Lt. Kim Stapledon - Long Histories with Cats

[John Smith]

((Sickbay - Deep Space 224))

Kim had just told Doctor Elor that she had grown up on New Cyprus.  He studied the displays.

Letek: Ah, that explains the readings. Lots of foreign proteins.

Kim gave a slight chuckle.  She recalled the genetic lottery coming out in her favour a couple missions ago, where it had turned out that most of her cells had expressed a protein not common among humans outside of New Cyprus, which had made her less susceptible to the disease they'd been investigating.

Stapledon: Like which kind?

Letek: The type of proteins found in the Felidae family, especially in their saliva. You have the opposite of a cat allergy, so to speak. If I remember correctly, New Cyprus is known for its many cats. You must have had a lot of contact with these animals from an early age.

She nodded, laughing.  She vaguely recalled playing with them as a child.

Stapledon:  They were pretty common.  I do remember playing with them as a kid, yes.

Letek: It must have been great growing up with animals. I only ever had fish. :: Rolling his eyes :: My mom didn't want animals in the house that shed hair everywhere.

Kim laughed.  Cat hair and tree seeds were a constant bother on the porch.

Stapledon:  Yeah we did get used to it.  Come to think of it, I can definitely see how cats would have caused the population to skew a certain way genetically.  I think the cats even developed small genetic changes over time too.

She felt more relaxed now, less worried about whether Frontier Day would come up.

Letek: As it stands, there's no reason not to give you clearance. I couldn't find anything that would prevent you from serving.

She nodded.

Stapledon:  Thank you, much appreciated.

She stood.

Letek: Then I look forward to working with you in the future. Provided we get a new ship.

Stapledon:  I feel like we will.  And when we do it'll be great to work with you as well.

She turned to leave and, as she was on her way out she heard,

Letek: And don't forget to try the Sem'Hal stew!

She turned and said,

Stapledon:  Thanks for the reminder.  Have a great day.

[END SCENE]

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Lt. Kimberly Stapledon

Science Officer

USS Eagle

I238601KB0

Pronouns:  

Character:  She/Her 

Writer:  He/Him