In Hack
Posted on Sat Apr 22nd, 2023 @ 4:26pm by Lieutenant Commander Hermia O'Rourke & Corporal Andrew Shy
Edited on on Mon Apr 24th, 2023 @ 10:39pm
0 words; about a 1 minute read
Mission:
Episode 14 - The Poseidon Adventure
Location: The Snake Pit - Deck 9 - USS Pioneer
Timeline: MD002 1600 hrs
Andrew stared at the monitor, having re-run the mission tapes for the fifth time.
At least.
He was currently under quarantine in his quarters, trying to keep busy and
His memories of the underwater base were… Muddy. It was the best way to put it. Everything had that dream quality and the worst thing was, it was his fault. He’d not kept his suit buttoned up and the Kavicus entity had gotten into his brain.
That had put the team at risk and now he was in hack.
Andrew had been through post-mission debrief within the first few hours back aboard Pioneer. Now he was in limbo until medical certified him fit for duty.
That was the mountain he had to deal with. And the Corps wasn’t going to let him putz around until he felt like it. His appointment was already in the queue.
Hermia made her way to Corporal Shy's quarters. She was carrying some portable medical equipment.
When she reached his quarters, she activated the door chime.
Apprehensive, Andrew stood. Faced the door after seeing who was darkening his doorstep and said. "Come in, Doctor."
"Good day, Corporal." Hermia said entering the man's quarters. "I took the liberty of bringing along the equipment I need, as I thought you might be more comfortable here than in Sickbay."
"Ma'am," Andrew responded automatically. "Comfort and Quarantine. Sounds like a bar on Sevick Outpost." He gave her a smile, but eyed her warily knowing he had hoops to jump through before this could be put behind him.
"Yeah, that smells mildly of cinnamon for some reason." Hermia agreed. "Okay, I'm going to perform a full physical on you, including a brain scan. If I find you fit for duty, you'll still have to undergo sessions with counselor and be checked off by them, understood?"
"Aye aye," Ma'am," Andrew said automatically. "After Kavicus and his goo stirred up my head it's only to be expected. But I feel fine..."
"Okay, lay down on your rack and we can get started." Hermia said as she unpacked the equipment.
Andrew slid into his rack and took a breath to steady himself. "Hoping to get out of quarantine today," he remarked, the silence making him twitchy. "Never has the Pioneer seemed so small."
"I can understand that." Hermia said placing a neural scanner on the Marine's forehead. "I was once charged with mutiny and confined to quarters while they arranged my court martial, after a few days I was practically climbing the walls." The doctor then took a medical tri-corder from her kit and began a scan.
"Never a good experience, regardless of reasons, "Andrew replied as he tried to keep from fidgeting. "Plus, I've been stewing about that slime Kavicus used to control me..."
"If this 'Kavicus' were psionic, the slime most probably worked as a conductive medium, a way to increase its control over other beings." Hermia said. "It could use this ability to catch its prey or to create protectors."
"Still my fault for not staying buttoned-up," Andrew said. "The Psionics stuff we may need to think about..."
"We could talk with Sciences about that." Hermia said. "My mother is Betazoid, but I'm not an expert in Psionics." She said.
Shivering slightly as the memory of Kavicus plays through his mind again, Andrew said, "Yeah. We train for it. But it's the first time I've run into that sort of thing in a combat situation. It's kinda messed up."
Then he looked at Hermia, "No offense to your mother..."
"I can read other's emotions and I can 'speak' telepathically with other Betazoids, but I can't read or control the thoughts of non-Betazoids, and I wouldn't want to, I find it an invasion of privacy, I guess its the human in me."
Taking the distraction, Andrew said "I knew a couple of Betazoid Defense Force officers...they used their abilities to anticipate their opponents. Hand to hand gets a little over the top when someone knows what you're doing before you do..."
"That is impressive, I tend to use my knowledge of humanoid anatomy and my skill at dance to get the better of an opponent." Hermia said.
She read the results of the scans. "Initial scans show nothing of concern except for a loss some muscle mass in your right shoulder." She told the Marine.
"Yeah, I feel fine doc. I can hit the training once cleared. I'm relieved there's no sign of..whatever that muck Kavicus coated me with and made me swallow," Andrew stated in relief. "Now I suppose I just have to get shoehorned into a session with counseling."
"Okay, you're cleared for now, but I'd like to perform a follow up scan in two days, just to be on the safe side." Hermia said.
Andrew slowly sat up and looked at Pioneer's CMO. "Aye aye, ma'am. Am I cleared from quarantine now? I know I can't pull duty, but I'd like to get out of here."
"Yes, but if you feel unwell later, contact me immediately." Hermia said. "I'll send a report to Major Tremble to notify him of your change of status." She smiled. "Good luck with the counselors."
"Thank you, Doctor," Andrew said as he watched. the CMO pack up her kit and exit his quarters. He checked his status and made sure that the quarantine had been lifted, then logged a quick message to his sister. Then he decided to go for a walk. Just taking the first steps out of his quarters was a relief and he set the fresher system to fully recycle while he was gone.
Things were looking up. Now if he could just get past the counselors.
A Joint Post By
Corporal Andrew Shy
Tactical Systems Operator, Team 2, The Cure
USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Commander Hermia O'Rourke
Chief Medical Officer, USS Pioneer
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