Sitting on the hospital bed, Chris swung her legs back and forth, watching the doctor take notes. “So, what’s the verdict Jack? Am I gonna make it? At least tell me if I’ll be able to play the piano,” she begged with wide eyes.
Looking up from his notepad, Doctor Jack Cooper gave her an amused look. “Sadly Captain, you’re still you,” he said dryly. “Not even Handwavium can cure that. Also, I know you’ve never learnt to play the piano, and I refuse to take part in that silly gag.”
“Aww,” she replied with a pout. “Party pooper.”
“Yes yes,” he said, unconcerned by her teasing. “I am a horribly boring individual. More seriously, you’ll be happy, or at least relatively satisfied, to learn that your biology is very near human. There’s a few minor differences that I’ll want to let a few medical AIs ponder, but I don’t expect you’ll need any special dietary supplements.”
“Small mercies,” Chris mused, crossing her legs. “What about the Orions trademark gimmick?” she asked, brushing her hair back over her ear.
Putting the notepad on a side table, Jack shrugged. “If you’ve got mind-control pheromones, we’re not seeing them anywhere,” he admitted, then frowned. “Mind-control pheromones,” he repeated, shaking his head. “I swear, once you start living it, some stuff from fiction becomes a lot more disturbing.”
Chris gave him a look. “You’re disturbed? I’m the one that might have the power to transform men into brain-dead slaves.”
“Oh, you’ve got that anyway,” the doctor said dryly, looking over the small womans body. Chris gave him a confused look, glanced down at the curves not at all hidden by the hospital gown, then blushed rather cutely as her brain made the connection. Jack smirked, then pressed on before the Orions instinct for snark could divert the conversation again. “Given who the handwavium came from, it might be reasonable to expect an oddity or two in your biomod, but right now nothing’s jumping out at me.” Scowling slightly, he picked up a tricorder again. “It’s an annoying truth about biomods. When they want to be quirky, there’s often no way to know until you get caught by surprise somewhere down the line.”
Hopping down off the bed, Chris stretched, marvelling again at the lack of aches and pains. “Well, that’s something to look forward to, I suppose,” she commented. “It’ll keep life interesting or some such.” Turning to look up at Jack, she frowned slightly. “Although this part, I could do without,” she commented, comparing her height to his.
Laughing, the man reached down and messed up her hair, getting an indignant protest for his troubles. “Well, look at it this way,” he offered. “My estimate on your apparent age would be late teens. Maybe there’s an extra growth spurt in your future… or you might just need to get used to heels,” he teased.
“And there’s yet another thing I am not looking forward to,” Chris grumbled, folding her arms under her breasts. “Stupid Professor… And you’re still not willing to tell me anything there?”
“I’m a simple doctor lass,” Jack replied. “I moved to Ganymede to get away from all that political nonsense.”
Frowning, Chris raised an eyebrow. “Wait, political?” she asked. “What’s that supposed to mean? Criminal charges one way or another, yeah I can see that, but politics?” Jack didn’t answer immediately, and her scowl deepened. “Jack…”
With an expression of severe disinterest, the man pressed on, handing her a sheet of paper. “Given how often you bounce around the system, I’ve got a few different recommendations there,” he commented. “You should really look into a specific GP now, just to be on the safe side. And the therapists I’ve listed all have experience in biomod acclimation and gender identity issues.” Seeing her mixed expression at that, he snorted. “Chris, if you didn’t have them before, you’ve got them now.”
“... That’s a fair point,” she admitted at last. “I’ll look into it,” she said, putting the cards on the bed. “Now, stop trying to change the subj-” a knock at the door interrupted her, and she glared at Jacks grin.
***
Looking up from his notepad, Doctor Jack Cooper gave her an amused look. “Sadly Captain, you’re still you,” he said dryly. “Not even Handwavium can cure that. Also, I know you’ve never learnt to play the piano, and I refuse to take part in that silly gag.”
“Aww,” she replied with a pout. “Party pooper.”
“Yes yes,” he said, unconcerned by her teasing. “I am a horribly boring individual. More seriously, you’ll be happy, or at least relatively satisfied, to learn that your biology is very near human. There’s a few minor differences that I’ll want to let a few medical AIs ponder, but I don’t expect you’ll need any special dietary supplements.”
“Small mercies,” Chris mused, crossing her legs. “What about the Orions trademark gimmick?” she asked, brushing her hair back over her ear.
Putting the notepad on a side table, Jack shrugged. “If you’ve got mind-control pheromones, we’re not seeing them anywhere,” he admitted, then frowned. “Mind-control pheromones,” he repeated, shaking his head. “I swear, once you start living it, some stuff from fiction becomes a lot more disturbing.”
Chris gave him a look. “You’re disturbed? I’m the one that might have the power to transform men into brain-dead slaves.”
“Oh, you’ve got that anyway,” the doctor said dryly, looking over the small womans body. Chris gave him a confused look, glanced down at the curves not at all hidden by the hospital gown, then blushed rather cutely as her brain made the connection. Jack smirked, then pressed on before the Orions instinct for snark could divert the conversation again. “Given who the handwavium came from, it might be reasonable to expect an oddity or two in your biomod, but right now nothing’s jumping out at me.” Scowling slightly, he picked up a tricorder again. “It’s an annoying truth about biomods. When they want to be quirky, there’s often no way to know until you get caught by surprise somewhere down the line.”
Hopping down off the bed, Chris stretched, marvelling again at the lack of aches and pains. “Well, that’s something to look forward to, I suppose,” she commented. “It’ll keep life interesting or some such.” Turning to look up at Jack, she frowned slightly. “Although this part, I could do without,” she commented, comparing her height to his.
Laughing, the man reached down and messed up her hair, getting an indignant protest for his troubles. “Well, look at it this way,” he offered. “My estimate on your apparent age would be late teens. Maybe there’s an extra growth spurt in your future… or you might just need to get used to heels,” he teased.
“And there’s yet another thing I am not looking forward to,” Chris grumbled, folding her arms under her breasts. “Stupid Professor… And you’re still not willing to tell me anything there?”
“I’m a simple doctor lass,” Jack replied. “I moved to Ganymede to get away from all that political nonsense.”
Frowning, Chris raised an eyebrow. “Wait, political?” she asked. “What’s that supposed to mean? Criminal charges one way or another, yeah I can see that, but politics?” Jack didn’t answer immediately, and her scowl deepened. “Jack…”
With an expression of severe disinterest, the man pressed on, handing her a sheet of paper. “Given how often you bounce around the system, I’ve got a few different recommendations there,” he commented. “You should really look into a specific GP now, just to be on the safe side. And the therapists I’ve listed all have experience in biomod acclimation and gender identity issues.” Seeing her mixed expression at that, he snorted. “Chris, if you didn’t have them before, you’ve got them now.”
“... That’s a fair point,” she admitted at last. “I’ll look into it,” she said, putting the cards on the bed. “Now, stop trying to change the subj-” a knock at the door interrupted her, and she glared at Jacks grin.
***