USS Ogawa
The Line Between Who is Good and Who is Evil
With the completion of Eden’s Apple, Alexis had projects she to which she had to return. At the moment there was no work from science, medical, or R&D. What Alexis was working on now had been sent to her by Intel and it was tricky, delicate, and horrifying. It was a dual biological attack consisting of a Neurotoxin and a Mutagen. Alexis sat at her work station, that nifty little iso chip plugged into the computer access panel underneath, the visual and audio screens activated and pulled up the files. She had no samples, they were too dangerous to transport. Once she was ready to test against the actual thing she’d be sent out to the location where the samples were held and those affected were being cared for.
Neurotoxin:
The toxin is derived from the venom of the Elnachie, a vicious predator from the Tallma homeworld. It works by breaking down the victims nerves ending at a subatomic level. One at a time. This creates a constant and unimaginable pain as each nerve ending is burnt away. It is silicone based making it hard for most detoxins to work as they are usually not geared to treat silicon based materials. It has also been modified with a form of nano robots that attack any form of treatment. A fail safe put in to make sure those infected die horribly painful deaths.
The stronger a victim is the longer and more painful there eventually death is. The venom itself is dark green, almost black and is used to coat Tallma weapons. Anyone ever nicked with a weapon is subjected to the venom. Most die from the shock or their heart gives out from the pain.
Mutagen:
The Mutagen was created by Lortan Greevma on Acheron. It is the ultimate biological weapon. Those exposed are transformed at a psychological and physical level. Becoming faster, stronger and more durable. they also become completely loyal to their masters as each Victim has a master imprinted on them during their transformation. But they retain all their memories and abilities.
The process takes around six days however unconfirmed reports have stated that by the end of the battle it was only three days (They did shorten it to three days. 24 hours for each stage instead of 48).
Once the victim had been injected an anesthetic rendered them unconscious making it easier for them to be moved to a secure location. In the first 48 hours the body’s chemistry was altered and engrams placed into the subject’s brain. By the end of the 48 hours the subject was a willing servant. Then over the next 48hours the body’s physical changes began to manifest, the victim grew tail, horns, teeth and the eyes changed.
The last 48 hours, where the final stages as the changes became permanent and how the interior changes of the subject took effect, this stage also included the period where the subjects strength, stamina, resilience and endurance were increased. By the end of the process the victim became a fully formed Knighuant and the transformation was inevitable. the physical changes could be addressed but the mental changes were almost impossible.
The mutagen was going to be difficult. Alexis would need records, scans, and medical tests results before and after infection for every person, alive or dead, before she could begin to postulate ideas.
The neurotoxin however, now that she could attack. They had sent her the chemical composition and she pulled it up and the small ear buds, that she always wore in the lab, picked up the horrified gasp that quietly escaped. Then there were the nano-robots. Well they were susceptible to omicron radiation, and while that type of treatment was painful, it wasn’t deadly if damage was treated quickly, there was the possibility of programming another set of nanites to seek and destroy the ones attached to the toxin, a wolf in sheeps’ clothing, and then of course they had metal in them, and several metals could be collected through the correct form of magnatism. Transporters, that would be a quick answer. Seek out the foreign bodies, program the bio-filters, and then let the system do it’s work. Programming was not her area, though she was competent enough at it. She would have to see if Intel had access to someone as smart as her, but with computers.
And of course there was the silicone component. Mineral Spirits, Isopropyl Alcohol, and white vinegar all weakened or destroyed silicone. Alexis was already modifying an old fashioned dialysis machine to clean the blood that way. The damage done by the neuro toxin was a totally different matter. That could not be reversed if the toxin couldn’t be cleaned from the system.
Lt Bonner, medical research
(Idea and permission for Neurotixin and Mutagen by Nathan Derricutt)