"Sound Decisions Pt. 1"

[Avery Tynte 0]

Avery stood looking at the man sitting on a biobed in front of him. He could feel his heart beating in his throat and the moisture on his hands. Had he really just said the words he thought he said?

 

Recently he had had to take up more responsibility in Sickbay and he was beginning to adjust to the pressures and stresses involved in that, but this was new and uncharted territory for the young Doctor. Avery had been on this vessel for three years and had seen three captains at the helm, but he had never looked at one of them and said the words that had just came out of his lips. They thundered through his head even now. Captain LoAmi, I hereby relieve you of your duties as the Captain of the USS Arcadia.

 

The two men just stared at each other, neither knowing quite what to say.

 

The root, the narcotic, had been wreaking havoc on every member of the crew, but Avery had though somehow the Captain would not be affected like the rest. Somehow he had thought the man leading them would somehow be immune. He closed his eyes, suddenly feeling very young and naïve again. Young he was, but he had thought himself past the naïveté. That was truly a sentiment of fools.

 

LoAmi finally broke the silence, protesting what he felt was an out of line activity from his Bajoran doctor. Avery opened his eyes and stared at the man he had just removed from his position. He had a confused ensign on one hand and an irate captain on the other. Somehow the old adage of a rock and a hard place just did not seem enough. LoAmi was still talking, demanding the doctor dispense with this foolishness and allow him to do his job. Avery could barely hear him through the droning of his own thoughts. His eyes began to room around Sickbay.

 

This room and virtually the entire ship was filled with those suffering from the effects of the narcotic root. The irony was not lost on the man that some seemed so elated that one would think they would never stop smiling, while others were mere inches from death. His eyes fell to Ensign Maler, the young man writhing in pain on biobed number 4. Maler was an Gorithun and the root had gone straight to his spinal column, which was doubled and wrapped twice unlike a human. In theory the ensign was in more pain then most humans would be in his position.

 

Lying only one bed over was Lieutenant Markenson, an older woman who served in the engineering department. She was almost doubled over in laughter and tears were streaming down her face. Her body chemistry has accepted the drug in much the same way Avery’s had. He had been able to medicate himself, but Markenson was proving a difficult case to treat.

 

Sickbay was full of scenes just like this. People sitting with their knees pulled up to their chests rocking slightly back and forth, others with a permanent smile that said the cat just ate the canary. Most cases were no where near this severe, with most of the crew still able to function. But the suffering of the few bothered Avery just as much as the suffering of the many.

 

“Doctor,” LoAmi’s voice cut into Avery’s thoughts, sounding as if it had been trying for a while. “Doctor?”

 

Avery turned his attention back to the Trill. He opened his mouth to speak to his commanding officer. At the same time he said a silent prayer to the Prophets.

Please, by all the Divine Beings, let me be making the right decision.