"A Mole in Medical? (Ancient Backpost)"

Posted on Tue Apr 30th, 2024 @ 3:48am by Lieutenant Commander Brennyn Scott M.D. & Commander Victor Delling MD

1,016 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Junichi Koyama

As Bree made her way into the office to speak privately with Victor, her mind was still reeling from all of the revelations from the last few moments. She was already making plans for several private chats herself. For now, however, she got the distinct impression it was she that was out of the loop.

Victor once out of the eyes of the rest of the collected officers and the door had closed behind him snarled "When I find out who leaked that information there will be hell to pay...". His voice was furious, that icy rage that promised a reckonning.

Still perplexed, Bree asked, "I don't understand what you mean?" She had replayed recent events in her mind, but wasn't sure what she was missing.

"Captain Takahashi is pregnant, remember ? There is no reason at all that anyone should know that but myself, you, and the Takahashi's. She has not made an announcement to the crew, not is she really showing...yet somehow...that officer knows enough to plead with her to not raise her baby in Starfleet?" He gestured angrily to the other room.

Bree felt silly. Of course she knew of the Captain's pregnancy because she had assisted in her last prenatal exam. Still, when she played the words spoken back in her head, Scott didn't see the pregnancy as having been "outed" so much as it read to her as a hypothetical warning for the future. So heavy was the entire conversation, Bree didn't put two and two together. "I don't know how she could have known, and I fully appreciate your anger over what appears to be a violation of confidentiality. What are you thinking of doing about it?"

Scott didn't know Victor that well, but she knew him well enough to know she wouldn't get anywhere by making herself an obstacle immediately.

"I don't have any idea yet. First, I have to get to the bottom of how that information got into the hands it got." Victor didn't think his people would share such sensitive information like that, but if they had he'd bust them back to cadet. " I shouldn't have to restrict access to medical records, but I will if it continues to be a problem. I will NOT be running an outfit where peoples medical issues get splashed around like the newsbriefs that run in the Lounge. No ma'am."

" I don't blame you," Scott sympathized. "Many people are already skittish enough to seek healthcare, whether for physical ailments or psychological. That said, I think it might be best to just ask her how she knew rather than to start interrogating the medical staff. In my opinion, locking records down should be a last resort, as we must be able to coordinate care as quickly as possible."

"I can look at who accessed the records with medical credentials easily enough, I just..." he allowed the air to exit from between his teeth in a hiss of what was clearly frustration. "I want to trust my people."

"And you think seeing who accessed the records means you don't trust them?" Bree asked.

"No. Not exactly." chewing his lip he continued in a softer voice. "It will be after I know who did that it becomes an issue. If it is one of mine....I'll bust them down to kingdom come and they'll spend a Profound amount of time in sterile supply, cleaning instruments. If its none of my people, then so much the better...except I will always remember that this one time I didn't have faith in them. "

"As I see it, you have two choices," Bree began. "Either you go to the source and ask how she knew such private information, or you assume it came from a member of staff and you check the records. The former option allows for the possibility the information was gathered in some other way than breaching the records, while the former considers one possibility. No matter which option you choose, you've accepted you have to find out, right?"

"I do have to find out.". He heaved a sigh "I will probably do both, if I'm being honest. "

That was an answer she didn't expect. "So even if she admits to it, you still think she would lie to protect a member of the medical staff?"

"I have no idea honestly. But, I need to know what really happened. If someone is accessing medical files with out clearance, I need to know why. If one of my staff is distributing other people's medical information I need to know why. The why impacts how I proceed."

*This* was an even more surprising response. "Is there a reason in your mind that could mitigate such an action?" Bree wasn't sure why he seemed more willing to focus on the staff than to go to the source.

"Mitigate it? No. A response is called for in this case. Alter what I do in response? Possibly. The why someone does something is always important."

"I don't disagree," Bree responded, "but I think you're getting ahead of yourself. Your first step is to determine where the information came from. How you do that is up to you, but am I wrong in thinking you're reluctant to go to the source?"

"No." Victor sighed softly and raked his fingers through his wavy hair "Not reluctant, I merely mistrust the source. I will ask her of course, to be thorough." He was not certain if he would ask her before or after he found the answer from the computer. It also struck him as a good idea to see if anyone was editing records that shouldn't have been accessed.

Scott nodded. "Sounds like we have a plan. In the meantime, I will provide whatever support I can to her and to the staff."

"Good. Good. I'm sure I'll share with you when I discover the answer " he looked contempletive as he tapped long fingers on the desk.

Sensing a natural conclusion to their meeting, Bree nodded. "Please do. Whatever the outcome, I'm going to have some work to do."

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