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)