Posted by Captain Eela Dasca (Lt. Governor) in Eela’s Apartment- Processing (TMODJ)

Posted by Civilian Karilan Massat (Owner, Quill and Parchment Books) in Eela’s Apartment- Processing (TMODJ)

Posted by Civilian Jal’na of House Duroc (Head of Physical Therapy - Sacred Heart Hospital) in Eela’s Apartment- Processing (TMODJ)
Posted by… suppressed (13) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

“No work, at least not in person. You shouldn’t be sitting straight up, period. It would be best for you to be supported in this position as much as possible. I am, honestly concerned about putting your brace back on.” Jal’na said. “Your brace is supporting where it us supposed to, but will cause problems where you are hurting now and that in turn will cause problems else where. I would really like to put you in an anti-grav room until the new problems have resolved. But I know own you won’t do that.”

“I strongly suggest, if you must work, you do it via comms. You should not be moving around too much. An anti-grav chair with a harness would be durable I suppose.”

Jal’na, Lady Duroc

Karilan thought for a moment and then said “We both know she isn’t going to not work. So what about a compromise?” and they looked back and forth between the two. “You could fit her with an exoskeleton like the ones used for paraplegics. Those are designed to take, what, seventy to eighty percent of the wearer’s body weight and distribute it to the standing surface? And the newer models fit under clothes, so there wouldn’t be any publicity issues to speak of. Would that work?” Karilan was no doctor, but as an Engineer? Few were their equal.

Karilan

Her mind was an instant flurry of thoughts underpinned by a swell of frustration. “An exoskeleton would still not move as smoothly and it takes time to learn how to function with one. I don’t need long term solutions because this is temporary.” She pushed herself gently upright and bent her head from one side to another, testing how that felt. It was definitely a bit better than before. “I just need time for my body to remember that it didn’t go through what Dash’s did. I’m not working today, but I am supposed to go see Ambassador Mathis, as a kindness, and also because she’s meeting with the Vren Ambassador tomorrow. But if you’d prefer me to be resting, I can talk to her from here.”

She closed her eyes, quelling a thread of panic that she wasn’t sure of the source. When she opened her eyes, she looked at them both with determination and resignation. “The compression is always going to be a problem. The progress we made up until yesterday was, as my orthopedic surgeon made clear, is as good as I’ll ever be. Do I hurt right now? Yes? How much of it is my own? I don’t know and I might not for a couple more days. I’m not going to go out of my way to make it worse if I can help it, but the reality is that I had a referral to a specialist who has given me a permanent option. If we’re really talking about antigrav chair and exoskeletons, then I might as well agree to have her cut out my spinal fusion and replace it and go through the weeks and maybe months of hell that that rehab will be and be done with it. If we’re not ready to talk about that, then we need to be realistic.” She looked at Jal’na. “You want me to do time in an anti-grav room? Fine, we can book an hour or two as needed, but you must understand that the second I leave this building I am, publicly, in mourning, and I will have to deal with the press and everyone else. At the end of the day, all of this isn’t about me. It’s about the death of a man who was vital to major things happening on this colony. I cannot afford to be distracted in public. They will allow me leeway, but only so much if it looks like I can’t do my job. I think we can all agree that that is not what we want to happen.” She was exceedingly calm despite the tension she was feeling and Eela forced herself to breathe deeply. She also had talked to absolutely no one about the proposed spinal surgery. Cort knew she had an appointment with a specialist but she hadn’t said what it was about. She had told no one, not even Kenzo that this was an option on the table. She figure Sharah might know as her primary care provider, but other than that she had been sitting on these details until she had been ready to consider it properly. Was that now? Not likely.

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

Jal’na gave her a look that was very typically ‘Klingon’. Which was very out of place for the physical therapist. “I am not suggesting the suit, your friend is. I suggested the chair. Not as a permanent treatment, but to get you through this, to prevent worse damage. I cannot make you not work, Lt. Gov. It is my recommendation you do not, or at least as much from home as possible. You can do as you will with it. Warm compresses and gentle stretches every 60 to 90 minutes. I will increase the settings on your brace. I will send Reesa over tonight for an extra session.” There was an edge to the woman that was unusual, but only apparent because the other two people were empathy.

Jal’na collected Eela’s brace and laid it out on the table and took out her tools.

Jal’na, Lady Duroc

Jal’na formality and use of her title cut deeply. It wasn’t how they were with each other. But she focused on her breath and envisioned everything melting away.

Karilan looked at Eela and, very calmly, “And none of the options either I or Jal’na have mentioned are mandatory. They are just that… options. We are simply trying to help and give you an avenue to do what it is you need and want to do until you are better.”

Karilan

Grabbing her cane from where it was hooked out of the way, Eela braced herself on it and very carefully rose from the massage chair to her feet. She could feel the improvement, so that was good, but she still ached. It distracted her from her thoughts which weren’t entirely helpful right now so Eela knew it was time to shift things. “I’m going to go visit with my granddaughter,” she said softly and moved carefully out of the workout room into the kitchen.

Karilan watched her leave and looked at Jal’na. They shook their head slowly and said very softly “This is such a mess, Jal’na.” and then she looked at the doctor. “I changed out the power supply and modified the relays to the servos. Nothing to change the way it works; but it just works smoother now. And she doesn’t have to replace the power cell of recharge it anymore.”

Jal’na nodded. “Good. She refused a better brace when she arrived. ‘She knew what to expect and how it worked’. I am glad someone can make her see reason. If you will write down the specifics I will make sure that Master Chief Trond receives them for his records.”

Caridee had items pulled from the fridge out onto the counter- eggs, bread and some fruit. She looked Eela over and quirked her brows, sussing her mother’s mood and pain levels with ease. “Dare I ask how you slept?”

Eela made her way over to the U-shaped sitting area that formed the casual dining and living space of the apartment where she spent a great deal of her time. She gathered some cushions to prop herself up and sat backwards, taking the weight off her spine, facing the kitchen with the patio view behind her. Alais this moment to crawl out from behind the kitchen island where she had been sitting near Caridee, took in her grandmother with her deep brown eyes, and smiled. Eela lit up. “Sleep was fine. I took the muscle relaxant and slept right through till Karilan woke me. I’m just having a lot of residual aches and it’s hard to know what is mine or not. Apparently my back is angry about all this too, just for fun.”

Caridee scooped up her baby and brought her over, setting her on the couch next to Eela.

Alais looked up and Eela ran a hand over the fine wavy mass of dark brown hair. “Well hello. Good morning. I’m very glad to see you, but don’t expect me to be running about after you today.”

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

Jal’na finished adjusting the bracelet and brought it out. “Be careful using it, Eela. You don’t have extra damage to your body, but your body believes it does.”

Jal’na, Lady Duroc

Karilan followed Jal’na out, patting the Klingon on the shoulder in thanks, and took a seat across the seating area from Eela and Alais, but didn’t say anything.

Karilan

Jal’na nodded once to Karilan.

Eela took the brace and nodded. “I will be mindful,” she said as she sat forward and wrapped the device around her bare torso, having chosen this sports bra specifically because it didn’t interfere with the top of the brace.

“Ba, da, tee!” Alais said, giving grin with her few teeth showing.

Eela laughed. “Is that so?” She secured the brace and turned it on and winced a little as it pulled her upright more than usual. It was a setting they had changed to after her arrival on Oed, but she had been able to reduce it after all the hard work she had put into her exercises.

Caridee watched carefully. “I know the pain is not generated by your own injuries, but as Jal’na said, you body believes it. I can tell your trying to hold it back, Mom, and that will only make the tension worse. It would be worth taking something to block your brain from perceiving the pain. It might make the day easier.” She grabbed her bag and pulled out the medical case containing her tricorder. “Shall we?” she said, waving the tricorder.

She sighed, but Eela was actually curious. “Go for it.”

Caridee did a slow and careful pass over her mother’s body and studied the readings. “Okay,” she said with a nod. “Levels are better than last night. I would expect them to be back to baseline, or close to it in jsut a few hours actually. That’s good. But yeah, definite signs of stress, which is understandable.”

Karilan exhaled a held breath silently in relief.

Eela looked to Jal’na. “How long would you want me to do the zero-grav room? And how often?” The increased compression was weighing on her mind currently. The pain was strangely something she could deal with, but decreased mobility or difficulty sitting or standing would make everything else harder.

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

“An hour or so one a day,” the Klingon said. “As for going into the public eye, I can have Cmdr Shiv use the transporter on the Kvaar’ton to move you from here to the hospital and back. Directly to the room. No one has to know what you are doing or interefere.”

Jal’na, Lady Duroc

“We could also do it leaving from the Quill. You are a regular there anyway.” Karilan said. “And it would give the appearance that you were doing things you do regularly.”

Karilan

It was such a strange dilemma and it wasn’t even that she was embarrassed to be seen going to the hospital. After all, just as Karilan said with the Quill, the same was true of the hospital. Everyone knew she had appointments regularly, so if she was there more, was it a big deal? If anything it was the need for daily treatment and how she was going to fit that into everything else going on. “I appreciate the extra consideration but it’s strangely unnecessary. I will go daily and we don’t even need to worry about transporters. I will even take an aircar so I’m not walking as much. But the schedule needs to be flexible after today and I am juggling work. It just has to be. It might be first thing in the morning or in the evening. I have no idea when the Governor and I are going to start having formal meetings with the Vren, but there is also going to be some sort of funeral in the near future. I can’t book these sessions all in advance. And I’m not worried if people know I’m doing them. They already know I have back issues. I think a flareup isn’t going to be breaking news and I have no issue telling people I’m doing extra treatments for my back due to the extra stress of recent events. It’s the truth, just not all the details. What I don’t want is the public knowing about the Kuskaartiz or that I was connected to Dash that way. There are too many people who would try to use that against me. Trust me on this.”

Jal’na shrugged, “That is up to you. I only offered because earlier you expressed distaste,” was the word that came to mind for Eela’s tone, “that once you leave here, you will have to be publically mourning. The offer is there if you do not wish to face the public just yet. As for daily sessions, I do not know if that is necessary. Your daughter says your levels are returning to normal.” Jal’na shrugged, “I know nothing of how psychic trauma affects the body or how long it will last.”

The thing was, neither did she. No one could predict this situation and while Eela had experienced many traumas in her life, none had taken this particular vector. And not only was she still not completely well, but she was overwhelmed by it all. Whether they realized it or not, they were asking Eela to make decisions that had a big impact on the days to come. Even seemingly simple things had to be weighed carefully. Did she have the capacity to make the right decisions right now? She wanted to believe so, but her mind still felt muddled in part by the pain. “I find myself needing more time to mental process options before I need to make decisions. What might seem simple on the surface can be a lot more complex in reality for me. I sometimes need a moment to work through my own resistance before I decide one way or another.” The other reality was that she couldn’t hide. Not on Oed. Not for long. Her absence was as notable as her presence.

“Considering everything that has transpired over the past twenty-five hours, I doubt very many people would begrudge you an extra moment or three when it comes to decisions and choices.” Karilan said. They looked at Alais and smiled and wiggled their fingers at her.

Eela could only hope so and nodded.

Meanwhile, Alais was taking in her grandmother’s seriousness intently and attempted to pull herself up to standing. Eela looked over and used her arm for Alais to brace herself on for only a moment before she gently pulled her into her lap, letting Alais balance on her thighs facing outwards. Alais beamed and took in the others, looking at Jal’na and then Karilan in turn before setting off into baby babble.

Eela shifted into her native tongue, Dinaye, which was a common dialect of the main Haliian language of Liada. Most people commonly referred to Liada as ‘Haliian’, given everyone spoke it, even if they spoke other dialects like Dinaye. She never got to speak this language in conversation other than with Caridee, given it was easier to use Federation Standard on Oed everyday. “Una gai, semiaverdahna. Kelno vee.” She then looked at Alais and pointed to the Klingon and said, “Jal’na,” slowly and clearly, and then pointed at Karilan, speaking their name just as clearly. Alais seemed enthralled.

Jal’na knelt down in front of the small child, “puq, Qu’vatlh. Qapla’.”

“Ahhb!” the baby said with enthusiasm, reaching out her tiny hand to Jal’na.

Jal’na took the small hand with a single finger, “It is a great honor to meet you little one.” Once back in possession of her own finger she stood.

“Ever since the gala she wants to be introduced to everyone. She’s adamant about it. I think she can’t possibly understand because she’s only six months old, but until we tell her their name, she won’t leave people alone. It’s hilarious and also a little frightening,” she said with a laugh.

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

Jal’na, Lady Duroc

“Well, don’t be too surprised that even if she is too young to pick up actual words, her affinity for languages will only have increased.” Eela looked at Jal’na and Karilan. “Theirs is a trilingual house. I thought I managed quite well, raising my children with two languages, but I will admit that we did not use Dinaye as much as I would have liked given I was the only speaker of the language around and Federation Standard was more present around them.”

“Hey, I might not be able to write it was well, but when I went for my residency on Halii I was surprised by how much I understood, especially in more rural areas. You dd better than you think you did,” Caridee said with a smile as she cut up fruit into a bowl. She understood the implication, the meaning between the lines of her mother’s words, but it was not a discussion for now.

The shift into causal topics suited Eela right now, especially given the bright light that was Alais standing on her lap. There was pure joy coming from the baby and she could admit that she missed this part of her own being this young. But being a grandmother suited her and she felt such a profound love for the child. “I miss being around babies. It’s such a pure energy. Soothing, even when they themselves are not feeling soothed.” She missed rocking a tiny baby in her arms. But that was a complicated thought that led to complicated feelings so she set it aside.

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

“I never had the opportunity to deal with babies.” Karilan said, and a jolt of emotion shocked them and they looked at Jal’na. They didn’t say anything, just looked, and then turned back to Alais. “But if all babies were as wonderful as you, young Miss, I would have a great deal of regret.” and they smiled at her.

Karilan

Alais cooed back and without warning lost her stability and flopped into a sitting position. Luckily, Eela was able to ease her down so the baby didn’t jar her body.

“I have other appointments, so I must go. You know how to reach me if you need anything. Drs Fayth and Eraras as well.” She hefted her bag. “It was a pleasure Caridee, Karilan.” She silently wished them luck as she headed doe the door. “Herb!” The Naussican came out of another room. “Lady Jal’na.” They left quietly out the door making sure it closed securely behind them.

Jal’na, Lady Duroc

Eela watched Jal’na leave in a quiet flurry, her brows quirked in slight amusement though she didn’t comment.

“I still have trouble with a Naussican named ‘Herb’.” Karilan said looking at the closed door and shaking their head with a chuckle.

Karilan

She laughed and it released a little more tension. “One of those idiosyncrasies I just assume is standard fare on Oed.” Eela sighed and reached into her pocket, pulling out her comm unit that she grabbed on her way over. Alais continued to babble and was brushing her fingers against the smooth fabric of Eela’s brace. “Yes, it’s soft, isn’t it? Makes it stick less to my clothes.” She pulled her body in different ways, frowning a little. “Though it’s weird going back up in settings again. I had just gotten used to the reduced lift.”

“That bad?”

Eela shrugged. “Some more compression has creeped in again. It is what it is.” Even if it was frustrating after all that hard work she’d been doing since she arrived on Oed, it was just a part of her everyday existence and that wasn’t going to change just yet. Now was not the right time. She skimmed her comm while Alais took in everything from her sitting position, throwing smiles at her mother and Karilan. A wave of joy swept over Eela and she smiled. “Roger sent a message. They’re making good time. Should be a couple of days.” She shook her head. “I’m still not sure how he managed that but I suppose there are some perks to all those extra pips.”

She looked over at her daughter. “Can you take Alais? I need to get dressed.”
Caridee set the bowl of fruit salad on the round dining table. “Do you need help?”
Eela sucked in a breath and nodded. “Probably.” She looked at Karilan. “Do you mind? I need to get a specific box out of my closet and lifting my arms while dressing is a bit difficult right now.”

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

Karilan stood up and said “Do you even need to ask?” and they smiled at her. they held out a hand to help her up and then said “Lead the way.” and they followed her down the hallway.

Karilan