In Search of the Hidden Microbe

Posted on Wed Sep 20th, 2017 @ 11:45pm by Captain Brady Dering M.D., PhD & Commander Zoe Eckhardt M.D.
Edited on on Wed Sep 12th, 2018 @ 7:19pm

Mission: My Place In This Universe
Location: ZuluBase Sickbay
Timeline: 2388/08/17 2035 (August 17 2388 2035)

ON:

"I've got the computer crosschecking the medical database for cases like Kelly's." Zoe explained as she and Brady entered the lab, "It's going to take a while." she turned to him and asked "Have you ever seen anything like this? I sure as hell haven't and atherosclerosis went out with the dark ages." she added as she fired up the computer terminal in the lab.

"No, I havent." he replied staring at the monitor as it came to life, and then looked again at Kelly's file. His brows furrowed in thought as he looked it over, "She was taken to Utopia Planitia before coming here...that's standard..."

"What are you thinking?" Zoe prompted figuring that Brady had found some inspiration from somewhere.

"Nothing was shown in her preparatory physical, so it's easy to assume she picked something up between then and now," Brady said thoughtfully, "but...I am thinking... it's something she could have been infected with before," he raised an eyebrow, "that laid dormant, undetected. We may need to look more into her background, where she was born, what her parents did for a living, and where they traveled."

"I agree." Zoe nodded then grinned at him and added "Not just a pretty face are you?"

Not expecting that, Brady blushed. "Uh..no.." and he smiled, "I can say the same about you."

"And you'd be wrong." Zoe chuckled at him, forgetting how easy it was to talk to Brady from their previous meetings and it seemed that teasing him was now a prerequisite.

"No," he grinned back, tilting his head down, "I'm pretty sure I'm right."

"Well let's agree to disagree." Zoe smiled up at him before the smile faded and she fought back another wave of nausea. She pointed over her shoulder and said "Do me a favour and get me that hypospray behind you?"

His eyebrows slightly scrunching together, Brady looked around her and seeing the hypo in question, he grabbed it, and out of habit, checked it's contents. He stared at her knowingly, watching her as he handed it over.

Gratefully taking the hypo, Zoe pressed it to her neck and let out a sigh of relief as the nausea subsided once more. Then she looked up at Brady who was still watching her and faked nonchalance as she said "What?"

"How far along are you?" he asked.

Zoe's shoulders drooped and she let out a deep sigh as she admitted "Almost eight weeks. No-one told me that the morning sickness was such a bitch." she managed a watery smile before asking "Don't tell anyone okay?"

"Okay." Brady tilted his head down to her again, and gazed into her eyes, keeping his voice low, "When we're finished with this, would you like to talk about it?"

"I'd like that." Zoe replied.

"Okay..." Brady said, sitting down before the terminal. He took the PADD with Kelly's record and interfaced it with the LCARS. "I'm going to see what we can dig up on her parents, if there is nothing here, we may need help from the station's intel department..."

"I'll check her birth and paediatric records." Zoe replied, settling down in her seat, "See if I can find anything relevant there."

"That's a good idea." Brady said glancing over at her, and then he turned towards her as he wondered out loud, "Where would a virus that causes atherosclerosis-like symptoms lay dormant? Would depend on..." and then his hand went up to his mouth and chin; he looked worried.

"Okay, so I don't like that look." Zoe said as she watched him then asked "What idea did you just have?"

Brady breathed in deeply before replying, "Her symptoms, the level of the atherosclerosis specifically in her carotid Arteries, I suggest an Internuncial series, as well as a cytological screening."

"You think this could be a virus which has been laying dormant in her DNA and for some reason has activated?" Zoe asked, her mind already thinking of viruses she already knew of and coming up blank given Kelly's symptoms.

"I think it's possible..." Brady nodded. He looked away from her looking thoughtful, then returned his gaze to her as he explained what he was thinking. "There could have been a case of atherosclerosis that was diagnosed in the database as something else. Perhaps..." he paused as he thought about it, "what it eventually lead to; such as a stroke, or a heart attack... Oh...someone with a lifestyle that associated them to be someone at risk, a lifestyle that would have kept them from modern medicine for long periods of time."

"We should probably widen the parameters of the search." Zoe suggested, "That way we won't miss anything that isn't immediately obvious."

"Agreed." Brady said, inputting a little bit more. They sat there watching and waiting, when suddenly some results popped up. "Looks like we found our answer..." he said, his eyes moving from the screen to Zoe.

OFF


Lieutenant Commander Zoe Eckhardt
Chief Medical Officer
Starbase Zulu

Lt Commander Brady Dering
Zulu Fleet Psychiatrist
Temp assign - Magellan Campus