Gossip Girl

Posted on Thu Nov 26th, 2015 @ 8:43am by Captain Charybdis MacGregor & Lieutenant Commander Siivas McKenzie

0 words; about a 1 minute read

Mission: Taking Chances
Location: USS Bonne Chance, Deck 6, Sickbay
Timeline: 2265
Tags: Siivas,sickbay,bonnechance

There were a few options available to her after she had handed off the duty shift to her relief on the Bridge, which had seemed to fly by today. With the reports and feeds coming in from all of the Science Stations for a change, she was quite happy keeping track of them all, disseminating the information, earmarking follow-ups and directing the beginning of new projects. But for a change Charybdis wasn't in the mood to settle in with a nice overview of the Jeffries tubes or replicator maintenance manuals or even an old entertainment tape.

For a change, she wanted to talk to someone. She wanted to be around people.

She really, really wanted to talk about what had happened today, though she wouldn't know to describe it as gossip.

The Vulcan vixen had not kept many friends through her Academy days... most roommates tired of her mercurial moods quickly it seemed, though more than one commented that she was simply too loud a sleeper, whatever that meant. And what friendships that she did manage to make she tended to sabotage the relationships by flirting with or just outright sleeping with boys those friends were interested with, or dating, or married to...

Celes wouldn't be getting ready for duty for a few hours, so she would have to wait for coffee at 1900 hours to talk to her. She did like the fact that the Trill woman was cautious and conservative... it would give her a counterpoint to her own enthusiastic and excitable nature, and the security chief would think of the hazards in situations that Charybdis tended to overlook. And she didn't seem threatened by her in the least, which the lascivious Lieutenant liked. Yuna Celes was nearly her opposite... lean, athletic and a bit well-toned, as opposed to her own deceptively voluptuous curves.

There was a good chance that they might manage a real friendship... she certainly hoped so. She was beginning to make friends on this ship, and she liked the idea quite a bit. Since she planned to keep her hands to herself for the most part, she imagined that might help the 'man-stealer' nickname not to resurface.

A number of situations could be covered with one visit to Sickbay, though... so it was time to go see the Doctor.


Meanwhile, in Medical...

Siivas and a certain Tellarite were having a private consultation.

"What do you mean you have to shave me!?" Ensign Krott demanded, his voice rising in pitch to a near porcine squeal of outrage.

"I meant what I said ensign," Siivas replied calmly. "We have two options. Either I shave the affected areas, which in your case is you entire body, to treat you or you go into quarantine in an iso-ward and I have to explain to the Captain that you caught a nasty social disease that won't wash off from a female of ill-repute, who will then doubtless bust you to non-com." He gestured to the furry russet-colored humanoid that typically wore a red shirt, "Its your decision but I was offering the best alternative I could to keep it quiet and keep you out of the captain's sight."

"Do you know what a naked Tellarite looks like?" Krott whispered, terrified.

"I take it you mean furless," Siivas nodded, "I've treated dozens of your species for dust-mange in my time. I know many otherwise uninterested females were intrigued by the non-hirsute Tellarite male and wanted to compare the similarities and differences between what they were used to." He cocked his head and smiled at the sitting ensign across from him.

He was silent for several moments as he considered, chewing the inside of his cheek and twisting his tusks with his lips. "How?" he asked softly.

"I have a painless depilatory gel you'll apply to your body and allow to harden," he gestured nonchalantly. "You'll step into the sonic shower and it will remove the gel and the hair with it, leaving us with exposed parasites and eggs to kill off. We'll treat the visible areas aggressively first and then take care of the rest of you over the next week to clear up the case."

He slumped, the time defeating him and killing off the last shreds of his resistance. He nodded silently, agreement.

"Excellent," Siivas commended him gently. "I'll send Proot in a moment to guide you to the treatment area and the supply of gel. Priit and Proot will treat you for the parasites since they're immune to parasitic infestation."

"I understand," he murmured.

"Good," Siivas rose to stand and left the small enclosed consultation and examination room.

Xian was outside looking curious and projecting curiosity.

~Its not necessary to depilitate him to treat him for this~ she sent.

~No its not~ he agreed.

~So you're teaching him a lesson~ she concluded ~You're letting him know that by doing things that are so amazingly foolish they can have personal pride-crushing consequences that are intimately appropriate to a Tellarite~

~Indeed~ he seemed to agree.

He stepped back into the main part of sickbay as the doors opened and Charybdis bounced into the room, gleefully broadcasting swelling positivity.

"Hello, Doctor! How's my favorite deejay today?" the voluptuous Vulcan asked while a smile threatened to swallow her face, if not her entire head.

"I'm good and getting better by the minute," he replied with a broad smile. In the moment of silence in between there was faint howling and a high pitched voice muffled squealing "it burns, it burns!" Neither the Doctor nor Xian seemed to hear it.

A finger was raised in question, then Charybdis thought better of it and the finger retreated. "So I wanted to touch base with you about the wrap-up of the Bonne Chance Incident. I spoke to the new Captain today and made my recommendations for citations and commendations for you two, as well as the sickbay staff and a few others. You all came through to save the ship and all of our lives, and I wanted for you to be recognized for it."

"I got a case full of that crap," Siivas waved it off, "but I thank you for your kindness. The others appreciate that kind of thing more than I do, I think." He cocked his head and gave her a measuring look, "Though, you're radiating... frustration..."

The pointy-eared girl blushed a bit sage at that, but pressed on. "Ah, yes, well...to his credit he was honest with me, and he just can't. He doesn't have that kind of pull... he pretty much called in everything he had to keep what was left of our ship together and fill out the rest of the crew and get us underway before Starfleet had us in front of boards of inquiries and miles of paperwork for the next six months." Charybdis shrugged a bit and made a face.

"I think that you're heroes, and I am more grateful than you know... and apparently the Captain is very impressed with us as well. So while Starfleet might not recognize you, I certainly do... and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You were gallant and selfless and amazing, and I'm very proud to serve with you."

"You weren't a slouch either," Siivas chuckled. "But I was talking about sexual frustration. Did you get your brand of charm right back?"

The descriptive phrase of a 'jaw dropping' was usually just that... a phrase. But in this case Charybdis' went from framing a reply to the Doctor's statement to her mouth literally hanging open for a few seconds before she sputtered and flustered back to being capable of stuttering in Federation again.

"I... I mean, no, he... We... uh... I was just, you know, doing, ah, being myself, and..."

"With or without the burlesque music playing in the background?" Siivas asked archly, his grin wider now.

With a great heaving sigh... that in her case was quite literal... Charybdis uncharacteristically flopped into a chair. "He's haaaaandsome, and he's charrrrrming and he's a Captain and I think... well, I'm pretty sure he likes me," she added with an expression that was obviously recalling a pleasing sight. "But I have to behave, I know I do, or else everybody on the ship will hate me because they'll think... well, I sure won't earn anyone's respect, that's for sure. Then all of the dirty jokes start, and the whispers when I pass in the hall, and the dirty looks from people."

Siivas drew back as Xian blurted out, "But they already DO; why are you worried about that NOW?" Then she clapped both hands over her mouth, blushing brightly and glaring at the Doctor like he had done something evil. He gave them both a completely innocent look.

A veritable potpourri of emotions raced through the science officer all at once; panic, rage, sorrow, shame, humiliation, confusion, rejection, depression and suspicion. And all of them seemed to be having a pitched battle for just which one was going to make it to settle on her face. Then the icy calm of cynicism won... at least externally. She rose slowly from the chair as a sardonic close-lipped smile settled into place on her face.

"Of course... of course they do, how silly of me," she said quietly. "You're right, of course... I guess I just didn't realize it would happen so soon in a new command, but sentient society is what it is, and I am what I am."

The familiar lopsided grin crept across the left side of her face as her left eyebrow rose, and her spirits did the same. "But that doesn't mean that their..." her hand waved absently as she searched for a word and failed. "...have to weigh me down. I can still be a good officer, and do my job well and succeed, and whatever they say about me in the halls can't change that. Besides, I have friends and people who know me who see me as more than that... right?"

Xian looked relieved and Siivas smiled broadly; both women had come through it well. "We always tell the truth down here Char," Siivas used a familiar term that sounded a bit like "chere", the French word for "dear one". "And our egos are quite firmly confident in their own capabilities as Healers," he smirked a little. "I was going to offer dinner again, this time I think something different than cheeseburgers might be in order."

The blue-clad lieutenant looked intrigued. "Oh really? Well, food can substitute for... uhhh, I mean, I haven't had dinner yet... what did you have in mind, Doctor?"

"Pizza!" he said with flair and a wide grin.

"Pizza it is!" Charybdis chimed in as she hooked his arm in her own and began guiding him out of Sickbay. "As long as we get to gossip about the Irish while we eat..."

 

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