Title: Star Trek-Infinity: The Rot(MISC) 
Author: Charles Rando (trando@worldnet.att.net) 
Series: MISC 
Rating: [PG] 
Part: NEW 1/2 
Disclaimer: Paramount owns the characters in The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, and Peter David owns the Selelvian race (see his book, Strike Zone). I'd like to think that the characters I've invented and the story are mine. :-) 
Summary: Doctor Calabretta receives a message from an old friend... an old friend who is dying of a mysterious illness. Now Calabretta must rush to save her before both the Federation and Counselor Kassal lose someone very important. 

PROLOGUE
Doctor Matthew Calabretta scrolled through the PADD in his hand for the fourth time. The news was so incredible, he could hardly believe his eyes... his wife was coming home.
Well, not yet. The U.S.S. Berlin was still so far out of Federation space that it would take months for the ship to return, but the fact that it would be coming home six months earlier than expected!
They had already planned their lives together after the Berlin's five year mission was up. Jenne had wanted to go on one last jaunt across the galaxy before she retired from Starfleet... and then she'd be joining him on the Infinity. For the first time in four years, they'd be together again!
He had to read the letter again to insure its authenticity... it was, in fact, completely genuine. He knew it would be, but even after living more than seventy years, he still knew how to enjoy life when something good happened. What a way to start the day! To wake up and discover that your wife was coming home! He was still chuckling to himself when the call from the bridge came in. 
"Calabretta here," he replied, his good mood surely reverberating across the comm. line.
"Message for you, sir," came the voice of Lieutenant Chris Johnson. "It's marked for your eyes only... should I patch it through to your quarters?"
"Yes yes," Calabretta replied, still a bit distracted by the PADD. She was coming home! She was.....
"Matthew."
Calabretta's head snapped up at the mention of his name. There on the console on his table was a familiar looking face... one he hadn't seen in a long time. But before he could answer, the woman continued... indicating that this message was just a recording, and not the person herself.
"I need your help, Matthew. Two days ago, I was diagnosed with an unknown illness. They aren't sure what it is yet, but they think it might be fatal."
Calabretta blinked. No, he must've heard that wrong. That wasn't possible... not her... not today.
"In a little while, your ship will be receiving orders to journey to the homeworld. Apparently, Starfleet Command doesn't want to lose me... and when they asked me who I wanted to treat me, who I thought might be able to cure me, I mentioned your name. I hope I wasn't too presumptuous, but I've seen your abilities. You've done so much for myself and my family already... I need you at my side one more time. And believe me, I would have much preferred to ask for your assistance, but Starfleet Command didn't want to wait."
The woman sighed. "That's it, I suppose. I'll see you in a few days, barring any major disasters. Until then...." And she was gone.
Calabretta sat back in his chair. How ironic that one morning could bring you two messages that we so completely different. His good mood had been effectively tempered. It was time to get down to business.
He stood, exited his quarters and went to find Doctor McDonald.
******************************************************
Counselor Sonja Kassal put her lips together... and blew.
Crisply, she belted out the musical etude, her French horn buzzing with each note. She had played this tune ever since she had first picked up the instrument; it was still one of her favorites. So cheerful, so happy, so bright, so...
*Sonja!*
The shock of hearing her name when there was no one around almost made Kassal drop the French horn. There were enough dents in the thing from all the times she had accidentally dropped it... she didn't want to add another. Slowly, she put the French horn down on the floor beside her, and concentrated on the voice she had just heard.
*Sonja....*
Again, there it was. And Sonja could recognize that voice anywhere.
She raced out of the room.
******************************************************
"And so he says, 'The gorilla can stay, but the clown in the Ferengi suit has to go."
Captain Charles Rando looked around expectantly. He looked around expectantly again.
"It was a... nice try, Captain," Lieutenant Evan Remley said.
"Maybe I told it wrong," Rando admitted.
"Could be it just wasn't funny," Ensign Marit Kynten offered from the helm. At tactical, Remley snickered.
"Oh?" Rando responded. "And perhaps you'd like to teach me what funny is?"
"Gladly, sir," the Bajoran replied, turning her chair around to face the rest of the bridge. "A Tellarite, a Klingon and a Borg walk into a bar."
"You'd think one of 'em would've seen it," Lieutenant Johnson interjected from OPS. Marit glared at him.
"ANYWAY... a Tellarite, a Klingon and a Borg walk into a bar...."
"Captain! I must speak with you at once!"
Rando turned at the sudden arrival of Counselor Kassal to the bridge. Marit scowled and turned back to face her console... her joke would have to wait. "What is it, Sonja?" Rando asked.
"In private," Kassal blurted out, and headed for the Captain's ready room. After sharing a glance with Lieutenant Remley behind him, Rando followed.
"You have the bridge, Evan," he said, entering the ready room. The doors slid shut behind him.
"We have to do something, Charlie! We have to do something now! Please, set a course for Serrus! She NEEDS me!" Kassal exclaimed as soon as Rando entered the room. Her pacing back and forth was indicative of her agitated state.
Rando grabbed the Selelvian by the shoulders and held her still. "Slow down, Sonja. Now tell me... who needs you? What's wrong?"
Kassal took a deep breath, obviously trying to regain her self control and failing miserably. "My mother... she called out to me. I could hear her voice in my thoughts... she's in pain, and she needs me! Please! We must set course for Serrus!"
Rando nodded with understanding. Now he knew just why Sonja was so upset. "All right," he told her, leading her to his desk and sitting her down in his chair. "I'll contact Serrus and find out if something's wrong with your mother."
"No!" Sonja protested, but Rando kept her seated. "We have to go there now! She needs me!"
Rando looked into her eyes. "Sonja, you know that I'm not one to doubt you. Your instincts have proven right ninety-nice percent of the time... now I need you to trust me. Let me check with Serrus first, just to make sure. It won't take long, and if there is nothing wrong, it'll save us a long trip. Okay?"
After a few seconds, Kassal nodded her assent. Rando moved to the console on his desk and prepared to open a channel to Serrus, where Mrs. Christina Kassal served as Ambassador to the Federation. "Captain," came Lieutenant Remley's voice over the comm. line. "We've just received word from the Federation Council. Priority one. We have to change our course and head for..."
"Serrus, yes I know," Rando said, looking at Kassal. He felt what she felt... this sudden change in heading was somehow related to Sonja's mother.
"No sir," Remley replied crisply. "We're to head at maximum warp to Selelvia."
"We're going WHERE?" Sonja demanded. Her face had an expression of pure terror on it. She had been right... her mother did need her... but there was something else too. Then, as quickly as it appeared, the terror on her face was gone. She composed herself in an instant, took a deep breath and said, "Thank you, Captain." And with that, she turned and left.
Rando watched her go with something akin to confusion, and then shook his head. Right now, he had a ship to run. He tapped his comm. badge. "Ensign Marit, set course for Selelvia. Maximum warp."
CHAPTER ONE
The Infinity entered orbit around the planet Selelvia two days after Doctor Calabretta first received word of Ambassador Kassal's illness. Calabretta had organized his equipment long before the ship had even dropped out of warp, and he now stood in the transporter room, waiting for Captain Rando to give him permission to beam down to the surface. Doctor McDonald had wished him luck, and had promised to contact him if she had any incredible breakthroughs. Incredible breakthroughs... even after days of looking over the scans he had received with Mrs. Kassal message, he still had no clue where to even begin. 
Finally, the call came, interrupting the CMO's thoughts. "Rando to Calabretta."
"Calabretta here, sir," the doctor replied quickly and smartly. "I'm in transporter room one, ready to go, sir."
"We've just received the coordinates for your beam in, Doctor. The healers at Kylia Center are anxious to start working with you," Rando said. "Good luck down there, Doctor."
"Thank you, Captain." Calabretta tapped his comm. badge to close the channel before gathering his assorted duffel bags and stepping up onto the transporter pad. He looked at the transporter chief, indicating that he was ready. A second later, he felt the beam whisk him away.
He rematerialized in a bright, white room. It was small, but every wall was covered inside and out with a twisting, growing vine of some sort that gave the illusion that the room was larger than it appeared. Looking up, Calabretta could see why the room was so bright... the ceiling was made completely out of glass. 
"Doctor Calabretta?" he heard a voice say. Calabretta brought his attention to the four Selelvians standing in front of him. Each was tall and slender, with bright eyes and a look of joviality across their faces. The one who had spoken had a tuft of red hair on his head that was closely cropped around his pointed ears. "I am Healer Timain. We welcome you to Selelvia, and to our medical facility."
"I just wish the circumstances of my visit were different," Calabretta replied, "but I am honored to be here." Calabretta noticed the other man, the one with blond hair, staring at him. The man had a smile on his face, typical of the Selelvian race, but Calabretta couldn't help but notice something in the man's demeanor that made him feel unwanted.
Timain turned and indicated the other Healers with him, starting first with a woman with long blonde hair, much like the Counselor's. "This is Healer Brendai. She has spent her career researching and identifying hundreds of new viruses and diseases." He moved next to a darker haired woman beside her. "This is Healer Kara. Her expertise lays in synthesizing antibodies to common viruses. Her work has resulted in the eradication of three viruses in the last five years." Finally, Timain moved to the blond haired man whose attention had been focused on the Merlin. "And this is Healer Bren. He has been Christina's personal healer for over five years."
Calabretta looked over the four elfin faces. His eyes met Bren's. "With each of you here, I'm surprised you need me at all."
Bren flashed Calabretta another look, one that hinted if he had his way, the Merlin wouldn't be there at all. "Christina requested your presence here, Doctor. I'm certain she had a good reason for that. Now, if you'll follow us, we'll take you to her."
Calabretta didn't respond, but nodded instead and let the Selelvian healers lead him away. Maybe Bren didn't think an off-worlder would be as familiar with Selelvians, especially Ambassador Kassal, as he would be. Maybe Bren was judging Calabretta's abilities solely based on his youthful Merlin appearance. Either way, Calabretta was determined to prove the Healer wrong and save the life of his friend.
******************************************************
Captain Rando stood outside Counselor Kassal's quarters and rang the chime again. No response, just like when he'd called her from the bridge to let her know they had arrived at Selelvia. He pressed the page button and said, "Sonja, it's me... can I come in?" Still, no response.
For the last two days, Rando had basically left Kassal alone with her thoughts. There would be the standard greeting whenever one of them came on the bridge and found the other there, but Rando had concluded that his counselor would appreciate the time alone. Now, of course, he had no idea where she was. He slapped his forehead... why hadn't he done that before he'd come all the way down here?
"Computer, locate Sonja Kassal," Rando ordered, feeling a bit stupid. All of this twenty-fourth century technology at his disposal, and he'd forgotten all about it.
"Counselor Sonja Kassal is in holodeck one," the computer replied.
A few minutes later, Rando stood outside holodeck one. There was no lockout code, which was why he finally allowed himself to enter her program without permission. Something was wrong with her, and if it screwed her up enough that she forgot to activate a lockout code for privacy... Rando didn't want to finish that thought.
The holodeck doors opened to reveal the greenest field Rando had ever seen. Nothing on Earth compared to it... the colors of the grass and the trees for so vivid... so alive... Rando could hardly believe he was on the holodeck. Then he realized that this program must have been simply a simulation... no planet could be THIS green!
He found Sonja sitting up in a very strong and very old looking elm tree. A memory of Sonja's double from that alternate Earth, Dream was her name, flashed through Rando's mind. He wondered if Sonja had picked up the tree sitting from her double. Then he remembered all the times she'd scurried up a tree in Boothby's arboretum back at the Academy. Rando had tried once or twice, but had never been able to fully get over his fear of heights. No, he told himself, it's not the heights I'm afraid of... it's hitting the ground after falling from way up there.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asked just as he arrived at the base of the tree. He was about to ask how she had known he was coming considering she was staring off in the opposite direction, but then he realized that even without her telepathic powers, she would have known. She was in nature, or at least a replica of it... she was literally in her element here.
"Yes it is," he told her, looking up the tree. "I've never seen a world THIS colorful before."
"I have," she said with a hint of sadness. She hopped down from the tree, landing lightly beside him. "This," she said with a sweeping gesture, "this is my home."
Rando blinked. "You mean Selelvia?" he asked. "I've seen pictures of Selelvia... particularly the Great Forest... but nothing that looked like this! I mean, this place is incredible!"
A small smile appeared on Sonja's sad face. One of the things that had drawn her to Rando in the first place was his love and appreciation of nature. She could tell that he really could appreciate the beauty represented in this simulation. "What you're seeing here... no longer exists," she told him softly. "This is how Selelvia looked almost fifty years ago. I've never actually seen it, but my mother made me this program based on her own memories and old recordings. She insists that it's quite... accurate." She fell silent.
Rando shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry about your mother," he told her. "Matthew's down on the planet right now. That's why I came to find you... we're in orbit of Selelvia."
Kassal sighed, a sound filled with fear, pain, frustration, sorrow. "I... I wish my mother hadn't gone home," she finally whispered.
Rando looked at her with surprise. "Why?" he asked. He was completely confused now. Everything he had heard from Sonja about Selelvia had been full of praise... why didn't she want to go home?
"It's... it's just hard for me," she started to say, tears beginning to trickle down her face. "It's so hard.... I... I... why do they both have to DIE?!" she shouted, her voice carrying all over the open field. She fell to the ground sobbing. Rando tried putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder, but she shook him off. "I don't want your pity!" she hissed at him, her eyes suddenly very cold. "I'll deal with this myself... you don't know what it's like... what it's like...."
"To have someone close to you die?" Rando finished for her, overlooking her emotional outburst. It had been extreme, especially for Sonja Kassal, but considering the situation.... He looked her in her eyes. "Actually, I do know what that's like. I've had people close to me die... family, friends. I lost my first away team, a lost a slew of people to the Borg," his voice began to harden with emotion, "... and I almost lost you, damn it! I just got lucky enough that you weren't taken away forever!" He steadied himself. He had to maintain the right balance here, or else she might go off again. He crouched down next to her. "But I don't know what it's like for you, Sonja. All I know is that if you want me, I'm here."
"They're dying, Charlie," she told him, resting her head on his shoulder. "They're dying from the inside, and there's nothing I can do to stop it."
Rando sighed. "There may not be anything you can do to stop it, but you're not going to accomplish anything at all if you hide in the holodeck," he told her. "Your mother wants to see you."
Slowly, Kassal looked up. Her eyes glanced over the bright blue sky, the radiant sun, the field of green grass and the forest of trees. Then she closed her eyes and said, "Computer... end program." The illusion of Selelvia faded away into a holographic grid, and only then did Kassal open her eyes and say, "There's somewhere I want to go first, though."
CHAPTER TWO
Doctor Calabretta looked over the scans that Timain had provided for him and shook his head. They had just been taken yesterday, and in that time whatever the disease was had worsened by over five percent... much more rapidly than usual. At that rate... Christina Kassal would only have less than a month to live.
"It's not good, is it, Matthew?" he heard a voice ask. Calabretta turned to see Ambassador Kassal, who had been sleeping when he first came in, now sitting up in her bed. "The other healers, they just say everything's fine and they're working on it. They can hide what they know, but I can see the pain on your face... even through that mask of yours."
Calabretta nodded inside his quarantine suit. This was one of the reasons he had asked to speak to the Ambassador alone after the healers had brought him to her. He knew that doctors of any sort would try to hide the horrible truth until they had exhausted every arena... do no harm, that Earth healer had said so many centuries ago. But Calabretta knew Christina Kassal, and he knew she would want to know the truth about her condition. "It's not good at all, Christina. This disease is progressing in you far faster than we expected, and we still don't know what it is. What we do know is this: if this thing continues to spread at its current rate... I would estimate you have about a month to live."
Mrs. Kassal took this news calmly. In fact, Calabretta couldn't see a tinge of emotion on her face... until she doubled over in pain. Calabretta was instantly at her side, but she waved him off. "It's all right," she managed to get out. "Bren has already given me pain killers... it was much worse before."
Calabretta watched as his old friend tried to regain her composure and lie back on her bed. The sudden pain had taken a great deal out of her... she looked completely pale now. Calabretta shook his head. It didn't seem right for this woman, who had devoted her life to improving the lives of others, to be stricken with some ailment they couldn't even identify. He took her hand in his gloved one. "Don't worry, Christina... we won't stop until we figure out what this thing is. We will figure it out."
"I know you will," Christina told him weakly, squeezing his hand as hard as she could. "That's why I wanted you here. I know YOU won't stop."
By the time Calabretta realized just how she'd said that, how she knew that HE wouldn't stop, she was already asleep again.
******************************************************
The transporter beams began to materialize, but not anywhere near the Selelvian medical complex. Instead, it brought its passengers into the middle of a large forest on the other side of the planet. The first thing Counselor Kassal did was take a breath and close her eyes. Captain Rando, on the other hand, looked around, but as far as the eye could see, there weren't any bright greens or blues from the holodeck program. The Great Forest of Selelvia was much duller in comparison. He said so.
"A lot has happened in fifty years," Kassal told him. "Even though I was only here for a little while, I could still feel the pain Selelvia felt."
Rando knitted his eyebrows together in thought. "I'm not sure I understand, Sonja," he said quite honestly. "What pain is Selelvia feeling?"
"There is an old Selelvian saying, 'the world and the people are one,'" Kassal told him. "When Selelvia prospered, its people prospered. The Bond connecting us to our world is not just symbolic... it truly exists. Even though many people don't believe in it any more." She sighed. "I know that on Earth, centuries ago, there were various religions that flourished across your planet."
Rando nodded. "There are still some people who believe those teachings," he said.
"But considerably less now than ever before," Kassal pointed out. "When Selelvia entered the Federation almost sixty years ago, its people were strong in the believe that we were connected to the land. No matter where we might go, we knew this was our home... our Bond was as strong a belief as your religions on Earth... it was our religion. But then... people started to not to believe any more. There were more important things to worry about now... exploring space, new technologies, keeping the peace in the galaxy. We... forgot our roots. And because of it, because less and less people believe in the Bond today... our planet is slowly dying."
Rando understood now what Kassal had meant when she'd said "they're both dying." Whether her fears about her planet were justified or not, she believed they were, and Rando could see the sadness in her eyes. But there was still something he didn't quite understand. "Why didn't you want to come back to Selelvia, Sonja?"
Kassal didn't demand how Rando had known that. She just simply let out a long sigh. "I love my planet, Charlie, more than anything else in the universe. But as I grew up, I realized that to have any hopes of saving Selelvia, I would have to leave it. The Selelvian people... can be stubborn sometimes. Centuries of depending on our world has created a very independent streak in us. And even now, as we begin to depend less and less on the world around us, it's almost as if we're becoming independent to the point of complete and total division. I knew I had to save my planet, to help my people see what they had forgotten... but I also knew how difficult it would be to get through to them. I joined Starfleet because I wanted to learn as much about other people and other civilizations as much as I could... in hopes that someday I'll find something that I can bring home. Something that will help unite the Selelvians... and save Selelvia itself. I'm don't know if I'll ever be able to find what I'm looking for... but I have to try." She took a deep breath of the fresh forest air. "We still have about four hours before the sun rises in Kylia. You're sure you want to stay down here?"
Rando grinned. "You're asking a starship captain whether he'd rather be cooped up on the bridge or breathing in fresh air on a planet like this?" He walked over to a nearby tree and sat up against it. "Gee, let me think about that for a second."
Kassal grinned back. Rando could see that the little time she had spent on Selelvia was already improving her mood. And whether he believed in the Bond or not, he was glad that it was at least helping her.
******************************************************
Bren crept silently through the lab, the hypospray held firmly in hand. The presence of the Starfleet doctor had complicated things, but not beyond the point where the plan wasn't salvageable. After he had injected the Starfleet doctor, he would find the Merlin's quarantine suit. With the introduction of a small puncture, it would appear that the Merlin had contracted Christina's disease. It would also lead them to believe that Christina was indeed contagious, which along with the false scans he had been producing, would lead all the healers far off the trail. And that could possibly make the plan even more likely to succeed.
Bren crept up behind Doctor Calabretta who had fallen asleep looking at PADDs... most likely the PADDs with the false scans Bren had prepared. He brought the hypo up to the back of Calabretta's neck, moving his other hand over Calabretta's shoulder as if to tap him there, which was exactly what he intended. The timing would have to be perfect for Bren's trick to work... for Calabretta to wake a second after he had been injected and then dismiss the feeling on his neck when Bren touched his shoulder.
That was when Bren felt a sharp and sudden pain in his stomach. His legs felt like they weren't there anymore, his head felt dizzy... and he collapsed to the floor in a burst of agony, the hypospray skittering away and coming to rest underneath a nearby cabinet. Bren didn't care much at the moment... the pain he was experiencing severed him from the rest of the world. He didn't even notice when Calabretta, who'd been woken by his scream, crouched down at his side to help. 
Calabretta ran a quick scan of Bren. Even as groggy as he was, the Merlin could determine what the problem was. He quickly injected the Selelvian healer with a powerful suppressant and seconds later, Bren was asleep and feeling no pain. 
Calabretta leaned back and shook his head in dismay. When he had first heard of Christina's illness, one thought had entered his head. The scans he had reviewed had quickly dismissed that thought, but now that he saw the disease eating away at Bren from the inside out... now that he saw the disease in Bren was advancing as quickly as the disease in Christina... he couldn't help but wonder. He'd do another scan of Christina, and this time he'd do it himself, but he already had a bad feeling. A bad feeling that both Bren and Christina were dying from the Rot.