Your Body Is a Battleground

[Lorna DeLaTour]

A few months had passed since Lorna had moved to Jovan station. She didn't regret her choice to accept the work offer but she would be lying if she tried to deny she missed outdoors and even space travel. She felt confined aboard the space station, even though it was a spacious one, full of so many species mingling with one another. She loved cosmopolitan opportunities, because she was a firm believer that people could gain from knowing about other cultures. For sure, it could be challenging, and sometimes even dangerous with certain idiotic individuals when put in the same setting with belligerent ones; but she still felt passionate about such things.

Her background working with different species had also seen her help with different medical facilities aboard Jovan Station, which also kept things fresh, at least as much as it was possible in space. Today, she had been summoned to one of the med bays in the ambassador sector. The last time she had been there, a reluctant Bothan had given her trouble until she was able to quiet him when trading childhood stories. The things a patient could need never ceased to amaze Lorna, and it was also why she loved her career, besides helping people.

Upon entering the building, the receptionist greeted her and directed her to the level and room where she would receive her patient of the day. Still curious as to what had brought her here, Lorna went to the appointed area. Putting her personal effects aside, she briefly wished she had got some stim caf. She had worked late the previous night and had thus skipped her morning run. She was alert enough to do her job, but the extra kick would have been welcome. She would see whether it would be a matter of breakfast or lunch, depending what was up with the patient.

A medical droid showed up and gave her a datapad with the file of the patient she was to see. Walking to the medical station to check everything was in order, Lorna realized that old habits died hard. Although she didn't risk malfunctions in this medical facility, having worked many charity missions with improbable equipment had made her inclined to triple check everything.

She heard the door open behind her, and turned to look, curious whether the medical personnel had something else to add, or whether it was her patient.

[Camile Saccard]

The opening door revealed not one of Lorna’s colleagues, but a patient. She wore a flight jacket, decorated with a fan-like insignia on the chest, and a simple body glove and black boots beneath. Her blonde hair remained tied back in the usual, functional tail, though a few errant strands had escaped. With red-ringed eyes and splotches of a red rash on her face, her expression was one of obvious frustration.

“Doctor? Please help.”

[Lorna DeLaTour]

When Lorna realized it was her patient, she brought up the woman's file to the nearby monitor. Already mulling over what she just saw, she gestured towards the examination table.

"Please sit... Captain Saccard," she added having seen the woman's name from the corner of her eye. In a few minutes she hadn't had time to check. Sanitizing her hands as she stepped back for the other blonde to get ready for examination, she looked at the little information there was on the file. That felt like classified information, which wasn't the first time she went through such things, especially having worked with some ambassadors so far.

"I'm Dr. DeLaTour," she said briefly, for the woman wasn't here for small talk. Bringing a light to have a better look at the rash, she inwardly mused how rashes could be everything from nothing to really bad, but if there had been a real anxiety over the situation, the woman would have been quarantined.

"When did the rash start? On what part of your body?"

[Camile Saccard]

The medical file on Camile Saccard was brief. Aside from a report on an initial examination conducted on her arrival into Alliance space, there was a brief profile that included her vitals, blood pressure, and a few other measurements.

NAME: Saccard, Camile
SEX: Female
AGE: 32
SPECIES: Hapan (humanoid)
ORIGIN WORLD: Hapes Cluster, Relephon
OCCUPATION: Military officer
PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS: None declared
ON-GOING COURSES OF MEDICINE: None declared
NEXT OF KIN: Unknown - see station naval command in event of emergency
WEEKLY ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION: x
WEEKLY NARCOTICS CONSUMPTION: x
SEXUAL HEALTH: x

x - patient declined to answer. Need to arrange Hapan translator for next visit, I think.

“It began not long after I arrived on this station,” she said, through sniffs and in thickly accented Basic. "It goes sometimes for days or weeks, and then - poof," she gestured in irritation at her face. "Again. Always on my face or my hands."

[Lorna DeLaTour]

The patient's file was minimal, but provided the answer about the origin of the accent. Lorna had never got to treat a Hapan before and had only briefly met one of the kind. It had been a male who had believed that being outside of the Consortium meant he could walk all over women. Poor little thing had learned some hard lessons that day.

"When did you arrive? Did anything change in your life here? Do you eat or drink something new? Have you had new sexual partners?"

Since it stated that no prescription was ongoing, and that the other questions hadn't been answered, the blonde nevertheless tried to get some answers. She knew too well how some people wouldn't declare certain things upon early checkups, which could complicate their doctors' life later on, but that was another topic.

Having worked on so many worlds, her voice was naturally articulated and easy to understand. The only times where her Raaltiir accent would crop up was when she was either very excited or very pissed. Neither was the case at the moment.

Lorna had a couple of ideas of what might be causing the rash, and Saccard's answers would hopefully give her some further insight.

[Camile Saccard]

“It has been… less than half a year since I came here.”

Had anything changed in her life? What a question. Her steady climb through the ranks of the Hapan Navy had been brought to an abrupt halt, as the Admiralty had, under the guise of a reward, recommended Camile for a posting aboard a ship full of males and non-Hapans.

“I had not left the Cluster before this time. It was my first time meeting foreign... aliens. Here, the food is either still alive or too bland.”

The people are also too bland, she thought, and that accounted for the last thing she said:

“I have had no sex since joining your Alliance.”

[Lorna DeLaTour]

Lorna couldn't help agreeing with Saccard's remark about the food. That was a rather accurate observation, although Lorna had lived on bland ration bars more often than not during certain missions.

She nodded to the other blonde's answers. "Thank you. I'm going to do a general physical examination, and do a skin test, and run some blood work."

She paused as she stepped closer to Saccard. "The check-up and tests will confirm, but you're a good candidate at some sort of allergic reactions. Once we figure out exactly what, we will be able to have you back to normal."

The half-Lorrdian couldn't help being reminded that lack of sex had definitely been part of her experience on Jovan. Not that she needed strings of lovers to be satisfied at all times, but she did miss that sometimes, along with real outdoors. Other than that, her time on Jovan had been a good and productive one so far.

[Camile Saccard]

An allergic reaction? Camile wrinked her nose a little at the thought of it, yet if it were true, she would not be surprised in the least. It was a miracle that she had not fallen prey to some alien infection already.

“Bon. How do we begin? Should I be naked?”

[Lorna DeLaTour]

"It is not necessary per se. Under garments don't get in my way, if you wear any."

Lorna let Saccard do as she saw fit. The blonde doctor had seen so many variations about what one culture wore and what it didn't that she was ready for whatever. And her knowledge of Hapan lingerie was quite nonexistent, military or not.

She entered the tests she wanted to pursue on the nearby examination machine, so the results would be processed as efficiently as possible, once she would have got the required samples.

[Camile Saccard]

Camile’s attention followed the doctor, and when no further instruction was forthcoming, she shrugged out of her flight jacket and tossed it onto a nearby chair. The form-fitting bodyglove would stay on.

“Where should I be?”

[Lorna DeLaTour]

"Please seat on the examination table, facing me," Lorna replied. She assessed the body-glove, which was definitely form-fitting. While her behavior was strictly professional, as it was her nature, Lorna would have been a bloody liar if she had tried to deny she found the Hapan very attractive, even with a rash. About anyone with such a skin issue would have looked ridiculous, but Saccard still managed to be stunning. All those legends about Hapan women might just be true after all.

"Please extend your arm so I can draw some blood," she added, tools in hand, the action not taking long. The doctor went to get the tests going on the nearby medical machine, before returning to Saccard,

Her next step was to check the different spots with the rash. "Most of them look allergy-induced, but certain spots look slightly different, like on your left forearm," she explained. "Did you get all the required vaccines upon arrival to the station?" It should be a yes, but Lorna had already seen a few cases of people not being as up-to-date as they were supposed to.

[Camile Saccard]

While the doctor inputted something into one of her machines, Camile perched on the end of the examination table and resisted the urge to sniff and swipe at her stinging eyes. Fingers curled around the edge of the table, he leant a fraction to one side to peer at whatever the doctor was working with. Was the standard of medical science within the Alliance as sophisticated as that practised inside the Consortium? With only basic combat medical training, it was hard to tell.

When Lorna turned around, Camile sat up straight again, shoulders back and her posture that level of perfection that only a life in the military could achieve.

“Vaccines?” She paused, long enough to parse the word from Basic into Hapan. “Uh, some, yes. ”

Lifting her left arm, Camile inspected her reddened skin with a suspicious frown.

"Am I allergic to this place?"

[Lorna DeLaTour]

Whoever had taken care of Saccard's initial visit was not someone Lorna would recommend. It was a botched medical report. "Your medical file upon arrival on Jovan is incomplete, but I believe you didn't receive the Cizeri flu vaccine. These different spots are quite telling."

When the medical machine dinged, Lorna turned on her heels and checked the results. At least in this medical section, the technology was doing its job. "You definitely didn't receive the immunization." Lorna frowned at the readings before looking back at Saccard.

"I recommend getting the vaccine now. You already have the Cizeri flu, and it must have been ongoing for a while. You don't need quarantine of any kind, but I'll prescribe you some medication for the upcoming ten days."

Lorna returned back to Saccard's question. "You might still have mild allergic reactions to the Cizeri population, but we will take care of this after we get the flu out of your system."

[Camile Saccard]

Opening her mouth to ask a question, Camile was cut short by a sneeze.

“Cizeree,” she said in a whispered sigh, after composing herself. The word might as well have been a curse. She could hardly walk a step on the station without bumping into a Cizerack, and her brief time aboard the Novgorod had been spent in close quarters with one of their kind. Of course she had caught something from them.

“Please do whatever is necessary, doctor.”

[Lorna DeLaTour]

When Saccard agreed with her recommendation, Lorna retrieved a vaccine from the storage cabinet further into the medical room. She shortly administered the shot to the Hapan. "You can put your jacket back on."

Looking back at the results one more time on the screen, she transferred some information and prescription on a datachip, which she handed to Saccard. "I've updated your file in the system, but made you a copy. I will get you the couple of medications you will be on for a week. After that, I'll need you to come back for a follow-up. By then, I will be able to determine for sure whether you have any further allergy."

She paused for a moment, considering an other thing. "Do you have any ointment to help with the rash. If not, and if you'd want one, I can provide you with one before you leave."

[Camile Saccard]

Shrugging back into the flight jacket, Camile stuffed the datachip into a pocket. At the word ‘ointment’, she looked up and nodded an affirmative.

“Am I,” she paused, casting about in her mind for the right word. “Contaga, um, how is it... contagious?”

[Lorna DeLaTour]

"You're not contagious anymore." Lorna paused for a moment. "Are there any other Hapans stationed here with you? If so, it is possible they have the flu as well, once any of you caught it."

She reviewed a couple of details on her datapad, glad that Jovan Station provided decent medication. She had dealt with much more limited or weaker options during some of her career.

"One thing regarding your prescription. If you start having acute headaches, stop taking your medication and come back to the medbay."

[Camile Saccard]

“There are no other Hapans here,” Camile said, with an unrestrained sigh. “Only me.”

While straightening out her jacket, she nodded along with the last of the doctors instruction. She glanced at a wall-mounted clock in the doctor’s office.

“I have seven more hours off duty. Can I drink alcohol with this medication?”

[Lorna DeLaTour]

Lorna could understand the isolation, although it had been years since she had consciously got out of her element over and over again. The day she realized that imperial mindset was not for her, she knew that it would severe ties with her youth. She hadn't committed to the Alliance until accepting the position on Jovan station, but she had certainly stayed away from imperial territory for the most part. Yet, she didn't comment on Saccard's words about being the only Hapan on the station. She simply nodded as she began shutting the work station down.

She had no reason to stay at the facility longer for she had taken care of the Hapan. Gathering her belongings, she shook her head at the question. "No alcohol while you're on this prescription. And avoiding any sort of stimulant would be better too, though not mandatory."

She subtly shrugged at the mention of off duty. "Off duty used to sound better when there were actual outdoors to enjoy," she quipped. As much as her work was interesting on Jovan, she had never been stuck indoors that much, even when traveling from one world to the other.

[Camile Saccard]

No alcohol, no stimulants. That meant at least a fortnight of sobriety, on board a station that did not engender a desire to be sober in the captain. It wasn't that she was a lush or even a regular drinker - and station wouldn't import any decent Hapan wine or brandy - but it was sometimes cathartic to end the day with a glass of something warming. She watched as the doctor began to gather up her belongings, evidently finished her shift for the day.

“You are also off-duty,” she said, stating the obvious. Eyes slightly narrowed, Camile studied the doctor for a moment.

“Would you like to have dinner?” she asked, and then just as matter-of-factly added, “Or we can fuck, if you’re not hungry.”