The invisible hand of death was coming for them, and for all of Archanis Station. With a deep sense of dread, she opened the vid link, the only way she dared address them. She’d seen the victims already, and she couldn’t risk it. She might be a dead woman walking, even with all the protective measures in play, and to sit with them could doom them all. At least over the link, she might spare them, at least for now, at least if it hadn’t already spread too far.

“Thank you all for joining on such short notice,” Captain Anna Vale began as she looked at the faces of Rear Admiral Alex Grayson and Captain Elsie Drake of Archanis Station, Fleet Captain Gérard Devreux and Commander James Henderson of the USS Polaris. The first three would be essential if they had any hope of containing it, and the last, the doctor from the Advanced Science, Technology and Research Activity, might be their only chance of saving everyone aboard the station. “We have a critical and rapidly developing situation, and time is of the essence.”

Sitting in his office, Rear Admiral Alex Grayson could see the fear on the face of the station’s Director of Medical Services. He’d never seen her like this before. “What’s going on, Anna?” he asked, his tone gentle and collected. As someone who’d seen far too many crises over his many decades of service, he knew the importance of projecting calm when others were the opposite. But what came next, even he wasn’t prepared for.

“At 0930 this morning, a patient arrived at one of our clinics complaining of dizziness, nausea, and fatigue,” Captain Vale began. “The patient rapidly deteriorated. By 1100 hours, they exhibited hemoptysis, epistaxis, and respiratory distress, and by 1230 hours, my staff was forced to induce coma as their body was overtaken by a generalized autoimmune storm. At this point, we didn’t think much of it as, out here on the frontier, we often see complications from xenoviruses and foreign hosts. But then a second patient arrived, and a third, and a fourth, each swiftly succumbing to the same aggressive autoimmune storm we’d seen in the first. By 1400 hours, the clinic on the promenade was swamped, and we began to see cases at our other facilities. And then the first labs came back.”

The captain projected a helical structure on the display, and Commander James Henderson let out an audible gasp. “Anna, are you certain about this?” It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her or what she was saying, just that he couldn’t believe it.

“I’m afraid so,” Captain Vale nodded grimly. “Because of the hyper-accelerated mutation it goes through once it takes hold in a host, and the fact we haven’t seen a case in a quarter century, it took my team some time to trace it back.”

“It can’t be,” Commander Henderson shook his head as his face went ghost white, flashing back to the final days of the Dominion War when, as the fleet raced for a showdown over Cardassia, he found himself fighting another enemy, one more terrifying than even the mighty Jem’Hadar. They never did defeat it then. Hundreds died, and then it just vanished without a trace as the Founders surrendered. “It just can’t be.”

“I’m sorry, but what are we talking about?” Fleet Captain Gérard Devreux asked, channeling what everyone without a medical degree was feeling.

“We are talking about a thing that even nightmares are terrified of,” Commander Henderson replied coldly. “The tiny, creeping death every young medical student hears about, but most believe to be nothing more than a ghost story, much like the boogeyman or Big Foot.” But he knew better. He’d seen it for himself, three decades ago.

“Yeah, still not following…” Captain Devreux grumbled.

Commander Henderson just turned back to his colleague from Archanis Station. “Anna, why your team even considered testing for this vector?” Part of what made the pathogen so effective was how, almost immediately upon taking hold of a host, it mutated to the point of being nearly unrecognizable unless you knew what to look for.

“Honestly, we got lucky,” Captain Vale admitted. “Out of an abundance of caution in light of the Lost Fleet’s return earlier this year, Doctor Ormid, our head of community care, updated our screening protocols to check for obscure vectors last seen during the War.” She hadn’t even known he’d done that until today, but thank god he had. Otherwise, it would have been days before they even knew what was creeping around their station, and by then, it would have been too late. Far too late.

“Doctors, please!” Rear Admiral Grayson interjected frustratedly. “From what you are saying – or rather, not saying – I gather we have a problem, but for the life of me, I still have no idea what that problem actually is or what we need to do about it.”

“We need to lock down the station immediately,” Captain Vale replied without another thought, not even an ounce of hesitation in her voice over such a bold declaration. “Full airborne vector quarantine protocols, no ships in, no ships out, all non-essential personnel sequestered to their quarters, and the use of distancing and clustering for all essential personnel.”

That was a huge step, an ask seldom made by a medical officer, and the assuredness with which she stated it sucked all the air out of the room. Was she serious? 

“Anna, what exactly are we talking about here?” Captain Drake finally asked warily.

“We’re talking about a bioweapon with no known cure, one that spreads like wildfire, through aerosols and fluids, and will render everyone it infects dead within a week,” Captain Vale replied darkly. “Even in the last hour, the number of cases have quadrupled, but soon, it won’t be our medical facilities that are overflowing. It’ll be our morgues.”

“Are you… are you certain?” Rear Admiral Grayson asked, stuttering for the first time any on the call could ever remember. He’d fought the Dominion and born witness to the tragedy of Mars firsthand, but this… this was new, even for him.

“I’m afraid she’s dead right,” Commander Henderson nodded, realizing his unfortunate choice of words only after he said them. “This virological vector was engineered by Dominion in what we always presumed was a last ditch attempt to defeat the Alpha Quadrant – except we beat them to it with a bioweapon of our own.” The fact Starfleet Intelligence had unleashed a morphogenic plague upon the Founders was one of the worst kept secrets in all of Starfleet, and in the doctor’s mind, it was also one of the most reprehensible.

“Doctor, how long does it take before it presents itself?” Captain Drake asked. 

“In all recorded cases, the symptoms start to show within forty eight hours, and that’s when it becomes detectable too,” Commander Henderson replied. “It is contagious shortly before that point, spreading through aerosols and other bodily fluids before the host knows something is wrong.” Simply being in close proximity was enough to doom you to death. “Its virulence is the only advantage we have, in that it works so fast that it will kill itself off if it can’t find a place to spread before it kills off all its hosts.” It was a sick way to look at it, but if they implemented a complete quarantine, and everyone eventually succumbed to the virus, it would die with them. Presumably, that was what happened during the War, and with the War then coming to an end, it was never reintroduced into another population to continue its work.

“Where could this have come from?” Captain Drake asked, her analytical mind already thinking through the security implications. “There are very few systems and starbases within three days’ journey, and if it’s as virulent as you say it is, it wouldn’t exactly travel much longer without someone becoming aware. Is it possible it was introduced here?”

“Possible?” Commander Henderson asked. “I would say probable.”

“I’ll get security digging into it right away,” Captain Drake offered.

“While he’s at it, I’m going to need his team’s assistance with contact tracing too,” Captain Vale interjected. “Typically, my staff would do it, but we’re going to be fully sequestered, both due to our risk of exposure and also the fact that, until this is over, we’re going to need every trained medical professional bedside, so I’m going to need some extra hands.”

“I’ll let Commander Eriksson know on both fronts,” Captain Drake confirmed, referencing the chief of station security. “And I’ll likely tie in Captain Kioshi’s guys too.” The intelligence chief might not like it, but it’d be far more useful than whatever it was he usually did.

“We also need to intercede as it relates to any ship that’s left the station in the last forty eight hours,” Commander Henderson jumped back in. “We can’t allow this to escape into broader society.” If it did, there was no telling how far it would go, and how many lives would be lost.

“I’ll handle that,” Rear Admiral Grayson offered. “We’ll recall them to a holding pattern outside the station, and I’ll have the Lincoln interdict any vessel that fails to comply.” Beyond stopping the spread, it would also ensure that, if the person who introduced it was trying to flee, they wouldn’t get away. “We’ll also need to notify Starfleet Medical and Fourth Fleet Operations.”

“Already done,” Commander Henderson reported, drawing surprised looks from the assembled command staff. “The moment I saw that helix, it was one simple message back to Command, and now all the balls are in motion.” Still, the others looked confused. Doctors did not usually just start calling admirals. “I don’t think you all are getting it. Why would I wait? There’s only one play, and there’s no time to delay.”

“Should we recall the Diligent as well?” Captain Drake asked. Fleet Admiral Reyes would just be arriving at Duraxis about now, but as the Director of the Advanced Science, Technology and Research Activity, it was possible she could be helpful.

“There’s nothing Allison can do to help,” Commander Henderson shook his head. “Except end up infected.” Better she stay at a distance for now, he figured. Someone would need to clean up the mess if none of them made it out the other side.

“I concur,” nodded Fleet Captain Devreux. As nice as it would have been to relinquish the big chair to her for this crisis, he knew she had a situation of her own to address, one that could be of galactic importance. He even debated whether he’d even notify her now, or if he’d keep her in the dark a little longer, just to ensure she didn’t flip back around.

“Well then, I suppose there’s only one thing left to do,” Rear Admiral Grayson said as he turned to address the group as a whole. He straightened his jacket, took a deep breath, and then made the call, the call that was only his to make: “As of this moment, I am ordering a full and complete quarantine of Archanis Station, and under the security directives of the United Federation of Planets, I am ordering the recall – and interdiction, if necessary – of any starship that has visited the station within the last forty eight hours. Captain Drake, make it so with all due haste.”

“It will be done,” Captain Drake nodded dutifully. “And if there’s nothing else, I’d like to drop to make it so.” It would take some time to effectuate the total and complete lockdown of their city in space.

“There are few matters I’d still like to discuss with the others,” Rear Admiral Grayson replied. “But none more important than the task before you. You’re good to drop.”

Captain Drake nodded and cut her link.

Rear Admiral Grayson then turned to the others on the display. “Captain Devreux, Doctor Henderson, what are you going to do about Polaris?”

“Members of our crew have visited the station so we’re undisputedly part of the quarantine,” Commander Henderson replied without waiting for Captain Devreux. “As far as any indications of infection, nothing so far though. I do recommend though that we institute a shelter-in-place for all non-essential activities to minimize the risk of spread if it has come aboard, and additionally, any crew currently visiting Archanis Station must remain there and not return to Polaris.”

“Agreed on all points,” Fleet Captain Devreux nodded, recognizing that, if it was as bad as the doctors were making it out to be, they might soon be sitting at a distance of several thousand kilometers, watching as every last living soul on the station, including some of his crew, wilted away and died. “Consider it done.”

“Doctor Henderson, I have a favor to ask,” Captain Vale then asked meekly.

“Anything, Anna,” Commander Henderson offered in a heartfelt tone. He knew what was coming, and he felt for her with all his heart. Soon, the bodies would begin to pile up, and then her staff would begin to succumb too. It would be only a matter of time. “Do you want me to send some of my staff over?” He knew, in his offer, he might be signing the death warrants of his own people, but they were healers. It was their duty, and his too. He would join them as well.

“That’s a kind offer, James, but absolutely not,” Captain Vale shook her head firmly. She was just as aware of what was coming as he was. “You and your teams, still healthy and not inundated with the sick and the dying, you are our best hope. Please… please… please do everything you can to find a cure before… before it comes for us all.”

“If it is in our power, we will,” Commander Henderson assured her, the promise of one healer to another. “You just worry about your people, and staying alive. We will coordinate with Starfleet Medical, the private labs, even foreign powers if they’re willing, anyone and everyone, and we’ll let you know the moment we have a thing. This is now our only priority.”