Medical Mystery

Posted on Fri Apr 22nd, 2022 @ 7:43pm by Lieutenant Ayana Hillis & Lieutenant Commander Deanna Celes & Commander Jonathan Grayson & Commander Samantha Howard & Lieutenant Aiko Kato & Lieutenant Commander Shoniara T’ghann-Travis Dr & Petty Officer 1st Class Amethyst Reece

Mission: Jupiter Mystery
Location: Jupiter Sickbay
Tags:

Dr Sam Howard listened carefully as the holodoctor rattled off all that he knew regarding the current crew's condition. He provided no insight as to the missing crewmembers, but the intel he had on the unconscious state of those who remained was both puzzling and concerning. They were in a coma, but their brains were active, more so in any with any telepathic ability. Now all Sam had to do was work out why, and how to reverse it.

" I take it you've tried standard revival procedures?" She asked the balding holographic representation of a doctor.

"Of course" he replied, a look of haughty derision on his face. "What needs to be done is to find a way to counteract both the nanotechnology and the biological agent. Conventional methods have thus far proven ineffective."

Suddenly the sound of the transporters could be heard and three forms appeared in sickbay. After a moment the transport cycle completed and they were clear to be seen, Ayana, Aiko, and Shoniara. Ayana called out, "They need help. Shon has fallen asleep and Aiko is fading."

“Weren’t they wearing their suits?” Amethyst looked at Samantha. “How were the suits compromised?”

"No suits," Aiko responded though she was having trouble forming full sentences. Her mind was foggy and her eyes heavy. She found herself struggling to stand and would likely have collapsed onto the floor had someone not caught her...she was not quite sure who.

She looked around trying to assess her environment and found that it was unfamiliar to her. However, the faces and voice seemed familiar. She could see Dr. Howard, a nurse whose name escaped her and...the EMH?

"I mean," she started to say, looking back to see that it was an engineer...or was it a security officer that was propping her up. "I mean to say...we did not beam down with a suit...infection on the planet, makes...sleepy...so sleepy."

Aiko turned around so she was now embracing the man in teal uniform. His body felt so warm and comfortable and she drew him closer and rested her head on his shoulder. She felt her consciousness beginning to sleep again despite desperately trying to will herself to stay awake.

Dex opened her eyes and yawned wondering where she was, last thing she knew she was in a chamber on the planet, felt sleepy and now..she sat up on the biobed she was on. “I hadn’t finished on the planet, I have to return.” She slid down onto the floor a little muzzy still. Everything and everyone seemed to have some sort of ‘halo’ glowing around their bodies. “Ayana, we have to go back down there the answer is ….” She stopped. It sounded like someone was whispering in her ear. She looked around in case someone was standing next to her but, she was alone. The urge to return to the planet was becoming overwhelming, almost as if she belonged there.

The EMH walked over to Shon and took her gently by the arm, "I'm afraid you are in no condition to go anywhere at the moment lieutenant. Please return to the biobed."

Shon nodded and let the EMH take her back to the biobed. She secreted a hypo and injected herself with a stimulant to see if that would help.

Ayana looked at Shon and Aiko and then looked at Samantha. "Why does this seem to affect everyone so harshly and yet I feel fine?"

Sam narrowed her eyes a little and ran a tricorder over the three of them. We know it goes for those with telepathic abilities first, that explains Dr Dex, Aiko however is 100% human with no telepathic ability, so it blows that theory" the CMO mused" Where you all in close proximity to anything in particular? An artifact, power source or something of the like?"

"Maybe Celes can get some answers from the artifact we found on the planet. It was completely out of place with everything else down there. Then again, those ruins were like a hodgepodge of various ancient Earth cultures. Very European for the most part, lots of Norse and Celtic influences, but also some Egyptian and Japanese. I'm telling you, it was like taking a stroll through some interactive museum, as if somebody had tried to recreate ancient Earth, but mixed up details."

"Sounds odd, why would anyone want to recreate ancient Earth culture, let alone do it badly" Howard replied as she input a series of commands into one of the medical computers, running a series of comparisons against known nanotechnology and biological agents that would cause the symptoms they were witnessing.

"Many ancient Earth cultures had ties to what was believed to be alien civilizations which gave them knowledge. The Egyptians, Druids, and Norse were among such cultures" mused the EMH as it scanned Ayana. "Hmm...this is interesting. It isn't that the nanotechnology hasn't infected her, but rather that the biologic agent has been render nearly inert. Lt Kato has been minimally impacted."

"I wonder if we can replicate it's effects and use it as a treatment..." Sam mused as she input another series of commands into the medical database.

Aiko was finding herself becoming more alert, if a bit more slowly than she liked. She wondered if it was because she was no longer on the planet. She smiled sheepishly to the Engineer who was gracious enough to still be holding on to her. "Sorry...I think I can manage now, hopefully."

She looked to Sam and Ayana. "Do we know if the device is the source of the nanites?" If it was, she wondered what the ramifications were for beaming it on board the Jupiter...she supposed it was better the derelict ship than the Washington.

Ayana looked at Aiko, "We haven't heard anything from Celes since we beamed up."


In the science lab, Celes had already begun her analysis of the strange artifact that had come up from the planet. Her initial results were puzzling. It was made of neutronium though it had a gold coating all around it, and she was reading tritanium signatures and bio neural circuitry. What she found most odd was that it appeared to have writing on a portion of it, the language unknown to her; she was having the computer run a decryption on it. She had the feeling that this was somehow human technology, but it was advanced technology, more advanced than anything she had ever seen.

In Engineering. Jon and the small engineering team from the Washington had managed to stabilize the warp core and get the systems back into workable sustainable condition.

"Commander, this artifact is something you have to see. I can't say with certainty yet, but I think it is from Earth, just an Earth from a different time than ours."

Jon listened to Deanna's observation. "From Earth? A different time? Could it be a mirror Earth? Also what the signal? Have you any ideas on that?"

"It is the source of the signal. It would appear that it was sending the signal to the sister planet, the other M-class world in the system."

"So, it's sending a signal is there any indication it's been received or a reply coming back?"

"Not a mirror universe. I think it comes from a future Earth, at least a few centuries. Why it would be here is still a mystery to me." Celes considered Jon's other query. "As for the signal, I know it is going to the other planet. I'm not getting any indication that it was getting a reply, and I can't say if the signal it was sending was being received, but I can't rule it out at this time. We may get answers on the planet if we take a closer look, and I think we will have to go to the other planet as well."

"If that is the case, what if two or three of us, take one of the Jupiter's shuttles and check out the other planet? Maybe we can get some answers to all the questions we have." Jon commented.

"That sounds like a sound plan, though I'm sure we should discuss it with the captain. I would also suggest that we should remain in the environmental suits until Samantha can give us an all clear regarding whatever is causing these comas."

"Agreed." Jon replied as he tapped his combadge. "Grayson to Shran.. Captain, we'd like to investigate the other M-class planet. Deanna has discovered the artifact is sending a signal to it. "We'll take one of the Jupiter's shuttles and it will be a small away team, myself, Deanna and either Ayana or Amethyst."

=^=I would suggest Amethyst. Keep an open comm channel and keep me aware of the situation.=^=

Shon awoke and opened her eyes after a short sleep. If anything she felt refreshed as though she had slept for hours. Her mind felt energized and full of ideas. Jumping up from her biobed she stretched and bounded over to Ayana touching her on the shoulder. “How are you feeling and what has been going on?”

Ayana looked at Shon with astonishment. "You're awake" she said in amazement.

The EMH walked over and began scanning her. "Your body has managed to overcome and reject the nanotechnology. You shouldn't have been able to do it naturally, and yet you have. The only reason for this I can find is your fairly unique physiology. This technology is designed to work flawlessly with Vulcan or Risian but apparently not for a hybrid such as yourself, which is a rarity amongst races in the Federation." The EMH walked over and showed the data to Samantha. "Her body is still registering high levels of the biological agent that put her into slumber, as if her body is having difficulty dealing with it, quite different compared to the reaction that Lt Hillis is having."

" Indeed" Sam headed over and started running a barrage of tests to see if they could somehow use Dex's immunity to help the others.

Ayana leaned over to Shon, "It appears we are medical experiments" she said with a hint of joviality.

“Well if am a medical experiment then bring it on. I feel as though I have had a full weeks sleep, I have not been sleeping at all well but now, I feel energized. What’s going on?”

The EMH return to Shon's side, "Tell me lieutenant, have you been meditating and sleeping normally as of late? Your body chemistry seems out of norm."

“I would prefer you call me Doctor, Doctor, after all I am the ACMO of the Washington. In answer to your question I have not been sleeping well since our last mission, some nights not at all. Meditation has also been difficult.”

The EMH had a look of haughty derision. "Your biochemistry is completely off, and not only because of the biologic and nanotechnology in your system. Perhaps whatever has caused your insomnia and inability to meditate has also assisted you in fighting off the effects of the nanotechnology."

Shon smiled and proceeded to give the EMH the same look of haughty derision. “I have yet to find out what has caused my sleep and meditation problems, however whatever has induced my wakefulness can only be good given our current situation. Have you considered dissecting a nanite and attempting to introduce my blood chemistry to an deconstructed atom, tricky, very tricky I grant you but you might learn something?”

The EMH has a look of annoyance come across its face. "Of course it has been considered, we simply haven't done so yet. I'm a doctor, not a magician." The EMH walked over and grabbed a hypo and an empty vile and then walked over to Shon and pressed the hypo against her neck, extracting blood. "I hope you don't consider me some sort of vampire now" it quipped as it pulled the vile and took a look at it. "You will of course need to remain here while we run the tests."

“I will remain here unless my presence is requested on an away team. We need to return to the planet. In the meantime perhaps you need my expertise on nanotechnology?”

Ayana looked to Samantha, "Any chance we can go back to the planet? I would like to continue our investigation."

"I second that," Aiko chimed in. It made sense, especially now that they had concluded that human physiology was not at risk of being affected by the nanites. She wondered if the fact that she had initially felt the sleepiness on the planet was due to the fact that she had relatively recently received an overdose of sleep medication, thanks to the Orion syndicate. Although she was sure the drug was no longer in her system, even now, her sleep was still off.

“I wonder”, Shon said really thinking aloud, “whether giving us stimulants actually accelerated the onset of sleep?”

"There's a lot of things we're wondering about at the moment" Sam agreed as they went to work.

Jon tapped his combadge, "Grayson to Amethyst. Meet Deanna and myself in the shuttlebay. We're going to take one of the Jupiter's shuttles and go on a road trip."

Amethyst appeared from the rear of Sickbay. “Aye Commander” she smiled as she walked across to Grayson. “I’ll get my medical bag in case we need it.”

"Good deal. Keep your phaser with you as well just in case." Jon added.

Amethyst nodded as she headed for the door to go and get ready. “Yes Commander.”