Star Trek: Season 5 - Boldly

[iceman]

Dr. Peterson woke from an unsettled rest, still suffering from severe headaches and his shirt soaked with perspiration, He called for Dr. Drett to get an update of the current sickbay situation, He didn't dare move from his chair, as waves of nausea and dizziness fought for controll, he feared if he got up he would fall flat on his face, so he stayed seated.

He scanned his computer terminal and noted the death toll was rising and the overflow patients were spilling out into the cargo bays and shuttle bays,

He felt helpless, but knew if he left his office he would probably end up in a bio bed himself and wanted to remain helpful for as long as possible and felt that at least in his office he was out of the way, but was still available for advise if needed.

He closed his eyes and waited for Dr. Drett to come and update him

[Jen]

Inhaling and exhaling was a reflexive function of the human body. To a healthy individual the process of drawing oxygen into lungs is effortless. Yet to Natalie, the endeavor had recently become painfully difficult.

Breathing wasn't the only thing she found challenging; the simple act of dressing herself left the yeoman exhausted. The tall brunette stood before her mirror and gazed at the ashen, gaunt face reflected back at her. Her labored, raspy breaths made her head spin and the young woman's quarters whirled about her, leaving her disoriented. She reached for the table to slow the rotation but missed and fell to the floor, taking the items kept on the table with her. A holophoto of her fiancé landed before her blurry eyes. The sickening turning gradually slowed, but darkness began to envelope her. John's smiling face was the last thing she saw before a tunnel appeared before her. Silhouetted against a wash of warm light was the outline of a man. He held out his hand. As she neared him, she realized it was John. But, how could he be here? "John!? They told me you were lost in the battle  of Chin'toka in the Dominion War!" He smiled and took her hand in his. It felt nice. Her heart skipped in her chest as he kissed her cheek. It was then Natalie noticed that she could breath again... 

"All non-essential crew are confined to quarters? Obviously there is something interesting going on, otherwise I would be washing the dishes that Brex refuses to put in the replicator." J'Dan Marley wouldn't be working in Five Forward any time soon—the lounge had been closed indefinitely. But why? He should be enjoying his day off, but J'Dan couldn't just sit alone in his cabin wondering what was going on.  He approached the door of his quarters, as if to leave, but stopped just before the sensor could detect his presence. "I could get in a lot of trouble for disobeying the captain." He ran a hand through his dark hair, "But I have to find out what is going on!" J'Dan strode with determination out the door and into the corridor. On his way out, he narrowly avoided two medical personnel who were rushing down passageway with an unconscious crewman carried between them.  J'Dan tripped as he continued backwards down the corridor. Hitting the floor, he rolled over on his side to investigate what it was he had stumbled over. His wide eyes found another crewman laying in a heap on the floor. J'Dan shifted into a crouch and looked back towards the medical personnel who were almost to the turbolift. "HEY! This man is hurt!" Shouted the Bajoran as he attempted to help the unconscious man. The insensible ensign's head rolled lifelessly on his shoulders as J'Dan tried in vain to lift him. He lowered him gently back to the floor and shouted again as the doors of the turbolift closed—the medical team was gone. First aid training was a requirement of all food and beverage staff. Ja'Dan checked the man for a pulse and found none. He stood slowly and looked about the corridor. In his section alone, there were at least ten people laying about the hallway. Afraid, J'Dan bolted to the turbolift. "I have to find Brex!"

Ensign Tev-Awash looked up from the Auxiliary Science console as Lieutenant Zremm approached her from his post on the bridge. The Assistant Chief Science Officer wore a concerned look and his antae were folded back against his head.

"Are you continuing to scan for bio signs?"

"Yes sir. I've been able to mark which quarters are inhabited by living crewmen, and which are occupied with the deceased. The medical staff is being deployed to the cabins where bio signs are weakest."

She shifted her weigh uncomfortably as she announced the next factor, "the death toll is rising despite the efforts of the medical staff. What are we going to do sir?"

[KingIsaacLinksr]

Joint Post between Kinglinksr and Moyer777


Ensign Starstriker and Counselor Margon continued to check the crew quarters.  Isaac was feeling a bit more upbeat but something was nagging at him.  He was certain he wasn't whole and healthy.

Margon looked at the Ensign.  "You ok Ensign? You seemed troubled."

They were done checking the crew quarters now, and the sensors were helping the medical teams.

Starstriker paused and then said, "Counselor, there is something I must do.  I'm concerned about my Sugar Gliders."

"I understand Isaac, my stomach churns a tad bit when I think of Mr. Mouse being in distress" said Margon.  "You go check on them, I'll meet you at Sickbay.

"Agreed, and thanks for understanding Counselor" replied Isaac.  "I'll check on them, but this mysterious virus that the medic has mentioned, I don't know why, but if this virus is bad, then...I must find out what it is doing. It is concerning to me".

Margon nodded saying "Yes, it doesn't sound good, lets find out together. I'll meet you in sickbay"

Isaac nodded and headed in the direction of his quarters.  He arrived and the doors were now working.  The two Sugar Gliders seem disturbed and immediately jumped to Isaac's neck when he arrived.  "Wow, you guys missed me."  They curled up onto his shoulder like a furry scarf.  He reached out with his mind and soothed them.

Yet, as he did so, there was something wrong.  He could feel something was wrong.  'I must get to sickbay.  Only there can I hope to find out what this virus is.'

Isaac put the Sugar Gliders back onto their tree and stepped out and headed to sickbay.

The Counselor made his way towards sickbay.  Along the way emotions were running high, and it seemed as though no one really knew what was going on.  He didn't have to be a telepath to recognize fear in people's eyes.  The turbolift hummed as it came to stop on sickbay's floor.  The door opened and the counselor stepped out into what seemed to be chaos.  People were everywhere and it didn't sound good.

[Geekyfanboy]

Quinn left sickbay and headed down the hall. He entered a turbolift and announced "Bridge". It took a second but the turbolift began to move. Emotions were high and Quinn was finding it hard to keep the voices quiet. He was worried that they wouldn't find a cure in time or at least be able to stop this virus from spreading. Suddenly and without warning everything went quiet... No more voices. Quinn listened expecting the voices to come back, but seconds passed and still nothing. Quinn began to shake as fear engulfed him. Was this it was this when Nathan Quinn would stop being a telepath. All his life the voices were there. They were as much a part of him as his arms or legs. Now there was silence. Quinn took several deep breaths to steady himself. He was the Captain, he had to remain calm and strong for his crew... they needed him now. He could mourn the loss of his telepathy at a later date.

Just then the turbolift doors opened. As he entered the bridge he noticed there was a skeleton crew. Ensign Tev-Awash, Lieutenant Zremm, Ensign Dagget and Lieutenant Tucker were the only crewmembers there. Quinn gave each person a slight smile as he approached Lieutenant Tucker who looked exhausted. "Report" Quinn, said as he sat down in his chair.

Lieutenant Tucker swayed slightly " Ensign Tev-Awash and Lieutenant Zremm have been monitoring life signs and coordinating medical staff to the more urgent cases. Ship is running on minimal resources.  We will reach Vulcan in six hours at our current speed and if everything remains operational.... Sir" Quinn gave Tucker a slight nod." Lieutenant please go rest in my ready room. I'll take the bridge " Lt. Tucker smiled slightly and headed towards the Captain's ready room.

Quinn turned to Ensign Dagget "If possible increase warp speed to 7.8" Ensign Dagget ran his fingers over his panel "Aye sir.. warp 7.8".

The ship gave a slight jolt as the speed increased.

Quinn wasn't sure what he was going to do once they got to Vulcan. The ship was on lock down, no one on or off. These weren't Starfleet orders but his own. Until they knew what they were dealing with this is how it had to be.. but for how long??

[X]

Joint post by Jenn and Just X

Aria sighed softly as she heard Dr. Peterson wake and request reports. Had he no clue of the dangers? Each time he took away one of the medical personnel working on the problem, he put more people at risk. There was no telling when the virus would start taking its toll on the remaining healthy crewmembers and his need to be involved at the risk of the patients was bordering on incompetence. Her entire family was in danger of dying on this ship and his actions were not helping at all. She wasn't Starfleet, not in this life. If there was no one else to say something, she would.

"Doctor Peterson, I believe you need a blunt assessment of the situation," Aria said as she approached the ill man and began speaking in a calm rational voice. "I don't know if this is your normal method of running this department or if it is ineffectiveness brought on by the affects of this virus, but you are putting people at risk every time you take one of the already over worked medical staff from their assignments to brief you."

She could have used her suppressors to hide her aversion, but she had listened to as much as she could. "Perhaps it would be best that you ask the captain to issue a Code 7-10 as your last act as CMO before promoting someone else to acting CMO and relieving yourself from active duty temporarily. Your constant need for updates are hampering the staff. Follow your oath as a doctor and let them work without interruption. You must understand the seriousness of this crisis... this exchange will cost lives because it takes us away from our work. If you want to stay informed, read the logs and if you want to help, stay out of the way."

Ryla didn't quite make it to Peterson before Aria made her frustrations known to him. Doctor Dret inserted herself between them and called the girl down from her tirade. "Miss James, please... return to your work." While she agreed with part of Aria's lecture, she couldn't support her method of delivery. Ryla gave her a scornful look as the girl nodded, leaving the doctors alone together.

"I'm sorry sir. She's stressed out and exhausted—we all are." She handed him another glass of water and he drank it down thirstily. Ryla took a gentler tone with the CMO, a current of concern filling her voice, "Casey, we can't afford to make a mistake and you are endangering yourself by remaining on duty. Please... get into bed. I may not be an infectious disease specialist, but I am competent. Please trust me." She took a breath when he didn't answer her, and looked back at the infirmary, "the death rate is increasing. Aria has discovered a possible inhibitor, it's not a cure and so far, it is only effective on those with Vulcan, El Aurian and Nacenes heritage. We will have to administer it every 36 hours to slow the progression of the disease."

Ryla went to the replicator and ordered a vegan dish and walked to where Aria worked.  She set the plate before the girl and asked, "how long has it been since you've had something to eat?"

"I had something a little less than seventeen hours ago, but thank you." Aria said as she worked to adjust the molecular profile of the protein. With her mind connected to the workstation, she attempted to use the protein sequence as a basis to create a synthetic molecule that would serve as a basis for an improved inhibitor. She continued her work as she snacked on the food and spoke between mouthfuls. "I can go several days without eating due to my heritage and the addition of nanites optimizes that efficiency. If I need to work days to help here, I have no problems with that. I also apologize if I was out of line with the doctor, but there are too many people that require more attention than the CMO."

Ryla considered the girl's serious expression. To the trill, Aria looked no more than seventeen or eighteen years old, but she sounded like a middle aged woman. The doctor bit her bottom lip and then replied, "while I appreciate your point, I have to say your approach was a bit rough. There is more to being a doctor than simply spouting facts—there's an art to how you deliver them. By your appearance, I would venture to guess that you are at least part vulcan. If you can't display emotion, try to be a bit more empathetic... more... considerate." She smiled at the girl before adding, "by the way, I agree with you. And I appreciate the efforts you've made here. How is your inhibitor progressing? Have you tested it?"

With the basic inhibitor known, she transmitted the protein profile to the Aurora that would in turn update her father's nanites with the ability to create it. She wasn't ready to have him released from the stasis pod, but if she did, she could monitor his progression and determine at exactly what level the protein would need to be administered to gain the best effect. "I think that we should remove my father from stasis and see how well he fairs with the new treatment. If we keep him in his comatose state, we don't need to worry about his abilities disrupting ship systems. I think that we can monitor him to see exactly what dosages we will need to treat the others on the ship."

Aria knew both the risks and the dangers of what she proposed, but she and her father were always there to take the risks that would be needed to save the many. His getting better would be beneficial but even his getting worse would provide important data that could aid in future treatments. If his condition deteriorated into a critical situation, she could return him to cryo.

"Let's hope it works. Keep me apprised," said Doctor Dret as she turned to help a new patient.
 

[iceman]

Dr. Peterson was taken back by Aria's roughness but even in his feverish state he knew she was right, He quietly motioned for Dr. Drett to come to his Office and had a quiet conversation with her.

He stated that he was proud of her and was placing her temporarily in command of the sickbay and just requested, that once a cure was found he be given the first dose so that he could help cure the  rest of the crew.

Dr. Drett looked at Dr. Peterson with great concern as she ran the medical scanner over him she could see that his condition was worsening. She yelled for an orderly to bring an antigrav unit and helped Dr. Peterson on too it. He was just to week to fight and shortly after being put on it he lapsed into unconsciousness.

She watched helplessly as he was pushed away to an awaiting bio bed and hoped that he could hold on long enough to be given an antidote.She was more determined then ever now to find a cure as she looked upon Dr. Peterson as a father figure who she greatly respected and was determined not to lose him to this bug.

Dr. Dretts thoughts wondered only for a few seconds before she left the CMO's office and began to organize the next group of crew to enter the sick bay.

[wraith1701]

After leaving the CMO's office, Dr. Dret stepped over to Lt. Manrique's bio bed.  As she studied the readout, her normally vibrant features darkened with concern.  Dret glanced at K'Tan, who stood watch over the wheezing Lieutenant, then quickly diverted her attention back to her patient. As she looked down on Manrique, her frown was pushed aside by a smile that struck K'Tan as looking somehow forced.  The Doctor gave Manrique's shoulder a reassuring squeeze.  "It will be a while before we can tell you anything conclusive, Lieutenant," she said.  Dret deftly hit a series of icons glowing on the right side of the readout display.  "I'm administering a mild sedative to help make you more comfortable.  Please try to relax; I'll get back to you when I have more to report."

Manrique stiffled a dry, rasping cough.  "I had a feeling you would say something like that, Doctor."  The Lieutenant looked up, as though addressing the ceiling, and said, "Computer."  After the computer gave a familiar chirp of acknowledgement, Manrique continued.  "This is Chief Security Officer Johnny Manrique; supplemental log entry.  Until further notice, I'm authorizing Lieutenant K'Tan here to serve as a temporary head of security and intermediary between Security and the other Department Heads.  End of entry."

"Acknowledged," the disembodied voice of the computer replied.

  Manrique turned to look up at the Trill Doctor.  "Fill him in on what you need, he'll see to it that any concerns you have are addressed."

Within moments, the sedative began to take effect; Manrique's features relaxed, and his eyes began to close.  As the Security Chief slipped into unconsciousness, the Doctor pulled K'Tan aside.   

"Things are looking pretty bad," she said.  "We're more or less in a state of unofficial yellow alert; we have teams sweeping the ship to determine exactly how many people are infected, and all passengers and off-duty crew and have been confined to quarters."

"Good thinking, Doctor," K'Tan replied.  But considering the nature of the crisis we're facing, I think we need to make it official."

  K'Tan paused for a moment, the magnitude of what he was about to do weighing heavily on him.  He was determined not to overstep his bounds, but he felt that it was essential to the safety of the crew that all possible steps be taken not only to contain the spread of the virus, but to minimize any threats that might arise from further system malfunctions.  And as more or less the acting head of security, it could be argued that he was now authorized to take the action he was contemplating...

"Computer.  This is Lieutenant K'Tan, acting on behalf of Security Chief Manrique.  Invoke Yellow Alert status.   Inform all on-duty personnel to be prepare for possible emergency action.  Cross-reference off-duty crew roster with Doctor Dret's list of non-infected crew members, and inform those crew members to prepare for possible duty on five minutes' notice.  Commence ongoing level four diagnostic on all primary and tactical systems, and inform the Chief engineer of any systems not operating at optimal levels."

As a nearby medical LCARS display suddenly flashed the 'yellow alert' icon and associated instructions, the computer answered, "Acknowledged."  K'Tan knew that the same message and instructions would be now flashing on every panel display on the ship, and he was silently grateful that they wouldn't be accompanied by the alarm klaxon  that would blare if the ship went to red alert.

K'Tan tapped his combadge, activating it with a soft chirp.  "K'Tan to ensign Dunn." 

"Dunn here," came the ensign's reply.

"Ensign; per Lt. Manrique's orders, I'm taking charge of deploying the Security department's resources to assist the Medical staff in curtailing the spread of the virus.  Please organize teams of five to patrol each deck of the Tiberius.  They are to enforce the quarantine recently enacted by the Medical Department.  No unauthorized personnel are to leave their quarters.  Any incapacitated crew members are to be brought directly to sickbay."

"Yes, Sir," Dunn replied.

Dr. Dret stared at K'Tan, and with a half-smile, slowly shook her head.  "I hope you know what you're doing, Lieutenant."

K'Tan chose to ignore the comment, instead asking, "What do we know about the virus so far, Doctor?"

"Not as much as we'd like,"  Dret replied with a frown.  She quickly brought the Lieutenant up to speed on Aria Jame's attempts to slow the spread of the illness, concluding with a statement that caused the hairs on K'Tan's arms to stand on end.  "...It appears to me is that our crisis is engineered.  This virus is unlike anything I have ever come across; it's as though it were a weapon designed to cause as much damage as possible."

A virus being used as a weapon, K'Tan thought to himself.  Then the Tiberius is effectively under attack.  A grim, predatory smile slowly grew on K'Tan's face.  The situation was dire, but he finally felt as though he were on familiar ground.  The ship and it's crew were in the midst of battle, and despite the unconventional nature of this fight, combat was K'Tan's element.  Now it was just a matter of locating whoever had launched this attack, and bringing the battle to them...

[Jen]

Joint post between Just X, Jen and Startrekfanatic5

Sevryll watched as the Captain made his own rounds in sickbay, encouraging the staff and offering words of comfort to the conscious patients. After an hour, he left the infirmary and headed to the bridge. The first officer had been helping to administer pain relievers and sedatives to the same patients, but as she continued to work the trembling in her hands became a hindrance. Unable to measure the proper amount of drugs, she left the task to the nurses.

The slight vulcan glanced about Sickbay, looking for Sareth and Krell. She had not seen her parents since she entered the medical ward. Commander Sevryll caught Aria before she left the infirmary, "have you seen my parents?"

The clone's impassive expression transitioned to one of confusion, and then understanding.  The commander had forgotten that she already spoke with Aria, and learned that that her mother had been incapacitated.  Aria had Commander Sevryll's parents moved to the Aurora—both were in cryostasis. The girl patiently explained once more and reminded the commander that they had already had the conversation.

Sevryll's upswept eyebrows dipped, forming a concerned frown. "We have?"

"Your symptoms are becoming worse," Aria said delicately. "I believe that the virus is now affecting your short term memories. If this continues, you should consider relieving yourself from duty. I can adminster the inhibitor to you, but it still hasn't been tested."

The sudden awareness of her worsening condition fell upon the Sevryll like ice water, "perhaps I should accept the drug..." she let her eyes travel away from the girl as she sought the appropriate course of action, "I will speak to the captain immediately. If he feels I should be relieved, I want you to place me in cryostasis with the children."

"I will do what is necessary to keep you safe. You have my word on that. If that means cryo or the protein, then I will make that decision when the time requires it," Aria said softly. "The twins are not going to lose their mother to this."

A faint and somber smile touched the commander's lips and she nodded in thanks. As she walked with the girl to the turbolift, Sevryll took the opportunity to speak to Aria about their past dealings, "I regret the way I treated you when we first met. If I was in fact your mother, I would be proud of your poise, determination, and integrity. I am sorry that I am not. I wanted you to know that."

"Inifinite diversity in infinite combinations," Aria said as they exited on the flight deck. "You are and are not my mother... and I believe that we can have that relationship if you wish. You did not give birth to me in this timeline, but we share blood... and that is a start."

Sevryll inclined her head slightly. Before the door closed she replied, "That would be agreeable."

The lift carried the first officer swiftly to the bridge. When she exited she found the captain gazing intensely at the stars that stretch before him. He turned towards her as she stepped on the deck. The vulcan advanced to the center of the bridge and watched the stars with him a moment before speaking. "Captain, my symptoms are becoming worse. My memory is waning and my motor skills are all but gone... I require your honest assessment and if you deem me unfit, I will willingly relieve myself of duty."

Quinn turned to his first officer and gave her a faint smile and looked into her eyes. He could see that there was no more fight in her, she was done. "Commander Sevryll... I hear by relieve you of your duties. You have done a fine job and we can ask for no more of you. Please confine yourself to the Aurora, so you can be with your children."

Sevryll's heart felt as though it had fallen to her stomach, but she trusted Nathan and knew that she was now a hinderance to the crew's efforts. The proper words failed to find her lips and she inclined her head in understanding and slowly turned to leave the bridge.

She entered the turbolift and turned to face Nathan. Unable to watch her go, his eyes were once again on the viewscreen. The door swept closed with a hiss, and the lift began its ascent. She closed her eyes in defeat and uttered softly, "Commander Sevryll to Aria James."

"This is Aria."

"Permission to board the Aurora."

[moyer777]

Margon made his way through the bodies of crewmembers propped up against the corridor walls.  He tried to smile just to ease some of the fear he saw on their faces but what alarmed him the most was the officers.  For the most part this crew had always maintained a professional and confident demeanor, but at this time there was almost panic in some of their eyes. 

All of the sudden the counselor's eyes widened and a flash of light seemed to come from all around.  For an instance, just and instance he saw someone lying on the ground.  She was beautiful.  The vision came with a great amount of pain and shook him out of it almost instantly!  He stumbled and then tried to catch himself. 

The world became fuzzy and his mind swirled as he hit the floor landing on a crew member. 

"Oh, pardon me, I'm sorry, I must have tripped" the counselor apologized.  The crew member didn't move.

He shook his head and carefully got up bracing himself with one hand and lifting up on the wall with the other. 

One of the med techs saw him out of the corner of their eye and ran over to him. 

"Counselor, are you OK?" the tech said pointing his medical tricorder toward the counselor.

"I, um, think so, thank you" 

Like a punch in the side of the head, it happened again, the lights flashed, but this time it lasted longer.  Two Bolian women were on the ground.  He saw himself standing over them as rain began to fall on their lifeless bodies.  Feelings of hopelessness and fear overwhelmed him.  The wind was blowing strong.  An aching deep in his heart echoed through his soul.  He remembered this place.  Where was he?  Leaves started hitting him in the face and swirled all around him.  More rain on the blouses of the motionless women.  He held out his hands to feel the water falling from the sky.  Nothing.

It wasn't rain drops, it was tears. His tears. It all started flooding back to him.  He was back where it had happened. 

Margon had a procedure to block this memory.  It was all to unpleasant.  His children had begged him not to take the procedure, especially Brex.  But he couldn't keep replaying it in his mind.  They promised him it would work, that he would NEVER remember it again.  Something was wrong.  And then, in a flash of light he was back at the horrid place.  It was the moment he found his wives.  The moment he lost them.  The virus had apparently unblocked this procedure and the counselor was remembering.  Dread filled his heart and the pain was excruciating. 

His eyes opened and he all he saw was the feet of people scurrying to and fro.  The tech looked troubled and was frowning, he was scanning him.  It was all blurry.  The tech reached down and touched his bald head.  "It's OK Counselor, I'm hear. You're safe" He was trying to calm Margon down.

The counselor could hear screaming, "Ya et aun fe, Ya et aun fe!" the words in Bolian for "No it can't be"   "What can't be?".... he was still foggy.  It was him, he was screaming.  It was his own voice.

"You have a fever counselor"  I need to get you on to one of the cots.

"I, uh, I ... what's happening to...  "  The counselor passed out.

[Jen]

Frep had been trapped for five hours. Just when the arch would appear, and he thought he could leave the holodeck, a school of sharks would begin circling him again. Despite his verbal commands the program continued to run, and by the pain he felt in his hand the injury Fail-safes were no longer in place. 

"I love wildlife, but this was ridiculous!"  Echoed the Denoblian's voice inside his scuba helmet. Twice now a single animal had parted from the school of Whitetip sharks to investigate him. He had flattened himself on the coral reef in an attempt to avoid their fierce jaws— so far it had worked. He shivered to think of what a holoshark could do to him. He didn't want to picture the mess that would be left behind for the crew to clean up. Not only did he have to contend with the humanoid-eating fish, but his oxygen was steadily being depleted. The transporter chief came to the conclusion that he would have to risk becoming shark bait in order to escape the holodeck. When the arch appeared again, he decided he would swim as fast as he could towards the door and hope that it opened.

Becka was afraid of the dark. Every time the lights went out, she ran to her father's side to wait for them to return. The little girl worried that soon they would go out and never come back on again. She held tight to the stuffed animal her daddy bought for her on shore leave. It was a plush, funny looking shark with soft teeth.  She picked it out in the gift shop at the zoo. Her father had been surprised that she chose it over the much cuter baby bear, but Becka had insisted—she had always been fond of fish. Becka had wanted to stay at the zoo, but her daddy had to return to duty. Today, Jerome was home from work, and his daughter was happy that he was waiting with her in the dark. She crawled up into his bed and pulled the covers over him, to keep him warm. The little girl rested her blond head on his chest. He coughed a little as she pulled his arm over her and patted his hand.

J'Dan ran from the security officers who called for him to return to his quarters. They shouted for him to stop, but they were too busy to actually chase him down. He turned the corner and darted up the corridor towards Brex's quarters. The chime failed to sound, so he stepped toward the door to enter—the sensors failed to detect him so he knocked and announced his presence. "Boss! It's me, J'Dan." The Bajoran waited for a reply.

"Help me with the door! It's stuck." Yelled  Brex. Happy to hear his friend's voice, J'Dan smiled and pushed and pulled the door open.

[X]

Aria smiled slightly as she stood over the unconscious form of her father. She had uploaded the new subroutines that allowed his nanites to manufacture the protein and control the virus and they were finally beginning to show an affect.

"Medical Log." Aria said as she reviewed her PADD. "Protein is now in it's second hour of replication in Lieutenant James. Viral load is showing a significant reduction, but this treatment is far from a cure. Production of the protein remains the critical issue with this treatment and without it, I project a mortality rate between 50 and 70 percent. Production and use of the protein is not a cure, but it will prevent the virus from becoming a death sentence."

Aria's slender fingers danced over the PADD as she continued to monitor her father. "At the current rate of dispersal, Lieutenant James should enter into a status of recovery within the next five to seven hours. If correct dosage is discovered, these results can be applied to other infected for a similar turn around period, but in the time it takes for the protein to become effective, those with advanced levels will more than likely succumb to the virus."

"Cryogenics is not an option in advanced cases because the host will still be infected at prior levels and it will still take the same amount of time to saturate the host with the protein inhibitor. It is my recommendation that only early stage victims be permitted to make use of the cryogenics systems while effective levels of the protein are manufactured. As CMO of the Aurora, I am placing her is quarantine mode and limiting any non essential personnel from entering the ship. I also don't know how long we have until the Primary medical center aboard the Tiberius becomes so busy as to no longer allow us to work efficiently. To that end, I have been replicating and transferring the equipment we need to find a cure and produce the protein in the Aurora's sickbay. Hopefully, we won't need this contingency, but it is better that we are prepared for the worse. End Log"

[moyer777]

Joint post from Moyer777, Jen, Kinglinksr, and Four Lights

Margon lay on the gurney as his head swung to and fro violently.  The med tech wasn't having any luck even after administrating a sedative.  "Shhhhh!" the med tech said trying to quiet the Bolian, "You're ok Counselor, you're ok." 

He started yelling again, this time at the top of his lungs..."Ya et aun fe! Korista aintro repro de crendo!  Flo se fraunt!"

Dr. Dret was distracted by the commotion and rushed to see the problem first hand.

"What do we have!?" she asked the medtech as she stepped to his side.

"I can't make out what he is saying, the universal translator is offline and I'm nowhere close to a linguist," the tech said in frustration. "Do you know anyone that speaks Bolian?"

Ryla motioned for the medtechs to place the counselor on a biobed that was recently cleared of yet another deceased patient. "He's delirious. I'm not sure that what he's saying would make any sense, even if we could understand Bolian."

"Counselor, are you in pain?" she asked as the men lifted him off the gurney and onto the bed.

Margon's voice filled sickbay as his rambling became louder. His eyes locked on Ryla's as he gripped her arm in a desperate attempt to communicate. The medtechs moved to restrain the feverish Bolian, but Doctor Dret waved them off. With her free hand she gently removed his grip from her arm and held his hand. "I know you're scared counselor." She gave him a weak smile as she administered a pain reliever. "This will help  a little." the hypo hissed and he laid back as he continued muttering incoherently. While Ryla moved her tricorder over his twitching body, the doors to sickbay opened and two men stepped onto the floor if the infirmary.

Brex scanned the crowded medical bay before rushing to his father's bedside. "Dad! The computer said you were in sickbay, but I thought you were just helping out. Are you alright?" His father shouted again in Bolian when he saw his son.

Brex couldn't believe his eyes. His father looked horrible and in pain.  He set his dislike for his dad aside and tried to comfort him. "It's all right dad, you're on the Tiberius. It's me Brex!"

"Ya et aun fe! Korista aintro repro de crendo!  Flo se fraunt!" repeated the counselor.

Brex looked up at the doctor "He is saying, "no it can't be! This wasn't supposed to happen. I'm so sorry! I think the procedure he endured to remove the memory of my mothers' death has returned."

Ryla ran her tricorder over the counselor and glanced at Brex, "We are fighting an epidemic on Tiberius. We're not sure how the pathogen was introduced, but we are working on an inhibitor. I have not been able to develop a cure, as each individual seems to be infected by a different strain of the virus. It affects each victim differently. In your father's case, the manipulated memory engrams have reverted to their previous state." She continued to scan as she explained, "the process your father underwent is fairly routine. It involves submolecular manipulation of neurochemical enzymes. They are often transplanted into an engram from outside, or transferred between different engrams in the subject's brain. Transferring is often more successful than implantation. It's possible the virus has targeted this area of his brain. 

Brex took a deep breath, "Doctor, they altered his memory enzymes telepathically. This is why I was opposed to him doing this.  It isn't as stable as he was led to believe, and if it ever crashes then it can never be preformed again.  The brain can't handle it.  You can remove the decaying block, but they have to put the total memory back into his head.  The only bad part is, I'm the one that has the whole memory.  If we want to save him, we're going to need a telepath.  "

It was at that moment that Isaac stepped into sickbay.  "Looking for a telepath?" the young Ensign poked his head around the corner.  "Starstriker, reporting for duty Dr."   Isaac looked concerned for Margon.  "Whatever I need to do, I am willing Dr."  he said.

"The overt destruction of memory emgrams is very dangerous. If you were to connect to his mind while he is in this state, the affects on you would be catastrophic. I cannot allow it."

"You have to doctor... he'll die if I don't help him through this. He has to have the entire memory. If you find the virus and cure everyone we could still lose him," said Brex.

Ryla considered the bartender with a weary expression and released a defeated sigh. "Alright... If I can remove the decaying neurochemical from your father first, then your telepathic friend can proceed. But it has to be preformed simultaneously, once the neurochemcial is removed, it will need to be replaced immediately. But I have to warn you, even if we repair the damage to your father's mind, he will still have the virus..." She passed her scanner over the counselor's son, "and it will most definitely be transmitted to you and Mr. Starstriker."

Brex sat down and cleared his mind.  He wasn't sure about all of this.  "What is the bottom line here, what exactly are you saying the risk is?" he said apprehensively. 

"You could both die," replied the much trill doctor.

J'dan looked at Brex.  "You sure he would want this boss?" 

"I don't know J'dan, but I have to do something. I'm the only one this will work with.  Go ahead Doctor, let's do this."

Ensign Starstriker probed Brex's mind and asked him to think of the day that his mothers died.  Where was he?  What was he wearing?  What did he see?  Starstriker saw him with his father.  "Were you with your father Brex?" 

"Yes" said Brex calmly. "I was there."  A tear began to fall down his cheek as he remembered that day.  Suddenly he felt himself inside his father's head.  The wind was blowing, and leaves were swirling around him.  He saw his mothers' on the ground.  He felt the pain that Margon felt.  He understood.  It was much worse than he had imagined.  "Dad, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize..."  He wasn't using his mouth anymore to speak. He was reaching out to Margon in his thoughts. 

Margon reached out in thought as well.  "You know I've always loved you Brex."  The wind blew harder now.  "I know you didn't agree with me on this whole memory thing, but I couldn't cope with it.  It was eating me alive, son. I just couldn't keep re-living it.  I had to take the procedure."

"Dad, your mind is rejecting the block now, I have to help y..."

The virus began to fill Brex's head at an alarming rate.  The telepathic link with the Ensign was like a wave of immense power filling the Bolian's head.  Brex bent over and shook, he fell and then went motionless.

The counselor jerked violently as Brex fell off his chair and onto the floor.   J'dan bent down and tried to wake Brex.  "Boss!  Boss!" Brex's face started turning yellow, "this isn't good doctor! Do something!"  The med tech held Margon down as he continued to shake.  "Doctor?"  said J'Dan.

Doctor Dret was quickly gathering the drugs she needed to stabilize Brex. She frowned as she knelt beside him, passed a tricorder over his body then pressed the hypospary against his neck.

Isaac turned toward the doctor,  "I don't know what to do, I wasn't finished! I don't understand..."

She glanced up at Ensign Starstirker and shook her head. I shouldn't have agreed to this. The counselor still has a deadly virus—it doesn't matter whether he has his memories or not. Now his son has is infected too!"

The counselor's eyes opened and he stared at Ryla and the med tech.  "What?  Where am I?  What is going on?"

Dret turned to him and said softly, "Counselor, the fever... it affected your memory block. Brex was attempting to help you repair the engrams." 

He turned his head to see his son on the floor. "Brex!" 

J'dan held Brex's head on his lap and looked up with horror on his face.  "I can't find a pulse doctor!" 

Ryla returned back to the young Bolian and pointed the tricorder in his direction.  She called for various drugs to bring him back, and after attempting several, she bit her lower lip she shook her head.  With an exasperated voice she said, "he's gone..."

"NO!" cried Margon,"NO!" The counselor sat up even though he felt like his head was so heavy.  The fever was still overtaking him, his memory was now restored but at what price?  The petite doctor tried to keep him calm but Margon pushed her out of the way, jumped off the biobed, and knelt down to hold his son. 

It seemed like all of sickbay went quiet.  Everyone stopped and watched the scene that had unfolded.  Sweat was pouring down Margon's face as he held Brex in his arms.  "Flo se fraunt" he whimpered, "Flo se fraunt."   

[Bryancd]

Dunn's head was spinning. He had only recently returned to his quarters following the incident in sickbay. He looked over the phaser he had used to stun the older Vulcan woman. Somehow, firing his phaser wasn't as much.....fun as he thought it would be. He took a deep breath to steady his nerves. He really liked Lt. K'Tan and was glad he had assumed the role of Security Chief while Lt. Manrique was incapacitated. Now he had to form parties to enforce the quarantine.

He looked over again at the phaser. He stood and strode towards the door and paused at the threshold. He reached back and reluctantly picked up the weapon.

[Geekyfanboy]

Quinn paced the Bridge.. reports were coming in from all over the ship. Engineering was doing everything to keep the engines running and environmental systems working that secondary systems were failing all over the ship. Replicators, doors, turbolifts, holodecks were all malfunctioning.

Ensign Dagget turned to Quinn, "Sir we have reached Vulcan" Quinn quickly turned to the view screen "On screen" Quinn took a deep breath as the reddish planet appeared on screen. 

From behind, Lt.Tucker announced "Sir we are being hailed"

"On screen" Quinn said as the picture of the reddish planet was replaced with a familiar blue faced female.

"Admiral Stanton I did not expect to see you here." Quinn said with a slight smile.

"Of course, I wanted to be here to make sure everything was taken care of." She said as her antenni moved rhythmically back and forth. She continued "We have the best scientist from all over this sector waiting to board..."

Quinn quickly spoke up. "Sir I will not allow anyone to board or leave this ship.".

Her smile faltered slightly "We will take the strictest of precautions Captain."

"With all due respect Admiral I can not take that chance. One third of my crew is dead, another third are very sick. We currently have an inhibitor that is being tested. It won't cure the virus but it will stop it from progressing. At least that is our hope." Quinn said with a slight panic in his voice.

Admiral Stanton knew Quinn for many years and knew he had the best interests of everyone at heart. "Very well Captain, send all your data down to the planet and will see what we can do from here. Stay in orbit for the time being. We will be in contact... good luck."

The screen went blank as Quinn sat back down in the Captain's chair.

[wraith1701]

After leaving sickbay, K'Tan made his way to the security office on deck four, intent on digesting the information provided by Dr. Drett.   While his lack of medical or science training rendered him useless in finding a cure for the disease, he felt confident that he could at least help with investigating the disease's origin.

K'Tan's lip curled into a scowl as he contemplated the crisis that the Tiberius and her crew were facing.  The swath of devastation that the illness was cutting through the ship was horrifying; there were still intermittent reports of random system failures, and the death toll was steadily rising.   As he left the turbolift and headed towards Manrique's office, K'Tan gave silent thanks to Kahless that he had thus far managed to evade the virus' deadly sting. 

Sensing his approach, the doors to Manrique's office shushed open to admit him. As he walked in, a small part of K'Tan felt as though he were putting on another man's clothes.  He took a seat at the desk, and tried to organize his thoughts.

Despite his Starfleet training and years of experience serving on various Federation ships, K'Tan couldn't help but think of how much easier this problem would be dealt with had the Tiberius been a Klingon ship.  Rather than risk the spread of an unknown illness, the Defense Force would simply destroy the sick ship.   This would prevent the risk of spreading the illness, and would spare the crew the dishonor of dying a lingering, pitiable death.  But the fact remained that this was a Federation vessel, and K'Tan was determined to do his part to support whatever course of action the Captain chose.  His honor demanded nothing less.

Reclining at the desk, K'Tan thought back on the energetic Trill Doctor.  He didn't envy her task.  The prospect of racing against the clock to try and find a cure for the disease, while simultaneously seeing to the needs of the growing number of patients, was daunting, to say the least.  He had to admire her fortitude.  Although her foe was invisible to the naked eye, it was no less deadly than a fully armed Warbird or a horde of ravening Hurq.  Nevertheless, she charged on, unblinking.  She has the heart of a warrior, he thought to himself.  And she is pleasant to look at as well, he added with a smile. 

K'Tan activated the gleaming black LCARS display on the desk, and was greeted by the familiar glowing pastel bars and icons springing immediately to life.  As he scrolled through the information given to him by Drett, a particular entry caught his eye.

...I have reason to suspect that the late Dr. Lucas was somehow involved in the plague afflicting the Tiberius, she had written.  His actions during the onset of the virus were very suspicious; in fact, I found him tampering with some of my samples.  If I didn't know better, I'd swear that he was trying to hinder our efforts to find a cure. 

To facilitate my investigation into a possible connection between Lucas and the Virus, the Captian has granted me access to Lucas' personal logs.  Initially, my efforts to pursue them were stymied by the fact that they were encrypted.  Fortunately, an acquaintance of Aria James by the name of Dennis managed to break the encryption.   A full record of the logs is attached to this file.

K'Tan spent the next two hours methodically reading through several of Lucas' log entrys, starting with the doctors' arrival on Tiberius.  While some entries seemed a little odd, nothing struck him as overtly sinister or threatening.  His eyes burning with fatigue, K'Tan stood up to stretch his legs.  This is getting me nowhere, he thought in frustration.  I have to try a different approach.

"Computer," he said.  After the computer's feminine voice acknowledged him, K'Tan tried to formulate a series of search parameters to make his perusal more efficient.  "Tag all log entries including the word 'virus'." 

After a short electronic warble, the computer responded "One-thousand, five hundred and eighty-six entries located." 

K'Tan sighed, and sat back down.  1,586 entries, he thought.  Well, he was a doctor.  I guess it would be more suprising if he never mentioned the word 'virus'. 

Recalling the fact that the virus seemed to initially strike primarily telepathic crew members, K'Tan initiated a new search.

"Computer. Save previous search.  Begin new search.  Tag all log entries including the word 'telepath'."

The computer responded after a half second of silence.  "nine-hundred and seventy five entries located."

"baQa'!," K'Tan swore.  He found himself suddenly overcome by an urgent need to break something.

By the time I study all of these entries, everyone on the ship may very well be dead, he thought to himself.  I think I'm going to need some help...