Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Leah Hart (Nurse Practitioner/Counseling) in Sunrises on Risa

Posted by Lieutenant Kreed (Chief Medical Officer) in Sunrises on Risa

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Leah Hart (Nurse Practitioner/Counseling) in Sunrises on Risa
Posted by… suppressed (5) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Kreed moved closer. His reptilian features stood out in stark contrast to everyone else, and he looked wholly unmoved. But to Leah, his friend, even in her current state she could see something she hadn’t seen in him before.

He was all but hovering over her and that made Leah turn her head to meet his gaze.

Kreed was actually upset… maybe even angry. He hadn’t shown anger or frustration even after being almost crushed to death. But here, in a hospital room listening to his friend try piece together a night that ended up so precariously… here he was showing more concern and anger than he ever had before.

None of that didn’t show easily, of course. But the flexing of his clawed fingers and the cadence of his voice was plain to her. “Lieutenant, you said ‘humming’. Can you try to repeat it? Sometimes those little things can trigger recall.”

Kreed, CMO

Did his anger make her feel better or worse? Leah wasn’t entirely sure, but his suggestion was a practical one and something she could focus on. Glancing breifly at Sylvia and mindful of not trying to trigger whatever the hell of a hallucinogenic flashback that was, Leah simply unfixed her gaze and tried to recall the sounds she had heard.

Meanwhile, Constable Maliia was suddenly distracted by her earpiece and stood up, moving to the corner, though she watched Leah as she listened to whomever was contacting her.

Leah began to hum a little, but it wasn’t anything remarkable or distinctive. But she repeated it nonetheless. If was a brief couple lines of a tune, if one could even call it that. “It feels familiar somehow, but I don’t know why.”

Tai returned to Leah’s bedside. “Leah, that was my detachment commander. We have a gentleman who seems worried about your whereabouts, saying you went missing last night. Does the name Daro Kelreden sounds familiar.”

Her breath caught in her throat and for a few moments Leah said nothing. She let out a shaky breath. The dots were connected, her suspicions confirmed, and now she wasn’t even sure what to think. What she did have were a ton more questions though! “Yes,” she said in a small voice, so unlike the feisty nurse. “Daro is my ex-boyfriend from when I was on Earth. We broke up three months before I joined the Sentinel. And… he’s Ardanan,” she said with a sigh.

The constable nodded slowly. “I have some more questions about that, and he will be questioned, but given the situation, I think it could be very helpful to see what he says about last night. Just to see how he reacts to you, and see if we can’t glean some of the truth. IF you’re not comfortable with seeing him, you don’t have to and we’ll keep him at the station, but if you do agree to him coming here, I promise every precaution will be taken and you will never be left alone with him. I promise you will be safe,” Tai said.

Her colleagues might think she was out of her mind but Leah had to know what went down last night and Daro might be the only one who could tell her. Besides, there was one indisputable fact. “I want to hear what he has to say. If he’s lying about anything, I’ll probably know.” She didn’t guarantee it, because it was Daro, but still, she was a trained observer of peope and she knew Daro. “I’ll see him,” she said, sounding a tiny bit more like herself. It was something within her control, after all.

Maliia nodded and moved away from her bed. “I’ll make the arrangements.”

Kham was still waiting at the door, but in the room. She moved over and took in everyone in turn before focusing on Leah. “Is he the ex you were talking about? The one you had to have removed from Starfleet Medical because he was harassing the reception staff to see you?”

Leah blew out a breath. “Yes,” she said impatiently and then held up a warning finger and looked at all her friends, especially Kreed. “I’m scared and confused and he might be the only one who can help me figure this all out. I get that we’re all jumping to the worst case scenario here, but now that I know Daro is likely involved, it changes things. So you all have to keep your cool, understood?” she said, her brown eyes turning fierce, despite how tired she still felt.

~Leah Hart, NP

“Saurians are cold-blooded, Lieutenant. I’m not sure I could not… ‘keep my cool’, as it were.” Kreed said flatly. He then looked at his assembled Medical team. “When this… gentleman… arrives, I want you all to step outside. I and the Constable will remain with the Lieutenant for her interview.”

Kreed, CMO

Whether the reply to her comment was meant to be one of Kreed’s deadpan jokes (as far as the Saurian did joke) or he was just being factual, Leah couldn’t help the tiniest smirk that crept onto her face.

Tracy had been listening carefully by the door. “And myself Lt. Kreed. Captain’s orders that someone from security stay with Lt. Hart at all times.” What she didn’t say because she didn’t want to cause friction with the locals, was that they were conducting their own investigation.”

Lt Morgan stepped out and sent a request to have the report about this Daro Kelreden and his harassment of Medical staff and Hart. Then she returned to her position just inside the door.

Cpt. Asam, CO

The report was easy enough to find and the details were sent back within a few minutes. Three months before Leah’s transfer to the Sentinel, Kelreden showed up at Starfleet Medical looking for Leah. When reception called up to the Psychiatry wing, Leah refused to see him and said to say she was busy with a patient. The receptionist (Petty Officer Tia Sheppard) stated afterwards that she knew Hart and Kelreden had recently broken up. When she conveyed that Hart was unavailable, Kelreden had gotten upset and lashed out verbally, accusing Sheppard of hiding Leah from him. When asked to leave, he cursed and made a scene, prompting security to intervene and escort him out. Kelreden was subsequently forbidden from entering the Starfleet Medical campus, unless he was working an emergency (he was a paramedic and worked for San Francisco EMS). After that there had been no further incidents.

“I’ll stay,” Marcus said, turning to his two Security officers, “Morgan, Wren, standard patrol procedure moving forward, check in with me where you can.”

-Lieutenant Junior Grade Marcus Anders: Chief of Security-

A few minutes, another constable showed up with a man in tow. He was tall, with dark and slightly unruly hair, light brown eyes and a light beard. He had light tan skin. About 185 centimetres (for the more observant folks in the room), he moved with purpose, though he kept an awareness of the constable at his side. Worry was etched over his face. Dressed in dark brown linen pants and a light blue linen button-down, he looked like he had dressed in a hurry and like he hadn’t slept much.

As soon as he caught sight of Leah in the bed, he rushed towards her side. “Leah!” he exclaimed, but the constable held him back. The other medical staff left the room as directed.

Kreed side-stepped to the side of the bed, putting himself between Hart and the individual. His reptilian features didn’t show emotion, but the vertical eyelids blinked several times in a row. Anyone familiar with Saurian physiology would know that was indicative of them shifting through various visual spectrums… Kreed was studying the man.

“It’s okay. He can come in,” Leah said, pushing away the fatigue. She needed to have her wits about her if she was to make sense of any of this.

Constable Maliia watched him carefully but she was also keeping an eye on Leah, watching her reactions not only for clues about this mystery ex of hers, but also to make sure she wasn’t being harmed by this conversation.

Kreed stepped to the side, but shifted his stance ever so slightly… and the black, sharp talons of his left hand clicked against one another and a low, click-like sound came from deep in his throat; but was cut off quickly.

Free to move again, Daro moved to her side and took a hand, gazing at her with disbelief. “I’ve been so worried. One minute you were there, and then when I came out of the shower you were gone! I couldn’t find you anywhere.”

So many questions and only so much time. But she went with her gut and what she would do as a therapist if she were helping a patient solve a mystery of their own. “I’ve hit my head, so things are a little foggy. But the thing that makes no sense is why you are here.” She pulled her hand out of his and hurt swept across his face. “We aren’t together. We haven’t been for awhile. So you’re going to have to explain things in a lot of detail, because I don’t understand how I could have been with you at all. I never told you I was going to be on R&R here. How did you find me?”

He was confused and shook his head. ” I didn’t really. Well,”- he blew out a breath-“Anabel mentioned it, but I had already had a trip booked. I never thought I’d run into you at all, but then… there you were at the club,” he said, smiling softly.

But Leah was having emotional whiplash and her eyes were wide. “My sister told you I was here?” She held up a hand. “We’ll come back to that one,” she said, trying to keep the anger out of her voice. Oh there were going to be words exchanged with Ana Isabel and she was certain her sister was not going to enjoy it one bit. Right now though, she needed to get to a key point about the psilocybin and she honestly wasn’t sure how other than to simply ask. “And so we saw each other at the club and then… what?”

Daro glanced around at the others in the room before focusing on Leah, frowning. “You really don’t remember, do you?” He sighed. “You were dancing with Alaria and she went to get drinks. Then you saw me and came over. Alaria found you and the three of us drank some more and chatted. She left a little while later and we ended up back at my hotel room. And then, like I said, you left so suddenly. I thought you were asleep. I was worried because some people have weird moments after taking stuff, and we were really careful. But if you were having a reaction, it could have been really weird for you. I searched all over the hotel but couldn’t find you. And I didn’t know where you were staying so I went to the police to see if they could help.”

Taking stuff. He said it so casually as if it was something she did all the time. Except she didn’t. And yet, it wasn’t like she would never. Therein lay the problem. “I’m really careful with what I ingest, including alcohol. How exactly did that happen?”

He looked uncomfortable given everyone else was watching them so closely. “I don’t want to embarrass you. I know you like to keep things private”

Leah rolled her eyes. “I’m in a hospital. Too late for that,” she said dryly. “Just say it.”

“It was one of our bucket list items, remember? To have an out of body experience? We decided to take mushrooms to try. Just a little, though. Nothing crazy,” Daro said.

Leah looked uncomfortable and skeptical. Yes, it was on that list and yes she had wanted to do something like that with him… when they had been together… when she had trusted him and felt safe with them. That ended the day he made her nervous and afraid and she ended their relationship.

OOC: If you’re curious what he looks like: https://imgur.com/a/5XqaLwa

~Leah Hart, NP

Kreed looked at Leah and said “Lieutenant, do you recall going with this individual willingly; and do remember ingesting the substance he mentioned purposely?” His questions were direct and to the point… and the answers would be a determinate of how the rest of the ‘interview’ went.

Kreed, CMO

Leah had hoped her memory would improve after being awake longer, but so far that didn’t seem to be the case. Either her head injury really had damaged her short term memory, or the psilocybin had blocked proper memory formation. Either, or both, could be true. She shook her head. “I don’t remember anything after dancing with Alaria. Nothing.” She huffed and frowned.

Constable Maliia fixed a hawkish gaze on Kelreden. There was too much ‘he said’ ‘she said’ for her liking but there seemed to be no easy way to figure out the truth unless Kelreden changed his story or Lt. Hart remembered something else. “I’m curious about the timing of this all. You said you had booked your vacation already but also that Lt. Hart’s sister told you she was going to be here. Can you tell us the dates of these two events?”

Daro frowned. “Uhh, let’s see. I talked to Anabel while on route, five days ago, and I booked the hotel a month ago.”

~Leah Hart, NP

Kreed looked at the Constable and said “We are here on a scheduled leave. Might I suggest looking at-” and black eyes locked on Kelreden, “- his search history and see if he looked up our ship’s movements?” He looked back at the Constable. “It’s not classified information, after all. Most of the crew’s families have social media where they discuss such matters.”

Kreed, CMO

Tia nodded. “We can and will investigate things further, but first…” She turned to Daro. “Mr. Kelreden, I’m going to ask you to step outside and wait with the other constable. Do not attempt to go anywhere or action that might indicate you intend to flee, or we will be forced to arrest you. Understood?”

He nodded and took a step backwards away from Leah’s bedside, his gaze focused on her. “Leah, I’m so sorry for what’s happened. But you know I would never hurt you. I love you.”

Leah did not reply and with a sigh Daro stepped out of the room. He saw the other Starfleet officers and the constable and simply took up a space against a wall.

For her part, Leah looked almost blank.

“Leah,” Maliia asked gently. “Do you believe anything he’s said so far? Did you want to dispute any of it?”

Hands resting together across her stomach, the pad of one thumb rubbed along the base of the opposite thumb. “I don’t know,” Hart said. “It all sounds very plausible,” she said matter-of-factly.

~Leah Hart, NP

“Actually, no.” Kreed unintentionally lizard-splained. “It does not sound plausible. Knowing what I do of you, this is not in character. Not the ingestion of such substances… but allowing yourself to be that vulnerable with someone you have a complicated history with. Intoxicated or not, you do not make such decisions. It is an outlier in behaviour.”

Kreed, CMO