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The Enemy Within

Posted on Sun Jan 26th, 2025 @ 4:00am by Captain Qa'ada MD & Commander Naois Mercy MD & Lieutenant Amelia Fox & Lieutenant JG René Rouen & Lieutenant JG Toareth Rouen (née Darqa)

1,788 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Fortuna
Location: Fortuna Colony
Timeline: Current

Leaving the others to work with the local medics, Naois hurried back towards the shuttle, his phaser drawn. While he was reluctant to use it, as doing harm went right against his oaths to first do no harm, he was dead set on protecting his team members.

"Fox!" He called out while running asleep fast as the cumbersome suit allowed him to do. "Fox, report!"

Master-at-Arms Third Class Kava was inside the runabout that the away team had come down in. He had heard the call for assistance and grabbed his helmet. It took time to prepare for egress and cycle through the airlock. He was just stepping out when he spotted Naois struggling to get back.


Amelia was still curled up in a fetal position, trying desperately to shield her face. She managed to reach her comm badge. "Help! Help me, please! They're all around me!"

"Kava," Naois called out, pointing towards the curled up person outside of the shuttle, "assist." The order was curt but it would take him at least another minute to reach the shuttle. He wasn't going to risk taking off the suit in order to gain more mobility.

As he finally reached them, the Vulcan knelt down, taking out his tricorder with one hand, while reaching to touch the woman with the other. "Fox...report. what happened?"

When she heard the XO's voice, she dared to open her eyes and found.... nothing. Her heart was still pounding in her chest and her skin was slick with a cold sweat. She looked around, almost frantically. "Where did they go? They were right here! Hundreds of them. They were attacking me and..." Her voice trailed off suddenly not sure of what had happened.

"Where did who go lieutenant," Naois asked carefully, sensing her confusion with practiced ease. "Who was attacking you?" He looked up at Kava. "Did you see or hear anything?"

Amelia was starting to calm down but was still pretty shaken up. "There were hoards of..." She suddenly realised how silly it all sounded, even to herself. "They looked so real, and I could feel them attacking me..."

Naois briefly turned his head as the alien doctor ran by, watching him disappear into the hospital. He turned back to the pilot. "Hoards of what, lieutenant?" He pressed urgently.

Fox took a deep breath. "They looked like the colonists but.... They were dead."

Having just left Britannic's Chief Medical Officer, Toareth Rouen, in his office in the medical center, Doctor Tukuk had an odd desire to visit the Colony's Hangar. He had no idea what was leading him toward it, but it was almost an instinctual need to go there. Walking quickly, he was surprised to see the Starfleet shuttle sitting not too far from the main hospital entrance. Hoping they wouldn't see him; he hastened his step to get away from their contemptuous attention.

Seeing the doctor hurry by again, Naois briefly touched Amelia's sleeve then got up to hurry after the man. "Doctor!" He called out, quickening his step as he drew the man's attention. "Doctor, I require your assistance."

"Frinx," The Rigellian muttered under his breath as he came to a stop. Looking at the Starfleet personnel, "I'm very busy, what do you need?"

The Vulcan beckoned the Rigellian, his sense of urgency not even feigned. "One of my crew is experiencing hallucinations," he stated as he all but herded the man towards the shuttle. "What is affecting her? What is causing this?"

"You'll have to take her to the clinic for a workup," Tukuk answered looking at the Starfleet Officer. "Without getting scans done I have no way of knowing anything related to her condition, aside from what you've been telling me. Now, in case you forgot, the colony's having an unknown outbreak and is under quarantine. I have to get back to my actual patients and not your," he looked at the pilot, an inner fire brewing inside of him as he thought about how to address the pilot, "colleague."

"There is no time for that," the Vulcan argued, "this woman needs help now. Insofar I know she is fully Human. I require your assistance, and you as a healer are obligated to assist."

"I'm much too busy," Tukuk said as he looked at the Starfleet Officers, a growing anger deep inside of him rising to the surface. It was an atypical feeling, one of which the Rigellian was not anticipating feeling. Suddenly, a phaser slid from inside his sleeve and into his hand. Extending it, he fired, narrowly missing the Commander before turning to run.

Naois felt the heat of the beam that narrowly missed him, even though his EV suit. He didn't have time to follow the man, as his main concern was Amelia. "Mercy to Doctor Rouen, I require your assistance with Lieutenant Fox. I need a transport into quarantine for myself and the lieutenant." He paused. "Doctor Tukuk just fired at me and since I felt the heat, I fear a containment breach in my suit."

"Do not worry about a containment breach, sir," came Toareth's voice. Her voice could be heard twice. Once over his commbadge and again as she was running up to his position. "Containment is irrelevant now." She knelt down beside Amelia. Her words were for Naois. "The vaccine is fine, sir. If any of us gets this plague, the vaccine will work. As Chief Medical Officer I am ordering all of us to NOT eat the food on this planet. We eat ONLY replicated food in the replimat aboard the Britannic." She turned her eyes to Amelia and felt inside her satchel for her medical tricorder. "What is the situation with LT Fox?"

At this point, Amelia looked at her hands and let out a blood-curdling scream. "Nooooo!" She leapt to her feet, ripping off her comm badge in the process and took off at full sprint away from the Runaboout, all the time trying desperately to wipe something off her hands that only she could see.

"It can never just be easy can it?" Toareth asked as she watched Amelia run away in a frenzy. She looked to Naois. "Sir, I can go after Amelia. There is a new, pressing, matter I think you need to take control of." In the same breath, Toareth dove into a quick explanation. "Dr. Tukuk is a murderer, at least an imposter. I found Dr. Tukuk's dead body being stored in the transporter buffer of the hospital's emergency site to site transporter. Whoever that was," she pointed in a random direction, "that took a shot at you is an imposter. I recommend getting the Britannic to seize any vessel attempting to flee the planet and to jam any transporter signal attempting likewise. Rene is further in the colony. I can go find him or I can go after Amelia. Which do you suggest?"

"Agreed. You find Lieutenant Fox, I will alert the ship and I will head back to the colony." The Vulcan XO tapped his comm badge. "Lieutenant, I need you to look out for and apprehend someone who resembles Doctor Tukuk. He is to be charged with murder, and attempted murder "

While he continued to speak, Toareth turned and started jogging in the direction of Amelia. The girl was running in a frantic; adrenaline carrying her faster than normal. Toareth did not want to wear herself attempting to pursue at the same rate, so kept her pace at a jog. She let her tricorder to the tracking.

Naois tapped his delta shaped badge again. "Britannic, this is Commander Mercy. All transporter signals barring that of the away team need to be jammed. Any vessel attempting to leave orbit is to be seized and disabled. There is a murderer on the run." He continued to give a description of the person in question and added Toar's findings. "Acknowledge," he added, needing confirmation of his orders.

Captain Qa'ada's voice came over the comlink, "Understood, Commander, and approved. We're reading an anomalous reading near the Hangar that you may want to check out."

Unseen to the captain, the Vulcan nodded. "I will," he answered, "Mercy out "

Before the channel closed, the Captain spoke, "Exec, we're reading an explosion!"

Just then the sounds of a nearby explosion could be heard, with thick, black smoke billowing upward from the nearby Transport Hangar. Seconds later an older Type 7 shuttle, a short medium range auxiliary craft, passed over the away team at high speeds and started to ascend upward.

[See "Do You See What I See?"]

"Away team report!"

"Our impostor is getting away captain, a shuttle has just departed the colony," Naois answered, ducking to avoid the debris as he had closed in on the hangar in his pursuit.

"We're going to bring you all back to the ship," Qa'ada announced over the comm. "I've ordered a pursuit course of the shuttle."

"Acknowledged captain," Naois answered. "Ready for transport."

"Captain," came Toareth's voice in response, "confirm. Are you ordering all of us to return to the Britannic? I am with LT Fox. She is in no condition to pilot anything at the moment. I feel I have discovered the cause of this plague down here. My services will prove beneficial here until your pursuit is concluded."

"We'll do a mass transport of all of you to the Britannic," the avian Captain informed. "I'll bring both of you directly to Sickbay. Since you've solved the situation, we know there's no risk to Britannic's crew."

"I understand sir, but the people down here are still dying. I found the issue but have not solved the situation. This plague is going to continue and spread if we abandon the colony now."

The Captain answered, "We're not abandoning them, Doctor, and we'll be back as soon as we stop this shuttle. Prepare for transport."

Toareth did not see the need for her to be aboard as they pursued a shuttle. Her expertise was not needed in apprehending the pilot. Regardless, this was what her captain had ordered. She got a hold of Amelia to help her stand upright. By now, Amelia was feeling the effects of the medication Toareth had given her and drowsiness was going to set in. "Just a few more seconds Amelia, and we will be aboard the Britannic," she reassured Amelia. Toareth also had to get her findings to Doctor Devereaux. Seeing as how she had no idea how long this pursuit would be, she wanted Devereaux to know what she knew and to be working on a solution in her absence. Toareth was going to dictate a message to the Xachara doctor the second she was back aboard the Britannic.

"Ready for transport," she said.

 

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