Chapter 2

Carolyn had fallen into a deep coma. After a thorough examination, the Doctor had been unable to find any sign of illness or infection.

Carolyn was unconscious in sickbay, lying on a bio-bed. Nita watched as the Doctor examined her with his sonic screwdriver. "I'm still getting unusual neurotransmitter readings in the diencephalon… but they might be a result of the coma." He shut off the sonic and moved away.

"Can you bring her out of it?"

"I've tried standard revival techniques… she doesn't respond. Until I know what caused this, I don't want to try anything more extreme."

"Do we know what she was doing when this happened?"

"No. She was found in her quarters this morning when she didn't show up for breakfast. She was dressed for bed… but the bed wasn't slept in. Who was the last person to speak with her?"

"She left the dinner last night with one of the Voord. I'll talk to him."

"I'll check the biofilter readings from the Voord's entry. It's possible they could still be carrying some harmful organism. Ask if they would consent to examinations – just to be certain."

Nita headed for the door. The Doctor turned back to look at Carolyn… her beautiful face, composed and still.

Nita entered the galley, scanned the room, and saw Lemon sitting alone at the table. She approached. "May I join you?"

"Nita… of course." He looked at Nita curiously. "Something's wrong."

"Carolyn is ill."

Lemon feigned both surprise and concern. "I'm sorry to hear it."

"More than ill… she's in a coma. The Doctor doesn't know what's causing it or how to treat her."

"When did it happen?"

"Apparently some time last night. That's why I wanted to talk to you… you may have been the last person to see her. Did you go with her into her quarters?"

There was a hesitation as Lemon eyed Nita. "Are you suggesting I behaved improperly, Nita?"

"Not at all… I'm just trying to trace her steps."

"We talked briefly," said Lemon tersely. "In the corridor. She went into her quarters. I did not go with her."

Nita was surprised at the defensiveness. "Lemon – I'm not accusing you of anything."

An uncomfortable moment passed. Nita tried again. "Did she mention feeling ill?"

"No. She seemed fine. She has a wonderful sense of humour."

Nita let that pass. "If you have no objection, the Doctor would like to examine you and your group."

Lemon was surprised at this. "To what end?"

"He'd like to eliminate the possibility that one of you might be carrying some organism that was harmful to Carolyn."

Lemon regarded her coolly. There was no warmth between these two.

"I'm not implying that you've done anything intentional. I am just trying to get to the bottom of a mystery."

"We have nothing to hide. If you wish to spend time examining us…" He shrugged, as though the matter were of no import.

"Fine. Thank you." She rose and headed for the door. As she left, Lemon's expression changed from benign condescension to a controlled anger.

In sickbay, Nita approached Carolyn's bed and sat on a stool. She looked at her still, composed face for a moment. "Carolyn… I don't know if you can hear me. I've heard doctors say that even when someone's in a coma, they may be able to hear when people talk to them… that it might even help stimulate the brain and speed the healing." She took a breath, feeling a little foolish talking to an unconscious person, but more driven by her concern for her. "So I just thought… maybe it would help to hear a friendly voice…" she smiled wryly, "…even if you don't know you're hearing it." She took a breath, looking for something to talk about. "We've been busy mapping the sector… it's pretty routine. So far the most unusual thing we've seen is a binary star system… I'll show you when you…" a beat, as she realized it might not happen, "…wake up." She stopped, afraid of losing control. "I miss you, friend. So don't stay away too long, okay?" She half rose, willing her to hear her.

"Nita?" The Doctor approached. "Nita… I promise I'll let you know the minute she regains consciousness."

"I know."

"There's nothing you can do here. You're going to wear yourself out."

"Right."

"It's late… go to bed. Please."

"She glanced up at him, finally nodded, and walked out. He looked after her, worried."

Nita was sitting at a desk in her quarters, working on a tablet.

Suddenly she had a flashback of Michelle at a console in the cloister room; she was obviously yelling something but Nita couldn't hear it. The Cloister Bell was ringing.

Nita tried to shake off the image and continue her work.

Flashback – the isolation door to the cloister room came down. "Keller is still in there!"

Nita was sweating now, steeling herself against the encroaching memory. But she couldn't stop it… she leaned back in the chair, overwhelmed.

Flashback – Michelle was working frantically at a console; Nita was waving someone out of the cloister room. "Out, out, out! Let's go!" "Antimatter injection breach. Evacuate immediately." The isolation door was down. "Keller, can you hear me?" "Yeah…"

The flashback jumped to another angle: Nita was waving someone out of the cloister room. "Come on, move it!" "Nita, I need to bring that door down!:

The door was down now; Davis, a visitor, stood by Nita, staring in. "Keller, can you get to a maintenance duct?" Silence. "Keller, answer me." "You killed her."

The flashback jump cut to another angle: The door was up; Davis ran out. "Keller is still in there!" Nita turned to the door, started to go in. "Nita, radiation levels are critical – we've gotta seal it off." "She was right behind me!" Nita made a decision, "Bring down the door!"

In the present, Nita was staring down, unseeing, reliving the memory.

Flashback – Before the door went down… Nita was waving someone out, "Out, out out! Let's go!" Davis ran out. "Keller is still in there." The door was now down. Lemon had replaced Davis, standing and looking with a quiet smile at Nita. He was wearing Davis' clothing. "Keller is still in there." "Nita to the Doctor. Prepare to transmat Keller out the cloister room." "I can't lock onto her, Nita." "Keller is still in there."

The flashback jumped to: the isolation door coming down. Lemon was in a different location now, running out just under the door. "Keller is still in there." The door was down. Davis was there; Lemon was in another location. He was in his own clothes. "You killed her." "Keller, answer me." "You killed her."

The Flashback jumped back to: "I've gotta get the isolation door down!" "Keller is still in there." "Bring down the door!" "You killed her." Nita was reeling as she was assaulted by a jumble of sounds. "You killed her." "You killed her." "I need that door down!" "Keller is still in there." "You killed her." All these voices merged into a cacophony… repeating their litany, reaching a crescendo pitch as Nita desperately tried to block out the sounds.

In the present, Nita was groggy, losing consciousness.

"Control room to Nita…"

But Nita couldn't answer.

A worried Doctor was at the console, Michelle next to him.

"Nita, can you hear me? Doctor to Nita, answer please."

Nothing.

The Doctor looked at the time rotor. "Where is Nita?"

The TARDIS showed him an image of his quarters.

The Doctor looked at Michelle. "My quarters."

Michelle headed for the corridor.

Michelle entered Nita's quarters. She scanned the room quickly and saw Nita slumped onto her desk, unconscious.