Chapter Two
It had been one hour since Commander Data and his team had beamed down to the planet, Picard hadn't received a report from him as yet and wasn't expecting one for at least another hour. Data was very thorough though and quite literally would not leave a stone unturned. If he found something of any weight, he would inform the captain immediately.
Picard was sitting on the bridge doing nothing inparticular apart from go over the last few days in his head, to see if there was anything that he had missed, something that might help with Beverly's recovery. He got up and went into his ready room, notifying Lieutenant Worf that he had the bridge.
Picard entered the room and the doors swooshed closed behind him, blocking out the view of the bridge. He went over to the replicator and ordered his usual, "tea, Earl Grey, hot." He took the steaming cup of perfumed brown liquid and walked over to his desk to sit down, he thought better of it and turned towards his couch, finding the need for comfort.
He sat holding the cup in his hand and looked out of the window into the vastness of space, hoping that the answers he was seeking would be out among the stars, and if he looked long enough, he might find them.
He sat thinking. What had happened over the last few days? The Enterprise had been assigned to the Grizean star system to search for the starship Washington, which had gone missing about a week earlier. Starfleet had assigned the Enterprise to the task since it was the only starship near that particular part of space. The research vessel Cumberland was to follow and would be in range within three days, to help with the search.
The Washington's mission was to search for any type of a wormhole or other spatial anomaly that might be in the area, in the hope of getting some information on what might have happened to the starship Voyager. Voyager had been lost for two months now and the last reported location was in the Badlands near Bajor. The search had been concentrated in that area for quite sometime now but new evidence had suggested that the ship might have been knocked off course, and sent to this area of space known as the Grizean star system. So the Washington had been searching for anything "strange," and had followed a very faint warp signature that was degrading very rapidly. The signature had led them to a planet in the system that had not been there before- meaning that it had never been discovered, and not that it had just appeared out of thin air- or space.
The Washington's captain, Captain Arron, had sent a communiqué back to Starfleet with the information on the new star system that they had discovered, and about the warp signature they had been following.
Each ship that was capable of warp had it's own particular warp signature, distinguishing it from other ships that may have been in that vicinity. Voyager, being a new ship and on it's maiden voyage, had some of the most advanced technology in the Federation. Including a complete overhaul of the engines and incorporation of bio-neural gel packs, instead of isolinear chips; that ships like the Enterprise and the other Galaxy class starships used- so their warp signature was very unique indeed.
Captain Arron had found the warp signature and it looked remarkably like that of the starship Voyager's, he had been following it but it was becoming increasingly more difficult as it degraded further. He had said that they would be in that area of space for a few more hours and said that they would be in contact with Starfleet then. That was four days ago. Captain Arron had not been in contact with Starfleet again after that and Starfleet had tried to contact him but without any success. That was when they had contacted Picard on the Enterprise, and sent him off to see what had happened to the Washington.
The Enterprise had arrived at the Grizean system and had found the Washington's warp signature. Picard had tried to contact the Washington by sending out communiqués on all Starfleet channels, but to no avail. Data had scanned the area of space and determined that the nearby star was giving out excess amounts of solar radiation that would be blocking out all communication channels. Picard had ordered Worf to drop a buoy, to inform the Cumberland of the situation when they arrived. Worf had also been instructed to work with La Forge on finding a way to use the communications systems by cutting through the radiation field.
As the Enterprise had gone further into the sector, the radiation levels were increasing, and the shields had come up automatically to stop the crew from suffering the effects of radiation sickness. But it was just a matter of time before the shields failed and if the Washington's shields had failed, and the crew had been exposed to radiation poisoning, there was no hope for them.
Picard had instructed Dr. Crusher to prepare sickbay for excess casualties the minute they found the Washington. The Enterprise had been on yellow alert, as was standard procedure in these sorts of circumstances. The sickbays in the saucer section and engineering section had been prepared and one of the shuttle bays had been converted into a make shift hospital. The crew complement of the Washington was four hundred and seventy four and the Enterprise needed to be ready for all of them.
As the Enterprise had gone further into the sector they had discovered a nebula that was forming from the particles and gas molecules that were emanating from the star. They moved into it in the hope that they may find the Washington. The nebula became thicker and denser as they moved further into it- something to be expected. What wasn't expected was the planet that was on the inside of it, not void of all life as one might have expected in the radiation filled area of space, but teaming with it instead. Worf had scanned the planet and found that it contained plant life and small insects but no higher order of life other than that. Worf had also scanned the surrounding nebula and had came to the conclusion that any attempt to cut through it with communications would be futile, and there was no way around it. La Forge had agreed and so Picard had told them to abandon that particular task.
They scanned the planet for radiation levels and found them to be within normal parameters as would be expected on Earth. This surprised Picard since the Enterprise was still on alert with the amount of radiation that was bombarding the ship. Picard had ordered the planet to be scanned more thoroughly before he sent anyone down to investigate in person. Worf had been assigned that task and before long he came back with the results. Picard had taken the pad with the results from Worf and read it. Radiation levels were normal and tolerable to human life, the planet was not unlike Earth at all except that only one sixth of it was covered by water, and no higher forms of life were alive down there. Something caught Picard's eye though, a metallic substance had been detected, it was duranium the material that the hulls of starships were made out of. This had unnerved Picard and he hoped that it wasn't the Washington or Voyager, but he couldn't be certain and the sensors were now also being effected by the radiation build up to get another clear scan.
Picard ordered Riker to take an away team down to the planet and he had left immediately with Data and Worf in tow. The team had met in the shuttle bay, as the transporters would have been inoperable. Dr. Crusher and Commander La Forge had joined them and they got into the shuttlecraft and headed for the planet. After a rather bumpy ride and landing the team got out of the shuttlecraft and recorded the preliminary readings of their surroundings.
The weather was quite pleasant and bright, though there was no source of light from the sun, since the nebula that surrounded the planet was blocking it out. Life was quite abundant on the planet and the trees and foliage were thick and green. Insects buzzed about the away team annoyingly as they tried to discover whom the new "intruders" were. The away team spread out a bit, scanning with their tricorders as they walked slowly around the shuttle. Riker picked up the metallic structure that they had detected on board the Enterprise, and he and his team headed towards it. As they got closer they discovered that it was in fact a shuttlecraft, and the markings on it indicated that it was from the Washington. The away team rushed over to see if there were any survivors but when they got there they found that the pilot and co-pilot were both dead. Riker determined that the shuttle had crash-landed and obviously weren't as fortunate as his team had been. He instructed Crusher and Data to take the two dead crewmen back to their shuttle and back to the Enterprise. Data was instructed to return with the shuttle to pick up the rest of the away team.
Data and Crusher had left immediately and went back to the Enterprise while the rest of the away team searched the planet and shuttlecraft for any other information they might need. Data returned about half an hour later and they all went back to the Enterprise.
Dr. Crusher had informed the captain of what they had found and had notified him that she had recovered the two crewmembers and had them in the morgue. She had said that she was about to perform autopsies on the two of them within the hour.
Picard had gone down to sickbay before she started, to ask what species they were, just incase their cultures forbade their bodies to be touched after death- as some did. When he arrived he got a report from her of what the away team had found and that she had recovered two crewmembers, and that they were in the morgue. Picard had a sense of deja-vous, except that she had told him that before. "Beverly. Are you alright?" He had asked out of genuine concern.
"Yes, perfectly. Why do you ask?" She had questioned innocently.
"Because you have already given me that report, that's why." He had said.
"Are you sure Jean-Luc? I don't remember." She had said back to him.
"Maybe it is just deja-vous." He had replied moving onto the next topic. "Have you determined what species the crewmen are?"
"Yes, both are human." She had said pointing over to where the crewmen lay. Picard looked over the bodies briefly with sadness that the crewmen had lost their lives like that, cut down in their prime.
"Very well then, I suppose you had better get on with it then." Picard had left then and went back up to the bridge leaving Beverly to do the autopsies. He had recorded a captain's log then and brought it up to date with what had been discovered so far.
When the away team had returned, and Beverly had finished Picard called for a meeting in the conference lounge. The meeting began with the away team's report on what the planet had to offer and how the shuttle had crashed. All of Riker's report was fine and nothing strange was found or needed to be rechecked. Except for the fact that a shuttle from the Washington had been found and the "mother ship" wasn't in sight. Picard turned to Beverly and asked for her report. She informed the captain that they had the two crew members in the morgue and that she was going to perform an autopsy on each of them as soon as possible. Picard had interrupted her at that point, pointing out that it was the third time she had told him that.
"Are you alright, Beverly?" He had asked for the second time that morning.
"Yes, perfectly. Why do you ask?" She had asked again.
"You have given me that report three times now, Doctor, and when I left you in sickbay you were just starting the autopsies. Are you telling me you haven't done them yet?"
"I'm sorry, Captain. But when were you in sickbay?" Crusher asked. Troi glanced over at her becoming concerned because she could sense that both of them were telling the truth as they remembered it.
"I came down when you came back from the planet, I wanted to make sure..." He trailed off slightly. "You don't remember do you?" Troi looked across the conference table from one to the other again.
"No. I don't," was the simple reply. The rest of the bridge crew shifted uncomfortably around the table.
"Perhaps you need to get some sleep, Doctor." Picard said to her.
"Perhaps," she said as way of a reply.
"Dismissed." Picard said getting up from the conference table. "Doctor, get some sleep and give me the report this evening. Can we re-assemble at eighteen hundred hours please." They all left the conference lounge and Beverly went off to sickbay to do the autopsies.
One hour had passed and Beverly rang the door chime at the door to Picard's quarters. He replied; "come." She entered immediately and saw that Picard was sitting in a chair reading a book. "Beverly. I thought I told you to get some sleep?" Picard said putting the book down the moment he saw her.
She entered his quarters with a puzzled expression on her face. "Did you? When? Never mind, Jean-Luc. Here's that autopsy report you wanted." She handed him a pad and he read over it.
"Just the one?" He had asked slightly confused.
"How many dead people are in the morgue, Jean-Luc?" She asked sarcastically.
"Two." He replied confidently.
"Two? You're mistaken, Jean-Luc." She replied with equal confidence on her part.
"Then one of the shuttle craft's crew survived? You didn't tell me this." Picard started to get up out of the chair and stood in front of Beverly.
"There was only one crew member, Jean-Luc. I can't just magic up another one out of thin air, and what's this about you telling me to sleep? I don't re..."
"Beverly, something's wrong. Picard to sickbay." He said tapping the badge on his chest and straightening his uniform. "Medical emergency in my quarters."
"Yes, Captain. On my way." Was the response from one of the doctors on duty. Beverly looked at Picard puzzled.
"Jean-Luc, if you're sick you could have asked me. I am the CMO after all."
"It's not me that's ill, Beverly. Now please sit down, don't do anything until the medical team get here." She began to get very anxious and obviously she felt that something was wrong as well. She bolted out of Picard's quarters and down the corridor almost hitting the medical team as they rushed along towards the captain's quarters. Dr. Selar asked Crusher what she was doing as she ran past.
"Medical emergency," she said as she ran. The medical team started to rush along again as Selar's comm badge chirped.
"Selar here."
"Doctor, Beverly is ill and has just ran out of my quarters. I have no idea what is going on but she can't remember anything and is acting very strangely."
"She's just ran past us saying something about another emergency. We'll go after her. Selar out." The team about turned and moved back down the corridor. Selar asked the computer where Crusher was.
"Dr. Crusher is on deck eight section fourteen-B, port side." Not far from where the team was now, they moved a bit quicker and after a few seconds Selar asked the computer where Crusher was again, she got the same response meaning that either Beverly had not moved or she had taken her comm badge off and dumped it. The team reached Beverly's location and found her lying slumped on the floor unconscious.
They had taken her to sickbay and notified the captain. Picard had gone straight there to see if there was anything that he could do. That brought him up to the present and he still wasn't sure of what he could do to help.
Dr. Selar had carried out numerous tests but there was nothing that she had picked up from the planet, no viruses were detected and she hadn't eaten anything that she wouldn't normally. Commander La Forge had fully scanned the Enterprise for any air born viruses or particles that could have caused something like this, but everything checked out okay, and if there were anything like that, Beverly wouldn't be the only person suffering.
Picard sipped his tea but found it had gone cold and unappealing, he set the cup down and stood up. How long had he been sitting there? "Computer, what is the time please."
"The time is fourteen thirty seven hours, Federation standard time." He had been sitting for a good half-hour. Surely Data must have a report for him by now? He straightened his uniform with a tug and left his ready room stepping out onto the bridge.
Riker had come up onto the bridge to start his duty shift and was sitting in the captain's chair. He rose a bit bewildered.
"Sorry, Captain. I had no idea you were in your ready room. I thought you had gone to get some sleep." It was true that Picard was off duty at that moment but he couldn't sleep knowing that Beverly was in trouble. "Commander Data just reported in but I told him you were unavailable."
"That's alright, Number One. Please tell me what he has found." Picard said, moving over to the command chair.
"Well he's scanned the immediate area of the planet that Dr. Crusher was exposed to and hasn't come up with anything abnormal. Lieutenant Jones said that if it was some sort of tropical virus then it was likely that there was only one down there that she might have picked up. Apparently the more exotic the virus, the more likely they are to kill each other off- if they're placed near each other. And if it is some sort of a virus we might not be able to detect it. I've told the away team to come back now and try to design a scanner that's going to pick up anything that ours don't. Their shuttle should be arriving soon." Picard sat down in his chair and Riker followed suit.
"Very well, Commander. Thank you."
"Are you alright, sir?" Riker asked looking at his captain's vacant expression.
"Yes, fine, Number One. I'm just worried that's all. I've known Beverly for such a long time and I don't know what I would do if anything happened to her."
"Perhaps you should go and rest, Captain. I have the bridge this watch and I can inform you if anything occurs." Riker said trying to look out for Picard's best interests.
"Trying to get rid of me, Number One?" Picard asked in mock annoyance.
"No, sir but there really is no point in you being up here."
"I have a few more things to do before I retire. Where is Counsellor Troi at present?"
"I believe she has an appointment at the moment in her office." Picard got up from his chair. "Where are you going, sir?"
"I'm going to find out if the counsellor can help Dr. Crusher then I'm going to speak with Dr. Selar, she should have a report for me. Then I'm going to my quarters to get some sleep. You have the bridge, Number One, we'll postpone that meeting until we have something solid to talk about." Picard left the bridge and Riker took the command chair once again.
A/N: Please leave a review. Thanks.
It had been one hour since Commander Data and his team had beamed down to the planet, Picard hadn't received a report from him as yet and wasn't expecting one for at least another hour. Data was very thorough though and quite literally would not leave a stone unturned. If he found something of any weight, he would inform the captain immediately.
Picard was sitting on the bridge doing nothing inparticular apart from go over the last few days in his head, to see if there was anything that he had missed, something that might help with Beverly's recovery. He got up and went into his ready room, notifying Lieutenant Worf that he had the bridge.
Picard entered the room and the doors swooshed closed behind him, blocking out the view of the bridge. He went over to the replicator and ordered his usual, "tea, Earl Grey, hot." He took the steaming cup of perfumed brown liquid and walked over to his desk to sit down, he thought better of it and turned towards his couch, finding the need for comfort.
He sat holding the cup in his hand and looked out of the window into the vastness of space, hoping that the answers he was seeking would be out among the stars, and if he looked long enough, he might find them.
He sat thinking. What had happened over the last few days? The Enterprise had been assigned to the Grizean star system to search for the starship Washington, which had gone missing about a week earlier. Starfleet had assigned the Enterprise to the task since it was the only starship near that particular part of space. The research vessel Cumberland was to follow and would be in range within three days, to help with the search.
The Washington's mission was to search for any type of a wormhole or other spatial anomaly that might be in the area, in the hope of getting some information on what might have happened to the starship Voyager. Voyager had been lost for two months now and the last reported location was in the Badlands near Bajor. The search had been concentrated in that area for quite sometime now but new evidence had suggested that the ship might have been knocked off course, and sent to this area of space known as the Grizean star system. So the Washington had been searching for anything "strange," and had followed a very faint warp signature that was degrading very rapidly. The signature had led them to a planet in the system that had not been there before- meaning that it had never been discovered, and not that it had just appeared out of thin air- or space.
The Washington's captain, Captain Arron, had sent a communiqué back to Starfleet with the information on the new star system that they had discovered, and about the warp signature they had been following.
Each ship that was capable of warp had it's own particular warp signature, distinguishing it from other ships that may have been in that vicinity. Voyager, being a new ship and on it's maiden voyage, had some of the most advanced technology in the Federation. Including a complete overhaul of the engines and incorporation of bio-neural gel packs, instead of isolinear chips; that ships like the Enterprise and the other Galaxy class starships used- so their warp signature was very unique indeed.
Captain Arron had found the warp signature and it looked remarkably like that of the starship Voyager's, he had been following it but it was becoming increasingly more difficult as it degraded further. He had said that they would be in that area of space for a few more hours and said that they would be in contact with Starfleet then. That was four days ago. Captain Arron had not been in contact with Starfleet again after that and Starfleet had tried to contact him but without any success. That was when they had contacted Picard on the Enterprise, and sent him off to see what had happened to the Washington.
The Enterprise had arrived at the Grizean system and had found the Washington's warp signature. Picard had tried to contact the Washington by sending out communiqués on all Starfleet channels, but to no avail. Data had scanned the area of space and determined that the nearby star was giving out excess amounts of solar radiation that would be blocking out all communication channels. Picard had ordered Worf to drop a buoy, to inform the Cumberland of the situation when they arrived. Worf had also been instructed to work with La Forge on finding a way to use the communications systems by cutting through the radiation field.
As the Enterprise had gone further into the sector, the radiation levels were increasing, and the shields had come up automatically to stop the crew from suffering the effects of radiation sickness. But it was just a matter of time before the shields failed and if the Washington's shields had failed, and the crew had been exposed to radiation poisoning, there was no hope for them.
Picard had instructed Dr. Crusher to prepare sickbay for excess casualties the minute they found the Washington. The Enterprise had been on yellow alert, as was standard procedure in these sorts of circumstances. The sickbays in the saucer section and engineering section had been prepared and one of the shuttle bays had been converted into a make shift hospital. The crew complement of the Washington was four hundred and seventy four and the Enterprise needed to be ready for all of them.
As the Enterprise had gone further into the sector they had discovered a nebula that was forming from the particles and gas molecules that were emanating from the star. They moved into it in the hope that they may find the Washington. The nebula became thicker and denser as they moved further into it- something to be expected. What wasn't expected was the planet that was on the inside of it, not void of all life as one might have expected in the radiation filled area of space, but teaming with it instead. Worf had scanned the planet and found that it contained plant life and small insects but no higher order of life other than that. Worf had also scanned the surrounding nebula and had came to the conclusion that any attempt to cut through it with communications would be futile, and there was no way around it. La Forge had agreed and so Picard had told them to abandon that particular task.
They scanned the planet for radiation levels and found them to be within normal parameters as would be expected on Earth. This surprised Picard since the Enterprise was still on alert with the amount of radiation that was bombarding the ship. Picard had ordered the planet to be scanned more thoroughly before he sent anyone down to investigate in person. Worf had been assigned that task and before long he came back with the results. Picard had taken the pad with the results from Worf and read it. Radiation levels were normal and tolerable to human life, the planet was not unlike Earth at all except that only one sixth of it was covered by water, and no higher forms of life were alive down there. Something caught Picard's eye though, a metallic substance had been detected, it was duranium the material that the hulls of starships were made out of. This had unnerved Picard and he hoped that it wasn't the Washington or Voyager, but he couldn't be certain and the sensors were now also being effected by the radiation build up to get another clear scan.
Picard ordered Riker to take an away team down to the planet and he had left immediately with Data and Worf in tow. The team had met in the shuttle bay, as the transporters would have been inoperable. Dr. Crusher and Commander La Forge had joined them and they got into the shuttlecraft and headed for the planet. After a rather bumpy ride and landing the team got out of the shuttlecraft and recorded the preliminary readings of their surroundings.
The weather was quite pleasant and bright, though there was no source of light from the sun, since the nebula that surrounded the planet was blocking it out. Life was quite abundant on the planet and the trees and foliage were thick and green. Insects buzzed about the away team annoyingly as they tried to discover whom the new "intruders" were. The away team spread out a bit, scanning with their tricorders as they walked slowly around the shuttle. Riker picked up the metallic structure that they had detected on board the Enterprise, and he and his team headed towards it. As they got closer they discovered that it was in fact a shuttlecraft, and the markings on it indicated that it was from the Washington. The away team rushed over to see if there were any survivors but when they got there they found that the pilot and co-pilot were both dead. Riker determined that the shuttle had crash-landed and obviously weren't as fortunate as his team had been. He instructed Crusher and Data to take the two dead crewmen back to their shuttle and back to the Enterprise. Data was instructed to return with the shuttle to pick up the rest of the away team.
Data and Crusher had left immediately and went back to the Enterprise while the rest of the away team searched the planet and shuttlecraft for any other information they might need. Data returned about half an hour later and they all went back to the Enterprise.
Dr. Crusher had informed the captain of what they had found and had notified him that she had recovered the two crewmembers and had them in the morgue. She had said that she was about to perform autopsies on the two of them within the hour.
Picard had gone down to sickbay before she started, to ask what species they were, just incase their cultures forbade their bodies to be touched after death- as some did. When he arrived he got a report from her of what the away team had found and that she had recovered two crewmembers, and that they were in the morgue. Picard had a sense of deja-vous, except that she had told him that before. "Beverly. Are you alright?" He had asked out of genuine concern.
"Yes, perfectly. Why do you ask?" She had questioned innocently.
"Because you have already given me that report, that's why." He had said.
"Are you sure Jean-Luc? I don't remember." She had said back to him.
"Maybe it is just deja-vous." He had replied moving onto the next topic. "Have you determined what species the crewmen are?"
"Yes, both are human." She had said pointing over to where the crewmen lay. Picard looked over the bodies briefly with sadness that the crewmen had lost their lives like that, cut down in their prime.
"Very well then, I suppose you had better get on with it then." Picard had left then and went back up to the bridge leaving Beverly to do the autopsies. He had recorded a captain's log then and brought it up to date with what had been discovered so far.
When the away team had returned, and Beverly had finished Picard called for a meeting in the conference lounge. The meeting began with the away team's report on what the planet had to offer and how the shuttle had crashed. All of Riker's report was fine and nothing strange was found or needed to be rechecked. Except for the fact that a shuttle from the Washington had been found and the "mother ship" wasn't in sight. Picard turned to Beverly and asked for her report. She informed the captain that they had the two crew members in the morgue and that she was going to perform an autopsy on each of them as soon as possible. Picard had interrupted her at that point, pointing out that it was the third time she had told him that.
"Are you alright, Beverly?" He had asked for the second time that morning.
"Yes, perfectly. Why do you ask?" She had asked again.
"You have given me that report three times now, Doctor, and when I left you in sickbay you were just starting the autopsies. Are you telling me you haven't done them yet?"
"I'm sorry, Captain. But when were you in sickbay?" Crusher asked. Troi glanced over at her becoming concerned because she could sense that both of them were telling the truth as they remembered it.
"I came down when you came back from the planet, I wanted to make sure..." He trailed off slightly. "You don't remember do you?" Troi looked across the conference table from one to the other again.
"No. I don't," was the simple reply. The rest of the bridge crew shifted uncomfortably around the table.
"Perhaps you need to get some sleep, Doctor." Picard said to her.
"Perhaps," she said as way of a reply.
"Dismissed." Picard said getting up from the conference table. "Doctor, get some sleep and give me the report this evening. Can we re-assemble at eighteen hundred hours please." They all left the conference lounge and Beverly went off to sickbay to do the autopsies.
One hour had passed and Beverly rang the door chime at the door to Picard's quarters. He replied; "come." She entered immediately and saw that Picard was sitting in a chair reading a book. "Beverly. I thought I told you to get some sleep?" Picard said putting the book down the moment he saw her.
She entered his quarters with a puzzled expression on her face. "Did you? When? Never mind, Jean-Luc. Here's that autopsy report you wanted." She handed him a pad and he read over it.
"Just the one?" He had asked slightly confused.
"How many dead people are in the morgue, Jean-Luc?" She asked sarcastically.
"Two." He replied confidently.
"Two? You're mistaken, Jean-Luc." She replied with equal confidence on her part.
"Then one of the shuttle craft's crew survived? You didn't tell me this." Picard started to get up out of the chair and stood in front of Beverly.
"There was only one crew member, Jean-Luc. I can't just magic up another one out of thin air, and what's this about you telling me to sleep? I don't re..."
"Beverly, something's wrong. Picard to sickbay." He said tapping the badge on his chest and straightening his uniform. "Medical emergency in my quarters."
"Yes, Captain. On my way." Was the response from one of the doctors on duty. Beverly looked at Picard puzzled.
"Jean-Luc, if you're sick you could have asked me. I am the CMO after all."
"It's not me that's ill, Beverly. Now please sit down, don't do anything until the medical team get here." She began to get very anxious and obviously she felt that something was wrong as well. She bolted out of Picard's quarters and down the corridor almost hitting the medical team as they rushed along towards the captain's quarters. Dr. Selar asked Crusher what she was doing as she ran past.
"Medical emergency," she said as she ran. The medical team started to rush along again as Selar's comm badge chirped.
"Selar here."
"Doctor, Beverly is ill and has just ran out of my quarters. I have no idea what is going on but she can't remember anything and is acting very strangely."
"She's just ran past us saying something about another emergency. We'll go after her. Selar out." The team about turned and moved back down the corridor. Selar asked the computer where Crusher was.
"Dr. Crusher is on deck eight section fourteen-B, port side." Not far from where the team was now, they moved a bit quicker and after a few seconds Selar asked the computer where Crusher was again, she got the same response meaning that either Beverly had not moved or she had taken her comm badge off and dumped it. The team reached Beverly's location and found her lying slumped on the floor unconscious.
They had taken her to sickbay and notified the captain. Picard had gone straight there to see if there was anything that he could do. That brought him up to the present and he still wasn't sure of what he could do to help.
Dr. Selar had carried out numerous tests but there was nothing that she had picked up from the planet, no viruses were detected and she hadn't eaten anything that she wouldn't normally. Commander La Forge had fully scanned the Enterprise for any air born viruses or particles that could have caused something like this, but everything checked out okay, and if there were anything like that, Beverly wouldn't be the only person suffering.
Picard sipped his tea but found it had gone cold and unappealing, he set the cup down and stood up. How long had he been sitting there? "Computer, what is the time please."
"The time is fourteen thirty seven hours, Federation standard time." He had been sitting for a good half-hour. Surely Data must have a report for him by now? He straightened his uniform with a tug and left his ready room stepping out onto the bridge.
Riker had come up onto the bridge to start his duty shift and was sitting in the captain's chair. He rose a bit bewildered.
"Sorry, Captain. I had no idea you were in your ready room. I thought you had gone to get some sleep." It was true that Picard was off duty at that moment but he couldn't sleep knowing that Beverly was in trouble. "Commander Data just reported in but I told him you were unavailable."
"That's alright, Number One. Please tell me what he has found." Picard said, moving over to the command chair.
"Well he's scanned the immediate area of the planet that Dr. Crusher was exposed to and hasn't come up with anything abnormal. Lieutenant Jones said that if it was some sort of tropical virus then it was likely that there was only one down there that she might have picked up. Apparently the more exotic the virus, the more likely they are to kill each other off- if they're placed near each other. And if it is some sort of a virus we might not be able to detect it. I've told the away team to come back now and try to design a scanner that's going to pick up anything that ours don't. Their shuttle should be arriving soon." Picard sat down in his chair and Riker followed suit.
"Very well, Commander. Thank you."
"Are you alright, sir?" Riker asked looking at his captain's vacant expression.
"Yes, fine, Number One. I'm just worried that's all. I've known Beverly for such a long time and I don't know what I would do if anything happened to her."
"Perhaps you should go and rest, Captain. I have the bridge this watch and I can inform you if anything occurs." Riker said trying to look out for Picard's best interests.
"Trying to get rid of me, Number One?" Picard asked in mock annoyance.
"No, sir but there really is no point in you being up here."
"I have a few more things to do before I retire. Where is Counsellor Troi at present?"
"I believe she has an appointment at the moment in her office." Picard got up from his chair. "Where are you going, sir?"
"I'm going to find out if the counsellor can help Dr. Crusher then I'm going to speak with Dr. Selar, she should have a report for me. Then I'm going to my quarters to get some sleep. You have the bridge, Number One, we'll postpone that meeting until we have something solid to talk about." Picard left the bridge and Riker took the command chair once again.
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