Futuristic Transsolar

[Dragongal]

Adira was leaning back in her chair, still plucking at the instrument. "Come in," she said, a command which opened the door. She was in a black undershirt and black pants with her boots on, her jacket laying on the arm of the chair. Her room was simple, her bed against one wall, a desk on the other wall, two more large chairs, the simple basics. "What's up?"

 

[BookWyrm]

Vince walked in and raised a questioning eyebrow as he tilted his head slightly. She seemed rather under dressed, but then again it was technically their day off. "I apologize for the disturbance, mostly because I know you're not going to like why I'm here." Vince walked over and sat down in a chair across from Adira. He sighed, not liking the thought of what he might have to do. "Doc called me into the infirmary. She said you've avoided your medical screening for two days now." He reached into his cargo pocket before laying the sedative out on the table far enough away to get his point across. "She has asked me to retrieve you. To be honest I'd rather not be put into this situation, but even on my days off I am obligated to fulfill my duties if it is required of me." He turned back to Adira and propped his elbows on his knees, leaning forward some. "I'm just going to be honest, I don't care much for the screenings either. If it weren't for having some crazy ass mutagenic viruses inside me I'd stay the hell away, but then again this damned arm won't let me get too far." Woods was hoping his conversational approach would help. He'd grown to admire Adira, and he didn't want to put their budding friendship on the rocks just because of work related issues. "I've beat around the bush enough I guess. Adira, I'm going to have to escort you to the infirmary for your medical screening. You even gave the order that all crew members must have their screenings completed before they are allowed to be completely operational. Its just procedure." He sighed again. "And I'd rather not have to do this the hard way."

 

[Dragongal]

Adira looked at the bottle on the table and stopped playing, setting the instrument. When she was younger, the idea would have thrown her into a full-out panic. Now, she was more mature, and figured she could maybe tactfully get out of this without causing Woods any more trouble. She felt a bit guilty about making this difficult, but not enough to stop herself. "I would hate to put you in such a position Woods. I fully respect that you are keeping to the job given to you. I admit, I'm kind of a hypocrite. I want my crew in the best condition, I want what is best for them; myself, however, I care a bit less for. Woods, I have no intention of finishing the medical exam all the way through. I used to be on the medical team, I can tell you, I'm fine. But I have no wish to complete a medical examination. I don't want the crew doubting me any. If we're all to be stuck with each other for six months, a small doubt could cause a big problem. You should know this."

 

[BookWyrm]

Vince nodded. "I know this. But I also know standards set in place must be upheld by all individuals, especially the Captain and head officers." Vince stayed calm, didn't raise his voice of make any threatening gestures. "Adira, I'm here on orders from the chief medical officer. Those orders are to bring you to the infirmary, unharmed, but controlled if need be. I've made you a promise, yes, but it didn't involve not going into medical screenings." Vince wasn't going to back down from this, but he was going to do everything he could to avoid the sedatives or the other means of subduing the Captain if he could. "Please, just come on down to the infirmary. We don't have to make this a scene. Hell, I'll post up outside of it if I have to and make sure no one else comes in."

 

[Dragongal]

Adira shrugged. "On one hand, I kind of want to say, 'Hell, what are they going to do, court-martial me?' On the other hand, I hate infirmaries. I know, I worked there for a long time, but that's not the point." She hated to admit, she was actually considering willingly walk to the infirmary. The idea made her uncomfortable on many levels. "If you do post up outside of it, then people will know something's up. I want to keep this... discreet. I... Vince, I really don't want to do this," she admitted. She was starting to relent from her position.

 

[BookWyrm]

Vince nodded as he processed everything. "Walk with me down there. I'll run any non essential staff out of the room and lock it from the inside. It'll be you, me, and the Doc. I can lock the room out from surveillance through my tablet. The only people who would know anything would be me and Doc. How about that? Its my best offer, and I'm willing to do it. Anyone asking questions will get a nice fuck off rammed in their face or they can take a breather in the brig for a couple of nights. Once it's over I can walk you back here and go on like nothing happened."

 

[Dragongal]

Adira hesitated, then said, "I'd rather you not even know, but... fine. Let's go. Just... whatever the results are... don't jump to conclusions, okay?" She grabbed her jacket and pulled it on as she stood up. She was trying to apply her typical nonchalant attitude to this, but it wasn't working quite as well as she hoped. If she were honest with herself, she would admit that she was scared. Scared of a lot of different things, too. How Doc would react, how Vince would react, how much they'd manage to figure out, if they'd jump to assumptions and drop her from her position as Captain... something Doc could actually do. "Come on, then...."

 

[BookWyrm]

Vince grabbed the sedatives before walking out with Adira, quietly slipping them into his cargo pocket after he made sure no one had noticed. Just like he had promised her Vince cleared the infirmary of anyone that didn't need to be there before locking the door. He pulled out his tablet and shut down the room's surveillance, directing it to an error code that he had worked into the programming himself. "Alright Doc, I've locked everyone out of the room. This won't be recorded on any of your devices. The only thing that is getting the feed is my tablet, and it is safer than the databanks on this ship." Vince laid a reassuring hand on Adira's shoulder. "I am the only one getting this on file. Don't worry, there is no way to access this tablet from an outside source."

 

[Dragongal]

Adira was shivering lightly by now, her nerves getting the better of her. It was worse than taking a child to the doctor, in honesty. She could work in infirmaries just fine, but being the one to get the examination? Her muscles were taut as she looked up at Woods and nodded. She took of her jacket stiffly, knowing Doc would need to draw blood. It was pointless, she knew what they'd find, the likely response; it wasn't pretty. And then once Doc scanned her, she knew what she'd find, what would happen. An anomaly, to some extent; more of something completely unexpected. She'd have to take off her shirt so Doc could see. No way she'd willingly let Woods see that part of it; if he faced away, that would be sufficient.

 

[InsanEleven]

Chrice looked at the captain, who definitely appeared to be knocked down three notches worse than when she had met her. Still, a scan was a scan and a blood draw had to be done, no excuses for anyone. At least Mr. Woods had managed to get her with him in a conscious state.


"Alright, I'll try to get this over with as good and quick as possible. Please hold still for a bit."


Doc took a needle, tested it and with the precision of someone who had done the same thing a thousand times over quickly drew a droplet of blood. She put the droplet through a machine, reading the results on her tablet, her eyebrows slightly raised as they came in, but not saying anything as she had seen some of those results before and it hadn't been pretty. In silence she shared a knowing look with Adira.


After the blood test she took a scanner and pointed it towards Adira, the results showing up mere moments later. Again a look of surprise this time with a little gasp, but she hid it quickly in the hopes of not scaring her patient.


"I'll need to check on your back, but I'll try to make it quick."

 

[Dragongal]

This was always the worst part. Adira glanced at Woods, who didn't seem to be moving. She didn't have the voice to tell him to move at the moment. With visible hesitation, she stood up and turned around, pausing before raising her shirt with shaking hands. If she was clearly scared before, it was worse now. She was ashamed, on top of everything else.

 

[BookWyrm]

Vince had watched the whole procedure up to this point, he wasn't shying away now. The results were obviously interesting, but not unheard of. Life in the Outliners and SIAD had allowed Vince to witness and experience things he wished he'd been spared. The fact that those things were done by humans and other sentient life still bothered him to this day. He unconsciously rolled his right shoulder back with a slight grimace before closing off those memories before they came back again, watching as Adira turned and raised up her shirt to expose her back to them. He shook his head as he uttered a curse under his breath as he looked to the Doc, his face having an blatant get this over with now look written across it.

 

[InsanEleven]

Doc worked fast and precise, despite her shock. She'd seen battle wounds, she was used to dealing with repulsive things but that didn't mean she particularly liked it. After a quick check she allowed Adira to put her shirt back down.


"For the situation it's as good as can be, but be careful. Whenever we have the screening I'll be the one to check up on you alright? No assistants or wacky doctors, just me and you in private." Shame was a powerful emotion, and she definitely did not want to alienate the captain. The monthly screenings were required, and she had to do them, but that didn't mean she couldn't take a bit of leisure and make them private occasions. There was no need to flash this through the entirety of medical.

 

[BookWyrm]

Vince nodded. "I promise that none of this will get out Captain." He turned to the Doc before continuing, "Like I said earlier I've got the most secure database on the ship. Send me the results, I'll keep the record, and then terminate anything else once I've received it. This stays between the three of us." Vince turned back to the Captain and held out her jacket. "Whenever you are ready I can escort you back to your room or where ever you want to go."

 

[Dragongal]

Adira took her jacket, and quietly said, "Room, please." She nodded to Doc then walked out with Woods. When they got to her room, she sat on the edge of her bed with her head in her hands, still shaking a bit. "I am... very surprised you and Doc didn't throw me straight in the brig after the blood results. Thank you for that." She shook her head a bit, and quietly admitted, "Vince, I haven't even slept in two days." It wasn't that she couldn't sleep, or she needed sedatives, she was just too scared to sleep.

 

[InsanEleven]

Saami had been walking back to navigation when he crossed a peculiar sight. Miss Camden sitting in a corner tapping away on her tablet, and he wondered why that of all places was where she decided to settle down. So he stopped, turned flawlessly and watched her for a little bit with that emotionless gaze as the words formulated in his head.


"Miss Camden, you are obstructing the corridor. I suggest you find a more suitable place to sit, for example your room or the mesh hall. If you are not yet accustomed to the ship I can show you around." Why? Now he had to get stuck with the one person on this ship that would probably have the least quarrels with it if Anu went through with his vivisection. In fact he believed she'd be the one holding the camcorder filming it. But it was protocol to offer, and he couldn't just ignore protocol either.

 

[BookWyrm]

Vince shrugged. "When you live on the outer rim worlds for as long as I have you get used to some of the darker things in life." Vince pulled a chair over to sit near her. "I can understand not wanting people to know about your past, probably more than anyone in this crew. I...well I have a lifetimes worth of nightmares, some of them just beneath the skin." Vince scratched at the back of his neck before cracking it. "Still, I promise no one else will know."

 

[Spazzycat101]

Lydia's head snapped up in the sudden presence of a new voice, and at his words gave a shrug.


'I'll probably be spending an indefinite amount of time hiding in my room with research and things, so I figured I might try and keep myself from getting too used to it. A tour might not be detrimental, though.'


HAHA! Behavioral research, initiate! Finally, she might be able to get at least a little bit of information on INANES. She had the idea that they were to act essentially the same as androids, but she had never been given clearance to study those, either. Even then, she was quite sure that the living versions actually possessed brains, and that would probably prove to be some kind of rift between the two. As she finished speaking, she stood with her tablet tucked under her arm in an unassuming fashion, though a position from which it could be whipped out like a weapon with ease.


(OMG... I've only ever heard the Skyrim theme off of Spotify... Hearing it from the game is so different. O.o )

 

[InsanEleven]

Saami walked Lydia past the department in an orderly fashion first, showing her where each of them were and what she could expect to get from the crews working in it. After that he showed her the facilities of the ship, including the holodeck and the mesh hall.


"If you happen to feel more pleasant researching in a social environment I recommend you use the mesh hall instead of a corridor. It would be detrimental to your reputation if people fell over you." The whole time he had been talking without emotion, despite still being uncomfortable about being so close to her. She was like the opposite of him, where he asked no questions she probably tried to ask all of them. Even the ones that were on the border of what was allowed moral and ethically, if he had to believe what files he had on her. So that made him feel even more scared about asking the follow up question. "Is there anything else you require my aid for Miss Camden?"

 

[Dragongal]

Adira shrugged. "Well, that is a comfort. Imagine if Marshall saw the blood results. Look, I... those results are from a long time ago, it's just permanently marked. I didn't - it wasn't willing, okay?" She sighed, physically and mentally exhausted. "At least the darker side of your past is... it's honorable. You did your job, even if it wasn't always right. Me? No... Nothing like that. Just a blur of pain and lies." It wasn't quite a blur, she could remember all of it for the most part. It was all ingrained in her memory. "Someone once told me the pain goes away faster if you tell someone else. It's hard to find someone to trust enough... and even then, after time, it disappears, only to come back later."

 

[BookWyrm]

Vince shook his head. "I appreciate the sentiment, but it wasn't honorable." Vince wanted to scratch at the back of his head, even reached for it before stopping himself. "There is nothing honorable about what I did. Did you ever wonder why we were stationed on the outer rim worlds? It's not just to deal with Xyvir." Vince chewed on his tongue. He could feel his stomach turning around inside him by just thinking about some of the things they had done in the Outliners. "I'm no saint, definitely not a hero. I'm just a tool, a weapon for one use or another. At least you are human."

 

[Spazzycat101]

Social environment, hm? Well, the only kind of social she'd probably be able to be would be something along the lines of endless jabbering about the effects she had found that this had on that, and how It different from mammals to reptiles to birds and--


The entire tour, she had been discreetly stowing away information in the little tiny library of her mind, hoping beyond hope that it would be accessible later. Typing down every other thing at the very moment she observed it would also probably be a little unusual. At his last question, she gave a shrug.


'No idea. Don't think so. Thanks, though!' A few of the notes she had made mentally were raving about her head. No, no, don't forget, don't forget! Abruptly, she plopped herself down into a seat of the mesh hall and whipped her tablet out to bury herself in six feet of notes and research once more.

 

[Dragongal]

Adira chuckled. "Oh, there was a time, I certainly wasn't considered that." She'd thought of herself that way, that didn't mean anyone else had. "You took charge, risked your life to get out of SIAD. You even told me, if Lullaby weren't looking for a Defense Specialist, they'd have killed you. That's pretty brave, and I think bravery's a pretty human trait. If you weren't human before, I think you are now." Adira sighed tiredly. SHe needed sleep, but it wasn't exactly easy to do when you were scared of it.

 

[BookWyrm]

Vince looked at Adira questioningly. What was she trying to get at? He hadn't really thought it weird that she was being polite and kind to him until now. "Why are you being so....so polite, so nice to me? Is there some kind of angle?" Vince hoped that there wasn't, but experience told him that most people usually put on a nice face when they wanted something.

 

[InsanEleven]

Saami had to suppress a sight of relief when Lydia didn't decide that she needed him for a dissection after all, it wasn't so bad after all. She seemed to be more occupied with writing down her research than doing it, and he couldn't be more glad about that. It was impossible that she would stay that way though, and as they were locked on this ship with eachother for at least six months it was statistically improbable that she wouldn't eventually need him for her more practical research.


Which reminded him, he had orbits to calculate for when they arrived at their first planet. He should get back on to that.