An Apple a Day

Posted on Wed Mar 8th, 2023 @ 9:12pm by Captain Rueben Gregnol & Evelyn Reynolds

Mission: Mission 16: Hysperia
Location: Hysprian Park
Timeline: Fourth Day of Festival (MD08)
4213 words - 8.4 OF Standard Post Measure

The medieval-themed park that Gregnol had chosen for a talk with Evelyn had transported him to a time of knights, castles, and chivalry that he had not expected to. Maybe it was laid on thicker as it was the more tourist area close to the port. He had been mostly immune to the planets charm so far but the park's entrance was designed like a castle gate with a drawbridge and a moat. The paths were lined with cobblestones, and the landscape was dotted with statues of Hysperia founders and fountains. In the center of the park was a large jousting arena surrounded by wooden bleachers, where visitors could watch knights in shining armour compete for glory.

Gregnol sat down on a bench and watched one of the hologram guide start to try and teach a pod of Bolians about medieval weapons and crafts and how it led to the creation of Hysperia.

"Hard to believe this was a legitimate way of life at one point." The voice from behind carried a degree of measured amusement. "Even harder to grasp that my ancestors were deep in the thick of it."

Oddly enough, though she'd not stopped to think about it prior to this invitation, Evelyn had never spoken to the Captain of the Mary Rose privately. When she'd first been shepherded on board by Jake, who wasn't taking 'no' from either them without significant fight, the initial conversation and every subsequent had involved the First Officer and his incessant desire to vouch for her. She had no concrete idea why Gregnol would suddenly want to speak to her alone now, though several theories had her a little squeamish. Her presence on board posed some sense of relative risk, after all, and that was before her contribution to Sickbay and the training of its staff was taking into consideration.

“It is not really a Russian trait in the slightest but I can imagine that some communities enjoy it.” Gregnol murmured taking a swig from the bottle of beer he had. He glanced at the woman offering a smile. He could not begin to imagine how her mind might be whirling at why he had asked her there but it was simple in his mind and he needed to settled things for when they left port in a few weeks. “How are you doing?” He finally settled on.

"I'd forgotten you were from Soviet soil." Now well and truly past the point of allowing herself a cane when walking, Evelyn moved to join him, sinking down to take a seat next to the burly man with a measure of relief that suggested rehabilitation still carried some discomfort. "That all depends on the context in which you're asking. I'm somewhat regretting a bratwurst I just ate but that's a minor gripe. All things considered," she added as an opening. He had a purpose for this meeting, after all, and Evelyn wasn't the type to entertain small talk any longer than was necessary.

“The accent is more a twang these days. More airy English thanks to teenage years in England and well the Kea clan.” Ten years of knowing Jeassaho and her family had changed him from his accent to how he show the world. His father had been intelligence and had that had effected his whole life until he had met a quirky Betazoid family who were doctors apart from two black sheep. “Well bratwurst aside I meant more generally as you’ve been onboard a few months now and do not seem to be moving on so it raises my question of do we get to keep you going forward?”

It was a phrasing that caught Evelyn by surprise, being more of a mind to ask him a very similar question but with the deciding factor resting on his approval. "I certainly have no intention of retracting my career choices," she answered cryptically, though Gregnol was one of the few on board who knew enough to have chronological expectations. The stay Jack had managed to intervene and place on her resignation intent had been dressed up as a six month medical sabbatical. It wouldn't be too much longer before that leave was up, which meant that it was only a matter of time before Jack played whatever trump card he'd ferreted away up his sleeve to get her back. "So I suppose that depends on whether or not you still have a place for me."

He smiled as her phrasing as much as his surprised him. He knew where she had come from for the most part but have never asked her version of the story trusting Jake. “We very much have the space for you if you want it.” Gregnol was under no illusions that medical was his cursed department so the longer he kept it filled the better. He was willing after the last couple of months to do a lot to keep a doctor onboard.

As far as negotiations went, it was the easiest settlement Evelyn had ever secured. "I am doing my best to mitigate any interference from my...previous employment." Her blue eyes met his, wry amusement at their mutual understanding of what that actually meant prompting a slight roll before Evelyn continued. "I certainly don't expect you or your crew to tolerate complications on my behalf."

And yet, it was still your crew. The same came up every time she spoke to Jake. For all the investment she'd put in to setting up the medical training on board, the sheer amount of certification and approval she'd fast-tracked to actually give Beya and Oliver something tangible at the end of it, the ex-Starfleet officer still saw herself as separate. It was a conscious thing, Evie was more or less determined that she only had a place here as long as Starfleet left her alone. She couldn't very well expect Gregnol to invest in her problems.

"My willingness to remain notwithstanding, there are still a few things that need addressing within the department. Primarily our lack of surgical expertise. I can run the place," Evie added, "I have pharmaceutical covered, immunology I can handle. If the crew gets sick, I can treat them. If they cut open their hand or break a bone, all three of us can manage those kind of injuries. But records show you had a near-fatal emergency liver reconstruction under your last physician's watch and that makes me nervous." Privately, Evie had every intention of pursuing the gaps in her medical knowledge, now that she was going back to grassroots and away from the research aspects that had been her life's pursuit. Her father was her primary resource, an excellent surgeon in his own right, but she wasn't going to drag him out this far just to educate her. "If any of the crew require major surgical intervention, we don't currently have the expertise to do more than stabilise them for transport."

“And what if I can get you that person before we leave port?” He asked already having someone on the way as he was more than aware that surgery was lacking. It was part of the curse he was more than sure he had in the medical department. Maybe it had been Barton's parting shot for the fact that Gregnol had been so reluctant to steal the bio bed back when they had first left port in 2393.

Evelyn's eyebrow arched. "Then I'd be querying why you're making specialist appointments without at least consulting the person you intend to place in charge." As much as she had a similar control to his over her composure, it was very clear from the glint in the doctor's eyes that she was speaking in jest, though perhaps with just enough edge to it to convey a future preference. "But if the situation is already being addressed then we at least theoretically have all bases covered." She exhaled slowly. "I am grateful that you're allowing me space to be useful. I hope it goes without saying that I will gladly remove myself if I feel my presence here is not in the crew's best interest."

“Well he owes me a favour plus I can send him away if you do not like him or he bugs me enough.” The man stated simply. “Plus you know Starfleet you get what you are given. I thought you would be used to that.” He teased just a little before he sobered and took in a deep breath. “I hope to think that you are out of trouble here but I know the pair of us together might stir some the pot a little. Do you have a backup plan?” He quietly questioned knowing that intelligence and security both had claws in his meant that sometimes he had to think of a backup plan to his backup plan for everyone but her case was slightly different and he hoped he could help if he could.

The doctor's jaw clenched slightly, clearly about as comfortable as the man himself with divulging personal weakness. It wasn't comforting to say that her involvement with his crew had started off as the last port in a vicious storm because that sounded rude and ungrateful and Evie was anything but. The subsequent time had allowed her to relax a little and she even enjoyed her interactions with the crew she'd been able to spend any time with. It wasn't enough to quench her desire to know why her career had come to this, though the resources at her disposal to find out what the hell was going on were somewhat difficult to trust currently. "If I have to return to Earth, I will," she eventually said, citing the option she'd initially suspected was going to be her only. Freecloud was a possibility but that felt like falling too far from grace. Gregnol's new direction was a purpose, at least, and if it wasn't going to lead to the scientific breakthroughs Evelyn had expected out of her career, at least it might do some good elsewhere.

The took a long swing of his bottle and nodded thoughtfully. "Can I help at all with your situation?" He asked quietly. He had offered it many times before when people had been around but this time it was just them both here and it was just between them and no one else. Maybe she would accept his offer or want to talk more about it all.

If anything, the wall seemed somewhat more sturdy within the intimacy of a private discussion. It was perhaps not surprising that Jake's presence in the past had coaxed some of the tension from Evie's posture but she struggled now against the sensation of being invaded, understanding the man's desire to reach out because it was exactly what she would have done, but at the same time instinctually repulsed by any invitation to focus on the dark uncertainty that represented the truth of her situation. The clamour of her pulse in her ears made it instantly wise that she was seated and the familiar distant echo of metal scraping across metal distracted the doctor just long enough that her eventual startle to return to focus was entirely obvious. Evie swallowed once and composed herself. "It's hard to solve something without proper definition," she reasoned. "An entire intergalactic bureaucracy has told me that it's all in my head. That might as well be true for all I have any hope of proving otherwise."

It was a relief that the woman had come back when she had as he had been ready to move to sit next to her when she finally came from where ever her memories had taken her. "As someone who has fallen into the trap of that intergalactic bureaucracy, I can see in your eyes that it did happen." He said simply shaking his head at a vendor who was coming in the direction to offer more drinks or food from his cart. He did not want anyone overhearing what they were discussing, to the kid's credit he read the room properly and moved on.

Having turned her head in the direction of his gaze, Evie lingered a while longer staring at the retreating form. One thing had been constant since they'd arrived and that was the constant crowd whenever she stepped out from Sickbay to experience the local culture. If she was honest, Evelyn was astonished she'd made it thus far without any significant meltdowns and took it as a promising sign that her mental health was not as far from fully recovered as she'd initially feared. The agitation was still there, however, the slight tremor of her hands as the contained anxiety sought expression elsewhere. The nail of her index finger scratched against her thumb's cuticle.

"If they allow me to extract myself with proper retirement benefits then I'll consider the matter closed," she eventually replied, eyes still glued on the throng of people the vendor had disappeared into. It was a hesitant statement, one that Evie didn't seem immediately certain of, but voicing it added some credibility to it being her eventual choice. Curiosity would forever make her wonder but this probably wasn't the time to be trying to fight the entire Fleet Corps when it was so determined to render her the liar.

Gregnol stayed quiet for a long time and nurtured his beer taking a ship until it was gone before he decided to speak up and ask her something. “Would you like me to see if I can arrange that with a commodore friend.”
Ehestri was the only one he trusted with his life as she had had saved it more than once and she was the reason that Jeassaho was still alive so he was fully aware that she valued people and did not play the intelligence of security service games.

The shake of Evelyn's head was almost immediate. Her father had his own connections and she'd cautioned him with much the same request for discretion. "That won't be necessary." Silence followed, a pause that only seemed to accentuate the fact that he probably deserved more of an explanation than that. With her gaze still trained on the movement of people, Evelyn quietly added, "There are plenty still within service that I would consider friends and allies but I don't have the energy to weed out which ones no longer deserve the distinction. I am very aware that my resignation is not what Starfleet anticipated when they expected me to capitulate to their version of events." Evie's jaw clenched. "The scrambling of certain members of the hierarchy roused from their slumber to attempt damage control is too little, too late."

“Well Commodore Ehestri on the USS Cosmos is the only person I would trust outside of the crew. She was my chief medical officer when I was Executive Officer.” Gregnol said but nodded. “Just know, Evelyn, I have your back if you need it or want it and it’s not just to make sure you have the crew that you need.” It was a small gesture but he hoped that she took it in the way he meant it.

A weariness brought Evelyn's gaze back to consider the man's posture. Jake had hinted that Gregnol had experienced his own run-in with Starfleet, a means of assuring her that her situation was not as unsavoury to those in charge as she might fear. If that was the case, then she admired his ability to retain any sort of trust, especially of someone higher in rank. She wasn't sure she'd ever be in a place of offering the same.

There was a slight sliver of opportunity to divert the conversation, however, and since Evelyn had no desire to recount the complication that was Jack Ford, or his stranglehold on her, or the inevitable futility of trying to fight against his very well orchestrated and maneuverer position of privilege that would never paint him in any light other than the most dedicated of officers, she took it. "That's still a decent place to start. Tell me about this surgeon you're sending my way."

“Betazoid. A friend of Jeassaho and Leiddem’s so they know him mostly but I vaguely remember meeting him a few times on shoreleave. But he must be good and a good person if anyone in the Kea family like him. Very good judge of character until they let me through.” He said lightly trying to bring some humour their way. It was hard to process when your world had shifted to somewhere you did not know very quickly and without wanting. He had been there and was more than happy to help another survivor of Starfleet's continuing venture into something he did not know.

The appraisal was met with raised eyebrows but a general sense of approval. Betazoids in the medical field were usually more of a boon than not, and Evelyn certainly felt more comfortable with the prospect of integrating one into the existing staff. A Betazoid, or at least she hoped, ought to have some instinctual clarity around Orions and, more importantly, ex-Borg. "A name? And any idea when we can expect him?"

“He has a name but prefers Jax.” Gregnol said. “He has never been good at time keeping so it might be today… tomorrow or next week.” Gregnol still smiled lowering his voice a bit. “He is a good man and I would bring him here if I was not sure of him but I can send him away if he does not vibe with you.” It was a promise he kept for all his senior crew members.

Slightly bemused by the notion of not being vibed with, Evelyn considered the sentiment behind it and managed to mostly supress a dimpled smile. "I'm sure, if he's a competent surgeon, we will make it work. I don't think having crew members suffer for lack of treatment options is going to vibe any better with me overall. We can adapt."

Gregnol appreciated the sentiment she reflected back and appreciated more and more that she was the the type to think of crew first rather than herself. “Nice to hear. Now would you like another beer?” He asked looking at the empty bottle. He was not drinking as much as he used to and it was not something he had ever considered being out of control but it was very much noticeable to himself now.

This time, Evelyn lost her battle with amusement. "I have yet to have a beer, but I might be persuaded to try a local vintage." Merriment chased the remnants of shadows from her gaze. "I do feel obliged to ask how many you've had though, Captain. For interest's sake," she added. "And a professional desire to understand the limitations of my superior officer lest I attempt to relieve him of duty well before the precaution is necessary."

The man looked at the table and indicated to the bottle. “My one and only. I prefer something a little harder than this stuff.” He assured. “I have never been relieved from duty over drinking let alone anything else Doctor. I am not going to be any concern.” He assured quietly indicating to the vendor who was watching them wearily that he needed two more bottles. “Try this vintage.” He offered.

"Then you've a better constitution than Jake," Evie offered her friend up as scapegoat in his absence, though her claims regarding his ability to hold his own in a drinking contest were likely peppered by ongoing debates that harkened back to their Starfleet days. She didn't look like it but Evelyn could hold her own, and had managed to drink several people twice her size under the table in the past. She just chose to value her health these days, not to mention the notion of being that far out of control left her crawling with anxiety. Taking a swig of the beer, the doctor winced slightly at the bitterness but didn't complain. "How much longer do you envisage us being here?" She was in less haste to leave than she'd initially expected but Evelyn was still a woman who preferred to plan ahead.

“Oh completely. I am also just wise enough to know when I am beat.” He teased knowing that Jake was a better man than Gregnol could ever be but it did not mean that he could not tease him. “About a month. We should be far away by the time 2398 comes around. I hope to be somewhere very different for then.” He said thoughtfully wanting to put the last year behind them.

The sentiment struck Evelyn as an odd one at first until she found herself contemplating what the last year had put the crew through. She'd only been there for a small portion of it but the retellings still confused her and the doctor couldn't really fault the desire to shove everything into the past where it belonged and then place some distance between themselves and what they'd been through. It was, after all, exactly what she was doing. "Any idea where that somewhere might be?" She was curious, at least, to see if he was meticulous enough for plans or preferred to improvise.

“I have several cargo runs lined up but it all depends on how long it takes for the dock to finish with us and test. Lots of people are wanting stuff moved off this planet so we have jobs coming in.” He was not worried about jobs as there were always cargo runs from worlds like Hysperia.

"Destination pending, understood." In many ways, that suited Evelyn just fine. The less the crew itself had any certainty over projected trade lines, the harder it would be for anyone trying to pin her down to actually figure out where she was likely to be. "And the...other business?" In their initial discussions prior to her coming on board, Gregnol had been considerate enough to give due warning of future intent. Evelyn had got so swept up in securing certification and equipment to run her onboard training that there had been no time to really explore what alignment with the Rangers would look like from the ship's point of view.

“Nothing has changed in that business but it will eventually.” He said. Nothing had changed in his response they were not changing to full gun-toting Fenris Ranger-hood but they would eventually move to something different. “This refit was not just to make us look pretty.” Though they did look very pretty inside and out now.

"Well, that's a relief, I must have missed that memo." As a quip, it was a little predictable, but in many ways Evelyn wasn't joking. Trying to fit in with the local dress-code had made it difficult to decide on a lot of things she normally took for granted, and there had been several times lately where shaving her head had seemed preferable to any attempt to style her hair to blend in. She had to hand it to the Hysperians; they were dedicated. "Do you see it presenting an increase in health and safety concerns?" Evie nursed her drink as she waited for a response. "Just in case I need to order in additional beds."

“If there is enough left the budget and space order them. I will not be able to steal anymore from Starfleet.” He advised. He was not taking anyone who was unwilling into being a Fenris ranger but accidents and trouble was going to happen. Even to the most prepared personnel the universe nothing was fool prof in everything.

"I was being facetious mostly," Evelyn pointed out, finally succumbing to a gentle laugh. "There are still plenty of Science labs I could twist your arm to power up but I think my primary aim is to avoid having to convert an entire section into a fully-fledged infirmary."

“I am sure that Cassie would love that.” The man said quietly rolling his eyes at her being facetious but at least he was getting somewhere with her. “But I do not believe that it will be necessary. I am not planning to have us in anymore standard than being on a Starfleet ship.”

"My point was, if we start deviating from routine cargo runs, a head's up would be appreciated. Anticipation and preparation make all the difference in emergencies." Evie regarded the man over a swig of her drink and wondered if he was really ready for what he was about to plunge his crew into. More to the point, she wondered with some amusement if he had any idea what he'd let himself in for allowing her father's daughter to take charge of his Sickbay. Her entire childhood had been one giant lesson in how to manage a medical practice.

The man just inclined his head, he knew and would be keeping everyone informed. He had no plans to there and then but who knew where the path was going to take them. It was a wide open road for them which was a nice change.