[BACKPOST] No Sound but the Wind
Posted on Sat Jul 4th, 2015 @ 11:28pm by Karil
Episode:
Orphans
Location: Shi'kahr Kefik, Shi'kahr, Vulcan
Timeline: 2387
ON:
“We have located Farik,” Neo-tekerik strode into the wardroom which had been converted into an operations base with a PADD in hand. “He was on a transport ship headed back through an Eridani processing zone. He says he’s returning from Valdenna, he’s a maintenance worker at Tailar outpost.”
“That’s unusual,” Karil murmured, not looking up from his terminal. He didn’t need to elucidate any further, bondmates were not usually separated for so long.
“It’s seasonal. On six months, off six months. We’re still collecting statements from the family. Where are we with KDL?“
“They are on their way,” Nevari told them. He was seated at his desk, looking over reports from one of their engineers. “It looks like the Kile household was the origin point for the leak, the heat valves were not pushed back all the way. Someone attempted to repair it that was unqualified.”
“Why wouldn’t you call an experienced technician?” Karil furrowed his brows.
“-and we just received confirmation from Shi’kahr Kefik that Seylan is awake,” Nevari interrupted, getting to his feet. “Karil, T’Rora, try and get some sort of statement from him. He may be calmer around a familiar presence,” Nevari indicated Karil, who’d been linked with him during the rescue.
“Dvein A’Tha,” Karil grouched as they approached Shi’kahr Kefik. He removed a cigarette from his pocket and lit it with a match.
“You cannot smoke that here,” a voice called from the doorway irately.
“Give me a break,” the Terran slang rolled off of Karil’s tongue naturally, and he gave the doctor a pained look.
T’Rora took it from him and butted it out with her foot as primly as she could. “Come on, you can worry about it later.”
They walked up a set of low stairs, and Karil flashed his badge at the security guard, still jilted. “We’re from Kayvar. Where is room 217, pediatric ICU?”
“Take the first turbolift and exit on the second floor. It is down the first hallway to the right.” The guard took his badge and examined it, then passed it back. The gate beeped and they were admitted.
Inside room 217, Seylan Kile lay on a biobed, surrounded by wires and tubes designed to speed up his decontamination. He was awake and playing with a puzzle game on his PADD. Karil watched him through the glass, and frowned. “What’s the prognosis so far?” he asked the attending.
Dr. Tanjin referenced his clipboard as he spoke. “His language development is somewhat delayed, he is malnourished and he presented initially with the beginning stages of entarenilar. Other than that, he should make a full recovery. We managed to relieve the entarenilar with the full decon workup.”
“Father’s gone six months of the year, the mother’s toxicology report came back positive for YSN,” Karil briefed him stoically. “I take it she spent too much time chasing and not enough staying still, as we say on Shai.” The remark was grim. “Is he up for talking to us?”
“I do not know how cooperative he will be, Patalsu. He has not responded to any of our queries.”
“What about his cognitive tests?” T’Rora asked.
“He will not cooperate long enough to determine a result.” Tanjin had all the air of a Vulcan who’d completed the basic steps to Kolinahr, as most Vulcan medical professionals did. Empty, blank and persevering. He didn’t seem disturbed by the development of a neglected child in his care at all.
“What do you use, the Taysiri-Hallan? Give it to me.” Karil nodded down at the clipboard. “I’ll administer it.”
Tanjin handed Karil the clipboard. “It could not hurt to try.”
“Rory, you coming?”
“Affirmative.” She ducked in after him, wondering just what exactly he had planned.
Karil dragged a rolling tray over to the bed, and sat down on a stool across from Seylan. He set the clipboard aside. “Tonk’peh, nam-tor nash-veh Karil. Du?” he smiled.
Seylan blinked toward him experimentally, and poked his cheek.
Two year olds didn’t have the semblance to be standoffish, Karil knew. He was just scared. Familiarity and friendliness would win the day. “Yeah, kalali reizo, see?” he smiled again, and rested his hand over Seylan’s arm, ignoring the fresh cringe of psionic energy to impart the sensation of warmth and belonging.
Almost immediately, Seylan smiled back.
T’Rora was watching the display with wide eyes, wondering about Karil’s methods until she began to witness Seylan’s responsiveness to the technique. “My name is T’Rora; we are here to take your statement-“
Karil held a hand out behind him, shushing her silently. “Rory, he’s an infant. He has absolutely no idea what you’re saying.”
“Excuse me?”
“Tone down the Silence of the Lambs thing a little. He’s a kid. Kids sense tension.”
Affronted at the accusation on her emotional integrity, T’Rora crossed her arms, but didn’t offer any further analysis.
During the course of their brief interlude, Seylan had sunk back into the mattress, withdrawing from engagement. Karil suppressed his sigh and reached over beside the bed, grabbing a tray of food and placing it between them. “Let’s get you something to eat, huh?” he picked up one of the limp pieces of toast, and ripped off a piece, chewing it enthusiastically. “This is so good,” he lied, turning to give T’Rora an expression of abject horror. “Hospital toast, it’s the same intergalactically. Mmm, yeah, this is amazing,” he continued his charade for Seylan’s benefit, and offered him one of the pieces.
He took it hesitantly, and then shoved the entire toast stick into his mouth. The deception was rather obvious after about two seconds, and he screwed up his face in displeasure.
“Yeah, yeah, I know. I’ll get us some Rhaicho, how about that?”
“What is Rhaicho?” T’Rora murmured, eyebrows drawn.
“Up on orbital, Terran fast food place. Meal number seven comes with a toy. Yeah, you definitely want a cheeseburger, don’t you? Eat your nasty hospital toast and we’ll get you a cheeseburger,” he encouraged Seylan with a grin. “No idea what a cheeseburger is,” he whispered under his breath. “Such innocence.”
“I do not know what a cheeseburger is,” T’Rora interjected with her hands on her hips.
“Meat, cheese, bun.” At her scoff of disgust, he added cheerfully, “don’t worry. It’s all replicated.”
“You shouldn’t encourage him to consume animal products.”
“It’s like, 1.5% animal, max.”
“Karil.”
“Look, they’re delicious, and terrible for you, but most importantly they’re packed with calories. Which he definitely needs. It’s better than TPN, reikil A’Tha. What are we, in the 22nd century?” Karil kept up his chipper disposition and eventually Seylan finished his tray meal. “Well, we made a promise, didn’t we?” he looked at T’Rora.
“You are going to make me obtain a cheeseburger, aren’t you?” she pursed her lips.
“That might be happening, yeah.”
“Very well.”
By the time T’Rora returned, Karil had pushed the meal tray out of the way and was coaxing Seylan to grip a stylus in his hand. Karil drew a circle, and then indicated that Seylan copy him.
Slowly, painstakingly, the child sat up and scrawled a very wobbly circle.
“I think we’re going to be all right,” Karil said, laying a separated row of blocks on the desk and arranging them side by side. He tapped each one, and then formed a new row with the total sum.
Seylan did pick up one of the blocks, but rather than arrange it in any concrete pattern, he flicked it at Karil’s head.
It bounced off and clattered back on the table. “This totally means war,” Karil grinned, picking up two and gently tossing them at Seylan.
“I see you two are having a bonding moment,” T’Rora interrupted smoothly as she glided in, a grease-soaked bag in one hand and a foil-wrapped tortilla in the other. “I am unsurprised, considering you possess the mentality of a two year old,” she added to Karil, placing the #7 meal deal between them both.
“I think she just insulted us.” Karil pressed his fingers to his chest indignantly.
“How is he doing?”
“Thus far he is fairly average. The language acquisition difficulties definitely exist, but he understands the general idea. I read on the nets once that the language window is up to about seven, so he should be all right.”
“Do you get all of your information from vistra v'ree'lat?”
“As opposed to Mr. Happy, over there?” Karil jerked his thumb at Dr. Tanjin.
“Mr. Happy has a medical degree.”
“He has the emotional range of a shoe. No wonder Seylan was unresponsive.”
“That is our way.”
Before they could continue their philosophical debate, a young woman walked through the doors carrying a small briefcase in her left hand. “Greetings, I am Celar.”
Karil straightened, as if he were the one being evaluated. “Rom’halan. I’m Karil, this is T’Rora. We’re from Kayvar.”
“Yes, I was advised of your presence. I would speak with you privately.” She gestured outside into the hall.
“I see that he has begun interacting with you,” Celar noted, tilting her head.
Karil cleared his throat, hands behind his back. “Yeah, we are trying to build a rapport. We will probably need to do a psi-statement, as his verbal abilities are below average for his age. That will involve a significant degree of trust. We’re doing our best to fast track it.”
“I see.”
“What did your HRE show?”
“From what we have been able to gather, Lenol- the older sibling- attempted to fix the compressor after several days with no proper heating at night. Without the appropriate strength to place the heat valves back in their proper positions, mejilan gas leaked from the open valves. There was no food in the stasis unit, and the replicators were locked. The domicile was in considerable disarray.”
That was an understatement, Karil thought. The house was completely trashed, with piles of dirty laundry and YSN stains burned into the counters. “What’s going to happen next?”
“We will be taking the appropriate steps to phase Seylan and Lenol out of their home environment.”
Karil closed his eyes. “Good. Excellent. That’s logical,” he amended sheepishly. “What do you need?”
“A statement would be beneficial, from both children. Sooner is better.”
“As soon as I have it, you’ll have it.”
“Are you certain you are capable of this?” T’Rora asked, watching as Karil rolled up his sleeves and moved his chair closer to Seylan’s side.
“It’s got to be done, and I’m the best person for the job.” Karil’s response was completely matter-of-fact.
“You should not get attached to him, Karil. Perhaps I should be the one to do this.”
“The Adept said that there’s a high possibility that he’s trying to create a bond with me, yeah. He said that we shouldn’t encourage it, but for the moment it’ll help us gather his perceptions.” Karil took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Here goes.” He lifted his hands, and placed his fingers gently against Seylan’s qui’lara. “My mind to your mind. My thoughts to your thoughts…”
Karil entered his mind like being run over, splintered into tiny organic pieces. Blood and brain matter, katric crossing-over. The physical fell away, expanding dimensions swallowing them both whole.
Seylan was isolated, feeling-out shadows and edges with the barest awareness. He wanted, it was cold. He hungered, it was cold. He was exhausted, march-forward. Nerve impulses were misleading, don’t-trust-them.
Karil did his best to soothe the torment swirling around, chaos-hypnotic hurricanes. He’d been there. The environment was the enemy, the body was the enemy, spirits were their enemies. They could give him a line, a way to pull him back. But he had to take it.
“He’s in there,” Karil jerked his head to the side, eyes closed. “His awareness of things is mostly focused on his own needs and wants. Which is pretty standard. He was extremely neglected. There’s images. Filth, loneliness, banding together to get by the nights. Write this down,” he waved behind him.
“Indeed.” T’Rora was already one step ahead of him, and had a PADD balanced on her knee.
It didn’t take much coaxing. Doors were opening, window-lights flooding through. Karil pulled it tightly around them like a blanket, illuminating pasts. Where did you come from? You have to know where you’ve been, to see where you’re going. You can be out here, too. In the light. Rest. At long last, rest.
Karil broke the link easy, and Seylan slipped into dreams, melting back against the sheets. “Lenol usually fixed their compressor,” he confirmed. “It gets cold at night, and they slept in the basement where it’s coldest. He has clear impressions of her trying to work the manual override switch.”
“I think we have enough to submit his statement for Verification,” T’Rora replied solemnly.
Karil rubbed his fingers together. “Yeah. Let’s find Celar.”
Nevari walked through the gates of Shi’kahr Kefik purposefully, dour for someone ordinarily so calm. He met Karil, Celar and T’Rora in the atrium. It was empty, with a tranquil waterfall situated in the center of the sunlit garden. “You must find some way to shut this down.” He thrust a PADD at Celar.
“We are doing the best we can to ensure this does not go to Examination,” Celar assured them. The Examination court comprised the bulk of Vulcan familial and civil legal resolution.
Chaele Mereen entered the scene from the opposite side, wearing much the same look as Nevari. “You would do well to explain the necessity for an extended evaluation. An entire borough was incapacitated by the Kile parents’ negligence.”
“Bath’paik A’Tha,” Nevari muttered. “Chaele,” he bowed his head toward the prosecutor.
Karil raised his hands. “Why is this happening? Did Kile’s defense push for this?”
“He is claiming that he had no knowledge of the events which transpired while he was away,” Celar nodded.
“No way.” Karil stared at her, and then briefly locked eyes with Chaele. “There is no way. She would not be able to hide a YSN dependence for six months. Can we prove that he had prior awareness of it?”
“We are working on it,” Celar replied. “Patelsu Karil, I would like you to make a statement at the hearing. You appear to have formed a bond with the child, which gives you insight into his best interests.”
“Well, I'll tell you one thing. His best interest involves not sleeping under a heat compressor that leaks neurotoxic gas.” He didn't quite manage to suppress the thin vein of anger in his voice.
“Indeed. It would speed up the process if we were able to secure a foster parent for him immediately. Patelsu, given that Seylan has begun to form a rudimentary parental link with you, it may be advisable for you to sign on as his medical proxy. This would allow us to present an alternative to his current home environment.”
Karil blinked. “Whah- me?” he touched his chest with his fingertips. He looked back over his shoulder, pressing his lips together. “Do it,” he said at long last. “We'll figure it out later. Right now, our priority is getting both of those kids out of there. Do your best to find a foster for Lenol.” He did his best to ignore the daggers that Chaele was stabbing into him.
Impulsive, as usual, Chaele's voice appeared in the back of his mind.
Look, it won't be forever. We can't sit here and beleaguer our own inability to generate forward momentum in an over-bureaucratic system while simultaneously refusing to do the one thing that would hasten the process.
You get pedantic when you are angry.
You love it.
Chaele inclined his head once. “Let us pool our resources and see what becomes of it.”
OFF:
Patalsu Karil
Kayvar Unit, V'Ket
Shi'kahr City HQ