Chapter 2
Strategy
"What's going on Cap'n?" Commander Tucker asked, slightly confused. He had been summoned, along with the rest of the command crew, to the command center at 0300 hours. T'Pol, Phlox, Reed and the Captain were standing in various positions around the command console. Trip had been the last to arrive having stopped at Engineering to check on the progress Delta shift was making on realigning the sensors. He figured if he had to be up he might as well use the time wisely.
"Nice of you to join us Trip." Archer smiled. "Apparently we have a bit of a situation on board."
Trip glanced from Reed's tight-lipped expression to Phlox's uneasy stance. Archer appeared mildly irritated, and T'Pol was as poker-faced as usual.
"Now that we are all here, let's get started. You may be wondering why the command staff is meeting at this hour. I'll let Phlox fill you in since this is more his area of expertise than mine." Archer gestured for Phlox to begin.
Phlox straightened his shoulders guessing the best way to handle this briefing was to plunge in.
"It would seem that we have a contagion on board. Unwittingly brought in with my venissian mice last week." He emphasized unwitting and noticed Archer muffle an undignified snort.
"How contagious is this thing Doc?" Trip asked, cutting straight to the heart of the matter.
T'Pol stepped forward, her hands clasped behind her slim back, "Very commander, the incubation period is approximately 48-72 hours, in which time any person that comes in contact with the infected individual becomes a carrier themselves for the virus. By the time symptoms begin, that person has infected countless others."
"The Sub-Commander is correct. This virus is highly contagious. The good news..." Phlox smiled wide, "...is the virus is...well...relatively...harmless."
"Relatively?" Reed muttered.
"What kind of relatively are we talking here, Doctor?" Archer interrupted. He was exhausted. The sooner the command staff dealt with this issue, the sooner he could collapse back in his nice soft bed.
"Chills, fever, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, fatigue...the standard viral symptoms. Occasionally sore throat and cough. Nothing my medicine cabinet won't treat I assure you Captain." He grinned.
Reed groaned. "How long does this virus last Doctor?"
Phlox's happiness deflated before their eyes, "That is the bad news."
"Phlox..." Archer warned.
"Yes, yes...typical duration is 5-7 days." He fidgeted with his sleeves.
Trip's eyes bulged, "Days!"
"It's not that bad, a bit of rest will do the crew good." Phlox defended his bad news.
"Doc, being laid up in bed with a virus is not how I'd like to spend my time off." Trip replied.
"Commander, while I'm certain the rest of the crew shares your sentiments, there is little to be done at this point. We must focus on minimizing the spread of the virus." T'Pol stated.
Phlox seemed to regain some of us earlier joviality, "Ah, yes, the Sub- Commander makes an excellent point. I've all ready begun a list of crewmembers known to be immune, T'Pol and myself included. Captain, I have plans in place for such an emergency as this, all we must do is put the plans in action." He smiled confidently.
"Oh that's great, why are you guys immune? Are any humans immune?" Trip sniped. He hated being sick. He knew he was being snarky but tiredness had sapped his self-control, and he wasn't exactly known for tact on a good day.
Archer inwardly seconded Trip's question and state of mind. He turned to Phlox waiting for his reply.
"Actually Commander, there are humans aboard Enterprise that are immune. Granted, not very many, Ensign Mayweather is one of them. There is a common virus that is very close to Venissian Flu, called Tritox, the two viruses are close enough that once the body has an immunity to one, through prior infection, they become immune to the other. The majority of those who have been traveling about space in the past will have immunity to Venissian Flu. It's quite similar to the behavior of a childhood disease back on Earth, chicken pox I believe it was called."
"How many Doctor?" Archer grated. He knew he wasn't one of them and that irritated him more than he was willing to admit.
"Ten Captain, the three we've discussed and seven others. We should be able to handle the workload, combined with the staggered infection rate of the crew. Once the initial victims recover they can begin helping."
Archer grimaced at the word victims.
"All right Doctor, you know what to do. Get working on it and I..."
"You'll get back to bed, as will the rest of you except T'Pol. You'll be more susceptible to this virus if you do not get some sleep." Phlox said.
Archer was too tired to argue. "Fine. Keep me updated, dismissed."
"What's going on Cap'n?" Commander Tucker asked, slightly confused. He had been summoned, along with the rest of the command crew, to the command center at 0300 hours. T'Pol, Phlox, Reed and the Captain were standing in various positions around the command console. Trip had been the last to arrive having stopped at Engineering to check on the progress Delta shift was making on realigning the sensors. He figured if he had to be up he might as well use the time wisely.
"Nice of you to join us Trip." Archer smiled. "Apparently we have a bit of a situation on board."
Trip glanced from Reed's tight-lipped expression to Phlox's uneasy stance. Archer appeared mildly irritated, and T'Pol was as poker-faced as usual.
"Now that we are all here, let's get started. You may be wondering why the command staff is meeting at this hour. I'll let Phlox fill you in since this is more his area of expertise than mine." Archer gestured for Phlox to begin.
Phlox straightened his shoulders guessing the best way to handle this briefing was to plunge in.
"It would seem that we have a contagion on board. Unwittingly brought in with my venissian mice last week." He emphasized unwitting and noticed Archer muffle an undignified snort.
"How contagious is this thing Doc?" Trip asked, cutting straight to the heart of the matter.
T'Pol stepped forward, her hands clasped behind her slim back, "Very commander, the incubation period is approximately 48-72 hours, in which time any person that comes in contact with the infected individual becomes a carrier themselves for the virus. By the time symptoms begin, that person has infected countless others."
"The Sub-Commander is correct. This virus is highly contagious. The good news..." Phlox smiled wide, "...is the virus is...well...relatively...harmless."
"Relatively?" Reed muttered.
"What kind of relatively are we talking here, Doctor?" Archer interrupted. He was exhausted. The sooner the command staff dealt with this issue, the sooner he could collapse back in his nice soft bed.
"Chills, fever, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, fatigue...the standard viral symptoms. Occasionally sore throat and cough. Nothing my medicine cabinet won't treat I assure you Captain." He grinned.
Reed groaned. "How long does this virus last Doctor?"
Phlox's happiness deflated before their eyes, "That is the bad news."
"Phlox..." Archer warned.
"Yes, yes...typical duration is 5-7 days." He fidgeted with his sleeves.
Trip's eyes bulged, "Days!"
"It's not that bad, a bit of rest will do the crew good." Phlox defended his bad news.
"Doc, being laid up in bed with a virus is not how I'd like to spend my time off." Trip replied.
"Commander, while I'm certain the rest of the crew shares your sentiments, there is little to be done at this point. We must focus on minimizing the spread of the virus." T'Pol stated.
Phlox seemed to regain some of us earlier joviality, "Ah, yes, the Sub- Commander makes an excellent point. I've all ready begun a list of crewmembers known to be immune, T'Pol and myself included. Captain, I have plans in place for such an emergency as this, all we must do is put the plans in action." He smiled confidently.
"Oh that's great, why are you guys immune? Are any humans immune?" Trip sniped. He hated being sick. He knew he was being snarky but tiredness had sapped his self-control, and he wasn't exactly known for tact on a good day.
Archer inwardly seconded Trip's question and state of mind. He turned to Phlox waiting for his reply.
"Actually Commander, there are humans aboard Enterprise that are immune. Granted, not very many, Ensign Mayweather is one of them. There is a common virus that is very close to Venissian Flu, called Tritox, the two viruses are close enough that once the body has an immunity to one, through prior infection, they become immune to the other. The majority of those who have been traveling about space in the past will have immunity to Venissian Flu. It's quite similar to the behavior of a childhood disease back on Earth, chicken pox I believe it was called."
"How many Doctor?" Archer grated. He knew he wasn't one of them and that irritated him more than he was willing to admit.
"Ten Captain, the three we've discussed and seven others. We should be able to handle the workload, combined with the staggered infection rate of the crew. Once the initial victims recover they can begin helping."
Archer grimaced at the word victims.
"All right Doctor, you know what to do. Get working on it and I..."
"You'll get back to bed, as will the rest of you except T'Pol. You'll be more susceptible to this virus if you do not get some sleep." Phlox said.
Archer was too tired to argue. "Fine. Keep me updated, dismissed."