The Mysterious Ticking Sound
Posted on Thu Oct 20th, 2022 @ 8:37am by Lieutenant Commander Michael Ki & Lieutenant Commander Thy'lissa Shan
Mission:
Scylla and Charybdis
Location: USS Athena - Sickbay
Timeline: MD-04 - Early
1929 words - 3.9 OF Standard Post Measure
One of the long-held advantages Thy'lissa recognized of her Andorian heritage had been that sense of when things weren't quite right. In her time as an engineer, she'd been pretty good at honing that extra sensory perception to identify the odd coupling that was out of alignment, or if the warp core didn't harmonize at precisely the right level. However, since arriving at this new star system with its strange and wondrous flavor, she'd noticed something more acute: that her usual sense for trouble was in some way hindered or blocked. It was troubling. And it was building to a headache.
"Doctor Ki?" she arrived in sickbay feeling awkwardly anxious about making a big deal out of something relatively small. If the doctor couldn't find anything wrong she'd look ridiculous for bringing it up. But she was a suspicious creature at heart, and if something was wrong she wanted it to be looked at. "Do you have a minute?"
"Yes Commander welcome to Sick Bay. What can I do for you?" Michael actually hoped that he would be able to get a good amount of his research done. Seeing as the ship was on an exploratory mission at the moment. However, he seemed to be getting an influx of patients with small easily rectified maladies. He hoped that the Commander was not another one of these maladies.
"Well, I want to say 'headache' but it's not exactly..." the Andorian shrugged. "Honestly I'm not sure what it is. My antennae have been picking up weird...vibrations? I don't even know if that's the word. It's like the antennae equivalent of mild toothache."
"Really so there is pain? I have heard of Andorians getting the equivalent of human tinnitus. But those patients did not experience pain. Just a headache and a ringing of sorts. Have a seat and I can get a scan going. In the meantime tell me all of your symptoms." Michael always remembered rule number one when evaluating patients and the Commander was no different. The rule is patients lie, and to adhere to that rule Michael kept his eyes on the readings as Shan spoke.
"Tinnitus...yes - like that," Shan said, hopping onto a bed. "Like an ache that just seems to not quite go away. It's one of those things that just stops you going to sleep, you know? Distracting but not totally painful. I thought at first it was tiredness. Or maybe a mild infection or something? I just hoped you could tell me."
"Have you been near anything loud? Explosions or anything like that?" That would be the easy answer and Michael knew that. However, sometimes the easy answer is the right one.
"Not after the battle in Rondac. That was weeks ago. Nothing else would explain anything like this." She let the antennae themselves flit loosely forward. "Has there been anyone else complaining of problems?"
"Not as of yet... It seems that you are the first and I hope that this is not the beginning of some sort of epidemic. Can you describe your tinnitus. Some people hear ringing, others hear buzzing what does yours sound like?" Michael knew that the type of sound in a person's tinnitus could help ascertain the cause.
"It doesn't sound like anything. It's hard to describe to those without antennae..." she explained awkwardly. "It's like an itch on your skin, or toothache. But for antennae perception. Andorians can pick up a spectrum of light, sound, radiation. It's difficult to understand which this would be."
Michael nodded and knew the best way to proceed. "Well then we will have to use process of elimination. We will start with light. Computer turn all lights off except the ones above bio bed twelve." The lights in Sick Bay turned off and both Shan and Ki were bathed in a soft light emanating from over the biobed. "Now look up at the light and tell me if the symptoms get worse, better, or no change."
After a couple of moments, Thy'lissa moved her head around and the shook. "Nothing to do with the light, so far as I can tell. It may not be something on the visual spectrum."
"Agreed... Computer restore normal lighting and begin playing a cacophony of sound. Increase volume by 10 DB every five seconds. Now we will try sound. You must let me know when the sound becomes unbearable. Computer begin sound." Michael knew that normal conversation was about 60 DB and if it got to 120 DB that could cause permanent damage.
The Andorian winced as the sound started up, just the discordant nature of it enough to irritate. But she bore through that for a few moments then shook her head and lifted her hand. "Not an auditory issue," she said, raising her voice over the noise. "And I question your musical tastes, Doctor."
Michael smiled "Everyone speaks of Klingon Opera but you have not lived until you have heard Vulcan Opera. Computer discontinue sound." The music stopped and silence was restored. The computer showed that the Commander spoke up at about 80 DB. Sight and sound would be the only things Ki could think of that would cause the issue. "Tell me have you had any hard hits to the head? Have you eaten or drank anything out of the ordinary?"
"Nothing aside from the norm." She shook her head again. "Only thing that's changed is that we came out of warp into this system; since we started the search pattern it's like a growing thing in my head."
Michael sat and pondered for the moment. "It is possible that this is environmental. I am going to have look into this some more. For the time being I am going to give you a medication that is usually given to humans for migraines. However, I believe it will help you in this case. It is called Imitrex, and it should cause a small return to normalcy. I would like you to return in three hours and I should hopefully have more answers for you." He pressed the hypospray to the Andorian's neck.
"If you say so, Doctor," she sighed, hoping that at least some prescribed meds might make the difference. Hopping off the bed she made a mental note of the time and departed, looking for a place that could offer her a couple of hours' worth of respite.
While she was gone Michael compared his notes and the scans from the now five patients. On the surface it seemed baffling. Three patients who were linked through the telepathic abilities being hindered, one who effectively had tinnitus, and the last who could not feel their fingers. At the heart of all of these issues is the nervous system. Ki knew that the first thing he had to do was seek out an element that could cause an issue like this. He ran through the database and found nothing. That was until he came upon the catalogue of nerve agents. It is possible that something like tabun is in the nebula. If inhaled in small doses it could cause these issues. Michael thought. He began to synthesize something that could be an antidote. Ki hoped that Thy'lissa would be a test subject. He had been so engrossed in his thoughts that he lost track of time and before he knew the doors to Sick Bay swished open again.
Returning to the doctor had been a straightforward decision. Not only because the buzz hadn't really left the Andorian. "Hello again, Doctor Ki. I'm afraid not much has changed, though I suppose the meds you gave me helped me focus a little better than before."
"Well then I think I may have come to a cure for what is going on with not just you but a number of patients. I believe that the nerve agent tabun may be in the nebula. It is possible that our environmental controls may have picked this up and pumped it into our air. If that happened it would cause issues with people's nervous systems." Michael picked up a hypospray from the tray. "I have synthesized an antidote to tabun poisoning. If you allow I can test it on you."
"Test?" the Andorian asked, with a raised eyebrow. "So you're not even sure if this will do anything?"
"No in the interest of total honesty. No I am not sure if this will do anything. That is the nature of diagnostic medicine. When there is something that no one has encountered you have to play trial and error of sorts until you get it right. However, in this instance I believe that I have gotten it on the first try. Tabun poisoning is the only thing that explains your ailments and that of all the other patients. I cannot proceed without your permission, I also feel that I should add if anything happens you are right here in Sick Bay." Michael explained to the woman. He hoped that she allowed him to proceed. Not only for her own good to cure her, but for the good of all the patients, and to his own curiosity. This had been the most excited Michael had been since joining the Athena.
Although still a little hesitant, she did have to trust the ship's chief medical officer. So, with a cautious expression still furrowed into her face, she gave him a short sharp nod. "What's the worst that could happen..." she wondered rhetorically.
Michael smiled and pressed the hypo to her neck. "Thank you Commander. If this works you should feel some improvement within the next five minutes or so. From there the next thirty minutes are crucial to see if there is any side effects." He made sure to wheel a emergency cart over to her biobed. This was merely a precaution in case there was an unforeseen side effect from the medication. Ki wanted to be ready for anything.
"So I should just wait, then." It was a mix of a question and a statement from the Second Officer. In some ways, treating a person was much like fixing a broken warp engine: slap on a fix, wait and see if it holds. Of course her third step was usually to kick the thing until it did what it was supposed to, but she figured that was where the similarities ended. After contemplating this, she just shrugged. "I feel all right, I suppose. The buzzing seems to be weaker than it was. Though...a little numbness in the antennae..."
Michael took note of both good and the bad comments. The dimming of the buzzing could mean that the medicine worked, but the numbness was something to watch. It could be a side effect or it could be a new symptom. As the minutes passed he could see that the medication worked. The nerve chaos that had been happening within Thy'lissa's body had been dying down. "I believe this is working you should be returned to normal within the next hour if these readings are correct. You should also be feeling substantial improvements."
Taking a big deep breath, Thy'lissa sighed with some element of relief. "Thank you Doctor. I hope the treatment works for anyone else that's having difficulties. I'll call you if symptoms reappear."
Michael watched the Andorian leave Sick Bay satisfied that he was well on his way to curing multiple patients. For the first time since he left Starfleet Medical he felt happy in his field of work. He was performing diagnostic medicine and that was his passion.
