DISCLAIMER: There is medical stuff in this story! I am not a doctor! So, please don't take it too seriously.
For a moment, Pavel just stood there with his eyes closed.
He took in the warm breeze, the smell of earth and fresh rain, the sound of insects much like cicadas chirping nearby. It was the first time he'd been planetside in a month. Then he opened his eyes, ready to work.
Suffice to say, Pavel was delighted to be placed on the away team. He'd been delegated the exciting task of collecting soil samples-a fancy way of saying digging up dirt and placing it into vials. He wasn't one to complain, however, when it was a beautiful 76 degrees and sunny.
A team of about 30 high-spirited crew people beamed down and quickly split off into groups to establish tasks. The planet was lush with vegetation, and even more lush with potential of new discoveries. Pavel found his way to his group leader, a geologist named Hopkins.
He passed out vials plus a carrying container and shovel to Pavel and three other crew members. "We'll split off, each in a different direction, and take soil samples every 10 meters or so. Don't mess with anything else. It's really not hard. Try not to screw it up. Got it?"
Three hesitant 'yes, sirs?' later, and Pavel was walking alone through the forest. He stooped to the ground to take a sample at the base of a huge tree that soared upward into the canopy. The dirt was soft and loamy, and he couldn't help but think that Sulu would love to be there to see the plant life. Unfortunately, the pilot was attending to duties on board the Enterprise. So, Pavel had promised to bring back plenty of photos.
The further Pavel walked, the more the sounds of the away team faded until he could only hear the chirps of bugs and ferns rustling in the wind. While Pavel didn't dislike people (in fact, he liked people very much), he enjoyed occasional solitude. It reminded him of summer mornings in Russia when he'd go for a run. It was just him, and the trees, and the pounding of feet. No astrophysics or potential Klingon threats to worry about.
As he kneeled to take yet another sample, a pop of color caught his eye through the undergrowth. Curiosity won over and he dropped the vial. Pushing through the leaves, he came upon a massive purple flower. "Woah. Now this Sulu would love."
He grinned, digging his PADD out of his bag to snap a picture. The flower was as big as a soccer ball with huge pink petals. As Pavel got closer to it he noticed it was emitting a sweet odor-fruity and pleasant. He stooped, bringing his nose close to smell the flower, when something seemed to explode in front of his face.
Pavel screamed, launching himself to his feet with his hands over his face. He stumbled backwards only to trip and fall on a tree root. Laying on the ground, he began to cough-his face was covered in a thick layer of dust. . He hacked and spat, desperately trying to get the foul tasting dust out of his mouth and nose. The next thing he noticed was his eyes-they stung and watered, rejecting the substance. He couldn't see anything but a green blur.
As soon as he could breath he got out his communicator and spoke between gasps. "Chekov-gasp-Chekov to Hopkins! I've been-gasp- attacked!"
"Ensign Chekov, are you saying you've been attacked on a planet without any intelligent animal life?" Hopkins replied in a monotone.
"I-I don't- know? Some sort-gasp- some sort of flower!"
"Are you saying you've been attacked by a flower?"
As the adrenaline wore off, Chekov began to think more clearly. He blinked repeatedly and his eyes began to clear. He looked down at the front of his uniform and saw it was covered in a neon yellow dust: pollen.
"I think I see-it launched-cough- some sort of pollen in my face, sir." Chekov said, coming to the realization that he must've sounded ridiculous.
Chekov could almost hear the eye-roll on the other end of the communicator. "Can you recall what I said to you at the beginning of the mission, Pavel? Just take the samples. Don't. Mess. With. Anything. Now, if you'd followed my orders, this wouldn't have happened. Hopkins out."
Pavel figured his face must've looked orange between the yellow pollen and the red flush of embarrassment. He spat once more into the dirt and tried to wipe the pollen off of his shirt, but his efforts were mostly fruitless.
Pavel returned to the ship exhausted. He tried to ignore the teasing remarks of fellow crew members as he walked through the halls, still thoroughly coated in pollen. He immediately shed his uniform and showered, watching yellow flow down the drain
He took a moment to upload the photos he'd taken and send them to Sulu along with a short message, knowing he'd be dying to know what the away team had run into planetside. Although it was only 20:30, he collapsed into bed, worn out from a day of field work.
Pavel awoke with a distinct feeling of malaise. His throat ached and tickled, and he coughed. On top of that, he was absolutely freezing, which was saying something given his Russian heritage. He sighed. There'd been an outbreak of the Andorian Flu spreading amongst the crew-he must've been infected.
"Computer," He croaked, voice unsteady and barely above a whisper. "Increase ambient temperature.
He snuggled into his blankets as the room began to warm, and resolved to go to sickbay in the morning. Except that, he remembered, there was bridge duty at 07:00 hours. It would have to wait.
Waking up, he felt even worse than he had during the night, but forced himself to roll out of bed. Stumbling into the bathroom, he flinched as he saw his own reflection. His eyes were bloodshot and his cheeks stood out bright red against otherwise pale skin. He ran his hands through messy hair, calling it good enough, and put on his uniform before heading to the bridge.
As he was about to leave, the constant tickle in the back of his throat became overwhelming and he started to cough. Soon the coughs were uncontrollable, and he gasped for breath, gripping the edge of his dresser for support. It took him several minutes to get the fit under control, gulping in deep breaths. He glanced at the clock-06:55. Determined not to be late, he shrugged off the fit and headed for the bridge.
As soon as he dropped into his seat at the console, he could feel Sulu's eyes on him. "Are you alright, Pav? No offense, but you look like shit."
"Thanks, Hikaru." He replied, but his voice was so hoarse barely any noise came out. He cleared his throat and tried again. "I'm fine."
"If you say so!" Hikaru shrugged and turned back to his controls, and Chekov damned the man for being so perceptive.
"Chekov," The Captain said, and Pavel turned to face him. "Plot a course for Starbase 9. We'll be heading there in the next couple of days."
"Yes, sir," Chekov immediately turned to his console and he tried to ignore the way the Captain's gaze lingered on him for several seconds.
As the hours went on, Pavel's concentration deteriorated. He had developed a headache. Every little noise sent a spike of pain through his left eye into his brain. His coughs were getting harder to control as well. Calculations blurred in front of his eyes and he found himself making little mistakes that normally would be trivial. Finally, he came to a decision. He needed to go to sickbay. It was one thing to make himself miserable, but it wasn't acceptable to make mistakes that could impact the entire ship.
He mustered up his courage and turned to Kirk. "Captain, I-"
Just then, before he could get the sentence out, he dissolved into another coughing fit. Instantly he could tell this one was worse than before, as he hacked and hacked but still couldn't draw in a breath. He grasped the edge of the console as his vision swum.
"Woah! Are you alright?" He heard the Captain exclaim, but he was unable to reply. He was now swaying in his seat and the bridge was rocking in front of his eyes like a boat in unsteady waters.
"Pasha?!" Hikaru, he recognized. He felt a steadying arm under each of his armpits, but the room refused to stop spinning. Black spots covered his vision.
"Don't let him fall!" was the last thing he heard before he slumped towards the cool metal floors.
A/N: Reading back on this, I feel I need to add that I had the idea for this story well before coronavirus was even a thing. This is not meant to allude to COVID-19 in any way, and I'm sorry if it feels that way to anyone. Anyways, new chapter tomorrow.