round 12 LtCmdr Varaan - Strained Relations?

[Graeme Cook]

((Planet PR-652, Pouiyeog Region))

Varaan: We should get going. If we hurry we can catch up to Jorey and R'Ven.

Cook: What did...you.......::confused:: What did you just do?

Varaan: I simply stopped the drone's autonomic functions. We should move.

Cook: ::raising the tone of his voice, in a shocking but very concerned way:: You did what??

Varaan: "An end to pain and suffering," "Death is preferable to agony." Are there any other Human sayings that I have missed? Doctor, you have taken an oath to do no harm which, I assume, includes killing someone. While I applaud and support that, I have taken no such oath. The drone was in pain, and you said that nothing could be done to rectify the situation. I ended the drone's pain. Now, shall we go?

Cook: You....You...numbskull....that drone ::gritting his teeth:: WAS not in pain........ He,she ....it...what ever it was. The nervous system was completely crushed and the nerve endings were destroyed to the point it was numb! I can tell you it was not in pain! You can't go putting thing out of its misery on... Well....One when it wasn't necessary! Two I could have put the drone to sleep and it would have died of its wounds anyways like a putting a dog to sleep! Three.....it wasn't necessary!

 

::The calmness of Varaan's response was a striking counterpoint to Cook's outburst.::

Varran: "It" was a she, doctor. During the meld our two minds were joined. I could hear her thoughts, and feel her emotions. Regardless of what your tricorder was telling you, I can tell you that she was feeling pain. Logic would say...

Cook: I couldn't care if it was the "logical" thing to do. You are not a god, you cannot just extinguish a life at your say so. That makes you just as bad as the Borg! How do I write my report on this??

::Varaan was confused. Doctor Cook seemed to he furious with Varaan's decision. Yet wasn't a doctor's primary purpose to end disease and cure illness, and whenever and wherever possible to make their patients feel better, even if they could not make them well? Cook had stated that he could not rectify the situation. Had he lied to Varaan? Was there a chance that the drone could have been saved, and that was why Cook was angry?::

 

::Varaan doubted that assumption. From everything he knew of the doctor, Cook was an honest man, a man of principles and a man of compassion. He had dedicated his life to helping others through medical means. If there was a way to save the drone, Varaan was sure that Cook would have either thought of it or done it. So why was he so upset at Varaan? The Vulcan had done exactly what was needed.::

Varaan: Doctor, the meld acted in the same way as your analogy of sedating and putting an animal to sleep. She felt nothing when she died. I only accelerated the process for our protection. Should other drones arrive while she was still alive, they may have been able to extract information about us from her. Our position would then be compromised.

 

::Varaan was not human, but he had spent much of his life around humans, and other emotionally-driven species. Granted, he was no expert, but he had thought that after so many decades of exposure to them, and interaction with them, that he had a good grasp of human responses to different situations. After Cook's outburst, perhaps Varaan needed to reassess that evaluation. It didn't fit with the established results Varaan had experienced up to this point.::

 

::Cook was a good man, a most efficient medical practitioner, and a valued and well-liked member of the Darwin crew. This particular incident between him and Varaan could possibly affect future interactions between the two. Actually, there was a 98.75% chance that it would affect future interactions, and in an adverse way. It was never good for crew morale, which of course affected efficiency, to have a pair of officers who could not get along. Varaan did not have a problem with Cook, nor with the actions that he himself had taken regarding the Borg drone. Cook, though, did have a problem with Varaan's actions. How could this problem be resolved?::

 

::Should Varaan apologize for his actions with the drone? It would be disingenuous, of course, since Varaan was not sorry for what he had done. Would Cook be aware of this, and the problem be expanded? Or would Cook see it as a form of peace offering, possibly paving the way for a renewed working relationship between the two? Could this ever be "forgiven and forgotten?" And if it was Cook who had the problem, should it even be Varaan who tried to resolve the situation?::

::Before Varaan could finish crunching the numbers of all the different permutations and possible scenarios, the doctor moved to the Borg's head and crouched down. He placed his hand on the drone's forehead and ran his hand down over its open eye. As he removed his hand the eye was closed, giving the appearance of peaceful slumber. Cook then stood up and turned to Varaan.:: 

Cook: Commander I must apologize for my outburst. However I guess you won't see it from my point of view. 

Varaan: On the contrary, doctor, I look at each situation from every point of view. I then weigh the positives and negatives, and analyze possible outcomes for future repercussions...

 

::Varaan realized that this was exactly the kind of response a human would expect from a Vulcan, and that Cook most likely wasn't exactly listening. He stopped and reassessed his response. Trying a different tact, he continued.::

 

Varaan: Doctor, I will accept your apology if you accept mine. I made what humans would consider a snap decision, even though there was much thought put into it, but did not realize how it would affect you. I will have to live with the consequences of my actions, but you should not. I will, in the future, consult with you and defer to you in all matters of a medical nature, and not take any action without your express consent. Is this acceptable?

 

Cook: response

 

::With the situation as settled as it was going to be at this time and in this place, the two of them set out after Jorey and R'Ven. It was only Varaan's attention to detail that allowed them to follow Jorey's almost expert ability to their trail. Soon the doctor and the engineer were at the crest of a large furrow created by the forced deceleration of a spacecraft when it contacts a planet's surface. Their target was the Central Plexus, located at the far terminus of the furrow. Varaan pointed out the dozen or so Borg drones aimlessly patrolling the area around the large wreckage.::

 

Varaan: Since I do not see any sign of Jorey or R'Ven, and the drones do not seem to be on any kind of alerted behaviour, it is possible that the rest of our away team is already inside. Let us proceed.

 

::They continued along the near edge of the furrow towards the massive wreckage, taking care to make as little noise as possible so as not to alert the Borg patrols. Suddenly Varaan grabbed Cook's shoulder and pushed him down to a crouched position, pointing to a dark cloud rising from the wreckage ahead. It had a metallic sheen to it as it rose to approximately 15 meters above the wreckage, then stopped and "hovered."::

 

Varaan: Doctor, what do you think that is?

 

::Varaan hoped that Cook would be able to get some more definitive readings from his tricorder than from what he could get from his Vulcan eyes. Varaan kept his phaser rifle out and generally aimed in the direction of the cloud without actually pointing it there. The cloud did not seem to act like an actual cloud, and if there was any chance that it was aware of its surroundings, Varaan did not want to provoke it.::

 

Cook: response

 

Varaan: ::tapping his combadge:: =^=Varaan to Jorey and R'Ven. Doctor Cook and I are on the ridge roughly 20 meters from the wreckage. Can you communicate?=^=

 

Jorey/R'Ven: response

 

---------------------------
Lt. Cmdr. Varaan
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Darwin-A, NCC-99312-A
Serial: V237810V10