Author's note: This takes place in season 3, toward the end of the season. I wrote this before seeing the Enterprise episode "Affliction", which deal with a similar theme. The story is strange, but hey, it's sci-fi.
September 26, 2005: A big thanks to whoever put this on The beautiful Dr. Julian Bashir C2! I just noticed it was there. I am honoured.
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, or its characters, or settings, etc. I am not making any money from this. I do, however, own Lieuntenant Commander Shannon Tanner, Lieutenant T'Sarak and all other original characters.
1
It began, as most things did in this sector, with the Dominion.
Starfleet had ordered the Defiant into the Gamma quadrant, to evacuate any nearby Federation ships, and to carry out rescue operations if necessary.
The mission made Dr. Julian Bashir tense enough as it was.
There was a Vulcan science ship somewhere over here; it had been in the Gamma quadrant for eleven months now.
Fifteen Vulcan crew members, and one human.
"Scan the area for Federation warp signatures," Commander Sisko directed as Bashir stood near the back of the bridge, trying to hide his apprehension. To his relief, everyone was so occupied with the mission and keeping the cloak running at peak efficiency that no one was paying him any attention.
"There's an Andorian research ship orbiting an L-class planet in the next system," Dax replied.
"Hail them."
"Channel open."
"Keep scanning for other ships," Sisko said. "Andorian vessel, this is Commander Benjamin Sisko of the USS Defiant. Please respond."
There was a moment of silence, then the screen jumped to life, revealing the blue face and white-blond hair of an Andorian male.
"This is Captain Viryl of the Andorian ship Ikilli. What can I do for you?"
"The Federation has issued a recall of all ships in the Gamma quadrant. The area has become unstable."
"We haven't noticed any activity here at all," Viryl replied.
"Perhaps not, but there is a political organization in this sector that is causing trouble for the Alpha quadrant. It would be in the best interests of you and your crew to return to Federation space. Deep Space Nine can, of course, accommodate you for as long as you'd like."
Viryl was silent for a moment, then made a gesture to someone off screen.
"Very well, Commander," he agreed. "We've just finished our scans of this system anyway. Will you be accompanying us?"
"No, but the station has been notified to welcome any returning Federation ships."
"Thank you. I expect we'll see you there shortly," Viryl said, then signed off. Sisko looked over at Dax. Bashir felt as if they'd been granted a moment of peace that would crumble if anyone breathed too loudly or too deeply.
"They're setting course for the wormhole and they've gone to warp."
"Good," Sisko said. "Anyone else out there?"
"I'm not picking up– wait," Dax said and Bashir felt himself tense again. "We're receiving an automated distress signal. It's Vulcan."
"Put it through," Sisko ordered as Bashir felt his heart skip a beat. He closed his eyes.
The message came in through thick static.
"This is the Vulcan science ship T'Kail to any Federation vessel within range. We are under attack and require immediate assistance. Repeat, this is the Vulcan science ship T'Kail to any Federation ship within range. We are under attack and require immediate assistance."
"No," Bashir said aloud without meaning to.
Sisko swiveled in his chair, caught the stricken look on his CMO's face, and turned back to his science officer.
"Where are they?"
"Two light years from here," Dax replied.
"Red alert. Set a course, maximum warp. Engage when ready. Mr. O'Brien, make sure that cloaking device holds up. I don't want the Jem'Hadar spotting us. Major, try hailing the T'Kail. Doctor, get down to the medical bay and get ready for casualties."
Bashir nodded, trying to keep his heart steady, trying to breathe properly. He raced to the medical bay as fast as possible, hampered by the set pace of the turbolifts. Inside, Dr. Ilia was already setting up, aided by the two nurses they had brought along.
Bashir didn't believe that two light years at warp nine could pass by so slowly.
He felt the ship drop out of warp and braced himself mentally, hitting his combadge.
"Bashir to Dax. How many life signs?"
"Sixteen," Dax replied and Bashir had to grab a biobed to keep himself on his feet as relief hit him. "Fifteen Vulcans, one human."
"Thank God," Bashir muttered to himself.
"Doctor?", asked Nurse Nadir.
"I'm all right," Bashir assured her.
He felt the Defiant shudder as it was hit by what he presumed to be a Jem'Hadar weapon. Slight movements he'd grown used to told him that the ship was entering evasive maneuvers.
"Sisko to Bashir, we're beaming them all directly to sickbay!", came the commander's voice across the comsystem.
"Acknowledged!", Bashir returned as the Defiant shuddered again.
There was a moment in which time seemed to stop, then came the high pitched hum of Starfleet transporters and sixteen forms were deposited on the floor of his medical bay. The lights, which had brightened slightly, dimmed again as the ship went back into cloak, and Bashir felt the unmistakable small twinges of the warp drive engaging.
Bashir ignored the Vulcans who had come in standing and snapped his attention to the five people on the floor. A Vulcan woman, half sitting up, looking pale and pained, was holding her right thigh. A second Vulcan woman, bleeding green blood from a wound on her head, was holding another Vulcan woman in a blue Starfleet uniform, keeping her in a sitting position, although she was clearly unconscious. A Vulcan man was bent over a prone female figure, holding her upper body carefully against his legs, one hand wrapped around her head to keep it steady.
Bashir went for them immediately.
The Vulcan male holding the unconscious woman was bleeding from a number of wounds, and his eyes were glassy, but his jaw was set in resolve. Bashir felt his heart nearly stop at the sight of the woman: the one human among them, in a blue Starfleet uniform, the only one bleeding red blood.
"Nadir, let's get her up now," he snapped as the other two attended the unconscious Vulcan Starfleet officer and the prone Vulcan woman. Nadir helped Bashir take the woman from the Vulcan scientist and got her onto a biobed.
"Help him," Bashir ordered, stabbing a finger at the man who had been holding Lieutenant Commander Shannon Tanner.
He flipped open a tricorder and ran it over his friend's body, trying not to feel the dread in the pit of his stomach.
"C'mon, Shan, now's not the time," he muttered under his breath, activating the biobed's instruments.
He was going to have to get her into surgery if he wanted any chance of saving her life. He felt the familiar tug of the wormhole on the ship and wanted to yell in relief. Deep Space Nine would be a better place for her to recover, and the Alpha quadrant wasn't lousy with Jem'Hadar.
"C'mon, Shan, just a few more minutes, and this will be something we'll laugh about when we're old and toothless in a Starfleet retirement home."
"Sisko to Bashir, four minutes to Deep Space Nine. What's your status?"
"We have two critically injured, two more badly injured, and a few mildly injured. Tell the Chief we need emergency transport as soon as possible for myself, Dr. Ilia, and our three patients. If I don't get Commander Tanner into surgery quickly, she's not going to last much longer."
"Understood. Sisko out."
There was another small tug that let Bashir know the wormhole had closed behind him. Closing his eyes, he gripped Tanner's upper arms lightly and waited the split second between coming out the wormhole and the time when the Chief locked the transporters on them and the world became a tickling sensation of blue-white light.
Bashir hadn't realized he'd fallen asleep until Sisko came into the infirmary, waking him up. The doctor jerked, sitting up straight in his chair, and then the memories of the past several hours slotted themselves neatly into place.
"Doctor?", Sisko asked, his deep voice laced with concern.
"Yes," Bashir replied, pushing himself to his feet. Beside him, on the biobed, Shannon Tanner lay comatose but stable, the wounds on her face and arms healed.
"Are you all right?", Sisko asked, his dark eyes flashing to the figure on the bed before returning to Bashir.
The doctor sighed.
"Well enough, sir," he replied.
"And your patients?"
"I've discharged all of them except for Sub-commander Varel, Lieutenant T'Sarak and Commander Tanner, sir."
"What's Tanner's status?"
Bashir looked back at his old friend. He could remember when she'd been here eleven months ago; she'd come on the Voyager and thankfully hadn't stayed on it. She had been assigned to a Vulcan science ship at the request of the Vulcan High Command, one of the few humans ever to have that honour. The Tanner now seemed like such a pale ghost of the Tanner then, who had been avid about her new mission, enthusiastic about the prospect of studying star systems no one from the Alpha quadrant had ever seen. And with Vulcan scientists. Tanner had always gotten on well with Vulcans; she seemed to understand them better than any other human Bashir had ever met.
"Her left lung had been punctured by a broken rib, sir, but I was able to repair that damage, as well as a few broken bones and superficial injuries. She suffered a serious concussion, but I haven't detected any permanent damage. However, she is comatose and I haven't been able to revive her."
Sisko frowned.
"How serious is that?", he asked.
"Well," Bashir sighed. "Probably not as much as it seems. She suffered some very severe injuries, sir, and the human body has its own way of healing. This is most likely her body's response to the need to regenerate itself."
"What about Lieutenant T'Sarak?"
"Unconscious at the moment, but she'll be fine, sir. She suffered a serious concussion as well, but Vulcans are remarkably resilient. Sub-commander Varel broke her right hip and right femur, which also did some damage to her femoral artery. Yes, sir, Vulcans have their major arteries in the same places we do, roughly," Bashir added in response to Sisko's raised eyebrows.
"I didn't know that," Sisko commented.
"I want to keep her overnight for observation. She should be free to go tomorrow."
"I'll let Commander Sokath know. I'm sure he'll appreciate the news."
Bashir nodded. He had authorized the release of all the other Vulcan crew members and would have been curious to see how they interacted with the Andorian crew, if Tanner hadn't been in his infirmary.
He glanced back at his friend, looking grim.
"Something else, Doctor?", Sisko asked and Bashir cursed himself for letting it show on his face.
"Something that should be discussed with Commander Tanner first, sir," he said, and saw the expression on Sisko's face. "No, she's not suffering some serious illness."
Sisko nodded, relaxing slightly.
"I know she's your friend, Julian, but make sure you take care of yourself, too, or else you'll be no use to her. You need to have something to eat."
For the first time, Bashir realized how hungry and thirsty he was.
"I will, sir."
Sisko clapped him on the shoulder and nodded.
"Keep me informed."
"Yes, sir," Bashir agreed and his CO left the infirmary. With a sigh, the doctor headed for the replicator and stared at it for a moment. "Raktajino and, uh, damn."
"Please restate command."
Bashir sighed.
"Raktajino and a turkey sandwich on white bread with cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise."
He paused, then realized he'd been waiting for Tanner to tell him that he should know better, as a doctor, than to order white bread. There was only the hum of the replicator as his meal materialized.
He sat down next to her again, took a sip of his steaming drink, then stood and flipped open the tricorder again. Bashir did a quick scan of Tanner's brain wave patterns and frowned. It was the same thing again. He almost called up her medical file to check the results of the examination he'd done on her before she'd left on the T'Kail, but he'd already done that three times. When she had left Deep Space Nine, Shannon Tanner had had the normal brain waves of a human female.
Now… Bashir didn't know what to make of them.
She was a human. He knew that. Every single test he'd ever run on her proved that. She looked like a human. She bled like a human. Her internal organs and circulatory system were exactly in the place they would be in other humans.
He'd searched her ancestry and found not a single drop of alien blood in her lineages.
It got him nowhere to understanding why her brain activity now fell somewhere between that of a normal human and that of a normal Vulcan.
He'd checked all of Starfleet's medical data on half-humans, half-Vulcans and this didn't show up anywhere. Half-Vulcans had the brain activity of full Vulcans. He'd checked the medical records of humans who had lived long term among Vulcans and they had the normal human brain activity.
Bashir closed his eyes, flipped the tricorder shut and put it on the table next to him. Then he sighed, opened his eyes, and bent over his friend's unconscious form, touching her forehead gently. Carefully, he brushed her brown hair from her forehead, smoothing it under his hand.
"Shan," he whispered. "It's Julian."
No one else, anywhere, called her that.
Among her friends, she'd never allowed it, except in his case. Out of everyone in the galaxy, he knew he best. But he would not allow her to call him "Jules". No one called him that.
He could remember the first day they'd met, back at the Academy when they had both been nineteen. It had been at the trials for the Academy's racquetball team, and Bashir had never come up against someone who could match him move for move the way Tanner could. Remembering the expression on her face when the coach had finally called a halt to their game, Bashir thought she'd felt the same way. It was as if, he felt, she'd been reading his mind, and she said the same thing about him later. They were both selected for the team and, when playing together, proved to be a force to be reckoned with.
She had been studying astrophysics and he medicine, but they'd always found time outside of practice to meet up, to spend time together, and had become fast friends. They had remained best friends when they'd both left Earth after completing their Academy training; he to Deep Space Nine, she on the Soto, a deep space ship. Their friendship had never wavered despite the light years between them and the differences in their professions.
There had never been romance between them and Bashir knew there never would be. They'd known each other for too long and were too close of friends. Tanner knew everything about him, from petty, everyday doubts to the deepest secret he had: the genetic engineering. And he knew everything about her.
Except what had happened to her in the past eleven months.
Bashir sighed.
"Come on, Shan," he whispered. "I know you can hear me. I know you hurt and you're scared of that pain. I know what it feels like. But you're safe now. You're back in Bajoran space, on DS9, and I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere until you wake up."
Tanner didn't respond at all, but Bashir took one of her hands anyway. He had been a doctor long enough to know that an unconscious person could be aware of outside stimuli.
With a deep and heartfelt sigh, he sat down again and obediently ate his dinner, settling in for a long night.
Julian Bashir awoke sometime in the middle of the night, his neck cramped, his hand asleep. Grimacing, he raised his head carefully, stretching his neck from side to side, cracking the vertebrae as he did so. He let go of Tanner's hand and shook the blood back into his own, wincing slightly at the sudden pins and needles sensation.
He rose, glancing down at his friend, but nothing had changed. With a sigh, he checked her readings on the instruments, satisfying himself that she was still fine, if unreachable. Then he stretched his back and his arms, regretting that he hadn't found a cot for himself.
Nurse Jabara poked her head inside and looked pleased to see him.
"Good, I was hoping I wouldn't wake you," she said quietly.
"What is it?", Bashir asked.
"Lieutenant T'Sarak has regained consciousness."
Bashir raised his eyebrows quickly in surprise.
"Good," he said, relief seeping through him. "I'll be right there."
When Jabara vanished again, Bashir took Tanner's hand back in his again, smiling down at her.
"I'll be back in a few minutes, Shan," he promised. "Lieutenant T'Sarak just woke up. I'm going to check on her."
There was no response physically, but Bashir paused, certain he had felt something . It hadn't been a squeeze of the hand or the whisper of a sigh, but some sensation… like approval.
"Crazy Brit," he muttered to himself and left the room, heading to Lieutenant T'Sarak's small room. The Vulcan woman was being helped into a sitting position by Jabara, and recognition lit her eyes when Bashir entered.
"Ah, Doctor Bashir," T'Sarak said.
"Good to see you again, Lieutenant," Bashir replied, smiling. He flipped open a tricorder and began taking some readings. "How do you feel?"
He had met T'Sarak on a few occasions, beginning when they had been on Earth at the Academy. She had been a year behind Tanner in the astrophysics program, and they had only met in Tanner's final year. Bashir didn't know T'Sarak well, but well enough to know that she was a good officer, scientist, and person.
"I have a headache," the Vulcan said forthrightly. Bashir like Vulcans for this reason: they didn't try to lie about their physical health.
"I'm not surprised," Bashir commented. "You sustained a nasty concussion. You'll be fine though. I'll give you something for the pain."
The Vulcan allowed herself to be injected with an analgesic.
"Where are the others?", she then asked.
"Everyone but you, Sub-commander Varel, and Commander Tanner has been released. We are, obviously, on DS9."
"What are the statuses of Varel and Tanner?"
"Varel's just here for observation. Tanner suffered some serious injuries, and she's unconscious at the moment, but she'll be fine, too."
T'Sarak nodded. It was impossible for Bashir to tell if the woman was relieved or not. Possibly she was, as much as a Vulcan could be.
"I'd like you to stay for the rest of the night, too," Bashir said. "You've been unconscious, but you will need to actually sleep."
"Very well," T'Sarak replied. This was another reason Bashir liked Vulcan patients; they rarely argued with his instructions.
"Get some rest and I'll check on you again in the morning. So far, I like what I see, so there should be no problem discharging you."
T'Sarak nodded her agreement and Bashir left her in Jabara's capable hands, returning to Tanner's room. She was still unconscious.
His ears picked up the sound of the infirmary doors admitting someone. A moment later, Dax peered into the room cautiously.
"Julian," she whispered, a concerned look on her face.
"Come in, Jadzia," he replied. "What are you doing out at this time of night?"
"I just got off the late shift," she replied, then yawned. "I came to see how you were."
"I'm all right," he replied.
"You don't look all right. You look worried," Dax countered.
He shot her a look.
"You're the one who told me once that I always look worried."
"But more so now."
Bashir sighed.
"I'm not worried. I'm impatient. Lieutenant T'Sarak just woke up and I wish that Shannon would, too."
Dax put a reassuring hand on his arm.
"She will."
"Yes, it's just a matter of when. The sooner she did, the happier I would be about it."
Dax smiled slightly.
"Do you want me to stay here and keep you company?", she asked.
"No, you should go get some sleep. I have a few more things to finish up here and then I'm going to drag a cot out of storage for myself."
"Right," Dax said. "But I'll bring you some breakfast in the morning."
Bashir gave her a smile.
"I'd appreciate that," he said.
That morning, satisfied that Lieutenant T'Sarak was healing well, Dr. Bashir released her from the infirmary. Instead of leaving, the Vulcan lieutenant requested to see Commander Tanner.
"Of course," Bashir agreed and led her into Tanner's small room. Her condition hadn't changed, and he told the Vulcan as much as T'Sarak gazed levelly at the unconscious figure.
"With your permission, Doctor, I'd like to try a mind meld. Is she stable enough for that?"
Bashir opened his mouth to say no, because of the abnormal brain wave readings. But that wasn't true, was it? She was stable. Her brain waves weren't what they were supposed to be, but they were steady. They weren't fluctuating and they certainly didn't seem to be doing her any harm.
"All right," Bashir agreed. "Would it bothered you if I stayed?"
"Not at all," the Vulcan replied levelly. "I'm aware of the depth of Shannon's friendship with you. I'm sure she'd appreciate your presence."
Bashir nodded and they both approached the bed. Bashir took one of Tanner's hands while T'Sarak put her fore and middle fingers against Tanner's temple and her thumb against Tanner's cheek. She closed his eyes, took a few slow breaths, then spoke:
"My mind to your mind. My thoughts to your thoughts."
Without really thinking about it, Bashir squeezed his friend's hand gently. The Vulcan's features pinched for a moment, then relaxed. She nodded once, but to what, Bashir didn't know.
Suddenly, Bashir felt a rush of utter relief so strong it nearly knocked him from his feet. It wrapped around him, squeezing, and he knew with utter certainty it wasn't his own. It felt like it was coming from outside of him, working its way inward, directed right at him.
He managed a gasp.
T'Sarak looked up at him quickly, then broke the connection between herself and Tanner.
It was the first time Bashir ever remembered seeing shock on a Vulcan's face.
"What was that?", the doctor managed.
T'Sarak took a deep breath and her features relaxed as she regained her self control.
"I believe that was Shannon."
Bashir stared.
"What? How could she do that? Something like that shouldn't be possible between humans!"
"You are holding her hand," T'Sarak pointed out. "You've made physical contact with her, and did I. It is entirely possible I was acting as a telepathic conduit between the two of you. If Shannon somehow realized that you are present, it is logical that you are the person for whom she would reach."
Bashir could only nod slowly. He had never experienced anything like that, and, despite what T'Sarak said, it felt like Tanner's emotions had crossed straight from her mind into his, without a link on the way between them.
"What did you find out?", he managed to ask.
"She is there, and not in any pain. Her mind exhibits a sense of recovery. I would not be concerned with her state, Doctor. The sense I received from her is that of a resting mind, not an injured one."
Bashir managed only to nod again.
"Thank you," he said, relief– this time his own– washing through him.
"I think that now I must have something to eat and find Commander Sokath. Will you keep me informed of Shannon's condition?"
"Yes, yes, of course," Bashir assured her. The Vulcan nodded in her typical businesslike manner and left the infirmary, Bashir staring after her.
When T'Sarak was gone, Bashir shook himself out of his shock and did a thorough scan of Tanner's brain activity. It hadn't changed from its new state, and showed no effects from the preceding events.
"What the hell is going on?", Bashir muttered to himself, staring at the tricorder and the less-than-useful readings it had just provided him.
