Something Old, Something New

Posted on Sat Sep 3rd, 2022 @ 6:35am by Lieutenant Commander Lyra Cassiel & Lieutenant Dr. Daniel Brasken

Mission: In-Between (S1:E3-S1:E4)
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: Mission Day 14 at 0815
3463 words - 6.9 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

Nervousness was not an emotion that Lyra had often felt in her adult life, but she was feeling it now. Nervous and apprehensive. She was questioning this choice. Another rarity. She looked into the mirror for a long time while standing in her quarters, her fingers running over her naked body slowly. This was the body she had grown up with, lived in for the majority of her life… but it wasn’t what was supposed to be, it wasn’t how she was supposed to look. She liked this body, this face. She kept repeating the assurance that it wouldn’t be that much different in her head. It did little to comfort her. Despite all the hesitation, Lyra knew this was a step that had to be taken to reclaim what had been stolen from her. Madeline was a face and a name.

In her core she had always been Lyra, and Lyra wanted to break the chains that had surrounded her for far too long.

She finally pulled on her clothes, dressing casually and comfortably in a plain navy t-shirt and loose black pants. She didn’t know how her body would change, but these choices at the very least would be able to shift with most slight transformations. Sliding on sandals, she locked up and finally made her way to Sickbay for her scheduled appointment.

Lyra walked into Sickbay and looked around, for once actually glad she didn’t see Mika. She was on edge right now and didn’t want to answer a million questions or worse risk being unkind to the young woman. Licking her lips, she wrapped her arms around herself and watched the gaggle of personnel grouped together; she waited on them to break up before finally approaching Brasken.

Her eyes ran over him. Madeline couldn’t engage him beyond polite, brief exchanges all in the name of keeping Christoph feeling as he was the only one she had, but Lyra had no such restrictions. Unless… no, no. She wouldn’t entertain that particular thought right now. Lyra smiled at Daniel warmly and offered a nod.

“Good morning, Doctor. I am ready when you are.”

"Ah, yes, Madam Cassiel. Welcome to the first day of...nope, I can't finish it. Too easy."

Daniel gave her a smile as he stood and pulled a PADD off the shelf behind him. This had to be unlocked three different ways as the information regarding Lyra's medical records were his eyes only at this point. He made a cursory scan of the information and nodded his head like he was refreshing the knowledge but really he could have taken care of the whole ship by memory. Still though, best to make it believable.

"If you'll follow me to Isolation Bay three, we can discuss the particulars of your treatment."

He made his way to the bay and had to unseal it manually, the force field shimmering in the air as it dropped before stepping inside and motioning to the bio bed. Then he moved to the tray of tools already setup and waiting for them. Really it was a hypo-spray and several cartridges of various shades of green and red and a couple smaller tools. This really was internal work that the body itself would be doing the heavy lifting, unlike the cosmetic changes that away missions might need.

"How are you feeling this morning? Biologically speaking."

“Tired, but otherwise fine.” Lyra replied as she looked around the room. She breathed in slowly and had to work not to frown. She still hated how sickbay smelled and found herself wishing she had brought the diffusion device she had given to Andrei; it smelled too sterile and had that lingering, cloying sweetness. She brought herself back with a slight shake of her head and looked at Daniel, her dark eyes resting on his strangely colored, intense eyes. He had nice eyes. “I take it you reviewed the information I sent you and it seemed as straightforward as it did to me?”

"Indeed I did and it was." Another round of commands on the wall controls and the air shimmered again and then went opaque as the privacy mode engaged and all sound from outside the room was cut off. He saw the effort on her face as she fought to keep a neutral appearance, but the muscles around her nose were a dead giveaway as to the problem. She was going to be here for a while today and there was no reason for her to be uncomfortable so without a word he instructed the air purifiers for the room to turn off.

"You may speak freely now, if you wish, for the record. We will go through several rounds of injections and modifications. You will feel some discomfort through the process but I've mitigated it as best I can. Some things just can't be done about moving bones and muscle." He smiled at her softly, hoping to ease her tension a bit before grabbing the tricorder and taking the pre-procedure readings.

“What, I won’t be asleep for it?” Lyra asked, a slight smirk tugging onto her pretty face but her voice was impossible to read her feelings on the matter. She walked over to the biobed, placing her hand on it in a contemplative way. “Do I need to put on a gown? I’ve been told the changes won’t be too physically drastic, but people are known to be wrong.” She looked at him then, her smirk gentling into a smile.

"I would prefer you not be so that you can give feedback if necessary. I do not expect complications as the modifications are minor over all, but we are still talking about messing with rather delicate things." His eyes rolled up slightly and one side of his mouth tightened as he contemplated the question about a gown. "I had not planned for you to need to change as most people are more comfortable without them and I will not need the increased access to you physically. However, if you are wor- concerned about anything that is an option."

This time, she grinned a devious, teasing little grin and looked at Daniel fully. Her dark eyes were intense and determined to trap his gaze even if only for a moment. “That’s alright, Doctor.” She spoke with obviously feigned consideration while she teased, “I wouldn’t want to put you out having to look at more of my body.” There was a playful, flirtatious tone to her voice and she held his gaze for a beat longer before hopping up onto the biobed. She did at least slide out of her shoes since out of all her clothes, those were obviously the least forgiving. Everything else would stretch.

"Must you think so little of me that I would use my position in such a way? That takes all the sport out of things and I have never been one to be accused of unwillingness to put effort into something." He loaded the first hypo cartridge and injected it into the artery in her neck, a soft warmth as the mild sedative then diffused all through her body. "That should keep your more aggressive responses at bay, now for the real work."

The next cartridge he loaded and injected in the soft area behind her jaw and under her right ear. Setting the hypo down for now he grabbed the tricorder again to monitor her state as the initial phase began. "You may want to lay down, your vision and equilibrium will be affected during the process."

“Is it really using one’s position if it was something quite willingly offered?” She challenged with a devious grin. As she felt the warmth of the sedative, her body and mind instantly began to protest as her body insisted it was being compromised and she should do something about it before it was too late. Her jaw set and she took a slow, deep breath to try and center herself and accept the moment. She had asked for this. Wordlessly, she lay down and closed her eyes. “Where do you think it will start?”

"The first round is targeted at reasserting items in regards to pigmentation, from there it will move to bone structure and musculature and finally nervous system." His steps sounded softly as he set down the tricorder still open next to her head and picked up a small conical shaped instrument. Activating it the small blue light on it's tip was visible through her closed eyelids as he targeted specific points in her eyes to help the process along.

"And to answer your question, having the gown ready and making you wear it without any option hardly feels like it would be willingly offered. Especially since it is not necessary."

“You know, this sounds surprisingly unpleasant and I feel like I’ve been lied to.” Lyra managed a smirk though she immediately scowled as she saw the blue light through her closed eyes. She started to open them, but thought better if it and kept them closed. “All of you doctors are a bunch of sadists.” Said the sadist with a morose tone of voice.

"Mmm, I suppose kind recognizes kind, then." The light shut off and he stepped away from the bio bed. This next step would be the most uncomfortable as things would actually move and adjust. The last step had the most likely chance to straight out hurt though. "If you were worried about 'unpleasant' then you wouldn't be here to begin with nor would you have chosen the career path you have. But if you feel like lying to yourself, feel free."

"Well we all have to do that at some point." Lyra replied, feeling a mild tingle all along her body but more concentrated in herself as the colors began to shift. Her hair had brightened and strayed from dark brown to a rich and pleasing brown, more red and deep blonde weaving through it which gave it more depth of color. Her skin also shifted shades just slightly in its undertone, becoming less tawny and more brown. Marks disappeared in some places and appeared in others. She chanced opening her eyes and lifted her hands to look at them.

"Huh." She said almost as if surprised this was doing anything.

"Brace yourself." Daniel gave her no more than half a second before rapidly injecting three cartridges into her throat and hips. The changes on this were a bit more noticeable. As each injection spread, every muscle in her body started to twitch mildly as if tired and unable to maintain their strength. This caused a rippling effect along her skin that made her almost look like living water.

One last injection into her sternum before abandoning the hypo and then pressing his hand to hold her down where the last injection had taken place. An ache spread from there as now pliable muscles moved when the bone structure of her true ancestry re-asserted itself. The previous injections were to allow for the body to adjust without ripping itself apart and to provide the necessary chemical energy for the transformation. Now though, bone grew and shifted and occasionally this happened faster than the flexibility he enabled were able to adjust for.

His hand kept firm pressure as a steadying influence more than restraint as he stared at her eyes to gauge how she was handling things.

Oh so he was one of those kinda of doctors that didn't even give that-

Lyra's train of thought was immediately broken as her body started to twitch and her skin started to ripple. The sensation was uncomfortable, but the actual visual was entirely disconcerting and she was not an easy person to do that to. She frowned, or at least though she did. She realized she had no control over her body just as the pain started to amp up. Flight had been beaten out of her psyche long ago; there was only Fight. Her eyes glittered and darkened, she let out a slight growl but it was cut off as her body changed. She was trapped and everything in her was screaming kill. Her jaw clenched and then unclenched as the drugs forced it open.

While it wasn't the worst pain her body had seen, it was all over. Everything. She couldn't fight against it, so she tried to will her body to relax to no avail. She just had to endure. She could hear and feel the popping of her body as it reshaped. The worse pain was in her pelvis and legs though. Eventually she couldn't help it, a pained groan passed her lips.

As the medication started to finish its run, Daniel pulled his hand back to take up his tricorder once more. Nodding his head at the readings he then started to mess with the final couple cartridges and waiting for the woman to be able to function again. "Please do let me know when you are prepared to continue." He also reached over and activated a localized cooling field to help make her a bit more comfortable after that burst of activity.

It took a few moments for her body to calm, her breathing ragged and her nerves completely frayed. “I’d really like to kill you right now.” She was half joking, but was immediately startled by the foreign voice that had just come out of her mouth and her hand went to her throat.

"There was no real way for me to prepare you for that. I might be able to prepare someone else for the same procedure now though, so thank you for that." Daniel smirked ever so slightly as she realized the changes that had affected her. "You are going to have to work to get used to the changes. Unless you've had practice walking on stilts strapped to your legs randomly while you slept."

"I might have, you don't know." She smirked at him and turned her head, her muscles protesting strongly but she didn't care. "You know, usually someone buys me at least a drink before they treat me so roughly. Often times dinner too." Her voice was bothering her, it was so very different from what she was used to, but she refused to let it show.

Ignoring the first comment, Daniel decided to focus on the second. "In my defense, you made the appointment. Though now that you mention it, this next round may affect perceptions of taste, touch, smells...that type of thing. Perhaps I should treat you to a meal for you to explore these things?" Holding two cartridges between fingers on his left hand and the hypo in his right he then stepped back up to the bed.

Lyra eyed him warily as he drew closer with more cartridges. "Maybe... are you going to hurt me again? A little pain can enhance the pleasure but, my dear doctor, you must learn to temper your hand."

"Hmm, I cannot make promises with this one. Physically it should be mild, like the first round. But, psychologically speaking, it has the chance to turn your world on its head." He stared at her pointedly, making sure she understood what was coming now that the experience of the physical changes had had a chance to settle in.

"See now that sounds like you're threatening me with a good time, but I have strong doubts." She sighed and tilted her head away from him to offer up her neck, a sign that she was ready for what was to come.

As he reached up and injected her with each cartridge in turn he also gave a slight shrug. "Those I have the ability to supply as well but, I'd side with your doubts, personally."

Again a soft, warm sensation spread out from the neck as the chemicals went about their changes. A few twinges here and there as inputs that were common changed just slightly. Cold was still cold and pain was still pain after all, but perception was always a grab bag.

Lyra was expecting pain - doctors were liars after all - but when it didn't come and there was only some mild discomfort, she was thrown. She frowned, it felt strange, that made her frown deeper. She lifted a hand over her face to look at it and immediately noticed her fingers were longer and more tapered at the ends. She waved it a bit and felt the cool air, but at the moment if felt like pins pricking her skin. Not painful, but annoying. The lights in the room also seemed to brighten and she squinted against it.

"For future reference I wouldn't recommend this procedure to anyone."

"I'm not sure it was ever recommended in the first place. Desperate times and all that from my understanding." Admittedly he didn't have a lot of information on the why but, he couldn't imagine this procedure being done on a whim. Then again, there were some people in the Empire with more money than brains.

"The changes could take up to a week to complete and for you to be cognizant of them. So I expect you back here in that time to follow up. Who knows, you could have a new allergy or something."

Lyra just sighed and gave a wave of acknowledgement to his words. She didn’t like to go to sickbay and see doctors, but she was remarkably compliant when it was necessary. It was a rarity among Terrans in the Fleet in general, but even more so for one in her profession. “Yes, alright. I’ll come back even though the service here leaves much to be desired.”

"I feel like the problem was more with what you ordered than the service. Perhaps next time you will pick something less spicy from the menu." Daniel smirked and started to gather the emptied cartridges into a try to be sanitized for their next use. "Though I'll keep your preferences in mind and do my best to be accommodating."

“Anything else I should keep in mind?” Lyra asked and moved to slowly sit up in the bed, though the room warbled dangerously around her.

"Rest here until you are steady enough to depart. I will confirm with the commander that you will be on light duty for the next week until our follow up." Daniel reached up and held his hand over the force field control before adding, "And do make sure to alert me in the mean time should you need anything. As you're aware none of my staff are aware of the particulars.”

"Alright.” She paused and looked up at him, raising her brows. She obviously didn’t have a mirror, so she hadn’t seen anything. “Do I look terribly different?” Her voice was steady, but she was actually intensely curious as to what he thought.

"Terribly? I'd hesitate to use that in any way to describe you." Daniel let his hand fall to his side and turned fully to her to let his eyes scan her body and compare it against his memory from when she arrived. "I would say what you are now is a more...enhanced? sharper?...ah! embellished version compared to what you were. Eyes are a bit larger along with...most everything else. I wouldn't kick out out of bed...but to be fair I wouldn't have done so when you walked in here either." He gave a soft wink and a grin.

Lyra laughed at that, trying not to be put off by the sound so it was short. She gave him a smirk as she sat there, her dark eyes resting on his body. He was an attractive man, she couldn't deny it. "Well I'll just keep that in mind then." She said with a purr of suggestion to her voice. "Thank you, Doctor."

"You are welcome. And please do take the suggestion to rest seriously? No lecture, honest." With that Daniel turned and disabled both the privacy screen and the force field while re-enabling the air scrubber. The field shimmered down and as he turned to leave was immediately flagged down by a nurse so he returned to his duties without another word.

She watched him go with that smirk still on her face. She'd take her time getting off her feet and she would go and rest, but that wasn't going to last long. There was far too much she was eager to do and to see. Correct choice or not, it was done now. Madeline was gone.

Long Live Lyra.

END