Need a Refill

Posted on Mon 22nd Sep, 2025 @ 8:51am by Commander Heriah Rex & Lieutenant Victor Delling MD

1,026 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: From The Ashes
Location: Sick Bay
Timeline: After: Never and a Day

Out of her meds, Heriah hurriedly made her way to Sickbay. She held her empty hypospray as though she was caring for a small sick animal. Her isoboramine levels needed to remain in balance and her medication, the benzocyatizine, was needed to help do just that. Unfortunately, her empty hypospray was meant to supply exactly that, but it was aforementionedly...empty. She sent the final quarter dose a few minutes ago in her quarters. She massaged the side of her neck, hoping to send the medication forth and hoping against hope that it would somehow amplify the effects of the quarter dose.

She could get the rest after a refill. She had already spent her user-authorized one-time refill. That was a few months ago. Now, a refill required a CMO, in this case, Dr. Delling.

She stormed into Sick Bay and headed straight to Delling's office. Seeing that he was hard at work behind his terminal, she waited as patiently as she could until he could see her.

There had been a time, where the entry of someone into his office without recourse to the staff on duty would have caused him anxiety, especially with the heaviness of footstep that implied anger. Now, Victor simply cast a glance up through heavy eyelashes to see the XO of the station standing there with a clear impatience in her every line. "Commander?" he asked quietly, without taking his finger off of the PADD he was reviewing.

"Doctor Delling," she held her hypospray as though a broken favorite toy. "I need a refill of benzocyatizine. I..." anxiety was seeping in and her hand started to shake minutely. "I need a dose. Right now."

Raising his eyes from the PADD, he cast a cool gaze over her. "I see." It was simply spoken, but meaningful in tone. Allowing it to linger in the air he pushed himself away from his desk and crossed the room drawing a scanner.

Heriah did not need to be told to get onto the nearest biobed. She did that out of instinct, and readied herself. All the while, she held tightly onto that empty hypospray.

"It's my isoboramine," she said almost shakily. "Levels need to remain in balance for continue symbiosis. Since joining with Rex, I've always had trouble...keeping..." and her words trailed off.

'Perhaps one of us wants to die. The other wants to hold on to what little thread of hope remains.'

"The benzocyatizine," she said as she held up the empty hypospray, "it what helps regulate isoboramine production. My monocorder said I was low and I only got a quarter does out of this thing."

"I am passingly familiar with the medications needed to maintain a symbiotic balance. What made you wait until you were completely out to come to me?" His voice was quietly curious, interested without being eager.

Heriah slumped, somewhat. "I haven't a good explanation," she admitted. "With each refill, I am authorized one user-granted refill from a medical replicator. I've...I've already used that. Now the computer requires a medical officer to authorize."

"Understandable," she continued...

'Keeps you from overdosing on that dren.'

"...Keeps me from avoiding regular medical scans I suppose."

The scanner whirred over her body in a practiced manner, his body at ease, entirely. "You are indeed low. Do you check and record your levels daily?"

"I used to," she confessed. "I can typically feel an imbalance. I have a monocorder. It fits on my finger," she explained and held up a finger to illustrate, "and measures my isoboramine and generally affirms how I am feeling. The Computer is supposed to alert me, each day, of how much benzocyatizine I have left as well as letting me know each time I use this, but..."

'You secretly want to end it all for forget?'

"...I turned off the alerts. I spent a year with the Computer and my counselor constantly on me. I felt a little freedom was in store; that I could keep up with this on my own. I won't let this happen again, doctor."

"That would be best, I'd hate to see you hurt yourself by accident." Eyes softening as he read the readout from his tricorder.

"Thank you Doctor. I would not like that very much either."

Programming a dose and a tenth, he pressed it to her throat, where it hissed and emptied itself.

'But maybe he would love to see you intentionally hur...' and the inner voice started diminishing.

Heriah worked her neck both ways, rolled her head around, massaged the injection site. She took a breath and let out a sigh of relief.

"Can I also get this refilled," she asked as she held up her empty hypospray. "with a user-authorized replicator refill? For when this runs out."

"I will do that, the next time you see me with a record of your daily levels so I can track the flux. " he answered quietly. His voice held a note of steel, he would not be argued with on this.

Heriah nodded in agreement. "If it makes you feel better, doctor, I will use the monocorder morning and night, and at other times of the day when I am in my quarters and will link its reading to the chart in my medical record. That way, you can peruse whenever you like."

"While it would make me feel better, I also believe that such close oversight would not be to your benefit. " heaving a sigh, Victor looked at her. "Daily, will be sufficient. "

"Daily," Heriah repeated with a nod. "Very well," she said without any intention on actually making any modifications to her monocorder's programming.

Heriah hopped down from the biobed. "Thank you Doctor. I've said it before," despite the fact that she had never said it, "but you are perhaps the most valuable of the senior staff. We cannot function without a good CMO."

Victor, surprised by the sudden praise did something unusual for him....he blushed. "Thank you Commander."

Heriah gave him a nod, complete with an audible hum of approval before starting her exit.

 

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