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Erich Jaenke

Clinical Analysis

Clinical Analysis

 

Erich and Tess

 

There is an advantage to having a deep understanding of the psyche. Often what is not said is more revealing than what is said. Sudden pauses, rewording, hesitation, weight shifts, excessive blinking, tiny beads of sweat, and fidgeting are “tells” that a person is not being entirely truthful, and Dr. Tesla Abbingdon was watching for tells.

 

The crew of Manticore had already shed one false admiral, and a false Commander McFly lay in the morgue, so there was good reason for the command staff of Manticore to suspect lies or half-truths as the second Admiral Atragon-9 stood before them to explain why this had happened.

 

“I ... I am sorry that there has been so much confusion and deception about this mission since we found the convoy,” he began. It was a typical introductory ploy of assurance, and from the looks on everyone’s faces, no one bought it. From there on, his story grew more and more bizarre. As he spoke, the admiral’s eyes repeatedly returned to Erich. Erich looked overwhelmed, confused, and almost terrified, and Tesla suspected that his distress was not from a lack of medication. Whatever was being transmitted between the two of them was terrifying: something that needed to be passed on to Commander Kenickie. Whatever it was, Tess would tread lightly.

 

* * * * *

 

Kansas was probably right about Erich needing medical attention and agreeing with her did not sit with him well.. Everyone could see how distracted he was, from his staff down in engineering to the department heads in Ten Forward. The ship was loud, the voices overlapping, often the same speech, different writers. Difficulty in picking out one voice among many increased as time passed since his last medication. As useful as it was in listening to the Admiral's inner voice intertwined as he spoke the voices had to stop.

 

Sickbay, at least the entrance, looked as it did most times: quiet, calm. Just as Erich liked it. The doors hissed open as he strode into the sickbay lobby. "Doctor? Any doctor?"

 

“Yes, Erich.” Dr. Abbingdon turned away from the coffee pot and put down her cup. “How can I help you?”

 

Erich stood unmoved. Lost. Distractions surrounded him. He could hear Keb, quite clearly to his current detriment. He mouthed the words rolling in his head. They overwhelmed as he spoke out.

 

"Erich," he started with an odd rendition of Keb's cadence. "It's was really him. Trust what you felt and me. I don't know of th-" He stopped mid-thought and turned to Doctor Abbingdon. "Doctor?" He asked as he blinked.

 

“I believe I know what you came for,” she said, taking his arm to urge him toward a private alcove. “Take a deep breath, sit down, and try to relax. I’ll have the dose ready in a moment.” The privacy screen materialized, and within a few minutes, Dr. Abbingdon was ready to mitigate his telepathy.

 

"Doctor," he said without looking at her, only staring ahead as he sat on the biobed. "All is not well. I ejected the warp core and I'm not sure it was the right course." He paused as he organized his thoughts. "So many confused voices, so many doubts of my actions...even my own staff." Erich looked directly at her, looking disheveled. "Then the meeting in Ten Forward."

 

Dr. Abbingdon turned, and, seeing his expression, put the hypo aside. “What about the meeting in Ten Forward?” she asked with casual interest.

 

"The Admiral gave a speech to the senior staff. I thought he was going to berate me for ejecting the core, but he had some long speech about.." he searched for the name. "Harris? Yes, Harris," he said nodding at himself. "Did you hear the broadcast?"

 

“I was there, Erich. And it was... interesting.”

 

Erich looked confused. "I could hardly understand him, but he was speaking so much, shifting his thoughts...wait." He paused. "You could only hear his words. I think he was trying to tell me something. Yes, but what? I wish I could convey what it was like. The fallout from being late on my medication is intense." He appeared to be shifting his head randomly. Memories were pulling him this way and that.

 

“Is it so intense that you cannot sort out what he said and what you heard him say in your thoughts? Will the medication will help you settle down enough to recall what you want to?”

 

"I should take some, I don't think it effects my memories." He smiled. "It's like..."

 

“Very well,” she responded, retrieving the hypo as she returned the smile. “Wait a few moments before you try to sort things out.” The hypo gave a quiet hiss, cold against his neck. “How about a cup of tea? Coffee?”

 

"Dreams! Coffee! Yes coffee." His excitement settled as fast as it arrived. "Black with two sugars please. Two Atragons. One real, the other a dream. That's what it's like Tess, er, Doctor."

 

“Tess is fine,” she assured him with her calm, pleasant smile, “so long as I can still call you Erich. Black, with two sugars.” Dr. Abbingdon rounded the corner and within a few minutes the rich aroma of freshly brewed Kona coffee drifted in, followed by the doctor, handing him a cup.

 

He welcomed the cup to his hands and brought it to his lips. "Mmm, so you didn't hear it? The words spoken and not were distinct. It was the first time I have heard his voice actually. One sounded like a practiced speech. The other was...was... Did his voice sound shaky to you?"

 

“He sounded a little shaken up, if that’s what you mean. I noticed him staring at you, and your frown as he did so. Were you confused? Were his words disturbing?” She sipped as she settled into a chair.

 

"Yes, I was. I don't know if his words were disturbing. More conflicted, yet disturbing as well, or 'disturbed?'"

 

“How so?”

 

"Who is Harris?" Erich shook his head. "I think I felt fear in the Admiral when he thought of him. Fear of what he has done," he looked wide-eyed at Tess, "or what he will do. Plans to do. Oh no." Color drained from Erich. He felt fear. The warm coffee did not stop the pain starting in his stomach until a gentle hand touched his knee.

 

“Erich, look at me,” said Tess, waiting a moment to engage his full attention before she continued. “That’s it. Take a deep breath and relax. Good. Now listen."

 

“Captain Ben Harris commanded the USS Kitty Hawk at the inception of the Special Operations Program. As the admiral said, he was wronged, and yes, I have verified the admiral’s account. Now, after you settle down and focus, tell me why you believe he is here and is planning something.”

 

"I don't know. I have not met Ben." He spoke of him as if he knew him on a first-name basis. "I, rather Atragon feels he has other plans. I have to stop him. I think he is lying, both the Admiral and Ben. Neither of them is speaking the truth. Tess, don't believe anything they tell you. Trust what you feel. Bah! You can't... we proceed with anything the Admiral says. I have to stop the crew from following his orders. Everyone's in danger. Tess. Planet killer! PLANET KILLER!" Erich's coffee spilt onto the biobed, but he drank the remainder in one gigantic gulp.

 

The hand on his knee tightened. When he looked up, the doctor had turned to face him straight on and her eyes locked on his.

 

“Erich,” she said with a direct, commanding tone. “Settle down... and focus on me. Take a few deep breaths and back up. If you lose your focus again, look at me, and wait until you regain control.”

 

[TBC in sim.]

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