章節 58: Lifesigns: Part One
Chapter 59: Lifesigns: Part One.
(One month later)
"BINI! For god, sake stop him!" Micheal yelled as I pasted them in the corridor. I increased my speed as I headed towards a drunk, late and insane Tom Paris ran down the corridor towards the nearest turbo lift. He ignored us as we chased after him, trying to stop him from making a big mistake.
I, then, jumped, slamming into him, causing us to slam the ground. Groaning in pain, I rolled onto my back, cursing my existence.
"Bini? What the hell?" He yelled. I jumped up and glared at him.
"You are drunk! You can't just-"
"Can't talk." Tom yelled and bolted from the scene. I sighed and rolled my eyes.
"If you get in trouble, don't blame it on us!" I called out.
-----
Tom Paris's POV
"S-orry I'm late," I slurred as I stumbled onto the busy bridge. "but I have a very good excuse. Picture this. I'm just getting ready to leave the Mess hall, when Ensign Wildman goes into labour. What else could I do but deliver the baby? Oh, you should've been there, Harry. There is nothing like bringing a new life into the world. I think I missed my calling. What if I told you the turbolift got stuck on deck six? Perhaps the local trouble maker, Bini Filters tackled me in the corridor?"
"This is the third time you've been late this week, Mister Paris." Chakotay growled at me.
"It won't happen again." I promised, but we both know that's a lie.
"Commander, I am picking up a distress call on one of the upper subspace bands." Tuvok interrupted from the security station.
"What's the source?" Chakotay asked, focusing his attention more matters The Captain at signalling I was playing game well. I nodded back sat down at my Trying to sober up
"A small spacecraft. No weapon systems. One life form aboard. Extremely weak life signs."
"Slow to half impulse." Chakotay ordered.
"According to the bioscanner, it's a Vidiian female."
"Open a channel."
"No response."
"She may be too sick." Chakotay suggested.
"Or maybe it's some kind of trick." I shot back.
"Preliminary scans show no other Vidiian ships in this sector. It is unlikely that this is a trap."
"Commander Chakotay, notify the Doctor. Mister Kim, beam the woman to Sickbay."
"Aye, Captain."
-----
(5 minutes later.)
Kes's POV
I was reading the tricorder as the Doctor gathered his medical supplies, preparing to care for our vidian patient.
"Her renal organs are functioning at twenty percent of normal and her cardiovascular system is on the verge of collapse." I reported.
"Twenty milligrams of lectrazine."
"Cardiovascular and renal systems are stabilizing, but her neural patterns are fading. What is it?" I asked.
"In her parietal lobe. It looks like some sort of implant. It's a very complex web of bioneural circuitry. Nanofibres."
"Could this be what's causing the problem?" I asked as Bini came into sickbay to guard the patient.
"On the contrary. According to these readings, the device is actually storing her synaptic patterns, processing them and transmitting neural electrical impulses to the rest of her systems."
"Are you saying it's some kind of artificial brain?" I asked"No. I'd say it's more like a neuro-cortical stimulator, designed to supplement the higher brain functions." He replied.
"But it's not working anymore." I assumed.
"From what I can tell, the implant itself is functioning, but it's connected to mostly dead nerve cells. If we don't do something quickly, she'll be brain dead in a matter of minutes."
"What about trying to stimulate cell regeneration with a high dosage of inaprovaline?" I suggested.
"Very impressive, Kes, but I think it's too late for that. Get me a high frequency RF transmitter. You're going to have to hurry, Kes. The patient's brain function is diminishing rapidly. Now, set the delta band frequency of the holo-emitter to eight point six tetrahertz." He said. Rushing to the nearest console.
"What are we doing exactly?" I asked, following after him.
"Transferring the patient's synaptic patterns into the holo-buffer before they degrade completely."
"Is there enough storage capacity in the holo-matrix for such complex data patterns?"
"There's enough capacity for my programme, isn't there? And my programme contains over fifty million gigaquads of data, which I don't have to tell you is considerably more than most highly developed humanoid brains."
"What good is preserving her synaptic patterns if there's no body?" I asked.
"I'm creating a holographic body. Not only will we be able to communicate with the patient, but we'll have an accurate model of healthy Vidiian physiology that will aid in treating her actual body." The Doctor explained as he set up the program. "Computer, project the patient's skeletal structure. Now add internal organs. Add musculature. Now apply epidermal layers. Computer, use transporter records to recreate the patient's clothing."
A young vidiian appeared in front of us. Not destroyed by the virus. She looked at her old body in amazement then back at us. Her eyes were full of questions.
-----
Captain Kathryn Janeway's POV
Micheal and Sarah were playing quietly on the sofa, as Chakotay and I had a meeting. The children had a day off from school today so they were spending the day with me.
"According to her ship's navigational logs, the woman was en route to a remote Vidiian colony." Chakotay told me, handing me a padd on the information of the space ahead.
"Are we anywhere near it?" I asked.
"It's about ten light years away. We should be in the general vicinity in about twenty two days." I replied.
"Assuming she survives, and we can take adequate security precautions, we'll turn her over to her people when we get there." I replied.
"Captain." Chakotay said. Catching my attention once again.
"Is there something wrong?"
"I wanted to talk to you about Lieutenant Paris. His attitude lately has been less than professional." Chakotay pointed out. I shifted in my chair uncomfortably. I know that Tom's behaviour has been awful. But this is part of our plan. I can't tell Chakotay. No matter how much I want to.
"I've noticed." I replied. Trying to keep the plan shut.
"I know crew discipline's my responsibility, but in this case I thought I should let you get involved before I took any action. In a way, Paris has been your personal reclamation project.
"I appreciate your bringing this to my attention, Commander, but I trust you to handle the problem any way you see fit."
-----
(Next Day)
Bini Filters's POV
(Chief Medical Officer's Log, supplemental. Test results indicate that the holographic body is functioning normally. The patient's synaptic patterns appear to be stable, so I'm now ready to begin transferring her cognitive and motor processes.)
I stood next to the hologram as Kes and the Doctor joined me. Preparing to wake her up officially. The Doctor gently reached out and touched her arm to wake her up. She jumped up in shock and looked at us in fear.
"Who are you?"
"I'm the Chief Medical Officer of the Federation Starship Voyager. We received your distress call and brought you aboard." He explained.
"What have you done to me?" She snapped.
"It's quite simple, really. I used the undamaged chromosomes in your cerebellum to recreate your original DNA code, and then programmed the computer to project a holographic template based on that genome."
"Holographic?"
"A three-dimensional projection of light and energy. See for yourself." He explained, handling her a mirror.
'Your neural patterns were degrading rapidly. It was too late to expect results from inaprovaline, so I was forced to improvise, not that it would have occurred to just any physician. " He explained as she stared at herself in the mirror, tears started to tun down her face. "Why are you crying?"
"I'm sorry, I-I..." She stammered.
"I thought you'd be pleased."
"I am. I just never expected to look healthy again. I've been sick for so long." She explained with a smile.
"I'll need a complete medical history. How long have you been ill exactly?"
"I was first diagnosed with the Phage when I was seven." She explained.
"And when did you begin receiving replacement tissue?"
"About that same time. At first, it was hard to get used to the changes, but it happened so often that after a while I, I almost stopped noticing. I never, I never thought I'd see myself again. Thank you. This is the most extraordinary thing anyone has ever done for me."
"I wouldn't be too grateful. There are serious limitations to being a hologram. First of all, we can only exist within environments equipped with holo-emitters, such as the Sickbay."
"Do you mean you're a-"
"I'm this ship's Emergency Medical Holographic Programme." He explained.
"You're a computer simulation?"
"An incredibly sophisticated computer simulation." He snapped back, thinking it as an insult.
"I'm sorry." She apologized quickly. "What did you say your name was?"
"I don't have a name. It wasn't part of my original programme. However you, I'm sure, have one."
"Denara. Denara Pel." She replied.
"Well, Miss Pel. May I ask what someone with an illness like yours was doing alone in space with no access to medical care?"
"I was helping to treat an outbreak of the Phage on Fina Prime. I was on my way back to my home colony, but it's a long journey and my condition got worse." Denara said.
"You're a medical practitioner of some kind?"
"A haematologist."
"Well then, perhaps given your expertise, you can help me with your treatment." The Doctor suggested.
"My treatment? I feel fine."
"Unfortunately, that's only temporary. Your synaptic patterns will eventually degrade if we don't get them out of the pattern buffers and back into your brain."
"How long?" She asked.
"A few days. Perhaps a week."
"I see." She numbly replied.
"Your real body is in stasis. As you can see, we have to find a way to repair your damaged neural tissue." The Doctor said as Denara looked over to her body but couldn't face the sight of it and looked away. "Is something wrong?
"It's nothing."
"I'm eager to discuss treatments."
"Of course."
She hopped off the biobed, Kes moved away to continue her work as I followed them into the Doctor's office. He turned his computer to face them and showed her a diagram of her skeleton and pointed to her skull. I, then noticed B'Elanna scowling at the couple in the Doctor's chair. He clearly has a treatment that B'Elanna really doesn't like.
"The procedure is quite simple. I'll drill an opening into your skull precisely two millimetres in diameter, and then use a neuralyte probe to extract a sample of your parietal lobe, weighing approximately one gramme."
"It doesn't sound simple to me." B'Elanna interrupted. "I still have nightmares about what those people did to me. And now, you want to crack open my head, cut out a piece of my brain and give it to her?"
"Your experience in the Vidiian prison suggests Klingon DNA is resistant to the Phage. Losing a small amount of neural tissue is inconsequential." He argued.
"Not to me, it isn't." B'Elanna barked back.
"Yet that same tissue, grafted onto the patient's brain and stimulated to grow, will significantly slow the spread of her infection. If we can increase the grafted tissue mass quickly enough, we can transfer her synaptic patterns back into her brain before they degrade in the holo-buffer. It won't cure the Phage, but it should prolong her life considerably. Please, change into a surgical gown and lie down on biobed number one."
"I am not going to-"
"Excuse me." Denara interrupted B'Elanna. "I just want to say that I've read about the experiments that were done on you. What you went through must have been very traumatic."
"That is an understatement." B'Elanna muttered.
"I'm sure it is. Please understand this disease has been killing my people for hundreds of years. Trying to stop it has become an obsession, and many of our politicians and scientists have never developed compassion for the people who keep us alive. As much as I want to go on living, I've accepted the fact that I will die soon. I only want your help if you are willing to give it."
"Of course I, I'd like to help you if I can." She finally relented with a slight shudder.
"If you have any questions at all about the procedure, I'd be happy to answer them for you." Denara said. B'Elanna shook her head and got up.
"I'll go and get changed."
-----
(Next Day)
Kes's POV
"I've finished ingrafting the Klingon neural tissue to your cerebral cortex. Now all I have to do is create an axonal pathway between that tissue and your basal ganglia." The Doctor explained as surgery finished and I started the process of cleaning up.
"Your technique is very impressive." Denara said as she looked at her infected body on the biobed.
"It's all part of my programming. For example, this exact procedure was developed by Doctor Leonard McCoy in the year 2253. I'm equipped with the collective medical knowledge of more than three thousand cultures. Additionally, as you see here, my imaging system allows me to perform, and in many cases improve upon, the most delicate tactile manoeuvres required by a dizzying array of surgical procedures." The Doctor bragged.
"Incredible."
"It is, isn't it? Hand me the submicron suture, please. There. That should do it. Excellent work, Doctor."
"I was only assisting." She blushed.
"Nonetheless, that assistance was invaluable. It could be two or three days before we'll know if the graft will hold. In the meantime, perhaps I should deactivate your programme temporarily."
"Do you have to?" She asked.
"It would slow the degradation of your synaptic patterns."
"But I have so much energy. I don't know. Maybe it's the excitement of the surgery or, or maybe it's this new body. What I'd really like to do is take a walk and see the rest of your ship."
"Unfortunately, that's not possible. However, if you're looking for something to do, please feel free to use my office to access our medical database. You'll find several interesting texts on comparative endocrinology."
"All right. Thank you."
"On second thought, there is someplace else we could go."
-----
Bini Filters's POV
"You are missing the point of the game! Just hit the 8 ball! This isn't hard!" I snapped. Micheal shot me a dirty look and attempted to hit the ball on the pool table again. Missing again. "Are you even related to the Captain? Geez..."
"Look, I can't aim! Clearly!" Micheal snapped back.
"Your Mother needs to teach you some skills for crying out loud."
Neelix and Tom joined us as we continued to argue about technique. Tom swiftly grabbed the pool cue out of my hands and pointed to Micheal.
"Don't listen to her, Micheal. You are doing great. Bini can be a moron sometimes." Tom said.
"Ouch. Damn, Tom."
Suddenly the Doctor and the vidiian, who was a hologram now...I can't explain it.
"It's wonderful. If I had a place like this to go to, I'd be there every day." Denara commented, looking around in wonder. Tom and Neelix took over and started to play as Micheal and I watched the new couple.
"Don't your people have recreational facilities?" The Doctor asked. Micheal leaned over to me and snickered.
"He likes her." He whispeared. I rolled my eyes.
"Yeah, no. Stop trying to pair everyone together." I retorted.
"I bet you 10 rations that he is going to date her."
"Deal." I agreed.
"Congregating in groups is strictly regulated. It's considered to be a threat to public health." Denara explained to the Doctor.
"A wise policy."
"I suppose. Sometimes I think my people spend so much time trying to save lives, they don't know how to live anymore."
"Doctor!" Neelix exclaimed happily as they finished their game and joined the couple. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your date?"
"She is not my date. She's my patient."
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize." Neelix quickly apologized.
"Mister Neelix, this is Doctor Denara Pel." The Doctor introduced.
"As Chief Morale Officer, may I be the first to welcome you to Voyager." He chirped.
"Madame," The sly man named Gigolo said, the same dude who hit on the Captain. "Your loveliness illuminates our dark little cavern. May I have the pleasure of this next dance?"
"Go away, immediately, both of you. You're disturbing my patient." The Doctor ordered.
"You are just jealous because you cannot dance." Gigolo shot back. Getting a well-deserved laugh from Micheal and I.
"Let's go. You're making the lady nervous. Nice to meet you." Neelix insisted. Pushing Gigolo away.
"I apologize." The Doctor quickly said to her. Blocking out everyone else.
"No. They were just being nice."
"Irritating, isn't it?"
"I guess I'm just not used to so much attention. Where I come from, when you're as sick as I am, people, healthy people stay away from you. I guess I forgot for a second that I don't look like that anymore."
"All this talk about me. There's still so much I'd like to know about you."
"There's not much to tell, really. My programme was developed by Doctor Louis Zimmerman in a lab on Jupiter Station. I was activated on stardate 48308. Since that time I've performed three hundred and forty-seven medical exams, healed eleven compound fractures, performed three appendectomies, and in my greatest feat of medical prowess, I once cured Mister Neelix of an acute case of the hiccups." The Doctor explained, making Denara laugh.
"You're very funny."
"I am? Well, several clinical studies have shown humour to be very therapeutic. Consider it part of your treatment. What is it?"
"It's, er, just that I, I haven't laughed in a very long time. Thank you. Well, what did that man mean when he said you can't dance?"
"That's dancing." The Doctor explained, pointing to a holographic couple moving backwards and forwards on the dance floor.
"And you can't do it?"
"It's not part of my programming."
"Oh. I see."
"Well, Doctor Pel.'
"Please, call me Denara."
"As you wish, Denara."
"And what about you? What should I call you?" she asked,
"Well, as I said-"
"I know. You don't have a name. Would it be all right if I gave you one?"
"Well, I-"
"How about Shmullus." She suggested.
"Shmullus?"
"It was my uncle's name. He used to make me laugh too."
"Doctor Shmullus. I think I like the sound of that."
Micheal and I moved away from the pair, arguing on our bet that I was now losing faith in. They shimmered away, back to sickbay.
-----
Denara's POV
"Well, here we are." Shmullus said as we reappeared in sickbay. I tried to push my growing feelings for him as I looked back at him. Unsure of how to respond.
"Yes, here we are." I finally replied awkwardly.
"Denara, I think we should-"
"Yes?" I said hopefully. Maybe he would reveal that he also has feelings for me? No...No, he couldn't love a monster like me.
"Deactivate your programme for at least eight hours."
"If you think it's best.'
"I do."
"All right, then." I relented.
"All right. Computer-"
"Shmullus?" I called out to him.
"Yes?" He asked.
"I had a wonderful time."
"I'm pleased."
"Thank you, for everything." I said. A small part of me expecting an end of date kiss.
"Thank you for giving me a name. Er, well, good night, Denara."
"Good night, Shmullus."
"Computer, deactivate Vidiian Programme Alpha."
-----
(Next Day: Breakfast)
Bini Filters's POV
"What the hell is wrong with you?" I snapped as I sat across from a barely awake Tom Paris, "When I say Stop! I mean stop. When I have to tackle you as I did a few days ago. Don't go to the bridge! It is almost like you are purposely doing this, stupid behaviour!"
"Bini, shut up and mind your own business."
"Fine." I said, abruptly standing up. "If you won't listen to reason then why should I bother trying to make you."
I spun around and went back to Sarah and Micheal in the corner of the messhall.
"Is he insane? What does he think he is doing?" Micheal hissed.
"Tom is scary." Sarah commented as she petted Mollie.
"I don't know...It's better we don't worry about it." I insisted. They both hesitantly nodded. Then Micheal frantically pointed back to Tom's table.
"Chakotay! Chakotay looks pissed!"
We all turned around and saw Chakotay standing above Tom, who was sulking in his seat. We all kept a close ear to the coming conversation.
"Mind if I join you? So how are things, Tom?" Chakotay pleasantly asked.
"Excuse me?" Tom barked in surprise.
"How have you been feeling lately? Something bothering you?" He asked, leaning against the empty chair.
"Oh, no offence, Commander, but why this sudden concern for my feelings?"
"Well, you've been moody lately, indifferent to your duties. To be honest, you don't seem to be taking your job very seriously. If you've got a problem, I'd like to know what it is." Chakotay replied.
"Yeah, I've got a problem. My problem is you." Tom said, standing up and grabbing the attention of the entire room.
"Oh damn, this is really happening!" I muttered.
"You care to elaborate?" Chakotay hissed.
"You tell me I don't take my job seriously. But half the time, you don't let me do my job."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that you don't trust my judgement. You don't allow me to take initiative. Remember last week? I suggested that we might save time by travelling through that emissions nebula. But what did you say? Oh no, that's not the way we do things on this ship." Tom ranted.
"Look, sometimes I'm not going to agree with your suggestions. But making decisions is part of being a leader. Maybe someday you'll understand that."
"Being a leader also means knowing when to give your people a little leeway and let them be creative like the Captain. I might as well put this ship on autopilot for all the freedom you give me to do my job." He insulted.
"I didn't come here for a lecture from you on how to do my job."
"Yeah, well, I know you don't put much stock in my opinion. So maybe you should talk to some of these people, because I'm not the only one around here who's got a problem with you. Now, if there's nothing else, sir, I'd like to be excused."
"Sure, Paris. You're excused."
-----
Ensign Jonas's POV
"Dissension among the Voyager crew. Maje Culluh will find that very interesting. Good work, Mister Jonas. Now, there's something else we'd like you to do. We want you to create a small accident which will damage Voyager's warp coils.' Lorrum ordered me
"Why?" I asked.
"There's no need to concern yourself with that. You just plan the accident. We'll let you know exactly when we want it to happen. Do we understand each other?" He snapped.
"I want to talk to Seska." I argued.
"I'm afraid Maje Culluh won't-"
"You tell Maje Culluh that I won't do anything to damage Voyager. And if he has a problem with that, tell him to have Seska contact me." I snapped, shutting off the communication and taking a deep breath.
-----
Kes's POV
"Doctor, when you have a minute-" I started but came to a stop once I saw the Doctor frowning at his computer screen in the office.
"I'm running a level two self-diagnostic right now. I'll be there as soon as I'm finished." He said, waving me away.
"Why are you running a diagnostic?" I asked with concern.
"I've been experiencing periodic lapses in concentration and difficulty handing objects. There may be a malfunction in my tactile acuity subroutine."
"How long has this been going on?" I asked.
"About two or three days."
"Since Denara came aboard." I concluded.
"What's your point?" He asked with annoyance.
"Maybe she's the reason you're feeling this way." I suggested.
"I fail to see a connection."
"Maybe you're attracted to her."
"I told you, my programme's malfunctioning." He barked back in defense.
"Romance is not a malfunction."
"Romance is not part of my programming."
"Your programming's adaptive, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"Then I'd say it's adapting."
"What if I don't want it to adapt right now?"
"Why wouldn't you?"
"Because I don't like what's happening to me. I'm used to being in control of my faculties, confident of my decisions. But lately, whenever Denara's programme is deactivated and I should be concentrating on my work, I find myself thinking of nothing but her." He admitted.
"Why don't you reactivate her?" I asked.
"Because whenever I do that, I suddenly feel unsettled, unsure of myself, and I have no idea what to say. Why would people seek out situations which induce such unpleasant symptoms?"
"Because when the other person feels the same way you do, it's the most wonderful thing in life."
"Suppose, hypothetically, of course-" He said, starting to pace.
"Of course."
"I wanted to pursue that possibility. How would I proceed?"
"You'd have to tell her how you feel."
"That's it? Just tell her how I feel?"
"Otherwise you may never know how she feels." I pressed.
---End of Chapter 59: Next: Lifesigns: Part Two---
AN: Credit goes to The Voyager transcripts. Wouldn't have been able to write this story without it.
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