"Don't go, Gabriel," Skylar pleaded as the two were getting dressed in his cabin, "I have a really bad feeling about this mission."
Lorca smiled tenderly at his ship's junior doctor, placing his hands on her arms, "Nothing bad is going to happen. I'll be back in two days. You can make it that long without me, can't you?"
"I can try," she replied, "Or, I could go with you."
Lorca shook his head, "It's a simple mission and I'll be right back. Plus, I need you here to keep an eye on things," he added as he leaned down and placed a small kiss on her forehead.
Skylar backed up and nodded, "I can do that for you but you be careful, deal? How long before you have to leave?" she asked with a devious smile crossing her lips.
Lorca looked at her, an eyebrow raised, as he pulled her into his arms, "I think I have a few minutes for you," he whispered before he took her mouth with his own.
Skylar leaned into his kiss as he walked her back to his bed, laying her down gently before climbing over top of her. She gingerly undid his uniform and slid it off over his shoulders before turning to her own clothes.
Lorca left soon after they finished and Skylar resumed her position in the medbay with Dr. Culber.
"How was your goodbye?" Hugh asked once he saw Sklar walk in the room.
She shrugged in return, "Eventful but I still can't shake my bad feeling about where he's going."
"You have every right to worry," Hugh replied, adding to her concern, "He is the Captain of the most feared ship in the war. He is definitely a target for the Klingons."
"Thanks for that," Skylar replied but was interrupted as Michael walked through the doors.
"Dr. Culber, I have some concerns regarding Ripper, can you come take a look?" she asked, always straight to business.
Hugh looked to Skylar before replying, worried she may need the distraction, as he replied, "Take Dr. Tate to check on the creature."
Skylar smiled gratefully at Hugh for the much needed distraction as she followed Michael out of the medbay, "What's going on with our little traveler?" she asked while the two women walked.
Michael turned to look at Skylar as she replied, "It seems that each jump is weakening him more and more but so far, I haven't been able to find a way to prove it and if we can't prove his distress, they'll keep making him jump."
"Poor guy," she added, "Well, I'm happy to do what I can. I know this travel is very important but if it's slowly destroying our guest then I can't accept it as a way to go forward."
"Agreed," Michael nodded as they resumed silence until they reached Ripper's home, well temporary home.
"Show me what's going on," Skylar initiated.
Michael moved forward and opened the forcefield that allowed Ripper to be kept captive. The creature moved forward just barely before it recoiled further back into his cell due to the light. "His species is naturally sensitive to the light but since we've begun making these jumps, his symptoms become worse. I have been giving him spores to help alleviate his suffering but it's not enough," she explained.
"Do we know anything about his anatomy that would give us a clue into how badly the jumps are affecting him?" Skylar asked, moving closer to the creature.
Michael shook her head, "I wish we knew more but Ripper is so rare we have only just been able to guess how he works with the spore network."
"It's clear that his behavior indicates he isn't as healthy as he was when we first brought him on board," she began, "It's my recommendation that we suspend all spore jumps until we can fully understand what effect Ripper is having from our work. Would you like to join me in informing Saru?" she asked.
"I don't know how receptive he'll be to me but as I'm the one the Captain chose to work with Ripper there isn't a way where I can't," she thought outloud, "Should we observe Ripper for one full day together before we start a potential panic?"
Skyler nodded, "That's a very good idea. Let me go get some items from medbay and my tablet to document what we witness."
The following morning, Michael and Skylar woke in Lorca's room of treasures having fallen asleep watching Ripper through the day and night. They discovered that the jumps were in fact slowly killing the creature and if they made even one more jump, it could be Ripper's last.
"Ready to face Saru with our news?" Skylar asked as she smoothed her hair, "By the way, it was nice getting to work with you, I think we're going to be good friends," she added with a smile.
Michael smiled back, "I agree with you and yes, we have no choice but to inform Saru that we're killing Ripper and we need to find another way to make the jumps or we won't be able to make them anymore."
Skylar nodded and they got up and made their way to the bridge where the sliding doors on the elevator opened to reveal the bridge. Saru turned at the sound and visibly frowned when he saw Michael.
"Burnham and Tate, what are you two doing on the bridge?" he asked as acting Captain in Lorca's absence.
"Sir, we need to speak with you regarding the tardigrade and his ability to continue aiding us with our jumps," Skylar began, "Burnham brought his condition to my attention yesterday and after twenty-four hours of observation, I concur that we can not use the creature to make any further jumps. We need to meet with Lieutenant Stamets about finding another way," she finished as Michael stepped forward.
"Saru, I know that this news is terrible for our future in the war but Starfleet regulations don't allow us to harm any living creature for our gain. May we go to engineering and find another way?" Michael asked, the entire bridge watching as Saru reacted to her.
"We may not have a choice as we've just been informed that the Captain has been taken prisoner by Klingons but you have until we need to jump to find another way," he ordered as Skylar took in the news without letting out the emotional reaction she was experiencing inside.