Head Case...Maybe?

Posted on Sun Oct 23rd, 2022 @ 4:01am by Lieutenant Sovas Nyseth & Lieutenant Dr. Daniel Brasken
Edited on on Thu Nov 3rd, 2022 @ 1:57am

Mission: In-Between (S1:E3-S1:E4)
Location: Sick Bay
Timeline: Mission Day 10 at 1330
1978 words - 4 OF Standard Post Measure

Sovas had been enjoying their shore leave, the planet Anorra was truly a paradise world and its owner did have something to be proud of and there were numerous entertain diversions to be found both from amongst the crew and the locals. He was thankful that there hadn't been any real incidents like on the ship before the encounter with the Vidiians and revelation of the phage infecting the crew. That had been in part thanks to the Pon Farr treatments he had been give in Sickbay, though he still found his mind racing at time or recalling old memories, the outright murderous anger an rage hadn't come back. He was reporting to Sickbay for his mandatory check up and to get a refill for his prescription as he walked through the doors, dress casually since he wasn't on duty currently, looking around before he spotted one of the medical officer's who took his over to a bio-bed then disappeared to bring the doctor on duty.

Daniel finished up with the report he was writing and then stood to follow the nurse out to the exam area. He had spotted the peculiar account of Sovas while reviewing the crew's overall health exams from after the rough trip to the Delta Quadrant. Things simply didn't add up on a few different levels and so he had flagged the file for the next time the officer came in that he would handle it.

"Good day, Lieutenant. You seem to be in better humors than the last visit." Daniel flicked the lower part of his tricorder open and close as he addressed the officer.

"Mmmm, yes." The half Vulcan nodded with a slightly pensive expression on his face as he considered how things had been going since his last visit and his rather aggressive behavior. A slight smirk formed on his lips as he watched the other man playing with the tricorder. "It seems a trip to my local apothecary was just what I needed, though thankfully we didn't have to resort to blood letting or leeches."

"I'm saving those for the people who avoid me for too long." Daniel raised the probe after leaving the tricorder open. He used his thumb to adjust the scans as he focused the probe around the upper shoulders, neck and head. A frown slowly deepened on his face as he adjusted again and again until the tricorder beeped angrily, informing him that it could not do what he was trying to.

"I am not seeing what I expect to be seeing, considering your cycle and the premature onset I would expect an external influence of some sort, but nothing seems to be showing up. In fact, I'm not seeing the normal increases either. From everything this says, you should not be experiencing the symptoms that you currently are." Daniel took a deep breath and then moved back in front of Sovas. "Which means I need you to lay down so I can use more delicate tools."

"I don't understand," The half-Vulcan's brow arched as curiosity, confusion and more than a little dread seemed to melt together and form a conveniently heavy weight in the pit of his stomach as he watched the doctor, not quite certain to make of what he had said. If this wasn't a premature onset of his Pon Farr then what was it? The irritability, the heightened sexual drive, the near feral aggressiveness it all pointed to that and the other doctors had thought so as he let out a deep sigh before feeling that creeping sensation inside of his mind like an idea that he'd had just on the verge of waking up that evaporated like so much fog. "If its not Pon Farr, what is it? Or could it be something wrong with how my body is experiencing it because of my coma?"

Daniel sighed at the questions and before answering them, put a hand on Sovas' chest and pushed him to lay down with surprising strength and firmness. "That. Is why I told you to lay back so I could get more detailed scans." The doctor then pulled the arch out from the side of the bed and placed it over Sovas's cranium and activated it. Being an imbalance of hormones in the brain chemistry, that seemed the best place to start.

He moved over to the wall panel to control and view the scan results as the arch slowly move back and forth over the face of the young Vulcan. "Uh huh...that doesn't look right." Daniel removed the arch and then brought up a side by side comparison. "This is a normal Vulcan/Human hybrid brain on the left, and yours on the right. If you look here, between the pituitary and adrenal glands you can see you have...something...making a connection that it isn't normally there."

Sovas frowned and sighed as he felt the doctor pushing him back as he placed his hands on his chest while letting the other man and the machine work. As the arch moved over back and forth, there came a pang deep in his head, it wasn't a normal sensation like someone was trying to stab him from inside of his brain but without any kind of physical stimuli. He gritted his teeth as the arch completed its scan and retracted, allowing the half-Vulcan to look over at the display on the wall as he saw the area that Brasken was talking about being much brighter than the surround image as the stabbing feeling shifted to something slightly disturbing and unpleasant as his skin broke out in goose bumps and he shivered with disgust.

"Something physical?" He didn't know how something living could have gotten into his head since he hadn't been exposed to any sort of dangerous fauna. The unpleasant sensations continued for a moment or two more until he looked away and closed his eyes. "I feel a presence inside of my mind, it isn't always there and I contributed it to some sort of psionic unease I could be picking up from the crew about our current circumstances."

"Not sure. There is something affecting you and your body is responding, but I don't know if the link is physical or just showing on the scan at this point." Daniel moved to attach an arm to the side of the bed and then a specific tool was attached to the arm. "We will need a bit more detailed scan in this area. Turn over and relax, this will take a few minutes to completed."

Sovas' expression turned dubious as he looked at the medical equipment before letting out a slow breath as he turned over and did his best to relax despite feeling nothing of the sort. He knew that it was better to let the doctors work lest they feel the need to impress upon you the often overlooked, and underestimated, power of their position.

"Thank you..." Daniel ignored the look that crossed the man's face and set the scanner at the base of Sovas' skull. The scan excited the epidermis as it ran, causing an almost electric tickle type feeling along the nerves. The doctor moved to the wall panel to analyze the data as it came in and frowned. Reaching back over he adjusted the device, sending the sensation crawling down the officer's right jaw line instead of straight up their skull. "The readings are...moving. That does not indicate a naturally occurring function and instead..."

Daniel trailed off as he adjusted the scanner again back to center and increased the power. "Ahhh. Well. That will have to come out." The scan ran a few moments more before deactivating and the tool was moved from above Sovas. "You have an infection. Of what kind I cannot tell just yet or why it is affecting you the way it is." Daniel again back at the wall panel he brought up a fully zoomed in view of a cluster of light that pulsed slowly and released chemicals in the simulation.

"Infection?" The half-blood man frowned as he turned his attention to Daniel with a deep frown furrowing his features as his mind began to work since he didn't know where he could have picked up anything of the sort. He'd been through numerous transporters, several medical exams and even here on the Vengeance he'd been through several both before and after their transport to their current situation. "Shouldn't the transporters have caught and screened it out?"

"Unfortunately the transporter filters are far from perfect at filtering out more complicated things. Several times in history things have snuck past." Daniel frowned a bit more and tapped the display. "Likely this latched on to you and spent much of it's initial incubation period learning to mimic your body's functions to avoid being rejected. The medication you've been taking has been keeping the symptoms at bay but I'd be willing to bet that won't last. In fact...you should be removed from duty until this can be removed."

"That's rather extreme, don't you think doctor?" Sovas frowned as he felt the familiar tingling inside of his mind as the thing was becoming agitated, though if it was because of his reaction or the knowledge that the doctor was wanting to do something about it wasn't clear to the hybrid man. "Couldn't I be placed on light or restricted duty?"

"Hmm...I suppose you aren't in a position to fly us into a black hole or such on a whim. Yes, I suppose we can go with light duty for now." Daniel moved over to a wall and opened a drawer to pull out a small device. He took the device over to his tricorder and tapped in a series of commands before handing it over to Sovas. "Assuming you agree to wear this monitor.." Daniel tapped behind his ear to show where it would attach. "While we figure this out further."

"What specifically would this be monitoring?" The half Vulcan questioned as he looking at neural monitor with not a little bit of suspicion since such devices had been used for less than honest purposes as tool of spycraft. He wasn't opposed to its use but he did want to be informed.

Daniel quirked a brow slightly at the inquiry. "Considering your alternative is to be relieved of duty until this is resolved, do you really think it matters?"

"Call it a matter of informed curiosity, Doctor." Sovas held the other man's gaze while still holding the monitoring devices in his hand. "I like to be an informed patient and understand the process."

"Very well. The device will be monitoring your brain chemistry and over all activity. This will allow me to track and compare how the influence is interacting with your body so that I can come up with a way to resolve the problem." Daniel motioned for Sovas to put the device behind his ear again.

Finally following the doctor's orders, the half-Vulcan placed the devices behind his ears with a firm press to ensure that they were set before looking back to Daniel. "What now?"

"Return to your duties. I will inform who needs informing of your lightened responsibilities." Daniel went to the replicator and hit a few buttons, returning with a small device. "This is your refill, use it as before to assist with the symptoms that you are dealing with."

"Thank you doctor, I'll come back when I require a refill of my prescription." The half-Vulcan man stood from the biobed to make his way toward the door, his hand coming up to touch the skin just under the monitor as he became used to its presence. He wondered just what this would mean for his future and what the entity was, why it had latched itself onto him.

END