SD 11-30-02 - "Flare Estinguished" - Flare Strife is dead.
He was attempting some mental contact like the Vulcan mind-meld, in order to explain how he got his powers. He insisted it wasn't the result of transporter psychosis, but how his people developed later in life. I should never have let him try that. On top of his condidtion and the brawl he was recently in, this set him over the edge, causing him to suffer a massive stroke. All higher-brain function simply ceased. ... dead.
Flare may have been a pain in the behind, but he was our Chief of Security. He will be missed.
K'Lynxyl took it as a bitter blow, feeling she could have done something, despite all the evidence before her. I heard her scream all the way from the turbolift.
And Lera t'Resan ... poor Lera. The man she loved, the father of her children, she will no longer see in this lifetime. She cried for who knows how long.
It took the entry of the Freedom's newest crew member to shake us out of the situation. Tempres had escorted him here, and going over things, I couldn't really blame him. Seth Brundle was human, but certainly didn't look it with his lumpy skin and deformed hands. It turned out he had gotten into a transporter accident, fusing his genes with a Terran housefly some time ago. Medical techniques were able to stop him from falling apart, but wouldn't go further in making him look normal again. Possibly some beaurucratic problem, but he feels no more can be done. Surely something more could be done. Then again, maybe it would involve the use of a transporter-like machine, and I can't blame him for being afraid.
Brundle's position is Assistant Medical, so at least K'Lynxyl will get some help. Right now, he's doing a final autopsy on Flare. Then the body gets beamed to the casket being prepared for the cremation. After that comes the wake.
One final party for our couleage and friend.