The Start of a Miracle

Posted on Fri Jun 3rd, 2022 @ 7:18am by Lieutenant Anna S. Thesia M.D. & Commander Savar cha'Salik hei-Surak Talek-sen-deen & Lieutenant Commander Aurora Vali

Mission: *CD*
Location: Sickbay

With Anna back from shoreleave Aurora and Savar were enroute to Sickbay, she wasn’t sure if she was excited or scared, or a bit of both. She looked towards Savar as she took hold of his hand. “I don’t know about you but I’m not sure if I’m excited or scared.”

Savar held Aurora's hand as they made their way to Sickbay and a meeting with Anna. "Understandable Aurora. Though I do not believe there is anything to be scared over. Perhaps apprehensive is a better word. I believe I am anxious to know our options and when we can begin."

Aurora nodded. “This won’t make Sidak any less special to me, he’s still our son and having another baby won’t change that.” She smiled warmly. Entering Sickbay she looked around for Anna.

"Of course not Aurora. Your compassion is what makes you an excellent counselor and a wonderful mother. You are correct in saying Sidak is our son furthermore he always will be." Savar answered decisively.

Anna walked out of the lab, rubbing at an annoying stain on her tunic, trying to get it off, scowling at it and hardly noticing where she was going. "I hate tight spaces", she muttered to herself. The lab on the Liberty had been a better size, and it was much less likely to back into stuff and knock things over accidentally.

Aurora smiled as she motioned to Anna. “Did you have a slight accident in the lab Anna?”

"I'm trying to put a full range of medical facilities into a space about a third smaller than on the Liberty", Anna said. "But moving around is not as easy any more."

“If you ever need a hand you know where to find me.” Aurora grinned. “We’re here to talk about our options.” She looked towards Savar then back at Anna.

"Indeed they do Aurora." Savar replied as he looked at the scowling CMO. "A suggestion Doctor, if the stain annoys you so much, why not replicate a new tunic?"

"It's not the stain that annoys me, Savar", Anna said with a chuckle. "But it's good you came, I'd much rather talk about something positive." She motioned for them to follow her into her office, where she touched her panel and brought up a visual representation of the options she'd worked with, and had pre-approved by Starfleet Medical and their weird case-by-case ruling on genetic engineering. "Coffee? Tea?"

Aurora shook her head “Nothing for me, thank you.”

"A herbal tea for me if you please Doctor." Savar replied.

"A herbal tea?" Anna wondered. "We're really living it up, aren't we?" She had some Vulcan mint tea, so this would have to do. "Please, have a seat." While preparing the tea, Anna started, "These are three options I've prepared. They can be adjusted a little for sex, but other than that, they're pretty much set. The main difference is in species traits. If we mix them at random, most of them will be broken, and the result will most likely be a sickly child. So you've got to choose which abilities and traits you'll want to preserve and pass on to your child."

Aurora nodded. “Well we’re both Vulcan so I’d obviously like to keep the natural Vulcan traits, at least our pointed ears. I’d also like for our son or daughter to inherit my Betazoid abilities. It’s obviously possible or I wouldn’t be here now.”

Anna nodded, handing over the tea to Savar. "Oh, the looks are not an issue. It's the internal biology we'll have to be careful about. You see, there are combinations of Betazoid and Vulcan biology which don't mix very well, and carry a high risk of mental illness by the time the child hits puberty. I'm strongly advising against that. Which is why I've taken the liberty of making suggestions, and getting them pre-approved by Starfleet Medical. You know how... difficult they can be, not wanting to blur the line between health care and designer baby."

"Thank you." Savar replied as he took the tea and listened to Anna discuss the process for Aurora and himself to have a child. "Indeed. Starfleet medical does not want to feel as if the children are coming off an assembly line."

“Exactly” Aurora nodded. “Genetic modification is outlawed nowadays, except in these circumstances hence the tight controls. I guess I was being pretty demanding.” She offered Anna an apologetic smile. “So what do you suggest that’s best?”

"The easiest way is to combine the Vulcan half of your genome with Savar", Anna started. "That's option A. It offers the most flexibility. Your genes will be set. And yours, Savar, can be any sperm cell that occurs naturally. The result will be a child that is fully Vulcan, with none of the concerns about genetic matching that your parents had to go through, Aurora. What do you think?"

“I...” Aurora stopped and looked and Anna in surprise. “My parents went through this to have me?” She looked at Savar in surprise. “I never knew that. Anyway I don’t have anything against having a fully Vulcan child but... what are the other options?”

"I imagine one of the remaining options would be a fully Betazoid child Aurora, is that not correct Doctor?" Savar asked Anna.

Anna shook her head. "No. There's only half a Betazoid genome to work with here, and the child would then not be both of yours, genetically. I mean, by that point you might as well adopt. Which is option D, unlisted, as it doesn't require my intervention." She smirked. "No, option B is half Betazoid and half Vulcan, with pretty much the same set of telepathic abilities that you have, Aurora. The key is to make sure that all your Betazoid genes are present, which is the easy half, as your parents already had that work done properly. And for you, Savar, we'd have to make sure your Vulcan half will have all working copies of the appropriate genes, and we'll have to match the numbers of chromosomes. Fairly easy to do, though."

Aurora smiled. “If Savar agrees then I’d like to choose that option. A half Betazoid, half Vulcan just like me.” She paused and gave Anna a curious look. “So if a full Vulcan is option A, a half Vulcan, half Betazoid is option B, and adopting is option D what was option C?”

"I am not opposed to our child being half Vulcan, half Betazoid." Savar replied before he added. "An excellent question Aurora." Savar told his wife as he looked at Anna. "What is option C Doctor? I confess, I am curious to know."

"Three quarters Vulcan and one quarter Betazoid", Anna said. "The most challenging option genetically, as it requires a lot of genetic doctoring to make sure the important functional genes are present. It most closely resembles the statistically likely outcome of a natural mating, if it could be successful, but without the deleterious effects of random recombination without sufficient redundancy. Personally, I would recommend against that option because it means that we'd be entering uncharted territory. I like testing and experimentation as much as the next person, but not on a living patient."

Aurora shook her head. “No, it may give us the closest true representation, but I’m not willing to risk our baby’s health and well-being.” She looked at Anna then at Savar. “I want to go with a half Betazoid, half Vulcan.”

"A most wise decision Aurora. I also am not willing to risk our baby's health. A half Betazoid, half Vulcan child will be the union of both of us. I am quite comfortable with this decision." Savar answered.

Aurora nodded. “Then our minds are made up” she looked at Anna.

"Then we can get started whenever you feel like it", Anna said. "I can replicate the DNA, grow the foetus for a bit in the lab, and implant it. Meanwhile, you'll be taking some hormones so that your body will be ready for pregnancy."

"Very good Doctor. How long will you need to grow the foetus before you implant it into Aurora?" Savar asked the CMO.

"A couple of days will do", Anna said. "Just long enough to make sure it'll survive to eventually become a person, not just some weird cell goo. I'm sure you'd rather have this succeed on the first try, no?"

Aurora nodded excitedly. “It’s going to be a long couple of days! Will you need to take genetic samples from the two of us?”

"Let's have a look at your cycle first, see when the least intrusive point will be", Anna suggested. She grabbed a tricorder and ran a scan. This was simple stuff, no need to trouble a biobed over it. "We should be able to do this this week, and then you'll be pregnant for the usual duration... whatever the usual duration is a for a Vulcan-Betazoid hybrid. There's not much precedent. But I will be monitoring the development of the baby, and make sure the proper time of birth won't be missed."

Aurora smiled excitedly a few emotional tears twinkling in her eyes. “We’ll be having a baby!” She looked at Savar. “Our own baby!”

Savar took Aurora's hand and squeezed if softly, gently, "Indeed we are Aurora." he replied as he took his other hand and wiped her tears away. "Our own miracle." He answered quietly.