Post 351: There's the Truth. . .

Stardate: 70805.1330
Title: There's the Truth, and the "Truth"
Author: Dr. Jaine Hood
Scene: Symbiosis Commission Surgical Suite; Trill
Time: Before and after "Pardon the Interruption" by Captain Gilmore
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"Medical Officer's Log Supplemental:

Dr. Sarien Plen did not seem at all surprised to see February Grace arrive at the Commission's doorstep. That was my first indication that something more was going on here then meets the eye.

My second indication was his reaction when Trind, Reece and I began to explain to him what was happening to February and her symbiont- what had been seen, heard, and already diagnosed.

He seemed unaffected and immediately announced that the only course of action was to remove the symbiont and return it to the caves so it could recover.

They tell me that Plen was the doctor who originally joined Grace and February, and that he was there when complications had arisen afterward that were so unique and unheard of that he ended up writing extensive research papers about them.

Papers which have all been published, applauded by his peers and now inserted into the textbooks for future generations of Commission doctors. He is, according to the Commission, the leading authority on the planet when it comes to the host/symbiont connection.

That being the case, I wondered why he became so nervous when he realized that Dr. Ashlyn Trind had been following Grace's case. I asked her about it after Plen had left the room momentarily, and she told me that as a young intern, Plen had worked with one of her previous hosts, when she held the position that he occupies now. He won't be able to get anything past her, and he doesn't know quite how to deal with that, it seems.

In going over Grace's medical history with him, we have already caught him in several outright fabrications, in addition to finding troubling inconsistencies in the 'official' record, including missing data files. He seems to be having an awfully hard time remembering the truth to tell it.

At this point, we have exhausted every proven and several experimental treatments to try and raise February's isoboramine levels. We have failed.

With her levels sinking to forty-two percent of normal values, Plen insisted again that our only recourse is to remove Grace, and sacrifice February in the attempt to save it. Hearing this news, Captain Gilmore did not react well.

His instructions to Lily T'Ana were, and I quote, "Shoot anyone who tries to take that thing out of her before I get back."

I took him aside and explained that we were better off taking the symbiont out now, and not because it was what the Commission wanted us to do. Because it's what February, were she in possession of her faculties, would want would want us to do.

Knowing Dabin Reece the way I have for more than a decade I know that nothing matters more to a joined Trill than the life of their symbiont.

We will have little more than four hours remaining to attempt any last-ditch efforts to save February once the symbiont is removed.

I told Gilmore to hurry up and make the best use of the time that he could, whatever he was planning to do. He and Jariel have left, and promised to return within the hour.

End Log."

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Adjusting the neural stabilizers at the front and back of February's head, Dr. Trind quietly went about the business of preparing her for surgery. She brushed the girl's hair back gently, as a mother might do and spoke aloud even though she knew February couldn't hear her.

"I'm so sorry."

Hood efficiently arranged the instruments they'd need, lining them up in proper order on the tray beside the operating table. Her mind continued to run through everything she knew about the workings of a Trill brain, in case there was something, anything that they'd missed along the way.

Rigin the Guardian paced nervously nearby, in front of a small holding tank. It was filled with the same murky water as the symbiont pools. He fussed over it, adjusting the temperature of the tank, adding the proper nutrients, making sure the balance was just right in order to give Grace the best chance for recovery that he could.

He prepared himself mentally for the telepathic communication that he would need to have with the symbiont once it was free, knowing that in its current state, it would likely be making little, if any sense.

"I'm ready to perform the procedure," Plen announced, marching into the surgical suite with his own team of assistants in tow. "You will all have to leave."

"Like hell," Lily T'Ana objected. "Dr. Trind is the only physician that February has authorized to do this surgery. She and anyone she chooses to assist her."

"What do you mean authorized? She's unconscious. She can't authorize anyone to do anything." Plen snapped. "Get out, or I'll have security remove you."

"You'd better have a look at this first," T'Ana warned, and she handed him a padd. February had given the document to Lily before they'd boarded the runabout, just to be sure that her exact wishes were known.

He sighed. It was an advance medical directive and it was signed by none other than February Grace.

"Unless you want to have to explain to the Federation authorities why you violated her rights, and disregarded her last wishes as a Starfleet officer, you'd better let them do this. Supervise, if you must. But hands off."

As much as Plen hated to hand over the scalpel, he knew that the last thing he needed was more Starfleet people poking around into the Commission's business.

"Proceed." He said to Trind evenly, as he pointed toward the doors. "You, however, still have to leave." Lily nodded, and casting a long last look back at February, moved out into the corridor.

"I'm prepared to perform the optic nerve regeneration and lens replacement procedures while you remove the symbiont," Hood informed Trind, standing ready.

"Why bother restoring her sight? She will die within hours and may never regain consciousness." Plen scoffed.

"Because," Trind growled. "If she does wake up, why should she have to spend her last living moments in darkness?"

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Lt. Jaine Hood, MD, PhD
Consulting Neurologist
Starfleet