Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Achilleas Petrakos (Chief Science Officer) in Main Sim - Starbase Ventilation Controls

Posted by Chief Petty Officer Oscar Cameron Cascarrabias Demalia (Engineer (Grouch)) in Main Sim - Starbase Ventilation Controls

Posted by Chief Petty Officer Oscar Cameron Cascarrabias Demalia (Engineer (Grouch)) in Main Sim - Starbase Ventilation Controls
Posted by… suppressed (14) by the Post Ghost! 👻
After he had left the Walrus in the Infirmary to be treated - with the promise that oysters were still on the menu, because of course the Walrus needed that particular promise - Oscar had grabbed some of the anti-fungal spray, along with the genetic makeup data for the fungal infection. He needed to be able to scan the system, and if he could manage it, he could even potentially adjust the bio-filters. Honestly, though, he was glad for the job because he was, once again, technically working alone. When he finally got to the ventilation control panel, he decided to try the easiest part of the job - if it was even possible.

“Bio-filter controls… Oh, come on… ¿Dónde están?”

Oscar shook his head. He had been on starship duty for so long that he had let his training for station-based Engineering slide. When he finally found it, he decided to just do a data transfer instead of trying to key in the information manually. He knew how to do that no matter the control system. If nothing else, if the new filter inputs worked, the fungus would stop spreading beyond contact with those already infected.

Oscar Cascarrabias
Engineering

As Oscar waited for the systems to update, he looked for a place to enter the ventilation systems. He felt like he needed to take the aerosol cure spray directly to the main mass of the fungus. He still had the map of the ventilation systems available, so he could very easily get there. The real issue was finding a route where he could fit his isolation suit instead of getting it jammed. He was fairly certain that he didn’t need the suit in order to stay sane, but he was actually more comfortable working with his hands encased than with them at liberty.

“Okay, time to do some duct cleaning.”

Oscar Cascarrabias
Engineering

OOC: Bump.

Oscar/Nick

The opening that he found was pretty much along the lines of one of the Jeffries tubes. It would be a tight squeeze going from a crew quarters part of the station from the Jefferies tubes via an air duct but it could be managed. The scans showed that the main mass was right above the four rooms in that sector and, well, from there Oscar was going to have to get creative.

GM Wombat

Oscar sighed. He immediately put a dose of the anti-fungal spray into his isolation suit’s air filtration system. Once he got confirmation that he’d fully inhaled it, and that the spray was cleared from his airflow, he turned off the suit and took it off. He’d done everything he could to not go crazy, and he was banking on the fact that the treatment for his previous infection was working against this new fungus.

Oscar memorized the route to the main fungal mass, grabbed his tools, and entered the Jeffries tubes, planning to squeeze into the ducts themselves when the time came.

Oscar Cascarrabias
Engineering

When Oscar got through the ducts he came to a small opening where the air circulation for a hab block met together. He could hear the conversation going on in the room below him, faint but he could hear the CoP and XO talking the the family.

In the vents however, a thick greenish blue moss covered the walls, any scans would show particles leaving the mass and being recirculated about the station. Further scans showed at least a low level of sentience.

GM Wombat

“You’re aware? Well, that complicates things,” Oscar said.

As he looked at it a bit more, he decided that, if he was allowed, he would try to keep it as a pet. He’d been barred from keeping pets for his entire life, given his condition - well, not exactly, but he wasn’t a fish tank kind of guy - so if this moss-like creature had something of a mind of its own, it would be nice to have some kind of companion.

=/\= Grouch to Ogawa XO. I think we’ve got a bit of problem with the simple removal of the fungal growth from the vents; it isn’t just alive, it’s actually self-aware in some way. I won’t say I want to name it yet, but that might be the case. Either way, I think I can at least establish a containment field around it for now. =/\=

Oscar Cascarrabias
Engineering

=/\=Acknowledged, Chief. Go ahead with the containment field. Are we still able to release the treatment for everyone through the vents or is it no longer advised?=/\=

Commander Myqian, XO (cross-posting)

While the moss couldn’t exactly speak, not having a mouth or anything like that, Oscar noted the spores shift when he asked the question about awareness, though it was subtle enough it could have just been a change in the direction of airflow.

GM Wombat

=/\= That shouldn’t be a problem, given that I’m just applying a filter to the particles this is releasing. =/\=

He activated the containment field and hoped that it would be enough to keep more spores from spreading to the rest of the starbase. Given that the fungus had just answered him somehow - probably something to do with the fact that its spores had infected a large number of people who were involved in some sort of shared delusion, so the fungus had a vague awareness of vocal communication (Oscar had picked up plenty of medical pseudo-jargon in his decade of hospitalization) - Oscar knew that his best bet was to assemble some sort of micro-environment for the life form.

“Okay, so I’m going to need a sealed environment with a general M-class atmosphere and a recirculated atmospheric flow to get you out of our vents. I might even need a duranium floor for you…”

Oscar looked to see if the fungal mass was connected all the way around the vent walls. He didn’t want to inadvertently harm the organism because he hadn’t given it adequate structural support.

Oscar Cascarrabias
Engineering

The mass was completely covering the walls, ceiling, and floor. Think a mat of moss covering rocks and trees. It trailed out and up the various air shafts but the forcefield could be be constructed such to get enough of the group grouped together.

Another way to think of it is as an algae bloom, a single mass working in unision, comprised of individual unique organisms. Further analysis would need to be done in science, but cursory scans here indicated that the whole organism could be reconstituted, much like sourdough starter.

GM Wombat

Oscar smiled ever so slightly. Gathering yeast was something that he had done as a hobby when he was 12 or so and had been encouraged to cook for himself.^ If the organism just needed to be collected in order to be kept intact, he was a lot less worried about harming it. After he confirmed that the force fields he had activated had enough of the mass contained, Oscar looked for some finer controls. He slowly adjusted the fields to contract towards the central shaft, pushing the mass into a single collective lump. It required some fine control, but Oscar probably could have handled it even if he were wearing his isolation suit.

When he had at least confined the mass to the main vent shaft where he was located, he sighed for a second, and realized that somebody would probably want to take a look at his new little buddy - at least that’s what Oscar thought of it, although “little” might not be an appropriate descriptor, given the blob of fungal growth before the Grouch - before he had it transported to his quarters.

=/\= Cascarrabias to Starbase Science Lab - I have the fungal mass contained. Do you want me to send it your way so you can take a look, or should I just go back to my quarters and build it a new home? =/\=

---

^Isolation had given Oscar some skills that most children hadn’t acquired in this day and age. For similar reasons, Oscar was also a skilled blacksmith, given that the project wasn’t too big, and could disassemble and reassemble a variety of pieces of modern technology (phasers, PADDs, replicators, etc.) by hand.

Oscar Cascarrabias
Engineering

OOC: Bump for Science

GM Wombat

OOC: Actually, Crossposting

=/\=Petrakos here. We’re recovering from the effects of that particularly nasty bugger, so please by all means bring it by. My staff and I would love a chance to figure out what the heck caused all of this.=/\=

CSO Petrakos (crosspost)

=/\= Understood. I’m sending over the physical parameters now so you can set up a containment field. Let me know when it’s ready, and I’ll send you the coordinates. =/\=

Oscar Cascarrabias
Engineering

BUMP

OOC: It’s been… hectic. Sorry for the delay.

=/\=Got it. We’ll get it set up, just gives us a heads up before you beam it over or bring it in.=/\=

CSO Petrakos

OOC Meant to be in the sci lab thread, so snipping that down a bit.