"Another Counsellor, Another Point Of View"
[Previous post: "Unexpected Wisdom", written by the wise, Francois Charette]
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Setting: USS ANUBIS, CMO's Office
Stardate: 60326.1425
Lea looked over David's medical and psychological files while thinking back to what Elan had said. Everything single word spoken by the Oltharian had made sense. And the way that he had voiced his opinion had only driven the point home that much stronger. The CMO now needed to come to terms with the idea that the court-martial was a *good* thing for David. Actually letting the CEO or ExO know about this change of heart would be another matter entirely.
The CMO had just started thinking about how to bring up the subject of her discussion with Elan when the Cns stepped in.
"I saw Elan walk out of Sickbay," Susan said as she entered Lea's office. "Was there something broken?"
"No," Lea softly replied. The CMO had not even bothered to look up at her friend. This made Susan suspect that the reason for the Oltharian's visit had to do with David.
"Did Elan come to offer his help and support?" Susan asked. It had not been hard for the Cns to imagine the two large engineers standing together as friends during this crisis.
"No," Lea replied in the same quiet voice as if she her thoughts had been light-years away.
Stunned by the unexpected reply Susan plopped down on the nearest chair never letting Lea out of her sight. "NO? What do you mean *no*? You can't be telling me that Elan is actually supporting the Captain's decision? How can he be in favour of a court-martial? I thought David and Elan were friends."
"According to Elan's own words they are," Lea said looking at her friend for the first time since her arrival. "And it is as a friend that Elan explained why he believes that the court-martial is a good thing."
"Some friend," Susan sighed. "Maybe I should go through my sociology notes on Oltharians again. I was sure that I read in there somewhere that they were, as a race, loyal and wise."
"They are," Lea said defending Elan and his people. "And after listening to what Elan had to say, I am starting to agree with his point of view. Maybe this court-martial *is* what David needs."
"All right now you are not making any sense," Susan said moving forward to the edge of her seat. "How can you think that a court-martial that might very well end his career be good for David?"
Lea tried as best as she could to explain to her friend what Elan had said. Imitating a passive giant had proven to be more difficult than the CMO might have believed it to be. Lea eventually explained that while possessed by the spirit or soul of Richard, David's *life* needed to be destroyed. This would in theory weaken Richard's hold on David and hopefully lead to the CEO's return to normal. After all why would Richard stick around while David was in jail? After having suffered so much why would Richard want to extend his own pain? Revenge was what drove Richard's hatred and once accomplished there would no longer be any reason for him to stay.
"So what are you suggesting?" Susan asked, still unsure as to what to make of what Elan had said to Lea. "Are you going to stop trying to find a way to help David and let Capt. Rikar drum David out of Starfleet?"
"No," Lea replied with more force than ever before. "I will continue to look for a way to help David and remove Richard's influence from him. But I will do so in a way that Richard will not see or know of. The only problem will be David who will see my pulling away from him. But it cannot be helped if we are to win this fight. That way Richard will truly believe that he has won his fight to destroy David's life. If Elan is right Richard will leave on his own after the court-martial. If that doesn't happen we will have to go to plan-B."
"Plan-B?" Susan asked, curious as to what her friend had come up with.
"I'm still working on that part of the plan," Lea said sheepishly. Susan smiled but gave no outward indication of support or disapproval for what the CMO had planned. All that Lea could do was to follow her instincts and hope that her best friend would at least understand.
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Tiffany Rose {lady_tiffany_rose@mail.com}
Ensign Lea Summers 2005 post #411
Chief Medical Officer
USS ANUBIS
