by Lance Hartcort, Alison Schneider, Jariel Camen and Fleur Le Marc
100303.2000
After Galatea’s Dilemma
-=Starfleet Medical, San Francisco=-
100303.2000
After Galatea’s Dilemma
-=Starfleet Medical, San Francisco=-
Lance walked across the sun-drenched courtyard towards the tall glass building that housed the Starfleet Medical research labs. He paused as he craned his head to look upwards to the top of the shining structure.
Using his hands and a PADD that he was carrying to shield his eyes from the bright sunlight that was intensified by the reflective properties of the hundreds of mirror like windows, he whistled quietly. He had been here many times throughout his life; from when he was a small boy and visited his father at work, to when he was as student pulling his internship here. The size and beauty of the building always impressed him.
He lowered his head and closed his eyes for a moment as he took in the feel of the sun on his skin and the slight breeze that blew through his hair. There was nothing like being planet side and breathing in real air and feeling true atmosphere. Living on a starship you don’t realize how much you miss the wind until you go back home.
Taking in a deep breath he glanced at his watch and grunted. He was going to be late.
Lance took off at a jog towards the building.
After checking in with the front desk and navigating through the sprawling halls and levels of the facility he finally arrived at the conference room that had been setup for Alison and his use to meet with Tress and her family.
As he walked through the door he found Alison already there and waiting for him.
“Sorry, I got caught up in the moment of Earth,” he explained with a smile as he moved towards the large round oak conference table and placed the PADD he had been carrying onto the top.
Alison shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. She was perched against the conference table. "As you can see, you're the first to arrive. Of course, I also planned for that."
"For me to be late?"
"No," she dismissed with a laugh. "For you to be first." She paused to give her words an almost dramatic effect. "For scientific purposes of course."
Now Lance laughed softly. "Of course." He glanced around the room, but immediately his attention was drawn back to Alison and to the small box sitting next to her. "Is that it?"
She tapped the box with one finger. "Yup. It's a tiny little thing. But I thought you would want to see it. And the family too." She picked it up, stood up herself, and walked around to where Lance was standing. "This is quite a little miraculous device."
“It will be for a lot of people once we are done with it.” He nodded to the box. “Let’s see it.”
Alison opened the box so that Lance could peer into it. It was indeed a diminutive device. It resembled a small coin, flat and round and translucent. It was not made of metal but more of a rubber polymer that allowed a certain amount of flexibility.
“Sweet.” Lance looked up and smiled. “Almost as sweet as you.” He winked.
Alison snapped the box shut, and it made a resounding, popping sound. "Charming, as ever."
He pulled out a chair and gestured for her to sit down. Once she had, he sat down in the seat next to hers. "Is everything taken care of on this end?"
"Yup. We have an operating suite booked, and I've called in the best surgeons the Federation has to offer. But what about on your end? Have the parents consented?"
"Not yet," Lance said slowly. "They do see the value in this procedure, and in returning their little girl's hearing."
"But..."
"But, they do have some concerns."
"Well, I'll do whatever you want to convince them that this surgery is the best thing."
"It's not that so much as the moral lessons their daughter could conclude from the surgery." Lance reached over with his finger and traced the edges of the box.
"Oh."
Lance looked at Alison seriously. "Don't take this the wrong way, Alison, but as a doctor, I often have to address the non-medical concerns of the patients as much as anything else."
"I know that such concerns exist. It's why I'm the scientist, and you're the doctor. My job is not about whether something should or should not be done, merely if it can or cannot be done." She laid her hand on top of his, closing his fingers around the box. "This can be done. We can restore this child's hearing. Making it so is my job. My only job. But it is only half of yours."
Lance nodded and squeezed her hand in thanks. Just then there was a chime at the door.
“Show time,” Lance said quietly and they both stood to face the door.
“Come in,” Lance called out.
Jariel took one last look at Fleur, who drew in a deep breath, closed her eyes a moment, and then opened them again. She glanced up at him and nodded slowly, finally signaling that she was ready. Tress was firmly planted on Jariel’s hip, while Gillan Pace was just centimeters away from his sister. The door opened, and the family entered.
"Whatever decision we come to," Fleur whispered, reaching out and placing a hand on Pace's shoulder for a moment, "we come to as a family."
Pace nodded gratefully, his eyes turning red. He was quite relieved, after the time he'd spent trying his best to care for Tress on Bajor, that he didn't have to face such a decision alone any longer.
They saw the familiar face of Lance Hartcort, and the new face of the woman who they knew must be Alison Schneider. Being the only common thread in the room, Hartcort handled the introductions.
"Alison Schneider, Starfleet Medical, allow me to introduce to you some of our family aboard the Serendipity. This is Ship's Chaplain Vedek Jariel Camen, his partner Fleur and their children, Gillan Pace and Gillan Tress."
“Camen and Fleur,” Alison began, playing the part of hostess. “It's good to finally meet you." She nodded to the nervous teenaged boy standing silently beside Fleur. "Pace, thank you for coming today. And you must be little Tress. I’m a big fan of yours young lady.” Alison cooed to the child.
Tress bashfully hid her face, but only for a moment. She then beamed a brilliant smile at Alison, reaching out and pulling the goggles of her ever-present aviator's helmet down over her gleaming eyes and wrinkled nose. She pointed to it and began signing furiously.
"Yes, yes, chou chou," Fleur laughed softly. "She can 'see' how much you like your hat."
It was clear to all present that Tress was a brave, resilient and strong willed little girl. Soon she was reaching out curiously to play with the strands of Alison’s hair. [[Pretty.]] She signed to Fleur. [[Pretty lady, mama.]]
"Yes, she is very pretty." Fleur translated again. Fleur shook her head as Tress continued to sign enthusiastically. "Yes, she does have shiny pins on her uniform." Fleur shrugged. "I am sorry, Doctor Schneider. The interests of a two year old are unlimited but I fear their attention span is not."
“She’s going to be starship captain, this one.” Schneider said.
“Doctor Hartcort had told us of all the work you have done for our child,” Jariel said now, being sure to sign the words as he did so Tress could at least understand as much of their exchange as she was capable at her age. She was, after all, the one who would be facing the changes ahead; she should be helped to try to grasp the situation as much as possible even if her grasp could only be as limited as her attention span.
Fleur extended her hand in greeting and Alison took it in her own, shaking firmly. Jariel set Tress down on the floor, and the curious girl immediately began examining her surroundings, looking for anything she could find to amuse herself. Pace chased her down, keeping his eyes on her, but his ears were firmly focused on every work being spoken around him.
“Thank you for seeing us.” Jariel added, as he greeted Alison. “If Doctor Hartcort is to be believed, we are in the presence of genius.”
Alison glanced back over her shoulder. “Is that so.” She said, and noted that Hartcort may have actually been blushing. She turned back to Fleur and Camen. “Can I get any of you anything? Food, drink?”
“I think Tress is due for a snack, could you replicate her some applesauce?” Camen asked. Truth be told, he was far more interested in understanding Schneider and her motives in development of this device than he was the device itself. Was she in this for profit? For the good of humanity? Before he would even entertain the idea of performing the procedure, he would need to see how she conducted herself with the child she had devoted so much research to, and how one coaxes a fussy child to sit still for a snack was usually a pretty good indication of where one’s heart lies.
"Applesauce," Alison replied. "Well, even I don't think I can mess that up." She walked over to the replicator, which was at the far end of the room to place the order. She tapped a few buttons and within seconds three dishes appeared. Cradling a bowl in each hand and a third one on her arm, she returned with them to the table.
She knew that all eyes were on her, and for some reason, she actually felt a bit nervous. Children were not her forte. She placed the dishes on the table and waited for Fleur to indicate to Tress that it was okay to sit down at the table with the doctor.
[[Ooo! Hungry!]] Tress signed, then she clapped her hands in approval. She climbed up into the chair with the help of Jariel. She took in each of the three bowls on the table before her. One held applesauce, a second apples, and a third cinnamon. However, there was no spoon. She looked over at Alison and her wide-eyed look was as loud and clear as any question.
Alison took hold of a slice of apple, dipped it into the cinnamon, and then into the applesauce, before placing the entire concoction into her mouth. Tress giggled in response. Finishing with the snack, Alison turned directly to the little girl, and while pushing to bowl of apples toward her, said, "Your turn."
Tress was fascinated by the miniature buffet, and began experimenting with different proportions of the ingredients. The byproduct of said experiment was that Tress was silent and self amused as she snacked.
What perhaps only Camen realized, as he continued to sign in order to be sure that she felt included in the conversation going on around her, was that Tress was still taking in every move every single person in the room was making and observing their expressions just as closely.
*Not bad,* Jariel thought. He turned his attention back to the Doctor, and gestured towards the device on her desk. “So, how exactly did you come up with the idea for this device? And if it works, what are your plans for the future for this technology?”
"I can't take credit here. The implant," Alison gestured to the box on the table, "was designed by a Ferengi colleague. His team is actually working on perfecting a universal translator implant." She could see a concerned look cross Fleur's face. "But, if this surgery works and Tress' hearing is restored, there are many potentials for this device, which my esteemed colleague will have no problem sharing with the Federation."
"For his share of the profit," Jariel commented, his voice neutral, stating the obvious fact.
"That is how most research outside of the Federation is still done. All I can say is this. We have the best technology here, the best surgical staff and equipment, and the best doctor." At that Alison looked over to Lance, both as a compliment and as a nod for him to continue where she had left off.
Lance smiled in thanks. “What I think you question really is asking, and rightfully so, is if there is any outside motivation for us presenting this option to you.” Lance was frank. “I am the one who brought Tress’s issue to Alison’s attention. Once I had exhausted all my options for helping her in a purely medical fashion I turned to the best scientist I knew.” He winked at Alison as he returned the compliment.
“While our Ferengi counterpart is most assuredly in this for the profit, I am sure I not only speak for myself but also for Alison that we just want to help Tress hear again.” He looked at the table. “As her physician at the time she fell ill, I have issues with what happened to her.” He looked at Jariel and Fleur. “So I have to be honest and say that her hearing loss is a personal issue for me. To be able to help her hear again to me would be a triumph over those who caused it in the first place.”
He paused a moment. “Well I’ve already covered the basics of how the device works and the surgical process involved in putting the aides into place. Alison has one of the devices here for you to look at.” He nodded to Alison who retrieved the box, opened it and placed it in front of the concerned parents.
“I am sure that you have many questions for both Alison and myself. So please, ask away.”
“It’s so small.” Jariel noted with a hint of awe. He could have easily hidden it in the jewelry dangling from his ear and no one would have been the wiser. In fact, he could have hidden a few dozen of the devices. It seemed harmless enough just looking at it. It was elliptical in shape, felt soft of rubbery and yet only three, maybe four millimeters in length. Then again, the virus that had taken Tress’s hearing was infinitesimally smaller then what was on display before him right now.
“How have you compenzated for the signal degradation in the Cochlear and Vestibular nerves inherent to the interfaces juncture of mechanical and organic components?” Fleur asked, as she lifted and gently twirled the case holding the implant. Alison was momentarily speechless, not because she didn’t know the answer to the question, but simply because she was shocked it had been asked.
“Monsieur Reece,” Fleur whispered to Camen. "Courtesy of past host, Rilan the doctor."
“Well you’ve done your research. Basically, it is a multimodal pulse enhancement protocol. The device continuously boosts its own signal, to ensure that when it is transferred to the nerve, it is at just the right intensity to be received and processed by the brain.”
Jariel cleared his throat and glanced at Fleur, waiting to see what she thought of the explanation. “Mousier Reece indicated that unless you are using multimodal technology, we should leave.” She set the device back down and rose from her seat to sit next to Tress.
“Doctor Schneider,” Jariel began, folding his hands on the table as he spoke. “As I’m sure you are aware, many on my homeworld would have died if not for the help Doctor Hartcort rendered to us. He is a hero.”
“Shucks, Vedek, don’t sing my praises too much or she’ll never let me hear the end of it.”
Jariel continued. “I don’t doubt for a moment that he would be involved with you, or this research, if he believed there was anything else at stake other than Tress’s health, and the health of his other patients.”
“Well you shouldn’t.” Alison reassured him.
“I have faith in you, and your device. We are both, however,” He said, indicating Fleur, and also Tress’s brother, who made no attempt to hide the fact he was listening now. “Grappling with the implications of this for Tress. We need to talk to her, and understand how she will process the idea of this surgery being performed.”
Fleur was already elegantly raising her hands in sign to Tress, as she caught the girl’s attention, drawing her away from the apple wedge, dripping with sauce and cinnamon that now held her entranced enough to listen to her mother.
[[Tress, we want to talk to you.]] She looked around for a napkin to use to wipe Tress' sticky fingers and cheeks, and Pace stepped forward, quickly producing a handkerchief. "Merci, Pace." She dabbed at Tress as the child ducked and dodged the attempt, quite happy to remain sticky.
She looked up and noticed all eyes in the room were fixed upon her. She bounced upward and spun in a circle. [[Play!]]
"Play later, chou chou, talk now." Fleur both signed and said. Finally, with plaintive eyes she turned to Camen who swooped in and pulled Tress back up into his arms.
He gave her a gentle, loving but firm look that told her that she needed to listen and she shrugged tiny shoulders. She pressed still-sticky little lips to his cheek and then rested her head for an instant down on his shoulder.
[[Tress, you know Doctor Hartcort.]]
Tress made a little sign that she had created just for the doctor, a spin on the character 'L' completely his own in her mind. She smiled at Lance and nodded.
[[You remember songs?]] Fleur fought to sign without tearing up, trying to figure out the best possible way to explain to Tress what they were proposing here.
[[Mama sing.]] Tress signed, then she sighed, and she pressed her lips together and rolled her eyes up as if trying to remember how to make sound come from her lips. She leaned her ear close to Jariel's lips, pointing to them and then to her ear in a way that showed just how incredibly smart the child really was. [[No song. No.]] She frowned. She pulled the oversized cap from her head and let it fall, knowing Pace would catch it before it hit the ground. [[No song.]] She repeated, sticking tiny index fingers into her ears. [[Broken.]]
Alison gingerly stepped forward and spoke to the child. "Tress, what if we try to fix the song?"
Fleur relayed the message, and Tress cocked her head to the side, glancing at Lance.
"I want to try to fix your ears," Lance said, stepping closer.
Tress pursed tiny rosebud lips and then frowned. She signed again and shook her head until her curls bounced. [[Ouch?]]
"She wants to know if it will hurt," Jariel translated, because he could see that Fleur could not bear to.
Lance shook his head. "No, Tress. No 'owie'."
Pace relayed the message, as Fleur turned away, unable to look.
[[Fix the song?]] Tress thought about it a minute. [[Maman is sad.]]
[[Maman is scared.]] Pace spoke and signed. [[Maman wants Tress to be happy. Will Tress be happy if the song comes back?]]
Tress frowned now and began pumping her legs, wanting Jariel to put her down so she could get to her adoptive mother. Finally he relented and she approached Fleur, tugging on her sleeve.
Fleur sniffled softly and wiped at her tears with the back of her hand, trying to hide them but it was no use. Tress tugged her down until Fleur was kneeling at her level, and she took her dimpled hands and wiped the rest of Fleur's tears away. [[No cry, Maman. No sad.]] She shook her head. She planted a big kiss on Fleur's cheek and then she began signing. Fleur sighed.
"She's asking if Fleur wants her to have the song come back." Jariel choked, barely able to speak now as well.
[[Maman loves Tress today, without the song. Good girl. Pretty girl. Smart girl. Maman, Papa and Pace all love Tress.]] Fleur signed, unable to speak. Pace again had to translate, as his parents were unable. [[Maman will love Tress if song comes back. Good girl. Pretty girl. Smart girl. What does Tress want?]]
Tress suddenly made a completely random, unexpected sign that made Jariel, Fleur and Pace burst out laughing.
"I missed something there," Alison raised an eyebrow.
"She said she wants..." Jariel now dabbed the cuff of his sleeve at the corners of his spilling eyes as well. "Cheese."
Everyone in the room laughed and Tress smiled, repeating the sign.
"Yes, yes, you can have your cheese." Fleur laughed, then she signed again. [[Does Tress want to try to make the song come back? Or no song?]]
Tress struggled to remember the words on the very edge of her memories. The song from when she was held in Maman’s arms, and her tummy was full, and the sky was dark. She heard the words so many times before the song was broken, and at night, when her tummy was full and the stars drifted by against the dark backdrop on the great boat Papa said was called Serendipity, she wished Maman would say the words again. Sometimes Tress would see her lips moving while Maman held her, and she tried so hard to hear the words.
She looked frustrated, as she tried to get the words out, so Maman would understand.
“Dodo dinette,” Tress finally pushed passed her lips, in a perfect and proper French accent. Fleur could not hold back the tears now, as she gently began to recite and sign the lullaby Tress had just quoted.
As she softly sang, Tress emphatically gestured towards her ears, indicated that she wanted to hear what Fleur was saying. Fleur looked at Jariel and Pace, who both nodded.
“I believe Doctors,” Camen said, “We will proceed.” He took a picture of her in his mind, exactly as she was at this moment. In his eyes there was nothing about her that ever needed to be changed, but the child wanted to hear her mother’s voice, and there was no way he could deny her that gift.
Lance smiled at Alison and then signed, with perfect precision, to the family. [[Her wish is our command.]]
***********************************************
Alison Schneider
Starfleet Research
Doctor Lance Hartcort
Chief Medical Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
Fleur Le Marc
Afterthought Café
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
Jariel Camen
Ship’s Chaplain
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
Alison Schneider
Starfleet Research
Doctor Lance Hartcort
Chief Medical Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
Fleur Le Marc
Afterthought Café
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
Jariel Camen
Ship’s Chaplain
USS Serendipity NCC-2012