=/\= Sickbay, USS Vindicator, 2 years ago =/\=
LtJG Janel sat the chair opposing the Chief Medical Officer's desk in
the CMO's office. He found himself nervously playing with his fingers,
waiting for the Chief to return. He was ordered to the office and,
when he arrived, the nurse told him to take a seat and that the doctor
would return shortly.
His mind raced with possibilities. Perhaps he killed a patient. But,
then again, that hadn't happened in atleast a week. Perhaps he forgot
to refill the hypospray tray and one of the other doctors complained.
Or maybe he was up for promotion. A second full pip sure would look
good on his uniform, and maybe the ladies would give a full lieutenant
more consideration than a junior lieutenant. Then again, maybe not.
After a few moments, Doctor Matt Hutcherson, the CMO, walked in and
took a seat at his desk, putting his head up as Janel began to rise to
his feet, as his Starfleet programming required.
"At ease, Doctor. Please remain seated."
Janel nodded and waited as Hutcherson made himself comfortable in the
proverbial big chair. "Now, I am afraid there is an issue we must
discuss, Doctor Janel"
The young lieutenant nodded, waiting for the news.
"One of the casualties from the assault on Starbase 369 was a Marine
Captain named Torel Sorad. After he died, someone managed to put his
body in a status unit and I was able to recover the symbiant. This
itself was truely a miracle, considering all the casualties we took in
that operation. Now, the symbiant was injured by Dominion weapons
fire, but it is still alive. Unfortunately, its life signs are
failing. If I don't transplant the symbiant into a compatible host in
the next 12 hours, I'm afraid we might lose it. I expect the Trill
commission would give Starfleet Medical hell over a incident like
this, and I don't need a complaint in my service jacket about losing a
symbiant, to say nothing of the moral and ethical implications. The
problem is that there are so few compatible hosts. I checked the
Starfleet medical records and, of all the Trills onboard, you are the
only one approved for joining."
Janel seemed taken back by the news. He had been selected for joining
many years before, but the Trill Commission, in its wisdom, had not
yet found a suitable symbiant to merge him with. In the years, he had
come to a certain internal peace knowing that he probably would never
be joined.
"I see." Janel replied. "Well, we must certainly save the symbiant."
"I'm glad you agree, Doctor. So, now I must ask you, do you want to be
joined? I will be completely honest here. I have no experience when it
comes to this operation, and I cannot hope to prepare you for the
psychological ramifications of becoming joined with a symbiant. The
Starfleet training on this is sparse and for good reason. I, being a
human, am not a Trill and expect that I couldn't hope to understand
the complexity of the Trill-Symbiant bond. So, if you want to take
some time to think about it, you may, and I will defend you if you
refuse. However, the clock really is ticking on this and the sooner
you can decide, I think the symbiant will fare better."
Janel nodded: "I do not need to contemplate the decision, Doctor. I
wish to be joined."
Hutcherson nodded. "Alright. Report to the operating room in 12 hours.
I will have the necessary preparations by then. Until then, you are
dismissed."
Janel stood at attention for a moment, before walking out of the office.
=/\= Operating Room =/\=
Janel lied on the operating table, with scanners and readouts all
around him. The nurses surrounded the biobed and were preparing the
instruments and checking the patient's vitals before the operation
would commense. Hutcherson looked at Janel, his face covered with a
white surgical mask. Janel felt a cold metal feeling as the alpha wave
inducer was attached to his forehead.
Hutcherson spoke, although Janel found himself so apprehensive that he
couldn't seem to understand words.
"I will let you know how the operation went when you wake up in the
recovery ward. With any luck, this will be a successful joining. Let's
get started."
He nodded to the nurse, who activated the alpha wave inducer. Janel
found the room began to spin and his eyeleads seemed heavy. He blinked
for a few moments, but was quickly rendered unconscious by the simple
device. Noting that the patient was ready, Hutcherson reached for his
scalpel.
=/\= END LOG =/\=
LtJG Janel
AMO
USS Vindicator
SD 240803.18
