Unpleasant News
Posted on Wed Nov 26th, 2025 @ 2:12am by Captain Remy Johansen & Lieutenant JG Jezra Siv MD
2,204 words; about a 11 minute read
Mission:
Peril at the Unification Accords
Location: Ready Room
Timeline: MD 08, 1815 Hours
Any of the true stress that Jezra had been holding back appeared in her expression the moment the doors shut behind them. If she didn't look worn out before, she certainly did now. "Nava ta'alen," she sighed, the tone of her words sounding awfully close to what Humans say when blaming a religious deity for their problems. With her free hand, she rubbed her face, taking a few seconds just to compose herself. "I'm sorry, Captain, Ambassador T'Varel didn't make it."
Remy let out a measured sigh and gestured to her guest chairs. "What do we know?" She asked as she walked around her desk and sat at her seat.
Jezra followed, taking a seat in one of the offered chairs. It was a relief to be off their feet, even if the action in sickbay hadn't lasted that long. "An autopsy is underway to find the exact cause, but she experienced neural cascade. It's as if her brain just... dreamed itself to failure." Typing on the PADD, they leaned forward and showed Remy a playback of the neural activity in T'Varel's final moments. It started chaotic, surged, then fell eerily still. "This activity," they said, pointing to the chaos, "is telltale active dreaming, but it also has indicators of reacting to something. It looks like when the mind sends signals to try and fight off a disease or poison, but I ran a toxicology screening twice. There was nothing in her system."
Reaching out, Jezra swiped on the PADD to show more readings. "Additionally, her vitals didn't match the neural activity at all. This should be medically impossible, because the brain controls the nervous system, and any strain would reflect in things like blood pressure, breathing, and muscle tension. In other words, T'Varel's brain acted like it was being poisoned, but her body wasn't. Everything in Sickbay was calibrated a week ago, so there's no chance of faulty equipment. I would like to work with the Vulcan medics to get a second opinion on these readings."
"Yes, Vulcan will want to have their medical experts involved as soon as possible," Remy agreed. "I'm surprised they aren't kicking down our doors already for information."
"Any chance there was the presence of something out equipment wouldn't know to look for - wouldn't be able to detect?" Remy asked. "There has been intelligence of weapons trades coming in from the other quadrants. Self-destructing nanites, something a Vulcan metabolism could break down before a tricorder could get to them?" There was a chill in her tone as she spoke, but she remained steeled. Staying ahead of what Federation enemies were doing with biological weapons was at one point her livelihood - the thing that gave her purpose. Now there was another poison she was fighting against.
Jezra gave a bit of an exasperated shrug. They didn't have a damn clue as to why the Ambassador died, and reporting that was about as bad as reporting loss of life. "It's always possible, but I'm not making any guesses. I'm hoping the autopsy results can shed more light on what happened. In the interim, I compiled all the data from the medical emergency so it can be sent to the Vulcans for their review."
"Is there anything I should review before it's sent over?" Remy asked. "Their officials can be... direct. I want to make sure I'm fully prepared when they contact us. If you and Dr. Blackstone are wanting to Starfleet to maintain control over the death investigation, we'll need some justification, I imagine."
The mention of Dr. Blackstone seemed to strike a nerve in Jezra. The doctor's body grew tense as they remembered the other reason why they requested privacy. "There is a lot for you to review, actually..." The irritation that resulted in many small pieces of tricorder scattered across the CMO office tickled back in. Jezra shifted in the seat, either out of apparent discomfort or unease. "Something else happened. Dr. Blackstone... during resuscitation efforts, she initiated a mind meld with the Ambassador without her consent or my authorisation."
Anyone with a basic understanding of Vulcan culture knew that mind melds were a very intimate thing, and consent was a cultural expectation. Almost every case brought to a Vulcan judge, where consent was not given for a meld, was tried as assault. Jezra's words were damning, and it was clear in her expression that she was not happy about it. "This is a serious ethical violation that complicated the resuscitation efforts."
Remy took a moment to process what Jezra had just stated, the accusation made. Dr. Blackstone was a well-respected physician, researcher, a renowned specialist.
"Why?" Remy asked carefully, keeping her tone measured, deliberately even. "Why did she initiate a mind meld?"
Pausing for just a couple seconds, Jezra took in a steady breath of air. Every instinct wanted to call out how dangerous the meld was and even go as far as blame Alex for T'Varel's death, but logic kept that anger in check. "At this time, I can only provide speculation." Grabbing the PADD, Jezra pulled up the saved video feed of sickbay during the medical emergency. The alarms blaring as T'Varel crashed, Alex jumping in and putting her hand on the Vulcan's temple, the efforts by the team to keep her safe while also trying to revive the Ambassador. It was all there.
"The good-faith guess is that she was trying to use the meld to keep T'Varel with us, but a meld is not standard procedure and we had not exhausted all other means first. It was too dangerous to separate them, so we tried to protect Alex from the resuscitation charges as best as we could." Jezra's tone had absorbed a hint of her anger and frustration as she continued. She hated that this was the news she had to report. "We unfortunately won't know the real reason anytime soon. The meld broke around the same time I declared a time of death, and Alex went into mild neural shock immediately after. I had to medically induce her to keep her neural activity stable." While the news of Alex being alive was probably the first good thing that came out of Jezra's mouth, it was highly unbalanced by the multiple plates of bad news.
"Good faith guess..." Remy repeated as she stared down at the desk. She clenched and unclenched her fists once, flexing her fingers and examining her hands for a moment.
"Dr. Blackstone, she's in a coma?" Remy asked. "What's her prognosis? Is anyone with her daughter?"
Jezra gave a nod. "A neural suppression coma was medically necessary to preserve life. Until we can fully stabilise her neural activity, this is the safest option that gives her the best chance of survival. I already instructed a nurse to go be with the daughter and sort out the necessary accommodations." The post-adrenaline withdrawal left Jezra fatigued, the news she was reporting left her frustrated, and she rubbed her face with her hands. "This should never have happened. I should never have had to make that call."
Remy nodded slowly. "I'm sorry that you were put in that position. Command often will put us into some difficult spots. We have people under us that we are responsible for, and their decisions can affect us."
Jezra decided that the rather sarcastic reply should remain in their head. "I'm not happy about it, but it happened, and now I have to clean up the mess," she grumbled. Taking a breath, she lifted her head from her hands. "I want to consult one of the Vulcan medics to make sure Alex didn't suffer any neurological damage..." The 'but' lingered on her tongue like a bitter aftertaste for far longer than Jezra wanted. "... but the consult needs to know what caused her condition in order to provide a proper assessment."
"Why the, 'but'?" the Captain asked. "Is there a problem?"
"Captain, an illegal mind meld incapacitated my assistant chief," Jezra answered. It was the whole reason she requested privacy for this report. "I've done consults before, and every detail matters during treatment. This information is clinically necessary to provide. However, Vulcans take their mind melds seriously, especially when the meld was done without consent. I would be surprised if all they did was press charges."
"There is some precedent for mind melds being used in a medical emergency though, isn't there?" Remy asked, some confusion on her face.
"There is precedence, but it's not that simple," Jezra began. Pausing briefly, they pulled up the Starfleet regulations on the PADD before handing it back to Remy. "The Starfleet Medical Board recognises mind melds as a legitimate but highly regulated practice categorised under neuroscience. However, it's considered an invasive procedure, which is why consent must be documented, even during medical emergencies. If the patient is unable to provide consent, a legal representative or the attending physician may consent on the patient's behalf. As the attending physician, I have to consider the medical necessity of a meld and its risks before granting consent."
Holding up a hand, Jezra began to hold up fingers, one at a time with each question. "Were all other interventions exhausted, granting medical necessity? Was the patient's life in immediate and irreversible danger without telepathic intervention? Were there any other viable alternatives that could have been attempted first? Was the intent medically sound? There's many others, but all of these checks serve to protect doctors from liability if the medical board questions the procedure's necessity. Even in cases where a meld was used as a life-saving measure, those physicians had to prove necessity to the medical board." They lowered their hand back to their lap. "If Alex had asked me, I would have considered it. However, she acted independently while we had other viable options on the table to try and save the Ambassador's life. Precedence only applies when necessity can be proven, not just assumed."
"I want to understand what you are saying, Doctor," Remy replied, "Are you accusing Dr. Blackstone of malpractice? Insubordination? Assault?"
The Captain kept her tone measured, questioning, not accusatory.
"At the moment, I am just providing information," Jezra replied, a hint of defensiveness in her tone. As much as she wanted to accuse Alex of... well, all of those, they were missing crucial information: Alex's side of the story. "Dr. Blackstone is in my care, and I'll do everything I can to get her back. But, I cannot ignore how messy the situation is and how messy it may become once the Vulcans get involved."
"Who all was present when this mind meld took place?" Remy asked. "Who would be writing reports on the matter?"
"And is there someone... a Vulcan medical professional that we could reach out to who may be discreet. I know we've had Lieutenant T'lenn's brother on board for a complex neurological issue before. A piece of technology put one of our attache's into a coma," Remy stated as she recalled the incident. "I'm not if he's even nearby. He's not a Starfleet officer, but he's worked with us through a medical exchange program."
"In total, three nurses and Dr. Beckett either witnessed the meld or its immediate aftermath," Jezra reported. She pinched the bridge of her nose for a few seconds. "I can tell them to keep this in Sickbay until we figure this out. All I know is that telepathic neuroscience is beyond my expertise." Pausing for another beat, Jezra asked, "What if I consult Lt. Keel on this? Need-to-know disclosure, but if anyone can help navigate the diplomatic mess this is bound to create, it would be him. He may also be able to advise on how to approach seeking a specialist."
"Obviously, Dr. Blackstone's health is a priority, but avoiding a diplomatic incident and protecting her medical reputation before she has had a chance to defend her actions is imperative as well," Remy stated.
"I trust our people," the Captain continued. "Consult with Lieutenant Keel as you need. Bring in Dr. T'Para if you think she might be of help. But let's keep the Vulcans out of it for now."
Jezra nodded slowly, still trying to fully grasp the situation. "Yes, Captain," they responded. "I'll update you at the first sign of any changes."
The Captain stood up signaling the end of their conversation for now. "Please do, Doctor. Is there anything else?"
Standing as well, the doctor shook their head. "Nothing else, Captain."
Remy gestured for Jezra to lead the way, and the Captain followed the doctor out onto the Bridge.
"Attention everyone," Remy stated as she took her position near the conn. "This is now a potential homicide investigation. Ambassador T'Varel had died. Inform our agents on the ground as needed and with discretion. I want a briefing on what we know in two hours."
Captain Remira Johansen
Commanding Officer
USS Astrea
Lieutenant J.G. Jezra Siv
Chief Medical Officer
USS Astrea
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