Lt. JG D'Cyra Varati - Four hours to go
D'Cyra Varati
((Sickbay, USS Kepler, – en route to UAW territory))
Wong: Agreed. Because right now, we need that information before the mold actually has any possibility of turing into a macrovirus.
Iko: I’d rather this… stuff not tear me apart any more than it is…
Juriton nodded.
Juriton: Your science is more advanced than ours.
Varati: But first I need to check the results from my other scans... we don't want to go from one disaster to another. Let's hope that this time we will be spared the wrath of the gods.
Wong: Okay. Varati? Can you work on that with Iko for a moment, please?
Iko: Sure.
Bec really didn't look well; she had to help her as quickly as possible, while Ikaia somehow had to get as much information as possible out of Commander Juriton. Her fiery temper might not have been the right approach... but how could anyone conceal such blatant details?
Varati: ::to Wong:: Aye, Lieutenant.
She gritted her teeth and thought about how she could help Bec.
Juriton: Anything I can do to help? I’m happy to share the results of my many scans, there may be some useful data you can use.
Wong: Ah, Commander. I think we are going to need a quick chat.
Ikaia turned directly to Juriton and gestured for him to move away from the other two for an informal conversation...
((OOC: I then cut out the conversation between Wong and Juriton, which Bec and D'Cyra don't hear, and continue with the parallel storyline.))
[…]
Iko: What do the scans say? Do you need to make any more?
Bec gestured out to herself, and then to the other UAW people in the sickbay.
D’Cyra gasped, her pulse still racing. She tried to smile slightly, but was determined to be sure about her scans. She hadn't told anyone which sensors she'd activated while walking the decks of the Enterprise. Before turning to Bec, she picked up the PADD again and swiped to the automatically generated results lists, sent to users as scientific analyses in message format. Scan series 42 and 42B... enter the PIN... then scroll through the long lists to the rare elements... Three small dashes and an n/a. D’Cyra breathed a deep, relieved sigh. Now she didn't have to spoil the rest of Captain Ashwood's or Captain Ukinix's day: no trace of boronite.
Her pulse dropped immediately and with a genuine and relieved smile she walked over to Bec's biobed.
Varati: ::relieved:: No, no further scans are needed in this regard. Finally, a positive result, one less thing to worry about.
Iko: Look. I am sure that you can tell by now that I don’t particularly like Juriton.
Bec nodded and glanced briefly at Wong and Juriton before turning back to D'Cyra.
Varati: :quiet: Well, I think that's no secret... he seems nice, but I don't really trust him either.
Iko: But that doesn’t mean we don’t have to at least appear like we’re getting along. It’s tricky. I slipped up just recently, but diplomacy doesn’t like it when we shout and swear at people.
Varati: Yes, the first rule of diplomacy or something like that... but we're not diplomats – we're responsible for security and scientific truth. And if someone isn't playing fair in a situation like this... it's a wonder Ikaia can stay so calm. ::pause:: Let's see how we can help you first.
Iko: Found anything new?
D’Cyra turned to the large console with the LCARS medical terminal and studied the ongoing scans. She grouped together all the items that lit up green, hoping they might finally find some solid evidence. Besides, D’Cyra wanted to help Bec; after all, the health of their own crew was paramount, and they couldn't have an incapacitated XO who might also be a host for the unknown mold and pathogen.
Varati: The wing-slug... or koala... or squirrel? It earns its keep with difficulty. I'm not very familiar with proverbs, or rather, I tend to ruin them. – I'll have the computer create a suitably modified version of an antivirus hypospray right away.
Bec nodded again, and returned her attention to Wong and his conversation.
Iko: With that out of the way…
Ikaia and Juriton turned around, the Commander looked first at Bec, then at her, assuming the pose of a questioning examiner.
Varati: Well, the analyses have revealed a few things: hopefully, we can soon develop a customized, but only temporarily effective, antibiotic against the mold. Developing an antiviral drug against the actual pathogen will take more time. For that, we will need the specific DNA samples.
Wong: Alright. Lay it on me - did you two find anything yet?
Iko: Now, if this thing is becoming a macrovirus…
Bec's voice was almost gone, so much had the constant coughing irritated her throat.
Wong: The proteins are there. The key word is preventing it from mutating and becoming one. If that happens, they would be harder to contain.
That would be the difficulty... intervening in the act of mutation and not just reacting to the changes; because they could hardly win the fight against time.
Varati: That's precisely where we'll start: targeted modification of biomolecules. We're trying to disrupt the three-dimensional spatial structure while leaving the molecular structure intact. The only challenge will be finding the ‘right’ molecules, especially if the pathogen appears to mutate easily.
Juriton: If I may make a suggestion–
Bec raised her hand as if to signal a stop, but this was probably more to her own body and the constant urge to cough. But she could no longer withstand the pent-up irritation and started coughing wildly, which eventually turned into a kind of vomiting.
While it was extremely unpleasant and not exactly a pretty sight, it also presented an opportunity. Here, scientific curiosity triumphed over human disgust. D’Cyra knew what she had to do.
Juriton: Are you okay?
Wong: Iko, are you alright?
Of course Bec wasn't feeling well... that was obvious. D’Cyra jumped up and immediately fetched a set of medical instruments and petri dishes to properly "collect" the sputum for precise analysis.
Varati: Hang in there, Bec! The hypospray is almost ready! oO Hopefully... Oo
Iko: Ahhh $#@%...
Ikaia looked at her with a sparkle in his eyes that she hadn't seen before. But then again, they hadn't worked together in the sickbay yet.
Wong: Varati, can you get me an anti-emetic? It should be the hypo with the green band.
Ikaia grabbed for his tricorder and started scanning.
Wong: Hang on. We’re going to take care of this.
Varati: ::to Ikaia:: Aye, it should be finished. It has some salt spray in it, hopefully to soothe the cough. I hope that helps a little.
Juriton: Your crew certainly does love cursing. ::shrug:: Hey, whatever gets your ship racing, right?
Wong: Varati, can you please grab me that sample kit from off the counter as well? We’re going to need it.
Ikaia stared at Juriton in astonishment, just like herself... how could they possibly be talking about something so trivial? Did he not grasp the situation, or did he simply not care about other people?
Luckily, D’Cyra had already taken out the set and only carefully tore open the protective cover before handing it over to Ikaia.
Varati: Here it is! Everything is ready, Doctor, eh, Chief Medical Officer…
She too had recognized the "value" of these special samples of living material, if not from a medical, but from a scientific point of view.
Iko: Response
While she and Ikaia were busy collecting the samples, another person entered the sickbay.
Juriton: Hello Ensign, what’s your name?
Yalrees: Talias-Gron-Yalrees is my family name, Commander. Yalrees is my given name.
(OOC: Yalrees is an NPC, anyone can write for them)
Juriton: When did you become infected?
Yalrees: 3 days ago, while I was working duty shift in cargo bay 3, commander ::coughs::
Wong: Okay. That was the anti-emetic. How’s your stomach?
D’Cyra had given Ikaia the modified hypospray, which he then injected into Bec. Hopefully it helped and calmed her down a bit.
Varati: ::to Ikaia: Let's hope it works. We absolutely have to stabilize them. Perhaps the samples will give us the right answers for an antidote. ::to Bec:: The effect is immediate; the salt mist reduces the urge to cough.
Iko: Response
Yalrees: Is... is that true about the-- ::coughs:: --DNA?
Juriton: You didn’t hear it from me.
Wong: At least we now have one more live sample if there’s one small silver lining.
She hadn't actually listened to what Juriton had discussed with the other person. Finishing the hypospray and carefully collecting the samples with Ikaia had required all her concentration.
Varati: ::to Ikaia:: I think we've collected enough samples? ::to Bec with a soft smile::Thank you for the valuable scientific contribution; hopefully, we can obtain relevant data from it.
Iko: Response
Wong: Bad….
Ikaia devoted himself to his scans, while D’Cyra searched the samples for unusual patterns in the protein molecules that might be responsible for the mutation.
Varati: ::to Ikaia: What is it? What did you find?
Iko/Juriton: Response
Wong: Bad as in the proteins are starting to stitch themselves together. As in we are running out of time.
These were things she knew very little about because they were more biological than technical in nature.
Varati: Do they get tangled up? Can we artificially stabilize them? With sugar or some kind of polyols? And then break them apart again at the crucial points?
Iko/Juriton: Response
Wong: What this means is that if this continues at the rate that it is, this will go from maybe having a macrovirus on our hands to absolutely having a macrovirus on our hands.
Varati: ::to Ikaia:: Then we need to act now... Bec, how are you? Is the urge to cough and the tension already subsiding?
Iko/Juriton: Response
Wong: I estimate we have roughly four hours tops to find a treatment before it becomes a macrovirus.
Four hours wasn't much time, especially since they still had vague clues and didn't know how far they could really trust Juriton.
Varati: Four hours is four hours... so let's go! We don't have a moment to lose.
3:59:59…
Iko/Juriton/Yalrees(?)/Wong: Response
So, let's get started! They needed samples for the scans, then analyses and hypotheses on how they wanted to proceed.
Varati: ::to Juriton:: Could you please get us samples from your various crew members? That would be a huge help, thank you so much! ::to Bec:: Please let us know immediately if your condition changes in any way, okay? I'll get another cough syrup...
Iko/Juriton/Yalrees(?)/Wong: Response
Yes, Ikaia was the CMO... but when she had a task and a goal, she was hard to stop. Impulse control, yeah right...
Varati: ::to Ikaia:: Should I check Bec's samples to see if I can somehow stabilize the clumping proteins? Then we might at least have something to combat the mold and be able to contain it.
3:55:42…
Iko/Juriton/Yalrees(?)/Wong: Response
Tag/TBC
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