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

Posted by Cadet Teresina Jason Christine Tanner (Engineer) in Main Sim - Sickbay

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Garth (Chief Science Officer) in Main Sim - Sickbay
Posted by… suppressed (5) by the Post Ghost! 👻
(snip)
Tija’s tricorder showed that the parasite wasn’t dead, per se, it was just really cold. Like most biological jungle things it preferred warm, moisture rich, environments rather than cold dry ones. This environment wasn’t enough to kill the creature outright, yet, but it was enough to negatively impact its health and metabolism.

GM Wombat

Tija tapped her left index finger thoughtfully against her lips. So the parasite wasn’t dead, but slowing it’s metabolism down might buy them the time they need to save the other two infected crewmembers. Walking over to the other two biobeds, she instructed the computer, =/\= Lower the temperature and humidity within the force fields surrounding the other two patients to a level that won’t kill the patients, but reduce the metabolism and health of the parasite. =/\= Closing her eyes for a brief moment and taking a deep breath, the doctor waited for the reply from the computer.

Looking towards Garth, Aizala said, “Do you have any other ideas what we can do to get rid of the parasite?”

~Lt. Tija, Asst. CMO

Garth sighed in frustration as the scans showed that the parasite was only dormant. He threw his hands up in the air rather dramatically. “Anti-fungals are only mildly effective, environmental manipulation is only mildly effective, we need something that will be a definitive solution.”

Garth paced for a moment and spoke maybe to Tija but probably moreso to himself. “Scans showed no centralized mass of the parasite, which is odd because its actions suggest some sort of intelligence without a consolidated brain. If the parasite is solely relying on the nervous system of its host, perhaps we should be looking at interventions for disrupting that nervous system, although hopefully just momentarily for the living crew members.”

Tija watched him silently, following his train of thought.

He looked up and stopped his pacing. “This is only a theory,” Garth cautioned, “but the parasite showed a faint electrical signal on initial scans. Maybe we can ‘overload’ its hijacked nervous system by shocking the host.”

(Lt. J.g. Garth, CSO)

“It’s certainly worth a try,” the doctor agreed. “We just have to make sure that we don’t kill our patients in the progress. Which means we have to figure out exactly how to go about it.” That said, she walked over to Garth and called up the initial scans to have a look at the faint electrical signal. Thinking out loud, she added, “Electroshock therapy? Or maybe neural stimulation?” She didn’t want to make a hasty decision that might cost the two officers their lives. And yet she also knew that she didn’t have the luxury of time; for if she waited to long, the result might be the same.

~Lt. Tija, Asst. CMO

Richards was functionally dead at this point. If the scans proved anything it was that they could do what they wanted to him and it would be ok. The CMO, however, was another issue.

Swelling had started to form around the bite site and careful examination would show little bumps moving under the skin.

GM Wombat

Garth muttered a tellarite curse under his breath as the monitor above the CMO’s biobed beeped in warning of the new developments. “At this point I’m ready to just slap an AED on her and hope for the best. But, maybe we can fine-tune the charge to reduce the risk involved.”

Garth swiped his PaDD and pulled up the crew registry, scrolling quickly to the engineering roster. He slapped his comm badge. =^= Garth to Ensign Tanner. Report to sick bay immediately. =^=

Once TJCT had arrived and passed by the security cadets guarding the entrance to sickbay, Garth ushered her impatiently to the side of the biobed of the Challenger’s chief medical officer. “She’s been infected by an aggressive alien parasite,” Garth said bluntly without introduction, “we’re hoping to fry the flora’s tendrils attached to her central nervous system via electrical shock. Do you think you could work with Lieutenant Tija to adjust an electrical current to a level that would be lethal to the parasite but not lethal to the doctor?” Garth shoved a PaDD with scans of the parasite into her hands. “Time is of the essence.”

(Lt. J.g. Garth, CSO)

“Before I say yes, is anyone sure that doing this is going to achieve anything? There are still team members on the other vessel, if this is a parasite, your words, not mine, and it is able to feel aspects that are in hosts, not just on the other vessel, but here as well, then is it actually a parasite? And if you do shock it, won’t those in the crux of the matter suffer?” TJCT asked. “I’ve seen hosts that were supposed to be dead, that are only offline, and have been woken by whatever is controlling them. Some of them showed other signs that meant the host was still alive but in a sort of stasis. If this isn’t a parasite and is an intelligent creature by doing what you’re planning to do you could upset or anger it to the point, it not only kills everyone that’s been infected but takes control of the other vessel’s systems and destroys the challenger.”

Cadet TJCT

Garth’s wrinkled brow furrowed and the hints of a scowl flashed across his face. He thrust a stubby finger at the dismembered corpse of Ensign Richards a couple biobeds away. “I assure you, Cadet, he’s very much dead. And the same will happen to the doctor if we do nothing. Attempts at communication with the parasite were unsuccessful. I appreciate your caution, but we have a person’s life in front of us that we could save. If there are consequences to doing so, we will deal with those as they come.”

(Lt. J.g. Garth, CSO)

“And what do you call what’s moving at the bite site?” TJCT asked. “Has anyone checked the others, dead or alive for similar bite marks and moving bits?” She reviewed the PaDD. “Have you taken samples of what is moving? I would suggest putting Richards pieces back together and seeing what happens. If this is not a parasite, but something intelligent, then it would not just allow it’s newly acquired additions to be killed. Just because you say Richards is dead, unless you have got information from whatever infected them, you are not in a position to say Richards is dead.” Cursing mentally she opened her right sleeve and then opened her right prosthetic and withdrew a small vial from her right arm, and opened it, sprinkling a bit of a silver dust onto the bite site and the area that was moving. She knew the mineral ZDP5523900AQ1 was used for a lot of things on Coolac, but she remembered it being used to stop signals from being received from one item to an entity. She figured she was going to have to explain or at least answer questions, but if there was a link and this impeded it, it would be worth it. She didn’t like the strange creature’s If there are consequences to doing so, we will deal with those as they come. ~Maybe he could be eaten.~ She thought studying him.

Cadet TJCT - engineering