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| - "I caught the first transport from Trill." Edinger sat down next to his father's bed, "How are you feeling?" "They've made me comfortable." Milsa looked up through clouded eyes, "I'm glad you made it. It's amazing how lonely one can feel here... you can go through life with a sense of self-importance, thinking that you've touched so many lives... and still find yourself so lonely at the end." "You need to know..." Edinger held back tears, "You need to know that you've always been an inspiration to me. I know I've done some things..." "Son." the dying man interrupted, "You've made your own choices. I know that I objected to your decision to join. I was wrong. You've done well, 'Edinger Deet.' I'm just glad that you did what you felt was right." "I know you wanted me to be a diplomat. I'm sorry that I didn't follow in your footsteps." Edinger bargained with his father. "I'm grateful that you didn't." the old man wearily reached for his son's hand, "Your decision to join. Your decision to study medicine. I'm sorry that I ever steered you any other way. You'll bring good to the galaxy in your own way." he mustered a smile with the last of his focus before losing consciousness. "I love you dad." Edinger sat in silence holding his father's hand and knowing the end was near. --- In the days following his father's death, Edinger found it difficult to return to his practice on Trill. Fixing a cut, a scrape, or a run of the mill illness seemed so banal. He thought about his father's final words: 'You'll bring good to the galaxy in your own way.' "Am I really doing good here?" Edinger sat across the doctor's lounge from his colleague, Doctor Nialv. "Of course you are." Nialv scoffed, "People get hurt, people get sick. We're here to help them." "Right. We are. 'We,' meaning plenty of us." Edinger lifted his eyes intensely. "One doctor doesn't matter in the balance here. Somewhere out there, people don't have the help they need. Here, people do." "Ed, you can't help everyone." Nialv coldly reminded him, "Do what you can and be satisfied that you did." Edinger nodded, "Alright. I'll do what I can." He stood up and turned for the door. "I think it's time for me to move on." "What do you mean?" Nialv replied. "I mean that you can handle things here." Edinger smiled, "I can do better somewhere else." "Are you sure that's what you want?" Nialv challenged Edinger. "I think so." Edinger felt assured, "Goodbye Dr. Nialv." The colleagues shook hands before going their separate ways. --- "OK, here are the keys to your building." The Bolian trader handed Edinger the key, "Number 217, eastern bloc." The desert wind whipped across Edinger's face. The harsh climate made him second guess his decision, "Thank you, Brex." he excused the trader. "No need to thank me. You paid me." the trader turned away, quickly retreating to his freighter, and leaving Edinger alone at the gates to Paradise City. Edinger sized up his freight. Two large crates of medical equipment accompanied him to his new home on Nimbus III. He dragged them both in position behind him, grabbing a handle on each. He trudged forward with all of his strength, towing the heavy cargo slowly into town. "I'd be happy to give you a hand with that!" A smiling face approached, "3 slips of gold pressed latinum, and I'll carry one of those anywhere in Paradise city for you!" Edinger rested the crates behind him, "Here's five!" he was more than happy to accept the offer. "Henry Murdock." the happy young man extended his hand, "If there's any odd jobs you need taken care of, come to me!" they dragged the crates to his office together. "This is the place." Edinger indicated to a locked door. He approached and opened the empty domicile. "What brings you to this godforsaken rock anyways?" Henry inquired. "Well... you do." Edinger smiled, "You and everyone else here, that is. This city needs a doctor. And I want to do what I can. Very few people on this planet have access to adequate care." "A Doctor!?" Henry was intrigued, "Too bad you're not a dentist. I've got a problem tooth!" "Let me see," Edinger approached the man closely. Henry opened his mouth and indicated toward an abscessed tooth. "Yeah. I'm no dental expert, but I think I can help you with that." he gestured to his equipment, "Help me unpack this stuff, and i'll get you fixed up." Henry smiled, "Sure thing, friend." The two men went to work setting up Edinger's office. --- A week had passed since Edinger's arrival in Paradise City. He'd found himself bored in the isolated settlement. Other than a few minor wounds, very few patients had come to his office for any treatment. Henry had become Edinger's only friend since setting up shop. "Why don't we head out to the bar," Henry pleaded with Edinger. "The people in town need to get to know you before they trust you as their doctor." Edinger looked at the clock, "It's only noon, Henry..." Henry smiled, "Well, we could sit around here all day instead. Come on... we can go have a drink. Call it a lunch break." Edinger relented, and the two men ventured out into the hot midday sun. The bar was only a short walk from Edinger's office. As they approached it's dark, shady interior, the cool air was a nice respite for Edinger, who found himself struggling in the heat of the desert. The bar was quiet, a few solemn regulars sat quietly around the room nursing their drinks. A Romulan bartender stood behind the bar slicing a citrus fruit in preparation for the afternoon crowd. She looked up at the two men as they entered, "Henry, you better be here to settle your tab." she turned her gaze to Edinger, "Who's your friend?" "Uh... heh... this is Edinger Deet, he's new here in town." Henry nervously chuckled, turning to his Trill friend, "Do you think you could help me out on my tab, Ed?" Edinger rolled his eyes, taking a seat at the bar. He reached into his pocket, "I've got 8 strips on me," he set them on the bar, The bartender cut him off, pocketing the gold pressed latinum, "We'll call it a down payment." she smiled at Edinger, "What'll you have?" "Uh... something cold... A lager?" Edinger unsurely asked. "How about an Orion Ale?" the bartender responded. Edinger recalled that Orion Ale was brewed from the seed of the Marat'e plant, which was toxic to Trill. "I think I'll pass..." Henry interrupted "How about a Verdigris Twist over ice? Two of them." The bartender turned away and began to mix a concoction from several bottles. "Um... what is it?" Edinger nervously asked Henry. "A minute ago she offered me an ale that would kill me." "Yeah, that might be a problem." Henry laughed, "The Verdigris Twist is Bolian Tonic and Aldebaran Whisky. I drink them all the time. You'll be fine." "Do you know how much copper is in Aldebaran Whisky, Henry? That's not exactly healthy for human physiology. Or a Trill." "But they go down so smooth." Henry joked, disregarding the warning. Edinger considered a serious reply for a moment before the bartender set the drinks down on the bar in front of them. He looked at the unhealthy concoction for a second, then looked up at the bartender who'd mixed a third glass for herself. Edinger grabbed the glass. "Oh well... if this is what kills me I'll call my time alive a success." He smiled as he raised the glass and downed the beverage. The bartender leaned in, "What brings you to this rock?" "Well... you do." He smiled awkwardly, "I mean... everyone here." he nervously recoiled a bit as he used the same worn joke again. "I'm a doctor, and I want to make my services available to whoever needs them." "I think you'll have a hard time finding customers," the Bartender replied, "Proper medical treatment gets a little too expensive for these parts." "I'm willing to treat the needy for free. I might ask for some help from others from time to time, but I think people will realize the value in cooperating... I'll work for drinks too." he chuckled. The bartender shook her head, "Look, I think it's great that you want to do this..." she looked around the bar carefully, making sure the coast was clear, "but eventually, someone's going to come looking for some money from you; and if you're not asking your patients for real latinum, you're not going to make it." the warning seemed dire. "Don't worry about me," Edinger smiled almost arrogantly, "Whoever comes to my office... we'll work it out." "Don't say I didn't warn you." the bartender finished her drink, going back to hey job slicing fruit. Edinger turned to Henry, "What is she talking about?" "The Orion syndicate has some sort of a fortress nearby." Henry lamented, "They unofficially act as a kind of government around here. They claim to protect Paradise City from any outside dangers... But I don't know what good they do. We might see a stray Aellah Worm or Giant Scorpion, but we can take care of those ourselves." "So they claim dominion over this city without providing any services?" Edinger scoffed naively. "That's the long and short of it. They roll into town every so often and shake people down for protection money. If you don't pay up, they take your stuff, they wreck your property, they've even been known to kill. And nobody dares oppose them because they've got all the weapons on the planet." "There's nobody else here to maintain order?" Edinger asked. "There was a time when all weapons were banned on Nimbus III, and the Federation, Klingons and Romulans all worked together to maintain some small bit of order. That didn't last. Politics broke up any semblance of a cooperation, the attempts to terraform this planet turned up little more than scrub brush or inedible mushrooms, and Nimbus III was simply forgotten. A few people have fashioned their own basic arms and tried to form coalitions among themselves, but when the Orions came around, they brought along all the weapons they wanted. We were completely vulnerable." "Ah, damn!!" a shrill cry interrupted the conversation from the other side of the bar. The bartender grabbed a towel to cover a bleeding hand. Edinger stood up quickly and rushed around the back of the bar, "Let me see." Green blood flooded into the towel, as the Romulan woman cringed. "This is a bad cut. We're going to need to seal this wound." Edinger warned. "I'll wrap it up," she resisted his offer, "It will be fine." "Come on. I've got a deep tissue regenerator at my office, it will be no trouble." "I can't leave the bar. Nobody else is on duty." she held her hand tightly. Edinger turned to Henry, "Henry. You watch things here." Henry smiled menacingly, "Me? In charge of the bar?" he chuckled. "Henry, so help me... stand here and make sure nobody steals anything. Don't touch anything! If so much as one drink goes missing, I swear I'll put that abscess back in your tooth!" Edinger escorted the bartender out of building, as Henry smiled innocently at his threat. Edinger and the bartender entered his office, she looked around briefly as he gathered his tools. She took a seat on the examination table "This is the cleanest place I've seen in Paradise City." she commented. "Hold your hand out." Edinger began to work on the wound, "Medical facilities should always be as sterile as possible. I've done the best I can here." "I don't know why you're doing all of this... but this place... we need people like you. Ruthlessness and self-preservation are a way of life here, and genuine kindness seems rarer and rarer every day." the bartender opened up a bit. "It sounds like this town has been living under tough circumstances for a while. It's hard to be kind to others when you're barely surviving yourself." He smiled as he held her hand under his medical instrument, "A cut hand... it can certainly put you in a bad mood if nobody's there to stitch it up." The bartender looked down, the wound was closed, and barely a mark was left behind. Her hand still rested in Edinger's. She looked up at his smiling face. "Felisa." she hesitantly spoke, "That's my name." "Well, Felisa. You should be good to go now. Let's get you back to the bar before Henry drinks your entire supply." Felisa reached in her pocket extracting the slips of latinum that Edinger had given her earlier. "Here, take these back. I owe you." "No." Edinger insisted, "Keep it. I'm sure you'll make it up to me some other time... If that hand gives you any trouble, come right back, I'll take care of it." Edinger insisted with a sincerity that was almost overwhelming to Felisa. "Thank you, Edinger." the Romulan woman stood up next to the Trill doctor, impulsively leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. She nervously stepped back before either of them could really react. "You're... um... you're welcome." Edinger stammered as Felisa slipped out the door. He approached the office's front window and watched as she walked away. He noticed the sandy desert wind blow through her dark hair. It wasn't until then that he realized just how attractive she was. He stumbled back to his office and sat down on the examination table staring blankly into the wall, pondering the encounter in silence. --- Edinger had finally begun to settle into live in Paradise City, he found himself with a slow but steady stream of patients, scraped knees, viral infections, nothing severe. He still didn't feel truly at home, but things were getting better. An old man stumbled into Edinger's office, "Doctor? Can you help me here?" Edinger rushed out from a back room, finding a battered patient nursing his right arm. "Take a seat here!" he rushed to help the man onto the table. "What happened." he started his scans. "I..." the man paused for a minute, "I irritated some business associates." "I recognize you, you sell fruit and vegetables around the block." Edinger applied an analgesic hypospray, "You can't tell me this is just over rotten bananas. You've broken your radius, you've got a severe contusion around your eye, a minor tear in your retina... This is a bad beating." "It's nothing to be concerned about, Doctor. Please, can you just fix me up?" The old merchant pleaded. Edinger nodded, "I can." he continued to operate with a series of tools, turning his focus to the battered eye, "But I'd like to know who's responsible for this." The old man was about to speak when the door opened again. He turned to see a large Orion stagger into the office authoritatively. He gazed up at Edinger with a look of serious worry. "I'll be just a minute," Edinger said to the new arrival. "Is this an emergency?" "You could say that." The Orion bluntly answered. Edinger turned back to the old merchant, "You're going to be fine. Lay down, I'll be right back with you." He rushed over to the Orion, who stood comfortably in the middle of the room. "This doesn't seem like any emergency. What's the problem?" "The emergency is that this town's doctor hasn't paid his taxes." He taunted, "I'm here to collect on this... pressing matter." "I don't have time for this. I've got an seriously injured patient who needs my help. You'll have to wait." Edinger turned away from the Orion. "I know." the Orion chuckled, looking past Edinger at the intimidated old man, "He didn't pay his taxes either." Edinger slowly turned back to the Orion, who'd now unholstered a disruptor. "I think you're actually lucky. I'm tired of delivering beatings. I'm going to make this simple. "Two bars of Gold Pressed Latinum. Now." "For God's sake, man. I don't charge my patients. I don't generate a profit." He pleaded with the imposing figure. "My services are for everyone here. Hell, you're welcome to come here if you get injured of sick like anyone else. Surely you see the value in that." "No. We have our own medical equipment." he started looking around the room, "Two bars of latinum. Otherwise we come take some more medical equipment. Edinger acquiesced, "I'll go get it." The Orion stepped in close, "I'll be right over your shoulder." The Trill doctor stepped carefully to the back room with the Orion following at point blank range. Edinger approached a locked refrigeration unit, cautiously disengaging the coded lock. As the lock opened, the Orion was transfixed on the goods within refrigeration unit. Edinger noticed his divided attention at that moment; so he took the opportunity to conceal a nearby scalpel up his sleeve. "Stop right there." the Orion demanded. Edinger froze in place before the open safe door, "I'm just getting your latinum now." The Orion didn't respond, instead he grabbed Edinger by the shoulder and tossed him to the ground. Edinger gripped the unnoticed scalpel firmly in his hand as the Orion ransacked five bars of latinum from Edinger's refrigerated safe, he also took a large supply of drugs that were kept refrigerated. Edinger pleaded, "Look, you need a doctor to administer..." "I'll let our... medical professionals... decided what we can do with these. We'll call it payment for the trouble you've cause here." The Orion began to pocket the goods. Edinger regained his footing, considering a strike at the distracted thief. He thought better of it. "Take what you want and get the hell out." The Orion stopped his ransacking to face down the defiant Trill. They locked eyes for a long moment, neither making the slightest move. "I'll be back in a week." the Orion finally broke the stand-down, "Payment up front, no hassle." he turned away from Edinger, throwing a tray of medical equipment to the ground as he walked out. He proceeded through the office, turning back to the old merchant as he walked out the door. "You too. On time next week: if not, your doctor friend won't be able to help." he slammed the door behind him. "Are you alright?" the Merchant turned back to Edinger. "Fine." he muttered in frustration, "Lay down. Let me repair your eye." --- Having treated and released the old merchant, Edinger locked the door to his office for the night, and set to clean up the mess caused by the thug. He immediately took an inventory of what had been lost. "I'm going to need to get some more supplies shipped in." he lamented to himself. He sat down at his office computer console, punching a few buttons to initiate a communique with the Bolian courior who'd brought him to Nimbus III. In a short moment the blue face appeared before him. "How can I help you Doctor?" "Brex, how soon can you be to Nimbus III?" Edinger asked. "I'll be passing through the Tau Dewa sector in a few days... Maybe two, no more than three." "Great. I'm going to need a shipment of supplies, and a withdrawal of latinum from my bank." "Shouldn't be a problem, send me a list of everything you need, and I'll let you know exactly when to expect me." "Thanks, Brex. Deet out." Edinger began to compile the list of supplies he'd need, when he heard a knock at his office's door. He poked his head out of his office, and saw Felisa waiting outside. Edinger opened the door to see Felisa standing there with a basket in hand. "I heard the Orions cleaned you out. I thought you might like some supper." Edinger smiled, "Come in. Please." Felisa walked into the discheveled office, medical supplies lay scattered across the floor. "Looks like they made a big mess here. Are you alright?" "I'm fine. They took five bars of latinum, and about the same worth of drugs... I have to say, I'm more concerned about how those drugs are going be used than the cost. I didn't come out here to feed addictions." Edinger complained, "I've got some additional supplies tucked away upstairs, so I'll make due until I can get a new shipment, but I'm not sure how I can keep up with their demands." "They're difficult to reason with... but you'll make due. They ultimately bark worse than they bite." Felisa reasoned. Edinger's face flashed with anger, "You shouldn't have to live under that. You shouldn't rationalize it..." his tone softened, "But you don't have much choice, do you? How did it get like this?" "Nimbus III was supposed to be the planet of intergalactic peace, but the project was never properly executed. My parents moved here from Romulus, seeking opportunity by opening the local bar. For the first few years, their bar even housed the offices of the Romulan ambassador here." she sighed, "...but things have deteriorated for years. About 10 years ago, the Orion Syndicate targeted Paradise City as a defenseless population to exploit. They have a settlement just a few Kilos out of town, they ride in, take what they want, and ride out." "Has anyone ever tried to retaliate against their compound?" Edinger inquired. Felisa shook her head, "It would be suicide. The people of Paradise City were disarmed by the coalition that founded the settlement. We've little more than slingshots or kitchen knifes to fight them." "Why have you stayed here?" Felisa raised her eyebrow, "Well... my parents stayed because they'd built something here; they were proud of what they'd accomplished. I was 12 when my mother died, so I started working as bartender and floor manager to help keep things running. We always made due. The Orions showed up a few years later. They began to shake us down regularly... but we endured it. When my father died, the Orions stepped in again: I was only 17 with no resources to fight them, so they simply confiscated his entire estate. I was lucky that they kept me employed at a wage." "Do you want to leave?" Edinger asked frankly. "Well..." Felisa sighed, "I guess I'm just not one to run from my troubles. As difficult as things get, I feel compelled to tough it out." "I've got just the opposite problem," Edinger complained, "I'm always on the run. That's really why I'm here." "What do you mean?" Felisa asked. "I grew up on Andoria." Edinger explained, "My father was the Trill ambassador to Andoria. He always wanted me to follow in his footsteps." "You didn't do that." "No. When I got old enough, I went back to Trill and applied with the symbiosis commission. I would've washed out of the program if not for the fact that this juvenile symbiont essentially chose to join with me. I studied in medicine and established myself as an expert in traumatic injury and genetic chemistry... I didn't talk to Dad for a long time... right up until his last days. After he died, I ran again. I ran away from everything that reminded me of my regrets. I ran away from my career. I ran away from memories of him. I guess that's why I'm here now." "You could've run anywhere. Why here?" Felisa inquired. Edinger looked her squarely in the eye, and honestly pondered the question for a long moment, "I guess it seemed like a place to do some good." he gestured to the basket Felisa had carried in, brightening the mood, "I'd love to see what you've brought me. It smells delicious." Edinger led Felisa to the back of the office, where a locked door concealed a staircase. They ascended to a small loft living area in the building's upper level. Edinger carried the basket of food into a small kitchenette. He opened the basket and extracted a pot of soup. "It's probably a fairly humble meal by your standards," Felisa lamented. "It's a chowder I've learned to make from the meat of our local scorpions." Edinger eagerly tasted the mysterious stew, finding himself pleasantly surprised, "I can tell this is made with a great deal of care... and that is always the most important ingredient. It's delicious." he smiled as he turned to find two bowls among his stored goods. As he served the meal, he turned to his refrigeration unit, and extracted a bottle of Romulan Ale. The last of his medicine supply was the only other item in the sparse cold storage. He raised the bottle, "I was keeping this for a special occasion." Felisa smiled as the two began to share the meal. Their relationship formed quickly, and Felisa was genuinely happy to spend time with someone sincere and kind. They talked deep into the evening, finishing the bottle of Romulan ale. "It's awfully late, Edinger." Felisa noted, standing up from the table. Edinger checked a nearby clock, "Wow, it is. It's amazing how quickly you can lose track of time... Would you like me to bring you home..." Felisa stepped in close to Edinger and interrupted him with a kiss. "I'd like to get to bed... but I don't want to go home." she playfully grabbed the collar of his shirt. Edinger succumbed to her advances quickly, "OK," he smiled nervously, "I'm certainly not going to throw you out." --- The sunshine peered through the blinds behind Edinger's bed, an alarm panel chimed, "The time is 0730 hours." Edinger opened his eyes to find himself alone in bed. He sat up, and slowly peeked his head out into the rest of his living quarters. Nobody was there. He proceeded through his morning grooming regimen and prepared himself before setting down toward office. He finished tidying up the mess left by the Orion the day before, and set out to inventory his losses. About an hour into the day, someone rushed through his office door. "Doc?" a Lurian entered the building holding his hand up, wrapped in a towel. "Doc, can you take a look at my hand?" Edinger walked up to the Lurian, examining the lacerated and broken hand, "What happened here?" "I work as a farrier down at the stables, one of the horses caught me off guard and pinned my hand." he explained. Edinger nodded as he scanned the hand, "It's not too bad. But I'll need to set those bones manually before the regenerator can fuse them up. This can be pretty painful. Wait here, I'll get some local anesthetic ." The Lurian gratefully nodded. Edinger walked into his office storage before remembering that his anesthetic supply was stolen by the Orion. He remembered he had some more in his cold storage upstairs. He rushed up the stairs, in to his quarters. He opened the refrigeration unit, finding it empty. "No..." he said aloud to himself, as his heart sank. He rushed down the stairs back through his office, he turned to the Lurian and considered the injury briefly, "You'll be fine for now. Wait here, I'll be back in just a minute." he stormed out of the office, medkit in hand, without further explanation. He sprinted around the corner, and through the alleys of Paradise City straight to the local bar. They weren't opened yet, and the doors were locked. "A little early to be looking for a drink, eh?" Henry snuck up on Edinger. Edinger turned and grabbed him by his shirt, "I need to talk to Felisa. Do you know where I can find her?" "Not specifically... what's going on?" Henry's curiosity and concern piqued. "Just..." Edinger steadied himself, "I just need to talk to her, it's an emergency." "Well, she stays in the cellar under the bar. Did you try to knock?" Henry simply asked. Edinger turned back to the door without reaction, he opened the medkit he'd brought with, extracting a laser scalpel. He used the scalpel to cut the lock on the door, kicking it in. He looked around a bit before finding the door to the storage cellar. "Felisa!" he shouted, "Felisa, are you here??" Edinger found Felisa lying passed out on her bed, still under the affect of strong pain killers. Edinger scanned her with his tricorder, relieved to find that she was alive; yet furious to find her this way. He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her awake. "Where are they!?" he demanded. Felisa groggily attempted a response, "They're gone. I gave them..." she dozed in and out of consciousness. "Gave them to who?" Edinger insisted. Felisa was still under the affect of the drugs, "I'm... I'm sorry..." she trailed off, unable to answer. Edinger ignored the apology. Turning to leave the room. Felisa was going to be ok, but he furious with her. He couldn't help but feeling used and violated. He slowly walked out of the cellar, pondering the situation. As he left the vacant tavern, he swiped a bottle of strong grain alcohol from behind the bar. Henry waited for him at the door, "What are you doing? What's wrong?" Edinger turned back to Henry, "Here," he reached into his pocket, extracting a couple slips of latinum, "Just keep an eye on Felisa until she gets up. Make sure she's laying on her side. I'll explain later... or she will." Henry looked down at the latinum... it was definitely worth his while for the simple job. He dropped his curiosity instantly, "Alright, boss. No questions asked." Edinger slowly walked back to his office. He reentered to find the Lurian still waiting for his aid. "Doc, can you help me with this please?" he was growing impatient. Edinger sighed, handing the Lurian the bottle of grain alcohol he'd taken, "Drink that... because this is going to hurt." --- Felisa woke up to the noise of someone walking down the cellar stairs. She hastily grabbed the knife that she kept concealed behind a table next to her bed. She stood next to the cellar door, and waited for the intruder to walk through. When he did, she pushed him against the wall, holding the knife to his throat. "Whoa! It's just me!!" Henry shouted. Felisa let her guard down a bit, "Henry?! What the hell are you doing in here??" Henry took a swig from a bottle he carried, "Doctors orders, I'm just here to keep an eye on you." Felisa swiped the liquor bottle away from him. "Sorry... I helped myself to a drin- bottle." "Edinger sent you?" Felisa set down the bottle and sat back down on the edge of her bed, holding her head in both hands. "Yea. He seemed pretty shook up. Is everything alright?" Henry questioned. "Yes..." Felisa explained, "Well, no. I had to do something I'm not proud of." Henry quietly picked up the bottle again, and grabbed a nearby chair. He took a long drink, "What happened Felisa?" "After the Orions finished their shakedown yesterday, a few of them came into the bar. One of them was bragging about a big score he'd just made. He'd just taken five bars of latinum and a stockpile of drugs from Edinger. I made the mistake of speaking in his defense." she regretted, "They picked up on my fondness for him. They forced me to take advantage of that relationship. They threatened me: I would've lost the bar for sure, if I'd defied them openly, they might've killed me." Henry raised his eyebrow, doubting the story, "So why are you here passed out now?" "I may have caved in to their demands, but the Orions still didn't trust me. They had one way to prove that I didn't poison the supply..." Felisa stood up, grabbing the bottle back away from Henry again. She took a drink and ascended upstairs. "I've got to go talk to him." "He was pretty upset..." Henry explained. "Maybe you'd better let me talk to him first." Felisa relented, "Yeah... If you could, that would probably be best." "I'll send him back your way as soon as he's cooled off... just hang tight." Henry optimistically reported as he left the bar. He strolled over to Edinger's office to explain the situation. He walked into the office to find him mending a drunk Lurian's hand. "OK, the bones are set, and the tissue regenerator should have them fused together pretty well. The lacerations are healing nicely, and the swelling should go down in a day or two. I'm sorry there's nothing I can do about the pain... if it means anything, you're not the only one hurting." The Lurian's eyes were red, tears having streamed down his face from the painful procedure. He was relieved to be finished, "Thanks, Doctor." He got up and left the office. Edinger turned to his friend, "Henry, unless you've got a medical emergency, I don't want to talk right now." "We've got to clear this up." Henry explained, "I just talked to Felisa." Edinger turned to walk away, "Then I really don't want to talk." "Edinger, she was forced to do what she did!" Henry blurted out, grabbing Edinger's attention, "The Orions threatened her. They made her use the drugs to prove they weren't poisoned." Edinger's tone softened, he wasn't sure what to believe, but he was still angry; "If that's true, why didn't she come to me!? Why didn't she tell me the truth??" Henry cut through his naivety plainly, "Would you have given her the drugs if she had?" "Of course not, but..." "If you stay here long enough, Edinger; you'll realize there is no 'but' when it comes to the Orions." Edinger didn't know what to think, the situation was intolerable. He was hurt, angry, and desperate for an answer to the problem. "Well thanks, Henry." he relented, "I need some time to think this through. I need to be alone for a while." he shooed his friend out the door. Edinger locked the door and turned back to his empty office, "They thought the drugs might be poisoned?" he questioned aloud to himself as ideas filled his head. He grabbed his tricorder and rushed out the door. He caught up to the Lurian farrier a short way from his office. "How much to borrow a horse for the day?" The Lurian turned back to Edinger, "Well, I usually charge four slips." He looked down at his swollen hand, "But for you, I think I'll say five." he grinned, joking about the pain he'd endured, "I'll get you set up, don't worry about latinum." Riding out into the desert, Edinger hoped that the numerous attempts to terraform Nimbus III would have left enough vegitation for him to work with. He carefully examined every bit of brush, every cactus, and every mushroom he stumbled across, collecting samples from each. He tirelessly continued to scan and collect samples until the sun lowered behind the distant mountains. Back at his office, Edinger used every bit of medical knowlege he had to distill and combine chemicals from the native vegetation. After several hours, he'd developed a chemical agent that would start a slow, and eventually fatal, chemical reaction when in contact with any copper based blood. The reaction could be easily stopped by an ammonia compound found in a local mushroom. As Edinger wrapped up his work, Felisa knocked at his door. Edinger let her in, without saying a word. "Edinger... I'm so sorry." Felisa pleaded. "I didn't want..." "You could've been honest with me." Edinger replied coldly. "You didn't have to turn such a special night into something so meaningless. I thought we had a real connection." "Edinger..." "I can't blame you for what you did. But it doesn't change the way I feel about the way you did it." Felisa felt overwhelmed with guilt, "It wasn't meaningless to me. I'm sorry if you feel that way." Edinger wasn't willing to lie to her. It did feel that way. He turned back toward his work. "I want you to see this." Felisa stepped close to the cluttered lab counter. Edinger held up a small blue vial, "This compound will start a slow but fatal reaction in any green blooded species. I want to use this against the Orions." "That's great, Edinger... but as my pointed ears would remind you, I'm Romulan. Green blood and all." Edinger nodded, turning to grab a plant sample from his bag. "This fungus." "Those grow everywhere, they're useless, inedible things." Felisa complained. "Well, they contain an ammonia compound that dissipates the reaction. They act as an antidote to my poison. I'm betting the Orions won't figure that out themselves." "How can this compound be delivered?" Felisa asked. "Well, it can propagate from a very small dosage, and it could be very difficult to detect and identify... you could administer it as an aerosol, although that could take days or perhaps weeks to present symptoms. A direct injection into the blood stream would cause fatal symptoms within hours. Once they're infected and the initial symptoms onset, we'll be in a great position to demand some changes if they want the antedote." "This is terrific, Edinger." She grabbed him by the hand, "I wish I had come to you in the first place. I'm so sorry I didn't. I hope you understand that." Edinger pulled away, he sympathized, but he wouldn't easily forget the desception. "Maybe... we look at picking up the pieces as we go." Felisa sadly left the office, returning to her bar, still nursing the lingering affects of the drugs she'd taken. Edinger couldn't help but feel the same way, as he retreated to his quarters to sleep after the exhausting day. --- Edinger worked quietly in his office alone. A computer panel alerted him on an incoming message. A Bolian face appeared on the screen, "I'm just about to come into orbit of Nimbus III, Edinger. I should land in about 5 minutes." "Perfect, Brex. I'll meet you at the landing zone. Deet out." Edinger left his office and proceeded to the outskirts of down, the small freighter touched down, kicking up a large cloud of sand and dust. A hatch opened as a Bolian crew began to offload several small boxes. "Here's your latinum," Brex approached Edinger with his currency in a locked case, "I'll tell you what, I'm offloading for some other customers here, so I can just have my crew bring your supplies to your office when we're done here." Edinger opened the case, ensuring the latinum was in order. He handed Brex due payment for the transport. "Thanks, Brex. Do you want to get a drink or something?" "Yeah, that sounds good." the Bolian courier agreed. Brex and Deet walked into the bar, Felisa was serving drinks. Edinger found himself happy to see her. Felisa smiled as she walked over, "Who's your friend, Edinger?" she asked. "This is Brex, he's a business associate of mine." "Two Verdigris Twists?" Felisa predicted. "Sounds great." Edinger smiled. "Why don't you join us." Felisa evaded the offer, "I probably shouldn't make a habit of drinking on the job." Edinger raised and eyebrow, but turned back to conversation with Brex. After several drinks, and an exchange of stories, Brex was paged on his communicator, "Captain, we should be ready to go in about 30 minutes." his crew reported. "It's been fun, Edinger." the Bolian acknowleged, "I'd better get back to my ship and get some Raktajino in me before we depart." Brex left the bar, and Felisa stepped over to Edinger. "Hey, do you have a minute?" "Sure." Edinger obliged, stepping away from the bar toward the back room. Before Felisa could speak, a booming voice shouted them down, "Where do you think you're going?" A pair of hulking Orions entered the bar. "We're not paying you to sneak off into the back room. Get me an Aldebaran whisky. Now." Felisa shot a concerned look Edinger's way as she went back to the bar. She poured the drink to the loud Orion and tried to turn away. He grabbed her by the arm. "I didn't excuse you." he taunted. "Why don't you dance for your customers." he ordered. Felisa looked around the mostly empty bar, as Edinger stepped up closer to the Orion. She sighed and feigned a dance to the beat of the Alba Ra music being played on the jukebox. This left Edinger infuriated. "Where's the enthusiasm?!" The Orion stood up, grabbing Felisa from across the bar, violently attempting to pull her across to his side. "Maybe you need a dance partner!" Edinger had enough. In a moment of drunken fury, he reached across the bar and grabbed a paring knife. With surgical precision, he stabbed the violent Orion in the neck, killing him instantly. As the dead Orion heaped up on the floor, his accomplice was stunned for a long moment. So was Felisa. Edinger dove across the bar to give Felisa one long last kiss before running away from the chase of the remaining Orion. He evaded the pursuit for a short time, ducking into alleys and out of sight. He knew he couldn't retreat to his office, as it would be the first place they look. With nowhere else to turn, Edinger ran to the Bolian freighter that was still docked nearby. He snuck into the cargo hold just as they were about to take off. Edinger approached the ship's crew, owning up to his status as a stowaway. Brex was surprised to see him aboard, "What are you doing here?" he asked. "I need to get out of here quickly. Where are you heading from here?" Edinger inquired. "We're scheduled for a delivery from Bolarus to Earth tomorrow." Brex explained, "But what about all of the supplies we just dropped off." "Forget them. I can't go back. I can never go back." Edinger was overcome with regret, "Earth... maybe Starfleet needs a doctor." --- Henry sat down at the bar, "So, he's gone?" "I think so." Felisa sadly decried, "I haven't seen him since he killed that Orion." "Are you sure they killed him?" Henry questioned. Felisa began to cry, "Of course they did... There's nowhere to hide around here." "Well, hwasn't here long, but I think he did some good." Henry praised. "Maybe the Orions will think twice about their actions in the future." Felisa held a small blue vial up to the light, "I'll see to it that they do." she wiped the tears out of her eyes, flashing grit determination and hatred in her eyes. "Edinger did do some good here," she rest her hand over her belly, "...and I'm going to make sure his child reaps the benefits of that."
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