Search Teams

[DrDMatthews 0]

A log by Dr. Debbie Matthews and the freshly promoted Lt.Cmdr. Brian Smith

 

 

The order finally came down. Debbie and the rest of the medical staff had been expecting it for a while. There were three areas of the ship that had sustained major damage including serious hull breaches.

 

       The underbelly of the drive section had taken a direct hit resulting in a hull breach. The same was true for sections of the primary hull and the neck of the ship. Everyone had been ordered to their duty stations and department chiefs had just completed their head counts. Much to Debbie's dismay, she was missing three people. Their quarters were located in the damaged area of the saucer section. She wasn't ready to give up hope for them but after reviewing the initial reports, Debbie knew the odds were against them.

 

       The damage control teams had finally managed to put out the fires and make sure the hull breaches were no longer venting atmosphere. Now it was time for the search teams to go in...to look for the living as well as the dead.

 

       Word of their missing associates quickly spread through Sickbay. The mood was grim. Nevertheless, medical personnel were an absolute necessity on the search teams. She had to assign two of her staff to each team. Debbie doubted she would have a problem finding volunteers but she didn't want to stretch her resources too thin. Sickbay was nearly full. Most of their patients suffered minor to moderate injuries but there were a handful who were considered serious.

 

       Debbie had already decided she and Merina would accompany the team searching the saucer section.  Russ Eckerd and Mile Linkowitz would take the damaged drive section while Rocco Studly and Grace Allen would search the damaged area in the neck of the ship. They had all been informed of their assignments and were gathering their gear when Debbie happened to notice one of their patients, Brian Smith.

 

       She sighed as she watched Brian pacing back and forth beside the biobed. She'd been so busy with other patients she'd almost forgotten he was there. Smith had been admitted to Sickbay prior to the Romulan attack. Debbie was pretty sure he had come down with some version of the alien plague. Rocco had been running the necessary tests to confirm the diagnosis when the Romulans showed up.

 

       Brian seemed to be feeling better. Then again, it may have been nothing more than an adrenaline rush. She walked toward him while catching Studly's attention and waving him over.

 

       "How are you feeling," she asked Brian as she approached the biobed.

 

      "I feel alot better than I did when I got here," Brian replied. "But things would be much better if I could help with things."

 

     Brian had spent his first three Reaent years as Matthews' assistant in the medical department. After receiving his promotion and moving to Science, he had missed the interactions of sickbay. He had been aware of this, but decided to take the position, citing encouragement from his closest friends, including Debbie.

 

   Now, Brian was stuck in sickbay without a job.

 

   "Are you sure that you don't need any help?", he asked.

 

       Dr. Rocco Studly came up beside Debbie as Brian finished speaking. She nodded for him to follow her and they moved away from the biobed so Smith couldn't hear what they were saying.

 

       "How far did you get with that blood analysis before we were so rudely interrupted?" asked Debbie, referring to the tests Rocco had been running on Brian's blood just before the ship was attacked.

      

      "Far enough to know he isn't going to die," chuckled Studly. "The antibiotics we're giving him are already eliminating the bacteria. He's telling you the truth when he says he's feeling better."

       Debbie glanced in Brian's direction. She had no doubt his condition was vastly improved. For one thing, his temperature was now normal and he was no longer green around the gills. She again looked at Rocco. "Is he contagious?"

       The other physician shrugged his shoulders. "That I'm not sure of. He may have been at one point, but odds are, he isn't anymore."  Rocco also hazard a quick look at Brian. "But remember, if this is that alien plague, it's mutated into something relatively benign. Even if he is contagious, a couple of doses of Baytilin will knock out the disease in a matter of hours."

       "Hmm," mused Debbie. "Hard to believe this is what nearly wiped out an entire civilization."

       "It probably isn't the same bug," replied Rocco. "Chances are, those deaths were the result of a mutation of a homegrown bacteria these people had lived with for centuries. That particular mutation made it deadly. But I don't think the bacteria we found in Brian is the same one that killed millions of people. I would guess the bacteria continued to mutate and once again became relatively innocuous."

       Debbie smiled at Studly. "Perhaps we'll have an opportunity to go back to that planet and gather enough information to test your theory." She started walking toward Brian. "In the meantime, I'm going to release Brian." She looked up at Studly and grinned. "But not completely."

 

       A moment later, the Reaent's CMO deactivated the force field that had been keeping Brian within a six meter radius of his bed. "You're not dying," she remarked sarcastically. "But I'm not quite ready to turn you loose on this ship. So, here's the deal. Merina and I are going with the search and rescue team assigned to the damaged saucer area. Do you want to tag along?"

 

    Brian was stunned. "Want to go! Anything but staying here. Plus, I'm good at damage marking stuff. I'll do it!"

 

His response came as no surprise to Debbie. "I expected as much," she quipped, turning toward one of the medical assistants who was standing nearby. "Go ahead and give him his clothes," she said to the fresh faced medic. "And make sure he turns in that medical gown."