Genetics

Posted on Mon Jan 18th, 2021 @ 1:21am by Lieutenant Avira zh'Kenarh M.D. & Lieutenant Darru

Mission: Mission 4 - Eden
Location: Sickbay, Deck E
Timeline: Day 150, after Alpha Shift
1799 words - 3.6 OF Standard Post Measure

Avira let out a huge sigh as the final patient left her sickbay. She grabbed a couple of PADDs to read up on medical reports, "computer, play a selection from Avira focus music." The calming instrumental piano track started to fill the sickbay as she hopped up on the empty bed on the side of the room, and she started to read through the first report on her stack of reports. Her antennae bobbing up and down in rhythm with the music, she thought back on the encounter with Elegy on learning how to play an instrument properly. She thought she should add some more ocarina melodies to her focus music. She made a mental note.

Darru stopped in the doorway of the sickbay as he heard the music and actually listened for a few long moments before he remembered that most species did not believe in being observed without permission. Everyone on the ship was really an experience in learning about humans mostly, it was fascinating. He might be far from home and confused as everyone else but he was comforted by the knowledge that he was still learning. "Good evening Doctor." He finally announced loud enough to be heard over the music. "I hope you are well?" He wondered.

Avira her antennae perked up as the doors opened, but nobody announced themselves. She continued her reading of the medical documents in front of her, if her help was needed they'd speak up. When the man spoke up through the music she lifted her head and looked over at the man entering. It was the Vulcan geneticist, "Computer, pause playback." She slid off the biobed and was happy to see that the Vulcans were now starting to come to her directly for medical aid, "is there something I can help you with, Lieutenant?"

Darru paused. It was a logical theory that he had come there looking for medical assistance but he had not that day. He was coming there because he had finally finished her request to look into her genetics. “Well, actually Doctor I came with the result of the tests that you requested.” He admitted holding out the PaDD to her. It would be easier for her to read than to explain to her properly. He suspected it would be bitter reading and she would need time.

"Oh, cool, anything interesting?" Avira slid off the biobed and left her PADDs back on the surface of the bed before walking up to him and reaching for the PADD in his hands.

"A few things that were of interest. Was there something that you wanted to find in my observations of your genetic makeup?" Darru wondered watching her face intently for the moment the knowledge of what was there was realised.

"I need to be on my best performance for the duration of this journey if I am to be of service to all of our coll-..." Avira's eyes had been scanning the contents when one of the readings jumped out at her, "wait, are you sure this is correct?" She turned the PADD to point out the reading. She walked back towards the biobed and leaned against it as she tried to process the results, going over the relevant paragraph again.

"I ran the diagnostic on your genetic coding five times," Darru said not even looking at where she was pointing. He was fully aware of where she was pointing as it was the only area where anything was out of the ordinary. He could have believed that he had been wrong once but not five times, it was clear that there was something wrong. "I can tell you from which parent you got it wrong as well." He admitted not knowing if that would help or not.

"It's probably my father," Avira sighed, nothing good had really ever come from him, and looking back it might've given some insight in why her father was the way he was, "thank you for running this for me," she put the PADD behind her back and looked at Darru, "was it helpful for your purposes as well?" She was pretty sure there was no compatible partner on the vessel, but that had been his initial purpose so it would be bad form not to enquire about it.

“How did you guess? Actually, that does not matter but yes you are correct in who the genetic fault came from.” Darru cocked his head to the side as he was surprised that she was so calm about the news and then guessed correctly who had been the cause of it. It would seem there was a lot of resentment already there so he simply nodded. It seemed father issued crossed all species across all of space. “I do not have good news there either but that does not mean I have given up. It just means I have not discovered a way to combine the Andorian and Human genomes.”

"I'd be curious to see if you manage, how you solve for some of the known difficulties and differences," Avira was purely interested from a medical perspective, she had zero intention of getting pregnant and procreating. "If in the process you find something that might be relevant for my genetic condition, please don't hesitate to loop me in on that. I'll share my progress on that as well." It was something that would affect her a lot of years down the line, there were some therapies that she could start today to alleviate some of the short term effects of it, "Is there any other ways our departments and fields of expertise can benefit each other?"

"I will be curious to discover this myself. It will be a learning curve for me." Darru admitted with a nod at her. He would be more than willing to share findings if only to have someone to show off too. It would be someone who at the very least understood and appreciated it. "I do not see how but I am interested to hear if you have any thoughts on it." The Vulcan mused.

"Well, as we turn into a generational endeavour it'll be important to track any effects on genetics from outside sources," Avira knew that the universe was vast and that even their species had only scratched the surface when it came to exploring the different phenomenon and their effects on sentient beings like themselves, "It might affect crew health in the long run. I'm here to make sure the ship can continue to function even under these dire circumstances." It was good to shift the focus away from herself for a bit, it pushed away some of the dark clouds that had started to gather in her mind.

Darru would have smirked at how alike their minds were if he could have. He had thought the same and why he had attempted it at the beginning. “Why I had wanted to start this project doctor. We do not have the resources. So far there seems to be no one with anything that would cause long term health issues. I have provided the crew with people that would create children with the best chances.” It was a cool approach to it but he was a scientist and it was how they logically approached problems.

Avira shook her head a bit, "If I've learned anything from the time I've spent on this ship the Humans are much more passionate than that, Lieutenant. The genetics only come into play on a subconscious, evolutionary, level." She had heard about his endeavours, and the fall out it had caused. On a Vulcan ship it wouldn't have been an issue due to their longevity, but even if it where they'd probably be a lot more pragmatic about it. Like Darru himself had been, "perhaps next time it would help to be a bit more subtle about it, so that they might feel as if it's their own idea to get together."

“I will take your feedback as a fellow professions but humans sometimes need pointers. I thought you knew that?” Darru contemplated her words. She was not the only one to have said that over the last few weeks.

"Honestly," Avira wasn't sure if she should threaten the little truce they had built with what she was about to say, but she couldn't really stop herself, "it feels like us Vulcans and Andorians could take a few pointers from them."

Darru paused in his items that he had brought with him and looked at her as if seeing her for the first time. Was this woman really thinking something similar to what he had been considering but had been keeping close to his chest for fear that Sovar would discover. “I will also take that under feedback as well but I will leave you to your evening.” He said calmly.

Avira slowly walked back over the bed and pulled herself back up on top of it, "Computer, resume playback." She ordered and the music came back on, she looked at the PADD with her genetic profile, shook her head a bit at the implications. She just wanted to ignore it so she did what any sensible person would do. She placed the PADD on the bottom of her stack and decided that it was clearly a tomorrow-Avira problem. There was already plenty for her to be focused on trying to get herself fully confident with making decisions on the health of the mostly human crew aboard this vessel.

She couldn't be worrying about something as pointless and distant as a degenerative genetic condition that would take her out of the running in thirty to forty years. These months most pressing issues were the boardings, the lack of variety in nutrition and the quickly dwindling medical supplies in her cabinets.

She took a deep breath, grabbed the PADD that she had pushed under the stack and looked at it again, it made so much sense looking back. This was probably why her father had spiralled into alcoholism and got so abusive towards her and the rest of her siblings. A pang of guilt and empathy shot through her, something she didn't want to feel for her father, especially after everything he did to her and the others in her house.

Closing her eyes for a moment she just threw the PADD in the direction of the opposite wall and let out a loud Andorian equivalent of "FUCK!" that seemed to come from the bottom of her heart before letting her head fall back on the uncomfortable pillow of the sickbay bed. She was going to have to live with the fact that even all the way out here her father had found a way to mess up her life.