Lt JG Naledi - The Ghosts of Tarellia
Alyndra Syrex
((Xenobiology Lab, Deck 10, USS Ronin))
Naledi: :Clicks their mandibles democratically:: Of course I want there to be another way. But sometimes there are no alternatives. Equally I am stable, and likely contaminated. Send me to the Rose. Keeping me here only risks the crew.
Nemes: ::sighing:: All of this is just distracting us from the real task at hand. We should try to find out more about this virus at last. I have the feeling that time is running short.
Avae: Sybil is right, we need to focus on trying to figure out what this is so we can work towards a cure and we don’t have time to argue.
Beck: ::waggling a finger:: And that's exactly why I don't want to space you in particular, Lieutenant Naledi. While you are infected, you're not showing all of the symptoms. In fact, you're remarkably lucid for someone that should be succumbing to the paranoia and nausea this should be bringing on. I think you might be essential to finding the cure. ::grumbling:: Not to mention the fact I'm the senior-most officer in the room and Chief Medical Officer on this damn ship, so stop trying to tell me you need to be spaced!
Naledi: ::Sympathetic, but uplifting snapping:: Of course, I am your disposal, Lieutenant Nemes.
Avae: Good! Now, to that point Sybil there’s something that’s been bugging me about the structure of this virus. Like, I’ve seen it before but maybe a progenitor version. So I don’t know if this is modified intentionally or just adapted itself over time but this is definitely a bioweapon of some kind.
oO Bioweapon? Why would they aim it at an Oberth Class? They’re basically made of glass. Were they testing it? Oo
Beck: That reminds me, I should go check on the search in my office - it's possible we've narrowed the list down to–
Nemes: Response
A
console on the other side of the room chirped sending a screeching feeling
throughout Naledi’s head. They cringed slightly, their antenna flickering in
displeasure.
//Bridge to Sickbay. URGENT. Probes just located a Tarellian Plague ship wreck in this system.//
Avae: That’s why this was so familiar. It’s the unholy grail of Antosian virology. ::she looked at all of them:: The bridge just messaged that we’ve located the remains of a Tarellian Plague ship. That’s the source of this! It has to be. It’s why it was so familiar. Because the base sequences are the same, but altered. ::color filled her cheeks as shock turned to rage:: If I find the monster that did this I’m going to give them a hypo cocktail from our entire viral storage.
Beck: I will happily sign off on that. I'll have to work on how to word the note so it's something a little less litigious.
Naledi: Crick Snap Pop Hiss… Tarellian Plague?
Nemes: Response
Avae: I’m sorry, and yes. ::she took a slow breath:: My people hold the Tarellian plague in high regard not because we like or respect its creation. But because it’s the deadliest bioweapon ever created and no Antosian has ever been able to study it or be infected by it. We loathe viral weaponry. There’s a lot of us that have the mindset that if Antosians had been able to do so we might have been able to save the Tarellians.
Naledi: Click Snap Pop Crack Hiss Pop… So if it was a weapon, could they have been testing it on our ship?
Nemes: Response
Avae: No one’s getting airlocked or beamed into space, Lieutenant Naledi, so don’t make me sedate you. ::she huffed:: If this is an altered Tarellian plague, then we need to find out how it was modified. Or even by whom. Stars, we could even just expose samples of it to every genome we have on file to see what is and isn’t affected. Someone has to be immune. To the bioweapon. That no species has ever survived contact..with.
Naledi scoffed, bile slipping off of one of their mandibles. They’d not even mentioned airlocking themselves in at least a minute. Besides, they were as good as dead infected or not.
Beck: I updated the query and can confirm with what little we have on the Tarellian Plague on file - after some filtering, the biomarkers match. We didn't pick up on it sooner because of the modifications - they added a whole string of new protein strands to the front and back of this thing, which is exactly what the nanomachines that Doctor Kel discussed appear to be for. I can't say for sure, but it looks like they've been programmed with a very advanced AI that can make adjustments on the fly to better infect whoever it is that's picked it up.
Naledi swallowed. In many instances, their Xindi physiology protected them from diseases that were typically transmitted by humanoids. Although in this case, that may not have been enough to save them.
Wyla/Nemes: Response
Beck: =/\= Sickbay to Bridge. We got your message about locating the Tarrellian ship - I can confirm that what we're looking at is a heavily modified version of the plague. =/\=
Raga: =/\= So someone altered the bioweapon? Please tell us you have good news, Doc. =/\=
Niac: Response
Wyla/Nemes: Response
The human, the chief, looked over towards them and smiled. A soaring
heat went down their backside.
Beck: =/\= I think there's some hope - Lieutenant Naledi, who was sent over from the Rose, appears to have some sort of natural resistance to this thing. I don't want to call it immunity, I don't have enough evidence to say that for sure, but they are progressing at a much slower pace compared to everyone else. Now that we know where to start, we might be able to make quick, significant progress while investigating why it isn't affecting them the same way. ::a pause:: There is one little caveat, though… =/\=
Raga: =/\= I was waiting for the catch. Don’t hold back, Doc. =/\=
Niac: Response
Naledi bent down, placing their mandibles closer in position to where Lieutenant Nemes was standing. They altered the volume of their combadge before they spoke
Naledi: Crick Snap Pop Hiss… ::Whispering:: Is he going to hurt me?
Wyla/Nemes: Response
Beck: =/\= The information on the plague we have is almost 40 years out of date. We were able to match biomarkers to what readings they could get on the Enterprise way back when, but uh… I think if we want to make any headway, we need a live sample that hasn't infected anyone just yet. =/\=
Raga: =/\= And how do you suppose we do that? =/\=
Niac: Response
Wyla/Nemes: Response
Beck: =/\= I'd like to volunteer to lead the away team to dispatch to the plague ship. I have a pretty good idea what we're looking for, and I'm hoping maybe we'll get lucky and find the lab where they were modifying this thing. =/\=
Raga: =/\= That’s risky. We already have one of our senior most medical staff stuck over there. Our Acting CMO. If you’re over there too then.. =/\=
Niac: Response
Wyla/Nemes: Response
oO See, if I can’t kill myself, neither can you, doctor Oo
Beck: =/\= I... feel I should also mention another theory I've got floating around in my head. This is based on a conversation I had earlier with Doctor Kel - he said there's nanomachines involved that are actually modifying the host's proteins to better allow the virus to spread. That suggests a highly advanced AI is being used. Just... throwing that out there. =/\=
oO Casually… This literally killed the majority of my friends Oo
Niac/Raga: Response
Wyla/Nemes: Response
Raga: =/\= Nanomachines? Someone enhanced the Tarellian plague with AI? What madman thought that was a good idea? =/\=
Naledi broke their silence, returning their combadge to full volume
Naledi: Crick Snap Pop Hiss Crack… Madmen with guns don’t tend to think more than five minutes ahead in my experience
They knew the multiple scratches and bumps on their jagged exoskeleton was proof enough of that.
Wyla/Nemes: (optional) Response
Niac/Shortrith: =/\= Response =/\=
Raga: =/\= Quentin, you should know that at least one of our people has already been infected as well. Mister Kessler’s suit was punctured a few minutes ago and he’s already showing signs of the infection. =/\=
Niac/Shortrith: =/\= Response =/\=
Beck: =/\= Response =/\=
Wyla/Nemes: (optional) Response
Raga: There’s several fewer live warheads being registered and we just received an alert from the group looking for that shuttle. They’ve found one of the Rose’s escape pods adrift with life signs detected but are still in pursuit. I’ve already alerted our flight deck to send a recovery shuttle.
Niac/Shortrith: =/\= Response =/\=
Beck: =/\= Response =/\=
The commline closed, leaving the feeling that once again, they were cut-off from the rest of the ship.
Naledi: Crick Snap Pop Hiss Creak… So where do we go from here, are you going to drill holes into me?
Wyla/Nemes/Beck: Response
Naledi let out a loud, yet uncontrollable screech.
Naledi: Crick Snap Pop Hiss Crack… I know what humans have done to lab animals in the past, seeing most insects as collateral damage, if you think for one moment I’ll let that happen to me or my crewmate over there, you have another thing coming.
Wyla/Nemes/Beck: Response
Naledi: Crick snap Pop hiss crack pop whine… But don’t you see, it is! There’s a building pressure in my head… So painful…
Wyla/Nemes/Beck: Response
TAGs/TBC
Lieutenant JG Naledi
Security Officer
USS Compass Rose (NCC-0639)
R240107AS3