Doolittle & Eviess: For There Never Was a Story of More Woe Than This of Eviess and the Crew of Galileo

Posted on 01 Jun 2017 @ 2:18am by Rear Admiral Harold Doolittle & Petty Officer 1st Class Eviess

3,944 words; about a 20 minute read

Mission: Episode 15 - Emanation
Location: Starfleet Command - Doolittle's Office
Timeline: MD 02 - 0800

ON:

Doolittle looked at his itinerary for the day and saw that the first person he was scheduled to meet with was Petty Officer Eviess. He had studied her personnel file along with the others that he would be meeting with and had found that she appeared to be a quite efficient medical officer. He wasn't sure just how much she would know about the events that led up to the loss of the ship but perhaps she would be able to shed some light on the subject.

"Well, it's time to get this show on the road..." he muttered to himself before activating his comm.

=/\= Doolittle to Petty Officer Eviess. Please report to my office immediately. It's on the 17th floor of the Administration Building - room 1732. =/\=

Eviess was had just hit the door of the building when the call came through. She acknowledged and headed over to the turbo lifts. She entered and asked for the 17th floor.

As the lift hummed its way up to the 17th floor Eviess sighed. She took several breaths. She'd just finished her third run of the tests and the results were not what she wanted. In addition to having to go through this debrief she was attempting to hide a secret she didn't know she could. "Halt" She called.

The Lift came to a stop. Evie leaned on the wall and cupped her face with her hands. "I can't do this." She said. Feeling close to tears she took a moment to compose herself. She wondered how all this was possible. She'd run the tests and they had proven to be correct three times. On a shaky breath she asked the lift to continue. When she got to the top she exited continuing her deep breaths to calm herself, not easy with all that had happened. The pain her lower back from the surgery was still there. She knew it would be a few weeks more until it went away.

She wound her way around the halls and finally after a few twists and turns she reached 1732. Steeling herself she hit the chime.

"Enter..." Doolittle called out, figuring it would be PO Eviess.

"Doctor Eviess, reporting as ordered." She said. She purposely left out the 'daughter of part' and her rank. She was after all still a doctor. She did however stand at attention.

Doolittle studied the woman that stood at attention before him. He knew from her personnel file that she was Klingon-Romulan, but the only thing that even hinted at the fact she was part Romulan were the pointed ears. After a moment, he said "At ease...and have a seat," with a nod toward one of the chairs in front of his desk.

Eviess inclined her head and sat in the chair offered, goodness knew she needed to sit down.

After she was seated, he focused his gaze on her with his steel-blue eyes. "I'm not one for 'beating around the bush' as the saying goes. We both know why you're here so why don't you begin by telling me what you know about this situation." He had found over the years that the best way to get an honest answer was to catch a person off guard with a direct question, and that was what he was attempting to do in this case.

Eviess sighed, where did one start. "Well I had just transferred on the Galileo shortly before this mission started. We were asked to investigate the Paulson Nebula. Apparently a distress call from a missing ship." She didn't mind directness, preferred it. "We went to investigate and out of nowhere a Klingon ship came and they fired at us. We held out..." She shook her head as the memories of those lost and the brutal boarding of the ship came flooding back to her. Eviess balled her hands into fists, "They knocked out our shields." She said licking her dry lips.

"I see..." Doolittle said. He paused a moment to think about what she had just told him. An answer to a distress call, then a sudden attack from a Klingon ship sounded pretty suspicious to him. Too coincidental he thought.

"Are you saying that your ship was ambushed?" He could tell by the way that she had balled her hands into fists that she was angry or frustrated - or possibly both.

She shook her head, "They just de-cloacked..."

"Tell me about what happened after they knocked out your shields." He had a pretty good idea of what had happened but he needed to hear it from her. "And please, be as descriptive as you feel you need to be. I rode the center seat of a starship for a number of years myself so I know what it's like out there."

"They continued to fire. There was mayhem everywhere. The medical teams...we were everywhere. They began to board." Her hands shook as she recalled the events. "I was...I was treating someone and he transported right behind me." Eviess' eyes glazed over. She returned to the moment. She could smell, see, and hear the sounds. Her hands clamped over her ears. "The red alert Klaxons were screaming. I had my D'k tahg dagger and I..." She shook her head rubbing her hands. Her eyes glazed with tears. She avoided thinking about it.

"And you did what...?" he asked. It appeared by her description and her reactions that she was re-living what had happened when the ship was boarded.

She seemed not to hear him, "I couldn't stop to think. I went back to treating wounded. The call came in to go to the escape pods. People piled in like those fish things humans eat in a can. My friend, Splendora and I worked to get the injured into pods...The ship...it caught on fire." Her voice broke. The event had left a mark on her.

He hated to make her go through that in her mind again, but unfortunately it had to be done if they were going to get the facts as to what happened and there would be other questions just as unpleasant if not moreso - like the one he was about to ask:

"So how many people did you lose in this attack?"

"Too many to count. Splendora and I were amongst the last to leave the ship. We were in a pod for maybe a few hours when the Klingons scooped us up and threw us in cells." Her eyes filled with tears, "I couldn't save her...She was injured...if I could have had medical equipment a sickbay." Tears ran down her cheeks. "She was my friend and those....animals wouldn't let me take her to sickbay." She swiped at the tears knowing that he was looking for answers.

"While we were on the Klingon ship we heard that Lirha had died on the ship too but...she didn't"

"According to the reports, you were attacked by a B'Rel-class Bird of Prey." Doolittle said as he studied the PADD he held. "Do you have any idea as to why they attacked you? The Galileo was a science vessel - what could they have possibly wanted?"

She shrugged, "I'm not sure but the fact that they asked us to assist with the High Council talk or whatever they were doing well .... well anyway that turned out to be a lie too." She said. She managed to draw out the spark of anger that was in her so that she wouldn't cry.

Doolittle continued to study his PADD for a moment before speaking again. "Tell me if you know - why was the Galileo in the Paulson nebula in the first place?" He knew that she had said earlier that they were investigating a missing ship but he also knew that sometimes the best way to find out if someone was being completely honest with you was to ask them a question already previously answered and see if their responses were the same.

Eviess, in her recollection, in her grief, in her state didn't register that the question was asked again. She answered, "We got a distress call and it was form a ship that had been missing for a while. To be honest when I had first heard it I...well something in my gut told me something was wrong."

"And what exactly was this 'something'?" Doolittle asked. "A premonition? Woman's intuition, or what?"

"I don't know, I can't put my finger on it. When the Klingon ship came and the brouhaha started we all just went into survival mode." He looked at the Admiral, "Have you ever been interrogated by Klingons sir?"

"No I can't say I've had that...privilege," he said slowly. "But something tells me that it would not be a pleasant experience. But I'm guessing by your question that you were interrogated by them. Please tell me about it."

She shuddered at the memory, "I don't care to go through that again but the Klingon tactics are worse then the Romulan ones. You feel every blow ten thousand times even after they are done. When they say I was nothing but a doctor they tossed me aside for more interesting people. It was almost a relief to get to Krenus but even there... We didn't spend that long there but it was a relief to leave. Still we were thrown into the middle of hell on that ship. And the Romulan implants..."

'Romulan implants?' Doolittle thought to himself. This was something that he didn't see in the notes on his PADD. "What Romulan implants?" he asked, looking up quickly to focus his gaze on her. "Tell me about this."

She sighed. "Apparently we all had implants put inside in our lower backs. They monitored our body where we were and what we said. Admiral Lirha found a way to shut them off but I'm pretty sure a lot of the crew still have them. She had some sort of device...it just shut them down." Eviess shook her head. "Mine malfunctioned and caused a reaction and began to shut down my organs. I became ill and Doctor Allyndra did emergency surgery. She removed it..." Something clicked in her mind. "Oh wait!" she reached into her purse and pulled out a little box. She pushed it towards the Admiral. "Here it is. I kept it. I wanted to see why it reacted with me so horribly and not the other crew. It began to fuse into my spine and my body grew around it."

When Doolittle opened the box, what he saw was what appeared to be a computer chip about 2 cm square, but it was unlike any computer chip he had ever seen before. He picked it up and looked at it carefully. Instead of standard computer interfacing, it had what appeared to be biological contacts. Not being medically inclined, he wasn't sure how it worked but he was willing to bet it would be painful.

"Was it just used as a tracking device or did it have other functions as well? Or do you know?" he asked as he carefully replaced it back in the box.

She shrugged a bit, "It was a tracker but also could tell what people talked about so like a listening device. You are welcome to keep it and take it to get looked at. I was going to do that myself. It was actually Ambassador Varro who saved it for me after the surgery. He suggested that I take it to Starfleet HQ medical but Engineering or science might be worth it too."

He muttered a curse under his breath - a reference to the ancestry of whomever it was that had implanted a device such as that into Petty Officer Eviess. "I think Starfleet Medical would be our first best bet for that device," he said as he closed the box. "Then maybe Engineering and Science - Intelligence too. I'm sure everyone will want to see what the Romulans have come up with where that is concerned." Then, he broached a new subject.

"So what happened after you were captured? You mentioned Krenus earlier. Tell me about that."

She gave a nod as he spoke about the device. It made sense to her. Then he turned the questions back to the hell planet. "We got there and after a while we were given medical attention and codes to get food, those people." She shook her head, "They don't have enough to survive long. So they rationed. Then people were sorted for a while, some went to water plant, some to the mines, it was...horrible. I was lucky, they had me in the water plant a bit and then figured out I was a doctor so asked me to help in medical. The instruments...they were medieval!" She shook her head again, "I just don't understand it. Then we were told we were leaving if we assisted them with some High Council issues...I didn't get all of it but the Klingons were crossing into Federation space I think the Admiral can tell you more about that. Anyway we also saw that the Admiral was alive and well...many thought...."

"Many thought what?" he asked quickly, seeing that she had left her thought unfinished.

"Well, sir, many thought that she had set this up...I however don't think so." Eviess said.

"They thought Admiral Saalm had set the attack up?" he asked, not sure that he had heard her correctly. "Who thought that? And what, if any, evidence did they have to back up what they thought?" He hesitated the barest fraction of a moment before quickly adding "Never mind. Don't answer that last question. If that's the case, it will come out at the proper time and will be addressed then."

Switching tactics just a bit he next said "You mentioned being forced to work in different locations - the water plant and the mines, I believe you said. Was Admiral Saalm forced to work there as well or was it only her subordinates?" If Saalm HAD known anything about the upcoming attack, perhaps she would have received preferential treatment in exchange for information. He was making no accusations but this could be information that would be important as the investigation continued.

She shrugged, "I didn't see her there. We didn't know she was alive until we saw her on the ship but if you're thinking she had anything to do with this I don't believe it. You see she was pregnant before all this happened." Eviess unconsciously covered her stomach.

"I see," the admiral said slowly. "That was not in her personnel file so I'm guessing it was rather recent, not that it's here nor there. Just probably means her file has not been updated. So how long were you on Krenus? And while you were there in their medical department, were you forced to participate in the placement of these...probes...in your crew members?"

She looked horrified, "I would never! I didn't even know that I had one Until I got sick." She was horrified. "As for time I don't know...we weren't allowed to keep track. Everything just melded into one. She thought about Lirha. "The Admiral was recently pregnant. She lost the babies." Evie wiped a tear that spilled from her eyes.

"I'm sorry that I had to ask that question," Doolittle said as he saw her dab at the tears in her eyes. "Some questions are just as difficult to ask as they are to answer." He reached into a desk drawer, produced a container of tissues and offered it to her. "I only asked in order to find out if you were forced by the Romulans to perform medical procedures against your will. It was not intended as an affront to your professionalism in any way."

Eviess took a tissue and dabbed her eyes. She hated going through this. As it were she was trying to keep her emotions in check. In the days past they had seemed to run away with her.

"How long were you on Krenus?" He had asked earlier but in her state he was pretty sure the question had not registered with her.

She shrugged, "I'm not sure. We weren't allowed to keep time but I would say a few weeks two...or three at most before we were on the Klingon ship with those savages, a few days prior to the whole incident on the ship."

"I see..." Doolittle answered slowly. "Unfortunately from what I understand, depriving captives of knowledge of how much time passes is a common practice." He steepled his hands in front of him, contemplating his next question. "Let's talk about the incident on the ship," he said after a moment.

Eviess was ready for this one. "Admiral before we do may I ask a question...a request really."

"Sure, what's the request?"

"May I have a glass of water with some lemon lime in it please? I'm sorry I get thirsty really easy these days."

"I'm sorry, I should have offered you something before now," the admiral said as he got up and walked over to the replicator. He got the requested water, then walked back over and sat it on the desk in front of here before taking his seat once again.

She accepted the glass gratefully and downed it in one shot. "Thank you. Okay the ship. What would you like to know?"

"Well, tell me what happened once you were aboard," he said simply.

"Never a dull moment, Sir. First we learned that the Admiral was fine and she would command the ship." Originally even Evie had found that weird. "We were split into departments and we worked our regular duties were told that we'd go to the High Council, get them to back off the planet...or so we thought. The ship... well it was disgusting. Many of the crew were bullied by the Klingons poor Ensign Mimi almost got her tail torn off by them. The food was horrible the sickbay archaic and the presence of the Klingons was psychologically trying on everyone."

She stopped and shook her head. "It was hell, again, like that planet."

"I can imagine..." was his first response, then after a moment of reflection he added "No, maybe I can't."

She continued, "We were traveling under cloak but a Federation ship was there, they detected us by the neutral zone and our ship engaged them." She said. "It was awful!"

"Did they physically torture or abuse you or are you just referring to living conditions and the like?"

She looked up at him. "Well some of the crew got in fights with the Klingons the conditions were awful but I mean when the Klingon ship we were traveling engaged a Starfleet ship in combat and disabled the Starfleet ship.

"Which Starfleet ship did they attack?"

She thought for a moment, "I wasn't on the bridge but...I think it was the Sentinel . I was in sickbay. It wasn't easy for any of the crew....I remember I left sickbay because I wouldn't treat a Klingon who got injured from the fire the Sentinel sent our way, I wanted to treat the Starfleet crew...It was... a bad choice I wound up with a black eye for that one." She said remembering the Klingon going after her and knocking her out.

For some reason the name Sentinel was ringing a bell in the back of Doolittle's mind. He remembered an Akira-class by that name under the command of Sonya Gomez. Surely it wasn't the same one. But what were the odds of having two ships with the same name?

"Can't say that I blame you for walking out. Treating him in that situation would most likely fall under the heading of aiding and abetting the enemy."

She gave a nod, "We managed to get out of that one and got across the neutral zone and then the real issues started." She said frustration in her tone.

"What issues would that be?"

"Mutiny!" She said a bit angrily, "Those Klingons tried to get a crew member to go after Lirha and then there was a fight and we managed to get control of the ship and that's when things got strange."

'Mutiny...and THEN the issues got strange...' Doolittle thought to himself. As if mutiny wasn't strange enough? "Who was the member of the crew that they tried to get to go after Saalm?"

"Ensign Miraj Derani, but she told her what was happening. It's so complicated." Eviess shook her head. "Once that was all over the Romulans came and there was a whole hoopla about that and how this was all planned. The crew didn't know what to believe about Lirha by that point." She had doubted for a second too but then she let go of her doubts.

"I'm guessing that since all of you are here that nothing of any serious import came of this mutiny? Or should I say, attempted mutiny?" Doolittle sat back in his chair a bit. As the old saying went, this was becoming curiouser and curiouser by the minute. "Derani told who what was happening? Saalm?"

"Yeah, she warned her. She was forced into it but anyway all ended okay...I guess." Evie closed her eyes a moment. "Then the Romulans picked us up, that was a relief actually." She sighed, "Admiral...are you feeling hot? It feel really hot...can we can I get some ice water please?"

"Of course." Doolittle once again went to the replicator and ordered a glass of water. This was the second time in the past half hour or so that she had requested it and he thought it a bit strange, but then dismissed it as possibly just being apprehension to being interviewed. After all, it wasn't every day a Petty Officer was called onto an admiral's carpet like this.

He handed her the water, then said "Is there anything else you think I need to know?"

She thought a moment. "I think that's it." She downed the water in one chug. "Thank you sir, I've been drinking a lot of water."

"Could be dehydration," Doolittle said. "You might want to have that checked."

She had...in fact she'd tripped checked it herself. "Admiral can I ask you something?"

"You may ask..." he said. "But depending on what it is, I can't guarantee you a favorable answer."

"Doctor Allyndra is my doctor and I know there is an order not to see other crew members but can I apply for a special leave thingy just to have her verify my health?"

Doolittle thought for a moment. "I honestly don't know..." he said slowly. "My boss said no leaves so this may have to be cleared with him. I'm sorry, I just can't give you an answer right now."

She gave a nod. "Alright...I'll wait." She waited to see if he had anymore questions for her.

"Give me just a couple of minutes, please."

====== 5 minutes later ======

After finishing his comm, he turned back to Eviess. "You have permission to see your doctor - but ONLY there, is that understood?"

Relief washed over her. "Thank you, Sir. I really appreciate that." Evie stood feeling a bit dizzy. She clasped the table to keep from falling. Seeing the Admiral stand she held up her hand. "I'm fine...Just a bit dizzy."

OFF

+++++

Rear Admiral Harold J. Doolittle
Starfleet Bureau of Personnel
Starfleet Headquarters - San Francisco - Earth

&

PO Eviess
Medical Officer
Earth

RSS Feed