Lt. Jg. Jania Nis and Aagru Orynn - SP - False hopes and magic cures
Jania Nis
(tw discussion of a high-risk pregnancy)
Of Jania’s two brothers, the one she disliked the least was Aagru, so when he asked to chat with her through a holodeck conversation, she booked the room with little hesitation.
The scene she used was the rocky coast of northern Trill. Her brother entered the scene by stepping around a boulder. He still dressed like he was eighteen, and he had the same stupid goatee all the her friends loved in high school, though he was twenty-eight and married. His pants were splattered with paint. But despite the youthful clothing, he looked tired.
She could guess she looked the same. She’d taken a day off of work after her very-public incident with Kihriahl; but she hadn’t slept well in the last three nights.
And when she'd returned to work, she’d gotten a taste of her own medicine. The doctors and nurses whispered when she walked by, and she once heard a nurse utter the word “honeypot” with some pride.
The worst part, though, was when her mind drifted and a memory of her kissing him on his stupid yacht popped into her head and she felt full of rage.
But her brother barely looked at her, so hopefully this meant he wouldn’t send some cruel report back to Mom. “She looked frumpy” or something. His eyes darted around at the rocks surrounding them.
Orynn: Where’d you get this holoprogram at?
Nis: Um … a guy who knows a guy.
Orynn: It’s junk. ::waving his arms around :: This looks like our home to you?
Nis: :: shrugging :: No, but when it’s all you’ve got … :: scowling :: -Anyway,- hello, good to see you.
Aagru paused in his rant and finally stared at her.
Orynn: Hey. How are you doing? Are you okay? You look … sad.
Nis: So do you. What’s up?
Orynn: Mom suggested I call you, and get some advice.
The idea that her brother was only contacting her for advice, probably of a medical nature, was too unsurprising to be disappointing.
Nis: What, are you dying?
She said it as a joke, but based on his long pause, he wasn’t in the mood to be funny.
Orynn: Ialla’s pregnant.
Jania’s eyebrows raised and a grin burst onto her face.
Nis: Oh! Congratulations!
Nodding, he kicked a small rock in front of him, an unexpectedly subdued reaction.
Orynn: You know she has li’sh’aa.
The smile died as she realized the implications. It was a genetic complication with the veins. Trill veins were smaller than human ones on average; this meant the vein walls were also thinner. To prevent excessive bleeding from minor wounds, they had fewer veins close to the surface, explaining their famous cold hands. Li’sh’aa caused even thinner vein walls, contributing to internal bleeding and hemorrhages. In ancient times, pregnancy had been a death sentence. Even today it was dangerous.
Nis: Oh, Aagru. We hadn’t thought of that.
He ran his fingers through his hair.
Orynn: Some doctors say we shouldn’t keep the baby. It’s too dangerous. What do you think?
Her eyes widened and she shook her head.
Nis: Us? It’s not our decision, it’s hers.
But she remembered Ialla well enough to guess that if they were having this conversation at all, she had already made a decision.
Orynn: :: tightening his jaw:: Is she going to -die-, Jania?
This was an impossible question to answer. All she could do was tell the truth.
Nis: She certainly has a much higher risk of hemorrhaging. We can recommend a few doctors in Mak’ala who have practice with fetal transportation, but there’s danger for as much as a month before birth, and even during the altricial phase—
Orynn: Is there anything we can do to make it safe?
oO If there was, doctors would already do it. Oo
Deesru Nis had theorized that the Trill pouch and the short in-utero gestation compared to humans were evolutionary responses to the already-thin veins of the Trill. While plenty of scholars had disagreed with the specifics, diseases that affected the veins certainly compounded the problem.
Nis: Childbirth isn’t our specialty. We’re Starfleet; we studied engineering accidents and phaser wounds.
Orynn: Some kind of herb or medicinal plant, or—or anything?
Nis: We really don’t know, Aagru. But we can do some research. :: glancing at the ground before looking at her brother again :: But there’s no magic cure, that’s for sure.
He put his elbow on his knee and rested his forehead in his hand.
Orynn: I knew that’s what you’d say.
For an instant, Jania forgot that he was a hologram and nearly placed her hand on his shoulder. Instead, she did something she’d told herself she would never do as a doctor. She offered false hope.
Nis: We’ll find … something. Some kind of herb, like you said. :: trying to look her brother in the face but finding she cannot :: There has to be something.
After Aagru nodded weakly, the two siblings sat in silence. She wanted to hug him, but he was a hologram, what was the point?
She sighed.
[end scene]
Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Jania Nis
Acting Chief Medical Officer of Physical Health
USS Octavia E. Butler NCC-82850
O240108JN2