U.S.S. Corsair - NX-011979
Nebula II Prototype
“Sic Parvis Magna”
(Greatness From Small Beginnings)
“Doctor’s Prognosis”
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Captain Zane Akina shivered as he paced the uncomfortably cold confines of sickbay. It was delta shift and the ship’s infirmary was dark and empty with the exception of a lone nurse who was quietly working at a computer. It had been two hours since Captain Ramius had been miraculously pulled from the jaws of death on the Vulcan surface. Transported immediately to sickbay the captain had been in surgery for the last hour. There had been no word on his condition or extent of his injuries. Akina prayed the captain would pull through. He had too.
NeoDyne was again on the move. They appeared to have succeeded in creating a being using similar techniques that had saved Ramius’s life as a child and imbued him with alien abilities. This Gabriel claimed to be better than Ramius and from all accounts his claims appeared to be accurate. If he was to be believed then the galaxy had violently lurched ever closer to war and ruin. The only thing preventing NeoDyne from manufacturing a vast army of supermen was that the process of creating a single augmented being appeared to be vastly expensive, time consuming, and took dozens of attempts to produce a viable candidate. They could slowly amass a small unit of these powerful individuals, but would never have enough of them to wage war or drastically alter the balance of power. Perhaps the process could never be perfected, but NeoDyne had come this far. Working out the final genetic and production problems was not beyond their grasp. They had proven they could manufacture a superior humanoid and in doing so threatened peace everywhere by unlocking the door to forbidden technology and techniques that had been sealed away long ago in Earth’s own past.
The Eugenics Wars turned Earth into a planetary warzone. Governments fell, peace was lost, and chaos reigned. Genetically modified humans struggled for dominance against their unmodified creators. The result was decades of total war which damaged the planet as badly as it did its human populations. The end result of the war saw the destruction or banishment of genetically altered humans to the far reaches of space. Genetic research for the purpose of augmenting and improving human capabilities was forever banned. Existing research and information was destroyed. Humanity sealed away that part of its dark history and struggled for generations to forget it. And now…NeoDyne threatened to break the seals on the forbidden knowledge and throw open the doors once again for all to see. Doing so would plunge the galaxy into war and chaos. Once the demons were again released from their prison it might be impossible to stop them this time.
A noise broke Akina’s thoughts as he turned to see Doctor Keith Durandal appear from the operating room. The doctor released his face mask and pulled off his gloves placing them into a refuse receptacle. Akina made his way over to the doctor who pulled off his bloody gown and hat tossing them away as a replication system destroyed them.
“Well doctor?”
Durandal moved to a nearby sink and washed his hands. “That damn fool cost me the better part of a good night’s sleep. I have no idea what happened to him, but I can only guess by the wounds inflicted upon him. Anyway, he’ll make it. This time.”
Drying his hands, Durandal ran them through his sandy blond hair. “No doubt you are down here waiting for an update? If you’ll excuse me, I require a cup of coffee. Given the late hour I sincerely hope I didn’t leave my wrist watch inside of the captain.”
Akina looked horrified.
The doctor put his hand up. “A little medical humor captain. It helps keep us all sane down here.”
Durandal found himself a cup of coffee and fell into his office chair behind his desk. Akina stepped inside the doctor’s office waiting to hear the details.
“Ramius’s injuries were treatable. He had a compound fracture of his right arm, three fractured ribs, and multiple cuts and bruises. There was trauma to internal organs which I repaired. Besides having all the hallmarks of a brawl he lost badly, he should be fine with a few days of rest. His injuries however are not my immediate concern.” Durandal sipped on his coffee carefully watching the captain’s reactions.
“And that is”, Akina asked annoyed at the doctor’s reluctance to talk.
“Patient confidentiality captain. I apologize, but I cannot speak of the matter.”
“You cannot what?”
“Ramius’s immediate wounds will heal. With rest I suspect he will be back to his usual headstrong and difficult self in two days. His long term health is another matter and that is all I can disclose.”
“Doctor, I have the utmost respect for Captain Ramius and consider him a close and trusted friend. Furthermore, I will stipulate that doctor patient confidentiality is a sacred trust and responsibility, but we both know Ramius is no ordinary man. He is of vital importance to Starfleet Intelligence. If you have further information I must insist you disclose it.”
“I appreciate your words and position Captain Akina, however my duties in this matter are crystal clear. I will not betray my patient’s trust. Ramius is not an ordinary person but that does not give you or Starfleet Intelligence an automatic right to his medical records. Listen to yourself. If you seized his records and forcibly went about acquiring his medical status you would be no different than the NeoDyne personnel you seek to stop. I am sure Ramius will disclose what he feels is pertinent to the mission.”
Akina could not argue with the doctor’s rock solid logic and had no desire to pick a fight with the ship’s top physician. “Very well doctor. Please inform me when Ramius is awake and able to receive visitors. I need to debrief him as soon as possible.”
Durandal nodded sipping his coffee. “You will be the first one I call sir.”
Akina politely nodded but stopped and turned on his way out. “How is our other patient doctor?”
“Doing well now that you ask. I expect he too will be up and about soon as well.”
“Thank you doctor.”
Akina left sickbay and headed for security. If he couldn’t talk to Ramius there was another he had a great many questions for.”
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Captain Zane Akina
Starfleet Intelligence
Commander Keith Durandal
Chief Medical Officer, USS Corsair
