Space Bunnies!

Chapter 36: Treatment

Kai had no idea that Yar was on the phone with this 'Narcit.' He didn't even have any idea of the situation happening with Bodi. In medical, he was forced to stay in the quiet confines of the sterile white room, with padded walls, coloring books, and overly friendly staff. Kai had been introduced to his psychiatrist about an hour after Yar had sentenced him, but the main wouldn't give him the time of day even after their first introduction. His stay in medical crossed just over three days. And he'd been the only other patient. But the other one was not interested in talking to Kai. He still wasn't wearing a shifting inhibitor. As he sat in his chair— patiently waiting for his shrink, he eyed an air vent... he could escape right now... if he turned into goo and propelled himself into that tiny slot in the overhead, he could find his brother, get a shuttle or an escape pod, and be on his way out in a heartbeat. Kai blinked and looked toward the door... the doctor was now about 30 minutes late, back to the vent. He stood up, his hands balled into fists as he prepared to escape from clinical hell. And then, as he had solidified the idea... the door opened. Kai panicked but hid it so well that he played it off as if he'd just gotten up to stretch out a knot or something, and he slumped in his chair, arms crossed across his chest like a pouting toddler. The office itself was tiny, but it served the purposes of the chief medical officer's headquarters aboard a ship the size of a self-contained submarine back in the 21st century on a planet like Earth. "My apologies for being late!" The Dena'vi doctor started as she shuffled over, her talons clacking across the deck loudly as she quickly made her way in, her voice tinged with annoyance more at herself; she felt bad for keeping Kai waiting so long. She rounded the table and flapped her wings to give herself the minimal lift required to reach the chair's height.

Kai was surprised. This wasn't the CMO; it was the medical assistant; she wasn't even commissioned; she wore civilian clothing. I guess the doctor was too busy to deal with Kai's 'nonsense.' Kai and Bodi had been introduced to her during their first medical checkup when they came aboard; the crew lovingly referred to her as 'Baby Doc.' Because, besides the CMO, she was the only other medical professional on board, her name was Velmar Narr. She was a soft-spoken woman; her species featured various colors and subspecies of birds, as mentioned before; and she, in her own right, took the form of an Eclectus parrot, and her form mimicked a species of household pet native to the Maluku Islands. She had lovely blue feathers but eerie black eyes that took the form of dots on the side of her head.

"Hi, Kai!" She vocalized with a blink. Kai's eye twitched in annoyance; he wanted to explode— but he restrained himself; this person did not deserve his attitude; his eyes drifted toward the ship's deck. "Hi." He said with furrowed eyebrows. This woman was of no harm to him, but he would've much instead been undiplomatic rather than submissive. He would not bend to Yar's will. But he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable at the thought that this person was actually relaxing him. He squirmed in his chair. "So tell me about yourself. Why are you all the way out here?" She poked. 

Kai immediately dodged the question with a question. "Don't you have access to the ship's database? You don't keep logs or records or anything like that?" Kai added with that tinge of annoyance again. Kai was expecting the MA to take down his 'outburst' on some notepad so she could take it to the captain and tell him that he was out of his mind, which is probably what Yar wanted to hear. But she did not. She was calm and continued to try to build her side of the bridge. "I'm just a civilian, level one access. Which means I'm on a need to know, I'm a volunteer!"

"Wait... you aren't a part of the DP? I didn't know they did that." Kai said with genuine interest. Bodi would've liked to know that; he always tried to find the quickest path to his dream job and wanted to be a scientist. "Mhm! I'm just happy to help. I could never wear a uniform. But unfortunately, that means I don't get out of here much; some of the crew areas are off-limits to me. Cargobay, the bridge, you know. They think I'll cause trouble up there. Sometimes, I think they consider me a burden— until they stub their toe, and the Doc's too busy to look at it." The way she talked about it made her sound like the crew thought of her as some pest, like a roach or a mouse. Kai's anger was less focused on Narr and more on the crew and the captain even more— she was meant to be helping, but she only messed up and fueled his anger further.