"Hallucinations Come in Waves"

Posted on 03 Jan 2026 @ 6:16pm by Lieutenant Commander Riah Amberlyn XMD

891 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: The Displaced
Location: Arawyn :: Bridge

// Bridge of Arawyn //

Riah stood at the Medical Station on the Bridge, watching the viewscreen. She’d seen the creature disappear and the changes in the rift from looking like a ragged angry laceration in the sky to something less inflamed, less hostile. Still unnatural, but a little more promising. She listened with one ear to the chatter between the Medic on Bridge duty, behind whom she stood, and the conversation between the Captain and the Aerians. The aliens’ life signs were being monitored for any anomalies or even just fluctuations and Sickbay was reporting that to the Medic.

When Captain Corbin began a personal dialog with Cmdr Batenburg, Riah dipped a little closer into that conversation.

“Helping them cross may destabilize the corridor,” Sabrina said aloud. “It may strand us. Refusing would leave them here, indefinitely. This is not interference with development. This is a question of whether we abandon someone we have already engaged.”

“An edge case,” Batenburg said quietly.

“Yes,” Sabrina agreed. “And edges are where command lives.”

Riah had no plans to be in command of a ship, but watching those with that huge responsibility was an example of leadership of which she did take advantage and could put to use in her own command, which also put people’s lives on the line.

But her reverie was cut short by a strange sensation of floating, as on ship on the ocean, an ocean of water. She instinctively reached for the back of the Medic’s seat, with only slight improvement in her stability. She shook her head and took a deeper breath of air. It was then she noticed a slight hum in her ears. As she was analyzing her experience, the Medic spoke, sounding a little slurred.

“Doctor, Dr McDavid is reporting a number of calls from around the ship of people losing their balance, being dizzy and nauseous. I’m feeling kind of odd myself,” said the Medic.

Riah tapped her comm badge. “McDavid, hold the fort down there. Something is happening here on the bridge too. Stand by.” Turning toward the Captain, she spoke, still slightly dizzy, but it was like waves, like an ocean. “Captain, Medical Report. We have people all over the ship reporting dizziness, disorientation and nausea. I’m feeling it myself. McDavid and Kim are investigating a treatment. I’ll keep you informed.”

“Thank you, Doctor. Carry on,” replied Corbin.

Riah turned her attention back to the medical screen, watching as McDavid’s analysis populated the screen, aligning details of the complaints, locations on the ship, time of the incidents. Clearly, Sorvak was obviously busy with monitoring and carrying out his orders regarding the rift stability. She contacted her Life Science colleague in the Science Department.

“Lt Remington, this is Amberlyn. We have complaints from crew members of dizziness and disorientation. Anything on your environmental data show release of toxins aboard this ship?”

“No Ma’am. Nothing on here. We are focused on the rift. I’ll inform you if anything shows up,” replied Remington.

“I’ll be standing by on the Bridge,” she replied and cleared that call to initiate one to Life Support, “Ensign Jenkins, this is Dr Amberlyn. Anything unusual on your readout for airborne toxins on the ship, or anything else that might account for people being dizzy, disoriented and nauseous?”

“No Ma’am, but Crewman Damiano just had to leave for the lavatory, sick as a dog. Thought it might be something she ate. But maybe not. I’m running a ship-wide diagnostic now.” There was a long pause. “Oooh, I feel it, Doctor,” reported Jenkins.

“Stand by.” She tapped her comm-badge again, “McDavid, we’ve got a problem for sure. Any luck on a cause? I’ve gotten nothing from Science or Life Support, but all report similar experiences.” The floor lifted her what felt like at least three feet up and set her down hard. She looked around the room and no one else seemed to be off-balance. The ship had not moved, she told herself. “McDavid?”

“Riah, I’m trying some anti-psychotic meds, Nardonidol, on the people who have shown up here in Sickbay. I’ve given Dr Kim a dose, as he was particularly affected. It seems to be helping them, but we need to distribute it to the whole ship,” said McDavid, stopping once in his statement to bite back the urge to vomit. “And I’ve got reports of people with full on visual hallucinations. They don’t seem to last long, related to the tendency of the condition to fluctuate, like waves.”

“Stand by,” she turned to the Command Team, “Captain, Commander, this psychosis and nausea is affecting people all over the ship. Science and Life Support report no evidence of toxic elements in their scans, but we do need to find out the cause. However, we need to get people back on their feet. I recommend we manufacture and distribute an anti-psychotic medication called Nardonidol, that seems to be working to curtail the symptoms. We can have Security personnel deliver it to all Departments, passing it out one dose per person to the members of the Department. Both Sickbays will have plenty for people who are coming in from off-duty.”

TBC ...
~~~
LtCmdr Riah Amberlyn, XMD
Chief Medical Officer
USS Arawyn

 

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