Humans Bearing Gifts

Posted on Thu 28th May, 2020 @ 5:00am by Lieutenant JG Kellian Michaels & Makila i'Hartelhai

1,447 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Resolution
Location: Makila i'Hartelhai's home
Timeline: 1900 hours

(Previously)
Kellian took another sip of the sangria-like drink. "Shall I show you the security system you asked about?"

* * *

"Oh yes, please do." Makila practically bounced in place, and met his eyes with her own gaze. "Do I need to make room on the table or...?"

"I think the table should be fine," Kellian said. "First, I'll show you the user's manual, and I'll take out each item as we go over it, okay?"

"Excellent" Makila moved the plant and the book she'd been using off to the side so that he could open the case he'd brought with him.

"Where do we start?" she asked quietly, her eyes tracing over his strong features. He is lovely. I wonder if I can make an excuse for him to come here more often.

"I looked up the blueprints to the clinic," Kellian said. "Am I correct that you have a lobby, an examination room, a front office, a restroom, a lab, and storage for medical instruments, linens, and medications?"

"We actually have two storage areas, one connected to the clinic and one on the main floor on the other side of where the market is held, just in case we need something and we're at a house call. For the clinic itself that information is correct. "

"I'll make a note to bring you an additional camera and entry sensor," Kellian said. "So here's what I've brought. Two entry sensors--one for the clinic's public entrance and one for the supply delivery entrance. Two motion sensors--one for the lobby, and one for the pharmaceuticals storage. I've brought a camera for each room of the clinic. The restroom is a questionable area. I can imagine you not wanting a camera there for obvious privacy reasons, but I can also see an argument for including some kind of alert button if a patient gets into trouble in there. Additionally, there's an alert button for you and one for your father, to alert Security of unwelcome visitors."

"Fair enough, I agree with you on the restroom. I think that help button should be both clear and visible to all. The Blues or Spectrum might get to them first though if someone were to enter with malicious intent." she grinned at him, remembering the men she'd caught glimpses of in the faction colors clearly guarding her threshold.

"What are the Blues and Spectrum?" Kellian asked.

Cocking her head to one side she simply gazed at him, almost amazed that he was unaware of the factions within Brown Sector. "They are two of the factions that compete down there for resources. There are a number of them, 5 if I recall correctly. I've seen them guarding our door periodically."

"So they are protecting your clinic, not threatening it." Kellian thought about that. "Why are they having to fight for resources? There should be more than enough to go around, but you're right; there isn't. Or at least, there doesn't seem to be. That deck we were on looked run-down and the people thin. It's a cottage economy down there. I'm trying to make sense of it."

"Indeed. It is my understanding that they operate much like the gangs of the old Earth cities used to operate. I have a few unaffiliated contacts that helped me get a more thorough understanding of the social structure down there. It is very different than anything I've ever encountered before. These people are more than just factions, they are families. Odd and extended, but families none the less." Her fingers stroked her black curls thoughtfully.

"A lot of street gangs are families to their members," Kellian agreed. He grimaced. "And occasional families are gangs of a sort, as well." With an effort, he told himself that now was not the time to travel down that road. "So there aren't street gangs on ch'Rihan?" He winced. "I mean, there weren't?"

"I don't actually have any idea. I could ask Father, or perhaps one of the diplomats. I was born on Romulus, and I have the look of her people, but I haven't been back since Papa took me away to save my life. They don't like highborn half breeds, and my Birthfather was going to kill me."

Kellian blinked. "Well, I'm glad he didn't get the chance to." Why in the world would someone want to kill a woman like this, just for being born? he wondered. At least Grandpa had a reason. "How old were you, if you don't mind me asking?"

"When Papa saved me? Newly born." Makila quietly sighed and shook her head "He often tells me of how he heard my mother's husband speaking of the horrors he would put me through before putting the half-breed out of her misery. I am forever grateful for him, saving me and bringing me here. He taught me to be a doctor at his side, and he didn't even realize it. He'll be shocked when I take my exams."

Kellian abruptly smiled. "I think you'll make a fantastic doctor, one your patients will trust. And I'm glad you were too young to remember your father by blood. He sounds like--as horrible a person as any I've ever met. I don't understand a parent who would kill their own child."

"I can't imagine it either, but..." she shrugged as a flash of wistfulness went through her eyes. "I don't have any children to compare the feeling to, if you know what I mean."

Kellian burst out laughing. "Well, there are always teenage mishaps, to give you the experience. I am quite sure my Dad felt like murdering me the night I wrapped his new car around a tree. The only thing that saved me was, I wasn't drunk. That, and he was worried sick."

"I am not actually sure what a car is, but I know Father was full of rage when I made a paper mache sculpture out of one of his medical books. It was an old one, but it was an actual physical book. I'm glad now that it was on human anatomy and it wasn't something from Romulus that couldn't be replaced." His laughter stirred a warmth inside her and she found herself wanting to hear it again.

"You made papier-mache out of a book?" Kellian gave a low whistle. "I'm not sure I would have survived that experience. I think my Dad must be like yours about books."

It was nice to be able to talk so casually about his father with someone, without having to always be careful, Kellian thought. There was just something about Makila that made him feel comfortable around her. Too comfortable? a part of him wondered. He thought about that. No, she was the real deal--straightforward and good-hearted. "What do you like to do when you aren't working at the clinics and studying for medical exams?" he asked.

"I enjoy many things, though I have found the holodeck and the ability to explore worlds far beyond my own to be quite liberating. The new spa, is also a place that I enjoy being. The peace of the live plants and the scent of water just brings me calm. I am not certain why, maybe the novelty since I've never been planetside that I can recall. I also enjoy singing, which I think you noticed earlier. "

Kellian gave Makila an interested look. "I play an Earth musical instrument called a cello. Maybe we could sing and play a duet sometimes or go out to a concert." A duet, Kellian thought, mentally rolling his eyes. That has got to be the worst pick-up line.

Her eyes crinkled with amusement at his discomfort at the corners as she looked at him, and nodded. "I'd like that. Very much."

"So would I," Kellian said. "It's amazing to me that you've never been planetside. Do you ever want to go somewhere and see what it's like, outside of a holodeck?"

"I've always been fascinated with it, but I've just never had the opportunity." grinning she decided to tease him just a little "That wasn't an offer, was it?"

"Unless you want to visit Nāmaka," Kellian said, "but that's not really what I had in mind. I was thinking more of a planet you could walk on, where you could see the sun overhead and feel the wind on your face."

"You don't miss what you've never known, but yes, I would enjoy the experience. I would say there are many experiences that I would enjoy." Her smile turned wicked as she gazed at him through dark eyelashes.

 

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