"Oaths and Adages"

[OdileCondacin 0]

... why did doctors always think that their job was to save the world?

 

The job of a doctor, in Odile's most humbled opinion, was very similar to that of an engineer: a doctor repaired parts of a ship necessary to its operation (in this case the biological beings that operated various components said ship), and occasionally made investigations of a scientific nature -- again, much like an engineer might. The sobbing, bleeding-heart doctors that wanted to cure people for the sake of... "Gasp! Saving lives of innocent sentients!" And... "Weep! Doing no harm!" made her ill.

 

Which led Odile to another observation she had made many times in her life -- the Hippocratic Oath was one of the most hypocritical things ever put before a Starfleet officer. "Do no harm"... where did that stop? She wished very much that she knew -- it would have made her little debate with the Spotted One easier. "Do no harm if it is in regard to members of your own organization who are actually of the same species they were born as." was her suggestion. But no -- the vague nature of the oath had made this whole situation twenty times harder. That and the mistaken sense of nobility Tordai'd managed to pick up. Was that something Lexia added into the mix, she wondered, or something the symbiont had actually managed to infect itself with? Surely a smart old parasite would know better.

 

The Vulcans were dead-on. "The needs of the many..." had to be the most straight-forward, well-thought-out adage Odile had ever heard, and considering how many Xenexian shamans pranced about Condacin babbling proverbs and wise sayings for a slice of bread here; a few herbs there... O'd'yl had heard quite a few.

 

Oh well. The scientist was convinced that Harper would be swayed to her point of view before long. Let the Trill run her scans, and Odile would just have to sleep with her knife in her hand until the Soltan were processed in a way that meant they weren't around to sneak out and attack her mid-dream.

 

She did a reshuffle of the scientists' shifts on Operations on her padd, making a mental note to put Driscol on an extra refresher course of how to work all of the console's functions. She didn't mind the idea of setting him up and reteaching him herself if she ever had time. Time was her most precious commodity, after all, since the god of paperwork had descended upon her inbox.

 

If, gods forbid, she was ever promoted to commanding officer of a ship, she was hiring a score of attractive yeomans to do all this for her. And a very, very attractive executive officer to handle the rest.

 

... and a Xenexian doctor who wouldn't go all softy every time someone had to be put out of his misery.

 

... but she'd keep a kitty in security. The claws intimidated foes.

 

... and ...

 

Odile yawned, then looked at the chrono. Whether or not the ship was in mortal danger from within... she needed a (gods forbid she now turn into a cat -- she'd rather be a Soltan) catnap, then she'd head back out to face the Trill and the Jellyfish. At least the Vulcan was on her side this time.

 

Now she just needed Harper to agree...

Edited June 9, 2007 by OdileCondacin