Is it...an Alien?

Posted on 18 May 2016 @ 11:15pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim

2,184 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Episode 11 - Divinum Mundi
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 2, Sickbay
Timeline: MD 01 - 2230 hrs

[ON]

The dark gray double doors to sickbay swished open and the long-awaited checkup that Lirha had been procrastinating finally came to an end. She had chosen a relatively quiet time of the evening for her visit with the medical doctors -- not necessarily because she was shy or afraid of any potential bad news, but rather that she had never really enjoyed any visit to sickbay, even since her earliest days in Starfleet. She had always considered herself to be a young woman in good health with strong natural biochemistry, and the years of mandatory pheromone suppressant injections had slowly turned the experience into something she never looked forward to.

She glanced down at the drab carpet and walked into the room. Her nose picked up the distinctive sterile smell of the med bay while she glanced around looking for the doctor-on-duty

Medical records always needed updating and especially at the beginning of a mission and even more so with new people replacing others that had moved on. It was routine, boring but something that was necessary to keep up with. Allyndra would have much preferred to be in the lab rather then looking at chart after chart. Thus when the distinctive sound of the sickbay doors echoed in she smiled. It would be a nice break from the work. There were few that showed up this time of day. The ones that did where usually an emergency or those that just did not want others to know they were there.
Allyndra put things away and got up. "I will be right there. Take a seat on any of the biobeds."

As she exited the office it did not take much more then a second to reveal that the person was female and green skinned and the Admiral. That changed things. Normally she would be quite a bit less formal.

"Admiral how may I be of service?" Allyndra asked. She noted that no aide had called ahead of time and thus this was something that was obvious Lirha wanted to keep personal.

"Hello, doctor," Saalm began to answer with a subdued yet polite smile. "I was..." she hesitated for a brief moment, "hoping to do an examination. A private one," she elaborated. One of her emerald hands traveled down to her protruding belly and rubbed it gently as an indication of her need. "I am sorry to arrive unannounced but I preferred some privacy."

Allyndra had come to stand. It was not protocol even though sickbay tended to be less lax on that, in the presence of a flag officer. She followed the movement of the hand and made a surmise that this was not a call for an upset tummy with gas.

"As you wish Admiral," Allyndra said. "Biobed one is open and is the most sophisticated." Even though it was by the door, it like the others had the relatively new privacy fields. "This way sir," Allyndra indicated as she came around to where the Admiral was standing.

Following the doctor's prompt, Lirha walked over towards the medical bed and gingerly laid herself down on the firm mattress. With a soft sigh, she stared at the lights in the ceiling while attempting to relax. "I suppose I should have informed you about my pregnancy a bit earlier..." she lamented out-loud with a bit of an apologetic tone. "I have been so busy recently with our new deployment that it slipped my mind."

Allyndra nodded, "It would seem that you are not the only one that seems to have let certain things slip." She had gotten the medical from the Romulan admiral and it had certainly been an interesting if somewhat devastating blow. Well the universe was the universe and one tried to move on. "Is this your first check up or have you had one done before leaving?"

Allyndra wanted to check to see what medical there might have been earlier and put in a formal request to update records.

"It is my first. For my babies, I mean. I received my pheromone suppressants at Jupiter Station prior to our departure, although I believe that visit should have been transferred to Galileo's records," answered Lirha.

"And we will have to keep an eye on that. In fact, probably should have noted that if you knew you were pregnant. Orion physiology especially during pregnancy has not only a lot of up and downs with hormones but it affects the pheromone out put as well. The suppressant can have counter effect on hormones as well especially those needed to help support the pregnancy." Allyndra iterated. She looked over the initial scan. "So far, rest assured that all seems well. I do want to monitor your levels much more closely. If you wish I can make personal visits rather than you having to come in the middle of the ship's night. Oh! Twins. Did you know?"

Lirha beamed with a big smile and nodded enthusiastically. "Yes...I was not expecting it when Siren and I visited the fertility clinic on Rigel VII. I suppose there was a complication during the procedure and I was...honored with twins." She rubbed her stomach again with a content sigh. "Can I ask, are they maternal?"

"You mean fraternal? I would have to take a small sample of the amniotic fluid to determine for sure. Is that what you would like?" Allyndra asked.

"I...yes?" The Orion was unsure but she had always been a curious young woman. Even more so since she had been appointed to her position as a commanding officer and later a future-mother.

Allyndra smiled and almost chuckled. "Alright let me get a sample. In the meantime..." she pulled down a display and turned it so the Admiral could see it. It took a bit of fiddling but finally she got an image up. "There we go, you can take a look at the little ones." She pointed to two spots on the screen.

She ducked out a moment to get a needle to get a sample. She was pretty sure they were fraternal but the scans were too general to be absolutely sure. She returned after a moment and asked, "Want a picture to take back?"

Lirha looked at the monitor with a fascinated and joyous gaze in her eyes. They looked so...tiny. And cute. She happily sighed and nodded in reply to the doctor's question. "Yes. Very much. Do you..." she hesitated for a moment, unsure if she wanted to know the answer just yet, "know their genders?"

Allyndra raised a finger. "Let me get a quick sample and I will have an answer for you." She swabbed a section with a numbing agent and while that went to work she worked a section of the monitor. "I am going to have this streamed to your own personal terminal so you can share with your partner and keep as a keepsake. Now then," she bunched up the top to limit the admiral's view. "You might feel a little pressure." The area was numbed and the needle very thin but no reason to make anyone anxious. It took but a moment and she had her sample. She could have the lab analyze it from here though connection with sensors.

"Well we have an answer. Last chance to be a surprise or not." Allyndra gave the Orion another chance to think it over. She was pretty sure what the answer would be but sometimes people changed their mind.

The needle sensation was mild, to say the least. As quickly as the sensation began, it then dissipated. Lirha then took a long moment to stare at the ceiling lights while she pondered whether or not to spoil the secret. On one hand, giving birth was a such a special moment that she didn't want to diminish the full experience. And on the other side of the latinum bar, knowing in advance would help her plan more accordingly and bring her closer to her children.

The Orion nodded and gave a hesitant smile. "Tell me."

"Fraternal and appears to one boy and one girl." Allyndra said and handed a PaDD with the results. "Everything looks very good, development is on track, no abnormalities, two very healthy little ones coming along. Congratulations Admiral." Allyndra said and though it was technically not protocol but here in the wee hours and in privacy she figured it was alright, leaned down and gave the flag officer a hug.

"Oh." Despite feeling a bit surprised by the sudden display of affection, Saalm was happy to return the hug with a smile. One of each gender seemed like a blessing from the spirits and she was elated by the news. "Thank you. I am very excited," she beamed before taking the PADD with the detailed results on it. "Do you know how long it will be until the due date?"

"Well it would appear that your about second trimester at this point if I judge development correctly. However, if I might inquire who or rather I should say what was the father's species. If these are interspecies children there are effects that can change all that timing and also I will need to keep a much closer watch."

Lirha pursed her lips. That was not the easiest question to answer and it gave her a moment's pause. "There is...no father. Well, not involved in the conception," she began to explain with a sudden burst of embarrassment that caused her cheeks to flush to a forest green hue. "My former wife and I -- Siren Hex -- we...conceived together at a fertility clinic on Rigel VII. It was an in vitro fertilization."

"I more or less figured, but was it a modified gamete from Siren or did you utilize sperm from a donor?" Allyndra asked. These days one could actually take gametes from two same sex partners and combine them to produce an embryo. Still a lot also went the older route with a donor of the opposite sex, or sexes, she remembered that Andorians had a very odd arrangement.

"From Siren," Lirha clarified. There had been no male father involved in the process. It has simply been the two of them combing their genes with the help of modern science to produce a (hopefully) lovely set of Orion-Human offspring.

"Ah, I somewhat suspected. Well that makes it easy then. Few things medically to watch out for in Human-Orion match ups. As I mentioned earlier no more suppressant shots. They interfere also with pregnancy hormonal support. The good news is that pheromones tend downward in females while pregnant." Allyndra chuckled. "The come hither is just not as needed."

"Yes...I have noticed," Lirha winked while sharing a private smile with the CMO. She had wondered for the past few days why she'd felt so oversexed recently, but had simply dismissed it as a by-product of their recent deployment. Stress needed stress relief, after all. "If I am not taking any of my suppressants, will the rest of the crew suffer any effects if they are around me for a long period of time?"

"More than likely. We will deal with things as we go. Those two," Allyndra waved a hand. "Are more important then worrying about if some pheromones might cause a little edginess."

Lirha slowly sat up and dangled her legs over the side of the biobed. She reached up to push a couple dark locks of hair back away from her green cheeks. "If it becomes a problem, then I will come back to visit you and see what can be done." The Orion then stood on the floor and stretched her arms for a brief moment. "Well, thank you doctor. For the checkup. If you believe everything is in order then I will leave you to your work."

"Yes Admiral. After this one, I will make a more discreet visit to your quarters, but I am sure the crew will be noticing things very soon if they have not already. Until you and your partner give the say so, nothing from here will be said and I will make sure the record is set so that only I have the sufficient authorization to see it unless a medical emergency is declared." Allyndra was solemn on that but again smiled. "Now off you go and get plenty of rest," she made shooing motions with her hands.

"Yes...off I go." Lirha gave a light wave of her hand to Allyndra in thanks, then promptly began to walk towards the exit to finish up the rest of the night in her quarters. She felt a wave of relief wash over her and despite her previous apprehensions, she was now confident that everything was going well and no complications were in the immediate future. She would sleep comfortably tonight.

"Good night, doctor. And thank you."

"And to you and the little ones" Allyndra replied.

[OFF]

--

RADM Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

LCmdr Allyndra illm Warraquim
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

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