A matter of some urgency?

Posted on 20 May 2016 @ 8:18pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Captain Jonathan Holliday & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Lieutenant Tuula Voutilainen M.D. & Lieutenant JG Drusilla McCarthy
Edited on on 28 May 2016 @ 3:04am

3,282 words; about a 16 minute read

Mission: Episode 11 - Divinum Mundi
Location: USS Galielo - Deck 3- Sickbay
Timeline: MD 08 - Time 0900

ON:

Allyndra looked over the chart and frowned. McCarthy's vitals were showing increasing signs of stress as her body was attempting to deal with the problems in the developing fetus. There was already a very good chance that the baby would be spontaneously aborted if more time went on. That in of itself was one thing which would be a sadness but the problems already building up could affect the mother as well.

She shook her head. This early into a new mission and problems that needed to be dealt with already. She needed to act now and present what had been discussed and what the outlook was and see what the Command had to say.

=^=Allyndra to Admiral Saalm and Captain Holiday. I need to request an urgent meeting considering a medical problem at your earliest convenience please and with both senior officers present. Due to the nature of what must be discussed I cannot say without breaching a medical confidentiality=^= She wondered if either of them would note that she used very formal rank, though as senior officers she would do so. Hopefully the tone sounded serious enough.

"On my way," replied Lirha through the comm with a tap on her chest's commbadge. She hadn't had any warning of what was to come, and the word 'urgent' made her heart skip a quick beat. Her mind began to run through all of the possible medical emergency scenarios -- some terrifying and others more docile.

=^=Understood. =^= Holliday's voice echoed the words of his commanding officer, before leaving his office and heading for Sickbay.

The door to sickbay swished open and Lirha entered the medical bay with a quick stride before briefly pausing to take in the surroundings. She then headed into the medical chief's office after giving the door chime a quick press. "Doctor," she said with a quick nod.

"Admiral," replied Tuula, nodding back towards her. In response to Holliday's threat a little earlier, she had gone for a slightly more conservative look. Her mohawk was down and swept to one side, revealing her undercut on the other. She had dyed her hair black -- her favourite colour, one which had the advantage of being regulation -- and added only a hint of blue and turquoise highlights. Her makeup, on the other hand, was as unusual as ever. Black lipstick and black eyeliner, with some vibrant blue eyeshadow and a few silver specks to complete the look.

"Can I help you with something?" continued Tuula, "Is Snuffles doing all right?"

It seemed like every time Lirha set eyes on the wheeled doctor, she had changed her appearance. Her hair color looked darker and the style was...unorthodox, to say the least. That said, she did look strangely more professional -- which of course wasn't saying too much, but it was an improvement from years past. "He is well. Taking a nap right now, I believe," the rear admiral answered. "And he appears to be a bit more docile ever since you performed the procedure."

"That's great," replied Tuula, in an excited tone. "If you ever need someone to targsit, or just take him for a walk through the corridors, I'm more than happy to. He's just so cute!"

"I think so too." It seemed the doctor and the rear admiral had one thing in common, at least. Snuffles was a very adorable targ pup and he brought Lirha a great deal of comfort during some of the more lonely nights when Galileo wandered across the galaxy. "Perhaps next week I can arrange a play session for him with you," Lirha offered.

"Yay!" exclaimed Tuula, almost bouncing out of her chair in excitement. "I'd love that! Just give me a little warning so I can secure Gilbert first!"

"I will. And perhaps your tribble would like to play with mine? Belle has not had much contact with others of her kind ever since we suffered the accidental infestation." And quite an infestation it had been...Lirha couldn't completely blame her younger sister, Nesh, for leaving her pet tribble cage open by accident, but it had been a severe problem for the entire crew while they were attempting to work planet-side with the Cardassian miners. As luck would have had it, the tribbles ended up being the saving grace of the mission. In the end, it had all worked out well. Or so Lirha thought.

"That's a wonderful idea! Gilbert could definitely use some company, and I think they would make a cute couple," exclaimed Tuula excitedly. "Well, except for the whole asexual reproduction thing, but apart from that..."

A few moments later Holliday caused the doors to sickbay to part and he stepped inside the room. Taking a moment to look Tuula up and down he silently noted that she had at least made an effort to head somewhere nearer to regulations. The extra blue colours were however still outside of the rules and the makeup equally unacceptable.

"Admiral. Doctors."

Allyndra was waiting at the office door and the two senior command officers seemed to arrive at almost the same time. She had rearranged the office when the Admiral said she was coming down such that she and the captain Holiday would have the two chairs.

"Sirs," she said with that quiet but no nonsense voice. "If you please," she made an inviting motion with her hands. "This needs to be discussed in private. Tuula," she switched her attention to the other doctor. This was a bit of a gamble asking McCarthy to come down but sometimes seeing the person directly. "Could you please ask Lieutenant McCarthy to come down. I would like to have another scan done." Allyndra turned her attention back to the commanding officers waiting for them to enter and make themselves comfortable.

Tuula nodded and headed off to fetch the two others.

Allyndra waited while the two senior officers entered the small office and it did not take too much for a practiced eye to note that the Admiral had either put on weight or.....well there was only one other reason. "Interesting," Allyndra thought and wondered why she had not been informed yet.

"Thank you for coming so soon and making time in your busy schedules," Allyndra said and closed the door to face the two. "The reason I asked you two come here is I have a crew person with a rather urgent medical matter to attend to, and it is a matter of life and death literally sirs." She took a deep breath. "You may or may not be aware that Lieutenant Drusilla McCarthy is pregnant. She is but due to the nature of genetics the fetus has certain genetic problems. You see when interspecies genes combine there can be what we call dominance, that is where one gene masks the other. In most cases we have what is called mingled dominance, that is there is a blend of characteristics, and in rare cases as with Lieutenant's McCarthy's fetus the two genes mask each other. I am surprised the fetus has gotten this far but the mother's body is so far supplying what would be needed. However, the baby would be non-viable and development is getting sufficiently along that it is affecting the mother. Things can not go on very much longer and perhaps it has gone on too long that there is a real chance that not only is the baby going to die but the mother as well. I do have a solution which is controversial but could potentially save both the mother and the baby."
Allyndra let that long winded speech sink in for the two to contemplate on.

Lirha processed the news and reached up to rub her green forehead; a sign of internal frustration. Of course, the safety and well-being of her crew took priority over the circumstances surrounding their current mission, but had there not been time for such an emergency to be diagnosed and addressed at Jupiter Station? At least, so she wondered. "I see," she replied in a neutral tone. "What is this controversial solution?"

"I think we can replace the genes with functional ones," Allyndra said with a confident coolness. "However, it skirts perilously close to genetic engineering. Some of my staff and I have discussed this and it is my belief that we are not enhancing but just making a simple replacement." She spread her hands, "Still I think before I proceed or not I need permission to do so."

Holliday took a breath before speaking. The doctor was asking permission to do something which as a general rule was against Federation law, something that simply put, did not sit well with him.

"Doctor - you realise the magnitude of what you are asking? I'm aware that the Federation allows some limited genetics to be performed in extraordinary circumstances but only once a whole medical ethics board has approved it....this is highly irregular."

"I agree sir," Allyndra responded. "However by the time the patient presented and due to the now limited window of time there is not the luxury of such a review. I am about to loose two patients." Allyndra let her gaze rest on the Admiral and took a chance though she was fairly confidant of her brief assessment of the Admiral's condition. "It is a terrible thing for a mother to loose a child, it can affect one's outlook and mental state for quite awhile." She figured that Tuula had both Drusilla and Markum down in sickbay by now and probably was telling them that the two senior officers were in the office.

Lirha remained silent while glancing sideways from her XO towards the medical chief. There was perhaps a chance for a formal review, albeit through subspace channels. This situation, however, seemed to be of an urgent nature, and Lirha wondered what sort of time frame they were working with. "How long does she have?" she asked, referring to the ill counselor.

"At this point it time I will lucky to keep them both in the next twenty four hours," Allyndra said it as matter of fact. The real answer was she was not sure and it might be less but certainly not more. "A medical review even subspace they would debate for far longer then needed. I already have a genetic replacement donor already lined up."

Allyndra pressed her comm, =^=Tuula is Chief Quinn here?=^=

Meanwhile, out in the lobby, Tuula was trying to keep Markum and Dru busy with small talk. "...and this is a series of portraits by N'xypb X'rry," said Tuula, struggling slightly with the pronunciation. "I picked them out myself. As you can see, she specializes in humanoid skulls."

Dru's mind was running one hundred miles an hour as she tried to follow Tuula's mindless prattle. She shouldn'tblame the woman really but to have brought herself and Markum down here could only mean one thing...the one thing confirmed as she heard the shi's chief medical officer summon her lover.

"Markum..." As she felt his arm loosen from around her waist, the counsellor bit down hard on her lower lip as she restrained herself from pulling him back. "I love you..."

"Oh!" Tuula pressed her comm badge. "Yes, he's here."

=^=Please have him come in=^=

As Quinn was within earshot, Tuula simply looked up at him and with her eyes, glanced over towards the office.

Quinn entered into the room, a heavy weight upon his shoulders, and the look of despair upon his face. His nerves were on edge, yet he still managed to try and appear as if he was fine, but the two that he knew he could never fool, the two that he considered family since the Galileo first left dry dock in San Francisco all that time ago, he knew they would see through it. "Admiral, Captain." was all he could get out of his mouth.

"Mister Quinn," said Lirha who slowly walked up to him to give him a small and comforting pat on his arm. "I am very sorry to hear about this complication. I believe Doctor Warraquim has a potential solution given the seriousness of the situation...but it is a bit radical, it seems." The look in his eyes almost broke Lirha's heart, and she didn't know how long she could stand watching him in this sort of emotional pain.

Allyndra stayed quiet. This was going to be the deal maker or breaker. She knew Holiday was a by the book man but he would defer to the Admiral if she made a suggestion or decision.

Holliday struggled to decide which side of the line he fell on. For one argument, these were his colleagues, his shipmates, and in the case of the Chief, a man who had saved his skin on more than one occasion. But on the other hand, there was Federation law, specifically designed to ensure this sort of thing never happened, lest it give rise to another Khan Noonien Singh or any of his brethren.

"I...am at a loss for words. Such actions will require a complete break with Federation law...a court martial would be the least of our concerns."

"Laws that we have sworn to uphold even in the face of adversity," added Lirha with a solemn face. The ethical implications of the decision were as clear as day to her. But the morality of the decision...that specific element drove into her soul and gave her many moments of pause.

Standing in the door way, Dru looked between the gathered people as pain filled her eyes, a confliction to the love that bloosmed in her heart for that Markum had just said. "I won't allow anyone to get into trouble...this is my life and most of all...it's my daughter's life." The counsellor knew that of anything in life, this was anything but simple but she had to try. "What if we induced labour early? To ignore her the chance of survival when a procedure exists with which to save her would be against all ethical laws."

"The fetus isn't viable yet," replied Tuula, shaking her head. "And by the time the fetus is viable, it will be too late." She paused for a moment and considered the situation before her. It was as difficult an ethical question as any, and she was leery about performing the surgery. But watching how Dru reacted to this whole situation changed her mind. "If I may, the cornerstone of medical ethics is that one should do no harm -- either through action or inaction. As doctors, we've sworn an oath, and we are bound by medical ethics as much as we are by Federation law." Pausing for a moment, she looked up at Lirha, Holliday, and Allyndra. "But we also know that genetic modification carries with it its own ethical implications, none of which are straightforward."

"And I might add, not only the fetus but the mother as well. We are about to loose two lives here." Allyndra said it with that firmness but softness that doctors learned.

"Do it." Holliday replied in a low, hushed tone, much more softly and delicately spoken than perhaps the Captain usually would have done.

"If it comes down to it...make a note in your log that I forced you to perform the procedure at phaserpoint if need be...I owe Chief Quinn my life from more than one occasion...it's about time I started levelling the bet."

Holliday stared intently at the deck plate beneath him as he spoke. He knew that every word he uttered was in total violation of Federation law, and at the very least would earn him a dismissal from the service, and at the very worst a lengthy jail sentence. But, after years of service in the Fleet, perhaps there was room for the occasional jutting against the rule book.

"I do not think we need to go that far. I think that given it is my firm medical diagnosis, the danger of the situation and the fact that I presented it to the senior officers we are on defensible ground." Allyndra said. "Admiral," she turned her attention to the Orion woman. "Will you concur with Captain Holiday and allow me to save two lives here?"

Lirha made one of the toughest decisions that she had ever had to make in her entire career. In fact, it gave her a moments pause while she attempted to speak but no words formed in her mouth. "I will concur with you and Captain Holliday's recommendations to proceed with the procedure." Her light green eyes glanced hollowly between both of them. "And I will also make note of this in my log," she solemnly added, knowing it would mean the end of both of their Starfleet careers and worse.

Lirha's eyes then traveled down towards the carpet where her boot was fidgeting with a small blood stain. "Fortunately," she added, "my log will never be transmitted to Starfleet." She raised her head to look towards the ceiling where some sort of over-watching entity resided. "Computer, erase all audio and visual records recorded in sickbay from 0910 to 0935 hours. Authorization Saalm-Beta-Alpha-4-2-9."

The ship's primary mainframe processed the request and chimed in requesting a second set of command codes. "Awaiting secondary authorization," came the soothing automated reply.

Jonathan took a moment, knowing that the computer wouldn't proceed without his command codes to authenticate against the Admiral's own. Still staring towards the deck place, he took a breath and gave his reply.

"Computer - secondary authorisation Holliday Sierra-Alpha-2."

The computer dutifully replied with it's typical combination of bleeps and clicks.

"Authorisation code accepted. Visual and audio records for the specified time frame have been erased."

The Orion admiral looked back up towards Allyndra and gave her a weak smile. "Proceed, doctor. Lieutenant McCarthy's life -- and her child's -- are in your hands. Lirha then looked towards Quinn then Tuula. "None of you will speak of this to the crew. Understood?"

"Understood," replied Tuula.

"Very well sirs, Mister Quinn I presume you wish to be the donor?" Allyndra asked the Chief. She was not sure if Tuula was in yet or not. She had her reservations she had expressed earlier.

"And you Tuula? Will you assist? I really could use you."

Tuula paused for a moment to consider the request. She had her own reservations about the ethics of this procedure, but as she looked up at Dru and Quinn, she realized that she had to be there. Even if only to help comfort them, her presence was critical to this process. "Yes," she replied in a deliberate tone, "I will assist."

"Thank you," Allyndra replied. "Mister Quinn if you would be so kind as to meet with Dru and we can get started."

Allydnra then turned her attention back to the senior officers. "Thank you. I think the correct decision has been made. Now if you will excuse me I have a surgery to attend to." She pushed away from the desk and headed out the door. Time was of the essence here but she felt she had done the right thing in at least letting the senior staff know. There was still a good chance that the whole thing would be unsucessfull but she pushed that from her mind.

[OFF]

--

RADM Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

CAPT Jonathan Holliday
Executive Officer
USS Galileo

LCmdr Allyndra illm Warraquim
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Tuula Voutiliainen
Medical Officer
USS Galileo

CMCPO Markum Quinn
Chief of the Boat
USS Galileo

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