Fairwell, My Dear Captain

Posted on Mon Apr 15th, 2019 @ 10:33am by Lieutenant Sika EngD

Mission: Negotiations and Apothecaries
Location: Lt Sika's quarters
Timeline: Between race for the cure parts 2 and 3

ON:

Lieutenant Sika sat in his quarters with a PaDD in hand while he sat in chair with a view out into space. Whether it was just the empty blackness or the moments where the USS Wolff would take orbit above a planet or impulse its way through a asteroid belt, this was Sika's favorite spot. It was where he could be alone with his thoughts and finish Operations reports. It was not a report that Sika was working on this evening as his mug of tea sat beside him on a small table still steaming. The heading on the PaDD's screen would have been a give away had he been in the Wolff's lounge. The Last Will and Testament of Sika Nejal.

For too long the Bajoran had kept it in the dark, kept it in the shadows so that they wouldn't worry. He had been hoping for a cure, and one was on its way. He knew it was and it would save lives when it was ready, but it was not ready yet, and it was too late for Sika. A drop of blood trickled down his nostril accumulating at the crest of his top lip before dripping down splashing on the PaDD. He quickly brought his uniformed arm up and wiped it on the sleeve. He wasn't too concerned with blood stains on his uniform. It was too late for him. '...Bajorans are unaffected..' the words of the Wolff's Chief Medical Officer, and though there was truth to those words, there was a darker truth about Sika. Genetically speaking, his parents were Bajoran. However, Sika was not born by conventional means. He was created by scientific means at the hands of a Cardassian. As a child, Sika had been born with a rare disease which required blood transfusions, transfusions which were done with Cardassian blood.

He did not know the science behind it all, but when he started to come down with the virus, he stayed strong and determined to focus on keeping the starship running. He could not afford to by lying on his back in Sickbay. He determined that it was something with those blood transfusions as a child that had compromised his Bajoran immunity. It was ironic. He needed the blood of his enemies to live and ultimately the blood of his enemies that would later haunt him and drag him down to his grave.

Sika scrolled through the PaDD: “Dear Captain, it has been an honor serving with you. If you are reading this, it is because I have chosen my death so that others may live. You will have many questions about how I was compromised by the virus and all of the answers will reveal themselves in my autopsy and past medical files dating back to my birth, though those records are not held on Bajor; They exist and are probably held somewhere on Cardassia Prime. I started showing signs of the virus well before the briefing on the virus. At first I thought I was just stressed and tired, but as the symptoms started to rear their ugly heads, I understood that I had contracted the virus. Maybe I could have been saved. Maybe because I'm Bajoran it hasn't killed me as quickly. Maybe if I had gone to Sickbay we would be enjoying a cup of tea together arguing over the proper computer systems for the Wolff. I am sorry that I cannot provide you with a continued companionship, Operations Officer to Operations Officer.

This was my decision and my decision alone to make. I was hoping that it would not need to come to this. I was hoping the cure would arrive and I would then reveal myself as having contracted the virus. However, the hours glass of time runs short for me. Death is knocking at my door as I leave you this recorded data of my reasoning and my wishes. The cure is close. Another week or two or three perhaps even less, but the fact is that this cure needs to come sooner rather than later. It will take extra time to run simulations and improve the working formula before it may be safely tested on someone living and infected with this virus. The Physician's Oath of Do No Harm will put Doctor Polaris' arms behind her back. I have chosen my death so that others may live. Please remember these words for I do not want any of you to blame yourselves for my death. My blood is on my hands, not yours and not on Doctor Polaris'.

There will be reports in the morning of unauthorized entry into the medical labs. I distracted the medical staff on duty and broke into the lab where the anti-virus...the cure was being developed. I stole a vial of it and loaded the cocktail into a hypospray and pressed it against my skin releasing it into my bloodstream. I was dying anyways. Needless to say the cure isn't ready yet, but I do believe Doctor Polaris and Lieutenant Edwards are on the right path. I took a very lethal amount of the cure and I don't expect to live through the night. I probably have a few hours left before this virus or what I have put into my bloodstream kills me.

It has been my sincerest honor serving with you. Lieutenant Sika” recorded the Chief Operations Officer. “Computer, end log and delay publication...seven hours from now. Send to Captain Tigran” finished the Bajoran. There was now only one last matter of business before it all ended.