Lieutenant junior grade Zirana Liaji sat with her legs crossed tightly in front of her. Her brown eyes were closed, her lips pursed. Her mind was centered on a mantra taught to her by her former yoga instructor. In the background, soft string music played.
Zirana had been practicing yoga for several years and had become quite adept at it. Since working with many species other than those on tranquil Betazed, she learned to relax using the ancient Earth custom from a colleague at the Academy. Her colleague was a Vulcan chemist who constantly practiced both his own heritage and human relaxation techniques. She preferred the human. Currently, her mind was in fact at rest.
As she gathered air and began the mantra again, her mind was assaulted. Her stomach became nauseous, and her eyes jerked open. She struggled for air, staggering to her feet. Her hands reached up and massaged her temples.
Another surge unbalanced her and she knocked a water pitcher off the table, cutting her skin. As quickly as it started, it finished. She took a moment to revive herself from the vertigo and grabbed a towel to stop the bleeding. She applied even pressure to the wound as she walked out of her quarters.
Sickbay was quiet at the late hour, and the Chief Medical Officer was quietly overseeing medical records. He finished patching up Ensign Combata, who managed to get his finger stuck in an access port to an isolinear console.
His mind wandered as he read the medical diagnosis. His quest to search for his true identity was always on the back of his mind. Sometimes it popped out to visit the front, distracting him when he was alone. He set down the PADD when the ship's counselor entered sickbay.
"Good evening counselor, a late evening for you?" He walked closer and noticed the towel.
Zirana smiled nervously, "I was attacked by a water pitcher."
Redinium picked up a tricorder and slowly pulled the towel away from the wound. Shards of glass were still imbedded in her hand, "Let's see what we can do about that." He reached for a pain reliever and injected it into her forearm.
Almost instantaneously the pain dulled. The Counselor smiled more solidly.
The doctor escorted the Betazoid to a chair as he grabbed a dermal regenerator. He carefully and skillfully cleaned the wound. With a slight hum from the regenerator, the cut nearly vanished.
"You might find it a little difficult to bend the hand for a few hours, but it will heal." He set the instrument down.
Zirana nodded, "Thank you."
The doctor continued, "Can I ask how this happened? It seems this evening the Hornet is experiencing a wave of hand injuries." Zirana looked confused and the doctor explained Ensign Combata's dilemma.
The Counselor flexed her delicate hands, "I have been experiencing a sense of vertigo ever since we arrived in orbit around Nipron II." She took a staggering breath. "I cannot explain why, but I feel nauseous, and this time lost my balance."
The doctor opened his tricorder, "It appears you have heightened levels of psytocyline." From her biological psychology course, Zirana knew this was the neurotransmitter present in Betazoids that gave them the gift of telepathy.
"How many times has this happened?" The doctor continued to run scans on the counselor.
Counselor Liaji thought for a moment, "It has happened twice before." She paused and then added, "Though not as powerful."
"It could be a coincidence that the episodes have occurred at the same time as approaching the planet." He walked to a cabinet and pulled out a hypospray, "Just to be sure, I am going to give you this hypospray." He handed the medication distributor to her. "If you feel a sense of vertigo it should help. We also should report this if it happens again."
She nodded thankfully.
Walking out of sickbay the counselor felt renewed energy. She decided to visit the bridge. It had been some time since she watched the crew in action. It was an important part of her assignment to monitor the psychological and social interactions of the crew both on and off duty. She was also concerned about the away teams. It was something most felt when fellow crew were walking into new territory.
The turbolift shut as she turned around, "Bridge."
The bridge was relatively quiet. Captain Lataro was in command. The other senior officers on the sleek command center included David McAllister and Dreke. The Counselor walked confidently out of the turbolift and headed toward the science station. As she stepped onto the bridge the Captain turned towards her. His emotions did not show on his face. She chose not to probe into his personal thoughts.
When she first met Jonathan Lataro she immediately received a strong impression from him. His instincts, almost primal were covered by grief for the loss of his family. She could tell he learned powerful techniques for controlling his powerful personality. She had yet to have a formal meeting with him, but it was on the top of her agenda.
He nodded slowly to acknowledge her presence, "Counselor."
She stopped, "Captain." With the return she continued to the science station. Some late night reading on the bridge might help keep her mind focused off the vertigo.