outer_divide | 001

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001 | [voice]

[After finding her clothes and things, Christine is tiptoeing through the ship, expecting an enemy around every corner. But when she comes to the hatch that leads out, she feels a rush of relief. Slipping outside, she takes in her surroundings, and then tries the communicator in her hand -- one that looks so much like one from the Enterprise that she assumes she can reach her ship.]

Chapel to Enterprise. I'm at an unknown location. I was captured and placed in some sort of stasis pod. Requesting you beam me up immediately.

[She waits, and nothing happens. Nor is there any response from the transporter team. Uh oh.]

Enterprise, come in?

[More silence. Sighing, she begins to move away from the crashed ship, wondering if there's something about it that's blocking her signal. She looks curiously at the domed city in the distance, and the landscape surrounding her. Then she speaks to herself.]

Where am I?

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[He smirks at that, but not in an unfriendly fashion. His amusement appears to be directed at the comic joke that's landed them on the planet, if anything.]

Well, give it about, oh, seven more months and I expect we'll both be getting a sudden crash course. The local midwives handle the uncomplicated ones, at least.

Right now, the routine's about what you'd expect on any small colony world with minimal technology. The spikes come in the form of raids, be they bandit or dome-dwelling maniac, and then it's our old friend combat medicine, with the added fun of primitive 20th century equipment.

[She nods along, though her eyes widen in shock when she hears how old the equipment is tech wise.]

Well, I'll just have to rise to the challenge.

[Though really, how inconvenient.]

I do have my medkit with me. The battery power on the equipment isn't going to last forever, but it's something to have a scanner for better diagnosis.

They decanted me with mine too, and although Solus is off playing Pirates of Penzance, he came through with his kit as well. Between that and the possibilities of a couple old facilities we turned up while working on the cure... we'll make do.

[From Bones, this is very nearly unbridled optimism. He must be happy to see his head nurse.]

There are enough engineers underfoot that I've no doubt they could rig up a charger from the ship, at least as soon as they get it to stop randomly haemorrhaging power. Once we've gotten you acclimated to the hospital, though, I'm taking you by Edmund's stores and you're getting some proper winter gear. I can't have my head nurse as a pneumonia patient.

If I did come down with something, I know I'd get the best medical care.

[Not even sucking up right now; she believes it.]

But I would appreciate a better wardrobe. All I have is my uniform dress.

[At least she picked the one with long sleeves for today, but her legs are freezing.]

Far be it from me to question Starfleet regulations...

[Lies. He questions them frequently. Which, he would note, is different from Jim's blatant decisions to just flat out ignore them if they get in the way.]

But I swear they assigned the womens' shipboard uniforms without thinking for one minute that you might no longer be aboard ship. We can definitely get you something -- Edmund seems to be of the opinion that trained medical staff are worth keeping clothed, fed and happy.

Okay, sounds good. Who's Edmund? Is he someone in charge?

[His gaze shifts from her face for a moment, marking the background against what he knows of the road between ship and city to gauge how far she's come.]

Edmund's the local master of trade. The head of what passes for local government would be Nem -- good man, a little nervous, responsible for there being food and housing set up for new arrivals from the ship. Our third player in the local power structure would be Roni. She's in charge of the local militia, such as it is.

So they're not from the ship then? This is their home planet?

[She's a little more than halfway there now, and several people have offered to come meet her to escort her in. Once she meets one of these people, she'll end her conversation with Dr. McCoy and reconvene with him at the hospital.]

That it is, although only god and little green apples know when the place was colonized originally. I believe I mentioned the time-and-space shenanigans, so this might not even be our galaxy. No matches on star charts, in any case.

[Which is, says Bones' expression, completely ridiculous and should never have happened without consulting him first.]

There's a sister planet, Antiqua, that comes into a close convergence around the time of the solstice. Interplanetary war between the two of them is apparently what led to the domes going up to begin with, but there's no sign of current hostilities.

[Her eyes flicker skyward, though there are no stars to be seen this time of day.]

That would drive Mr. Chekov batty.

[And back to the screen.]

So the domes are meant to protect the citizens. What about the people out here? Were they people who didn't want to go in the domes, or weren't allowed in?

Batty, at least until he could get to work on mapping what we do have. I'd give my eyeteeth for him and Scott, though, and I don't mind saying so.

[If they bring a critical mass of engineering nerd onto Verdana, will it all explode and get them home again?]

As for the domes, that's another of Verdana's little mysteries. I haven't had the time to dig after history here that doesn't involve biowarfare, but if you want a hobby I'd be all ears.

You must have missed everyone, being here without the crew, and the Captain going back into the ship.

[She certainly wouldn't mind having more of the crew here. Strength in numbers, and all that.]

We'll have to see what there is here to occupy my time first, Doctor. Then I can worry about hobbies.

If we're going to be talking about my feelings, I'm not doing it without a couple drinks in front of us. I got by well enough -- plaguefighting is remarkably focusing.

[In short: yes, yes he did, but he doesn't want to talk about it. The corner of his mouth curled up belatedly.]

True. You'll have to challenge the nursing staff to single combat, or whatever it is you folks do to establish a hierarchy... although wherever you end up amongst the locals, you're my head nurse.

[The unexpected compliment makes her grin.]

Why, Doctor, I'm touched. Though the less you know about how I battle my way to the top, the better. You need plausible deniability.

They're short on chocolate here, or I'd fall back on the old standby of tossing a box in one direction and bolting in the other. Don't worry about me -- I survived hospital politics before I ended up with nothing left but Starfleet.

[Not that military medical services are entirely free of them. People who routinely play dice with death and weight them in their favour tend to develop god complexes wherever they are.]

While you're en route, I'll see about making sure there's a space for you at the Flop that doesn't have too many snorers in the room. It's either that or follow Solus' example of getting all his sleep in the break room.

[She's tempted to call that comment sexist, but damn it if she doesn't love her chocolate. She doesn't want to screw herself out of possible future opportunities to eat chocolate either, so she lets it go.]

Thank you. I don't have to share a bed, do I? I'm a kicker.

[Hey, chocolate is equal-opportunity or Bones has never seen a mixed-gender swarm of medical residents strip a leftover bowl of candy down to bare wrappers. He huffs a laugh at the question.]

No, we're not that bad off. There's only about forty of us awake from the ship, so it's multiple bunks in a room, but no sharing them yet. I figure more people will move out as time goes by, too.

Is it safe for us to move out among the locals, though?

Just fine -- they're good people, by and large, and the maniacs behind the dome aren't going to differentiate between the Flop and another apartment if they feel like setting the damned place on fire again.

[This is not, perhaps, the most reassuring statement ever. Bones hitches a shoulder in a shrug.]

The main hazard is that if you don't board with one of the local families, you're looking at a certain amount of renovations. I haven't had the time to do that, or to find someone willing to do it for me, so the Flop it remains.

Well, as much as I'd love to dabble in apartment renovation and interior design, I'll probably be too busy as well. At least for now.

[So the Flop it is for her too, while she settles into the place.]

Oh, I think I see someone coming out to meet me. I'll see you at the hospital?

Count on it, Chapel. Don't let the feathered raptors bite.

[With a last crooked smirk and a tip of his chin, Bones signs off.]

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001 | [voice]

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