SIM:Interview with Isabel Pond

((Sick bay, Level 9, DS26))

It was another big day for Kendra, perhaps not as big as it could have been if the DS26’s rumor mill turned out to be accurate. Then again that was of little consequence as either way, she was getting the first, of many, peaks behind the star fleet curtain. This peak would take the form of an interview with one of the many star fleet doctors that called Deep Space 26 home, if not just a friendly port between missions. The peak, that she was about to get, took the form of an interview inside of the starbase’s sickbay. It wasn’t as if she had never been in a sickbay before or as if this was breaking news but rather that it showed a growing acceptance of Kendra.  :::

The doctor in question wasn’t quite sure what she should make from the invitation to an interview with who appears to be the station’s leading (and only?) journalist. Isabel was quite excited about the new experience, although she would have thought that her career wasn’t really interesting for anyone.::

Eberhart: Dr. Pond, thank you very kindly for doing this interview today and for allowing me into your sickbay for the duration.

Pond: This is of course not my sickbay, mine is currently ripped apart in the drydock, I am only a guest here. But the ones who actually are in charge here have tasked me with making sure from the beginning that the patient confidentiality will not be violated.

Eberhart: I understand perfectly doctor, the privacy of those patients here will certainly be respected. Do you have any questions before we get started with the interview proper?

Pond: ::Watching the equipment askancely:: Is this live?

It seemed that no matter how many interviews Kendra did with star fleet personnel, there was no shortage of valid questions regarding to the workings of the press. This specific question could have had many answers though which depended entirely on Kendra’s desire and the situation at hand.::

Eberhart: ::Smiling hoping to put the doctor’s mind at ease:: Though this could be broadcast live, that isn’t standard procedure for an interview like this. There will be about an 18 hour delay before it is broadcasted to allow for editing as well as to be slotted into the local FNS broadcast schedule.

For some reason, this was a great relief, as she now had the possibility to request for embarrassing moments being cut out of the interview. It was possibly due to that relaxation that there weren’t any of those moments.::

Pond: Alright then, I am ready. ::smiling for the camera::

((FNS Broadcast))

--Interview with Doctor Isabell Pond by FNS reporter Kendra Eberhart--

Having set up in the currently unused overflow ICU, Kendra looked toward the camera with a smile as the light on the front of it turned from red to green silently signaling to her that she was now being recorded. Considering that the lighting in the room wasn’t quite ideal, the holo drone emitted a soft light toward both the Doctor and Kendra. Admittedly it was a little distracting but the distraction was certainly worth it for being able to be on location. Sure holoprojectors could be used in a studio to give the impression of an authentic environment, but it could never really compare to the real thing. Speaking with a warm smile on her face she introduced herself to the camera.::

Eberhart: My name is Kendra Eberhart, transmitting from Deep space 26 which is the base of operations for the Andaris Task Force. Today I am joined by one of the Taskforce’s talented doctors, Lieutenant Isabel Pond. Doctor Pond graduated star fleet Academy late in 2392 and has since served as a doctor aboard a couple different starships. ::Now she turned her gaze away from the camera to the Trill female opposite her.:: Thank you very much for joining me Doctor and for allow us into your medical facilities.

Pond: Thank you for being here, but it’s… ::Isabel wanted once again point out that these are not her facilities, but decided against it, as nobody wanted to hear that, neither once or twice as in the case of the interviewer. Instead, she said nothing more and probably left Eberhart hanging.::

Eberhart: Now as I understand it Doctor, in the few short years that you have been out of the Academy you have served on a couple different ships and now this starbase. ::She said warmly in build up to the real question.:: I have heard that you have been part of some unorthodox missions, one of which was even a first contact situation, so what would you say would be the strangest place or situation where you had to treat a patient?

Pond: There were a number of special cases, one should expect that in Starfleet. I wouldn’t say strange though, just difficult. I worked once worked, undercover if you want so, as a midwife on a planet that only just reached industrialization. That was probably the most curious, but not the most precarious experience.

Eberhart: And of course you aren’t sent into such situations unprepared. Everyone I meet says that Starfleet trains their people to the highest standards. But that doesn’t begin to describe what it takes to become a doctor, what advice might you give someone thinking of following a similar career path? I mean, it isn’t the quickest path to take nor should it be but that must have made it hard at times.

Isabel was a little confused, as she had expected another question from the beginning. She was therefore not really prepared for that turn to something else in the end. Being pretty proud about the answer she had already come up with, she tried to answer everything at the same time.::

Pond: Of course they try to prepare you for everything at the Academy, but in an environment that various as the galaxy itself, it simply is not possible. I always loved the zero-g surgery trainings, but that is something I never had to do again after graduation. It was always clear that there will be a discrepancy between what we do at the med school and what our job will be. That makes it indeed difficult to see the sense behind some exercises at some times. My advice would be to just take as many courses as you can from whatever faculty you’re interested in to keep the many years diversified and always remember that it will be more than worth it after you have treated your first patient.

The Trill looked at Eberhart cautiously, just a little afraid that she could have gone on for too long.::

Though her Trill interviewee was looking cautiously at her, Kendra had to admit that the answer given was certainly a good one even if it hadn’t been exactly what she had been expecting. What Kendra wanted to do though was move away from the platitudes often given by starfleet and other officials in order show the reality of being in starfleet. Doctor Pond’s answers went a way toward that but perhaps there were a few other lines of questioning to reveal what made this doctor tick. It wasn’t as if she was deliberately trying to trip this doctor up but rather pushing her to give the best interview possible. ::

Eberhart: That is valuable advice Doctor. I suppose that it is fair to say that that same advice, that spirit if you will, has led to some incredible advances to medical science over the ages throughout the galaxy. ::She paused for a moment.:: What might you say are some of the medical advancements most influential to you? And most importantly, is there any up and coming research that you think will have a similar impact?

Pond: There are so many important developments, it is very hard to choose. I think it is very astonishing how different worlds found different solutions to the same problems, like antimicrobial resistance. On Trill, we have very early begun to counter the problem with bacteriophages, which was probably one of the most important solutions to a galaxy wide problem, not that we would have known about that by then.

Before getting too much into details, like how other worlds have solved the problem in equally interesting and impressive ways, Isabel had to pause and think about the second part of the questions.::

Pond: I am not a specialized surgeon, but if you want to be a physician on a Starship, you have to be that as well. So, I am very much looking forward to a new technology that is generally called PPHR surgery. They might find a better acronym later, but it means pre-patient-holo-robotic. It basically means that you take a scan of the patient, make an image and then operate on the image, while every move is recorded. Like this, you can rewind if a cut does not go so well and if everything is done, some robotic arms will perform exactly the same on the real patient. It will relieve a lot of stress and pressure from the physicians and will also improve patient safety and allow us to operate faster.

Eberhart: I look forward to seeing if those predictions hold true. Lastly, do you have a particular hobby or pastime that helps you deal with stress that accompanies your particular profession?

Pond: During Academy and internships, I was over the years part of many semi-professional dance ensembles. But it is quite difficult to make it to the rehearsals if you’re cruising through space. Here, I go to fake theaters in the holodecks, read and of course there’s my boyfriend who’s always there for me if things get rough.

Eberhart: Thank you doctor, that is very enlightening, thank you for sharing. Well we have taken plenty of time out of your busy schedule, I am sure that you have patients to attend to.

Pond: A physician’s always busy, I guess. We just make time for the important things.

Eberhart: ::Once more Kendra looked directly at the camera.:: And lastly I would like to thank our FNS viewers who have taken an interest in this story and others coming out of Deep Space 26. Thank you for watching, Report Kendra Eberhart, out.

((FNS Broadcast Ended.))

The recording lights on the equipment went off. Isabel thought she would now relax a bit, but she wasn’t, as she had been pretty comfortable before. That surely was a sign that Eberhart was an experienced interviewer.::

Pond: That was fun, we should do it again… ::jokingly, as she was sure that there is not enough interesting stuff about her to entertain the viewers twice.::

Like always Kendra breathed a sigh of relief as the camera silently went from recording to standby mode. This had been an interesting interview and while Dr. Pond did strike Kendra as being more than a little camera shy, she did have a lot of interesting information that people would love to hear. Kendra found herself hoping that she would be able to get to know this woman further to see her when she was a little less on the spot.::

Eberhart: Don’t worry about that, I have a feeling that we will. Perhaps sooner than you think. You did amazingly well so thank you again. I think that just about covers everything…..

Pond: Well, the station’s CMO wants me to relay his thanks for the interest in our work. ::in a tone that indicates that this was a mere repetition of his words:: It is always good to get recognition for our work.

Kendra paused quickly thinking how best to reply to the comment. This one like others earlier one kept pointing to others running the medical facilities, a fact which she glossed over up until now. The fact was rather academic in terms of framing an interview but it was certainly important when paying respect to someone so Kendra responded in kind.::

Eberhart: It needn’t be said that the work you and the other doctors do is important, so this is the least I can do. Please thank the CMO for the use of his facilities.

With a smile and a gesture to the holo drone, putting it into follow mode, Kendra made her way out of the ward. Like the doctor she still had much to do that day.::

JP Written By

Lt Isabel Pond

Medical Officer

USS Atlantis

D239212IP0

And

Kendra Eberhart

FNS Reporter

DS26 C238805AC0