The Hall of Warriors

Posted on Sun Sep 3rd, 2023 @ 4:43pm by Captain Bethsabée Leroux & Lieutenant Avira zh'Kenarh M.D.

Mission: Sojurn
Location: Captain's Ready Room, NX-05 Atlantis
Timeline: Following 'Allergic'
1720 words - 3.4 OF Standard Post Measure

Avira was rolling the vial in her hand. It was weird taking it out of her first aid kit. It made sense though. She herself was the least useful person to have this particular thing. The Andorian design of it was subtle, and the calligraphy listing her name and rank was the only thing that would actually call it out as something specific to her. With the vial in one hand her other hand raised to the chime and she hit it to hopefully talk to the Captain. She rocked back and forth on her heels, her antennae arching the other way keeping her balance as she waited from the call inside.

Beth looked up from the small desk and paper work she had likely been pouring over for hours. She rubbed her eyes and stood up to greet whoever was coming to see her. “Come in.” She called knowing the hatch was open.

With a slight hesitance, Avira stepped forward, the door separating the captain from the rest of the ship automatically parting for her. She stood at attention, the vial held in her closed fist along her side. "Commander," She waited a moment to hear the doors close behind her. "I have a personal request."

Beth stood as the woman came in already warning up for the conversation that was going to happen but her words deflated her and she indicated the seat. “Sit and tell me about this request?” She advised.

Avira stepped closer and took the offered seat. "We're far from home." She looked down at the vial in her hand. "I'm not sure how familiar you are with the traditions of my people." It had been something tucked far away into the back of her mind, something that had been reignited by the wearing of the dress uniform for the formal dinner. A small amber then further fanned into a flame when Beth suffered her anaphylaxis. She rolled the glass in her hand that was resting on her lap, "Of the Guard specifically."

“I know your language but not traditions.” Beth said taking her own seat and crossed her legs looking at the woman. “So why don’t you share with me?” She suggested seeing there was something heavy on her mind just by the way that she was sat there.

With a heavy sigh the blue skinned doctor put the vial on the desk in between them. For a moment she just stared at it allowing the Captain to do the same. "When an Andorian warrior falls their essence longs to return to the ice and snow of Andor. When we were planet bound such things were easy. Now that we're in space we've had to make some accommodations."

Beth looked at the vial in front of her and pursed her lips together as she looked at the vial on her desk. "And that is some of your essence?" She wondered gently putting her hands on the desk not quite touching the vial.

It must've been otherworldly for Beth. "When a warrior falls we extract their essence, through their blood." The Andorian explained it in more abstract terms as she struggled with her mortality more so than otherwise lately. She reached and twisted the cap which released a small hollow needle, "this is pressed against a large artery before the body grows cold." She tapped her jugular to indicate a good candidate.

Beth's eyes grew wide as she realised why they were having this conversation here and now. It was what Avira was wanting her to do one day in the future. "You are giving me this because you want me to do it?" Beth asked slowly.

After a bit of hesitation, Avira nodded in confirmation of the question. She gave the vial a push in the direction of Leroux, "yes Commander, this is what I must ask of you."

"But do you have a backup plan if I go first?" The Captain wondered with a raised eyebrow. It was something she thought on often. Humans were so fragile compared to the rest of the universe it felt sometimes.

It wasn't something she had overly considered. She didn't let many people close enough to her to trust them with this kind of request, but the Captain’s comment did raise that concern. "I will select a few more individuals from the crew to be aware of my request. You may also inform the XO, and perhaps include it in a command transfer protocol somewhere?" Her antennae awkwardly curled up.

Beth nodded. "I will." She said softly turning slightly in her chair to add it to her to-do list for after this discussion. "Is there any reason why this had been brought to me now?" She wondered finally finishing her notes.

"A great many things converged to remind me of home, my mortality, the dangers that lie in even the small things." With that her antennae angled in the direction of Beth, she smirked, "like a cookie."

"Ah, the death cookie." Beth sighed. It was just her luck to be the one allergic to the most delicious cookie she had ever tasted. She was trying to not think about the event if she was honest.

This probably wasn't the moment for the doctor to admit that she had two dozen of them in her personal pantry. "Probably best not to come for tea in the next week or so." Avira hazarded a jest anyway hoping to break the tension that their conversation had brewed between them.

Beth made a sad face but nodded. The tension was broken by the smile but neither less it had been a scary moment for her. "Not my finest moment." She added shaking herself together again. She had been lucky that the doctor had been part of the group.

"My apologies, Commander, I didn't mean to make light of your medical emergency." The smile faded and her antennae curled in on themselves. "Thank you for your understanding in this matter." She gave a nod towards the vial on the desk. "Is there something you may require from my end?"

“You are very much allowed to make light of the situation.” Beth assured quietly. “You saved my life after all so you can quip about it all you like. Require from you?” She let the question settled there for a moment before she nodded. “How did it go with your medical stuff?” They had no caught up in any of that in a while so it seemed like a good place to bring it up.

It took Avira a moment to realise it was her genetic disorder that Beth was referring to. "Oh. That. They made scans. But they have no healthy Andorian to compare it with. At least not on the level of detail that they could scan me. They provided me with all the data, Lieutenant Darru has been looped in as well for his understanding of genetics. For now there's nothing they can do but they've promised to keep investigating and will keep in contact for as long as we're in comms range."

“They will be in contact with their technology for several months.” Beth said hopeful that someone might help and Darru having it meant now that he had stopped his focus on matchmaking with the crew that he would hopefully focus on his new quest.

"Let's hope that'll be enough to make some headway. I've also transferred the limited information I was able to pull from the future ship." They'd been thoroughly briefed about what they could and couldn't divulge about their encounter with E.D.E.N. and the Caelestis. "I've made sure they won't be able to trace it back to its origins. I just told them it was an advanced species we encountered."

The younger woman nodded slowly as she thought about E.D.E.N. and the Caelestis for the first time in a long time. She tried not to think about the data core that was hidden deep in the ship only known ut the senior crew and O'Connery as she had been there when it had been found. She knew it was not that information but the thought of anything seeping out and upsetting the future or whatever. "Logical," Beth said sounding like Darru for a moment before she nodded firmly to herself. "I really hope it helps Avira."

"As do I.. Commander." Avira wasn't too confident. The Andorian Imperial Guard had been hesitant to share information or medical records of Andorians and she'd been working through the bureaucracy to expanding the available records when the ship was flung into the far reaches of space. "I am sure Lieutenant Darru will do his best, as will the Raeilians."

“Let’s hope Lieutenant Darru takes to your project as much as his project to set up half the ship for the next generation.” Beth said with a hint of a smirk. She could not fault the man and his vision but Beth was still living in hope that they would find a way home.

Avira nodded, there had been a definite fervour with which he had thrown himself at the genetics blind date project. There wasn't anything bad she could say about it though, it was what had surfaced her condition after all. She pushed herself away from the desk and stood from the chair. "Thank you, Commander" She stood at attention again at the end of their meeting, waiting to be dismissed.

“No thank you Lieutenant. You can go and I will keep this safe.” Beth said picking up the small vial. It looked a lot more tougher than its size gave it credit for now she was properly looking at it. But Beth at the very least had an idea of what to do now if and when the time came to honour the woman who had saved so many.

Avira gave a slight bow at the captain, her antennae curling forward to add to the depth of it. She turned on her heels and stepped out of the captain's ready room, back out onto the bridge. It was a weight off her shoulders to have at least someone looking out for her in this faraway space. One way or another, she'd be making her way back to Andor.