Mission 1.3: Internal Medicine

[Constance Lafayette]

[Bridge]
"That is all Ash. Thank you." Constance replied as she watched the shot.

Deacon's shot went a little wide and Constance grimaced. Not at the missed shot but at the creature's obvious discomfort.

Luke covered Dylan's question but she was glad he went further and explained it all.

"Make it so Mr. Scott. Take us in." She said when Leonard suggested using the incision.

Once inside the planet it was a different story. There was fluid all around them, akin the blood but not entirely the same as a human's. It was slightly corrosive and, though the shields could hold, it was a drain to keep it off the ship.

The vein was about a mile in diameter The sensors easily adapted, though the relatively ramped quarters (compared to open space) gave some little bit of refraction. Only moments in and they picked something up. Then another thing. Pretty soon there were dozens of signatures.

Constance thought for a moment, remembering her training as a nurse, "Mr. Stafford. If I recall my emergency medical training correctly- the site of a wound is flooded with clotting platelets and neutrophils white blood cells to clean out any foreign bodies that may have gotten in... would it stand to reason creature's biology treat us like a Á¢â,¬Ëœforeign body' in this wound?"

She had her answer almost as soon as the words were out of her mouth as shuttle-sized white blood cells began to attack the ship with small globulas of acid.

[Leonard T. Scott]

[Bridge]
"That is all Ash. Thank you." Constance replied as she watched the shot.

Deacon's shot went a little wide and Constance grimaced. Not at the missed shot but at the creature's obvious discomfort.

Luke covered Dylan's question but she was glad he went further and explained it all.

"Make it so Mr. Scott. Take us in." She said when Leonard suggested using the incision.

Once inside the planet it was a different story. There was fluid all around them, akin the blood but not entirely the same as a human's. It was slightly corrosive and, though the shields could hold, it was a drain to keep it off the ship.

The vein was about a mile in diameter The sensors easily adapted, though the relatively ramped quarters (compared to open space) gave some little bit of refraction. Only moments in and they picked something up. Then another thing. Pretty soon there were dozens of signatures.

Constance thought for a moment, remembering her training as a nurse, "Mr. Stafford. If I recall my emergency medical training correctly- the site of a wound is flooded with clotting platelets and neutrophils white blood cells to clean out any foreign bodies that may have gotten in... would it stand to reason creature's biology treat us like a Á¢â,¬Ëœforeign body' in this wound?"

She had her answer almost as soon as the words were out of her mouth as shuttle-sized white blood cells began to attack the ship with small globulas of acid.

Scott was trying his best to avoid the antibodies, but they appeared to be more like a swarm of locusts. In his head, he imagined a little splat each time one would hit the shields and hull.

[James Carter]

[Bridge]
"That is all Ash. Thank you." Constance replied as she watched the shot.

Deacon's shot went a little wide and Constance grimaced. Not at the missed shot but at the creature's obvious discomfort.

Luke covered Dylan's question but she was glad he went further and explained it all.

"Make it so Mr. Scott. Take us in." She said when Leonard suggested using the incision.

Once inside the planet it was a different story. There was fluid all around them, akin the blood but not entirely the same as a human's. It was slightly corrosive and, though the shields could hold, it was a drain to keep it off the ship.

The vein was about a mile in diameter The sensors easily adapted, though the relatively ramped quarters (compared to open space) gave some little bit of refraction. Only moments in and they picked something up. Then another thing. Pretty soon there were dozens of signatures.

Constance thought for a moment, remembering her training as a nurse, "Mr. Stafford. If I recall my emergency medical training correctly- the site of a wound is flooded with clotting platelets and neutrophils white blood cells to clean out any foreign bodies that may have gotten in... would it stand to reason creature's biology treat us like a Á¢â,¬Ëœforeign body' in this wound?"

She had her answer almost as soon as the words were out of her mouth as shuttle-sized white blood cells began to attack the ship with small globulas of acid.

[Bridge]

"I could fire at anything that gets close enough to us. Not enough to kill anything. Just enough to repel them." James finally said as he read over the information displayed on the primary tactical station. "We'll also have to be a bit more conservative with firepower to reserve some power to the shields."

[Paige Wardropper]

[Bridge]

Constance thought for a moment, remembering her training as a nurse, "Mr. Stafford. If I recall my emergency medical training correctly- the site of a wound is flooded with clotting platelets and neutrophils white blood cells to clean out any foreign bodies that may have gotten in... would it stand to reason creature's biology treat us like a Á¢â,¬Ëœforeign body' in this wound?"

She had her answer almost as soon as the words were out of her mouth as shuttle-sized white blood cells began to attack the ship with small globulas of acid.

Bridge

"Phagocytosis..." murmured Paige.  Her colleague at the academy had been a Dr McGellen, a virologist and immunologist.  What they'd discussed over copious beverages was beginning to make sense now.

Speaking out loud so that anyone would be able to hear she said "Even if we are acting like an antibiotic medicine, any living beings automatic defense systems kick in.  That's half of how a body fights illness and the immune system works. We as a 'foreign body' are forcing the planet-creature to activate it's defense mechanisms, or 'immune system' and thus indirectly the planet is trying to heal itself."

Paige allowed herself to feel the planet for a moment letting down her guards against the empathic side of her for a moment.

"Does or has anyone ever lived on this planet?" she asked vaguely mostly at Sciences as they were most likely to know or be able to find out.  "It's just a feeling I'm getting that the pain this planet creature is in... isn't self-inflicted, but something that's been caused over time and is now almost like a wide-spread, but hopefully not inoperable, cancer."

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Bridge]

She had her answer almost as soon as the words were out of her mouth as shuttle-sized white blood cells began to attack the ship with small globulas of acid.

[Bridge]

"I could fire at anything that gets close enough to us. Not enough to kill anything. Just enough to repel them." James finally said as he read over the information displayed on the primary tactical station. "We'll also have to be a bit more conservative with firepower to reserve some power to the shields."

[Bridge]

"Carter, Deacon, get me an analysis on this attack, if that's what it is." Stafford said. The red alert klaxons were buzzing in his ears, a constant reminder of the danger of the task at hand. "And return fire. Like you said, take it easy, we don't want to hurt this thing or waste power."

The commander walked to the tactical station and studied it briefly before meeting the eyes and VISOR of the two officers. "Could we have Crewman Ezac modify a torpedo to disperse the blood clot cleanly and painlessly?"

Stafford was out of his element by just a bit. He had been a general practitioner in his day, not an experimental micro-surgeon. It was difficult to interpret the situation on such a scale, and with an unknown exobiology twist to boot.

[Levinia Black]

Bridge

Levinia waited and chewed on her bottom lip as the ship entered the creature's body.  She kept an eye on the scans which started to come up with what the creature looked like on the inside.  It was amazing how biological it was and not very different from other biological life forms.  "Its crust seems to be planet like, with a live version of magnetic shielding which is probably what protects it from solar radiation and keeps those life forms on the surface growing.  It looks like the life forms act as a skin cleaning service and in return the creature provides them with nutrients to grow.  Fascinating really,  with future study we can figure out what it eats..."  She leaned in further, reaching over the shoulder of the science cadet and scanning the information that scrolled before her.

[Bridge]

"I could fire at anything that gets close enough to us. Not enough to kill anything. Just enough to repel them." James finally said as he read over the information displayed on the primary tactical station. "We'll also have to be a bit more conservative with firepower to reserve some power to the shields."

Levinia made her way to tactical and studied the display.  She knew a bit about tactical, but mainly from studying what Tanibak did.  Still, it was a skill that she had not quite gotten yet, like flying she was always working on it.  "It's okay if you kill them, they're individual antibodies not sentient and they have a short life anyway.  Their goal IS to kill us, so don't hold back from killing them first."  She chewed on her lip and suggested to the lieutenant, "Perhaps we can make our shielding unappealing or better yet, disguise ourselves as part of the creature's body, that way they won't attack us anymore and we can run free?"

Bridge

"Phagocytosis..." murmured Paige.  Her colleague at the academy had been a Dr McGellen, a virologist and immunologist.  What they'd discussed over copious beverages was beginning to make sense now.

Speaking out loud so that anyone would be able to hear she said "Even if we are acting like an antibiotic medicine, any living beings automatic defense systems kick in.  That's half of how a body fights illness and the immune system works. We as a 'foreign body' are forcing the planet-creature to activate it's defense mechanisms, or 'immune system' and thus indirectly the planet is trying to heal itself."

Paige allowed herself to feel the planet for a moment letting down her guards against the empathic side of her for a moment.

"Does or has anyone ever lived on this planet?" she asked vaguely mostly at Sciences as they were most likely to know or be able to find out.  "It's just a feeling I'm getting that the pain this planet creature is in... isn't self-inflicted, but something that's been caused over time and is now almost like a wide-spread, but hopefully not inoperable, cancer."

Levinia nodded at Paige as the pretty doctor made her comments.  "Could be, but it could also be something the creature was born with.  We won't know until we get to it; but right now we need to get to it without getting ourselves stuck, or worse, destroyed."  She shivered slightly at the thought of slowly being eliminated by the bodies natural defenses.  It made getting blown up sound enjoyable.

[Bridge]

"Carter, Deacon, get me an analysis on this attack, if that's what it is." Stafford said. The red alert klaxons were buzzing in his ears, a constant reminder of the danger of the task at hand. "And return fire. Like you said, take it easy, we don't want to hurt this thing or waste power."

The commander walked to the tactical station and studied it briefly before meeting the eyes and VISOR of the two officers. "Could we have Crewman Ezac modify a torpedo to disperse the blood clot cleanly and painlessly?"

Stafford was out of his element by just a bit. He had been a general practitioner in his day, not an experimental micro-surgeon. It was difficult to interpret the situation on such a scale, and with an unknown exobiology twist to boot.

Levinia grinned at the XO's brilliant idea.  "Brilliant! That could work we can disperse the clot and allow the body to naturally absorb it.  The only problem would be to get it aimed correctly, we don't want to hit something that we shouldn't have.  Still, I suggest perhaps a bit more study on where the clot is located.  I mean, if it's going to cause more damage to remove it, perhaps, like Dr. Wardropper said, it could be inoperable." 

[Dylan Torngate]

[Bridge]

Dylan was watching the shields. They'd entered the planet, and Dylan had been working overtime to keep up with the changing variables. Hull pressure, temperature, and most notibly, the pressure on the shield and power systems. He had compensated best he could, but dispite his and the rest of the crew's best efforts, something... or a part of someone, had gotten through the shields. It had impacted and been destroyed on the hull, but there was still damage. The ship shook a little on the impact. "Hit on the starboard bow, away the damage control parties" he said, both informing the bridge and ordering the DC party away. "Emergency forcefields up and stable."

He called out a few more facts. "Hull pressure rising, 42 percent of tolerance, and rising." His voice was very factual, no emotion but definitely in an "all business" mode. He noted, but didn't speak, about the rising hull temperature... both from friction and from the body's attempts to bake them out, much like the fever of the Human body.

[James Carter]

[Bridge]

"Carter, Deacon, get me an analysis on this attack, if that's what it is." Stafford said. The red alert klaxons were buzzing in his ears, a constant reminder of the danger of the task at hand. "And return fire. Like you said, take it easy, we don't want to hurt this thing or waste power."

The commander walked to the tactical station and studied it briefly before meeting the eyes and VISOR of the two officers. "Could we have Crewman Ezac modify a torpedo to disperse the blood clot cleanly and painlessly?"

Stafford was out of his element by just a bit. He had been a general practitioner in his day, not an experimental micro-surgeon. It was difficult to interpret the situation on such a scale, and with an unknown exobiology twist to boot.

[Bridge]

James stood silent thinking to himself for a moment. "Well, I don't think it's so much an attack as much as we're somewhere we aren't suppose to be. It's defending itself. I can fend them off for the foreseeable future, but we should probably think of something else in the meantime." The officer finally responded.

Bridge

Levinia waited and chewed on her bottom lip as the ship entered the creature's body.  She kept an eye on the scans which started to come up with what the creature looked like on the inside.  It was amazing how biological it was and not very different from other biological life forms.  "Its crust seems to be planet like, with a live version of magnetic shielding which is probably what protects it from solar radiation and keeps those life forms on the surface growing.  It looks like the life forms act as a skin cleaning service and in return the creature provides them with nutrients to grow.  Fascinating really,  with future study we can figure out what it eats..."  She leaned in further, reaching over the shoulder of the science cadet and scanning the information that scrolled before her.

Levinia made her way to tactical and studied the display.  She knew a bit about tactical, but mainly from studying what Tanibak did.  Still, it was a skill that she had not quite gotten yet, like flying she was always working on it.  "It's okay if you kill them, they're individual antibodies not sentient and they have a short life anyway.  Their goal IS to kill us, so don't hold back from killing them first."  She chewed on her lip and suggested to the lieutenant, "Perhaps we can make our shielding unappealing or better yet, disguise ourselves as part of the creature's body, that way they won't attack us anymore and we can run free?"

Levinia nodded at Paige as the pretty doctor made her comments.  "Could be, but it could also be something the creature was born with.  We won't know until we get to it; but right now we need to get to it without getting ourselves stuck, or worse, destroyed."  She shivered slightly at the thought of slowly being eliminated by the bodies natural defenses.  It made getting blown up sound enjoyable.

Levinia grinned at the XO's brilliant idea.  "Brilliant! That could work we can disperse the clot and allow the body to naturally absorb it.  The only problem would be to get it aimed correctly, we don't want to hit something that we shouldn't have.  Still, I suggest perhaps a bit more study on where the clot is located.  I mean, if it's going to cause more damage to remove it, perhaps, like Dr. Wardropper said, it could be inoperable."

James slowly shook his head. "I don't know that there will be a way for these antibodies to not want us. But with help from medical maybe."

Carter to Crewman Ezac. I have a job for you.

[Paige Wardropper]

Bridge

Levinia waited and chewed on her bottom lip as the ship entered the creature's body.  She kept an eye on the scans which started to come up with what the creature looked like on the inside.  It was amazing how biological it was and not very different from other biological life forms.  "Its crust seems to be planet like, with a live version of magnetic shielding which is probably what protects it from solar radiation and keeps those life forms on the surface growing.  It looks like the life forms act as a skin cleaning service and in return the creature provides them with nutrients to grow.  Fascinating really,  with future study we can figure out what it eats..."  She leaned in further, reaching over the shoulder of the science cadet and scanning the information that scrolled before her.

Levinia made her way to tactical and studied the display.  She knew a bit about tactical, but mainly from studying what Tanibak did.  Still, it was a skill that she had not quite gotten yet, like flying she was always working on it.  "It's okay if you kill them, they're individual antibodies not sentient and they have a short life anyway.  Their goal IS to kill us, so don't hold back from killing them first."  She chewed on her lip and suggested to the lieutenant, "Perhaps we can make our shielding unappealing or better yet, disguise ourselves as part of the creature's body, that way they won't attack us anymore and we can run free?"

Levinia nodded at Paige as the pretty doctor made her comments.  "Could be, but it could also be something the creature was born with.  We won't know until we get to it; but right now we need to get to it without getting ourselves stuck, or worse, destroyed."  She shivered slightly at the thought of slowly being eliminated by the bodies natural defenses.  It made getting blown up sound enjoyable.

Levinia grinned at the XO's brilliant idea.  "Brilliant! That could work we can disperse the clot and allow the body to naturally absorb it.  The only problem would be to get it aimed correctly, we don't want to hit something that we shouldn't have.  Still, I suggest perhaps a bit more study on where the clot is located.  I mean, if it's going to cause more damage to remove it, perhaps, like Dr. Wardropper said, it could be inoperable."

Bridge

"Aye, very much a waiting game.  I'm intrigued if the torpedo idea will work though.  It sounds good in principle, but I feel we're gonna need one helluva wash after! The Athena I mean!" Paige returned comment to Levinia.

[Ezac]

[Security Office]

Well, it appears we should be prepared for any unforeseeable abnormalities, Ezac considered to himself as he finished inspecting the final phaser and slipped it into its storage rack.

[Bridge]

...

Carter to Crewman Ezac. I have a job for you.

Ezac brought his hand up to his combadge as he reminded himself that he knew this was coming. Carter, this is Ezac. What do you need me to do, or shall I meet you somewhere?

[Constance Lafayette]

[Bridge]

Luke gave the order to return fire and she nodded, her face a picture of concern.
"Mr. Carter, please observe how they react. It may attract more or it may cause them to second guess their actions."

As she said this Constance braced herself against the Captain's chair. It was a rough ride despite Leonard's best efforts. A ship like this wasn't meant to be submerged like this and the attacks from the white blood cells were getting worse.

Constance took in Paige's words, "Fair enough, we'll have to protect ourselves until we reach the clot. Even if the planet wants our help, I doubt it can do anything to cure its internal biology. Can you get us a read on its vascular system? We are going to need a map for Mr. Scott to follow to reach the clot near the heart. Coordinate with Mr. McIntyre." She said her brow furrowed.

This wasn't a time to be squeamish but she couldn't help feeling it. She clenched and unclenched her scarred hand unconsciously. It still hurt but the doctors had told to her it was a psychological wound- a phantom pain. It had eased when she'd been able to clear her mind but now with all this stress it was bothering her again. It momentarily distracted her as the ship careened down the vein, swept along by the flow of the blood.

Ms. Black was on point, a habit that Constance believed was going to be a welcome trend.

"Any thoughts on how to do that Ms. Black? What would cause them to leave us alone? Could we mask ourselves as one of them? Even partially?"

The ship rocked again. It was a bumpy ride and the initial dampers were having enough of a problem compensating- it didn't help that their emergency power was probably being rerouted. No matter, she'd suffer a few jolts and bumps.

"Aye Mr. Torngate. Just keep us from springing a leak and we'll be ok." She called out with a nod that was far more confident than she felt inside. She knew what she'd said was far easier said than done but it wasn't impossible for a man like Dylan.

The ship reached a branch that joined them into larger vein. If they followed this they would eventually hit the heart. It was miles and miles down though a labyrinth of the planet's biology.

Then she had a thought,
"Mr. McIntyre. Are we still in contact with the planetary being? Are we able to get a message to it?" Her eyes flashed that dangerous 'I have an idea' look they got from time to time and she smiled.

[James Carter]

[Bridge]

Luke gave the order to return fire and she nodded, her face a picture of concern.
"Mr. Carter, please observe how they react. It may attract more or it may cause them to second guess their actions."

[Security Office]

Well, it appears we should be prepared for any unforeseeable abnormalities, Ezac considered to himself as he finished inspecting the final phaser and slipped it into its storage rack.

Ezac brought his hand up to his combadge as he reminded himself that he knew this was coming. Carter, this is Ezac. What do you need me to do, or shall I meet you somewhere?

[Bridge]

James offered a charming smile pausing a moment to calculate how to respond. "Firing now. Let's throw everything at the wall and see what sticks right?" He quickly brought his voice down to a quiet tone. "Science? Right?"

Ah, yes, Ezac. I need you to rig up a torpedo for me. I'll send over specifications to a PADD. If you have any questions, feel free to let me know.

After tapping his comm badge again he quickly fired off a weak shot hitting one of the anti-bodies. As soon as it hit, he knew the blast was too weak. "Trying again. This time with a little more...potency this time." Another shot seemed to do exactly what he wanted. Ward them off without killing them.

[Paige Wardropper]

[Bridge]

Constance took in Paige's words, "Fair enough, we'll have to protect ourselves until we reach the clot. Even if the planet wants our help, I doubt it can do anything to cure its internal biology. Can you get us a read on its vascular system? We are going to need a map for Mr. Scott to follow to reach the clot near the heart. Coordinate with Mr. McIntyre." She said her brow furrowed.

Bridge

Paige moved closer to Levinia and gestured to the spare console.

"May I?" she said indicating that she meant to scan to see if they could get a read on the cardiovascular system. "I should think it would show up much the same as rivers and mountains and so on, presuming of course our sensors haven't been 'slimed'.  Generally speaking we should just be able to follow the system around and we'd get to the heart eventually, but time is essential here so we need to plot a course."

She looked to McIntyre.  What the Captain had just said and the look in her eye was contemplative like someone holding pocket aces. 'What's she up to now?!' Paige wondered quite excitedly.  Constance had a way of being creepily brilliant most the time, and being stuck in the blood flow of a sentient planet was definitely one of those moments to be brilliant.

[Levinia Black]

[Bridge]

Ms. Black was on point, a habit that Constance believed was going to be a welcome trend.

"Any thoughts on how to do that Ms. Black? What would cause them to leave us alone? Could we mask ourselves as one of them? Even partially?"

Bridge

Paige moved closer to Levinia and gestured to the spare console.

"May I?" she said indicating that she meant to scan to see if they could get a read on the cardiovascular system. "I should think it would show up much the same as rivers and mountains and so on, presuming of course our sensors haven't been 'slimed'.  Generally speaking we should just be able to follow the system around and we'd get to the heart eventually, but time is essential here so we need to plot a course."

She looked to McIntyre.  What the Captain had just said and the look in her eye was contemplative like someone holding pocket aces. 'What's she up to now?!' Paige wondered quite excitedly.  Constance had a way of being creepily brilliant most the time, and being stuck in the blood flow of a sentient planet was definitely one of those moments to be brilliant.

Bridge

Levinia nodded and listened to Paige.  "That would work, surgery was performed using the body's own vascular system.  Dr. Wardropper is on to something."  She agreed and it would make their ride a lot smoother.

"As for the cells leaving us alone, I have an idea."  Levinia went to the science console and began to look up the information.  "Normally, we use anti-rejection medications to avoid the body from attacking a replaced organ or artificial implant, but that requires extensive medicine intake and for a certain period of time.  The medications can also deplete the creature's immune system and we don't want to do that.  So..."

Levinia's little fingers flew as she typed up the formula she was looking for and set it up for the captain and bridge crew to see.  It was a microscopic tungsten oxide atom

"This atom when coated over metal prevents biofouling, of course we can't exactly coat the entire ship in it, but we can recalculate the shields to form a similar coating.  We won't have to repel and kill the attacking antibodies, they will simply slip off and away."  She turned to the captain, wondering if her idea would work. 

[Paige Wardropper]

Bridge

Levinia nodded and listened to Paige.  "That would work, surgery was performed using the body's own vascular system.  Dr. Wardropper is on to something."  She agreed and it would make their ride a lot smoother.

"As for the cells leaving us alone, I have an idea."  Levinia went to the science console and began to look up the information.  "Normally, we use anti-rejection medications to avoid the body from attacking a replaced organ or artificial implant, but that requires extensive medicine intake and for a certain period of time.  The medications can also deplete the creature's immune system and we don't want to do that.  So..."

Levinia's little fingers flew as she typed up the formula she was looking for and set it up for the captain and bridge crew to see.  It was a microscopic tungsten oxide atom

"This atom when coated over metal prevents biofouling, of course we can't exactly coat the entire ship in it, but we can recalculate the shields to form a similar coating.  We won't have to repel and kill the attacking antibodies, they will simply slip off and away."  She turned to the captain, wondering if her idea would work.

Bridge

Paige listened very interested in what Dr. Shen was saying.  "What do you think as far as the cardiovascular 'map' being the quickest way to the heart, Dr. Vaughan?" she asked of the CMO