Weaving in Loose Threads

[Gidgiddoni 0]

The following log takes place on Obi VI, the Federation colony visited a year ago (late 2294 - early 2295) by the starship Challenger.

 

The outbreak last year of "plasma plague" on Obi VI, so named because of it's ability to survive in the blood plasma of disparate species, had been so lethal that mortality rates exceeded 99.5%. Although the vector had been isolated as originating from a comet impact, there had been no cure found. Exposure had been essentially a death sentence. Only the remoteness of the Giiwhyen community on the northern continent had contained the spread. Still, in the two weeks of its rampage, 3500 colonists had succumbed. The entire settlement had been wiped out.

 

Dr. Susan Nuress and her team of researchers had remained behind on Obi IV after departure of the USS Challenger. Together, they'd sought ways to prevent a recurrence and find an effective treatment.

 

Their first objective had failed.

 

The second outbreak had started with a single woman in the southern urban areas. In days, that single case had expanded exponentially, affecting more than 2000 residents in the capital. Patient Zero and hundreds of others had died.

 

Last time, the medical community had been overwhelmed by the sheer number of patients. This time, they had been better prepared, with fewer health care providers exposed themselves. Dr. Nuress and her team had been already there, able to call on the past year's research and the advice of distant colleagues to combat the disease.

 

Their second objective had succeeded.

 

"That's wonderful news, Susan," came an enthusiastic reply over the subspace channel.

 

Dr. Nuress couldn't help but smile a little, blinking back the eye strain from so many waking hours. "It was a team effort, Gid," she admitted. "It's not like single-handedly trying to bring Klingon medicine out of the Dark Ages."

 

Onscreen, Dr. Gidgiddoni merely shrugged. "I'm sure everyone will get the credit. Your research associates should be proud." The Deltan doctor mimed getting out a stylus and data slate. "Now, tell me again so I get the details right for posterity."

 

Dr. Nuress scoffed, but relented. "You know my work on developing passive mutations of more aggressive viruses," she explained. "Well, we did that here. I generated a whole series so we could test which proteins to manipulate and render it inert."

 

The image of Gidgiddoni nodded. "Yes, I read your paper in the Grima Center Journal."

 

Nuress continued. "We'd had some success, but as always, the problem was getting the altered virus to overpower the more aggressive variant."

 

The Deltan onscreen waved her on. "I'm familiar with the problem."

 

"We got lucky," Nuress observed. "It was the ninth in the series, one of the early ones we discounted as an under-producer. I was reviewing past samples when I found it had undergone explosive growth." She went on. "We'd used a cyanoacylate solution as a control agent, but it had acted as a catalyst."

 

Gidgiddoni shook her head. "I don't understand," she asked with a frown. "Cyanoacylate is an inhibitor. It's not supposed to react with anything."

 

Nuress nodded vigorously. "You can see why we were intrigued. It was Dr. Hurley who found the connection," she explained further. "Eichner radiation. The cyanoacylate gives off low-level emissions. Bless Maurice and his techno obsessions."

 

The onscreen image leaned closer. "I don't think I'm familiar..."

 

"It's harmless," Susan insisted. "There's never been a recorded instance of it ever interacting with biological matter. Hell, they don't even put a warning label on engineering equipment that generates it." She went on. "So we used cyanoacrylates to generate enough passive agent with the disabled target protein."

 

"But you can't inject cyanoacrylates into a host..."

 

"No," Nuress interrupted, "we filter it out, but it helps us replicate enough for anti-viral inoculation."

 

"From what I've heard, it's been a complete success," Gidgiddoni congratulated.

"Not right away," Nuress admitted. "We found dozens of patients too compromised by the plague to produce enough in their own systems. Their bodies were just too weak. But since Eichner radiation is benign, we found we could expose them to a low-level field and stimulate the production artificially. You can thank your replacement on Challenger for that one. Dr. Juno was able to lay hands on some subspace phase inverters, or whatever they are, that did the trick. Alexei spent a few weeks out here with us."

 

"Amazing," Gidgiddoni marveled. She mimed putting down the stylus. "That'll make a great entry in the Memory Alpha archives."

 

Susan rubbed a hand through her hair, imagining how frazzled it was. At this moment, she envied the Deltan's bald scalp. "After more than a year on the Klingon homeworld," she prompted, "I would think you'll have an amazing collection of stories and data."

 

Gidgiddoni folded her hands. "If the Klingons ever let me publish the details outside the Empire," she groused. "They seem to worry about other species exploiting knowledge of their 'inner workings'. I had to appeal to our ambassador just to get some vacation time in Federation space."

 

Nuress massaged her scalp. "I'm going to need some vacation time after we finish here. How was Pacifica?"

 

A smile crept across the Deltan's face. "Warm. Sensuous. Too short. I timed it so I could meet up with some of the Challenger crew, but they got called off on some rescue mission." She grew quiet. "I'm ashamed to say I spent the rest of the trip reading some trashy novel Dr. Harris recommended." Her eyes narrowed wickedly. "You ever hear of The Saurien's Unscaled Mistress?"

Edited January 6, 2010 by Gidgiddoni