Mission 5: Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

[Elron]

In his comfortable ready room, Fleet Admiral Elron leaned back and closed his eyes. He had just finished reviewing the ship's manifest and making sure that everything they needed was aboard. The soft lighting and warm colours gave the room a very relaxed ambience, and the first movement of Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor flowed softly and smoothly through the air. Elron waved his hand slowly back and forth, as if conducting some invisible orchestra. Once the second movement was in full swing though, he opened his eyes and sat up. Pushing a couple of PADDS to the edge of his desk, he paused the music and tapped the comm panel.

"Attention all hands; this is the Captain. Prepare for departure in twenty minutes. All department heads should submit a status report within the hour, as usual. Elron out."

Really there was no need for him to make that little speech. He could've just contacted everyone in writing, but he so rarely took the chance to use the ship's tannoy system these days. His shift on the bridge was due to have started ten minutes ago, so he stood and made his way to the centre seat, grabbing a quick chocaccino from the replicator on the way. Commander Disasterman was already waiting in the FO's chair, and Lieutenant Commander Saberwyn was sitting at the helm waiting for his orders.

Set course for the Delta Persei system, Bema. Once we have clearance from Bellicose, take us out at Warp 9."

"Another delivery run to the colony?" the First Officer asked.

"Yeah, mostly the usual supples. Some new medical supplies they need to cope with a recent viral outbreak as well, but nothing too serious as long as we get there in time. Starfleet want us to run a quick survey of the area, too. Just to make sure everything's hunky dory. Then we're to work our way through some of the other colonies on the edge of the Persei and Khazar sectors."

"Nothing terribly taxing then?" the FO grinned.

"Makes a nice change, doesn't it?" Elron smiled back.


Half an hour later, they were speeding towards the furthest corner of the Persei sector. Except it didn't feel like speeding to the Admiral. He'd decided to travel at regular warp speed, since they were in no particular hurry just now. Elron watched the stars streaking on the view screen before him, and waited for the reports to come in.

[TAG: All]

[Deleted]

Disasterman sat there watching the stars as they streaked past the ship on the large viewscreen in front of them. Getting bored with this, he started working on who would be on the different teams that would be needed for the different activities once they arrived at the colonies. He also sent orders out for the different scans that would be needed, but also told the groups that the scans would be done at different times to be determined once they arrived. He knew that this wasnt really needed to be done, but he wanted to do something other than stare at the stars as they flew past.

After getting all the orders and away teams set, Disasterman pulled up info on the sector on his mini console so he could read up on what they may encounter. Nothing new was there since their last visit to the colony so again, this was just something to do to pass the time.

<Tag anyone>

[Deleted]

"Status report?" James wondered, as he cleaned up the desk in his office. Opposite of him sat Antoinette, smiling innocently up at him. "What're you smiling at?" he asked her, smiling right back.

"At you," she answered giddily, "you're so funny when you're confused. Especially when the admiral wants something of you, then you just seem to lose any form of attitude."

"Really?" James mocked her, as he finally located his department report. There wasn't much to it as there weren't any other counselors aboard that he knew of. So there was nothing much to report except that those under medical orders to submit to counseling sessions had actually reported to them.

Antoinette nodded, then held out her hand towards him. "You'll need this dad," she told him, handing him an old fashioned block-note and pencil.

"And why's that? Surely a PADD will be more efficient?"

"Yeh, but this'll keep your mind to the task. We both know how...forgetful you can be when you get too focused on something."

James laughed as he took the two items. "I'd better go. Lock up when you leave would you Tony? I'll see you in a few hours. Don't forget to go to school hm?"

"No dad," she moaned, "I won't forget...now shoo, off with you. The admiral won't be pleased if you're late for duty."

Again, James laughed, and still laughed when he entered the bridge and sat down on Elron's left. "Counseling department report, admiral," he announced, handing the PADD towards his commanding officer. "All quiet on the western front. Except that Lieutenant T'Nys failed to report for the counseling sessions you ordered her to have. I'm going to pay her a visit after my shift."

[Elron]

Elron accepted the PADD and read it. Cmdr Flanigan didn't exactly have much of a department to familiarise himself with, but it was important he got to know who the various members of the crew were and made himself known to them. It didn't take the Admiral long to reach the end of the report, so he put it in a compartment next to his chair.

"Thank you, Commander. Make yourself comfortable. You can see how we like to operate on the Tulip and maybe gain a few valuable insights into what makes us tick." He smiled slightly mishievously. He'd never been entirely comfortable with counsellors on his ship. He always felt like they were silently sizing him up and assessing his mental stability. Perhaps he just wasn't sure if he passed for "mentally stable" by most psychologists' standards.

He turned to his First Officer. "Why don't you make sure our new CMO is settling in alright, DM. She shouldn't have much to do unless something goes horribly wrong, but you can introduce her to Holi. She should maybe review our medical supplies for the colony to make sure everything's in order too."

[Deleted]

Disasterman agreed with his CO. He got up and stretched his legs a bit to get some circulation going so he could walk in a semi straight line as he headed down to sick bay.

Upon entering, he looked around and saw that all the beds were empty. Quickly glancing into the office he noticed Acting Ensign Katrina Williamson sitting there working on her computer.

Stepping back towards the entrance he said, "Holi, please activate"

"Good afternoon Commander, how may I assist you?"

"I don't need anything at the moment, I was just activating you so I could introduce you to our new Chief Medical Officer. She is currently in the office. Plus I will need you both to work together on something.

Both entered the office. When Ms Williamson saw the Commander enter, she stood and started to salute. Disasterman stopped her and made a motion for her to sit and he took a seat next to the one that he offered to Holi. Katrina looked at the two sitting across from her and asked, "How may I help you Commander?"

"Well I am here for two reasons. The first, is to introduce you to Holi. She is our EMH and has been out CMO until you came onboard. She has a portable emitter so she can travel anywhere on the ship or planet if needed. The second and more important reason is we are heading to some of our outer colonies. We need one or both of you to check over the medical supplies in cargo bay 3 and make sure everything is in order. We dont expect anything much to happen, but you might also check our supplies just in case something unexpected happens.

[bema]

Bema sat in his quarters watching his family sleep. With all the training of the new officers he had done in the last weeks, Bema hadn't spent much time at home, but he still liked these moments. Bema stood and headed for the bridge with a PADD in hand. If I know our CO he'll want department status reports before departure Bema thought to himself as he boarded a nearby turbolift. A couple of minutes after he had assumed his station an announcement came over the com channel.
=/\=Attention all hands; this is the Captain. Prepare for departure in twenty minutes. All department heads should submit a status report within the hour, as usual. Elron out.=/\=
Bema smiled as he started making departure preperations. Not long after the announcement the Admiral walked onto the bridge. After Elron sat down he turned to Bema. "Set course for the Delta Persei system, Bema. Once we have clearance from Bellicose, take us out at Warp 9."

"Another delivery run to the colony?" the First Officer asked.

"Yeah, mostly the usual supples. Some new medical supplies they need to cope with a recent viral outbreak as well, but nothing too serious as long as we get there in time. Starfleet want us to run a quick survey of the area, too. Just to make sure everything's hunky dory. Then we're to work our way through some of the other colonies on the edge of the Persei and Khazar sectors."

"Nothing terribly taxing then?" the FO grinned.

"Makes a nice change, doesn't it?" Elron smiled back.
A little while later after Commmander Disasterman left the bridge, Bema put the ship on auto pilot and stood up. "Here is the Navigations Department. I also included my recomendation for my new acting FO for the department and I made a request about the new junior officers getting some time on the bridge," Bema said as he handed the PADD to Elron.
(Tag: Elron)
After resuming his seat, Bema started going over starcharts for the system they were headed to, just to keep himself busy.
(Tag: All)

[kat]

Kat didn't like being interrupted and for this of all things.

"I already have a junior medical officer going over our supplies again to make sure nothing was forgotten when we were at the base. I had a nurse head to cargo bay three just minutes ago, and was about to submit my report to the admiral when you walked in. I would like to have a word with you, sir, after Holi leaves," she said and the EMH walked out of the office just as promptly taking a hint.

"Sir, I don't appreciate being thought incompetent. If I were just that, I wouldn't be running this department let alone be an ambassador. If either you or the admiral thinks I can't do this job I would like to know upfront from that person before I begin anything more. If you need me to come to the bridge with you, fine. If not, I suggest you take this padd and get out of my office. If there is nothing more I can do for you. Unless you think yourself sick and need my assistance," Kat said not liking this visit. She knew they were just trying to help her, but she would have thought they wouldn't meddle with her like this.

Kat also didn't want them discovering her real intent for being on the Tulip. She wanted to keep things as underwraps as possible, and thought being the CMO would help them out as well as allow her to get to any files she needed to view.

[Deleted]

Holi really enjoyed when Disasterman came to visit even if it was only for business. She had also recently learned that ONE was again a member of the crew which really made her happy.

"Good afternoon Commander, how may I assist you?"

"I don't need anything at the moment, I was just activating you so I could introduce you to our new Chief Medical Officer. She is currently in the office. Plus I will need you both to work together on something.

Holi always knew that one day they would get a CMO, but she was hoping that she would still be used as often as she could.

She and Disasterman entered the CMO's office and it seemed the had interrupted her from something important. After taking a seat and listening to what Disasterman had to say, Holi knew what her task was hopefully going to be. The new CMO, an Ensign Williamson as Holi had learned, said "I would like to have a word with you, sir, after Holi leaves."

Holi took the hint, got up, and left the office. As she was about to grab the portable emitter so she could head down to the cargo bay she remembered that the CMO had said that she had already sent someone down to check. Holi had an uneasy feeling about this new CMO and something about her Holi didnt like. Feeling unneeded at the current time, she deactivated herself.

[Deleted]

Disasterman was stunned at how Ensign Williamson was talking to him. He Stood and said "Look here Ensign, there is only one person that ever talks to me like that and last time I checked my mother wasnt on this ship. If you EVER talk to me like that again, I will bounce you onto the nearest teleport pad and just hope there is a planet or ship nearby for you to land on. I dont give a flip about you being an Ambassador either. That means nothing to me since technically you are only a cadet. And another thing, the CO wants your report so you can take the PADD to him yourself, I am nobody's servant on this ship. With that last statement he slid the PADD back across the desk and left to return to the bridge.

Alone in the turbolift he had to make a decision about whether to report Ms Williamson for subordination or just let this one ride. When the doors opened on the bridge he was to deep in thought to notice. He came back to the real world when Lt Col Gary Burgess asked him if he was ok. "Sorry Gary, I was just thinking about something and wasnt paying attention." Disasterman walked down to his seat to the right of FA Elron and decided to let this one time go, but did make a personal note that if she was reported treating anyone else that way she would be reprimanded.

Turning to the Admiral, Disasterman said, "The new CMO is settled in and has already sent people down to check on the colony's supplies. she should be up here shortly with her reports.

The Admiral thought it was odd that the Disasterman didnt save her a trip to the bridge, but he realized that something must have happened down there. The Admiral decided to just wait for the report.

Disasterman added with a smirk on his face, "As for my report, nothing new has happened since the last one. If you need me to give you a PADD, I will be happy to find the old one and hand it to you again."

<tag all>

[Deleted]

Holi was deactive for several hours before she reactivated herself. Opening her personal storage locker in the small lounge off sick bay, she took out her mobile emitter. After attaching the emitter to her shirt sleeve she tested her communicator to be sure she could get to either sick bay or to a holodeck if something happened with the emitter.

Holi headed down to Commander Disasterman's office, which was actually his quarters that he had taken part of the living space and separated it into a small office space that was open to everyone, then his actual quarters was off the office. She knew that he was either in the office or on the bridge. When she entered the office, she saw he wasn't there. She sat down knowing that he would be there shortly.

~Bridge~

Disasterman was sitting there looking at either the stars or reports and was getting bored with both. Something just didn't seem right with him today. Everything he did just seemed boring. he knew it was partly because he was getting antsy about the mission that was ahead of them. Suddenly a sensor on his console showed that someone had entered his office. He explained to Admiral Elron what was happening and headed down to his office.

~Disasterman's Office~

When he entered the office he saw Holi sitting there. "Hello Holi, are you here checking on the progress of the holo emitters I am trying to fix for main areas of the ship?"

"No, I know you will get them working when you can. I am here because I am feeling unneeded now. I knew that someday we would get a CMO and I would go back to just being the EMH, but I want things to do.

"Well, it does seem that our new CMO has everything under control down there during slow times, but until we have a high stress situation, I cant say that you wont be needed down there. I could always use some help in getting the emitters working if you are interested in that. It would both give you something to do and free up some of the engineers that I have working on them so they can work on other things. The only thing I ask is that you dint test them on yourself."

"Thanks so much. I would be happy to help. I will take one of the finished emitters with me so I can look it over and learn everything about it. I still will want to work with someone to be sure I have created the subroutines correctly. Thanks again."

Holi grabbed on the the completed emitters and headed back down to the lounge off sick bay. After putting her mobile emitter on the charger in her locker, she sat down to begin studying the emitter she had brought with her.

[kat]

Kat felt whiplash from the First Officer, and sighed. She grabbed her padd and decided to see what the bridge looked like for the first time. She silently cursed as she was was riding up in the turbolift. She had two padds with her hoping her behaviour hadn't been reported.

Kat entered the bridge and went straight to the command center observing the admiral in his seat. She wasn't surprised and came to attention.

"Sir, here is your report," she said handing him the padd. She then looked over at the first office. She handed him a padd as well and then was dismissed. She headed back to sickbay to see what she could do to salvage the working relationship with Holi.

Kat activated the EMH and heard the message. "I think it best if one of us supervises the cadet medical officer in cargo bay three. I also wish to apologize for any rudeness earlier. I hope we can work together quite well to enhance the performance of the medical department," she said.

[Deleted]

Holi was sitting in the lounge when she heard the CMO enter and try to activate the EMH. Holi called out from the lounge and said, "I'm in here, Ensign."

Katrina Williamson entered the lounge and sat across from Holi and looked at the emitter sitting on the table. Katrina took a deep breath and said, "I think it best if one of us supervises the cadet medical officer in cargo bay three. I also wish to apologize for any rudeness earlier. I hope we can work together quite well to enhance the performance of the medical department."

"I didn't detect any rudeness on your part. I would be happy to work with you however you need me."

Katrina smiled when Holi said she didn't think that there had been any rudeness between them. Katrina kept looking down at the emitter and Holi finally noticed the quizzical look on her face. "I wasn't sure if you were going to need me here in the medical department. I went down to talk with Disasterman and volunteered to help him with the emitters that he is trying to get installed in the main areas of the ship so I can get around a little quicker than I can with my mobile emitter. there has been several occasions that there has been damage blocking halls that took time to get around to our wounded crew members. With the emitters, I may be able to get to them quicker. The only problem will be if they are in the halls outside where the emitters can reach. Disasterman and I have also talked about putting some new mobile emitters in critical areas of the ship to ease this problem.

If you don't mind, I will head down to cargo bay 3 and check on the progress there."

Katrina agreed and Holi got up from the table. She placed the emitter in her locker and grabbed the mobile emitter so she could head out. She grabbed a PADD that listed the complete manifest of the cargo that was supposed to be onboard and headed down to the cargo bay. Once she got down there, she made a copy of the two ensign's work to that point and sat down to look over the numbers. Once she got an idea of what still needed to be checked, she called the ensigns over and divided the work between the three of them. she figured she was there, she might as well help out.

[Deleted]

James Flanigan watched the exchange between commanding and first officer with interest, though he appeared to have found an interest in a random console to his left as he seemed to fix his gaze on it. He stored away the vital clues he was picking up, as he was trained to do. This command time worked efficiently, though apparently there had a problem occurred when the commander was in sickbay.

And behold, minutes later a somewhat stiff CMO walked up the bridge, responding a little too polite in James' personal opinion, and left just a little too quickly. In his experience, medical officers took every chance they got to be on the bridge for a bit and be among the senior staff rather than being cooped up in sickbay all day. After all, wasn't the bridge the most active part of the ship with most of the excitement?

Again he stored the clues away, as he quietly evaluated the crew and their responses. Disasterman obviously had been angry when he'd entered the bridge, but to James he seemed like a man with his temper well under control. Elron on his part seemed like a jovial man of whom James really couldn't form any sensible opinion. Only a proper conversation might help him do that and he felt he would have to start one soon.

After the CMO left the bridge, without so much as acknowledging James or even informing him of the result of his physical, James coughed lightly to get Elron's attention. From behind the admiral, James could see Richards look straight at him. He'd need to talk to the young operations chief too, and not just about getting his daughter excited about being on the bridge. He would need to have a serious talk about that too but that could wait.

"Admiral, just what exactly are we delivering and where?" he asked. He had no idea where exactly they were going, nor had he fully understood the why behind it. Obviously they were going to deliver medical supplies but from what he'd gathered, this wasn't the first time. "Wouldn't a different approach, like finding the source of disease, be more efficient than constantly keeping the supply of vaccins up?" he asked, hoping anyone could answer that question. While he talked, he gauged people's reactions, as he was trained to do. Being just a normal human without any special empathic or telepathic skills, James had no other choice than just pay attention to body language. And right now, he could tell people didn't quite like his many questions.

[Elron]

While the First Officer was down in Sickbay, Bema handed Elron his departmental report. The Navigations Department had gone through several significant personnel changes in the last couple of years, some of them due to very unfortunate losses, others due to simple transfers.

"Here is the Navigations Department. I also included my recomendation for my new acting FO for the department and I made a request about the new junior officers getting some time on the bridge," the CNO reported.

"Thanks, Bema," the CO responded with a nod. "We plan to select the new acting Deputy this week, as soon as I've had a chance to discuss it with Commander Disasterman. I think it'd be a good idea for the younger officers to get some bridge experience, but I'll let DM handle the scheduling."

As Bema sat down again, the FO returned to the bridge. "The new CMO is settled in and has already sent people down to check on the colony's supplies. She should be up here shortly with her reports," he said as he sat in his seat. Elron raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. He could tell from his First Officer's demeanour that something had happened. He trusted DM had taken care of it though, and decided not to interfere. If the First Officer wanted his help, he knew just to ask for it.

It wasn't long before Ambassador Williamson arrived on the bridge, report in hand. In fact, she had two reports in two hands. This surprised Elron slightly, since people didn't usually bother with a separate PADD for DM, but it was certainly no bad thing. Clearly whatever had happened down in sickbay was not going to cause any immediate problems. Coming to attention before the Admiral, Kat handed him the PADD.
"At ease, Ambassador. You can relax on this bridge," he smiled back. The doctor was clearly keen to get back to her sickbay though, and she didn't hang around for long. Elron watched her leave the bridge. All new officers took time to settle in. He'd been here so long that he'd almost forgotten what it was like to find yourself on a new vessel, but he remembered enough to know that most people require a settling in period just to familiarise themselves with how things worked.

Since everything was going well and there were no unforeseen problems, the senior staff were getting a bit restless. Disasterman gave up trying to occupy his mind and excused himself from the bridge. Elron was about to start work on his log entries when a cough from his new Counsellor caught his attention.
"Admiral, just what exactly are we delivering and where?"
Elron suddenly realised that James had never been on a run to the colonies before, and wasn't aware of the purpose behind their journey.

"We're on on our way to the Delta Persei system. It's one of several small Federation colonies out on the far side of the Persei sector. They have everything they need for their most of their requirements, but because it's a small colony it's not equipped with any advanced medical facilities or science stations," Elron explained. "Every few months a starship is sent out to supply them with technology upgrades and medical supplies, or assist with maintenance. As far as we can tell, this recent viral outbreak isn't life-threatening. It would be extremely damaging to the colony's productivity if it turned into an epidemic though, which could lead to a whole host of associated disasters for them."

"Wouldn't a different approach, like finding the source of disease, be more efficient than constantly keeping the supply of vaccins up?" the Counsellor enquired.

"We're hoping this innoculation will give the whole colony an immunity to the virus. After this there shouldn't be any further problem. Unless of course some other medical emergency were to develop, but we can't deal with that unless it happens first."

James seemed somewhat satisfied by this answer, and was about to ask something else when Richards interrupted him. "Admiral, I'm receiving a distress signal on a Federation frequency! Audio only."

Elron's head snapped towards the Ops Manager. "On speakers," he ordered. Max immediately obeyed, but all that could be heard over the interference were some muffled noises. "Can you clear it up at all?" Elron asked earnestly.

"I'm trying, sir. I think I may have it..." But before Max could finish his sentence, the transmission cut out and the audio feed stopped. The COO ran his hands expertly over the console. "Judging from the signal pattern, it may have come from a Starfleet runabout," he said.

"Max, Bema, find out where that distress signal was sent from. Plot a course as soon as you have a heading."

The two men set to work on carrying out the Fleet Admiral's orders. Morale on the bridge suddenly surged and life returned to its officers as things took a turn for the unexpected.

[Deleted]

James observed the sudden flurry of activity with detached enthusiasm and professional objectivity. This was what he had signed up for, and this got him the perfect opportunity to see the crew's reactions when working under extreme pressure.

He sat up in his seat and watched the main viewscreen with new interest. A starfleet shuttle in distress near a planet that needed constant medical supplies, until a cure could be found for whatever that ailed them and kept ailing them. Had the shuttle crew contracted that same illness? Or were they attacked?

James shuddered, remembering the last time he'd been part of an away team, and had gotten stuck on a planet together with a grumpy female Vulcan admiral, who had managed to get herself injured in a crash. Of course he'd been injured as well, and as such he'd not only cared for her but had also defended her from indiginous wild creatures that had attacked them both. He hoped that he wouldn't have to be part of any away team that was going down by shuttle any time soon.

"Admiral, this shuttle, can we extrapolate where it came from? Until we know I would advise caution, especially if the possebility exists that they came from Delta Persei, and possibly have contracted the illness that rages there."

[Deleted]

Disasterman was sitting in his office working on the emitter when he remembered the PADD that Ensign Williamson had handed him shortly before he had left the bridge. He pulled it out of the stack of PADDs that he had brought down with him and read the message. In short, she was apologizing for the way she had acted and wanted to be sure there was no had feeling. Disasterman was about to call her when he got the message from the bridge about the distress signal. Hurrying down the corridors he headed for the turbolift that would take him back to the bridge.

Disasterman thought about the many possibilities of what the ship could be and what the problem was as he rode up to the bridge. Upon reaching the bridge he quickly moved to his seat and started punching buttons on his console to see if there was anything new that he could find to make a small report. Everything that he could find had already been said so he kept reading the reports as they came in and looking for that little tidbit of info that he could pass along.

[Elron]

"Admiral, this shuttle... can we extrapolate where it came from? Until we know I would advise caution, especially if the possibility exists that they came from Delta Persei, and possibly have contracted the illness that rages there."

Admiral Elron looked over to his new Counsellor. Flanigan was clearly a little excited by the news, perhaps because he had little information on what this virus was or did. Elron suppressed a smile.

"Advice noted, Commander. I assure you we'll take all necessary precautions before bringing anyone aboard." He tapped his commbadge. "Bridge to Disasterman, please report immediately. We've received a distress call from an unknown vessel, possibly a Starfleet runabout, and are investigating."

=/\= Acknowledged, bridge, =/\= came the FO's response.

"Mr Richards, any luck clearing up that signal yet? I'd like to have as much information as possible before we arrive."

[TAG: Richards, Bema]

Aware of the Counsellor watching him, Elron tapped his commbadge again. "Elron to sickbay," he said.

=/\= Go ahead, =/\= Williamson replied, slightly impatiently.

"Sorry to bother you, Doctor. I wonder if you could review the details of the virus reported from Delta Persei. Make sure our quarantine systems are ready to handle any infected patients we may need to bring aboard."

=/\= Understood, =/\= the Ambassador replied.

"Commander," said Elron to the Counsellor, sitting just a few feet to his left, "if you'd like any more information about this virus, so that you may keep the crew properly informed, you are very welcome to assist Ambassador Williamson."

He then turned back to his Ops and Navigation officers, hoping for some new information on the distressed ship.

[Deleted]

Holi was happy helping the Ensigns counting the inventory and making sure everything was there that should be. They were about to wrap up the count when she received a call from sick bay.

"Ambassador Williamson to Holi"

"Holi here, how may I help you Doctor?"

"Could you please come back to sick bay? The Admiral has requested that I need to make sure our quarantine system will be able to handle the virus from the planet and I know you know that system better than I do."

"On my way Doctor.

Holi headed back toward sick bay. As she went along the corridors, she accessed the computer records about the virus and started a comparison to the known quarantine system. There were a few modifications that would be made to buffer the strength of the system, but everything looked good. Once she arrived in sick bay, she put the mobile emitter back in her locker then headed into the main area of sick bay and tweaked the system so the quarantine system was at its maximum efficiency.

Holi headed into the Doctor's office and reported that the system was ready and the inventory in Cargo Bay 3 should be finished very soon. Holi headed back into the main room and was about to deactivate herself until she was needed again when she heard.....

[kat]

Kat wasn't surprised to see a large group coming into sickbay. There had been something wrong with the last three people who came in, and she wondered what everyone was eating to make them sick. She came out of her office and noticed Holi was still around.

"Holi, something seems to be wrong with what everyone is eating. I had three people come in with stomach aches and nauseau. I will need your assistance in this, as well as the nurses," Kat said, and they all got to work on helping the group.

A little bit later, Kat was free from the last person, and she sighed heading into her office again. She was very tired, and wondered if every shift was going to be like this one.

=^=Ambassador Williamson to the bridge. I don't know what is wrong, but we have just had a lot of people complaining about their stomaches. Could someone please check out where all the bad food may be coming from? Sickbay out.=^=

[Deleted]

James nodded. "I might do that, at that," he commented, "permission to leave the bridge?"

Elron nodded, though his attention remained on the CNO and COO and James got up to leave. "If you need me, I'll be in sickbay," he reported rather unnecessarily.

Seconds later, James casually walked into sickbay, only to find it in a flurry of activity. He found himself grabbed on either side and directed to a biobed. "Hey!" he protested, shrugging his 'assistants' off, "what's going on here. I'm not a patient!"

He glanced over his shoulder. "Doc Williamson, kindly call your nurses off, I'm not sick!" When she did, he walked up to her. "I'd like some more information about the virus that is plaguing Delta Persei," he announced, "and I see you might appreciate some assistance here? Just what is going on here?"

James listened intently as she spoke. "In that case, perhaps a preventive examination might not be a bad idea," he offered, "me and Antoinette have just had dinner and yes that was replicated. Though we're not feeling sick...who knows what might occur in a few hours?"

(tag doc)

[Deleted]

Disasterman was sitting on the bridge reading all the reports as they flooded in. So much information, yet nothing new. His mind was rushing between the reports, the shuttle, and the strange feeling that was building up in his stomach. The discomfort was building slowly when he heard Ambassador Williamson call to the bridge.

"I don't know what is wrong, but we have just had a lot of people complaining about their stomaches. Could someone please check out where all the bad food may be coming from? Sickbay out."

Before he could say anything, Commander Flanigan excused himself to go down to sick bay. Disasterman sat there a few more minutes until the pain was almost unbearable. He explained to Admiral Elron what was going on then rushed down to sick bay himself.

Upon entering sick bay, Holi saw him and rushed over along with another nurse and led him over to one of the few vacant biobeds. While being scanned by Holi and the other nurse, Katrina walked over and saw who the newest patient was. "Sir, I see this time you may need some assistance with my fine staff. Could you tell me anything about what or where you have eaten in the past 26 hours?"

Disasterman thought about it for a little then said, "I haven't had much time to do much in my quarters so I would grab something quick out of the mess hall." Looking around the room at some of the other patients he continued, "I saw him there, and her, and her, in fact most of the people in here I saw at least once in there. Something must be wrong down in the mess hall." With that, the pain in his stomach forced Disasterman to curl up in the fetal position. Holi gave him something to hopefully ease the pain.

Katrina turned to Commander Flanigan and asked him to go with Holi down to the mess hall and see what was going on. If nothing else could be found, at least stop the people from eating there for the time being until whatever the problem was could be fixed.

<Tag Holi, Flanigan, Katrina, all>

[Deleted]

Holi was furiously working with all the patients that kept coming into sick bay. She was happy to be needed and working, but it made her feel bad that she was so happy seeing so many people sick and in pain. She heard the main door slide open and was about to say something under her breath in disgust when she saw it was Commander Disasterman coming in. She made sure that the patient she was working with was covered with another nurse and rushed over to see what was wrong. Disasterman explained that he was feeling ill and she grabbed another nurse to help support DM as they headed to a biobed.

Holi ran the same scans as she had on the other patients and saw that the results were the same, the unknown problem that had plagued everyone else so far.

Ambassador Williamson walked over to the bed to check on the newest patient in sick bay. She was making rounds checking on everyone that came in and looking over the scans. She and DM talked for a moment and it became clear that it was the mess hall that seemed to be the culprit in making people sick. Katrina asked Holi and Commander Flanigan to go down and see if they could find the problem. Holi grabbed her portable emitter and her medical scanner and the two of them headed out.

When they arrived in the mess hall the room was packed with people eating various items. The two of them knew they would have to stop the people from eating before they could do anything else. Commander Flanigan grabbed an empty chair, stood on it and said......

<Tag Flanigan>

[Deleted]

On the bridge, Commander Hancock was doing everything he could to boost sensors and find an origin for the distress signal. From the primary science console, he searched for any possible warp eddies to signify the recent passing of a vessel. He had no success though. If warp vessels had passed nearby, it had been too long ago for their trails to be detectable. He decided to change tact, and looked for anything that might cause interference to the signal.

"Hey Max," he said at last, "there's a dense asteroid formation a few parsecs from the Delta Majoris system in sector 229. You see it?"
The COO tapped his console a few times. "You mean at bearing 348 mark 15?" he replied with a frown. "What about it?"
"I'm getting some strange readings off it. I think the minerals in there must have some kind of an effect on our signal wave-patterns. Maybe you should try focussing the search in that direction?"
"It's worth a shot."
"Bema, modify course slightly to take us past that sector," the Admiral ordered.

Suddenly, John felt a wave of nausea hit him and his head started to spin a little. Clutching the sides of the console, he closed his eyes and leaned forward.
"Are you alright, Commander?" asked Elron with concern.
"I'm fine, sir. I just need a minute." At that moment, John's stomach gurgled and he didn't feel too good.
"I think you'd better report to sickbay for a check-up. I'd rather not have to send for a clean-up crew on my bridge," said the Admiral with his usual dry humour. "That's an order."

Without a word, John simply nodded slowly and left the bridge, trying not to stagger as he did so. In the turbolift, he clutched the side rail and pressed the button for sickbay. Right now, didn't feel much like talking. "I knew I should have just had toast for breakfast," he thought to himself ruefully as the lift arrived at the bustling sickbay.

[Deleted]

James glanced around the mess hall, wondering how he was going to stop these people from consuming whatever they were consuming. He was seeing people eat known items such as carrots but also undefinable items that churned his stomach. Sharing a meaningful look with the female EMH, he grapped a chair and used it to climb upon one of the vacant tables. "People your attention please!" he called, but no-one seemed to be listening. He cleared his throat then roared, "quiet!"

He ignored the surprised glances that turned his way, though it had the desired effect: he had everyone's attention. "Your attention please!" he continued, talking as loudly and clearly as possible, "something is wrong with the replicators. You need to stop eating whatever you're eating right now. Eat only whatever you can get from the botanical gardens here on the ship, or whatever you can get fresh. Don't use your replicators until the engineers give the safe signal. If anyone feels unwell for whatever reason, get to sickbay immediately!"

The chatter picked up again, drowning out his words. James sighed and started climbing down the table. He lost his balance due to his bad leg and fell off the chair, his head just barely missing the table edge. With another sigh, he got back to his feet then doubled over as his stomach cramped up. "Holi," he gasped, "get us back to sickbay. Doc Williamson really needs to do that examination I insisted upon earlier."

Supported by the EMH, they walked back to sickbay. "Doc!" James gasped, while climbing on a biobed, holding his arms folded over his abdomen in a vain attempt to stop the pain. If he was feeling unwell, possibly due to having eaten something in the mess hall when he had arrived, then it would make sense Disasterman and Richards would start feeling unwell too. And the doc herself included.

A glance at Holi, and the EMH walked off to alert the chief medical officer. She returned shortly with her in tow. "Warning issued," James commented, "but now I don't feel so good. I have no known food allergies, but who knows with all the exotics the replicator can produce..." He knew his attempt at being humorous was a failure, but he was very rarely just ill. The last time he had been ill, accidents not counted, he had been three years old and he'd contracted the rigellian flu while visiting one of the Vulcan colonies with his parents.

(williamson/holi)

[singh]

With the warp engine humming softly, Singh and his crew were taking the time to make needed adjustments to the slipstream drive. Every refinement gave that little extra speed and made the glide through space so much faster.
*KKKRRRZAP* 'AAARGH!!' *POP* *FIZZLE*
'NO, FOOL, THE OTHER CIRCUIT!!'
Aah, the joys of on the go engineering.

'Who's dead?' Singh asked the feet of one engineer poking out of the hatch in the wall.
'Jefferson is. Davis didn't turn the right circuit off' the feet replied
The foul swearing from further in told Singh that in fact Jefferson was well enough.
'Davis, learn to read, Jefferson, go to sickbay'
'Can't, sir. Half the shift are unwell'
That was partly true. Where had several of the engineers gone?
'What happened to them?'
'Dunno, stomach ache'
'Alright then. Keep on here and I'll ask about them'

Singh trekked -the halls, not the stars- to sickbay to find various people looking like they'd eaten the Alien's eggs. Probably not though. Some were clearly engineers.
'Doctor, why are my people not right?' Singh asked
'Stomach problems. Looks like food poisoning' was the vague answer from the now overworked light doctor. It helped though. If she gave anything more specific, Singh was at risk of 'you're saying words I know but I still don't understand you' syndrome.
Still, given that replicators were the norm for anyone who hadn't learned to cook for themselves; i.e. most people on the ship, that would mean the replicators were off.
'Aww, damn. There's always something else.' he muttered as he left the sickbay. So with less engineers than normal he would have to sort out two major jobs.
Time to wake up the sleeping ones, he thought, but best tell them not to have breakfast. Since Singh was a vegetarian and knew how to cook, his earlier lunch had consisted of own cooked rice at minimal risk of setting his room on fire. Since he couldn't reach his room's internal fire senors, a while ago he had poked them viciously with a long pole until they stopped working. If the room caught fire then the corridor ones would pick it up and it wasn't like he had anything of value there anyway.
If someone could find him a vat big enough then he'd make a load for the engineering staff out of the sacks of it he had stored amongst other things in a large crate in one of the cargo bays marked 'engineering supplies'. Well he was an ENGINEER and those were his SUPPLIES...
=/\=Singh to bridge, did any of you know that the replicators are poisoning people?=/\=
<Bridge people: any of you who are bored>