Triage

Posted on Wed Dec 26, 2018 @ 10:49pm by Fleet Captain Rhea Kennit & Major Victor Crowe & Lieutenant Penelope Naroot & Lieutenant Nicole Anderson & Lieutenant JG Camille Lévesque PhD & Lieutenant Samantha Raylen

3,365 words; about a 17 minute read

Mission: Plaga Navis
Location: USS Victory

[Captains Ready Room]

Whether due to being busy, or out of a strong sense of self-preservation, the Captain’s rest period had gone undisturbed for the entire 4 hour time period she’d allowed herself. When the computer alarm awoke her, she’d gotten up. Gotten a little closer to getting into uniform (by way of pulling on her trousers and a tank top normally worn beneath her tunic and jacket). Skipping her boots for the time being, she walked barefoot to sit at her desk. Her skin remained too pale, and hidden beneath her tank top were two reconstructed small connection nodes which had reformed and erupted through the skin along her spine. It caused no discomfort, and she’d paid them no mind. The data she’d requested had arrived on schedule and they now had a passenger manifest, crew roster, and cargo manifest for the stricken freighter.

Nothing about the personnel information stood out, it seemed to be all fairly standard and boring information. The cargo manifest was equally bland. The data file had also contained information going back over the past 16 weeks detailing the freighters course and each stop where the vessel had taken on and offloaded cargo and passengers.

Kennit pulled a PaDD to her, making notes as she reviewed the data. One note was to have someone contact each stop the freighter had made and inquire as to whether or not an outbreak of illness matching the symptoms reported in the distress message and occurred.

Paging a Yeoman, in short order the Captain had a tray with a large pitcher of coffee, and a plate with bacon, a blueberry muffin, and an orange - peeled and neatly separated into sections for ease of eating while she worked.

Nicole overrode the doors and walked in, placing her bag on a side table and snapping it open, pulling out her tricorder, as well as a hypospray and a few other instruments. "On a scale of one to ten, how much trouble are you going to give me," she said, holding up her tricorder.

“Depends on how much of a struggle you put up when I decide to shove that tricoder into one of your bodily orifices..” The Captain answered without looking up from what she was doing.

"We'll call that a 'three' then," Nicole said, flipping her tricorder open and scanning slowly. "You're still pale," she said.

“Pot. Kettle.” was all the response she got from the Captain, who continued to study the navigational reports detailing the freighters course.

"Yes but mine is natural, not to mention it helps offset my warm and cuddly personality," she said dryly. The tricorder beeped suddenly as Nicole reached the Captain's torso. "Lean forward," Nicole said, all trace of banter gone.

As she had been slightly leaned forward already, studying the data on her desk, Kennit promptly leaned back into her chair without speaking.

"Lean forward or I'll lean you forward," she ordered. She scanned the Captain's spine quickly. "Your implants are expanding," she said. "And you aren't reverting to human as easily. This isn't good."

“Well that explains it then. The reason you’re always so pleasant and congenial. You’re expecting me to be human, I wasn’t human when I was born, just half human. No wonder you’re always worked up..” Kennit replied.

Nicole bit her tongue, refusing to be baited and distracted. "Your borg components are getting stronger, and are gaining more control. That isn't good. We need to get them deactivated and remove your extraneous implants."

“Extraneous. Maybe the problems which so plague you Doctor are based on your incorrect belief in my species designation, and the constant tinkering by uninformed and unprepared personnel who continually fiddle with the implants bonded into my nervous system as well as those which enhance my skeleton and muscles. The damage caused is a continual drain which does have a negative overall influence on my continued health.”

The Captain picked up the last bite of bacon from her plate and popped it into her mouth, chewed a moment and then drained the last of her coffee with a long deep swallow to wash it down. “With an emergency situation at hand and our ETA now only a few hours away, any time in Sickbay submitting to further tinkering leaving me incapacitated is out of the question. I am experiencing no adverse effects at this time.”

Alec was still seething over how Rhea spoke to him. He decided the 'conversation' wasn't over and headed to the bridge, more precisely her Ready Room. He chimed to be polite and then walked in.

"I beg to differ," Nicole said, annoyed. He stopped halfway in as he saw Nicole examining Rhea. "Am I interrupting? 'Cause I'm not leaving."

"Ah, good, someone who can perhaps talk a lick of sense past that thick cranial covering," Nicole said, stuffing her tools back into her bag and folding her arms.

Rhea's gaze on the newly arrived First Officer, his tone of voice did little to aid the moment as the Captain stood in a slow leisurely motion and said, “only rising irritation.”

Though calm and mild, the effects of the increase in adrenocortical and hypothalamic hormones generated by a number of factors (Borg implants more active, the fear she’d felt at not knowing the status of missing crew.. most notably Alec) added a distinct level of aggression to her eyes and body posture as she rose and walked barefoot to the sleeping chamber where her boots and uniform shirt and jacket lay across the bed.

"Evidently we're more in a mood to nitpick my choice of wording than actually take heed of what I say," Nicole said to Alec, making sure her voice carried. "Cadavers are more agreeable! Give me a stubborn Vulcan over a Starship Captain any day." She sat down in a spare seat and huffed.

“I can probably find you a Starship Captain who is a stubborn Vulcan if that would give you something else to complain about," the Captain answered dryly from the other room.

Alec walked farther into the room, his gaze shifting between Rhea and Nicole. His sense of humor was sarcastic most of the time as it was here. "Our Captain being thick? Surely you jest. She's completely rational and open to suggestions..... as long as their her own." he replied, understanding what he had walked in on. "And the good Doctor said something about your physical condition that you took exception to, which means she was right." He looked to where Nicole sat, "What did you tell her?" He inquired.

“The usual nagging...” Kennit answered, removing the tank top and picking up her tunic to change. With her back to the door, the two nodular implants which had popped up along her spine were visible. Dark grey in color, 17.91 mm in diameter, the first located at the juncture of the cervical vertebrae and the thoracic vertebrae, the second lower down at juncture of the thoracic vertebrae and the lumbar vertebrae. Pulling her tunic on, she sat down to put on socks and boots. “Being shot while on a mission can increase systemic activity. It is nothing to worry about.”

"Famous last words," Nicole said. "I had a patient like that on Rigel. Visited the clan twice a month to check on him and he'd insist he was fine, it would take care of itself. Nice man, all around. I spoke kindly of him at his funeral."

Alec had seen where the two implants had burst through her skin. He looked to Nicole, "Those implants along the Captain's back are new." He volunteered. "Can you remove them and if so what is the risk to the Captain?"

"Well now, what do you know?" Nicole said, her voice rising in feigned shock. "Those implants ARE new! Such a good eye you have, Commander!" She stood up and gave him a good-natured punch on the shoulder. "My word, if only I had the sense to notice such things. And removing them? What a novel idea!" She looked at the Captain pointedly. "Even HE thinks they should be removed," she said, chucking a thumb at Hunter, then looked back to him. "Risk would be minimal but it would take some time, and evidently she doesn't want to be incapacitated when we investigate an illness."

Alec rolled his eyes but kept his temper in check. He even managed a smile as he sighed expansively as Nicole playfully? ragged on him. "In my defense, I.... oh never mind. I never said you didn't notice them Nicole. How much time do you need?"

Nicole looked at the Captain, then back at Hunter. "Four hours, unless there's something else she isn't telling me about. However," she said, slowly, "it would mean a day to recover. Even with her physiology and her still active systems, she'll need 24 hours in the ICU. After that, she'll be back on the bridge."

Alec turned his focus to Rhea, "That isn't so bad. Four hours for the surgery and a day in ICU. Can I come see her in ICU?" An idea beginning to take form in his head, He was here, Nicole as CMO was here, maybe they could do it.

"I don't see why not," Nicole said. "I'm sure she'd appreciate the company. It would keep her abridged of the goings-on on board as well."

Alec nodded. "Good. Now what are the risks to Rhea in regards to the surgery?"

"Minimal," Nicole said. "I've worked with implants like these before and--" she looked and realized Rhea was no longer in eyesight and sighed.

Meanwhile, having exited the Ready Room while the XO and Doctor were bickering like an old married couple, the Captain had stopped at the science station to speak with Lt JG Lévesque. “Lieutenant,” Kennit said. “I have transferred a data packet to your station. It details the course followed by the Maharshi Krishnatreya over the past few weeks leading to its current position. I need you to run a scan of the surrounding space and look for any indications of additional outbreaks of illness, including the two planetary stops they made.” (OOC: at this time there’s no other outbreaks)

Camille had returned to her station the previous hour, having visited some of her labs and met with the doctor and counselor earlier. “Yes, ma’am,” she replied, opening the data packet and beginning her scans. “Will have results for youwithin the hour.”

“Mr Holbridge,” she said then. “I need a deck layout and technical specs on the Maharshi Krishnatreya. There should be something available from the starship registry kept by Starfleet.”

"It will take me 30 minutes to sweep the database and I'll supplement it with my own sources, captain!" Jim said as he sat at the LCARS terminal.

“Miss Naroot!” The Captain then said. “You have the con until the XO and Doctor have finished bickering in there, I will be having a chat with Captain Torrance.” Kennit said as Cmdr Torres had already left the Bridge.

"Aye, aye!" Penny said, resisting the urge to clap with delight. She cleared her ops boards and transferred them to the Captain's console and left the helm for Davenport to slide in as she took her place at the center seat.

After a last glance at the ship’s status on the ops board, the Captain entered the turbolift and departed. She needed to have a long overdue discussion...

Two minutes later, Nicole stalked out of the Captain's ready room, saw Penny's disappointed look from the center seat and rolled her eyes, heading for the turbolift.

Alec came out next. A thoughtful look on his face. "Doctor, wait one moment... please. I have something I wish to discuss with you."

Nicole waived at him. "Then come along," she called, stepping into the arriving car. "We'll let Penny have fun for a few more minutes."

A relieved look crossed Alec's face as he moved to join Nicole inside the lift. Once the doors had closed he turned and faced her. He spoke without preamble. "It goes without saying that I am deeply concerned about the Captain's condition." He waited for her reaction and reply.

"Halt lift," Nicole said, leaning against the bulkhead. "Go on," she said.

He had her attention good. "A friend told me I needed to be a Starfleet Officer first and a lover second. It's been a hard lesson but I believe I'm getting there. This recent discovery of new implants is, in a word, troubling. However I think there might be a way to get the Captain to 'agree' to the surgery you propose. You and I are the only two officers that can remove her from command. Though we need to be in agreement." He stopped to see if she was following him.

"We'd also need Cassie," Nicole said. "Although I don't think that would be a problem. I also don't think it would be terribly convincing."

"No, probably not and I don't want to remove her from command, However the point is we can use it as leverage to get the Captain to have the surgery. Of course she'll hate me over this but it's the best thing for her."

"She'll hate us both," Nicole said. "Especially because it's already been tried."

Alec stared at her. "What?" He replied dumbfounded.

"Do you really think Cassandra and I haven't made the same mention at some point when she's acted insane? She blows it off and keeps on going. She'll call our bluff without even blinking."

Alec shook his head, "There has to be something we can do! " He exclaimed. "This is getting worse, the implants are threatening her physical condition." He sighed looked at Nicole. "I know you know that. Damn, can't you do that think with your eyes and make her agreeable?"

"That's not how it works," Nicole said. "Aside from the fact that she could probably resist to begin with, her implants would probably render it inert." She sighed. "And it's not her physical condition that worries me. I worry that the further she goes, the harder it's going to be to undo. She feels she has it under control, but that's how most of us feel when the rug gets pulled out from under us."

"I meant no offense Nicole. I'm completely unaware of how it works." He sighed, "You're probably right." He admitted "But there has to be something we can do. I know how she feels, I spend a lot of time with her and she can be very stubborn especially in regards to this."

"Well then for now, needle her. You're the only one she'll take it from. That or ignore her until she finally brings it up. Your choice. I'm not much for motivations, I just shove my way through things." She paused, the back of her mind nagging her. "She is right about one thing, however: I can't do the surgery now. I need her away from the Secondary Module until further notice." Course set, she looked up. "Bridge."

A nanosecond later, the car went back up two decks and the doors opened. "I'll keep you updated on our preparations, Commander," she said, ending the meeting.

Stepping out, Alec glanced back at her over his shoulder, "And I you Doctor." Neither his voice or expression giving anything away.

Penny turned and saw Alec coming back out of the turbolift and pouted, blowing a small raspberry and moving back to her station.

Alec heard and glanced at her, "I heard that Penny. I haven't relieved you yet, so you can sit in the center seat awhile longer." As he retreated to his office to figure out a strategy in dealing with Rhea.

"Aye, Commander!" Penny beamed at him, spinning around and jumping back in the chair.

“Looks like you’re in charge a bit longer,” said Camille, looking over her shoulder and giving Penny a smile. “Chu jalouse.”

Penny looked at her and grinned wide, scrunching her shoulders in excitement. "I don't get to do this often other than the night shift so this is a treat."

"Commander Hunter?" Holbridge said from the rear of the bridge, approaching the Commander. "The Captain asked for this. I ran the Maharshi Krishnatreya through Starfleet databases and a few of the locals as well. Ship's up to code, all permits up to date, crew passed background screenings, captain is an experienced space jockey. All in all, the ship looks good." Jim held a padd out to the XO

Alec turned at the sound of his name and saw an officer he wasn't familiar with approaching, He took the PaDD and read through the information. "Please come inside." He said. As the doors hissed shut he addressed the officer, "All looks good. No red flags."

"That's the problem, sir. It looks too good. Most freighters of this class have idiots, drunks, and other assorted un-hirable folks, usually a drunk or an addict for a captain. I did a little checking on some of the ports this ship called on in the last four weeks. This one here, Myrkos Station, sticks out." Jim took padd and tapped it. "The Maharshi Krishnatreya offloaded 60 metric tons of fertilizer and took on crew replacements. One Crewman Isaac Torres was among those who came aboard." Jim pulled up the biometric data on Torres. "Born 2355, lives in New Shiloh, worked for fifteen years as a crewman for various freighters." Jim tapped a control, and the image of Torres shifted to show a Starfleet gravestone. "Senior Chief Crewman Isaac Guillermo Torres was killed in action in 2375 at Deep Space Nine during the Klingon Incursion. And a few weeks ago he came aboard the Maharshi Krishnatreya and nobody batted an eye. Strange, huh?"

Alec looked at the PaDD again. "I'm assuming you double and triple checked this information. How is it no one picked up on this? Don't answer, I know how. It's a freighter and no one cares where crew comes from as long as their able bodied." He hefted the PaDD in his hand. "I'll take this to the Captain right now. She needs to see this. Good work Mr.????"

Jim gave the XO a jaunty half-salute. "Holbridge. Jim Holbridge, Starfleet Intelligence. The captain said I could tag along." Jim looked at his civilian attire, then at the XO and smiled sheepishly. "Guess I better go find me a Starfleet lieutenant-commander suit if I'm gonna hang around on the bridge." Jim looked at Hunter, his demeanor turning serious. "Commander, if I was a betting man, I'd lay even money that this Torres or whoever he is may be somehow involved with the viral outbreak, either as the delivery boy or Patient Zero. Torres' position on the ship allowed him freedom of access as an able crewman. I think if we follow his trail we can determine an origin point for the initial infection."

"A pleasure Mr. Holbridge and again outstanding work." Alec returned, "Yes, find the appropriate uniform. We may act like pirates but we don't dress as such...normally." He paused then continued, "As for betting, No bet, for I think your right about this duplicate Torres. Now lets see what else we can determine such as what is he or his organization up to?"

"Soon as I change into my union suit, I'll lend a hand tracking this mutt's movements...sir! I been a lone operator for too long!" he shook his head in mock-exasperation. "Permission to leave the bridge, commander?" Jim grinned shamelessly.

"Get out of here." Alec mockingly growled, "And when your in the proper uniform, get back to finding out just what is going on with our fake crewman and the freighter he's on."

Holbridge nodded and slipped into an turbolift, then reopened the doors. "Uh, commander, would you mind if I bunked in one of the guest quarters?"

Alec fixed the Intel officer with a look, "Indeed not Mr. Holbridge, you are after all a guest. In fact if you decided to 'bunk' with the Queen of Sheba that would equally fine."

 

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