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R&D Lab - Diamonds? Naw... TATTOOS Are Forever

Posted June 6, 2023, 1:19 p.m. by Lieutenant Commander Alexis Kane (Assistant Chief Medical Officer) (Jennifer Ward)

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Dr. Solomon Kane (Research & Development) in R&D Lab - Diamonds? Naw… TATTOOS Are Forever

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Alexis Kane (Assistant Chief Medical Officer) in R&D Lab - Diamonds? Naw… TATTOOS Are Forever

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Dr. Solomon Kane (Research & Development) in R&D Lab - Diamonds? Naw… TATTOOS Are Forever
Posted by… suppressed (26) by the Post Ghost! 👻
The lab technicians and science department staff outside the R&D lab had called security… twice. And both times, they tried to access the secured space beyond the opaque walls to ascertain what the ship’s resident problem-child was doing. Not only could they not bypass the doors; but each time they tried a low, rhythmic beat grew louder.

Finally they contacted the one person they knew could get through to him: his wife. =/\= Security to Lieutenant Commander Kane. Ma’am, we need you assistance at the R&D lab. Your husband won’t open the door and refuses to respond to comms, Ma’am. =/\=

Kane, R&D

Alexis didn’t even pause as she poured the chemicals carefully from two test tubes and combined them into one. The pour rate had to be exact or it would all evaporate with a spectacular explosion if she hurried or paused. “GALEN what are the vital signs for Lt Cmdr Solomon Kane?”

“Most vital signs are within normal ranges. BP and pulse elevated, as are respirations.” GALEN replied.

“Are those elevated numbers with in standard for exercise or normal exertion or crossing into cardiac distress? Is he alone in the R&D lab? What ate the environmental settings?” Any other person Alexis would simply pull up the visual recordings, but the R&D lab was immune from such things.

She finished pouring and set the tubes back in the rack and tapped her badge. =/\=Is there a medical emergency, Lt? If the door is locked and he isn’t answering there is a good reason for that.=/\=

=/\= N-…No, ma’am. We are because of the noise complaint. =/\=

Noise? They called her because he is making noise? Nosey, ill disciplined, lazy…and the mental tirade continued.

Her voice dropped to subvocal. “Solomon? People are being annoying, to you, but since I am the head of the response teams I have to ask, are your injured or in medical distress? Security just called me.”

Kane, AMO

There was no response on the earbud.

Kane, R&D

Okay that was odd. Even if he wouldn’t tell her what he was doing, he at least gave a response if only a grunt. “Kaleesa come take over here,” she said to one of the lab technicians. She removed the safety gloves and glasses and stepped out of the lab, everyone watching in curiosity. =/\=On my way Lt.=/\= Only so they would stop bugging him.

She stepped off the lift on Deck 9 and made her way to the door of the lab.

Kane, AMO

The loud booming bass-like noise was more than evident, which meant inside it would be many times louder. The science team members were staring (some glaring) as the walls practically vibrated with the noise. As Alexis stepped up to the door, it slid open and the blasting refrains of painfully loud music filled the entire lab.

The pictures tell the story
This life has many shades
I’d wake up every morning and before I’d start each day
I’d take a drag from last night’s cigarette
That smoldered in it’s tray
Down a little something and then be on my way

I traveled far and wide
And laid this head in many ports
I was guided by a compass
I saw beauty to the north
I drew the tales of many lives
And wore the faces of my own
I had these memories all around me
So I wouldn’t be alone

Some may be from showing up
Others are from growing up
Sometimes I was so messed up and didn’t have a clue
I ain’t winning no one over
I wear it just for you
I’ve got your name written here
In a rose tattoo
In a rose tattoo
In a rose tattoo
I’ve got your name written here
In a rose tattoo

This one’s for the mighty sea
Mischief, gold and piracy
This ones for the man that raised me
Taught me sacrifice and bravery
This one’s for our favorite game
Black and gold, we wave the flag
This one’s for my family name
With pride I wear it to the grave

Some may be from showing up
Others are from growing up
Sometimes I was so messed up and didn’t have a clue
I ain’t winning no one over
I wear it just for you
I’ve got your name written here
In a rose tattoo
In a rose tattoo
In a rose tattoo
I’ve got your name written here
In a rose tattoo
In a rose tattoo
In a rose tattoo
I’ve got your name written here
In a rose tattoo

This one means the most to me
Stays here for eternity
A ship that always stays the course
An anchor for my every choice
A rose that shines down from above
I signed and sealed these words in blood
I heard them once, sung in a song
It played again and we sang along

You’ll always be there with me
Even if you’re gone
You’ll always have my love
Our memory will live on

Some may be from showing up
Others are from growing up
Sometimes I was so messed up and didn’t have a clue
I ain’t winning no one over
I wear it just for you
I’ve got your name written here
In a rose tattoo
In a rose tattoo
In a rose tattoo
I’ve got your name written here
In a rose tattoo
In a rose tattoo
In a rose tattoo
With pride I’ll wear it to the grave for you

In a rose tattoo
In a rose tattoo
I’ve got your name written here
In a rose tattoo
In a rose tattoo
In a rose tattoo
Signed and sealed in blood I would die for you

Inside sat Kane, hunched over a table with his left arm laid on it and a homemade tattoo gun in his right, the old-fashioned needle injecting ink under the skin at ten thousand rpm.

Kane, R&D
(With special thanks to the Dropkick Murphys, ‘Rose Tattoo’, https://youtu.be/9d8SzG4FPyM )

Alexis took in the scene and seeing absolutely nothing out of the ordinary, stepped back so the door closed, lowering the volume…some. She walked across to the main labs to use the replicator. She returned and handed everyone a pair of noise canceling, ear protecting audible plugs. Then with a slight eye roll, “GALEN?”

=/\=YES DR. KANE?=/\=

“Erect an audible surveillance deterent barrier around the R&D lab.” That would stop anyone from hearing what was going on inside or trying to record it.

The area went quiet. “Anything else?”

Kane, AMO

Quiet, yes. But the vibrations were still more than noticeable. Added to that was the fact that some of the experiments being conducted could, from her cursory glance, be disturbed by the repetitive thud thud thud coming through the deck was still more than enough to cause the Security Team to say “Ma’am, while we appreciate the help… he’s really gotta turn it down. You know as well as I do that if we could go in there and tell him to turn it down, the volume would get cranked up so far the deflector dish’ll shake loose. Please… ask him just to turn it down twenty percent. Hell, fifteen. Anything would be an improvement.”

Security

She glanced around the area, okay the disturbed experiments were not acceptable. This was ridiculous. She was his wife not his babysitter, and no matter what mood he was in was no reason to create hazardous situations in a lab. She stepped up to the door that slid open for her just long enough to step through before closing. She didn’t bother trying to get GALEN to hear her over the music. She walked over to the control panel and cut the music by 30% and waited for the inevitable grumbling.

Kane, AMO

Kane didn’t pause in his work, he just said “I wasn’t finished with that yet, Lex. You needed to hear all the lyrics.” His fingers moved the gun over his skin, brilliant red ink filling in sharp, dark black lines… a long stemmed rose. But it wasn’t normal looking. Instead, this one appeared to be made of stained glass, or maybe jewels. As the last drop of red ink filled in the space between lines, Kane grabbed a towel moistened with witchhazel and wiped the tattoo clean. “Take a look.” he said as he reached for antibiotic cream.

“I can still hear it at 70% and so can you. If not, I’ll have you in for a hearing test.” She had heard every word and thought the song was quite appropriate for him. “It’s called preemptive triage. The vibrations were going to cause chemical hazards in the lab.” She walked over and took the cream from him and grabbed another towel and folded it to use to apply it. Doing so allowed her a very good look at his arm.

The tattoo was brilliant. Sharp lines and vibrant color, and the edges of the ‘glass’ seemed to shimmer in his flesh. The stem was a deep green, with thorns along the stem and leaves at the base. And then the true symbolism hit her: The lines dividing the panels of red glass on the rose’s bloom was a word so cleverly hidden that it didn’t show up unless one really looked at it. A single word…

Alexis.

No where else on the tapestry of Kane’s tattoo-covered body was a person’s name. And the edema around the new piece showed that other tattoos had been removed to create space for just this one.

Kane, R&D

The significance was not lost on her, either of her name or of the now missing parts of his story or the fact that he had said he had never designed his own tattoo before because his art was in him. He didn’t need it on his body. Images that she was quite familiar with. “Solomon. It’s stunning.” She finished with the cream and set it aside. “So when are you designing mine?”

Kane, AMO

Kane laid a clear cover over the fresh ink and then looked at her and said “Already did. You ready?” and he pulled the needle from the gun, replicated fresh ink, and set up the bench for Alexis. “Where do you want it?” he asked while he got ready.

Kane’s Tattoo Parlor

Alexis squinted her eyes at him trying to decide if he had caused so much trouble on purpose. Just so they would call her down here so he could do this. Honestly, he just had to ask her. “Well, I don’t know what it is, so why don’t you pick where you think it should go.” She shrugged off her lab coat, folded it, and set it out of the way. She leaned a hip against the bench as she shrugged out of the top to just her tank.

Kane, AMO

“Ribs it is, but it’s gonna hurt. You okay with that?” he asked flatly.

Alexis shrugged, “The one on my spine hurt too.” She removed the tank and twisted her hair up into a bun where it had come lose over the day.

He pulled out a long padded bench from under the work table and with the flip of a few catches, a reclining chair now present. “Lay down opposite whatever side you want it on.” he instructed.

Alexis turned so he had her left side and laid down on the bench. She folded her arm behind her head and for a little while watched what he was doing. Until work and puzzles demanded her attention.

For the next few hours, he didn’t speak. The buzzing of the tattoo machine was drowned out by twentieth century Punk Rock, and he made sure she had a PaDD so she could work while he applied the tattoo.

“Finished.” he finally said and helped her stand and look in a mirror. The tattoo was a double-helix DNA strand… and it was Alex’s DNA sequence. But instead of the standard model, this one bent and twisted, and seemingly unnoticed it morphed into a different sequence… Solomon’s. But it was the final aspect that made the piece truly unique… the double helix was actually a Möbius strip, so both sequences were infinitely merged as one.

Kane, Tattoo Artist

She was sore, but nothing that wouldn’t fade. Alexis stared in the mirror at it. The dermis around it was red and swollen making the true level of art slightly obscured. She could clearly make it out though as it twisted and spiraled and merged and wrapped around her ribs. The detail was exquisite and precise. No errors or mistakes. They merged into each other perfectly.

A bright smile spread across her face. She kissed him. “Thank you. It’s amazing. I love it.”

Kane, Tattoo Canvas

Kane kissed her back and smiled. “Good.” He soaked a towel in witchhazel, wiped it down, and the redness and soreness slowly faded. He applied a liberal amount of antibiotics gel and covered it in plastic. “We can use the dermal regenerator to heal it, but it fades the ink a bit. Natural healing is much better.”.

Kane, R&D

“Leave it, let it heal on its own. It will be fine in a few days just fine as long as we don’t get them infected.” She pulled her tank down carefully so as not to disturb the plastic, slipped on her uniform top and lab coat. “I have a couple patients to check on, then dinner?”

Kane, AMO

“Sure. Home or lounge?” he asked as he began cleaning up.

Kane, R&D

“Lounge. It will be good for Frigga to start being around more people again.” Alexis kissed him and then left the lab.

Returning to her office was a test in her patience with socialization. “Dr Kane is everything okay? You’ve been gone hours.” Followed by endless questions about what the noise was (which some had heard from their friends in science), what was the meaning of the song, was Kane really that scary that security couldn’t do anything, what had she been doing all that time????

“I found a quiet place to work undisturbed by interuptiond, so I could finish my reports for Dr Walker.” She moved past them, grabbing the PaDDs for her last two patients of the day and went to examine them.

Kane, AMO

A couple of hours later Kane walked into the Lounge with Frigga. A few of the scientists saw him and glared, but a couple of them nodded at him. He gave them a quick jerk of the head in response and then found a table. Frigga began moving around the room, visiting those she knew and hadn’t seen in a while before coming back and curling up under the table, her tail wagging and hitting Kane in the shin.

Kane

Alexis was 15 minutes later and it wouldn’t be hard to know it was because she got caught up researching or studying or something of the sort. She looked up from the PaDD she was carrying long enough to scan the room. The stylus she was holding disappeared into her bun as she made her way across the lounge to the table. She ignored looks from the same science officers. Some annoyed, some amused, Alexis didn’t notice either way.

She sat and reached down to pet Frigga and scratch her ears. Flipping the PaDD upside-down on the table she grinned at him. “You know security is intimidated by you.”

Alexis

Kane scoffed and shook his head. “Naw. They just hate the documentation that comes form dealing with me. And it probably irritates them to no end they can’t access the R&D area. I have it locked out to everyone not DH and above and you.” and he chuckled. “Ticks them off to no end when they can’t go where they want.”

Kane

“Well there is that, and the fact that they were afraid you would turn the music up so loud the deflector dish would vibrate off the ship.” Alexis seemed annoyed at the exaggeration. “That would put everyone at risk, and they should know by now you wouldn’t do that…unless they deserved it. Did you do anything interesting today, other than design tattoos?”

Alexis

Kane chuckled softly. Of course she didn’t catch the exaggeration. He then shrugged and said “Oh, just puttered around. Oh, I did figure out how to get the surgical frames to autocalibrate to the individual as soon as the preliminary scans are uploaded. Should cut down on prep time by about ten minutes.” he said off handedly. One of the Lounge staff arrived and brought a Monte Cristo sandwich for Alexis and two double cheeseburgers and onion rings for Kane… and a plate of cubed steak for Frigga. Kane took a piece and held it under the table and looked at Alexis. “What about you?”

Kane

“I had veterinary appointments all morning. After Frigga got hurt, the fact I have that training apparently is now known.” Alexis grinned as the sandwich was set down.

Frigga sat up, her tail thumping against the leg of the table and gently took the steak.

“Oh and I think I have isolated what to do about Daamu’s lack of blood production. It will never be safe for her to have another baby, but at least she will be healthy.”

Alexis

“Plenty of folks live long and happy lives not being able to have kids. And the fact she made it through that one is a freakin’ miracle, so she should just take the win.” Kane said flatly. “Ya know, I never got it, Lex. That overwhelming biological drive to have a kid. Regardless of consequences. It’s just… well… ridiculous to me. There are enough kids in this galaxy that don’t have anyone… go get one of them and help them. Such a damn waste…” he said and took a drink.

Kane

Alexis’ head tipped to the side. “It’s an evolutionary necessity for the propagation of the species. That instinct is still there in humanoids. For all our advances though, people should really think more before deciding to have children. I had a bitubal litigation years ago.” She took a bite of the Monte Cristo after dipping it in the sauce as she thought. A myriad of thoughts and details raced across her mind and clearly on her face. “We’ve never talked about that. Is that something you would want? To adopt?”

Alexis

Kane shrugged. “I never thought about having a kid. Not even adopting. Maybe… if we were more stationary and didn’t have… the other stuff to contend with. But kids were not something I ever thought about. What about you?” he asked.

Kane

“I don’t think I would be a good parent. Soulis brought it up several times. He thought if augme tatiin was too dangerous, a breeding program was a solution. I always knew I never wanted to be pregnant, and after that I decided to make sure.” Alexis shrugged, “Adopting is a much more conscientious way to have and raise a child. If there weren’t the other factors, I suppose we could discuss it. It’s not something I ever wanted, though.”

Alexis

Kane nodded and then said “Ok, let’s make a deal. If either of us changes our mind, we talk to the other. Otherwise, we agree that no kids is the way forward. Agreed?”

Kane

“Agreed.” Alexis took a piece of the steak and held it under the table for Frigga. Frigga looked at it confusedly. Alexis never hand fed her, and then she gently took it, her tail banging against Kane’s leg rapidly. “Besides, we have Frigga.” Alexis vividly remembered those first months of Frigga being a puppy and how she would get caught up in her work and poor Frigga had to wait for everything. She picked up her sandwich and took a bite.

Alexis


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