A ghostly question
Posted on Fri Apr 17th, 2020 @ 5:33am by Commander Sthilg & Ensign Olivia (Carter) Voight
Edited on on Fri Apr 17th, 2020 @ 5:46am
Mission:
MISSION 0 - History Speaks
Location: Medbay.
2284 words - 4.6 OF Standard Post Measure
" What?" The gorn asked the image that was haunting his eyesight as he looked up from his paperwork. The Orion simply stood there looking at him with the dark green eyes as beautiful as the day he had pulled her from the pit he'd found her in. It was bizzar. For years he'd given anything to see her again and now that he was he wanted her gone. Well at least to know why she was popping up at random.
" Doctor Voight may I have a word in my office pleassse?" The reptile said into his departmental com as he kept trying to not look at the ghostly Orion.
Olivia was looking over a couple reports that would get submitted once they were completed with all the needed information. One of the reports dealt with a list of supplies that would need to be restocked when they got back to one of the stations that would be able to handle the supply request. She looked up from the reports when Dr. Sthilg's voice came over the comm system in her office. Getting up from her desk, Olivia headed out of her office and over to Dr Sthilg's office.
Everything alight Doctor Sthilg?," Olivia asked walking into his office.
The lizard let out a sigh as he pointed to the corner. " Can you pleassse confirm for the record that no one is standing there." He said calmly as he pointed the corner.
Olivia looked over at the corner that Sthilg had indicated and then back at him. "I can confirm that there is no one standing in that corner," Olivia replied. She stepped closer to the desk. "Is everything alright, sir?"
" No everything is not alright Voight." The gorn said rubbing his head in frustration. " Why my long-dead wife has ssstarted haunting me is a complete myssstery "
Olivia tilted her head to one side for a moment as she thought about what Sthilg had said about his wife. She stepped over to one of the chairs in his office and sat down. "Granted I don't know you or others all that well yet," Olivia said, "but have you considered that she might be trying to warn you about something that could happen at some point in the near future or remind you of something that would be important to the both of you?"
The gorn chuckled slightly at that before letting out a sigh. " My wife is dead Olvia and ssshe has been for over two hundred years. Now I'm ssstarting to sssee her as clear as the day I ressscued her and I don't know why. I've run all the tessstsss I can think of on my head and yet I've found nothing. I've never thought of myssself as anything other than a materialissst, yet now I may have no choice, but to look into a sssupernatural explanation. Why ssshe may be popping up is another quessstion. "
“Could it be your subconscious’ way of trying to tell you something?,” Olivia asked. “It could be using your wife’s image to get your attention. Even with all that we have learned over the centuries about medicine, the mind can be a mystery still on certain things. Just like everyone is different on how they handle stress, we don’t all process it the same way.”
" Perhapsss." The gorn said as he leaned forward on his chair. " But what my mind could be telling me..." He said as he reached into his deck and pulled out a an ancient-looking journal and pencel that seemed antique among the rest. " I've been keeping a record of every time ssshe'sss appeared and their'sss been no patter."
“Are you sure about there not being a pattern?,” Olivia asked. “Did you by chance record what you were doing each time along with the location? There is the off chance that there may be a pattern that you haven’t considered yet. Granted my knowledge on Gorn traditions are limited, but could your mind be trying to remind you of something you could of forgotten to do and is using the image of your wife to remind you of said tradition or ritual?”
" No no pattern." The gorn said as he slid the notepad over. The pages were all laid out neatly and professionally with when he'd seen her, what he was thinking and doing and how long she was around for. " As for my people'sss traditionsss and ritual it's posssssible, but I'll admit I know very little about my people'sss beliefsss so what it could be is beyond me. Most of my colony died long ago and me and the ssshaman got along like Klingonsss and romulansss. I know of the hunting groundsss, but I've ssseen no physssical proof it existsss."
Olivia leaned forward slightly and looked over the notes that Sthilg had made in regards to the appearances of his long dead wife. "Are you sure about there not being a pattern?," Olivia asked. "Some of her appearances seem to be when there are different functions that you have attended and other times when you would be caught up in doing some of your work." Olivia looked over some more of the notes that Sthilg had made. "If you don't mind me asking sir, just how did your wife die all those years ago? How well did you handle the situation? It could be that there is some unfinished business that you didn't think about that needs to be dealt with in regards to her death." Olivia thought for a moment. "Then again it could be related to a child that the two of you had if you two got around to having one."
The last sentence hit the gorn right in his sole. It wasn't her fault she didn't know, but for a moment he was back in that room with the feeling of his heart being ripped out of his chest. " Ssshassssssou died giving birth to our daughter who was ssstillborn." he said almost choking on the words. " We ssshould never have tried the drugsss needed to make gorn and Orion compatible were beyond primitive, but ssshe wanted to hold are child in her armsss. I completely went catatonic when I lossst both of them. The next thing I remember was W'uvol outside my door two weeks later."
"I'm sorry to hear that you lost both of them of them in such a way," Olivia replied. "How well do you know of the traditions for your wife's people? Maybe there a tradition that she followed before the two of you got together that she is trying to remind you of to do for her and the daughter the two of you have together. Then again there could be some other thing that the two of you used to do together that she is trying to get you to remember as a way of remembering her and your daughter."
" Maybe. My wife'sss people no longer considered my Ssshassssssou a sssentiant lifeform after they burned the brand into her back. She followed very few of their customsss. " The gorn replied as he tapped the side of his head. He was feeling like he was forgetting something very important.
Olivia nodded slightly as she thought for a moment. "The few that she did follow, was there one that was important to her?," Olivia asked. "While you two were together, did the two of you start your own traditions that you had planned on passing down to your children originally before she died so suddenly? Maybe she is trying to remind you of something along that line."
" She loved dancing, music and old Orion literature. The ssstuff from before the ssslaversss gained power in their sssociety. Ssshe ussse to joke are little girl was going to be the Orion chosen one who would bring the ssslaversss down for good." The gorn replied a tear falling down his left eye. " I'm sssorry thessse are painful memories to remember," he said wiping his eye with the sleeve of his uniform.
Olivia nodded slightly once more as she looked over the notes once more that Sthilg had made in his journal. "It is possible she wants you to remember the good times that you to had together," Olivia replied. "Then there is also the possibility that she some how knows that we are having to deal with the slavers now in order to get our crew members back. There might be a way to honor the memory of your wife and daughter by taking them down for good now. At least this batch of them."
" Maybe." The gorn pondered. " But ssshe first appeared in the promotion ceremony before we got into thisss messsss with the ssslaversss."
"Could it be that she was maybe trying to warn you ahead of time in some way?," Olivia asked. "That something like this was taking place here and that it could be an opportunity to do something. From my understanding, if it hadn't been for the Q the ship wouldn't be here at this planet to begin with and that could some how effect things in some way as well."
" Perhapsss. I'm sssorry for troubling you with thisss. I know the lassst thing the team needsss right now is the possssssibility of the team leader losssing his mind. " The old gorn replied.
Olivia smiled slightly as she thought for a moment. "Is that even possible?," Olivia asked. "You losing your mind, that is. Besides it a mystery worth solving, if only for your peace of mind. Plus you still have a lot to offer skill wise."
" Maybe..." The gorn doctor said with a sense of worrying in his voice. " I hope i find sssomething to explain thisss that isss't my mind ssstriting to fail. "
"I seriously doubt that you are starting to lose your mind," Olivia replied. "Besides you still have a lot to offer. Plus, I'm sure there is still a lot that you still want to accomplish in your life."
" I hope your right. I'll keep recording when I ssse her to sssee if I can find sssome pattern and i have an appointment with ssscience divisssion to sssee if they can find anything wrong with me. " The gorn replied hopefully.
"I'm sure that a pattern will reveal itself to you at some point," Olivia replied. "Maybe in the mean time, the appearance of your wife at the random times, can possibly bring you some comfort and joy in remembering the good times that the two of you had together."
The gorn nooded in reply. " I'm sure it will. Thank you for your time Voight."
"Just let me know if I can help out any more at some point," Olivia replied. "If you want to change things up some anytime, you could always start setting up sessions to teach us some of the old school ways of doing things. Could be a good refresher on how to do certain things when we don't have access to all the current technology that we have now."
" I will Voight. " The gorn said warmly. An old dog could still teach old tricks.
"Plus, I'm sure you had to get creative at times with doing things over the years," Olivia replied. Thinking for a moment, Olivia tilted her head slightly. "I don't know if this is anything, but it worth considering as well. Maybe your wife reappearing at the random times so far is her way of telling you to take a little time for yourself every so often."
The gorn paused before replying with a simple "Perhapssse, but why now and not in the 250 yearsss sssince I lost her?"
Olivia thought for a moment before replying. "Could be possible that she had a bit of learning to do herself," Olivia replied. "We don't know everything when it comes to the after life. It could mean that now was the first chance she was allow to appear to you."
The doctor's words did jog something in the back of the gorns mind. A very old tale he could remember from the village shaman. " Maybe it's taken her that long to reach the end of the path. Though why the all mother would allow her to come back isss ssstrange. Sssory old gorn afterlife tale." He said realising she'd have no idea what he was talking about.
Olivia smiled slightly as she listened to her Gorn boss. “Maybe your wife was finally able to prove herself to the Gorn all mother,” Olivia replied. “It could explain why she is revealing herself to you now.”
" But why just ssstand there and look at me if ssshe had something to sssay?" the gorn added.
“Could be one of two options there,” Olivia replied. “Either she hasn’t learned how to speak to you yet from the other side or she hasn’t been granted permission to do so just yet.”
The gorn pushed for a second as his mind finished flicking through his mind library as it had found what it was after. " Maybe. But there may be sssomething we could do about it. I'll need to do sssome resssearch, but I think there may be an old gorn ritual to contact the other ssside. "
"I'm sure you will figure it out," Olivia replied. "If you need any help with it just let me know."
" I will." The gorn said as he watched the trill leave his office. He had some work to do.
Olivia nodded as she headed out of the office and out in the main part of Sickbay to check over a few things.
Lieutenant Commander Sthilg
Chief Medical Officer
USS Elysium
Lieutenant Olivia Voight
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Elysium
