PNPC LT Yesfir Meyers - Scalpel, not a Sledgehammer

[LtCmdr Tamio K'Wara]

(( Intensive Care Unit - Primary Sickbay, Deck 07, USS Artemis-A ))

With the Boraxian Healing Crystal requisitioned from the Sample Archive, the team responsible for investigating a cure for the Callisian mutations currently attacking the tissue of several senior crewmembers was finally able to start the actual research. Miss Lorana - formerly Chief Science Officer of the USS Ronin - had some revolutionary gene therapy procedure she’d like to wield upon their First Officer and her away team, but without any way of countering the aggressive growth rate of the mutated tissue, it would be a race against time.

And labeling any sort of sensitive medical operation a ‘race’ was a sure sign that the surgery was doomed to fail, and deeply unethical.

Meyers: As a Pharmacologist, my skillset lends best to working with the crystal components.

Doctor Jaran had the good sense to seem apprehensive about their immediate collaboration. Yesfir wouldn’t claim to be very confident either, but it was the most sensible course of action, if she truly couldn’t order the redheaded Doctor to check themself in as a patient.

Jaran: Go team.

Bancroft: ::to Lorana:: If I may make a case for borrowing our patient – Lieutenant Imril’s firsthand experience with the crystal would certainly benefit the other team, but their value here may be even greater. Their ability with code and systems logic translates rather beautifully to the sort of pattern recognition this work will require.

Yesfir’s slender arms crossed over her torso as she watched another patient get roped into working instead of resting.

Imril: Thanks for the vote of confidence, Roy. I’ll do my best not to let the team down.

Lorana: Remember to take it easy as well, Imril. What your body is going through is a battle for its own molecular stability. 

Finally! A voice of reason.

Meyers: Agreed. Patients are patients, not workers, and that must be your primary concern, Lieutenant. ::eyes Jaran:: With me, Ensign.

She tried not to show too clearly what she thought of the Ensign’s conduct, though she had never been good at sugarcoating. She left that for people who cared more about hurt feelings than results.

Instead, she led Doctor Jaran to the corner of the ICU where an open doorway led to an adjacent, but rather small, medical lab. It wasn’t intended for longer research projects, due to the size of it, but it came in handy when you needed to quicktest a theory or examine tissue on the fly.

Jaran: So what's the first step, sir?

Meyers: I read the incident report for the crystal ritual Chief Morgan conducted with your assistance in the Holodeck, but as far as I know, there’s been no repeat attempts at this since. If we are to find out how we can replicate its effect on the patient, I believe that’s where we should start.

Nodding their agreement, Doctor Jaran placed the crystal on the scanning platform and calibrated the sensors.

Jaran: It's been a bit since I've had any contact with these crystals. The ritual to activate them seemed pretty complex, but, just in case, no one... think too hard at it.

Meyers: Hm.

The Ensign began the scan and pulled up the scan of Imril's hypothalamus to compare side-by-side. The data began to populate the screen, showcasing a complicated structure of crystalline iridosomes, something very similar to what had been registered within Lieutenant Imril’s cellwork.

Jaran: It's looking almost exactly like what I would have expected. The structure in and around Lieutenant Imril's hypothalamus has a nearly identical crystalline structure to the Boraxian crystal.

Meyers: Which must’ve rendered it resistant to-

A loud voice called out to them from the other room and Yesfir paused, grimacing at the interruption.

Imril: Wait, wait, wait! Back up! ::To Jaran::  Structure in and around my hypothalamus? As in something other than and distinct from my hypothalamus?

Lorana: Remember what I said about your energy, Imril.

oO Starfleet officers make the worst patients… Oo

Meyers: ::wrinkled brow:: As I was saying, the pseudo-crystallization of the tissue must have made it incompatible with the mutative properties of the Callisian transporter network. It must target specific cell types... ::considers:: Though using Imril's cells alone as a framework won't work. They'll be foreign matter to the other patients.

Jaran: Response

Meyers: Having to activate an empathic ritual, in which the patient must be an active participant, is likely impossible as a treatment method, given most of our patients are currently unconscious.

Jaran: Response

Meyers:  I’d say manually converting cells into iridosomes to replace the mutated cells is without a doubt the most likely to succeed, but also the most time-consuming and the most taxing for our patients, and their bodies are going through enough trauma as is. ::considers:: From the incident report, the Boraxians claimed the crystals were able to ‘soothe violent tempers’, yes? Was there any scientific collaboration for that, any evidence of why the Boraxians believed this to be the case?

If the crystals had been able to sedate violent urges and aggressive moods in an entire population, perhaps that property could be adapted to stem the pace of the mutations, and in turn, allow them to go about this with a more precise approach than brute-forcing cellular malipulation on a massive scale.

Jaran: Response

TAG/TBC

PNPC LT Yesfir Meyers
Pharmacologist

As simmed by

LtCmdr Tamio K’Wara

Chief of Ops

USS Artemis-A
A240006GS1