Subject: Grail: "Unexplored Spaces" - "The sun is rising..."

(continued from "Hopeless")

Oku Ramin woke up. Same old SickBay, but a noise into his comm badge

(which he didn't want to take off) came as he gained consciousness:

"... again, due to a viral contamination, a `General Quarters' order is

immediately in effect. Your cooperation is required and your patience

appreciated. Thank you. Captain Terrakian out."

Oku felt relieved. He knew that the spreading of that bacteria was about

to be contained. He remembered from his studies of Medical History the

AIDS epidemic on Earth in the late 20th and early 21st Century.

Prevention and avoidance was the main weapon against it. Even the "No

Sex" movement in year 2007 couldn't do as much as prevention did for

more than 25 years until the cure was found. He also remembered the

Thairian Gobla virus, which infected through airborne sprays (i.e. from

mouth and membranes through the air by talking or coughing), and the

campaign of soft tissue masks made 92% of the decrease of infection

rates. Also to his mind, the Orionii Tuiberculosis and such other

memorable epidemics with the same pattern.=20

He felt his deed was, at least, beginning to prosper. That a Starfleet

Captain had heard him. Never, even when Capt. Toroio was in command of

the USS Fortress and was confident in Oku (until the incident which

brought him into disgrace) someone heard him as Capt. Terrakian. He

thought he was beginning to "clean" his past with new deeds.

He decided to check himself. He stood up, noticing he could stand up as

usually, and took his med tricorder. He scanned himself, finding that

the infection had remitted down to 0,2%. But, it was still there. The

wounds were not there, also. He felt new, healthy again. Just a little

dizzy due to the long rest period and lying position. He looked around.

Alpha shift was as usually and one of the nurses looked at him. She

smilked to Oku like saying "Oh, you're well, fine!". Oku returned the

smile with another one, brighter and wider. So wide that the nurse

immediately called the whole Dr. Ramius's staff to watch. Everyone

smiled at Oku. Oku ruborized. But then he walked through the room to Dr.

Ramius's office.

(to be continued)