Subject: Grail: "Unexplored Spaces"; "Monotony Times Two"

"Monotony Times Two"

By: Lt. Kait Brennan.

<<Stardate: 47307.18 ~ 4:30>>

<<Arboretum>>

After spending a little time in the arboretum, Kaitlyn was soon surprised by a little 'show' that must've run every day without her knowing it. The lights in the arboretum became brighter in the background, and imitated the spectral rise of Earth's sun. It was a spectacular view, and it was done for the benefit of the many plants that grew here, most of which were from Earth, although there were some others in the mix that were from several other federation planets.

It was a beautiful display of light and color. She mentally applauded whoever's efforts it was that accomplished this little feat. It added to the feel of the arboretum as being a little piece of Earth, and for a moment, she felt truly happy at watching it. However, the feeling was only brief because she became ever more aware that there was no one to share it with, no one to enjoy it with her. The once-dazzling scene soon became a depressing one. At this, Kait walked out of the arboretum, no longer wishing to see the pseudo-sun finish rising.

She returned to her quarters to clean herself up and to switch into somewhat more casual attire. She chose a grey skirt that matched a grey blouse. It was a rather boring combination, but it was the closest thing she had to regular clothing. It blended in well with the small silver pendant that she always wore. It reminded her of being some type of uniform that she never saw, but if it were one, it would be far more appealing than the one Starfleet had chosen.

Great. She was all dressed up now and nowhere to go. Of course there was the ever-present option of spending one's time in Ten-Forward.

She walked into the turbolift for the fourth time today, and requested, "Ten-Forward." This was her last place to go, and the only other option after that was to go back to work in Engineering. There just wasn't enough for somebody by their lonesome to do. Curse her luck. Kait walked into ten-forward. She walked up to a distracted bartender and ordered some coffee. As soon as the bartender had placed the coffee in front of her, he returned his attention to the padd in his hand. She figured that he was not much of a socializer, and simply sipped her coffee to pass the time.

There were two other people in ten-forward. One was looking out the oversized window at the other side of ten-forward, and the other was engaged with his beloved padd. Neither were very interesting subjects.

Sipping coffee, having quiet time: this situation was ideal for reflection. Considering that her thoughts, at these times, usually centered on her doubts about her life, her lack of companionship, and uncertainty about hers or anyone else's worth, she chose not to spend this time in reflection.

She couldn't torture herself like this. As the saying goes, even if it was only partly true for her in the literal sense, she was human, after all, and therefore imperfect. Her stomach responded to this fact with a low grumble.

It was a bit early for breakfast but with waking up in the middle of the night and being awake for so many hours, it seemed to be well passed time for breakfast.

After her second cup of coffee, Kait ordered some breakfast. Once the bartender came back with it, she took her lot and moved back to where the man facing the window was sitting at.

She asked if she could sit at his table, and began a conversation with him. After a while, the conversation died out, and they both stared out at the stars as they passed by at warp speed. It was this way for who knows how long.

Kait soon grew tired of sitting there. She realised that she had become one of the boring subjects that she had disregarded earlier. So she excused herself, and took her empty dish to the replicator for disposal.

A few more people had entered ten-forward, which indicated that it was getting later. As uninteresting as it all seemed, at least there were signs of life; something she hadn't the luxury of earlier.

Kait left ten-forward. She could go back to work, but she was neither eager to do so, and it wasn't her time for work. So she figured it would be best to get one thing out of the way.

She departed for Sickbay.

Upon her arrival, she caught sight of Dr. Ramius, even though alpha shift was not on duty for another 30 minutes.

He gave her a concerned look when he saw her, and looked as if he might admonish her for leaving when she had so obviously needed care.

Kait couldn't help feeling a little guilty under his mindful eye. She tried to explain herself: "I'm sorry, but I felt better and I thought it would be okay to leave."

"I just got here. I didn't notice that you were gone until a minute ago. When did you leave?" As he asked this question, he brought out his med. tricorder and began examining her.

"It was sometime in the middle of the night; probably around midnight," Kaitlyn replied.

Still looking down at the tricorder, he asked, "Could you sit down on one of the biobeds?"

She did as instructed, and he continued to retrieve the medical stats on her.

Once he was finished his scans, Dr. Ramius reported, "It seems your body has fought off the infection most of the way. I would say that this can be attributed to your getting some much needed rest. During rest us when your immune system works the hardest."

Kait couldn't help but interject, "Ah, but it can't be due to rest, can it?

Kestra Prynne, over there, has been resting for almost forever, and it can't be due to differing physiologies since we're both cousins."

"I'm well aware of this and I'm sorry, child, but I cannot explain it," the older man said with a conciliatory tone.

She simply sighed, and asked, "So, what is your prognosis?"

Dr. Ramius smiled down at the girl and said, "I say you'll be fine. Just to be sure, you should get a little more rest."

Kait Brennan looked at him incredulously. "A little more rest? I've already slept ten hours; that's enough for two nights! I couldn't possibly go back to sleep as wide-awake as I am now."

He touched her arm and said tenderly, "Not to worry. I'll give you something to help you sleep."

He walked over a few meters to a table against the wall with an assortment of hyposprays and thoughtfully chose one of them. He returned, placing it up to her neck again, and urged her to remain still.

Even as she heard the hiss as the contents of the hypospray were released, Kait doubted that the drug would work Or if it did, it would take forever.

She was far too awake to fall asleep any time soon. But then she was proven wrong. Her body seemed to weigh more, becoming more so a cumbersome vessel, and then she couldn't resist the urge to shut her eyes. All too well, she knew that would bring sleep. And it did. Approximately two hours and thirty minutes later, Kait awakened from her induced slumber. She stood up, feeling a little more worn than before, but all in all, not too differently than she had before falling asleep.

Making sure to 'check-out' this time, Kait told Dr. Ramius that she could sleep no longer, and ended by thanking him for his help. He looked like he might object, but whatever was on the computer caught his attention more, and he dismissed her absent-mindedly.

Not to imply that Kait Brennan was a workaholic but there simply was nothing else she could do but go to work. She walked down the corridor, dreading the day ahead, and seeing no interest in any future days either. She walked inside the turbolift with another female ensign. Nodding to her, Kait faced forward and commanded the computer to proceed to "Main Engineering."

Hopefully, Ensign K'tel or one of the other engineering officers had made some sort of advancement into solving the mystery of adapting the blasted cloaking device to an unyielding ship. Before entering she began to hum a song similar to the children's song, whose lyrics ironically began with, 'It's a wonderful day in the neighbourhood...'

<<<OOC: I meant to finish and send this right away, but a violent thunderstorm passed by here so I had to turn off the computer for a long while, and well... go outside and get soaked, er, I mean go outside and watch it! :) Now that I've electrocuted myself by typing while dripping, I hope you all are happy... and none of you better say that you'd be happy if it was true! I heard you! Don't try to hide it! -- Ah, just so you know, I'm not crazy. I'm, um, eccentric. They aren't the same thing, are they? >>>

"What ye sends forth Comes Back to ye

So Evermind the Rule of Three

Follow this with Mind and Heart

Merry ye Meet and Merry ye Part...."