Unworthy - Kirsten Beyer [38]
In essence, catoms were programmable matter. They could reconfigure themselves, presumably into any shape or arrangement required by the systems they were sustaining. It seemed likely that since these catoms were keeping Seven alive, their configurations might be more specific than the catoms that reshaped Captain Erika Hernandez, a human woman who had become part of the Caeliar gestalt. Only after Admiral Batiste had cleared the way had the Doctor been able to access Hernandez’s classified medical file. He knew that the best minds in Starfleet Medical were trying to understand how the catoms altered her human physiology. The Doctor knew he was at a disadvantage but he had confronted deeper medical mysteries since he had first been activated and did not doubt his ability to rise to this challenge.
An incessant chiming broke his concentration, which he realized was a comm request from Voyager’s sickbay. Doctor Sharak, Voyager’s CMO, was the first Tamarian the Doctor had met. For years, the universal translator was unable to render the Tamarian language into Standard. Finally, a Tamarian captain, Dathon, had risked his life and that of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in a bid to bridge this gap. It was discovered that the Tamarian grammatical structure was based on metaphor. Several members of Doctor Sharak’s species had built upon those first tentative steps by immersing themselves in Federation culture, resulting in new translation protocols.
Sharak was the first Tamarian to enter Starfleet’s service. As the principles of science were universal at their most basic levels, the fact that a scientist whose language was based on metaphor could communicate more easily in these realms was understandable. What made Sharak remarkable was that while studying at Starfleet Medical, he mastered Standard.
The Doctor opened the channel, and Sharak’s wide, mottled face appeared before him.
“Greetings, Doctor,” Sharak said amiably.
“How may I assist you, Doctor Sharak?”
“Do you retain within your personal database baseline analysis of a Miral Paris?” Sharak asked.
“Of course,” the Doctor replied, wondering why Sharak might require this information.
“Would you be so generous as to transmit it to me?”
“Immediately,” the Doctor said, nodding. “Is there anything else?”
“No.”
“You should have the files now,” the Doctor replied as he confirmed the upload from his database.
Sharak signed off without further comment and his face was replaced by the standard Starfleet symbol.
Resuming his analysis a troubling, recurring subroutine pestered the Doctor until he realized it would disrupt his concentration if he failed to address it. He quickly reactivated his comm panel to hail Doctor Sharak. Moments later the face of Sharak’s nurse, Ensign Eline Bens, appeared.
“May I speak with Doctor Sharak?” he inquired.
“The doctor is with a patient but I will have him get back to you as soon as possible,” Bens said.
“I understand. I’m just curious about a request he made to review an old patient file. Can you tell me why he wished to see Miral Paris’s records?”
“Miral Paris is his patient. Could you excuse me, please?” Bens abruptly terminated the transmission.
The Doctor sat stunned for two point six seconds before contacting Commander Glenn.
“What can I do for you, Doctor?” she asked.
“Captain, I have to get to Voyager immediately. Are we close enough to transfer my program?”
“We’re en route to meet up with them now,” Glenn advised. “We should be in range in the next few minutes. What’s going on? ”
“Doctor Sharak’s nurse has just advised me that he’s treating one of my old patients.”
“I’m sure Doctor Sharak has matters well in hand,” Glenn noted.
“The patient in question died three months ago.”
Glenn immediately replied, “Understood . Ensign Lawry, increase to maximum warp. Get us within range of Voyager, now, and hail Captain Eden for me .”
The moment her ready room doors closed behind them, Eden turned to Paris, her obvious sense of betrayal plain in her troubled eyes.
“You weren’t surprised