The Next Contestant is...

Posted on 01 Oct 2020 @ 10:11am by Lieutenant Commander Amelia Warner & Lieutenant Callisi Veera

2,003 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Ab Intra

The lights were dimmed in the USS Odin's sickbay, because the being inside Doctor Amelia Warner was struggling to adapt to the eyesight of this body a little more slowly than most of her compatriots who were in others of the crew. She wasn't yet sure what that had to do with, but she was including it in with her studies. Those were, happily, well underway.

The doors swished open and she saw two of "their" guards bringing in another subject for her study. This one was...interesting. "Ah, you've brought fresh meat," she quipped, laughing at her own "joke."

Callisi arrived, as she stated, under her own power for the most part. No one dragged a Daughter of Ts'usu anywhere. What she saw waiting for her in Medical was not what she was looking forward to. An isolated biobed, all manner of sensory equipment pointed at that singular point. This wasn't a medical chamber, it was a dissection theater.

The rabbitess' glance slid from the bed to the medic in charge of this theater. "Doctor." she stated, with a nod. "If it's all the same, I'm feeling quite well. May I be excused?" she figured she'd at least try the civil approach.

Amelia's mouth laughed. "You're a funny one," she said, waving at the biobed. "If you cooperate, I can promise it won't be...too painful, but you and some of your friends are putting up a mystery for us. I aim to find out why. With or without your cooperation. That choice is yours."

Callisi took a breath, and held it for a moment. "Would you be opposed to conversation? You're an intelligence, I'd like to at least get to know you and your kin." she started. "I'm the only Daughter of Ts'usu on this craft. The mystery behind me might not be the same as the others."

"Perhaps we start with a name. What should I call you? Do your kind even have names?" she asked, mild curiosity coming to the top.

"Some conversation may be permissible," the being inside Amelia Warner replied with another wave at the biobed. "It is rare that one of my kind would give their name to a test subject, however. I am one of those who do not do so. You may call me by this body's name, if you insist on calling me anything."

To keep things civil, Callisi moved to sit on the biobed as indicated. So far, she had learned one thing: they have names.

"I don't think that would be appropriate. I'm not addressing her, I'm addressing you. I'll refer to you as Doctor, then if nothing else. It's the role you'll be playing."

"My name is Callisi. Understand that I can't honestly say it is a pleasure to meet you, as I feel you intend me harm. Though, as a Daughter of Ts'usu, I welcome all conversation." A pause, "Am I allowed to make a request?"

"I have no specific desire to harm you," Amelia-being said idly, pulling out this scanning device and beginning to use it. She had been studying it while waiting for her first subject. "If I can find my answers without harming you, then all the better really. Keeping your stress levels low for the time being will bring its own information, but that may change." If she sounded, to Callisi, like she didn't care either way... Well, that was the case.

She considered the question. "You may make the request, but I may or may not consider it."

Intriguing. Either they were not malignant, or had no concept that what they were doing was cruel. "As you're probably picking up, I have different bones than the others." she remained still. "My people have bones composed of calcium laid out in a crystalline lattice. It helps improve bone density, but if we get a broken bone, it's a serious injury. The bone splinters into shards, which isn't just painful, but potentially life threatening without proper treatment."

"My request is that you refrain from breaking my bones. Doing so will endanger my life, and as you could perhaps understand, end my willingness to cooperate. I know it sounds odd, but I don't know much about you or your people, so I have to treat anything as an odd request." she explained while ... it... scanned her. "We've shown to be resistant to Federation races that employ mental powers, such as telepathy or empathy. I don't know if that is what is hindering your examination, but from the sounds of it, I'm not the only one giving you issue. I doubt they're all the same issue."

"May I ask why you're doing this? Not the examination, you've explained that. I mean, invasion and possession? Starfleet has shown an overindulgence for helping those in need."

The eyes lifted away from the screen of the device--a quick search of this mind revealed the name to be a tricorder, what an odd name--and met the eyes of the other female. "I would have thought that to be obvious," she said. "As for your...Starfleet, we had never even heard of your organization until taking on these bodies."

"You've proved me wrong once so far. I shouldn't assume anything. Though, knowing now that there is an organization such as Starfleet, and with the notion that they're generally very willing to help a species if they are in need... would you return the bodies of those you've possessed, if Starfleet could help you? Provided your means are benevolent, or at the very least non-hostile. Realize they won't help you conquer space."

"We have no desire to conquer space," the begin said dismissively, starting the scan again and seemingly focusing primarily on Veera's head. Around one eye, however, she stopped and frowned. "You are not wholly organic."

"No." Callisi sounded just as disappointed. "It was an accident during a mission, back before my time here in the Federation." she started, "I was flying a shuttle drop, deep behind enemy lines. A stray shot damaged the canopy and sent shrapnel into my eye. The actual medic was on the field, and I didn't have the option to wait until they came back. I activated a medic drone, and the drone fixed my eye." a pause, "With a prosthetic."

She didn't sound pleased about that. "It gave me back my sight, but... I hate it." her pride showed brightest. "I'd ask you kindly not to examine it. If you have to, though, I ask that you just examine it. Don't admire it."

At this, the frown on the face of Amelia Warner deepened. The express bordered on...disgust. "Why would I ever admire that?"

Interesting.

"Your host might have. From my experiences humans are easily fascinated by shiny objects. I'm certain the scholars back home would remark that it's probably something that followed them as they evolved." Callisi remarked. "I trust my being broken won't hinder our conversation." a pause, "Are any of the other resistant crew members in possession of prosthetics? I doubt that could be the common factor." she really really hoped it wasn't.

"I doubt it hinders my fellows," the being replied coldly, a hint of disgust now clear in her voice and in her expression. "But it makes you undesirable. Before we make further attempts on your person, we will have to replace that prosthetic with something organic." The tone was dismissive, in that "of course that's how it is" way, as she turned back to the tricorder and continued scanning. "I still need to understand your neural chemistry, however."

Undesirable. That word hit Callisi hard, especially in regards to her shattered form. "I'm afraid I will resist." Callisi responded, matching the tone. "I'd rather have this mockery of an eye than the falsehood of any you or Starfleet could provide." the rabbitess responded. "I've been civil up until now. I'd hate for us to become uncivil." a pause, "And before you mention that my resistance would only hurt the good doctor, I'll remind you that I have yet to meet the actual doctor, and incapacitating her may be doing her a favor."

"I'd rather not play that game." Callisi cautioned, now making it a point to pay more attention to the doctor.

Not-Amelia looked up and met the rabbit's eyes. "Restrain her," she told the security guards, stepping back and out of the way as a pair of security officers came forward to hold the younger officer in place. "Resistance is to be expected, but that is not to say it will be tolerated."

The rabbitess worked her best to fight off the security guards, but their number advantage helped them greatly. A solid kick to the midsection of one of the two earned her a more aggressive grab from the remaining guard while their partner recovered. Struggling in their grip, the Daughter of Ts'usu was soon indeed restrained. That look of confidence in her eye, in her posture, was soon fading. Most of her plans to escape involved... escaping. Most of her conversation had been to try to lull the room so she could bolt.

That was no longer the case. Squirming against the grip of both guards, Callisi was essentially held in place. More or less. With every struggle, the stab of pain from behind her living eye returned. Until now, it had been complacent, perhaps feeling that with Sickbay under their control that this was now where Callisi was supposed to be. Resistance brought pain, brought fear.

For the second time in her life, Callisi was probably about to have an eye plucked out of her head.

This was not, however, what happened.

Of course, that wasn't obvious at first.

Once Callisi was properly restrained and stabilized on the biobed, Not-Amelia approached again and continued her scan. She spent an abnormal amount of time around the prosthetic eye. She made some noises that one would associate with "thinking" and looked about as disconcerted as she had when first realizing the truth about this part of the woman.

"It will take some time to craft a proper organic replacement," not-Amelia said, mostly sounding to herself. "Your brain chemistry is promising, however."

The rabbitess struggled, to the point she could, in the grip of the restraint, concern giving way to fear in her remaining eye. The prosthetic was simply cool and calm as always: The eye of a drone simply absorbed the going's on with a cool efficiency. Underneath it all, Callisi was close to panic. Her vitals had spiked, her blood chemistry was swarming with the parallel equivalent of adrenaline. A momentary burst of fear-fueled struggle nearly earned her her freedom, but security's grip on her was tight.

"Don't do this." she whimpered.

"You'll be here for a while as we learn how to replicate our processes," the begin replied, although it was rather vague to anyone outside of the being's experience and memories. "In the meantime, it is unhealthy to be this agitated." She slid the tricorder into her pocket and went to survey the devices to deliver a tranquilizer. When she found it, she brought it over to the rabbittess. "This is likely to be less effective if you struggle to the point I can't place it properly."

One of the security guards shifted their hold to help pin the rabbitess in place on the biobed, holding her still long enough to administer the tranquilizer. Callisi's struggles and fears came to a peak as the hypospray made contact. Within moments she was far more placid, and then a few minutes more and she was gone. Her breathing became more relaxed, more rhythmic, and her one true eye closed, the last thing she saw through it were the faces of hostile strangers.

It's a shame her prosthetic offered her no such peace. Her vitals relaxed, her brain activity relaxed, though it still received visual data from the drone eye. She became a prisoner in her own body, a silent observer to the world outside her own.

 

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