Constellations

An outbreak (Ivan)

It has been a couple of days since the scientists have found life and you are thinking about what it means for the mission. You are also concerned about Cassidy's cough but there is nothing you can do unless it gets worse. You understand that that line of thinking is for Lilly and Kelsey. You are glad that you only have to worry about things from a medical point of view. You are joined by Jay. A welcome distraction.

"Hello, Ivan I'm here for a check-up," He announces. At least you will have something to keep your mind off your current thoughts.

"Hello, Jay. Just sit there for me," You gesture to one of the beds. It's a good thing that they are all free. You get the feeling that they won't be free for long. You get some equipment to start Jay's physical. You wish that you could get Lilly or Kelsey to have one. It will probably be impossible right now with everything that is going on.

"So Doc what are your thoughts about the fact that the scientists found life this early in the mission?" Jay starts the conversation.

"Well, I am concerned that everything is happening so fast and without regard to what the microbe could be," You explain your views as you get to work on taking Jay's blood pressure. It is good for someone that has endured a six-month trip and had to adjust to less gravity.

"Your blood pressure is all normal," You say as you move on to the next thing. Five minutes later you are looking for Jay's file on the tablet. You are scrolling through all of the names. It doesn't take you long to find it. You fail to notice that Lilly has entered the sickbay.

"Tavares, Jay," you mumble to make sure you have the right records.

"Oh hello Lilly. What can I do for you?" you finally look up from the tablet. You quickly add your notes to the records. You also feel bad for not looking up sooner. You can tell that Lilly has to think about what she wants to say next. Hopefully, it's not about Cassidy but something tells you that you are going to be disappointed. 

"It's about Cassidy. Can you tell me if her cough is anything to worry about?" Lilly asks. You gesture for Jay to leave because you are done and you don't want him to hear what you have to say to Lilly.

"Well, all I can tell you is that if her condition gets worse she should come to me," You respond. You know she will come back. Hopefully, you can do something about it. Lilly is about to leave but she is stopped by Dane.

"Sorry Commander," Dane barges past her. He is supporting a collapsed Cassidy. You get to work on treating her. Lilly has disappeared in the commotion. You decide to ignore it.

"I'm going to have to intubate," You announce as you grab the equipment. You hope that it will keep Cassidy alive until you can think of something. You quickly finish the procedure but it is not enough. You get to work on reviving her but your efforts are in vain. Dane has left which is good. You use the comms system to warn the people that were working with Cassidy to isolate. Once you are finished you make the hard decision to seal off the sickbay so you can perform an autopsy. So much for seeing Roman. You draw some blood. You are suddenly overcome with a wave of dizziness. You decide to soldier on.

"еще нет (Not yet)," You utter in Russian. You also draw blood from yourself to make sure you don't have whatever caused Cassidy's untimely death. You are also hit by a wave of grief. Ten minutes later you have done all you can so you decide to brief Lilly on the situation. Like with the others you use the comms system.

"What can I do for you, Ivan?" Lilly asks. You can tell she wants good news but you only have bad news.

"It's Cassidy. I'm sorry commander, her condition deteriorated too quickly. I have ordered the others in the lab to isolate and I have quarantined the sickbay and the lab. Which means unless I can find out what went wrong I'm stuck in the sickbay" You regret to inform her.

"I'll let Huston know," she sounds defeated. The signal cuts out which means she is done talking to you. You get to work on some more tests. You can feel your chest closing. It means you have the same thing as Cassidy. Ten minutes later you have done all of the tests that you can. You are worried about the fact that you can hardly breathe. You start digging around for an asthma puffer to see if it will help. You find one and you use it. It barely works. You spot Roman and Lilly by the entrance to the sickbay.

"Hey, Commander, Roman," you manage to say between laboured breaths.

"I've also taken blood samples from Cassidy and I to do basic tests but all of them have turned up negative," You wish you had some good news. You feel guilty that you had to seal yourself from Roman but you would rather not risk it.

"I've asked the engineering team to make a makeshift lab so we can get to the bottom of things," Roman informs you. You sit down because you are overcome with a wave of guilt. Lilly whispers something into Roman's ear and she leaves. You decide the best cause of action is to make sure you can get enough oxygen.

"Hey, Ivan you remember when I came out and you said you weren't surprised?" Roman remarks as you get the mask on.

"Da?" You keep the response short. It is a little muffled.

"Why weren't you surprised?" He decides to get some answers about your relationship.

"Your look but I would rather not talk about it," You need to rest but something tells you it would be a good idea for him to question you. At least talking about stuff is keeping you from passing out. Roman lets out a little chuckle. You can tell that he is worried about you. You grab some of the testing equipment and some of the medication.

"Keep talking," You remark. It will keep your mind active whilst you search for a possible solution.

"Why did you want to go to Mars?" Roman asks. A question that you have to think about.

"Basically I found going to the ISS a bit stale. It was fun but one can only do so much there," You give the simple answer because it will take too long for you to tell him the full version. You are hit by the mother of all coughing fits. Roman springs to action but there is nothing he can do unless you release the seal.

"Ivan," He calls out. impatiently. Thirty seconds later you have recovered enough to continue the testing.

"I'll be alright," You try to reassure him. It doesn't work.

"Ivan, You have to let me in so I can help," Roman announces. This is going to be a hard one to explain.

"Roman I know it is selfish but I can't risk it," You stand firm in your position. You are soon distracted by one of the tests. You double-check the tube. It is promising.

"I'm going to try something ok," You start to look for the medication but you are soon overcome with another coughing fit. You try to recover but you can't. Roman can see it so he hot-wires the door control and he manages to break the seal. He grabs the medication and he carefully injects it.

"What the hell are you thinking," You remark as you pass out from a lack of oxygen. Two days later you have woken up to find Roman and Connor at your bedside.

"Thank goodness you are ok. As to what I was thinking. I couldn't stand the idea of my best friend dying on my watch," Roman answers your question. Connor quickly checks you over. Another hour later you have been dismissed by Connor. You are thinking about the fact that you couldn't save Cassidy but you were able to find a cure with the help of Roman. You hang your head as you head to the control room to look for Roman.

"Hey Ivan you know you saved the base," Lilly tries to cheer you up. She is right. You sigh.

"At what cost?" you just can't help but feeling bad for Cassidy. Losing patients is always hard but it is harder because you are so far away from everything that you are used to. You knew it was going to be tough on Mars for everyone.