A Tale of Two Deltans or is that Three?
Posted on Sat Jul 29th, 2023 @ 1:30pm by Lieutenant Commander Hermia O'Rourke & Lieutenant Vura & Chief Petty Officer Llaxia
Edited on on Tue Aug 1st, 2023 @ 9:59pm
0 words; about a 1 minute read
Mission:
Episode 14 - The Poseidon Adventure
Location: Gym - Deck 7 - USS Pioneer
Timeline: MD012 1500 hrs
Llaxia dressed in her yoga outfit, entered the gym. Finding a spot, she put down her mat and started her routine.
She did this everyday before her duty shift.
Vura was more than a little concerned about Llaxia, especially when she heard that she was possessed. Having another Deltan on board should have been a happy experience, or at least a satisfying one, since she could touch someone and experience sensuality again. But Vura had a duty to make sure that crew was safe. Being possessed did not sound safe.
But how did one just introduce oneself to someone that may not be who they are, especially when a counselor usually waited for someone to come to her? She decided that she would figure out an unassuming way to meet her. She found out that Llaxia went to the gym for yoga everyday.
That was disturbing. Vura did not choose exercise. It left her sweaty and definitely not feeling pristine. Therefore, she had no idea how to appropriately dress for yoga. She ended up choosing a stretch leotard with a flared out skirt. It was a bright fuscia color.
Walking into the yoga room, she said, “Hi” to the everyone and tried to find a place near Llaxia.
Llaxia noticed Vura enter and raised an inquiring eye. Her people were rare in Starfleet.
Calling out to the new arrival, Llaxia said. "Hi, new girl, there's a free spot here!"
Trying to look dignified in her outfit, Vura grabbed a mat and headed over to take a place next to Llaxia where indicated. Her instincts were to reach out and kiss Llaxia. That was the appropriate welcoming response, at a bare minimum but given Llaxia's condition and the Federation sensitivities, she chose to do neither, simply telepathically conveying a warm embrace and kiss to Llaxia in her mind. "IT is rare to find another Deltan away from home," Vura acknowledged to Llaxia.
"Indeed." Llaxia said replying telepathically in kind. "I'm Llaxia." She said. "Are you new to the ship, or just yoga?" She asked.
"It is that obvious?" Vura asked embarrassed. "I am both. I'm the new Chief Counselor, Vura. I had heard that there was another Deltan on the ship from the Commodore. So, naturally, I sought you out."
"Welcome aboard, I'm a Structural and Environmental Systems engineer." Llaxia said. "It's been a long time since I've seen another Deltan."
The familiar voice in her head said. "She's beautiful, I wouldn't mind getting to know her better. If you know what I mean?"
"I always know what you mean, sister. You're not exactly subtle."
A vision of her sister sticking out her tongue appeared in her mind.
"Thank you for the welcome." While Deltans were telepaths with each other, they were not mind readers, so Vura had no idea what was going on inside Llaxia's mind. "How did you come about enlisting on the Pioneer?"
"I've always be curious about things and wanted to experience them myself." Llaxia began. "I grew up on a mining colony and I was always dragging my sister, Jedeli to explore the mines with me." She took a deep calming breath. "One day when we were in a mine, the roof collapsed and we were trapped and rapidly running out of breathable air. Jedeli sacrificed herself so, the air would last a little longer. She died in my arms. Eventually I was rescued, but I could not stand the accusing looks, so I left as soon as I could," she said.
"I'm so sorry for your loss." Vura telepathically sent a picture of herself embracing Llaxia into Llaxia's mind. "How long ago was that now?"
"Almost 9 years ago." Llaxia said. "This is going to sound strange, but are you familiar with the Vulcan transfer of Katra, their living spirit?"
"Of course," Vura responded simply.
"I believe Jedeli transferred her 'living spirit into my body." Llaxia said. "I often hear her voice in my head and she can project pictures to me in my mind." She added. "I know it sounds ridiculous and others have suggested that it could be Dissociative Identity Disorder brought on by trauma."
"What you are saying, regarding such a transfer, should not be possible with our people. I would like to explore that more with you in private, if you do not mind."
"Of course, I want to find out what's going on too." Llaxia said.
"What have you done to sort through this, so far?" Vura asked, hoping that she had been proactive about it in some way.
"I've undergone brain scans, but they were all inconclusive so far." Llaxia said.
"Inconclusive?" Vura asked astonished. "And they stopped testing you?"
"Apparently, I'm an enigma." Llaxia said.
"That would seem like a reason to do more testing, not less," Vura observed.
"I think that, since 'my condition' doesn't seem to effect my work, studying it was seen as immediately important." Llaxia said.
"That's no excuse for not exploring this for nine years. Your mental health from nine years of dealing with whatever this is could be suffering greatly," Vura explained, very concerned.
"Would you like to meet, Jedeli?" Llaxia asked.
This is highly unusual, especially in public but she's offering. I wonder what in the world is going on. "That would be lovely," Vura told Llaxia, wondering if this was a multiple personality disorder or something more.
Somehow the Deltan expression changed, a big smile on her face. "Hey, Vura, you're rather attractive for a 'headshrinker'. Please excuse my sister, she's a bit of a downer. I'm the fun one." Jedeli said.
Vura had to snicker lightly at that. "Headshrinkers come in all sizes, flavors, and attractiveness. Perhaps if we can figure out why you're in your sister, we might be able to have some fun. That being said, I'm not sure that I would characterize Llaxia as a downer. Why do you say that about her?"
"She'd rather stay in her quarters and read, and I want to go out and party." Jedeli said.
"There's nothing inherently wrong with either activity," Vura informed Jedeli. "Tell me, Jedeli, how did you get stuck in there? Hm?"
"I don't know for sure." Jedeli said. "I remember us both being together in the cave, I was lying in Llaxia arms, looking up at her, and then darkness. Later I remember being in Llaxia's room and hearing her voice, but not seeing her. Looking down at my hands, realised they weren't mine. I was scared and confused, but Llaxia comforted me."
"Was there anyone else in the cave with you? Did you take any readings while you were in the cave? Was it a cave well known to you?" Vura asked, trying to make sense of the entire situation.
"We were alone in the cave." Jedeli said. "It was one of the abandoned mining caves. I didn't take any scans, but Llaxia may have."
"Were either of you tested for telepathic abilities in your youth? And this all occurred on Delta IV, right?"
"Our parents had us tested when were about 6." Jedeli replied. "Llaxia scored quite high, but our parents didn't pursue it any further." She paused a moment. "Do you think Llaxia could have done this?" She asked. "To answer your last question, this took place on Rhen, a moon of Delta V."
"I do not know that Llaxia could have done it. I do not know that she could not have done it. I do not have enough information right now to determine what is going on, but I think it is long past time to run more tests. What I do know is that two individuals are not meant to share the same body, let alone for nine years." And whether you're a multiple personality or not, the situation is not healthy for Llaxia. The psychological damage from this could be long lasting.
"Well, I'm up to finding out how this weirdness happened, and I'm sure Llaxia would want the same. So bring on the tests." Jedeli said.
"I appreciate your enthusiasm. I cannot imagine that either of you are perfectly comfortable with the situation, despite your apparent cooperation. So, let's get you to the Doctor and we'll see what we can dig up."
"Of course." Llaxia said taking back her body. "Lead the way, Vura."
Vura led Llaxia out of the gym in her absurd outfit and headed off to sickbay. As they were walking Vura asked, "I'm curious as to the agreement that you both have with regard to sharing your body, Llaxia. I'm rather amazed at how fluidly you transition between yourselves."
"We just sort of fell into it." Llaxia said. "Each can experience what the other can, while we're not in behind the wheel, so to speak. I let Jedeli take charge for parties, she enjoys those more than me. I know we Deltans have a reputation for our gregariousness, but I prefer a glass of wine and a good book."
"There is nothing wrong with any of that. I'm more than certain that literature and wine provide numerous stimulating experiences."
"That's good to know." Llaxia said.
"You did not know that?" Vura asked interestedly.
"Our mother is quite particular in how a Deltan should behave and never really measured up." Llaxia said.
"What do you mean?" Vura asked curiously as they continued to walk towards sickbay.
"My mother wanted me to be more gregarious. I was too bookish and introverted for her." Llaxia replied.
"What exactly did she want you to do?" Vura asked curiously.
"I don't know, look pretty and make conversation," Llaxia said. "Mother saw herself as something of a socialite."
"Well, you have the looking pretty down," Vura told Llaxia with a small laugh. "Socialization is fine, but doing it for the sake of socialization often loses meaning. Do you feel that way?"
"Yeah, I'd rather do something that helps people." Llaxia said.
"Like what?" Vura asked interestedly.
"Well as an engineer, I believe I'm doing that." Llaxia said.
"How?" Vura inquired. "I'm not disagreeing with you. I'm just curious as to how you define it." She thought of something that might help her get a clue in this mystery. "What was Jedeli's profession?"
"As a structural engineer, I'm responsible for making sure the ship don't squash us flat or vent us into space." Llaxia said. "Jedeli didn't have a profession, but she did want to be a professional singer and dancer, before the accident."
"I appreciate that you do not allow us to be killed," Vura acknowledged respectfully. "How old was she at the time of the accident? I don't remember you saying."
"Jedeli was 12." Llaxia said. "She was only a few years older than me and she sacrificed herself to save me." Tears appeared in the eyes of the Deltan engineer.
"I see," Vura replied empathetically. "Well, hopefully her medical records are somewhere on file for the Doctor to take a look at."
"I hope so." Said Llaxia.
"Certainly, they would be accessible from the Deltan records," Vura answered as she led the two of them into sickbay. When they arrived, Vura called out, "Doctor, do you have some time? I brought Llaxia with me." She only prayed that the pheromones were now controllable for Hermia.
Hermia was in her office; she'd almost healed from the 'incident' due to Bones' help. She'd given more of her work to her staff. She knew she'd been doing too much, and this had been a reminder of that.
"Of course." Hermia said. "So, I think we should begin with a EEG. Llaxia, Vura if you'll follow me." She said leading them to a bio bed.
"Llaxia, please lay down and close your eyes." She said.
The Deltan did so and Hermia retrieved a neural scanner and programmed it to scan Deltan theta brain waves, before placing it on Llaxia's forehead.
"This shouldn't take long." She told Vura.
"You mean, just like that kiss?" Vura teased. "Are you sure that you can handle two of us Deltans being in here?" Vura asked with a more serious tone. "I can leave if it would help. I just want to get to the bottom of this mystery with Llaxia."
"That won't be necessary, Vura." Hermia said. "I made the mistake of letting down my mental barriers, it won't happen again."
"I'm not fully convinced that's the mistake, but I would rather not worry about you."
Before Hermia could reply, the scanner beeped to indicate its completion.
Hermia looked at the results. At first it looked like a normal single theta wave, but then she noticed another, it was hard to differentiate, but it was there. "There are two different theta wave prints, its difficult to see the second one, and could easily have been missed in the past, but it points to there being two minds present in the same brain." She told the others.
"How is that possible?" Vura asked bewildered. "We Deltans don't have katra like Vulcans and while these two have managed for many years, this is not a good long-term solution. They need their own spaces."
"I don't know, yet." Hermia said. "If we remove the Jedeli brain wave, where will we put it? We can't just kill a sentient being."
"No, we can't," Vura agreed. "And my guess is Jedeli's body is long gone. Perhaps an android could be built to house her? I would almost be jealous of that. There's a good chance that Deltan pheromones would not work.... What a way around the oath.... If it worked."
"Okay, I'll talk with engineering, see what they can do." Hermia said. "Jedeli would that be okay with you?"
"As long as I can stay with Llaxia," she replied.
"We'll see what we can do." Hermia said. "But, I can't promise anything."
"I would really like to know how this happened to begin with," Vura continued curiously. "It should not have been possible and I'm very sad for Jedeli, because returning to her own body is not an option. And if a separation works, I suspect both Llaxia and Jedeli are going to need my services after being together for so long. I would imagine there might be feelings of loneliness after such a separation."
"Agreed." Hermia said. "We'll have to discuss it with the Commodore."
"I agree. After all, there are a number of risks involved and this will have to be his and Starfleet's call. I still want to know how it was possible for this to happen, whether this was some mutation in either Jedeli or Llaxia, or whether this had to do with the location where the accident occurred, or something else."
"I could do a complete physical scan of Llaxia and see if we can find a mutation that could be responsible, and I don't think it would be difficult to request scans of the area it took place from the appropriate authorities." Hermia said.
"That is probably a good place to start," Vura agreed. "Is there anything that I could do to help?"
"Could you please contact the Deltan authorities, Vura?" Hermia said as she prepared Llaxia for a complete physical.
"I will," Vura replied. "Just take care of Llaxia and Jedeli."
"I will," Hermia said as she prepared the biobed.
A Joint Post By
Lieutenant Commander Hermia O'Rourke
Chief Medical Officer, USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Vura
Chief Counselor, USS Pioneer
Chief Petty Officer Llaxia
Structural/Environmental Specialist, USS Pioneer
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