Sweeping Up A Diplomatic Mess
Posted on Wed Dec 17th, 2025 @ 12:38pm by Lieutenant Commander Ryan Keel & Lieutenant JG Jezra Siv MD
1,961 words; about a 10 minute read
Mission:
Peril at the Unification Accords
Location: CDO's office
Timeline: MD8, 1845h (After Information Management)
After Jezra and Remy left the ready room, the doctor asked for Lt Ryan Keel in an hour before promtly retreating back to Sickbay. She had specifically requested to meet in the diplomatic offices, mostly because she was still annoyed by what happened and needed a change of scenery. During that hour, Jezra basically locked herself in the CMO office, compiling everything. They had summoned the people who were involved in the emergency, having them each give their debriefs before instructing them to let Jezra handle it. The last thing the CMO wanted was news to spread before fully understanding the ramifications of the events that took place.
When they were alerted that Lt Keel had returned to the ship and was ready for them, Jezra gathered the PADDs and headed out. A few minutes later, they were inside the diplomatic suite on Deck 2, asking for Ryan. The Bolian who was helping the doctor said she would go let him know and briefly disappeared.
Emerging from his office, Keel waved Jezra past their reception point. He had a grim, resigned stoop to his shoulders after the events earlier. Not only had weeks of work gone up in smoke, but the fact people had died at a conference he had had a hand in organising had shaken him. 'You alright, Doctor?' he asked as she approached.
"Honestly? Could be better," Jezra answered, her tone mildly restrained. "This whole thing is a mess, and I could use your diplomatic skills."
'You're telling me. I ... can't believe what happened,' Keel said, blinking his eyes wide in disbelief. 'After all the preparations we did, all that planning and coordinating.' He sighed, went quiet, 'makes it seem like a joke.' He steered them both back into his office, offering one of his comfy chairs to the physician. 'I'm not sure how I can help you at this point ... there's not much of the conference to save, and the higher-ups will start dealing with the fallout ...'
Jezra slumped into the offered chair with about as much grace as one could expect from a tense aftermath. "I'm afraid the Ambassador's death isn't the only thing that's going to cause problems." It was rare that Jezra had to pause to identify the boundary of doctor-patient confidentiality, so she chose her words carefully. "During resuscitation efforts, a mind meld was performed without consent of the Ambassador or myself, and it produced complications. I want to know how bad this could potentially be, and how to navigate it when the Vulcans eventually get involved in the investigation."
Watching the Trill fold in on herself as she related what had happened, Keel felt the raktajino in his stomach curdle. Queasiness overpowered him for a moment, this revelation the straw that had broken his back. Slipping into a comfy chair opposite the Siv, he regarded her for a moment. Then he ventured, 'that is ... not good.'
Keel sighed, regaining control of his digestive system, and his hopelessness. 'Vulcan telepathic ethics are fairly clear on non-consensual mindmelds.' He called up a few relevant articles on mindmelds on his padd and reviewed them a moment. 'I don't need to repeat to you the serious risks to both parties when committing such an act ...' He leaned back in seat, and asked, 'in your medical opinion did this contribute to the Ambassador's death? If they hadn't intervened, could they have ... saved her?'
In my medical opinion... Jezra looked at one of the PADDs, which was more for her reference than it was for his. She watched the readings from the biobed as the security footage from sickbay silently played. Every time Alex touched the Ambassador's temple, another surge of anger stirred in Jezra's core. Six seconds. That was how long it took to make sure Alex was protected before the defib was even touched for calibration. Six seconds of scrambling to replace the ACMO's support in a crisis scenario.
"I don't think it contributed, but it likely changed her odds," she eventually replied, her tone hushed. "The Ambassador was already at the stage where it was more likely we would lose her, but every second counts during resuscitation. A member of my staff removed themselves during a critical stage to initiate the meld, and it took six seconds to protect them from defibrillation charges. Other things could have been started in those six seconds."
'Those are fine margins,' Keel grunted, wiping a hand across his face as he ordered his thoughts. 'So. Unlikely that we would have saved her, but it didn't do her any favours, and prevented other critical tasks from being initiated. Got it. I doubt the Vulcans will see it as mitigating circumstances. And the mindmelder. I assume they were Vulcan, and schooled in Vulcan telepathic mores?'
Ugh, why couldn't Keel just be a doctor? It would make this discussion easier. "Yes, to both," Jezra responded with a nod. They paused for a couple seconds to gather their thoughts, then sighed and pinched the bridge of their nose. "Gods, I hate to make this even messier for you... I want to consult one of the Vulcan medics to make sure there were no side effects from the meld, but I'm ethically obligated to be fully transparent during a consultation. I don't even know how to begin to handle this."
'Does it have to be a Vulcan? There are other experts on mindmelds. And you could ask in a more ... general fashion,' Keel suggested. He disliked this avenue of thought, it reminded him too much of a previous life. Chewing his lip he drove away a memory of a jungle, the funk of the atmosphere in his mouth, and the screams. 'There aren't that many Vulcan medical personnel aboard, so if you were required to be more transparent than, uh, needed, people would begin putting two and two together.'
He hesitated again as another thought occurred to him. 'You could also imply a Vulcan who was present on Barissa Prime but unaffiliated with the crew. It might buy us the necessary time to solve the who and the why of this without increased political scrutiny from Vulcan High Command.'
"The primary qualification I'm seeking is a background in telepathy-based neuroscience," Jezra answered. "The delicate nature of this incident was what swayed me to prefer a Vulcan, but any really could do. But it doesn't matter, because any medic chosen will be held to the same ethical standards and would be inclined to report to save their own skin."
Keel sighed, and smiled askance, 'it doesn't have to be a medic, either. There are academics who would have an interest and expertise in the field. They wouldn't necessarily be held to the same ethical standard as a medical professional. A non-disclosure act can again keep them quiet.' He shrugged once more, 'there will be academics eager to get an in on national security matters and would prove cooperative.'
"I wish it were that simple," Jezra sighed. "Doctor-patient confidentiality is in play here. It's easier with someone in the medical field because they understand how delicate a patient's details are." They couldn't help the scrunch of their nose, "in my experience, academics aren't reliable. An NDA doesn't always stop them when they can get a good paper out of it."
'So, we've exhausted other possibilities. In pursuing this further, you will have to disclose what's happened,' Keel said after a few beats of silence, glad that they had worked through this issue and Siv had declined to use clandestine means. 'And that will mean a diplomatic scandal.'
With a groan, Jezra leaned forward to rub her temples. "I know," she muttered. "I don't want a scandal to happen, but I also can't lie about what happened because it puts my patient at risk. There is no good solution here, and I don't know which one is worse." For now, they were treating Alex in-house, but since Alex was the resident neurosurgeon Jezra can't rely on her expertise. It was infuriating in its own right. She glanced up at him with the look of someone overwhelmed by circumstance. "Which route is the least painful? What are all of my options?"
'Least painful is relative,' Keel replied gently, sympathetic to her position even though he found a physician's moral code to be inconveniently inflexible in situations like these. 'You're not left with many options due to the ethics of the situation as you can't compromise them - rightly so.' He sighed. 'You'll need to go to the Captain. Prepare a file with all the relevant information, and approach the Vulcan Science Academy, with Johanssen's blessings. If we're going to disclose a scandal, best to go straight to those about to be enscandaled.'
The doctor nodded slowly. Any method of handling this that she could think of produced sucky consequences, so it did make sense to choose the option that sucked the least. "The Vulcans do value honesty," they agreed slowly, letting out a low, weary breath. The PADDs in their lap felt heavier. "The Vulcans need to know what happened to T'Varel, but I just... need more time. This is all happening so fast."
Keel raised his eyebrows, sighed and pursed his lips. 'things come at you fast when you're approaching the eye of the storm,' he drawled thoughtfully, 'but that's how you know that your actions are consequential, and that your job is one that's worth doing.' Leaning back in his chair, he said, 'I don't envy you this problem. You can take a moment here to clear your head, have a cup of tea.'
Looking up at him, Jezra gave a faint smile. "Tea actually sounds nice right about now." They paused, then added, "I already have much of the information already compiled, and I spoke to the captain an hour ago with the initial report. She wants to know all the options as much as I do before taking action."
As he rose and stepped over to the replicator, Keel shrugged, 'the options aren't that many - better to rip the band aid off quickly if you need to disclose the information.' He programmed a selection of teas, a tea pot full of fresh boiled water and a pair of tea cups. Picking up the tray he brought it back to the table and placed it there. 'You've been thorough in walking through the various scenarios.'
With a nod of appreciation, Jezra looked over the tea selections before deciding on something herbal. "I want to protect my patients, but I know that I can only do so much," they admitted. "And since my patient isn't able to self-advocate right now, I'm that much more anxious about the situation."
'It's not a pleasant situation at all,' Keel replied, selecting his own tea-bag, an Akkad-Four blend from Thelassa. An ingenious splicing of Earth and Vulcan tea leaves, it had a caffeine kick almost as strong as raktajino, and the sweet mellow taste of ripe peaches. He poured water into both their cups, allowing the bags to steep. 'I'm sure when you've gotten to the other side of this, you'll be able to look back and understand you chose the right course.'
Jezra sighed. "I sure hope so."
Lieutenant Ryan Keel
Chief of Diplomatic Intelligence
USS Astrea
Lieutenant J.G. Jezra Siv
Chief Medical Officer
USS Astrea
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