TL/DR:
Shea was in a notorious scavenging group nicknamed “Vulture”, that would steal from colonies to survive. At six years old she was adopted along with her fifteen year old mentor (Krisko) by two Vulcan members, Melanie and Kole after a failed scouting mission. Over the next few years she becomes determined to assist the settlement in any way she can. Her interest led Kole to suggest helping them out in the infirmary. There she found a passion in comforting the sick, assisting the dying, and medicine making. Unfortunately she had also become the apprentice to the Head of Pharmacy, who is a raging narcissist. This shaped how she viewed herself as an individual and her current workflow.
After fixing a heart rate monitor it was discovered that Shea could catch on to most things at an impressive rate. From there she became the official “Backup”. A favored replacement for non-specialized tasks when manpower was low. Though she also did finish the tasks of others from time to time. Both of these jobs made her feel like she was doing her part, being a useful cog in the machine.
Growing up in Vulcan, she considered it home and openly called it so.
TW: Child Abandonment, Implied Imprisonment, Mentions Of Child Abuse.Extended:
She had always been a clever kid. She learned to read and write as early as two years old. Her reflexes were sharp by four. The downfall of being clever was never ending curiosity. Curiosity led to wandering, and wandering was always punished. Punishment would seep through her clothes if not bandaged properly. It would feel like every muscle in her body was on fire. Sometimes she was sure she could hear laughter as she screamed and she could make out joyous smiles through her tears. Even if she did her best to avoid that fate, another thing would trap her there. It was a never ending cycle.At six years old she met her mentor, a fifteen year old, who she looked up to. He taught her everything she needed to know to avoid punishments by signaling her to mimic him. The basics were simple: steal, run, sleep. Take what you need and never look back. The group would steal from other, larger, places for supplies. Many she would never see more than once. It was encouraged to be timely in every mission, even one failure could mean you were left behind. To survive this lifestyle is to be cowardly; the group as a whole matters much more than losing one individual. Maybe this was why the longest standing members of the group didn’t know how to speak. So they couldn’t talk about the group, expose them. Either way, if a child in the group did learn - even a single word - they were punished, it was smarter not to learn at all.Once she received a mentor she was officially able to be part of missions. As she was slowly understanding the gist of her duties, she recognized a pattern the more missions she was a part of: a name that followed her ears wherever she ended up. Vulture. She heard it in hushed whispers and yelled in the distance as the group sped off in their vehicle. She didn’t know what it meant, but that’s what she started calling the people around her, in secret of course. She would learn other words, speaking and practicing when she knew she wasn’t watched. She was sure even her mentor had no idea that she was doing such a taboo thing.The Vulcan mission was where things changed. The mission, in theory, was simple. Her and her mentor would be mapping out and detailing things inside the colony. The biggest problem was that it was her first time scouting and creating a map; she had only followed them at that point. He tried to explain that she wasn't allowed to steal anything to her several times, having to hold her back from taking a few objects, as she assumed they were on a retrieval mission. It wasn’t as if she didn’t understand what their objective was, she simply had gotten too comfortable with him, she believed they would be fine because they were together.As they made their way within the settlement, a shine caught her eye from the top of a work table. An object she recognized as something the group needed desperately. This time her mentor wasn't watching her as closely as he should have been, so focused on the actual task at hand. He was out of sight while she climbed a bench and found her way onto the table. Just as she got the object into her hands she heard a yell."Huh-!"She could feel the anger, which made her freeze. Before she could attempt to run on her own, her mentor appeared. The object she took was long forgotten at this point as she felt herself be thrown over his shoulder as they bolted. A gunshot and a scream following suit, but they were too far to know what this meant. They were near the center of the settlement, so escape wasn’t a viable option, but it took the members longer than first thought to capture them. In the end, using teamwork and a bed sheet the two were caught then thrown into someone’s sleeping quarters.They were only given half a day to return. She knew that if the two of them didn’t come back in time they would be abandoned. Even if they ended up making it back, expressing that they failed would make the group leave regardless. She had seen it, and always feared it. With panic paralyzing her thoughts, she cried into his chest, only sleeping when she ran out of tears to shed.///Her eyes fluttered open when she felt gentle hands place a cold, wet, cloth on her forehead. She was disgustingly hot, her body was sore, and her throat was dry. In her feverish state, she could only tell the person attending to her was a medic because she saw a red cross on their ID badge. She could barely feel the familiar pull of a hand that held onto her own. Her mentor was there, but she couldn't see him fully. She didn't need to. She fell asleep to the sounds of pen on paper after being given water and medicine.She became familiar with the medic who tended to her, Kole being the name she read on their badge. They would help her sit up, take her temperature, and make sure she swallowed her medicine. She could see the worry on their brow and in their actions, so it didn’t take long for her to warm up to them. She would give Kole smiles in an attempt to ease them, as if telling them not to stress so much.When she was healthy again, the uncertainty came back. By then it was a few days after their failed mission and their group had already fled. To Vulcan they must seem useless as well. What use do two young thieves have here? That was when Kole, and their wife (Melanie), walked in. She vaguely remembered the woman interacting with her mentor in her feverish state. With a pad and paper they expressed that they wanted to adopt the two.After a quick explanation, she looked to her mentor, basically begging him to agree. She had gotten attached to Kole, as they were a gentle and kind figure, and though she didn’t spend much time with Mel she found her just as lovely. A nod was all it took before they became a family.///Kole took a special interest in teaching the two to speak. It turned out that, even though they could do normal doctor duties, they were a speech-language pathologist (SLP). An SLP is a doctor specializing in speech, language, cognitive-communication, and oral/feeding/swallowing skills.On the two’s first day of lessons they chose names for themselves. Her brother chose Krisko, and her, Shea. Krisko had difficulties due to the discovery that his vocal cords seized, so he would need special therapy, potentially a surgery, and evaluations before he could continue. To be sure, he tested Shea, only to find out that she had no complications with speaking whatsoever. It perplexed them. So, after the lesson ended, he asked Krisko to go seek Mel out for dinner. Then, on a personal white board he started a back and forth with little Shea.Shea, I have a question.Yes?Do you know how to speak?A long pause, a tinge of fear creeping up onto her spine. Eventually, however, she gave a hesitant nod. Very little. Words mean punish, I was careful.Do you understand it?Kind of. If simple.Can you talk to me?Am I allowed?Yes. You won’t get in trouble. As if to ensure her, Kole took her hand into their own.A deep, shaky, breath. With gentle reassurance from her parental figure she let out a timid, “H-Hello.” Her cheeks were flushing, tears welling up in her eyes. “I sorry not say. Scared.”“It’s okay. You’re a kid.” They wiped her tears from her eyes before continuing. “Does Krisko know?”“No. Krissy not know.”“Hmm… then it will be our secret.”Kole would keep their word and never tell Krisko why Shea didn’t need vocal therapy. He must have just thought she lucked out somehow. Even without the head start, Shea caught on to lessons impressively quick. She graduated from associating letters with sounds, to reciting picture books aloud, to chapter books within a year. Sure, her grammar needed work, but she was already plenty competent for a seven year old. At nine years old, Kole officially considered her fluent.Even at nine, she wanted to find a way to support her family in the colony. She wasn’t used to not doing much to contribute, and knew that she would need to start contributing soon anyhow. With her being able to communicate to everyone, it furthered her resolve. So, Kole did what they thought was best, and asked her to help in the infirmary. She was a simple intern at first, just organizing and cleaning. Nothing intense since she was young and the adults had more pressing matters.Learning more duties came with the mimicking habit she developed in childhood. Not only was she generally cleaning, she was helping patients too. She was redressing their wounds when medics were busy, making sure they took their medication, getting them a medic if they requested something she didn’t know how to do yet, and simply keeping them company. Her quick learning and diligence in doing so caught the eye of others, and she became an apprentice in no time at all.She was specifically the apprentice to the Head of Pharmacy in Vulcan, Florence Thomas, who she had a complicated relationship with. At first he was an exemplary teacher. Working with her, fueling her curiosity, and being as patient as possible as she got the hang of everything. Kole and Melanie were wonderful adults, so she trusted Dr Thomas, believing him to be cut from the same cloth. It wouldn't take long for him to systematically break her.
From how she dressed, how she spoke, how she walked, and everything in between. He criticized her for everything. It bled from things she could change with a bit of effort to doing the impossible. He even took pleasure in messing with her lessons, leaving her fearful that her lack of progress would get her thrown out. It was very obvious that he hated her, but he couldn't just let anyone teach her either. An unfair give and take. Shea learned a lot, but feared him all the same.When Shea was fifteen a mechanic named Louis watched her fix a malfunctioning heart monitor. It was the same monitor that he had fixed a week or so ago. To Louis’s knowledge, she had no prior training or understanding of how the heart monitor was made, but was able to stumble her way through it. Sure, it could have been a fluke, but just in case he asked to borrow Shea and the (now functioning) heart monitor. After getting permission, he messed with the machine to make it inoperable in the way he remembered it being a week prior, and asked her to fix it. Confused, she did as asked, and it functioned. He asked her how she learned to fix it, and she had told him that she had watched him and learned that way. Of course, he didn’t believe her, so he did what any person would do in this situation, test her until he believed it.It took the sacrifice of two inconsequential machines, but Louis became a believer. Word spread quickly. For the next three years, many others who needed help, but didn’t have the manpower because the usual person was out on a mission, in the infirmary, or was no longer with them asked for her help. It would take her at least thirty minutes to feel out her tasks, and she was off. Of course she was only a temporary solution, it wouldn’t take long for the position she took over to be taken by its new worker, but this series of temp jobs gave her a reputation of a ‘backup’. A favored temporary solution to an immediate problem. Her being a ‘backup’ and her general proficiency at her normal medic duties made her feel complete. Like she was needed.Shea was waiting with a few other medics for a returning scouting party when Vulcan was under attack. Her immediate reaction was to help get as many people out as possible, her family coming to mind too within the chaos. She almost died that day if not for Dr Thomas protecting her. She still doesn't know how to feel about it.
