Highly Suspicious

[DrDMatthews 0]

A message was waiting for Debbie when she returned to her office. She tapped the comm unit and sat down behind her desk. The screen came to life featuring the standard fleet emblem followed by a ruddy faced, middle aged man dressed in white.

 

      The man smiled weakly. "Dr. Matthews. I'm Dr. Ernest Siler, the Chief Medical Officer on Starbase 345."

 

      "About time," mumbled Debbie as she leaned back to listen to the rest of the message.

 

      "I apologize for not getting back to you sooner. We're in a peculiar situation here at 345. The base is locked down and security is extremely tight. I just received authorization to contact you."

 

      Debbie frowned, feeling a little guilty for thinking Dr. Siler was too busy fooling around to respond to her inquiries.

 

      "You inquired about Lt. Jacob Facon, the Chief Engineer assigned to the USS Cairo. He is indeed hospitalized here. The day the Cairo arrived, Lt. Facon became quite ill. He has been diagnosed with Quillick Syndrome."

 

      That got Debbie's attention. "Quillick Syndrome? Where did that come from?"

 

      "No one else on the Cairo tested positive for Quillick so Facon was the only member of the crew we quarantined. As I'm sure you know, the incubation period for this disease can run anywhere from one hour to 90 days."

 

      Debbie leaned forward and rested her elbows on her desk. "I also know it's as rare as hens teeth. Where did this guy pick up Quillick?"

 

      "Quillick is extremely rare, especially in this sector. We're confident Lt. Facon did not contract the disease at Starbase 345. It's more likely he was infected over a month ago during an engineering conference on Trill. He was the only member of the Cairo's crew to attend."

 

      "Trill?" Debbie's shoulders sagged. "I could see it if he'd been on some backwater world, but Trill?" She looked intently at the screen, wishing this was a live comm.

 

      "I've been informed by those who sponsored the conference that Mr. Facon appears to be the only one who contracted anything more serious than a hangover. I'm not sure why. Everyone had private sleeping quarters but the attendees were all housed in the same hotel. Lt. Facon insists he never went off on his own. He was with at least two or three others at all times. I've been trying to confirm that but with this lockdown in place, communications have been difficult."

 

      Dr. Siler's face turned grim. He moved a bit closer to the screen and his voice dropped to just above a whisper. It was clear he didn't want to be overheard.

 

      "Dr. Matthews, I find all of this highly suspicious, especially in light of what happened to the Cairo. Even if Facon was infected while in the privacy of his room, the odds of only person out of 400 contracting this disease is beyond calculation. If Facon picked up Quillick at that conference, there should have been at least 15 to 20 other cases by now."

 

      Debbie was thinking the same thing. Quillick Syndrome was not overly contagious but Dr. Siler was correct. Facon was in close contact with numerous individuals for an extended period of time. It was downright impossible that he would be the only one to get sick.

 

      Ernest Siler took a deep breath and continued his message.

 

       "Lt. Facon was critically ill for a time. His condition has improved and we expect him to make a full recovery. He will be at our facility for another two to three weeks. In the meantime, we will continue our efforts to determine where and how the Lieutenant was infected. I will keep you updated."

     

      The doctor made a few more closing remarks but Debbie was only half listening. "Quillick? Of all things, " she muttered softly.

 

      This was just what they needed....another mystery. Why was Lt. Facon the only person at that conference to contract Quillick Syndrome? Did he infect himself because he knew the Cairo was doomed? Or was he singled out for infection because they wanted him off the ship? And how convenient that another highly qualified engineer just happened to be at Starbase 345.

 

      Dr. Siler was finishing his message and about to sign off when he suddenly leaned forward again. "By the way, we haven't told Facon about the Cairo. He isn't strong enough to handle that sort of news just yet."

 

      Debbie sighed and deactivated the comm. She couldn't believe anyone would intentionally infect himself with something as virulent as Quillick Syndrome. It was one of those diseases that rarely killed. But patients often wished they would die and get it over with. Dr. Siler said Facon had been critical and was still too weak to be told about the fate of his ship.

 

      Debbie leaned back in her chair and gazed at the ceiling. "Somebody targeted him," she whispered to the empty room. "Then they targeted Cario. And our mystery man in the morgue was involved in this up to his eyebrows. Now, if we could just figure out who he is."