Getting to Know You...
Posted on Sun Jan 4th, 2026 @ 7:43pm by Glinn Vaaet Pazon & Commander Hiro Sommers-Yoshida & Lieutenant Alena Alessa & Lieutenant JG Abrasax & Lieutenant JG Mirez
3,168 words; about a 16 minute read
Mission:
Episode 9: Across Time
Location: Infirmary, DS21
"Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Abrasax," the main computer announced, "please report to the Infirmary on Deep Space 21."
"Acknowledged," Abrasax replied and left his lab staff to work on the beacon, though he told them to alert him should anything happen.
"Lieutenant Alena Alessa," the main computer announced, "please report to the Infirmary on Deep Space 21."
Alena nodded. "I'm headed there now", she said and left her office. She had been counseling the past many days without a break. Her diplomatic abilities had yet to be used, but she didn't mind at present. She had a lot on her plate lately. More than was likely healthy.
"Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Mirez," the main computer announced, "please report to the Infirmary on Deep Space 21."
The hum of the plasma inducers filled the narrow corridor as Mirez adjusted the calibrations on an EPS manifold tucked behind an open access panel. Her fingertips tingled with residual static, a reminder of how volatile the station's Cardassian technology could be when interfacing with Federation systems. She paused mid-adjustment as the computer's voice echoed through the corridor, crisp and calm. Her brow furrowed.
Wiping her hands on her uniform, she sealed the panel and rose. The Infirmary? No one had said anything about follow-ups from Lethe. She tapped her combadge. "Mirez here. I'm on my way." she said, voice steady, though unease prickled at the edge of her thoughts.
Standing in the office area of the Infirmary on Deep Space 21, Doctor Vaaet Pazon was reviewing the latest test results for Lieutenant Lyras. It hadn't been long since the Medical Officer had reported his concerns and now they were at the risk of a full-blown epidemic of telepathic intrusion. The medications seemed to be working, for now at least, and he hoped to keep it that way. The Commander had authorized him to run a full investigation of the away team and he was sure to ensure that the station's crew would be protected.
All of the away team members had been contacted and directed to come to the Infirmary on DS21. As soon as they arrived he'd get started.
Somewhat annoyed that he'd been called away from science-ing, Abrasax entered and put his hands behind his back so not to fold his arms in front of him. He didn't want to present a bad impression, with the news of a replacement Chief Medical Officer. It was most likely he'd meet them.
Hearing the doors open, Doctor Pazon turned and looked at the newcomer, "Can I help you?"
"I'm Lieutenant Abrasax, the computer told me to report to the infirmary," the hybrid replied.
The first of the three patients, the Cardassian Doctor thought to himself as he nodded in greeting to the young alien. He had read up on the Lieutenant while he'd waited for him to arrive and knew that he was the Chief Science Officer aboard. Now he had to wonder how these scans would go.
"Have a seat on the biobed," the Doctor motioned for the adjacent compartment as he picked up a tricorder. "We've had a bit of a hiccup from a recent mission and I need to do a scan on all of the away team members. Nothing too complicated." He explained.
Alena entered the infirmary. She saw Abrasax and Dr. Pazon there. "Hello", she said. "I was told to report here", she said. "I'm Lieutenant JG... I actually have to drop the junior grade rank now", she said with a sheepish smile. It would take some time to get used to her new rank. "I'm Alena Alessa", she said, trying to regain her composure.
"Hello Lieutenant," Abrasax greeted Alena with a smile.
Pazon nodded, "Alright. The Lieutenant was here before you. I'll get these scans started and then I'll be in with you. If you'd like to have a seat?" He motioned toward one of the guest chairs in his office area, silently wondering what exactly his people were thinking when they designed the Infirmary.
Alena nodded and sat on the offered seat. She was still struggling with all that had happened lately. The fight with Euryale, the revelation of the things she had inherited from Mrs. Anderson and just the sheer fact that her mother knew something she hadn't told Alena, was exhausting. She needed to confront her Ma. Seemed like the only surefire way to get some answers.
Stepping around the corner, Doctor Vaaet Pazon entered the examination chamber and started typing on the Cardassian styled workstation. Glancing back over his shoulder, he looked at Lieutenant Abrasax, "tell me about your away mission, Lieutenant."
Abrasax raised an eyebrow. "It was all in my report, sir." He replied, he didn't really want to revisit the event.
"Humor me," the Doctor answered indirectly, "pretend as if I have never seen the report and your health may be at risk without me knowing what happened."
He sighed and looked around for a chair, Abrasax began to organize his thoughts and putting his memories into order. He found a chair by the door, though the medical bed was far more enticing. He turned back to the Doctor. "Can I use the bed?"
"I'd actually prefer it," Pazon reported as he prepared for the scans he wanted to run. "Now, can you tell me about your away mission? Anything out of the ordinary happen?"
He turned his back on the bed, perched on it for a moment. Abrasax shivered the moment his mind put him back in the fog, he paused with one leg on the bed and half twisted. His eyes not taking in present day. "Have you ever been hunted?" He asked, though he shrunk a little as he glanced around.
"Not knowing where the attack will come from." Abrasax continued. His hands clenched on the bed. "An enemy of mysticism, but you know there had to be science behind it." He shook as a shiver ran up his spine, which visibly brought his shoulders up to his jawline.
He blinked and flinched, Abrasax was back in medical, and he relaxed. He brought his other leg up on the bed and settled with some deep breaths. "The worst part was that we all got separated by the fog, yet we were still near each other. Being alone is the worst. I panicked and called out to the others, a foolish move when being hunted to say the least."
The fact that they all made it kept him from tearing up. "I started firing my phaser around, just above where I imagined heads would be." Abrasax finally lay back. "I'm so relieved that no one was hurt by my actions."
Doctor Pazon was not really good with emotions, especially the emotions of non-Cardassian personnel. He had, briefly, reviewed the after action reports to learn more about what had happened and had tried to put himself in their shoes, but he also failed miserably at that. He didn't have much empathy for others - which surprised most since he was a doctor - but he could understand why the Lieutenant had been so affected by what was experienced. If the scans came back normal, at the minimum the Cardassian was going to recommend a trip to the ship's Counselor.
Pecking at the controls on the display, the Doctor reviewed the notes from the medical scanners built into the overhead sensor cluster. Silently, he read. Doctor Pazon transferred the results over to a datapad and walked away from the console, back to Mister Abrasax. "Lieutenant, have you been experiencing any headache, nausea, trouble concentrating?"
"I'd say I have been concentrating hard on work to not think about the ordeal," Abrasax said his right hand coming to his face and held the bridge of his nose with two fingers. "Now that you mention it, I do feel a headache." He groaned.
"You'll be happy to know, despite the headache, I'm not detecting any evidence of telepathic contact," Doctor Pazon informed as he typed on the bearclaw like interface. "I am going to give you a small doze of analgesic to help with that headache." He injected the medication into the Lieutenant's neck. "The effects should be almost immediate."
Abrasax sighed in relief, "thanks Doctor. Much better," he replied his expression a little more happy now.
"You're dismissed," the Cardassian informed as he moved on to the next patient.
"See ya," Abrasax called after the Doctor and headed out back to his office.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," the Chief Medical Officer said as he stepped into the examination alcove. "How are you today?"
"A bit worn out", Alena admitted. "That trip to Lethe was tough. Other than being a bit worn out, I'm fine, physically that is. Mentally... After we escaped Lethe and Euryale, I find that my telepathic filters are now non-existent. I pick up on pretty much everything within my range. And that range seems to be growing. Not by a lot, but it makes me worried."
Pazon tapped his fingers on the side of the datapad that he was holding as he listened to Alena. He tilted his head, slightly, as he listened, "So tell me about this growth in your range?"
"From what I been feeling before the fight with Euryale, I had around 50 meters of range, if I recall correctly. From my quarters, I could sense emotions and the like from 6 or 7 sets of quarters. It feels like it has grown with 1 set so far. And it feels like it's not done expanding", Alena told the doctor and rubbed her temples. A headache was building.
At that moment the doors to the Infirmary slid open with a soft hiss, and Mirez stepped inside, her posture precise, though her eyes darted briefly to the medical stations and biobeds. “Lieutenant JG Mirez, reporting as ordered,” she said, voice calm, betraying only a hint of tension. Her hands were still slightly smudged from the EPS panel work, and she wiped them on her uniform instinctively.
"Just a second, Lieutenant," the Cardassian directed to Mirez before approaching Alena, "Alright, so your range has expanded since the away mission and you find yourself with less of a filter. Can you tell me what I'm thinking?" Being Cardassian he knew that he had more safeguards because of his training, but he was curious what Alena would say or even if she may've overcome the barriers.
"Not the exact thoughts. Not all. Just... bits", Alena said. "Mostly the curiosity. A bit of worry". Alena thought it over. "You want to see whether I can read your thoughts. I can piece the thoughts together with bits and pieces I pick up from you", she went on as she rubbed her temples hard. That headache, paired with her telepathic filter and barriers being as good as non-existent, made it hard to focus.
Pazon crossed his arms as he watched Alena carefully nearby. He considered what she had said carefully, wondering about her answers. He was certainly curious about what was going on, but he was not worried for the patients per se rather for the safety of all involved. It was certainly something they would have to deal with. "I'm concluding my scans now, just hold for a moment, please."
"Okay", Alena said. She had a feeling her scans would show increased telepathic range, as well as being fatigued. She hadn't eaten enough the past few days; things had been hectic, to put it mildly. So many meetings and talks. She yawned. She hadn't had enough sleep either. The first she would do after being done here, was going to take a long nap. Hopefully she wouldn't have nightmares about Lethe.
The scans were, at first, fairly routine results and not too out of the realm of what he'd expected. Alena was showing signs of fatigue and borderline malnutrition, which wasn't exactly something he'd expected, but there was evidence of increased activity in the paracortex, with psilosynine levels being slightly elevated. While they weren't in the realm that Lieutenant Lyras was showing, it was a concern.
"How have you been sleeping?" He abruptly asked.
Alena sighed. "Not good", she admitted. "I keep replaying the part where we managed to escape, barely, as well as how close we were to die at Euryale's hand. As if we are about to go toe-to-toe with another powerful enemy. I've heard from a few of the other people who was on Lethe, that experience has caused some changes in them. I don't know about them, but for me, the things about Euryale isn't as much the physical stuff as it is the emotional and telepathic parts", she said. "No telepathic shield, no ability to filter anything, pretty much".
Mirez sat quietly on the edge of the biobed, her back straight, hands folded neatly in her lap. At first, she kept her focus on the sterile ceiling panels above, but as Alena’s voice carried across the room, her brow creased. She didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but the words (telepathic range expanding, filters gone, headaches) made her shift uneasily. This wasn’t the sort of problem she could solve with tools and schematics.
Her gaze flicked toward the chronometer on the wall. She still had to finish the EPS recalibrations before the night cycle, and the engineers would be waiting. Taking in a measured breath, she finally spoke, her tone even but edged with quiet impatience. “Doctor… how long do you expect this to take? I still have system work that requires my attention.”
"Just another second," the Cardassian said as he approached Alena. "Lieutenant, your scans are suggesting that you're still experiencing telepathic contact with an unknown creature. You're the second of three people who are in the throes of this. I need to admit you, temporarily, to try to determine the extent."
Alena smiled tiredly. "As long as I can do paperwork. I know I ought to rest, but work has been busy. Both work and personal life," she said as she rubbed her temples. "I think I might need a counseling session myself. Work makes sense. My life, not so much".
"I'd steer clear of doing too much, at least until we are able to determine the extent of this contact," the Chief Medical Officer explained as he adjusted settings on the display console. "I'll arrange for a nurse to assist you with getting situated. Just hang tight in the lab area for now."
"Will do", Alena said with a nod. She stayed put while Pazon moved around to the other people in the room. She just wished she knew what was going on.
Turning to Mirez, the Cardassian motioned toward the biobed, "You're up."
Mirez slid off the stool she had been sitting on and crossed the short distance to the biobed, her expression composed but her eyes alert. “Understood,” she replied simply, settling herself on the edge of the bed. The faint hum of the nearby instruments filled the silence as she folded her hands in her lap again.
“I assume this is related to the Lethe mission,” she said after a moment, meeting Pazon’s gaze. “I have experienced a mild headache the past few days—and some… unsettling dreams—but I did not think much of it until now.” She hesitated, glancing briefly toward Alena before looking back at the doctor. “If it is connected to what happened on the planet, I would rather know sooner than later.”
Doctor Pazon nodded as the Cardassian man started typing on the bear claw styled keyboard, "I'd prefer to know sooner rather than later myself." He typed on the display screen, bringing the scan cycle into startup. "These dreams," he interrupted, "tell me about them." It wasn't really a request as dreams could be indicative of telepathic contact.
Mirez exhaled softly, her gaze drifting to the faint pulse of light on the biobed’s sensor array. “They’re… difficult to describe,” she began. “Not images, exactly,..more like impressions. A feeling of being watched, as if something vast and cold is observing from just beyond sight.” Her voice remained steady, though quieter now. “Sometimes I wake up with the same pressure in my head that I felt planetside, right before we lost contact with the Copernicus. It fades after a while, but it’s been happening more often.”
The Cardassian Doctor didn't need to go much further with the scans, instead he crossed his arms, "I'm sorry to say that I'm going to have to admit you. You're describing hallmark signs of a telepathic intrusion. We're going to need to monitor you for any further interaction."
Her eyes widened slightly, the surprise evident before she schooled her expression back into composure. “Admit me?” Mirez echoed, more to process the words than to protest them. A moment later, she drew in a quiet breath and nodded. “I understand, Doctor. If there’s a risk of… whatever this is spreading—or worsening—I would rather you keep an eye on it.” She looked down at her hands, then back up at him, a trace of resignation softening her tone. “Still, I was hoping it was just lack of sleep. Seems I was being optimistic.”
"I was hoping it was lack of sleep myself," Pazon answered as he stepped into the main part of the Infirmary. "Don't worry though. We'll figure this all out and get it straightened out. I doubt we have to worry about it spreading further," now he was being the optimist as he motioned toward the inner part of the Infirmary. "Go ahead in and get situated while I reach out to the Station Commander. It'll all be ok."
She slid off the biobed, giving him a small, polite nod. “If you say so, Doctor.” The words carried trust, genuine, because Pazon had been nothing but thorough and steady since she walked in. But as she followed his gesture toward the inner ward, a faint crease formed between her brows.
“I appreciate your confidence,” she added quietly, “though I’m not entirely convinced this will be as straightforward as we’d like.” Even so, she stepped forward without hesitation. “Still… I’ll do my part.”
"All we can ask," Doctor Pazon answered as he got back to work trying to figure out a way to block the telepathy.
Mirez paused at the threshold and glanced back as the Doctor returned to his console, his movements precise and intent. The quiet competence of it steadied her, even if it did not fully settle her thoughts. She nodded once and moved into the ward, selecting a bed and sitting down carefully.
Whatever had followed them back from Lethe, if anything had, might have been Euryale… or it might have been something else entirely. The uncertainty unsettled her more than any diagnosis. For now, all she could do was wait, observe, and trust that together the Doctor would identify the source before it made itself known in worse ways.
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