"Medical Plan of Action: Let's Do It"

Posted on 15 Mar 2026 @ 3:28pm by Lieutenant Commander Claire Dunross MD & Lieutenant Commander Riah Amberlyn XMD & Lieutenant Commander Adrian Sorvak

1,542 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Silent Inheritance
Location: Sickbay: Amberlyn's Office

///// Sick bay - CMO office /////

Sorvak briefly tugged at his shirt, and put his PADD under his arm, before he knocked on the door frame of the CMO office. He'd been asked to discuss details of his suggestion to bind the polymer in the blood stream and how the Science Department could best support in upscaling his proposed solution.

"Ah, Commander. Come on in," Riah welcomed her colleague. "Have a seat. I've asked Dr Dunross to join us. She'll be here in a bit. Some t'samak tea? Fresh made; not replicated," offered Amberlyn, holding up a flat metal box of tea and ordering two cups of hot water from the replicator.

Sorvak entered the office and moved to one of the free seats. He had raised an eyebrow at the offer of the tea. "I will not decline an offer of such fresh tea, Doctor," he said as he sat down, "t'samak would an excellent choice."

"Comin' up," Riah replied, opening the box and quickly sorted through the little file of tea sachets and dropped one into each cup. "I like the subtlety of t'samak and yet, it's very enlivening." She set a cup on the side table next to Sorvak. "I want to thank you for all the work, you and your department have done in helping to solve this problem. I'm eager to hear your ideas in detail."

"Thank you, Doctor, for the tea, and your kind words. I will pass them on to my team." Sorvak took the cup and savoured the aroma of the hot drink. "As advanced as replicators are, for tea, the real version is always best" He put the cup back on the side table so it could cool off a little more.

“I’ve not had a science team work with medical as easily and as willingly as I have here on Arawyn. Where I was posted before there was a lot of competition throughout the ship. I suppose that trend is set my the Captain and his interaction with the senior staff, but it is a joy to feel that camaraderie with science colleagues,” Riah commented.

Sorvak inclined his head in thanks to the compliment from Doctor Amberlyn.

The door to the CMO’s office was already open when Claire approached, voices carrying easily out into the corridor. She paused just long enough to rap her knuckles lightly against the frame. “Knock, knock,” she announced as she stepped inside, a small apologetic smile touching her lips.

Four hours of uninterrupted sleep. A miracle by Sickbay working through crisis standards. She felt almost human again.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Claire added as she moved further into the room, smoothing a hand absently over the front of her uniform. Her gaze shifted briefly between the two officers already seated, registering tea, conversation already underway, and the comfortable tone of colleagues working through a problem together. She teased, “I hope I haven’t missed the interesting part.”

"We had not started yet, Doctor Dunross," Sorvak stated and took a sip from his drink.

“Have a seat. Tea, Doctor? T’samak,” Riah said, holding her own cup up as temptation. “Or coffee.” she added.

Claire slipped into the offered seat, a faint smile touching her lips as she reached for the cup. “Tea, if you please.” Her eyes flicked toward Riah with quiet amusement. “You’ll never convert me to coffee, Doctor. I’m far too stubborn for that.” She wrapped her hands lightly around the warm cup. “T’samak sounds perfect.”

After handing the cup to Claire, Riah also sat down. “So, we have some very encouraging possibilities, thanks to Commander Sorvak. Let’s figure out how to put it into action medically. Would you care to elaborate, Commander?”

"The fastest solution is the liposomal scavenger nanoparticles binding polymer fragments and allow hepatic removal," Sorvak started, "there is an also an enzymatic approach, what it does is that an engineered enzyme cleaves the polymer backbone into smaller fragments. It transforms the polymer rather than capturing it." Sorvak paused a moment to take a sip.

"The advantage of the enzymatic Removes the root problem rather than storing it in another form. Small breakdown products are easier to clear through kidneys or dialysis. However, enzyme kinetics might be too slow for a rapidly deteriorating patient. And the breakdown intermediates might be more toxic than the parent polymer."

He took another sip before he continued "Nanoparticles give you dose-dependent binding. More particles usually means more capture. Enzymes are catalytic, so small dose changes may produce large effects once conditions are right. This is where your medical expertise comes in. I believe the nanoparticles are easier to upscale to larger quantites."

Claire listened quietly as Sorvak spoke, her fingers loosely wrapped around the tea cup while the explanation unfolded. The science was elegant. Clean in theory.

In practice, perhaps less so.

She tilted her head slightly, considering the two approaches before setting the cup down on the table.

“The enzymatic solution is… academically satisfying,” Claire said carefully. “It solves the root chemistry, which I imagine is very appealing from a scientific perspective.” Her gaze shifted briefly to Sorvak. “But from a medical standpoint, creating unknown breakdown intermediates inside a patient who is already deteriorating is… a rather bold experiment.”

A small pause.

“It technically works, yes,” she continued evenly. “But it also introduces variables we cannot easily control in a pediatric population.”

Her hand gestured lightly toward Sorvak.

“The nanoparticles sound far more predictable. Dose control, measurable binding, and removal through known pathways. If we’re talking about something we can deploy quickly and safely across multiple patients…”

Claire gave a small, decisive nod. “I would strongly favor the scavenger approach.”

“Well said, Doctor,” replied Amberlyn. “I completely agree. And the nanoparticle plan allows for faster production of through our replicators. I might add we could do this in two stages, beginning with the nanoparticles and once the patient is stabilized, then move to an enzymatic protocol. And now that we know the polymer is the problem, we can anticipate that a lot more people, of all ages, may have health related issues. Faster replication may be critical in such cases."

Claire gave a small nod of agreement, lifting her tea for a brief sip before setting it back down again.

“Then perhaps we should not waste any more time talking about it,” she said lightly. “If the nanoparticle approach scales well through the replicators, we can begin producing small batches immediately and run controlled tests before deploying it more broadly.”

Her eyes shifted briefly between the two of them, thoughtful.

“And speaking of broader…” Claire added, a faint crease forming between her brows. “When I came through Sickbay just now I noticed a good deal more activity than earlier this morning.”

She rested her hands lightly on the table.

“Are we beginning to see additional cases on the Arawyn, or is that simply an influx from the surface clinics?”

“Nothing on Arawyn, but with the Captain’s agreement, we are bringing the more severe cases aboard from the surface. If it becomes necessary to place them in stasis to slow down the progressive neurological issues, we are better prepared to manage that from here, rather than cross communication with facilities on the surface,” replied Riah. “They do have stasis technology, but since we are the primary coordinators of research and treatment, I preferred to not have to have one or all of us transporting back and forth to surface."

Claire gave a small nod, the explanation settling easily into place. “That makes sense,” she said. “If neurological decline worsens, having the severe cases here where we can place them in stasis and monitor them directly will give us far more control.” Her attention returned to the problem at hand. “In that case, we should begin replicating the nanoparticle batches and run controlled tests as soon as possible. If patients are already being transferred up, we may not have the luxury of a long validation window.” She inclined her head slightly toward Sorvak. “And Commander, thank you. The work your department has done identifying the polymer interaction and moving us toward a workable solution has been invaluable. Medical may be treating the patients, but we would be rather lost without Science helping us understand what we’re fighting.”

Sorvak inclined his head at the thank you, "we are here to serve. I believe Commander Harlan has restricted most of the replicators to support the repair of the conduits. I will request he releases some in the science department, so that if you provide the details, we can support in the upscaling."

Sorvak paused a moment, thinking, "I suspect the enzymatic solution will take more time, to validate as well. I have provided the detailed formula of the polymer, where I am less familiar with is if any of the breakdown intermediates could be toxic, and at what doses. That is where the medical research team comes in."

"That will be figured out. That you again, Commander, for all your help," said Riah.

~~~

LtCmdr Riah Amberlyn, XMD
Chief Medical Officer


LtCmdr Sorvak (NPC)
Chief Science Officer
apb Cmdr Suzanna Batenburg

LtCmdr Claire Dunross, MD
Asst Chief Medical Officer

 

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