Karen and Kindra

Posted on Sun Apr 4th, 2021 @ 3:35pm by Karen Dawson MD & Kindra Graham

Mission: Back in Black
Location: Infirmary
Timeline: Day 27 en route to Ghost

Rejection was always something Karen grew to fear with age. Given her beliefs in sexualization within relationships, Alden was not the first to rebuke her. Yet it stung all the same. Thus, she decided to work through the sting.

The infirmary was like any other Firefly in layout, yet months of saving her shares, and dipping here and there into her trust fund when pay was low... Well, the infirmary was more high-tech than most rigs that traveled out in the black.

The surgical bed was the next to upgrade and that would take some talking to with Alden. To have a multi-sensor integrated surgical bed for live diagnostics? It woud cost about 4-6 medium-pull jobs.

Karen had been relegated to using her medical cortex for basic, non-invasive internal scans until they got such a bed. It was nowhere close to a holographic bioscan suite, but it did a fair job. Thus the need for a sensor bed.

Now that Karen had finished sterilizing the room, she was hunkered over, sitting on a stool that was against the right-side counter. Above it was a few flat-panel screens with various ultrasound-like scans projected.

Karen had lost all train of thought, looking into the catalog of Alliance medical equipment. She was practically drooling over a nice diagnostic lab's starter kit as footsteps drew near.

Kindra's exploration of the Echo brought her to the infirmary with the intention of making the doctor's acquaintance.

She hesitated at the threshold, and took it all in. She'd traveled in a few transport ships of various models, but this infirmary reminded her of the medical bays in some luxury cruise liners. Small, yes. But modern and well-equipped, at least to her eyes. Then she saw the doctor, engrossed in the study of… something. "Excuse me. We spoke in the cargo bay but didn't exchange names, and I'd like to meet you. I'm Kindra."

"Karen," the doctor replied when she looked up to see the companion. "I usually try to avoid crowded areas, except for mealtimes... I assume you've booked one of the shuttles for your quarters and business?"

"That's right, the port shuttle. I understand I'm not the first companion to rent it." Kindra gestured to take in the infirmary. "This is an impressive facility, doctor. It appears rather, uh, advanced for a Firefly-class transport."

"This crew sees a lot of gunfights and brawls," Karen explained, then pointed to the 2 small cooling units stacked atop each other, against the far left wall. The top was a dual-temp with a sub-zero section, the bottom unit was labeled as a blood bank. "I sometimes ask for the crew's blood when we're in the black for too long, in case they need a specific blood-type and we're low on universal. Keeps the cost of resupply on medical down."

Karen then gestured to her tablet beside the microscope. "My medical cortex does most of the internal diagnostics, though if I need a live feed while doing surgery, I sometimes will ask someone to hold it for me... Not as accurate as the surgical or holo-diagnostic suites I interned on back on Ariel, but I try to give these guys a top-tier chance at survival."

Kindra's mind reeled around particular words the doctor uttered. Gunfights. Brawls. Survival. She'd learned Chloe was the replacement for their last - dead - engineer. And James' first question to her - was she any good in a scrap. Her perspective around Fortune's Echo and the crew shifted.

"The crew is lucky to have such a competent doctor." Not just trained on Ariel but also a trauma surgeon, Kindra recalled from the conversation in the cargo bay. Alison and Alden both spoke of the crew as their family, and it seemed they had Karen to thank for keeping them alive. "I'll wave you my medical information in case my blood is ever needed. Medical supplies and equipment must be hard to come by, on the fringe."

"If you need any medication refilled, you may want to let me know at least a month ahead of time so I can get Alden to a fair port to pick them up," Karen supplied. "Most the jobs are border planets or fringe, so yeah... Can sometimes be a while before we see any Core worlds."

"I understand." She didn't expect to need meds from Karen, and had several months before her Guild registration checkup. Kindra leaned against the door jam and regarded the doctor curiously, weighing the balance between friendly interest and annoying interruption. "What were you reading - if you don't mind me asking. I'll leave you alone if you're busy."

"Oh..." Karen sheepishly smiled, as if caught in the cookie jar. "Medical supply catalog. But importantly, I was looking at lab starter kits. Good centrifuge, better microscope, and an incubator - can help diagnose illnesses and infections better. A bit Earth-that-was, to some regard, but the old methods are still highly accurate."

Kindra smiled, intrigued by both the doctor's shopping endeavor and her reaction. Another person caught looking at erotic media might have an expression similar to Karen's just then. She stepped inside the doctor's domain even though she hadn't been invited. "Medical supplies – may I take a look? Are the crew often exposed to illness and infection?"

Karen nodded her approval and shoved the catalog gently to the edge of the counter so Kindra could see. "Alden's willing to use some of the ship expenses account for some of these upgrades, but lab equipment and a high-tech surgical bed are massively expensive... Doesn't stop me from drooling."

Her eyes widened at the catalog prices. "I suppose everything comes down to money, and balancing expenses - maintaining the ship, keeping the crew alive." Away from the core, Kindra's income for the last six months had not been what it was, but she had funds saved. Trouble was, she could not think of a way to offer without hurting Alden's pride.

And yet, even with financial limitations, this Ariel-trained doctor had built a medical facility here that, whilst still wanting expensive equipment, went well above expectation. Kindra knew an act of love when she saw it. "You must care about the crew a great deal."

"I care about all my patients," Karen both answered and evaded. She suspected Kindra created a digging expedition there, but the doctor was not ready to reveal too much just yet. "...The captain was good enough to offer me a place here, after a lengthy stint in an Alliance Marshal interrogation cell, back on Persophone... This ship is my home and work now."

Karen could not hold back the sadness in her eyes. While she was grateful, Karen missed the high society functions. The balls, the banquets. Even the summer plays Persophone put on for charity causes.

Alden and Alison made her life bearable on the ship, but there were some things Echo could never fully replace. And Karen deeply missed the odd ritzy lifestyle events that being a community doctor often granted her access to.

"Interrogation," Kindra repeated softly. She thought of her stepbrother's connections, and shivered. A conflict with Alliance would explain why a doctor of Karen's caliber was on board the Echo. The doctor's undisguised sadness reminded Kindra that she'd last seen Margaret six months ago and might never see her again. She wanted to know more of Karen's story, but prying would be inappropriate. "I'm so sorry, that must have been awful. I, uh, grew up on Persephone. It can be lovely… and dangerous."

"Oh... I know," Karen agreed with an ironic chuckle. "I opened a free clinic within the Eavesdown Docks district that even many upper society people came to when they didn't want certain medical issues on their record. Never asked questions. As a result, rival gangs pitched in together to give donations and it became neutral ground more than once for peaceful meetings... Marshals didn't like that I aided former Browncoats though. Not illegal, but that didn't stop the new station chief from interrogating me."

"Alliance wu ming shao jwu bully," muttered Kindra, and slowly shook her head. "I actually met Jonas in the Eavesdown district, he saved my life and acted as my bodyguard. And you opened a medical clinic there. Jah yoh, Karen. Impressive. Do you miss it? Operating a medical practice?"

"I do," Karen answered with a subtle head-bob. "But my former partner reopened the clinic a month after I left. So at least the poor population has a place to go to again... Curious to know how you ended up on the docks. Not many companions venture into the community, at least, not past the landing zones."

"I was in the landing zones, but after-hours, and I was distraught and not paying attention to my surroundings. I'd just heard my stepfather… well, uh, his death wasn't by natural causes." She gave the doctor a chagrined smile and admitted, "It was sheer stupidity on my part, getting caught there. I hope it's a comfort to you that your clinic was reopened. Clear to see a community like that had a serious need."

"Still does," Karen confirmed with a worried expression. "Not much I can do from here. Next time we go into port, however, I'll see what they need. May dip into my trust if it's dire... I don't like to do that too much though, considering I have to focus on Echo's needs too."

"I understand." Kindra regarded the doctor thoughtfully. So, Karen was using her personal funds to help pay for upgrades to the ship's medical facilities, as well as donating to her old clinic. Before Kindra's trouble started, she could have introduced Karen to potential Persephone-based patrons for the clinic, but now… visiting her home planet was complicated. With slow deliberation she said, "A medical clinic in the Eavesdown district sounds like an endeavor that could attract a philanthropic sponsor. How often does the Fortune's Echo make port there?"

"Before they picked me up, it was once every 3-4 months," Karen answered, then looked at the calendar on her medical cortex. "...We're overdue. Could be a job hasn't come out of there for Alden to pick up, or possibly he's avoiding it because of the Marshal's obsession with throwing me in jail."

"That does sounds like him." Considering the lengths Alden was willing to go to protect Daiyu, of course he would avoid a port where the ship's doctor was likely to get hurt. Kindra was beginning to understand Alison's frustration with the business end of their operation. Alden was the kind of man who cared more about keeping his crew safe than making a profit.

Her gaze wandered over the medical equipment in the room as Kindra considered that at some point any member of the Echo's crew might need that equipment plus Karen's surgical skills to survive. "I only have basic first-aid training, but I don't faint at the sight of blood and I'm very good at taking direction." The corner of her mouth quirked playfully, but her eyes were serious. "Not that you need it, but if there's anything I can do to help, I will."

"I could use a solid medtech," Karen confessed. "A few on the ship have battlefield medic training, but that doesn't mean much if they don't know how to maintain and use the diagnostic equipment here... If you wish to learn, we can put a few hours aside a day for me to teach you how this equipment works."

"That's a generous offer," said the companion with genuine surprise. Kindra still hadn't spoken to Alden about their shared past or gotten him to listen to her apology. The Echo's captain seemed to be avoiding her, and Kindra was not certain her tenure renting the port shuttle would last long enough to make the effort Karen put into training her worthwhile. "I don't want to monopolize too much of your time. But, I would be honored to learn whatever you're willing to teach me."

"Come back here after lunch," Karen smiled. "I'll teach you how to operate the medical cortex and live-stream to the monitors."