Captain Picard sighed. He looked around the faces in his Ready Room and saw they were as troubled as he was.
“So, you’re telling me that despite being on an undercover mission, Mr Data malfunctioned briefly and breached the Prime Directive?”
Riker nodded.
“Yes, Captain, the Ba’ku people now know about interstellar travel and the Federation,” he said.
Picard looked down at the planet through the window.
“What could have caused Data’s malfunction?”
Geordi La Forge said: “We’re not sure. We need to get Data back on board to investigate.”
Picard sighed again.
“Rescuing hm now would be a breach of a direct order from Admiral Dougherty. They think all we need to do is send them Data’s schematics.”
Picard stood up and walked to the window.
“Something doesn’t seem quite right about that order, and I’m not prepared to leave Mr Data on the planet. So, assemble an away team Number One and bring him back to the Enterprise…”
****
Riker couldn’t believe it. Geordi La Forge was able to see again.
“I don’t need my implants to see now, Commander,” La Forge said, looking at the gardens around him.
“It’s wonderful! But how can this happen?”
The Ba’ku council leader smiled at him.
“It’s this planet. It has certain…properties. It heals our bodies and extends our lives,” she said.
Geordi smiled: “Maybe that’s what affected Commander Data. I’d love to learn everything we can about these healing properties.”
****
Picard looked at the blinking light on his console.
He’d recorded the events of the past few days in his captain’s log., the Son’a attack on the Ba’ku, the fact the Ba’ku had decided to stay on the planet because of its healing properties and some were many hundreds of years old, the eventual reconciliation between the Son’a and Ba’ku after the insurrection.
He sighed.
“Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all live on that planet and never have to worry about our health?”
Dr Crusher smiled.
“It would, Captain, but it’s not feasible. Besides, we have an important mission to explore space.”
Picard agreed.
“We do. So, we will have to continue to rely on medical technology and medical devices.”
Dr Crusher walked over to the medical panel which was showing the vital signs of one of the crew men.
“The important thing is that as much time and effort as possible is put into making advances in this technology. Our tricorders are going to become out of date in the next few years, and we need to update them. To do that, we need medical device manufacturers who understand the Federation’s various regulations and can show they abide by them.”
Picard nodded.
“It’s vital that they don’t become overwhelmed in the face of all that legislation.”
Commander Data walked into Sick Bay.
“I am glad to be back aboard the Enterprise, Captain,” he said.
“I, too, think it is vital that medical device manufacturers are not overwhelmed. That Is why I am sending them all information about Mango.”
Picard laughed: “Sounds like an interesting planet full of fruit, Data.”
Data failed to get the joke.
“No, Captain, it is an online compliance software system that allows medical device manufacturers to keep all their information in the cloud and ensures everyone who needs it has access to it. That speeds up their work and reduces the burden on managers. Mango also gives them an important audit trail if they ever come under investigation. Take a look at it here. My friends at Penarth Management have a demonstration.”
Data punched a few symbols on the nearby console and showed it to Picard.
“Interesting, Data. What do you think Dr Crusher?”
She smiled.
“If it means we get those updated tricorders, I’m all for it!”
Find out how online compliance software like Mango benefits your medical device company. Book a free demonstration which will be delivered via Zoom. We can help you achieve the ISOs your manufacturing business needs, too. Call Penarth Management on 029 2070 3328 or email info@penarth.co.uk