Chapter 5
Primum est non nocere.
First of all, do no harm.
(Hippocrates; The maxim has become an ethical guiding principle in medicine.)
"I can't believe they cloned me and used me to kidnap Vicki Ann!" Bashir exclaimed.
Ezri put his hand on Bashir's shoulder. "Vicki Ann is tough, Julian and she can take care of
herself. She always finds a way to survive. I'm sure she's fine."
Julian shook his head. "She's not as tough as she would like everyone to believe. One of
the side effects of genetic engineering is psychological problems. Ezri, you know that. And
besides, I really don't think that she'll be able to handle murder very well."
Ezri nodded. "Let's just hope that she didn't join Section 31 and that she'll find a way out
if she did. Now, are those sensor logs ready, yet?"
"According to the sensors, I or someone with an almost identical DNA pattern was in Vicki
Ann's quarters the night she disappeared,"
Bashir replied.
"What do you mean 'almost identical DNA pattern' as you?" Kira asked.
"When a person is cloned, the second pattern is slightly degraded or different. The brain
activity from the sensor sweep is also strange," Julian said, shaking his head.
Kira frowned. "In what way?"
"It looks as if he's been exposed to tricolate and dethacol."
"What's that?" Ezri asked.
"They're suggestion drugs." When the two women looked at him with blank expressions, he
continued, "Suggestion drugs are drugs that make a person more responsive to what they
hear, even to the point of guided hallucinations. Suggestion drugs have been used more
recently with computer implants. The person is implanted with a device that receives
suggestions from an outside source and puts them into the subconscious in such a way
that they cannot be ignored. It's used for both brain-washing and mind control."
Ezri gasped. "Oh, my God. You don't think they're doing this to Vicki Ann, do you?"
Julian's expression was grim. "I wouldn't be surprised."
"I don't understand why they would want Vicki Ann, she isn't in Starfleet anymore," Ezri
replied.
"That's what makes her the perfect operative. She's genetically engineered and a talented
doctor who got kicked out of Starfleet and stripped of her medical practice. She's got
every reason to want revenge. And they're going to help her get it."
Everyday, Vicki Ann asked Julian if she was 'rested' enough to work with him in the lab.
Everyday he insisted that she needed to rest.
Before long, two weeks had gone by. One day, Sid visited Vicki Ann while she was resting.
"Here are your orders, doctor."
"I'm not a doctor," Vicki Ann replied, bitterly.
"Well, you will be soon. You will be filling in for Dr. Bashir while he is out of commission."
"What do you mean?"
"It is time for you to pay your end of the bargain. Tonight, while he is asleep, you will give
him this," Sid replied, tossing her a hypospray.
"What is it?"
"10cc's of methacoline. It will be painful, as you know, but he'll be fine. He'll need some
time to recover and you'll fill in for him while he's resting."
"I assume I don't have a choice."
"No, you don't. A word of warning, doctor. Don't cross us, otherwise you might find
yourself in Dr. Bashir's position, only worse off."
Vicki Ann lit the candles on the coffee table and put out two wine glasses. She figured the
best way to get Julian asleep was to get him drunk. And if a romantic evening was the
only way to get him drunk, she had to take it. Fortunately, there were no side effects of
mixing methacoline with alcohol. Julian would be fine. He would be in a lot a pain for a
while, that's all. Besides, she didn't have a choice.
Vicki Ann heard the doors open in the other room. She quickly composed herself and
waited for Julian.
"What's this?" he asked, surprised.
She smiled and sauntered over to him, wrapping her arms around him. "I thought you might
need a break from work," she whispered.
"That sounds like a wonderful idea," he replied, kissing her.
"Let's go over to the couch," she said, pulling him along with her.
"Wine, too. You must have been planning this for a while,"
Julian replied.
"Not that long. I managed to talk Sid in to giving me some of his stash of Chateau Picard,"
Vicki Ann replied as they sat on the couch.
"Well, then this is a special occasion," Julian said as he drew her to him.
Vicki Ann pulled away. "Why don't we have some wine first?" she suggested, picking up the
glasses.
Julian took the bait. He took the glass from her. "How about a toast? To us. That things
will work the second time around," he said, raising his glass.
Vicki Ann felt a lump form in her throat. Gods, he really loves you. And what are you
doing in return? Giving him a dose of methacoline. Nice, Vicki Ann, real nice. A voice in
the back of her head interjected, It's for his own good, Vicki Ann. Besides, he won't die,
he'll just be in pain for a while. It's for his own good. The last sentence echoed in her
head. She smiled and clinked glasses with Julian. She watched him as he drank from the
glass, hoping he would drink the whole thing. He didn't. "Come on, Julian. This is very
expensive wine. You can't just have a little sip."
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to get me drunk."
"Maybe I am," Vicki Ann teased.
"Now why would you want to do that?"
"Remember what happened the last time we got drunk?" she replied, smiling.
Julian laughed. "Yes, I do." That had been how he and Vicki Ann had gotten together.
They'd gotten drunk and admitted their feelings for each other and wound out in bed
together. "Are you trying to reenact that night?"
"Maybe."
"Well, then, I might need a hangover treatment on hand."
"Good idea."
Julian programmed a hypospray and placed it beside the bed. He then rejoined her on the
couch. "Now where were we?"
Vicki Ann smiled. "I was getting you drunk."
Julian was asleep. Vicki Ann considered giving him the hangover cure instead and telling
Sid that she had mixed the two up. He probably wouldn't believe me. Julian had told her
that Sloan had threatened to hurt O'Brien's family when he and Julian had kidnaped Sloan.
If she didn't follow orders, they might hurt Deanna, her brother, or her mother. She
dressed and then touched the hypospray to Julian's neck. Then, she waited. He should be
waking up anytime now from the pain. Something was wrong. She shook him gently.
"Julian." He didn't move.
She kissed him gently and whispered, "Julian, wake up." On instinct, she checked for a
pulse. Nothing. He was dead. She grabbed his med kit and scanned him with a tricorder.
There was no methacoline in his system. Instead, his system was flooded with tetraline, a
lethal drug that shut down the heart and blocked the path of oxygen to the brain with no
hope of repair.
The tricorder fell to the floor. "Oh my God," Vicki Ann whispered, bringing her hand to her
mouth in shock. She stroked Julian's face as the tears began to fall. "I'm sorry, Julian. I'm
so sorry." She apologized until she was crying so hard she couldn't speak anymore.
The only way to survive is not to feel anything, said a voice in Vicki Ann's head. She
thought it was her instinct, but little did she know that it was a voice she had been
programmed to hear.
Primum est non nocere.
First of all, do no harm.
(Hippocrates; The maxim has become an ethical guiding principle in medicine.)
"I can't believe they cloned me and used me to kidnap Vicki Ann!" Bashir exclaimed.
Ezri put his hand on Bashir's shoulder. "Vicki Ann is tough, Julian and she can take care of
herself. She always finds a way to survive. I'm sure she's fine."
Julian shook his head. "She's not as tough as she would like everyone to believe. One of
the side effects of genetic engineering is psychological problems. Ezri, you know that. And
besides, I really don't think that she'll be able to handle murder very well."
Ezri nodded. "Let's just hope that she didn't join Section 31 and that she'll find a way out
if she did. Now, are those sensor logs ready, yet?"
"According to the sensors, I or someone with an almost identical DNA pattern was in Vicki
Ann's quarters the night she disappeared,"
Bashir replied.
"What do you mean 'almost identical DNA pattern' as you?" Kira asked.
"When a person is cloned, the second pattern is slightly degraded or different. The brain
activity from the sensor sweep is also strange," Julian said, shaking his head.
Kira frowned. "In what way?"
"It looks as if he's been exposed to tricolate and dethacol."
"What's that?" Ezri asked.
"They're suggestion drugs." When the two women looked at him with blank expressions, he
continued, "Suggestion drugs are drugs that make a person more responsive to what they
hear, even to the point of guided hallucinations. Suggestion drugs have been used more
recently with computer implants. The person is implanted with a device that receives
suggestions from an outside source and puts them into the subconscious in such a way
that they cannot be ignored. It's used for both brain-washing and mind control."
Ezri gasped. "Oh, my God. You don't think they're doing this to Vicki Ann, do you?"
Julian's expression was grim. "I wouldn't be surprised."
"I don't understand why they would want Vicki Ann, she isn't in Starfleet anymore," Ezri
replied.
"That's what makes her the perfect operative. She's genetically engineered and a talented
doctor who got kicked out of Starfleet and stripped of her medical practice. She's got
every reason to want revenge. And they're going to help her get it."
Everyday, Vicki Ann asked Julian if she was 'rested' enough to work with him in the lab.
Everyday he insisted that she needed to rest.
Before long, two weeks had gone by. One day, Sid visited Vicki Ann while she was resting.
"Here are your orders, doctor."
"I'm not a doctor," Vicki Ann replied, bitterly.
"Well, you will be soon. You will be filling in for Dr. Bashir while he is out of commission."
"What do you mean?"
"It is time for you to pay your end of the bargain. Tonight, while he is asleep, you will give
him this," Sid replied, tossing her a hypospray.
"What is it?"
"10cc's of methacoline. It will be painful, as you know, but he'll be fine. He'll need some
time to recover and you'll fill in for him while he's resting."
"I assume I don't have a choice."
"No, you don't. A word of warning, doctor. Don't cross us, otherwise you might find
yourself in Dr. Bashir's position, only worse off."
Vicki Ann lit the candles on the coffee table and put out two wine glasses. She figured the
best way to get Julian asleep was to get him drunk. And if a romantic evening was the
only way to get him drunk, she had to take it. Fortunately, there were no side effects of
mixing methacoline with alcohol. Julian would be fine. He would be in a lot a pain for a
while, that's all. Besides, she didn't have a choice.
Vicki Ann heard the doors open in the other room. She quickly composed herself and
waited for Julian.
"What's this?" he asked, surprised.
She smiled and sauntered over to him, wrapping her arms around him. "I thought you might
need a break from work," she whispered.
"That sounds like a wonderful idea," he replied, kissing her.
"Let's go over to the couch," she said, pulling him along with her.
"Wine, too. You must have been planning this for a while,"
Julian replied.
"Not that long. I managed to talk Sid in to giving me some of his stash of Chateau Picard,"
Vicki Ann replied as they sat on the couch.
"Well, then this is a special occasion," Julian said as he drew her to him.
Vicki Ann pulled away. "Why don't we have some wine first?" she suggested, picking up the
glasses.
Julian took the bait. He took the glass from her. "How about a toast? To us. That things
will work the second time around," he said, raising his glass.
Vicki Ann felt a lump form in her throat. Gods, he really loves you. And what are you
doing in return? Giving him a dose of methacoline. Nice, Vicki Ann, real nice. A voice in
the back of her head interjected, It's for his own good, Vicki Ann. Besides, he won't die,
he'll just be in pain for a while. It's for his own good. The last sentence echoed in her
head. She smiled and clinked glasses with Julian. She watched him as he drank from the
glass, hoping he would drink the whole thing. He didn't. "Come on, Julian. This is very
expensive wine. You can't just have a little sip."
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to get me drunk."
"Maybe I am," Vicki Ann teased.
"Now why would you want to do that?"
"Remember what happened the last time we got drunk?" she replied, smiling.
Julian laughed. "Yes, I do." That had been how he and Vicki Ann had gotten together.
They'd gotten drunk and admitted their feelings for each other and wound out in bed
together. "Are you trying to reenact that night?"
"Maybe."
"Well, then, I might need a hangover treatment on hand."
"Good idea."
Julian programmed a hypospray and placed it beside the bed. He then rejoined her on the
couch. "Now where were we?"
Vicki Ann smiled. "I was getting you drunk."
Julian was asleep. Vicki Ann considered giving him the hangover cure instead and telling
Sid that she had mixed the two up. He probably wouldn't believe me. Julian had told her
that Sloan had threatened to hurt O'Brien's family when he and Julian had kidnaped Sloan.
If she didn't follow orders, they might hurt Deanna, her brother, or her mother. She
dressed and then touched the hypospray to Julian's neck. Then, she waited. He should be
waking up anytime now from the pain. Something was wrong. She shook him gently.
"Julian." He didn't move.
She kissed him gently and whispered, "Julian, wake up." On instinct, she checked for a
pulse. Nothing. He was dead. She grabbed his med kit and scanned him with a tricorder.
There was no methacoline in his system. Instead, his system was flooded with tetraline, a
lethal drug that shut down the heart and blocked the path of oxygen to the brain with no
hope of repair.
The tricorder fell to the floor. "Oh my God," Vicki Ann whispered, bringing her hand to her
mouth in shock. She stroked Julian's face as the tears began to fall. "I'm sorry, Julian. I'm
so sorry." She apologized until she was crying so hard she couldn't speak anymore.
The only way to survive is not to feel anything, said a voice in Vicki Ann's head. She
thought it was her instinct, but little did she know that it was a voice she had been
programmed to hear.