Star Trek: Season 5 - Boldly

[Geekyfanboy]

Joint post with BryanCD and Startrekfanatic5

K'arath agreed with the Captains assessment of the situation, he would remain in Sickbay and see if anything Dr. Drett discovers about the virus can be applied to his ailing systems. He wasn't happy about this assignment as it kept him away from his true home on the ship. He had to relieve Lt. Plummer, she had been on duty even longer than K'arath at this point. He taped his comm badge.

"K'arath to Ensign Took!"

"Took here Chief" Nic said as he crawled through his 20th jefferies tube.

"Ensign!" he barked. "It would seem that I am going to be.....delayed here in sickbay for the time being, sulking about like a beaten Targ!"

"Sir?" came the confused reply.

K'ararth ignored him. "Ensign, I seem to have a sudden shortfall of officers to man Main Engineering. As much as it pains me, it would appear I have to put an inexperienced whelp in charge of me engines!" he said as a smile began to form on his lips. "Do you know anyone who may be up for the posting?"

Tooks face broke into a smile as he said, "I do know of a young Ensign who is very eager to please his Chief"

"Well then stop crawling along in those blasted tubes and get down to Main Engineering. I want you to do all you can to keep those engines going and life support running. You will be my eye's and ear's while I wait here until the good doctor finds a cure..... or I awake at the Gates of Stovokor, whichever comes first."

[X]

Aria smiled to herself as she double checked the data. The inhibitor was working in her father, but his nanites were assisting the process by assuming production of the protein. Viral levels were decreasing, but it was not a cure. It was only a treatment and one that others would need to have administered every thirty-six hours.

"Aria to medical bay," she said as she tapped her communications badge. "I have completed tests on the inhibitor and it is functioning. I will only work in living beings, so it is no help for the gel packs or the virus currently in the air. While the protein works across species, it is more effective when the protein is customized to the host. Without the customization, I estimate that the proteins will breakdown between eighteen and twenty-four hours. A fully compatible protein will easily last thirty-six to fifty-one hours. I will begin working on the production of the protein and I should have enough within the next five hours to begin triage treatments. Aria out."

[Jen]

Doctor Dret's protracted yawn triggered several simultaneous, "sympathetic" yawns from her staff as they continued their work around her. She rubbed her tired eyes and glanced down at the blue shadow, who's mirth had always been so infectious. His merriment had recently been washed away by a torrent of grief and the only thing that Counselor Margon spread now, was the deadly pathogen.

The trill had felt the ache of loss before, and could identify with the sorrow that consumed the counselor. Ryla waved the nurses and medtechs off, as they moved to subdue the devastated Bolian. After sometime, Dret was able to talk Margon back into the bed, but he was inconsolable. She had to sedate the poor man before they could remove his son's body from Sickbay.

Ryla rubbed her eyes as she read his vitals. In addition to Doctor Peterson, Dret had made Margon her resonsibility— coming by every half hour to monitor his condition. The trill pulled the blanket over his bare arms and mopped the perspiration from his brow. "I'm so sorry," she said under her breath.

The doctor noted the time and yawned again. Once more the staff mimicked her reflexive action. She noticed that several of them were sipping coffee; a former boyfriend had once introduced her to the beverage. He had often joked that one double espresso could power a warp drive... it definitely kept Ryla awake through med school. She walked over to the replicator and ordered a cup then went to her small office to take a ten-minute break. The trill lowered her exhausted body into a chair and gazed out the viewport. Aria's voice broke over the doctor's combadge, as she took her first sip of coffee. The girl had achieved some measure of success with the inhibitor—she would be synthesizing more for distribution within the next five hours. Ryla exhaled a slow, frayed, breath of relief. "Hopefully it will buy us the time we need to develop a cure," she whispered.

[KingIsaacLinksr]

Isaac was shocked by Brex's death.  'How could he have died so quickly?  What is this virus?!'.

He glanced at the Doctor who helped Margon back into his bio-bed. When she had finished, she moved to her office with a cup of coffee in hand. He after a minute, he knocked on her door. She motioned for him to enter. "What virus could have killed Brex so quickly?"

"It's nothing we have seen before. From what we can tell it has been engineered. We don't know much more than that," she said as she took a sip of espresso.

"Do you know how it was transmitted?" Isaac asked.

"We suspect that it was initially introduced telepathically. But it has since mutated into an airborne strain," replied Dr. Dret.

"Who would do such an evil thing?" inquired the distraught Ensign.

All Ryla could do was sigh and shake her head.

"Its getting worse, isn't it doctor?" asked Isaac morosely.

"Yes." replied the trill.

" It looks like I am of little use here. I'm going back to my quarters.   Thank you Doctor.....?"

"Dret," replied Ryla.

"I'm Isaac," he said then turned towards the door to leave. He gazed at Margon as he walked out of Sickbay. The counselor was sleeping, but Isaac could see that he was still in much pain.  Did I cause his son's death?  What if I am responsible?'

Isaac stepped into the corridor. Something seemed to stir within him more fiercely with each step he took towards his quarters.  'We must hurry!'

[wraith1701]

K'Tan sat at his desk, staring blankly at the data scrolling down the face of his PADD.  He had been sifting through Dr. Lucas' log entries for hours, searching for a link to the virus.  So far, it wasn't looking very promising. 

If only Lucas were still alive, he thought.  I'm sure I could 'persuade' him to tell us all he knows about this  plaQta' virus!

K'Tan realized, however, that wishing for the impossible was a textbook example of insanity.  Instead, he had to count on the possibility that Lucas had an accomplice.  If they could find that accomplice, perhaps he or she could be persuaded to assist the medical team.  K'Tan only hoped that if there was an accomplice, something in Lucas' logs would reveal his or her identity.

Frustrated by his lack of progress, the Lieutenant gathered up his PADD and headed back to sickbay.  Dr. Drett is more familiar with these records than I am, he thought.  Perhaps she will see something that I'm missing.

K'Tan found Dr. Drett in the CMO's office, nursing a cup of coffee as she gazed out of a window set above her workstation.  "I'm sorry to disturb you, Doctor; I realize that this crisis has been especially taxing for you and the medical staff.  Frankly, I'm impressed that you haven't passed out from exhaustion."

Drett gave a weary smile.  "It's been a heck of a time, but the staff is very well trained.  We won't let up until we figure this thing out."

K'Tan handed the Doctor his PADD.  "I've been searching for a connection between Dr. Lucas and the virus, and have made some progress.  Unfortunately, it's a little like trying to find a needle in a haystack; at the present rate, it looks like I'll be at this for the next few months.  I was wondering if you could offer any suggestions."

Drett took he offered PADD and scrolled through K'Tan's results.  "It looks like you are off to a good start, Lieutenant.  Scanning for references to our current situation is a logical approach."

A look of concentration came over the Doctor, and she carefully set down her cup.  "Hmm... This is interesting..."

"What is it, Doctor?" K'Tan asked.

"One moment," the Trill replied.  "Computer; access Lt. K'Tan's previous searches.  Expand parameters to include all of Dr. Lucas' communication logs."

As K'Tan looked over the Doctors shoulder at the scrolling bits of data, he felt that he could almost see a pattern forming...

"Search complete," the disembodied voice of the computer responded.  "Three thousand, eighty-five entries located."

K'Tan frowned.  "I think we are heading in the wrong direction, doctor," he said.

"Not so fast," Drett replied.  "Look at the origin tags for all of his communication traffic falling under your search parameters. "

As he scrolled down the list, K'Tan felt his jaw drop in disbelief.
Reaching over Drett's shoulder, he keyed in a command to disregard personal logs, and only display communication traffic. 

Only 26 entries remained.

K'Tan felt himself grinning.  "Incredible."

All but 2 of the messages were either to or from the same place.

The planet Vulcan.

[moyer777]

J'dan was devastated.  His friend and boss was dead.  He watched self sacrifice close up and he wasn't even sure how to feel.  He could feel the virus starting to effect him as well.  He knew he had it.  His head was starting to ache and his vision was blurred at times.

He knew that he was supposed to be in his quarters resting, but he couldn't help but think of Counselor Margon.  He must be so numb from all of this.  Then he thought of something.

"Computer" J'dan barked, "Is Counselor Margon awake yet?"

"Counselor Margon is in Sick Bay, he is awake" replied the familiar voice.

J'dan turned to the replicator  "One draft root beer, cold in a capped bottle, oh with a swig of vinegar" 

The replicator hummed and a brown frosty bottle materialized on the pad. 

"uh, make that one more" he said with a sad smile.

The replicator produced another bottle and the Bajoran held them bottles by the necks and walked out of his quarters towards sick bay.

He tried to ignore everything around him.  This was no easy task.  People running to and fro, bodies propped up against bulk heads and emergencies breaking out right and left.  He just kept walking.  He was on a mission.  He had to try and bring some comfort to a man that had lost so much.

Upon reaching sick bay J'dan approached the saddened Bolian.

"Hey, you can't be in here right now" one of the technicians yelled.

"It doesn't matter now, I'm infected too." said J'dan with a quirky look on his face.

The tech ran the tricorder over his body.  "Yes, you are infected sir. You need to check in over there and we need to see how far this has gone in you."

J'dan just looked at the young orderly- "I'll just be a few minutes" he said turning to the counselor.

"Hey Counselor" J'dan said sheepishly. "I brought you something" 

Counselor Margon was uncomfortable to say the least, the fever was still attacking his body, and when J'dan handed him the frosty cold root beer, he actually smiled.  It was brief, because just as fast as he smiled, a tear rolled out of one of his eyes. 

"Sorry J'dan, I'm a little out of it. Coming face to face with all of this is pretty overwhelming."

"Yeah, I kind of figured" he said.

"I have one more surprise for you, I thought you might like this for a few minutes"

The man tapped his com badge and said, "Computer, J'dan, Margon surprise one"

Margon cocked his head sideways.  "What?" as he sipped his root beer.

The glimmer of the transporter beam appeared in front of him as Mr. Mouse materialized on his lap.

The counselor rubbed the cat's ears and Mr. Mouse started to purr.  He held on to the animal and looked up at J'dan.

"Thank you J'dan, you are very thoughtful." 

"Is there anything else I can do for you Counselor?"

"Just sit here awhile share a root beer, and then take care of Mr. Mouse"  he smiled and even chuckled a bit.

J'dan sat down and reached over.  Mr. Mouse nudged him and then looked at Margon.

"It's ok" he said, "J'dan is a friend of Brex's"  his voice trailed off.

Both of them men looked down.  Their expressions confused.

"They've taken him you know."  said Margon.

"I know" said J'dan looking up.  "Ill be planning something after we are through with this"

"Good" replied Margon.  "He would have wanted someone like you to remember him"

"do you want to?"...

"Yes" the counselor interupted. "I have a lot to say about my son."

[X]

Joint post by Just X, Wraith 1701 and Jen.

K'Tan gripped the PADD firmly, the predatory gleam in his eye mirroring his wolfish smile.  "It looks like we have our accomplice, doctor.  Lucas had several conversations with someone in the Vulcan Science Ministry regarding something he refers to as 'The Purity Project'."

K'Tan scrolled through one of the earliest of the tagged log entries.  "Look at this.  He and his contact were discussing a number of diseases- Pa'nar syndrome, Bendii syndrome, Zanthi fever... according to the computer, all of these illnesses attack telepathic races; particularly Vulcans and natives of Betazed.  And all are either transmitted telepathically, or have side-effects which can be transmitted telepathically."

As he continued scanning the log entries, K'Tan's eager smile slowly changed into a frown of confusion.  "The only thing that doesn't fit is his frequent references to a microvirus."

The Lieutenant touched several different icons on the PADD.  "I can't find any references of telepathy being associated with microviruses," he said in puzzlement.

K'Tan glanced up, intending to ask Doctor Drett what she thought of this last revelation.  He was taken aback by her look of naked shock; the color seemed to be draining from her face.  "Is something wrong, doctor?"

"Yes," Drett replied.  "A Microvirus is a genetically engineered virus designed to kill only people with a specific DNA sequence.  No doctor in her right mind would even consider working with such an abomination; it goes against everything we physicians stand for."

Drett looked back at the PADD, her shock slowly giving way to anger.  "We're all about healing, not hurting." 

The Doctor took the PADD, and gave K'Tan a sad smile.  "I suspected Lucas was up to something, but it still stings to see my suspicions confirmed.  He betrayed us all." 

With her dark hair somewhat out of place from hours of working non-stop, Aria James entered the sickbay armed with several vials of recently produced doses of the inhibitor. She could see that the doctor was conversing with someone else,  "I am sorry to interrupt, but I'm here to personally deliver the first ten doses of the inhibitor. It was a success on my father, but production is still slow. I've allocated all of the resources of the Aurora's labs into production and we should be able to produce the inhibitor that can be distributed to the surviving crew in a few hours."

With her own body and her father's nanites also producing increased levels of the protein, they would be able to donate the additional levels via the nanite transfer system in emergencies. Aria had taken it upon herself to extract some of the additional protein levels in her body and administered it to her cryo suspended siblings. They were among the few children on the ship, and as such were entitled to be part of the first round of treatments, but she could only insure that it would happen if she used her own supplies to treat them.

There were others on Tiberius who were more important to the operation of the ship, but the twins were important to her and they were important to her mother. With Sevryll's emotions and memories out of control, Aria felt that taking care of the twins and having that to report to her mother, would make it easier for the commander to perform her duties.

Doctor Dret exchanged glances with K'Tan, this was the best news they had heard since this crisis began. "Thank you for your assistance, Lieutenant."

"My pleasure, Doctor," K'Tan replied with a smile. 

"If you will excuse me..." she said, returning his smile with a one that reflected a renewed hope.

"Of course, doctor."

As Lieutenant K'Tan turned to leave he added, "Dr. Lucas referred to his acquaintance on Vulcan as 'Sehlat'.  Something tells me that this is a pseudonym.  I intend to find out exactly who this 'Sehlat' is."

K'Tan's features hardened in determination.  "And when I do, 'Sehlat' will pay."

Whe the acting Chief Of Security entered the corridor, Doctor Dret turned her eyes back to Aria, "I want you to accompany me to the bridge. We need to spell out the inhibitor's margins to the Captain, and I'm fairly certain he will want to allocate those first ten doses himself."

Dret left her head nurse in charge and turned to leave. As Ryla and Aria exited Sickbay, the trill glanced towards Margon. She hoped his company would help take his mind off his son's passing.

[Ricardocameron]

=/\=

The Storm Clouds were gathering....


  Ensign T'Aryn Rayna managed to wrangle himself out of the Jeffries Tube and into the corridor in a semi-dignified manner.  The area was nearly empty of personnel, and he had a strange feeling about it.

"Something's TERRIBLY wrong here..What's happening to the Tiberius?" he thought.  The turbolift had stopped functioning three quarters of the way to the Main Sciences Station and laboratories, leaving T'Aryn stranded,  later than ever, and having to climb out of the lift to escape the predicament.

There were a couple of medical crewmen rushing past him in the direction of the Infirmary, and he managed to slow one down long enough to gather some information from him.

"The ship is under quarantine, Ensign, and ALL non-essential personnel have been confined to quarters", said the Medic.

"But, I AM an essential crewman, and besides, Lt. Zremm is expecting me to report to the Science Labs to help work on this..uh, problem!  But I can't get there because the Turbolifts are down, and the comm system is out", replied T'Aryn.

("And heck if I'm going Climbing and crawling through those tubes again unless I have to!",he thought)


  "Well", the Crewman said, "Unless you can make yourself useful, I suggest you return to quarters, until further orders are given. Of Course, we could probably use a Science officer's hand in Sickbay..."

"Since you mention it", said T'Aryn, "I've been meaning to pay a visit there; I've felt a bit under the weather lately..."

A strange look passed over the Medical Crewman's face, which was not lost on Ensign T'Aryn, even though he WAS only half-Vulcan.


"Uh..sure", said T'Aryn, "I'll just attempt to contact Lt. Zremm again and inform him.  He's great, but you know Andorians sometimes...."

"No Time for that, Ensign. I don't know about Lt. Zremm, and Cmdr. Sevryll is seemingly incapacitated", replied The medic, looking at him askance, "But Dr. Drett  will be sure to put you to use.  the Doc's been understaffed and overworked. Crewmen are falling there like Targ's during a High Feast on Q'uonos!"   "C'mon, I'll fill you in on the way!",the Medic said, grabbing him by the shoulder and rushing him down the corridor.

The newly appointed Science Officer listened with rapt attention to the Medic as he attempted to keep up with the Crewman's long stride.  He had a tough time keeping a look of deepening concern  and emotion from his face. Although part-vulcan and training in the Ways of Surak, he had been somewhat 'neglectful' of his meditative pursuits of late.

It wasn't long before they arrived at the Infirmary's door, which was just opening as Security Officer Lieutenant K'Tan was leaving.

This was his first good look at sickbay, and T'Aryn dropped all pretense of controlling his emotions.  His mouth dropped agape; he was astonished by
what he saw..what had occured...so soon!

The Storm Clouds were gathering....

He saw a dark-haired female speaking with Dr. Drett.  She was holding a batch of vials in her hands. They both headed toward the door, speaking in hushed tones...

They looked very tired...looked very serious...

"Science officer Ensign Rayna reporting for duty, Sir", he managed to say quietly as they passed....

"C'mon in Ensign, I'll introduce you to the Charge Nurse", said the medic, bypassing him, "We'll get you busy, and then you can report in to your CO".

Ensign T'Aryn Rayna began to be homesick for the boring, predictable Utopia Planitia Shipyards of Mars, and he began to wonder if his first Starfleet assignment might be his last....

=/\=

[wraith1701]

As K'Tan left sickbay, his spirits were lifted. The crisis was far from resolved, but progress was finally being made.

His combadge gave an insistent chirp, and K'Tan suddenly had a feeling that his good mood was about to end.  The Lieutenant tried to keep the frustration out of his voice as he answered the hail.  "K'Tan here."

"Lieutenant, this is Ensign Dunn," came the frantic reply.  "We have a bit of a situation developing on the flight deck!"

"I'm on my way," K'Tan replied as he broke into a jog.

Within minutes, K'Tan neared the cavernous room facing the main flight deck.  As the doors parted to admit him, he was greeted by Dunn and three other security officers.  As he followed the group inside, K'Tan paused to take in his surroundings.

Directly before him was an immense wall composed of crystal-clear transparisteel panels interspersed with titanium reinforcement struts.  The wall towered up to the ceiling several meters overhead, separating the flight control center from the vast flight deck beyond.  Most of the workstations set against the wall were ominously vacant, a grim testimony to the devastating effect the virus was having on the crew. 

In the bay on the other side of the transparent wall, K'Tan could see a half dozen Peregrine-Class fighters locked down in their berths.  The gleaming, raptor-shaped craft shared the bay with several shuttlecraft of varying sizes, all polished to a sheen that reflected the brilliant overhead lights.  The pristine, well-maintained hanger bay was devoid of personnel, save a lone, unkempt figure staggering drunkenly across the mirror-smooth flight deck; a Tricorder was tightly clutched to his chest.

Dunn nodded towards the distant figure.  "A group of medical techs found this guy a few hours ago; they say he tested positive for the virus.  We were trying to escort him to sickbay when he flipped out; he started spouting a bunch of nonsense about being an undercover triple agent."  Dunn smirked ruefully.  "He claims to be a Cardassian disguised as a Romulan masquerading as a Vulcan."

K'Tan stepped up to the sealed doorway separating the control center from the flight deck.  Something about the fugitive seemed familiar...

"We can't get to him," Dunn continued.   "Whoever he is, the guy has some impressive technical skills.  He somehow slaved his Tricorder to the flight control system; he broke into the flight bay and sealed the door behind him.  He says that if we force the door open, he'll open the outer doors and depressurize the bay."

As the staggering figure wandered around aimlessly, realization dawned on K'Tan.  This poor wretch was the Vulcan poet he had met a few weeks ago in Five-Forward.  As K'Tan activated the intercom system and called to the man, his voice echoed across the hanger bay.

"Get a hold of yourself, poet.  You're among friends here; we only want to help you.  Why don't you open the door and let us take you to sick bay?"

Upon hearing K'Tan's voice, the poet whirled around to face the group of security officers.  The Vulcan's face was covered by untidy stubble, and his hair was oily and unkempt.  His eyes darted madly to and fro as he regarded K'Tan and his team.

"You don't understand!" he raved.  "Both the Tal'Shiar and the Obsidian Order have agents out to kill me; they are afraid of the secrets I carry with me!"  The Vulcan waved his Tricorder at the security officers threateningly.  "You'll never pick my brain, you animals!  I'd rather die than give myself up to you!"

K'Tan shook his head sadly; he could think of few fates worse than loosing ones connection with reality.

In the hanger bay, the sick Vulcan started hopping up and down in an odd, erratic dance.  "Your disguises don't fool me," he said.  "The one-armed Ferengi told me; you are all undercover Section 31 agents!  Well, you can't fool me, I'm a master of disguise!  I can pass for Cardassian, Romulan, or Human!  Why, I bet I could even disguise myself as a duck if I wanted!"  The Vulcan broke out into a bout of insane laughter, then ran towards the center of the hanger bay.  After sitting in the middle of the floor, he began punching wildly at the Tricorder control panel.

"That poor devil," Dunn muttered.  "The virus has totally destroyed his mind!"

The group was suddenly startled by the piercingly loud whooping of the shuttlebay alarm.  As the overhead lights began to flash red, the disembodied voice of the computer blared out a repeating warning-

"Danger.  The bay doors are opening.  Forcefield is offline."

K'Tan banged his fists against the transparisteel barrier in frustration.  "Get out of there!  Hurry; we're here to help you!" he shouted.

The Vulcan looked up to reply, but his words were lost in a wailing, high pitched hiss that steadily grew in volume.  As K'Tan and the others looked on in horror, the massive shuttlebay doors behind the seated figure began to slowly draw apart, receding into the ship's hull.

As a whirlwind of air began whipping around the vast compartment on the other side of the barrier, K'Tan began pounding on the wall in desperation.  "Computer: Reverse bay doors!"

"Unable to comply," came the disembodied reply.

The Vulcan, apparently realizing the danger he was in, attempted to stand, but was promptly swept off his feet by the hurricane-force winds whipping around him.  He clawed frantically at the polished floor of the deck as he was slowly, inexorably dragged towards the inky black void lying beyond the doors.  The man's mouth gaped open as he tried to drag in just one more lungful of air.

With a look of resignation settling on his face, the Vulcan ceased his struggles.  As the last bit of atmosphere remaining in the bay made its desperate lunge towards the freedom of the void, the Vulcan's body was lifted clear of the deck.  Like a leaf in the wind, he was carried off into the black with an incongruous grace. 

K'Tan's last glimpse of the man was of his distant form spinning wildly off into the cold, harsh vacuum. 

As the Tiberius sped on, the unfortunate soul quickly shrank off into the distance, eventually becoming lost amid the sea of stars.

[KingIsaacLinksr]

Isaac walked down the corridor from sickbay and was stunned by what was happening.  People were all around sick, dying, or trying to assist them.  Bodies laid on the floor.  He saw a glimpse of a cargo bay full of those infected by the virus.  Medics were working their best to keep those in there comforted. 

It made him sick.  "Who, was such a sick person, that they could do this??"  As he walked down the corridor he could not believe the carnage.  His mind could feel the pain and the suffering that they were feeling.  He couldn't turn it off and nor did it matter.  It was a sickening reality.   

He finally made it to his quarters.  He threw himself onto the couch.  Tears fell down his face as his Sugar Gliders flew down onto his shoulder.  Feeling them land, he rolled onto his back and sat up.  The two gliders seemed to be trying to comfort him.  They curled around his neck as they usually did.  He appreciated it and petted them as he sat there. 

Isaac began to think about the current happenings on the ship.  Most everyone was infected with apparently an engineered virus.  Some had been put in stasis, many were dead, and he heard that some were immune to the virus.  "Such death, such suffering, all for what?  What point is there to prove?  Why do such an evil thing?"  Questions he felt that he may never find out. 

Isaac began to wonder why he had yet to feel symptoms.  But then his eyes grew wide and he ran to his tricorder.  All that could be heard next was a loud thud. 

[Geekyfanboy]

Joint post with Startrekfanatic5, Just X and Jen

"I've been informed through the grape vine, that Commander Sevryll was relieved from duty," said Doctor Drett as she entered the turbolift with the commander's cloned daughter. "Why hasn't she come to sickbay? I'm concerned-surely her symptoms warrant examination.  Have you treated her?" Asked the trill as she glanced up at the slightly taller teen standing beside her in the lift.

Aria nodded slowly. "She's Vulcan. They make exceptionally difficult patients. I have been monitoring her, but since we had no solid methods of treating the virus, logic would dictate that she continue to be of use until she could no longer function. Her attendance in sickbay would not have aided her recovery, and would only have taxed the already cramped workspace there. She has been experiencing decreased emotional control and now loss of some short term memory. Now that we have plans for a treatment, I believe that she will see the logic in a visit to sickbay."

Despite the death and chaos around her, Aria felt more at home on the Tiberius and with her crew. She had worked hard to become an officer in her first life and it wasn't until this crisis that she realized how much she missed that. She enjoyed being a part of something greater than herself and since the mission to Romulas had begun, she had felt that more and more.

The lift eased to a slow halt and the two females stepped onto the bridge. Ryla's eye found the view screen and regarded the planet of Vulcan. She kept her gaze on the mass of swirling rust colored clouds before them-yet her eyes flicked to Aria briefly to consider the girl's response. The clone's expression seemed to brighten slightly as she admired her mother's home world. They stopped at the door and Ryla signaled her arrival. "Enter," came the muffled voice of Nathan Quinn. The door whisked open abruptly and Doctor
Drett and Aria James crossed the threshold to find the captain standing at the viewport.

"Sir, I apologize for the lack of notice. The comm is down again."

Nathan glanced over his shoulder at the trill, his eyebrows raised as he noted that Aria was with her. "Not at all Doctor. Tell me you have good news.I don't think I can handle any more negativity." He turned momentarily to gesture to the couch, "Have a seat ladies."

Drett and James sat across from the captain's desk as Quinn returned his gaze to the planet outside the viewport. Dret turned to Aria, "Miss James has had some success in the development of an inhibitor."

Aria nodded as she sat down. "It appears that I was born with a natural protein that inhibits the growth of the virus. It doesn't cure it by any means, but with regular treatments, it is no longer a death sentence. Currently I have ten available doses and more being fabricated."

While she was not normally a fan of wasting time, Aria had done all that she could to halt the progress of the virus. All she could do now was insure that the inhibitor was being produced. She didn't need to be in the Aurora for that and her place was now to present her finding to the captain.

Nathan took a deep breath, it wasn't a cure but it was something. Quinn looked up at Aria, "Ten doses" Aria nodded. Quinn gave Aria a slight smile "Well done Miss James" Quinn turned and looked out the viewport and thought to himself, (There are hundreds sick and dying, he had to choose only ten to save at this time.) He turned back to Ryla and Aria. "Please administer the inhibitor to the ten sickest crewmembers."

Ryla spoke up. "Sir you should get one of those doses?" Quinn raised his hand, "No.. thank you doctor, I am okay for the time being there are people who are much worse off than just losing their telepathy."..Quinn paused then continued "Please carry out my orders Doctor."

Aria nodded slowly to the orders but had it interject. "Captain, I know you have made your decision, but if we administer this to the ten sickest people, then we would be losing more people in the long run. It is not an instant treatment and in the sickest individuals, they would more than likely die before the drug can take effect. I would also recommend you taking a dose because this virus has been known to swiftly become fatal. Without you, the ship will be crippled. Your health and continuing to function will better serve the greater good captain."

Ryla nodded, "she's right Captain." The trill thought back to the counselor's son, and then added, "this pathogen has claimed individuals who were  free of the virus minutes before they were exposed. Please reconsider...the Tiberius needs her Captain."

Quinn stood there looking at the two young ladies.. he was bemused at their boldness "Very well I will take the inhibitor, also please administer it to the rest of the infected senior staff and those you feel will benefit from it first."

Ryla and Aria both nodded. Aria approached Quinn and placed a hypospray against his neck. A slight hiss could be heard has the inhibitor was injected into Quinn's bloodstream. "Thank you Miss James, now please carry out my orders." Aria gave Quinn a slight smile and exited the Captain's ready room with Doctor Dret.

Quinn sat down in his chair with a look of pain and determination. He had to do it.. there was no other way. "Computer please contact Starfleet, priority communication."

[Rico]

The bridge of the Tiberius had seemed both quiet and busy together to Lieutenant Zremm over the last several days.  They were operating with a skeleton crew due to the disease sweeping through the ship.  Zremm had tried to offer some assistance but it had come too late.  He realized later on that the disease had mutated and was attacking non-telepathic species now as well as the telepaths it had first targeted.  Many aboard the ship had become incapacitated or even died, but the andorian had little time to grieve.  Since his immediate superior Commander Sevryll had been removed from active duty due to the illness Zremm had become the acting Chief Science Officer aboard the Tiberius.  Besides his normal duties, he now was attempting to take on tasks and items that Sevryll normally seem to be able to accomplish with ease.  He was currently scanning the ship from the main science station on the bridge.  Zremm was shocked to find just how much the disease had spread to not only every crew member now, but also into the organic subsystems of the ship itself.

As Zremm continued his scans he tried to remain calm.  A short time ago he had noticed Dr. Drett and a couple of others enter Captain Quinn's ready room.  He knew they had been working on creating an inhibitor in order to stop the progress of the disease.  Even though the biological sciences were not his area of expertise he still wished he hadn't had to stay on the bridge during the current crisis and could help in a more direct way.  He even recalled just a short time ago when he had asked Captain Quinn if he could join Dr. Drett in looking for a cure.  His eyes wandered to the main viewscreen showing Vulcan, which they now orbited, as he remembered the recent conversation he had with Captain Quinn.

"Captain.  Request permission to join Dr. Drett in the lab to assist in finding a solution to the disease, sir."  Zremm said, standing so stiffly that his antennae even perked up high over his white hair.

"Request denied, lieutenant.  With Sevryll off active duty, I need you here Zremm to monitor the ship and maintain the science scans they require.  Also, have you felt any of the symptoms yet, lieutenant?"  Captain Quinn said as he say back slightly in his command chair.

"No sir.  So far I seem to be perfectly fine.  Perhaps andorians have some type of immunity to this illness, sir."  Zremm said as he relaxed slightly.

"Perhaps lieutenant.  But for now, I need you here on the bridge.  Carry on lieutenant."  Quinn had said before he got up and headed to his ready room.  Zremm was then pulled out of his memories when the turbo lift doors opened.  A young engineering ensign smiled and headed over to his console.

"Zremm, where's Captain Quinn?"  Ensign Marie Barton said to the andorian.

"I think he's still in a meeting in his ready room Marie.  What are you doing on the bridge?  K'arath will stick a bat'leth into you if you left your post in engineering."  Zremm told her.  Over the past weeks Marie Barton and Zremm had been spending a lot of off duty time together.  They had quickly become close and found they had many things in common.  Even though Zremm was andorian and Marie was human, they had discovered a mutual attraction.

"It's ok.  The comm system is down and K'arath had me modifying some comm badges to operate independently of the Tiberius comm system.  I have some badges modified now and wanted to get a few to the captain.  But thanks for the concern."  The young blond ensign said as she smiled at Zremm.  She was carrying a small box with several comm badges inside.

"Well, ok.  Just looking out for you.  I know K'arath can be kind of rough around the edges.  You know klingons."  Zremm said, smiling back at Marie.

"Yeah, I guess.  Oh, my.  Did we just drop out of warp or something?  I feel dizzy....."  Marie Barton said as her eyes rolled back and she started to stumble.  Zremm quickly rushed to her side, catching her before she fell to the deck.

"Marie!  Marie, can you hear me?!"  Zremm said loud enough for the other few bridge members to react and hear.

"Ch'Fras?"  She said, using Zremm's first name.  He quickly recalled how he had spent most of one night teaching her to pronounce his name.

"I'm here Marie.  Zremm to sickbay."  The lieutenant said as he instinctively tapped his comm badge on his chest.  He just got back some static and no response.

"Comms, down Ch'Fras.  So cold, can't focus,...."  The young ensign said as she shivered in the arms of the andorian holding her.

"Damn!  Of course.  Well, how about one of these?  Zremm to sickbay."  He said, grabbing one of the comms in the box Marie had brought with her to the bridge.  He just hoped she had stopped off in sickbay on the way up.

"Sickbay, Rayna here."  A familiar voice said on the modified comm badge.

"Ensign.  Good to hear your voice.  Ensign Barton is ill.  I think she has the disease.  She just collapsed on the bridge."  Zremm said quickly into the badge while trying to keep Marie warm in his arms. 

"Barton?!  She was just down here to drop off this comm badge.  Better get her down here lieutenant.  I think we're getting close to slowing this thing down."  Ensign Rayna said.

"On our way!  Zremm out.  Ensign, get these badges to Captain Quinn in his ready room.  I'm taking Ensign Barton to sickbay."  Zremm said to the communications ensign next to him.  He then lifted the small form of Marie Barton up off the deck.  Zremm had never been particularly strong or athletic but for some reason lifting her up didn't seem hard at all to him at the moment.

"Ch'Fras, where am I?  My head!  Hurts so,....."  She said as they entered the turbo lift.

"It's ok, Marie.  I've got you.  Sickbay!"  Zremm said loudly as the lift closed and took them both quickly below deck.  He tried to keep worry out of his voice and mind.  Until just now he hadn't quite realized how much Marie Barton had come to mean to him.  And he wasn't about to loose her now.

[X]

Joint post by Jen and Just X with consultations from Kinglinksr

Rory and Dennis stood outside of the ensign's quarters as the overhead lights flickered above them. The air in the corridors was colder than normal, another sign of the ship struggling to operate as more of the computer systems encountered errors. Hours of research and calculation had led them to the door of the man that they felt was the first person infected by the virus.

"Still no answer," Dennis said as he removed his finger from the door buzzer. "I can bypass the locks if you want."

Rory tried to ignore the mischievous smile that Dennis gave her as he attempted to override the door's security. She had actually enjoyed their time together as they worked on tracking down patient zero. While they had completely different reason behind their creation, they both held a deep concern for those that they were charged to protect, which went well beyond their programming.

"I'm not detecting any biosigns within, save for two small lifeforms," Rory said as she studied her tricorder. "Are you waiting on an invitation or are you having problems with the door?"

Dennis winked at the impatient holowoman, as he entered the sequences. The door began to slide open but stopped half way. Dennis shrugged then muscled the door open the rest of the way.

Rory's smile quickly faded as she entered the room and saw the unmoving body slumped on the floor. Rory quickly moved to the ensign's side and scanned him. She could only shake her head as she looked to Dennis.

"He's dead Rory." Dennis said as he looked at the fallen man. He didn't need a tricorder to confirm what he saw.

"We're too late." Rory agreed as she closed the young ensign's eyes and pushed his hair out of his face. She frowned at the tiny creatures curled next to their master. "I'm sorry ensign."

Dennis hesitated a moment, then awkwardly placed a massive hand on the woman's shoulder. "We can't leave them here—I'll carry him. Can you handle the rodents?"

Rory nodded slowly as she collected the animals. "Computer, record time of death and update ensign Starstriker's file."

Holding the animals she glanced to Dennis again as she continued to review the data from her tricorder. "We need to get him to sickbay. I'm detecting trace amounts of an antigen that might be a precurser to a cure. I'm not a geneticist, but I think that they might be able to make something of this."

[Jen]

Joint post by Jen and Just X
---

To those unfamiliar with Vulcan physiology, Sevryll's trance-like condition resembled death. Her motionless form lay on a bed, within the small quarters assigned to her aboard Aurora—clad in a black jump suit and covered with a thermoblanket. Aria hovered over her momentarily, scanning the comatose commander.

Concern was apparent on her face as Aria studied the information. If Sevryll's skills were not needed, Aria would have placed her into cryo hours ago, but that wasn't the case. With symptoms as serious as her mother's, Aria knew that a single dose of the inhibitor wouldn't be enough to get her back on her feet. She needed to do something drastic.

Aria touched Sevryll's face as she extended the injection tube from her slender wrist. With her bio-systems being monitored by her onboard systems, she authorized a direct transfusion of the inhibitor to Sevryll. When she discovered that the protein could resist the virus, Aria increased the production of the protein inside herself. While her current level of the protein was still above her average concentration, she had yet to reach the levels that her body contained when she treated the twins. She walked a very thin line as she transferred the inhibitor. If she didn't transfer enough of the protein, her mother would not be able to return to active duty in any reasonable amount of time. If she transferred too much, she put her own life in danger.

"Mother, you need to focus." Aria said as the inhibitor continued to flow between them. "I can only meet you so far. The ship needs you."

That's when Aria realized the true depth of the situation. Closing her eyes, she overrode the safety protocols of her nanites, and began to saturate her mother's body with the protein at the cost of her own health. Between her own biology and the nanites, she knew that she could better recover from the virus if the levels increased. Once she had transferred most of the protein, she would put herself in a recovery mode that would allow her levels to recover. She turned her mind inward on itself, to monitor the progress. When her mother reached saturation levels, the transfer would stop and she would begin her own recovery.

Sevryll was drawn from the deep well of silence by a reverberating voice from the distant surface. There was an incoherent muttering before the voice uttered, "fo-o-o-o-o-c-u-u-u-u-u-s-s-s-s."

At the bottom of the well, the commander stood in cold, black water. Lifting her chin, she turned her dark eyes upward, into the obscurity that shrouded her body and answered the voice, "I am down here!"

The voice responded, yet was too muffled to decipher. The vulcan shivered... the water was rising. "I hear you!" she shouted again. Her own voice echoed cruelly in her ears. Feeling pain, she covered them and glanced upward once more. There was now a pinhole of light where there was none before. The voice continued to speak words that were tangled in disorder. The frigid water that was at her waist moments before, had now reached Sevryll's chest and she felt her panic rising with it. She waded to one side of the well and was stopped by a wall. Her fingers probed the surface for a hold, and found several within the joints that separated the stone. With an effort, she lifted herself from the water and began to climb towards the voice. Hours seemed to pass as she scaled. As she ascended, the pinhole became a shaft and finally an opening. When her strength had finally failed her, she felt someone pull her out. She was free of the well.

The commander blinked against the harsh illumination, as she slowly became aware of her surroundings. Sevryll's eyes were slow to adjust to the lights in the room, but after a few seconds she could see the blurry image of Aria James standing over her. Almost immediately, she felt a mild irritation on the side of her face. Sevryll lifted a heavy hand and stretched sluggish fingers towards the source of pain—her touch found Aria's hand. Something was protruding from the girl's wrist, which led to Sevryll's cheek. Aria gently guided her mother's hand back to the bed, and spoke in soothing tones. Sevryll rolled her eyes to the left, to inspect the protrusions that penetrated her face. They were the same tubual implants she had seen the girl use on the battered Romulan captive during their last mission. Nanites had been injected into the captive to repair his body and remove his memories. Sevryll's eyes widened in realization and they shifted to meet Aria's. Words refused to form as the commander moved her lips to protest.

"You are going to be fine," Aria said softly. "I am transfusing you with the inhibitor that my body is producing. I needed you to recover because the ship needs you. We are almost done."

Sevryll kept her eyes locked on Aria as the process continued. The commander could literally see the strength leaving the girl as the minutes passed. After some time, a mechanical sound accompanied a tug at her skin as the tubuals were withdrawn from her face. The procedure was complete. Exhausted, girl dropped to her knees at her mother's bedside.

"Aria?" whispered Sevryll in a strained voice. She slowly sat up and shifted her bare feet to the cold metal deck of the Aurora.


"I'll be fine," Aria said in a shaky voice. "I just need to rest, but the Captain needs you now."

[moyer777]

With only a swallow left in the brown bottles and conversations about Brex as a kid, exhausted, J'dan excused himself from Margon's bedside.  The Counselor had enjoyed the visit and was surprised at how much J'dan comforted him.  He really didn't know this man, but Brex seemed to have been close to him.  Margon beamed his cat back to the Aurora and thought about the last few hours.   

Sickbay was a buzz with emotion and adrenaline.  He thought about Isaac and wondered how he was doing.  He had tried to help, but things had ended so tragically.

The counselor tapped his com badge.  "Counselor Margon to Ensign Starstriker"

Nothing happened. 

The com must be down again, thought the counselor.  He quickly pulled the communication station by his biobed over to him and asked the computer to video link him to the Ensign's quarters.

The computer coldly chimed in "Please consult the chief medical officer for further information on Ensign Starstriker"

"What?" said Margon.  "What in the world is going on around here?"

He caught one of the med techs as they rushed by... but to no avail.  "I don't have any information on him sir, if you want I can call Dr. Dret and ask her.." 

"No, that's ok, she has a full plate.  Don't bother" said the Bolian.

He felt as drained as the root beer bottles sitting next to his bed.  What an unfortunate day he thought. 

It was then that he saw them.  There wa a body being brought into sick bay, a sheet covering it. With all of the comotion, someone bumped into the gurney, and the sheet fell from the head of the victim.

It was Ensign Starstriker.  Margon knew the instant he saw him.  He was dead.

It was a blur of emotion as the counselor's head swam with grief.  He couldn't even begin to feel like he should. 

"What happened to him?" the counselor called out, tears streamed from Margon's face.

"Someone attend to the counselor!" a nurse cried out. 

Margon couldn't help but feel responsible. 

They say that tragedies come in three's, and this was now enough.  The counselor closed his eyes tightly and wished the world away for a moment. 

He got his wish as the med tech pressed the hypo spray onto his neck and released the strong sedative. 

Margon drifted off to sleep.