Lieutenant Commander Ava Munro - Death, itself.
Luxa Lorana
(( First Officer’s Office - Deck 2, USS Artemis-A ))
Ava picked up the PADD as she began to identify parts and read them out, almost absentmindedly to remind herself. Vhysa'lia, the Kobali provisional officer, had made a detailed request to transfer from counselling to the medical department and Ava had spent some time reviewing the request the previous evening.
Munro: :: reviews the PADD :: Starfleet Medical have approved of your medical licence :: nods :: and verified your qualifications with the relevant authorities :: Looks to Vhysa'lia briefly :: I can only imagine that wasn't easy :: returns to PADD :: You've passed all your conversion practice as overseen by the Artemis medical team.
Vhysa'lia: ::nodding:: I’m glad to hear that, I had to study a bit of your Federation medical practices beforehand just to be sure I passed… It’s a bit different in the Delta Quadrant.
Ava nodded to the woman, and took the time to survey her more closely. She returned her attention back to her file and inhaled a breath. There was one file that Ava had yet to open due to its personal nature.
She thought of her own reflections earlier about the life that she had lived and the choices she had made. She couldn't help but wonder what a Kobali would think of this, they were ‘born’ from the ending of a life? To them, what has passed could symbolise renewal. And maybe that is true?
The old gives way to the new.
Munro: :: hesitant :: There's one note on your personnel file, from the Vulcan Science Academy? I imagine it's of a personal nature … given the origins of your :: winces:: birth? I'm sorry if that's not the term?
Vhysa'lia: ::grimacing, and holding herself tensely all of a sudden, hands worrying together:: Ah, my kyn’steya. Um… ::clearing her throat:: Whatever the note from them says, I would prefer not to know. Just… tell me if it’s going to cause any problems for my request? And then what I should do about it. ::pause:: Without the details.
oO kyn’steya Oo
Ava squirrelled the word away into her memory banks and would make an effort to do some research on Kobali culture - beyond the use of using deceased biomatter - that was better than thinking of it as people - in reproduction that is.
Munro: It's marked as personal, I do imagine that it has something to do with your … uhm … kyn’steya :: she hoped that she got it correct :: I am aware that she was conducting research for the Vulcan Science Academy in the Delta Quadrant when :: hesitates :: she died.
Ava leaned back in her chair as a series of emotions flashed across Vhysa'lia, and she knew when a nerve had been pushed. She wondered if the woman even knew the identity of her previous body, or as she termed it, her kyn'steya.
Ava felt unprepared for this conversation, she wasn't really sure what she had expected from it or what was appropriate. This was definitely new territory for her. She suspected that it was also new territory for the woman in front of her too.
Vhysa’lia: It’s just… ::taking a deep breath:: Whoever was in this body before it died, that’s not who I am. ::smiling uncomfortably:: Whatever she did, whoever she was… it’s in the past, and irrelevant. At least, to me.
Ava held the gaze of the Kobali. Her words bounced in her head like a pinball trying to evade the inevitable drain. It crashed on her human sensibilities of life, death and how our body relates to both. She didn't believe in an afterlife or such notions, but she had seen enough not to discount such things out of hand. And wasn't her body her own, and wouldn't that be the case when she passed? But wouldn't she give her body so that another life could begin?
All questions that she hadn't the time or the desire to explore in this meeting with a member of her crew in crisis.
Munro: :: gentle :: I respect your choice in this matter. I would like to add for full transparency, that I reviewed the personnel file that was available to Starfleet, of your kyn’steya. She was a very accomplished individual :: beat :: I'm not sure if that concerns you but I figured if it were me I'd like you to know that.
Vhysa’lia: I’m glad to hear that I wasn’t some sort of hardened criminal wanted by the VSA in my kyn’steya, but given how much of a wild frontier the Delta Quadrant was for your Federation around the time I was reanimated… it wasn’t impossible! ::nervous laugh::
Ava noted the use of “I” and thought that perhaps Vhysa'lia wasn't as distant from the previous person that inhabited her body as she thought. Ava scrutinized her more carefully, leaning forwards this time as she crossed her arms.
Munro: I know that there are some vast cultural differences when it comes to death. And Starfleet will respect those. I also, as first officer on this ship, need to factor in the wellbeing of everyone on this crew. You want to be a doctor? I need to know that you will do everything you can to save a life and respect the death rituals of our crew? The Captain entrusts me with that responsibility. So the question is, can I trust you?
Vhysa'lia: Response
Ava listened intently to the answer, she kept her focus on Vhysa'lia, not even allowing herself to blink. She wanted her to know that in this matter she was as serious as death itself.
Munro: That does help settle the matter for me.
Vhysa'lia: Response
Ava exhaled a breath and looked at the PADD.
Munro: I'm going to approve your transfer from the counselling department to medical with several conditions. The first is that you appropriately handover your current clients in therapy, and if possible retain those you feel would benefit from continuing with yourself as their therapist. At least until it's appropriate to pass them on to another counsellor. The second is that you continue your own counselling :: delicate :: I'd also like you to think about discussing your feelings on the life of your kyn'steya - that is just good old fashioned professional advice, and optional :: serious :: The rest is not optional.
Vhysa'lia: Response
Tags/TBC
First Officer
USS Artemis-A
A240004LL2