Diane Doyle

2274

Captain’s Log, Stardate 7424.1

The Enterprise is headed towards the Varrizian system. The inhabitants of the fifth planet, Kabanofi, are dealing with a pandemic of Vanigan’s Fever, which is similar to the old Earth disease, meningitis, and casualties are numerous. Meanwhile, there are reports of growing conflict between the inhabitants there and those of the fourth planet, Hosatari. While neither world is officially a member of the Federation, several Federation scientists are stationed on both of the worlds to do research. Our mission is multi-purpose. We are to lend assistance to the Kabanofians in combating the disease there. We are also tasked to gather more intelligence on the conflict between the two worlds and, if possible, broker peace between them. At the very least, we need to protect the scientists working there.

Captain Kirk, First Officer Spock, Doctor McCoy and several other officers were seated in Briefing Room 4, to discuss the upcoming mission. Officers present included Security Chief Pavel Chekov and Environmental Scientist Mikayla Green who were seated together on the right side of the table

McCoy looked at the group. “Vanigan’s Fever is an extremely virulent disease. It affects the nervous system, causing paralysis in many cases. It affects the brain and can cause permanent brain damage. It kills about a tenth of its victims, and many survivors are permanently paralyzed. The Kabanofians need assistance from us in developing an effective treatment…” For the next several minutes, the doctor continued to describe the disease and possible strategies for coping with it.

The captain interrupted McCoy’s medical recitation. “We also can’t neglect visiting Hosatari as well. Given the Enterprise can’t be in two places at once and that we’ll need the full facilities of Sickbay for Kabanofi, we’ll send a shuttlecraft there.” He turned to Chekov and Green. “I would like you two to check in with the scientists at our outposts on Hosatari. And while down there, gather as much intelligence as possible about this growing  conflict with Kabanofi.”

“Aye, sir,” Chekov assented.

“It appears that this conflict is relatively recent in origin. Spock, perhaps you can give us more detail.”

The Vulcan drew a deep breath. “The Verrizian system was discovered ten point five standard years ago, and there was no evidence of hostility between Hosatari and Kabanofi until six point two months ago. Prior to this recent conflict, inhabitants would travel freely between the two worlds, and they would trade merchandise, both natural and manufactured. The history of the relationship of these two worlds prior to discovery by the Federation is largely presumed to have been peaceful.”

After more discussion of the system’s known history, Kirk turned to his security chief. “Chekov, I’d like you to pilot the shuttle Newton to Hosatari. Check in with the science station there upon landing, and let them know we’ll be in the system a few days.”

*****

Down in the shuttlebay, Green stared at the shuttlecraft Newton with amazement. “It’s a mighty fine shuttlecraft! And state of the art! The Enterprise definitely has more state-of-the art shuttlecrafts than my old ship did. Starfleet just doesn’t equip little scientific vessels with fancy shuttles.”

Chekov shook his head. “No, they don’t. That’s one of the reasons why I’ve felt so fortunate to be assigned to the Enterprise.”

Green said, wistfully. “You know, Pavel. I wish I were the one piloting this shuttle.”

Chekov smiled at her. “Mik, I never knew you had a shuttle license.”

“You learn something new every day,” Green said brightly. “This’ll be fun.”

“As long as you promise not to talk about hockey.”

Green laughed. “No promises.”

Entering the shuttle, Chekov settled in the pilot’s seat and Green sat in the front-most passenger seat.

As they took off, Chekov said, with a glint in his eye. “I understand that some pretty nasty ion storms have occurred in this system. But nothing I can’t handle.”

“You’ve piloted through an ion storm?” Green’s eyes widened.

The Russian nodded. “Vwhat vwas it you said? ‘You learn something new every day.’”

*****

The shuttle launched as the Enterprise eased into a standard orbit around Kabanofi. At that time, Kabanofi’s orbital position was on nearly the opposite side of the Varrizian system’s star from Hosatari. Chekov set a course inward through the system, towards the star, and then outward to Hosatari.

Hours later, Chekov reached Kabanofi and descended through the world’s atmosphere, eventually landing in a field located within the world’s capital city. As Green climbed out of the Newton, her voice betrayed some excitement. “I’m looking forward to hearing the results of their research. I understand they’ve been doing some really neat environmental projects.”

Chekov brushed a lock from his forehead. “It’s good to let our scientists know that we haven’t forgotten them, even though this is not an official Federation world.”

“They may not be able to tell us too much about the political situation here. You know how scientists can be; they’re probably completely unaware of any of the conflicts here. But at least talking to them is a start on information gathering.”

Bringing along phasers, tricorders, and communicators, the pair headed towards the nearby cluster of buildings. Their immediate destination was the Federation’s Conamago Research Outpost.

During their walk to the research outpost, they passed many natives of the world, most of whom seemed extremely agitated and panicky. Nearly all the conversations they overheard were talking about a possible Kabanofi invasion.

Green nudged Chekov on the shoulder. “Pavel, it sounds like the situation here is more critical than we had anticipated. We knew there was trouble between this world and Kabanofi, but no one mentioned any hint that the Kabanofians were planning an invasion during the briefing.”

Chekov tried to remain calm. “Mik, I wouldn’t panic about an invasion just yet, without more evidence. It’s all just rumors and hearsay at this point.”

*****

The first person Chekov and Green encountered inside the Conamago Research Outpost was its director, a tall but muscular Centaurian male with dark blond hair named Jorl Carlznerson. He smiled and greeted the two Starfleet officers warmly. “We really appreciate this visit. I know it’s an effort since Hosatari isn’t a Federation world.”

Chekov smiled in return. “The Enterprise is in this system to help the Kabanofians with their epidemic, so it was only right that the captain would schedule a stopover here as well.”

“We have lots of interesting projects going on here. I’m really proud of the work that our scientists have been doing, and but maybe I’d better take you to see the scientists who are performing the actual work here.”

Carlznerson led the pair through several of the science labs where they talked to the specialists there, including physicists and chemists. They even visited with the environmental science team which gave great joy to Green who enjoyed discussions with fellow devotees of her field.

Carlznerson’s face became more somber when he escorted them to the medical lab. “As you may or may not be aware, there’s been growing conflict between this world and Kabanofi. There’ve been several incidents over the last couple of months, but things have escalated recently since the recent incident where the Kabanofi fired on a Hosatari supply ship, seemingly without provocation – at least in the opinion of the Hosatari. Even so, the Hosatari scientists assigned here are helping to find a cure for the dreaded Vanigan’s Disease even though it’s afflicting their enemy.”

As they entered the lab towards a cubicle, a smallish, dark haired Hosatari scientist looked up from his work. Carlznerson pointed him out to the Starfleet officers. “This is Lidsyuk, who’s been working diligently on a cure for Vanigan’s disease.”

Lidsyuk looked at Chekov and Green. “The Kabanofians may now be our enemy, but I’m not going to stop working for a cure for this horrible disease. It’s just the right thing to do. We share enough common DNA with the Kabanofians so that if the disease gets out of control on Kabanofi, it could spread to our world as well.

“Good point,” murmured Chekov.

*****

After talking to the scientists at the outpost, Chekov and Green left the building and walked into a nearby courtyard where they overheard more conversations discussing the growing conflict between Hosatari and Kabanofi. The general atmosphere seemed to be of panic, and rhetoric was very heated. Many people expressed anti-Kabanofi sentiments.

Others complained about their planetary government’s stance towards the Kabanofians and bemoaned the restrictions on their life as a result of trade being curtailed between the two worlds. The natives were much more anxious than they had been even prior to the Starfleet officers’ entering the outpost. Most seemed to either be gathering emergency supplies or seeking shelter, preparing for the worst that could happen.

“The Kabanofi are going to invade us in the next few hours!”

“I hear they’re not letting anyone enter or leave this world.”

“I hope that the epidemic kills off their entire world. They deserve it.”

Green turned to Chekov. “We should apprise Captain Kirk on the situation here…”

Suddenly, there was a siren followed by an announcement. “Attention! Attention! Kabanofi warships are headed towards this world. Defensive shield activation in sixty minutes! No one can enter or leave this world after that.”

“Vwonderful!” Chekov groaned.

“We’ve got to get out of here, Pavel!”

“Once they activate their planetary shield, we won’t be able to get off this world—either by shuttle or transporter—until it’s deactivated.” He checked his wrist communicator. “Communicator signals are also being jammed.”

“Do we even need to stay here any longer? Our job here was to gather intelligence on what was going on here. And we don’t have room in the Newton to evacuate all the Federation scientists from here. There are only five more seats, and the team here is six times as many.”

Chekov scratched his head and frowned. “And even if we tried to evacuate any of them, they’d probably be safer here under the shield than in the shuttle with us if there is a battle in orbit above us.”

“There’s no telling how long we’ll be trapped here. Maybe days. Maybe weeks. Even months or years, depending on how long their conflict lasts.”

Before Green and Chekov could board the Newton, they were approached by a very breathless Lidsyuk who had raced out of the Conamago Research Outpost.

“You’re planning to leave before the defensive shield is engaged, right?”

“Yeah,” was Green’s reply.

Lidsyuk pleaded with Green and handed her a small package. “Before you go, I want to give you the medication my team has developed for Vanigan’s Disease. It hasn’t yet been tested on Kabanofian subjects. But I don’t want our work to be in vain. And moreover, Vanigan’s Disease affects the brain and has been known to adversely affect behavior. I’m sure it’s contributing to why the Kabanofians are much more belligerent than normal and why they’re so eager to wage war against us.”

Chekov looked Lidsyuk in the eye.  “Have you considered the possibility that the disease may already be affecting the natives of your world?  That could be why so many people here are so anxious.”

Lidsyuk pondered Chekov’s words. “That’s a distinct possibility even though many of the classic symptoms, such as fever, headache, and stiff neck haven’t been reported.”

“I knew trouble was developing between your world and Kabanofi but I hadn’t heard of any plans of an imminent invasion, until I came down to your world.  And we didn’t see any Kabonofi warships on our way here – which leads me to wonder...”

At that moment, the warning siren sounded again, followed by the announcement. “Attention!  Attention!  Thirty minutes until defensive shield closing!”

Green nudged Chekov with her right elbow. “Pavel, even if the reports of a possible invasion are false, we don’t have time to persuade the authorities here otherwise before the shield closes.  And this includes traveling to the right building and breaking through security...”

Chekov frowned. “You’re right! While I know plenty of tricks for breaking through security, I doubt we can do it in time here.  Our best course of action is to leave now and take the medicine with us.”

Lidsyuk reached into a satchel and grabbed a data chit, handing it to Green. “This chit has all related instructions, including how to synthesize and recommended dosage.” 

The environmental scientist accepted the chit. “Thank you.”

They all walked over to the Newton where Green placed the package inside.  They were joined by Carlznerson who had come to say good-bye.  During that time, the fifteen minute warning message was issued.

As Chekov climbed into the pilot seat, Carlznerson waved to him. “Godspeed! I wish you safe travels. We really appreciate you taking the medication to Kabanofi. I know you are risking your lives.”

“All in a day’s work.” Chekov grinned, mischievously.

Chekov grumbled, as he started the engine of the Newton. “Five minutes to go! Let’s get out of here.”

As the craft ascended through the atmosphere, the shield began to surround the world and was closing fast. By the time the Newton approached the shield, the opening was barely larger than the height of the craft.

Chekov increased the craft’s speed to its maximum to try to beat the closing.

“Are we going to make it?” sighed Green, who unsuccessfully hid her nervousness.

The hole closed almost immediately after the tail of the craft passed through it.

Chekov sighed, with relief. “Whew! Just in the nick of time.”

“We did it, Pavel!” Green gave Chekov a high five.

Almost immediately, they encountered an ion storm.  Green peered at the related instrument readings, grimly. “The storm is headed our way at a bearing of 85 mark 10.  It appears to be a Level One storm.”

“A starship like the Enterprise could travel through it without damage but it would be a very rough ride.  However, it is very hazardous for a smaller vessel – like our shuttle.  We won’t be able to avoid the storm entirely but we’ll calculate our travel path to minimize potential damage.”

“I’ll try sending a message through subspace,” volunteered Green.

Travel through this particular storm was difficult as the nature of it interfered with the operation of the craft’s sensors.

Chekov frowned. “We were able to avoid ion storms on the inbound journey but are making up for it now.”

“Nothing like flying blind!” was Green’s comment.

“That’s the truth.”

Time passed and the craft’s navigational instruments detected greater than normal gravitational readings outside their craft, which seemed to be growing in intensity.  Green reported, “It’s as if a ship is approaching us but how reliable are our readings, due to the storm.” She made another attempt to contact the Enterprise.

The response was a faint but familiar voice. “Commander Uhura here! You’re safe!”

The Russian was jubilant about their connection. “Yes, we are.  While down on Hosatari, a scientist there developed a potential cure for Vanigan’s Disease.  So we’re delivering the medicine to Kabanofi.   The Hosatarians are convinced that the Kabanofi are about to invade them so they activated their planetary defense shield.”

Uhura laughed, “About to invade?  Not hardly.  While there are some very angry people on Kabanofi, planning an invasion is the last thing on their minds.   They’re more preoccupied with the current epidemic of Vanigan’s Disease.”

“I’m not surprised.  The Hosatarians were acting extremely paranoid; I believe that they’ve been affected by the epidemic.” 

Uhura changed the subject. “The captain is ordering you to return to the Enterprise immediately. We can investigate the formula, and if it is indeed a cure, we can replicate it before beaming it down to the planet.”

*****

The shuttle bay door opened and the Newton landed there, with Chekov and Green climbing out. Greeting them was Lieutenant Commander Sulu.

Sulu flashed his customary mischievous smile. “Captain Kirk had ordered the Enterprise to Hosatari since we hadn’t heard from either of you.”

Chekov shrugged his shoulders. “Ion storms really inhibit ship-to-ship communications.”

“The ion storms in this region are notorious for their strength,” Sulu admitted.

After that, Sulu turned his attention to Green. “Well, Mikayla, how was your shuttle ride with Chekov? Heh-heh-heh-heh!” Sulu punctuated his question with his customary laugh.

Green smiled broadly. “It was quite like Mister Toad’s Wild Ride!” She referred to the ride at the famous Disneyland amusement park in Southern California.

Chekov cracked, “And vwhy not? Vwhen I vwas a youngster, my older cousin Sergei used to call me Zhaba which means toad!”

And with gales of laughter, Chekov and Green headed to Sickbay with what they hoped was a cure.

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