Fuzzy

Posted on Thu Nov 5th, 2020 @ 4:17pm by Lieutenant Noah Reed M.D. & Lieutenant Commander Thy'lissa Shan

Mission: The Shadow of Arachne
Location: Deck 7: Sickbay
Timeline: MD-05 - Late Evening
936 words - 1.9 OF Standard Post Measure

Thy'lissa wandered into sickbay still feeling pretty woozy. She'd not felt like this since she'd had that accident when she was a teenage and one of her antennae was fractured. It was the same sort of feeling.

"Doctor Reed?" she asked out loud, spotting him tending to a crewman in a biobed. "I wondered if you could help me with something..." she perched on a free bed herself, using it for support. "Feels like ever since we arrived in this strange region it's like I've had some sort of migraine brewing. My antennae feel terrible. Is there anything you can give me for the discomfort?"

Doctor Reed turned around and walked over to the young blue woman. "This region of space has been affecting a lot of the crew. Let's take a look, commander." He tapped the controls on the bio monitor at the foot of the bed, which synced up the woman's vital signs to the computer sensors and the adjoined display above her head. "Your heart rate is a little elevated. Let's do a full scan and see what else is going on." He grabbed a hypospray off the crash cart and popped a vial into the bottom before pressing it to her neck. "This should help with the headache. Are you experiencing any other abnormal sensations like dizziness or nausea?"

"A little," she admitted, leaning back against the biobed. She was conscious of the fact that Andorians had a faster metabolism than typical humans. If others were feeling off for whatever reason, it stood to reason she might have felt it a little more strongly. "Is that a bad sign?"

Reed chewed on the inside of his cheek in thought as he furrowed his brow. "We won't know for certain until we monitor your life signs and see what the changes are compared to your normal rhythm pattern over a period of time. When did it start, exactly?" He tapped the tricorder to pull up her previous baseline from the main computer. "Several others have come in complaining about similar and different symptoms today. I don't know what's going on with this region of space but it isn't good so far."

"Hard to tell when. Feels like it's been building up over the last few hours," she explained, concerned that she wasn't the only one. "Is it a medical issue, do you think? Or some sort of outside influence?"

The doctor shrugged. "Honestly, it could be a little of both. I've read papers regarding the physiological effects of spatial phenomenon on humanoids but it varies by species and by what type of stimuli, not to mention that every person reacts differently, some more than others." He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "What I do know is that you're in good hands, commander."

Thy'lissa let out a little breath and tried to relax a little on the biobed. The hypo seemed to be relaxing her, settling the nerves. She paused as a cool sensation washed over her body. Suddenly her limbs felt completely numb. "D-Doctor?" she mumbled, trying to strain to see around her. "Those antennae...so fragile..." The voice sounded a little distant. Out of the corner of her paralysed eyes she could see a strange blade-like tool swinging into position above her head. "No... no!!" she screamed, sensing it start to descend towards her forehead.

Noah Reed frowned at her sudden change in disposition and looked in the direction that her fear seemed to be coming from but he saw nothing but the bulkhead and a light. "What do you see, commander?" he asked, turning back to her. He stepped back to the medical readout screens and noticed that her heartrate had started to climb back up rapidly and past where it was originally when she walked in.

"Won't... let you... take..." Thy'lissa strained against invisible bonds as a searing pain rippled through her skull at the base of her antennae, as though they were being carved away without anesthetic. She screamed again, her hands flying up to her face suddenly as she tumbled sideways off the side of the biobed to the deck, tears streaming down her cheeks as her shaking hands felt for her appendages. Both of them, to her relief, were still there.

The doctor gently helped her up with a nurse that had come rushing over during the commotion and they laid her back down on the biobed. Reed calmly placed a neural blocker on either side of her temples. "It seems like the sedative didn't do anything to calm the mind down. I'm going to put you to sleep while we figure this out. I'll be monitoring your life signs continuously but I'm afraid that's the only choice we have until the ship can leave this damned space." He was so frustrated at the situation they were in. Numerous officers had been affected and it had become necessary to restrain some of them to prevent any injuries to themselves or others.

"I don't...think..." Thy'lissa sighed as the hypo took over and lulled her into unconsciousness. Perhaps her dreams would be less disturbing than her waking nightmares. She could only hope.

Reed let out a long sigh and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe sleep will keep the demons at bay," he said as his eyes looked her over once more. He turned and headed back to his office to document this latest case for his report to the captain, wondering how many more people would step through the door before there wouldn't be anyone left to help.