The next day it was time for a progress briefing involving the senior staff and Gaven.
Julian had considered walking to the good doctor's quarters early and asking if Gaven wanted to walk to the briefing together but thought better of it. He didn't want to make the Doctor feel as if Julian was checking up on him. Julian wasn't the first to arrive or the last. Doctor Ore had gotten there before anyone, likely so that he could privately conference with Sisko before everyone else arrived.
"Good morning everyone. Let us take our seats and get started." Sisko folded his hands atop the table. "Where are we on the poly radiation studies?"
"All radiation contains energy that is carried by particle waves or streams." Dax began. "The reason it can be damaging is due to its ability to harm organic matter by penetrating through the cell wall where it then damages the natural programming of DNA."
"For example, when we used to treat human cancers with radiation therapy the idea was to damage the cancerous cells and destroy their ability to divide and grow," Julian added. "Thus, killing the cancer cells."
"But Poly radiation is unique in the sense that while it has stereotypical effects on organic tissues, it can also directly disrupt as well as enhance cellular growth. Increasing the rapid development of deformities and genetic defects secondary to selective cellular stimulation." Jadzia continued despite the confused look of Miles and the stoic looks of both Worf and Odo.
"To put it simply, it can both shut down cellular development and enhance it, sometimes simultaneously. The Oum have adapted to this effect making it more consistent from individual to individual limiting it to one or the other. Either impairing natural development or enhancing it case by case. In many species not used to high exposure, the effects are accelerated causing spontaneous mutation over a short period or simply shutting down the body entirely. It's not fatal to everyone and ships can be equipped to shield their riders allowing movement in the sun's area." Gaven clarified.
"We could calibrate a force Field to isolate poly radiation internally on a ship if we wanted to flush out an area. But we'd have to be able to get people we wouldn't want to be effected out of the containment zone." O'Brien.
"What if we think smaller?" Kira offered. "Couldn't we contain small samples and come up with some kind of incapacitating hypo injection?"
"It's plausible, but if we're wrong and we introduce the wrong dosage in a subject, it could kill them," Julian added.
"You said the radiation wouldn't kill in all cases. Can you elaborate, Doctor?" Sisko asked.
"Species that have greater control over their biological impulses such as Vulcans could internally regulate the effects of the radiation in the short term even with high-level exposure. There are also species like the Changelings who are generally immune to the effects of the radiation but that have other sensitivities that impair them in damaging ways. Changelings, for example, can tolerate the radiation itself but lose the ability to form organized shapes with prolonged exposure after just a few days. The Oum don't know if this effect is permanent, but it doesn't appear to be life-threatening just limiting." Gaven explained.
"What if we attack the issue a different way. You said, Doctor, that your people have developed ways to make the radiation's effects more consistent and Doctor Bashir tells me that the Oum can render the radiation benign. Could we develop an injection to protect those exposed if poly radiation were to be released in a confined space?" Sisko asked.
"That's more realistic, but I would think that it would have to be calibrated uniquely for every individual species and mixed individual you wanted to inoculate," Julian said.
"You'd also need compatible samples of saturated tissue from someone with the kind of regulation you want," Gaven added.
"But it could be done?" Worf pressed.
"Yes. It could be done." Gaven had that look on his face he got when confirming the validity of something he wasn't personally comfortable with.
"Well, then I guess we've discovered everyone's homework for the foreseeable future. Dax, I want you to double team with Chief O'Brien to get a force Field calibrated for testing. Worf and Odo can work on the way to outfit and equip our security teams. Meanwhile, Kira is with me. As for you, Doctor Bashir, I think you know what we need from you." Sisko said. "Dr. Oum. Did you have something to add?"
"Right. To hopefully help all of you with your future progress I've compiled a comprehensive collection of data about the Oum, their culture, world, philosophies, history, scientific advancements, etc. For my protection and because this information hasn't been made public outside of high members within the federation, it has been formatted into fictional volumes that are of course not really fiction. I've taken the liberty to tailor your copies to reflect information that would be most relevant to you individually; however, you are welcome to explore as much of the collection as you like. I ask only that you keep your copies to yourselves and each other and that you do not release them to anyone. That's all I have to say." Gaven finished and sat back down while Sisko began passing out the data tablets.
"There's got to be thousands of pages here…" O'Brien muttered both impressed and surprised. "Is it true that you transcribed all of this from memory?"
"Yes. Though I admit, it's not complete I could only document what I'd seen, read, heard and personally experienced first or second hand on Oum in my lifetime. There's still much that could be said, as is with any planet and people." Gaven remarked somberly. "You don't have to read it all, and there's an abbreviated version for those of you who would rather skim."
"Well, if no one else has anything to add then we'll adjourn. I would just like to remind everyone that the information Doctor Ore is providing for us is restricted. Please be mindful of when and where you discuss the information and recall that Doctor Ore's life could be at risk because of the information he has shared. Dismissed."
Before anyone else had time to stand and leave, Gaven quietly and curtly dismissed himself and departed swiftly saying nothing further and making no eye contact with anyone besides the door.
Both Kira and Dax watched him leave, while Bashir stared at a speck on the table. The others except for Sisko who was watching the entire room; we're looking through their data books.
"You know…Call me crazy, but was I the only one here that picked up on the fact Doctor Ore doesn't seem happy about any of this?" Kira asked critically to the remaining group.
"Yes, thank you," Jadzia muttered her eyes going wide with emphasis. "Don't mistake me, I'm dying to know more about the Oum, and I understand why this information is important, but I can't help but feel we're violating something here."
"I suppose one could argue that by reading any or all of these we might develop biased impressions about the Oum that could extend to Doctor Ore as well." Odo offered gravely. "And the Oum are isolationists, so we have no real way of knowing what's actually true and what isn't. I like the doctor, but we should still tread cautiously. In terms of the Federation, he's been very cooperative, but that doesn't mean everything being shared is correct."
"I don't think he's playing anyone. The Federation has the man over a barrel, and he essentially has no choice but to help or risk not cooperating and being forced against his will to contribute. You all do realize that since we don't have access to anyone else like Doctor Ore, that in order to develop an injection that's even half effective we'd have to use tissue samples from Doctor Ore himself." Julian pointed out unhappily.
"It's true that Doctor Ore is in a delicate position with the Federation. I hear your concerns and want to assure you this is well-covered ground. So far as this information is concerned, Doctor Ore has expressed to me that he wants someone to know who he is and where he came from. I can appreciate a person wanting their life to mean something, and he knows that for better or worse the work he's doing with and for us will give his life the meaning he wants." Sisko said reassuringly.
"So, he wants us to read these?" O'Brien asserted. "Well, if it helps me understand even half of a way to push back against the Dominion, then I'm happy to oblige him."
Later that day Jadzia, Miles, Kira, and Julian settled in at Quark's for drinks. All of them had had grueling shifts wrought with problems, and it was rare that they were all off duty at the same time.
"Can you believe it? One little faulty duct in the horticulture lab and six dozen people come down with food poisoning over some bad lettuce." Miles had spent nearly ten hours personally trying to fix the problem while Julian was slammed by the sick and Kira was whisked away by a worried Keiko and practically held hostage until the source of the sickness had been found.
"At least you got to work today. All I did was sit around your quarters being hovered over. Not that I didn't appreciate the concern." Kira remarked with equal parts annoyance and gratitude.
"Nobody gets to complain about their day in front of me. If I never see another Lurian with multiple stomach flu again. It'll still be too soon." Julian muttered.
Of any of them, the doctor looked the most frazzled by his day.
"You win." The other three muttered in unison before the ones capable of drinking pulled their glasses back.
"So have you guys…Ya know…" Always a gossip hound, Jadzia wiggled her brows as her eyes went wide. She was referring of course to the data books they'd all received that morning.
"I have. I mean, what else was I going to do all day since no one would let me do any other work." Kira replied.
"And?" Jadzia wanted to discuss it.
"And I don't think we should be talking about this here," Julian interjected as he put on his best scolding professional face.
"How is the good doctor, today anyway? He ran out of the meeting so quickly this morning. I didn't know what to make of him." Miles asked to change the subject.
"Busy. Gaven got all of the regular load in the infirmary that I didn't have time to handle. He left about the same time I did." Julian said.
"I think he's on a date this evening." Jadzia speculated.
"A date? With whom?" Miles asked. He was finding it difficult to imagine a man like Gaven doing any such thing.
"An alien woman who's been visiting the station. I haven't had the pleasure of an introduction, but it would seem our Doctor Ore is getting to know her pretty well. It's the fourth time I've seen him with her in the Promenade. Don't look but he's sitting with her right now on the second floor." Jadzia gently indicated with a knowing smile on her face to a spot several feet behind and above Miles.
Miles was polite enough not to turn his head, and Jadzia and Kira didn't have to because they were facing the right direction and needed only to look up. Julian, however, did turn his head to look up at them and wasn't surprised to see Gaven sitting remarkably close to the woman with one hand holding her upper arm as he seemed to make slow, small talk making signs with his other hand and looking relaxed and pleasant.
"I doubt that's what you think it is, Dax." Julian muttered as he pulled his eyes away feeling suddenly annoyed by what he saw.
"Well, whatever it is he looks a hell of a lot happier just now then I've seen him," Kira noted. "Maybe he's made a friend."
"Are you all daft? This Ore fellow is a person, you know. I'm sure he doesn't appreciate everyone gossiping about him every five minutes. I thought we were here to relax? Come on, Julian. Let's get in a few games of darts. I've still got my wife to get home to yet." Miles muttered, feeling as if they were all children again making googly eyes at the new boy in class.
"I second that notion," Julian muttered. "Ado, ladies. You can join us if you like."
"Are you kidding?" Kira replied as she leaned back in her chair and reminded everyone that the last thing she wanted to do in her condition was to stand around throwing things.
Everyone laughed as the foursome split up into pairs.
Once the men had left Kira narrowed her eyes knowingly at Jadzia. "Since the men are otherwise disposed of, want to come back to my place and do a little light reading?"
"You read my mind. Let me call Worf and tell him not to wait up." Jadzia replied.
Half an hour later Jadzia and Kira were enjoying a well-deserved girl's night in Kira's quarters.
"So which parts did Doctor Ore organize for you?" Kira asked as she lounged on one of her sofa's while Dax leaned against it while sitting on the floor.
"Doctor Ore sent me the sections he transcribed that cover the Oum's limited contact with other species and their early historical attempts at space travel. It includes a lot about the planet's ecology, and planetary make up. There's also an extensive amount on the planet's flora, fauna, and animal life and a large section regarding the city Doctor Ore lived in and other notable landmarks. You?" Jadzia asked.
"Sections on the socio-political atmosphere and some of the cultural elements." Kira sighed. "Frankly, I'm finding it all hard to wrap my head around. The literature implies the Oum has been around for hundreds of thousands of years. All that culture and progress and all this time practically no one knew they were there."
"You want to know what I've realized more than anything else?" Kira asked.
"What?" Jadzia said.
"According to what I've read so far and been able to surmise. By Oum standards, Doctor Ore is a criminal. I mean a big one. Never mind whether we're skirting the Federation's Prime Directive, here. Doctor Ore has blatantly gone out of his way to commit the biggest cultural betrayal possible. His very existence here has defied every effort his people have made in the last ten thousand years to remain isolated and apart from the rest of the universe. He's a traitor, and yet we're treating him like…"
"Our lives depend on him?" Jadzia offered.
"Yeah." Kira agreed. "I don't really know what to make of it. I mean it should matter, shouldn't it? And yet, it's almost like it doesn't matter at all."
"Want to know what I don't understand? Everything you just said is true. He is a traitor to his people. But he only became one after they exiled him off the planet. None of it would have ever occurred if they'd kept him on their world. He had to have done something else that upset his people, first. The rest feels almost like retaliation on his part." Jadzia speculated.
"There's a lot in here. I mean I've been reading these all day, and I've barely scratched the surface. The Oum is a staunchly organized culture. Highly advanced. And yet there are elements in their culture that feel appalling. They have a complex social order, with people like Doctor Ore at the bottom. He's worded it very carefully and respectfully but what he's implying is that people like him are like…Like slaves. They're not allowed to hold any societal rank, and they're owned like property. Bought and sold to whoever can afford them. Treated aesthetically less than their counterparts who fit more traditional expectations of appearance and ability." Kira said empathetically, no doubt drawing emotional comparisons between the none-mutated Oum's role to how the Cardassians had treated the Bajoran's during the Occupation of Bajor.
"Maybe he's justified then." Jadzia offered.
"The heartbreaking part is that it seems noticeably clear that, given his way, Doctor Ore would have never left his homeworld. He misses his people and mourns not being a part of them anymore. I feel bad for him." Kira admitted.
"I think we all do, Kira. To some degree or another. How could anyone not relate in some way? No matter what he's done, I feel as if at the end of it he's a good man. We may never know the exact reason he was expelled from Oum; but I want to believe the reason, no matter how outrageous in his own people's minds, is something most of us wouldn't consider being criminal behavior. Since the Oum has expelled him, I would think he's no longer subject to their laws, though I would imagine it must be difficult for him to let go of his people's customs." Jadzia said.
"In any case, I can understand his fascination for others outside of himself. Reminds me a little bit of Odo, actually." Kira smiled at the thought.
"That it does." Jadzia agreed. "Look how well Odo's time from his people has turned out."
The next few days on the station passed without any notable activity. Everyone seemed inclined to stick to their work and the free time of the senior officers was consumed with a great deal of private reading about subjects they weren't allowed to discuss openly. In this time Julian and Gaven stayed away from each other, or at least it seemed as if they rarely had any reason to cross paths during their workday. Though no one else would have guessed, Julian couldn't help but feel as if the other Doctor was actively ignoring him and trying to keep himself away. As for Julian's part, he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do about it. On the upside, Gaven did seem noticeably lighter in recent days. He was quicker to smile although he still talked sparingly, and people saw him out and about more. Either walking through the promenade or sitting in a more private part of Quark's either alone or occasionally with the Red alien woman some suspected he had taken a more personal interest in. All in all, Julian was pleased by all this. But a part of him still felt like he was being shut out.
Finally, after fourteen days of little to no contact and after absorbing about half of what Gaven had organized for them to read Julian decided it was high time to break the silence between them. Under the guise of following up with Gaven as a patient, Julian went to see him once more in his quarters since Gaven had been in and out of the infirmary too much for Julian to find enough time to speak to him while he was working.
Julian's unexpected visit caught the other doctor in the middle of what appeared to be him packing.
"Hello, Doctor. Was there something I could help you with?" Gaven asked nonchalantly upon letting Julian into his quarters.
"Well, I just, um, excuse me; may I ask? Are you going somewhere?" Julian hadn't been sure what he was going to say to Gaven when he arrived, but now he found himself entirely distracted by the apparent fact that the other man looked to be packing for a trip.
"Yes. I've asked permission from the Captain to take a few weeks to travel to Gulba Four. It's not a Federation planet, but its people are in open talks with the federation about being allowed to apply. That's what the Gulba emissary was here for, she was planning to meet with a Starfleet delegation nearby to discuss the matter. She's ready to return to her, but she grew concerned that her child would become ill again on the journey. I've offered to act as her Gulm Jabib; her attendant in case the child becomes ill again in transit. I outlined all of this in writing for you two days ago. Didn't you notice it?" Gaven asked genuinely surprised.
It took Julian longer than it should have to realize Gaven was referring to the tall red alien that had brought its offspring into the infirmary awhile back. "No. I must have missed it. You do realize, Captain's approval or not; I have to agree that you're medically fit to go on such an extended trip especially if you plan to let that child hang attached to you the entire time." Julian muttered in that suspicious tone he got when he felt like someone was trying to pull something on him.
"Yes. Why do you think I outlined the mission for you and left it on your desk for approval?" Gaven pointed out. "I would have almost thought you came by to give me a physical if it weren't for the fact that you could have done it just as easily in the infirmary."
Julian detected that Gaven was intentionally trying to sound coy and he wasn't amused by it. "Well as long as I stopped by let's have at it, shall we?"
"As you like, doctor." Gaven put his folded shirt down and opened his arms palms out facing towards Julian.
Digging his medical tricorder out and a few other gadgets from the med bag he always carried with him, Julian got to work recording the man's vitals.
"Right. Any numbness in the limbs, muscle weakness or unusual fatigue?" He began.
"No," Gaven responded.
"Diet the same? Activity level?" He pressed.
"No changes, average activity." Gaven continued.
"Have you felt depressed, hopeless, or had any thoughts of hurting yourself or others in the last thirty days?" Julian challenged.
"I've been sad, unhappy, but not suicidal. Lately, I've felt better compared to when I first arrived. Useful. Optimistic, even." Gaven admitted.
Julian paused for a moment in anticipation for what he was about to ask next.
"What about the nightmares?" Julian asked, steeling himself for how Gaven might choose to answer.
For Gaven's part, he knew he couldn't lie. Had Julian not caught him in the middle of one of his nightly episodes he might have tried but he knew he couldn't avoid the issue now and he knew Julian had waited for some time wanting to talk about it.
"There's always going to be nightmares in the night for me, Doctor. My losses are great, and I can't deny I feel the memory of them keenly all the time. But I need you to trust me when I say I have it under control." Gaven spoke with authority now looking straight into Julian's eyes to prove he wasn't ashamed even if a vulnerable part of him had been exposed.
"I don't like the idea of you leaving the station," Julian said bluntly. "But if you promise me you'll allow me to arrange a treatment plan to confront your night terrors and other traumatic experiences I'll sign off with my approval."
"No." Gaven sad just as bluntly.
"No?" Julian's brow raised the way it might as if he was dealing with a surprisingly defiant child.
"I'm not going to allow you to use something private about me as a bargaining chip, Julian," Gaven said evenly. "If you want to use my mental state as a justification for why I shouldn't be allowed to go on this trip then write it into a report, submit it, and then argue it with the Captain after; but don't you ever try to blackmail me. I'm not a Starfleet officer or your subordinate. I will deal with my grief and anything else disturbing to me in accordance with my cultural traditions and my conviction. Do you understand?"
"Just what are those cultural traditions and disturbing things?" Julian demanded growing cross at the notion of being accused by Gaven of overstepping his authority. "I didn't need to be there that morning to know you're in unspeakable pain and that it affects every facet of your life. Do you think I'm the only one that can see it? We can all feel how acutely you're suffering. Everyone leaves you alone with it because no one wants to pry into your private life. Don't you see I can't do that? That as a doctor and a compassionate human being I have to take notice and try to do something about it? If you genuinely have a better method than I do at helping you cope with your experiences, then fine. But either you're not utilizing those methods, or they're not working, and in any case, it worries me that your so damn intent upon holding onto it all so tightly."
"What do you know about any of it, Doctor?" Gaven asked sternly. "You hardly know what my experiences have been or how the Oum's emotional processing works. So you have a bit more insight into my private life. It certainly wasn't something I wanted you to see, and if I'd had any good sense at all, you wouldn't have. Oh, and since we're on the subject of things you don't seem to understand, allow me to enlighten you. All I've done since encountering other cultures is being shoved around, interrogated, prodded at, and held against my will. So far I've expended a great deal of patience to everyone regarding the business but mark me when I say that my patience has its limits. I would almost prefer that the Federation and everyone else treat me like a proper prisoner than this backhanded hospitality I'm spoon fed. Don't think for one second that it hasn't occurred to me that my rights such as they are here and now are an illusion. As a refugee, I don't have any rights. I have become a pawn, caught up in a war of worlds that I have nothing personally to do with. Don't you see, this trip is an opportunity for me to do something for myself?"
Julian didn't say anything for a while. For the first time, it occurred to him that Gaven was caught up in a strange kind of game that felt wrong to him somehow. Julian could well imagine that the Federation was using him and that everything Gaven had just related was likely correct. While Julian felt as if something was terribly wrong with the entire situation, he found he didn't have enough hard information to fully understand the scope of Gaven's position or what could and couldn't be done about it.
"You know," Julian said at length. "It's often really hard for me to remember that you're not actually human."
"I know. Would it help if I had a tail?" Gaven quipped suddenly, effectively starting to break up the tension between them.
"It just might," Julian muttered only half joking. "Mind if I sit for a second?"
Gaven nodded and indicated to a nearby chair while they both took a few minutes to calm down.
"Can I ask you something? Why are you really doing any of this?" Julian asked. "At some point, you must have had a choice."
"I suppose you're wondering why I didn't just keep to myself when I got rescued?" Gaven said as he resumed his packing. "Looking back, I wish I had. Anonymity seems to be a significant form of protection among most people, I've discovered. Maybe, I may have been more protective of myself if the Vulcan's hadn't found me first. Their unique telepathic abilities saved my life and left me exposed." Gaven explained.
"Did you mind meld with one of them?" Julian was back in his information gathering Doctoring mode.
"Yes." Gaven nodded. "The experience was…Unique. Though in some ways similar to my own people's sharing abilities. The Vulcan's were cautious with me after that and did everything in their power to bring me back into myself. For a while, they thought it better that I remain in stasis until I sufficiently healed here."
Gaven tapped at his temple with one finger.
"Unfortunately, I was forced out of stasis when the freighter I was on ran into a bit of trouble," Gaven said grimly.
"Yes. You mentioned something about that." Julian muttered.
"The freighter was on the edge of the Delta quadrant when they received my summoning. They didn't have to investigate, but they obviously felt that it was of some importance that they did. Oum is located near the quadrant border. Once I was retrieved, they made a new route to the closest Vulcan star base intending to pass me on were decided if it would be prudent to bring me directly to Vulcan. But the freighter was interrupted in route by a Breen ship that decided to engage them." Gaven explained.
Julian visibly shuddered at the mentioning of the Breen.
"I do not doubt that the Breen intended to destroy the freighter outright until their scans picked up my signature. After that the Breen immediately disengaged." Gaven said.
"Why?" Julian wrinkled his nose.
"The Dominion has a no-contact agreement with my species. Once the Breen identified what I was, they had no choice but to disengage." Finished with his packing for the moment, Gaven finally sat as well.
"Unbelievable," Julian said shaking his head.
"When I got to Vulcan there was a Federation representative already there to meet me. At least that was the belief. I was familiar by then with your species. So far as the Vulcan database would allow. It's interesting how they write about humans by the way." Gaven remarked. "At any rate, I was given a choice to stay with the Vulcans or go with Starfleet. I agreed to go with the representative, a mistake in hindsight." Gaven's voice trailed off slightly, and he briefly broke eye contact with Julian indicating he didn't like thinking about whatever it was his story was reminding him of.
"What happened?" Julian had a horrible feeling suddenly.
"Whoever the man was, he wasn't a Starfleet representative. Though I was made to believe as were the Vulcans that he was. At some point, I was subdued against my will and taken off planet. I was then promptly held against my will and interrogated." Gaven said his tone and expression implying that the "interrogation" he'd undergone had been violent.
"But I thought Starfleet transitioned you directly from the Vulcan homeworld to Deep Space Nine?" Julian asked confused.
"An inconvenient but necessary lie," Gaven admitted. "What's true is I was on a Vulcan freighter and in Stasis for three months. Then the Breen attacked. We spent another several months trying to get back to Vulcan. When we did, I was only there a few days before I was kidnapped. My assailant kept me for months more before he deemed me benign. I was then returned to Vulcan like nothing had happened. I didn't take it well and became defiant after that point. Only then was I released into Starfleet's custody for psychiatric treatment. My abduction up to that point was…Overlooked. Once in Starfleet's custody, I knew I had to protect my interests but by then there was little recourse for me but defiance. My abduction eventually generated much renewed interest, and it was determined that my knowledge and abilities might prove useful to someone after all. So, I was persuaded to come here. As for my abduction and interrogation, I can't prove who was responsible, Julian. But it's become clear to me that someone enormously powerful and human is keeping tabs on me and my only hope of real freedom someday is to make sure they are not the only ones keeping those tabs."
"Unbelievable." Julian's mind reeled at the prospect that Dr. Gaven Ore was quite possibly at the center of a true-blue spy game. "Does the Captain have any idea about any of this?"
"Yes. He was the one recruited by Starfleet to persuade me to come here. He has agreed to monitor the situation. Deep Space Nine may prove to be the closest thing to a true refuge I have. However, I am a scientist. I can't ignore my natural leanings towards personal discovery. If I'm going to be at the beckoning and call of Starfleet, then I am at least going to press my advantages where I find them. I'm personally extremely interested in the people of Gulba Four. If it proves suitable, I might make the world my home someday if I live that long. Do you understand now, Julian?"
"About your trip? Yes. About everything else…" Julian widened his eyes and held his breath.
"Please don't share what I've told you about my situation. It's imperative no one else knows." Gaven said.
"Right, right. My lips are sealed. And anyway, it's so convoluted who would believe me if I said anything?" Julian said sardonically.
Gaven's mouth turned up, but it wasn't a genuine smile. "Oh, I'd bet that you'd be surprised."
