The Cure Pt 2

Posted on Wed Mar 15th, 2023 @ 3:28am by Captain Rhenora Kaylen & Lieutenant Sarah Wilson & Lieutenant JG Blake Leone & Remal Kajun

Mission: Planet of the Dinosaurs
Location: Camp - Med Tent

Dr Sarah Wilson slept for a good 8 hours, giving the Captain and Blake a good head start with fresh eyes in getting a cure or at least some form of inoculation going. So far Blake had discovered the soil, the water and some plants had some form of bio symbiosis, the plant offsetting the toxicity of the water and the soil. It was a start.

Some time later the trio were at a hypothetical workable antidote that should half the progression of any further toxicity from the local environment. It was a hodgepodge of plant synthesis mixed with some antibodies from Sidaks immune system and a few other bits and pieces. "Now we need to test it" Sarah said with some trepidation, clearly a out to test it on herself.

"No, please, test it on Remal, he is way further advanced, he would want it" the Captain had moved over to hold the limp and pale hand of her husband.

"I hope this will work. It's not like we have time to spare", Blake said as she looked at the sick people in the tent. 2 looked like they were on the brink of death. They had already lost a few, and no one wanted to lose more. Thankfully, most weren't that far out.
Looking at Dr. Wilson, she could see the woman's skin color looked much better. It was good to see. The woman had been working herself to the point of nearly passing out with fatigue when the Captain had ordered her to get some sleep.
While she wasn't particularly religious, she still prayed for the sick people's recovery. There wasn't much else she could do. Now, she could only hope for for their work to give the hoped results.

Sarah looked at the Captain with a question in her eyes before taking the one and only dose of the treatment they had developed so far. "Are you sure Captain, we have no idea what this will do with someone so advanced. It could kill him"

There was a shaky pause as the Captain nodded and settled herself beside her husband. "Blake, can you grab two tricorders and the emergency kit. Just in case. I need you to monitor his vitals whilst I administer the treatment and monitor it's absorption into his cellular structures"

Blake nodded and did as told. She settled on the other side of the patient, so she wouldn't be in the way of the Captain and Dr. Wilson. She pushed all distractions out of her mind as she watched Remal's vitals.

Rhenora held Remal's hand as the medication entered his bloodstream, warring with the chaos the toxins this planet was throwing at them. Kit had also mentioned the insects altering DNA and she hoped this antidote they had developed would combat that as well.

"Vitals are stable", Blake told Dr. Wilson and the Captain. Then she frowned. "His pulse is increasing slightly. But I suppose that it isn't to anyone's surprise. He's been in this state for some days. His pulse lowered when he got this sick. The pulse is more in the normal range now than it was before".

" The serum is being absorbed and transported by his lymphatic system, I'm not showing any marked change at this point with the nature of the disease. It may take some time though. We need to keep monitoring him closely in case things change" Sarah admitted, running another viral sweep on the unconscious Bajoran. Rhenora held his hand and whispered encouraging words, gently moving her thumb over the back of his hand.

Blake knew that they could only wait and hope now. With some luck, the serum would solve their issue with the severe sickness among the crew. She crossed her fingers and settled to wait for things to either improve or they would lose people.

For the most part Sarah was happy with the way things were progressing, the cellular uptake was good, the degeneration appeared to have halted and there were even signs of it reversing. They were far from out of the woods but in the early stages the serum looked promising. " I think we may have done it, I detect no rejection from his body, no reaction - allergic or otherwise. It appears to be working"

The Captain breathed an audible sigh of relief, relinquishing Remal's hand to stand and give both Sarah and Blake a hug. " We should start a larger trial, create some more serum and start distributing it" She started, before Sarah held up a hand. "Give it an hour or two before we consider distributing it, and it's gonna take us a while to manufacture some more anyway. Start on it and I'll keep monitoring Remal here for any adverse reactions"

"Good work Blake, you've been instrumental in saving the crew" Rhenora praised.

Blake smiled. "I'm just glad it seems like we've found a solution to the sickness the crew has been dealing with. I do have one worry though", she said. When we ran tests on the water supply, there was some toxins in it. I wonder if we can find a way to purify it, to avoid more sickness", she went on.

"Good idea, I'll start replicating the vaccine, why don't you switch your attention to the water supply after grabbing a rest?" The Captain suggested, heading to the single medical replicator in the tent and inputting the details, pulling out one vial at a time as the replicator worked. Soon she had enough for around 15 doses and had a good inkling of those she would offer it to first.

"Captain, head out with what you've got and I'll keep replicating more" Sarah suggested as she nodded towards the door. "Blake, take a few hours to get some sleep and then we can work on the water purity. You've done an amazing job"

As Rhenora began to rush out, she passed Remal's bedside. In a sudden swift motion, his arm reached out and took hold of hers. He was not yet conscious, nor was he, himself. The vaccine to the de-evolutionary process had taken hold just enough for him to signal that he was okay and he no longer wanted to feel alone.

The movement stopped the Captain in her tracks, instantly her attention went from the remaining crew to her husband who's colour had improved dramatically as had his vital signs. She knelt next to him, not letting go of his hand and whispered sweet nothings in his ear.

Everything tingled, and he couldn't move his body. But he could hear the words inside his head and the smile on his face spoke volumes. He had missed her voice, like a distant memory. He wanted to speak but could only squeeze her hand tighter.

"Shhh, rest, everything is going to be okay" she finished, giving his hand another squeeze. After a few more minutes she rose "I need to distribute the vaccine to the crew, I'll be back soon, I promise". She planted a kiss on his cheek and squeezed his hand one more time then left the med tent.