Cold Storage

An impressed look crossed Cirrsseeto's face at Sindy's subtle pronounciation.

"Spent tjime on the motherr worrlds? That's perrfect jinflectjion."

And then Lyanie walked in. Walking a tight rope between his professional and personal life, he greeted her with a warm smile.

"Hello Ljieutenant."

There were other things he'd say to her, alone, but in the company of others, he was her Captain and she was one of his engineers. Still, there were things to share in public. A look that lingered a moment more than it normally would, a smile reserved just for her.

And then, all hell broke loose. Cirr watched dawning realization spread from Lyanie to Sindy, Sindy to Lyanie, Lyanie to Kiera, Kiera to Ben, Ben to Kiera, Ben to Lyanie. His ears twitched. He was going to ask exactly what the hell was going on, until the Doctor put drastic measures into place. Instead, he glanced back to Lyanie with a what the hell expression on his face. She'd clue him in later.

"Spent tjime on the motherr worrlds? That's perrfect jinflectjion."

Sindy gave Cirr a supremely blank look.

“I, um...” Her thin face scrunched, sporting some confusion and then, as if a switch had been flight and a light had been set alive, her face cleared and beamed instantly. “Yeah, I think so! Some, anyway. I did have to spend a great deal of time attending my father, uncle and cousin in Genei Corporation’s dealings with other corporate entities, under the insistent premise that I ‘must learn the ropes’ so that I might ‘someday be successful at defending the corporation’. As a lawyer. I remember we dealt often enough with people that look kinda like you… ish, but more like, well, girls. So I guess I have an ear for it. At least it’s easier to grasp than Verpine.”

Sindy took a moment to breath in, breath out, breath in. She made a sour face, her tongue briefly poking out of her mouth and continued.

“If lawyers are supposta be anything like Sekana Trozky, I want nothin’ to do with it, but I’m permanently stuck with onerous amounts of legal knowledge and...” Sindy's lively face took the expression of shadowy 'cloaks and daggers'. “...secrets. I would have the misfortune of being Sekana’s daughter."

Things quieted down, thankfully, after the doctor's little threat of 'ruthless application of sedatives'. Cirr was still talking the with Jedi girl, and Kiera was still fixing him to the floor with lances of pure threat from her eyes, and Lyanie was standing off to the side, looking mischievous. No matter how many times he pinched himself, however, he wasn't waking up.

With the only avenue open to him being to ride this nightmare through to the end, Ben looked up at Kiera and grinned.

"Eheheh," he began, "Hey. How are ya? It's... been... a while?"

Vek Vek finished his blood draw, pressing a small gauze to the insertion area as he gently slipped the needle out. He applied a thin, clear disc of material over the gauze, then shined a burst of UV light from his pen light onto it, which caused the disc to grip fast to Hal's skin.

"Please leave bandage on for two hours minimum. Membrane designed to disintegrate in sonic shower. If complications arise at injection site, inform me."

Giving the two capped vials of blood a cursory glance, he looked back to his patient.

"Are you ready to evacuate yet? Please use the receptacle given, in privacy of lavatory of course."

He sat down next to a machine, inserting one of the vials of blood into it. The crimson liquid drained out as the device began to spin, assigning portions of the tissue to numerous small slides for use in a number of tests. A kaliedoscope of holographic screens began popping up, and the Doctor quickly went to work examining each image, and crunching each bit of data.

"Can rule parasite influence out, both micro and macro. Good. Good."

Kiera favoured Lyanie with a look, one that said they'd be discussing this later. She wasn't necessarily angry, and she didn't think that Lyanie had been lying to her, but she still had gone through the whole grieving process (and had even bought a self help book about grieving). To see Ben, alive, was almost a smack in the face.

"It certainly has," Kiera said with a flat stare. Ben visibly wilted underneath it.

She turned away from the pilot, and grinned. "So what do we have here doctor? A... Nehantite? Not too many of them running around the galaxy now."

Hal looked up from the shamefully shaved spot on his arm, having run his fingers through his fur to see bare skin for the first time in ages.

His brow creased at Kiera's comment, and he spoke before thinking. "What do you mean not many of us running around? We're some of the best mechanics out there. Wouldn't be surprised if your captain, here, has some of us tucked away down in the engine room."

The Nehantite was fully serious. While his race had often been ridiculed for being behind the times and not being any form of a power in the military sense, they had become masterful mechanics and engineers, though Hal had no idea the decline of demand for Nehatite workers that had taken place in the last few decades after one team of them overthrew a ship. Still offended, Hal took up his cup and headed to the lavatory, just to be away from Kiera. While their race may have been disgraced since he'd been put under, those from Hal's day had been very proud of their accomplishments and their abilities.

Within a few minutes, Hal returned, passing the sealed cup to the doctor, not even bothering to look at Kiera as he returned to the examination table. "Could've told you I was all clean, Doc."

Well, for certain she'd have some explainin' to do. Kiera had plenty reason to be unhappy over the circumstances and her gut twinged over feeling sorry about it. Lyanie had grieved too, much in her own way, over the loss of her bestest buddy and sometimes the fact that he was still very much around was all too surreal. She turned her attention to the Nehantite when he expressed disagreement with Kiera's observation, waiting for his return to address him on the matter.

"Actually, of all the engines I've been around - and believe you me, there's been plenty - 'fraid I haven't seen hide nor..." She grimaced "...hair, no pun intended, of your kind."

With that, the engineer turned her attentions back to her aforementioned bestest bud and crossed her arms, needling him with a critical look that insisted this childish, yellow-bellied avoidance what was in front of him needed to stop.

"Now, Benny-Ben-Ben, you plannin' on gettin' up anytime soon or is the deck really that comfortable?" A glimmer sparked in her eyes. "We don't bite... well, unless asked."

"Actually, of all the engines I've been around - and believe you me, there's been plenty - 'fraid I haven't seen hide nor... hair, no pun intended, of your kind."

"Hold on a moment there," the Corellian said, both hands raised placatingly. "I didn't mean anything by it, though I could have phrased it better, I admit."

She looked at the datapad she held in her left hand and marked in it for a moment.

"Sorry to interrupt, Office Vek, but how are those instruments treating you? The bacta's not leaking out of the tanks, are they? Everything's still fairly new."

"I think I'll just sit right here until the galaxy stops deciding it would be funny to take a nice, big, stinking crap on me, thanks," Ben said, still sitting beside the docked hover-stretcher.

Annoyed again by interruptions, the Doctor paused his numerous scans of Hal's blood.

"The appropriate title is Vek, alternative basic analogue Doctor, military subset Chief Medical Officer. And yes, facilities adequate for cursory dispensation of medical aid and/or stabilization and triage of medical emergencies en route to dedicated Alliance facilities."

He blinked, forgetting the human was attempting to be helpful, and that behavior should be encouraged.

"Thank you."

He looked to Ben, and frowned.

"Have observed this one earlier in stage of mild shock. Kindly discourage exacerbation of anxiety attack. Ruthless application of sedatives now threatened twice."

Cirr nodded at the mention of Nehantite mechanical prowess.

"You'd be surrprrjised Lyanjie. jI've crrossed paths wjith one that turrns a spannerr everry bjit as good as we do."

He looked to Sindy as the hub-ub erupted, and shrugged. He was about to ask Ben when the Doctor cut him off and again threatened draconian measures.

"Doc, nobody needs sedatjives, everrythjing wjill be fjine."

Probably.

Still poring over the data, the doctor tsked audibly

"Pathogens detected, priority minor, virulence secondary. Threat negligible. Ah..."

He glanced to Hal, and dipped his head deferentially.

"...decorum. Prefer to discuss in private."

I got nothin'.

Me either. Whatever this is, it can't be good.

Trying to shut out his inner dialogue, Hal looked back at Vek, hints of worry on his face as his ears drooped unevenly. His mouth felt dry as he answered, "Uh, yeah. Okay, Doc."

His pulse found itself rising as his breath sped up along with it. Before he'd been frozen, Hal had invested a significant amount of money in a carbonite freezing technolgy company. They had promised that the technology could keep foods and medicines absolutely perfectly fresh, but they had admitted that it had occasional adverse affects on living subjects. In the back of his mind, the Nehantite began to play through all the possibilities of things that could be wrong with him.

In the end, it was better not to speculate, he decided, and instead followed Vek into the doctor's tiny office, closing the door behind him. The look of worry was unmistakable about his entire form.

The body language cues, if he interpreted them correctly, told him his patient was on edge about the summons to privacy. He was quick to put aside fears. After all, he needed stability.

"As mentioned, negligible thread. Decorum still advised."

He blinked.

"Pathogen detected was novirium squalominex. In vulgar parlance, Novarian Flux. Venereal disease. No mortality consideration given, although social mores suggest doctor patient confidentiality oaths honored to utmost degree."

Ha ha ha ha ha!

Shut it, you!

You got the Alderranian Clap!

I said shut it!

Don't you ever think to use protection?

She said she was clean! And she was hot!

If I remember right, she stole your wallet, too.

Yeah, but... but she was hot!

Done with arguing with himself, Hal's shoulders slumped and he leaned back against the wall, pondering what to do. At last he looked up with a smile of faint, longshot hope, and he asked, "Is there, a, uh... I mean, there's a cure for that, right?"

By all accounts, Hal didn't appear surprised that he had it, only dismayed.

The doctor quickly nodded.

"Archaic affliction, a curiosity. Routine antibiotic regimen to assault into dormancy."

He paused, allowing an unsaid "but"

"Regimen to be continued indefinitely, but quality of life not seriously impacted."

Could have been worse. Could have been Hutt-Butt.

Or Wookiee-Warts.

Oof, yeah, hairy warts aren't what we want down there, do we?

Heeeeeeell no.

The hopeful smile on Hal's face warmed into a real one. In his day, there wasn't much that could be done for the Flux, but given a century of medical advancements, he knew that such embarrassing conditions would most likely be corrected or contained. After all, wealthy businessmen often like to have a way out of problems they got themselves into, he figured.

His posture improving, Hal breathed a sigh of relief, then nodded. "Gotcha. And you can write me a prescription for that, right? And... as long as it's dormant, it won't pass on, will it?" He dearly, dearly hoped not, as the condom in his wallet was now one hundred and six years past its expiration date, and it was the only one he had.

The closest approximation of a smile he had.

"Astute observation and correct. Attentive treatment prevents transmission. Prescription no hardship."

He quickly jotted down notes onto a PDA with a stylus. The dispensary would take care of his needs.

"Another matter I would discuss. Observation. No immediate medical complication. Satisfy...curiosity."

Okay, this is new.

Not just me, then?

Why, what were you thinking?

Nerf tacos with yamak sauce, deep-fried and served on a stick.

We're not thinking the same thing. Also, what the hell is wrong with you?

Dunno. You're the smart one, you tell me.

Again he had to stop arguing with himself, and instead he quirked an eyebrow. "Okay, well, what's up?"

"Observation of tissue at subcelluar level. Activity of life form universally observed, but with elevated concentration and intracellular interaction."

He narrowed his eyes.

"Midichlorian. Aware of historical data on universality of symbiosis. Level of symbiosis not typically observed. Jedi sect derives spiritual meaning from causality. Am quick to notate correlation. Is this observation incorrect?"