CHAPTER 19

Sisko decided he needed to walk.

He had been putting the final touches on his report for nearly four hours straight, and he needed a break. His report still included some unanswered questions, but he thought the basic conclusions were solid. Sisko had confirmed from Observer's equipment lists that Observer carried several models of tricorders, including a geologist's model equipped with a graviton emitter. One of the unanswered questions was whether that tricorder ever made its way into the Bay.

Since their last meeting, neither Dax nor O'Brien had found any good reason to call their earlier consensus into question. They even pointed out how many of the most puzzling facts in the investigation now made sense. That was good news.

And Sisko had just received a message that was more good news: Doctor Bashir was not going to be disciplined for the premature deaths of ten patients under his care.

Sisko decided to walk down to the Infirmary and congratulate Bashir in person.

Sisko found Bashir sitting in his office. Bashir was not as sullen as before, but he was far from cheerful. This news might not be cause for actually celebrating, Sisko thought, but certainly the Doctor must feel a sense of relief.

Bashir took notice of Sisko's entrance without getting up from his chair. "You've heard?"

"Yes. Starfleet Medical has cleared you."

"Have you seen their decision?"

"No. I only know the outcome."

Bashir looked at his display. "I'm quoting here: 'Starfleet Medical finds no reasonable cause to pursue disciplinary action.' It doesn't say I did nothing wrong, it only says that they've decided they're not going to do anything about it."

"That's not what that means at all. You've been cleared of all wrongdoing."

"I suppose so."

"I assume you're relieved." When Bashir made no response, Sisko checked to make sure the office door was closed, then he sat opposite Bashir. "What's the problem, Doctor?"

Bashir rubbed his forehead. "I have come to peace with myself about my relationship with these patients, and their decisions to end their lives while under my care. I believe I acted properly and ethically under these most unusual circumstances. I pledged to answer all of their questions honestly, and when I told them that there was virtually no chance I'd find an effective treatment in time, that answer very likely prompted them to do what they did. I feel I understand why they did what they did. I am no longer troubled by that."

"All right," Sisko acknowledged.

Bashir pointed to his display. "But I am rather troubled by Starfleet Medical's decision."

"Why?"

"For starters," Bashir began, "the investigation was stopped before it had even really begun. I expected that, at a minimum, a Board of Inquiry would be formed, and representatives of Starfleet Medical would visit Deep Space Nine to investigate. But that won't happen now. All they did was take a preliminary interview of me, and apparently that is all they are ever going to do. And forgive me, but it does strike me as odd that my preliminary interview is enough of an investigation to dispose of the case."

Sisko could see the point. "Maybe they did some other things, some additional investigation."

"In a way, maybe they did." Bashir turned the display so that Sisko could see the written decision. "There's a discussion here of the circumstances of the Observer's incident in the Gamma Quadrant, and her return to Deep Space Nine. That is to be expected. But what do you make of this? I'm quoting again, 'Preliminary investigation indicates that the explosion occurred due to deliberate deactivation of safety systems that would have prevented Upsilon Radiation exposure.' Where did Starfleet Medical get that? They certainly didn't get it from me."

"Or me," Sisko said softly.

"How about this? Again, I'm quoting: 'None of the patients in question had any involvement with the handling of the probes, and consequently had no involvement with any irregularities in probe handling.' Who's telling Starfleet Medical about 'irregularities in probe handling,' eh?"

"We have a leak," Sisko said.

"We do, don't we? It's not you or me or Jadzia or Miles."

"The Commissioners?"

"Who else?"

Sisko wasn't sure who else it could be.

Bashir summed it up. "Maybe I'm overly suspicious, but I think I sense a cover-up in progress. I suppose I ought to be relieved, possibly happy, or simply grateful, that I get to keep my job. But I can't help but think that the Commission wants to keep the number of reports generated from the Observer incident to a minimum. Fewer reports means fewer details will be placed in the record, fewer questions will be asked."

"So you think they've pulled some strings to terminate Starfleet Medical's investigation?"

"As I say, maybe I'm just overly suspicious." Bashir lowered his eyes.

Sisko rose. He had been wondering whether the Commissioners might have already decided on what story they were going to tell to the Select Council, regardless of what his team's investigation showed. It was a troubling notion indeed. Whether they had so decided or not, Sisko had to get back to tidying up some of the details on his report before the Commissioners arrived.

"Julian," Sisko said, looking straight at Bashir. Bashir did not look at Sisko. "Let me tell you how I see this, how it looks from my perspective. What happened on the USS Observer was a tragedy. What happened to those people who survived was a tragedy. And if you were to lose your career because of it, that would be a tragedy, too."

"Thank you, sir."

"You're welcome. Besides, pulled strings or not, if I understand correctly, you really didn't do anything wrong."

Bashir looked up.

"I didn't, did I?"

"No. You did nothing wrong."

"At least as far as you know."

Sisko stood fast, looking at Bashir for a full thirty seconds. Bashir remained silent. Eventually, Sisko decided to ask the question. "Julian, what is it that I don't know?"

Bashir rubbed his eyes, and took a deep breath. "There is a question that Starfleet Medical would certainly have gotten around to asking if this investigation had not been, shall we say, prematurely terminated. That question is never going to be asked, and I am never going to have to answer it."

"And that question is?" Sisko prompted.

Bashir looked directly at Sisko. "The question is, 'How did your ten patients all seem to know that twelve injected doses of Grade Orange Dyneuryllin would certainly be fatal?' That's a good question; that level of overdose of Regular Dyneuryllin is not fatal. The lethal dosage of Orange Grade is hardly a matter of common knowledge." Bashir sighed. "Perhaps you've wondered the same thing."

Sisko lowered his eyes. He stood mute for a few seconds.

"I always assumed," Sisko said slowly as he raised his eyes to Bashir's, "that your patients simply guessed that an overdose of a painkilling medicine would cause death. It is common knowledge some painkilling medicines are fatal in large doses, isn't it? Now, if you'll excuse me, Doctor, I have to finish my report and get ready to receive the Commissioners. Your presence will be required no later than 1100. You'll be pleased to hear that dress uniforms are not necessary."

Sisko turned and left.