Always Running Away

Posted on Mon Mar 29th, 2021 @ 3:57pm by Lieutenant Avira zh'Kenarh M.D. & Chief Petty Officer Manishie Karalo & E.D.E.N
Edited on on Fri Jun 4th, 2021 @ 9:49am

Mission: Mission 4 - Eden
Location: Medical bay
Timeline: Day 164
2237 words - 4.5 OF Standard Post Measure

The medical teams looking for the medical supply closet that EDEN had mentioned hadn't turned up anything useful, and with that in mind Avira had returned to the medical facilities on the ship. She was glad to see it empty, the lights came up automatically as she entered and she made her way over to the scanner that they had used on Lottie before. As she settled in the EDEN A.I. immediately shimmered into existence next to her.

"How can I assist you?" The AI demanded looking around for the officer that had activated her.

"Can you please just allow me to scan myself and view the results alone?" She was quick to try and dismiss the EDEN A.I. when she popped up. She really wanted to be alone for this as she already knew what was going to come out of it, at least if the medical equipment was up to the task.

"As you wish," EDEN assured disappearing from view with no hint of emotion.

The time it took for the scanner to move over her body was excruciating. She already knew what it was going to come up with, or at least what it should come up with if it was able to measure on that level. She closed her eyes for a moment and took in a deep breath through her nose, her antennae alert for any movement or change in the room. The cold sensation that Lottie had described was a welcome sensation that she hadn't experienced in a long time. It made her realise how much she had missed the hot springs, which were often combined with a roll around the snow. There was a shiver through her body, she never really shivered.

It only took a short time for the scan to pass all the way over her body from toe to head and then back down. There was a moment of hesitation before Avira got off the bed, by the time she looked around the screens around her had already lit up with information displaying in her native Andorian language. There were some minor things in regards to vitamins, hormone levels, and such that were flagged and a small red indicator blinking in the corner of one of the screens.

She stepped up to it and looked at the indicator, it was showing an unstable gene sequence that she knew was present with a small warning that there was insufficient information available to determine the implications of this gene sequence. The fact that this facility was able to pick up on it immediately without any additional input on Andorian physiology was astonishing in and of itself. Her mind wandered as she thought about what they could do with tech of this level if they'd have the opportunity to get it back to Andoria. Snapping out of her daydream she grabbed the PADD she had brought with her and called up the medical database knowledge of Andorians that was available in the Federation's shared database.

"Shit." Looking around the console she was standing in front of she realised that there was no interface between the PADD and the consoles around her. It made sense, of course, there had been no prior interaction between Starfleet and this vessel. "EDEN, are you there? Can you please combine the information on this database with the scan I just made?" She asked to nobody in particular.

EDEN reappeared with a clipboard in her hand as she usually did in a medical setting. "Of course. That is easy." She assured touching her clipboard as if it was a PADD and she was an actual doctor or nurse.

"Thank you." Avira stared at the console again, seeing the information come in and being parsed. It was immediately clear to the programme that the genetic deviation would mean a painful and long sickness before what could be considered the untimely passing of the doctor. It even gave an estimate of expected lifespan that seemed to adjust itself with every additional bite of information that became available from the data transfer between the PADD and the ship's computer. She felt her heart sink as the number dwindled. The earliest onset of the disease's debilitating effects around a decade away, full onset of symptoms that would prevent unassisted living about five years later, before everything seizing up at around the 18 year mark.

EDEN looked at the woman a few times before she started to speak. "I am sorry Ma'am." She started. "It is a fatal genetic flaw but i believe you already knew that. I have asked that the computer starts a scan to try and determine the best course of treatment, but due to the complexity it takes time." Even a computer of the size of The Caelestis still needed time.

She swallowed a lump in her throat and her eyes started to water up, "Thanks, please do that, and can you make sure that this medical information isn't available to anyone else that just happens to wander in here?" her eyes were fixed on the console in front of her, there was an orange warning sign blinking in the bottom left of the scan and results that repeated EDEN's sentiment that there was no known treatment and that simulations had begun on possible treatment plans. It indicated an estimated time of processing. Three days. "Thank you, I'm gonna go now" Her heart started to pound in her head, if something as advanced as this would take three days to figure it out there was no chance she'd be able to find a treatment herself in the limited environment of the Atlantis. She staggered backwards with the realisation dawning on her that this might be her only chance to avoid a painful and undignified end of her life.

Avira dropped the PADD in her hand as she quickly moved towards the exit of the sickbay, she needed some air. Even though the medical bay was many times bigger than what she had available on the Atlantis it felt suffocating. She rushed as far away from the medical bay as possible and didn't really take notice of her surroundings as she tried to put distance between her and the frightening diagnosis. Head spinning with the implications of all of this she stumbled around a corner and was met with a big open plaza. A lot of green plantlife, a long stretch of grass, some flowers.

She felt her feet starting to pick up the pace even more. Her feet hit the grass, a soft cushion to her hard stomping as she transitions from a brisk walk to a jog to a full on sprint. The field that she had found herself on must've been at least 100 meters long. Had it not been for the trees, shrubs, and other plants dotted around the place it would've made a great spot for football. She sprinted, bobbing and weaving around the plants and larger trees, inadvertently stomping on one or two of the flowers that were also planted.

From a full sprint to a full stand still in three paces as the field suddenly gave way to a metal barrier. Avira came to a stand still in time but still took another step forward and slammed her fists into the bulkhead in front of her. She tried to catch her breath as she stood there, fists against the wall, tingling with the slam she had just given against the inanimate object. Her raised heartbeat and increased breathing didn't really make her starting to cry any easier. She didn't want to cry. If there was anything her father had impressed on them it was that crying was a show of weakness, and the weak wouldn't survive the harsh reality of the universe.

He was wrong of course, as he had been with so many other things. Avira knew that as she slid down to her knees and turned to sit up against the wall staring at the green park in front of her. It was such a weird sight on a spaceship, even one as large as this one. The tears started streaking down her cheeks, all the wrong lessons from her father blocking her from feeling her full emotions. This wasn't at all how she had planned her life to go. She was stuck hundreds of years from home on an alien space ship, facing certain death in less than two decades, but much more likely a lot sooner. Leaning back against the wall, she dropped all pretense as the realisation dawned on her that her father was also a hundred years away and probably dying as well. Allowed the cries to come out. Then came a loud, unfiltered, wail from the core of her being. The force of it made her hunch over and start sobbing in her hands. Raw emotion forcing itself into the open.

It had probably been a minute of her sitting there when something rushed through the same patch as she had come through, "Doctor, was that you? Is everything okay?" The young armory crewmeber that approached her had icy blue eyes and raven black hair framing her pale skin. The gun at the ready indicated that the scream that Avira had let out earlier had put her on high alert.

Avira looked up in shock, she hadn't realised that there were more people around here. From the assignments earlier she had expected most of them to be around other areas of the ship, although this could be one of the people allotted to finding medical supplies, her antenna curled up tightly at the embarrassment of letting her emotions get the better of her. She didn't recognise the woman when they made eye contact, "everything is alright," She said unconvincingly through sobs, "I'm sorry. I don't know who you are. I mean, I recognise you from the Atlantis, but I don't remember your name."

The woman in red uniform gave a modest smile and lowered her weapon, "I don't expect you to, ma'am. I'm Manishie Karalo. I'm Atlantis' Chief Investigator. You fixated my ankle when I sprained it couple of months ago," She carefully stepped closer and motioned for the spot next to the Andorian, "mind if I join you?" They never really gotten to know each other, Manishie made it a point of pride that she hadn't been in Sickbay for three months just as much as Avira seemed to take pride in the fact that she hadn't left it for almost that same span of time.

"Please do. Call me doctor if you must, but I'd prefer Avi, or Avira." She looked up from her crying and leaned back against the bulkhead for a bit, "I'm sorry that you have to see me like this," she looked over at Manishie apologetically, hands flopping to her side in a helpless gesture, "Can we please keep this between us? Just like the true nature of your ankle sprain?" She knew how fast gossip travelled on a ship like the Atlantis, before long everyone up to the Captain would find out what happened here. She hoped that Manishie would be able to keep it to herself.

Manishie nodded, "Of course, goes without saying," she reassured the Andorian doctor, remembering that fateful night's activities that caused the injury and the good doctor's discretion on the matter, "So we're doing nicknames already, huh? Call me Ishie then." she offered, then "Or maybe Silver Lynx." She added with a wide smile hoping to break the ice a bit, bring some levity to the situation. It was clear she had walked in during what was a deeply personal moment, or a mental breakdown. Not that mental breakdowns weren't deeply personal.

"Unless you want to call me Chiyaviraghlin I think it's for the best," Avira took in an uneven breath through her nose, trying to gather what dignity there was to be had in this situation. There was quite an awkward tension and she was glad that Manishie tried a joke to ease that a bit.

"Chiya..." Manishie tried to repeat what she had just heard Avira say, "Wow, never knew Andorian names were so..." It took a moment for her to think of the right word, "exotic." She looked around the bay, "I'm going to hazard a guess and say this forest didn't have you all emotional. I mean, it's cool an all, a park on a spaceship," She then shrugged a bit, "but it's not really a tearjerker."

"It's not all that exotic, just a mouth full." Avira laughed a bit at her comment, "and you're right, it has nothing to do with this patch of grass," She shook her head, "I don't know, there were just a lot of things coming together." There was a bit of a shrug,

"I hear you," Manishie remarked, she didn't want to force anything from the doctor, so she didn't press.

Avira her antennae drooped and she lowered her head, "We should make the most of this, this opportunity won't last, we need to take advantage of it." She didn't want Manishie to waste her time on this ship sitting next to a depressed Andorian.

"We will. Don't worry about that," Manishie gave an encouraging smile, "We'll just sit here for a moment, enjoy the park, and then when you're ready, we'll pick ourselves up and start looking for those medical supplies."

 

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