JP: Lt Cmdr Addison MacKenzie, Lt Quen Deena, Lt JG Alieth, Lt JG Sirok - The Broken Vulcan, Part 4
Alieth
JP: Lt Cmdr Addison MacKenzie, Lt Quen Deena, Lt JG Alieth, Lt JG Sirok - The Broken Vulcan, Part 4
((Infirmary, Promenade, Deep Space Nine))
While MacKenzie and Quen waited for their Vulcan colleague to arrive, they searched the various medical databases at their disposal with little positive results. Before they got much further, Alieth made her way in.
MacKenzie: Ah, Lieutenant. We’ve got a case we’d like to consult on.
The Vulcan looked at her companions and raised an eyebrow with evident interest. Both women had longer careers and much more field experience, so the mystery they were dealing with must have been especially compelling.
Alieth: Please elaborate on the details of the case
MacKenzie: Quen, would you present?
Deena nodded, tapping a PADD against her palm as she spoke.
Quen: Patient is a Vulcan male, age twenty-eight. Neurological readings taken during a routine scan conform to typical Human patterns. All Vulcan neural markers are absent. Further examination shows evidence of a recent grade-one concussion, for which no medical treatment was sought. No other known injuries or ailments.
The Vulcan doctor listened carefully to the description of this unidentified patient's condition. As Quen provided more details about it, more interest became apparent in Alieth's face.
MacKenzie: Intriguing…
The junior officer tightened her lips a little and glanced at the floorplates in deep thought.
As she came out of her silent state, she asked
Alieth: I witnessed a case that could be analogous while studying at the VSA, but I would like to check out the neurological readings
Deena nodded and passed Alieth the PADD.
Quen: Of course.
Alieth: Humm ::tapping on the padd screen:: A normal reading should show peaks here, here and here, depending on the training, skill and physical condition of the patient. They are secondary indicators of telepathic activity.
Addison’s eyes narrowed slightly - not what she was expecting.
MacKenzie: How does that compare with your previous case?
Alieth: The case I studied was the result of a telepathic assault by, which had resulted in the suppression of their telepathic abilities. However, these readings are not entirely comparable. Somehow, this patient has never been able to achieve telepathic capacity, something that is rarely seen on full-blooded Vulcans.
MacKenzie: It’s rare? How rare?
Alieth: Maybe one out of ten million Vulcans. Probably less. By Vulcan standards, this patient posses a rare disability.
MacKenzie: ::to Quen, jokingly:: I wonder, dear colleague, if our Vulcan friend considers us disabled, too…
She winked at Quen, who stifled a laugh.
Quen: I wouldn’t doubt it...
MacKenzie: So, is there any way to know whether this is a genetic abnormality or something that was the result of a telepathic assault? If not as an adult, perhaps as a child? Before we would have records that might indicate that there was a problem…
Quen: There’s nothing in his Starfleet record to suggest either. We’d have to get his childhood records from Vulcan to find anything there.
The Vulcan doctor crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head slightly thoughtfully.
Alieth: His Starfleet records should have included this if it was something he had had to endure for a considerable period of time.Unless this detail has been purposefully omitted. Frankly irregular.
MacKenzie: So, what are our options?
Quen: We could potentially run our own genetic screenings. Trouble is, we have to know what we’re looking for.
Alieth: The standard procedure for syndromes affecting telepathy is to search for deviations in the midbrain structures.
Addison opened the palms of her hands.
MacKenzie: That should be easy enough to do.
It was then that the diminutive Vulcan realized that she still had not asked an obvious question.
Alieth: What is the patient's name?
MacKenzie’s eyebrows raised and her eyes widen as her gaze caught Quen’s mirrored expression.
Quen: It’s Lieutenant Sirok.
The Vulcan doctor blinked noticeably, her surprise hard to conceal
Alieth: That explains so much ::she mumbled to herself:: I grieve with him.
Addison cocked her head and stared at the Vulcan.
MacKenzie: What does that mean: ‘you grieve with him?’
Deena's attention flicked from MacKenzie to Alieth. She had the same question.
Alieth shifted her weight from one foot to the other, and her gaze drifted slowly across the room before she answered.
Alieth: Given the nature of his condition, it is likely that he will never be able to transmit his katra, nor will it ever be preserved :: She took a moment to look for a similarity that the aliens could understand ::: As if he had been denied an adequate afterlife.
MacKenzie: Sounds… heartbreaking.
Deena offered a sympathetic smile and nod.
Quen: All the more reason to get to the bottom of this.
[End]
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Lieutenant Commander Addison MacKenzie, M.D., Ph.D., FASFS
First Officer
USS Resolution
V239601AM0
&
Lieutenant Quen Deena
Medical Officer
USS Thor NCC-82607
E239602QD0
&
Lt. JG Alieth
Medical Officer
USS Thor NCC-82607
Fleet Captain A. Kells, Commanding
Author ID number: E239702A10
&
Lieutenant Junior Grade Sirok
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Thor NCC-82607
Fleet Captain A. Kells, Commanding
E239702S10
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