"Red Gold"
[Previous post: 'Operational Blockade']
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Stardate: 10298.1918
Setting: Deck 13, Crew Gymnasium
Unaware of the chance meeting between the Ops Officer and CO, and its outcome, Lea had gone ahead with the hunt for a blood sample that could be used. Since obtaining a DNA sample directly from the ILO was out of the question, the Assistant CMO had sought out the closest blood relative. This had led Lea here, to the ship's gymnasium.
As an ExO, Cmdr. Rikar had to maintain an image of seriousness and professionalism, but as a mother those perceptions mattered little. From one of the benches set against the walls of the gym, Lea watched as mother and child enjoyed some quality time. Most 4 years old girls would have been happy strolling through a field of wildflowers, but Talia was no ordinary child. The daughter of the ILO clearly appeared more interested in physical activities usually reserved for older boys.
With her right leg tucked beneath her, Lea watched the ExO play with her daughter, seeing the influence of her biological mother in the child's upbringing. Getting a sample of blood from a child would have been a difficult task under any normal circumstances. The simple proximity of either parent made the undertaking a perilous one, but dealing with a child able to defend herself as Talia had demonstrated didn't make things any easier.
A very well place blow to the ExO's left knee made the assistant CMO wince. Had Talia been slightly stronger, Sabrina would have likely ended up in Sickbay with a dislocated joint. With each blow that followed Lea understood that getting a blood sample from the child would not be as easy as she might have thought it to be. Even faced with the possibility of physical injuries, the Ensign figured that her odds were better than going toe to toe with the ILO.
While trying to remember where she had heard the name of the ILO before, and why Lea knew it to mean trouble, the Assistant CMO continued to watch the mother and child. Going up to the ExO and asking permission to draw a blood sample had been out of the question. It had been easy to see that the Ops officer had not wanted the higher steps of the ship's hierarchy to know about this. So Lea was forced to search for an alternate way to conquer this strange and uncommon obstacle.
The screams of a young child made Lea snap to her feat. Several of her memories had been erased when she had left NEW ALEXANDRIA, but responding to a medical emergency had not been amongst them. Rushing to the side of the 4 year old girl, the assistant CMO quickly figured out what had happened. Either because of a block or because Sabrina had moved out of the way, Talia had tripped on the edge of the mats and landed face first on the hard floor. As saddening as the sight was though, Lea could not help but smile. The force of the impact had caused the child's nose to bleed and deposit a more than generous sample right there for the taking.
"She'll be all right," Sabrina said, looking at the Assistant CMO with puzzlement. It was nice to see such a quick reaction, but the injury had by no mean required the level of response that Lea had given.
Eventually Lea gave in and allowed the mother to take care of her child. The Assistant CMO knew that Cmdr. Rikar possessed an extensive medical background, so the safety of the girl had not been in question. So with the situation under control, Lea turned her attention to the mess that had been left behind. Quickly scooping up a perfectly white towel from one of the piles set for those who needed them, Lea took on the task of cleaning the floor of the shiny ruby liquid that had been left behind.
"That was very nice of you to do," a man wearing the garments of an Engineer said, "but you didn't have to do that. I could have called for a cleaning team to get that."
Lea, holding on to the dirty towel with an iron grip just smiled. "It was no trouble. No trouble at all."
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Tiffany Rose {lady_tiffany_rose@mail.com}
Ensign Lea Summers
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS ANUBIS
2005 post #030
