Yes, house calls still happen.

Posted on Sun Jul 11th, 2021 @ 9:34pm by Lieutenant JG Vespa Kale & Lieutenant Commander James Trallos MD

Mission: Season Two - Incidentals
Location: Lieutenant Kale's quarters
Timeline: Day following leaving the Nebula

James waited for the turbolift. He was glad to get out of sickbay. Prior to this nebula mess, he had to repair or replace teeth once or twice. Now, it seemed half the ship was missing a tooth or broke one in a gigantic bar brawl. He left the battered to mend on their own and only focused on the bigger issues, broken bones and noses, missing teeth, lacerations and the like. Brusing would heal naturally and save him time. Right now though, it was time for his house call.

He walked into the lift and made his way for the officer's quarters. He had refreshed himself on duality as best he could before he met with Lieutenant Kale. The read the theory of it, but that was all it could be for him was theory. Never having experienced that, he could only do his best to understand. His best seemed to be all he had these days. He found the Lieutenant's room and pressed the door chime.

When the door swished open, one of the two forms that composed Vespa Kale stood there, to receive and greet him, "Hello doctor." she said with a smile, still a little shaky from the events just a day ago it seemed. "Thank you for coming, please come in." she stood aside to grant him entrance.

"In Dia's graces I welcome you, as one traveler..." and in the middle of whatever welcoming ceremony, she just up and stopped talking. From slightly further inside her quarters, not more than twenty feet away in the kitchen was her twin form, identical in every way. Well, aside from the residual marking of the phaser burn. "... to another." her twin finished the greeting, as though she were the initial speaker.

"There's a joke that I usually prepare snacks for two." and the pair giggled in unison. "Can I offer you a drink? I'm still working on some home cuisine and I'd hate to poison you..." and then it happened again. The conversation ended, and shifted across the room to the other twin, who picked it up flawlessly, "... with poor hospitality, or food that just doesn't taste right by any account. Still, I can get you a coffee. It's black though, which I hear is normal."

The doctor followed one of the pair in. "Black coffee is just how I drink it, thank you. Although, I wouldn't mind sampling some Dalacari cuisine sometime. You can learn a lot about a culture and how they function by what they eat." He said watching the two operate independently yet together. "One of the perks of space travel. Although, I do admit, I'm not as much of a fan of Klingon food. Sometimes I think they make the food up as they go just to see if a human will eat it."

He shook his head. "I digress. Food on the mind I guess. Anyway, how are you feeling?"

"Oh I can certainly share some with you, once I get the fabricator to cooperate. Single..."

"... instance life must enjoy Dalacari cuisine since by your perspective we tend to..."

"... over prepare." The conversation went back and forth between the pair effortlessly, like a pair of masters playing table tennis. The form closest to the good doctor slowly made her way closer to her twin, until the pair were a comfortable distance apart. It didn't even seem voluntary, more like a homing instinct. "As for your question, I've been feeling a bit, well it's hard to describe. I feel..."

"... like I'm off balance, even with both feet on the floor. It's certainly related to being..."

"... half-unconscious, but also that, well, I'm a bit off recognition." And the form in the kitchen showed off the spot on her shoulder where she was shot. Where she was shot and her twin was not.

"Could you do something so it's less noticable? Discomfort wise as well as visually?" She asked.

"As long as I know it's there on just one body, it's going to bother the hell out of me." She asked, suddenly a little self conscious about the absurdity of the request.

The doctor made his way over to the form from the Kitchen and inspected the area. It was healing nicely, and would not take too long to be nearly noticeable. Few days at most. He set his bag down and rummaged through looking for something. "Well, I think I can fix the disorienting portion easy enough." He said pulling a hypo out, checking a padd and making a small adjustment. "This should sort that out some. Tell your people thanks for their medical journal and basic anatomy and physiology books." He said and softly pressed the hypo to the one form and pressed it.

"You should start feeling a little more alert and a little more balanced. Wide beam stun is much different than focused full." He said indicating to one then the other. "Normal side effects from the stun. Usually goes away in a day or so, but this should make it more please to wait. Far as the look goes," he said and rummaged again. "I have two options to make you symmetrical. The first option is none to pleasent, so I will just assume you want option two." He said and pulled some cotton padding and tape from his kit.

"What you can't see, won't hurt." He said and taped a large cotton square over the wound that was regrowing fur. After covering the injured form, he went to the other form and put the cotton over the same place and taped it closed. "You are regrowing your fur nicely, and I don't want to artificially speed it up. So, I'll hide it and have you both still look the same. How does that work for you?"

Watching a Dalacari relax was an interesting sensation. The body that received the hypospray, received the actual care and attention relaxed because it received the actual care and attention. It received the medical aid. The OTHER body relaxed, but it was less of a relief of issue, and more a removal of anxiety. It relaxed because there was nothing to fret over. "That feels so much better, thank you." she offered, while her twin remained still during the treatment.

"And of course. No offense to the academies that taught you, but the Republic doubts that they taught or covered binary biology." she continued. It was silence for a moment as the cotton swap proxy was put into place, and that's when Vespa came in to really investigate. She got close, pretty close, but never to the point of contact. It was the twin that was being investigated that spoke next, "Well, it looks the part, and feels the part. That's two of my ghosting senses there, so it should work. Thank you again so so much." and the pair relaxed, moving to a more casual distance apart, a more casual positioning.

"It's not a matter of hurt, it's... hard to explain. Dalacari have the same senses you do, presumably." she smirked. "Three of them are known as the Ghosting..."

"... Senses, since they also deal with a Dalacari's sense of self. Sight, Touch, and Scent. If we see a problem with our other body, if we feel something is off, or..."

"... if there's just something odd about the way I smell, it can throw off a few warning reflexes. I feel an injury across both bodies, but only one of them is..."

"... actually hurt, so that's the Touch sense. I know there's an injury, but it's limited to one shoulder. Or one ankle." she gave a few exampled. "But somewhere in our..."

"... brain, we remember being swarm predators, and differences and such set off flags that it's hard to ignore. And we get caught up in the moment. We dead set focus..."

"... on things like that. Almost obsessing, I guess is the best word."

The doctor nodded. "Being a singular life form I only understand in the theory of it. Based on the binary knowledge your Republic provided, it made sense" He paused and smirked at the pun he made by accident. "To patch both of you up. You both will see the same thing, feel the tape over the same spot and smell the cotton and tape. I admit, the smell was extra. Was not sure how strong that sense is for you." He looked them both up and down and satisfied to his human eyes they looked identical, he nodded.

"That seems to take care of the superficial." He said and looked at the noninjured one first, then the other and back to the first. "What about the psychological? I understand the lost of a twin is highly traumatic for Dalacari. While it was not permanent, you" He nodded to the uninjured one "probably felt as if the other was gone. How are you" He indicated to the first, then the second with his head "doing?"

The pair gave a smile each. Wide, but no teeth. "I..." the uninjured one spoke first, "... am doing as well as can be. I knew I wasn't Stranded, but being half-unconscious is as close as anyone really gets to that, and no one wants that kind..."

"... of experience. It's... Dia's knees this phrase is getting a workout today, it's hard to explain. I don't think I rightly could explain it, but you're right in that..."

"... it was not a fun experience, and it'll be a while before me and the counselor are what you would say 'on good terms', but I don't blame her." she paused, "Please..."

"... let her know, at least until I'm ready to tell her myself?" she paused, to return to the initial topic at hand. "Separation anxiety is really most directly fixed by proximity." she started.

"I lost myself there for a moment. Being around myself is the best cure. I already ran the nursery rhyme." the pair giggled.

"Ear, Nose, Touch your Toes, Fingertip Fingertip wag the tail." she said in a sing-song manner. "It teaches kids how to ensure there's no loss of function or sensation in the event..."

"... you get separated. You wiggle your ears, you touch your nose, you touch your toes. Touch your thumb to each fingertip, then wag your tail. Hits just about every..."

"... routine motion, and checks sensation from every extremity."

The doctor nodded. "Excellent. I'm glad it appears to be a quick recovery." He looked them both over. "Well, I'll be acting counselor for you in the interim until Lieutenant Hart can get back to duty. I'm going to keep you off duties for the rest of the week. Give you a chance to fully recover. By that time, your fur should be reasonably close to returned." He said looking at the injured one. "Once it is close enough for you to not notice, then you can take the bandages off both of you fully. Does that sound fair?"

The pair nodded, "It does, thank you very much." spoke the uninjured one. "It means a lot that you're willing to help. Not just since you're a doctor, but to be so understanding of another..."

"... person's needs, or in my case, psychological quirks. On the surface it must sound so vain, but it means a lot to me. Thank you." she paused as she considered something. "So, you're going..."

"... to be acting counselor as well? Oh that's going to be a lot. I'll try to keep any calls I make to semi-emergencies, rather than just jumping at shadows." she offered.

"I appreciate all you've done, and all you're probably bound to do."

The doctor thought a moment. "Yeah, acting is the right word, although probably more literally than officially. While I'm trained in whole patient care, Lieutenant Hart is exponentially more qualified than I am in that field. I'm just filling in so she can get some rest. Anyway, I'm still qualified for whatever the issue, including any quarks." He smiled at her. "Even if it is problems with the fur not being right. That isn't really vain so much as an itch. It's there and you want to scratch it until it goes away. You just call me up anytime you need."

She gave a pair of nods, "Thank you, I certainly will. It's been very nice to meet you doctor, and while I wish it were under better circumstances I guess you never..."

"... really know how good the local doctor is until you need them. Again, thank you. If there's anything on my mind, and I'm too nervous to talk to the counselor..."

"... about it, it's good to know I can talk with you." the pair went back and forth in the compliment train. Fortunately for the doctor's neck, they were seated close enough that getting the pair in eyeshot at the same time was relatively easy.

"And, it'd be rude otherwise, if you want to just talk with me about what it's like to be a Dalacari, please go right ahead. I'll answer any question that I..."

"... can, just don't ask about my eating habits." she paused. "I like to eat. It's a habit." she joked with a flowing giggle.

The doctor chuckled. "My dear, you are in good company then. It's a habit I indulge in probably to much." He said putting a hand to his stomach. "We will need to indulge these habits one of these days together." He said and thought a moment. "Well, since you offered, I'll ask. How is your experience on the ship going, getting stunned aside? Must be a large adjustment to singular existence."

"Oh aside from getting shot, fantastic." she said, amused. "It's a bit of an adjustment period, to be certain. There's still a part of me that's looking for everyone's..."

"... other half, and I'm always holding back the notion that you are are Stranded. But no, single instance life is just the norm outside of the Republic, so..."

"... it's just another of life's curiosities. Life, in any quantity, is so absolutely fascinating. Fascinating, and mysterious." She paused, "It must be so exhausting to have to walk..."

"... all the way across the room for something you want." she mentioned, with an amused tone. "I can at least cover half the room personally." a wide smile. She was clearly comfortable, and amused.

The doctor nodded. "Oh believe me, I'm lazy enough. Bad enough I use the replicator constantly and have the computer change my channels. Last thing I need is another one of me splitting what little workload I do carry." He said then laughed. "Well, actually I doubt anything would change. My other half would be just as lazy so I would just get twice as much not done."

She giggled at his notion. Then giggled again at the prospect of his hypothetical binary nature. "Back home, we have drones who handle most of the day to day for us. They drive our vehicles, tend to the yard work, fetch our laundry, prepare our food, tend to..."

"... minor medical needs, coordinate defenses, manage the weather... Oh I think you'd love Dalacar. Or any of her worlds really." Now Vespa was starting to sound borderline homesick.

He fished out a padd from his bag. "And where did you say your Republic worlds are located again? He asked pretending to write in his padd. "I'll just file that under future retirement homeworld. Will they take singular instance lifeforms as residents?" He asked putting his padd back. "I would enjoy a visit to your homeworld if they will have me. As a doctor, always interested in xenobiology and other cultures."

She smiled, "We're very welcoming of singular instance life. Our closest allies just *happen* to also be single instance lifeforms." she kept the smile going across both forms. "The entirety of the Dalacari..."

"... Republic is in the Delta Quadrant, with the possible exception of a single star system far away from home. Secret projects and all." she said, very hush hush. "But you'd be more than welcome..."

"... to visit. I'd be happy to show you around, though we'd have to stick to the visitation centers. They adjust the gravity for visitor comfort there. Normal comfortable gravity..."

"... for a Dalacari is 1.3 gravities, as you measure it. Or just 1 Gravity, as we measure it." she said, playfully sticking out her tongue. "Perspective, and all."

He nodded. "Perspective is a big thing. Well, I appreciate the conversions, but will gladly make the conversion as well on Dalacari. So 1.3 huh?" He said and put his hand through his beard then looked at his waist. "I'd gladly move out of the visitor center if it's permitted. A little extra gravity might do me some good working off that eating habit we share." He said and looked up. "Although I would follow any ordinance your government does with restriction to offworld travelers."

He smiled at her. "I have a thing for the cultures. Maybe because I'm from a family that to most people has none, but has a rich and unique human culture, it's just harder to find." He thought at least. "Visiting other planets, if it's permitted, I tend to avoid the tourist places and visit the smaller villages and cities to experience what the native people eat, drink and do and not just what tends to sell well if you get my meaning."

She got a little comfy, her uninjured body sitting across from him. "Well, safety is our highest priority. If you wanted to visit outside of a controlled area, we'd have to ensure that you weren't being adversely affected by the higher..."

"... gravity. A training program would be put into place to help you endure and survive, and even be able to live, in the higher gravity. Though, it's possible." she offered with a smirk.

"Until then, I can try to get some simulations of Dalacar from the network and translate them for use here on the Pennsylvania. A taste of home, perhaps. Some..."

"... simulated cuisine, a few drinks, a Dalacari sunset. We could watch the drones on patrol, relax on the beach." she giggled, "Then when we get to Dalacar I can take you to the..."

"... city. You could meet my folks, and they'd be terribly disappointed in you. Like parents." she giggled at this, both forms waving the thought away. "No no, you're my friend. I'd never subject you to..."

"... that torture. Cities, yes. Shopping and culture, yes. Cuisine and the art of alcohol, absolutely. But meeting my family? Only as a friend."

He laughed. "Well, I'm not much of eye candy by any race standards I think. Also wouldn't be the first time I've disappointed parents. For multiple reasons." He smirked. "I would enjoy that if we could run a simulation. Maybe even get some training in. I would very much enjoy a tour sometime." He paused. "You mentioned alcohol?"

"Naturally. Dalacari exploratory sciences and anthropology have theorized that the discovery of alcohol is one of the key moments in any emergent society. They made a bid to ..."

"... actually have it classified as a symbol of societal intelligence. Like the mastery of fire and stone tools. A subdivision of an agricultural revolution. They were turned down, but it..."

"... is certainly an interesting theory. Almost every intelligent race every discovered or encountered by the Dalacari has some form of alcohol. There's only one exception, but they're..."

"... essentially the exception to almost every rule the anthropological society has. That would be the Slate. They're silicon based, though, so they're literally in a classification all their own." she paused, and through for a moment before she was satisfied with the words she chose.

"But, I'd love to give you a tour. I might need to coordinate with a communications officer, but I might be able to get started on that simulation within the week."

The doctor nodded. "That sounds wonderful. An in person tour would have to wait anyway until we are docked at the Starbase for a period of time. Being the only primary doctor and all my extended leave options are limited, but a virtual visit would be enjoyable as well in the interim."

She gave a pair of nods. "Of course. I've taken up a lot of your time, but I'm not apologizing. I got to meet a marvelous new friend today, and I got to experience a demonstration of Starfleet..."

"... Medical at its best. A caring check in on a crewmate and a friend, I hope." she offered. "But, I'm very impressed. Ten for ten, gold star, hit that trend."

She paused, "Dalacari are, somewhat enamored with the concept of trends. We like to be in the here and now."

The doctor nodded. "A friend you have indeed. This would probably be a first for me if I was in any trend." He laughed. "Not something I've ever been known for."

"Which, trending or being a friend? Cause right now you're doing good for both. I'll tell you what." she smirked, "If there's a vote for best doctor, I'll vote for you twice." she offered with a smile.

"I don't think your tabulation systems are ready for Dalacari influence." she giggled.

He smiled. "I appreciate the 'vote' of confidence in my skills." He said and picked up his bag. "Well, I better keep my rounds going. If you need anything Lieutenant, just give me a call."



Lieutenant James Trallos MD
Chief Medical Officer
USS Pennsylvania

Lieutenant JG Vespa Kale
Asst. Chief Science Officer
USS Pennsylvania