A visit to the flesh works

Posted on Sun Aug 12th, 2018 @ 5:15pm by Lieutenant Commander Ariana Monroe-Wayne & Jacaranda
Edited on on Sun Aug 12th, 2018 @ 5:17pm

1,850 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 95 - Helping Old Friends
Location: Starbase 400 Sickbay
Timeline: MD10

While Jaca was perfectly content to be at her forge, when presented with the chance to see a Federation Fleshworks, she jumped at it. She’d never seen one, and only knew second and third hand stories that they were nothing like the fleshworks of her people because Federation fleshcrafters hadn’t the faintest notion about the art. Even though her reason was to confirm an order with one of the nurses which needed an answer quicker than a left message, she was going to drag out being here to sightsee.

Once her main reason was finished, and all that remained was swinging by a couple living quarters to confirm someone would be home for delivery, as discreetly as a bloodred-skinned horned woman in metal shod boots could be, she began casually looking around. It truly was nothing like the fleshworks of her people. No bubbling vats of biomatter ready to be purposed, no racks for limbs or bodies to be hung while the nerve relays were connected and tested, no anatomy tapestries on display. It was a marvel that Federation fleshcrafters could mend anything at all.

Ariana noticed someone different walking around in sickbay she wasn't sure whether to ask if some help was required or not her Counselling instincts were to ask and see. As the stranger approached the door to her room she smiled "Are you alright?, you look a little... lost"

Jaca was still a bit enthralled with exploring. “Can’t be lost when exploring.”, she said in the standard display of Djabul logic. She turned to face the woman speaking to her. “Hello.”, she said, remembering her manners, then looked down to her swelling belly, “Hello to you, Sweetling.”

Ariana couldn’t help but smile “Hello to you too I’m Ariana Monroe I’m Chief Counsellor here on the station at least I will be when I get back to work.”

“Why aren’t you working?”, Jaca asked, her very limited knowledge of counselors were they were an outsider thing, and all they did was let one talk until they figured a problem out, “You look fine.”

"Oh I..." she paused for a moment, "there was a problem with my pregnancy... I lost my one of my twins." She hoped she wouldn't be forever explaining about her loss to everyone.

It was tempting to ask more questions, but this had the thoughtfeel of when years ago talking with Maria and realizing death was different for outsiders. Since the Djabul started to breed true, that opened the door for the risks of pregnancy. Those were dealt with in the same unchoose method they took with anything that didn’t work as desired, and since outsiders had no grasp on unchoosing, Jaca wasn’t going to open that discussion. She nodded in simple acceptance of the explanation and continued on.

“They will keep you here long?”, she asked since with the fleshworks back home, once you were fixed, you were out the door.

"I was kept in to recover but hopefully I'll be allowed out soon" she smiled politely.

“I would think it would be better for healing to be home.”, Jaca said, “Surrounded by family and friends, have good home cooked food, sleep in your own bed. Be better than all this…bland”

"I like the way you think" Ariana grinned, "Sickbay can be a bit of a boring place sometimes but I'd rather have the doctor's permission to leave than risk any more harm."

It still made little sense to Jaca. “I think Outsider ways will always be strange to me. For as much as my friend Maria explains them to me, they still make little to no sense.”

"Well what is it that confuses you about us?" she grinned "maybe I can help you with trying to understand."

“Where to begin?”, Jaca said as she pulled over a chair, pretty eager to talk like this with someone who might have a different perspective than Maria. If she was able to have a tube of sweetsmoke herbs, she would have lit up. “I’m not sure how much you know of my people. Compared to outsiders, we are latecomers to forms like this. Why do you not even practice crafting shape for need or function?”, she asked, “I’ve been told you don’t do this because of some war made from fleshcrafted centuries ago. But if you now know what could have been done differently, why still avoid it?”

"You mean genetics..." Ariana made herself mire comfortable "It's something that's considered unwanted & unwarranted, for us to meddle with the genetic way of things can lead to unknown consequences. There are those who have considered it and even tried it but that lead to serious consequences, might I suggest you look up Khan Noonien Singh it may give you some idea of what makes the Federation so jittery about the subject."

"That’s still confusing.”, Jaca said, “My Mother’s flesh died from a strange ailment, and she still strongly insisted we get fixed to be resistant to what her flesh died from. Now she just nags about grandchildren.”

Ariana nodded, "I guess in such cases something like genetic manipulation maybe warranted by its not something that's considered ethical amongst the medical profession. To interfere with the natural causes of death is highly frowned upon and although most people do live relatively long lives death is the natural outcome.

It wasn’t the first time Jaca had heard the word ethics, and she was still mystified on the meaning as she had been the first time she heard it. “I still don’t see why that’s frowned on if someone wants that option.”, she said. It was an understandable perception as the concept of ethics as seen by non-Djabul made absolutely no sense to the once reality warping non-corporeal species.

"I guess I can understand that & I wish I could give you a definitive answer about it but it just is how it is at least amongst the Federation anyway."

“My grandsire explains it as ‘they are of one kind and we are of another’. That’s about as much of a reason as any.”, Jaca said, “Probably why our peoples can be friends enough to trade, but joining the Federation is out of the question.” The thought, however, of the Federation legal team who drafted the trade agreement to the point of developing migraines and ulcers having to handle membership discussions sounded hysterical.

"Well everyone is different maybe joining the Federation will come at some point in the future but for now friendship is the best way to go" Ariana smiled warmly.

Jaca nodded as the subject was more suited to the Thinker and Keeper castes for discussion. “When you are let away from here, do you have a place?”, she asked as the things which they’d been discussing had no basic answers, so why not shift to a new topic.

"I do..." she smiled as she thought about Marcus, "I'm going to be staying with my boyfriend Marcus."

“Ah.”, Jaca said, with a needley toothed smile, “I am a partner in the Curious Goods store on the Promenade if you were interested in anything to enhance the place.” While not a classic sales pitch, at least it was name dropping the store.

"With your friend Maria?, I was lucky enough to meet her & her son Roberto on the promenade" she smiled. "I will make a point of visiting your store on my next shopping trip."

“Maria’s one of the first good friends I made when I first left home, and I’ve watched Roberto grow from being an adorable lumpling to the sweetling he is now.”, Jaca said, “They are practically family to me.” She wasn’t sure if others had the concept of bond-family like Maria’s did, so she wasn’t going to bring up the subject.

"I can understand that" she smiled warmly, "Roberto is certainly a cute little lad, I had to look after him for a few minutes while I located Maria he managed to get himself lost. It was nice to meet them both."

“He does love exploring. So did I at that stage.”, Jaca said, “My father got into the habit of taking wing to look for me when he’d do a headcount of us and I wasn’t there.”

"Children do wonder and there are so many things to lure them" she grinned "I'm looking forward to having this little one in several months time."

Jaca thought to all Maria’s stories of not enough sleep and being fussy, but as she had none of her own, it would be rude to make comment. “How much longer to go?”, she asked.

"I have another seven months yet, Betazoid's have a ten month gestation period so I still have the most part to go yet." she smiled warmly.

"I've not been around your people much.", Jaca admitted. Closest was a shared memory from an Elder about outsiders with mindgifts having this inconvenient and messy habit of having their heads explode around the Djabul of that era. "I wouldn't mind knowing more."

Ariana smiled “What is it you’d like to know? I guess the basic information about our mindgifts, as you put it, is that I’m telepathic and empathic. All Betazoids have the same abilities usually developed at puberty although there are cases that are different.”

“I want to know as much as you wish to share?”, Jaca said, her mind brimming with questions, “I’ve never even been to your world.”

"Well I can go one better than that" Ariana smiled, "I'll get you some information all about Betazed and Betazoids and if you have any questions you can feel free to come and see me."

“Perfect.”, Jaca said with an eager gleam to her eyes as if a contract was just signed in blood before her, “I’ll try to not be a bother with questions.”

“No bother at all” Ariana smiled, “If you have questions then do feel free to ask” she picked up one of the PADDs she had beside her and typed something into it checking what was there before handing it to Jaca “Here you go, There’s a whole host of information on there and not just about Betazoids but other species in the Federation as well.”

Jaca took the PADD, “I’ve mostly just been observing as I go sice I left home. Haven’t really read things from Outsider perspective.” The extent she had was Linefounder’s memories and a very twitchy Starfleet diplomat’s basic presentation as preparations. It would be interesting to see things from a different view.

“Well if you want any other information just let me know” Ariana grinned, “I have plenty of information on various subjects .”

“I will be taking you up on that offer.”, Jaca said with a grin.

"Wonderful" Ariana grinned, "like I said I'm always around if you have any questions."

Jaca nodded. This was looking like the start of a new friendship.

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