Posted by Captain John Tiberius Glen (Captain) in Sciene Dept - BIO -Hazard -Unkown Bacteria

Posted by David Fergusson in Sciene Dept - BIO -Hazard -Unkown Bacteria
[snip]

Kate handed him her transmitter ‘’Its best to speak directly to the CE yourself ,as for the bacteria it was picked up during the duration while you were in the decontamination Chamber, the rest of the team was cleared ,as for the child Cross has given her a medical evaluation but I do not know the results as of yet’‘ Kate replied then went on ‘’Be patient Cmdr ,hopefully the Science dept will provide some answers ‘’.

When the biohazard containers arrived there was no surprise however what was surprising was the fact that the bacterial sample from the Commander’s ear and that it had not been neutralize by the transporter. Verity looked at her new science officer and said, “Well, Pashi, it looks like we have our work cut out for us. We need to analyze this gross sample that came from the Commander’s ear and determine it’s organic and biological properties. Also why our transporter was not able to neutralize it.” She thought for a moment. “The child that was beamed aboard with us, we need external and internal biological samples such as a blood analysis from her as well. We will compare them to the Commander’s sample to confirm that she is the source of the bacteria and to evaluate any immunity properties she may have incase the Commander develops an adverse reaction to the contaminate. I will contact sickbay and have them send samples from her too.

The blood samples were now lying flat in the science dept ‘’All yours ‘’Kate responded before leaving .

“Thank you Nurse Nightingale”, said Verity, before she was able to leave, “Ah nurse. How is the Commander doing? Is he showing any adverse reactions to his infection?”

‘’The last I heard was that because of the bacteria in his ear the Cmdr ‘s hearing has improved considerable..what ever that means ‘’ the nurse smiled and waved to the CSO before heading back to sickbay.

Verity donned her hazmat suit, locked herself in one of the secured science labs, and began her analysis. Her goal was to understand the evolutionary process of the organism and how biologically diverse it was from other common bacterial specimens they had in the lab. She also needed to understand its ecological relationship to the planet and how that shaped the particular adaptations of the bacteria.

OOC: Ok so since i’m not very medically inclined please bare with me on my reply here as I go through this as best as I can for the sake of the sim!
OOC: Don’t worry, the presence of some Handwavium or Unobtanium will explain it!
-Dave

Looking at the results in more detail the staff examining the bacterial sample from the XO could indeed confirm it was a strange hybrid sort of bacteria and yet showed properties of symbiotic effects. In this case the organism while feeding on and infecting local cells in the region of effect extruded a microscopic enzyme which in higher functioning humanoids increased various organic effects on the genetic level. In this case since it had found a host within the left ear of the XO his hearing on that side had been increased to be more sensitive. In effect he had the hearing range and capacity of almost 2 or so times that of a normal human.

Further digging into the life span of the organism, they could see and confirm it was natural, not something cooked up in a lab like say by the klingons. The organism once it had fed and nested for about what seemed about a day would ‘die’ in a sense during into a fine dust which would trigger it to get hooked onto the passage of air, once this dust now on a cell level like tiny millions of ‘eggs’ would connect with another intelligent humanoid host the process would repeat. Until they hooked to an intelligent host though they were inactive and not a threat to anyone else or non-intelligent high functioning creatures.

Looking at the blood and other samples from the native child they could see quite a few infection points on the child. Areas of her showed infections which would explain her irate reactions above what a normal child could produce. Enhancing further her normal capacity for action or self defense, breathing, and the like. For the child the bacteria was heavily coated within her arms and legs, as well as just under the skin inside her muscles. There was also large colonies all over her face, ears, and nose likely giving her heightened senses there too. It seems due to moisture in her eyes prevented the bacterial-symbiont from finding purchase there.

The child’s immune system it seems by natural development did not consider what little of the bacteria to get into her blood stream to be a threat, so it was ignored. Indeed signs were present that the bacteria would probably help in small ways with healing and fighting off over forms of infection to the host. In effect this natural bacterial-symbiont had created in a fashion a sort of stronger, faster, and tougher humanoid then would be normal on this planet otherwise. It was probably why the Klingons had enjoyed using them for mining work and such as slaves to begin with.

So to sum it all up the XO’s infection had not spread likely from when he had gotten aboard because it had not ‘died’ yet. The fact he now worse a device which isolated any droppings from his ear would also keep others safe. Nor did it seem to show any after effects that should be a concern as of yet.

Follow ups though should be checked with Cara Meow since she had been bitten directly by the child, and while the skin breakage had been minor it was possible some could have gotten into her blood stream, or at the least nested on her tail.

GM CockRoach

After Verity had finished her analysis she exited the lab and activated a comm link. =^= 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.=^= She scrolled through her PaDD to her notes about the girl child’s results. =^=Also explains why this little girl was able to ....er .... prove to be difficult for the Commanderto 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.=^=

V. Aphelion, CSO

The Merrimack has gone to an Amber Alert and shortly after the Captain calls.

=/\= Science Department. Captain Glen to Lieutenant Aphelion. Please adjust all internal medical scanners to do a section by section sweep of the ship to look for this alien bacteria and who has been infected by it. =/\=

-Glen, CO

=^=Aye Captain. I will report back to you and the Medical department with the results when I have them.=^= Although the bacteria didn’t seem to have any real adverse affected, Verity still hoped she was not one of the infected. =^=I will collaborate with Medical to see if we can come up with an effective antibiotic for the infected, which may take days sir. I also recommend we contact engineering to enhance the air filtration system since the bacteria have airborne capabilities.=^=

V. Aphelion, CSO