Joint Personal Log - LtCmdr Rogers & Fabla - "Brother Bought A Coconut, He Bought It for A Dime"

Posted on 241407.20 @ 1:02am by Civilian Fabla & Lieutenant Scarlet Rogers MD

Fabla wandered through the Enterprise for a while, just getting a feel for the magnificent ship that she'd call home when Tierney didn't have her and the freighter out appropriating goods. The sleek designs of Starfleet was a welcome change from the dim and dingy motif that had dominated the ships and homes she'd been forcefully subjected to over the last decade.

Fabla stopped when she noticed a label on the door she was passing said Sickbay. It occurred to her she'd never had proper confirmation for why she wasn't able to manipulate men like the other women of her species, though she suspected it was something about her pheromones either being off, or just not being produced. Her owners over the years never bothered to question it, they just enjoyed their Orion plaything that they could actually control.

Fabla strode into sickbay, and looked for the doctor.

Scarlet had had a truly memorable night with Thelin and knew she would be called away at some point today, but until then, remained working at her usual post. She walked in not long after Fabla and noticed the Orion just stood there, "Can I help you?"

"Are you the doctor?" Fabla looked at the woman who'd just entered. The uniforms, and decorations on them, meant nothing to Fabla. She'd had no dealings with Starfleet before this.

"I'm Doctor Rogers, I'm in charge of this medical bay," Scarlet offered a warm smile, "Welcome aboard." Though Scarlet still felt a little off about there being strangers on board, she still did her job and attempted to remain open minded.

"I, uh, thank you," Fabla answered. Everyone was so nice here, a refreshing change from getting barked at and ordered around for so long. "I was wondering if you might be able to help me explain something unusual about myself, probably involving my pheromones?"

"Certainly," Scarlet looked around quickly to find a quiet part of the medical bay and led the way to an empty biobed, patting on it. "Take a seat," Scarlet said as she herself sat on a cabinet opposite.

Fabla gracefully sat down where directed, and waited for the doctor to get settled before she spoke, "As you may or may not know, Orion pheromones are, um, potent. To the point where we usually have any male within our influence easily, and most females avoid us because of the splitting headaches... That has never worked for me."

"Are you suggesting a hormone deficiency?" Scarlet questioned.

"I am not sure." Fabla shrugged. "I do not really know much, other than my people abandoned me when I was not able to do what was normally as easy as breathing for the women of my species. I have tried to read up out of curiosity, but when someone sees you as property, they get a little uncomfortable with you knowing anything they do not feel is a direct benefit to themselves. As far as I can tell, I am otherwise healthy though."

"Answer me this," Scarlet pondered, "If I found out what was wrong with you and could 'fix' it, would you want me to?"

"Would I...?" Fabla half repeated, making a face. Then it occurred to her why the doctor was asking. She would pose a threat to the safety of the ship if it were fixed. Fabla shook her head quickly. "After having been at the mercy and whim of others for so long, I would not want to do that to someone else... and while the men manipulated seem quite pleased by it, it is still a form of slavery."

"Let's take out the fact that it can hurt this ship if I helped you and your apparent past," She asked bluntly, "Would you want help?"

"I am not sure why those things should be removed from consideration." Fabla looked at the doctor sitting across from her, wondering why she was asking this. She bit her lip, fiddling with her hair before continuing. "I am a sum of my experiences, am I not? My people use the pheromones to control men, for this is as we have always done as long as our society remembers. We know no different being raised in that culture. I have a unique sets of experiences for one of my kind, and thus it changes my perspective.

"If my issue had been discovered before I left the home world, then it would not have even been a consideration if I were to be fixed or not. Either they would find something to fix it, or I would have been left with the men to serve as they do. With my experiences being what they are now, I would not want it fixed."

"Then why question it?" the young doctor shrugged, "Unless it's going to severely harm you in any way, you shouldn't fix what isn't broken. This makes you an individual in your own right. I can do tests, but I won't want to change anything. If you want, you can see the councillor about your deficiency and past. It may help you open up a bit and enable you to enjoy your new found freedom."

"It is mostly curiosity, really," Fabla demurred. "Though there is always a chance something else is wrong that I just do not know about yet."

"I can run the tests, but I remember doing case studies before," the doctor smiled as she picked up a PADD and started searching through it, "Yeah, 1 in a million have a deficiency. So, consider yourself special."

Fabla forced a polite smile, she could tell this doctor was intending this in a nice way, but all she could think about was how being special had left her as someone else's property. So she nodded at the doctor to agree to testing.

"Then I shall, but please don't consider the outcomes as a disability," Rogers gave the PADD to Fabla so she could read it before taking some blood for testing.

Fabla nodded again, skimming over the content of the PADD. When Dr. Rogers took the blood sample, Fabla watched with interest as her blood filled the vile on the device that drew the blood.

"It allowed me to see beyond my upbringing, even if the path was difficult," Fabla finally responded to the comment.

"You're on a new path now," Scarlet said as she attempted to find some life changing results for the Orion woman, "People are a bit more," she paused and looked over her shoulder and the woman, "open, here. They have respect for each and every member as long as it doesn't have anything to do with internal politics," Continuing her search Scarlet continued to try and reassure, "but you will find that where ever you go." Scarlet sighed.

"Even among property, the politics are never far. The elder slaves try to boss the younger, the new purchases are looked down upon by those who have been owned for generations," Fabla observed. "You would think they would realize it matters not, but even in their small pond some will try to be the big fish, as I have heard humans to say."

Scarlet chuckled, "Something along those lines." Scarlet turned back with a new PADD, "I was right. It's a deficiency." She paused and sat back on her perch, "You may find that even though it may not seem that it works, as I've read in case studies, there will be a time where it will come back. Like a glitch in a programme. You'll notice it, then you won't see it for a while, but it'll be back."

"Interesting. I shall have to be mindful of that then." Fabla looked down at the PADD in her hand. "May I borrow this, to try reading this study? I am unsure if I could understand the more... scientific terms, but I believe it would be informative to try."

"Do you not have one in your quarters?" Scarlet asked, "If not you can ask the computer in your room."

"I have access to a computer in my room?" Fabla's eyes widened at the prospect and she smiled. "I will look up the study from there, thank you doctor."

"Literally, just state 'Computer' and then tell it what you want," Scarlet smiled, "You'll get used to it eventually. There will always be people around to help, including myself. Though I am due for an away mission soon."

"Good luck on your mission," Fabla said with a smile. "And thank you for your help."

"No problem," she began and gestured towards the way out of the MedBay, "I hope you settle in well."

=/\= END LOG =/\=

Doctor Scarlet Rogers
Chief Medical Officer

Fabla
Civilian Pilot
The Freighter Figaro