Black Blood Glow

Posted on Fri Aug 4th, 2017 @ 7:57pm by Captain Enalia Telvan & Staff Warrant Officer Nexi & Rear Admiral Farenia Meowlith & Petty Officer 2nd Class Ila Dedjoy

Mission: When Iconians Deserve to Die
Location: Artan Orbital Fortress Medical Bay

By the time the Hera's Folly returned to the Artan Orbital fortress, Nexi was in bad shape. She was tough as nails and hanging in there, but maintaining blood pressure with such blood loss was challenging, and she was not reacting well to the stimulants Schwein had given her. But she was not giving up, and she was still conscious by the time she was transported to the Fortress' medical center.

The hustle and bustle of the medical staff, holographic though they may be, was as lively as any living hospital. The living staff was being called in but time was of the essence. a few specialists were also being called in from the Hera's crew, but the only one they could get in touch with was Crewman Ila Dedjoy, someone that had previously scanned a rogue element that had been immediately been detected in the patient's remaining blood.

"Nurse 003, get a blood sample and replicate three pints of blood!" called the actual doctor once he finally arrived. Placing a reassuring hand on Nexi's good shoulder, he leaned over her so she could see him. "Don't worry. I'm Doctor Tuborno. Schwein may not be the most gentle medic out here, but she's the only one that could have kept you alive from something like this long enough to get you back here to us. You'll be fine."

"Doctor, there's a contaminant that's making replicating her blood difficult," The holo-nurse replied.

Looking over the replication matrix, the doctor manually deleted the unknown elements and pressed the replicate command himself. "She's half Betazoid and half Brekkian. As long as the genetic markers are the same, it'll work well enough. Now start replicating Brekkian electrolytes. I'm not reading enough in her system to light up an isolinear chip."

It took a few more minutes, but they soon had a fresh supply of her own blood slowly filtering into her and the doctor gave her a hypo countering most of those stimulants that Schwein had given her to keep her going. In the meantime, Crewman Ila Dedjoy had finally gotten there and was looking over her scans as well, her scowl deepening as she brought up more scans.

For a long while, Nexi simply lay limp on the biobed, blinking at the lights shining in her eyes; they weren't even all that bright, but they felt blinding to her. But as the stimulants were flushed out of her system and new blood and electrolytes filtered in, her mind grew clearer, and she began to take notice of what was going on around her. Lots of medical people, which was to be expected, but why was the Science chick here? And why was she scowling?

"Hey," Nexi said in a raspy quiet tone. She turned her head slightly to get a better look at Ila. "What are you doing here?"

Setting aside her PaDD, Ila headed over to Nexi's side and smiled as best she could, considering the circumstances. "They found a contaminant in your blood they couldn't scan and since I seem to have a reputation on the Hera for scanning unscannable things, they called me in." Taking a deep breath, she continued. "Remember that black blood you brought back from the Master? I've been able to come up with a scanning technique that can penetrate it. The contaminant in your blood is almost identical. Your blood is now essentially point three percent the same as his."

"What!" Nexi rasped out. her heart started racing the monitors around her starting sound off alerts. "That monster- he.... it's in me?" she stammered, struggling to contain her panic. "Get it out of me!"

"Calm down. It's ok. That's what we're working on now." Ila motioned to a few other monitors on the far wall that displayed a fair number of experiments in progress. "I had to invent a quasi-dimensional quantum discriminator to even get this far... but we'll get it out of you. Don't worry."

One of the holo-nurses came over and also tried calming Nexi down.

"You're working on it, but it's in me, I want it out!" Nexi bellowed, or she tried to but it came out weak and raspy. Then she looked at Ila with death in her eyes. "You said I was clean!" she said accusingly, her hands fisting at her sides. She was trying with all her might to summon a current to attack Ila for this oversight, but not only could she barely move but she couldn't conduct a current yet and trying was only hurting her more.

"I'm sorry. I was wrong." Suddenly, Ila was interrupted by another more ominous alarm and she rushed to another monitor. After studying it a moment, she turned back to Nexi. "Please calm down. If these readings are correct, you being upset like that is feeding the black blood, especially being as weak as you are."

Hearing that her anger was feeding this thing inside her hit her like a punch to the gut, but try as she might, Nexi couldn't stop the racing of her heart, and slowly sparks started to jump off her, not her usual golden-white, but rather a menacing red-black, and it hurt! But, her current never hurt her before! "Get Aewia!" Nexi gasped out. Aewia was the only person in existence that could calm her from this frenzy.

Ila nodded to one of the holo-nurses to go and fetch her from the waiting room. Within moments Aewia was there, tears in her eyes and one hand over her mouth, her other hand tentatively reaching for Nexi. Steeling herself, she threw herself on top of her sister and held her tight. "It's ok! I'm here now!" As Aewia did her best, Ila just stared at the black cell count rising.

Red sparks were still flying off Nexi, but she did her best to direct them inward so she wouldn't hurt Aewia. After a moment, she mustered enough energy to put an arm around her sister, and soon after the sparks ceased. Slowly her heart rate calmed until finally the alarms stopped, but Nexi knew the damage had been done. "I'm okay..." Nexi lied softly into Aewia's ear. "I'll be alright..."

Aewia was crying softly. Not from the pain of the electrical burns but from the emotional strain of what they had both just gone through. "I know. It'll be alright. You're nothing like him. You'll be ok."

Ila mumbled to a few of the holo-nurses and fired off a report to be up-channeled, a flashing 7.39% on her readouts. It was also showing signs in her flesh as well as her blood. They'd have to come up with something soon before it took over all of Nexi.

Nexi's heart rate and vitals continued return to normal (relatively speaking considering her condition), and after a while her eyes would close and breathing slow, the monitors indicating that she was asleep, exhaustion having finally taken hold of her. But at least now she was finally calm and resting.

Many hours later, Nexi slowly stirred. The first thing she noticed as she slowly came to was that the lights were dim, for which she was grateful, and secondly that Aewia was still at her side, in a chair and resting her head on the biobed so she could stay close to her sister. Nexi managed to crack a weak grin and lifted her hand to stroke her fingers through Aewia's crazy hair as she slept; this kid was something else!

Enalia was sitting on a chair on the other side of the biobed, her hair down and disheveled for the first time in practically forever. Her hand was gripping the hand of the occupant of the other biobed though - Farenia. "Welcome back to the world of the living, Nexi. It seems you and 'Nia have something in common now."

Nexi turned her head to find the voice, but her vision was a bit blurry so she had to squint slightly to see Enalia sitting there. But then her brow furrowed as the words hit home; was Farenia infected too? "Enalia?" Nexi said, still trying to make sense of what she was seeing, because it wasn't like Enalia to look so disheveled. As for Nexi, there was a little more color in her cheeks now that she'd had the benefit of several bags of blood being piped into her as well as getting some much needed rest, and though her voice was soft, it didn't sound strained or raspy. "What's going on?"

Enalia's voice was as tired as she looked. "While you went looking for Hermes, Commodore Farenia Meowlith here had a secret meeting with a pharmaceuticals bureaucrat we suspected was the Master. We were correct, there was a fight, and he outright bit her, infecting her with that same black blood. Ila and several other specialists have been working hard on a cure but it may take some time."

"Wait, this thing is that infectious?!" Nexi said disbelievingly, her heart rate shooting up, but Aewia was there holding Nexi's hand, and even if she didn't wake, she reflexively squeezed Nexi's hand to help bring her back to the moment. Nexi swallowed hard as she remembered what happened last time and took several measured breaths to calm herself, slowly bringing her heart rate back down to (relative) normal. "Sorry, I... didn't mean to go off like that, it's just... things have been, uh, happening between Cato and I; I thought I was clean at the time, but he should probably get checked out."

"I'll test him personally," Ila replied as she stepped out of one of the labs she had been working in. "Test sequence twenty three alpha failed. Bravo, charlie, and delta look like they'll at least narrow down a few other options but it's starting to look like we might just not have the technology."

Nexi bit back the urge to say something scathing, but she knew it would only feed the anger which would then feed the black blood, so she let things simmer down a moment before finally replying. "Let me tell him," she finally said. "Things have been so hot and cold, for the longest time he didn't know if I was coming or going... Fuck, I didn't even know. I should be the one to tell him; after the chase I put him through, he deserves that much..."

"In that case, I'll have him summoned so you can chat with him." Enalia squeezed Farenia's hand as she shifted a bit in her sleep and muttered something about a giant black dog. Sighing, Enalia tucked Farenia's hand back under the biobed blanket and got up to get a drink from... Why was there a bar in every freaking room in this place? Seriously, the Artan family had to be nothing but drunkards. At least this one looked more like a soda bar than an alcohol bar. "I guess you never get completely over your first love, do you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Nexi said evasively as she glanced away, trying her best not to think of Daln. Thankfully, something else was weighing on her mind. "So.... what do we do from here?" she asked. "I don't want to be sidelined; once I've recovered from the stabbing, I want to get back to work, but whatever this is inside me, I don't want it to endanger the safety of the crew."

Ila answered that question. "Doctor Phlox and I have come up with a solution to that at least. Using my scanning technology, he's off crafting a waistband that should be able to prevent the black blood from feeding off of your negative emotions and energies for the most part. I'm sure you'll still be able to overload it in combat situations, but at least it'll keep the infection from either growing from the current 7.39% or to other people."

"And that's the best we seem to be able to do for the time being," Enalia replied before taking a drink from her... pink... bubbly... whatever that was in her glass. Making a weird face, she continued. "Ila, have 'Nia's levels finally stabilized?"

"Yes Ma'am. At 23.4%." Ila replied softly. "I'm not sure we'll even be able to cure her even if we find a way to at this point."

Nexi's eyes grew wide when she heard Farenia's prognosis; this was what she had to look forward to if she reached 23%?! Nexi turned her desperate gaze to Enalia as her monitors sounded off with her elevated heart rate, but thankfully it was fear and not anger causing this excitement. "Don't let me turn into one of these monsters," Nexi pleaded softly. "I know it's a lot to ask, and I ain't gonna hold it against you if you.... if you can't.... but I don't wanna lose who I am to this thing, I'd rather die still me. And if it comes to that, promise me you'll take care of Aewia."

"I'm still me," Farenia said weakly as she rolled her head towards Nexi, now awake from the talking. "Just maybe a bit different, is all. Maybe a bit more. Were you able to reattach my arm ok?"

Rushing back to her side, Enalia took 'Nia's hand again. "There were a few complications, but nothing they couldn't handle. Everything is fine now. Everything is fine."

"No, nothing is fine. I could see into his mind when he bit me. He's a demon. Literally a demon. Aewia was half right. He is Iconian. But he's their version of evil incarnate. Whatever it took to kill that demon version of you won't be nearly enough to kill him." Farenia was starting to go into a panicked state and the monitors were starting to alarm out but Ila stepped in and gave her a hypo so she could sleep some more, dropping the room back into silence, save for the beeps and whirring of machinery.

Farenia's reaction despite her assertion that she was still her wasn't helping Nexi's confidence. "I don't want to be a demon," she said in a panicked tone.

"She's been through a strenuous ordeal and isn't a demon and her ratio is higher than yours. Neither of you are going to become a demon. She just has unresolved PTSD right now and is freaking out." Ila prepped another hypo just in case and set it next to Farenia's biobed before heading over to the monitors showing the progress of her experiments.

"She's right," Enalia added, resting a hand on Nexi's shoulder. "You're not becoming a demon. You're going to stay you and we're going to make sure of that."

"But if it does happen...." Nexi insisted. "Please, I don't wanna be a monster, if it happens, just... If it never happens, then we don't have to worry, I just need to know you'll do what's necessary if it changes who I am."

"If it comes down to it, then your contract with Starfleet will take effect and everything will be taken care of." Enalia replied. "Don't worry though. Just let us take care of you for now, ok?"

Nexi nodded hesitantly, but accepted Enalia's offer. "When will that waist thingy be ready? Will I be able to leave once it's done?" she asked, finally calming down.

Enalia smiled politely. "I'm sure there'll be a few tests to run first, but yeah. I'll have to order you on light duty for a while because of your shoulder and I'd prefer if you avoided sexual contact, but you'll be free to return to duty and do whatever you'd like."

"Light duty, joy..." Nexi grumbled, but she could live with that. "I guess this means I won't be going to Pomtol anytime soon... I was kinda looking forward to that."

Enalia chuckled softly. "You should be healed up by the time we get there. First we need to go after one more of the Master's labs. And you'll be on bridge duty this time."

"Yay, I don't have to go into another one of those hell-holes!" Nexi said with subdued enthusiasm. On the one hand, light duty meant Bridge duty, which sucked equine ass, and she didn't like sitting on the sidelines, but on the other hand, it meant she wouldn't have to face another lab or the Master so soon, because she didn't know if she was ready to deal with that right now. She'd had so many bad breaks lately, she needed to take a step back and evaluate what she was doing. "I'm sorry; this wouldn't be a problem if I hadn't let myself get injured. I was careless, I won't let it happen again."

"These things happen. Don't worry about it." Enalia sipped at her drink again, then made another weird face. "Just make sure you heal up well and train to fight Amazons next. Thanks to Schwein, your shoulder should heal up perfectly."

"I'll be ready," Nexi promised. "And that woman is crazy, by the way! I think her treatment hurt worse than getting stabbed!"

Enalia chuckled softly for a moment. "Yeah Schwein is a bit unusual. You'll have to forgive her though. She was raised in a supersoldier program disguised as an Earth-German orphanage colony. When it was destroyed by the Syndicate, my mother saved her for what I'm sure were selfish reasons... But she's family now, and crazy does run in my family, as I'm sure you've noticed."

"Yeah, but it's a good kind of crazy, my kind of crazy," Nexi said with a weak smile. "So, any chance I could get something to eat before I pass out again?"

"Yeah. I... There's some tuna sandwiches in the cooler, if that's ok. If not, it might take awhile to get something prepared and up here from the kitchens. You know how us rich fucks can be - not a food replicator in sight." Enalia headed back to the bar and opened the chiller underneath it and pulled out a sealed box with a pair of tuna sandwiches with condiments and pickles on the side and brought it over to Nexi. She then raised up the back of the biobed so she could eat a bit more comfortably. "High in protein, if a bit bland."

Nexi's shoulder protested the movement, causing her to wince, once she resettled herself so that she was comfortable she extricated her good hand from Aewia's grasp so she could eat. "Bland I can live with," Nexi said as she took a sandwich and bit into it. "Yeah, much better bland, especially compared to Aewia's food; you should see what she puts on her stuff!" she commented around a mouthful of tuna. Her stomach was growling pretty fiercely, so the sandwich didn't last very long. Glad to have something in her stomach now, she relaxed her head back onto the bed with a contented sigh. "You will take care of her if anything happens to me, right?"

"As long as she'll let me," Enalia reassured Nexi. "She is her own woman, after all."

"That she is..." Nexi said, looking at her sleeping sister with a fond gaze. "But she still has these moments where she gets so lost, I can't help but worry about her... Still, she has come a long way..."

"That she has..." Enalia mumbled as she packed up the used sandwich pack, nibbling on the uneaten pickles before she tossed it in the nearest trash bin.

Nexi looked over at Enalia, her eyes growing heavy as the urge to sleep started to descend on her once again. "Hey, thanks for... well, a lot," Nexi said awkwardly. "Before I came across your boat, I never had a friend who'd sit by my bedside to take care of me. There's a lot I never thanked you for before, but I am now."

"You've grown a lot from that Ferengi bounty hunter that snuck aboard my ship a year and a half ago. I wouldn't have sat by her bed. Yours? It's an honor." Enalia smiled happily.

"Awww, I'm hurt. I rather miss Bounty Hunter Nexi," Nexi replied with a chuckle, but then winced as it irritated her shoulder.

Enalia finished her drink and returned her glass to the bar. "Try not to aggravate your injury too much and get some rest, ok? I should probably try to get some rest as well. Both of you should be transferred to private rooms within the hour, so if you fall asleep and find yourself in a new room, that's why. I'll make sure Cato comes to see you as soon as possible."

"Thanks, I appreciate that," Nexi said, then let her eyes close; she was feeling better, but life just got so much more complicated...