Ratings: MC
Set During: Season 1 Episode 5 “Babel”
“Doctor.” Garak croaked.
They had both rematerialized onto the floor of the infirmary. Julian got Garak up and onto a biobed. He helped the shivering man into an infirmary gown.
“It’s okay. I’m going to help you.” Julian was trying to get the man to lie down.
“You aren’t… words are scrambled.” Garak had to concentrate very hard to make a coherent sentence.
Julian paused in his efforts and looked at the man. “Garak, it’s okay. Just lie down and let me try to help you.”
Julian hadn’t expected the man to understand, but had hoped that the firm tone and direct eye contact would work. He was surprised when Elim answered. Apparently the virus worked very differently on Cardassians.
“What’s happening?” He laid back still shivering violently.
Julian pulled a blanket up over the man. “The whole station has been infected with an aphasia virus.”
Julian paused to see if Garak still understood him. It seemed that he was being affected differently. Garak nodded his understanding.
Julian went to get an emergency survival blanket it would be much warmer. “You seem to be somewhat immune to the aphasia aspects of the virus. But, your autonomic nervous system is very susceptible to the viruses effects.”
“Doctor.” The word was a plea.
Julian returned with the blanket. He covered the shivering Cardassian with the second blanket. Then administered some medicine.
“It seems you are phasing between understanding and not.” Julian checked Garak’s readings.
“Cold.” Garak was struggling to breath now.
“I know. You also have a fever.” Julian had his hand on the ridged forehead.
Garak nodded.
“I’m going to try to stabilize your vitals. Just rest as best you can.”
Another nod was the response.
Julian turned to retrieve a breathing mask. “I’ve been working on finding a cure. The computer is running a simulation at the moment.”
He found the mask and started to place it over Garak’s mouth. He paused for a second then continued what he was doing. He looked the man in the face again.
“You can’t understand me when I turn away from you?” Julian put a hand over his mouth. “What about now?”
Garak looked at him with confusion.
Julian removed the hand. “You can understand me only when you see my mouth. Your brain must be compensating for the effects of the virus by using visual clues. That’s fascinating. I’d love to look into this more once I’ve found a cure for the virus. It must be something about the nature of the Cardassian brain.”
Garak gave him an exasperated look that said very clearly that he wouldn’t allow Julian to examine him later. Julian patted his arm reassuringly. He gave the man another hypospray to counteract the shock caused by the extreme drop in body temperature. After a few minutes the readings stabilized enough that Julian felt he could leave Garak and continue his research.
Julian made sure that Garak was looking at him before talking. “Get some sleep. I’m going to go figure out how to defeat this virus.”
Garak closed his eyes hesitantly. He was still shivering, but not near as bad as before. He didn’t like being in the infirmary like this; it was way to public. However, there was nothing he could do about it at the moment.
He listened intently to the sounds around him. He felt exhausted, but fought sleep anyway. After a while he passed out, unable to stay conscious any longer.
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General comments and constructive criticism welcome. Feel free to comment.
I acknowledge that Elim Garak, Julian Bashir, Cardassia, etc. are the property of either Paramount or CBS, not entirely sure which due to the changes in 2006. The story is however mine, and done solely for entertainment purposes.
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