Cmdr. Katsim Peri - "The Ties That Bind"
Amanda Nordstrom
((Sickbay - Deck 05 - USS Octavia E. Butler))
Peri hadn’t expected to wind up in Sickbay during the mission. At least she wasn’t a patient in that case. Instead, she had escorted Vuq, the mercenary leader, via a loading cart. The man had been unceremoniously heaved onto it with the help of Tili, but now, whatever happened to him was out of her hands.
Or was it?
Not necessarily. While Peri was not a doctor, she was a scientist, and as someone who specialised in interstellar anomalies, she had to know a lot of Chemistry. While she might not normally apply it to biological forms, chemistry was chemistry, and if she could break down the poison to its most basic components, they could formulate an antidote from that. However, they needed a sample, and since Vuq was affected the worst, it made sense that it be taken from him. Unfortunately, they were still in a room of mercenaries, so Peri was not above remaining cautious.
Katsim: Woolheater, keep guard on Doctor Nis.
While Vuq was unlikely to be a problem, that wasn’t a complete guarantee. Not only that, they had other mercenaries to contend with. She wanted a dedicated marine watching out for Nis and only Nis while the others focused on the other mercenaries and keeping them controlled.
Nis: Shouldn’t take more than a moment.
Nodding, Peri allowed Nis to do her job as she saw fit. As she watched, she got a sense of nervousness and anxiousness from Nis, both emotions quite valid considering who occupied their sickbay currently. Fortunately, they also had marines watching everything closely.
Woolheater: Aye, Commander. I’ve got the Doc covered. ::to Sgt Torvik:: Sergeant, rotate your post to the north access and keep those mercs in your sights. I’ll take close protection for the doc.
As Nis approached, syringe in hand, the Dosi leader’s eyes suddenly flew open, startling the Trill doctor, and even Peri jumped a little at the sight.
Nis: Eep!
The man let out a long, low groan, but he was unable to formulate any words. HIs eyes stared at the doctor, wide, but unseeing. Woolheater slung his rifle and then stepped over to the head of the biobed where he proceeded to hold the Dosi by his forehead and one shoulder.
Woolheater: Easy now, medics are trying to help you.
The deep breath that Nis took indicated nervousness indeed, and as she bent over, Peri could see that the woman realised the man wasn’t really awake. His eyes saw nothing, and didn’t even focus on the woman right next to him.
Nis: We’ll just take a little blood.
Katsim: We don’t need much.
Peri agreed. Even a little would allow them to get a more detailed scan and start deconstructing the toxin. After that, they could find something that would neutralise while remaining safe for anyone who ingested it. It took only a second for Nis to gather what she needed, and afterward, she handed it off to a nurse. Stepping up to a console, Peri waited for the woman to get the analysis into the machine, and she was soon rewarded. Dark eyes perused the information on the screen, pondering the chemical makeup once again.
The initial scans were accurate, but the picture was a little clearer now that they had the sample. Whereas the makeup was given before, there she could see exactly how many molecules of each element were together. After extracting what she needed, she returned it to Assata for processing. Once again, an image of the poison appeared on their screen.
Katsim: It should be easier to break this down.
Nis considered the situation and what they were faced with, and began verbally working through the problem.
Nis: It doesn’t look synthetic. :: pointing to the screen :: Look at the variation in the structure here.
Some of the mercenaries shifted, but the marines were immediately on them. However, it was enough to distract Peri, if only very briefly, and she glanced at them. That gaze didn’t linger long, for they didn’t have that much time, and they needed to use every minute they had to come up with a cure.
Katsim: You’re correct. These are naturally occurring molecules rather than fabricated ones.
That didn’t mean it made their job any easier.
Woolheater: Response
Nis: Mhmm, our thoughts exactly.
Woolheater: Response
Nis: If it’s something from Zet Prime, there’s no way of knowing, but if he acquired it on New Bajor, we may have the source in our database.
Katsim: But it’s not like any poison in our database.
As if to prove her point, the computer’s screen flashed up with a ‘no matches found’ message. That meant they really did literally have to break that chemical composition down and figure out how to neutralise it.
Nis/Woolheater: Response
Peri frowned a little as she considered what she knew about poisons. She knew that toxins would target and bind to a cell or enzyme or something else in the body to disrupt its function. The question was, what made that particular poison tick?
Katsim: For something this severe, it must have formed a covalent bond.
Nis/Woolheater: Response
Licking her lips, Peri considered her knowledge in biological systems. She did have some, though certainly not to the extent Nis or other doctors possessed, but it gave her a foundation that she could jump off. The question was, would it be enough to find a way to fix the problem? Nis was right there with her, thankfully, and the doctor could certainly tell her if anything was possible or not.
Her slender fingers tapped against the console, setting a steady rhythm far slower than the one set by her whirling thoughts. Poisons worked by binding themselves to whatever their target was, she knew that much. If that particular poison chose the cells in the kidneys, then that was why the kidneys began to malfunction. So how did they get the poison to vacate? Katsim: Could we introduce an enzyme that would target the poisons protein bond and break it down?
The bigger question was, could they do that without detrimental effects to the mercenaries?
Nis/Woolheater: Response
-- Commander Katsim Peri Chief Science Officer USS Octavia E. Butler M239008AD0