Stardate: 80602:1728
Title: In Sickness... (Part 2)
Author: Maxine Jenna
Time: Several days after "In Sickness... (Part 1)"
Scene: USS Relentless


Jonas Tan, Captain Branagan and the other traders had departed the Relentless a few days previously after an exchange of several gigaquads of unclassified data and more trinkets than the Captain cared to think about! With the jump drive still yet to achieve full recharge - another twenty-four hours remained by Maxine's estimation - Abigail was ready to consider this trip one of their more successful research missions, and one of their least eventful...

As always, fate was close at hand to throw a spanner in the works!


=/\= Science Lab 1 =/\=

Maxine continued to analyse the astrometric data of the local space; so far nothing had appeared to be any different from their home universe, although the background normal and subspace communications noise was lower than the Chief Science Officer would have expected. She realised, as she double-checked the figures again, that the background noise was in fact MUCH lower...


=/\= Bridge =/\=

Captain Winters, Commander Jessop, Lieutenants Heyward and Keller and Ensign Lox all stood shift on the bridge. As the Captain and XO discussed their cultural exchange and some of the more... unique... trinkets left by the Therans, Keller continued to monitor their long range sensors for signs of any other vessels. The route they were now headed on was usually more travelled than this, but so far the Therans had been their only encounter. Meanwhile, Heyward and Lox discussed some of the stories Jonas Tan and the others had regaled them with as the quiet shift passed by.


=/\= Medical =/\=

Lieutenant Talbot and Doctor Proctor continued to go over the medical portion of the data exchanged between the two crews. The CMO pulled his screen closer, reviewing some small point of detail, rubbing at his temples and wiping the sheen of perspiration from his forehead; the shift had been long and Proctor felt a little under the weather...


=/\= Engineering =/\=

As the warp core thrummed behind him, Lieutenant Browning continued to look over what little data intrigued him from this exchange. The technology possessed by the Theran traders was not unlike their own, albeit a decade or so behind them. Nonetheless, the acting CEO found reviewing the technical data a calming experience.


=/\= Chief Science Officer's Lab =/\=

Maxine stood from her desk to get drinks from the replicator for both herself and one of her new Ensigns, a Vulcan by the name of Crota. As she turned to pass his drink across, she noticed a sheen of perspiration across his brow.

"Hot, Ensign?"

The Vulcan officer looked up at her, his hands partway through reaching for the drink. A look of puzzlement crossed his face as he found himself unable to speak.

"Ensign?" Maxine's brow creased in concern.

Crota's eyes remained impassive and blank as his body gently listed to the left. Dropping the drinks to the floor Maxine reached forward to catch the unresponsive Ensign...


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Lieutenant Maxine Jenna
Chief Science Officer
USS Relentless
NCC-11966
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