Lieutenant JG Ollie Bergmen - All things may die. Even stars burn out…
CPT Arianus
(( Junior Officers Quarters - Deck 4 - USS Karnack ))
Only a dim glow from the emergency lighting flickered to life as he opened the door to his cabin. He pointed the flashlight at his wrist and directed its beam into the room to assess the state of the room. The sight that greeted him was disheartening, as his gaze was met with a state of disarray. The furniture lay overturned, some pieces broken, while personal belongings were scattered across the floor.
A fleeting sense of unease brushed against him, yet hardly lingered. He stepped inside and let the door close softly behind him, sealing off the outside world. As he stepped further in, he grasped the edge of the bed that leaned haphazardly against the wall, turned it over, and sat on the mattress. He felt the weight of the medical tricorder in his pocket, which he had taken from the sickbay - and took it out, flipped it open, even though he already knew what the data would show him. He felt that chill creeping inside him, spreading like a creeping tangle. His fingertips, once responsive and nimble, now felt numb and foreign, as if they belonged to someone else entirely.
The week spent on the surface of Callis took a toll on his body. And the tricorder display confirmed what he feared the most. He set the tricorder aside with a soft click as he closed it and approached his cabinet. He tried to open the door, but it didn't budge, stuck in the frame. In a fit of anger, he struck out at them a few times, but it only left him feeling more drained and frustrated, accomplishing nothing. He came back and sat on the bed, trying to figure out what to do next. Thinking helped him calm down. He swept his gaze across the room, illuminating every corner with the light from his wrist. The twisted chair caught his eye. Despite his weakness in his arms, he took a deep breath and grasped the chair, using it to lever against the stubborn lock on the cabinet until the door popped open.
His clothes fell to the ground as he rummaged through the contents inside. But he found it. The durable carrying case, black and unmarked, ended up on the bed with him as he slowly unzipped and opened it. A surge of hope gripped upon him, but that flicker faded like smoke as his eyes landed on what was inside the case. Disarray. Most of the capsules were shattered, their contents spilling out, mingling with the case's fabric. Just two survived, the third cracked, with less than half of the dose still inside.
Two and a half doses. A couple of days at the best. Carefully, Ollie picked up one of the intact capsules and loaded it into the injector. Firmly pressing the device against his neck, he took a deep breath and activated the mechanism. As the potent substance rushed into his bloodstream, an overwhelming wave of exhaustion crashed over him. He staggered backwards and collapsed onto the bed, his body sinking into the soft embrace of the mattress. His eyelids felt heavy as he gradually slipped into the comforting embrace of healing sleep.
TBC
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Lieutenant JG Ollie Bergmen
Operations Officer
U.S.S. Artemis-A
A240009JC1