The Vampire's Physical

Posted on Wed Oct 28th, 2026 @ 12:24pm by Lieutenant Nalt Iyel & Lieutenant Lovan Dimitri

2,220 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Shifting Shapes [4-5]
Location: Lovan's temporary quarters, Delta Dock
Timeline: After 'Creature of the Night'

"Attention Lieutenant Dimitri. Chief Medical Officer Nalt Iyel will be beaming into your quarters in five seconds." Came the Computer's default voice after a short alert tone. It hadn't been long since he'd been beamed in there himself, Dr Iyel had been having a quiet day up until then.

Lovan had been quietly looking around his quarters, which were perfectly ordinary. He regretted that he had none of his personal effects to add to the room. He looked up when the computer announced his visitor, with a mixture of relief and reluctance.

The words 'non-corporeal' had her mind racing, but she brought her usual kit.

As the transporter beam dissipated, she smiled and looked ahead, not quite sure what to expect, if there was anything to be seen of the individual at all. "Greetings, I'm Dr Nalt Iyel, Chief Medical Officer. Welcome aboard, do you mind if I take some preliminary scans?" The red-headed Trill asked.

Lovan stood there looking every bit like a corporeal normal human. His raven black hair was still tied in its tail with the silver clasp, his stormy grey eyes with their strange allure focusing on the doctor as she materialized. Trill, and he could sense no symbiont within her. "Greetings, Doctor, and thank you," he replied. He waved a hand and nodded. "Do whatever you need to."

"Thank you, Lieutenant. I'll make this as painless as possible." Iyel began her tricorder scan, but after a second attempt began to look at it as though something was wrong. "Apologies, I think I might need to reset my tricorder." She said as she began the process.

Lovan folded his hands behind his back and watched. "It's not going to show anything," he says. "My kind don't register on tricorders or sensors."

"Oh. Right, non-corporeal. Forgive me for saying so, but you're at least a little corporeal, right? Our transporters were able to beam you. How did your last CMO do this?" Iyel asked.

"Actually, no," he said with a small sigh. "It's complicated. I need to tell you quite a few things about me... do I have your assurance that whatever we speak of will be confidential?"

"I'm a Doctor, you're my patient. Unless something you tell me means there's an imminent risk to the life or wellbeing of anyone else, it remains confidential." Iyel said, feeling slightly nervous, but covering it well.

"I assure you, I mean no harm to anyone here. Quite the contrary. But some of the things I will tell you may be frightening," he says. He unfolds his hands and gestures at the living area. "Please, let's have a seat for this. Would you like something from the replicator?"

"Okay. I can't say the word frightening has come up very often in my career other than when dealing with viruses or a certain Tellarite's cyst, but that's what we're trained for." Iyel said, moving to the nearest seat. "Perhaps just a peach iced tea for me, please." She'd just had one with lunch, but he didn't know that, and she wanted something to do with her hands given she couldn't do any scanning.

He ordered the drink from the replicator and offered it to her as he settled into a chair opposite her. He took a moment to gather his thoughts and decide how to proceed with what he had to tell her. "I needed to speak to you first, before I went back on duty or wherever they plan to send me here. I have... unique and specific nutritional requirements that only you can fulfill." he folded his hands on his lap.

"Alright." Iyel said straight-faced with a nod, taking a sip of the iced tea. "I assume you mean me as the Chief Medical Officer, not the unjoined Trill woman."

He smiled a bit at that, that disarmingly charming smile he had. "Yes," he said, turning serious once more and unconsciously lowering his voice. "I need... blood. Sentient blood." He braced himself for her reaction, even as he could heart her heartbeat and the blood rushing through her veins.

"Okay. You're a sanguivore. That's not so strange. But thank you for trusting me with it. Does the blood need to be... fresh, or will synthetic do?" Iyel said, feeling like perhaps she'd braced herself for something worse than that.

He actually blinked in surprise, not having expected that reaction. "It's not?" He wondered. He'd not been aware of any other sentients who drank blood in the other universe, perhaps things were different here. He relaxed a bit. "Of course, fresh is best, synthetic can suffice if necessary but is not sufficient long term. I will require between 2 and 4 units per day of stored blood. And... it is time I fed."

His gaze studied her as he wondered if she really had any idea what he actually was other than a creature that drank blood. He knew of other species that did, but they were insects for the most part, not sentient species.

"I mean, it's not conventional. But blood is rich in proteins and lipids. You're perhaps the largest being I've encountered with such a diet. But then, you apparently have no mass. So what happens - and I'm not intending to withhold what you need - if you don't get it?" Iyel asked. There was something itching in the back of her mind that his description brought up, but she couldn't properly recall it.

His expression grew serious. "At first, I will weaken. As I do, the hunger will grow...." he trailed off, took a breath, and said, "I am not a blood-drinking sentient cloud. I am a vampire." He decided to get it out in the open.

"Oh. Oh." Iyel said, first politely, and then as a genuine reaction once she realised the significance. She'd read enough human literature to know the meaning of the term. "I can understand your hesitation, then. Were you born this way, or...?"

He gave a wan smile. "One is not born a vampire," he says. "We are made, by another. I was once just an ordinary man, a human." he shrugged slightly. "But that was long ago."

He paused. "That is why your devices show no readings. It's not because I am non-corporeal, it's because I am not alive."

"That's generally not how I prefer my patients." Dr Iyel said, trying to diffuse the growing unease she felt. "Sorry. I'm sure this makes perfect sense to you, but to us, it's mythology. And not just human mythology. There's the Pah-feeders of Bajor, the Kashik Vazgausu of Vulcan.. I could go on. What did the crew you previously worked with do to support you?" Iyel asked.

"I am sorry, I'm sure this is somewhat unnerving," he said apologetically. "I am unfamiliar with those myths other than the Pah-wraiths and I assure you I am not like them. On the Nova I would go to sickbay as needed and be given usually replicated blood from a random DNA sample, I'm assuming pulled from the crew or from the Federation medical database on file. I hadn't been there long enough to find anyone willing to donate..."

He paused for a moment in thought. "I will not feed from anyone who is unwilling," he emphasized. "It's never easy to reveal to someone my true nature.. it requires a degree of trust."

"I can understand that. And it's encouraging to know you don't believe in snacking. If replicated blood will do the trick, then I don't think we'll have any issues. Does the species of origin matter, or does it need to be human?" Iyel asked.

"I'm uncertain what other species may be suitable, but I know human is fine, and I imagine any other iron-based blood should be fine. Whether other types can also be used, I've really never looked into, but I would not be averse to finding out."

"Okay." Iyel stood up, and moved to the wall terminal swiftly, sending a message to sickbay. "It'll be here shortly. We'll organise a schedule moving forward." She returned to her seat. "I have some further questions about your makeup, if I might?"

He nodded. "Certainly."

"I appreciate that you've explained that you're not alive, but my tricorder would still pick up a dead body. You appear human, but is there musculature under there? A skeleton? Organs?" Iyel began.

He smiled a bit. "No, I have no physical form. My body that I once had as a mortal is long turned to dust by now. This form I wear is but an illusion, one that I can control. This is more or less what I looked like at the time I was killed and turned."

"Hm. And so when you consume blood, where does it go? Do you understand the metabolic process, if the term even applies?" The Doctor asked.

He seemed to pause and think about this. "I'm not sure there *is* a metabolic process such as you understand. As to where it goes... it becomes part of me. It is my fuel, my strength, my power.... I can't really describe the process of how that happens, as I simply do not know."

Nalt looked at the drink he'd given her. "But you can still carry things, move them, interact with the world around you. That means you can produce kinetic energy. Move against gravity and sustain inertia. What kind of physical limitations does your form possess? Do you have all five of the standard senses? Or any others?"

"I can control my form, so that it is solid and like anyone else. If you listen you will hear a beartbeat, feel a pulse. I can appear to breathe. But it is all illusory, designed to make me appear as normal as anyone else." He settled back into his seat, relaxing more. "I can see, hear, smell, feel, but taste is somewhat lacking. While I can consume regular food and drink and do on occasion to fit in, I can taste none of it. And I do have senses beyond the normal physical ones."

"Interesting. Would you like to tell me about these other senses?" She asked.

He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. "I can hear your heartbeat," he said softly. "Hear the blood moving through your veins... smell it..." His eyes opened then to watch her. "My nature is predatory, obviously. I have senses that are designed for that predation, for hunting."

She nodded as he spoke. "Commander Flynn mentioned that she felt a certain... influence, when looking at you. Before I joined Starfleet I worked for the symbiosis commission on Trill, and was a part of numerous zhian'tara rituals. I treated myself with a agent we use to allow us to neutralise external influences and regain control during the ritual if required. I believe it's working. What is the full scope of effect you can have on those who don't have that sort of protection?"

"The vampiric charm," he mused. "It's my gaze. I do try to damp it down as much as I can but it's always there to some degree. I have no idea how that works, either. It adds to my charm and magnetism," he smiles a bit but it fades. "I have met few mortals who could resist it were I to unleash it fully, but I don't do that. I believe in personal sovereignty and free will." He wondered just how much protection she really had if he didn't believe that way.

"Interesting. But also good to hear. So, can you be injured? If so, is there anything I or anyone else can do about it?" Iyel asked, finally finishing her drink.

"I can, but the nature of my injuries is such that they will usually self-heal with enough time once the source of the injury is removed."

"Well, unless there's anything else you want to tell me about, I think that might be all the questions I have for now." Iyel said.

"For now I think we've covered what needed to be said," he said. "My first priority was to ensure that I would be able to find reliable sustenance. Now that we have that sorted, I should be able to eventually integrate with your crew and find a place here where I can be useful."

"So near as I can tell, the answer to how things work with you is: magic. But thank you for being honest with me. Your, uh, sustenance should be here shortly. Please feel free to reach out to me if you need anything." The Doctor said as she stood up.

"Not exactly, but from your frame of reference that's as good an explanation as any." He rose to his feet as she did and offered his hand. "Thank you for coming so promptly, Doctor, I do appreciate it."

"Until next time, Lieutenant." Iyel said, shaking his hand with a polite smile. Maybe the inoculation was wearing off, but there was something so... something, in his eyes. Iyel realised a moment later the handshake had gone on a little too long. "Excuse me." She said with a polite laugh.

He nodded with a small smile as he released her hand and stepped back to give her room for transport. "I look forward to it."

RSS Feed