Current Stardate is 3478.2 and there had been a routine mission to resupply the experimental colony on Gamma Hydra four. When the away team came back there was a problem, an unusual phenomenon where the colonists aged rapidly and died at a young age. Only two of the six colonists remained when they came back.
When I heard about it, I started gathering sensor data and blood samples to test in my lab. Before that, Kirk called me to the briefing room where I took a seat close to the other end of the table. "Stay seated." There was a new man and woman aboard that we were transporting to Starbase ten. "Dr. Wallace, as an expert in endocrinology, I'd appreciate you working very closely with Dr. McCoy. I would have you work with (Y/n), but I suspect you are going to be working in your lab, correct?"
I gave a small nod. "Yes Captain, I do have the proper equipment as well as better equipment than what I would find in the bio-lab or Sickbay." Kirk nodded. "I've already had nurse Nevins send samples to my lab as well as the bridge with the atmospheric and radiation readings. I should have a report ready for you by tomorrow."
With that Kirk turned to McCoy asking for him to fill us in. "Well, the expedition is suffering from extreme old age, and they're growing older by the minute-- much older. My examinations have turned up absolutely nothing. In fact, I don't have a clue."
Folding my hands I set them on the table, whatever was going on needed to be resolved quickly, and if timed well enough a cure need be created. "What about the atmosphere and environment, Mr. Spock? I know (Y/n) asked for a report but hers will have much more detail than what we will be going over I assume."
Spock nodded, his eyes glanced to me briefly. I ignored it, ever since what happened between us I have been avoiding him like the plague. "Correct, but from what I can see, sensors reveal nothing which is inimical to human life. The atmosphere screens out the usual amount of harmful cosmic rays."
Kirk tried a different approach. "We're close to the Neutral Zone between our Federation and the Romulan Empire. It's possible the Romulans have a new weapon and are using this colony as guinea pigs."
I found such a suggestion highly unlikely. "I have already begun investigation into that possibility, Captain. Though, I do believe (Y/n) doesn't agree with the weapon theory." I gave a small shrug, not that it really mattered what I believed. What mattered right now was what we could do to stop the progression of age.
Kirk seemed satisfied with everything we were doing. "Good. I want you all to check out everything in your own departments... (Y/n), this case will top every other case you currently have until it is solved. Is that clear?" I gave an immediate yes, sir. "Allright. No matter how remote, how far-fetched the notion, I want it run down. We'll stay in orbit until we have the answer. Thank you."
With that we were dismissed and I was the first one out of the room. While I was testing the blood samples for toxins I was going to go over the sensor reports. Those would take me some time. From what I could already see Gamma Hydra four is just your round about conventional class M planet. One that consisted of an oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere, with a normal mass for a planet of this size.
There was a report in the astrophysics lab that held a comet in it. It was a rouge comet, but there wasn't much more information beyond that. All of this was standard fair and nothing important that Spock wouldn't have already spoken to the Captain about. By the end of the first day I had nothing to report and so I headed directly to Kirk's quarters.
Pressing the button I waited. "Come." The doors slid open as Kirk stood by his dresser in just his pants. I cleared my throat and looked to one of the walls. "Oh, (Y/n)... sorry, I wasn't expecting you. How can I help?"
My mouth felt a little dry but I spoke anyway. "Captain, I have my report. I just needed you to sign off on it. I couldn't find anything out of the ordinary and until I get a full report on the comet and radiation levels there isn't much more I can do." I felt him take the report from my hands and start to scribble on it.
I finally turned my attention to him, he finally had his shirt on. "I see. Well, thank you, (Y/n). If you don't mind me being nosy, what happened between yourself and Spock... things have seemed a little tense when the both of you are in the same room."
Shifting uncomfortably, I spoke. "He asked me out on a date, Captain."
Kirk nodded, seeming to want me to continue, when I didn't he turned his attention to me. "Well, how did it go. The date?"
Turning my eyes to the floor, I licked my lips. "I didn't go with him, sir. I told him to get out of my lab, and not go back. It was for the best, Captain. He is your first officer and shouldn't grow attached to me. It was illogical for him to even think such a relationship was possible."
Humming Kirk looked me in the eye. "(Y/n)... you're right. His feelings for you are illogical, but love is just that. It's not something that can be made sense of, only felt. Did you factor into your dismissal of his feelings, how you yourself felt about him?"
I frowned. "Captain, I can't feel anything. The circumstances that such feelings did occur with not only yourself but anyone else on the ship were extreme."
He tried a different approach. "Okay, explain to me how you felt when both you and Mr. Spock were dying of those single celled organisms."
Looking to his door I spoke. "I didn't feel anything, Captain. I felt angry and depressed under the influence of that flower. I felt panic and numb when Mr. Spock looked like he was killing you back on Vulcan. Nothing like love or attraction to the vulcan in question. I am a science officer aboard the USS Enterprise, serving under the command of Captain James T. Kirk. When you leave this ship, that will be my last day in Starfleet. After that I will work as a scientist on earth and work to create cures for all sorts of illnesses. There is no feeling involved in who I am, Captain. Perhaps you too, have gotten the wrong idea about me."
With that said, I turned on my heel and left his quarters. Feelings, such a highly volatile function is not something I need. What I need is to get back to work and solve this case. I need to concentrate on what I can do, science, not what I can't, emotions. When I got there, nurse Nevens told me that the last of the colonists died earlier. I thanked her before continuing in my research. Twenty plus year old people don't just die of old age, or for that matter age rapidly to the point they look old. There had to be something I was missing.
It was just a matter of what, and to find the answer... I was going to look over the readings again. I didn't get the chance as I was called by doctor McCoy to head down to Sickbay. Whatever it was, was definitely urgent. To my horror Scotty looked like he'd aged ten years and by the looks of the Captain, McCoy, and Galway were all aging quickly. The only person from the away team who wasn't was Checkov. He was still in tip-top shape.
I immediately took labs and readings from each of them before leaving for my lab. If it was affecting the crew, I needed to find a cure quickly. I also had the bridge send me a report from the away team. By the end of day two I had a lead. There was some radiation given off by the comet.
When I dug further into it I headed straight to the bridge. Spock was on his way down when he saw me. "(Y/n)... I didn't expect to see you on the bridge." I glanced away from him to the Captain's chair. While this did take precedence, I didn't like how I was feeling. Frustrated.... And scared. If I wasn't fast enough I was going to lose the four most important people to me.
Pushing my thoughts aside I spoke. "I can only imagine why, Mr. Spock. But as you can see, I have a report for the captain concerning the affliction." He nodded letting me pass him, only to follow me to the captains seat. "Captain?" He seemed to be asleep, so I gently touched his arm to rouse him.
He lifted his head and turned to look at me. He blinked as Spock moved in behind me. "Yes, (Y/n), I hope you come with some good news." I gave a small nod.
Hopefully this was something. "I'm not sure if it's necessarily good news sir, but I have some data concerning what might have caused the affliction." Taking a breath I spoke. "The orbit of Gamma Hydra four carried the planet directly through the trail of that rogue comet. In conventional radiation settings, there wasn't much to tell. But when I had them reset the sensors to the extreme low range of the scale showing the undetected radiation... It is below normal levels but it is present and undoubtable residue from the comet."
Kirk nodded. With that Kirk stood and we were going to head for Sickbay. He wanted to send a new message using code two... but it had been broken previously by the romulans. Which meant we needed to use code three. The problem was that he was forgetting things he had previously ordered, so the solution needed to be created quickly.
When we finally made it down to Sickbay, McCoy wasn't happy, but then, the man is almost never happy. "Radiation. Well, that's as good an answer as any, but why didn't we know about it earlier?"
I glanced to the floor. "I apologise doctor, I should have just run the sensors myself instead of going through others to gain the information. My... inadequacy has cost us valuable time and will not happen again. I will make sure to run tests myself in the future."
Spock didn't seem to agree. "I disagree. I was incharge of sensor readings so it is probably because my thinking processes are not as efficient as before." With that said I took my new samples and Kirk was going to head back to the bridge. I was going to take my leave as well, Spock remained as he had something to ask McCoy.
As we walked Kirk stopped as we rounded a corner. "(Y/n)... are you worried?" I paused in my stride to turn and glance at Kirk. Could I lie to him? Tell him that I wasn't when I was in fact extremely worried. About him, about McCoy, Scotty and Spock. What it implied if I were to admit such a thing?
Parting my lips, no noise left me for a few moments. "No sir, I wouldn't say I was worried, just thinking about my next steps. There are a lot of new tests to be run on the blood samples I've gathered from the landing party. This project takes precedence over anything else after all, your lives are counting on it after all."
He didn't really seem satisfied with my answer but let the subject drop. "Fine, but have you at least been getting rest." I gave a small nod, I was taking an hour nap while I waited for test results. Not that he really needed to know that. With a nod I watched him head into the elevator before heading down to my lab.
A few hours into my tests Spock came to my lab. "(Y/n), might I have a word?" At the time I had been leaning over my microscope with a dropper in hand. I was about to test a new solution on a blood sample to see what would happen. So, I ignored him and focused on getting my two drops into the petri dish.
Nothing. There was no reaction in the aging cells, so this one was a bust. "No, good. Serum 338.6 doesn't even slow the degeneration like 225.1. Maybe if I mix in 225.1 and 310.8 I might get better results." With a sigh I turned to Spock. "Commander, what can I do for you?"
He seemed a little interested in what I was doing but stood with his hands behind his back. "There is going to be a meeting concerning the captain and the most Senior officers. You've been asked to attend." To that I frowned.
I had a feeling about what had happened. "Is this about how he keeps forgetting things? Or giving orders twice? Because I'm against doing this. I understand the urgency, but I won't be part of it. Especially since I know Scotty, McCoy, and yourself won't be taking charge. I won't be working under the pencil pusher. Plus, I still have to work on this serum."Helping you take down our captain will set me back several hours that could be used to synthesize a cure."
With a small nod he left my lab. He knew I was right, time was of the essence after all. Once the doors closed I ran my fingers through my hair. I was really running out of time here. Perhaps it was about time I started over from the beginning. I moved to my computer to look up some info about old radiation remedies. I have to finish this before it gets too late, before anyone else dies of this affliction.
It was only a matter of hours before I would find out just how much time I could have. Especially with one of our own dying. I had to think faster, work harder, run more tests. I only have so much time to get a cure. I finally made one final double check over the landing report. I read it over and over again focusing on Checkov. There had to be something he did- there.
In the report it stated that he walked into the room of the deceased body and ran out white as a sheet. He was scared. Therefore, his adrenaline would have been floating through his veins at a much faster rate than the other party members. So if I can create a serum using the adrenaline... I have to get to McCoy.
Running down the halls I got into the elevator and headed directly for sickbay. Running past the open doors I called out. "Doctor... McCoy, by jove... I think... I've... got it." Spock, Kirk and McCoy were all in the room staring at me as I tried to catch my breath. "Adrenaline. Checkov was terrified when he saw the dead body. So his blood would have been chuck full of the stuff. If I remember correctly, after the atomic age... it was used for radiation sickness."
There was that woman from before, I hadn't seen her in the room. "Lieutenant, Hydronalin is the specific accepted for all radiation sickness." I rolled my eyes standing up straighter. What would she know? It was the only lead I had left.
With a frown I spoke. "This is my last shot. I've exhausted all other possibilities. If this doesn't work I will turn in my badge and never practice science again." I was serious. "While Hydronalin is now the accepted treatment, but before it was adrenaline. If you have any better suggestions that I haven't already tried, then by all means, try them."
Kirk nodded. Spock seemed to catch on to what I was saying. "Perhaps a sufficiently efficacious compound could be developed." I sighed in relief. At least someone understood and trusted my work.
McCoy was getting aggravated. "Well don't just stand there jawing, Spock. You, (Y/n) and dr. Wallace get cracking." With a nod I went to the lab we would be working in. This was delicate work and there would be no time to test it. It would work or it wouldn't. Either way, after this was over I was going to need a nap.
While spock started calculations occasionally confirming something with me, I set about making the formula. It got increasingly more difficult when we were attacked. That idiot pencil pusher drove us right into Romulan space. They had to restrain the captain to keep him from heading off to the bridge. Not that it would help much. When it was finally finished I took Spock's arm and the cure and walked out from the back.
I helped Spock get to the others as best as I was able with all of these explosions going abouts. "Doctor, make the necessary computations and produce this serum. It is crude and dangerous, but we have no time for refinements." Spock explained as McCoy sat up slightly.
He was ready to get this over with. "All right, let's... let's go."
I frowned while holding out the beaker. "Just so we're clear... this could cure or kill, doctor."
Impatience was still one of his best features. "Don't give me any Vulcan details, (Y/n). Just give me the shot."
Kirk wasn't having that. "No. I'll take the first shot." While I agreed with McCoy that he shouldn't be the one to take it we didn't have much of a choice. With the ship under attack, we needed Kirk back. Spock took the loaded hypo bit and handed it to Doctor Wallace. I could hardly watch when Kirk was in pain.
I had to close my eyes and look away. It felt like it lasted forever, his groans and screams. Yet, it worked. First the aging process stopped then, he slowly started to revert to his old self. I felt extremely relieved that as soon as Kirk sat up my legs gave out from under me. I felt Spock grip under my arm keeping me on my feet as my head hung low.
McCoys voice broke through to me as my eyes started drifting closed. "Nurse, get her into a bed, stat!" This was not what I had in mind when I thought about taking a nap.
(Spock POV)
(Y/n) looked away when the captain was given the serum, then he was someone of importance to her. So it was not a surprise to see relief flood her features slightly when the groans of pain stopped. It was a surprise on the other hand when she collapsed, I had to turn my full attention to her just to keep the both of us standing. Thankfully McCoy was quick into action.
When he noticed seconds after her collapse he called out to the nurse. "Nurse, get her into a bed, stat!" Once she was taken from my grasp I left her in McCoy's hands and headed up to the bridge with the captain. As it usually went, the captain caught the Romulans off guard and warped us out of harm's way.
Everyone was glad to see he was back to his old self. That was when McCoy came back. He was back to his old self as well. "You're looking good, Doc."
McCoy stepped down onto the main floor. "Feeling fine, so is Scotty. The serum worked. He pulled a muscle during the reaction, but otherwise he's feeling fine. (Y/n)'s just exhausted so I had a few men take her back to her quarters for some rest. She has been working on this serum since we got back. I can hardly blame her for collapsing like that."
Kirk nodded. "Glad to hear it, and you're right. She does deserve some rest. I'll make sure no one disturbs her for the rest of the day."
With that they both turned their attention to me. "Oh. Anytime you're ready, Mr. Spock."
To that I felt relieved. "I am quite ready now, Doctor."
He was going to make a big deal out of this. "Because of your Vulcan physique, I've prepared an extremely potent shot for you. However, I thought you might like to know that I've removed all the breakables from Sick Bay."
I just played along. "That is very considerate of you, Doctor." With that I followed him down to Sick Bay, ready as ever to be over with this. After I was back to normal I decided to pay a visit to (Y/n)'s quarters. The door opened for me automatically, leading into a dark room. I made my way in and walked to her bedside.
I know she rejected me, but seeing her like that... I had to check on her myself. She was sleeping on her side, still in her uniform. Her hair fell out of its tie and sprawled along the bed, yet she also seemed to have some sweat coating her brow. Her face crunched in discomfort. Kneeling down beside her I moved some hair from her face, only for her to groan. I paused in my actions to watch her. "Spock... Captain... don't... don't go, please. Don't leave me... like they did." While I wasn't sure what she meant by that, it would be better to put her mind at ease somehow.
Leaning closer to her ear I decided to whisper a few words. "We won't (Y/n), we'll all be just fine, you'll see. Someday you will forgive yourself and move on. Until then... I'll wait for you."