Stardate: 80720:1335
Title: Wayward Return (Part 1)
Author: Maxine Jenna
Time: During / After "The Breadcrumb Trail"
Scene: USS Relentless, Bridge


The profile of, and energy signature emanating from, the 'unknown' vessel matched that they had encountered in their own universe exactly. Given that they had witnessed the destruction of the USS Atlantis and the fruitless attack of a pair of Defiant class vessels, they knew that they could not attempt any kind of action even if half of the crew were not sick and dying.

As Captain Winters watched their enemy, the rest of the crew unaware that she had encountered them before during the destruction of the USS Hercules, a cold sweat ran down the small of her back...


=/\= Sickbay =/\=

Doctor Proctor leant over the console, peering at scans of blood taken from infected crewmembers. Their medical bioscanners had failed to detect whatever illness now struck down many of those onboard, and the CMO had been looking into older diseases.

He wiped the sweat from his brow, his joints aching...


=/\= Bridge =/\=

As Lieutenant Keller performed the slow pursuit of the strange vessel from a safe distance, Commander Jessop and Captain Winters discussed their options.

This enemy, the one who had destroyed the USS Atlantis and (unbeknownst to them) the IKS Gik'Tal had undoubtedly destroyed many more, but Abby knew that the Hercules and her crew were somewhere on that list.


=/\= Sickbay =/\=

As Proctor scanned his own body, he realised what was happening and why the bioscanners had failed to detect it. Drawing a sample of his own blood and comparing it with the sample stored in the computer on his assignment to the Relentless, the computer worked its magic.

Relly appeared besides the Doctor, startling him for a moment.

"Your white blood cells have been changed. This illness is most strange," the young girl spoke.

"Indeed. I think this virus infects the immune system of the host, and that is how it evades the body - by emulating its own defences."

"But wouldn't anti-virals stop the infection?"

Proctor shook his head. "No. Once the virus is in the host, the natural defenses - the white cells in human cases - mask the virus. I suppose a complete transfusion would remove the virus, but it wouldn't prevent re-infection..."

"I recall from my databanks that on Earth there was a case of a disease, Smallpox, that people were rendered immune to by injections of another disease. That is a most strange cure!" Relly's eyebrows lifted, but as Proctor looked at her he realised that the answer they sought might lie not in advanced science or computers, but in the data the Theran traders had given them...


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Lieutenant Maxine Jenna
Chief Science Officer
USS Relentless
NCC-11966
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