Rabies

Chapter 4

Uncertainties and Disasters

Captain Sisko leaned back in his chair and looked at Jake disapprovingly. Jake leaned forward in his chair and said, "Dad, I am right."

"You are wrong Jake," Sisko said giving his son a look that said I'm right and don't argue with me.

"Dad," Jake smiled taking a sip of his drink. He didn't know what it was and he couldn't pronounce its name. But Nog said it was great. Jake set his glass down gently and continued, "Look at his career stats, Hank Aaron was definitely a better baseball player."

"Jake, stats aren't everything," Sisko said watching Quark briefly talk with an Arkaidian. The Arkaidian had no ears, but holes on the side of its slightly greenish face. All Arkaidians had black hair and no nose. Captain Sisko then returned his gaze to his son and continued, "Babe Ruth didn't statistically have a better career than Hank Aaron, but Babe Ruth did have more World Series rings thank Hank Aaron did. Plus Babe Ruth was a pitcher for part of his career."

Jake was about to answer when Major Kira walked up to their table. "Sorry to interrupt, but Admiral Ross is here to talk to you. He says it is very important. He is waiting by your office"

Captain Sisko stood up and then placed a hand on Jake's shoulder and smiled at him. "I'll see you later," He said before walking away, "We'll continue this discussion over dinner."

It took Captain Sisko a few minutes to reach his office. When he got there, Admiral shook his hand and said, "This visit is going to be more than the usual inspection."

Captain Sisko looked at Admiral Ross and asked, "If it is not that, than what can be so important?"

"The Romulans," Admiral Ross said as Captain Sisko made a face, "Captain Picard recently has had a conflict with the Romulans. Picard had been investigating a powerless Romulan war bird when the Romulans tried to get it back forcibly. An away team that was on the powerless war bird was attacked by a Romulan who infected one of them. The infection was brought aboard the Enterprise," Admiral Ross paused for a second and glanced at the baseball on Sisko's desk, "How long can you have the Defiant running?"

"In a couple of hours," Sisko asked giving Admiral Ross a strange look, "But why?"

"I have a mission for you," Admiral Ross simply said.

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Worf held his phaser rifle as he cautiously searched deck 10 for Ensign Chris. Behind him there were six guards walking slowly, but terrified. Worf ignored their expressions. He enjoyed searching for Ensign Chris. He didn't now what was not wrong with Chris, nor did he care. Captain Picard ordered Worf to search and kill Chris and Worf would do that.

The tricoders were not working so well for some reason. They were having trouble scanning for living organisms. Suddenly Worf stopped when he saw bloody handprints on the wall. A shrill scream was heard and Worf sprinted forward. He turned a corner and saw Ensign Chris biting Ensign Malcoy. Blood spurted out from Malcoy's shoulder as Malcoy whimpered.

Worf aimed and shot Ensign Chris in the head. He turned and aimed it at Malcoy. Malcoy stretched out his hand tried to talk but he couldn't. Worf fired and struck Malcoy in the head. The rest of the security team approached Worf. Worf pressed his badge and said, "Worf to Captain Picard."

There was a slight pause and then through a lot of static, Picard answered, "Mr. Worf what is?"

"I have eliminated Ensign Chris," Worf said setting his phaser rifle on his broad shoulder.

"Good," Picard said feeling a slight pain in Worf's tone and how he had to kill Ensign Chris. Ensign Chris was a 22 year old that just graduated from the academy, "I want you to go to sickbay and I'll meet you there."

"Yes sir," Worf said. He turned to the other guards and said, "Keep searching the Enterprise for more infected. Don't hesitate to shoot them."

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Picard walked into the sickbay and saw Dr. Crusher by the wall computer looking at both the guard and Professor Martinez's blood samples. They were all turning a dark green color, slowly but surely. Picard approached Dr. Crusher and she looked at him with a frustrated look on her face, "I wish there was something I could," She said impatiently, "But here I am just going around in a circle. I study the blood, see that it is infected and then try to give it a sedative buy everything just gets absorbed by the virus. I don't even know what the virus is."

Picard approached Martinez's bed. He felt his stomach lurch when he saw her upper lip and nose missing. "I managed to clean their wounds," Dr. Crusher said, "But beyond that I have hit a brick wall."

Picard sighed and looked up as Riker and Worf walked into sickbay. Riker cringed when he looked at Martinez lying on the bed. "How are they?" He asked walking up to Picard.

"Not good," Dr. Crusher said removing a strand of her hair that fell over her face, "I can't do anything to help them. At least for now, I wish there was a way to study the virus."

"What are your options?" Riker asked looking at Dr. Crusher and then at Picard.

"There are two that I can think of right now," Picard said cracking his knuckles on the edge of the bed, "One, kill them right now," Dr. Crusher gave Picard a harsh look, "Or take them to the brig, so they are out of harms way. We will try to conduct studies on them from a visual perspective."

"I vote for the second one," Dr. Crusher said forcibly, "No patient of mine deserves death as an answer."

"I vote for the second one also," Riker said as Worf nodded in agreement.

"How long do we have before they change?" Worf asked stepping forward.

"I don't know?" Dr. Crusher said, "I know very little about the virus. But I'd suggest if you want to transport them to the brig, use someone that can't get infected by them."

Picard nodded and said, "That's a good point," He pressed his badge and said, "Mr. Data, please report to sickbay immediately."

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The Defiant would soon be ready for departure. Major Kira stepped up to a council in the back of the bridge and said, "Initiating impulse pre start sequence."

"Micro fusion generators online," Nog said as he walked across the bridge, "I still can't believe a Romulan bit and infected one of the Enterprise's crew members."

"Better believe it," Kira said looking over her shoulder as Miles and Bashir walked on to the bridge.

"Diletheum matrix aligned and collaborated," Miles said as he walked into the bridge.

Bashir smiled and said as he took his usual seat, "A new virus," He said shaking his head as he punched some things into his computer, "I can't wait to talk to Dr. Crusher about the virus."

"Opening antimatter injector ports," Kira said smiling at Bashir's childish excitement.

"Emergency life support and damage control systems standing by," Bashir said.

Nog walked up to a wall panel and pressed a button. A rectangular and thin panel slid out with a lot of chips in it. He switched around two chips and then said, "Auto guidance systems initialized and active. Phaser safeties are engaged too."

Miles looked at Bashir and asked, "Am I going to have to tie you to your chair?" Bashir smiled and Miles then said, "Field stabilizers on line."

Major Kira chuckled as she listened to Bashir and Miles talk about Bashir's childish excitement. "Synchronizing warp power flow," She said.

"Weapons are fully on line," Nog said, "Quantum torpedoes standing by and phasers are ready," Nog turned and saw Sisko step on the bridge, "Captain on the bridge!" He said full of alert.

"Commander," Sisko said acknowledging Nog. He then took his seat and ordered, "Old man, set a course for the star base 456, warp six."

"Yes sir," Dax said smiling as she liked it when Sisko addressed her.

IIIIIIIIIIIII

Lieutenant Jarrol stepped off the shuttle craft and sniffed the pure Romulus air. It had six months since she had been back home and now she had a weeks leave. Across the street stood, Ketal, Jarrol's mother, when they saw each other they smiled and walked to meet each other. "It has been too long," Ketal said.

"I know," Jarrol said walking with her mother to her house.

Suddenly there was a shrill scream from inside their home. Ketal and Jarrol looked at each other and then ran inside. On the floor was Jeska, Jarrol's younger sister, bleeding profusely from a neck wound. She moaned and reached out to her mother. Ketal cried out and grabbed her daughter. Jarrol looked and saw her neighbor, Sanksta step out from behind a wall and bite Ketal. Ketal screamed in pain as blood spurted from her new bite wound.

Jarrol reached and grabbed her weapon firing at her neighbor, killing him. Jarrol grabbed her whimpering mom and sister and then ran out to try and get help. But to her dismay nobody would.