One in a Trillion

Posted on Fri Aug 28th, 2026 @ 1:48pm by Lieutenant Xey & Lieutenant Zoren Valyus

2,397 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Prologue: To Boldly Go
Location: Medbay
Timeline: En Route

ON: [Medbay / Office]

Zoren sat in the office which adjoined the main Medbay, separated by a transparency from the treatment area. He'd been reading all of the available literature on Blue Orions, having been intrigued after his encounter with the ship's Counselor. B'Lakkam had mentioned some sort of enmity between Blue and Green Orions, and Zoren was curious about the history and context for it. He'd also wanted to know if there were any subtle physiological differences that B'Lakkam had overlooked mentioning.

He was so engrossed in his study that he did not immediately notice the arrival of an officer into the medbay. The Nurse was on break, so there was no one to greet the man.

What time was it?

Zoren blinked as he realized he'd been reading for over an hour, and this was his scheduled afternoon appointment with Lieutenant Xey, a Trill science officer who'd come aboard the ship at the same time as himself.

Xey was a joined Trill. And also... not.

A read-through of Xey's medical file had revealed a tragedy that would test the sanity of most men. Zoren wasn't treating Xey today as a Counselor, of course, but he was cognizant of the grave sensitivity of the medical situation. His job would be to assess the neurological state of the patient, and ensure there was no degeneration or decline in their condition.

That, and to conduct a general medical checkup, establishing a health baseline for future interactions.

He stood, and called out to Xey through the opening of the office. "Lieutenant Xey? Please, come in and have a seat. I am Doctor Valyus."

A conversation was the first, best diagnostic tool in assessing someone's mental acuity.

The smile was wide, and the intent sincere, at the greeting, but clincal bays were not a favoured place for Lieutentant Xey; this was to be expected, given the numerous scientific and psychological studies they had been subjected to since the incident that had created their unusual arrangement.

No. Arrangement suggested agreement. Discussion. An accord.

That was disingenuous.

Neither applied here. Xey was under no illusion their continued existence amounted to an occupation, or appropriation. At least, that's what Trill society suggested, at best. A revenant, or ghoul, at worst. It was a burden and responsibility that Xey would shoulder without fear or shame - they would honour Tarin Rey's memory by simply living, and living well.

This included being brave and bold when faced with uncomfortable environments - such as now.

Their smile still firmly in place, and losing none of its megawatt intensity, Xey reached into their uniform pocket, taking a seat on the other side of Dr Valyus's desk, crossing their legs in relaxed manner... then immediately taking another moment to readjust themselves after a small, brief blip of discomfort. There were some...physiological practicalities...that Xey had yet to master for sure. At least [i]that[/i] didn't require curative intervention!

"Thank you, Doctor" Xey responded, as the situation resolved itself as soon as it had materalised. "I'm terribly grateful for your time." They looked around, and took in the decor with wide, appreciative eyes; certainly more modern than the Academy training vessels they had worked aboard during their service reevaluation. "As per instructions from the Symbiosis Commission on Trill, I am required to have periodic assessments of my medical condition." The smile became wry, almost apologetic.

As Xey handed over the isolinear chip, they took the opportunity to truly take in the features of the Assistant Medical Chief; lightly-tanned, broad-shouldered, hairless scalp, and a somewhat stoic demeanour, although that could merely be professional detachment. The smile became wider once again, and the possibilities of a new source of social interaction was utterly thrilling.

Zoren studied the man somewhat soberly as he came in and took his seat. Then he nodded as he accepted the chip. "I am happy to update your records for the commission. And I imagine documenting your condition may prove valuable to others who find themselves in similar circumstances."

Though... that seemed unlikely. The state of Xey was so unusual as to have been nearly unprecedented in the long history of the Trill people. It was the sort of thing Trill citizens probably whispered about while seated around a campfire in the dark. It was the substance of frightful mythology.

Likely, the symbiosis commission would be just as content if Xey was dissolved in a transporter accident so that they never had to make another decision regarding the symbiotic anomaly.

There were seventeen pages of notes in Xey's medical file that had nothing to do with their medical condition. Notes from the symbiosis commission. Notes that felt as though they'd viewed the man as an unpleasant and dirty secret that had to be managed.

Xey's almost apologetic demeanor as he handed over the chip confirmed what the file suggested: Instead of his survival in the critically injured host being approached as a grateful miracle, he'd been treated as a problem.

"However, I wanted to make it clear to you that you are *not* here for them. I am monitoring your health because it concerns you. Not because of the desires of your government or any of its subsidiary agencies.

Every examination you suffer through from here on out exists so that if there is any emerging problem, we catch it early and get it fixed. Every year we keep you in good constitution will be a celebration, and I hope to have many of them.

All right?"

The Science Officer blinked momentarily at the juxtaposition of the Medical Officer's physical presence and their intangible dialogue. On the face of it, both seemed to be quite aligned in their stern expressionism, but what was said was quite different to how it was said. It seemed the Deltan(?; their reserve seemed to have some indicative traits of a peoples with a huge responsibility to those around them) had little interest in towing the party line of the Commission's wishes - that was very unusual; in Xey's unfortunate experience, their unique condition was something of a morbid fascination to all strata of medic curiosity; Xey fancied many of them barely held back an inclination to take a sonic scalpel to their body to dig around and find the proverbial Sha Ka Ree.

But this one was different. And it almost made Xey's eyes a little damp with tears.

Steeling oneself, and rallying around, the Lieutenant instead unloaded a full 600 gigawatts of smileton particles towards their gracious host, and nodded in beholden agreement, before brushing a few strands of hair from their eyes, which was largely unnecessary, but a trait carried from across almost all their previous hosts. "I'll abide by my Doctor's Orders" they laughed lightly, and genuinely.

They leaned forward, the smile dimming from unbridled, thankful joy to a mischievous smirk, lowering to a conspiratorial - yet soto voce - whisper. "I have to ask.... Deltan...?"

One did not have to be an Empath to sense the positive upwelling of emotion from Xey, and Zoren found himself glad that he'd not overstepped in his bold approach to the issue. It had given him no small amount of umbrage at the way the man's medical history had unfolded so far. He... wasn't sure why. That would be something to discuss with the Counselor on the next sit down. Righteous anger felt a bit good, but he did not like the notion that there were psychological triggers that could make him reckless.

Such as now, when he indulged in a rare bit of mischievousness. Perhaps Xey's good nature was rubbing off on him.

Zoren put on a stern expression and lifted a hand to his bald pate. "Radiation exposure," he explained, "unshielded warp core. It never came back in..."

He let that hang in the air for just a moment before letting his lips curl in a smile. "Sorry. I couldn't resist. Yes, Deltan. So please do not be affronted if I avoid physical contact.

The best theories are that at some point in our evolution, reproduction was a top survival concern. Body chemistry and empathic capability seems to be finely tuned to enable successful mate attraction. Proximity has its own dangers, but physical contact can instinctively initiate a euphoria which some species find... addictive." This ability had also presumably assisted in the taming of dangerous predators who would otherwise have consumed primitive Deltans.

He paused, then added, "Hence the Oath of Celibacy we voluntarily take to minimize the risk of disruption to shipboard discipline."

Probably this was already known to the scientist sitting across from him, who had lifetimes of knowledge at their disposal. But the disclosure had become a routine.

Deltans were not required to undertake Oaths, but if they declined to do so, their range of postings and opportunity for advancement would be highly limited. So much so, serving in Starfleet would have hardly been worthwhile.

Relationships with the crew consequently had to be disclosed to the Chief Medical Officer, and both parties had to be medically monitored on a regular basis, with drugs dispensed to attenuate the dopamine receptors in the brain. Counselors would also make regular checks for any sign of emotional imbalance.

It was rare for a romance to survive such scrutiny and medication.

"So, tell me a little bit about yourself. Never mind the usual biography. Tell me what isn't in your jacket. Hopes and dreams they haven't managed to capture and bind into the confines of a datafile.

Who is Xey?"

Zoren leaned forward slightly. He listened intently, not only to gauge mental acuity, but also out of genuine interest for the inner life of a fellow sentient being.

Impressed at how the Medical Officer had turned the conversation around to themselves again, and still chuckling at the quip about radioactive-incited alopecia, Xey leaned back with a bright grin and pondered the question presented. Who were they, beyond their personnel records?

It was an existential question for any joined Trill - and more so one with aberrant post-traumatic retrograde idiosyncratic physiological discontinuity disorder, which was one of the more wordy attempts at explaining their unique condition.

It took a moment, before the perfect words danced out from their lips. "I am someone who wants to see worlds where the skies are liquid, where the air dreams, and seas sing lullabies to slumbering shores. I want to seek new civilisations made of light, and cities built from the words of lovers. Worlds where drinks are made from dance, and where foods taste of quantum. I want to spin amongst gamma showers, and bathe upon starlight."

They looked back at Zoren, with a real sparkle in their eyes. "I am an eager student of the universe, and I look forward to my next class every day."

Well! There was no question about cognitive impairment. Unless Trill neural degeneration made people into poets, in which case it would soon be all the rage.

"Gamma showers are medically ill-advised," Voren said, "but I can get behind the rest of it, I think." He picked up a PADD. "I'll put you down for, 'language acumen within acceptable parameters.'"

He smiled slightly, then stood. "Now we'll get the humdrum physical scans out of the way. If you can wax poetically about a neuro-cellular scan, you may revolutionize appreciation for the practice of neurology."

The remainder of the physical was rote. Both the Doctor and his Patient had undergone the process many times before.

"Well," Voren said at last, handing the man his chip back. "It seems I've no more cause to keep you here. But before I let you go, did you have any medical complaints?"

The Lieutenant grinned, and then pulled a faux 'aww' pout as the physical was completed with a return of the isolinear chip, and what amounted to a clean bill of health. The examination had been fun for Xey, and they had quite enjoyed the company of the Deltan. Being a tactile individual, Xey had, admittedly, found the strict protocol of non-physical contact terribly frustrating; not that Xey would have done so without explicit permission, invite, or reciprocation, but knowing that they simply just could not, regardless, amounted to psychological torture!

That aside, Xey found the examination fascinating from a scientific perspective. The male physiology was different in a few ways that Xey continued to discover, and sneaking a peek at the scans as they sailed over their body was oddly satisfying. And Xey felt comfortable, for the first time in an age, with the ministrations of a medical professional - for once, they felt less of a curiosity; not a lab-grown biot and and more of a living, breathing sentient. It helped that the Assistant Chief Medical Officer had a dry wit about them that was both antithetical to their own overtly expressive nature, but equally a perfect match of sagacity and revelry. Xey, whilst not a Betazoid, had a good feeling about a future friendship - whether Zoren liked it or not!

When Zoren asked if they had any outstanding ailments, Xey changed their expression from a pout to exaggerated thinking. "I do feel rather thirsty" they concluded, smacking their lips theatrically. "I'm no doctor, but from a scientific perspective, I wonder if 300ccs of a cocktail, with a paper umbrella, may be in order at some point after shift..and I may need medical supervision to ensure I don't get it all wrong..."

Valyus smiled, and began to formulate some polite reason to excuse himself from the social encounter. Then... he wondered why? He needed to befriend people on this ship, which would be his posting for years to come. And Xey had been easy company during what must be an uncomfortable examination.

Why not?

"Amateurs can never be trusted with dosage instructions," he found himself saying. "I'm off-shift at 0200, and I've been aboard for days already. It's about time I see what the ship's lounge looks like."

Was he making his first friend here?

Remarkably, he thought he was.

And that made the day look just a little bit brighter than it had before.



OFF:

Lieutenant Zoren Valyus
Asst Chief Medical Officer
USS Fenrir

&

Lieutenant Xey
Chief Science Officer
USS Fenrir

 

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