It has come to our attention... (part 2 of 2)

Posted on 28 Nov 2014 @ 10:54pm by Lieutenant Tuula Voutilainen M.D. & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Lieutenant Olsam Mott

1,965 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 07 - Sojourn
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 3, Sickbay
Timeline: MD04 - 0655 hrs

Previously...

"One mocha latte, with a double shot of espresso. And a whipped topping." As the drink materialized, she took it in her hand and turned back to her colleagues. "I've got that progress report on Abbey's recovery ready for your review, Dr. Mott, and..." Tuula paused, seeing in the eyes of her colleagues that something wasn't quite right. "...what?"

And now, the conclusion...

"Please, join us," Olsam said flatly, though he smiled perfunctorily as he motioned to the empty space next to him in the CMO's office. "We have some concerns we'd like to discuss with you." He tilted his head to the side, reflecting on what he said, then frowned. "I mean, not professional concerns. You're a fine doctor. Personal concerns. Not bad concerns, like your hygiene is fine, just other stuff that has come to our attention and, yes, well..."

Olsam let the sentence drift off, as if he wasn't sure what to say.

"What kind of concerns?" asked Tuula, her eyes narrowing, focusing intently on the Bolian who appeared to be at a loss for words -- a rare situation for any Bolian to be in.

Allyndra shook her head as Tuula came in and Mott bumbled in his sweet way he had through things. She waved a had to the area and said, "Mott has a questions concerning your mental outlook based upon recent crew addition and your medical record." There get it out and settled rather then dance around. Guild Mother had always said there was no reason to spend half a day wind walking to get a Baylet fruit when you could just shake the tree.

"My mental outlook?" Tuula's eyes darted back towards Allyndra, squinting, as she tried to figure out what she was getting at. "Wait, does this have to do with the incident with the commodore? What does my medical record have to do with that?"

"No, no," Allyndra shook her head and then looked to Mott, he had after all brought this up so let him explain. "Mott care to elucidate your concerns you shared with me so we are all on the same page."

"Well," Olsam said, shifting his eyes from Tuula to Allyndra and back again. "I've become a little concerned about you... You haven't been quite yourself on duty and even less off duty. I had thought to just leave Zuwtt and the pregnancy and all that as things of the past, but I became concerned over the changes in your behavior and felt that might have something to do with it. I did a little digging into your medical record where, naturally, I discovered the abortion. But, perhaps more disturbing, a series of separate but related minor injuries." Olsam reached out and stretched across Allyndra's desk, taking the PADD he'd handed to her and transferring it to Tuula. "Forensic analysis is a hobby of mine, so it didn't take too much investigation to establish what appears to be a pattern of physical abuse."

Allyndra added, "And I am concerned if this relationship with a Bolian is affecting how you interact with Mott."

"You looked through my medical records?!" exclaimed Tuula, in a shocked an angry tone, as she stared down at the data on the PADD. It was all there in black and white. "I can't believe you would violate my privacy like this, and... and..."

Stammering, and at a loss for words, it was then that Tuula finally broke down. "He came to my quarters the other day. Jaana let him in. I had never told her. About anything." She was choking back tears, and looked up at Mott for some reassurance before looking back down at the PADD again. "I chased him out with a knife."

That was definitely a revelation and one that Allyndra noted in her mind. The fact that the crewman had shown up and knowing the previous results of the relationship to the point that Tuula felt threatened enough to feel the need to threaten force did not bode well. It was something she was going to have to take up with the Executive Officer. A forced transfer of one or the other was going to be the probable result.

Olsam just looked at Tuula, as if she'd said she kindly showed Zuwtt to the door. Sometimes people got chased out of quarters with knives; it had even happened to him a few times. It was a fact of life in the Milky Way Galaxy. There was nothing to be too alarmed about unless someone actually got stabbed and it was more than just a flesh wound.

Allyndra steepled her hands, "And the pregnancy? Did this also contribute to your feelings as well?"

"That was..." Tuula wiped away a tear and refocused herself, looking up to her mentor for courage. "That was when I escaped. I knew then that I couldn't have raised a child with him, and if I stayed with him a moment longer, he would have ruined my life. So... I left."

"I see..." Allyndra nodded. She then leaned forward. "And the child what happened there?" Allyndra already knew the answer but wanted Tuula to say it.

"You've seen my medical records, you know what happened," Tuula replied. She gripped the wheels of her chair and sat up straight. "I did what I had to do. I went to a clinic in Helsinki and terminated the pregnancy."

"Yes, I have." It was just a statement and Allyndra glanced at Mott and then back to Tuula. "I am surprised tell you the truth that you even got pregnant with a Bolian. They have remarkable a remarkable chemical makeup but it is generally debilitating to non-Bolians. I can cite you several pieces of literature but almost universally any successful mating between a non-Bolian and a Bolian results in the fetuses death. In the case of maternal non-Bolian the formation of the partial Bolian genetics results in spontaneous abortion."

Allyndra put a hand out to take Tuula's. "I am not sure you knew that, but in any case I want to let you know that you should feel no guilt over the termination since it would have ended anyway. I am no longer officially a counselor but I do know that these things can weigh on the mind. The child would never have survived."

Olsam nodded, as if there needed to be any additional confirmation.

Tuula placed her hands in her lap and sighed, making a point of not taking the hand that Allyndra offered. "I don't feel guilty, regardless of whether the fetus was half-Bolian or not, and I shouldn't have to," she replied, her voice betraying a slight irritation with Allyndra's reaction and her assumption that that was her main problem. Seeing a hint of dismay on Allyndra's face, Tuula reached for her hand. "Even if Zuwtt weren't a horrible, abusive pig, I was on the waiting list for three different medical schools. There was no way I could have balanced that and raising a child all by myself." She looked into Allyndra's eyes. "I don't feel bad about the decisions I made. They were the right decisions at the time. It's just..." Tuula broke eye contact for a moment, to look down at the floor and surreptitiously wipe away a tear. "It's Jaana. I never told her, not until the night Zuwtt came to our quarters."

"Huh," Olsam said, eloquently, looking between the two. "If I dated a horrible, abusive pig who impregnated me before medical school then I probably wouldn't have told my sister, either. Not that I really tell her much of anything, anyway; she's such a gossip. Also, I can't get pregnant - I'm a male - so I guess I'd never really have to be in the position of making the decision or telling my sister." Miraculously stopping himself, for once, Olsam cleared his throat before continuing. "But, uh, as I was saying... She's upset with you though, for not telling her sooner?"

"She's..." Tuula took a deep breath, trying to stifle a little chuckle at Mott's antics. He could always be counted on to inadvertently lighten the mood, even in situations as weighty as this one. Her face turned serious again. "Jaana has some... different opinions... than I do on this subject." Tears began to form again in Tuula's eyes. "She didn't take the news well. She told me she needed to find a place to think and walked out of our quarters. Since then, she hasn't said more than two words to me and she's been working late every night, like she's avoiding me." Tuula was quickly going into full on crying mode. "She just doesn't understand; I love her, but she can be so stubborn sometimes, and so set in her beliefs."

Olsam's brow creased, and he exchanged a look with Allyndra. "She doesn't approve of...what? The abortion, or the relationship with Zuwtt? That you didn't stab him? I don't follow..."

"The abortion," said Tuula, bawling into her hands. Her attempts to hide her emotions over the past few days had all but gone out the airlock. "I just wish she would understand."

"I see," Allyndra commented after hearing the deeper explanation. "It was your choice and no other and as I said, and if need be remind her that the chances of a successful pregnancy were nil. Now then I still have to ask you does your experience with Zuwtt colour how you perceive or work with Olsam?"

"Doctor Mott is wonderful," said Tuula. "He's friendly, supportive, and caring, and he's great to work with." She wiped away her tears and shot Mott a quick smile. "He's nothing like Zuwtt at all."

Allyndra nodded assured that the working relationship seemed to be intact. She looked over at Olsam to see if he had anything more to add.

"Yes, I'm clearly the superior Bolian on the ship," Olsam agreed, nodding his head. As the silence stretched on and Allyndra turned to look at him, he realized he was supposed to say something more. "Uh, well, Tuula... I'm very sorry for your problems with Ensign Voutilainen and the impact they've been having on your personal and professional life. If you'd like, I'd be happy to have a word with her. And if it's necessary, I can go to the captain about...Zuwtt." The Bolian physician curled his lip and practically spit the word out like a curse. "I'm already going to turn him in to the Bolian State Council for Culture and recommend an immediate writ of censure be issued for his defamation of the Bolian people, but if his continued presence on this ship will cause a problem for you then I'll press for his transfer."

"You'd do that for me?" asked Tuula, as she wiped away the tears. "Thank you, Dr. Mott!" she exclaimed as she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Mott's rotund figure, pressing her head against his belly in an effort to give him a hug. "Thank you so much! You're the best mentor ever!"

Allyndra was pleased. There was no doubt that the Bolian doctor was everything Tuula's ex was not.

"Well, yes, I suppose I am," Olsam said, somehow managing to sound humble despite the content of the statement. He reached out to rub Tuula's shoulders in a friendly gesture, evidently completely comfortable with the situation. After all, it wasn't the first time he'd had a student clinging to his belly, and he doubted it would be the last.

[OFF]

Lt Cmdr Allyndra illm Warraquim
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (J.G.) Tuula Voutilainen, M.D.
Medical Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Olsam Mott, M.D.
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

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