Lt. JG D'Cyra Varati - Fancy a bit of cold?
D'Cyra Varati
((Sickbay, USS Kepler, - en route to UAW territory))
Juriton: ::Looking back at Yalrees, speaking to Wong/Varati:: What do you need?
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...
Juriton: Of course.
Yalrees: It's... my breathing... ::coughs, panting::... getting harder.
Wong: Response
Juriton seemed to want to help, at least now, and reached out to one of the sample extractors and headed back to Ensign Yalrees.
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…
Wong: Response
Bec looked up at Wong.
Iko: You're in charge.
Juriton attended to the first sample, which he handed to D’Cyra with a pained smile, before turning to the next patient.
Varati: ::to Juriton:: Thank you, I will prepare the sample for a duplicate analysis immediately.
She took the sample and hurried with it to one of the spectrophotometers that were capable of performing multiple analyses of a single sample simultaneously. Because all they didn't have was time...
3:47:22…
Wong: Response
Yalrees: ::faintly:: Juriton...?
Juriton: ::Pleadingly:: Doctor?!
But they hadn't gotten far; D’Cyra had just started the first series of scans when an alarm sounded from one of the monitoring devices at one of the biobeds. Startled, she turned around, and Juriton hurried to Yalrees.
Varati: Oh no, what's going on?
Wong: Response
Yalrees: The mold. I saw it some days ago-I didn't- ::cough:: I didn't know what it was and I was drowning in other engineering work. The ship was falling apart since we left Spacedock.
Juriton: ::Shaking head, under his breath:: They should never have launched her.
That didn't look good... she listened to Yalrees and Juriton and almost imperceptibly shook her head: for purely prestige reasons, the UAW had knowingly or unknowingly risked the lives of its entire crew. And things certainly weren't any better on other ships. Was that what you'd call a suicide mission? And had they completely underestimated the Zumardi in their own hubris?
Varati: ::in thoughts:: This could all have been detected and possibly contained much earlier if safety protocols had been followed... ::to Yalrees & Juriton:: I hope we find a way to stop the mold from spreading as soon as possible!
Wong: Response
Yalrees: Panel E-452?
Iko: I'm pretty sure that was the one...
Yalrees: Ship systems went first. An infected neural-gel pack must have gotten damaged. ::cough:: Physically. Like a tear. It would have been contained otherwise.
Juriton: ::To Yalrees:: Do you mean, tampered? Or it looked like a natural tear?
oO As if using living DNA wasn't manipulative enough already... Oo
Varati: ::to Juriton:: You mean sabotage? Or simply improper use? A mechanical defect? That can happen very quickly, of course, if there are no suitable safety devices in place…
Wong: Response
Yalrees' eyes closed as he coughed and wheezed, before they went still.
The alarm turned into a constant flat line noise.
Juriton: ::To Wong:: Doctor, help!
Oh no! The long, drawn-out tone boded ill. Emergency! Danger to life!
D’Cyra left the spectrophotometer behind, grabbed a medical tricorder, and rushed to the biobed.
Varati: Damn it! No signs of life! No pulse!
She hastily swiped across the touchscreen to check the live data, but there was nothing more to see... Nevertheless, they had to attempt resuscitation. She started the appropriate resuscitation program.
Varati: Attention! I am starting the resuscitation program! 3..2..1…
Wong: Response
Commander Juriton stepped back from the biobed, and placed his head on his helmet in the area of his forehead.
Iko: Please say that information was at least helpful...
Juriton: ::gobsmacked:: It... it.. ::sad huff:: it was, yes. The packs are inferior, but the casing used... ::shake of head:: Either something breaks it down, or that pack was tampered with.
Juriton crossed his arms, and dropped his head.
D’Cyra was equally stunned and perplexed that Yalrees had simply died without any sudden deterioration in the vital signs beforehand.
Varati: There was nothing more we could do, I can't believe it... Time of Ensign Yalrees' death: 14:08hrs, SD240306.02, rest in peace.
She also stepped back from the biobed, placed her hands on top of each other and lowered her head, a glassy sheen of tears on her eyes.
3:31:52…
Wong: Response
But before they could properly mourn the death of Ensign Yalrees, Robin broke the uncomfortable silence with a call.
Hopper: =/\= Ikaia, Bec, how's it going down there? =/\=
Wong/Iko: =/\= Response =/\=
Juriton placed his hand on his hips, and huffed again, before placing his gloved hand on Yalrees' shoulder once more.
D’Cyra was glad she wasn't a doctor... moments like these were anything but easy and difficult to process. She barely listened to the conversation between Robin , Bec and Ikaia, lost in her own thoughts; hoping that at least the analysis of Yalree's DNA sample would contribute to solving the case.
Hopper: =/\= I'm sure you did everything you could. ::Brow furrowed in a troubled expression:: Ikaia, have you learned anything about this pathogen that might help us find a treatment? Before there are any other casualties? =/\=
Wong: =/\= Response =/\=
Hopper: =/\= Well, keep at it. All other considerations are secondary. Figure out how this pathogen works and find a way to stop it. Contact Commander Taelon and see if he's learned anything useful too. =/\=
Wong: =/\= Response =/\=
Hopper: =/\= Bec, hang in there. I'm going to need you on your feet, especially if the Astrofleet doesn't respond to our attempts at peacemaking. =/\=
Iko: =/\= Response =/\=
Ashwood/Seleya: Response? ((Optional, and can add =/\= comms =/\= tags or just local bridge conversation.))
The conversation ended, she looked around, Juriton picked up the sample extractor and then stood still. She stared at him, puzzled: what was he planning?
Juriton: =/\= This is Commander Juriton of Astrofleet, looking to speak with Captain Ertmo. I know he's on board. =/\=
He handed the extractor to her - what was she supposed to do with that now? Surely he didn't want to discontinue the further investigations?
Juriton: I'll be right back
… And then went out into the corridor...
3:20:36…
((Corridor outside sickbay, USS Kepler))
Ertmo: =/\= Response =/\=
Juriton: =/\= Sir, as a senior member of the Enterprise crew, I need to inform you that one of our crew has just died from the pathogen. =/\=
Ertmo/Ashwood?/Hopper?/Seleya: Response
Juriton: =/\= Ensign Yalrees. An operations officer. Terrellian, just like me. Sir, Astrofleet... I think you have an idea of my feelings about it. We're not ready. This proves it. =/\=
Ertmo/Ashwood?/Hopper?/Seleya: Response
Juriton: =/\= The gel packs are our own DNA. We may as well have rigged every Astrofleet vessel to explode, Captain. =/\=
Ertmo/Ashwood?/Hopper?/Seleya: Response
((Meanwhile, Sickbay, USS Kepler))
It all seemed unreal... things hadn't just become strangely jumbled together, like the proteins. So many things seemed connected, but no one knew exactly how. And the clock was ticking. oO tick-tack… Oo
Varati: Well, I wasn't expecting that at all. I mean, it came completely out of the blue, didn't it?
She sat down on one of the swivel stools, turned around so the others couldn't see her, made a grim face, and gave the wall panelling a good kick. BÄÄÄNG! It didn't help anyone (and probably hurt), but at least it served as an outlet for her frustration.
Iko/Wong: Response
Impulse control... impulse control... she annoyed herself when nothing was progressing. The DNA analyses would take some time, and hopefully Ikaia would somehow be able to break down the strange proteins.
Varati: Sorry, that was me... What did Yalree say, Panel E-452? What kind of hatch was that? A service shaft? Any other equipment? Do you remember, Bec?
Iko/Wong: Response
The gel packs must have been infected somehow, but the mold certainly wasn't the original idea... otherwise, other packs would have been contaminated, and they would have noticed that on the Enterprise.
Varati: If we know what type of panel it is, we might be able to use a process of elimination to determine whether it was a mechanical defect caused by one of the other devices, or whether there was another contributing factor. oO Hopefully not. Oo
I'll take care of the other samples now, so we don't waste any more time if everything is okay with you. Maybe I'll think of something else to stabilize the proteins... Oh wait! How about cold? Real freezing cold? I mean, everything's heated on board a ship because otherwise we'd freeze to death... Why not the proteins too?
Iko/Wong: Response
3:12:24…
Tag/TBC
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