The Gift of Celebration
Chapter 14
"Reality is not what it is.
It consists of the many realities which it can be made into."
Wallace Stevens
In the morning before breakfast, McCoy asked Amanda if he could borrow her shuttle to go to the hospital. His autopsy was scheduled for 0900.
"Of course, Leonard, keep it as long as you need to," Amanda told him, hurrying to the kitchen to help T'Lar.
Having taken care of his transportation, McCoy and Jim sat down to breakfast and Leonard handed Jim a list of things he would need before he went to the hospital.
"Jim, could Scotty beam down these things for me? Chapel can get them ready for the beam out. I'd like to be sure we have everything we need before I get started. It'll facilitate the autopsy if we don't have to hunt for stuff I need at the hospital."
"Sure, Bones. Comm Chapel and have her get everything ready to give to Scotty and he'll beam them down to you.
Do you want me to go with you to the hospital?"
"No, I'll be fine, and Gavin might need you here. I know you guys have a lot to work to do. Aaaannnd speak of the devil," said McCoy as Gavin came into the dining room.
"Morning, everyone."
"Morning, Gavin. Did you sleep well?" asked Amanda coming in from the kitchen. "Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes."
"I slept great. That sofa bed is very comfortable. Believe me, Lady Amanda, I've slept in some weird and uncomfortable places, and your sofa is great. I could tell you stories about places I've slept in," he said, "but best not to in mixed company." He grinned at her, his grey eyes alight with mischief, as he reached for his coffee cup.
"Behave yourself, Gavin," said Winona coming in. 'You've been hanging around Jim way too much." She walked over to the buffet and poured herself some coffee.
"Ma!" protested Jim. "I am always the soul of propriety," he said.
McCoy sputtered in his coffee. "In what alternate universe are you livin' in, Jimbo. The soul of propriety, oh my sainted aunt!"
"It's a wise mother who knows her own son," said Winona serenely, smiling at her son.
He stood, looked keenly into the hazel eyes so much like his own, dropped a light kiss on her cheek and pulled out her chair. "Did you sleep well? How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine, sweetheart. I slept very well and I'm hungry this morning. I peeked in on Peter and he's still asleep. Where are Sarek and Spock this morning?" Winona asked.
"Sarek and Spock are in Sarek's office checking in with Vulcan Security to see if S'ten's family has been found," Amanda said. "I hope they succeed."
"I hope so too," Winona said. She spared a thought for the family and the sorrow awaiting them.
Uhura came in searching for coffee. "Morning everyone. Captain, I may have found something in S'ten's computer. After breakfast I'll get right back to it and see if I'm right." She sat by Winona, and her eyes asked a question. Winona patted the slim hand and smiled at her reassuringly.
"Great, Uhura. I hope it's something useful," said Jim. "We sure could use a break in this mission."
McCoy looked at his chrono. "I better get goin'," he said. "I know Vulcans are always punctual, and I don't want to keep them waitin'. See you later, folks. I'm sure I'll have interestin' things to share when I get back."
"Comm me if you need anything, Bones. Gavin and I will be going over those files."
McCoy was a proficient pilot, even if he never got to fly much on the ship, and he was at the hospital in ten minutes. He parked the shuttle and went through the front doors. "Dr. Leonard McCoy," he told the receptionist.
"Ah Dr. McCoy, everything is ready for you. Please follow me." The Vulcan led the way through the large double doors, down the hall, and into a vacant operating room. S'ten's body was on a metal bed, a sheet draped over his torso, with only his pale face visible above the cloth. The double doors opened again, and three Vulcan healers walked in. McCoy knew them; they were the three who had been assigned to Winona's case and McCoy had worked closely with them; Sasak, Tolaris and Soval. Good people, thought McCoy, great doctors and healers and still wantin' to learn more. Hope this goes well.
"Dr. McCoy, greetings," said Soval.
"Gentlemen. Happy you could join me. I hope that this will be a good learning experience for you. Please feel free to stop me at any time, or ask questions as I go along. Shall we get started? We'll need gowns, gloves, and face protection."
Soval opened a cabinet and pulled out the necessary items and handed them to everyone. They suited up and donned the face protection.
"What I'll do is record the forensic autopsy and narrate each step as I do it. Is that agreeable to you all?"
"That is agreeable, Dr. McCoy," said Tolaris.
"Have any of you ever done a forensic autopsy? I only ask because I'll go into more detail if you haven't."
"We have not. There has never been a need for one before today, We would welcome as much information as you would like to give us," said Tolaris.
"Ok then, I'll do the best I can to be thorough. Here we go." McCoy uncovered the body of S'ten and looked up at the camera. "Begin recording," he told the camera.
"Since S'ten's body was moved we can't do any of the preliminary steps for a forensic autopsy," he told them. "Ordinarily, in a case of murder or accidental death, the body is photographed before it's moved; the body position and condition including body warmth, lividity and rigidity are recorded. Also the scene of the crime is examined for blood and other evidence. Since that was not done, due to inexperience by the Vulcan Security Force, we'll have to proceed straight to the actual autopsy."
The three Vulcan healers nodded as one and moved closer to the body so they could see what McCoy was going to do.
Bones looked up at the camera and recorded the date, the starting time, those present, and the name of the hospital.
"This is the forensic autopsy of the remains of S'ten, a Vulcan male, approximately 40 years of age," McCoy said, and then read the height, weight, sex, nutritional status, muscular development and color of skin, eyes, and hair off of the bio table for the record. "Participating in this autopsy as observers are the Vulcan healers, Sasak, Tolaris and Soval. The reason for this autopsy is to gather forensic evidence from the body of the deceased Vulcan, S'ten. His clothing has been removed; I'll examine his clothing after the conclusion of this autopsy."
McCoy put the large bag that Scotty had sent him on a moveable table beside him. He took out a large magnifier. "The first thing we have to do is examine the body manually inch by inch to search for external evidence of any injury or trauma." His gloved hands delicately traversed the body front and back, moving the large magnifier as he went. "We also take close up pictures of all parts of the body. Camera, zoon in to the body," McCoy said and stepped aside to allow the camera to scan the body. He carefully turned S'ten's body over, continued his examination, and had the camera scan the other side of the body. "Next, we have to examine the injury that caused his death. In this case, it's a broken neck." He gently lifted S'ten's head and showed the healers where the neck had been snapped cleanly in the Tal-Shaya. "Camera, zoom in and record neck area."
As he continued, McCoy went over each step of his examination out loud. He examined S'ten's gums and teeth and checked for further trauma inside the mouth. He checked the eyes and the delicate pointed ears for hemorrhage and abnormalities. He examined his arms, fingernails and hands for defensive wounds, contusions or abrasions and any signs of restraint. After checking every part of the body, McCoy stopped and reached into the bag for his laser scalpel. "It's at this point that we have to open the body cavity to examine the internal organs; the spinal column, the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, tongue, all glands, testes, prostate, seminal vesicles, urethra, bladder, the spleen, stomach and contents, and last and most important the brain." He did so gently, respectfully and with great care. "We weigh each organ and record the weight. It's also at this point that we collect blood and tissue samples for typing, DNA analysis and for any toxicological evidence," he said. He continued slowly and methodically to the utter fascination of the three Vulcan healers. When he finished, McCoy stepped back. It had been 5 hours, 22 minutes; his back hurt, he was stiff and he was hungry. He looked up at the camera. "Record ending time."
"I'm finished, except for examinin' the clothing," he told them, "but we can do that later. The body can be washed now, and it can be prepared for burial or whatever the death ritual is for the deceased."
McCoy took off his gown, goggles and gloves and put them in the recycler. "That concludes the autopsy," he told the three Vulcans. "Do you all have any questions for me?"
"Dr. McCoy, that was extraordinary," said Tolaris. "We thank you for allowing us to witness this. It was most instructive. I am certain that you are tired and hungry. Perhaps we can adjourn to a small room next to my office and discuss this further. I will have food and refreshments brought to us."
"Of course," said McCoy. "I'd love somethin' to drink and I am hungry, breakfast was a long time ago."
They exited the operating room, and Tolaris led them to a small room furnished simply with a table and chairs. He toggled a small comm unit on the table. "Please have the cafeteria prepare lunch and tea for 4 and send it to my conference room," he told his secretary.
They waited in silence and McCoy allowed his body to relax and sink into the very comfortable conference chair. The food and drinks appeared quickly and he sighed in relief. It had been a very long morning.
"This has been most informative, Dr. McCoy. We are fortunate to have witnessed the process and that it has been recorded. It will be added to our curriculum," Tolaris said with satisfaction. He paused, looked at McCoy and then at both his colleagues.
McCoy stopped munching on his veggie sandwich as he noticed the exchanged glances. His internal antenna, honed razor sharp by his years of association with Jim Kirk and his penchant for trouble, vibrated in alarm. "Somethin' wrong, gentlemen?"
"We are not sure, Dr. McCoy. We are not quite certain there is something wrong, but when you opened the body cavity," Tolaris said, delicately sipping his tea, and indicating the other two, "the three of us noticed that there were some anomalies with the placement of the internal organs. Some of S'ten's organs are slightly different than is the norm for a Vulcan male of his age."
"Whaaaat?" McCoy's blue eyes widened. "Are you sayin' that this man was deformed in some way? That he wasn't a normal Vulcan?"
"No," said Tolaris, thoughtfully, obviously puzzled. "Not deformed exactly, but not exactly normal either. We are somewhat at a loss about this."
There was a beep from the office comm unit. "Yes?" asked Tolaris.
"Healer, we have the results of the blood typing, DNA analysis and toxicological evidence ready for Dr. McCoy."
"Please bring 4 hard copies of the results to the conference room."
The secretary came in and distributed the copies to McCoy and the three Vulcans. The four of them sat silently and read the reports.
Finally McCoy looked up, his eyebrows drawn together in a fierce frown; a muscle in his jaw ticked and his blue eyes sparkled with anger. His sensibilities as a physician, a Star Fleet Officer, and as a guest on Vulcan at Sarek and Amanda home were outraged. "What the hell!"
"Indeed," murmured Tolaris.
Jim and Gavin sat on the floor in Amanda's office with the series of Sarek's copied memos laid out in front of them. Gavin had arranged them in turn by perceived importance, by topic, and finally by date to see if they could spot a pattern. They had worked for several hours and were still no closer to figuring out why S'ten had made copies of Sarek's memos.
Winona walked into Amanda's office with a tray of cold mint tea and snacks. 'You've been working non stop for quite a while. I thought you could use a break." She looked down at the memos on the floor, handed the tray to Jim and knelt by Gavin to read them.
"Thanks, Ma," said Jim reaching thankfully for the cold tea. He stuffed a cracker with cheese on it in his mouth and offered some to Gavin. He sighed tiredly, glad to feel the cold tea go down his parched throat. "Let's take a short break, Gavin. Maybe my brain will work better after we eat and drink something. Come sit down, Ma and look these over. Maybe you will come up with something. A fresh perspective is needed here that's for sure. So far Gavin and I have come up with exactly nothing. At first we thought S'ten may have hidden some sort of code in them but that didn't pan out. There's nothing."
Winona knelt and sat back on her heels and read each memo closely. After a few minutes of close study, she said, "I don't see anything of importance in any of these memos. They're all very similar, just routine reminders from Sarek to his staff about Ambassadorial trips, meeting dates, times, personnel changes." She looked at them again, her brow furrowed. "Look," she said. "They're all written on the Ambassador's letterhead stationary and Sarek uses the exact same format and wording for every memo."
The three of them looked down at the series of memos and sat silent thinking hard, then Winona's eyes widened. "You know what I think? I think S'ten stole these memos so he could be sure that Sarek always words his memos exactly the same each time he sends one out, and that the memos always go out on his Ambassadorial letterhead paper. It's not what's in the memos that's important, it's the actual memos themselves."
"Good God! I'm a moron! Of course, you're right, Ma. Where has my brain been hiding! He was going to send out a fake memo coming ostensibly from Sarek by copying his writing style and using his letterhead!"
"Yes, I think so. Very simple, and so clever," said his mother.
Jim stood up, flipped his communicator open and commed Uhura. "Uhura, would you come to Amanda's office and bring S'ten's computer? I think Ma may have come up with something."
"What did you find Winona?" Uhura asked, rushing in with the computer in her arms. She set it down on the desk and turned it on.
"I'm not sure yet." Winona stood up and came over to S'ten's computer.
"Uhura, did you come across any memos in S'ten's file similar to this?" Jim handed Uhura a memo and she read it carefully.
"Let me check." She opened up S'ten's personal files and scrolled down to his composing software. They could see that there were several drafts in a folder. "Yes, here they are," she said. She opened each of the drafts in a new window so they could compare them; they were all the same. "It looks as if he was practicing the wording of the memo," she said, reading each draft carefully with Jim breathing down her neck as he read over her shoulder. She looked at the copied memos in her hand and at the ones S'ten's had in his draft folder; almost identical. Sarek's word choices, his sentence flow, his vocabulary, all had been carefully copied. "Just a minute, Captain." She put down the copies and went out the office door. She came back with some of S'ten's printer paper in her hand and set it down on the desk. "I haven't had time to look at these yet," she said as she laid the papers on the desk. It was obvious that the printer paper was Sarek's; the Ambassadorial seal was prominently displayed at the top. "He stole the stationary from Sarek's office," Winona said.
Jim drew in a deep, slow, and thorough breath, thinking furiously. "So, he was going to send out a memo from Sarek to the Vulcan High Council," he said. "Saying what, though?"
Winona looked at the drafts, "It could be anything," she said thoughtfully, "but I bet it has something to do with the anti Terran movement."
"I agree," said Gavin, "and it's good to remember that whatever he planned to say, the power of Sarek's words on Vulcan and on Earth can't be over estimated. By the time the memo would be discovered to have been a forgery it could have done incalculable damage." He turned to Uhura. "If he was already in the process of writing that memo, maybe it's still in his files, probably encrypted, though. I can turn the computer over to SIS and see if they find anything. They have resources that can crack any encryption," he added.
"Yeah, let's do that Gavin. I'd like to read that memo."
"I'll take care of it right away," he said getting out his comm to make the arrangements.
The sound of a shuttle drew them to the window. "That's Bones coming back," said Jim. "I'm anxious to hear what he found out from the autopsy."
Jim locked Amanda's office door, and they went back to the living room to wait for McCoy. Sarek and Spock, hearing the shuttle came in too.
As soon as Bones walked in the front door, Jim knew something momentous had happened. McCoy looked drained and exhausted, but there was also some suppressed energy humming within and around him. Looking at his face, Jim wasn't sure if it was anger, fear, or something else entirely.
"Bones!" Jim came over to him, grabbed his arm and drew him to the sofa. "Come sit down, before you fall down. Are you alright? What did you find out?"
McCoy plopped down on the sofa and ran a shaky hand down his face. He looked at the expectant and waiting faces around him before he took the cup of coffee that Uhura handed to him. With a murmured "thanks darlin'" he sipped the hot beverage greatfully.
"Yeah, somthin' happened all right, Jim. The autopsy went fine, no problem there. Didn't find anything I wasn't expectin' to find. It was when we got the DNA sequence, typing and toxicology report back that the shit hit the fan." He looked grimly at the faces in front of him. "It seems that our S'ten was hiding a lot more than we thought."
He set down the hot coffee on the end table and settled back into the sofa cushions with a tired sigh. "S'ten is, was, not really a Vulcan," he said, looking around at the suddenly shocked faces. "His DNA results indicate that he was half Romulan and half Rigellian; these are the two Vulcanoid races whose genetic makeup is as close to Vulcan DNA as is possible and yet still not be Vulcan."