Chapter 7
Vorik was contemplating on his way from engineering whether to meditate or to go straight to sickbay. Something must be wrong with him, he would never normally succumb to make an emotional scene like that. He wished it had never happened, but that thought was as illogical as anything else happening lately. It had happened all so fast. He didn't realize he was shouting until everybody stared at him. But what was wrong with him? He had a suspicion...but it couldn't be possible... It must be something else, maybe a virus, he felt like he was running a fever. Ensign Huber had been ill last week with the Kaldavian flu - maybe he had infected him with it.
'What's the nature of the medical emergency?' The doctor greeted in his usual fashion as Vorik entered sickbay.
'Unknown yet, doctor. I'm not well, I have the impression of suffering from a fever, my theory is that I caught the Kaldavian flu.' he replied.
'Let's see' the doctor scanned him, muttered 'hmm' and then fell silent. 'Please take a seat, Ensign.'
Vorik sat down on the biobed while the doctor fetched another scanner and started to scan his brain.
The doctor laid the scanner beside and seated himself at another biobed in opposite to Vorik. 'Ensign,' he said in a very measured calm, 'it looks like you have the pon farr.' The doctor looked questioningly at him.
'That can't be possible,' Vorik said sounding slightly alarmed, 'I had it 2 years, 10 months and 19 days ago.'
'I know,' the doctor replied, 'but you have highly elevated sexual hormone levels and the same chemical imbalance in your brain, no traces of a virus or drugs or other agents. Don't you feel any arousal?'
Vorik looked taken aback.
'Let me rephrase the question' the doctor said, 'do you feel different than last time you had the pon farr?'
Vorik hesitated, 'I'm not sure, I don't focus my thoughts on my emotions, so I'm not sure what I feel, doctor.'
'Well, I respect the way Vulcans handle emotions,' he replied carefully, 'but at this moment, it would be the most efficient way to diagnose your problem if you could tell me what you feel as exactly as possible.
Vorik considered this for a moment. Then he began very slowly, 'I feel...restless, I wasn't able to meditate very well for the last three days, I also experienced insomnia and a loss of appetite.'
'What else do you feel?' the doctor asked as patiently as possible.
'I feel driven somehow...drawn to something.' he answered frowning in concentration.
'To what do you feel drawn to?' the doctor asked politely.
Vorik contemplated and then made a slight shocked expression he hid very quickly. 'I...', he stuttered, 'I'm sorry, I can't tell you - that is private.'
'It's okay, you don't have to tell me the details, but am I right to assume that you feel attracted to a female crew member?' the doctor asked retaining his clinical neutrality.
Vorik nodded slightly. After a pause he said sharply, 'Doctor, I don't want to pursue this conversation any further.'
'That's okay, Ensign', the doctor said assuringly, 'we don't need the details of who she is'.
'Doctor, I'm still not convinced I have the...pon farr' he said in a low voice, 'something must have disturbed my hormonal equilibrium, some agent you haven't discovered yet.'
'Hmm...', said the doctor, 'of course I can't disprove your speculation if it's a not yet discovered agent affecting you, but if we look at this in a scientific way, wouldn't you agree to first rule out any known agents before looking for unknown agents?'
'That's fully logical, of course' Vorik replied, wondering what kind of theory the doctor was pursuing.
'Ensign, has anything happened between you and that female crew member, which could have influenced your hormonal equilibrium?' he asked politely.
Vorik stared, then looked away. 'That...may be possible, doctor, she...approached me.'
'Ah...' the doctor replied satisfied with himself. 'Ensign, your reaction is very natural, especially if you appreciate her advances.'
'Doctor,' Vorik replied sharply, 'I don't appreciate her advances!'
'Are you sure?' the doctor replied. 'You show quite a strong hormonal reaction, she doesn't leave you cold as the saying is...' he chuckled slightly.
'Doctor, you're trying to prove your theory with a circular reasoning!' Vorik replied sharply.
'Never argue logic with a Vulcans...' the doctor said unnerved. 'Then let's be blunt, Ensign,' he drew a holographic breath, 'as long as I don't find your mysterious hitherto undiscovered pon farr inducing agent, I have the very strong suspicion that the advances of this woman affect you so strongly, because you have already harbored feelings for her.' he said.
'I'm sure you did your best to suppress those feelings,' he gave Vorik what he hoped would be an understanding look, 'but they must have come closer to the surface once she showed her feelings towards you and this must have made an impact on your hormonal balance.'
'I'm also sure you live in a far more testing environment than any other Vulcan, being that far from home and having not found a mate during your last pon farr and being among non-Vulcans who might show their feelings and attractions very directly to you,' he concluded.
As Vorik seemed too shocked to say something the doctor continued: 'It seems quite natural that your emotional and sexual needs come to the surface once there is an attractive partner available and a very definite chance of satisfying your needs. I suggest you simply go to her, show her how you feel and let nature take its course and solve your problem instead of theorizing about some unknown chemical agent mysteriously affecting only you in a most peculiar way.'
Vorik replied calmly after a pause: 'Doctor, it's clear to me, that you can't help me, so the logical next step would be to leave sickbay and deal with this on my own through meditation.'
'Wait!', the doctor shouted as Vorik quit the door. 'Vulcans!' he mumbled exasperated while he transfered himself to his mobile emitter. When he looked up again a surprised B'Elanna stood in the doorway.
'Lt.! Come in! How can I help you today?' he asked good-naturedly, but in a slightly unnerved undertone.
'Well,' B'Elanna replied, 'I wanted to talk to you about Vorik, but I see he had the sense of reporting to you himself.'
The doctor rolled his eyes. 'That's at least one step in the right direction.'
'Sounds like you didn't have much success in helping him.' B'Elanna replied with a sarcastic smile.
'Doctor-patient-confidentiality, but what can you tell me about him? Any incident in engineering?'
'Yeah, you could say that', she replied folding her arms, 'a little shouting competition with Ensign Tal'.
The doctor raised both his eyebrows.
'They've been friends since a couple of weeks and made a great team,' B'Elanna continued, 'but suddenly they are unable to work in the same room! If you can talk any sense into them, please do!'
She placed one hand on her hips, 'I have other problems to solve in engineering at the moment than two lovesick junior officers behaving like pubescent p'taks!' she continued while wildly gesticulating with her other hand, 'I've tried to talk with Tal, but she acts like nothing happened. I told her to come to you to inform herself about Vulcans, but I don't think she even wanted to realize what I was talking about!'
'Thanks for adding this to my plate, Lt.' the doctor replied somberly, 'now I'm also the ship's partnership counselor.'
'You give social lessons for Seven, can't you teach Vorik how to deal with his hormones?' B'Elanna asked unimpressed.
'I'd never thought, I'd say that,' he replied dryly, 'but Seven is an easy student, at least compared to a Vulcan in hormonal distress. Can't you simply shut them alone into the same room in engineering and wait till they have...resolved their issues?'
She gave a short indignant chuckle. 'Do I look like a match maker? Good luck with your patient, doctor!' And she left sickbay.
