Genre: StarTrek: The Next Generation
Title: New Civilizations
Summary: Doc D'Jang assumes her duties
Chapter 3"My! How I love that feeling." The figure was speaking almost before the shimmering around her had died. As so many people did, she paused to check her hands, arms, and then, her legs, making sure all had been reassembled in the right order, but instead of acting as if she were suspicious that were not enough pieces, she appeared greatly astonished that none had been added. The inspection was brief and, looking around, she cried out, "Captain Picard isn't it? I was enjoying the transport effect so much I nearly forgot myself. I am honored." She almost extended her hand as she was about to step off the platform, but then she paused, "Whoops! Almost forgot, 'Salute and greet the Captain of the ship by saying, 'Permission to come aboard, Sir', and then wait for acknowledgment.'" Tall, slightly plump, forty-ish (though she would have said that she was 'of a certain age', in the French tradition, meaning that she might be over thirty-five if she cared to admit it, which she didn't), the woman raised a slightly slanted eyebrow and with a mischievous grin and a wicked sparkle in her light brown eyes, briefly touched her forehead.
Picard was always taken slightly off guard when Starfleet regulations were bent by the different personalities. Most people either performed the rules and regulations or ignored them, but she seemed to be mocking them. He preferred formalities; they gave him time to size up the newcomer, to get the measure, so to speak. Aware that he had a tendency to become somewhat stiff when the forms were sidestepped or bent (the word overcompensation drifted about in the back of his mind), he countered her relaxed attitude with more formality than he really felt. "Permission granted. Welcome aboard. You can now present your record disc if you wish to be exactly regulation."
"'…while stating title, name and rank.'" she answered back. "Veterinarian Dr. T'Shing D'Jang, Commander, reporting for duty.'" With a sprightly, almost girlish step, the vet came off of the transport dais and handed Picard a small disc. "There. That's done with. Now, hello there, I'm Doc D'Jang. T'Shing is actually my last name and the formal address is Dr. T'Shing but most people just call me Doc D'Jang or just plain D'Jang." She extended her hand. "You are Captain Picard, aren't you?"
Hesitating for only a moment Picard decided that formalities had been met after all, however informally. He smiled politely, took the computer disc and then her hand and said, "Yes, I am Captain JeanLuc Picard and this—"
The doctor was ahead of him. She swung around. "Is Commander Riker, first officer of the Enterprise. Hello, I've heard of you." Their height being nearly the same, she smiled directly into his blue eyes.
Taking her extended hand, he responded conversationally, "Welcome aboard. Heard what? Good things, I hope?"
She grinned mischievously back at him. "Well, what wasn't good, was absolutely delicious."
He displayed his, 'this could be an interesting association,' grin at the doctor and glanced quickly at Picard past her shoulder, and was met with the captain's best dispassionate, nonjudgmental gaze.
D'Jang, suddenly changing gears, disengaged from Riker and said, almost soberly, "But we can discuss you at a later time. I'd very much like to see the Animal Board and Clinic now."
Captain Picard asked, "Wouldn't you first like to see where your quarters are and meet some of your shipmates? We thought perhaps a short tour, to help you get settled in. We are so pleased to welcome a veterinarian of such outstan—"
Dr. T'Shing smiled as she interrupted. "I'd rather see my new charges. Please? I can do the rest later, can't I?"
"Well, of course, as you wish, but I would like to say a word of wel—"
"Captain, just by greeting me personally, you've made me feel very much honored and welcomed, thank you. Now, I really believe I should get on with my duties. May I be excused?" She turned as if to go.
Picard quickly reassessed this woman who, up to now, well, had been acting a little, perhaps, unprofessionally? Now, even though the tone of her words was soft, Picard heard an undercurrent of official decision. "Of course," replied Captain Picard. He spoke quickly to avoid being interrupted. "I have been looking forward to your arrival," and then decided not to push his luck. "Commander Riker, will you escort Dr. T'Shing to the Animal Board and Clinic? I'll revue your records, Doctor, and pass the disc on to Dr. Crusher, our ship's doctor. You can get them from her at your convenience. Carry on."
Watching the captain exit through the doors, the ship's new veterinarian remarked, "A bit rigid, isn't he, though, I must say, he does the 'by the book' formal, routine nicely. An excellent commanding officer, I hear. Seems like a fine man."
"Yes, I think so." Riker's smile betrayed his admiration, while he speculated on whether she passed judgment so freely on everyone she met. "Come, I'll show you to the Menagerie."
"The what?"
"An affectionate title for the Animal Board and Clinic. We don't stand much on formalities on the Enterprise." Riker ignored her staring look. "And speaking of informalities, there's a place we call Ten Forward. When you get a chance, I'd like to meet you there and talk about just what it is you've heard about me."
"I'd love to. Among other things, I've heard, just talking with you could be a never-to-be-forgotten experience."
Riker found his arm being cuddled against the very feminine body. Who, he wondered, was going to escort who, and where? Was she some sort of sex craving maniac or just plain fun? Shades of Lwuaxanna Troi!
"By the way," he said more to get her direct attention from himself as much as anything, "Did you know that Captain Picard practically moved heaven and earth to get you assigned to the Enterprise? He thinks very highly of your talents."
Dr. T'Shing shrugged, "I'm sure he did. I suppose he had a nice little speech prepared to extol them all, too, only, I really didn't want to hear the routine again. You know, I'm glad to be on the best ship in Starfleet but…"
After a moment of silence Riker urged, "But?"
She looked into his eyes as they entered a turbolift. "But I didn't get this post because of any efforts or because of my training. I'm the best in my field because of a peculiar linking of DNA in my genetic makeup. Riker, not only am I a telepathic freak but I'm also a genius of high magnitude. I can't help but to do what I do better than anyone else in the Federation. Having received this praise all of my life, I try to avoid hearing more of it whenever I can."
"Are you tired of the work?"
"Great Goddarah! No! Work? What I do isn't work, it's my joy! Working with all animals of the universe is the most incredibly wonderful experience I can imagine. It's the unending human praise and adoration I can do without."
Exiting the turbolift, the two walked almost idly down the corridor.
"I'll try to let Captain Picard know about your sensitivity."
Considering less than a second, she answered, "You don't have to; I think he's already aware of it. He doesn't miss much, that man."
Riker wondered if her telepathic abilities extended beyond sensitivity to animals. She'd hardly met Captain Picard and had read him like a book. Deanna would love to have a talk with her he was sure.
The two arrived at the Menagerie, entering through a side door to the small animal boarding area. No sooner had the doors opened when Commander T'Shing abruptly abandoned Riker, without looking back, without any thank you or comment of any sort. He felt a slight shock at the break in contact. It was as though he had ceased to exist for her.
Heading straight for the first bank of small cages in the room, she ignored a medical technician working at the far end of the row. The Tech moved swiftly towards what she perceived to be an intruder, officer or no, who was opening a cage without so much as a hello. "Is this one yours? Perhaps you'd better let me help."
"Oh, very good, I'll have to remember that approach. Hi!" She stuck out her hand. "I'm Doc D'Jang, the new vet, here. What's your name?" Without pausing for an answer as she shook with one hand, she continued opening the cage with the other. "And what do we have here?" She pulled the clear door open and reached in and pulled an ugly, grey creature out from the dim interior. "Ah, yes, a tifuareg from Andor V." The grunting thing, hardly more than half a meter in length, turned its twitching snout up to the woman's face, and after a couple of seconds, opened a gaping maw filled with five venomously green tongues, all twisting, and writhing. A tender look filled the veterinarian's face as she said, "Oh, yes, I think you like me. Well, you are precious, aren't you?" Smiling she dumped the hairless porcine looking creature back into the cage. Going to the next, she opened the door and pulled out something else. Only when she had an armful of many-legged fur did she say to the rather concerned technician, "Now if you have something to do, go ahead, while I get acquainted here. If there are any emergencies, I'll come running."
The young woman turned inquiring eyes to Riker, who returned the look with a neutral stare. He didn't care to influence someone else's command or to enjoin any questioning of command. The Lieutenant would just have to wait for explanation from her new commanding officer.
Riker also knew he wasn't needed any more. He wondered if the new animal doctor would ever inquire as where her quarters were, and had his doubts. He'd have laid odds that she lived with, as well as for, the animals.
&&&&
Two days later, Ensign Ro, a glass of synthahol in front of her, nudged at Troi. "Who's that?"
Disturbed from her joyful contemplation of the chocolate sundae in front of her, the Betazoid counselor turned to see Dr. Beverly Crusher and the newest officer on board heading towards them.
"I finally had to shanghai this one to get her to come here. Keiko O'Brien, one of our botanists, Ensign Ro, Engineering, Ship's Counselor Deanna Troi, this is Dr. T'Shing D'Jang-dall, the ship's new veterinarian."
"Just call me D'Jang, that's my first name, actually. Call me Doc D'Jang, if you want to be formal." She stuck out her hand. "And I can't stay, really, I can't. Too much to do, can't waste time here chitchatting. Sure you're all lovely ladies and all…" Before she could finish her sentence, D'Jang felt her knees buckle as a chair was pushed under her. She turned to see a calm face, smiling benignly down at her.
"Hello, I'm Guinan, your hostess. May I bring you something?"
While Guinan spent a bit of extra time preparing a particularly tempting brew of coffee, Deanna could feel Ensign Ro was reacting to what she felt was a slight from this newcomer. She knew that, ranking officer or no, anyone saying that she was just too, too busy to associate with her friends, could not be allowed by without a challenge from the proud Bajoran. Before she could defuse the feisty young woman, she heard her casually say, as if to no one in particular, "Did you guys know that on Bajor, pets are considered to be a useless burden? We keep animals only as a food source."
D'Jang rose to her feet, with an emotional response intense enough to set off Deanna's internal alarms. She was about to encourage Ro to explain, but saw it was too late for that and could only watch.
Arriving just in time to intercept the doctor with the coffee, Guinan passed the cup just under the vet's nose, allowing her to sniff the aroma. The ploy sat the woman down again, and, in that importantly casual tone she could employ, Guinan quietly asked, "I was wondering, can you hear sentient thoughts as well as those of animals?" Guinan nodded a silent acceptance of the appreciation from the others for her skills, while the doctor started answering in quiet conversational tones.
"No, I don't hear self-aware thoughts. I suppose it's the difference between, say, sound waves and radio waves. That's not even a good analogy because I don't really 'hear' animals. Animal thoughts aren't organized into patterns that can be recognized as speech. Remember, most animals have only meaningful sounds. Nor do they have organized thought patterns, but they do have feelings, drives, and sometimes, basic concepts. I pick up on what we call the neuro-vibrations of these brain activities and I've come to know what they mean."
"So, your talent is an awareness heightened by training much like mine is." The counselor was so fascinated by this concept, she no longer idly scraped at the bits of chocolate sauce in the empty dish.
"Wel-l-l, sort of, Deanna. As I understand it, you catch an emotion but then, have to wait for clues as to where they stem or at what they are directed. My distance range is far more limited than yours is but I can understand far more. For instance, you can feel the pain of illness but you need Beverly's expertise in determining just what sort of illness it is. I can sense the idea that an animal is ill, and then I can also determine whether it's an infection, or broken bone, and pretty much where in the body it is."
Guinan's large head covering bobbed slightly as she spoke, "Just how limited is your range?"
"About three meters, maximum. I understand you can perceive emotions from thousands of kilometers, Deanna."
As usual, when the attention was directed at her, Deanna became uncomfortable. She smiled shyly and squirmed a bit in her chair. "Well, yes. I've been checked as far as eight thousand kilometers, but for a Betazoid that's not very far. And as you pointed out D'Jang, my talent is very general."
"Oh, Deanna, don't downplay what you can do. You're always boosting the morale of others, give yourself a pat now and then," urged Keiko.
Deanna, always the encouraging one, knew when she was being handed her own medicine from someone else's spoon, "All right, then, I do what I do and very well and from as far as eight thousand kilometers." She smiled at her own forthrightness, as she looked around at her friends' faces. "I also believe everyone at this table has extraordinary talent."
"You know," said Guinan, "It's very nice to be hostess to some of the most extraordinarily gifted women in the known federation." She ignored the veterinarian's slightly tightened lips. "And, since I'm an extraordinarily gifted hostess, it is most fitting that you should receive my services."
Everyone at the table laughed.
TBC to Chapter 4
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