04 // Audio

[justamobster]

Who: Ladon Ceto
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: SS Caprine
When: After Ladon's visit to the planet.

[ Ladon does not sound happy. Not that he's ever on the perky side, but there's a heavy and serious timbre to his voice. He's not messing around. ]

Need a doctor to the Caprine. Soon as possible.

Rest of you-- Anyone else gone to sleep and not wakin' up? This somethin' that happens here? Need answers.

[ After a pause, his voice softens a bit, both in tone and in volume, likely because he's no longer speaking directly into the device. ] S'all right, doll. M'here. Ain't goin' anywhere, yeah? S'all right.

[ Action-wise, Ladon can be found in Lucky's office, kneeling next to the couch where she's stretched out, fast asleep, holding one of her hands in his. He's not likely to budge until a doctor gets there to check her out. ]

Comments

audio

[dancingmd]

Ladon, this is Dr. Crusher. I can be there in a few minutes if you still need assistance.

[justamobster]

'ppreciate it, doc. She's got a pulse and she's breathin' but... I just wanna be sure, yeah? M'in the office down the hall from the kitchen.

Audio/Action

[dancingmd]

Alright. I'm coming.

[She shuts off her communicator and, taking one of the shuttles, makes her way to the Caprine. She finds Ladon sitting with a woman she's never met before, but she can tell from the look on his face that whoever the woman is, she's very important to Ladon. When Beverly speaks, her voice is soft, soothing.]

Ladon? I'm here. What happened?

Action

[justamobster]

[ Ladon can be found kneeling next to Lucky, who is unconscious on the couch in her office. He's running his thumb over the back of her hand over and over again, looking distracted and worried. He looks up at Bev and manages a very small, sad smile. ]

Thanks, doc. I just. Just found her like this, yeah?

[ He's hesitant to move away, but understands she needs him out of the way, and so he releases Lucky's hand and steps back, rubbing at his chin and resisting the urge to pace. ]

Action

[dancingmd]

[Beverly briefly rests a comforting hand on Ladon's shoulder before kneeling next to Lucky herself. She takes out her tricorder, removes the small attached medical scanner, and scans the sleeping woman. After consulting the results of the scan on the tricorder, she stands back up and looks at Ladon.]

The good news is, all her vital signs are stable. However, she's in an induced sleep, which I believe is being caused by her augment. Normally, I would try to wake her but in this case, if its Atroma's doing, I certainly don't want to make things worse by tampering with the augment. Until she wakes up on her own, all I can do is run regular check-ups on her to make sure her condition hasn't changed.

[Her brow furrows.]

I'm sorry I can't do more.

[justamobster]

Augments can do that? [ He looks helpless and frustrated. He was thinking it was one of the strange things like the ones that tended to happen at the station, or maybe something about Toby's changeling heritage he didn't know or understand. But that Atroma is likely behind it upsets him on a much more visceral level. While he's aware that her being here could be coincidence and nothing more, he has a sinking feeling Atroma brought her here for a reason. To torment him, perhaps. Give him the one thing he wanted but never expected to have again, then take it away, but not completely. Not enough for him to pick up the pieces of his broken heart again.

He grits his teeth, pained at the idea of Toby being there, right there, yet he can't talk to her or reach her in any manner. After a moment, he shakes his head, pinches the bridge of his nose, and lets out a shaky sigh. ]

I... No. Ain't your fault, doc. Don't say sorry. It ain't your fault.

[dancingmd]

[Beverly nods, then waits patiently, seeing that he needs a moment to collect himself. Given her job, this isn't the last time she's seen this sort of reaction to a patient's condition, and it won't be the last, but it still tugs at her heart to see someone so upset. It's even worse when there isn't anything she can do about it.]

Ladon... [She can't promise that his friend is going to be fine, and she won't try to. Instead, she simply reaches out and squeezes his arm gently in a silent gesture of understanding.] Do you want someone to stay with you?

[justamobster]

[ It takes him a moment, and he does debate asking her to stay. But no, he's aware that this is how life is. There's never any guarantee of happiness, even when things start to look that way. He tries not to let himself get too lost in the moment, and he'd done just that, first with Toby coming back into his life and then the casino stations where he feels at home in his human life and the planet that made him feel at home as a dragon. He has no idea how long Toby has been asleep. He hadn't seen her on the stations, and she hadn't come with him to visit the planet. She could have been like this the whole time he was out enjoying himself.

It's almost like these things had to happen so close to one another just to be juxtaposed. Don't let your guard down, don't expect too much. Because this is reality. The things you love get taken away eventually.

He steels himself and sets his jaw. Tough up, Ceto. Life's fucked up, and you know it. ]

M'all right. Gonna stay with her awhile, yeah? Her captain's prob'ly gonna wanna know why she ain't around, too.

[ He may as well tie up any loose ends. He can at least do that much. ]

[dancingmd]

[Part of her is tempted to argue, to insist on staying with him, especially considering that he was there for her earlier. But she knows all too well how in times like this, sometimes what you need most is to be left alone.]

All right. But if you need anything, promise me you'll call me right away?

[justamobster]

[ When Ladon is feeling surly and broody, he's usually best left alone. He's not terribly pleasant company anyway. ]

Yeah. Promise. Anythin' changes, you'll be the first one I call. [ Though that's less on his account and more because he's worried over Toby. If her augment is causing this endless sleep, there might be other things it's doing. And if he knows Toby at all, he knows she tends to have terrible nightmares.

Hell, that's how they met. He's not sure if she remembers that or not. ]

Thanks again, doc. [ And he's re-assuming his place at Toby's side, though at least now he brings a chair along so he's not kneeling on the floor. He sighs and pushes her long hair back from her face, over the tip of one of her pointed ears. ] M'sure she'll say thanks too, when she wakes up.

[ Because she's going to wake up. Right? ]

[dancingmd]

You're welcome. [Even though she didn't really do much. She's touched by the care he shows for his friend though.]

In the meantime, I'll ask around, see if maybe anyone knows why this is happening.

[justamobster]

[ He nods, looking up to her. He still avoids eye contact, but does his best to look sincere anyway. ]

That'd be real helpful, yeah. Lemme know if you find anythin'.

[dancingmd]

I will.

[She pauses one moment longer, watching him, before taking her leave of the two. There's nothing more she can do here.]