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seren_ccdTitle: Standing in the Doorway - Chapter Four
Series: Going to Georgia
Ship: Chapel/McCoy
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
seren_ccd
Beta: The amazingfringedweller
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: They are not mine. 'Tis a pity, really. The title is taken from Going to Georgia by the Mountain Goats.
Summary: The continuing tales of the Starship Enterprise and her CMO and Head Nurse.
A/N: We're at the halfway point! Please let me know what ya'll think! Thank you so, so much for sticking with this thing.
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
"My name is Mark Roberts, my rank is Ensign in the Science department with a focus in geology, and I feel much better. May I see Karen now?"
McCoy looked up from his PADD and said, "No, not yet. You are aware you hurt her wrist when you grabbed her?"
"Yes! I know, I..." the ensign said with a distraught look. "I didn't... I'd never hurt Karen. She's everything to me. Everything."
McCoy nodded. "Sure, she is. Now, can you tell me your parent's names?"
"Shirley and David Roberts, and they live on Earth," Roberts said. "And I'm fine."
"Unless you've got the letters 'm' and 'd' after your name, you don't get to decide whether or not you're 'fine'," McCoy said. "Now, can you describe for me the last thing you remember before your attack?"
Roberts sighed. "I was in the lab, finishing up my report and I had a bit of a headache. So, I followed your instructions and came back to the sickbay." He trailed off into a smile. "And there was Karen. She's wonderful. So smart, so kind."
"Right," McCoy said with a look at Christine who came to stand on the other side of the biobed. She met his gaze with a concerned look. "Then what do you remember?"
"Uh, that's kind of it," Roberts said. He made a face. "Next thing I know, I'm in a biobed and you guys are looking at me."
"That sounds familiar," Simmons grumbled from the bed next to him.
"Okay. Well, so far, so good," McCoy said. "All the same, we're going to do a brain scan of the two of you. Then we'll see if we need to bring in Spock and Patterson, just in case."
McCoy made a motion with his head to Christine and walked away from the two young men; she followed and came to a stop in front of him.
"Full image scan for the pair of them?" she asked.
"Yes, complete scan," he said. Then in a softer tone, he asked, "How's Medina?"
Christine shrugged. "Worried, shaken up. I've told her to take her time and come back when she feels able. I don't want to rush her."
"Understood," McCoy said. "Get another nurse in here and let's get this going."
Christine made a motion to one of the other nurses and together, they entered in the codes to begin the scanning process.
"Now, stay still," Christine instructed the two ensigns. A blue light came out of the top of the biobed and fanned out over the head of each ensign. It made five complete passes and stopped. Christine immediately sent the images to McCoy's office computer. "Very good. Now, stay put and we'll be back shortly. You're both still under strict orders for rest."
"Can I have my PADD?"
"Can I see Karen?"
"No," Christine said fixing both of the young men with a look. "And I don't want to hear that you've been pestering my staff for either. Do I make myself clear?" The two young men looked abashed and mumbled their acquiescence. "Good. If you need anything or feel at all strange, let us know."
She turned away and headed to McCoy's office where he was already loading up the scan results on his wall monitor.
"Let's see what we've got," he said. He moved away to let Christine stand in front of him to access the monitor.
Christine tapped the screen and the images from Ensign Simmons' scan filled the page first. She drew up one of a scan from his file for comparison. She immediately frowned.
"Oh, my—" she said. "What? What am I even looking at?"
"Nothing normal," McCoy said grimly. "Look at the branching there."
He moved closer and stood right behind her, the wall of his chest directly behind her and as he leaned forward to enhance the view, he brushed against her upper arm.
"It's the most bizarre neural topography I've ever seen," he murmured directly next to her ear.
Christine stretched her arm alongside his and tapped the screen to show another anomaly. "Look at the connections here. I've never seen so many pathways between brain modules, have you?"
McCoy shook his head and his breath stirred her hair. "No. Not even in the more advanced races. Look at the mesencephalon, here and here? This kind of connectivity is almost..."
"Almost what?" she asked.
"Alien," McCoy said grimly. "Pull up Roberts."
Christine tapped to bring up the other ensign's images. She shook her head. "It's similar, but in different areas. What could have caused this?"
"I'm almost afraid to find out," he said. "I better get Jim and Spock in on this. Maybe Spock will have more for me about that damn planet."
"I agree," she said. She turned and was slightly startled to see how close they'd gotten. Christine met his concerned gaze. "What are you thinking?"
"That these results are indicative of something we've never seen before," he said staring off into a middle distance. "And I'm worried that it's dangerously affected two young men, and injured someone on my staff."
"I've arranged for someone from Security to hang around," Christine said placing her hand on his arm. "Just in case."
He brought himself back from his inner thoughts and covered her hand with his. "Always a step ahead of me, aren't you?"
"It's what they pay me the big credits for, didn't you know?" she said with a quirk of her lips. McCoy smiled and she realised that his index finger was tracing tiny patterns on her skin. Christine swallowed hard and said, "You call the captain, I'll keep an eye on things."
"I know you will," he said, his smile fading and his eyes dark. McCoy nodded sharply, squeezed her hand and turned towards his desk, activating the comm unit.
Christine sighed and headed into the main medical area, ignoring the pleasant warmth in her abdomen.
*****
"So Bones, what have you got?" Kirk asked as he and Spock entered the CMO's office.
"Honestly? Nothing I've ever seen before," McCoy said. "See for yourself."
McCoy pulled up the brain scans and took a step back to monitor Spock's reaction. The Vulcan immediately raised an eyebrow signifying his surprise.
"How extraordinary," he said taking step forward and tapping the screen to twist and turn the images. "These are Ensign Simmons' results?"
"Yes," McCoy said. "Dare I ask what you think?"
"What do you think?" Kirk asked McCoy.
"I think we're dealing with something never seen before. Something that has managed to attack the most fundamental aspect of man, his brain," McCoy said. "A human's neural assembly is not supposed to look like that!"
He pointed at the images and Kirk followed his line of sight. The captain stared at the complex branching patterns that spiked and swerved and connected in dozens, hundreds, thousands of ways. It made up a strange and dense interconnected web of neurons. Put next to the image of a 'normal' male brain, it was like juxtaposing a violet next to a hydrangea. Multiple sets of neural pathways lit up the screen, weaving in and out of the other in places that were blank and dull on the 'normal' model.
"It is as if the entire geometric configuration of this brain has been transformed," Spock said. He turned to McCoy and Kirk. "I would like to see this in action, if I may."
"Be my guest," McCoy said holding his hand out. "Maybe now the kid will stop bothering my staff for a PADD."
A few minutes later, both ensigns had been given a PADD.
"I would like you both to enter in your preliminary analysis of the expedition," Spock asked. He nodded at Christine and she activated the scanning equipment as both Simmons and Roberts began to enter information on their PADDs. A monitor had been set up to relay the real-time brain activity and Spock and McCoy studied the results.
While Roberts was certainly showing new connections and activity in previously dormant modules, the true revelation was Simmons. The activity seemed to pulse in erratic, even dissonant ways.
Then he began to speak.
"Commander, it is essential that the focus be centred on the results of the alluvial deposits in this region," Simmons said. The ensign then continued to describe exactly what may be found in certain areas of the planet and the implications of said finds. But his voice had become arrhythmic and his inflection jumped in odd places. McCoy looked at Christine silently asking about the vitals of the young man. She shook her head slightly, indicating nothing alarming.
Suddenly, Roberts brain scan started to display anomalous activity. McCoy turned to look at the young man who was staring at a nervous Karen Medina. Roberts smiled at her and the connections in the scan flared. She smiled tentatively back and the connections flared once again.
"I think that's enough for today," McCoy said sharing a look with Christine. "Gentlemen, your PADDs."
"But, I wasn't finished," Simmons said blinking furiously.
"What you have told us is quite sufficient, ensign," Spock said. "And you have given us much to consider in our exploration of the planet. Thank you."
Spock took Simmons' PADD and started to look over the report the young man had written.
"My office?" McCoy asked. Spock nodded and Kirk followed.
*****
"This is truly fascinating."
McCoy rolled his eyes. "Great. Any more constructive comments from the peanut gallery?"
"Doctor, I don't think you quite realise the magnitude of analysis Ensign Simmons has managed to achieve," Spock said.
"What I realise is that I've had two healthy, young men in my sickbay in the span of twelve hours both suffering from severe seizure-like attacks which has apparently turned their brains into something almost unrecognizable in nature," McCoy said.
"Exactly, doctor," Spock said.
"Well, I'm glad you agree," McCoy said, he turned to Kirk and gave him a look.
"Spock, what do you think?" Kirk asked.
"Well, I have found no evidence of anything harmful or capable of causing such complex behaviour in my latest examination of the planet and the small selection of samples we were able to collect on our brief expedition," Spock said. "Perhaps we must consider alternative possibilities?"
"Such as?" McCoy asked.
"At this time, doctor," Spock said. "I am unsure of what they may be."
"Perfect," McCoy said. "As much as I hate to resort to it, I'd like to take some physical samples from the ensigns. It's a simple enough procedure, but invasive nonetheless."
"It is a logical decision," Spock said. "I would be interested to see the results."
The comm unit on McCoy's desk chimed and Chekov's voice came through, "Captain? Doctor McCoy?"
"Yes, Chekov," Kirk said. "We're both here."
"Oh, good. Captain, doctor, you are aware that I occasionally run a simple program that monitors the activity of the computers all over the ship," Chekov said.
"I think I might have heard something about it once," Kirk said with a slight grin. McCoy shook his head at the mention of the 'Epic Computer Program' Chekov had gone on and on about before Kirk finally gave him permission to give it a test drive.
"Well, it is working very well, I have to say," Chekov said. "However, I discovered something amiss when I checked the data a few moments ago."
"And what was that, ensign?"
"It appears as though private medical records were downloaded and examined a few hours ago from a console not authorized to do so," Chekov said.
"What?" McCoy asked angrily. "Someone has been in my system?"
"Yes, doctor, I'm afraid so," Chekov said. "It was actually done very well and would have gone completely unnoticed had my program not been looking for certain anomalies."
"Whose console accessed the data?" Kirk asked.
"It came from the physics department, captain," Chekov said. "Specifically, Dr. Havers' console."
Chapter Five
Series: Going to Georgia
Ship: Chapel/McCoy
Author:
seren_ccdBeta: The amazing
fringedwellerRating: PG-13
Disclaimer: They are not mine. 'Tis a pity, really. The title is taken from Going to Georgia by the Mountain Goats.
Summary: The continuing tales of the Starship Enterprise and her CMO and Head Nurse.
A/N: We're at the halfway point! Please let me know what ya'll think! Thank you so, so much for sticking with this thing.
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
"My name is Mark Roberts, my rank is Ensign in the Science department with a focus in geology, and I feel much better. May I see Karen now?"
McCoy looked up from his PADD and said, "No, not yet. You are aware you hurt her wrist when you grabbed her?"
"Yes! I know, I..." the ensign said with a distraught look. "I didn't... I'd never hurt Karen. She's everything to me. Everything."
McCoy nodded. "Sure, she is. Now, can you tell me your parent's names?"
"Shirley and David Roberts, and they live on Earth," Roberts said. "And I'm fine."
"Unless you've got the letters 'm' and 'd' after your name, you don't get to decide whether or not you're 'fine'," McCoy said. "Now, can you describe for me the last thing you remember before your attack?"
Roberts sighed. "I was in the lab, finishing up my report and I had a bit of a headache. So, I followed your instructions and came back to the sickbay." He trailed off into a smile. "And there was Karen. She's wonderful. So smart, so kind."
"Right," McCoy said with a look at Christine who came to stand on the other side of the biobed. She met his gaze with a concerned look. "Then what do you remember?"
"Uh, that's kind of it," Roberts said. He made a face. "Next thing I know, I'm in a biobed and you guys are looking at me."
"That sounds familiar," Simmons grumbled from the bed next to him.
"Okay. Well, so far, so good," McCoy said. "All the same, we're going to do a brain scan of the two of you. Then we'll see if we need to bring in Spock and Patterson, just in case."
McCoy made a motion with his head to Christine and walked away from the two young men; she followed and came to a stop in front of him.
"Full image scan for the pair of them?" she asked.
"Yes, complete scan," he said. Then in a softer tone, he asked, "How's Medina?"
Christine shrugged. "Worried, shaken up. I've told her to take her time and come back when she feels able. I don't want to rush her."
"Understood," McCoy said. "Get another nurse in here and let's get this going."
Christine made a motion to one of the other nurses and together, they entered in the codes to begin the scanning process.
"Now, stay still," Christine instructed the two ensigns. A blue light came out of the top of the biobed and fanned out over the head of each ensign. It made five complete passes and stopped. Christine immediately sent the images to McCoy's office computer. "Very good. Now, stay put and we'll be back shortly. You're both still under strict orders for rest."
"Can I have my PADD?"
"Can I see Karen?"
"No," Christine said fixing both of the young men with a look. "And I don't want to hear that you've been pestering my staff for either. Do I make myself clear?" The two young men looked abashed and mumbled their acquiescence. "Good. If you need anything or feel at all strange, let us know."
She turned away and headed to McCoy's office where he was already loading up the scan results on his wall monitor.
"Let's see what we've got," he said. He moved away to let Christine stand in front of him to access the monitor.
Christine tapped the screen and the images from Ensign Simmons' scan filled the page first. She drew up one of a scan from his file for comparison. She immediately frowned.
"Oh, my—" she said. "What? What am I even looking at?"
"Nothing normal," McCoy said grimly. "Look at the branching there."
He moved closer and stood right behind her, the wall of his chest directly behind her and as he leaned forward to enhance the view, he brushed against her upper arm.
"It's the most bizarre neural topography I've ever seen," he murmured directly next to her ear.
Christine stretched her arm alongside his and tapped the screen to show another anomaly. "Look at the connections here. I've never seen so many pathways between brain modules, have you?"
McCoy shook his head and his breath stirred her hair. "No. Not even in the more advanced races. Look at the mesencephalon, here and here? This kind of connectivity is almost..."
"Almost what?" she asked.
"Alien," McCoy said grimly. "Pull up Roberts."
Christine tapped to bring up the other ensign's images. She shook her head. "It's similar, but in different areas. What could have caused this?"
"I'm almost afraid to find out," he said. "I better get Jim and Spock in on this. Maybe Spock will have more for me about that damn planet."
"I agree," she said. She turned and was slightly startled to see how close they'd gotten. Christine met his concerned gaze. "What are you thinking?"
"That these results are indicative of something we've never seen before," he said staring off into a middle distance. "And I'm worried that it's dangerously affected two young men, and injured someone on my staff."
"I've arranged for someone from Security to hang around," Christine said placing her hand on his arm. "Just in case."
He brought himself back from his inner thoughts and covered her hand with his. "Always a step ahead of me, aren't you?"
"It's what they pay me the big credits for, didn't you know?" she said with a quirk of her lips. McCoy smiled and she realised that his index finger was tracing tiny patterns on her skin. Christine swallowed hard and said, "You call the captain, I'll keep an eye on things."
"I know you will," he said, his smile fading and his eyes dark. McCoy nodded sharply, squeezed her hand and turned towards his desk, activating the comm unit.
Christine sighed and headed into the main medical area, ignoring the pleasant warmth in her abdomen.
*****
"So Bones, what have you got?" Kirk asked as he and Spock entered the CMO's office.
"Honestly? Nothing I've ever seen before," McCoy said. "See for yourself."
McCoy pulled up the brain scans and took a step back to monitor Spock's reaction. The Vulcan immediately raised an eyebrow signifying his surprise.
"How extraordinary," he said taking step forward and tapping the screen to twist and turn the images. "These are Ensign Simmons' results?"
"Yes," McCoy said. "Dare I ask what you think?"
"What do you think?" Kirk asked McCoy.
"I think we're dealing with something never seen before. Something that has managed to attack the most fundamental aspect of man, his brain," McCoy said. "A human's neural assembly is not supposed to look like that!"
He pointed at the images and Kirk followed his line of sight. The captain stared at the complex branching patterns that spiked and swerved and connected in dozens, hundreds, thousands of ways. It made up a strange and dense interconnected web of neurons. Put next to the image of a 'normal' male brain, it was like juxtaposing a violet next to a hydrangea. Multiple sets of neural pathways lit up the screen, weaving in and out of the other in places that were blank and dull on the 'normal' model.
"It is as if the entire geometric configuration of this brain has been transformed," Spock said. He turned to McCoy and Kirk. "I would like to see this in action, if I may."
"Be my guest," McCoy said holding his hand out. "Maybe now the kid will stop bothering my staff for a PADD."
A few minutes later, both ensigns had been given a PADD.
"I would like you both to enter in your preliminary analysis of the expedition," Spock asked. He nodded at Christine and she activated the scanning equipment as both Simmons and Roberts began to enter information on their PADDs. A monitor had been set up to relay the real-time brain activity and Spock and McCoy studied the results.
While Roberts was certainly showing new connections and activity in previously dormant modules, the true revelation was Simmons. The activity seemed to pulse in erratic, even dissonant ways.
Then he began to speak.
"Commander, it is essential that the focus be centred on the results of the alluvial deposits in this region," Simmons said. The ensign then continued to describe exactly what may be found in certain areas of the planet and the implications of said finds. But his voice had become arrhythmic and his inflection jumped in odd places. McCoy looked at Christine silently asking about the vitals of the young man. She shook her head slightly, indicating nothing alarming.
Suddenly, Roberts brain scan started to display anomalous activity. McCoy turned to look at the young man who was staring at a nervous Karen Medina. Roberts smiled at her and the connections in the scan flared. She smiled tentatively back and the connections flared once again.
"I think that's enough for today," McCoy said sharing a look with Christine. "Gentlemen, your PADDs."
"But, I wasn't finished," Simmons said blinking furiously.
"What you have told us is quite sufficient, ensign," Spock said. "And you have given us much to consider in our exploration of the planet. Thank you."
Spock took Simmons' PADD and started to look over the report the young man had written.
"My office?" McCoy asked. Spock nodded and Kirk followed.
*****
"This is truly fascinating."
McCoy rolled his eyes. "Great. Any more constructive comments from the peanut gallery?"
"Doctor, I don't think you quite realise the magnitude of analysis Ensign Simmons has managed to achieve," Spock said.
"What I realise is that I've had two healthy, young men in my sickbay in the span of twelve hours both suffering from severe seizure-like attacks which has apparently turned their brains into something almost unrecognizable in nature," McCoy said.
"Exactly, doctor," Spock said.
"Well, I'm glad you agree," McCoy said, he turned to Kirk and gave him a look.
"Spock, what do you think?" Kirk asked.
"Well, I have found no evidence of anything harmful or capable of causing such complex behaviour in my latest examination of the planet and the small selection of samples we were able to collect on our brief expedition," Spock said. "Perhaps we must consider alternative possibilities?"
"Such as?" McCoy asked.
"At this time, doctor," Spock said. "I am unsure of what they may be."
"Perfect," McCoy said. "As much as I hate to resort to it, I'd like to take some physical samples from the ensigns. It's a simple enough procedure, but invasive nonetheless."
"It is a logical decision," Spock said. "I would be interested to see the results."
The comm unit on McCoy's desk chimed and Chekov's voice came through, "Captain? Doctor McCoy?"
"Yes, Chekov," Kirk said. "We're both here."
"Oh, good. Captain, doctor, you are aware that I occasionally run a simple program that monitors the activity of the computers all over the ship," Chekov said.
"I think I might have heard something about it once," Kirk said with a slight grin. McCoy shook his head at the mention of the 'Epic Computer Program' Chekov had gone on and on about before Kirk finally gave him permission to give it a test drive.
"Well, it is working very well, I have to say," Chekov said. "However, I discovered something amiss when I checked the data a few moments ago."
"And what was that, ensign?"
"It appears as though private medical records were downloaded and examined a few hours ago from a console not authorized to do so," Chekov said.
"What?" McCoy asked angrily. "Someone has been in my system?"
"Yes, doctor, I'm afraid so," Chekov said. "It was actually done very well and would have gone completely unnoticed had my program not been looking for certain anomalies."
"Whose console accessed the data?" Kirk asked.
"It came from the physics department, captain," Chekov said. "Specifically, Dr. Havers' console."
Chapter Five
