Symptoms

Posted on Wed Aug 31st, 2016 @ 2:17pm by

1,364 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: New Faces and Terror Beyond
Location: Sickbay

Xavier escorted Ayla, Mark and baby Marcie to Sickbay. What he had seen puzzled him, the results simply shouldn't have been there and yet there they were plain as day and yet Miracle was totally void of anything wrong, so why Marcie?

When they entered Sickbay he lead the group to a private room. "If you could sit on the bed please Ayla, Mark you next to her." Xavier turned to the wall and activated the screen. "Ok, this will provide more in depth results than before. I'll just need a small blood sample from both for genetic comparison." He pressed a sample collector to Mark's arm and a new one to Ayla's.

"Ok." The results displayed one by one. "Ayla you are top, Mark the bottom. As you can see perfectly normal for your respective species." Xavier inserted a sample of Marcie's blood he'd taken earlier. This new input parted both Ayla and Marks and slipped between them. The computer indicated where the DNA from respective parents had been used to create the child. The wrinkled brow of Xavier made him think and called up an older file.

"When ever a child is born or new addition to the ship they undergo a medical work up for baseline comparison." He called up that file and brought up Marcie's genetic coding. "This is hers then." He removed the parents and put Marcie's two samples side by side. "Coding is being replaced, here and here." Marcie was the product of Mark and Ayla that was positive, but where did this extra genetic material come from.

"I know this is distressing to you, and believe me I don't want to make this any harder for you. I have to ask though, Ayla can you think of anything that would cause this genetic anomaly. Ancestry, past partners, your time before Starfleet, anything at all? " Xavier knew that Ayla was previously barren until a radiation effect changed everything but he doubted that would be the cause of this specific set of material present in Marcie.

Ayla looked down and fidgeted a bit. She spoke softly. "There was a time, when majority of the females were captured off the ship by a surprise raid of these reptilian creatures. Iz was experimented on, raped many times due to the treatment process." She spoke softly, not making eye contact with anyone. Ears wilted and tail limp behind her. "The information may not have been passed to the Dreadnought-B. It was during the time when Admiral S'iraa's newest mate, CMO Jupiter was also kidnapped and never recovered."

"Wow....just wow, hang on there." I spoke standing up. I didn't want to hear this, the stuff of nightmares. I couldn't help get angry, I was burning up inside at what Ayla had just said, but not angry at her, but what had happened to her. It was a time we decided not to speak about and now I'd just found out she'd been raped several times, I thought it was just experiements, samples, injections, scans....but not this. "You mean to tell me that after all this time, now something happens? We...we..we have had sex several times Doc since, I mean...are you telling me that if we had any more children this would happen again?"

"Mark you need to calm down.." Xavier began to intercede.

"Calm down!!" I sarcastically laughed. "Joking right? I just had the worst 20 second history lesson of my life and you want me to be calm?" I fired back. 'I went down there, to rescue her, and you are telling me I was too late...are you serious Doctor?"

Xavier looked at Ayla then at Mark. He was too late but somehow just blurting it out seemed heartless. "It's impossible to say, the effect could have taken place during her captivity or manifested afterwards. I can't tell without knowing what they did in detail." Looking at Mark Xavier could see and understand his anger, it must have been hard hearing what he just had and on top of that it was effecting his daughter.

"But...this..this..this is an Ascension class starship." I replied. "I'm talking top of the line, no expense spared, this thing rivals starbases Doctor and you are telling me that none of all this can tell you what's happened?" I felt so helpless, without putting a too finer point on it I'm a trained killer. My marine training saw to that. Need a ship blown away? My tactical training could do that. But this...this...what ever it was. How does one fight genetics? How can I for all my skillsets fix this?

Suddenly a sharp pain ripped through my head, like a pickaxe to the temple. My vision blurred, like hot pokers behind them quickly heating up. I stumbled into the wall. I felt dizzy and had to lean against a wall to stay semi upright but I was starting to feel numb.

"Mark?" Xavier noticed the chance immediately thanks to his training. Rushing to him Xavier tried to give stability to Mark. From his pocket he placed a remote medical monitor on the base of his neck, it was the only thing to hand and Mark needed help. "Nurse, some assistance please!!" Xavier called out. "Hop up Alya I need to put him here.

A Nurse appeared to help put Mark on the Biobed and thats when the severity of the situation had been revealed. "Subarachnoid hemorrhage." That was not good. "I need 20cc's of Nimodipine and Phenytoin. Call Doctor Tristi and prepare the neurosergical team." Xavier looked at Ayla, he needed to know. "Has Mark been unusually stressed recently? Does he hide it, bottle it up, how does he handle stress?"

Ayla was scared, both of whom she held dear was being effected months ... maybe even year to come. She numbly moved when directed. Her mate all of a sudden was acting like he had gotten drunk and then the rush of medical personnel swarming around him. "I- I.. "She stammered a bit, gathering her wits about her. "Both ourz jobs are high stress. He was solid and strong. Daughters to focus on." She looked at Xavier with eyes wide and full of hope. She still held onto Marcie. "Iz don't know how he handles stress. He looked so strong. Wez usually talk and mate. But not recently as mez job as First Officer and Mother keeps mez very busy."

Ayla looked at Mark, warmth filled them as she looked at him with deep concern, "Will he live? He... He made me feel special in the early days of the Dreadnought when Iz came aboard." She spoke softly with a deep love for the man on the bio-bed. She reached out and took his hand in hers, forcing everyone to work around her.

"Live, yes. He will have to manage his stress better through." Xavier spoke finishing up setting the equipment ready. Doctor Tristi walked in rushed. Xavier gave a medical brief of the situation letting Tristi take over.

"Ok, everyone not on my team should leave." Obvious by the holding of hands who the Commander was. "Commander, I'm going to have to ask you to step on the other side of that glass, we need to sterilise and prepare, you too Doctor." Tristi said to Ayla and Xavier.

Ayla reluctantly let go, moving behind the glass as Marcie squirmed and whimpered, reminding Ayla why she was here in the first place. She looked at Xavier. She had two worry about.

"There is nothing we can do right now, let's finish up with young Marcie ok?" Xavier was trying to distract Ayla not being able to imagine the dread she must be feeling. First her Daughter was ill and now the genetic issues and then topped of my Mark blowing his lid and suffering a brain aneurysm.

Ayla nodded, eyes wide full of concern for her family. Marcie squirmed and letting out hissing wail. Her teeth, canines had grown a bit longer than the rest and cutting into the gums. Teething all over again. Her thumb hand a lot of gnawing on them from her newly longer fangs.

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