Broken and Scarred

Posted on Tue Aug 15th, 2017 @ 7:18am by Lieutenant T'Pral

741 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Pulling Together
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: Thirty-Six Hours after "Medical Emergency"

ON:

It was some time after the surgery before T'Pral stirred again. The trauma was severe, and even with her Vulcan healing factor and the excellent work by Sickbay doctors, it took a while to come around. She blinked at the bright lights and attempted to focus on her surroundings. A hand grabbed hers and she quickly snapped her attention in that direction.

"Husband," she stated simply as his form came into focus.

"Wife. Do you know where you are?"

T'Pral blinked and looked at her surroundings. "I am in sickbay. A recovery ward, if I am not mistaken."

S'Tras nodded once, "You are correct." a pause, "How much do you remember?"

"I was studying a visage of Ambassador Spock when-" she frowned at the lack of detail. "All I can recall is sound and pain."

"The statue exploded," he explained, "and you were injured severely. That was nearly two days ago."

Two days! Logically she should have perished, especially if she was standing as close as she remembered to the statue. "Why am I not dead?"

S'Tras glanced through the glass window that led into Sickbay proper. "Your shipmates are very good at their jobs. You were gravely injured, but they preserved your life."

T'Pral nodded, the action in a halted fashion due to the pain it incurred in her joints. "How gravely?" she asked after a silence.

He turned back to her and made an unreadable expression. "I do not know the details, they would not tell me. But I can see you will require extensive reconstructive surgery."

T'Pral ran her right hand across the scars on the other. Her Vulcan healing would minimize most of them, but he was right, multiple sessions with the dermal regenerator would be required. "A mirror," she said.

S'Tras paused, "Are you certain?"

"Yes."

He nodded once and retrieved a hand mirror from a nearby drawer. "I do not know what you are expecting to see, but your visage is... damaged." He then handed it to her.

T'Pral hardened her expression before she lifted the mirror to see her face. She, too, wasn't entirely certain what she had expected. Certainly there would be damage, but perhaps not so... complete. Scar tissue and reddened skin cris-crossed her face, making expressions difficult to approximate. Even raising an eyebrow merely made it twitch. Her eyebrows were patchy, her hair itself matted and irregularly present. One ear was missing, the other damaged. She lifted her free, shaking hand to lightly touch her scarred cheek. Immediately she dropped her hand and handed the mirror back to S'Tras.

Vanity was illogical; her value was her intelligence and skill. But she still couldn't help but feel a pang of pain at the loss of her looks. It would be repaired in time, but she would not be exactly the same again - even a minor difference in bone growth would ensure that.

"That is not all," S'Tras revealed, "Walking and movement will be difficult until the repaired muscles are strengthened. Most likely you will be ordered to not report to work for some weeks."

T'Pral shook her head, the action causing pain that she suppressed, "That is illogical. My mind is undamaged, I can still work."

"But you cannot climb Jeffries Tubes, nor traverse Engineering with ease. You have an assistant, yes? The logical choice will be for you to recover completely before returning to work. Otherwise you may injure yourself further and prolong your recovery."

T'Pral looked at her husband for a moment and nodded once. She could not argue his logic. She decided to shift the conversation. "How did the statue explode? That is not typical behavior of stone effigies."

"I do not know," S'Tras said with the shake of his head, "I simply came here as soon as I heard about your injury."

"Commodore York and Vulcan Security are investigating?"

"Most likely," he replied.

T'Pral sank back into her bedding in thought. She would want to join this investigation. Was she a target? Was Spock? Or was there a larger conspiracy at play? The doctors would not be happy if she were to leave early, but she had to see this through. She was already planning her escape.

With his spouse falling silent, S'Tras knew their conversation had ceased for now. He stood and said, "I will inform the doctors you are awake."

OFF:

Lt T'Pral
Chief Engineer
USS Calypso

&

Lt S'Tras
Chief Tactical Officer
USS Exeter

 

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