Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Garth (Chief Science Officer) in Main Sim - Sickbay

Posted by Captain Emmeline Davis (Commanding Officer) in Main Sim - Sickbay

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Garth (Chief Science Officer) in Main Sim - Sickbay
Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻

<snip>

Garth eventually pulled out three hyposprays of pharmaceutical fungicide, one containing a polyene-based solution, another with an allylamine treatment, and the last with echinocandins. Returning to the remaining petri dishes with the parasite’s severed nerves inside, Garth administered a different antifungal to each, then hunched down to stare eagerly and watch for any reaction through his magnification goggles.

(Lt. J.g. Garth, CSO)

Korczak’s activation of the isolation protocols immediately sent an alert to the bridge. As the cadet reported in on it, Emmy let out a perturbed huff. “I’m going down there to see what’s going on,” she commented, her voice a clear staccato as she made her way to the turbolift. Within moments, she found herself standing outside of Sickbay’s doors.

=/\= Davis to Sickbay. Report. =/\=

Davis, CO

Garth glanced up at the sound of the captain’s voice, then over his shoulder at Korczak. “You want to get that, Commander? I think it’s for you.”

(Lt. J.g. Garth, CSO)

The startling silence from inside Sickbay had Emmy slapping her hand against her comm badge again in no time.

=/\= Davis to Tija. Report to Sickbay. =/\=

Given the CMO was incapacitated, it was likely she would be needed there anyway.

Davis, CO

Tija was just leaving Cargo Bay 3 as the call from the Captain came in. She had been treating a Cadet who had managed to break her foot by dropping a crate onto it. And with everything going on in sickbay, the CMO and her had decided earlier to treat any injuries of the rest of the crew where they might occur. instead of having them come to Sickbay.

Tapping her combadge, Tija replied, =/\= I’m on my way Captain. =/\= And with that she headed quickly towards the nearest turbolift to get back to Sickbay on Deck 4.

A few minutes later the Bajoran Doctor arrived in front of Sickbay. Wasting no time with pleasantries, she merely asked, “What happened?”

~Lt. Tija Aizala, Asst. CMO

Emmy nodded in satisfaction at the speed of the doctor’s appearance. “The CMO has been incapacitated. I received an alert that Commander Korczak locked down Sickbay. I’m waiting for a response from those inside.” She resisted the urge to slap at her comm badge again and demand a response.

The security team that Garth had called soon joined the doctor and the captain in their holding pattern until Sickbay responded to their calls.

Davis, CO

That doesn’t sound good at all. Seems like the situation is getting worse and worse, Aizala thought to herself. To the Captain she said, “Well, let’s hope we’ll get a reply soon so that I can do my job.” The concern in her voice and body language were obvious as she was worried that they were running out of time to help those infected. She hadn’t been in sickbay since the initial quarantine and thus was only partly in the loop on what ad transpired since. So hopefully she’d get a better picture of things once she would be able to enter sickbay. In the meantime she tried to find out whatever she could from this side of the door. So without further ado she walked over to the nearest wall panel and called up all information and updates from sickbay since she had left, hoping that someone had actually filed at least some cursory reports.

~Lt. Tija Aizala, Asst. CMO

Conveniently, on the other side of the sickbay doors Lieutenant Junior Grade Garth was transcribing his previous findings as he waited for the results of his current experiments.

The most recent report was focused on the medical aspects of the Potterfield infection. Garth’s notes detailed observations that the prodromal period of the infection was evidenced by high fever, while the period of illness presented as incidence of extreme physical violence toward other crew members, with an untreated infection eventually culminating in death. Included in the report were a pair scans from shortly after the infected Ensign Richards’ death, which showed a vague electrical signal emanating from within the corpse. Then, there was documentation of what Ensign Richards had become postmortem: a “meat puppet” for a xenoflora that was using nerve fiber tendrils that extended through the corpse’s nervous system to control its limbs with a startling degree of precision and strength. This, along with scans of these nerve fibers by the ship’s computer, caused Garth to hypothesize that the Potterfield infection was some sort of fungal subcutaneous mycosis that might be susceptible to medical intervention targeting ergosterol synthesis or hindering the creation of glucan in the fungal cell wall of the parasite. As such, Garth had begun experiments with the nerve fibers to determine if they had a weakness to any of three different forms of antifungal chemicals: polyene-based solution, allylamine treatment, or echinocandins.

Attached to this report were Garth’s previous findings from scientific analyses performed in Science Lab 1 of the host plant species found on the Potterfield that was believed to be responsible for administration of the parasite. The xenoflora was determined to be a dicot/bryophyte hybrid, containing features from both broadleaf and moss plants. It was discovered that synthetic auxins such as the acidic chemical 2,4-D could kill the host plant.

(Lt. J.g. Garth, CSO)

Emmy responded to the doctor with an agreeable nod. The delay was frustrating her and a bit of concern was starting to sneak in as well. She side-stepped to the nearby wall monitor with Tija, glancing at the reports as they appeared. The CSO inside had been extremely thorough in his work. After a few moments, she turned to the ACMO. “I can override the lockdown if you think it’s safe,” she observed, her question more of a statement, but still a question nonetheless.

Davis, CO

Garth glanced over at the mute CNS and frowned slightly. “I apologize if I was too harsh, Counselor. As you are aware, my manners leave something to be desired, by human standards.”

He pressed his comm badge after some hesitation. =/\= Garth to Captain Davis. Sorry for the delay Captain, I was preoccupied with my experiments and compiling the information we currently have on the infection. Lieutenant Commander Korczak has put sickbay in quarantine to contain the infection, but it seems to only be transmitted via direct access to the bloodstream, thus far through bite, scratch, or thorn puncture of the skin. Considering that both hosts are currently restrained, it seems unlikely that they’ll have the opportunity to infect anyone else as long as we’re cautious. I agree that the exit to sickbay should be under guard, but quarantine might be.... excessive.”

(Lt. J.g. Garth, CSO)

Doctor Tija had just opened her mouth to reply to the Captain, when they heard Garth voice through the intercom. So instead of talking, she closed her mouth and listened carefully. His brief assessment of the situation matched her own from what she had read in the files a moment ago.

Turning towards the Captain the moment Garth stopped talking, she said, “I agree with Lieutenant Garth. As long as the infected crew members are restricted the danger for the rest of the crew should be minimal. Though in addition to security guards at the doors, I would suggest that everyone who enters sickbay should put on a minimal layer o protective gear. Meaning gloves, mask and glasses. That doesn’t eliminate all threats of infection, of course. Yet it gives more protection to the little bare skin Starfleet uniforms reveal.” After the briefest of pauses Tija conclued, “And to be of any real help, I have to get inside sickbay. So with the minimal risk to the crew at this point, overriding the security log sounds like the logical next step.”

Lt. Tija, Asst. CMO