Shell Game

Posted on Sat Oct 28th, 2023 @ 12:53pm by Ensign Ilan Ocara & Lieutenant Sovas Nyseth & Lieutenant Dr. Daniel Brasken
Edited on on Mon Oct 30th, 2023 @ 9:33pm

Mission: S1 Episode 6: Joy and Ashes
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: Date 2371-09-03 at 1030
2380 words - 4.8 OF Standard Post Measure

Daniel sat in his office, considering each step of what he was about to attempt. A chess match that spanned far more dimensions than the classic chess game that evolved to theoretically be more difficult. Really it just made people with spacial orientation issues hate the game further than they would have before then. The levels of neural energy, hormones, physical stress of everyone in the room could play a part in the upcoming experiment.

Rolling his neck, Daniel stood up and stepped out of his office with the soft sigh of his office door. He took hold of the rolling cart that the abomination was contained in, kept out of sight from both prying eyes and those with weaker constitutions. The cart moved quietly over to end up head to head with the currently unconscious Sovas. Looking over to Ilan he then gestured for her to wake the man up. "Might as well get this over with."

Ilan had been glad that Daniel had decided to keep her in the loop with this particular science experiment, not only because she found it interesting, but she had a soft spot for Sovas on some level. She picked up the hypospray and pressed it to the hybrid man's neck. "How long will this procedure take, do you think?"

"Based on the time it took for the full separation last time and the drugs still working their way out of Sovas' system, I would expect approximately an hour. Admittedly the enforced coma does add an extra level of complexity to the procedure, but not a large one." Daniel shrugged slightly and looked down at the half-breed to wait for responsiveness.

It seemed that while he had placed into the coma, he came back to consciousness fairly quickly, stirring as he shifted on the biobed, murmuring to himself.

"Ah, yes. Hello Lieutenant." Daniel addressed Sovas based on the readings he was seeing on the monitor instead of directly to him. Ilan was there to deal with bedside manner so he could keep up with what needed to be done. "Looks like the countering agents will be done in just a moment and we can get started. Unless you have any objections."

Sovas' attention shifted briefly to Daniel as he felt that all-too-familiar desire for violence swell within him, though it was merely a blip before it disappeared once more, little more than a weak echo of that he'd begun to experience while trapped on the holodeck. Images accompanying this feeling flashed through the halfbreed's mind of breaking Daniel's fingers one by one to see if the man was so dismissive of him then they too faded away with a whimper. "Unless you'd rather I let the drugs wear off and indulge in my more violent impulses."

“I don’t think that’s necessary.” Ilan spoke up, her voice patient but firm and directed at Sovas.

Sovas' attention turned to Ilan though his expression was flat as he nodded, he deep down hated feeling the things he did because they served no purpose and being unnecessarily violent didn't aid in survival. "No and it would be terribly inconvenient, I don't think the Captain would appreciate it."

Daniel loaded multiple cartridges into hyposprays, finishing as the numbers normalized and finally met Sovas' eyes. "Just breathe normally and this will be over as quick as I can make it." The injections were quick, designed to be as subtle on the half-Vulcan physiology as possible and like before would take effect over the course of a few minutes. This time though, Daniel had shifted the concentrations of the medications so that the affects would hit at different speeds from the last round. No reason to do anything that is one hundred percent the same as before.

He turned to the monitors and watched the brain scans for separation like before. The container to Sovas' head staying sealed up for now in it's shielded form.

Ilan left Daniel to his devices while she herself stood at the foot and to the side of the biobed Sovas was on. She was there to help distract him and keep him calm while Daniel carried out the procedure, but she also knew she couldn't touch Sovas or get too close. Still, she wore a pleasant, easy smile. "It won't be long at all. Tell me, have all of the computer issues we have been having finally been sorted out?"

"Mostly, from what I've been told." He replied while focusing on the dark-haired woman, considering the question. "If we didn't purge the AI that believes itself to be Immy, then we will need to create a space that we can keep her comfortable until we decide what to do with her exactly."

"But most major functions should be running fine now, I'll have to speak with Engineering to see what needs to be done with the maintenance schedule for the holodecks."

While the two of them spoke, Daniel watched the patterns shift and collide as they worked away from each other. It wasn't quite as clean as before, but the separation was absolutely happening.

A couple minutes later and the doctor moved to the container by Sovas' head and looked to Ilan. "Here we go..."

A hiss sounded as the pressure released from the pod like container. The positive pressure making sure to keep the experiment as contained and pristine as possible for as long as possible. The scent was medicinal in nature, sterile to a fault as the multi-hinged opening at the side closest to Sovas slowly peeled down away from the container to lay flat towards Sovas' head. Quickly the cords that were neatly coiled inside the box came out as Daniel moved to attach one to Sovas' left temple made of standard electrical conductive materials while the one that went to his right temple was made of flesh and blood.

The tentacle like object was to allow the creature to pick whatever mode suited it best to travel to the new host, which was little more than a head, torso and organs being kept alive by a multitude of cables and rodes inserted into the bones and muscles that existed.

The thing was clearly Sovas, though perhaps one that had been partially flayed, burnt and melted by a plasma discharge. Daniel was only worried about viability for study, so he hadn't put in as much effort to making sure it looked pretty.

"Good, good. Maybe I can help you create that for her. If it really is her, I can't imagine what she might be going through. I wonder if she is 'aware' when she is off." Ilan sighed and shook her head a bit. She kept her eyes on Sovas, not on the amalgamation behind him as to not alarm him. "I really hope not."

"She stated that before appearing in the holodeck, she experienced darkness before she appeared on the holodeck, but an uncomfortable prospect to be certain." Sovas agreed, his attention focused on Ilan even as Daniel began his work on the half-Vulcan, shuddering a little at feeling the warm, sticky pad that had been applied to his head. Curiosity made him wonder what it was, but he resisted the urge to look with the new scent of sterile air near him. The patterns on the monitor began to intertwine again as it seemed like the situation was again a fruitless failure, though the monitors began to beep as Sovas' neurological readings began to spike as the patterns began to split once more.

An electrical discharge and a glowing cloud surrounded the fleshy appendage and started to travel down it, the skin glowing from within, the skin swelling in an even more unwholesome manner than it already was. Ilan and Brasken would be able to discern what appeared to be some sort of serpentine creature slithering down the appendage as it sought out its new host.

Sovas grimaced as the entity vacated him, he was sweating profusely and gripping the edges of the table tightly enough to cause them to creak with the effort.

Daniel waited patiently for the creature to complete its transition to the new body and a second brain pattern to appear before using a laser scalpel to cut both of the connections to Sovas. He wasn't risking the creature deciding to jump back through them to anyone touching them. Leaving the cables hanging loosely on both ends before disconnecting the ends directly in contact with the lieutenant and then moving around to his side. "Without the creature messing with your hormone and chemical levels, you should return to normal."

The doctor held out a hand to offer help sitting up.

Sovas' head felt three sizes too small for his brain but the sensation was fading and he was still trying to process the entity passing out of his body and into whatever container they'd tricked it into. He felt nauseous before finally sitting up under his own power as he looked to Daniel and Ilan. He no longer saw their auras, or at least not as fully as he had been before, blinking and taking a slow breath. "If it doesn't return to normal, what then?"

Ilan stepped up to Sovas' side and placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. “Just give yourself a minute, Sovas. It only just left you. Give your body a beat to adjust.”

She then looked at Daniel. “Perhaps it might be best to remove that from sight for the moment.”

Daniel looked back at Ilan and gave a slight nod before using a pair of insulated pliers to get the chords back into the container and seal it back up. He never really understood why things like this bothered other people so much, it was science and completely explainable. Still, it wasn't his place to judge. At least not in an outwardly visible way and so the container was sealed up again before he beckoned to a nurse to take it away to somewhere a bit more secure.

"I only say should as a control word. Nothing on the scans indicate that anything was permanently altered by the creature, just stimulated to do their normal jobs more often. You may go through some ups and downs as your body normalizes, and I see no indications that it will not, you will be back to your old self...physically." Daniel knew the lieutenant had gone through some stuff that would have to be reviewed by someone more inclined to the soft sciences and was hoping the hint was noticeable.

"Physically," Sovas repeated as he shifted his attention turning to the insulated container as it was carried away by the nurse, his expression flat, his tone monotonous, lacking inflection as he looked to Daniel and then Ilan. "A suggestion that I should speak with a different professional regarding what the entity might have done to my emotional well-being,"

The half-Vulcan moved to stand sliding off the biobed and used it to steady himself as he considered the room around him, the world wasn't as vibrant, it seemed dulled in a way that he hadn't realized he was viewing things before. Though being under the influence of the creature wouldn't have likely allowed him to notice what it was doing to him. "Do we have anyone qualified for the task?"

"There are a couple nurses that have training. We will make sure they are available to you to assist and discuss your progress along with suggested reading or programs." Daniel looked over to Ilan if she had other information.

“I know it’s a difficult thing to accept and do, but it really is necessary.” Ilan spoke to Sovas and offered a reassuring smile. “It will be alright.”

"Otherwise, you will need to stay in Sickbay over night to be monitored. After that, I will sign off on your release to duty if you feel up to it." Daniel motioned over to one of the med bays that weren't specifically for surgery but just for day-to-day medical items.

"I'd like to get back to work as soon as possible," Sovas nodded and looked to Ilan, giving her a little smile that he didn't quite feel but he wanted to reassure her that he was alright. Even if he didn't believe that himself, he considered the numbness again and thought about one of the programs his mother had given him regarding Vulcan philosophy and thought that might be something he could look into. "Though I'll stay here until I'm released."

The half-Vulcan lifted his hand, working his fingers, and then closed his hand into a fist, opening it again before letting out a deep breath.

"Very well. Get some rest to recover. I'm sure you can appreciate the idea of recovering from an intense workout, this is no different." Daniel gestured to the bed as they arrived. "I am happy to take an order and have a proper meal brought to you. Nothing a good meal can't fix...after a proper medical procedure anyways." Daniel smirked slightly at his small joke in an attempt to help Sovas relax.

"A steak, rare, with a potato and steamed vegetables." The half-Vulcan moved to the bed, replying after what he'd considered to be a good and proper meal. Something that would sate him.

“Sounds like a good choice.” Ilan said with a smile and gave Sovas’ arm another squeeze. “I need to return to duty now, but I will come by later to check in.” As she said it, her eyes also went up to Daniel. She’d check in on Sovas to see to his wellbeing and Daniel to see if he had learned anything new.

Daniel gave a nod at the order and turned to head to his office. He would send the order to be delivered by one of his nurses and with the replicators he at least did not have to think about nutritional content, though at this point he really was just worried about the man ingesting calories than anything else. That was it to worry about for Sovas, now he got to turn his attention to the monitors on the box to see how their specimen was adapting to its new home.