The Waiting Game

[Savros 0]

Savros sat at the computer terminal in his room. On the screen he read a message from T'Kye. The news was unpleasant, but not unexpected. No Vulcan female was willing to take the risk of agreeing to an arranged marriage at this point in their lives. She had warned him of this possible outcome, but informed him of the process that was to be followed in these special circumstances. "Tradition must be respected," he read out loud from her letter.

 

Most Vulcan marriages were arranged while the participants were very young. Although Vulcans did not have a caste system, they did have a complex set of traditions regarding marriage. These included considerations of social standing, family allegiances and wealth. Love was also a consideration, but the Vulcan telepathic bond usually assured that love followed each relationship. In those rare circumstances where love never developed, a disciplined mind assured the relationship was respected. Savros theorized that love naturally followed such a bonding. The only reason it might not follow happened when one had bonded prematurely or had otherwise given oneself to another prior to bonding. Would this be the case with him?

 

Savros closed his eyes and took a few cleansing breaths. There was no reason to make the matter urgent yet. It could wait. Besides, he did not want to let it know that his first day as acting Chief science officer was clouded with personal matters.

 

The circumstances of Lieutenant Poldara's departure might be troubling. He knew her to be a competent officer with a passion for science. Still, her mind never seemed to be comfortable with the position of department head. In most cases, she deferred decisions and deflected efforts to get her to take a more active role. Savros had confronted her following their last meeting and found her apathetic. She did not mind letting him be the voice of the department, but, just as tradition is followed in marriage, he insisted on strict adherence to the chain of command. It was uncomfortable for him to not receive direction from his chief. Unfortunately, at the moment when he spoke up, she made the decision to leave. Was his new position somehow tainted? Of course not, but he would not be surprised if someone made the accusation. Besides, Poldara was only taking a leave of absence. It wasn't as if she were stepping down.

 

He reached to his right and grabbed the teacup that had been cooling on the table. He had observed that tea drinking was a habit of many a Star Fleet officer, including Captain Saylek. He pressed it to his lips and sipped. Although the liquid was nearly flavorless, he noticed that the aroma was pleasant. A welcome change to root beer, he thought, and the smell of regurgitated beef. He sipped again and turned his thoughts to Oby VI.

 

He mentally reviewed what he knew about the situation. One, the symptoms were consistent with a hemorrhagic fever. According to the computer, this likely meant the infected experienced a fever with some unusual bleeding due to a defect in the coagulation process. Two, the doctor believed they this was likely caused by a virus. Three, virus or no, there did not appear to be any specific pattern to the infected as it attacked young, old, strong, weak, Human, Efrosian and every other race fairly equally in the Northern Continent. Four, so far the disease was 50% fatal.

 

He took a larger sip of his tea and pressed a button near the monitor. So far, the Grima Center and Cold Station 12 had not responded to the request to access their databases of infectious diseases. By his estimation, the Grima Center would receive the message first and would likely respond in the next hour. Cold Station 12, on the other hand, was significantly farther away and might not respond till tomorrow. He hoped that once they saw his request, they might take an interest and send some to aide in the investigation. Just as John Snow had been draw to discover how cholera was spreading in London, he was certain someone would feel compelled to assist here as well.

 

Savros reached and turned off the monitor, grabbed his teacup and stood. He had just remembered that he was supposed to inspect the biocontainment areas of the lab Lt Kas constructed. Besides, everything else was a waiting game.