The 48 hours Part 1

Posted on Fri Jan 18, 2019 @ 8:48pm by Lieutenant Nicole Anderson & Fleet Captain Rhea Kennit & Lieutenant Penelope Naroot & Lieutenant Arashi Tanaka Mr. & Lieutenant Cassandra Kennings & Lieutenant JG Camille Lévesque PhD & Senior Chief Petty Officer Samantha Summers & Lieutenant Samantha Raylen & The Doctor

4,285 words; about a 21 minute read

Mission: Plaga Navis
Location: USS Victory/Runabout Thames
Timeline: Immediately after away mission, spanning 48 hours

Hour 1:

Nicole beamed into the decontamination chamber in the rear compartment of the runabout, her hazmat suit now disassociated atoms that didn't rematerialize.

She stripped out of her uniform and put it on the floor then stepped into the shower. She cleaned herself quickly and efficiently, ignoring the uncomfortableness of the room-temperature water, and once she was dry enough, she stepped out of the chamber into the sleeping quarters and replicated herself a fresh uniform. She dressed quickly and then hit the comm panel. "Anderson to Victory: I'm clear. Lock onto my combadge and destroy my uniform, then send over the next person."

"You got it," Penny said, locking onto Nurse Cannivali's signal and beaming him over.

Nicole moved to the cockpit and sat down in the pilot's chair. Through the viewport, she could see the medical team moving around the isolation lab. She sat back and watched them go until the doors to the cockpit opened and the company started to arrive.

Tanaka had beamed over next, his hazmat suit and tricorder destroyed during the transport like Anderson's did. Mā sore wa okorimashita.(Well that happened.) he whispered to himself. He went to decontaminate and then went to the area that he was supposed to be in.

It took another three quarters of an hour before the last of them were transported over. As Osika stepped out of the sleeping compartment, Nicole nodded and hit the comm panel. "Anderson to Victory: we're all here, start the clock."

"Mark. Counting down 48 hours," Penny said. "Hope you're comfy."

"And tell Cassandra...I'm going to need some supply."

"Roger that," Penny said, closing the channel.

A few of Nicole's staff looked their way and raised a hand in greeting. Nicole returned the hello, watching them through the viewport, then turned back to the others. "All right bunkmates," she said, "we are here for the next forty-eight hours. We can take turns sleeping, there's only one head so be patient, replicator is fully stocked. Under no circumstances should you re-enter the decontamination area. Find a place to sit or lie down, read a book, write a letter to family, whichever. We should be perfectly fine, so please don't dwell if you can help it. Tell me if you feel any symptoms and I'll examine you. For now, try to relax."

Finding a seat, Sam leaned back and sighed, “Wish we carried a larger runabout for this...going to get a bit cramped in here for 2 days..”

"There are four seats in here, and four bunks in the second compartment for the five of us," Nicole said. "Aside from having to share one bathroom, we'll manage."

"Um...to that end..." Nurse Cannivali said hesitantly.

"Go," Nicole said, waving him away. "And get some cot time."

He nodded gratefully and left to the sleeping compartment.

Nicole and Doctor Osika both sat in the pilot and copilot chairs, watching the displays from the lab just a few meters away. Nicole settled back in her chair, getting comfortable. They were going to be there a bit.

The Runabout's comms systems activated again, and a French Canadian voice came over the speaker. "Lévesque to Runabout Thames. Just informing you that bio lab one is ready to provide any support you need. We'll be staffed continuously until your mission is complete."

Nicole's lips curved upward ever so slightly. "I appreciate your support," she said. "Do me a favor and scan the samples we sent for any non-organic substances. I'd like to see what we can do to isolate whatever the contagion is ASAP."

“Bien compris,” said Camille. She turned off the channel and set her team to work analyzing anything that came their way.

Arashi wanted to relax but found that the whole situation had unsettled him. "That is something that I do not want to see ever again. I am going to have nightmares about that for days..." he said and sighed. He walked over to the replicator and got some tea. "Matcha tea, hot." he said to the replicator and grabbed the cup after it replicated for him.

Nicole reached over and patted his arm. "I don't blame you."

For her part, Sam was just tired. She wanted off this runabout and knew the best way to get through their quarantine time was to just settle in and sleep.

Hour 2:

Crewman B'tal came over to the biobed holding Nurse Cromwell and shook her gently. "Nurse, Doctor Anderson's asked that we wake you."

Maggie groaned and tried to shrug him off, but eventually opened her eyes, realizing where she was. She sat up and swung her legs over the side, hopping off the bed. "All right," she said, "let's just pretend no one saw me asleep in Sickbay." She straightened her uniform, drew herself up to her very unimpressive height, and wobbled her way through Sickbay and back to work.

Hour 5:

[Sickbay]

Doctor P'k'ala scanned the patient one more time. Vital signs were stable and so far a rest seemed to be helping. Unfortunately, he feared it was a stop-gap measure until they could deliver the patient to more appropriate facilities for a proper neurological and psychological examination. Perhaps the Vulcans had something that could help.

He deactivated the inhibitors and removed them from the patient's head, letting her brainwaves adjust themselves and begin to regenerate. After a few minutes, he pressed a hypospray to her neck, rousing her.

Samantha Summers slowly blinked her eyes, while feeling movement in her arms and legs. She looked at the person holding the hypo spray. "Is my being awake going to be an day to day thing, or am I back in action 24-7? "

"That is not my decision to make," Doctor P'k'ala said, his reedy voice hard. "Once you are dismissed you can return to your quarters, and the Captain will decide if you may return to duty."

Summers nodded in affirmative. " Very well, Doctor, I shall do my best to operate and contribute as any officer of Starfleet would. In the meantime, would you be able to bring me up to speed on what has been happening since my 'nap?'"

"We have encountered a Federation ship that has lost its crew to a plague," Doctor P'k'ala said. "So if you will excuse me, we are rather busy. Please remain here while we monitor your vitals. We will dismiss you once we are assured you are stable." He turned abruptly and walked back to his station to continue his analysis.

Summers watched the Doc walk away, then shrugged. "You have a nice day too," She thought to herself, and then settled back on the bio-bed.

Hour 6:

On the bridge, Alec sat in the XO's chair as he observed the derelict freighter floating almost leisurely on the viewscreen. He knew what had to be done as did the entire crew. He gave a sideways glance at Rhea who sat in the Captain's chair and like him studied the freighter in a stony silence. her eyes fixed on the viewscreen for what seemed an eternity.

Over the last six hours the Captain had monitored the hourly tests being administered on the away team members, so far there was no indication of infection. However, with no understanding of the virus itself, it remained too early to make a guess. The away team remained under full quarantine protocols. Now, she exited the Ready Room and crossed the bridge to take her seat.

“Helm.” Kennit said clearly. “Bring the ship around. Load two quantum torpedoes and target that freighter. We have orders to destroy that ship and ensure there is no possibility of the virus contaminating another ship.”

"Aye, Captain," Penny said. She swung the ship around with one hand on the helm and activated the torpedo launchers with her left hand on Ops. *If I could just install a third hand, I could run this ship by myself,* she thought. *They should have made me an Edosian.*

The Captain leaned back in her chair, legs crossed. “Fire.”

Penny hit the button and the torpedoes shot out. With the other ship's shields down, there was nothing to stand in the way of the torpedoes' destructive path. They hit their marks precisely and exploded, quickly reducing the ship to a cloud of rubble.

"Vessel destroyed," Penny said.

“That’s one.” Kennit said. “We have the navigational data from that ship. Set a course back to its last stop, warp 6.”

"You got it," Penny said. "Should be a relatively short trip. Course laid in."

"Then by all means, Miss Naroot," the captain drawled. "Engage."

"Engaging," Penny said and plied her boards as the ship leaped into warp.

Hour 9:

Maggie approached the patient slowly, terrified. She didn't want another attack, and even with Danny standing there as a guard, she was scared. She looked at him quickly, marshalled her courage and stepped up. "Crewman, you're discharged," she said, a bit overly formally. "You can return to your quarters until the Captain reinstates you for duty."

Samantha got off her bed and stretched and took in a deep breath. She turned to Maggie and smiled. " Thank you, the bed was very comfortable and I managed to get some quality shut eye." Summers turned to look at Danny then back at Maggie. " I'll be in my quarters, awaiting word from the Captain. " Summers whispered to Maggie while looking at Danny. " Psst..keep him around, I think he likes you." Then Summers departed to her quarters.

Hour 12:

Nicole looked around the runabout. It was late in the evening and everyone was starting to settle down for the night. Nicole surveyed them quickly and made some observations. No one looked in any physical distress. She was sure they were all suffering from some cabin fever though. When she got to Arashi, however, she paused. His shoulders were hunched and his back was to the rest of them.

She looked and caught Osika's eye. "Dasha, why don't you give Sam and Joey their next checkup and you can all get some sleep. I'll take the graveyard shift."

Osika was going to offer but saw Nicole's expression and nodded. "Yes, Doctor," she said. She gestured for the two of them to follow her and left Nicole and Tanaka alone.

When the door to the sleeping compartment closed, Nicole sat back in the pilot's chair. "All right then, Arashi?" she said gently.

"I am fine. There is nothing wrong with me doc." He said a bit wearily. The truth was he had seen so much death in one place and it haunted him. In his line of work, he maybe would have see one body or two like that but so many in a place like a starship and they were not able to do anything about it. "So, what can I do for you, doc?" He asked he stood up to stretch.

*What would Cass do,* Nicole thought, then decided the answer was be irritatingly vague and roundabout till she wheedled it out of a person. Well, she was a doctor, not a head shrinker, but she had an inkling of what was going through his mind, and she wasn't a roundabout kind of person.

"I know that look," she said, watching him. "You're still on that ship."

"For the love of... I still see them in my mind's eye. I thought about what they might have been doing before they died." He said sobbing slightly "They are dead and not because of some accident or battle fought against an enemy, but from some disease. Some foul disease that does nothing but make you suffer! They didn't deserve that, no starship crew deserves that but the galaxy saw fit to deal this awful hand to people who were probably only trying to do good for the galaxy." He hit the wall of the shuttle and bruised his hand. He didn't care about it at the moment though he did feel a bit of a sting, as if something snapped in a bone.

"Of course they knew what they were getting into. I know that spiel that Starfleet gives all of the time when someone dies. But fate always want to do the worse things to good people!" He said angrily, not being angry at anyone in particular but the feeling of not being able to solve the mystery or at least getting clues as to what happened was nagging on him. "God I can even see them talking to each other at the ten forward about their shifts and what had happened during their down time." He cried openly, partly grieving the crew of the other ship's death and partially due to frustration.

Nicole felt herself get teary-eyed just watching his reaction. She'd seen it before, and it was never easy. She wasn't a 'hug it out' kind of person, but--and despite all rumors to the contrary--she wasn't made of stone either.

She reached under the console for a medkit and brought it over to him, steering him to the nearest chair and opening the tricorder. She scanned his hand slowly and pulled out a bone knitter and began repairing the damage, holding his hand gently. "When I was in residency, it was only about three months before I saw a patient die. I was shaken to my core. It was horrific and I could barely stand after seeing it. We let Death win. We did everything we could, and that person died a senseless, needless death. My mentor finally took me aside and said there were two rules that were constants throughout the galaxy. Rule 1: Sometimes people die. Rule 2: The best doctors can't change Rule 1."

She scanned his hand again and squeezed it gently, looking him in the eye. "Those were people, yes. They had lives, and families and didn't deserve their fate. It's unfair and unjust, but you can't burn yourself up over it." She glanced at the monitor near him, regretting taking anyone on board with her. As soon as she saw the bodies, she should have done it alone. "I'm not really good at all this emotional stuff, but I know someone who is, if you're willing to talk to her?"

Arashi looked away for a moment as if to ignore Nicole but he decided against it. He was an emotional mess, at the moment and really needed to talk to someone about it. He made eye contact and spoke with sadness in his voice still. "I suppose, I mean if you think it will help. I'll talk to her." He honestly was up for something, anything to get his mind off of what he was feeling. He felt weak, not like the samurai of his holodeck programs. He didn't know what to do. He could picture the crew of the ship going on about their lives and that is what got to him. He wanted to find out what had happened and be able to tell the families what happened to their loved ones and he couldn't even do that. What kind of an Security officer was he if he couldn't even do that?

Nicole gave his shoulder a pat and activated the comm system. A moment later, the communications monitor came to life and Cassandra smiled gently at them. "Good evening," she said.

"Good evening yourself," Nicole said. "Mister Tanaka thought he could use some time with you." She gave Arashi another pat on the shoulder and went to the rear compartment to give them some privacy.

Cassandra smiled gently at Arashi once they were alone. "What's on your mind?" she said, gently.

Arashi sighed and sat down. "I don't know really what to think about this situation. I mean I expected to see a lot of death but this...Not so much. Dying in battle I could understand but this...it is a cruel fate dealt to good people. They should have been home with their loved ones on vacation or talking in ten forward before their next duty shift but this had to happen? Why is that? Why is fate so cruel as to do this to them?" He said to Cassandra

"Those are perfectly normal feelings," Cassandra said. "There's nothing I could offer as an explanation other than sometimes people die. They could have died in a battle at once and we wouldn't have been in much of a different position."

"I know that it would be the same if they died in battle. But at least that would be something I understand. But this, this is the cruel twist of fate that no one is able to change. God damn it, I couldn't even find out what had happened to the crew! I don't even know who or what killed them!" He shouted angrily. Was this anger because he felt as if he had failed, or was it because he was just venting about the situation. "Sorry about snapping like that." He said feeling a bit defeated after shouting. "God it is ingrained in my head, what I thought they might be doing before....before all of this. I thought it would go away after the mission but it hasn't and I am scared to even close my eyes to even meditate." He was scared. He was prepared to see death, as his instructor at the Academy said that it was a possibility, no matter how remote it seemed to be.

He just wasn't ready to see this. The death of someone through something that had a chance to be fixed but wasn't due to one reason or another. He wasn't ready to see an entire starship crew dead from an unknown, possibly incurable disease. He felt like a balloon with the air slowly being let out. "God I really need a drink, maybe some tea or something..." He said with a sad smile.

"I might recommend something a bit stronger to brace yourself, but I understand the need for purity right now," Cassandra said. "It's natural to be upset by so much death. But, as Buddha said, 'even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely.' I believe the key word there is living. You are living, and it's your life that saves them after death. When you meditate tonight, do not fear Death showing you them. Embrace it; meditate on the dead and their spirits. Guide their spirits to the other world of Heaven. Allow yourself to be their guardian in the next life, rather than this life. Protect them from the evil spirits that plagued that ship. That is your job, that is your reason for being here, in this chaotic moment. Doctor Anderson and her team will protect the living; you protect the dead."

"As for the drink maybe something stronger is a good idea but to tell the truth is that I don't really drink when I have an emotional issue. As for the rest I suppose that I could do that. That is actually what my dad told me when I was younger. Strange that it takes another person with wisdom to tell me that." Arashi said, somewhat mollified by what was said "Life is weird like that I suppose...Anyways, I think it is about time I got something to eat before I rest up. So If you'll excuse me, I need some food."

"Of course," she said. "We'll speak again when you're out, and feel free to contact me whenever you need."

Just as she said that, his stomach basically roared at him and he went to the replicator to get dinner for himself.

Hour 16:

“Computer: time,” Nicole said, yawning and sipping her tea.

“The time is 0120 hours,” the computer said.

“One third down,” she signed, setting her cup down. She was pouring over the research data but her eyes were starting to cross. Despite her best efforts, she was still mortal.

Her screen lit up and she glanced over, seeing a smiling face. “What are you doing up?” she said, smiling back. “It’s after one in the morning.”

Camille was still in the bio lab. Her uniform jacket was on a nearby bench and her collar was loose. A blue lab coat hung loose on her frame. “I was going to say ‘bonsoir’, but if it’s that late, then bon matin,” she said. “A lot of sample data have been coming our way, and the scans have taken a while. I took a break earlier, but dismissed my staff about two hours ago so they could sleep.” She took a sip of her own warm drink.

"Well I'd offer you a nightcap, but I'm away from my stock," Nicole said, then blushed, thinking about their previous nightcap. "So...." she cleared her throat.

“So,” Camille repeated back. She knew a conversation like this was probably coming, though she still wasn’t certain which way the convert would go, nor which way she wanted it to go. “About the other night...”

"Yeah," Nicole said. She finally looked up at the screen. "I wanted to say thanks."

“Thanks?” asked Camille. She gave a bit of a sardonic, wry smile. She knew Nicole was being sweet, but also knew she’d appreciate an attempt at dry humour. “What for, specifically? Company? Warmth? Well practiced skills?”

"All of the above," Nicole said. "Not to mention creativity. When you replicated that summer squash and the file clips I was dubious, but wow," she said, grinning ear to ear.

Camille’s eyes went wide, and her cheeks began to flush. She didn’t remember anything like that. I must’ve had more to drink than I realized!

Nicole broke out in a fit of giggles. "Goodness, the look on your face," she said, laughing.

Camille dropped her head in embarrassment. When she lifted it back up, she had a nice, friendly smile, happy to be making a joke with her friend. “I had fun, too. The burning question is, what now?” She adjusted her hair, pulling some stray locks behind her ears. “Is the other night something you’d want to ever do again?”

Nicole's giggle fit subsided and she chewed her lip for a moment. "Yes," she said, finally. "But I don't want you to feel led on. Right now, that light, fun, friends-with-intimacy level we hit is where I'm happiest, and I'd like to explore that more." She looked down for a moment and sipped her tea. "Full disclosure: I attempted a relationship with two crewmates. One ended very badly, the other...well it's a sore spot. I'm not looking to repeat that experience, nor am I looking to chase you off the ship." She sighed and sat back, tucking her legs under her. "Of course, this is all assuming I survive the next 32 hours," she said, somewhat flippantly. She sipped her tea again and gave Camille a thoughtful look. "What're your feelings?"

“Bien, premièrement,” Camille began with a straight face, “you’ll survive the next 32 hours. You’re a professional. Dying like this is beneath you.” Then she smiled sweetly. “And I appreciate this talk. I’d like to explore this, too, and have more fun with you. I don’t feel led on. This isn’t a relationship. This is two adults seeing what fun they can get out of life.” She took another sip of her tea. “Thanks for this suggestion, by the way. Ruskal spice tea is part of my usual rotation now.” She raised her teacup to cheers Nicole in the screen.

"Cheers," Nicole said, beaming and raising her own. She took a long drink and finished hers, setting the cup down.

"I'm not afraid of Death. I've flirted with him more than once. I'm more worried about not dying, and this runabout becomes my new home," Nicole finally said.

“We’ll do everything we can to make sure that isn’t the case,” said Camille. “The ship and its crew, I mean. For some reason they value your company.” She smiled, trying to bring a bit of humour back to the situation.

One of her panels chimed, so she moved away from the comm panel a moment. She came back having read it. “Nicole, be advised that our scans of the samples revealed nothing concrete. No inorganic compounds that might promote viral replication, or any trace particles that point to its origins. Whatever else you need from my end, my lab is at your disposal.”

Nicole sighed. "I didn't think there would be, but at least our angles are covered. Near as I can tell it's a mutated strain of something common enough to fly under our radar, but I don't understand how it could have gotten so aggressive." She rubbed her eyes. "We aren't going to solve this tonight," she said. "At least, I'm not. We should get some sleep."

“Agreed,” said Camille. “Someone will be in to relieve me shortly, but they have orders to wake me if there’s an urgent request. And when you're allowed back on the ship, you’ll just need to show me how people have fun on Rigel.” She winked.

Nicole smiled. "Hope you're skilled at climbing trees," she said. She yawned and stretched. "Thanks for the company." She glanced at the chronometer. "31 hours to go. Going to be a very slow 31 hours." She shook her head. "Good night, Camille."

“Dors bien, Nicole,” Camille replied, and closed the channel. Within a few minutes, a Warrant Officer on watch came to relieve her, and she went straight to bed.

Nicole recycled her teacup and got up, stretching again, and walked into the sleeping compartment to wake Doctor Osika to replace her.

TBC

 

RSS Feed