BACKPOST - A green duck and a blue gemstone

Posted on Sat Jul 16th, 2022 @ 3:09am by Lieutenant Commander Bonnie "Bon-Bon" Durnell & Lieutenant Anna S. Thesia M.D.
Edited on on Sat Jul 16th, 2022 @ 3:11am

Mission: *CD*
Location: USS Sunfire Med-Bay
Timeline: While still docked at DS9

Indeed the universe was vast, but for certain human beings the pull between each other was like a taut rubber band. No matter how far they traveled away, there was always something to bring them back. Perhaps it was an emotional impulse, or maybe a chemical bond? One of the universe's greatest mysteries. The moment she heard the green duck and maybe the blue gemstone had returned she dropped everything and ran to sickbay. There was no injury greater than the pain of lost friendship.

Anna was busy compiling a list of things she needed the operations department to order to get her sickbay supplied with the necessities. Most things were available in sufficient numbers but Anna wanted a few extra devices and medicines from non-Federation cultures, just in case they might prove useful. Even the Cardassians had come up with some medical technologies which were good to have on your side, even if you’d rather not stop to think about how they had been developed. Everything should be obtainable at the station, and arrive onboard before the ship had to leave. So much, so good. “I just hope nobody will pilfer the biomimetic gel”, Anna mumbled to herself.

Running full tilt, ignoring passerbys, she refused to stop until at least the doors opened and she stood, slightly out of breath in the open doorway of sickbay. Practiced runner that she was, her recovery was short. It was her brain that lagged behind. "Anna, um Doctor, you've returned?." Her eyes darted about looking for Anna's other half. "Is… um, Sapphire with you?" She blushed as she remembered quickly that the last time they were together Bonnie had been naked, covered in blue paint and tattoos.

Anna turned around at the sound of Bonnie’s voice, a big smile on her face. She quickly closed the distance between them and gave Bonnie a hug. “It’s good to see you, Bonnie!” she exclaimed. “But no, she’s not. I don’t know where she is.” They hadn’t been posted together, and Anna didn’t even know whether Sapphire was going to be on the ship with them, or somewhere else altogether.

The hug felt nice. As they separated Bonnie responded, “Oh, well, that’s okay. I didn't mean to imply where you went she would follow, I suppose.” There was a hint of disappointment in her voice. “But it is nice to see you again. You left and came back to a completely different ship, different crew, the works.” She stood there, a gaudy smile on her face like she was just waiting to hear the details of the Doctor's departure and subsequent time away.

“Well, most of you are here”, Anna said. “I figured, settling into smaller medical facilities was okay. Looks like I’ll have to set up some testing in my quarters, though.” She walked ahead towards her office, inviting Bonnie to follow. “As for Sapphire, I’m sure Starfleet knows better than to send an Andorian into the heat of Cardassia.”

Bonnie was about to sink into a comfy chair when her eyes grew large. “Are you saying you were on Cardassia? Isn't it like super dangerous to be there, with like roving street gangs and such? Or have things mellowed out since the war ended? There’s not much news that comes out of a place like that lately.”

“Admittedly, I did not have much incentive to leave the base hospital”, Anna said. “The worst danger was the pollution.” She walked to the replicator. “Cocoa, if I remember correctly?” Her brain was like Swiss cheese sometimes but this one she was fairly confident she was right about.

Bonnie nodded and then continued to take her seat. She recalled the green doctor’s panache for mugs with puns and quips written on them. “Pollution? Wasn’t there someone responsible for the cleanup after the war ended?” There was a general understanding the political system on Cardassia was in complete disarray and that they had refused all but the essentials as far as help. Doctors and such were of course allowed, but the Cardassians were proud, even in defeat.

This time, however, the drink came in a standard mug as it was generally spat out by the replicator. Anna hadn’t had time to personalize the menu yet. “I think there’s so much pollution it’ll take decades to clean up the worst of it, and barring some time travel interventions, the damage can never be fully undone.” She was, of course, referring to the famous de-extinction of humpback whales on Earth. Sadly, this was not a practical solution to this kind of problem in general. “No, it’s a horrible place, so I’m happy to be back for a number of reasons.” She smiled at Bonnie. “Not the least of which is being among friends again.“

Bonnie sipped her cocoa and couldn’t help but to smile. It was the first comforting drink she had been offered since her Father had passed and she welcomed it as it slid down her throat. She then smiled, “I, for one, am glad you are back.” Then she added sheepishly, “Can’t wait to see what you have that tops water horse riding. And we must go for that outing we missed out on.”

“Sadly, I did not have a chance to get inspired while on Cardassia”, Anna said. “Seems like most of those things Cardassians like to do for fun are frowned upon by most civilized societies.” She smirked. “Much like Orions a few hundred years ago, I suppose.” Anna joined Bonnie on her side of the desk, rather than across from it, with her tea. “Though, do you know any places on Deep Space Nine that are worth exploring together?”

Shaking her head Bonnie replied, “Sadly I don’t. If you recall, I don’t like to get out much. Weird things tend to happen when I ‘do’ things outside my little bubble and I’m okay with that.” She saw the look of disappointment on Anna’s face, “I mean we could always get a drink, or visit the tailor, get an outfit or something. I’m game for just spending time, you know chitting the chat?” She ended with a crude shrug and a half hearted smile.

“I was just thinking about that outing, and where to do that”, Anna said. “Especially since you just said you’re okay with the weird things happening. I like weird things too, so that’ll work out nicely.” She snickered. “But you’ll have to abandon any concern for possibly being embarrassed if you’re out with me.”

Rolling her eyes Bonnie replied, "I abandoned embarrassment a long time ago. Born unlucky, remember? Besides, I'm just glad to see you back. So anything you come up with for fun would be game and I chose last time so it's clearly your turn." Bonnie recalled the walk in the holodeck where they had tumbled down the hill in Scotland and then later when they had abandoned all clothing to ride the waterhorse in the loch. It was a good day.

“Put me on the spot, why don’t you?” Anna teased, poking Bonnie in the side. “I’ll think of something. I’d recommend Quark’s but I don’t think you’d have a good time there, it’s a very public place.” She thought, putting her head on the side. “Does this ship have an arboretum?”

"Yes!" Bonnie responded quickly. "I'm sure it does. My friend Remal, the uh, Captain's SO, he goes there all the time. He told me he loves working with his hands in the dirt and I think he has a small crop of herbs and coffee beans." Rambling again she added, "There's also a stream feature which defies gravity. I haven't been to see it yet, so, that sounds, you know, like a place we could visit." Her eyes were full of excitement though she was trying hard to hold in her flurry of emotions. In effect, she looked on the verge of pissing herself.

“Perfect”, Anna beamed. “I’ll bring some food, and I’ll also make sure to sample the plants we’re carrying.” She loved trying out new ones, and maybe one of them would be great for seasoning her food? “I promise I won’t touch the coffee... much.”

“Great!” Bonnie beamed back as she sat forward and bumped her cup on the edge of the desk causing it to tumble out of her hand onto the floor. It was mostly empty, and the floors were designed to absorb spills, but her face still held her embarrassment brightly in her cheeks. “Sorry, I was um, just going to ask when.” She proclaimed as she knelt down and began dabbing up the wetness and picking up the pieces of porcelain.

Anna chuckled and helped Bonnie clean up. “How about while we’re on our way to our next mission?” she asked. Even if it was some kind of emergency, they would surely have enough time on the way there to be able to catch up properly. “But this time, you bring the food. I want to try what you like.”

“Um, okay, I can do that.” She immediately thought about all of the foods she liked and the few she didn’t. This task meant checking her spreadsheet of liked foods in order to choose the perfect dishes for the, “So, it’s a pic-nic?” Yes, it would be food on the grass, or whatever the arboretum was growing for grass. She reminded herself to check the pie chart, and then caught herself licking her lips at the idea of pie.

“But Bonnie?” Anna said, figuring that her mind was already racing to all kinds of preparations. “Just remember, spontaneity is key. If you plan too much, that only means you’re giving the universe too many chances to make sure things get spoilt.”

She didn't need to count how many times she had heard or been told to be more spontaneous, mostly because she had logged the occurrences in a spreadsheet. She stood, her cleanup complete, "I know, and I'll try, but spontaneity and I are not good friends. I need order. I need my tight compartmentalized boxes all stacked nice and neat like, you know?" She deposited the mug fragments into the recycler. She half turned towards the sickbay door as a patient walked in, a nasty looking cut on their chest.

“Five minutes at the bar and already in sickbay”, Sapphire complained, more annoyed by the inconvenience than by having a dart sticking out of her chest. “Hey doc!” She did not know that Anna or Bonnie were around. She walked towards the office when she saw Bonnie. “Oh, hello!” She smiled despite the annoying circumstances. “I, uhm, would give you a hug, but...” She pointed at the dart.

Bonnie practically froze, her heart skipping a beat as her former colleague/partner, well she didn't really have a word to describe their relationship yet. The details of their previous experiences and her sudden departure were like a rollercoaster in Bonnie's heart and she couldn't help to wonder if Sapphire felt the same. Her mouth let out a little "eep" indicating she was still breathing. She waved off the hug, "It's okay, I understand." She replied while looking at the blood on Sapphire's chest.

Anna walked out to see what was going on, and at a glance she could tell the situation was uncomfortable but not threatening. “Bonnie, were you shooting darts earlier and didn’t tell me about your target acquisition?” she teased as she took Sapphire’s hand and led the smirking Andorian to the nearest biobed. “Can you help me get her out of this blouse?” Anna asked.

Stumbling, and fumbling for her words Bonnie replied, "I didn't, I wasn't, um, darts, I can't." Then she thought for a moment about what Anna was asking her to do and she blushed until she realized Anna was teasing her further. "Hey, that's not fair." She spat out. But she moved to the biobed in order to do what was asked of her. A nurse, she was not, but removing an article of clothing shouldn't be too difficult, should it?

“I think that was a jab about your phaser testing”, Sapphire smirked. “But... could you hurry up? This is really uncomfortable.”

“Oh,” Snapping to, Bonnie began peeling the garment up and around Sapphire’s well-toned shoulders. They were cold to the touch like she remembered, but smooth. She then allowed for some slack at the front before attempting to lift the shirt up and over Sapphire's antennae. Short as they were, Bonnie was shorter and therefore struggled a bit, almost falling forward into the blue rock standing before her. She blushed again.

Knowing that Sapphire wasn’t fussy about painkillers, Anna went to work without one, pulling out the dart now that the way was clear and starting with the regeneration of the bone plate right under Sapphire’s skin. “I had no idea Quark’s could be this volatile”, Sapphire remarked.

“For what it’s worth, I believe the idea is to throw the dart at the board, not at each other.” Bonnie playfully scolded. “Besides, the noise level alone is why I don’t want to go to Quarks. I’ve heard he’s the nicest of Ferengis though.” She shrugged her shoulders.

“Someone should teach that to those Nausicaans”, Sapphire remarked wryly. With the dart pulled out and the skin blemish sealed, Sapphire looked much happier, however. “So, Bonnie, how have you been?”

Of course Sapphire would be one to get into a fight with Nausicaans. Her disregard for her own life was akin to knocking an icicle off of one's house with a broomstick. Bonnie thought about telling Sapphire about her father's passing, but chose to just reply with, "I've been well. No major complaints. I'm not the one picking fights in bars so…" she jabbed.

“In my defense, all I did was walk past them”, Sapphire said. “I wanted to get a drink. How am I supposed to know that’s when they’d start throwing sharp things?”

“They’re Nausicaans, dear”, Anna laughed. “That’s the only way they know how to have fun.”

Bonnie asked timidly, "So, Sapphire, are you back for good or just stopping in to patch another hole in your chest?" She wondered how long the blue rock would hang around and whether or not she had actually been assigned to the Sunfire. .

“I hope so”, Sapphire said. “I mean, I hope they’ll let me stay for a bit, get settled in for once and show what I can do with training personnel up to Andorian standards.”

“Does this mean I’ll be much busier than expected?” Anna asked.

“Perhaps”, Sapphire smirked. “Depends on how fast they’ll learn.”

"Good. I'm glad to hear you'll be hanging around. It's like I have my friends back. You know y'all have missed a lot while you were gone." Bonnie led with before rambling off the adventures they had each missed while being off the ship. As per her norm she was quick paced and difficult to understand.