[Mission end] LtCmdr Jovenan – Releasing the rain
Jovenan
((Lifecarer facility basement, Peace of Ellet, Boraxian Cityship))
Jovenan: Looks like a some kind of awful combination of the non-functional Yurumol and noradrenaline. That’s a hormone that’s involved in many bodily functions, including the fight-or-flight reaction.
Jaran: I can confidently say that, with how Yurumol interacts with the body, you don't want those chemicals combining.
Those were the words of success. Once, perhaps years or months ago, they had signified the first steps on the road to victory for the revolutionary cultists, but now, they were uttered by the Starfleet team seeking to undermine them. Jovenan and her team now knew what they were working against; out of the dozens of abandoned or failed samples and experiments they had managed to find the one that worked, the one that they needed to counter and eliminate.
Jovenan: Okay, we have our suspect. Next, the antidote. Can we use a similar mechanism to counter it?
Jaran: With the data we have, I'm fairly certain we can synthesise something. If noradrenaline is the culprit, I'd probably counteract it with gamma-aminobutyric acid. In most humanoid species, that or something very similar tends to have a calming effect. It's at least a place to start.
K’Wara: As for me, I’ve got good and bad news: There’s access to the air vents from within the city, but none that’ll let us direct the flow towards the right distract... It’s luck of the draw, essentially.
Richards: That’s a great place to start. I do have an idea of how we can get the antidote out. ::Giving them a hopeful smile.:: Give me just a couple minutes.
K’Wara: Not that we have too many of those left.
Gamma-aminobutyric acid. It was the Doctor’s suggestion at which Jovenan had caught up with her thoughts. An inhibitory neurotransmitter such as GABA wouldn’t eliminate the noradrenaline from the body nor from the environment, but it would lessen the excitement of the central nervous system. Natural noradrenaline production would decrease. Both of those factors would cause everyone to calm down. Essentially, it would cure the symptoms during the while it took for the Yurumol portion to purge the receptors from the cultists’ combined and modified Yurumol. Jovenan clasped her hands together, excited: it was more than just a good place to start, in her opinion. It could very well be the solutions.
Jovenan: You guys are geniuses! ::pause, less enthusiastic:: If it works. Or, whether it works or not, but let’s try to make sure it does. How do we synthesise the antidote and distribute it without unnecessary risks?
Richards: ::Waving her hand in the air but not turning around:: I’m working on it.
Jaran: Lt. K'Wara, is that console over there up and running? It'll be easier to do this with their system rather than trying to make this tricorder talk to it.
K’Wara: Hmm, good question. Gimme two shakes, and I should be able to get it up and running, provided it’s got the same issues.
Doctor Jaran moved over to join Lt K’Wara at the computer terminal. Everyone was engaged in either the creation of the antidote, its distribution or delivery. Jovenan started to feel like they might actually succeed in their efforts; the Boraxians would stop their aggression, Vitor and everyone else would capture Andoren and for once, everyone survived unharmed. Whatever happened after they were done would be a matter of further thought at a later date – she tried not to think too much of the possible consequences of their actions.
Jaran: ::tapping away furiously at the controls:: This damned computer… Ugh. ::More tapping:: Well, I’ve never designed a molecule quite like this before, but I think I may have come up with something? If the Prophets will it, this won’t, you know, kill anyone. Someone check my work, please.
K’Wara: Frankly, I think you’ve got me outgunned in terms of xenobiological chops here, Ensign. ::looks to Jovenan:: Commander?
Jovenan bit her lip. There had been a reason she had tried to focus on the job rather than the consequences: it wasn’t just the ethical side of drugging the population, but if their medicine had side effects, even just for a single Boraxian, it was her fault. They couldn’t follow the typical trial procedures for pharmaceuticals, but that didn’t help anyone whose life she would ruin by her negligence. At least she should refer the antidote to someone with a medical training, except there was none. She was the best candidate to check Doctor Jaran’s work, with her handful of Academy biology courses and the practical experience of trying to treat sick pets at the former veterinary office on a timeline that no longer existed.
Jovenan: I’m not a doctor but I can have a look.
Richards: Sounds like you all have that handled. I’m really onto something here.
That was good news at least. Jovenan stepped closer to the terminal, looking over Doctor Jaran’s shoulder as they made the final adjustments. Her eyes wandered across the screen trying to interpret the figures and what exactly needed to be checked before the distribution without wasting their time and resources.
Jaran: Ok, I’ve done what I can. I leave it up to one of you to figure out how to turn what’s on the screen into something we can deliver, preferably in aerosol form. Thankfully the molecule itself shouldn’t be too volatile, so the means of delivery shouldn’t make much difference to it.
Richards: I’ve got it. Nanites. We can send out swarms of undetectable nanites to deliver the antidote through the air. It won’t cause a panic and there’s no need for individual attention.
K’Wara: It’d certainly fix the issue with not being able to direct the airflow in the vents - the nanites could be programmed to head for the Caspian District - but it’ll take a while getting back in communication range with the Artemis, getting them to beam down the empty nanites with enough time to load them all with the antidote and then program them... Is there any way for us to speed that up?
Jaran: Any ideas on how to use the handful of nanites we have? It's definitely not enough, but I'm open to ideas.
Oh right, they should have some medical nanites available. The amount the Doctor carried in their medical kit wouldn’t be anywhere near the amount they needed for the treatment of the entire Cityship, but it was all they had, and it had to suffice.
Jovenan: The nanites have a limited capability for self-replication, is that right? We could give them some extra energy from the Boraxian power network and use a few generations just to get more of them. We could also target just a few districts at first, like Caspian and Peace of Ellet itself, and by the time those areas get peaceful we should be in better positions to contact the Artemis.
Lt K’Wara and Doctor Jaran both nodded. Jovenan was dangling in both of their areas of expertise while little more than amateur compared to them, so their acceptance of her ideas made her feel better.
Richards: Doctor, you’ve done the hard part. Now we need to do the rest of the hard part. K’Wara, do you think you can construct some way of sending out the swarms and get them undetectable? ::Turning to Jovenan:: And you and I can do quick atmosphere checks and be sure nothing will affect the nanites once we send them out.
It was Jovenan’s turn to nod. That was an area she was useful.
K’Wara: The Boraxians’ level of technology would mean that there’s extremely low chance of them registering the nanites as it is... I’ll get the signal buffers set up though. It’d be more reliable than us controlling the nanites via the Boraxian network.
Jaran: I'll get to uploading Boraxian biology to the nanites so they can figure out what they're doing.
Jovenan: Good. Everyone knows what to do.
Richards: ::Clapping once:: Alright everyone. Let’s get this done.
Everyone got to their respective tasks. Lt K’Wara set up the signal buffers from earlier, and Jovenan made sure that she and Richards were receiving the relevant data. It took them a while to programme the nanites and prepare the doubly underground room to act as their command centre, but eventually, they were done. Jovenan read the figures running on the computer terminal, with the other teammates apparently eager to press the buttons at her command.
Jovenan: Programming – check. Communications – check. Dispersal configuration – check. Okay, everyone. Execute.
It was just a press of a button to them, but she knew the significance of their actions, and now that the hardest work was done, she allowed her mind to wander. In the mere minutes or hours, they would learn if they had released a blessing or a curse upon the people of the Cityship. Either way, once the effects became apparent, it was too late to catch them back into the box. Her heart was racing, though she was merely standing still and staring at figures on the screen.
Richards: Response
Jovenan: Some electromagnetic interference from the terrestrial communications antennas. Adjusting the path to compensate. ::long pause, to Richards:: How are things to you?
She didn’t feel a need to specify which things she meant by the question. Richards could choose as she wished.
Richards: Response
Jovenan: Good… Good. Let’s carry on.
She only saw numbers on the screen, but she imagined the swarm of nanites over the silhouettes of buildings and spires poking up from the spherical structure. Over the crowds, over the flames lit up by the artificial hatred and desperation, under the sky that wasn’t there. She wasn’t in the rock buried deep under the decks and floors, she was with the swarm, flying, free, raining either life or death upon the people, she didn’t know which. It rained over them all, men, women, Yurum, the rest, no matter if the gold around them were in the shape of a chamber or chains. She hoped she had made the right choice, and that they would endeavour to do the same.
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Lieutenant Commander Jovenan
Acting XO (Chief Science Officer)
USS Artemis-A
E239911J11