In Dreams they wait (backpost)

Posted on Fri Jul 26, 2019 @ 3:27pm by Lieutenant Nicole Anderson

3,279 words; about a 16 minute read

Mission: Plaga Navis
Location: Various
Timeline: Post-Briefing/Pre Orbital Insertion

Xander sighed as he checked the menu again. He smiled. "That was the perfect offering." As he shut the PADD down to focus on his walking something ahead caught his eye. He looked up to find the lovely lieutenant, who'd earlier called him the Vulcan God of Death and tried to break him, stumbling. She was Vulcan and, like all Vulcan's, they didn't drink. Why was she stumbling?

As he got closer, he noticed she was gasping for air. Hurrying, he pulled her arm so she turned to face him. She pulled away. "Leav.....leave me al...alone." She tired to pull away but it was obvious she had no strength and now that he was looking at her she was a pale sickly Vulcan green and shaking all over. She was sweating profusely.

"Sickbay. Let's..."

He pulled and she stumbled, falling to the ground. He was just bending down to pick her up when she kicked out sending him flying back. She hit a panel on the wall and pulled herself through a door. By the time he was on his feet she'd locked herself in, what he assumed, were her quarters.

He cursed. "Xander Tokai to Sickbay, medical emergency, Senior staff quarters."

***

"Medical team en route," Maggie said, then called out. "Computer, what was the location of that signal?"

"Deck five, section twelve," the computer said.

"Doctor Anderson, Medical emergency. Alpha team response Deck five, section twelve," Maggie said.

"On my way," Nicole said. Maggie grabbed a medkit and fell in line as two medtechs loaded a larger kit on an antigrav gurney and followed out.

They stepped off the turbolift and around the corridor, Nicole coming up beside them, black bag in hand. They stopped to see Xander standing outside a door.

"Xander Tokai, Ship's Head Diplomat," Maggie said quietly to Nicole. Nicole's mind raced, going over reports of new arrivals and as her eyes narrowed, she immediately put her mental blocks in place. Half Vulcan/Half Betazoids were not on her list of favorite people still, and she didn't need him strolling through her garden. "What's the emergency?" she said.

He sighed. "Lieutenant T'Mira. I saw her stumbling and when I approached she was pale and sweating, having difficulty breathing. I tried to get her to sickbay she umm...." He rubbed the back of his neck feeling sheepish, "caught me off guard and pushed me aside. Went in her quarters door's locked. She didn't seem happy about my sickbay suggestion."

"Surprise, surprise," Nicole grumbled. She hit the panel and began keying in her medical override.

Inside T'Mira had stumbled to the bathroom promptly vomited twice and thankfully managed to rinse her mouth. Feeling a tad better she stumbled back in the living room on shaky legs. That's when her hearing had become tricky, as if she was under water. Black spots flooded her vision and she fell unconscious her head hitting the corner of a table causing quite the noise and the gash.

Outside Xander had been just about to say something further when a startling crash from within radiated. He swore again and with a strength he rarely used he pried the door open, a gut reaction.

"Do I tell him it was unlocked?" Nicole muttered to Maggie, pushing Xander out of the way as the medical team moved in.

"Arterial pressure sixty-over-thirty," Nicole said, looking at her tricorder, then closing it, feeling for a pulse. "Pulse thready. Hypo." She held out a hand and Maggie slapped a hypospray in it as the medtechs got the gurney up and running. Nicole programmed it and pressed it to T'Mira's neck, trying to get her heart back under control.

"All right, let's get her up," she said, kneeling behind the woman's head. She took her neck carefully and nodded to the others. "One, two, three." They lifted and placed their patient gently on the antigrav gurney, the bed lighting up with readings.

"Keep an eye on her AP, admin fifteen ceecees of benjisidrine and I need a dermasealer," Nicole barked.

As the instrument was put in her palm, she worked it over the wound, stopping most of the bleeding, stitching the flesh together quickly. "All right, we'll pretty it up in Sickbay," she said. "Move out."

They moved quickly, taking her out of her quarters and towards the turbolift to Sickbay.

Xander followed behind trying to stay out of the way. He let the med team go first and then took another lift

A short turbolift ride later, they were back in Sickbay and with another three-count, had T'Mira on a biobed. "Finish up with a dermal regenerator," Nicole told Maggie, who went to attend the head wound while Nicole took more readings.

Xander came in. He stayed back a bit. "Is she going to be alright?"

"If I can figure out what is wrong with her," Nicole said, tersely.

"You know she won't be happy when she wakes up here," he said rubbing his head.

"She should appreciate the fact that she's waking up," Nicole grumbled. "Now stop talking."

Maggie smiled and took the man by the arm and guided him away. "Have a seat over there," she said, pointing towards a chair by a biobed across the room. "I'll let you know as soon as we know something."

He studied the doctor. "I can understand T'Mira's hesitation. Is her bedside manner always like this?"

"She doesn't have time for a bedside manner. She's trying to save a life," Maggie said.

"Cromwell!" Nicole shouted. Maggie rushed back and pulled the instrument tray closer.

"Cortical monitor," Nicole said, pressing a hypo against T'Mira's neck.

Maggie passed the instrument over and Nicole placed it on the Vulcan's temples. "Tell me if it drops below seventy percent," she said.

"Aye, Doctor," Maggie said.

Nicole stepped back and watched the readings on the biobed. "She reads as almost in a coma, but alpha waves are present. What the hell is happening to her...." she muttered.

Xander stepped forward. He wondered..."Doctor can you tell me how strong the Alpha waves are?" He had a theory. If they were anywhere above 50% strength then he knew what was going on.

"Unusually high for someone unconscious," Nicole said, her brow furrowing. "Well over 60 percent, in fact. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she's in REM sleep, but her other readings are completely fouled up for her to maintain that state."

He swore. "I believe she's had her memory telepathically suppressed. The best way to tell is via mind meld but...that is not something I will do without her say so. Is there a way to get the waves down medically. Can we wake her for a few moments?"

"I'm sorry, who are you, again?" Nicole said, rounding on him. "What is your relation to this person?"

"I am the diplomat. I want to help. If we can wake her I can ask her if she wants to do a mind meld. I think that I can brake the memory block."

Nicole stared at him for a moment, then let out a huff. "Vuhlkansu," she muttered, then looked back at him. "Not everything is solved by a mind meld, and not every Vulcan is trained in mind melds as a form of therapy. If this is some kind of induced fam-khaf-meil then having you meld with her only puts you in danger as well. But..."

She chewed her lip and looked over the readings again. "Maggie, cortical stimulators," she said, coming around back to the side. "A good jolt to her brain to stimulate neural activity should snap her out of it," she said. Maggie handed her the instrument and she set the charge, placing them on T'Mira's temples. "Twenty mil," she said. Maggie nodded and Nicole watched the readings, watching for a spike in her alpha waves.

"Now," Nicole said, watching T'Mira buck slightly on the biobed.

T'Mira's body jolted off the bed. When it came back down her eyes snapped open and in a flash of an eye she rolled off the bed with cat like reflexes. Wild eyes she'd grabbed a tray taking on a defense posture. Her head was spinning and the pain inside it made it feel as if it would split open. She looked around wildly. "Lieutenant T'Mira, Intelligence Officer Starfleet Serial number 0h-one-three-seven-five-seven-one." Her heart hammered in her chest. "I will resist. Resistance is not futile!" Images, bits and pieces of the memory that lay hidden started floating to the surface but not enough to form a full memory.

As Maggie and the rest of the staff backed away slowly, Nicole calmly reached for her black bag. She opened it up, mumbled to herself, and pulled out her stunner. She aimed it squarely at T'Mira and spoke in a calm, level voice. "Lieutenant, you are in my Sickbay. You will put that tray down and come lie down. You are safe and secure here, but I will stun you if you pose a threat to my staff."

T'Mira seemed to stagger a bit. Xander took full advantage of this and stepped in front of the doctor. He spoke in Vulcan as he approached her. "Hayal. Kup ken-tor."

Seeming to come back to herself she looked at her hand and around. "I am in sickbay."

Gently Xander removed the tray from her hand and handed it to the doctor. "All is well."

T'Mira seemed to recover herself fully. She stepped away from Xander and clasped her hands behind her back. "I am fine. Doctor. I do not need to lie down."

"I gave you an order, Lieutenant," Nicole said, sternly. "I'tor ra nash-veh tar-tor."

Xander stepped in. "Why not lay down? The doctor wants to help."

"Yes and I have the right to refuse that assistance. I am fine."

Xander was getting frustrated. Why was she so stand-offish about the doctor? Then, in dawned on him. "Trust...you do not trust her."

T'Mira looked the doctor in the eye. "She just spoke, at the briefing, about using nanites on colonists without their permission. I will not be subjected to being a lab experiment, especially with nanites."

Xander raked his hands through his hair. He could sense her fear. He turned to the doctor. "Nurse can you get the lieutenant a water, she needs to hydrate. Doctor can I speak with you alone for a moment?"

"You know," Nicole said angrily, staring at T'Mira, "like everyone else in my school, we spent sixth year learning about The Great Divide, when our people and the Romulans abandoned Vulcan. We learned about Surak and his philosophies, and the Vulcan's sudden love of 'mastery of their emotions' and devotion to olozhika. Tosh. To think that you can just throw off thousands of years of evolution, culture and breeding? And they say the Romulans are arrogant! You think you have your finger on the pulse of ethics and morality. Well, I have some bad news for you: you don't. To be so arrogant and righteous, you haven't mastered anything. And if you truly believe the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, you would embrace the logic of what I'm trying to do." Her voice was hard as a rock, and rising in volume. "So before we discuss logic, trust and other things you are lacking on, I suggest you lie down on this biobed, do not give my staff any trouble and do not move until you're told, because this is my Sickbay and in here I give the orders. Is that clear?"

"Doctor as per Starfleet regulations I have a right to refuse treatment. I am fine. You may run your tests to confirm I can return to duty. Other then that I do not wish any other form of treatment at this time. As for the logic of your plan. I see none nor will I ever. As you are entitled to your opinion I am entitled to mine. You obviously have the ear of the Captain and her approval. Nothing I say will stop what is to be done. Logic tells me the only option I have is to register my thoughts with Starfleet and allow them to deal with you or not deal with you in any way they please." She sat on the bio bed. She turned to Xander. "I will be requesting to be removed from your security detail as well." Anger simmered inside her that he would have called sickbay. She didn't trust the doctor nor did she trust the diplomat.

Nicole walked up close to the Vulcan and met her glare, ire for ire. "I suggest you review the regulations that cover being a danger to yourself and/or others," she said, quietly. "If I feel you fall into that category, you are going to be my guest here whether you like it or not. And seeing your logic is flawed, I'll assume that whatever brought you here is still going on. So, we'll examine you, and you will be allowed to leave when we're done, provided nothing else happens."

She stepped back and rounded on Xander. "My office. Now." She marched away, not looking back.

Xander followed. He had a feeling T'Mira didn't do things the easy way but he also had a feeling that the doc, while she suggested the plan he found equally as distasteful as T'Mira she too was having some trouble with it but he also knew that this was the only plan they had.

He followed her into the office his calm seeming to radiate from him. They entered and the door hissed closed. He'd let Nicole make the first move.

Nicole came around her desk and sat down, straightening her uniform. She cross her legs and sat back, fixing him with a glare. After almost sixty seconds of silence, she raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

He sighed as he sat down. "As you know Vulcan's are touch telepaths. When I took the tray from her I felt her confusion which is no doubt due to her nightmare. But it's more then that. I don't think she knows the full cause of her fear which could have something to do with the memory block." He sighed again. "I sense her feelings towards you and they are not exactly warm and fuzzy. She doesn't trust you. Rather then badgering her into staying maybe she can do some counseling or even allow me to take her through a Vulcan ritual for memory recovery. I think this whole thing with the Borg had something to do with it."

"Splendid. Doctor Sanders will have a field day with her," Nicole growled. "But if she is a danger to herself or others, then her 'I do what I want' attitude is over and done with. Perhaps you can explain that to her, because she doesn't seem to grasp it otherwise. Now, if she doesn't trust me, then I am happy to have Doctor Osika take over her treatment. However, I will not authorize your melding with her until we know what we are dealing with. The last thing I need is you infected with something as a result. Fortunately for her, being a righteous pain in the ass isn't a condition to keep her off duty, otherwise half the senior staff would be strapped to a bed. So, for the time being, if she seems to be fine physically, I'll return her to light duty and schedule her a time with the counselor. Is this acceptable to you, 'Doctor'?"

He said nothing for a moment. "Permission to speak freely?" He didn't need it but it was polite to ask. He'd keep most of what he wanted to say to himself but there were things he did want to say.

"Why stop now?" Nicole said, dryly.

"Your bedside manner is atrocious....have you thought of speaking with a counselor?" He deadpanned.

"My bedside manner is more than sufficient, when it's appropriate" she said. "What would you have me do? Walk out there and act all kind and sweet? Tell her it's all going to be okay and I've got it all under control?"

"That is what doctors usually do." He said.

"Well I don't know what's wrong with her. So I don't know if it's going to be okay, and I don't have it under control," Nicole said. "And given that she already thinks of me as the Devil, and doesn't trust me, as you say, then how does acting even more disingenuous help? Not to mention I'm not about to get all emotional around a Vulcan. My mother raised me better than that. So I will continue to operate under my usual modus operandi until such time as circumstances dictate otherwise. I will not lie to her, mollycoddle her, nor tolerate disruptions in my Sickbay. On the other hand, nor will I let her suffer some malady without treatment. She's my patient, and I will make sure she is all right. If a mind-meld is required, you are the first person I will turn to."

He sighed and shifted in his chair. "Doctor Anderson. Stop. Take a breath. I understand where you are coming from. You do not think I do but I do. Everyone is demonizing you thinking of you as the bad one but....Answer me this. Have you weighed all the options about this nanite situation?"

"Yes," she said, tersely.

"Fine, and is there, at this time, another way to save those people?"

"No," she said.

"And if there was and you could choose between it and the Borg technology would you choose your current path or the other one?"

Nicole raised an eyebrow at the ludicrousness of the question. It resembled what her ethics professor dubbed "The Trolley Problem." Would you let an out-of-control trolley hit a group of people, or throw the switch and hit one person? Then when the class was in hot debate, he said, "the one person is your mother." That really sent them into a tailspin. She simply wrote on her paper, "you clearly haven't met my mother." Her humor got her a B- and a warning not to get cheeky again. She was tempted to point out he was asking her to choose between something real and something so fictitious it didn't even have any conceivable parameters, but given the way he worded the question, she honestly replied, "yes" and left it at that.

He let the silence stretch. "There, you see? What those who blame you fail to see is that you made the only choice you could and that choice, while upsetting, has cost you more then you let on. I get the feeling that you hate the choice you had to make, maybe not the choice but the fact that it was the only one." He smiled a little, just a quirk of his mouth. "Everyone is fighting their own demons and I am afraid for many you are the outlet. I am sorry you are going through this."

A low growl started in the back of her throat. Her blue eyes flashed red and she took a long, deep breath. "Thank you," she said slowly, "for what I'm sure you consider to be a great comfort, and your apology is accepted. If you will excuse me, I have much to do, and now considerably less time to do it in."

He stood. "Give yourself a break doctor, but also work on that bedside manner. You'll be a sugar plum in no time." He saw the look on her face and retreated.

 

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