Chapter Four


The good doctor, as he puttered about sickbay that night, wondered what Astrid had truly gained from their chess game and much meandering conversation. Perhaps beating an alien at chess gave her a more pronounced feeling of superiority, or 'natural' human superiority, than she usually enjoyed. Or maybe she was nostalgic for those days of playing with her colleagues in the exchange. It was a funny thing. Doctor Zeller had always gone out of her way to try to convert them to her prejudiced way of thinking, but in the end after playing hundreds of games and having equally as many conversations, perhaps she missed them, even the few aliens in the group, despite her changeless, unfoundering contempt for all non-humans. She had several opportunities during their game to begin spouting her xenophobic drivel, and she had let most of them pass her by. Phlox had to wonder if the Vulcan message of 'infinite diversity in infinite combination' had managed to infiltrate her closed mind just a little bit.

"One cannot dwell on an alien world and return home unchanged." he told himself as he dimmed the lights in sickbay. "But perhaps Astrid Zeller could."

The day had taken care of the worst of his fears. He had known Astrid to behave in a far more high-handed manner. He had known her to be a great deal more difficult, impossible even. Not only that, he could rest assured that her effect on the crew would be negligible. They would not turn on him nor on Sub-commander T'Pol at one word from the celebrated Doctor Astrid Zeller. Everything was going to be just fine.

The next morning, knowing the hours that Doctor Zeller preferred to keep, Phlox elected to have breakfast in the mess hall an hour earlier than was customary for him. Most of the crew, with the notable exception of the engineering detail, were still getting ready to meet the day and had yet to filled the chairs and tables in the dining area of the ship. When he walked into the mess, which smelled pleasantly of warm breakfast foods, Phlox was surprised to see two people already having their morning repast.

Surprised was not an adequate description. He gripped the nearest chair to keep his knees from buckling. Astrid Zeller, apparently content with a mug of hot coffee, was dressed in the uniform that denoted she was a member of the Star Fleet Academy physicians. She was laughing quietly and pleasantly with her breakfast companion. Seated across the table from her with a tray containing a hearty morning meal was none other than Commander Trip Tucker, perhaps the only person on board who had not been adequately warned about Doctor Zeller either through word-of-mouth or through meeting her in person.

"You don't say?" the commander questioned loudly, seeming to enjoy his conversation with her.

Phlox did not trouble to listen to her less boisterous reply as he prepared to go about his business. It was no concern of his if the engineer wanted to have breakfast with Astrid. She could be quite entertaining at times, especially if one did not know her or anything about her. She was an adequate conversationalist when she didn't talk about her work or her less than scientific opinions.

The doctor chose his breakfast selections and decided upon a place to sit and dine as far from the other occupied table as possible. Zeller, the only one of the pair to note his presence, gave Phlox a little wave from across the room. He nodded politely and turned his full attention toward the food on his plate, hoping that the mess hall would fill up and alleviate some of the awkwardness that he felt.

The sound of Commander Tucker nervously clearing his throat intruded upon Phlox's meal sometime later. The good doctor glanced up from his plate just in time to catch the hunted and disconcerted expression on the face of the chief engineer. Astrid could only talk for so long without scaring someone. Phlox didn't need to wonder about what she was telling him. He considered trying to rescue Trip, but knew that the commander had extricated himself from worse situations.

He looked at them both again, with more humor, and thought, "Unfortunate. They would make a charming couple if her ... intellectual inclinations were otherwise."

When Phlox reached sickbay, he busied himself with the feeding of his menagerie while he awaited Doctor Zeller's arrival. There was some satisfaction in the fact that he wasn't her first victim of the day. The sound of the sickbay door hissing open caused him to heave a little sigh as he watched one of his stranger creatures snag its morning flower petal.

"Have you finished tormenting our chief engineer, Astrid?" Phlox questioned as he turned around.

Standing there was none other than Commander Tucker, who looked a little frazzled. Trip folded his arms across his chest and frowned even harder at the doctor.

"I'll say she has, doc. Why didn't anybody warn me about her? Did I miss a memo or something?" questioned Tucker.

"I am so sorry, commander." said Phlox, chuckling.

"Yeah, you sound real sorry." he said with a toss of his head. "What's her deal anyhow?" he asked.

"When you first came aboard, it was no secret that you were not overly fond of Vulcans, Mister Tucker. Extrapolate a science from that prejudice, if you will." Phlox told him.

"Oh, I heard my fill of her so-called science. That's not what I meant. I just want to know why she's like that. I mean, I never heard anybody go on like that. Gives me the creeps, doc." confessed Commander Tucker.

"It does my heart good to hear that, commander."

"But you aren't going to fill me in, doc?"

"Not at this time. I don't think I fully understand ... where she's coming from myself." Phlox admitted.

"Yeah, well, I pity you having to put up with a person like that for the next couple weeks."

"It won't be so bad, commander. It isn't a surprise, after all." he said with an amiable smile. "Oh, and if you don't want to have another enlightening conversation with Doctor Zeller, you should probably make your way quickly to engineering." he advised.

"Thanks for the heads up." said Trip, ducking out of sickbay in a hurry.

Just minutes had passed when Astrid Zeller walked through the same doors that had admitted Commander Tucker. She surveyed sickbay with an expression caught somewhere between disdain and vague irritation, obviously considering the inspection somewhat beneath her, a menial job for a lackey and not for the illustrious Doctor Zeller. Her self-importance had not diminished one bit since the time when the two of them stood in an Academy sickbay on earth and she had directed him to sterilize some test tubes for her use, which he had done out of a sense of courtesy and only very mild deference.

"Your chief engineering officer believes I'm into eugenics." Astrid told Phlox conversationally as continued to give the good doctor's haven the once over.

"The term is archaic, but it hits close enough to the mark, does it not?" inquired the Denobulan.

"You never read about our eugenics wars, did you, Phlox? It was human against human, of course. The genetically altered led the normal populace in a short, but terrible period of conflict. It was an unfortunate hiccup in our evolution as a species, second only perhaps to the recent Vulcan interference in our development." she explained, leveling her gaze at him. "So, you see, the term 'eugenics' hardly describes the concepts that I champion." she added.

"Ah, I see. My mistake." he said curtly, frowning at her.

"I see you've learned the fine art of sarcasm too." she chuckled.

"Through recent exposure only, I assure you." he replied.

"You know that I never disliked you as an individual, right, Phlox?" she questioned seriously, realizing that he was more easily bated by a barb than a year or so earlier. He would almost certainly never have risen to the occasion when they were both on earth.

"Just as an alien ... on your planet ... interfering with your people." he said, nodding his understanding of her question.

"Then you do understand."

"Understanding was never ..." he began to say.

"It was cute once, Phlox, but the horse is dead. Get off it." she told him tiredly. "Shall we get on with the inspection?"

"By all means." he agreed.

Doctor Zeller was thorough in the extreme. She understood precisely what would be required when they reached the science station. Phlox had to admit that. But after three hours of examining equipment, analyzing efficiency, discussing personnel, and taking inventory of supplies, his patience was wearing thin. It was ridiculously unnecessary, and Phlox knew that if a human, Star Fleet issue medical officer had called his sickbay home, she would have given him minimal difficulty. Of course, she would still have stressed her importance and authority, but she would not have questioned the basic competence of that hypothetical physician.

"I could bring all of the auxiliary medical personnel down here to be questioned." he offered with the faintest hint of sarcasm. "You could test their loyalty to humanity and your planet's particular brand of medicine." he added as she looked at him blankly, reading over his inventory for a third time, perhaps a fourth.

"I trust your staff implicitly, Phlox." Zeller stated coldly. "I'm only doing my job, you know."

"Of course, Astrid." he sighed, looking at the ceiling of sickbay and wondering what mistakes he had made in his life to end up standing there with patronizing Astrid Zeller scrutinizing his work in that manner.

"I have been assured that I will have access to the medical facilities on the station too. I am considering working from there." she informed Phlox, adding, "However, I am somewhat reluctant to expose your staff to the disease until I am certain of my course of action in treating it."

"So you may not need my sickbay at all?" he questioned.

"I may want some lab work done in house, but it is too small to treat very many patients here. It would not be practical." Astrid told him calmly.

"In any event, Astrid, you have these resources at your disposal." he said, smiling and relaxing as it occurred to him that she might not be running the Enterprise's sickbay during the mission. She could, possibly, be spending all her time elsewhere, on the science station. That thought brought him much relief.

"I'm sure I do." she said with a smile of her own than was none too pleasant. She understood very well what the alien doctor was thinking. "Until then, I have finished my official duties, so perhaps we can play chess a few more times and have deep, thought-provoking discussions like in the old days?" Astrid questioned.

"My duties as chief medical officer are quite time consuming, Astrid."

"I have heard that Denobulans don't sleep. Or are you afraid, doctor?" she questioned, lowering her eyelids and smiling even more malevolently.

"Afraid? Certainly not. It is only a game." he reminded her, not liking the implication of cowardice.

"Fine. Then how about another game ... in the mess this time ... say, around midnight or so? You can get coffee on this ship, right?"

"That will be satisfactory." said Phlox, nodding.

Astrid took a few steps toward the door, turned, and tilted her head to one side before telling him, "You could have said no, Phlox." Then she disappeared through the door.

"Could I have, Astrid? Would you have actually taken no for an answer?" he questioned the empty sickbay, shaking his head.

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