"Time is of the Essence"

[MisterSmith 0]

First Lieutenant Brian Smith sat at his station on the bridge. He was tired. Last night he had spent so much time thinking about what had happened on the Richmond, that he had not been able to get any sleep before his duty shift started. He had many perks, being the Chief of Science, but sleeping through his duty shift was definitely not one of them.

 

Brian got up and walked around the Bridge. His stomach began to feel queasy, and he thought that walking around might shake it off. It seemed to work, but the feeling soon came back. Brian had grown up on a hospital ship, and was a MD himself. It didn't take the experience or the degree to realize that something was wrong.

 

He slowly walked towards the turbolift. Again, he was feeling somewhat okay, but he didn't know how long the feeling would remain pleasant.

 

He stepped into the turbolift. "Sickbay." He said, as he slowly slid down the wall until his lower body rested on the floor.

 

The turbolift halted. He slowly got up and walked towards sickbay.

 

He entered, to find Dr. Matthews deep in a conversation with Captain Michaels.

 

She took one look at him and knew something was bad.

 

Debbie was trying to explain her dilemma to the Captain when Brian stumbled into Sickbay. His timing was.....impeccable. The Reaent's CMO and her team had yet to determine exactly what caused the alien plague that had nearly annihilated an entire civilization.

 

Initially, they thought it must be viral but they soon ruled out that possibility. It was probably bacterial but they still weren't sure. It appeared to be a peculiar organism similar to a fairly common protobacteria called Rickettsia. But it wasn't a Rickettsia. The two organisms shared some characteristics but it in many ways, it was very different.

 

It was so different, it appeared the transporter's biofilters missed it, a fact that seriously concerned Debbie. Nor did it show up on any of the medical scans run on those crew members who spent time on the Richmond. To detect it would probably require analysis of actual blood samples.

 

The CMO was just about to tell the Captain that she and her staff would be retesting everyone who set foot on the Richmond as well as those who came in close contact with the Reaent's alien guests. That's when Brian showed up, looking very green around the gills.

 

Debbie didn't bother excusing herself. She and a couple of others ran toward Smith and scooped him up just as his knees buckled. Quickly ushering him to a biobed, they activated a sterile field to quarantine the area until they knew what they were dealing with.

 

"Brian," whispered Debbie as she adjusted the settings on the biobed. "Tell me exactly when you started feeling ill. And I need to know everything you can tell me about your symptoms."

 

Brian struggled, but was able to take a breath. "I'd say probably an hour or so ago, I started to have a stomach ache, but I didn't really think anything of it. I'm a doctor. I know when I'm sick."

 

He knew what kind of reaction this would elicit from the good doctor, but before she could give a response. "Which is exactly why, when it started to get worse, I made my way down here."

 

The pure air of the containment bay helped his breathing slightly. "On the turbolift I was dizzy, and I thought about checking for a fever. I'd say all signs point to a very bad flu."

 

Debbie patted Brian on the arm. "Just take it easy, you'll be fine. We'll get something into you that will make you feel better. Then we'll figure out what's ailing you."

 

Matthews turned to Merina who was now standing beside her. "We'll need blood work and you know what we're looking for. I don't have to tell you that time is of the essence. It would be nice to know what to expect from this bug before Brian gets any sicker." The Caitian physician nodded and immediately went to work on Brian.

 

Debbie stepped over to the Captain who was standing a few yards away. "Well, sir," she stated flatly. "We may have our first case of that alien plague. We won't know for a little while yet and it may take longer to predict what the organism's full effect will be. I'll let you know as soon as I find out. In the meantime, we need to get everyone who was exposed to the aliens into Sickbay for a thorough workup."