Star Trek: Season 5 - Boldly

[Bryancd]

A joint post between Jen and Bryancd:

K'arath hurried down the corridor. He wasn't sure why, but he felt compelled to speak with Dr. Peterson regarding his observations of the virus's behavior and how it spread through the ships system's. There had to be a correlation between that initial presentation of the disease and its subsequent spreading to the crew. He had been in Engineering since the crisis began and found the ship a hive of activity.

The doors to Sickbay parted and he stopped dead in his track. The Klingon Chief Engineer had to double check and make sure he hadn't inadvertently walked into 5 Forward, as the room was so crowded. There were patients everywhere...on bio beds and sitting on the floor... it seemed half the command staff was there as well. He grabbed a nearby Security Ensign by the arm to get his attention.

"Ensign, where is Doctor Peterson?" he bellowed over the din.
"He's...in his office, sir. Sir, he's not himself, he's very sick." came Ensign Dunn's sheepish reply. "Who's in charge?" he demanded.

"Peterson is, but maybe you should talk to her too." The Ensign pointed towards a fast moving blond Trill who seemed to be administering three patients at once. K'ararth released his grip on the Ensign and walked towards the young doctor.

Ryla Dret had just come from the CMO's office. Despite his illness, Peterson stubbornly remained on duty. Dret had given him another hypo for the pain and made sure she took the bottle of Brandy from his desk drawer—he didn't seem to mind. As far as she knew, he hadn't been drinking, but she wanted to remove the temptation. Dark circles had developed under his eyes and his face was gaunt and pale...yet he continued to monitor the floor from where he sat. Answering questions for nurses and looking over medical records at his terminal. "Doctor, if you keep pushing yourself you could succumb to this virus...the Tiberius will need it's Chief Medical Officer in the future. Please, try to at least remain still. Your immune system needs all the help it can get." She passed him a glass of water, promised to keep him updated and left his office to continue working the floor.

Ryla moved swiftly from patient to patient, checking their vitals and ordering various antibiotics and pain relievers. Yet nothing she did seemed to help them. Their conditions continued to deteriorate and their numbers continued to swell. The captain had opened several shuttle bays to the medical staff, as make-shift infirmaries... and the med techs were beginning to move patients there.  The Trill was drained emotionally and physically, but she pushed on despite it all. There was no other option.

A third patient died a moment before Dret came to her bedside—a Bajoran. Ryla finished her scan and recorded the time of death. As she gestured to a nurse to take the body away, a stout Klingon officer approached her.

"Doctor Dret?" he asked in a brusque voice.

"Yes," she replied as she moved to another patient who lay at her feet on a mat. "Help me move him to the bed," she said to the Klingon as the aids removed the Bajoran's body.

K'ararth immediately bent down to assist Doctor Drett lift the patient on to the bio-bed. He was thankful for the brief moment of silence between them to compose his thoughts having been taken off guard by the petit woman's brusque command. He made a note not to underestimate her again.

"Doctor, I am Chief Engineer K'arath...." she continued to work on the patient and made no response. "I...uh...I have spent the last few hours working on the ships systems in an effort to curtail the spread of the virus and to establish a line of defense against the contagion. I thought perhaps you could help provide some insight as to the causes and effects you have seen here with the infected crew and we could pool our resources to combat this."
Doctor Drett looked up at the blond Klingon and could see asking for help was a difficult proposition for him...

The Trill extended a hand the Klingon. "Thank you for your help chief—as you can see where a bit understaffed." The ordinarily cheerful woman tried to offer him a smile, but wasn't exactly feeling up it. "So, the bio gel packs are infected as well... that would explain the problems we're having. I have little information to offer you, other than the fact that this pathogen is aggressive, and mutating at a rate that makes it impossible to crack. I would be happy if we could just find a way to stabilize everyone—stop it from killing until we can find the cure.

Aria James brought Doctor Dret a PADD containing the medical record of one of the latest patients. Ryla scanned the PADD and gave her a suggestion for treatment. As the young woman turned to go, Ryla called her back. "The captain says you're a special crewmember... he said you may be able to help us find someway to slow this virus. I'm not sure why he thinks that, but the chief and I need all the help we can get."

[Jen]

Rory and Dennis followed close behind a freshly resolute Commander Sevryll. As she entered the corridor she spoke aloud in a soft alto, "computer, where is Captain Quinn."  They had to find the origin of the pathogen—Rory and Dennis would be assigned to that task, but she and the captain would need to touch base before they began their investigation.

"Captain Quinn has entered Sickbay," came the impassive reply of the ship's computer.

A few minutes later and Sevryll and her companions crossed the threshold of the buzzing medical ward. She was unprepared for the scene that met her eyes. The infirmary looked like a war zone, broken glass, dented doors and casualties... casualties everywhere.

Sevryll left Dennis and Rorry with Aria and located the Captain, who was speaking with Chief Engineer K'ararth and Doctors Peterson and Dret in the CMO's office.

[X]

Aria's glanced over her PADD as she looked from Dennis to Rory. Just looking over them standing there confirmed the old human saying about necessity being the mother of invention. She knew that the holograms would be useful during this crisis, but she was still unsure on how to put them to work. Her mind worked frantically to process the incoming data from the PADD as she looked at the sick faces from many of those that worked on the flight deck. They were not doing well and if a solution wasn't found soon, they might lost more of the flight deck crew to the virus.

"Have you made any progress?" Rory asked her organic sibling as she began to clean up some of the debris that littered the floor.

"I'm one of the few people that have yet to develop any symptoms." Aria said softly. "I'm running tests to see if I was exposed and if so, why I am not displaying signs of infection, but I need other non-infected subjects to see if they are also displaying some type of resistance."

Rory nodded as she continued to pick up the glass. "I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that it's not your nanite systems that are protecting you. They were only designed to combat known pathogens and father's own systems didn't protect him."

Aria blinked softly and then smiled. "If we can find the source of the plague, then we can use that information to develop a cure."

"His bio-logs!" both Aria and Rory said in almost unison.

"If we can access his nanites' system logs, we can figure out the exact time and date that they encountered the virus." Aria said as she almost sprinted to the computer console.

"I still have his current access codes," Rory said as she moved to Aria's side and helped the younger woman establish a link to Aeric's nanite network. With a few keystrokes, they began downloading the bio data from Aeric's machines. It would take longer for them to sift through the raw data and convert the information into something that could be understood, but it was something that Aria could do. She could use the systems from her own nanites to decode the data, but Rory was concerned if the task could be done in the time that the crew had left.

"Rory could you and your new friend being tracking down the possible sources of this infection? As the data becomes available, I'll try to point you in the right direction. If we can find patient zero, we might be able to develop a cure more quickly." Aria said as she looked to the two holograms.

[tmunter]

The dog was back. It was always there, no matter where he went. Today it was distant, hiding behind the corners, afraid to come out. Wystan knew it would come. Sooner or later. He always left for his shift at least an hour before it started, less people were around then. Today was no different. What was different today was the fact that the turbo lift wasn't working.
"Computer, open turbo lift door,"
No response.
"Computer, open the turbo lift door,"
Silence. He sighed, walked towards the nearest Jeffries tube entrance and opened it. It was going to be a long climb. Not that it wasn't one he hadn't done. He slid down quickly. He knew the way. Not that it mattered. Coming out just in front of the bridge he cleaned off his uniform. The ship was going crazy. The Vulcan's were acting strange, which wasn't new for anyone but him. He didn't exactly procreate with anyone. Checking the time he walked onto the bridge and sat down by his station. It was going to be a long shift, and the dog was nudging ever closer.

[iceman]

Joint Post Between Iceman and StarTrekFanatic5

It was all Dr. Peterson could do to look up at the Captain as beads of sweat poured down his face., "You know Captain we need to let Starfleet Medical know of our predicament and under no circumstances can we beam down to Vulcan." He said.

Quinn looked down at Peterson, "Yes Doctor I have already informed Starfleet of our condition. And no one will be beaming anywhere until we have things under control."

Peterson smiled, " I have however forwarded our situation to The Vulcan Medical Center for Analysis I suggest we follow the book on this one."

"I agree with you 100%, this is a medical situation and we will take your lead Doctor," Quinn said with a nod.

"Dr. Dret I have A few suggestions: Start sifting through the personnel records of those infected and see if they have anything in common. Lets also check for those crew that have not been infected to see if they have any similarities from which we might be able to produce a vaccine from."

Doctor Dret nodded and typed on her padd.

"Captain I would suggest we close five forward until this infection is controlled as we want to limit the exposure to the rest of the crew, and confine all non essential crew to their quarters."

"Yes Doctor this is happening as we speak" Quinn said with a smile.

"Also, Captain, It might be an Idea to have security run a shipwide security check on all crew to see if any of us have been on shore leave where perhaps a plague or virus has .....

Quinn raised his hand... "Doctor this has all been taken care of." Quinn looked down at the Doctor Peterson and placed his hand on his friend's shoulder, "You need to get some rest my friend. You run a fine department and have trained your medical staff very well. They can take care of things."

Dr. Peterson looked up at the Captain "I know Captain, that is why I have stepped back and am running things from in here. You know yourself it would be like asking you to give up command of your ship. Could you do it?"

The Captain smiled "If I had too, yes but it would be difficult."

He patted Peterson's shoulder and turned to Dr. Dret, K'arath and Sevryll. "Can I speak with you three for a moment please."

Doctor Peterson closed his eyes and was fast asleep. Quinn, Ryla, K'arath and Sevryll exited his office and found a vacant corner.

[X]

Chief Grant stood quietly in the control tower operations center. With her CO out of commission, she had taken it upon herself to keep the flight deck functioning, but it was a losing battle. Over a third of the people that were closest to her on the ship were ailing or in critical condition. No one was safe and Rina knew it. Had Lt. James not disabled his nanite antiviral subroutines to create the patch that she suggested, he might have been protected from this situation. She knew that she could continue to blame herself for the problem or she could make the best out of a bad situation.

"Ensign Summer," the chief said as she turned to the fresh out of the academy officer. "We need to prepare all shuttle craft for deployment when we reach Vulcan. If they send additional medical support, we're going to have to clear out the bays to receive them. My primary concern is to make sure that the Aurora and the new runabouts are fully equipped and prepared to move."

"I don't mean to question you," Summer said softly, "but couldn't we just transport them into space when we arrive?"

"We could, but the work will keep the rest of the crew busy and they need something other than their sick crewmates on their mind. They need to work. We need to work because until that virus is gone, that's all that we have left." Chief Grant said as she transmitted the orders to the flight deck crew. "Let's get these birds ready to fly!"

[Jen]

Joint post by Jen and Just X
---
Dennis watched Rory work with the vulcan girl he didn't know. It was unnatural how closely she resembled Sevryll. Rory seemed to be well acquainted with the vulcan and they apparently shared the same father... As far as he knew holograms didn't have parents. Unless she was speaking metaphorically. Was the girl a hologram too? He stepped to Rory's side and cleared his throat. "Is there something I can do to help?"

"What are you skilled at?" Aria asked as she glanced to the unknown man. "Once we determine what you can do, I can give you suggestions on where best to put your talents to use."

Rory simply smiled at the interaction. Aria had shifted to work mode and there was nothing that was going to move her from helping to solve the problems. "Since we are the only two beings on the ship that are completely immune to the virus, you should probably make use of that asset."

"He's a hologram? Actually that might be quite useful if he is as functional as you are." Aria said aloud then turned her attention to the unknown hologram. "Hologram, what is your designation and primary function?"

Dennis frowned and glanced down at Rorry, "Vulcans. Why can't they just say, hi, what's your name? What do you do for a living? Does she talk to you like that?'" He forced a polite smile, and answered Aria's formal question. "My designation is Dennis—designed in the image of agent David Lock... programmed by the techs at Section 31." The brawny hologram raised his chin with pride as he rattled off his skill sets. "I can hack any system, jump start any engine and kick any butt you need kicking.  If you want an example of my slicing abilities...check out my physique. Sevryll made me change my appearance, so the kids wouldn't confuse me with their father. So I got creative with the code that alters my outward appearance and vocal tone." He flexed a massive bicep for Rory's benefit and smirked when she didn't react. 

"I'm a sentinel. I look after Sevryll's children when she's on duty; and whether she knows it or not, I look after her too. That's my primary function ma'am."

Aria offered a slight nod. "From your reactions it seems that you are either well programmed or a sentient program. That can be useful. If it won't distract you from your primary duty, I'm going to need to track this virus back to the source. I believe that you and Rory are up to the task."

Dennis smiled and glanced from Aria to Rory. "Great. Where do we start?"

"We should get a list of everyone infected an go from there." Rory said.

"I'll have my father's files processed in an hour or so and then we can determine when he got infected. At that point we can narrow down who he was in proximity of at the time if the infection." Aria said softly and then
turned to her PADD to review the incoming data.

"Until I get those files processed, I need the two of you to track down those who are infected and scan them into the medical database. Even if they are not infected, we could use those scans to get a better understanding on how they are resistant."

"Alright," said Dennis. "Let's begin with the highest ranking officers and their families and work our way down." He then commandeered a PADD and pulled up the crew roster. Dennis quickly keyed a few commands and restructured the list so that the command hierarchy started with the captain and ended with the Yeomen. The he subtracted the patients.

With a wave of his hand he gestured toward Quinn, "shall we?" he asked Rory.
She nodded and smiled. "Let's get to it."

[Jen]

Doctor Dret followed K'ararth, Sevryll and Quinn out of Peterson's office to one of the only vacant corners left in Sickbay. The Commander did not look well, and Ryla had yet to see her enter Sickbay since the outbreak. She didn't want to harass Sevryll, so Doctor Dret discretely scanned the vulcan woman from a distance. The results indicated that the pathogen was more concentrated in the Commander... but why? Had she had the virus longer than the others? Sevryll met Dret's eyes and the trill quickly closed her tricorder and addressed the vulcan.

"Commander, when did you first notice your symptoms?"

Sevryll understood that the doctor was trying to do her job, but she could not help feeling irritated by her presence. The vulcan woman shifted her weight and rolled her head to one side before leveling her dark eyes on Dret. Silence followed. Like a slothful loiterer blocking the only route, her high emotions stood steadfast until a small thread of logic finally unraveled the irritation she felt. The thought of her children and their need for a cure—the crew's need for a cure—came to the forefront of her mind...

"Since shore leave," she replied raggedly.

"Do you recall if you came into contact with anything or anyone who may have made you ill?" asked Dret.

Sevryll tried to conjure the memory of her time on Tiberius before beaming down to San Francisco with her children. She had a photographic memory and had never experienced lapses of any kind...except now. Sevryll shook her head, "I can't seem to remember," she replied—irritated once more.

Dret bit her bottom lip and nodded, "It's alright." Just knowing that Sevryll had a more intense variety of the strain would be help enough. It may coincide with the tests that she observed Doctor Lucas running before they arrived at Earth for a much needed R and R.

Ryla turned to the Quinn and K'ararth. "Captain, I haven't had an opportunity to report this incident, because of our current situation...but I think it is of some significance to our investigation."

"Go ahead Doctor," said K'ararth.

Quinn looked to his chief engineer and then to Ryla. "Yes?" said Quinn.

"Doctor Peterson asked me to run a microscan on the sample of the pathogen. He returned to his quarters, leaving Doctor Lucas and I alone in Sickbay. Because the comm system was down, I had to leave the Infirmary to inform Peterson of my findings once the test results were complete. When we returned, I found Doctor Lucas at my station doing something to my sample of the virus. When he noticed us, he casually returned to his own work. I left Peterson in his office and went to investigate. When I looked into my microscanner, I realized Lucas had switched the samples. I confronted him and he became defensive... he was ill and I tried to make him lay down... he refused and quickly, he collapsed and died a  moment later." She paused only to take a breath and then continued. "He was always a cantankerous man, but I never gave it a second thought. Some people just aren't very jovial." She flicked a quick, nervous glance at Sevryll and then back to Quinn. Since the Sareth's tirade, Doctor Dret had felt a bit uneasy around her vulcan patients... there was no predicting if/when they could go nuts.  "I haven't had much time to think about it until now, but I guess it could be related. Lucas had a pet project he worked on from time to time. I never had the opportunity to ask him about it, but maybe there's something in his personal logs that would point us to a possible tie-in."

Quinn exchanged looks with Sevryll then glanced back to Dret. "I'll give you the access you need to review those logs— find out if your assumptions have any merit, and report back to me." He then turned back to Sevryll, "Aria is working on finding a treatment. See if you can be of any help to her. Chief, you may want to hang around, incase they come up with anything that can be of use to you."

"Aye, Captain," said K'ararth.
Dret nodded and stepped into Doctor Lucas's office, to begin her investigation. Sevryll watched her go before she strode across Sickbay towards Aria, stepping over patients and dodging med techs as she walked.

Aria didn't bother to glance up from her work, "hello Commander... hello Lieutenant Commander K'ararth. "

Sevryll nodded to the girl, "We've been asked to assist you in your task," she said.

[Ricardocameron]

=/\= 

  Ensign T'Aryn Rayna Cameron awoke in a cold sweat.  Realizing he was late for uty in the Sciences Lab (Damn ! Not again!), he leaped from his bunk with a groan, and rushed to get ready.  "No time for meditation THIS morning....or breakfast!", he thought, exasperated.
 
"Computer..", He said attempting to call the Lab to report in, but there was no response.  Darn. The comm system was down yet again. "It will be a wonder if I can even get out the door!", He thought dryly.

  Passing the Replicator he spouted out a command, "Coffee, hot, STRONG."   Downing the coffee almost all in one gulp, he hurried off to the shower. Maybe It would still be working...He felt TERRIBLE. He had first noticed the symptoms after returning shore leave, but had summarily dismissed them.  After all, he had his part-Vulcan constitution on his mother's side, and he was Martian-born right?  Only Offworlders or Colony-ship crew he had known had seemed to be so...  weak?  Was that the right word?

"Anyway," he mused, "I've been lurking in the background at the Science Stations and have hardly been noticed since I ACCEPTED this post.  I'll NEVER make Lieutenant like this!  But with all the weird stuff that's been happening of late, saying the Science Department's been busy would be a severe understatement, indeed!"...Donning his duty uniform, and rushing for the door, he couldn't help but think, "Our ship and it's crew are in a bit of a bind, and, well, maybe NOW is your time to shine, T'Aryn.."

It took several attempts and nearly five minutes to get the door to respond and open.
  "Yeah, I'll SHINE all right!", he thought, hurrying to the turbolift, "If only I can stop being LATE FOR DUTY!!"

=/\=

[wraith1701]

Back in sickbay, K'Tan looked on as Captain Quinn, Commander Sevryll,  and Commander K'Arath  joined the blond Trill in Dr. Peterson's office.  As the door swept closed behind them, K'Tan's brow furrowed with worry. I wonder what that's all about, he thought.  His musing was interrupted by the eager voice of ensign Dunn. 

"It looks like things are settling down here, sir," the ensign said.  Dunn nodded towards the two security guards accompanying him.  "We're returning to the security office to report to Chief Manrique.  You can come along if you like."

"Thanks, Ensign," K'Tan replied.  As he turned to leave, he thought back on the havoc wreaked by the older Vulcan woman.  "But perhaps your two companions should stay here in sickbay to keep an eye on things.  Just in case another patient has an 'episode'," he added with a wry smile.

His face reddening with chagrin, Dunn responded, "Maybe you're right."  He turned to face the two guards.  "Stavis and Knightly; you heard the Lieutenant.  I'll make sure someone comes to relieve you when your shift ends."

After leaving sickbay, the two made their way to turbolift three.  As they stepped into the lift, K'Tan couldn't help but notice the pensive expression darkening Dunn's face.  "Is something wrong ensign?" he asked.  The young ensign stared down at the carpet between his feet and fidgeted with his holstered phaser before finally responding. 

"It's that Vulcan girl in sickbay, sir.  It seemed like she thought I was overreacting when I stunned the old woman."  Dunn looked up at the lieutenant, confusion and frustration fighting for dominance on his face.   "I'm just trying to figure out if I should have handled things differently."

K'Tan nodded in understanding, and offered the ensign a smile of encouragement.  "Don't beat yourself up over it Ensign Dunn; you did fine.  Starfleet Security protocol states that in a hostage situation, an officer's first priority is to ensure the safety of the hostage.  That is exactly what you did.  I'm not sure exactly what came over that Vulcan woman, but if you hadn't acted, she may very well have killed that nurse."  As the lift slowed to a halt, Dunn visibly relaxed; a look of relief smoothed his features.

The turbolift doors opened, and the two stepped out onto deck four.  As they headed to Lt. Manrique's office, K'Tan turned to look at the ensign walking beside him.  "Remember not to second guess yourself, Dunn.  Doubts and second guesses are an officer's worst enemies.  Fortunately, you have a tool at your disposal that is invaluable in overcoming those enemies.  It is more effective than any weapon, including your phaser.  The name of that tool is "training".  As long as you remember that, you'll do fine."

[Rico]

Since the technical issues on the Tiberius began, Lieutenant Zremm had decided to extend his normal shift on the bridge.  He knew that Captain Quinn and Commander Sevryll had been busy working on getting the ship functioning fully again, along with her crew.  While performing his normal duties and scans of nearby space phenomena, Zremm had been monitoring what communications had been coming in.  One of the benefits of being an andorian was he was able to not only hear extraordinary well, but he was able to process different frequencies as isolated sounds.  In essence he was able to listen to multiple conversations at one time.  This was something that required some skill and training but Zremm had found it very useful over the years. 

So far, he had several bits of information that his mind had been analyzing.  First, the gel packs on the Tiberius had somehow become infected.  This of course could be devastating to the functioning of the ship.  So far, it seemed to him that engineering had gotten a handle on the situation.  Tiberius had several redundant and backup systems of course and he was certain they could contain the problem, at least for now.  The more disturbing piece of news was that the infection or "outbreak" seemed to be targeting members of the crew that were telepathic.  This could be a severe problem since many key personnel aboard had those abilities.  Including his immediate superior Commander Sevryll, not to mention Captain Quinn.  Once Zremm had learned of this information he had spent some time scanning the medical database in hopes of finding a similar circumstance.  While he found some incidents like this, nothing seemed to quite fit the pattern of infection in their current situation.  But, he had an idea.  It might be a long shot, and only buy them a little more time.  However, it was worth bringing up.

"Zremm to Commander Sevryll."  He said as he tapped the comm channel at his station.  A longer than normal pause took place.  At first he thought communications were still down and was about to try again when he got a response.

"Sevryll here lieutenant.  Go ahead."  The vulcan woman said in a much more emotional tone than Zremm was used to hearing.

"Commander, I know you have your hands full but I have been monitoring the situation.  I had an idea.  I'm not sure it will help but,...."  Zremm said before being interrupted.

"I have limited time lieutenant.  Please get to the point."  Sevryll said again, in an increasingly agitated voice.

"Yes sir.  Since it seems this pathogen is targeting telepathic species, do you think it's progress might be slowed if we could sort of disable the telepathic abilities of those infected?  I know there are certain drugs that have the ability to do this.  Even simple alcohol can impact the synapses of the brain.  But I'm sure one of the doctors would know of something even more effective.  I'm not sure it will help Commander but I,...."  The andorian said before again being cut off.

"An interesting theory Lieutenant Zremm.  I shall bring it to the attention of the medical personnel working on the problem.  Sevryll out."  She said and ended the discussion.

"Hmm, that didn't sound at all like the Sevryll I know."  Zremm said quietly, mainly to himself.  He knew it might not help at all, he was no doctor.  But he always prided himself at continuing to learn.  One of the things that drove him to Starfleet in the first place.  Well, for now he would have to just continue with his duties and hope his suggestion made a difference.  Zremm knew they would need several perhaps lucky chances to get out of this one.

[Jen]

"Computer, play Doctor Lucas's personal log: Star Date 57832.3. Authorization Dret 30 Omicron Lima." A successive number of melodious chirps indicated Ryla's authorization was accepted and that her command was registered. The trill leaned back in the chair and listened as the tetchy Doctor's curt voice filled the small office:

"Why did I accept this post? I could be heading up any number of reputable medical facilities on a dozen worlds. I hate this ship... The Captain has one brain cell, and it is fighting for dominance. The first officer's tongue is sharper than her intellect. And the Chief Medical Officer believes himself to be the 'sovereign of geniuses'... when in all actuality, his verbosity is exceeded only by his incompetence." Ryla smirked contemptuously—'what an #@!' she thought to herself as the disembodied voice blathered on.

He concluded the log with, "If it wasn't for my wife, I wouldn't be here."

Ryla's interest was suddenly peaked—she twisted a lock of her short, blond hair and hastily uttered, "Computer, play Doctor Lucas's personal log: Star Date 57833.3. Authorization Dret 10 Omicron Lima."

The computer signaled with a negative chirp before falling silent—the file was encrypted...and so were the remainder of his logs. Ryla bit her bottom lip. "Why would he encrypt his personal logs? He definitely intended to hide something." The trill quickly strode onto the floor in the infirmary in search of someone who could help.

Chief K'ararth hovered nearby the station where Sevryll and Aria worked. He looked irritated...Ryla approached the Klingon and informed him of her dilemma.

"Lieutenant Commander K'ararth, if I can have a moment of your time..." her friendly smile was met with a frown. "Doctor Lucas has encrypted several of his logs, and I require access to them. Could you help me retrieve them?"

[X]

Aria took a slow breath as her blood continued to process. She had spent the last few hours testing a unique protein in her blood against the viral cultures grown from the gel packs. She had compared her own data files to her father and found that she had been infected with the virus milliseconds after he was. Her scans also revealed that a unique protein that her body normally created had increased significantly on the onset of the infection and that this protein had been keeping the virus from replicating or mutating.

It was far from any sort of cure, but the protein could, if correctly synthesized, prevent further infection in the patients. Even if it could be correctly synthesized, the proteins would breakdown in anyone without nanotech enhanced systems.  Until a cure could be established, every infected person would require almost daily injections of the protein or the virus would progress. Even if the ship wasn't being taken down by the virus, it would take a miracle to administer the inhibitor to the entire crew. That was if she could manage to duplicate and mass produce the serum.

"This might just work." Aria said to herself as the projections on her console suggested that enough of the protein could manufacture the protein in sufficient quantities. The information however was not all good news. The protein would have to be modified to the specific host or it would act like a toxin to their systems. Her own unique genetics would allow the unmodified protein to be administered to those that shared some of her genetic heritage with no fear of rejection.

"Doctor!" Aria shouted to the woman that had taken command of the sick bay. "I don't have a cure, but I do have a treatment that we can apply to anyone that has Vucan, Nacene, or El Aurian blood. It will halt the virus at its present infection levels, but that might buy us the time we need to develop a true cure. Once we get the genetic profiles of the others, we can start on converting the protein to treat them as well, but we will need a delivery system."

[wraith1701]

K'Tan followed Dunn into the security chief's office.  As the doors closed behind them, Dunn paused and gestured for the Lieutenant to proceed him;  K'Tan strode forward and took in the room with a quick glance.

Lt. Manrique sat behind a utilitarian, gunship-gray desk studying a PADD held loosly in his left hand.  K'Tan was taken aback by the Lieutenant's appearance; a day's worth of stubble covered his jaw, and his bloodshot eyes looked as though they hadn't seen a good night's sleep in over a week.  Manrique's hand trembled slightly as he reached for a mug resting at his elbow.  After taking a sip, he carefully returned the mug to his desk and looked up to address K'Tan.  "It's good to finally meet you, Lieutenant," Manrique said.  "I've heard that you were looking to lend the department a hand."  Manrique set down his PADD, then steepled his fingers before him.  "I was just looking over your record.  Your last CO doesn't speak very highly of you, and yet you seem to have the backing of some of the top brass in the fleet.  I also understand that you played a crucial role in the success of our recent mission on Romulus."

k'Tan nodded silently in acknowledgement as Manrique continued.  "I'm going to lay it all out for you.  Something is definitely going on, and it has me worried.  Random system malfunctions, an unexplained illness, and passengers and crew having neurotic episodes... it sounds to me like the ship is on the verge of a crisis."

K'Tan walked to one of the chairs facing Manrique's desk and took a seat.  "I agree with you, Lieutenant, which is why I came to see you.  In addition to the issues that you mentioned, I'm especially concerned by the fact that we appear to be proceeding on to Vulcan as though nothing was wrong.  With the possibility of a communicable illness spreading through the ship, and issues with the ship's primary systems, shouldn't we at least be at yellow alert right now?"

Manrique's face contorted in pain as he was overcome by a shiver, which he quickly suppressed.   I'm inclined to agree with you, except for the fact that it isn't clear just how widespread these incidents are.  The last thing we need is for someone to jump the gun and cause undue panic among the civilian passengers."

Manrique was suddenly racked by a fit of coughing.  As he regained composure, he continued.  "Right now, the Captain is meeting with some of the senior staff in sickbay.  I was about to head there myself to check in with him.  Unfortunately, I've been feeling a bit under the weather myself, so it's likely that I'll end up being a patient instead of an adviser. "

With a visible effort, Manrique lifted his head to meet K'Tan's eye.  "According to your records, you have extensive experience in Security.  It would be a tremendous help if you could meet with the senior staff and coordinate the Security Department's activities with Captain Quinn and Commander Sevryll."

Manrique stood up on shaky legs, and stepped from behind his desk.  "We'd better go now, Lieutenant K'Tan.  I get the impression that we are running out of time." 

[Jen]

A joint post by Jen and BryanCD

Lieutenant Commander K'ararth, if I can have a moment of your time..." her friendly smile was met with a frown. "Doctor Lucas has encrypted several of his logs, and I require access to them. Could you help me retrieve them?"

Realizing the gravity of the doctors request, K'arath allowed his expression to soften a bit, "Of course." he replied and followed her into the office. He took a chair behind the desk and turned the computer terminal towards him. He could see Dr. Lucas' personal logs were on the screen. One file had been accessed, the rest were unattainable. Being of a higher rank than the doctor, he tried his own command override to give her access, but that also failed.

"Hmmm, he mused out loud. "Very clever." He tapped his combadge, "K'arath to Lieutenant Manrique."

A ragged cough came over the com before the security officer finally was able to reply, "Manrique here."

"Lieutenant, do you have any personnel capable of hacking encrypted logs? Doctor Dret has been tasked with investigating a former colleague... The majority of his logs are inaccessible."

"I'm on my way down there now Chief."

Dennis and Rory had finished scanning their sixth patient when the strapping male hologram overheard the Klingon's conversation with the Security Chief. "I'll be right back," he said as he handed the holowoman his tricorder.

"Excuse me, chief... I couldn't help overhearing. I think I might be able to help you."

K'ararth eyed the terran man suspiciously. He turned to Ryla, "do you have any objections to his involvement?"

"None," she replied.

Dennis smiled down at the trill as she motioned to Lucus's office. "I don't believe I've seen you in sickbay before." She said curiously.

"I'm rarely ill." He said as he accessed the Lucus's the terminal.

"I'm Doctor Dret, and you are?"

"Dennis." He replied.

"Dennis... do you have a last name?"

"Not yet." He winked at her as his hands flew over the console. A moment later he had successfully hacked the logs. He cracked his knuckles and leaned back in the chair. "Anything else I can do for you doc?"

A surprised look washed over her face, "You broke the encryption?"

"Yah. Nothing to it. Well, if you don't have anything else for me to do..."

"Uh... no... thank you for your help Dennis," said Ryla.

The doctor watched as the hulking man tip an invisible hat before returning to the floor. At the same moment Dennis rejoined Rory, Lieutenant Manrique entered the infirmary. He looked horrible—the investigation would have to wait... Ryla had to examine the Chief of Security.

As the petite blond strode across sickbay, the medical team raced to two different biobeds—the virus was beginning to claim more crewmen. Lieutenant Manrique was accompanied by a handsome officer, one she had yet to meet. The trill offered them a warm smile and gestured to a bed that had just been cleared of it's recent occupant. As she examined the chief, she informed him of her investigation. "I think this is a task I should turn over to you, Chief. I'm needed on the floor. Of course, I can still assist who ever you appoint to do this job, if you require my participation." Flushed and dripping with perspiration, Manrique turned to K'Tan.