Tori sat at the desk in her lavish VIP dorm room. It was twice as large as the regular dorms and she had it all to herself. Plus she had the bonus of a very comfortable double bed and her own private bathroom.
She got this luxury because she was Victoria Ashfell. The precious daughter of Mister Michael Ashfell, accomplished business man and owner of Ashfell technologies.
All this luxury however didn't help Tori solve her current problem. She was trying to find a way to cure a very rare disease, a disease that attacked Tori's immune system and was starting to cause early stage organ failure.
This was the main reason Tori decided to study micro biology and nano technology. Even if she couldn't save herself then maybe her research could help save others.
She was typing away at her computer when her data pad started to beep at her. Tori sighed as she picked the data pad up and saw that it was her father checking in on her.
"Hello father." Tori greeted the balding man in a tailored black suit that was looking back at her from the other side of the screen.
"How is my sweet little girl? Resting I hope." Tori's father smiled at her.
"I'm fine. Just working on my thesis." Tori wanted to get her father off her back as quickly as possible so that she could get back to work.
"I won't keep you from your work long. I just called to remind you that I will be picking you up in the morning to take you to your monthly checkup." Mr. Ashfell stated as he started to look through documents on his desk.
Victoria groaned. She hated going for her checkup. The doctors were the best on Mars of course but it didn't keep them from poking and prodding her. The worst was the sad look on their faces because they knew as well as she did that she didn't have much time left before the disease would destroy her body. It's not like Tori couldn't take care of herself any better than the doctors could at this point.
"I don't see why I have to keep going to see them. Obviously there isn't anything they can do for me, and I have everything I need to take care of myself here." Tori argued with her father.
"We will talk about this matter after your check up tomorrow." Mr. Ashfell then disconnected the call.
Tori put her data pad down with a sigh. This argument has happened every month for the past year. Even with all the bodily fluids, tests, scans, and everything else that was done to her nothing could be done to stop the disease from spreading. Which is why Tori had asked her father for a lab at the University that she could use any time to try to find a cure herself. She may not be as good as the medical team that was assigned to her case but she knew she had the knowledge and skills in nanotechnology that could at least give her a fighting chance.
Tori tuned back to computer and was just starting to work again when she started to cough violently. The coughing fit lasted for only a couple of minutes but Tori could taste the copper of blood in her mouth and the pain it left in her chest.
Tori knew that this would keep happening but still took the time to rinse her mouth, brush her teeth, and take that much needed rest.
When Tori finally woke up she was no longer in her dorm room. She opened her eyes and immediately regretted it as the harsh lights of her hospital room caused her eyes great pain.
As Tori squinted her eyes to look around the room she noticed her father slumped in a chair in the corner fast asleep. She tried to sit up and groaned as a wave of pain laced through her chest and she started coughing again.
The moment Tori started making noise her father was there by her side. "Someone get in here and help!" Mr. Ashfell shouted while he tried to comfort his daughter.
It only took moments for nurses and Tori's doctor to flood into the room. They managed to clear the fluid from Tori's lungs and had her settled.
"Dad..." Tori whispered. Her father immediately took her hand.
"I'm here." He replied softly.
"I don't want to hurt anymore. I don't want to die yet..."
"Don't talk like that." Mr. Ashfell said sternly as he looked down at his only child.
"You know... as well as I do that I am running out of time...." Tori whispered before her eyes fluttered shut and she fell back to sleep.