Off: By order of Commander Tolbin and the United Federation of Planets, I have been asked to post a farewell to Ensign J'Dar, who recently resigned his commission due to time constraints. We wish him the best. Sorry if I step on toes here, but to fit J'Dar's exit into the Mindstorm storyline, I think I need to place the Doctors who are making their rounds. On: Location: the Shuttlecraft INGOLDO: "Ouch!" :: Electric fire in the cabin :: (I have to get out of here.) :: He drags himself out through the broken door and runs from the burning wreck. As he reaches a safe distance and behind some large rocks, the shuttle explodes. :: INGOLDO: :: He begins to feel his body after the initial shock. :: (My arm must be broken...possibly some ribs.) :: He groans and passes out from the pain. :: Location: Excalibur :: As Excalibur effects repairs while speeding to Ensign Ingoldo's rescue... Drs. Fredericks and Kelly, each making rounds on each deck of the ship, happen to meet on Deck 8. :: DR. FREDERICKS: What progress have you made, Doctor? DR. KELLY: I've covered Decks 15 through 9. We have bumps and bruises everywhere, and I've treated some fractures. DR. FREDERICKS: I've covered Decks 1 through 7, and there are similar injuries there. I'm just about to go back to check on our Counselor; I left the Captain on the bridge with a head injury. Do you have a moment to check in on him? DR. KELLY: Certainly. :: They part ways, and we follow Dr. Kelly... The closest manual access to the Bridge is from another section of Deck 8, so she proceeds to that section and begins the long crawl through Jeffreys tubes & 7 flights up a connecting shaft. :: At about Deck 5, she begins to hear a strange sound‹like someone plunkering on piano keys. As she passes Deck 4, the noise gets louder, and by the time she reaches Deck 3, it's loud enough for her to know it's too unusual to be ignored... she must find out what that noise is. Making her way on another crawl through another Jeffreys tube (she hopes the Captain can wait long enough for her to investigate a potential problem), she notices she's getting further from the sound, but she can still hear it. It's rhythmic, < about 4 beats to a measure? > she kids herself. :: On exiting the Jeffreys tube, she follows the still audible sound to control room for Shuttle Bay 2, and enters. Inside, Ensign J'Dar is at his station, suffering over hiccups! Each hiccup causes his skin to turn translucent momentarily, then it returns to opaque. An additional, and perhaps more serious, effect is the ballooning symptom. Each hiccup causes J'Dar's shape to balloon outward from his very large, 7'9" size to be even larger, as though one of the old-style air bags they used to put into cars were deploying, but as soon as each hiccup is over, so is each ballooning effect. Dr. Kelly almost laughs at the comical, cartoon-like appearance of J'Dar in this state, but resists the urge for his sake. :: DR. KELLY: Try to relax Ensign. < thinking perhaps his condition is caused by the trauma of Excalibur's recent events > :: Dr. Kelly accesses the Hydroian database on her medical tricorder, and scans Ensign J'Dar. She is surprised by what she finds, but she wants to keep her findings from J'Dar for now. She applies a hypo to his neck. :: DR. KELLY: Come to J'DAR: DR. KELLY: Sick Bay when your duties J'DAR: DR. KELLY: permit, Ensign. I'd like to J'DAR: DR. KELLY: do a more detailed J'DAR: DR. KELLY: workup on you. :: Kelly returns on her route to the Bridge. :: Location: Bridge DR. KELLY: Captain! Dr. Fredericks said you had a head injury. I didn't expect you to be up and about. You should rest until we can fully examine‹ McCLOUD: I'll be fine, Doctor. Examinations can wait. Ensign Ingoldo needs our help right now. DR. KELLY: Ensign J'Dar also needs our help, Captain. Very much so! McCLOUD: What's up? DR. KELLY: It seems that while most Hydroians are able to get the phosphorus content they need from the air they breathe on Hydroia, Excalibur doesn't have an atmosphere that can provide the breathable phosphorus Ensign J'Dar needs. Right now he's having a severe attack of the hiccups! They've completely incapacitated him. McCLOUD: Why would he be posted on a ship that can't support his species? DR. KELLY: I wondered that too on my way here, but then I remembered reading his profile. He had such high hopes... He wanted to succeed in Starfleet, no matter what. While attending the Academy, he saw to his phosphorus needs through the use of special cigarettes that he consumed out of doors. Of course, here on the Excalibur, smoking isn't possible. McCLOUD: He'd be an immediate target for the fire extinguishing system! So, we must consider J'Dar unfit for duty then. It's a shame; I expected him to do great things here. It's possible to travel from here to Hydroia by shuttle; we'll have to prepare a shuttle for him to use to get home. It will need to be filled with whatever atmosphere he needs for the trip, and we'll have to transport him into the shuttle. Computer, assign Shuttlecraft 3 to Ensign J'Dar for extended loan. COMPUTER: Acknowledged. McLOUD: We're really short on staff, right now. Doctor, you may give the craft whatever atmosphere Ensign J'Dar needs. Once he is transported aboard the shuttle, he can set course for Hydroia. Have him contact the bridge when he's ready. When we've completed this mission, we'll retrieve the shuttle. DR. KELLY: Aye, Sir. Location: Shuttle Bay 2 :: J'Dar's "ballooning" has become more pronounced‹his enhanced frame now fills the control room. He continues to hiccup large then larger, much larger... :: DR: KELLY: Computer, flood all compartments of Shuttlecraft 3 with 40% phosphorus, 30% nitrogen, 15% oxygen, 10% hydrogen & 5% helium. COMPUTER: Flooding complete. :: Ballooning effect still increasing, J'Dar can't control his movements. He begins to bounce the way a helium-filled ballon would gently bounce from wall to floor to ceiling, then over the control room partition, then floating ever so lightly down. His floating speed clicks on and off with each hiccup‹one moment he appears normal falling normally, then he hiccups and he balloons and a draft from somewhere catches him and he drifts upward again. Finally, he reaches the floor of the shuttle bay. :: DR. KELLY: Computer, transport Ensign J'Dar directly into Shuttlecraft 3. :: J'Dar dematerializes from the floor and rematerializes in the shuttle, but he's still ballooning, so he must be still hiccupping. Kelly places both her hands on the front glass of the shuttle, and yells as loud as she can to J'Dar...: DR. KELLY: Ensign! Breathe deeply! Deeply! :: J'Dar does so, and begins to return to normal. He can now finally relax. He activates communications from the shuttle's console. :: J'DAR: Thank you! Many thanks! :: Dr. Kelly beams brightly. :: DR. KELLY: You're very welcome, Ensign. When you started to have hiccups, why didn't you come to Sick Bay? J'DAR: I hoped it was a passing thing (as hiccups tend to be) then we've been so busy on this mission... by the time I wanted to get myself some help I couldn't control myself. DR. KELLY: We'd hoped to keep you aboard Excalibur, but not at expense of your health. The Captain tells me to tell you to set course for home. He says when this mission is over, we'll pick up the shuttle on Hydroia. Is that agreeable with you, Ensign? J'DAR: Yes, Doctor. DR. KELLY: Let the Bridge know when you're ready to disembark. J'DAR: Aye. Location: The Bridge. All healthy senior officers present. J'DAR: J'Dar to the Bridge. McCLOUD: On screen. :: The image of J'Dar at the shuttle's controls appears on the main viewer. :: J'DAR: Sorry for trouble, Sir. Will keep shuttlecraft in same condition for you. McCLOUD: We're just glad you're feeling better, J'Dar. We look forward to hearing where life takes you. :: J'Dar waves, and all who currently staff the Bridge wave back. Then the screen view switches from cabin view to the shuttle's exterior view. The shuttle does an about-face, and speeds toward Hydroia. Excalibur continues on-course for Memory Alpha. :: Off: Dr. Fredericks, hope you have time for a post soon... looks like I've enlisted you to check up on our Counselor... she needs your medical expertise! :) Ensign Beth Koptuka Astrometrics Specialist USS Excalibur NCC-2997