Mission 1.3: Internal Medicine

[Ashlynn Ren Morgaine]

[Bridge]

It was not that the Captain did not notice Mr. Morgaine's entrance- she just chose to ignore it. If this was a tactical situation- she'd have her flogged, but more insights were never bad. The planet had a neural network, so Constance needed one too. Without turning she said, very directly and forcefully,

"Ms. Morgaine. If you are going to sneak onto my bridge you might very well make yourself useful. What do you make of this?"

[Bridge]

Ashlynn felt her blush deepen as the captain addressed her. This is NOT what I had in mind when I left the mess hall for a change of pace. Regardless of her embarrassment, she forced herself to keep her gaze up and address the captain as steadily as she could. "I cannot pretend to be as knowledgeable - or have the training - as the other members of this crew..." Ash trailed off, quickly scanning the monitors and evaluating what she had overheard so far. She looked out at the planet before continuing. "But I do think we need to take the chance and try to fix the... Erm. Blood clot? Not only the 'planet' is at risk here, but possibly all of the flora and fauna present on the surface. It's... almost like the microbiome of bacteria and other microscopic beasties that exist within most organisms. They rely on us for survival as much as we rely on them. This just happens to be a bigger than average organism, so it's 'microbiome' isn't exactly 'micro.' It's literally an entire world of possibly undiscovered life that could disappear without its host. But the underlying principle should be the same... If this is a sentient organism, that should be motivation enough to help if we can, but even more than that - scientifically this doesn't come around every day..."

Ash coughed awkwardly, remembering she was in a room full of experts, whereas she had taught herself from her father's biology collection. "I'm sorry for intruding, Captain. I didn't mean to 'sneak' anywhere. I only thought to come up and see if I could bring anything to those of you busy on the bridge. Things are slow in the mess hall, and I thought I could be useful."

[Rachel Deacon]

James quickly looked over Rachel pausing a moment taking in what she had asked him to do. After thinking he let out a small sigh and spoke up. "No." He responded motioning back to the console. "Ms. Deacon, I have complete faith in you. If I see that you are having trouble's, I can relieve you. But not one moment sooner. I'm not going to leave the bridge. But I do think that you can do this. Now c'mon...prove me right." His tone was warm but firm.

[Bridge]

A bubble of anger and shame boiled up in Rachel's chest as Lieutenant Carter refused to allow her to cede the position to him.  It was incredibly rare for her to ask for help in the first place and, having admitted a weakness, she had anticipated that he would do so.  She made a mental note not to do so again.

Clenching her jaw and fighting through the pain, she focused her VISOR on the viewscreen once again, stifling a whimper at the onslaught of data coming through the device and placing her hands back on the console.

"Target locked, Captain," she reported, her voice stiff and almost strangled as she tried to keep any emotion from spilling over into it.  "Ready to fire on your mark."

[Paige Wardropper]

Sickbay

Paige had guided Susan down to sickbay, and administered some empathy blockers, but unlike her fellow Betazoids, and some of the others receptive to empathic and telepathic abilities, she had not responded well.

After consultation with Dr. Vaughan it had been decided that to keep her in the proximity of the planet would either drive the poor girl mad or kill her one way or another so the transfer request pending was implemented with immediate effect and it was with some relief that they'd had a message to their PADDs, that the further that she went from the planet in the transport the better she felt, and thanking them for their concern and immediate action.

Paige had sent her a quick message back wishing her well on the Tempest and thanking her for letting them know.  She added that getting an older Betazoid to help her learn some restraint for her emotions might be a good idea. It wasn't meant as a reproach, she knew some of Susan's history after reading her file, and she was an orphan.  It was the mother's job to teach such Betazoid things and she hadn't had the opportunity.  Paige's mother hadn't done much, a lot of the restraint Paige now showed was due to her honing the skills that she'd been learning from a child, and the last months looking after her dying Aunt Agatha.  If ever one had to hide emotions it was when a loved one was dying before your eyes.

With a smile on her face at having at least made the right decision, Paige finished administering the inhibitors to the rest of the empathic crew, with an admonition that, should they find it difficult to concentrate or do their jobs, any pain etc they should come to Sickbay or find her on the Bridge.

Bridge

The doors swished open on the Bridge and the young raven haired doctor stepped out.  She had a slight headache but she was more receptive to the feelings of the planet than letting it take over.

"Forgive me for returning Ma'am, " she said, addressing the Captain, "...but while Ensign Venator was suffering greatly, and I'm sure you'll be relieved to know that once on the transport to her new posting she felt a lot better.  I have no doubt that she'll make a full recovery and be a great asset to the USS Tempest.  In the meantime I'm receptive to the pain and feelings of the planet but able to keep this as a 'barometer' you can use as a tool, rather than it affecting my ability to work.  All empathic and telepathic members that showed up in sickbay have been administered inhibitors, they can still feel but it won't affect their ability to work at their posts."

[James Carter]

[Bridge]

A bubble of anger and shame boiled up in Rachel's chest as Lieutenant Carter refused to allow her to cede the position to him.  It was incredibly rare for her to ask for help in the first place and, having admitted a weakness, she had anticipated that he would do so.  She made a mental note not to do so again.

Clenching her jaw and fighting through the pain, she focused her VISOR on the viewscreen once again, stifling a whimper at the onslaught of data coming through the device and placing her hands back on the console.

"Target locked, Captain," she reported, her voice stiff and almost strangled as she tried to keep any emotion from spilling over into it.  "Ready to fire on your mark."

[Bridge]

James quietly watched the officer take the back the station. To him, duty was duty. It wasn't something you could just back out of, but something you were bound by. At the same time, he respected the willingness to ask for help. It was a discussion he intended to have with her at another time though. A singular thought trailed off to infinity in his mind; Did I make the right choice? It wasn't really an easy call to make, taking over may have earned more trust...but he needed to see the officer's strengths and weaknesses for himself. He wanted to know first hand exactly what her limitations were so that he could adapt to every situation. So far he knew nothing about the woman save having read her personnel file, and not knowing anything about her scared him more than anything.

[Levinia Black]

[Bridge]
After a pause, Leviania broke in, "Then study it Ms. Black. I have a feeling that we will have the chance to examine it up close and rather personally here very shortly."

The Captain's words were accompanied by the data from the medical scans being projected on the main screen.

The scans, treating the planet like a medical subject, were able to ascertain that it had problems with it's blood flow. Just before the creature's massive beating heart, an organ with the mass of a small continent, there appeared to be a clot that was partially obstructing the blood flow. It was buried near the core of the planet.

"That clot must be the size of a ship. The only way to clear a clot that deep down would be to do it with explosives- maybe even photon torpedos. Unfortunately, we will need to travel in there and eliminate it. It's far too deep in the planet to be able to take any other course of action and we might nick something vital otherwise. Do you concur Dr. Vaughn?" She suggested, deferring to the chief medical officer. This was, strangely, her patient.

On the view screen part of the planet's fauna, a patch that had to be 50 miles wide, almost like it understood what the Captain had just said.

"It looks as though it is indicating... and incision point? Tactical. Please target that. If the Doctor agrees, please make an incision and, helm, pilot us into that bloodstream."

This would be the second time in as many missions that the Athena would be breaking atmosphere. Though... to be fair... this time it under very different circumstances.

Bridge

Dr. Black spun around at the mention of that, and tapped Lizzie on the shoulder.  Before she could speak someone else did.

[Bridge]

Chris turned to face the Captain "You can't be serious! The ship wasn't designed for...for Internal Medicine. There's no telling what it's insides could do to the Hull or the ship's systems." He shook his head "Belief me Captain, your going to be spending the next six months in Spacedock looking at your ship getting new outer hull segments."

"I concur!"  She began, speaking her two cents worth.  "We don't know what that creature has as a defense system inside itself.  Captain, if you really want to go in there, I'd suggest a shuttle, something smaller and with a great deal of defensive and offensive weapons.  Some of our own anti-bodies are beasts, I can only imagine what those thing's anti-bodies look like."  She turned to the tall red head next to her and stepped back, "Anyway, those are my thoughts." 

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Bridge]

Stafford listened to the flood of data, opinions, diagnoses, and theories wash over him. One thing was for sure, they had a situation on their hands. But with the Athena being a science ship as she was, and their highly talented medical and scientific staff Stafford knew they were oddly suited for it. An MD as the executive officer can't hurt either.

"Ash is right," Stafford said in his down-home earth accent, a vestige of a rural childhood in Pennsylvania. "We can't this thing dying on us if it needs help. I don't think we can predict what will happen to the Athena once we enter the being's atmosphere. Err...body. But it still needs to be done."

"Deacon," The commander said. "Using the phasers, can you slice a hole into the planet near the clot?"

[Constance Lafayette]

[Bridge]
Constance registered Chris' and Levinia objections but her face remained as scholarly detached as ever,

"Then it is our exceptional good fortune, Mr. McIntyre and Ms. Black, that we not only have some of the best engineers in Starfleet keeping us safe but some of the greatest medical minds at our disposal for such a mission."

Her speech was matter-of-fact and polite, but an edge of bemusement sat somewhere just beyond identification. She was not so blindly generous, nor unconditionally kind, that she would help out a creature without at least some thought to what it cost. There were rewards to this. Maybe not dollars and cents but if their experience with the Curians energy beings had taught Constance anything- the value of information could far exceed any quantifiable currency value. In short, even if the ship only limped away from this but came back with as rich a treasure trove of information as she expected- she'd wear the success of this mission as a badge of pride.

Ash's words struck a chord with the Captain and she nodded agreeably, it was largely what she herself had been thinking- at least in part. When she had finished Constance simply nodded,

"Not at all Ms. Morgaine. Your sneaking proved quite useful. Sometimes sitting on this bridge and looking at screens has the effect of depriving us of perspective. Thank you for lending us yours for the time being."

Her words, a ringing endorsement of a mess hall manager's suggestions, seemed to refute objection.

Paige's words concerned Constance and she wore a grim scowl as a response, "Very good Ms. Wardropper. However- should you feel in any way compromised I expect you or one of your colleagues to relieve you of duty on the spot. Understood?"

When Luke spoke up, Constance nodded. He was the man for this job. Luke knew the physical form as well as she knew the difference between multicollinearity and autocorrelation or Ishikawa's seven tools of quality. This was his wheelhouse now. After weighing the choices, she gave her command.

"Aye. Make it so. We are going in. Shields up. Weapons on full standby. Red alert. Fire when ready Ms. Deacon."

Into the belly of the beast they went then...

[Rachel Deacon]

[Bridge]

Stafford listened to the flood of data, opinions, diagnoses, and theories wash over him. One thing was for sure, they had a situation on their hands. But with the Athena being a science ship as she was, and their highly talented medical and scientific staff Stafford knew they were oddly suited for it. An MD as the executive officer can't hurt either.

"Ash is right," Stafford said in his down-home earth accent, a vestige of a rural childhood in Pennsylvania. "We can't this thing dying on us if it needs help. I don't think we can predict what will happen to the Athena once we enter the being's atmosphere. Err...body. But it still needs to be done."

"Deacon," The commander said. "Using the phasers, can you slice a hole into the planet near the clot?"

[Bridge]

What confidence Rachel may have had in her abilities before was reaching an all time low as the commander ordered her to lock on to a target with a view to cutting a precise hole.  To her horror and shame, tears of frustration built up in her eyes, thankfully hidden from view by the strip of metal currently causing her problems.  Why was is that, when she admitted that the situation was too much for her artificial sight device to handle, no one seemed to take any notice?  Were they completely unaware of how much pain it caused?  How afraid she was of failing because of being put in this situation?

Shifting her hands on the console, taking in the readings through the tactile interface, she tried to calm herself, to channel all the lessons she had been taught on Vulcan.  "Aye, Commander," she replied, although the down turned curve of her mouth belied her discomfort and unhappiness.

Doing the best she could on touch alone given that sight was impossible, she locked on to a target and calibrated the phaser banks to give her a short, narrow burst of energy.  With a deep breath, she fired off the shot, which went wide from the clot, creating a gash in the planet's surface.  Feeling her error through the console, Rachel jumped back, her hands clenching in to fists as she fought another wave of shame and anger and pain.

[Ashlynn Ren Morgaine]

[Bridge]

"Ash is right," Stafford said in his down-home earth accent, a vestige of a rural childhood in Pennsylvania. "We can't this thing dying on us if it needs help. I don't think we can predict what will happen to the Athena once we enter the being's atmosphere. Err...body. But it still needs to be done."

[Bridge]

Ash's words struck a chord with the Captain and she nodded agreeably, it was largely what she herself had been thinking- at least in part. When she had finished Constance simply nodded,

"Not at all Ms. Morgaine. Your sneaking proved quite useful. Sometimes sitting on this bridge and looking at screens has the effect of depriving us of perspective. Thank you for lending us yours for the time being."

Her words, a ringing endorsement of a mess hall manager's suggestions, seemed to refute objection.

[Bridge]

Ash felt herself let out a breath of relief that she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Shortly, it sank in what had happened. They... agreed with me. The commander - AND THE CAPTAIN of all people... Ash felt a small smile grow on her face as she nodded to both Luke and Captain Lafayette.

"I'm glad I could be of service! If there is anything else I can do? If not, I can happily bring back some coffee or tea for everyone?" Not long after the words left her mouth, Ash took the red alert into consideration and reconsidered walking back to the mess hall, remembering her interesting coordination. "Erm, perhaps once things calm down a bit..."

[Paige Wardropper]

[Bridge]

Paige's words concerned Constance and she wore a grim scowl as a response, "Very good Ms. Wardropper. However- should you feel in any way compromised I expect you or one of your colleagues to relieve you of duty on the spot. Understood?"

Bridge

Paige knew, and felt, that the Captain wasn't altogether happy with the whole situation, let alone her part in it. She gave the CO a tight, precise nod and a crisp "Aye Ma'am" and left it at that.

"Aye. Make it so. We are going in. Shields up. Weapons on full standby. Red alert. Fire when ready Ms. Deacon."

Into the belly of the beast they went then...

Paige quickly grabbed a rail as the red alert sounded. Quickly looking around for somewhere to sit she saw a spare seat up at the Science station.
She looked at Ms Black sitting in the other seat and said "I think this is going to get rough, mind if I sit here, and if you point at something and say 'press that' I'm happy to assist!"

[James Carter]

[Bridge]

What confidence Rachel may have had in her abilities before was reaching an all time low as the commander ordered her to lock on to a target with a view to cutting a precise hole.  To her horror and shame, tears of frustration built up in her eyes, thankfully hidden from view by the strip of metal currently causing her problems.  Why was is that, when she admitted that the situation was too much for her artificial sight device to handle, no one seemed to take any notice?  Were they completely unaware of how much pain it caused?  How afraid she was of failing because of being put in this situation?

Shifting her hands on the console, taking in the readings through the tactile interface, she tried to calm herself, to channel all the lessons she had been taught on Vulcan.  "Aye, Commander," she replied, although the down turned curve of her mouth belied her discomfort and unhappiness.

Doing the best she could on touch alone given that sight was impossible, she locked on to a target and calibrated the phaser banks to give her a short, narrow burst of energy.  With a deep breath, she fired off the shot, which went wide from the clot, creating a gash in the planet's surface.  Feeling her error through the console, Rachel jumped back, her hands clenching in to fists as she fought another wave of shame and anger and pain.

[Bridge]

James let out a small sigh as he watched the event unfold. He had made a bad call after all and that made him feel worse than anything. "Hey, just take a step back. I can take over from here if you'd like? Just don't get far, I'd like you to stay on the bridge if that's at all possible." Before continuing he got a step closer and brought his voice down even lower. "You do look like you're in some pain, feel free to go to the sickbay if you need. But I think we should have a small talk later in my office. Nothing bad I promise. Just a bit of a heart-to-heart."

[Paige Wardropper]

[Bridge]

What confidence Rachel may have had in her abilities before was reaching an all time low as the commander ordered her to lock on to a target with a view to cutting a precise hole.  To her horror and shame, tears of frustration built up in her eyes, thankfully hidden from view by the strip of metal currently causing her problems.  Why was is that, when she admitted that the situation was too much for her artificial sight device to handle, no one seemed to take any notice?  Were they completely unaware of how much pain it caused?  How afraid she was of failing because of being put in this situation?

Shifting her hands on the console, taking in the readings through the tactile interface, she tried to calm herself, to channel all the lessons she had been taught on Vulcan.  "Aye, Commander," she replied, although the down turned curve of her mouth belied her discomfort and unhappiness.

Doing the best she could on touch alone given that sight was impossible, she locked on to a target and calibrated the phaser banks to give her a short, narrow burst of energy.  With a deep breath, she fired off the shot, which went wide from the clot, creating a gash in the planet's surface.  Feeling her error through the console, Rachel jumped back, her hands clenching in to fists as she fought another wave of shame and anger and pain.

Bridge

Paige felt the emotions going through Rachel and stood up and moved to her.

"Forgive me Ms Deacon,.." she began, "...as you might not be aware I'm Betazoid, and I can't turn off the empathy, I can turn it down but never off.  I'm feeling you're in some pain. I feel your other emotions but it's the pain as a doctor that I'm concerned about.  Can I help?"

Paige had brought a medkit back with her from when she took Susan down to deal with her and the other empathic crew members. So she was prepared to deal with anything.

[Dylan Torngate]

[Shuttlebay]

When the red alert sounded, Dylan was momentarily confused. He then nodded, and replaced the panel he was working on, leaving the shuttlebay quickly. He went to a turbolift, and ordered it to the Bridge.

[Bridge]

Dylan walked onto the bridge, observing what was going on around him. He nodded to the officers present, before walking over to the group, standing off to the side but obviously present. "What's going on? Red Alert?" he asked, a questioning look on his face.

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Bridge]

Dylan walked onto the bridge, observing what was going on around him. He nodded to the officers present, before walking over to the group, standing off to the side but obviously present. "What's going on? Red Alert?" he asked, a questioning look on his face.

[Bridge]

"Lieutenant. Man your station for now, but we may need you in engineering before long." Briefly, Stafford explained the phenomenon of the living planet. "We've made our incision, now we are going in."

[Rachel Deacon]

James let out a small sigh as he watched the event unfold. He had made a bad call after all and that made him feel worse than anything. "Hey, just take a step back. I can take over from here if you'd like? Just don't get far, I'd like you to stay on the bridge if that's at all possible." Before continuing he got a step closer and brought his voice down even lower. "You do look like you're in some pain, feel free to go to the sickbay if you need. But I think we should have a small talk later in my office. Nothing bad I promise. Just a bit of a heart-to-heart."

[Bridge]

Stepping back from the console, shame burned in Rachel's chest, second only to the pain in her head.  She had made a mistake.  Even worse, she had made a mistake that had hurt another being, even if they didn't fully understand that being.  Ceding the console to her department head, as she had requested before making the mistake, now felt as if she were a child stepping back from a botched project and waiting for the parent to fix it.

"Yes, sir," was the reply to his request for a talk at an unknown time after the immediate crisis situation, in a quiet, almost meek voice.

Paige felt the emotions going through Rachel and stood up and moved to her.

"Forgive me Ms Deacon,.." she began, "...as you might not be aware I'm Betazoid, and I can't turn off the empathy, I can turn it down but never off.  I'm feeling you're in some pain. I feel your other emotions but it's the pain as a doctor that I'm concerned about.  Can I help?"

Paige had brought a medkit back with her from when she took Susan down to deal with her and the other empathic crew members. So she was prepared to deal with anything.

Turning in the direction of the voice's source, Rachel tried hard to focus on the young woman, but ultimately gave up.  She couldn't help but feel a measure of pity for the Betazoid.  Given that for her, it felt at if someone had taken a cleaver to the back of her skull and a powerdrill to each of her implant sites, she wouldn't wish that on anyone.

"You are welcome to try," she replied, even though she knew that medications did little for her headaches due to the fact that they were related to the VISOR.  For them to have any effect, she would have to remove the device, which wasn't recommended during a crisis situation.