Delayed Reaction

Posted on 09 Aug 2022 @ 12:09am by Lieutenant JG Jane Sinclair MD, DVM & Captain Mazal Falk
Edited on on 09 Aug 2022 @ 2:15pm

2,455 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: General Sim Postings
Location: Medical
Timeline: Before SB51 arrival

[ON]

Mazal was feeling out of sorts, she felt off balance, and not quite herself. She had been noticing that something that wouldn't normally irritate her did. She even felt like her heart would pick up speed, as if having an adrenaline rush when not being active, to warrant that. So to combat that, she spent more time in the gym and also in the holosuite with her adventure programs, to help burn it off. Though, Mazal felt that she was spending way too much time there. It was time to get someone to have a look-see.

She tapped on her commbadge and contacted Jane. "Lieutenant Sinclair, I was wondering if you could help me out with something. I want to talk to you about it, where can I meet you?"

Jane was working in sickbay at the time she got the call. No current patients, just paperwork. Recognising Mazal's voice, she tapped her commbadge. "Sinclair here. I'm available on sickbay. We can talk in the CMO's office down here if you like."

Mazal arrived at the CMO's office stepping inside. She didn't have her uniform on at the moment, just a pair of dark blue shorts, a light blue vee neck tee shirt and a pair of runners. Her hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail and was still damp from the shower she had taken before she called Sinclair.

"Hi thank you for seeing me." Mazal greeted Jane, with a worried expression in her eyes. "I am feeling like my body is just a tad bit off-kilter, and I am wondering if it is due to the last mission I was on."

"Doesn't hurt to take a look," Jane said. She gestured for her patient to take a seat in the guest chair. The door closed behind Mazal to give them privacy.

The doctor picked up a medical tricorder and began scanning the Marine. "Let's start with symptoms. You said you're feeling off kilter. How, exactly?"

Mazal thought over what Jane asked, "I am feeling more aggressive than what I normally do. In my line of work, when out in the field I have to go into battle mode, but dealing with others on the ship when I am not having to go into battle, I am normally just an easy-going person or try to be anyway." a slight laugh, then Mazal sobered.

"Since I've come back from that mission, things that usually do not piss me off or irritate me, they do. I almost yelled at someone for seeming to chew their food the wrong way. And I've never done that before, Marines are a rough and tumble group of people. Sure we do have manners but a time we can eat sloppily." Mazal added going silent to gather her thoughts then continued.

"On a more personal level, Intimacy wise, my brain is drifting in that direction wanting to take a person I am interested in, off to the proverbial cave and get into some very intense mating and I mean, almost wanting to go into aggressive Klingon style. I do not wish to break bones though." giving a slight growl.

Mazal clenched her fist, "Thing of it is, this is during when said person is on duty and when I am on duty, and that isn't kosher. There is a place and time for that."

Jane nodded along as her tricorder took in readings. "I am reading some hormonal imbalances. Slight increase in testosterone, a larger increase in cortisol, and much larger in estradiol." She clipped the portable scanner back into the tricorder, closed it, set it on her desk, and then leaned against the edge of the desk so she was closer to Mazal. "Increases in testosterone in women can raise aggression levels, especially if accompanied by an increase of cortisol. Estradiol is a hormone linked with the development of female reproductive tissues; it's why hips widen, breasts grow, and the menstrual cycle works. High levels of it have been linked to assertiveness and dominance."

She smiled warmly at her patient. "Tell me about what happened on the planet. I read Dr Cahill's report but it would be better to hear it from you."

"We came across a cottage outside of the city, figured we'd check on to see if there could be some technology that we needed to get rid of. Plus we were there on the pretext of needing some water as well. We met two people one who was pregnant and getting ready to give birth and her husband. Apparently the society there is matriarchal and not patriarchal. Fast forward, after we were given a little bit of a tour, and had been given some water. Oh, they called the water, Goddess Tears." Mazal mused.

Shifting in her seat Mazal continued her narrative. "Ginger ended up giving birth and Lamia, that is Lieutenant Aderne, helped to deliver the baby. Now the next part was all so strange. Since we were present at the birth, we were requested to take part in their sort of religious ceremony. Leland, I mean Lieutenant Hawksley was asked to partake in part of it where he went with Granger, the lady's husband into a hut which was said that was off limits to females. I didn't know what was in there until later on. " Mazal frowned slightly.

"Lamia and I went with Ginger to a pool of water and were requested to strip down, and enter with the little boy. Oh, he was adorable. " Mazal smiled at the memory, then continued. "Lamia was then asked to go with Ginger into the cottage and for some reason I was asked to stay in the pond with the baby. As if I was to be waiting for something to happen. So there I was naked, the water above my waist, waiting for something to happen, then I felt something swim about my ankle, and I decided it was time to get the away team out of there. I got dressed, well at least got my underwear on and went to go get Hawksley."

Mazal sighed. " To my surprise, he was in some sort of tank, I didn't go inside the water but it was glowing and he had these eels that were on him, they reminded me of electric eels. Apparently, this was supposed to get the recipient ready to impregnate someone to continue the cycle. They have a short amount of time to get pregnant, and when they reach a certain age they are not able to have children. Ginger, once she had her baby, was supposed to become pregnant again. Apparently, Leland and I were slated to become part of this ritual and become mates. Well, that didn't fly with me. He has someone already. And I felt we were getting ready to get in over our heads. We had to leave."

Jane nodded. "Well, there might have been something in the water, or secreted by the creatures in the water, which might cause a hormone imbalance, especially if it were meant to drive you and Mr Hawksley to mate. A compound which makes the woman more assertive and the man's seed more potent." She paused a moment before asking her next question. "Pardon me for being direct, but can you confirm for me whether you've been intimate with anyone since this encounter? In particular Mr Hawksley, but anyone really."

"The only intimacy I had with Leland was just kissing. I've not been with anyone since the mission, but I've got someone in mind. After he and I talk though. I need to find out if he still wants to be with me. That is Lieutenant Tosrol Ze." giving a shy smile. "I'll be telling him about my kissing Leland."

Jane smiled. “Always good to be honest about such things.” She stopped leaning on the desk and walked to a replicator, and programmed it to produce two hyposprays and a small electronic device. “I’d like to take a blood sample and scan for contaminants up close. I’ve also replicated a drug that will help return your hormones to normal, but I’d like to monitor your levels for a few days. Please wear this behind your ear for a few nights. Keep track of behaviour and feelings, whether that’s an annoyance to otherwise normal behaviour or out-of-the-ordinary lustfulness, intense dreams, anything unusual really. Hopefully, you’ll notice less and less over time.” She set all three items on the desk in front of Mazal. “Does this sound alright to you? Do you have any questions?”

"Sure I'll let you get a blood sample, and the other things I am in agreement on. I do have a question though, the shot to prevent pregnancy, wouldn't it be advisable to make it a wee bit stronger, due to the imbalance? I don't want an unexpected pregnancy when I hopefully engage in intimacy." Mazal figured it would be best to find this out, and prevent something from occurring.

“Good point,” Jane agreed. “I’ll give you a booster of that one. But that does come to my next point.” She used the empty hypo on Mazal’s bare arm and drew a small blood sample, and then clipped the scanner just behind her right ear. “Obviously what you do with your body is your business, but I might suggest that you refrain from being intimate with anyone until we get this under control, or at least until we know for certain what’s going on. I suggest this merely so we know it’s you that’s consenting to this, and not the result of an enhanced sex drive that’s pushed you into the behaviour you wouldn’t ordinarily do.” She took a breath. “Just think about it before you go find Mr Ze, alright?”

The young doctor chuckled as she administered the hormone buffer medication. “I’m one to talk of course. I did some research the other day with pheromones, dosing myself quite severely, and wound up having a most excellent night. I don’t regret it, and maybe you won’t either, but the potential is there, and I’d be a bad doctor if I didn’t bring it up.”

"I will be mindful of that, Doctor. I can be rather active and intimate wise but, I've been a bit busy as of late to even take the time to do so. Being an XO can definitely keep a person rather busy, including into the wee hours of the morning. Oh, the paperwork!" an over-dramatic groan and putting the back of her hand against her forehead "Oh the headache!" then she laughed, which Jane joined her in.

"Well then, it sounds like your experiment had a good side effect then. Hopefully, you can continue on in the pleasure but without the pheromone booster." Mazal responded.

"Oh, yeah, that was a one-time thing," Jane said, waving it away. "It may be tempting, but for me, that would basically constitute drug abuse, and I'm not for that." She went into a cabinet and retrieved a vial of common birth control medication for women-bodied crewmembers. It went into an empty hypo and a suitable dose was selected before injection. Next came the hormonal moderator.

"My hope is you'll start to feel a bit more normal by tomorrow morning," Jane continued. "The attachment will transmit data to me continuously and will alert me if there are sudden changes in your biochemistry. Come back in three days for another thorough scan, and call sooner if you feel unwell. Any questions so far?"

"I think you have answered them sufficiently. Do you have any questions for me?" Mazal felt rather relieved in coming to Jane for this matter. She was certainly feeling a bit more at ease in her mind.

"Not right now," Jane answered. "I do have one last recommendation though. Wait two days before talking to Mr Ze. Only to prove to yourself that you can. Self-control is so important, to you as a person but also as a Marine." She smiled. "We reach Starbase 51 in two days. Set up a date with him at the station. You might not be at one hundred per cent by then but you'll be on your way, and you'll have better confidence in yourself."

"I will try to wait two days but don't know if I can do so," Mazal responded. "It's just that, if I have something to take care of I tend to meet it head-on. I do understand your point though."


"On an unrelated note," Jane said, finally setting down the last of her medical devices. "When last I was treating you we talked about music and dance." She pointed directly at the Marine. "You. Me. Starbase 51. The entertainment level. Dance studio, followed by karaoke bar, followed by the club. The studio is just us but then we can invite others to the bar or club after." She grinned. "We'll wait until after your hormones are back to normal of course. My dancing before any lessons from you being equally likely to make you want to break me in half, or have your way with me," she joked.

"Okay, you are on. And you make another valid point. I wouldn't want to break you in half, I'm not a nice person if I get angry, you wouldn't like it if I get angry." sort of quoting the Incredible Hulk, then she grinned. " I save the Hulk smash bit when it comes to fighting."

"Good!" Jane said with a laugh. "Now, off with you. I'll run my tests and monitor your readings. I'll let you know if I find anything odd."

"Thanks, Jane, I appreciate that." on impulse Mazal gave Jane a relieved embrace it being not too tight. "Okay, I am off now." having a brilliant smile. "At least there is a solution." she then released Jane from the embrace. Mazal was certainly feeling more in the positive zone.

"Off you go then," Jane said, patting the Marine XO on the shoulder and sending her on her way. She hadn't expected the hug; off duty, she'd have blushed, given how gorgeous Mazal Falk was, but not now. She was good at compartmentalizing her feelings. Well, not good, but okay. Enough that she didn't do anything more than give a gentle pat on the shoulder. "I'll message you later about Starbase's plans. Take care, Mazal."

Another dazzling smile from Mazal, "Most definitely let me know. Thanks again Jane." the marine responded and then left medical, feeling ever so much better.

[OFF]

Lt Jg Jane Sinclair
Deputy Chief Medical Officer

1st Lieutenant Mazal Falk
Marine XO

 

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