Subject: Grail: "Unexplored Spaces"- "Poor Taralak"

<SickBay>

Oku Ramin was lying at a bed, sweating. He didn=B4t want to admit he was

nervous. This was the first time in his life that he played as

experimental subject, even though he knew everything about the

procedures, complications and risks. He also knew he was already

infected by that bloody bacterium he caught while studying it.=20

Dr. Ramius was not there by the moment. So, due to the time, Oku was

just alone there, in the midst of SickBay. He realized the loneliness

patients felt when they were left the whole night, even with the company

of one or two nurses. But this time, all that Oku had was that ugly

holographic doctor he didn't even pay attention to when he needed

assistance. Oku just turned it off, so he could be alone. He wished he

had the vision again.

Suddenly, a shadow entered SickBay. As lights were dimmed, Oku couldn't

see who it was, but it looked familiar. Yes, he felt he had met that

"shadow" before. But for some unknown reason he chose to stay still.

The shadow then came upon the BioLab. Oku knew that the bacteria were

being cultured there, so he stood up quick and tried to approach the

"shadow". Too late.

When Oku realized his situation after a few seconds of uncertainty, he

was on the floor, upsiode down, and a disrupter pointing upon his head.

Then he heard a voice:

"Stay still and you live"

Oku tried to slowly turn around but the voice continued:

"Don't even think about it. You saw nothing, you heard nothing. OK?"

Oku was threatened. An advice: NEVER IN YOUR LIFE threat a Thairian.

Oku opened his legs and made a scissor around the shadow's legs. Then

the man (he felt that the shadow was a man because it was a tough

subject to bring down) fell flat, disrupter fell some 9 feet away. Then

Oku turned around, still on the floor, and lifted his right ankle, just

to let it down onto the subject's back.

"OW" he heard.

Then Oku stood up. He tried to grab the man's hands to the back, but the

guy slipped away and stood. They both got fighting positions, facing

each other. Imagine the surprise when Oku saw Taralak.

"You?" Oku said, estranged.

"You? answered Taralak, with a voice of "Yeah, me, asshole", "Me,

myself. And you are no match to me, you weirdo"

Oku took out a side kick, hitting Taralak just in the middle of the

stomach. But Taralak just withdrew a few steps to ram against Oku. Poor

Taralak, didn't know that Thairians have better vision range. Oku just

moved a few steps. Taralak went away.

That maneuver gave Oku time to press his comm badge.

=3D/\=3D Ramin to Security, please to Sickbay ASAP =3D

But the Romulan took advantage on the distraction of the doctor to get

his disrupter. Oku heard the trigger being pressed and jumped away. The

disrupter beam hit him on the ankle.

Oku was somewhat hurt, but not enough to evade Taralak=B4s shots, by

hiding behind one of the beds. Taralak then spoke.

"It's no use for you to hide, Thairian. If you surrender, the Romulan

Empire will be grateful to your service and I shall take you with me."

Oku laughed. The pain in his ankle couldn't stop his laughter. He

replied to Taralak:

"You aren't thinking that I am gonna let you and ruin my day? What do

you want from me, bastard?"

"The bacterial disrupter. And you shall help me engineer a more deadly

bacteria, since this one is sensible. But I won't tell you to what is

sensible"

Oku crawled through SickBay trying to get Taralak. But he continued his

speech to distract the Rommie.

"The hell with you! No way. Not from me. What do you want? Aren't you

half human?"

"HA! "replied Taralak "You think I am that winnie of Federation spy? HA!

I killed him myself aboard the M'Tar, the ship before the one you

bastards captured, and took his place. And yes, Romulans are sensible to

infection. We wouldn't want you to have it easy. You know, the only

people immune to the bacteria are a bunch of soon-to-be-conquered

Kerestians there in the Delta. The Empire will launch a campaign soon.

We need you to engineer the bacteria to make it resustant to Kerestian

antib..."

Punch came to the impostor's face from who knows where, but it was Oku

who managed to get him. Then the Romulan rolled and stood up, scrubbing

his cheek due to the punch. Then he fired the disrupter. No beam came

out. The weapon was uncharged. So, he reacted and kicked Oku in the face

while he was at the floor.=20

"If I don't get you dead with the disrupter, I will by kicking you all

the way to hell!"

The Romulan dropped the disrupter and it hit something on the floor. A

loose panel fell from the bed nearby, all the way to the floor,

releasing three little energy conduits. Oku stared at the conduits and

saw an isolinear chip that was loose. He grabbed it and pulled the

conduits, which seemed to be wires.

But another kick came to his spleen.

"Die, you winnie Thairian" yelled the Rommie.

Oku was now in pain. If a Terran got a kick in his spleen it was

serious, but a Thairian could even die. Oku grabbed his side for the

pain, when he found his hypospray with phlebocaine, a powerful opioid

analgesic. He injected himself and felt better. But, kick to the liver.

The Romulan then went three steps back to make a serious kick, when Oku

got to put his leg on the Romulan's way, making him fall down. The

bastard hit a desk, where a laser scalp was lying. It fell on the

Romulan's head. Oku wished it was turned on.

The bastard was somewhat dizzy. Then Oku had an idea he hated: use the

Holo Doc.

"Computer, start holographic doctor E2"

"Acknowledged"

Then a man appeared, asking then "What is the emergency, Doctor Ramin?"

"Lets... Let's make surgery, Doc. There is the patient. Make a

cordotomy, level C1-C2"

OOC: A cordotomy means to cut the spinal cord. C1-C2 means space between

first and second cervical vertebrae.

The hologram replied "A cordotomy is only indicated when pain is..."

"The case is justified" reply Oku "emergency prority 1, authorization

code Ramin upsilon two sharky"

The Rommie started to move. He was upside down, lying on the floor, but

was starting to move.

"Oh, poor he, he's seizuring" said the hologram. "Let's hurry"

Then a scalp appeared in the holo Doctor's hand. The projection kneeled

and cut the Romulan's neck just to cut the spinal cord. The Rommie

stopped moving.

"What... what?" said the impostor

The holographic doctor said "Your pain has been relieved, although you

can't move. A primitive procedure, but neural restoration can be done

minutes later."

"You got me, Thairian" the Romulan replied. "But I won't live long to

speak"

Then the bastard moved his tongue, releasing an arsenic novocianide

capsule, and chewed it. Thirty seconds later he was dead. Ramin was

unconscious, lying on the floor.=20

Then the doors opened. The security team came in with a voice saying "

computer, lights up". Everyone of the team was pointing anywhere by

reflex. When they had sight of the field they saw the holo Doc staring

at them, the Romulan and Rmain on the floor, seemingly dead.

"The romulan is dead" said the hologram "the Thairian is alive but needs

attention. I'll take care."

(to be continued)