Quackers

Posted on Tue May 24th, 2022 @ 6:58am by Lieutenant Anna S. Thesia M.D. & Lieutenant Commander Aurora Vali

Mission: *CD*
Location: Counsellor's Office

This was the other thing Anna needed her toy duck for. She set it down on the floor in front of Aurora's office and keyed open the door, having first made sure that there was nobody else with her having a deeply personal session of some kind.

The incredibly lifelike, albeit mechanical, duck wabbled into Aurora's office, happily quacking away and seeking her out. Anna stayed well out of sight for now.

Aurora was surprised to say the least when she heard and saw the mechanical duck waddling into her office. She couldn’t help but grin as she walked up to it and picked it up. “Hmm my quacky little friend, who do you belong to?”

What would have seemed like a real duck became very obviously not real once picked up. Under the feathers it was all mechanic, and did not have the warmth of a real body. But the thing still quacked, and said nothing.

However, Anna knew that Aurora had telepathic abilities and would not be so easily fooled by her ananculus, a mechanical duck so named since a mechanical human used to be thought of as a homunculus, before the term android was popularised. As such, she did not attempt to keep her guessing and stepped forward. "The infamous quack has returned."

“Anna!!” Aurora grinned as she walked over to the returning CMO and her friend. “You’re back! When did you get back onboard?”

"About an hour ago", Anna said as she gave Aurora a hug. "And I'm happy to be back too. The posting on Cardassia was... well, I don't think anyone goes there voluntarily."

Aurora shook her head. “No I don’t think they do.” She grinned and motioned Anna to a seat. “Please sit down, can I get you a drink?”

"You know I can't say no to a good cup of tea", Anna said as she sat down. "So you've trapped me again. Now I must stay."

Aurora grinned. “Tea it is” she walked over to the replicator and ordered before returning with a tea and a Pepsi for herself. “One tea” she took a seat. “We haven’t heard anything from Starfleet while you’ve been away.”

Anna nodded. "Yes, Savar told me. Very unusual. But... as soon as I'm back from the shore leave that I'm taking on Bajor... for entirely selfish reasons, we can get started."

Aurora looked surprised. “Really!? We can go ahead? I can have a baby!?” She looked at Anna with the twinkle of tears in her eyes.

Anna nodded. "Yes. But we'll have to talk over the options, there's more than one way, and it requires choices."

Aurora took a seat. “Can we talk it over now? I’m eager to say the least!” She smiled a warm smile. “I’ll apologise now if I’m being too eager.”

"Don't you think Savar should have a say as well?" Anna said, taking a sip of her tea and looking at Aurora over the steam rising from the mug.

“Of course!” Aurora nodded. “I just... Is there any way... I mean something you could give me that would allow us to conceive naturally?” She paused. “I know it’s asking a lot but it means a lot too.”

Anna shook her head. "No." She paused, then added. "Well, not safely. It is much better to rule out any chance of conflicting genes and their resulting birth defects." Anna was aware that there were some cultures that would consider this remark ableist but she believed that it allowed for an easier life of her future patient to treat any adverse conditions before they even arose. "This is, of course, absolutely not stopping you from having fun in the bedroom."

Aurora grinned. “That I know, I was just hoping I’d have a chance.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Okay so the medical route it is then.”

"There are a few options open to you, depending on how we combine your genome", Anna said. "And we can always allow for random chance to pick between any of the viable results, to simulate natural selection, so to speak."

Aurora nodded. “I guess, but I’ll need to talk to Savar about that. We already have a son, I’d like to have a daughter but like I said it’s a decision that will need Savar’s input.”

"Absolutely", Anna said. "Once I'm back, and have fully assumed my duties, I shall present you with all the options, and you can discuss and choose at your leisure." She sipped her tea again. "I'll help as I can. But you have to be aware that it won't be easy, and there might be complications during pregnancy as well, even though you're generally fit and not particularly at risk."

Aurora nodded. “I understand, it’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

Anna nodded. "It's not a huge risk, anyway. Just convince the skipper not to send you on too many landing parties in your later stages of pregnancy."

Aurora nodded. “That’s normally par for the course anyway, speaking of which what about transporters? Would shuttle journeys be preferable?”

"Transporters are safer than shuttles, under normal circumstances", Anna said. "Especially if you ask me to fly", she added with a wink.

Aurora grinned. “I just wanted to be sure, seeing as transporters work by taking your molecules apart and reassembling them! I avoided using the transporter as much as I could last time I was pregnant.”

"I never thought you of all people to be superstitious", Anna said. "And I thought I was the one who's mad."

Aurora grinned. “Maybe I was over cautious but definitely not mad! Don’t forget who's the Counsellor here.”

"Do counsellors heal themselves if they're in trouble?" Anna asked. "I've operated on myself before, so I know it works sometimes with doctors."

Aurora shook her head. “I doubt it, you can convince yourself things are okay but a lot of the time you need to talk to someone else.”

"I might not be a professional, but you know you can talk to me, right? At least I can serve as an example of how not to do it." Anna knew Savar was a trained counsellor as well, but inside a relationship, that was maybe not the best idea either, at least in some cases.

Aurora nodded and smiled. “Thank you Anna, I appreciate that. I’m okay for now but don’t be surprised if I’m dropping in to see you with every little worry once I’m pregnant again.”

"Yes but that's okay. I'm not bothered by that", Anna chuckled. "It's certainly better than those people who think they can avoid the doctor until they collapse."

Aurora grinned. “I've had patients like that too. Anyway... I should go talk to Savar!”

"Take your time, I won't be back for a few days, hopefully", Anna smiled. She drained her mug, stood and placed it back into the replicator.

“That’s just it!” Aurora grinned as she stood up. “That’s a few days too long!! I’m already eager to get started.”

"I understand, but you won't begrudge me a few days of leave after my long stay on Cardassia, will you?" Anna asked. "Besides, I'm spending it with Jessica."

“Ohh Heavens! Of course I won’t!” Aurora smiled. “I’m just enthusiastic that’s all. Enjoy your Shoreleave.”

"Yes, you should be", Anna agreed. "And thank you. I shall come by with all the details once I've returned."

“Wonderful” Aurora grinned. “Thank you so much Anna!”