Posted May 24, 2021, 2:50 p.m. by Ensign Viyara Nazeen (Scientist) (Silke Fahl)
Posted by Lieutenant Commander Liam Madison (Chief Science Officer) in CSO’s Office - Nazeen reporting for duty
Posted by Ensign Viyara Nazeen (Scientist) in CSO’s Office - Nazeen reporting for duty
Posted by Lieutenant Commander Liam Madison (Chief Science Officer) in CSO’s Office - Nazeen reporting for duty
(snip)
Liam took note of her reaction to his mention but he didn’t draw more attention to it. Making her uncomfortable served no good in the conversation and he wanted an honest explanation. As if sensing the tension rising, Scales shifted on his arm. The reptile’s feathered surface fluffed out then settled back down.
He understood the aspect of getting too involved and connected with a project, a habit he held. However, it concerned him to hear her sleeplessness pattern held for two whole days. Hallucinations started after the third or fourth day in most humans, though it varied with different races. Vulcans could go much longer without side effects due to their strict control over their bodies.
The CSO pushed the thoughts out of his head as he noticed she avoided part of his earlier address.
“Your medical history has a list of injuries due to holodeck-related incidents. Holodeck safeties are left on by default, unlike lab projects. I’m curious about why you would shut those off and endanger yourself.”
-CSO, Liam J. Madison, Sci.
Viyara took a deep breath and pondered how to answer his question best. Eventually she said, “There are no safeties in real life either and I need it to feel real. I know exactly what I’m doing and I never got badly hurt on the holodeck.” She hesitate for a moment and then added softly, “I need it to feel alive. To feel like I’m in control.” Looking him straight in the eyes, she continued, “I know most people don’t understand. And that’s okay. It’s just … if I were rock climbing on a real mountain somewhere, there wouldn’t be safeties either. And yes I know, most people use climbing gear. But not everyone does. They don’t get into trouble for it. So I don’t really understand why it is a problem to turn the safeties off in the holodeck. It’s not like I’m putting other people in danger.”
~Ensign Nazeen, Scientist
Liam noted the hesitation in Nazeen’s reaction to his question as he remained quiet, listening to her explain. Her words revealed she was addicted to adrenaline causing the pieces of the mystery to fall into place. It was difficult to experience when one knew they would be perfectly safe.
“I will admit, I understand your reasoning. However knowing this, I have to be prepared should one of your holodeck sessions go wrong. With your take on it being as athentic as possible, it might not be a simple fix in sickbay if you get hurt.” Liam put down the hard, cold facts.
“I know Sir,” Viyara replied with a hint of guilt in her expression. Yet she didn’t apologise or made promises she knew she wouldn’t be able to keep anyway.
He wouldn’t stop her from putting herself at risk, but he aimed to be prepared for the worst outcome. Deep down, he hoped she wouldn’t break something critical and require emergency treatment in the future. He moved on from the grim topic before either of them could dwell much longer on it.
“What drove you to follow a career in starfleet and ultimately the science department?”
-CSO, Liam J. Madison, Sci.
“It was more the other way round, really,” Viyara replied. “I’ve always been interested in science and I was always good at it. And yet I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do something with that and if so what. Someone I met sometime after leaving home suggested joining Starfleet. I thought that was a crazy idea and gave them some push back. But in the end they got through me and I applied for the Academy. I know I’m not model officer, but I enjoy being a scientist with Starfleet and I’m still glad I joined.” She gave a small shrug, being nonchalant about it even though she knew that it was one of the best decisions she ever made and probably saved her life.
~Ensign Nazeen, Scientist
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