<USS Avalon> Visiting a Lady - Erridim/Ranger

"Visiting a Lady"
by
Ensign Talea Erridim, Incoming Ops officer, /USS Avalon/
Sergeant Walker Ranger, Security officer, /USS Avalon/

Time: Shift after "Discussion with the Captain"
Location: Sickbay
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Having gotten the message to see Talea as he was rotating off shift, Walker stopped off at his quarters long enough to freshen up before heading off to Sickbay. Entering Sickbay proper, he looked around.

She came more awake, then raised the head of the bed some, only then noticing that someone had taken her uniform off her and switched it for some garment she didn't recognize that was, to her beliefs, indecent. Frantically, she scrabbled for the fallen blanket and sheet.

T'Ling, noticing the tall Marine, diverted to him. "Yes, Sergeant?"

"Ms. Erridim, if I may?" Walker looked to the officer.

T'Ling raised an eyebrow in a classic Vulcan gesture as she asked, "What is your business with the lady, please? Her record shows clearly that she is not seeing males."

"From the way the message was passed to me," Walker smiled slightly, "it's at her request."

T'Ling raised the eyebrow again, only this time, even higher. "Fascinating. Follow me, please." Without bothering to check to see if he was following, she walked toward the private room Talea had been given. After all, logic dictated that he would follow.

Walker followed quickly, keeping focused on the orderly and his destination.

T'Ling stopped at the proper door, tapping twice. "Ensign, there is a Sergeant Ranger here to see you. Will you allow?"

Walker shifted smoothly to a rest stance to wait.

Talea blinked, slightly surprised. "Yes, it is permitted."

Thanking T'Ling, Walker cracked the door and edged through. "Talea?" He edged carefully toward the bed.

Her face lit up. "Walker. Thank the Creator. Am I intruding on your privacy, sir?"

"My privacy?" Walker smiled softly. "This is your room at present, not mine."

She chuckled. "So it is, but the call itself could have been considered an invasion. You know how touchy some Regellians are about their privacy."

"Don't worry," Walker gestured to the nearby chair questioningly. "My team was in training, which is why I had my badge in privacy mode."

She nodded. "Sit, sit! Please." She was hoping he could find out where her uniform was, actually. It disturbed her greatly that someone, she knew not whom, had undressed her and placed this wholly inadequate /something/ on her. She was frighteningly aware she was naked under it, too, but was trying not to panic about it.

Pulling the chair a tad closer to the bed, he dropped into it easily. "Thanks." He chuckled, "So, how are you feeling?"

She whispered, "I'm scared." She plucked at the garment she had on. "What the Pits is this barely-there thing someone's substituted for my uniform and why was it put on me?"

"I believe it's a hospital gown." Walker frowned slightly. "I can only assume they didn't know our service's uniforms are relatively comfortable, so wanted to help you relax."

It was only then that she realized she'd been cleaned up, but she didn't dare mention it. She stated flatly, "I don't remember them changing me out of my uniform into this thing, and that frightens me badly. Who's seen me in a state they ought not have?"

"Me?" Walker shrugged. "Beyond that, I don't know."

She paled. "Y-you've seen me..." Her eyes widened in sudden horror.

"You brought the gown to my attention," Walker smirked slightly. "How was I /not/ to see you?"

She looked at him, slightly miffed. "I thought you meant you'd seen me /naked/!" Her voice showed her exasperation.

"Not yet," Walker grinned teasingly.

Talea had the grace to blush. "Oh, Creator."

T'Ling poked her head back in. "Need anything, Ensign?"

Talea smiled slightly. "Contacting Regelis Medical Prime for the current baselines for Regellian personnel assigned to the ship is a good possibility."

Walker nodded slightly, before blinking at a thought. Tapping his combadge, he called calmly, "Claire."

T'Ling just looked at Walker in confusion, mouthing, "Claire?" She had no clue who he was calling.

Walker looked to T'Ling, but waited calmly, wondering if the Engineering personnel had disconnected her audio leads.

Cialra woke, processed the incoming call, then stated, "Go ahead, Sergeant."

"Do you have an ansible system onboard?" Walker moved back to the chair he occupied moments earlier.

Cialra stated, "Yes, I believe so, if the Engineering staff haven't tampered with it." She was very aware that the ansible gear, if handled improperly, would silently self-destruct.

"If you can connect outgoing," Walker looked to Talea and T'Ling. "Do me a favor and bounce a message to the nearest relay, requesting transfer to Regelis Medical?"

"Working on it. I am concerned about Talea myself." There was a slight pause before Cialra said in dismay, "Hold on a bit! Am I an idiot or what? I've her entire medical history in my banks! Stand by!"

"Do I need to come down for retrieval?" Walker leaned forward in his chair, preparing to stand.

Eighteen seconds later, the replicator in the room they were in chimed, hummed to itself for several seconds, then flashed blue-green several times in quick succession, then pinged sharply.

T'Ling, never having seen that particular color to the replicator, was reaching for her combadge to call Engineering, then noticed a neat stack of rather oversized PADDs on the platform.

Standing, Walker chuckled as he moved toward the replicator. "You're a doll, Claire. Saved us time and trouble."

T'Ling saw the field drop, so reached to get the PADDs. To her annoyance, she couldn't read them at all.

"Anytime. Excuse me, I need to defend myself." Cialra cut the comm, but not before they heard, "Hands /off/ that, you monkey-faced /idiot/!"

"May I?" Walker looked to T'Ling, hand out lightly.

T'Ling shrugged. "If you can make heads or tails of this, go ahead, Sergeant. Logic suggests this may be written in your native language."

Talea raised an eyebrow as she recognized the PADDs. They were her personal medical history, and it told far, far too much. She was gamely trying to prevent the worry from showing and wasn't sure it was working.

"I can make heads, tails, and credits out of it," Walker grinned teasingly, "but I'll stop at changing the translation to Federation Standard." Taking the PADD, he pressed three quick sequences before handing it back, all without having looked at the display, not knowing what would flash up first.

T'Ling scanned through the first PADD, glanced sharply at Talea several times, then said, "This appears to be her physical medical history. The other two may be her allergies and psychological." To her annoyance, she'd not caught the command the Marine had so easily put to the PADD. The translation was perfect, too. Technology of this quality would be of inestimable value to the Federation!

Extending a hand, Walker waited calmly for the other two PADDs.

T'Ling frowned. "We don't need her psych profile at present. Can you find her allergy profile and do whatever it was, teaching me how to at the same time?"

Pausing, Walker had an idea. "Do you trust me?"

T'Ling raised an eyebrow. "Logic suggests that as a member of the species who produced the record, it would be illogical not to trust you to provide assistance for one of your own."

"I don't mean Talea," Walker smiled softly. "I mean you personally. I've a way to Teach you the sequence in only a few seconds."

Talea shook her head. "Don't even /think/ of that, Walker." Her statement was calmly cautioning. "You are not aware of the Vulcan mind, nor are you aware they are not keen on such techniques. Simply show her the sequence. She'll remember it fine." She grinned at Walker, then T'Ling.

"So much easier the other way," Walker smiled softly, then, again not looking at the display, keyed in the sequence.

T'Ling was watching intently this time and caught the command. "Such an elegantly-crafted sequence. Fascinating." She then turned toward Talea. "I appreciate your concern and consideration, Ensign." As she read the report on allergies, she blinked. "There are a /lot/ of allergies. Some of the substitute compounds are on the restricted list, also."

"Whatever you do," Walker looked from Talea to T'Ling. "Don't give either of us items that act like caffeine."

T'Ling noted, "Caffeine and alcohol, even synthehol, are all listed, as are the correct compounds. Some of the pain relievers your people use are on the restricted list, however, as they are more commonly used to /cause/ pain!"

"Caffeine and alcohol would drop us like stones, chamomile would wire us." Walker shrugged lightly.

T'Ling nodded. "Chamomile is indeed listed, as the Regellian analogue to caffeine. Same ten-gram warning, too."

"Claire, Talea. Anything I'm forgetting to mention?" Walker looked to Talea, since he couldn't look to Claire.

Talea chuckled. "T'Ling, once you've entered the data in those PADDs in my personal medical files, be so kind as to return them to the /Baron l'Orange/. I'd prefer /not/ to lose them."

T'Ling nodded. "Most logical. It shall be done." Without another word, she left with the PADDs.

Returning to his seat, Walker chuckled, "That reminds me. I need to schedule my physical."

Talea smiled slowly. "Alone together. Curious that they'd permit it, given my instructions." She started chuckling. "You'd annoy them, Walker. You're healthier than most of the medical personnel!" She then grinned wickedly, but didn't say anything. She didn't /dare/.

"Probably healthier than most of the ship's crew," Walker smiled, "but we won't go there." He arched an eyebrow slightly at her grin.

She whispered, "We could do the physical here." She then blushed furiously. She'd never had the opportunity as a child to be relaxed around males, and her reaction to this man astounded her.

"And intrude on T'Ling's work even more?" Walker chuckled.

The mirth drained from her expression, leaving her looking frightened. "Walker, I'm Blind and Deaf. I don't like it and don't understand why I am!" Unspoken was the fact she was also telepathically a Mute as well; it was implied.

"Likely a reaction to the stasis," Walker pondered.

Talea nodded. "Possibly. The problem is, I'm a very powerful empath. When control returns, I'm likely to get blasted. If that happens on-shift..." She started shivering, suddenly chilled beyond thought.

"Claire?" Walker pondered something.

Cialra stayed silent for several seconds before stating softly, "Yes, Walker?" She was apparently afraid of being overheard.

"What's the Regellian average for being psionically impaired after stasis?" Walker was concerned as well, but wondered the answer.

Cialra stated, "It depends. Not always on the length of stasis, though. Typical is one to five Terran days. Caution is advised during those days, naturally, since, while there appears to be an impenetrable shield, in reality, there isn't one!"

"Anything to do to lessen the shock of the psionic return?" Walker looked to Talea.

"Someone needs to be there, shielding her, unless she's in a psionically-shielded area. Otherwise, the psionic backlash has the potential to kill!"

"I'll likely be downstairs," Walker grumbled.

Cialra grumbled, "Canaveral, we have a problem." She then sighed gustily.

"Any Betazoids onboard, and would they have the proper techniques?" Walker looked mildly confused.

Talea sighed. "Betazoids aren't known to cooperate with other telepathic species, Walker." Of course, her information was well out of date.

"Wonder if Marine Captain Phillips would let me switch off locations with him?" Walker sighed as well.

She sighed. "I think the Captain may be Betazoid, or at least partially so. She seemed..." She hesitated, not sure how to word it. "puzzled that she couldn't sense me at all, even after I told her the reason."

Walker shrugged slightly. "We're truthful to a fault, so..." He looked confused.

She pointed out, "Truthful, but sometimes, especially when impaired as I am, brutally so." She blushed again, this time looking down, unable to meet his eyes now for the shame of having offended Doctor Cazook earlier.

"Oh?" Walker arched an eyebrow. "For us, it's not brutal, though I guess it might seem that way to others."

She whispered, "I told Doctor Cazook I was beginning to regret having given my word to stay here overnight, after the meal didn't show on time." Her tone and manner were mortified. "I've better sense than that normally! What's wrong with me?" She began weeping silently. She then said, "I don't know how to correct my mistake, either. I'm just glad I'm not in my Clan's lands. It'd be at the least a flogging offense."

"Flogging?" Walker said to her sharply.

She looked at him, her eyes widening in horror and growing terror. What had she done to enrage him this time?

Walker's features shifted to confusion, "We don't get flogged for truthfulness on Regelis."

Talea was still terrified, even though his manner had shifted to confusion, so didn't respond. Cialra did, however. "Truthfulness and discourtesy combined, though..." She realized Talea was unnaturally still and silent, so suspected the reason. "You've terrified her!"

Walker calmed with a sigh. "Not from where I'm from. Unless I was just unusually lucky."

Cialra grumbled at him, "You need to reassure her. Somehow. I can tell she's terrified without seeing her, but I've known her for a long time. Help her!"

"How?" Walker paused, concerned.

Cialra said dryly, "Try apologizing to her first, then...Pits below!" She cut the comm again, too busy defending herself again to continue the discussion.

"Talea?" Walker looked to her.

She edged away from him, still terrified of him and what she now thought she was going to endure from him.

"You've nothing to fear from me," Walker stood slowly and stepped behind the chair. "I didn't know, even during my different postings with the Marines, that floggings were used for that simple of a thing."

"Outside the Exiled Clans, per-perhaps not." The words were a bare whisper, but her lips had barely moved. She was still very much uncertain of his next action. Her father had, more than once, appeared to calm, then when she approached, punished her, sometimes harshly. In fact, one of those times surfaced as she thought about it, briefly becoming visible on her public mind before she forced it back down.

Walker arched an eyebrow slightly. "Likely won't help, and will make it worse." He sighed, "but I've only ever struck someone harshly, in anger, once."

She could hear the regret in his voice and see it in his body language. That reassured her far more than he realized. The sincerity of his words was quite obvious to her as a result, and she relaxed somewhat, recovering a little of her color. Inhaling deeply, then slowly letting it out, she asked, "Hold me?" She was praying this was the right move and wouldn't seem too forward, but she suspected it wasn't and would be.

Walker edged around the chair, "Hmm?" It wasn't that he misunderstood the request. He just wanted to confirm it.

She looked down, embarrassed all over again. "I need to trust someone. I feel so /unbearably/ lonely." The emphasis on the next to last word showed her internal struggle to cope with everything, and the fact she was losing the battle.

Smiling softly, Walker took a step to lean a hip against the bed, arm outstretched.

She whispered, "You're not going to hurt me, are you?" Her uncertainty galled her, as did the implied plea that he not hurt her. Even with this man, her distrust was beginning to surface, and it shamed her anew.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Walker looked her in the eye.

With a sigh, she leaned toward him, fitting herself to his arm, shuddering, as she knew he could likely feel at least one of the scars on her back now.

Arching an eyebrow lightly, Walker ignored the likely discussion. "So, what do we discuss now?"

She just closed her eyes, trying to calm herself and recover from the fright he'd caused not long before. After a little while, she said, "I'd be tempted to say discussing how to keep me safe until after I can control my psionic abilities, but Cialra, bless her, has already outlined the necessary steps."

Walker chuckled softly, "The only hitch is the shielder."

The reassurance she was getting, even from such minimal contact with him, was both good and disturbing. She sensed a connection of some sort between them, too, and that puzzled her. She didn't dare attempt to use the touch-link, although her sense of him had blossomed on his hand touching her bare skin.

"So, besides those swords," Walker smiled as he recalled the cases. "What else do you practice?"

She looked at him, a bit worried. "Kempo, Aikido, Jujitsu, Karate and Kendo, amongst the pure hand-to-hand."

"You're in luck," Walker grinned slightly.

She snorted. "Ah. I've a sparring partner, eh?" She chuckled softly. "I just hope none of the Marines pulls me into the Pit. They /won't/ like the result."

"Can I pull you in?" Walker looked to her teasingly. "Seriously. We can spar, learn, and practice our katas together."

She nodded. "Katas, though, are useless unless you back them up with actual combat-training techniques that use the moves that the katas train your muscles in." Privately, she just wanted nothing more than to snuggle closer to him, and this worried her. Was she wanton for wanting this?

"I use the katas as a form of warmup for exercise before donning my armor." Walker chuckled, "I work up from the beginner kata up to the most advanced I know."

She whispered, "Maybe you need to leave soon, before I try to push this further than is wise in such a relatively public place as this." She blushed again, wondering why she was so taken with this man that she'd even /think/ of such things!

"Oh?" Walker arched an eyebrow slightly.

She shivered, but it was from controlling her reaction, rather than cold or his presence. "Let's just say that I trust you more than I could ever believe I could ever trust a man and leave it be for now? I'd prefer to keep your friendship, build up to the other two stages."

"There's a story in that," Walker teased lightly. "But for another day."

Talea shook her head. "Teasing me already, Walker? Might it be that you feel the same sort of trust and dare not give in to it either?" She raised an eyebrow at him, the look on her face a little rueful.

"I've my own story," Walker smiled. "But it will wait for a more private locale."

She blushed yet again, mortified anew. "Creator. If anyone was listening in..." She closed her eyes, shuddering in revulsion now at the concept. "What a fool I am!"

"Mine's actually a ForeTelling," Walker's expression darkened. "Which is why I want to wait."

"You're afraid the ForeTelling is accurate or what, Walker?" Despite herself, she was curious and concerned both.

"I don't know either way," Walker sighed. "Just the way it was said, and where I am."

She started laughing softly. "I couldn't believe I was being sent to Avalon either. Told my house's MI, "Avalon's a /myth/!", I did. She corrected me, showing the ship's registry. As a result, here I am."

"And we're /in/ Avalon," Walker chuckled as he referenced his ForeTelling without actual specifics.

She nodded. "So we are. This is certainly /no/ myth."

"Aye," Walker grinned softly.

She looked at the chrono-strip to one side of the bed. "Dear Creator! It's that late?!" She had noticed it was just past midnight.

"Hmm?" Walker arched an eyebrow.

She gestured with her free hand toward the chrono-strip. "It's past midnight! You've been here," and she shook her head in amazement, "over four hours!"

Walker blinked and grinned, then successfully resisted the urge to utter that particular tease.

She looked worried, then. "I bet they're figuring we've done something we most certainly have not, and aye...time does fly sometimes."

"I'm sure they haven't actually," Walker smiled. "Otherwise T'Ling would be watching us like a hawk."

She nodded ruefully before reluctantly letting go of him. "You'd better go. I've got another six hours or so to endure in Coventry." She grinned slightly.

"Yeah, and I need to go make sure I'm set for Alpha." Walker grinned.

She sighed. "Your first duty may be to chuck my weapons collection out the nearest airlock, along with me. Who knows?" She wasn't kidding, and wasn't certain of how Security would react to some of her blade collection, much less the entirety. She was very aware of just how many there were!

"Oh?" Walker arched an eyebrow slightly. "I only saw two containers, did I miss some?"

She nodded. "You did, apparently. I had three and four duffels besides. One of the duffels contains equipment, not clothing or other items." She privately wondered if her belongings had been transferred, and if so, by whom? Some of it was unbelievably valuable, and too, too easily pawned!

"Guess I've something to look forward to," Walker grinned teasingly.

She nodded. "It would seem you do." She paused, "Watch for that tech that called me an ice princess, too. I've a feeling that nonsense isn't over with yet."

"He'll be committing a cardinal sin," Walker grinned. "But I'll keep an eye out."

Talea nodded. "Very true, but when has that stopped a rebellious idiot from his idiocy?"

"It hasn't," Walker chuckled. "Which will just make the person's career shorter."

Talea shrugged. "Maybe not only his career. You know the penalty on Regelis for a certain crime..."

"It depends on what he does, though," Walker shrugged. "We aren't on Regelis, so follow Federation laws."

"Fortunate for /him/." Talea's voice was dark and brittle. "Otherwise, I'd wield the knife /myself/ if need arose."

"Don't worry about it," Walker smiled. "I don't think the Exec will tolerate too much stupidity."

She shrugged. "We shall see. Do try to find my uniform before you leave, please?"

"I'll ask T'Ling about it," Walker smiled.

She pointed out, "It's hopefully in this room somewhere, Walker. Please, just do a limited search for it? I'd prefer to know where it is without seeming to accuse Medical of theft and improper procedure."

"Sure. If you'll pardon me a moment?" Walker looked to her as he started to pull his arm away.

She smiled. "I asked, so I did. Please."

Chuckling, Walker straightened, then strode to the closet to begin his search.

Talea just made herself as comfortable as the strange garment allowed, feeling suddenly extremely tired. Since she knew this was unusual, it made her wonder what had caused it.

Opening the sliding door, Walker began to scan around.

Talea murmured, "Hope you don't mind me going to...sleep..." Within moments, she was asleep, her breathing deep and regular.

Walker chuckled softly. He hadn't minded, even if she wasn't awake to be told so. Closing the closet, he moved to the set of drawers. Not finding anything there, he moved to the press. Opening it, he nodded to himself. "Claire?" His voice was soft, as to not wake Talea.

"Yes, Walker?" Her volume matched his, as she figured he knew why he'd spoken so softly. "I'm all right, although those techs need to learn /not/ to try to disconnect my core!"

Walker chuckled softly, "Talea is asleep. When she wakes, let her know the uniform she's worried about is in the press."

"Are her boots there, though? They're expensive. She had to have them custom-made. Her feet aren't exactly Federation-friendly, if you get my drift."

"Guess I'll need to check the closet again," Walker pondered.

Cialra chuckled softly. "Might not be a bad idea. If I had the authorization, I could check it myself if they have sufficient emitters in Sickbay, but that's moot, since I don't have the authorization."

"You could scan for it if they haven't killed your short range, but I'll do it." Walker closed the press and started back for the closet. Opening the side he'd missed earlier, Walker again scanned the compartments and the floor on that side. "Got 'em."

Cialra stated, "Good. Now you might want to get a bit of sleep. Even Regellians work better on nightly sleep," Her tone was full of appreciation. "Did her uniform still have the RSDF-issue combadge?"

"Checking again," Walker pondered as he rechecked the press. "Do me a favor and pulse it once. I'm not seeing it, but I could just be missing something."

"Last I recall, she was wearing it on her uniform. Remember, it looks like a half-starburst."

"Found it," Walker chuckled softly as he pulled it out of the mass that was the pants.

Cialra said quietly, "If there are hangers available and the uniform's not hung or folded properly, kindly hang the uniform up for her and attach the combadge where it should be if it isn't?" This reminded him of the fact that the uniforms were treated with a substance that allowed them to become wrinkle-free in as little as five Terran hours after being hung up, simply from gravity alone. Made it easier to care for them, too.

"I didn't see any hangers in the closet," Walker paused. "Hold one." Stepping to the door, he leaned out. "T'Ling?" He was mostly quiet again.

T'Ling, almost asleep from her long vigil, jerked fully awake, then answered, "Yes, Sergeant? And what are you /still/ doing here?" She forbore to add a notation of how illogical the situation was.

"I'm almost on my way," Walker chuckled softly. "I need a uniform hanging device, if you happen to know where one is."

T'Ling muttered, "Idiots," before stating, "I'll get you one from storage. The unit can hold the entire uniform, save the boots. Even a full-dress one." Within eighty seconds, she returned with a proper uniform hanger.

"Thank you," Walker smiled softly as he stepped back into the room and began hanging Talea's uniform up.

T'Ling wondered if she dared break confidentiality and tell this man of what she knew of the unfortunate in the biobed. She'd had more than just a rough life. She found it illogical how the woman had survived this long from the injuries recorded!

Checking the uniform, Walker hung it above the boots, as if someone was standing in the closet. Turning, he took a last look at Talea for the night before stepping to the door again.

T'Ling met him at the door. "Sergeant, perhaps I will seem to be being illogical in this statement, but logic suggests there is far more to this lady than appears on the surface." She didn't say more yet.

"You aren't," Walker stated softly, controlling himself from getting angry.

She saw the flash of suppressed anger and realized this one also cared about the lady in the room, but also that she was perilously close to triggering his anger. "Rebuilding her confidence in men is crucial to her career and self-esteem, I expect."

"One day at a time," Walker sighed. "Since logic dictates you likely won't be surprised, if you'll pardon me?"

Logic be damned. The request did surprise her, but she allowed him to pass her, wondering if he'd discovered anything about the poor lady. Just the whipping itself should have killed, from what she had seen in Talea's records, yet it hadn't. Something didn't add up.

Shrugging lightly, Walker grinned, then simply blinked out to his quarters.



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