not understand."
"I think you do," Chris countered. "Your colleague, Doctor Tee'Pa Dus Do, enlightened us about the high level of medical advancements you have made on Circusia. While I can give you credit for a state-of-the-art hospital, my senior officers and I find it highly unlikely that you can work miracles."
Phil nodded and quickly programmed a data tablet on the table. He put in his password and downloaded the medical scans recorded by Lieutenant Spock. There were two sets of data; one at the hospital, when the injured alien adventurer had been taken to a private room. Then another one, taken a few hours later, in a green recreational area of the same alien as he walked past them without a hint of discomfort.
Ov'Da Bob Da swallowed as he read what had been registered. He was not a xenobiologist and he didn't have enough data to fully understand the true nature of the alien that had been taken into Circusian care, but he knew enough to realize that the man should have had a recovery period, of at least a week, if he'd survived at all.
He felt all eyes upon him as he carefully slid the data tablet across the table, back to Doctor Boyce. "It's complicated," he managed with a sheepish smile that didn't reach his eyes.
Enterprise's CMO made a gesture with his hands and shrugged. "Everything is nowadays," he replied.
"Is that how you saved him?" Chris asked cryptically. "Did an empathic being offer his or her life so that some adventurer, seeking a thrill, could return and do whatever daredevil stunt he pulled the first time?"
Jamila Amin unconsciously leaned back in her chair, away from the sound of her captain's cold voice. She seldom saw her commanding officer angry. Pike was usually a laid-back, kind and diplomatic soul.
"Many generations ago-," the alien doctor began, "-a cluster of life pods landed on the north side of Circusia. At that time the planet was nothing like it is today. The poor people who arrived were starved and fatigued. They had nothing to offer the Circusians in return for their stay."
"Offer in return," Phil echoed. "Those poor souls practically fell from the sky, happy to be alive and in one piece, and you wanted them to pay to make up for their stay?"
Ov'Da Bob Da looked sheepishly at the CMO. "It was perhaps not the finest moment in our history," he added. "The story goes that one of them saved chancellor Go'Ro Rex Da from death by healing him and restore him back to health."
"And then you decided to extent your hospitality?" Louvier pushed.
"Matthieu," Pike mouthed diplomatically and shook his head slightly.
"They-," the alien doctor shook his head. "-we call them empaths or just travelers. The children don't seem to inherit this gift. If the empaths have any at all. There are not many left of them – only a handful."
"And you have enslaved them," Lieutenant Amin concluded, fighting to keep her voice neutral.
"They are well paid," the doctor protested.
"They are endangering their lives," Pike replied seriously.
"You obviously did not know this particular woman, Teelar, possessed the abilities to heal," Spock pointed out. "In fact, you appeared surprised when we beamed you onboard the ship earlier."
"You don't understand," Ov'Da Bob Da said seriously, but his eyes never left Pike. "Young and clever Teelar was tested by Tee'Pa Dus Do and his medical council but she wasn't good enough-,"
"Good enough for what?" Phil pushed. "Didn't she want to sacrifice her life just to make sure other dare-devils, who came here for fun, survived and kept Circusia a safe place with great medical expertise?"
"She didn't save the man she was supposed to save," Ov'Da Bob Da replied dejectedly.
"Perhaps she did not know how?" Spock suggested. "It is illogical to believe that just because you have a skill, you will also understand how to use it without practice."
"Because it was decided she could not heal, she was cleared of the murder charges against her," the doctor added seriously.
"I've heard enough," Boyce stated.
"I owe my life to Teelar," Chris said. "If you intend to give her away and have her prosecuted for murder, I am afraid I'll have to intervene."
"No," Ov'Da Bob Da shook his head vigorously. "No, I have been looking for ways to help them for a long time but I had no one to turn to." The alien hopefully locked eyes with the captain. "Until now?"
The room fell silent for a moment, Christopher Pike broke into a very faint dimpled smile and nodded.
Boyce refrained from rolling his eyes. 'Good Lord', he thought sarcastically. His friend didn't waste any time nowadays. He'd just been brought back from what could have been his final resting place and now he was planning to change the hierarchy of an alien society. He sighed as he rose from his chair and made his way to stand next to his captain. "Whatever you have in mind, sir-," he began politely, "- I am afraid it'll have to wait until after you are cleared for duty."
OOOOOO
13/24
