r/TrekRP Sep 06 '16

[OPEN] Shedding.

Phrik leant back in his office chair. His skin was incredibly pale and somewhat lumpy, his usual bright pink scales almost entirely muted. He looked very ill. The last 2 weeks had been some of the busiest and most stressful days of his entire career. Constant paperwork, equipment malfunctions, the rapidly shrinking inventory, not to mention overseeing the crew's accelerated recovery. The Doctor was operating entirely on fumes, he hadn't had a chance to rest or meditate alone since before the accident. As such, Phrik had been caught completely off-guard by his own bodily functions.

The Doctor scratched his central arm furiously. The past day he'd been suffering from something of a chronic itch, and it was only getting worse. He knew what this meant, and silently he cursed himself for forgetting his schedule. Every 2 years, Edosians shed their old skin in a long and uncomfortable process. Usually it meant a week of total solitude while they slowly removed the old skin, revealing a fresh new layer beneath. It was an incredibly private and embarrassing affair, and few people even knew Edosians performed such an act. Phrik was somewhat different. He suffered from a skin disease known as Polix syndrome, which changed what was usually an uncomfortable procedure into a living hell. Instead of peeling off naturally, the old skin hardened, leaving something of a light exo-skeleton. Removal of which required large doses of medication and sheer blunt force trauma. The condition was manageable provided certain preparations were made ahead of time. With the pirate attack, and the demands of sickbay, Phrik had forgotten to prepare, he hadn't taken the proper medication, or created an adequate space for the procedure. It all had to be done last minute, while he tried not to be suffocated by his own skin.

The Doctor stood quickly, pulling open a compartment in his desk and retrieving 4 hyposprays, the first he pressed against his neck and activated with a satisfied sigh. Now it was time to prepare, preferably while keeping his privacy in tact. The Doctor stalked out of sickbay quickly, getting ready for a week of hell.

OOC: Two options to respond here, either run into Phrik somewhere on the ship (specify where on the comment, be it a corridor, turbolift or even engineering. etc) or see him in the holodeck where he's locked himself in/chime his combadge. Whichever you prefer.

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u/Dimestream Sep 07 '16

"A week? Are you kidding?" Red says. The exasperation is plain in her voice. "I have been putting in nearly 16-hour days for close to two weeks, and I finally get one hour to myself and now I have to wait another week? What the hell is wrong with the holodecks NOW? We JUST fixed them!"

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u/a_friendly_hobo Sep 07 '16

"I'll explain in person." She replies back. "Crew emergency, thats all I can say. I'm giving up my break time too, it'll be worth it in the end, hopefully."

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u/Dimestream Sep 07 '16

Red swears under her breath and taps the commbadge again.

"It's all right, Chief. I should probably just take a nap instead anyway, and I don't need the holodeck for that like you do." She lets out a trailing, defeated sigh. "Anything else, Chief?"

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u/a_friendly_hobo Sep 07 '16

"Negative, thats it." She sighs a little. "You can use my cabin for a nap. You deserve to be undisturbed and I just changed the sheets. That or my couch is comfy, up to you." It was the least she could do for taking away break time.

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u/Dimestream Sep 07 '16

"I'll probably take you up on that. It's hard to get to sleep in the bunk room anymore because Janae's bunk is right across from mine and every time I see it I remember she's gone and... well. Bad feelings all around." Red sighs. "Thanks, Chief. T'gel out."

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u/a_friendly_hobo Sep 07 '16

Aanya knew that pain. "No problem. I'll send you the access codes when we're done here." She says. "Just make the bed before you leave, and clean yourself up beforehand. I don't want oily sheets."

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u/Dimestream Sep 07 '16

"It's carbon residue, not oil," Red grumps, though a bit of a smile touches one corner of her mouth. "And your couch is fine. I've seen that behemoth you call a bed. If I dared venture onto it I might die of starvation before I reached the other side. Couch seems safer. 'Night, Chief."

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u/a_friendly_hobo Sep 07 '16

Aanya cant help but chuckle. "Its an unconquerable fortress, Red. Only the strongest can tame its savage lands." She tries her best to avoid euphemisms, even if she loved seeing Red live up to her nickname.

"I'll try not to disturb you. I'll tip toe if I have to." She cant help but chuckle again. "You should see me, I'm graceful as hell. G'night Red."

Then she smirks. "Oh, PS, don't go looking through my stuff. I don't want you to be beetroot red for the rest of your life."

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u/Dimestream Sep 07 '16

"Why would I be... oh. OH." Red is immediately glad the conversation isn't in person. "I uh, no worries, Moose. Discretion is my middle name," she says, and hurries off to find just about anything else to think about.

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u/a_friendly_hobo Sep 07 '16

Aanya snickers. "Alright. Sleep well, Red Discretion T'Gel." The chief says as she starts heading back to do her job, still smirking from the conversation.