The End of All Hope?

[Sean Keane 0]

Sean was sitting on a biobed in an out of the way corner of sickbay, brooding over a pile of PADDs trying to make sense of the data. He was sure he had missed something. If he could only find out why the medication, usually used to treat ordinary Cartalian Fever, wasn't working in this case he'd be considerably closer to actually finding a cure.

 

He picked up a PADD lying beside him on the bed, trying hard to ignore the pain that was spreading along his arms and legs. It felt like his skin was on fire. But that wasn't important now. All that counted was finding this cure, saving the lives of the crewmembers of the Exeter, Manticore and Starbase 36 and, of course, his own.

 

This whole thing was getting more and more frustrating. Sean knew that they were running out of time quickly. Not only could he see it but he also felt it. He did not simply monitor a patient's condition that was getting worse. He felt the pain, saw the effects this disease had spread over his own body. There were black-ish spots appearing on his hands. The tingling sensation in his limbs was gradually giving way to pain that was slowly getting worse until it became almost unbearable.

 

Sean tossed the PADD back onto the pile that was lying beside him. He glared at it as if this simple display device was the cause for their present situation. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and lay back.

 

This moment of relaxation ended all too quickly as a surge of pain shot through his body. Sean tried to stifle a scream but didn't quite manage. He hadn't been prepared for this. It felt like someone had literally set fire to his skin. His vision blurred. All he could make out were indistinct shapes moving around his biobed.

 

Someone put a soothing hand on his shoulder. A voice was talking to him but he couldn't make out the words. Then he felt someone press something to his neck and with a feeling of deepest relief he felt the pain subside. The blurred shapes slowly disappeared. The voices sounded far off. Sean's last thought before slipped into unconsciousness was that now all hope was lost.