Strong are thy Sails

Posted on Sat Apr 19th, 2025 @ 3:13am by Doc & Lieutenant S'Lace & Lieutenant JG Nalt Iyel & Lieutenant Mina Pfeiffer

1,127 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: The Serpent's Tooth [3]
Location: Base Hospital, DS13
Timeline: 0245 - MD07 - After 'The Constellations Stagger'

Upon arrival S'Lace began to issue orders:

"The man with the missing limb seems straightforward, I want him stabilized. Likewise the men with burns should be attended to. We have a pregnancy on our hands but based on physiological similarities it is probable we will be able to handle it.

"Our greatest problem is the child, who has no immune system due to it's body's need of a..." she was tempted to say 'parasite' as by definition that is what it was; it made one dependent upon it against the host's will, regardless of any benefit. But she did not wish to offend any Trills. At least in their case it was a voluntary symbiosis, "...life form which takes on that physiological duty. This means we must develop a means to devise a medical treatment to act in this...creature's stead in order to treat the child. We will need a quarantine, stabilize the child's condition, then develop a treatment."

She regarded the staff, "None of our patients are to leave Sickbay. None, barring orders from a superior officer. I will not have a potential security breach endanger the ship. These are guests but for all we know one or more of them are agents. We are ignorant of almost all facts regarding these refugees or whom they are fleeing from."

Doctor Pfeiffer nodded, obeying silently. She and a team of nurses descended on the first of the burn victims.

The child was placed in a sterilized environment and S'Lace proceeded to run tests to see if there were any immediate medical treatments that could stabilize her patient. All the while she considered some possibilities. The most extreme was to see if they could transplant a creature from one host to the this one. That meant either a volunteer or one of her patients dying. To ask someone to give up their life to save this child was ethically questionable and even if that happened there was no guarantee she could successfully perform the transplant.

Another option, however, was to create an artificial replacement. Was such a thing possible? Well, Starfleet engineers were 'miracle workers'. And there were cybernetic limbs and visual aids. However this would call for the creation of an entirely different sort of prosthetic, essentially an artificial organ. That would require research.

As she called up short term treatment to stabilize her patient she tapped her comm badge, "Doctor Pfeiffer, it is possible we will have to place the child in cryo stasis while we develop a long term treatment. Or place him in a transporter buffer."

The mother was not going to like either option, S'Lace thought wryly...

"Understood." Pfeiffer said, before turning away from the now-stabilised amputee. A new leg for him was certain, but what variety was a complicated question they would worry about later. "If we must, I would suggest the transporter. Doc has a subroutine that has allowed him to maintain complex living matter in the buffer for near-record times."

S'Lace nodded, "Fine. It is an option to be considered. But if the parent or parents do not understand what transporter technology is they might not realize we are preserving the child's life. It can be a last resort."

"Lieutenants, if I might suggest an approach based on my experience with Trill medicine?" Dr Iyel asked her superiors, having finally formed a complete image of the status of each of their patients.

S'Lace turned to Dr. Iyel, "Enlighten me."

"Mr Kanahkt mentioned a drug that could replace the symbiote's function. One of the burned men doesn't seem to have a symbiote, but there's a compound in his blood that seems to serve an immunological function. It should be a simple matter to isolate the compound and replicate a medicated dose." Iyel knew there were risks, but any action they took was dependent on many factors beyond their control and current understanding. "Chemically, it's quite similar to a treatment used for Trill who develop phantom blending syndrome, which makes the body think it's lost a symbiote."

"That is not without risks, Iyel." Pfeiffer interjected with a professional and distinctly German informative toughness. "There are any number of variations in his anatomy that we would need days of risk simulations to ethically consider. Not to mention, any reconstruction is unlikely to have the efficacy of an original serum. If it is ineffective or wears off quickly, withdrawals might finish the boy in his state." She looked to S'Lace for a decision, having said what she felt she needed to say.

"If this drug exists then it is an avenue that we must pursue," S'Lace said after a moment, "At the very least we should replicate the compound now while we explore our options," she hesitated another moment, then said, "We should place the child in the transporter buffer now to ensure his physical condition does not degrade. Meanwhile we use all that data we have accrued to explore our options."

"Yes ma'am." Iyel said with a nod, grabbing the equipment to delicately take a sample of the blood of the burned Jaffa without a symbiote. She left the transport of the child to those with more experience with such matters.

Doctor Pfeiffer spoke to the computer, "Activate SMH." She instructed, and the holographic Doc appeared. Before he could get his holographic medical catchphrase out, Pfeiffer was issuing instructions. "The child has a significantly compromised immune system. We need to store the child in transporter stasis until a more effective treatment has been developed." She told the hologram, who nodded and went immediately to work.

"Well," She said to S'Lace with an exhale, as she monitored the situation for each of the patients momentarily. "Would you prefer to let the boy's parents know what we're about to do to him, or should I?" Pfeiffer asked, hoping that for her more emotionally controlled superior it might be a simpler proposition.

S'Lace was tempted to delegate this particular task; it was probable the parents would become...emotional. S'Lace was used to gross displays of emotion; she had been married to Klarth, after all. Most emotional outbursts did not disturb her, save grief; it resonated all to well with her own.

"I will inform the parents," she said after a moment's hesitation, "They deserve to hear my decision from myself as well as the risks and potential outcomes."

A thought occurred to her, "It...may be possible to perform a transplant from one of the parents. We should check on their health and pursue that potential avenue. But do not tell the parents; it may be our new last resort and we do not need histrionics."

"Jawohl, Lieutenant. I will prepare an exam area." Pfeiffer said with a nod, confident everything was under control currently.

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