Subject: Grail: "Last Look Back" - The Shroud (Brinn)

Athalya Anne sat up. Her rest was over. There were things to do now; shedidn't know what that was, but she knew that there would probaly be paper

work to fill out. "Doctor." Athalya Anne flagged down the nearest one,

"What's the probability that I can get out of here soon?"

The doctor eyed her, and then pulled out the tricorder. "Has anyone told

you what you've gone through?" she asked cautiously. Athalya Anne took a

moment to probe the woman. This didn't sound good.

"I've been told that the reason my leg's gone is because of that dirupter

blast and I've suffered a mild concussion."

"Nothing else?" The doctor looked kind of..... Athalya Anne couldn't quite

place it. Dread? Fear?

"No." She couldn't contain herself, "Well, out with it, man!"

The doctor took a deep breath. "Major." Athalya Anne tried not to reach

out and strangle the woman, "Major, as it stands, you will never be able to

have children."

Athalya Anne mentaly paused. It was though some one had hit her in the

stomach with a brick. "What?" Maybe she haden't heard right.

"The raidiation poisioning......" the doctor stopped, as though she had

forgotten what she was going to say, "From the disrupter..... It...."

"Enough." Athalya Anne barked. "That's quite enough." she said somewhat

more civily. "Thank you for telling me."

"Of course, with your life span....." The doctor trailed off.

"Of course." Athalya Anne hollowly echoed.

"You're free to go." the doctor said quietly.

"Thank you." Athalya Anne hobbled off on her pirate-style peg leg. She

walked around for a while, not quite sure of where she was going or what she

was doing. She just walked for the sake of walking. It wasen't that she

didn't want kids. She did. One day. But now, she had heard what the

doctor wasn't saying. The radiation had destroyed her reproductive system.

The probability that it could be repaired, any time, was so small, it was

put into scientiffic notation. *Never. Never look into eyes like my own.

Never hold my daughter or son. Never know a motherly love. Never.....*

And for a few moments, the pain was almost too much to bear. It came over

her like a dark, smothering blanket. *Never.* The word was her shroud.

LMaj Athalya Anne Brinn