I Don't Think So

[DrDMatthews 0]

Again, many thanks to the Captain and First Officer for their assistance with this log.  

 

  Captain Michaels sighed heavily and started rubbing his temples. Commander Ridire's reaction was quite different. He slammed his fist into the transparent aluminum window and uttered something unintelligible. Debbie assumed it was a curse. She and Michaels watched Ridire as he started pacing back and forth in front of the wall of windows, his anger mounting. It was clear they all understood the serious ramifications of her allegation.

 

     Debbie frowned. "Sirs," she began softly. "I'm afraid it gets even better."

From: The Mystery Deepens  

 

 

      Captain Fred Michaels looked sternly at Debbie. It wasn't necessary for him to speak. She could tell by the expression on his face he wasn't overly pleased to hear she might have even more bad news. She glanced from the Captain to his First Officer. Ridire's expression mirrored that of the Captain's.

 

      The Captain finally nodded. "By all means, Doctor. Please continue."

 

      Debbie picked up the PADD the Captain had dropped on the desk and quickly located her notes. "I sent an inquiry to Starbase 345 regarding Lt. Jacob Facon."

      "Who's that?" asked Michaels.

      "Lt. Facon was the Cairo's Chief Engineer until last week. He was temporarily replaced by this Lt. Drew."

      "Didn't Lt. Facon get sick while at the Starbase?" inquired Ridire.

      Debbie nodded. "Yes, Sir. That's why he was replaced. However, the circumstances surrounding his illness are extremely peculiar."

      "How so, Doctor?" questioned the XO.

      The CMO glanced at her notes and then at Ridire. "Lt. Jacob Facon has been with the Cairo for eight years. He was assigned to that ship straight out of the Academy and he's been there ever since. He became the Chief Engineer last year. From what I've been told, he's a classic engineer....totally dedicated to his ship.

 

      Debbie paused and looked at the Captain. "According to his file, he's had only one extended leave since joining the Cairo. His father died six years ago. Facon took off sixty days to return to Earth for the funeral. But he does like to attend the major engineering conferences. He usually makes it to at least one every year."

      Michaels smiled slightly. "A classic engineer."

     

      Debbie continued. "Three days after the Cairo arrived at Starbase 345, Lt. Facon and Lt. Aerso went to dinner at one of the restaurants on the Starbase. Before they left the ship, Facon complained to Aerso that he wasn't feeling well. Facon thought a good meal would cure whatever ailed him. Aerso told me by the time they got to the restaurant, Facon was pale and winded. He told Aerso he felt awful and thought he'd better go back to the ship and lay down for a while. Then he collapsed. The hostess at the restaurant called for medical assistance and Facon was rushed off to the Sickbay on Starbase 345. Aerso went with him. Half an hour later, one of the nurses came out and scanned Aerso. She asked him a series of questions that led Aerso to think Facon might have something contagious. He asked how Facon was doing but nobody would give him a straight answer. Aerso checked out fine and was ordered back to the Cairo. The next day, everyone on the ship was checked for Quillick Syndrome."

      "Quillick Syndrome?" queried the Captain. "I've never heard of it."

      "Most people haven't," replied Debbie. "It's a rare viral infection. It isn't overly contagious but it's a very nasty bug. The virus usually attacks multiple internal organs. It can destroy tissue so rapidly, patients often died before they were even diagnosed. It was a major problem during the first half of the last century. Primarily because it's a universal virus. We have yet to find a species that is naturally immune to Quillick. An antivirus was developed about ninety years ago and they came up with a vaccination a few years later. Since then, Quillick Syndrome has become extremely rare. So rare that most worlds discontinued mandatory vaccinations about forty years ago."

      Ridire stopped pacing for a moment. "So where did he get it?"

      Debbie shrugged her shoulders. "Unknown. Dr. Siler, the CMO on Starbase 345, thought Facon might have picked up the virus last month, during a conference he attended on Trill. But Facon is the only attendee who developed the disease. If Quillick was making the rounds at that conference, there should be several other cases by now. Besides, the Trill are paranoid about Quillick Syndrome. The virus is fatal to their symbionts. They are just about the only planet in the civilized universe that continues mandatory vaccinations against Quillick."

      "I had no idea," muttered the Commander.

      "Neither did I," replied Debbie. "Until yesterday, when I started researching Quillick Syndrome. The incubation period for the virus varies from one species to another. Among humans, it can run anywhere from twenty-four hours to thirty days.  One interesting side note....the disease is rarely fatal in patients with long incubation periods. Their immune systems seem to handle the virus fairly well."

      "But Lt. Facon didn't handle it well," quipped the Captain.

      "No sir," answered Debbie. "His immune system was completely overwhelmed. He was at death's door by the time he got to Sickbay."

      "So he was recently infected?" asked Ridire.

      Debbie nodded. "I believe so, Sir. Lt. Facon returned from that conference three or four weeks ago. If he picked up the virus on his way to or from Trill, the disease would have spread to other members of the crew by now. Yet, nobody else on Cairo tested positive for Quillick. I think Lt. Facon was infected no more than a day or two before he was hospitalized."  

 

      The Captain exchanged glances with his First Officer then looked at Debbie. Michaels spoke first. "What are you suggesting, Doctor?"

      The CMO swallowed hard and spoke up. "Sir, I'm suggesting that Lt. Facon's illness was no accident. He was targeted."

      "Targeted by whom?" demanded Ridire.

      Debbie shook her head. "I wish I knew, Sir. My instincts tell me whoever was behind the Cairo's destruction intentionally exposed Mr. Facon to the Quillick virus. They knew he would be removed from the Cairo to protect the rest of the crew from infection. That allowed someone else posing as Lt. Richard Drew to board the ship as the acting Chief Engineer."

 

      Debbie paused and looked from the Captain to the First Officer then back to the Captain. "Two days later, the Cairo is destroyed. We've accounted for everyone on that ship with one notable exception....the acting Chief Engineer. We've got a body in the morgue that probably belongs to him but we can't identify him. Is that a coincidence?"

 

      Debbie shook her head and answered her own question. "I don't think so."