Daybreak

[Lorna DeLaTour]

After a couple of weeks on Jovan Station, Agatha knew her way around for the most part, especially the sections where she spent most of her time. To say she knew the medical wing by heart would only be a slight overstatement. Being used to live in many different places and get accustomed to numerous cultures had helped the doctor to settle in wherever life took her.

When her alarm rang, it woke her up. She muttered because she missed living on an actual planet, with normal sunlight and day cycles. Getting used to artificiality aboard frigates and stations was the one thing that challenged her in terms of lifestyle. Sighing, she chuckled as her Jaxes jumped on the bed to come snuggling. Kronos curled up against her side and Poky pounced her like there was no tomorrow, as per usual.

It was tempting to spend more time than she should enjoying her pets' company, but she had decided to work out every morning now, because she missed her runs outdoors. Doing that in the hallways of the space station wouldn't be the same but it'd be better than sticking to the gym.

Within ten minutes, she was dressed in sport clothing, her hair up in a tight ponytail. She made sure to do her stretching before leaving her apartment. Now she was on her way.

While it was still early morning per the local time, the station never really slept, for something was always going on. Still, she liked how slightly quieter it was as she starting her run.

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

T'yeellaa Meorrrei was not a runner.

T'yeellaa Meorrrei was not a morning person.

These were, in the K'ohta'rrou's mind, curses of being Cizeri. Humans seemed to operate on six-to-eight hours of sleep without trouble, but the Cizerack ideal was closer to 8-10 hours. Distance running was again something that a determined Cizerack had to struggle against her own biology to achieve. Short sprints, sure? An entire five kilometers as had been her reluctant habit on the station? Grueling.

Still, T'yeellaa Meorrrei was stubborn, and she was used to being hardest on herself. She wasn't letting an unexpected shift change get in the way of her constitutional. For once, her alarm had chimed before Samus's, and she crawled out of bed with a stiff upper lip. A steaming cup of kri'achee tea and a trip to the refresher later, and T'yeellaa pulled on her PT gear. She spent a moment stone-faced in front of the mirror to psych herself up a notch, then she left her snoozing gai'tou behind.

As T'yeellaa left her quarters, she began the ritual of stretching and limbering on the way to the concourse. The sounds of people and activity never left Jovan's beating heart, but in a place where galactic standard time was observed, it was noticeably less busy than at any sane hour.

Pumping her legs up and down in place, T'yeellaa windmilled her arms on an empty stretch of concourse before daintily easing down to press the palms of her hands behind her heels. At least there was no Cizeri handicap when it came to being limber.

A sight caught her attention as T'yeellaa held a ten count. Upside down and between her ankles, she could see the approaching figure of another runner.

[Lorna DeLaTour]

Two years of Ithor didn't feel as a long enough break between her long mission aboard a medical frigate in Wild Space and her new position on Jovan Station. Agatha knew she was the only one to "blame", but she missed outdoors. Her greatest motivation in her career was finding a place where she could be useful and learn to become a more experienced doctor and a better person. It was why she had applied to join the medical crew of this station, and she admired what it stood for.

She still wished she was doing her morning run surrounded by nature and not by metallic walls, regardless of the potted plants scattered around.

At least, running so early allowed her to be rather free of movement. She had skipped her morning run once in the short while she had been living there, and trying to do it later in the day wasn't an option. She liked the quiet, thank you very much.

Her footsteps and breathing steady as she fell into a job, she caught sight of another morning runner. Thankfully, she was far enough not to bump into the upside down stretching Cizeri. She recognized the species, although she hadn't met many until moving to Jovan Station. Knowing there was a fair number of them aboard, she had made sure to read as much as she could, so she could bring herself up to speed as to be efficient as a doctor.

"Good morning," she politely said as she slowed her pace, until she jogged without progressing forward. She was warming up and never knew whether people would be willing to run with an unexpected partner or do their own thing. She tended to keep to herself but she wasn't asocial either.

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

"Ja irra." T'yeellaa returned a salutation with an exerted sigh, raising up straight as she finished her stretch with an arched back and rigid tail. T'yeellaa, for her part, wasn't exactly as chipper as the humanoid was, but she was here, which was the important part.

This new woman wasn't a member of the unofficial run club, or if she was, T'yeellaa had never seen her on the circuit when she usually made her rounds - typically in the afternoon. However, she did look familiar, and K'ohta'rrou Meorrrei's face froze in a moment of scrutiny until at last she had it.

"Doctorr DeLaTourr?"

A face on a dossier, really. T'yeellaa hadn't met Jovan station's newest sawbones. Yet another alien, but at least this one was a woman. Doctor Vek seemed capable, but he was a bit terse and dry. And though it was a bit of a bigoted way of thinking, T'yeellaa probably would prefer a female doctor if her life was on the line.

[Lorna DeLaTour]

Agatha was happy that the station was a cosmopolitan environment as she thrived best in such settings. It wasn't just because she was half-human herself, for her Lorrdian genes didn't really show up in her looks, but that she believed it made a society a better place when people from various species and background came together.

When the Cizeri's expression changed for a moment after she got back in an upright position the blonde wondered what it was about. She smiled when asked for confirmation about her identity. "That would be me indeed." She was surprised that the other woman might know of who she was given how recently she had arrived.

"Since I didn't see you at the medical wing yet, I take it you are a colleague I didn't meet yet or someone who saw my file," she pondered aloud, curious about who the Cizeri might be.

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

"jI'm T'yeellaa Meorrrei." she replied in affirmative, remembering a moment later the human custom of grasping hands at introduction, and extended hers to the doctor.

"jI'm K'ohta'rrou of Jovan Sstatjion."

The mentioning of that didn't elicit a look of understanding, and T'yeellaa haltingly explained, " - Commanderr Akjiena'ss executjive offjicerr."

The Meorrrei response to a stranger's lack of familiarity was typically to write off that person immediately as an ignorant rube, but T'yeellaa was perfectly happy to fly under the radar. The less that her mother's shadow loomed, the better.

"jI sshould have jintrroduced mjysself forrmalljy, but jI've been pulled jin too manjy djirrectjionss the passt two weekss. Have jyou handled the trranssjitjion well?"

[Lorna DeLaTour]

Agatha accepted the handshake, not having extended one herself priorly, for she wasn't sure about customs among the Cizeri. She bowed her head to the woman's introduction. "Well met Officer Meorrrei," she replied with a smile. She appreciated the explaination to the first title offered. "Thank you, I admit I read more about your people' physiology than language and customs yet." She always did her very best to interact in the most courteous and easiest fashion with other species, but the move to Jovan Station had been a bit last minute style and she had given priority to medical files and research.

"With how many people there are on the station, it's understandable. The transition has been going well. Still learning my way around, especially outside of the med center, but glad to be here."

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

"jI'm glad jyou prrjiorrjitjized accorrdjingljy" T'yeellaa deadpanned in response to Doctor DeLaTour's admitted learning preference among her people. "Cusstom and language don't prrevent people frrom bleedjing to death." Her ears pivoted in an even array, accentuating the dry comment.

Exactly why Jovan station hadn't been appointed a Cizeri physician from the mother worlds was a bureaucratic mystery to the K'ohta'rrou. No doubt this was the kind of finesse situation that Commander Akiena and Admiral Tyree liberated from her concern. Fortunately, there were a cadre of a dozen Cizeri nurses that might help DeLaTour's learning curve flatten out a little.

At least the doctor had enough sense to address her by something other than the familiar, even if it wasn't her given rank. The Alliance military was perpetually rutted in the adolescent growth spurts from the days of Rebellion, and everyone seemed to trip over themselves to get on a first name basis. It wasn't classist snobbery driving T'yeellaa's distaste for that cavalier attitude, it was professionalism. She was K'ohta'rrou Meorrrei until she decided it was appropriate to be T'yeellaa.

"Jovan sstatjion majy not be the jidea of a prresstjige posstjing, but jyou'll fjind no sshorrtage of ejyess on jyou. jIt'ss not exactljy frront ljine dutjy, but therre sshould be enough excjitement forr jyou."

The conversation was borderline dawdling, and T'yeellaa had enough obstacles to getting her exercise in. She took a moment to appraise the doctor's physique. Legs that were long and lithe like a kiinteel's. No doubt this wasn't the doctor's first time running. She knew human cubs were as immobile as Cizeri ones when born, but it wasn't a stretch to imagine that DeLaTour could have come out of her mother at a gallop.

"What djisstance arre jyou rrunnjing?"

[Lorna DeLaTour]

"Exactly. I've never had any one whose life I just saved complain about how I might have been rude or butchered their name by accident," Agatha nodded. Having served on medical frigates and also during several emergency crisis, she had always prioritized doing her everything to keep people alive. If she could also be respectful of their customs during normal consultations, it was great and she made efforts to adjust to the different species she had worked with over the years, but this was a bonus really.

"I'm more interested in being of help than of adding badges of theoretical honor on my resume. I heard about the opening here and thought it'd be a learning experience for me too, so I applied." The blonde near-human explained. She found it admirable that some scientists and doctors focused on research, in secure labs, but it was the few she had met who just wanted to be recognized for what was their basic jobs as if it was extraordinary, that rubbed her the wrong way. Thankfully, they were a small fraction of the medical community, but she couldn't stand those.

"I run three miles, more if I have time and energy. You?"

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

So she was an idealist, then. If there was room for that kind of person, better it be in the infirmary than in command. T'yeellaa's only reply to that point was a slight deferential nod of her head as she began raising and lowering her knees in place, preparing to put in the work.

The Doctor's distance preference came with some ambivalence. T'yeellaa was grateful she didn't say a longer distance, so that the Cizerack might feel compelled to torture herself farther than her comfort zone dictated. However, running at the same distance meant that she couldn't expect any pacing handicap from DeLaTour, who might otherwise have kept her reserves for the long haul.

"The ssame", T'yeellaa replied, dipping back down to once more fuss over the strappings on her running shoes to ensure they were tight.

If this went like it usually did, T'yeellaa would burst ahead on the first kilometer, slowly give up ground on the second, get overtaken on the third, and fall off the map after that. Actually, that was giving herself too much credit. She might not even keep the lead for a kilometer against a woman like this.

[Lorna DeLaTour]

Agatha nodded when the Cizeri said they ran the same distance. She wondered how she would hold against the unexpected running partner. Not only was the doctor always eager to better herself on both physical and intellectual levels but getting to mingle with people from different backgrounds and training provided worthy epxeriences.

The medical part of her brain couldn't help wonder what she might pick about Cizeri, and especially the officer by her side, during this run. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy turning her brain off, but it was very hard for the blonde to do that, no matter the situation. She had a tendency to take in everything she could that might help her provide medical support with greater efficiency and stronger results.

She started at a decent pace, but tended to build up speed after the first kilometer, before keeping it up until the last one, where she tended to slow a bit down. That was how most of her runs went.

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

Not willing to put off the ordeal any longer, T'yeellaa righted herself, squared her shoulders, gave the Doctor a nod, then took off. Immediately, she put distance on the Human/Lorrdian, pumping in a long stride that chewed up the distance. One of the first lessons that T'yeellaa had to understand in distance running was that Cizerack were naturally ill-suited to the task. Maintaining a consistent pace over a long stretch didn't give her the kind of reserves a human had. It just meant that she'd hit her wall and not take advantage of a burst. Cizerack were more than capable running in short distances. If this were a sprint, she likely wouldn't feel threatened here. It had taken several unimpressive runs for T'yeellaa to abandon imitation, and now she was in the process of adapting her natural talents to the objective.

T'yeellaa surged ahead, her tail curled aloft in counterbalance as she leaned into her momentum, pumping fists and feet in a furious rhythm. She kept her breath cadenced - in through the nose, out through the mouth. Her pace was nearly at a sprint as she put nearly eighty meters on her racing partner. Shopkeeps in the early morning hours of the concourse made a lane at the sound of slapping soles against the decking. The K'ohta'rrou barely registered the potential obstacles, avoiding the ones who didn't get fully out of the way with an economy of movement that sacrificed as little of her precious speed as possible.

Already, she could feel the tank draining. Her breath quickened, and the thud of rushing blood sounded like drums in her ears. Now, T'yeellaa had to decide when the best time to ease off the jets would come. Too early and she wouldn't pad her lead sufficiently. Too late and she might not recover in time for her next burst. Perspiration began to bead on her forehead as the Cizerack kept her eyes on the distant sign that indicated the D spire junction. If she could keep her pace to that point, she might be doing well.

[Lorna DeLaTour]

There was no way Agatha could keep up with the Cizeri. She'd burn all her energy at once and wouldn't be able to complete the distance. When younger and starting to mingle with a lot more species, the doctor had tried to keep up and had quickly realized - including thanks to her studies - there was no point in doing so. Every species and individual had their own way and physiology, so finding the most efficient way for herself had been important. Of course, she made sure to keep pushing herself to improve and she had found herself a little sloppy upon arrival on the station, but in the past days, she had picked up again her usual speed and resilience.

She kept going at the best of her pace without burning herself out, trying to keep track of her running mate, though the distance and the organization of the station didn't make it that easy at all time.

Though catching up as long as the Cizeri would keep up that speed was about impossible, the blonde still picked up her pace to burst for a short while, trying to close some of the distance between them.

[Anauri Rabeak]

There were perks to being on the morning shift in Engineering on Jovan, not the least of which being Chief Engineer Anauri Rabeak's penchant for "surprising" his staff with boxes of fresh donuts. Sweet, sticky, unhealthy, and cavity-inducing, they were better known as "engineer fuel." It was with a smile that Anauri bore four boxes of warm, fresh donuts, their aroma being picked up by the recirculating air system to be spread all around, certain to draw the attention of any who were already awake.

With the junction to Spire D coming up, the Nehantite shifted his grip slightly, careful not to let the upper boxes crush the lowest one, thereby plastering any frosting to the cardboard instead of on pastry where it belonged. A mental note was made to put Gradoona's bear claws on the bottom next time. The Herglic would wolf them down even if they were smashed flat, and not notice.

As he rounded the corner, a familiar face seemed to be sprinting his way, and one graying, fuzzy eyebrow went up. Was that T'yeellaa running directly toward him? With some other blonde... human? hot on her heels? There wasn't another droid invasion he wasn't aware of, was there?

"Morning?" his greeting came out half friendly, half curious as to just what was going on.

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

"Nng..."

It was more of a grunt than a reply, but T'yeellaa was pushing herself and tertiary things like morning conversation weren't big on her mind. She could already feel the surge ebbing away, and the need to suck in more oxygen than she could was about to solve the problem for her. Her expression locked in a grimace. The felinoid blew an errant strand of hair out of her face as Chief Rabeak moved in her path, laden with boxes of forrda sweets. She needed to slow down, but not yet! She still had a little speed reserve, and she wasn't going to let it go unused. T'yeellaa angled slightly wide to sprint past the Chief, but apparently didn't see the MSE-6 droid skittering just to his right. By the time the mouse droid registered, she was already trying to plant a foot directly on it. The wheeled droid flung free with a SKREEEK, sending T'yeellaa careening off her feet. Her world turned into a blur of motion, and the K'ohta'rrou instinctively put her hands out to brace for the fall...

"Aahh!"

The white-hot shooting pain told her all she needed to know. T'yeellaa rolled on her back, cradling her left arm with her right as she sucked wind through gritted teeth.

[Lorna DeLaTour]

Agatha smelled the delicious and sweet goods before she came in sight of the boxes or the alien near them. The Cizeri was still putting some distance between them, so she managed to slow down as not to toppled over either the mouse droid or her running partner. She had a hard time avoiding the zigzaging mouse droid and her side stepping likely looked hilarious to any bystander, but she stayed on her feet.

She didn't mean to be rude to the male alien near the boxes, but she rushed to the officer's side, crouching near her. "Let me see." The way the Cizeri held her arm and the scream of pain was enough for her to know that medical attention was required. She had a mother-hen side but mostly, she had worked enough as a doctor to know when her assistance was required.

[Anauri Rabeak]

A simple grunted greeting, even if it wasn't an actual word, was about all Anauri expected in reply from any form of jogger, and he merely nodded before turning his head to the path before him. The panicked squeaking of a mouse droid and subsequent tumble and crash whipped his head right back around. In a heartbeat T'yeellaa had gone from a competent runner with excellent form and a properly-fit sports bra, to a heap on the ground. In engineering terms, it was something known as an " unexpected catastrophic failure."

The donut boxes found the floor in a speedy, yet controlled manner, and he thumped over to his XO's side, with a human woman he didn't know already kneeling to help.

"The hell just happened?" he asked. A good twenty feet away the mouse droid squealed in what had to be mouse droid curses as it lay on its side, wheels spinning, but Anauri paid it no heed for now. "Eesh, that's not looking good. I'll page the med bay," he said while reaching for his comm stick.

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

This wasn't T'yeellaa's first broken bone and it probably wouldn't be her last. Getting her A'ziir Traai'jaari proficiency rating as a cadet gave her plenty of experience with the sensation. Still, it was as frustrating as it was embarrassing. The K'ohta'rrou wasn't certain which was worse, not getting a chance to prove her mettle, or getting tended to by her competition who would have likely smoked her if she was lucky.

"Jusst a brroken arrm forr brreakfasst, that'ss all." T'yeellaa answered the chief in a smart-alecky hiss as she softly beat her head against the floor a few times.

[Lorna DeLaTour]

With habit of practice, Agatha could tell that the Cizeri had a broken bone. "I work at the medbay so we can go there, but thank you," she replied politely to the alien who had offered assistance, which she appreciated.

She returned her attention to the officer and frowned. "Get up instead of trying to get a skull fracture." Maybe to some, it would have seemed heartless but she had the impression that the officer wasn't the kind to want being coddled so acknowledging the capabilities she had left despite the accidental fall might help.

Agatha got back to her feet, ready to extend a hand if the Cizeri needed it, or just wait for her to get up so they could go to the medbay. There was no way she wasn't going to treat the officer now.

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

Just give me five good seconds to be angry at myself, T'yeellaa thought as she glared up at the Doc. Useless petulance, sure. By the time she'd gotten mad at DeLaTour calling her on it, the K'ohta'rrou had more or less gotten over the moment. At least she'd had the good sense to not offer a hand out. T'yeellaa grunted through the dull pain of moement, but she powered up to her own two feet by herself. By now, her arm was swelling and throbbing. When the endorphins fell off, it would really ache.

"Thankss." she offered, tenderly brushing fingers against mid-forearm of her broken arm, feeling the heat of the swollen, taut skin. From experience, she didn't dare try and close her hand in a fist or make any substantial movements. She cradled her broken arm with the other, and put on a face of restrained annoyance at her folly.

"Saa'lanai'au mousse drrojidss, who the hell everr thought thejy werre a good jidea."

[Lorna DeLaTour]

Agatha looked unfazed by the officer's glare. It took more than a buoyant Cizeri to trouble her. Her eyes darted between the woman getting back to her feet and the alien nearby worker who had briefly joined the conversation. She noted how the officer didn't try to make any unwanted or abrupt movement with her wounded arm, which she appreciated.

"Let's go to the medbay," she simply added, gesturing for her newly met patient to come with her.

She smirked at the comment regarding mouse droid. "Save for being pesky trouble makers, I have rarely seen their use." She briefly rolled her eyes, recalling an episode of her earlier career. "Ten of them once malfunctioned on a medical ship I served on. It caused more patients to overwhelm us than the previous trip to the battleground. Ridiculous."

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

T'yeellaa nodded in response to the good advice. She glanced back to Anauri, feeling heat glow at the tips of her ears in disappointment as she realized the mess caused by her spill.

"Ssorrrjy about jyourr..." T'yeellaa trailed off, not having any clue at all what exactly she'd knocked all over the floor, "...food, Chjief. Let me get thjiss taken carre of and next brreakfasst jiss on me."

It was a lousy feeling, to feel like a dependant agent of chaos. The Goddess usually spread around that misfortune, thankfully. It just meant that her number was up today.

Glancing back at Doc, T'yeellaa put on a good game face, even as she could feel every heartbeat radiating up and down her arm now.

"Well, jit'ss mjy own fault one wajy orr anotherr. jI get tunnel vjissjion when jI rrun."

[Lorna DeLaTour]

Agatha keenly observed the interaction between the officer and the chief. There were times when being only half Lorrdian was frustrating because she couldn't read body language as well as her mother. Yet, between a strong sense of observation and years of interacting with a large number of species, the doctor was more than decent at reading people.

As she headed to the medbay with the Cizeri, she nodded to what the other woman said about having tunnel vision. "I hadn't realized that Cizeris had such a way to speed up to the extent you did. That was impressive." She had read about the species' physiology but having only been assigned to Jovan Station, she hadn't interacted with that many yet.

"Do you run every morning?" There was still several more minutes to make it to the medbay where she would take care of the officer's arm, so it didn't hurt to speak a little more.

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

How do you respond to a compliment for your species? Thanks seemed a bit hollow, so T'yeellaa gave a small shrug. The question that followed was at least less about namanas and meilooruns between Humans and Cizeri.

"jIn the morrnjing?" she grimaced, "Goddesss, no. jI'm onljy up at thjiss awful hourr becausse jI have to. And jif jI have to be honesst, jI hate rrunnjing."

Her ears hung low a moment, then righted.

"But jI ssajid jI'd do jit, sso jI'm dojing jit. Ussualljy jitss jin the afterrnoon, when jI've had tjime to wake up. Majybe that'ss lesss jimprresssjive on the sspecjiess meassurrjing sstjick, but jI have no jidea how jyou humanss ssleep sso ljittle and rrjisse sso earrljy - and arre happjy to do jit."

[Lorna DeLaTour]

Lorna had a tendency to make unexpected and quite blurt scientific observations about individuals and species at large, and she was glad that the Cizeri didn't take it the wrong way. The simple shrug was fine by the blonde's standards. She often needed a few weeks or months to adjust to new customs among different people too. She always tried to do well, but her tendencies to be a happy hermit between work and her life sometimes got in the way.

"Is there another kind of physical activity you prefer to running? Running in laps on the station is better than being stuck in a gym center, but it's not the same as doing that fully outdoors."

For frak's sake, Lorna, you're so rusty at being social sometimes, it's hilarious or really sad, or both....

"Without caf in my system, I'd probably be less impressive. I can nap like crazy when given the opportunity. I heard it's a family trait from my Lorrdian side," the doctor quipped.

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

'Is there another kind of physical activity you prefer to running?'

T'yeellaa had to catch herself from laughing. Apparently the new sawbones hadn't read that chapter of Cizeri biology.

"Ssomethjing ljike that, Doctorr." Cryptic, but with a smile. At least the absurdity made the throb in her arm less pronounced. "But jI'm ssurre jyou'll fjigurre that out the longerr jyou'rre herre on Jovan."

Something stuck with the K'ohta'rrou in Lorna's reply, and she paused. "Oh, jyou'rre Lorrrdjian? jI had no jidea."

It came out awkwardly, and T'yeellaa bit softly at her tongue when it did. Had no idea, because so many forrda look alike. Good going.

[Lorna DeLaTour]

Lorna raised a brow at the Cizeri's remark and chuckled softly. She might be wrong but the "something like that" had often meant certain things, and it amused her.

The other woman's reaction to her being partly Lordian only brought a shrug from the blonde. "Yes. My father's side of the family loved near-humans ladies, so we're a bunch of little half-breeds of various kinds. Some of us got some perks."

The blonde's expression turned kinda mischievous. "My cousin and I have definitely had a thing to rattle xenophobes' cages at times. In my case, some didn't like knowing the person who had saved them wasn't as human as they thought." Of course, it had got her into more serious trouble and discrimination at times, but she wasn't one for the sob stories.

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

"Heh. jYeah." The K'ohta'rrou hid behind one sheepish chuckle, feeling the heat rise in her eartips in embarassment over nearly being outed by her own prejudices.

The next few paces passed in uncomfortable silence. T'yeellaa's brow knit as she tried to think of another subject.

"At leasst jyou'rre not to farr frrom jyourr homeworrld. Lorrd jissn't much farrtherr frrom Jovan than home clussterr..."

The slight roll in T'yeellaa's shoulders expressed as an although, as in, although it's on the *other* side of the border.

"jI guesss that jissn't much ssolace."

[Lorna DeLaTour]

Lorna didn't mind the silence that much. She easily fell back into just focusing on her running. The ability to switch from one thing to the other was something that come very handy in her career, and also honoring pauses when they occurred, even when they could be not the most comfortable, was something she had learned to do over the years. She wasn't always that successful but she never claimed to be perfect.

She pursed her lips briefly, caught off guard - so much for being adaptable she chided herself, at the Cizeri's remark about Lorrd. Her mother's planet was not on the Alliance side for sure.

"I've... I've only been there once when I was little. I'm not familiar with my maternal side. I grew up on Raaltiir." Ironically, her cousin Morgana who had some imperial business contacts at times as far as she knew, had all her Zeltron maternal side back on their home world.

"I did study on Coruscant a long time ago, but my interest in xeno biology and my "rebellious" ideas had me stay away from imperials since then." It was also one of the reasons why she had traveled so much to multicultural planets and outposts over the years. She found some pleasure in using what she had learned on imperial territory to help people the Empire considered like sub-species.

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

"Well, jI hope jyourr jinterresst jin xenobjiologjy pajyss off." The K'ohta'rrou winced as they arrived at the infirmary. By now all of the adrenaline had ebbed, and the ache was deep, sending shooting throbs up the length of her arm with each heartbeat.

"Thjiss wjill be a fjirrsst forr me. jI've never had an aljien forr a doctorr."

[Lorna DeLaTour]

As they arrived at the infirmary, Lorna looked at the Cizeri. "Well, hopefully I'll be on par with Cizeri doctors," she remarked, half jesting, half serious.

She led the other woman to an available room, and threw a lab coat over her running outfit, before washing her hands.

"Have you broken or sprained your arm in the past?" She inquired as she began the examination.

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

The jesting nature of the Doctor's reply wasn't lost on the K'ohta'rrou, but it didn't leave her feeling reassured either. Cizeri doctors were some of the best in the galaxy. She felt justified in her initial unease, but swallowed it down. There was no sense comparing the two. Besides, a broken arm was hardly life or death.

The questions begin, and T'yeellaa nodded along, sliding to a sitting position on the examination bench.

"jI've brroken thjiss arrm twjice beforre. Once, falljing out of a bayossa trree at home. The otherr tjime wass asss a cadet, jin zerro-grravjitjy combat trrajinjing."

[Lorna DeLaTour]

Examining the CIzeri's arm with care, Lorna ran a couple of holo medical imagery to have the best diagnosis possible. She sometimes remembered the days when she was in the middle of nowhere with close to none of the basic equipment that many people took for granted in the galaxy. The monitor soon showed results she had expected.

"It's a clear fracture, so I'm going to get you a firm arm brace, but I recommend you get some bacta treatment to help the bone heal faster."

She retrieved an arm brace from the nearby supply storage, and made sure it was set correctly on the officer's arm. "Would you like some painkiller prescription?" She wasn't sure of the other woman's response, which was why she asked.

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

She nodded along to the bacta recommendation. It wasn't cheap, but you got what you paid for. She could accelerate her mending by multiple factors, or spend longer in a brace with cheaper kolto. Given her work, it was a no brainer.

The doc worked to form the brace on her arm. T'yeellaa endured it wordlessly. Only the occasional tightening of her jaw or the stiff switching of her tail betrayed the occasional sharp bursts of pain. The question of painkillers predictably followed.

"No thank jyou."

It wasn't that she had something to prove to the doc, it was more that she'd had something to prove for most of her adult life, and that was a hard habit to break. For a change, she lowered her guard a little, along with her ears.

"What'ss the leasst narrcotjic pajinkjillerr jyou have?"

[Lorna DeLaTour]

Lorna was used to find her way around about any medical facility, having worked in war zones with very few supplies, all the way to state of the art facilities. She was still in the process of getting settled on Jovan station in a weird way, because she had worked at different medbays aboard it, instead of having one or two places to cycle through at a given location or during a specific mission. She was still capable of doing her job well though, which was what mattered.

She was surprised when the Cizeri seemed willing to change her mind about the painkiller. The blonde wouldn't have pushed the matter though, if it had been a flat no. Yet, she brought up her datapad and checked for the available options on stock. "We have two that are as little narcotic as possible: standard BX-90, or a more recent remedy, the Arco 99. I would recommend the BX-90, because the other one is known for a greater risk of side effects."

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

"The fjirrsst one." T'yeellaa agreed readily. "jI don't plan on mjisssjing anjy worrk on account of thjiss, sso jI'd ljike to rremajin fjit forr dutjy. jIf therre'ss pajin, then therre'ss pajin."

She tested the limits of her brace, finding the swelling and pain kept her in line more than the brace did at this point. That would probably change in quick order, but this would give her an idea of how impeded she would be in the short term.

"Now to thjink of a betterr sstorrjy to tell Gai'tou about thjiss than the trruth..." she said quietly, mostly to herself.

[Lorna DeLaTour]

"Sure thing," Lorna took a few notes and soon produced a datachip along with the meds the Cizeri had opted for. "Here you go. I wrote you a prescription for two weeks, just in case."

From there, the officer was free to take - or not - the medication. She was already pleasantly surprised the other woman had changed her mind about painkillers.

Hearing the words about finding a "better story," the doctor didn't say a thing about it. She wouldn't tell a soul about it after all.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?"

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

The K'ohta'rrou sighed heavily, her ears lowering a she did.

"Otherr than ssmooth overr mjy attempt to rrujin both of ourr morrnjingss?"

T'yeellaa made an embarrassed face, then glanced down to her bound-up arm.

"Make jit up to jyou? Ssjince jI'm not gettjing mjy rrun jin todajy, jI feel ljike eatjing ssomethjing awful. Thjink jI can drrag jyou down wjith me? Betterr wajy forr me to get to know mjy CMO than brreakjing an arrm."

[Lorna DeLaTour]

"Believe me, it takes more than that to ruin my morning," she remarked wryly. She had started several mornings with no sleep and with life-threatening medical emergencies on her hands. So all things considered, it was a fairly mild morning.

She hadn't expected the Cizeri to offer to "make it up" to her, especially as she didn't think the other woman needed tool; but the prospect of food won her over.

"You had me at food, especially awful food. I've not yet had it on the station, so I could use suggestions!"

Right on cue, her stomach growled.

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

"How about, err...do notss?"

T'yeellaa sounded unsure, and her expression turned even more unsure as she said it. At least she thought that's what they were called.

"The thjingss wjith holess jin them?"

When she'd nearly bowled the chief over, seeing them in passing must have made an impression. T'yeellaa wasn't even sure what they were, other than certainly not health food.

[Lorna DeLaTour]

Lorna finished to put everything back in order and get ready to leave.

"Donuts? This sounds like a great idea. I've not had any in a long time."

Gesturing for the officer to exit first, she then followed her.

"I didn't even know they had them around here, though I've mostly spent time working since I moved to Jovan Station."

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

* * *

One comm to Lieutenant Pod-Floewander later, and T'yeellaa had the necessary directions. Ten minutes later, they were both standing outside a shop with a neon frontage so vivid that the K'ohta'rrou wasn't quite sure how she hadn't seen it before. A cartoonish boy winking and cramming an enormous donut into a mug - forever.

"Sspunkjy...Dunkerrss? jI don't get jit."

[Lorna DeLaTour]

While Lorna missed the actual outdoors, she welcome opportunities to stretch her legs when getting around Jovan Station. When they reached the shop, Lorna mused to herself that the neon frontage was as overwhelming as a bordello sign in the recesses of Nar Shaddaa. Good thing she went into medicine and not marketing, she guessed.

Her eyes were already peeking inside the shop, when she heard the Cizeri's question. "The challenging art of dunking donuts into your liquid of choice is a messy one, but it can taste damn good when you have a good combo. Some people dunk their flavor of choice in blue milk, or even coffee. I'm partial to hot chocolate with some plainer, vanilla, or chocolate flavored donuts. Not a kid-friendly one, but a favorite of mine is a cinnamon donut dunked into a rum-cocktail."

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

T'yeellaa's expression was ponderous; serious. Aside from a tia'haako or something of the like, she was a fairly fastidious eater and abhorred a mess. To top that off, things like milk and caf were deal breakers. The former because of lactose intolerance, and the latter because caf tasted like hot ash water. The last option the doctor mentioned sounded infinitely more appealing, and the Cizerack's ears perked as she nodded.

"That one."

Of course, she didn't know what cinnamon was, so there could be unforseen dangers ahead. But there were known knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns. One had to tread carefully around forrda. Besides, she was supposed to be a cultural liaison, per Commander Akiena's request. Some poor example she'd be if she didn't stick her neck out a little.

That, and she could use a drink - in addition to her sudden turn for junk food.

[Lorna DeLaTour]

Lorna had seen that certain favored option have people roll their eyes in the past; and she found some odd satisfaction about the Cizeri going for it. She did a mental rundown of the prescription she had given the other woman, but realized it should be fine. As a store employee approached them soon, the blonde half-breed took the lead and ordered two cinnamon donuts, rather close to the plainest but still sugary enough for a good junk food craving, along with two of their rum cocktails. That was one of the good things about living on such a cosmopolitan place, doubled with it being a space station: people tended to care even less about appropriate times for drinking as long as you had the cash and looked like a grown up.

Lorna fetched extra paper napkins out of habit as she made her way towards a nearby table, for the place was fairly quiet at the moment. She sat down and happily sniffed the cocktail, before taking a sip. She was going to dunk her donut as well, but it smelled nice enough she had to snag a sip all by itself.

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

The K'ohta'rrou learned by doing. If Doctor DeLaTour was starting with the cocktail, who was she to argue with that ritual. Paradoxically, it seemed the safest part of this combination. T'yeellaa discretely smelled the drink. There was spiciness, some sweetness, and something she couldn't quantify. But it felt relatable to the Cizerack, so she sipped it without any real hesitation, leveraging the drink with her good arm.

"jIt'ss good."

T'y inspected the glass. The contents within were dark brown.

"What jiss jit?"

[Lorna DeLaTour]

Dunking donuts into drinks that were always in narrow containers in comparison, was always a challenge. Lorna didn't care right now. She was happy to chill and enjoy the treats. She proceeded to the task right after taking a sip from the cocktail. It was decent, and should do the trick.

When the Cizeri inquired about what the drink was, she looked up and answered, before she probably made a mess of herself.

"Rum, with orange and a hint of apricot juice, though I'm not absolutely certain on the latter. There is some rich vanilla in it as well. It's a little sweeter than I expected; but I guess I normally put more rum in when I put the thing together myself."

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

Orange she had heard of. Apricot was an alien term. She tried not to dwell on it, and instead took a second sip, appreciating the experience holistically.

"Ssomethjing about thjiss rremjindss me of home."

Instinctively, T'yeellaa tried to reach for the doughnut with her bound arm. It budged in her lap enough to remind her of her folly, and she shrugged her shoulders at the doctor with a sheepish expression. Approaching the problem again, she set her drink slightly to the side, and pivoted the doughnut closer.

"Have jyou met Doctorr Vek jyet?"

[Lorna DeLaTour]

Lorna was glad to get to know more places around the station. It still wasn't the same as living on an actual planet; but not assignment was perfect. She had wanted to stretch her abilities and formally align with the Alliance at this point of her life and career. Jovan Station had offered the perfect opportunity for such endeavors.

When the officer said the drink reminded her of home, she smiled, though looked a bit curious. "How is home for you, if I may ask?" She was still familiarizing herself with the Cizeri, and had no idea of what their home system was, or even if Meorrrei thought about it when speaking of home. After all, the doctor was born and raised on Ralltirr but hadn't really considered it home in a long while.

She watched in silence as the Cizeri briefly struggled because of her bound arm. The blonde had no doubt the other woman had been through much worse, and could take care of herself.

When asked whether she had met Dr. Vek, she finished the bite she had just taken before answering. "I've only briefly crossed paths with him at a social event. I hope to get to properly make his acquaintance in the near future, when our schedules make it possible."

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

The question about home had caught T'yeellaa off guard as she attempted to figure out the doughnut in front of her. She set it back on its plate, frowning slightly as she tried to dislodge the flaky sugar from her fingertips.

"Home jiss compljicated." She laughed at the best non-response she could think of, then looked at the Doctor and shook her head.

"jI ljive on Carshoulis Prime, orr jI sshould ssajy that'ss wherre jI grrew up. Ssunnjy hjillss of Hai'raa'thee, one of the few patchess of grreen jin the ecumenopoljiss. Whjich meanss mjy famjiljy can afforrd to ljive therre."

Redoubling her efforts with the doughnut, T'yeellaa tried standing the pastry on its edge to hold it and expose as little of her fingers to the sticky sugar as possible.

"Sso jI took a harrd look at all of that, and jI jojined the Trrade Navjy. Mjy own perrssonal rrebelljion."

[Lorna DeLaTour]

The Cizeri's response thatthe concept of "home" was complicated definitely resonated with Lorna. That very much reminded her of what she had said to people over the years, especially in the last decade. Taking another bite from the doughnut, she listened quietly to what the other woman explained.

"A few years back, I was given an opportunity to join a project with a medical team mostly comprising specialists from Carshoulis Prime; but I ended working on Ryloth for a while instead," she observed before musing over what the Cizeri had said.

"Personal rebellion sometimes is necessary. By all standards, my family considers I'm nonexistent now. They tolerated my anti-imperial antics for a while, but eventually didn't want to support an offspring who worked on the other side even before I formally joined the Alliance."

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

There was a look of mild surprise in response to Doctor DeLaTour's admission. Being invited to collaborate on Carshoulis Prime as an alien was rare today, but even more rare in the years before they'd joined the Alliance. That spoke volumes about the Lorrdian's potential, and it was even more impressive that she'd turned it down. What T'yeellaa knew of Cizeri medicine was that it was at nearly the standard for the rest of the galaxy.

The K'ohta'rrou carefully leveraged her doughnut at the rim of her cocktail's glass, not yet committing to the dunk.

"Can jI assk whjy jyou chosse Rrjyloth?"

[Lorna DeLaTour]

"Sure," Lorna responded without hesitation, as she set her half-eaten treat to the side for the moment.

"Ryloth was in the process of gaining independence from the Empire; and they were in dire need of doctors to help rebuild and train their personnel. The Empire had cared little for the native population as you can imagine. Certain pockets of imperial sympatizers had taken the opportunity to poison some of the crops as well. My expertise in immunology was more needed there."

She paused, remembering that offer she had got from the Cizeri back in the day. "The project on Carshoulis Prime was likely a once in a lifetime opportunity; and I was shocked to be invited to participate. It would have undoubtedly been a challenging and fascinating experience; but I felt that my place was on Ryloth back then."

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

Even though Doctor DeLaTour wasn't a Rebel when that word meant something, her story jived with so many Rebels T'yeellaa had encountered. The decision to choose Ryloth over Carshoulis was a selfless one, and the K'ohta'rrou's own brand of defiance felt degrees more cheap and selfish by comparison. She tried not to dwell on that thought, instead opting for the cheap diversion of dunking a doughnut into a cocktail, as the doctor ordered. It was inelegant and slightly drippy, but T'yeellaa at least timed the drips so that she avoided a mess, ducking in for a bite at the right time. Skeptical eyes turned to an expression of begrudging agreement as she chewed, then dispatched the mouthful.

"Well, jit ssoundss ljike jyou fjit jin herre jusst fjine. Frrom what jI'm learrnjing, the Alljiance hass no sshorrtage of offjicerrss who have jinvessted jin a grreaterr good."

[Lorna DeLaTour]

Lorna wasn't trying for elegant when dunking doughnuts into any sort of drink; so she was unfazed by the Cizeri's slightly messy success. She was just hoping that she enjoyed it, which by the eventual expression on her face, seemed to be the case.

"It made sense to officially serve the Alliance, at last."

She took an actual sip of her drink. "And if it pisses any imperial, it's an added bonus," she admitted with a smirk.

"How long have you been Commander Akiena's executive officer, if I may ask?"

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

T'yeellaa was already working on the second dunk, which she found was a lot easier after the first bite was out of the pastry. For now she just dabbed around the rim. Lorna's question was one she was usually loathe to talk about, but maybe time was starting to dull the sting of it.

"Almosst a jyearr. Prrevjioussljy jI wass the Suun'da'rrou..."

She paused, shifting gears for forrda ears,

"...Captajin, of the Trrade Navjy Galleon Haifa'Iro'Iro. The Admjirraltjy,"

Always the Admiralty in her retelling. Best to leave her mother's influences out of the matter,

"assked me to accept a lowerr rrank forr what thejy ssajid wass a hjigherr prresstjige posstjing, and one that would attrract a grreat deal of attentjion. Nothjing qujite sso noble, jI'm afrrajid. jI want to be Admjirral one dajy. Thjiss jiss mjy path."

[Lorna DeLaTour]

Lorna had noticed the mention of the Admiralty on multiple occasions; and she felt a little curious about what led them to ask the Cizeri to occupy a lower rank, especially as Meorrrei was clear about her ambition. The doctor could understand ambition. While she had done a lot of work that some looked down upon for lack of prestige; there was a plan to the apparent chaos that some considered in her career path. She wanted to be as prepared as possible, and putting herself to not only help those in need, but also hone her skills as hard as possible. She longed to be the best; and she did all she could to be it.

"I believe in the purpose of Jovan Station; but I understand wanting more than a position here," she admitted before taking another dunk and bite from her doughnut.

"As much as I'm grateful for learning about other people and be able to serve more of them; I am not sure I foresee myself making a career on Jovan Station."

She didn't regret her choice to accept the position here; and she knew she would remain properly affiliated with the Alliance; but she doubted space stations were her thing.

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

"Humanss make ambjitjion a djirrtjy worrd." T'yeellaa shrugged as much a she could, and took a sip from her drink. The residual cinnamon sugar had sweetened it even more.

"Thjiss place jiss no kjind of place to end a carrreerr. And jI ssajy that wjith asss much begrrudgjing affectjion asss jI can mussterr. jI loathed thjiss posstjing when jI fjirrsst took jit. Now?"

She eyed the soggy end of her doughnut with a slightly dimpled grin.

"jIt'ss grrown on me."

Returning her attention to the doctor, T'yeellaa shifted to a more comfortable position, mitigating a little discomfort in her cast.

"We get along, ssomehow. Commanderr Akjiena assked me to be hjiss ljiajisson forr all Cizeri matterrss, sso jyou get the ssame frrom me. Anjy djiffjicultjy worrkjing wjith the Jaani'saari, the officerr corrpss, orr even the merrchantss on the concourrsse, let me know about jit."

[Lorna DeLaTour]

"This is true. Lorrdians don't see ambition as such a bad thing," Lorna mused.

She rarely gave much thought to her half heritage that wasn't human. Yet it was a significant part of her, even though she didn't possess the greater body language reading skills full blood Lorrdians would. Granted, her education as a doctor had made good use of that little genetic boost she got in terms of observation.

"Being raised imperial when everything was game to advance one's career, even killing the competition and not always so discreetly, made me question my own ambition over time."

It was a rare admission for her, but it made sense in the flow of the current conversation.

The blonde broke another piece of her treat and dunked it into the beverage, listening to what the Cizeri said about her own work on the station.

She grinned at the other woman's remark that the station had grown on her.

"There is more than what meets the eye at first. I didn't expect such a varied population when I moved here."

She observed the Officer slightly adjusting her position, her medical eye ensuring everything seemed normal, before looking up at her again.

Lorna nodded in gratitude to Meorrrei's offer to act as liaison for her as well if needed.

"I appreciate it. And if I can be of assistance to you or anyone you know in need, when it comes to medical care, please let me know."

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

"Well..."

She held up her cast, "the trreatment was top notch," then hoisted her drink with the other hand, "and the outpatjient carre jissn't bad ejitherr. jIf anjyone asskss, jI'll ssajy jyou'rre no Cizeri doctorr, but jyou'rre not farr off."

T'yeellaa cracked a wry grin, tipping her glass to Lorna's for a fitting accord.

[Lorna DeLaTour]

Lorna grinned at the Officer's words, appreciating the praise.

"Well, thank you," she said with a nod before taking the last sip from her drink.

As much as she valued routine, she knew that life could get even more interesting when routine got off track, as her morning run had happened to do.

The unexpected often brought new people and perspectives, and she believed today was such an opportunity.