Mythical and Highly Mysterious

Posted on Sat Aug 14th, 2021 @ 4:44am by Lieutenant Commander Emni t'Nai & Captain Björn Kodak

Mission: The Place of Skulls
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: Mission Day 3 at 0700

The cup of coffee on the desk was still steaming. It was a replicated cup, but it did the job, infusing caffeine into the tired limbs of the Sojo's Chief Medical Officer. Emni t'Nai wrapped her long fingered hands around the cup, feeling the warmth seep through the ceramic mug into the pads of her fingers. She had been up for two hours already and in Sickbay for an hour, preparing for another long day of report writing and physicals. She had spent the last hour reminding herself of the different officers scheduled to be under her care that day, pulling up each file individually until she had come to the last one before her.

Tired arms lifted the mug to her lips, the warm liquid carrying the comfort of morning routine with the caffeinated molecules of the drink. Quietly she perused the record on the PADD in front of her--her first patient of the day.

Björn Kodak
Male
Age: 40
Chameloid

Chameloid... a nearly mythical race, shrouded in mystery and half true history that read as much like a book of lore as it did a true accounting of their species. The Captain's medical record constituted some of the only reference points that could be reported as fact about his race. And it was Emni's job to be sure he met Starfleet's physical standards.

Standards written for a completely different set of humanoid biological criteria, Emni thought to herself dryly.

She took another sip of her coffee.

With a swish, the doors to Sickbay opened to admit the Captain in question. He wore his customary smile under a tussle of brown hair threaded with bits of gray. The gray did not stay contained to Kodak's hair, however -- it threaded down to sprinkle through his beard as well. For all intents and purposes, he looked like a man of 40...even if the Chameloid didn't have to. He could choose whatever appearance he wished but, for whatever reason, the visage he wore now was the one Kodak preferred.

"Good morning, Doctor," the Captain's smile widened at the site of Emni drinking her coffee. "Wasn't so long ago we were stumbling into each other with cocktails in our hands. Quite different being fully clothed and all business like once again," he lamented. Truth be told, which Kodak had grown restless and ready to head back into space, he missed the peaceful calm and casualness of Risa. "How are you doing today? Ready to poke and prod?" he smirked.

Raising her eyebrows in response to the Captain's question, Emni picked up her coffee taking a deep draught before placing it back on the desk. "As ready as anyone can be at 0700 sir," she replied before gesturing through the door to biobed 1. "Shall we?"

While the Captain got situated the doctor set her PADD on a small portable work space and keyed in a few rapid identifiers to indicate the start of the appointment.

Turning around she nodded in the Captain's direction. "Jacket and shirt off please."

Given the clinical regard with which t'Nai now operated, Kodak found himself also missing the warmth and nicety of Risa-Emni. Kodak's disappointment flowed through his mental landscape, though he did his best to compartmentalize and set aside the feeling. He soothed himself by remembering that Emni -- no, Doctor t'Nai -- likely had many of these physicals to do and there was little time for pleasantries and quipping. Instead of focusing on that, then, the Captain simply put his mind to doing as he was told.

"You're in luck," he quipped for himself anyway. "Andrew's been encouraging me to wear actual clothes rather than just shapeshifting up a uniform. So today, I have a jacket and shirt to actually remove." The joke was more for himself than anything. Standard and expected or not, physicals made the Chameloid nervous. So with a chuckle, he found the hidden zipper to his uniform top and pulled it down, splitting the garment down its front until he could pull it away. Folding the top neatly and setting it aside, he then removed his black Sojo-emblazoned shirt and tended to it as well.

Sitting there on the bio bed, hairy chest and so. much. skin. on display for anyone walking in or through Sickbay, Kodak found himself feeling more than a little exposed. But given that another physical was happening a few bio beds down, he couldn't exactly complain. He had to set the example as Captain, after all. To distract himself from the feelings coloring the edges of his emotional signature, Kodak asked, "How are the physicals going, Doctor?" He hoped a little conversation might ameliorate things.

Emni let out a sigh, reaching up to the bridge of her nose to rub it lightly before stepping up the biobed. The Captain's disappointment, discomfort, and nerves flowed across her mental boundaries. Guilt flared in her own space. She had been so much in Dr. t'Nai mode that jumping right into each physical had become habitual simply to get them done in a timely fashion.

"I"m sorry, sir. It's been a really hectic couple days and, truthfully, the coffee hasn't kicked in yet." She set the PADD aside as she moved indicating Kodak's arms as she did. "Could you hold your arms straight out from your body please? Try to stop me from pushing them back down."

She placed her hands gently on the man's forearms, pressing lightly as she continued. "And, it may sound odd, but after Risa it feels..." she took her hands away, gesturing as she did so, "a bit like a new pair of boots that haven't been worn in. I'm glad to be here, but it doesn't feel comfortable yet."

She looked over at the neatly folded pile of clothes, a smile crossing her features. "I suppose that's a metaphor that makes more sense now that Andrew has convinced you to wear clothes than it may have before. What did he say to evoke such a change?" A mischevious grin now crossed her features as she indicated the Captain's arms again. "Straight up please. Stop me from pulling them apart."

When t'Nai apologized, the growing knot of discomfort eased somewhat, cold distance slowly effused with a modicum of warm rapport. "No apology necessary, Emni," Kodak added, using her personal name to further cement the connection. It, too, was an invitation for her to do the same -- just as she had on Risa. The shared adventure of finally unlocking the puzzle sphere had brought the two closer and, while it was true that Kodak was the Captain and t'Nai the Doctor, Emni and Björn were also friends. And friendship helped him to better understand what Emni must have been going through.

"It's a lot of change. You'd think having months," he resisted her attempts to move his arms, "to cozy up to the idea of a new ship would have prepared us. But," Kodak didn't let his arms budge, "it's all happening right now. New ship, people coming and going...not to mention we're on a mission heading into the literal unknown. I'm sure it'll take time to adjust and adapt to the fit," he offered a wan smile. As to her question about deciding to wear clothes, the Chameloid could only chuckle. "Andrew has this thing about taking them off of me. He enjoys disrobing me and tossing my clothes aside," he blushed slightly. "Can't really do that when your clothing is your actual skin." Again he resisted t'Nai's attempts to move his arms.

The doctor returned the chuckle at the explanation regarding Kodak's clothing before indicating that the Captain could rest his arms. "Well," she began, as she picked up the small rod that tested reflexes, "it sounds like I can check undertakes regular stress-relief activities on your physical check list."

She turned, brandishing the rod. It was an odd task to check the reflexes of a Chameloid. On one hand she knew the Captain's reactions had to do with his physical form. On the other his actual physiology rendered this particular test moot. Still, to be thorough, she nodded to where the Captain's legs dangled.

"Reflexes," she noted with a small smile before moving to tap lightly against each of his knees. "And, thank you Björn. I really do think it's just a matter of time. And maybe a matter of getting to see some of the rest of the ship when we're done with all of the preparedness tasks."

"I didn't realize that particular uh...activity," Kodak smirked in response, "would win me points on my annual physical. But hey," the man rasped with a degree of warmth, "I'll take it. I'm sure Andrew will be pleased to hear we had this discussion," the Chameloid chuckled, his startling eyes fixated on the rod in question, watching it tap each knee in succession. With his eyes on the rod, his knees failed their autonomic responses. "Sorry, I always forget to look away so I don't expect it."

Golden-yellow eyes roved to fixate on a three-jar-wide display of chemicals on a nearby shelf. This time, the rod did the trick -- both legs kicked out subtly in response to the tapping. "Happy to do these tests but I have to admit...I've never really been sure how accurate they are? I mean," Kodak continued, "my body's autonomic responses really depend on whatever form I'm in. So if it's doing whatever human bodies would do, great," he shrugged, "but does that really tell you what you need to know?"

Frown lines creased Emni's forehead. "I've never thought they did," she replied, then added as an aside, "If you would stand, walk across the room and back in a straight line."

As Kodak completed his circuit of the small space she added. "Starfleet Medical does require the test and, without a blueprint for how to best test your reflexes yours is a best guess." The Romulan added finger quotes as she said best guess. "But no, I don't think this is an accurate test of your reflexes."

As the Captain slid back up onto the biobed she indicated his very real attire. "Normally I recommend our officers put that back on, but we'll have to do a test of your Chameloid reactions at the end. I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've ever had to tell an officer to leave their clothes off for the next parts of these tests." Her eyes sparked mirthfully at that. "You'll have to let Andrew know that not only has his addition to your life gotten you points on your physical, but it's also provided me with that particular feather in my cap. If you'd be more comfortable please feel free to manifest a shirt until we're ready for you to get dressed."

Reaching to the side she removed a set of headphones from a small wall space. "You'll hear tones in each ear. Raise your hand on the side you hear the tone each time you hear it please."

Stepping back she tapped a button on her PADD to begin the test.

Kodak couldn't help but chuckle. Doctor t'Nai had seemed so stiff and formal when the physical began but, as they chatted, she was opening up again into the Emni Björn enjoyed so much on Risa. "I'm sure he'll be thrilled to hear all this," the Chameloid grinned, nodding to the instruction of shifting himself up a shirt. Skin and hair suddenly effused with dark black and cranberry red, the flesh giving way to a simulated uniform topper. It was then that Emni was placing the headphones on him and Kodak nodded in response to the instructions given.

The beeps came and went at various levels of loudness and intensity. Kodak alternated the lifting of his hands in conjunction with the tones, able to perfectly hear sounds within the human hearing range. The test took him mentally back to his childhood, when doctors at the Daystrom Institute would often run these kinds of tests on him in various forms. Not the best of memories for him but, in the present at least, he wasn't a guinea pig and these tests didn't have ulterior motives. That set him at ease, which Emni might sense given her proximity.

When the test concluded, he looked again to Emni and shrugged. "I...don't exactly know how my own biology works. As a human, I have ear canals, ear drums, cochlear receptors, etc. That means I can hear just fine. I've never become something deaf before but I assume I'd be deaf if I did. Just wish I understood how my body made all that work. It's one of the reasons I hope we find our Chameloids on this mission. I have so many questions," he lamented, his mental landscape awash with low level anxiety and a burgeoning desire to find out more about himself.

Emni had taken notes throughout the test, watching the Captain's responses as he reacted to the tones coming through the headset. She equally noted his emotional eddies--the downshift into ease followed by a corresponding low level anxiety, like a buzz at the back of her mind. She cast about a moment; trying to think of the best response she could offer to Björn's statement and his underlying anxiety both as a friend and as a doctor.

"I'd like that too," she said, finally landing on the only thing she could think to say. "Both because I cannot imagine the feeling of being so unsure of how my own physiology works, and because everyone deserves to see themselves in the full continuum of their race, not just a space in time."

She paused then, setting the PADD down and replacing the headset in its small cubicle. "And when, not if, but when, we find something you can be sure I'll be here to get as much of that information on record for you."

"I appreciate that very, very much," Kodak nodded somberly. He knew so little about his own people; at times, it felt like the biggest mystery of his whole life. He was very glad not to be going through the hunt alone. "So...what's next then?" he wondered.

Emni sighed then, running a hand through her hair. "One last test then we'll do the shift test," she noted with a small smile. The coffee was already beginning to wear off and the tiredness had begun to creep back in. A pinch from her PADD and toss flung a series of alpha-numeric figures at a pre-set distance from the man on the biobed. The text at the top was extremely large and grew steadily smaller with each line. "If you would start at the top and read each line until you're unable to read the text."

"Of course," the Captain nodded slowly, lifting his head to stare at the letters. He began at the top, where the letters were largest. "E...F...P...T...O...Z..." and on down the lines he went, ending with the just-barely-readable final line of "PEZOLCFTD," which he blurted out in a hurry. "Guessing my vision checks out just fine?" Again, he wondered at the purpose of these tests for Chameloids, who could enhance their senses just by becoming something new. But if Emni needed him to complete these tests, he certainly wasn't going to argue.

Emni shook her head knowing full well that the test only really gave her insight into his current form and not any formal details. "It does," she said with a chuckle. "But just like hearing I've got questions about the validity of these tests. Still, Starfleet will insist there be something on file. This last part, honestly, is the part I think that tells us the most."

Tapping rapidly she called up a program that she had tested earlier for the purpose she planned. "Computer, execute t'Nai Zero Beta - Privacy Screen Protocol," she said aloud to the room. An opaque screen shimmered into place effectively hiding biobed 1, herself, and the Captain. Any sound from outside the curtain was dampened, giving the hushed impression that they had just stumbled into a silencing program. In reality, the curtain extended only partway to the ceiling leaving a gap where air and sound flowed. Other programs worked to keep the privacy of the patient and doctor inside the space from leaving where they where.

"It's a tad cozy," she remarked with a smile, "but effective." Emni hadn't had the need to complete this test with Björn before--his last physical with Dr. Grey standing until they returned at which point all of them were evaluated by medical personnel on the base. Unusually she found herself a touch nervous. "I'll turn around so you can get undressed," she said, facing the wall to give him some privacy.

"I appreciate both that and the screen," Kodak smiled even as Emni turned. Though she might not see the expression, she'd certainly be able to pick up on his bemusement at such close emotional range. With hands that were becoming evermore practiced, the Captain undid the hidden button at the front of his waistline and lowered his zipper. Climbing out of the pants -- which were then neatly folded and stacked with his shirt -- the Chameloid then focused on removing his black, crew-cut socks and his underwear: "brief briefs," as Andrew called them. And then, with all of his clothes removed, Kodak manifested a Starfleet uniform -- which, had he thought ahead, he probably should have just done in advance of the physical itself.

"I'm ready, Doctor," the Captain said, feeling no end of relief to be fully clothed once more. It wasn't so much that he was ashamed of his body -- in fact, it was far from that indeed -- but more so exposing so much of himself to the crew. Though he might benefit from a reminder that on Risa, many of them had seem him walking around in skimpy bathing suits, being aboard ship was a bit different, he felt.

Emni chuckled as she turned back around, noting the return of the shifted uniform. From the outside no reasonble person could tell the difference between the Captain's skim-cum-attire and an actual piece of clothing. As a doctor, and someone in on the reality, she could appreciate the detail and made a few rapid notes about the intricacy of the Captain's manifested uniform as a starting point.

"Ok, let's start easy. Can you change your clothes?"

"Sure," the Chameloid nodded. Squaring his shoulders, the cranberry-and-black tones of his uniform flowed down and away, like the surface of an oil painting hit by turpentine. The colors and textures shifted, reforming themselves into new configurations entirely. In the span of a second, the uniform top had been replaced by a blue, Hawaiian-style button down shirt with white flower shapes emblazoned. His pants had given way to tan cargo shorts while his footwear had exchanged boots for reef shoes.

This was the fascinating part. Although Emni had seen him shift before, it was always a bit surprising when it happened. Making notes as she went, she nodded. "When someone tugs on your clothes... say for example someone is falling down and reaches out, describe what happens?

"Well, it's my skin. What would happen if someone grabbed your skin as they fell?" Kodak raised an eyebrow. He sensed she needed and wanted more, so he continued. "My clothes are me. If someone touches them, I feel that touch as if hands were being run across my skin. If they were to pull on my shirt, for instance," the Chameloid indicated his Hawaiian top, "it would eventually hurt. Don't really feel much when the fabric is loose and flowing but if the tug is enough to rip the shirt off, it would hurt as they tried to pull it off."

Emni hmmm'd lightly as she listened notating as she went. "I'm going to ask you to shift rapidly between a few different items. Think of clothing your familiar with, preferably 4 or 5 different pieces. I want you to shift them one at a time as quickly as you can.

"I'll warn you upfront that, the more I shift," Kodak lamented, "the more tired I get. And the longer it takes between forms," the Captain added. "But alright, here goes then." With a deep breath, the Chameloid began his series of ensemble changes...

Blink. He wore then a sharp suit of contemporary Earthen style, gray in color and cut with sharp lines. A tie hung comfortably from his neck.

Blink blink. Kodak's suit had morphed into pair of tight-fitting 501 blue jeans and a black tank top, cut low to expose his chest: bar attire last seen at the strip club only a few nights before.

Blink blink blink. The bar gave way to something much more festive. Clad in red and white, Kodak's attire had become something out of holiday fantasy: though he lacked the big belly and white beard (Emni only wanted a change of clothes), the Captain was now bedecked as Kris Kringle, the German equivalent of Santa Claus.

Blink blink blink blink. Kris left the building, leaving behind flowing lavender and lace. A bodice -- tightly tied -- bridged the gap between shouldered brocade and a lavish gown with a train. The Lady Guinevere, back after all this time? Kodak-as-Gwen smiled and curtsied before flourishing into one final outfit.

Blink blink blink blink blink. Kodak was dressed head to toe in shiny, black leather. A Muir cap adorned his head while a leather vest flowed down, open to reveal his chest and stomach. He wore the same jeans again, only this time they were mostly covered by a pair of well-worn leather chaps, which left his front and backside exposed: the contrast of black against the blue stark under the lights. Black combat boots -- tightly tied -- sank slightly into the carpeted panel beneath Kodak's feet.

"You did say clothing I was familiar with," Leather Daddy Kodak with Cruising Action Features™ smirked, amused to no end as Emni watched change-after-change-after-change. As the Chameloid had indicated, each change had taken longer than the last and Emni would no doubt feel some of the weariness that was chewing at the edges of Kodak's mind.

Emni looked up from where she had been note taking, offering her friend a smile of encouragement. "Ok? We can take a break at any time if needed." She was well aware of the toll, but knew there was still a series of more complex changes ahead.

"I appreciate that," Kodak nodded, truly feeling such. "I'm alright to continue for now, though," he said with confidence.

"Before we continue, how long, on average, does it take to return to the speed at which you first shifted?" She had studied this in prior physicals and had determined it was a good litmus to continue to track, so was interested to hear the Captain's description.

"Well, it depends. If I've been shifting a lot, a good night's sleep typically does the trick," Kodak admitted, feeling his well of energy partially depleted for the day. "But if that's not an option, an hour or two of rest will definitely help, though I won't be as fast as first thing in the morning."

Setting the PADD down, she gestured to the leather vest adorning the Captain. "May I?" she inquired to confirm he agreed to be touched. Taking his nod as agreement, she lightly laid her hand on the material, noting the texture as she did before pulling away and making another note.

"Ok, next I want you to change something small, but intricate. Can you give yourself Vulcan ears?" she inquired.

"I can, yes," the Chameloid said, affecting the change as requested. His human ears lengthened, tapering into points even as another swell of tiredness lapped at him. "Believe it or not, smaller changes like that take more energy. I don't know why but it's easier to wholly let go of a form and become something else than it is to change a small body part. I've um...dabbled in changing the shape and size of select parts of my anatomy," he left it there without explaining further, "but it's not something I do a lot."

Emni let out a decidedly unprofessional snort-laugh, before composing herself back to something that resembled appropriate bedside manner. "I see..." she said, mischief dancing in her eyes. She inspected his ears closely, amazed at how detailed they were. If she did not know that he had created them himself she would think he had simply always been Vulcan.

"Ok, let's return to your original form," she requested, letting the subject drop despite the plethora of available ribbing that she could give her friend. She watched as the leather and denim gave way to the black and cranberry attire of Captain Kodak, noting the slow down in speed as she did.

"These last few are full body shifts. If you would start by choosing the largest shape you can shift to, taking into account the space, of course."

Kodak nodded, eyeing the screen and the space it provided. With another squaring of his shoulders, the Chameloid collected himself for the effort. Human skin became suffused with verdigris even as Kodak's shape expanded; he grew from just over six feet to well over eight. The uniform he wore changed with him, keeping it's same general look even as it outfitted the hulking shape of a Gorn warrior -- complete with an opening in the back for his counterbalancing tail. Where once human hands had been, huge reptilian claws now waved in the air. Kodak-as-Gorn stood without boots; the naturally-clawed feet of his new species holding him firmly upright.

"Could have gone larger," he hissed and sissed, "but we don't have a lot of room to work with." As it was, Kodak's tail threatened to thump the privacy screen out of the way.

Emni had never been this close to a Gorn and, despite herself, her heart rate sped up as fight or flight instincts kicked in. Her eyes were wide, taking in the completely foreign shape of her friend and sucked in a breath. "I think that's probably good," she said, buying time. "Now your smallest form please?"

With each successive shift, changes were taking longer and longer to complete. Emni would no doubt feel the swell of tiredness taking over the Captain; even though it was shortly after 0700 hours, Kodak clearly yearned for some downtime. Despite the urge to rest, though, the Chameloid did as asked and shrank himself as much as he could. Smaller and smaller he became until the cherubic face of a five-year-old Kodak stared up at Emni with blinking yellow-gold eyes. The resemblance was such that Emni would have no question that he'd become a much younger version of himself.

"Read me a story, Doctor?" Kodak-as-young-boy clambered up onto the biobed, though it took a couple of tries for him to surmount the fixture and settle on top. "I want cookies," he said defiantly, kicking his legs back and forth off the side of the biobed. "Story and cookies! Now, now, now, now!" he cried, slamming his cute little fists -- clad as he was in a tiny Starfleet uniform -- on the surface of the bed. Looking at Emni with challenge in his eyes, he waited to see what the woman would do.

The version of Kodak-as-younger-self that sat on the biobed gave Emni pause. On one hand, he was much smaller, but on the other he had chosen a version of himself that was much younger. And then, of course, he was demanding snacks and stories. For a brief moment she questioned if the transition to a younger Kodak had a cognitive component as well, before rejecting that outright. And so... taking in the defiant child-like face... she pursed her lips, putting on something as close to a mothering look and tone as she could come up with.

"You know that we don't do stories and cookies until after we've washed up for the day. Have you cleaned behind your ears?" she inquired, her voice a cadence of firm guiding while her eyes sparkled with amusement.

Little Orphan Kodak looked up at Emni -- for a moment, appearing as if a temper tantrum were two seconds away -- but then rolled his eyes and laughed. "You take all the fun out of it, Doctor. But I really do want cookies now. Shapeshifting always makes me a little hungry," the boy smirked, still speaking in the higher register of a child.

Emni shook her head, letting the amusement and curiosity that was boiling up show. "You've chosen not only a smaller, but younger version of yourself," she said, stating the obvious. "Would you mind if I took a few tricorder readings? I'm curious how the age-shift affects your biochemistry. I don't recall seeing anything about it in your file."

"Please do," the young boy nodded, suddenly serious. Though his voice matched his form, Kodak's demeanor was anything but childish. "I don't know that I'm actually de-aging, per say. I'm really just putting myself into a smaller body with the mimicked features of the man -- well, the younger version of the man," the Chameloid appended, "I chose for my facade. Did you know he was an actor from ancient Earth? I randomly found him in a database many years ago. He looked how I felt. And because he was an actor, there were thousands of pictures of him at various ages, including this one," he chuckled two thumbs at himself.

"I'll be able to keep pace with Andrew's aging over time," Björn said, his thoughts not for the first time on their age disparity, "though I wonder what a Chameloid's natural lifespan is? For all I know, I could either be a baby in my people's eyes...or a very old man?" He resisted the urge to shift himself into the decrepit version of Russell Crowe, the actor he'd fashioned himself after. "Anything interesting on those tricorder readings?" the Captain asked, the device's musical trilling oddly calming.

Emni had been splitting her attention as she worked, nodding and responding with the appropriate listening sounds, but also rapidly working through a tricorder diagnostic series. She wasn't so foolish as to believe she was finding anything that another doctor hadn't already seen, but she didn't remember seeing what was coming up on her screen in the Captain's file.

"Basic scans show you as a 5 year old boy, down to the DNA. It's fascinating, because clearly you are not a 5 year old boy, but somehow your cellular structure knows what to do to mimic one fully enough to convince basic tricorder readings."

She tapped a few points on the device in rapid succession before performing the familiar pinch and throw motion that set readings up into a holographic view.

"The deeper scans, though, indicate something different. I don't know enough about what I'm seeing, but if I had to guess that marker there," she pointed to a spot in the air, "might carry some indicator of your own DNA. Maybe your age? Or your natural form? I'm not sure without further investigation, but that mitochondrial marker is definitely not from a 5 year old boy."

She grinned at him then, excited about the information, but also cognizant that the Captain's own gaps in his understanding of his species was a spot of some discomfort. "It's possible that you knew that already, but I don't remember reading it in your charts."

She turned back to him waving the holographic details back to where they came. "You can return to your normal form and get dressed," she said, turning to give him a moment of privacy.

"Definitely not something I was aware of, no," Kodak shook his head, allowing his form to reshape itself. It took several long moments -- the testing having taxed his strength reserves -- before the Captain was entirely 'himself' again.

When he indicated his readiness, Emni dropped the privacy screen. "You're all set," she said feeling the warmth of a moment of discovery shared and hoping she was conveying that well to him.

"Thank you," Kodak nodded in response. "Not sure if you're aware of this but the doctors at the Daystrom Institute have done some extensive studies on me, Doctor. You might want to interface with them...compare notes? Scanning technology has improved in the 20 or so years since I was their guinea pig. Maybe you've uncovered something they did not. Could be helpful if...when?" he asked, hopefully, "We find my people."

Looking himself over -- as if unsure all his parts had returned to normalcy -- Kodak shrugged lightly. "I seem to be in right sorts, then. Let me know if you need anything further? I'll be on the Bridge," the Captain said, nodding to the Doctor before turning to stride towards the door. He hated being poked and prodded at but at least Emni had made the experience more fun than these things typically tended to be. The Chameloid was grateful for that.

Emni offered the captain a warm smile as he looked himself over before turning to leave, quietly making a mental note to reach out to Daystrom. She felt the wash of his discomfort chased away by a larger wave of relief as he made his way to the door and she called out, stopping him just as the doors whooshed apart.

"I hope we can find some answers for you Björn," she said, wishing she could give her empathic senses for just a moment so he could now how much she truly did hope.

=/\= A mission post by =/\=

Captain Björn Kodak
Commanding Officer

Lieutenant Emni t'Nai
Chief Medical Officer