Chapter Seven
ETA Ohniaka system: three hours
When Doctor Zeller began enlisting members of the ship's auxiliary medical personnel for her team, she found herself thoroughly convinced that the human race was devolving. They were all incredibly young and though they were Star Fleet personnel, their education still seemed questionable, especially in the area of communicable diseases and the treatment thereof. Anyone else in her position would certainly have caved at that point and ask Doctor Phlox for assistance, but she wasn't just anyone. She was the celebrated Doctor Astrid Zeller of Star Fleet Medical, and she could make do with under-qualified personnel just so long as they were human.
She knew Phlox's opinions of these individuals. They would all make fine doctors one day, he had told her more than once that morning as she prepped her equipment and had the five crewmen running errands or doing the same. He seemed particularly impressed with this slightly obnoxious Cutler girl who studied bugs and seemed need constant guidance and reassurance.
Zeller was hoping fervently that the situation on the research station had not deteriorated to the point where she would need to depend on these people for more than rudimentary lab work and menial tasks. She had high hopes than she would be able to analyze the disease, come up with a treatment, administer it, and do everything necessary on her own. With any luck she would come out of this thing a hero and catch the next ship home be it the Enterprise or a ghastly Vulcan cruiser. It didn't matter because she knew that if all went well, she would have laurels waiting for her back in San Francisco and more ears to hear to her theories than ever before.
"Astrid?" questioned Phlox to get her attention, which seemed to have wandered as she watched two crewmen calibrating tricorders.
"Yes?" she asked, looking slightly annoyed as she turned toward him.
"I have been informed that the Enterprise will be docking with the station, unless, of course, you would recommend using the shuttlepods instead."
"To prevent spread of the disease? I hardly think that will be necessary. The airlock system and decontamination process should be sufficient." Zeller assured him.
"If you say so." acquiesced Phlox.
Astrid laughed softly and asked, "What is it, Phlox? Don't you think I can handle this thing?"
"It isn't that, but if I were in charge, it would be my preference to keep the station under quarantine at least until I had a better idea of what I was dealing with there." he explained.
"Quarantine? You aren't serious." she said with a quizzical expression. "That's blowing everything out of proportion. At worst this is probably just some kind of exotic alien fever."
"Perhaps I am just more cautious." said Phlox with an anxious smile.
"That you are." she agreed.
About two hours later Doctor Zeller was summoned to the bridge, leaving Ensign Knight in charge of the final preparations. Phlox didn't miss her disgusted sigh as she dashed through the sickbay doors. Astrid wasn't accustomed to such perceived affronts to her position and status. From what he knew of her, Astrid had always been that way and showed no signs of change. By the time she reached the bridge she was genuinely annoyed.
On the bridge Archer turned in his chair when he heard the lift doors whisk open. Doctor Zeller did not appear to be pleased. The captain glanced at the view screen and motioned for her to step forward.
"I thought you might like a peek at the fourth planet of the Ohniaka system, doctor." he told Zeller.
On the screen was a dark gray planet with large, irregular ice caps. Silhouetted against the northern polar cap was a metallic structure that bore a resemblance to those built within the solar system, although Zeller could pick out traces of elements that appeared Vulcan in design. It was small against the background of the slowly spinning gray orb.
"Thank you, captain." she said, admiring the view. She had anticipated going to a dreary little place without an at all pleasant vista. This, on the other hand, looked quite interesting at least from the exterior. "How long until docking procedures are initiated?" she questioned absently.
"About an hour." confirmed Captain Archer, watching her as she stood with her eyes glued to the view screen. He couldn't resist. "I think everyone should have an opportunity to see things like this. Don't you, doctor?" he questioned.
She blinked and scowled at him before asking, "Do you really want to open Pandora's box here and now, captain?"
Most of the bridge crew turned and looked at them before their commanding officer answered, "No, I suppose not."
"Then I will be returning to sickbay if there is nothing else on your mind." she said, giving him what could be considered a withering look.
"I'm sure you have preparations to make. Go right ahead." Archer told Doctor Zeller by way of dismissing her from the bridge.
Astrid had mixed feelings about her few minutes on the bridge. On one hand Ohniaka Four was quite stunning to behold. She had had little opportunity to see planets from space. In fact she had seen only earth, Jupiter, and Vulcan from such a position. On the other hand she disliked the way Archer had treated her. She wasn't one of his twenty-year-old crewmen, after all. Astrid had the uncomfortable feeling that he had gained the upper hand. She pushed that thought from her mind, seething nonetheless. Star Fleet Command would hear all about this ill-mannered Jonathan Archer and his treatment of her when she got back to earth. And they would not be pleased.
When she walked back into sickbay a few minutes later, it was like a twentieth century zoo or a train station from the same era. How could six people bustle so inefficiently? It was her soft sound of displeasure and frustration that alerted Phlox to her presence as he assisted Crewman Cutler with packing Doctor Zeller's medical kit. He smiled appeasingly as she walked through the sickbay, giving curt orders to her hand-picked team.
"Don't put that there! Stopping shaking that! It isn't a toy! Close that container! Put that away this instant!" she barked, walking from one crewman to another.
"Astrid, please, they are doing their best." Phlox told her.
"This ship will probably be docking within the next half hour. I need everything ready. If they can't understand that, then I should probably handle all of it myself." she said firmly, almost daring him to defy her.
"But, Astrid, they are only hu ..." Phlox began to tell her, but he never finished.
The sound of the slap resounded throughout the busy sickbay. The bustling, panicked rush to have everything done on time screeched to a halt as the overburdened crewmen looked up from their assigned tasks. Phlox turned away from her, grimacing and holding his cheek with one hand as he steadied himself against the wall with the other. He groped for something to say, but nothing would come. Zeller simply stood there, half amazed that she had struck him and half filled with rage at the perceived insult. The pain in his eyes was all too evident and too human as he looked up at her. She straightened her shoulders, glanced at the dumbfounded personnel who were staring at her and walked away, grabbing a prepared medical kit as she went out, no doubt heading for the docking hatch.
"Don't just stand there." said Phlox awkwardly, removing his hand from his cheek. "We still have work to do." he told them.
Crewman Cutler started to say something, but he silenced her with a pleading look and a quick shake of his head. He didn't want to make a scene, even if Astrid didn't care. Whatever he might have thought of Zeller, she was still a doctor with patients who needed her assistance. Everything else could wait until later. Phlox was a professional whether Astrid was or not. He rubbed his burning cheek one more time and began assembling an additional medical kit, just in case she or anyone else should require it.
Astrid didn't stop walking until she reached the docking area. The ship had yet to initiate docking procedures. She set the heavy kit down on the floor and took a seat in the empty corridor. Astrid wondered what they were saying about her in sickbay. She had sized Phlox up a long time ago. He wouldn't go to his superiors, at least not right away, but she knew that everyone else would be talking about her temper in no time. It had been a gut reaction, nothing more. It was instinctual. No one else in her position could have tolerated the barb.
"Only human." she murmured. How could he say that as though it were a bad thing? Astrid couldn't say for certain as her temper cooled whether there had been genuine malice behind the remark.
"Attention all hands, brace for docking procedures." said a voice over the comm system.
The ship trembled ever-so-slightly as the Enterprise docked with science station three. Astrid clambered to her feet and put everything else out of her mind as she stood in front of the door to airlock. According to the last report she received, she had thirty-two patients waiting for her on the station and very little information to go on as to how to treat them. It could prove to be very simple or quite a challenge. By the time the door was ready to open, Astrid Zeller felt ready for either eventuality.
Phlox put the rest of the auxiliary personnel on stand-by when he realized that Astrid wasn't taking them to the station with her. They could be ready at a moment's notice, so there was no need for them to hang around sickbay for what would surely be several hours. Unlike her fellow crew members, Crewman Cutler elected to remain behind.
"Are you sure that you wouldn't rather have a meal or something while you wait, crewman?" questioned the Denobulan doctor uncomfortably.
"Phlox, you always talk with us, with the younger crewmen, whenever something happens." she hesitated.
He touched the side of his face again and said, "No, thank you, crewman. I think Astrid and I will probably work this out later."
"I understand, doctor." nodded Cutler.
"Is it bruising?" he asked her, turning his head slightly.
"Surprisingly, it's not. Do you want anything for it? Anaprovalin? Bat bile?" she questioned.
He chuckled softly, understanding the humor, before telling her, "No, crewman, I think I can manage without it."
"Tell me something, Phlox, do you really think that Doctor Zeller is going to handle everything herself?" asked Cutler with a skeptical look.
"She will try. That is certain. But whether she will succeed or not is unknown. For all of her many faults, she is very capable and strong willed." he answered frankly.
"Then why bother assembling a team?"
"So many questions, crewman! I would suppose that she will require some people to perform some of the more complicated lab tests that can only be done here or to do some of the less interesting work on the station, but it may be tomorrow or the next day before she asks for any such assistance." he explained.
"But why is she like that? I mean, I know about her xenophobia and all, but ..." questioned Cutler, shaking her head.
"Why doesn't she want to work with all of you?" asked Phlox with a small sigh. Crewman Cutler nodded in response. "It's just her personality, I suppose. Some of our program colleagues, Doctor Zeller, and I shared a laboratory for a few days. She did everything in her power to keep all of us away from the work and doing other things while she ran the lab. Astrid used a good deal of finesse with our human colleagues and intimidation with me, although after having played chess with her for sometime, I expected no less really." he explained.
"That doesn't really answer my question." said Cutler.
"Perhaps it is simply best to say that Doctor Zeller prefers to do as much as possible herself because she doesn't trust anyone else to do it the right way, or rather, her way."
"So she's perfectionist?" asked the young crewman, trying to understand.
Phlox smiled and said, "I believe you have put it in better terms than I ever could have."
"What are you going to do about her, Phlox?"
"Unfortunately, there isn't anything I can do. I could make a report of some kind, but why bother? She is very well esteemed by her superiors and colleagues back on earth, at least those who have never worked side by side with her. As for her personality, crewman, I think it is a little late for any significant change. It will probably be easier for all of us if we just work around that obstacle." he told Cutler.
"Now that certainly answers my question." she chuckled, just shaking her head.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ETA Ohniaka system: three hours
When Doctor Zeller began enlisting members of the ship's auxiliary medical personnel for her team, she found herself thoroughly convinced that the human race was devolving. They were all incredibly young and though they were Star Fleet personnel, their education still seemed questionable, especially in the area of communicable diseases and the treatment thereof. Anyone else in her position would certainly have caved at that point and ask Doctor Phlox for assistance, but she wasn't just anyone. She was the celebrated Doctor Astrid Zeller of Star Fleet Medical, and she could make do with under-qualified personnel just so long as they were human.
She knew Phlox's opinions of these individuals. They would all make fine doctors one day, he had told her more than once that morning as she prepped her equipment and had the five crewmen running errands or doing the same. He seemed particularly impressed with this slightly obnoxious Cutler girl who studied bugs and seemed need constant guidance and reassurance.
Zeller was hoping fervently that the situation on the research station had not deteriorated to the point where she would need to depend on these people for more than rudimentary lab work and menial tasks. She had high hopes than she would be able to analyze the disease, come up with a treatment, administer it, and do everything necessary on her own. With any luck she would come out of this thing a hero and catch the next ship home be it the Enterprise or a ghastly Vulcan cruiser. It didn't matter because she knew that if all went well, she would have laurels waiting for her back in San Francisco and more ears to hear to her theories than ever before.
"Astrid?" questioned Phlox to get her attention, which seemed to have wandered as she watched two crewmen calibrating tricorders.
"Yes?" she asked, looking slightly annoyed as she turned toward him.
"I have been informed that the Enterprise will be docking with the station, unless, of course, you would recommend using the shuttlepods instead."
"To prevent spread of the disease? I hardly think that will be necessary. The airlock system and decontamination process should be sufficient." Zeller assured him.
"If you say so." acquiesced Phlox.
Astrid laughed softly and asked, "What is it, Phlox? Don't you think I can handle this thing?"
"It isn't that, but if I were in charge, it would be my preference to keep the station under quarantine at least until I had a better idea of what I was dealing with there." he explained.
"Quarantine? You aren't serious." she said with a quizzical expression. "That's blowing everything out of proportion. At worst this is probably just some kind of exotic alien fever."
"Perhaps I am just more cautious." said Phlox with an anxious smile.
"That you are." she agreed.
About two hours later Doctor Zeller was summoned to the bridge, leaving Ensign Knight in charge of the final preparations. Phlox didn't miss her disgusted sigh as she dashed through the sickbay doors. Astrid wasn't accustomed to such perceived affronts to her position and status. From what he knew of her, Astrid had always been that way and showed no signs of change. By the time she reached the bridge she was genuinely annoyed.
On the bridge Archer turned in his chair when he heard the lift doors whisk open. Doctor Zeller did not appear to be pleased. The captain glanced at the view screen and motioned for her to step forward.
"I thought you might like a peek at the fourth planet of the Ohniaka system, doctor." he told Zeller.
On the screen was a dark gray planet with large, irregular ice caps. Silhouetted against the northern polar cap was a metallic structure that bore a resemblance to those built within the solar system, although Zeller could pick out traces of elements that appeared Vulcan in design. It was small against the background of the slowly spinning gray orb.
"Thank you, captain." she said, admiring the view. She had anticipated going to a dreary little place without an at all pleasant vista. This, on the other hand, looked quite interesting at least from the exterior. "How long until docking procedures are initiated?" she questioned absently.
"About an hour." confirmed Captain Archer, watching her as she stood with her eyes glued to the view screen. He couldn't resist. "I think everyone should have an opportunity to see things like this. Don't you, doctor?" he questioned.
She blinked and scowled at him before asking, "Do you really want to open Pandora's box here and now, captain?"
Most of the bridge crew turned and looked at them before their commanding officer answered, "No, I suppose not."
"Then I will be returning to sickbay if there is nothing else on your mind." she said, giving him what could be considered a withering look.
"I'm sure you have preparations to make. Go right ahead." Archer told Doctor Zeller by way of dismissing her from the bridge.
Astrid had mixed feelings about her few minutes on the bridge. On one hand Ohniaka Four was quite stunning to behold. She had had little opportunity to see planets from space. In fact she had seen only earth, Jupiter, and Vulcan from such a position. On the other hand she disliked the way Archer had treated her. She wasn't one of his twenty-year-old crewmen, after all. Astrid had the uncomfortable feeling that he had gained the upper hand. She pushed that thought from her mind, seething nonetheless. Star Fleet Command would hear all about this ill-mannered Jonathan Archer and his treatment of her when she got back to earth. And they would not be pleased.
When she walked back into sickbay a few minutes later, it was like a twentieth century zoo or a train station from the same era. How could six people bustle so inefficiently? It was her soft sound of displeasure and frustration that alerted Phlox to her presence as he assisted Crewman Cutler with packing Doctor Zeller's medical kit. He smiled appeasingly as she walked through the sickbay, giving curt orders to her hand-picked team.
"Don't put that there! Stopping shaking that! It isn't a toy! Close that container! Put that away this instant!" she barked, walking from one crewman to another.
"Astrid, please, they are doing their best." Phlox told her.
"This ship will probably be docking within the next half hour. I need everything ready. If they can't understand that, then I should probably handle all of it myself." she said firmly, almost daring him to defy her.
"But, Astrid, they are only hu ..." Phlox began to tell her, but he never finished.
The sound of the slap resounded throughout the busy sickbay. The bustling, panicked rush to have everything done on time screeched to a halt as the overburdened crewmen looked up from their assigned tasks. Phlox turned away from her, grimacing and holding his cheek with one hand as he steadied himself against the wall with the other. He groped for something to say, but nothing would come. Zeller simply stood there, half amazed that she had struck him and half filled with rage at the perceived insult. The pain in his eyes was all too evident and too human as he looked up at her. She straightened her shoulders, glanced at the dumbfounded personnel who were staring at her and walked away, grabbing a prepared medical kit as she went out, no doubt heading for the docking hatch.
"Don't just stand there." said Phlox awkwardly, removing his hand from his cheek. "We still have work to do." he told them.
Crewman Cutler started to say something, but he silenced her with a pleading look and a quick shake of his head. He didn't want to make a scene, even if Astrid didn't care. Whatever he might have thought of Zeller, she was still a doctor with patients who needed her assistance. Everything else could wait until later. Phlox was a professional whether Astrid was or not. He rubbed his burning cheek one more time and began assembling an additional medical kit, just in case she or anyone else should require it.
Astrid didn't stop walking until she reached the docking area. The ship had yet to initiate docking procedures. She set the heavy kit down on the floor and took a seat in the empty corridor. Astrid wondered what they were saying about her in sickbay. She had sized Phlox up a long time ago. He wouldn't go to his superiors, at least not right away, but she knew that everyone else would be talking about her temper in no time. It had been a gut reaction, nothing more. It was instinctual. No one else in her position could have tolerated the barb.
"Only human." she murmured. How could he say that as though it were a bad thing? Astrid couldn't say for certain as her temper cooled whether there had been genuine malice behind the remark.
"Attention all hands, brace for docking procedures." said a voice over the comm system.
The ship trembled ever-so-slightly as the Enterprise docked with science station three. Astrid clambered to her feet and put everything else out of her mind as she stood in front of the door to airlock. According to the last report she received, she had thirty-two patients waiting for her on the station and very little information to go on as to how to treat them. It could prove to be very simple or quite a challenge. By the time the door was ready to open, Astrid Zeller felt ready for either eventuality.
Phlox put the rest of the auxiliary personnel on stand-by when he realized that Astrid wasn't taking them to the station with her. They could be ready at a moment's notice, so there was no need for them to hang around sickbay for what would surely be several hours. Unlike her fellow crew members, Crewman Cutler elected to remain behind.
"Are you sure that you wouldn't rather have a meal or something while you wait, crewman?" questioned the Denobulan doctor uncomfortably.
"Phlox, you always talk with us, with the younger crewmen, whenever something happens." she hesitated.
He touched the side of his face again and said, "No, thank you, crewman. I think Astrid and I will probably work this out later."
"I understand, doctor." nodded Cutler.
"Is it bruising?" he asked her, turning his head slightly.
"Surprisingly, it's not. Do you want anything for it? Anaprovalin? Bat bile?" she questioned.
He chuckled softly, understanding the humor, before telling her, "No, crewman, I think I can manage without it."
"Tell me something, Phlox, do you really think that Doctor Zeller is going to handle everything herself?" asked Cutler with a skeptical look.
"She will try. That is certain. But whether she will succeed or not is unknown. For all of her many faults, she is very capable and strong willed." he answered frankly.
"Then why bother assembling a team?"
"So many questions, crewman! I would suppose that she will require some people to perform some of the more complicated lab tests that can only be done here or to do some of the less interesting work on the station, but it may be tomorrow or the next day before she asks for any such assistance." he explained.
"But why is she like that? I mean, I know about her xenophobia and all, but ..." questioned Cutler, shaking her head.
"Why doesn't she want to work with all of you?" asked Phlox with a small sigh. Crewman Cutler nodded in response. "It's just her personality, I suppose. Some of our program colleagues, Doctor Zeller, and I shared a laboratory for a few days. She did everything in her power to keep all of us away from the work and doing other things while she ran the lab. Astrid used a good deal of finesse with our human colleagues and intimidation with me, although after having played chess with her for sometime, I expected no less really." he explained.
"That doesn't really answer my question." said Cutler.
"Perhaps it is simply best to say that Doctor Zeller prefers to do as much as possible herself because she doesn't trust anyone else to do it the right way, or rather, her way."
"So she's perfectionist?" asked the young crewman, trying to understand.
Phlox smiled and said, "I believe you have put it in better terms than I ever could have."
"What are you going to do about her, Phlox?"
"Unfortunately, there isn't anything I can do. I could make a report of some kind, but why bother? She is very well esteemed by her superiors and colleagues back on earth, at least those who have never worked side by side with her. As for her personality, crewman, I think it is a little late for any significant change. It will probably be easier for all of us if we just work around that obstacle." he told Cutler.
"Now that certainly answers my question." she chuckled, just shaking her head.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
