Resolution

Posted on Fri Feb 25th, 2011 @ 6:08pm by Captain Nathan Cowell MD & Lieutenant Commander Jonathan Mantell

Mission: Hippocratic Hijacking
Location: Bridge/Ready Room, USS Arizona
Timeline: Shortly after 'The Return'

Ever since they returned to orbit, the USS Arizona had become a den of activity. In much the same way a beehive surged to life after being struck, so too did the Arizona once they had a goal to achieve. Already, Lieutenant Idrani was coordinating shuttle transport for the most sensitive of supplies, which had taken her off the bridge. Lieutenant JG Three was also in the cargo bay ensuring that each container received the proper care in transit to the shuttle bays from the cargo hold they had been stored in. Major DeVries had already beamed down to the surface to help contain any fires that might have sprung up since they left.

Nathan had been at the epicenter of the activity, getting status reports and updates on everything from the population to the number of supplies used. It wasn't until the figure of Lieutenant Commander Mantell arrived on the bridge that Nathan even remembered he'd called for the boy.

"Captain," the boy acknowledged, sliding into his chair next to the old man. He stared out at the view screen, not really wanting to face his superior, or anyone, right then. The emotions in his chest were too raw. Even convinced of having done the right thing, Jack knew his very actions had countermanded Cowell's orders and he couldn't help feeling as though he should be the one in the brig, not S'anra.

"What are you sitting down there for, boy?" Nathan asked, glancing back at him as he rose from his chair, "I need to hear all about what's been going on and this isn't the place for it. Bring your ass."

Without waiting to see if his First Officer was going to move, Nathan was already half way to his Ready Room. Once inside, Nathan made for his desk and sank into the high backed chair that rested behind it, swiveling just enough to see the door that Jack was about to walk through.

Exchanging one seat for another was a simple process, and while he assented to follow Cowell's instructions for a change of venue, the boy still couldn't bring himself to look at the Captain.

Nathan was fairly adept at reading people as it was, but Jack was making it abundantly clear that something was on his mind and it was playing hell with him. Nathan, being one to beat around bushes only so far as to clobber someone straight over the head with a hammer, wasted no time calling him on his mood.

"Kid, you look like someone just killed your puppy. Either you've messed up real good and you don't know how to say it or someone else messed up and you don't know how I'll handle how you fixed it. Either way, staring at the floor doesn't make this just go away. Out with it, boy," Nathan prodded.

"You didn't hear?" the boy looked up, curious. How exactly was he supposed to explain it to the Captain. 'Oh, sorry, sir, I threw your Chief of Sciences into the brig,' didn't exactly sound like a great way to start a conversation.

"Obviously not or I'd have asked you about it already," Nathan frowned.

"Well, I, uhh," the child began, leaning forward in his seat. Jack wasn't quite sure where to begin. "S'anra was treating these four patients, and she split them up, so two of them were treated one way and two were treated the other way. She said she'd figured out the virus, what it was. Captain, I think it was brought there by that other Romulan woman, and maybe S'anra's in on it. It's a Romulan virus, or so S'anra says." The Miran took a breath, his lips pressed together in a frown. "And she didn't say it, but it was really clear that two of those four were going to die. She called them terminal or something, and said you told her she could do anything she wanted, but that was too far. She experimented on people, she killed them!"

Jack sighed and slumped back in the chair. Behind his lips, his teeth found the bottom flesh of his mouth and he bit down lightly, waiting nervously for Cowell's judgment.

Nathan sighed, but it didn't come out angry or judgmental. While Jack was nearly 400 years old time wise, he was still, developmentally, just a child, which made him prone to lapses in immaturity at times. It also seemed obvious that his disdain for Doctors extended to an utter lack of medical diagnostic knowledge.

"They are going to die, kid," Nathan said with finality, "Not a single person on that planet is immortal. What you have to understand, son, is that sometimes doctors and biologists have to make hard choices that very well might kill one or two people and end up saving more. The death toll will be no lower if we waited a day or a year if we never put a treatment to use. Medicine is a dice game, you have no absolutes. Just the chance that you might save a life and a chance that no matter what you do, they will die. The fact that she picked four patients is what they call a control. She can control the conditions of four people fairly easily, while passing out drugs and hoping something works gives you no viable data to help someone."

Nathan drummed his fingers against the desk for a second, "You screwed up on this one, but only because you acted on emotion. Were you wrong in wanting to save someone from a needless death? Not really... but even if two patients die, Jack, the rest of the planet will be saved. I'm sure you've heard the Vulcan saying about the needs of the many and all that crap. It applies in medical science just as easily as anywhere else. We saved millions today because two people died yesterday. It isn't the best case, but it is life... And if you want to wear that uniform, you need to start thinking with something other than your heart. It can help you just as easily as it can hurt you. And this time, it led you down the wrong road."

"Yes, sir," was all the boy could manage to mumble. He had expected Cowell to be displeased, but he hadn't expected his words to cut so deeply. The realization that his actions were a mistake was settling in, and he tipped his head down, staring intently at the floor.

Nathan let him wallow in his self pity about as long as was proper for someone his 'age' before slapping his hand against the table causing a rather loud and jarring sound.

"Right, now that that's out of the way, we need to get things squared away and settled on the planet in as fast a manner as we can. I'll go ahead and beam down to the surface and take care of this whole S'anra thing, shouldn't be a stretch of my abilities in the least to smooth things over. Since you look like you need a good sulk, I'd suggest you find your way to your quarters, take a bath, clear your head, and come back refreshed with a more level head. If you want to come back down to the planet and actually learn something about how infection control and disease research actually works, you're welcome to. I'll be leading the way on this from here on out," Nathan explained.

Another drumming of his fingers sounded against the desk before the El-Aurian pushed himself away from his desk and approached the boy's side, placing a firm hand on his shoulder, "Chin up, boy. You're just starting out, you have a lot of things to learn about this whole command thing before you can really beat yourself up for a mistake. Trick is to realize you fucked up and resolve to not let it happen again."

About as comforting as he could get, Nathan followed up with a few soft pats on the Miran's shoulder before departing the Ready Room, leaving Jack to his thoughts.