I don't own Star Trek, any of the canon characters, nor do I make any profit from my writings. Don't you just hate disclaimers. They're such annoying little things, posted right at the top of the chapter and in your face when you just want to get on with the story.
Little Things
Spock made his way to the transporter room to await the rest of his team. Nurse Nordu would be participating in her first away mission ever, after nearly seventy years of Starfleet service. An environmental suit had even been specially replicated for her, one that covered her wings without smashing them against her body.
Spock and Cmdr. Martinelli had determined that away team needed to have members who were medical personnel, accustomed to taking patient histories. They would ask questions others might not think of and make observations others might miss. If the Erebaxians' deaths could all be linked to a common cause, no detail could be overlooked, no matter how small.
However, before interviewing the Erebaxians, the away team would meet with the group of civilian doctors and nurses who had been investigating the problem. So far, none of them had become ill.
Wednesdays were typically very busy for Sirin. He did hip replacement surgeries in the mornings, followed by hospital rounds. He saw patients in the afternoon, sandwiching his administrative duties in between. As a consequence, he usually ate lunch at his desk.
This day was no exception. Rachel had packed him a lunch, spinach salad and some of Esther's homemade potato soup. However, she had also made a few additions.
Sirin unwrapped the small parcel, which contained an iced pumpkin spice cookie. "Happy Birthday!" it proclaimed in large, red letters. Next he opened the envelope she had included. Inside was a photograph of a black satin nightgown laying on top of a bed, his and Rachel's bed. There was no doubt how Rachel planned to celebrate Sirin's birthday!
How different his life would have been had Sirin never met Rachel. She brought him so much happiness. In the past two years his outlook had completely changed. Sirin had learned to appreciate not just the big picture, but also the little things.
The civilian medical team, a group from Healers Without Borders, had been reluctant to leave Erebax IV. They had been unable to determine the root causes of the various illnesses affecting the population. If they were caused by some contagion, the team might unwittingly take them home to their own worlds. The devastation might then spread quickly throughout the galaxy.
They had all been staying in the small house loaned to them by Aime, the ruler of the Greshi. It was located on the edge of a Greshi settlement, but within easy walking distance of the Norrinda village and the Krega pueblos. The cottage was surrounded by livestock, Rigelian short-haired goats.
As the team from Discovery neared, the goats, except for one rather aggressive one, backed off.
"Shoo, go away! We don't want you here!"
A middle-aged Hoorian female chased away the remaining beast with a broom and then turned her attention to her visitors.
"Greetings! I am Dr. Hama Nhegmi. You'll have to pardon the goats. For the most part, they're harmless, although they do leave droppings everywhere. Step carefully."
Cmdr. Martinelli approached the cottage and entered, carefully avoiding the large piles of excrement and the insects they attracted. Spock and the others followed her lead. Dr. Nhegmi offered them all seats.
"I see what you mean about the goats, Doctor. These critters are not native to the planet, are they?"
"No, Commander, they're not. Most of the indigenous livestock was killed off during one invasion or another. The Rigelian goats were brought here about twenty-five years ago because they thrive in tropical conditions. They give high-quality milk and I've heard that their flesh is quite tasty. I and most of my team are vegetarians. Unfortunately, the goats have no predators here on Erebax IV, so now the jungles are overrun with them. However, you did not come all this way to learn about livestock."
"I'll summarize what we've learned about the increased death rates here, which is not much."
"The Greshi, who are native to the planet, all seem to be suffering from severe anemia. Without blood cells to carry oxygen, they are literally suffocating."
"The Norrindas are experiencing massive hemorrhages. Many are dying of internal bleeding."
"The Krega are suffering skeletal deformities, which are non-congenital. The bones of the elderly and middle-aged seem to falling apart. Falls result in fractures, some of which have proven fatal, especially in the skull."
"We are a team of only eight people and have been here a little over four months. There are thousands of sick and dying Erebaxians. They are not very trusting, given the planet's history of conquest. We've been unable to persuade them to give us much assistance."
Commander Martinelli sighed. The task ahead seemed daunting.
Rachel was working at home, reviewing differences in blood cells from species to species. Jason toddled over to her.
"What do, Mama?"
"Hey there, little guy. Mama is preparing her lecture on bone marrow and its role in blood cell production. These are pictures of the various types of cellular elements found in Human blood."
Rachel lifted up her son up onto her lap so he could look at the pictures, images of Human blood smears stained with Wright's stain. Of course Jason did not understand any of it, but he enjoyed seeing all of the pretty, brightly colored little things.
Dr. Murphy finished up the surgery in record time, an uncomplicated case of vertebrae replacement. The medical advancements of the twenty-third century allowed replacement vertebrae to be cloned from Dr. Ames' own cells and grown in the laboratory. These were then cut in half vertically and slipped in around his spinal cord as the old vertebrae were removed. The osteogenerator finished the process by sealing the two halves of each bone together. Murphy smiled at himself, satisfied with his work. Dr. Ames would be up and walking around in no time.
When he checked on his patient a few hours later, the good doctor couldn't resist a bit of teasing. Murphy and Ames had known each other since their Academy days.
"So, Bob, did you slide down the ski slope on your bottom?"
"Just about. It had been a while since the last time I skied. I didn't get the bindings fastened properly, so the skis weren't secure. It's always the little things get you."
As he donned his environmental suit, Spock was silently thankful that Fred was not scheduled for away team duty. His former roommate had a knack for getting into trouble and for not quite following instructions. Fred was not intentionally disobedient. He just could not always be bothered with minor details, such as making certain his environmental suit was completely sealed. This had once gotten him a nasty skin ailment courtesy of a little gnat who laid thousands of eggs inside a cut on his arm.
Spock, Commander Martinelli, and Ensign Palmer would be collecting environmental samples around all three of the Erebaxian communities. These would include air, water, and soil samples.
Nurse Nordu, Petra, and Lt. Walker would assist the Healers Without Borders team in trying to persuade the locals to give them personal health histories as well as blood, urine, and fecal samples.
At least Spock would not have to persuade the goats to share samples. They had thoughtfully provided them on the ground in abundance.
Rachel and Esther had tried to prepare Jason, though it was hard to say just how much a thirteen-month old child understood. This was the day they had all been dreading for nearly a month, the day Jack and Lewis came back from vacation. Matt the dog would be going home.
At lunch time, Esther used tiny cookie cutters to cut animal shapes out of fruit for Jason. He loved the animal crackers he got at Wong's, but his parents were concerned that he might be eating far too many cookies. It worked like a charm. Jason laughed and chattered away happily, eating apple and melon pieces and making animal noises. Most of the little critter shapes found their way into the tot's mouth. The ones that landed on the floor were eagerly scooped up by Matt.
Jack and Lewis arrived after lunch and were amazed at how much Jason had grown in just a few weeks time. His vocabulary had nearly tripled.
"Hi Jack! Hi Lew!"
Jason reached up to give his "uncles" hugs. Rachel did the same.
"Welcome back, guys. We sure have missed you around here. It's too bad that you didn't get to meet Spock. Oh well, he'll be back this summer."
Lewis settled down in a kitchen chair and rubbed his ankle. Rachel noticed it right away.
"Hey, did you hurt yourself on the big ski trip?"
"Yeah. I broke my ankle. Jack had to take me to the ER in Buffalo. There's no hospital in Ellicottville, just a big ski resort full of clumsy oafs like me. Speaking of clumsy oafs, where's our dog?"
"He's probably sleeping on the rug in Jason's room. Jason's really gonna be sad when Matt's gone. Sometimes they curl up together in a corner of the nursery and nap together."
Jack roared with laughter when he heard this.
"It's a good think his anti-pest meds are up to date. You know that old proverb: "He who lies down with dogs gets up with fleas!"
"Oh, that would just be all we needed. Okay, I'll distract Jason while you two sneak the dog out."
Rachel put her little guy on her back, placing his arms around her neck.
"Mama's gonna give you a piggyback ride."
Jason squealed with delight. He adored piggyback rides.
As Rachel and Jason headed for the family room, Jack, Lewis, and Matt slipped out the kitchen door.
Commander Tjiena was slowly recovering from the Andorian shingles. Her blood platelet count had returned to normal, so there were no more episodes of bleeding eyeballs. In a few more days, Dr. Murphy would be able to certify her fit for duty.
It could not happen a moment too soon. The science and medical labs were overwhelmed with the number of test specimens they had to process. Spock was becoming frustrated, as many of the soil and water samples showed signs of fecal contamination from the Rigelian goats.
He expressed his concerns to Dr. Murphy.
"There is goat intestinal contamination in most of the environmental samples. This consists of bacteria and parasites."
Parasites? The word captured Dr. Murphy's attention.
"What kind of parasites, Spock?"
"There are several varieties, but the greatest in population are the bone marrow worms."
"Bone marrow worms? Spock, you've found the answer! Those little things have been causing all the trouble!"
