Someone equals Zero

Posted on Fri Jan 28th, 2022 @ 8:50pm by Lieutenant Commander Savin & Commodore Jacob Kane

Mission: With Gleaming Eyes
Location: Planetside hospital grounds
Timeline: MD3 - 1200 hours
1521 words - 3 OF Standard Post Measure

Having walked away from the medical meeting, and finally having reached an understanding with the CMO, Savin had gone to see the patients. The hazmat suit was utterly cumbersome and he was fairly certain it would hinder his ability to communicate. His heart went out to Jerant, who was probably fighting for his life. He could sense his best friend, but for some reason, his telepathic queries went unanswered and that, he found extremely worrying.

Carefully, he made his way into the ward, his eyes scanning the patients, trying to get a sense of them. In this instance, he was indeed grateful for the universal translator, though he knew the device wasn't infallible. Slowly, and as gracefully as the suit would let him, Savin knelt down at the side of an older, female patient. She didn't look too well and with his limited knowledge, Savin felt that she might die soon. Gently, he reached for the woman's hand, casting her a sympathetic look.

"My name is Savin," he introduced himself, really wishing he could get out of the suit and make the conversation more personal, "I am part of the medical team and here to help. Can you tell me how long you have been ill, and where you discovered the first symptoms?" The woman just stared up at him, casting him a blank look as if she wasn't understanding him. The Romulan counselor sighed softly, gently patting her hand before getting up. This patient wasn't going to give him any answers.

Walking further, he spotted a younger male, who was clearly of mixed blood. Again, he introduced himself to draw the patient's attention. "What is your name?" he asked slowly, again seeking eye contact and hoping to keep it. "How long have you been ill?"

The younger man coughed, looking like he cracked his dry lips a little as he did so.

"Weeks...three weeks..." he croaked. It seemed painful to speak.

Savin had a hard time understanding the spoken words, so he made a very difficult -and perhaps very stupid decision. He reached up and released the seal on his helmet, then pulled it off and set it aside. It seemed as though the young man had said weeks, but he couldn't be certain. "Did you say weeks?" he asked gently, just to be safe, "do you remember how or where you got sick?" He continued to pull off his gloves and reached for the man's hand, taking it within his own. "Are you opposed to telepathy? It will make speaking easier for you." And it would be easier for him too, assuming it would work with a Metis hybrid.

The Metis cringed and withdrew, as much as his limited movement would allow. "N-no...no..." he protested, immediately suspicious. "They made me...*cough* they made me sick."

"They?" Savin made no move to touch him again though he did keep his attention fully on the patient before him. "They who? And how?" He furrowed his brows in confusion. "Are you saying you were purposefully infected? Have you been here ever since you were sick? Or were you with others?" He leaned forward just a little. "We are here to help," he assured the man, "our ship was ordered here to help, and our medical team will do all in their power to find a cure. And time seems to be of essense so anything you can tell me, will help us speed up the process."

The Metis man shifted again, a look of fear in his face. Those were a lot of questions to answer and he already felt as though he were under suspicion. "D-don't speak to me. They'll come and take me away. T-The Cardassians...made us this way and now they're trying to...*cough* stop us talking about it..." he wheezed.

The fear was palpable to the deaf counselor and he shook his head furiously. "No-one will come for you, we will keep you safe. We are looking for a way to cure this." He leaned forward, gently resting his bare hand against the patient's arm. "Why did they make you this way? Why are they making you sick? Those of mixed blood are getting even sicker... both Cardassian and Metis hybrids, as well as other hybrids." His expression turned to one of despair. "Please... help me, so we can more effectively heal you."

The young man coughed again, shaking his head as fiercely as he could manage.

On the opposite side of the bed, a medically-dressed Metis woman, likely a nurse, appeared and offered a reassuring look and a cool cloth on his head. She looked up at Savin, curious.

"He is very sick. Almost delirious at this point. The fevers have been very hard on them." She glanced around the rest of the beds momentarily, a weary expression breaking through. "I don't know if he truly understands you want to help."

"I do not think he does," Savin answered sadly, "but we are here to help. And any information you can give me towards finding the first patient...would be extremely helpful." He continued to rest his hand on the young man's shoulder, as if you reassure him. It was all he could do for now. "It is our duty, to offer any help we can give you, but we cannot find a cure unless we find the first patient."

The forlorn nurse checked around them again, looking, it seemed, for any sign of others watching them. "They...the Cardassians...they won't share much of their medical technology with us, but I've seen their findings, and heard them speaking. They weren't sure who the first one was, but you won't find them here." She turned her head and looked at a door further recessed into the ward. "There. The early ones they took there. I...I don't know if they are still alive..."

Though he didn't catch the last of what she'd said because she had turned her head, Savin could guess the gist of what she'd said. "We will share what we find with you, the Cardassians have no jurisdiction over our findings," he said firmly, then looked towards the other door. "How do I get inside?" he asked carefully, "can you get me in there?"

The Metis nurse put her hand on the bed furtively, still looking to see if there were anyone else around. "I cannot help you." She said it loudly enough that anyone that might be listening could hear her clearly. Her eyes, however, dropped to where she had put her hand. As she rose and moved away from the bed, she left a single, small, Cardassian access cylinder.

Savin briefly followed her gaze as if looking at something else she might've pointed out. He gave a brief nod that he'd seen, covert enough for only her to see it, then shifted to grab the cylinder. "I need somewhere to change in regular clothes, this suit is too cumbersome," he added, "perhaps some scrubs?" He hoped she could provide him with something, otherwise it would be going about in his undergarments, and that wasn't something he was prepared to do. "I will be careful," he promised her.

The Metis woman didn't really react or respond, instead moving away from him probably a little faster than she would have wanted to, leaving Savin completely alone.

Watching her move away, Savin then searched around to find himself something to wear and blend in more easily. He was well aware of the fact that he looked a far cry from a Cardassian or even a Metis but from behind a face mask one might be less quick to draw conclusions. Using the access key she'd given him, he moved inside the room.

As the door slid shut behind him, the Romulan counselor froze, eyes widening in horror. It was a good thing he was shrouded behind a mask as his entire expression had changed into one of shock. The room was littered with people in various degrees of sickness and, from what he could see, even decomposition. Not even caring about a level of contagiousness from the patients, Savin hurried towards them. The dead were beyond saving, but he was certain that the ones alive might yet be salvageable. If, and only if, he could find the first one to carry the mutagen that caused so much calamity among the people.

Breathing a sigh of dread, Savin moved to a nearby patient, starting to take a few scans. He might not be able to get these patients out of here, but he sure could get the chief medical officers all the samples he could get his hands on. Provided, he would be able to sneak back out and get back to the Athena. As he walked around, stopping here and there, trying to offer a word of comfort, he sent a message back to the Athena. "Ki, this is Savin.... I may have found what we need. Meet me in decon." He wasn't going to risk spreading anything, he would go into isolation and work from there just in case.