Supernova
Posted on Sat Dec 7th, 2019 @ 1:30am by Lieutenant Sandra Adamson
Mission:
For Whom The Bell Tolls
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: MD 06 0130
1321 words - 2.6 OF Standard Post Measure
Kelris woke up in her bed in a dry shiver. With the emotional outbursts of the crew, she'd been awoken frequently, and each new one was like a knock on her head. Normally she could filter it out, but she'd been slowly overwhelmed. As she'd lost sleep, her defenses had weakened further, starting a downward spiral that she was now unable to pull out.
She'd been fighting an ever-increasing headache for several days, relying heavily on medication to remain functional. Tonight, she'd been hit by a wave of fear and panic on one side, and lust on the other that she simply couldn't cope with, leaving her feeling like her head would soon explode. She stumbled out of bed for the shower to wet her overly-dry skin. She flipped on the light, and let out a loud whimper, feeling like she'd just been stunned by a phaser to the eyes. She immediately turned the light back off.
"Computer, bathroom light, very dim."
"Raising light level to 'very dim'", the female computer voice replied, as the room filled with just enough lumens to see. Kel dampened her skin in the shower, then pulled her nightgown back on to head to sick bay. She really wasn't thinking clearly; it's hard to do when workman are using a jackhammer - inside your skull.
After mistakenly turning right coming off the turbolift (the direction of her office) she eventually wandered into sickbay. She was using one hand to shield her eyes, and the other to trace the wall so that she didn't bump into anyone.
"Hello? Anyone??" she asked in a loud whisper, unwilling to uncover her eyes enough to actually look around. She was wearing the light nightgown, but no shoes. Her normally azure skin was more of a powder baby blue - Renna equivalent of being white as a sheet. Even the whisper hurt. Somewhere nearby, something instrument was buzzing, and she wished with all her heart it would shut off.
Sandy was having the night shift, and because she was used to it, she had the entire sickbay fully lit, even though it was night time. She didn't realize it would inconvenience some of the crew until the chief counselor stumbled in to sickbay, covering her eyes. Of course all alarm bells immediately went off in her head.
"Computer," she called, "dim the light with fifty percent, and turn off all unnecessary monitors." In normal circumstances that would drover her to panic, but somehow the pending urgency of her next patient, and the fact she disturbed by the amount of light in sickbay. "Lieutenant," She stated calmly. "I am here. Are you alright?" She hoped the dimming and diminishing of the light would be helping Kelris.
"So many conflicting emotions..." she whispered, "can't block it out. Head... just wish it would explode and get it over" she whimpered.
"Mi-migraine. Happens, but, ah, never this bad. Ran out of meds." Kel had lowered her hand, but was still squinting. The lowered lights and sound level was definitely an improvement. She'd done her best to explain, but thinking really wasn't her friend right now.
Sandy had started scanning Kelris with a medical tricorder. "I see," she just said. She looked at the scans. With all the work she was beginning to feel some effects herself. A solution had to be made soon. Because they couldn't loose the doctor. "Let's get you on a bio bed." She helped Kelris on a bio bed. She rubbed her eyes a bit and started a more extensive scan of the counselors brain. She then prepared a hypospray and put it to her neck. "This should help with the migraine. For the real problem I don't have a cure yet," She explained. "You seem to have what all the crew have." She sighed. "I am sorry, lieutenant."
What everybody else has... the statement swam upstream for a second, until the hypospray took full effect. The pain faded, and her scattered thoughts began to take some semblance of shape again. This was, well, terrible news. They were negotiating with an alien empire, and she might be called upon to make sure what people were saying and what they were actually feeling were at least close. She was, essentially, a walking blatant lie detector. Knowing that there was an empath in the room tended to keep both sides more honest, without feeling invaded by a full telepath. While she hadn't been called on in this capacity, it was always a possibility, if the captain or ambassadors felt it was necessary.
Therein was the problem; the drugs made her feel better, but numb. She could still vaguely tell that the crushing mass of emotion was still quite present. But it was like indistinct noise from a distant rock concert now. Just as one wouldn't be able to hear the words or much about the music, she couldn't feel much around her, emotionally speaking. That alone left her feeling weird and off-balance.
Physically, she was doing better however. While still a bit pale, her deeper blue was returning. Her vital signs were coming back closer to normal, at least for now.
"Dr Adamson" she said, sitting up on the bed, and only now fully realizing that it was the chief medical officer. "We have a mission. I... need a solution, that won't make me, um, what is the human word? Wandy?" she asked questioningly. She'd heard the word 'wonky' at Academy, but it hadn't quite stuck. She liked to use human slang when she could, but wasn't always the best at it.
"Wandy?" Sandy tried to understand what the counselor tried to say, but in that context, "Oh, you mean wonky." She chuckled. "Well, what I gave you is suppressing the headache and any symptoms of migraine. But I can't guarantee you're going to go wonky. I can't..." She started blinking on and off. As her vision turned back to normal she continued, "We are working on a solution to disable the devices, but we need to make it safe." She turned around as her vision blurred out.
She reached for the trolley next to the biobed and fell over pushing the trolly forward and dropping all the stuff from it. She looked shaking at her hands. But the blur disappeared and everything turned pitch black. "Counselor, get doctor Sekat immediately." She looked around panicking, trying to remember where the counselor was. She didn't see anything, she lost her vision.
Kelris came out of the bed like a shot. She wasn't sure what had happened, but the urgency in her voice was obvious. She hit the intercom, and said "Medical emergecy! Dr Sekat to sickbay!" That done, she rushed to kneel beside the doctor.
She weighed the pros and cons of establishing a telepathic link for a split second, then laid her hand on the doctor's. It would cut out any chance of her misunderstanding, and outweighed the invasion she felt.
"What is wrong" she 'spoke' into Dr. Adamson's mind. It was like English, only more clear. As a communication method, it was like comparing a Halodeck concert to a scratchy 20th-century audio recording.
Sandy was now blinking the entire time. She tried to control her breathing as she was panicking. "Lieutenant...Kelris..I am blind."
"I'm here. I'll be with you until the doctor arrives." What a strange thing to say, Kel thought, when talking to the chief medical office. She was, however, a being of flesh and blood, and as such was subject to illness. But somehow one still expected them to be immune and invulnerable.
Despite that she tried to do what Sekat taught her, she still started to panic. She started to scream, "WHERE IS THE LIGHT...PLEASE DON'T HURT ME..." She tried to reach to something to get control over herself. Her panic attacks never been this bad in ages.
Lt Sandra Adamson
CMO
&
LTJG Kelris
CC
