[snip]

OOC: Ok to clarify the bacteria CAN be airborne but only at a specific point of its ‘life’ when it ‘dies’ to drift to another host since the bacteria was not dead when the XO came aboard and got his ear covered before it can ‘die’ his vector is not a thread due to the ear covering he’s not got on....

=^= Lieutenant Aphelion to Sickbay. I have my analysis completed on the alien bacteria. So. I have discovered a few things after analyzing the sample. First it’s organic possibly originating from the planet. Second it seems to have symbiotic characteristics. Third it must be attached to an intelligent host to thrive. The great news is it does not seem to have any adverse effects upon attachment, infact this symbiotic bacteria seems to enhance abilities especially in humanoids. This makes sense since nurse Nightingale reported that the Commander had improved hearing in the ear where the bacteria was removed. Also explains why this little girl was able to ....er .... prove to be difficult for the Commander to handle. This bacteria has enhanced her strength. Her blood analysis is also showing no immunity response which means her body is not perceiving the bacteria as a threat. This all doesn’t seem too threatening right? Well…this is just my preliminary analysis and we can’t be sure of what kind of risks would come from long term exposure. Another thing that I picked up from my analysis and disturbs me is that this bacteria is airborne. It could have attached to anyone of us who went on the planet and since we know the Transporters did not neutralize it. Either one of us could be infected. Everyone who was on planet should quarantine ourselves in sickbay or the science lab until we can determine who is and is not infected.=^=

“How will I know if I’ve been infected,” asked Cara. “My hearing is already about three times better in frequency range than a human, especially at the higher pitches. Not only that but nine out of ten Caitians also have superior taste and olfactory senses.”

Up until now Hunter had been joking but when he heard the CSO he pulled out a chair telling Cara ‘’Either sit here or on a bio-bed you are quarantine, Cross will check you over, its rather strange that you lied, I never had that sort of image about your character‘’ his tone was far from pleasant.

‘’The Cmdr’s hearing has been improved due to the bacteria in his ear, on the other hand you were bitten on your tail…now if you’ll excuse me ‘’.

“I didn’t lie,” Cara pouted. “I wasn’t aware that the dirty little sprog had bitten my tail. And I’ve had some emergency medical training when I was younger in a uniformed youth organization. I was a First Aid Kit.”

As Cara’s scans finished and she would take a moment to consider the request if she felt anything different about her tail’s muscles she could actually now that she paid attention to using it that it did feel stronger and more flexible then usual.

Once said scan was done Hunter could also see on the scans that indeed her tail’s muscles from tip to Cara’s pelvis was indeed on the surface infected with the bacteria symbiont. Like the XO though the life cycle of the bacteria had not advanced yet to the point of being airborne so if they acted quick here they could put her tail and waist in some kind of sealed sheath/pants and like the XO be safe.

How impressive I don’t think Hunter thought.

‘’Cara you do have some bacteria on your tail ,if you’ll let me wrap a seal around it so when the bacteria ‘dies’ it won’t go airborne to infect another host. You should be safe and can go to your quarters ‘’ Hunter informed her, then waited for a reply.
Maybe she would prefer Cross rather then a male doctor.
Hunter Dr.

“That depends,” Cara replied, “on whether she is going to accuse me of lying again. As for having to wear an adult nappy… I can’t say that I’m enthusiastic about it!”

“Do you know?” Cara said, “I think my tail does actually feel stronger! And more agile! And it’s more flexible too. This is fantastic! And I can grasp and hold objects for longer. This is amazing!”

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After being told to attend Sickbay by Dr. Cross, Glen arrived about 5 minutes later to discover why.

‘’That was fast Captain, did you come by jet? ‘’ she joked, then thought maybe it was not something to joke about ‘’Captain remember when the child spit the piece of bread and you shoved it back into her mouth ? It was most probably smudged with saliva and well we have to check if you have been exposed to any bacteria ‘’Cross waited for his response, that’s if he had any.

“Are you having a relapse Doctor?” Glen asked. Earlier he had stood in the same doorway and watched Doctor Cross feed the girl the sandwich while he looked on. The girl had spat it out at Nurse Mightingale but Captain Glen hadn’t got involved at all. “I’ve heard from Science that the germ is airborne anyway, so we’ll all have to be tested for it, whether we were bitten, spat upon, scratched, or simply in the same room.”

‘’Am I Captain?’‘ Cross asked ‘’ I agree one of us is having a relapse but don’t be so sure it was me and not you Captain ‘’ she replied back ‘’Yes I know its airborne as well for the CSO did inform us ‘’.

‘’Captain your hands please ‘’Cross scanned both of them ‘’You also have some bacteria ,we’ll seal the effected hand ,so when it dies it would be unable to became airborne’‘ .
With that being said Cross wondered if she would be sealed from head to toe ‘’Captain the child is in a closed room ,maybe someone should go using an U T to try and communicate with her ?’‘ the female doctor asked ‘’We have to take her back to her people at some point ‘’.

Now that the bacteria was being taken care off since they found its mode of transmission and also how it subsequently became airborne .Cross had to ask the Captain ‘’Sir who shall take that child down and is it so important to help those on the planet knowing what’s lurking down there?’‘.

Kate stood there trying to remember if it was truly her that did it * I must be tired perhaps that’s the reason* the nurse thought to herself as she looked on at the Captain, Cross and Hunter not really knowing what to say.

Cross was her usual self ,enough stimulation at the moment to keep her out of trouble . What happened next was sudden and unexpected to the others ,first she dropped the tricoder then raised a hand over her face, at this point Hunter was quick enough to help her sit down ‘’Miriam what’s wrong ,do you need some rest ?’‘ he glanced at the Captain concerned.

‘’No, no ‘’ she replied ‘’I have just thought of something which could be important....how could I have forgotten!!’‘ .She spoke to Glen ‘’Captain back at the Habitat, when Lt Lance with his eye problem and myself feeling unwell , the Cmdr decided to let us rest while they went on with the tour. A young nurse came and we started talking jumping from one subject to another ,at some point she told me that two decades earlier an airborne microorganism had infiltrated through their system that made most of the people sick, it happened because this microorganism was small enough to pass through and because of what had happened they developed a more robust system , so nothing similar would happen again, she then went and brought back a pile of papers essentially consisting of a more complex new system different in structure to that which had previously existed ‘’.

“Of course I remember that,” Glen replied. “You were quite adament that we didn’t leave the Habitat without information on the infection, and I made sure that the Dol and Sal gave it to us… So, you believe that infection may be realted to this infection on the planet? We have travelled several Sectors to get here, but we do know that the Habitat did trade and exchange with merchant ships from far away destinations. It isn’t beyong the bounds of probabilities. I expect that you haven’t had the time to enter the information into Mabel’s medical database yet?”

The doctor stood up pacing ‘’I’m certain I brought those papers with me but I cannot recall for the life of me were I left them’‘.

“I’m sure they called that infection on the Habitat ‘a disease’,” Glen added. “I’m a pilot not a doctor, but doesn’t that tend to mean that it is ‘disabling of health’, whereas this infection appears to be a positive boon, if it improves senses and musculature?”

She gave the child who was still absorbed with the diagnostic wand a mild sedative ‘’Kate wrap her up in a sheet and put her in the cubicle where we have the only cot available on the ship, leave some soft food, milk and sweets .Please make sure the lock is closed from the outside ,do keep an eye on her every now and then’‘.

At the word ‘Cot’ the doctor could not help but think had things turned out differently her baby boy would have been laid down in that cot .

Cross did find the paper records their past visitors had given upon her request. At present though rigging such a complex system into the Merrimack would be quite complex to roll out in any length of recent time. Looking also at record scans of the girl Cross again can confirm the girl was infected by the bacterial symbiote. But now that they knew what to look for it would be child’s play to adjust the internal medical scanners to do a section by section sweep of the ship to look for said bacteria and who was infected. Since it was not harmful it seemed so far they could also probably focus on how they would move ahead with the locals on the planet they had so suddenly left behind just after arriving. No doubt after 3 or so hours being gone if the girl did have parents or caretakers they would probably have noticed she was missing, assuming they had maternal instincts to care/protect the girl they probably would be looking for her. They could also try talking to said girl, see what ability to communicate through the UT she could provide, since no one had done such yet either really.

Kate came with the papers which held all the information ‘’They where in your office Cross ‘’ the doctor nodded ‘’Great !When all this is over Engineering would have some work on their hands ‘’.

“We have two excellent linguists about the Merrimack,” Glen said. “McKenzie Lovejoy and Pashi zh’Vhohlehr. If the Universal Translator isn’t decoding what this girl is saying, can we get them to speak to her? I’m surprised this hasn’t happened yet. She might have more information about how her community deals with the effects.”

• Glen, CO