Guild icon USS Odyssey Earth / rental-house-ireland

USS Odyssey

Earth / rental-house-ireland

Narrator BOT 17-May-21 07:39 PM

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Lt. JG Kalena Miren 17-May-21 07:57 PM

*The house was in a nice secluded area, exactly what the doctor had ordered. Kalena's call asking for this visit had been evasive, but her current panicked and unraveling state, the message probably made it obvious that something was wrong. She had beamed down to the road a bit outside of the property, which gave her a good view of the place. The stone walls ringing the place were weird, probably some sort of ancient human masonry they were still proud of. But the windswept rural beauty didn't suit her mood. She would have had to beam down to a demon-class planet for that.* *Kalena had been avoiding everyone since she'd escaped the shuttle with Survol. She'd spent more time in her room than she had for the entirety of the Odyssey's voyage, only leaving for duty shifts, which she was careful to assign herself to somewhere secluded. Alone in her room to alone in a shuttle. Her original plan had been to find Row and convince him to give her a medical tricorder, but Kalena had eventually chickened out on that plan, certain that her friend - being the excellent doctor that he was - wouldn't let her leave with it without running some scans for himself. So she'd waited, alone, and hoped for the chance to get home. And they had, finally back in their own universe, where she could finally call for help.* *She started out walking, counting the seconds between each step to keep everything calm and natural, but eventually broke down and rushed the house at a sprint, arriving just as the front door opened. Kalena threw herself into the arms of the Kriosian woman waiting there, breaking down crying into her chest.* "Mom..." *Her words were barely audible through her tears,* "I'm in the Finiis'ral."

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Dr. Lorena Miren BOT 25-May-21 08:52 PM

*Lorena had known something was wrong from the moment her daughter had called her. Kalena had been careful not to say anything explicit, they'd only managed to keep her condition a secret for so long by being zealous in their precautions, but it had still been plain as day to Lorena. She saw it in Kalena's eyes, the turn of her lips, and the dreadful stillness when she'd recorded the message. Her daughter was normally antsy, always moving in small ways. Stillness meant trouble, and there was only one thing that would scare the Mirens that badly.* *She'd dropped everything, taking the first ship she could find that would get her from Krios to Earth, renting a small house out of the way, ensuring that Kalena would be kept away from prying eyes. Her husband was in the middle of an important conference, so Lorena had been forced to come alone. It would have been impossible to pull Doram away without alerting the world to the crisis they were in.* *Even with the knowledge that something was dreadfully wrong, Lorena had spent the trip here desperately trying to convince herself that she was mistaken, that Kalena had a problem that didn't involve their secret and the drastic steps they'd taken to ensure their daughter's freedom. She had herself convinced right until the moment Kalena tackled her in the door, saying the words Lorena had spent 26 years praying she would never hear.* *The Finiis'ral. The final stage of maturity for an empathic metamorph.* ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

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*Lorena didn't cry. The pain she felt was so far beyond what could be expressed through tears. It took only a few words to crush her heart into dust and blow the pieces away. All she did was hold Kalena tighter, as though an embrace could protect her from what her body was determined to turn her into. As though an embrace could protect her from what an entire world would use her for.* *Without a word, Lorena pulled Kalena inside, placing her on a couch in the sitting area and starting to get her equipment set up. She had to check. Had to make sure.* "What happened?" *She finally asked, when the lump in her throat abated enough to let her speak.*

Lt. JG Kalena Miren 25-May-21 09:40 PM

*When her mom released her, it took all of Kalena's willpower not to latch onto her again like she had as a small child. Even while certain she was beyond her parents' ability to help, Kalena felt better just being here. Her parents had pulled off the impossible before. Maybe... maybe...* *She stayed on the couch where her mother left her, arms wrapped around herself in a faint imitation of the hug. It took a few false starts for her to get speaking, mumbled nonsense on the path to coherence. As was her habit, when Kalena finally got started, it was impossible for her to stop.* "I was trapped in a shuttle with Survol! He's this ops officer and he's awful Mom. We went on a mission together before that - a combat mission, where we were being shot at - and he was on his PADD the whole time writing out ways to organize the cargo bays. Who does that? I mean, I guess ops officers do that all the time, but during their normal duty shifts! Not on a mission! A combat mission! He's a vulcan and he's the most vulcan vulcan I've ever met. No emotions at all! And we got stuck in a shuttle - I already said that - but anyway - we were stuck in a shuttle and he said that I was producing pheromones that bothered him, and what other type of pheromones would bother the most emotionless person in the universe! What if I was stuck in there with him for longer? I could have lost all of my emotions too! What else would a vulcan look for in a-" *She paused now for a shudder.* "Mate. I've been hiding in my quarters ever since and I don't know what to do Mom!"

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Dr. Lorena Miren BOT 25-May-21 11:29 PM

*She let Kalena talk herself out while setting up the scanner. The rather bulky device had been brought here in pieces, distributed among her luggage. The only pause was for a small shudder as the mention of her daughter being shot at while on a mission. Not for the first time, Lorena fervently wished that Kalena had picked a more sedentary profession, finding a quiet laboratory like Doram and Lorena had. But there was no denying Kalena's joy when she talked about flying. Lorena knew her child had found her calling, no matter how much it scared her. They'd made a promise years ago after finding the genetic markers for a metamorph in their infant daughter, and had spent every day since working to make that promise a reality. Kalena would have free will. No matter what route her happiness took her, Lorena would accept it.* "Ready," *Lorena said once everything was in place.* "Come here dear." *She gestured for Kalena to join her on the carpet with the scanner.*

Lt. JG Kalena Miren 25-May-21 11:53 PM

*Part of her didn't want to. The scanner would just confirm it. It would find some pheromones and prove that she already knew. Her medication had finally failed. The metamorph gene was active, and her life was over. The only bright part of it all was that she'd gotten out of the shuttle, so she wasn't forced to bond with* ***him.*** *But Kalena didn't have the strength to tell her mother no, so she went to the scanner obediently, laying down with her back on the carpet and wiggling up so her head was beneath the arches in front of the device. She started up at it silently, tense with fear.* (edited)

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Dr. Lorena Miren BOT 27-May-21 06:24 PM

"It will be alright," *She did her best to sound soothing while starting the scan.* "We'll figure it out. We'll handle it. Lay still while it works, then we'll know what we need to do." *And if there was nothing to be done, then they would figure that out too.*

Lt. JG Kalena Miren 27-May-21 06:42 PM

*Staying still was never something she'd excelled at. Even as a pilot, her hands were constantly moving, inputting course adjustments and modifications, checking propulsion readouts. Kalena managed to keep mostly still, eyes closed, hands clinched tight. She only flinched once when her PADD buzzed, causing a slight spasm when it tickled her leg.*

Dr. Lorena Miren BOT 27-May-21 06:54 PM

*When the results came in, all of Lorena's stress left her in a sigh of relief. The genetic markers still read as dormant. There was no indication of the specific pheromones indicative to the Finiis'ral. She went through the results again, then once more, just to be sure. Then she pushed the scanner away from Kalena and pulled her daughter to her, holding her tight.* "You're not in the Finiis'ral. Your medication is still working."

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Lt. JG Kalena Miren 27-May-21 07:57 PM

*When her mother's words came, Kalena was so shocked she could barely speak. She wasn't... she wasn't in the... Once again, she found herself crying in her mother's arms, and she honestly had no idea why. They stayed there for a while, until there were no tears left to give. Then a bit longer as Kalena caught her breath. Then a little longer still, because they were both comfortable there.* "But if I'm not in the finiis'ral..." *Kalena finally managed to say, pulling back to look at her mom.* "Then why was he talking about..." *Eventually, her relief turned where it naturally should, to anger at Survol.* "What is wrong with that guy!?"

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