Learning Who You Are

Posted on Mon Feb 18th, 2019 @ 11:03pm by Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox & Captain Enalia Telvan & Commander Rita Paris & Lieutenant Asa Dael

Mission: Recovery Trek
Location: USS Hera, Deck 8, Captain's Quarters
Timeline: 2396

From the Flight Control Office, Lieutenant Mnhei'sahe Dox had called asking to speak to Captain Enalia Telvan and Commander Rita Paris as soon as was possible for a matter of some importance. The Captain was in her quarters, but told Dox to come and that Commander Paris would meet them there. So Dox and Doctor Asa Dael were on their way to the Captain's quarters.

As they approached the Captain's room, Dox turned to their friend. "I appreciate you coming, but you don't need to do this, Asa."

"You are right, Mnhei'sahe, I dont need to do this, I choose to. Besides, someone has to he around for any medical questions. Might as well be me. Now lead on," the young doctor replied, smiling with a look of determination.

As they arrived at the Captain's quarters, Dox turned and looked up at Asa standing beside her, whispering. "Thank you." As she did, she pressed the chime on the Captain's door and waited nervously.

The door opened to Enalia's call of "Come in!" to reveal the usual dimly lit quarters of the Captain filled with antiques and tapestries. She was in silk pajamas at her table with a steaming tea set in the center. "Please, join me for my evening tea while we talk? It's a camomile and mint with a bit of honey infusion."

Stepping in somewhat sheepishly, Dox gestured to Asa. "Thank you, Captain. Uh... Doctor Dael wanted to be here as well and Commander Paris should be here in a moment as well. I'm... I'm hoping this isn't as big of an issue as I'm afraid it is, but I... It felt important to bring this to you as soon as I realized it."

"Better to know something immediately than in the morning." Enalia quiped, pouring four cups of tea complete with saucers. "Now come, sit down and tell me what it is while we wait for Commander Paris to decide on the heels or armor."

Stepping in, Dox was trying to relax and took a seat. "Probably isn't an 'armor' problem, Captain." She tried joking.

“You sure I won't need the armor? Because big issues often look a lot larger when viewed from the inside,” came the familiar tones of the first officer, who had followed the duo in. After all, this was after hours, so Rita Paris was in her casual ‘around my quarters’ clothes, which consisted of a pair of short exercise shorts, furry slippers and a brown v-necked t-shirt bearing the slogan ‘Klingons don’t have a safe word’.

“So what’s wrong, Miss Dox? What cataclysm is headed our way this time?” Rita asked with her typical good cheer.

While Rita was cheerful, the Captain was calm and both Asa and Mona have been extremely supportive, the perpetually anxious pilot was still nervous. "Well... It's in regards to me. Um... as you know, I've been keeping an eye on things regarding our newest guest. Since I'm one of the few people that can interact with her and vouched for her, I've been stopping in regularly to bring Death meals and talk. Really, mostly very casual. It's been fine."

Talking helped her focus and the words came easier. "Well, Asa and I went there for dinner tonight. And we were talking about her past. We... Asa and I... had tracked down some basic information about her own past that she could no longer remember. And... to make a long story short, she asked us both if we wanted any answers about our own pasts that she might know."

Fidgeting slightly, Dox took a sip of her tea. "Well... there's a man. A man I remember from my childhood that I began remembering after I began practicing meditation with Sonak. A Romulan named Dralath tr'Rul. I've mentioned this before... The man my Mother lied to me about."

There seemed to be no end to the things Dox’s mother had or would lie to her about, so somehow that was of no surprise to the fulsome first officer. Although it did explain why the Romulan intelligence asset had been so evasive when Dox had confronted her about it on Earth. But in the here and now, it was clear more was coming to light.

“Go on,” Rita offered encouragingly as she dropped her ass onto the couch next to the captain. “Were all ears, Miss Dox.”

“So… for a while now… I've had questions about him. Beyond just who beyond his name and that he was in the Tal Shiar. I wanted to know why he was figuring so prominently in my earliest memories. I've… I've had a suspicion for a while that hasn't made and sense. But… when I asked her she confirmed it. Somehow, he's my Father.”

“Which is where things start becoming a problem. It doesn't just mean that I'm not actually part human. That's not what I'm concerned about. When Asa examined me and repaired the genetic damage that had been done when I was a girl… they confirmed that I do have human DNA. We know that my genetic code was manipulated as a child, but Asa had repaired that. That's legal enough.” Dox began talking quicker as her anxiety ramped up.

“But if both my parents are Romulan and there's still human DNA In me… it means they did more. It means that they did some kind of serious genetic manipulation. Maybe even engineering. I don't know. But I know that that level of genetic manipulation… it's illegal in the Federation… in Starfleet.”

Looking at both Enalia and Rita, Dox had legitimate concern in her expression. “I don't know what this means for me… for my career.”

To this point Asa had held their peace, allowing Mnhei’sahe to speak her mind freely. However, now that the discussion was momentarily on medical matters, Asa decided to speak up.

“With all respect ma’am’s, I would like to go on the record stating that any genetic manipulation was masterfully done, leaving no trace behind. Mnhei’sahe’s reflexes, neural capabilities, immunology, presentation, and biology are all within the realm of what would be expected for a half Human-half Romulan. The prohibition against genetic tampering is in place to stop people from creating super soldiers, or super scientists, or super-whatever really. I love Mnhei’sahe, so this is said with all love- She is not genetically advantaged against her peers in a way that should disqualify her from service.”

The doctor spoke in a clear, calm tone, maintaining respectful eye contact while still keeping a hand outstretched in case their friend should desire to grab it. Asa would face down a bear for Mnhei’sahe, but they were confident so would Rita and Enalia.

Sitting next to Asa, Dox's fingers twitched slightly as for a second, they wanted to take their friends hand. They wished that they hadn't asked Mona to wait for her. Instead, she simply waited and looked at her Captain.

"Well... As someone that's had to extensively go over those laws myself previously..." Enalia began slowly, sipping at her tea. "One, you were not aware of the manipulation. Two, your DNA was mixed with a predominantly regressive genome that did not enhance you in any noticeable way. Three, it was most likely done under the purview of a foreign power."

"That means that under the current bans and laws, there is zero possibility of you being used as a biogenic weapon, which is the primary purpose of said bans and laws." Enalia then looked over to Asa for confirmation, her teacup at her lips. "Would you agree with that assessment, Doctor?"

"Without reservation and wholeheartedly," Dael replied.

"We're a bit lenient, you may have noticed," Rita Paris explained- after all, this looked like the time for it. "The Baroness is an admitted genetic augment and she's in VIP quarters. You've apparently been folded, bent, stapled and mutilated in the name of messing with your geneology. Ideally these are supposed to be actionable offenses, despite the fact that in both cases neither of you did this to yourselves nor did you give consent. I will freely admit I have faithfully reported the details of these situations up the chain of command. I know that the Captain dutifully passes them up to the Commodore."

"There is no response from the brass. No orders, no recriminations, no acknowledgement that they find anything in the reports actionable. So in short, Miss Dox, it seems that in Starfleet Intelligence, if someone has tinkered with your corpus delecti for nefarious purposes, so long as you don't start trying to maraud your way across the universe, they can overlook that little detail." Paris wrapped up her diatribe by getting to the point, waving her finger about as she spoke. "The historians are unlikely to note Starfleet's little indiscretions like this, mostly because we live in the shadows. Our deeds will seldom, if ever, be known to the general public, or even Starfleet at large. We, Miss Dox, are unsung heroes. So we get to be a bit... exceptional."

"Exactly. I'm not an average male Trill running mining freighters, you're not a full Romulan wherever your mother was before leaving the Empire, Schwein isn't dead on some failed lab colony, Rita is one of the last remnants of a time splinter that no longer exists and was apparently full of beautiful versions of people. In the end, as long as we're part of Intel Command, there's a certain level of things that we can get away with as long as they're aware. This is definitely one of them." Enalia then set aside her cup of tea and picked up a sugar cube. She balanced it on one finger for a moment before flipping it clear across the room towards the door to her quarters just as they opened and right into one of the teacups that Maica kept in her massage parlor just as she walked in the door.

"Oh! Oh my! Sugar in my cup!" Maica exclaimed as she noticed the offending sugar cube. "Sorry I'm late. I had a lot of extra appointments and the squids were stressed out." She paused long enough to give Enalia a quick kiss before she headed into the kitchen. "Give me a few minutes and I'll have dinner started for everyone, ok?"

"It's ok, I had some of that leftover soup from yesterday. I just warmed it up and sprinkled some cheese on it." The spotted woman was smiling like the world was perfect and she didn't have a care in the world, but had to remind herself she still had to focus on her company. "Unless you all want something to eat?"

Slumping slightly in her seat, Dox sighed in relief. "Uh... Thank you, Captain. I... I appreciate the offer. But I think I need to go and tell Mona everything's going to be okay."

The young Romulan pilot looked around at the assemblage of her crewmembers and friends and was extremely grateful to have found herself where she was. "But... But thank you all. For everything."

"You did the right thing reporting this, Lieutenant. Let us not be dismissive of that- you comported yourself honorably, and we're proud of you for that. Bringing your medical advocate was a good strategic move, well done. And being open about it- not throwing yourself on your sword over it but just bringing the facts to us to disseminate- very well done, Miss Dox." The Paris speech was delivered by the girl curled up on the couch in her short shorts and salacious t-shirt, yet somehow she lent it gravitas, and made the experience a positive teaching moment. Thus the living antiquity once more demonstrated her purpose.

"Thank you, Commander." Dox let a slight smile crack her face as she talked. "Asa wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer, though."

"Either way, it does you great credit and will go a long way."Enalia couldn't help but smile a bit as well. "Now the next step will be to gather cold hard facts before I make my report. You have forty eight hours to do whatever you can to find out your original gene sequence, how it was modified, and when before I make my report and they start questioning your mother. And no, 'because a deity class alien said so' isn't going to cut it."

Turning to Asa, Dox tilted her head slightly. "I guess we'll be spending a bit of time in your office for more tests, Doctor?"

With a returned smile, Asa replied, “Lucky you! Tomorrow is check-up day for eight crew members entering their second phase of pregnancy. Nothing Nurse Vimes can’t handle of course, the woman is a power-house, just fair warning, hormonal crying ahoy!”

Then turning to the Captain, Asa said, “I will have a full report to you by the end of shift tomorrow, ma’am.”

"Thank you, I'll start drafting my report to Command." Enalia almost cringed at the thought of all those pregnant women though. "And we need to talk about the future of families aboard the Hera later..."

"That sounds like my cue. All right you two, carry on, and I think the Captain and I need to have a discussion now. On your way, aye?" While it was a dismissal, it was good-natured. More than likely it was Paris giving the duo an out so she could start a dialogue with the captain.

"Aye, Commander." Dox replied in her usual awkward manner. She was still anxious but at least it looked as if she still had a career for the time being. She nodded politely as it was clear more needed to be said, possibly about her, possibly about the issue of families that Captain had brought up. But whatever it was, it wasn't for her ears, so she made her exit, anxious to get back to Mona.

“Aye Commander,” Asa replied with a grin. They knew the Captain and XO would support Dox, and were relieved for their friend to get some reassurance.

“If you need any information on due dates and estimated leave times, please let me know. I have some preliminary forecasts completed, and I should have complete schedules for expected delivery dates by the end of this week’s exams. Good evening to you both,” Asa said, inclining their head in a nod of respect before readying to leave.

As the two left, Enalia relaxed and finished up her tea before turning to Rita.

"Please tell me you're not pregnant too...?"