Pooling Of Minds

Posted on Thursday April 11th, 2019 @ 18:45 hours by Mayterial Droz & Taleria Lin MD & Vysara Elani
Edited on on Thursday April 11th, 2019 @ 18:46 hours

Mission: Pixie Dust
Location: Infirmary
Timeline: MD02 0700
2153 words - 4.3 OF Standard Post Measure

So focusing on the job helped. She still felt Sick to her stomach, and she could feel her connection with Lin straining under the effect of whatever this thing was. It took both of their brain powers, Taleria's and Lin's to keep her from swaying into the illusory lands. Of course, only after she started seeing different versions of herself in the mirror. It was when she saw her nearly dead former self, Baran staring back at her, that she realized something was seriously wrong, after the sudden stop of the ship.

Then came the call for medics to report to the Infirmary. That helped push away the images, helped her re-center. The crew needed help, and she could maybe do so. It was good enough for her.

"Hi, you asked for a Medic?" She said as she entered Sickbay, "I'm Doctor Taleria Lin."

Mayterial waved in front of her face with a hand, she hadn't been able to find Volok but in the isolation of the corridors was able to shake off whatever effects she was experiencing from whatever was affecting her and the others on board. She focused, took a deep breath, and tried to figure out what the main priority should be. She needed to make sure the crew wasn't a risk to themselves, the passengers, the cargo, or the ship. In her brief encounters with them, all of those had presented themselves. Somehow it had also affected her empathic abilities and it was making her unstable. Maybe someone responded to Ares' request for Medical help in the bay. She turned back around and headed for the medical bay again, no idea how long she had wandered these corridors.

The doors parted and she saw someone she didn't know stand in the centre of an otherwise empty room. Mayterial rubbed her temples, hoping this wasn't some sort of hallucination, "Miss. Are you a medical professional?"

The trill turned to face the voice. "Ah, Captain Droz. I'm Doctor Lin, I heard the ship wide summon." The blue eyes noticed the betazoid was rubbing her temples. "I'm trying to find the ship's medic, but I can't tell if they're here or not." Then Lin paused, taking a deep breath. "You seeing things too?"

"Seeing things, experiencing things, none of them mine." Mayterial closed her eyes for a moment trying to focus again. "This is a wysiwyg medbay. If they're not in this room, they're not here." She stumbled towards the nearest bio-bed and leaned up against it, "I gave myself some telepathic suppressants but they don't seem to work all that well. I can't seem to stop connecting with people's thoughts and emotions."

Lin's mind pulsed with thought at that. "Alright, sit down. Let me scan you, maybe that will help figure it out. I've been seeing my former selves, usually in a mirror or a reflective surface. Some of them weren't in a really nice state." The trill sighed, as she went over to what she thought might be an instrument tray and fished out what appeared to be a tricorder.

"Ah there we go." That said, she opened it, tapped a few commands to change the default human physiology scan to that of a Betazoid and returned to Droz. "This started for you after the ship hit the bump?"

Before Mayterial could answer though, the Infirmary door slid open again. "I'm really sorry M'Erah, I really thought I was on that ship. I'd seen the footage of the orbital sensors, and the black box readouts...it seemed so real in my head." A Bajoran and a Caitian stepped in.

"It's okay, Vysarrra, let's just have the doctorrr take a look at you." M'erah had guided the engineer into the medical bay and found both the Captain and someone he only recognised fleetingly in there already, "Captain, miss, we'rrre in need of medical assistance."

Mayterial nodded to the passenger with medical training, had a bit of difficulty remembering her name, or her face. It was weird how in moments she was even wondering if it was a woman or a man, "Not immediately. There were reports throughout the ship. I had a moment of doubt on the bridge." She looked around and didn't see Langar having reported in, "The Master-at-Arms was sure Cardies were coming back to take the ship."

Vysara frowned, "I thought the ship was going to crash into a planet."

Taleria looked between the two, "I saw past versions of myself. That's only possible through very elaborate rituals, not just every day hallucinations." Then she looked at the Caitian briefly, "you?" She then motioned for the Bajoran to sit down, and continued scanning the Captain.

M'erah simply shook his head, "I've not experrrienced any hallucinations, ma'am."

"Lucky you." Mayterial let out under her breath.

"So..." Taleria looked at her scanning results, "it definitely looks like your brain believes that what is happening is true, Captain. However, given that at least four of us so far have experienced hallucinations, I think you need to look at an external culprit." Lin bid Mayterial to lie down, as she rounded the bio bed and went over to Vysara, re-adjusted her scans and began scanning the bajoran."

"So, like a compound or something we ingested maybe? Or are you thinking a leak of some sort?" Vysara queried, observing the spots on the blonde woman's temples.

Taleria shrugged, "at this point anything is possible. I'll need to take samples of your blood, to determine if there is any residue. Captain, do you know if anyone else has been affected?"

"Langar, to be sure. Alexandria came by my quarters speaking of stowaway cats. Ares was catatonic in a hallucination of home, her friend Adam I believe his name was, no wait, Colt, Colt couldn't regulate his temperature. Kept thinking he was in a desert or on a mountain top. I also found one of the greenhorn deckhands in the showers earlier today, didn't think too much of it beyond the regular culture shock of working in space, escorted her to the sickbay, got some sedatives, put her in her room. She talked about one more deckhand being affected, don't know who, can't remember."

M'erah felt the clothes on his back becoming itchy, he wasn't really comfortable in this small room with everyone talking about hallucinations and craziness, "if you don't need me anymorrre, I still need to do the rrrounds on the carrrgo bays."

Taleria nodded to M'Erah, "thank you for bringing her in."

Then she refocused on Vysara, "I'm reading the same neurological reactions in your brain, as in the Captain's." The trill mused, then readjusted the readings again and scanned herself.

"What are you doing?" Elani asked.

"Confirming a theory." Taleria replied as she finished scanning herself then looked at the readings. "Okay. Same readings."

As she went back to the Captain, she tapped on the few commands above the bio bed, then she jogged over to Vysara. "Lie down please."

The bajoran did as instructed then the trill initiated the same scans above her head.

"Okay, I'm going to take blood samples of off the three of us," Taleria said, walking over to the instrument tray and wheeling it over. "Captain, is there anything we're transporting that has psychotropic properties?" She asked, pulling out a vial and slotting it into the small device, which she then pressed against Mayterial's shoulder, drawing some blood.

"I'm sorry, who are you? I've never seen you before. Where's the doctor?" Mayterial had only looked away for a moment, the doors had parted, she had heard that, but she hadn't thought the doctor would leave. When she looked back up a man stood where she had last seen the doctor, he had apparently taken over for her, "We. No. We don't. You need a special license for that and the Federation rescinded mine."

Taleria blinked, who had the Captain seen just now? "Still Doctor Lin, Captain. Focus. If we're not transporting anything, is there anything in long term storage that could cause this?"

She went over to Vysara with a fresh vial. "Anything the ship could leak into the environmental systems that could cause this?" She asked of the Bajoran.

"Nothing that we wouldn't detect. Even then, you'd feel sick and dizzy at most, you wouldn't be hallucinating." Vysara offered.

Lin nodded, heading over to the back of the room, and putting the two vials into a device and fiddled a little with the controls before she managed to initiate the scanning process. Then she made the mistake of looking up at a reflective panel above.

A charred face, with an scared yet empty look stared back at her and she felt sweat bead at her temples and at the back of her neck, a sick feeling in her stomach, just above her symbiont pouch, where she...he had been punctured on that day. It was her own face yet not her own face staring at her.

"Focus." She murmured to herself. "Focus, go away, Baran!"

Mayterial saw the man with short black hair look up and following his gaze she saw yet another face she didn't recognise. When she heard the words to focus she closed her eyes again. Something was affecting her still, she took in a deep breath and remembered the cargo they got from that Starfleet science office, "There's this one crate. For scientific purposes. Something to do with soil enhancement. It's in cargo bay two."

Taleria turned to Mayterial. "We need to have a look at it. See if it's leaking, if so, we need a sample, so I can figure out if that's what's affecting us."

Mayterial pressed the communication device attached to her lower arm, =A= This is Droz for Samantha Jenkins, can you please check cargobay two and see if the seal on the cargo is in tact? If not, we'll need a sample of it brought to the medical bay. =A= She closed her eyes again, she couldn't quite remember how little she slept but it was sneaking up on her as she lay on the bio-bed, =A= Please take precautions, it may be hallucinogenic. =A=

Taleria blinked away an image of a kindly dark haired woman in a blue, Commander's uniform as she glanced at a surface as she returned to her two patients. "We need to do a head count and see who's affected and who's not. We'll need the help of those who aren't if too many of us are incapacitated."

"I think we were able to get Ares out of it, she's the Quartermaster, she's your best bet for a headcount." Mayterial started to doze a little, "Perhaps team her up with Langar."

Vysara nodded from her bio-bed.

"That's probably best, and have the affected routed here, at least that was we can keep an eye on them until we can confirm what this is." Lin added.

May groggily hit the communicator again, =A= May to Ares, I need a head count immediately. Go around the ship with Langar and round everyone up. Anyone that has delusions should report to the medical bay =A= She closed the comms and opened it again, =A= May to Canaan and Alexandria, please get us back on course, send out a signal for help to the nearest Federation outpost. Tell them we need medical aide. =A= She closed the comm channel once more before opening it for the last time, =A= Mayterial to Meghan, report to my quarters =A=

The computer gave a loud error beep at that last command, "Recipient not found."

=A= Mayterial to Meghan Moreau, please respond. =A= Mayterial her eyes shot wide open, adrenalin suddenly coursing through her system.

The same error message, "Recipient not found."

Vysara struggled to get back up, "Captain, who's Meghan?"

"Who's Meghan?" Mayterial pushed herself from the bed almost angry, "The woman who hired you, that's who, the first mate."

Taleria placed a hand on Mayterial's shoulder, "Captain, focus."

"Volok's the First Mate, not this Meghan person," Vysara said with a groan as she sat up finally.

"No, that's not right. Meghan is, she's my..." May seemed very confused before the words of Taleria came back to her and she tried to focus again. "Meghan." She whispered to herself again before the realisation set in, the primary reason they were in this mess was because of Meghan, she had screwed up. She nearly lost her ship. Lost her entire crew. Lost Meghan. "I'm sorry. Volok. Of course. Volok is the first mate."

"It's okay. At least you're not seeing dead people..." Taleria offered a kind smile, "right?"

Mayterial shook her head a bit, "No. She's alive. In prison. But alive." She then nodded her head, "we need to get this under control asap."

Both the trill and the bajoran nodded.

[OFF]

Mayterial Droz
Captain

Taleria Lin M.D.
Ship's Physician

&

Vysara Elani (NPC)
Engineer
(as written by Taleria)