Lt. Commander Anath G'Renn - A Change in Strategy (Part I)

[Anath G'Renn]

((Primary Sickbay - Deck 12, USS Astraeus))

 

Given the information she’d been given, they had been operating under the assumption that they were facing a virus. But there was the newest data from the away team’s scanners, clear as day. She was looking at a rod-shaped bacterium and the results of a gram stain. 

 

Yellir: I did… at least that’s what I was told by the nursing staff. ::She scratched her head.:: What kind of bacteria are we dealing with here? Is it…?

 

G’Renn: This scan shows a bacterial infection. Gram-negative bacilli bacteria by the looks of it.

 

Anath forwarded the scan results to Doctor Foster and Lieutenant Munger and sighed. That changed things. Mentally, she had been building a strategy to fight the virus. Now the plan had to be altered to fit for a bacterial infection. The first thing that came to mind was bacteriostatic antibiotics. Give the crew enough of the antibiotics to prime their immune systems and keep any infections from spreading and multiplying if any sick individuals were asymptomatic.

 

Yellir: Sir, I apologize for misinformation I-I was-

 

Anath held up one hand, cutting off the excuses that were about to be spoken. She wasn’t interested in any excuses, and she wasn’t upset either. Communication failures, especially in such a big sickbay, were inevitable. What was done was done. They could certainly litigate who was to blame for the breakdown in communication later. For the moment, it was time to work.

 

G’Renn: I think that we can worry about diagnosing effective sickbay communication later. For now, we’ll need to alter the treatment plan. We can give the staff with immediate contact clarithromycin with a clavulanic acid booster to stifle bacteria growth. Let’s also keep the antivirals on standby. Just in case we’re wrong again. When our guests arrive aboard the ship we might get more information and be able to vaccinate the rest of the ship more effectively.

 

Yellir: Aye sir… in the meantime. I’m assuming that these bacteria would have no resistance to antibiotic compounds found within the federation. Perhaps, with your permission of course after all this is done, if any of the patients don’t react particularly well to the heavy duty antibiotics, we could prep a backup supply of fungal or ::air quotes:: “organic” based medication. 

 

G’Renn: An interesting proposal. How would you propose we prepare those?

 

Yellir: Our botanists have several ways of accelerating growth cycles of moulds and fungi alike, but it wouldn’t be a high priority until of course we have our guests onboard… or we encounter an allergic reaction.

 

She was glad to hear that there was a thriving botany department aboard the ship. Her husband Savok would enjoy- well, perhaps not enjoy but appreciate the opportunity to work with his fellow scientists. Hopefully he had found their assigned quarters while she had rushed to sickbay almost as soon as the shuttle had landed.

 

G’Renn: I’ll keep that in mind.

 

Yellir: Do you think we would be able to understand the symptoms by studying the bacteria itself? Would we be able to determine what cells it infects just by getting a better look at the plasmid DNA? Maybe we can narrow down the symptoms caused by what damage is done and... maybe go beyond a warm, moist towelette for a fever.

 

Everything was revolving around the lack of information. They couldn’t prepare specific treatments beyond widely-targeted antibiotics because of the lack of information about the bacteria. They couldn’t work on a vaccine without a sample to work with. For a while they didn’t even know that it was a bacterium and not a virus. They needed more information to work with, and if possible a sample they could work actually work with.

 

G’Renn: What we need, in any case, is a better look at this bacterial infection. From there we can tailor our approach to...

 

A call over the comms interrupted her remarks. While she wasn’t sure who was speaking right away, she could tell one thing from the tone of voice. Whoever was speaking was concerned.

 

Rosek: ::urgently:: =/\=Rosek to Bailey.=/\=

 

Bailey: =/\= Shie..Bailey here. ::To Beelam:: Shhh =/\=

 

Anath tapped her combadge, joining into the conversation.

 

G’Renn: =/\= Sickbay is listening as well. =/\=

 

Foster: =/\= Yeah I’m also hearing you loud and clear.  What’s up? =/\=

 

Rosek: =/\= We need a medical team in the Ragged Feather’s engine room immediately. There’s been an explosion and we have injured. =/\=

 

Well that definitely explained the urgency! Her first thought was to don an EV suit, grab a medkit, and go join them personally. But Anath knew better after two years as a chief medical officer. Her place was in sickbay for the moment. Instead, Anath looked over to a nearby nurse and two paramedics and gestured towards the door. All three of them were in range that she was sure that they had heard the call for a medical team. They seemed to get the message and rushed to get their equipment together.

 

Bailey: =/\=  I’m on my way. ::Rather blunt:: I’m sending Stennin and Grog back to the Astraeus with two Avian crew members. We have determined that it is a skin based bacterial infection, which I have already started treating with some antibiotic cream, it is highly unlikely to be contagious. I would like confirmation before they beam over to continue their work.=/\=

 

Now there was an improvement to the situation. Hopefully the avians would be willing to help with their research into the bacteria. If they were infected, Anath could hopefully acquire a blood sample that contained the bacteria. With that a vaccine could be synthesized. With the avians right in front of her she could also make sure the environment of the Astraeus was safe for them.

 

G’Renn: =/\= A medical team will be on the way momentarily. Do you wish to bring them to the main sickbay facility? =/\=

 

Foster: =/\= No we’ve just barely gotten the biometric data on these creatures in.  So if they’re coming over here we’re putting on EV suits, with full inoculations and keeping level 4 quarantine fields up until we’re sure the whole crew won’t be infected.=/\=

 

Unfortunate, but understandable. Anath agreed with Foster’s precautions. Diplomacy was going to have to take a back seat. Full-body isolation suits and locking them into the wing of isolation rooms with forcefields wasn’t the friendliest greetings. But it would get the job done.

 

Rosek: =/\= Bring whoever you need. Just hurry. =/\=

 

Bailey: =/\= Take whatever precautions is needed. I’m staying behind to assist Rosek and the injured. Bailey out. =/\=

 

Foster: =/\= That’s up to G’Renn.  She’s CMO. =/\=

 

A decision to make. Her first real decision as the Astraeus’ CMO. Anath mentally composed a plan of attack.

 

G’Renn: =/\= A medical team will be dispatched to support Doctor Bailey on the Ragged Feather. Sickbay will be prepared to receive the team and start studying the pathogen in a controlled environment. Further support is available if needed in the engine room. =/\=

 

Rosek: =/\= Understood. Rosek out. =/\=

 

Anath closed the channel and looked back over to Yellir. The conversation with Rosek, Foster, and Bailey had interrupted their discussion mid-sentence. As the medical team were inoculated and began suiting up, she and Yellir had a different task in front of them. It was time to prepare for their avian guests.

 

 

Lieutenant Commander Anath G'Renn

Chief Medical Officer, USS Astraeus

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