Helping the Helpless

Posted on Wed Jun 25th, 2025 @ 10:18am by Captain Rhenora Kaylen & Commander Jennifer Baldric & Lieutenant Sarah Wilson & Commander Jenna Ramthorne & Commander Savar cha'Salik hei-Surak Talek-sen-deen & Commander Dean House & Lieutenant Commander Aurora Vali

1,988 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Masimal
Location: Masimal

Bridge

It was the end of a long day. Much had been done to preserve as much life as they could on the planet below. Segregating those not infected into a safer location, they were buying time until reinforcements arrived. Hopefully, within two days this region would be swarming with Federation aid. Worst case they had two ships coming and do what they could with them.

Rhenora stood from her desk, bone weary and only moving now that the shuttle were due to return.

Medical Bay

Dr Tarsis rubbed his eyes and reread the last string of data again, hoping that it was right. The last test he had run had again shown protective measures against the pathogen, meaning he was close to a vaccine. Dr Wilson meanwhile, was running out of time.

"So..." Glancing over to Tarsis. "Were you going to beam her over, Doc? Sooner is better than later," Dean asked.

"Oh yes of course" Tarsis stammered, realising his fatigue had caused the oversight. A moment later Dean and Aurora were beamed into Sarah's quarantine compartment.

"Well that was potentially silly" Sarah mumbled in a rare moment of clarity.

"They'll be fine, their systems are coping well and this will bolster the data I already have" Tarsis countered, before beaming in a tricorder, hyposprays, and a neural device.

"Righto, Dr Wilson, these two are about to become nurses. Play nicely please" Tarsis continued, before turning to Dean and Aurora.

Aurora offered Sarah a brief smile. “Just hang with us Sarah, we’ll do everything we can to help you.”

"Well..this side works also," Dean smiled a little bit and turned to address Sarah. His skin a little flush at this point, he did have a slight fever. He was trying to be upbeat but under the water he was pretty damn aggitated. "Wouldn't be the first time, Doctor."

Savar watched Aurora and House attentively as she and House were beamed into Sarah's quarantine compartment. Sarah seemed worse in her battle against the virus. "Is there anything I can do to assist you Doctor?" Savar inquired.

Sarah seemed to be in pain, her skin becoming almost translucent in the harsh lighting of the medical lab. "If you can't get this thing out of me, I give you permission to do what's necessary" Sarah said firmly, before grimacing as the pathogen reasserted itself. "We are waiting for your new hosts that were promised"

“We are here to help you, we are a…part of you already” Aurora motioned to Dean as well as herself. “Could we host you?, to allow Sarah to recover, and you to communicate? At least it would save infecting others.”

"I'll end it quick if necessary," Dean actually meant that. It didn't matter to him what anyone else would have thought about it. He's done it before and will do it again. He understood. "However, it's not going to come to that. Give me an internal scan to look at," that was to Savar, or Tarsis, or whomever could do it.

"One moment Mr. House." Savar replied as he brought up a diagnostic tool to get the internal scan House wanted after a few seconds he spoke. "Here is the scan you wished to view Mr. House as he showed the Commander the display screen. "You can see the current readings."

He then looked to Aurora. "Aurora, is there anything I can do to assist you at this time?" He his voice even but with a distinct undercurrent of concern for her.

Dr Tarsis looked up as the scan revealed what was happening internally. "This thing is attacking all her vital systems and sucking nutrients wherever it can get it. There's a mass near her brainstorm, I'm assuming thats how it's controlling her."

"Commander, this thing may attempt to leave Dr Wilson as she weakens. This may be your opportunity to capture it without a host." Tarsis eyeballs the Vulcan Commander. "You will only get one chance"

Savar nodded at Tarsis's statement. "I understand, Doctor. I take it you wish me to capture it in a stasis container?" Savar asked.

Tarsis hesitated. He didn't want to openly tell Savar to kill it, but he also didn't want the pathogen to infect another person. "If you can, otherwise you might need to protect everyone else by...." His voice trailed off and his eyes darted away.

Dr Wilson's skin could be seen moving as though something were underneath it. She scratched at it, trying to rip whatever it was out from her own flesh. "I believe that time may be approaching" Tarsis continued.

"Dean and Aurora, move her to the biobed and activate the restraint system, as her cognitive control declines and the pathogen gets desperate she may be a danger to herself and others"

"Where do you want me Doctor?" Savar asked as he knew the time was rapidly approaching to capture the virus that was running rampent through Dr. Wilson.

"Anywhere you can get a clear shot through the quarantine field, I'll send you the frequency so your phaser will work through it. I don't know ow what setting you'll need though" Tarsis finished, beaming a stasis container into the quarantine field.

"Understood Doctor." Savar replied succinctly as he moved into a position that would allow him a clear shot at the parasite that was now inhabiting Sarah's body. He adjusted the phaser to what he hoped was a strong enough setting to stun the creature and place it in a stasis container. His eyes remained locked on Sarah, not even venturing to look at Aurora. He could look at her for as long as he pleased when this was over.

Sarah convulsed as the pathogen drained her strength further, and realizing its time within her was coming to an end, it gathered itself and prepared to target its next host. Both the beings within the quarantine field had a level of immunity, but it's options were coming to an end. The female was coping with her initial infection, as was the male, to varying degrees. It's current host held no further value and it took its opportunity, fleeing the body and taking aim at its next host.

"Wait wait wait stop!" Dean would get in the way if he had to. Well that was a little late. Watching it trying to move. To hell with it. Shoving the physical shield that Aurora had replicated him earlier into her hands. "Use it if you have to."

Dean got in the way of the parasite for it to take him. He didn't doubt Aurora's resilience, but his, biologically, was superior. Letting the damn thing get into him if he had to and as long as it saved Sarah. "Beam Sarah out and save her, Savar!"

Savar reacted instantly and activated the controls and beamed Sarah out and onto a bio bed. "Save her Doctor." He instructed Tarsis, then turned and fired at the parasite as it launched itself at House.


Shuttle's

"Shuttle gamma to Shuttle beta, do you have them?" Jennifer was getting impatient. They were over time, running low on supplies and Jenna's team had been on the ground for more than 5 minutes.

"What do you mean, no?" Jenna stared down at the man, two inches shorter than she, as he boldly stood between her and his Wife and three children. "You must realize what happens there will come for you soon enough. There is no hiding and hoping this thing simple passes you over." She was trying to plead with his reasonable side but finding it lacking.

"What happens in the urban sector is urban sector problem. We are farmers, we take care of our own. Together we will be safe and if what you describe comes for us, then we go together as a family."

"But where we are taking you, you will be together AND safe. We've setup a site free of contamination. There is food, medicine, and resources to keep you and your family together."

"Yes, but no home. We would be surrounded by the city people, alone, isolated." The man argued.

"Surely you must know, if you stay here you will likely die." Jenna softened, one last plea for his well-being while knowing she could not rightly force his hand. He was capable of choosing for himself.

"Then we die... together." He replied, straight faced and stern.

"Suit yourself." Jenna said before turning and stepping back onto the shuttle. She paused and gave one final warning, "Don't say I didn't warn you." She paused just long enough for the wife to let out a curse Jenna was unfamiliar with. Then the wife stood, gathered the three small children and marched them path the father right up to Jenna. The father stood dumbfounded.

"Take them. Please, take them to safety. If what you say is true, I do not wish for them to see us perish without giving them a chance at life." The children grumbled slightly but one stern look had them marching onto the shuttle.

"And you?" Jenna asked, already know the woman had made her choice.

"My place is here, with my husband. We will weather this together." She was bold with her words despite the uncertainty in her voice.

"I understand and I promise I will do my best to keep them safe." Jenna finished with a slight bow of her head. She then ducked into the shuttle, squeezed her way back into her seat where Baldric's voice was coming over the comm channel.

She closed the hatch and opened the channel, "This is Beta to Gamma, fully loaded minus a pair of bold parents. Heading for the safe zone to drop off the last of them. Will head back to the ship as soon as we're done." She declared.

"They refused transport?" Baldric was shocked but soon softened when she realised these were farmers. Bred tough and stubborn to boot. She span her shuttle around to come up alongside Jenna's, ready to escort them back to the Sunfire.

"Baldric to Sunifre, all shuttles are wrapping up and heading back to the ship. Eta 30 minutes give or take"

One final drop at the green zone, where she escorted the children to a care provider with explicit instructions to care for them. It wasn't a sad tale yet, at least it wasn't until the younger child broke free and ran back to Jenna crying.

She froze for a moment as she took the young girls' separation issues into account. Then she turned and knelt down, putting herself on the same level as the youngling. "It's okay. You will be safe here until we find a cure. It will be like a weekend at camp."

"Camp?" The little girl asked innocently.

"Camp. You know, sleeping in a tent along a riverbed, under the stars. Or my favorite bit, enjoying a nice gentle rain through the leaves of a forest. Catching fish? Anything?"

"I like the stars." She replied, "My sister says they are firelight bugs that chose to burn all night instead of blinking on and off."

Smiling, Jenna replied, "Maybe your sister is right, or maybe they are giant balls of burning gases, millions of miles away, many with a planet full of people with their own stories to tell, and their own little firelight bugs."

There was a moment of skepticism in the little girl's face, then a smile, "Nah." She said shaking her head, before running back to her sister with some crazy story a strange woman had just told her about the stars.

Jenna stood, looked around to take in all of their hard work, then tapped her badge as she entered her shuttle, "Beta to Gamma, unloaded and heading for home." As the doors closed, she fired the shuttle up and lifted her off the ground to a safe distance before shifting and punching go.

TBC

 

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