Random Strike, Part 2

Posted on Sat Sep 19th, 2015 @ 10:42pm by Lieutenant Commander Earl Crane & Cadet Senior Grade Chance Conradi & Lieutenant Commander William Harding M.D. & Cadet Senior Grade Eli Ziyad & Niro & Falasin

Mission: Further Challenges

Chance? Something’s…... He didn’t even realize he’d slipped from his chair until he felt the cold floor against his cheek.

“ELI!” Chance shouted, frightened by the strength of the panic he felt; it was all his own, though he could feel Eli’s as well. “Oh my god! Eli! Eli! Hey!” He was on the floor, pulling at Eli’s collar in a flash. He glanced at Falasin with wild eyes before a moment of clarity hit and he tapped his commbadge, “Medical emergency! Two to beam to Piper!”

For a moment, he thought the transporter tech was either asleep at the controls, confused by all the noise or ...then the harmonics of the transporter sounded and he and Eli disappeared, leaving a stricken Falasin behind.

It had all happened so fast that neither Niro nor Falasin had time to react. It had also happened exactly as Niro intended. He read Fal’s panic and grabbed her hand. “Let’s go, we need to get to Piper.” He took hold of Eli’s drink. “They might want this...just in case.”

“The drinks? You think it might have been in the drinks?” She worried for Chance’s, Niro’s and her own safety now. She tried to remember whether Eli had even taken a sip of his drink. Either way, it didn’t matter: she and Niro were already out of the club and heading for Piper, him with the glass in hand.

* Piper Medical Center *

“Help!” Chance shouted as soon as the transporter let go of him and Eli. “Help! He’s not breathing!”

Medics raced into the room and got Eli on a gurney then hustled him into a exam and treatment room.

Rushing footsteps could be heard as Will came down the hall at a trot. A second set of footsteps approached from the other direction. He looked up and nodded to Earl. He started to greet the other doctor but a shout came from the room. “He’s going into shock!”

Will rushed into the room with Earl and already, the medics were working on Eli and calling out their reports. “What the fuck happened?” He asked as he began to look over the biobed scans as fast as he could. It was only then he realized Chance was in the room and that it was Eli on the table. A horrible deja vu hit him.

Earl didn't have that same sense, thankfully. He looked at Chance and demanded, "What happened to him, Cadet?"

His tone and cadence made Chance snap out of his frozen panic. "He... we... were at Kaleidoscope. We'd just gotten our drinks when Eli ...," he took a deep breath, calming himself, and sifted through his impressions of the moment. "He was dizzy and passing out. His throat closed and then he was on the floor."

“What did he have to drink?” Will demanded.

"Ah... A fruity, sweet drink. Um... lots of sugar, something purple and a bit of alcohol. It was our first drink of the night." Chance bit his lip as a thought occurred to him. "We just went through my first pon farr. Oh, gods, what if I did this to him?"

Snorting, almost laughing, Earl shook his head. "Sex and hormones can do a lot to young men. Never seen a case of anaphylaxis induced by sex. And I've seen a lot of strange things, Cadet," Earl spoke a little softer to Chance this time.

“Chanella, get me 10cc’s of cortolin,” Will ordered. He looked over to Chance and smiled. “Dr. Crane’s right. His hormonal levels are elevated but not out of the normal range. If the pon farr was consummated, then the blood fever would abate, as it obviously has.” He took the hypospray from Chanella and pressed it to Eli’s neck. “That should alleviate the breathing issue.” He pulled another from his pocket and administered it. “It appears to be a severe reaction but…” he pointed to the biobed panel. “Look at this Earl.”

Moving next to Will, Earl took a moment to focus on the scans. "Huh," he grunted. "Enaran readings for that should be much higher. Something is ...looks like something's killing that area there."

"Killing? He's dying! No, you can't let him--" Chance started to panic loudly. A nurse, at Earl's direction, quickly moved the young man to a waiting room.

“The cortolin has had no effect, we’ll have to continue the respirator,” Will informed the team in the exam room. “Get me a cortical monitor.” When a nurse handed it over, he attached it to Eli’s forehead. It immediately began to transmit and what it was saying wasn’t good. Earl was right, the telepathic center was dying and beginning to cause a system-wide breakdown. He ran his hand over his face and cursed again. “Get him in stasis. Dr. Crane? Agreed? We have to stop this while we figure out what the hell to do.”

"Yes, before more of the brain is shut down." Earl nodded as he drew samples of Eli's blood. "Do you see the rash on his hand?"

Will nodded. He ran a medical tricorder over Eli’s hand, taking readings to study later, when things weren’t at panic stage. He then moved Eli’s sleeve up and could see the rash moving in a thin line along his arm. As he watched, it spread higher. “Alright, we have all we’re going to get. Let’s get him to a stasis chamber. Move it!”

In a matter of moments, the room was clear and Eli had been safely sealed up. Will stood outside the door, looking in at the young man. “What the hell is going on here Earl?” he asked. “There was no alcohol in his system, which means he had nothing to drink. Fine one minute, dying the next.”

"Let's get started on analysing his blood and those readings you took. Maybe something there will shed some light on this." Earl paused, looking at Eli. "Aren't these the two kids who... one of 'em was killed in the Nexus?"

“Chance, yes.” A nurse appeared to inform them that two people had arrived with a drink they’d said was Eli’s from Kaleidoscope. Will ordered it sent on to the lab, then turned back to Earl. “This appeared to be just a reaction but it’s too specific. Chance allergic reactions aren’t that tailor-made. But if he didn’t drink it, how?”


"Contact dermatitis. Perhaps he brushed his hand against something and picked up an allergen or toxic substance," Earl had stripped his gloves off and was washing his hands at a sink. "Do you want to tell the Cadet or shall I?"

“They were in Kaleidoscope, he could’ve touched half the station in under five minutes in there,” Will grumbled, then shook his head. “Let’s both go. This is gonna be a hard one and I cannot believe I’m now having this talk with the other half of this pair.” He opened the door that led out of the stasis section and then he and Earl began to walk. “What a fucked-up week.”

"So... Chance was killed at the Nexus, where Eli works? And now Eli is dying because of something possibly smeared on his hand? That's coincidence," the old doctor commented, sarcastically.

“Chance’s murder was related to a vendetta against Commander Zeferino, his sister.” Will frowned as they continued on towards the waiting room. He tapped his comm badge and called security, requesting a report on what was known of the movements of Chance and Eli over the past week. “It may be that this was a timed release thing,” he mused.

Earl moved to a main computer console and called up the readings on Eli's rash. An analysis of the chemicals on his skin scrolled onto the screen. "Hmm... I recognize shea butter compounds."

“Body lotion?” The corners of Will’s mouth twitched. “Shower soap? That wouldn’t cause Eli’s symptoms unless he had an innate allergy to it and he didn’t list any known allergies in his intake records.” The computer was still running the analysis and Will resisted the urge to slam his finst on the computer screen. “Analysis complete in twenty minutes.”

"Unless it's an allergy induced by overuse," Earl commented and shrugged. "Okay, we'll let this run and go talk to Chance." He led the way to the waiting room and was surprised to find not just Chance but also a an Andorian female and Nico waiting there. "Commander, I thought you were off-station?"

Niro looked confused for a split second, then shook his head. “No, I’m Niro, his brother. Falasin and I were with Chance and Eli at Kaleidoscope. We brought his drink in, in case it was somehow related. How is he?”

"He's...," Earl sighed, looking at Chance, and realized his delay was driving Chance mad, "We've put him in stasis for now. He seems to be having an allergic reaction to something and stasis will give us time to determine what is causing that and reverse it."

"He'll be okay, though?" Chance looked past Earl at Harding.

Will licked his lips, then sat down beside Chance. He’d give anything right now to be anywhere but here, saying what he had to say. “We hope so, Chance. We’re doing everything we can to get to the bottom of this and get him back to you. I won’t lie to you, however. At this point, he’s in danger. Whatever this is is attacking the telepathic area of his brain and causing problems across the board.”

"I can barely feel him, Doc," Chance said, "that's the stasis effect?" Falasin put her arm around him, offering comfort.

"Most likely," Earl nodded. "We have some questions that you might be able to answer. If you'll come with us?"

"Sure, yeah," the young man stood, hugged Falasin briefly then followed Earl.

"Gosh, this is terrible!" Fal chewed at her bottom lip. "Chance told me his parents are here. Maybe someone should contact them?"

“I’ll have Lt. Payne call them,” Will said as he stood. “Thank you for bringing in that drink as well.”

“Of course,” Niro answered. “But I don’t think he had any of it. But the rest of us had the same drink if that matters.”

Will frowned. “If you have any symptoms of any kind, then get back here immediately.” He looked at Niro a moment, realizing he was also Enaran. “You, especially, Niro. This seems to be a telepathy-centered issue, so be vigilant.” Will turned and left the room, off to join Earl and Chance.

**************
Cadet JG Chance Conradi
Cadet JG Eli Ziyad
Niro
Falasin
Lt. Commander Earl Crane, M.D.
Lt. Commander Will Harding, M.D.