Chapter 14
"Dr. Jamieson to Sick Bay, emergency!" The call shattered the relative quiet of Nelson's lab as he and Will were working diligently to synthesize an antivenin to counteract the toxic effects of the jellyfish sting Chip had endured. They had been at it for nearly six hours, oblivious to the passage of time. They were getting near the point of having a viable serum when the unwelcome call reverberated through the intercom.
Jamieson bolted to the mic and snapped it up. "Jamieson, report Frank."
"Doctor, he's going into cardiac arrest. John is currently administering CPR and we've shocked him twice with the defibrillator. His heart gets going then falters."
"All right, give him a dose of adrenaline and I'll be there as fast as I can. Jamieson out." Will slammed the mic back in the bracket and tore out of the lab heading for Sick Bay and his failing patient.
"Damnit!" Harri swore and slammed his fist against the counter. "Come on son, just hold on, we're almost there." There was nothing he wanted to do more than rush to Sick Bay and be there for Chip, but the best thing he could do for him was complete the work he and Jamie had started. They were down to the last steps of producing the antivenin.
Harri watched with undisguised impatience as the centrifuge whirred separating the blood cells from the plasma. Once that was complete he would add the enzyme they had selected to breakdown the antibodies and isolate the active ingredients. He was still an hour or so away from a finished product and even then, it would be untested and a best guess on their part. He just prayed to God that Will could keep him going until then.
As Harri fretted over the manufacture of the antivenin, Will engaged in the struggle to keep Chip alive. He injected Chip with more drugs trying to stabilize his heart and keep it beating while increasing the whole blood transfusions to replace the blood cells being damaged by the effects of the toxin. After nearly an hour of intense battle, his condition stabilized a bit but at a dangerously low level. Any more upsets, and he seriously doubted he could compensate for his weakened system and the clock would run out.
(o1ooo
Lee fought back the urge to call down to Sick Bay and demand an update on Chip's condition. He knew Jamie and his staff needed to remain focused on their critical patient instead of wasting time talking to him. He paced incessantly around the control room as he waited for any feedback from the doctor or the admiral.
After realizing that he was most likely driving the control room crew mad with his unending motion, Lee took his frustration forward to the nose and began scanning the area in front of them looking for any sign of their quarry. They had already found numerous pellets, which seemed odd given the variety of animals that had been killed and the fact that the remains were concentrated in this area. It was as if the jellyfish was going out to hunt, then returned here to digest its prey. Given the debris field, it was as if the jellyfish had staked out a territory and was sticking around to protect it instead of moving with the food source and the currents.
Something Bobby had told them about Chip's foray to recover the human remains struck a chord. He said that Chip reported seeing the entire bottom of the cave covered in jellyfish polyps as far as he could see. Lee wondered if given the extreme mutation of the animal, it had somehow developed a paternal 'instinct' to protect its offspring until it was capable of surviving in the open ocean. There were any number of fish species that protected their clutch of eggs or even fry until they were big enough to have a fighting chance. If this was the case, then the spread of the jellyfish might be easily controlled if this was their first clutch of polyps.
He now desperately needed to speak with Harri and lay out his theory. Lee looked quickly around the control room then out the windows and finding everything calm, he called over Ensign Brice.
"Brice," Lee said.
"Aye, sir," the young man answered immediately.
"I need to go down to the lab to speak with the admiral. You have the con. If anything comes up, contact me at once."
Brice's eyes got big for a moment as he realized what the skipper was giving him. "A…aye sir," he replied tentatively.
"Is that a problem, Ensign?"
"No sir, no problem. Just caught me off guard, sir." Brice answered instantly.
Lee smiled fully understanding how he felt being given the con for the first time. "Everything is calm. Have the crew keep monitoring for the return of the jellyfish and alert me immediately if it shows up."
"Aye, sir."
Lee patted him on the back, then headed out the aft hatch down to Nelson's lab.
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Lee entered just as Harri was transferring the antivenin to a flask and preparing to take up to Sick Bay. He shot Lee a quick smile as he carefully poured the liquid into the container.
"Is that what I think it is?" Lee asked, hopefully.
"Yep, that's our first batch of antivenin. Come on, let's head to Sick Bay and get this to Will."
Lee nodded in agreement and fell in behind Harri as he walked purposely out the door and down the corridor. As they entered Sick Bay the heart monitor was issuing yet another alarm reporting the erratic beat of Chip's heart. Jamie was at his side instantly reviewing the readings and injecting yet another dose of epinephrine. When the machine quieted as Chip's heart once more established a more regular beat he looked up, extreme worry evident on his face, shook his head and blew out a ragged breath at having dodged yet another bullet.
"Is that it?" Will asked.
Nelson nodded as he passed the flask to the doctor. "Yes, that's the final distillate from the process. I hope there's sufficient quantity and time for it to work."
"I don't think we're going to have any time to test whether he'll have a negative reaction to the serum. He's just too unstable and if he does react, we're done regardless," Jamie replied grimly.
He moved to the supply cabinet and pulled out a syringe, then filled it with the liquid in the flask. He removed the air bubbles then slowly injected the liquid into Chip's IV.
"How long until you know if this works," Lee asked quietly as he gazed at his friend on the gurney.
"Hopefully it should start neutralizing the venom fairly quickly, then we just need to keep treating the damage already done. We will know almost instantly if he's allergic as he'll go into anaphylactic shock," Jamieson replied.
They all stood silently watching the readouts from the various monitors reporting Chip's condition. Luckily there was no allergic reaction to the serum and slowly Chip's heartbeat began to steady and even out as the medications in his blood stream began seriously taking effect.
After 45 minutes, the heart monitor reported a steady rhythmic beat and Chip began to struggle against the ventilator as he tried to breathe on his own. Will listened to Chip's heart and lungs, took his BP, checked his temperature, and was highly encouraged as they took on a much more normal reading. Will smiled and let out a cleansing breath of relief.
"It's working," Will reported. "His body can now focus on repairing the damage done and getting healthy. He's going to be weak for quite a while as his body works to replace all the damaged red blood cells, but barring any complications he should be fine."
Lee and Harri returned Jamieson's smile and blew out their own breaths of relief. "Thanks, Jamie, that's great to hear," Lee said. "Thanks to you both, your serum did the trick." Both men nodded.
"Well if you hadn't pointed out we had our own antibody factory, it would have been quite a different story," Jamieson replied. "Why don't you all clear out for now? I need to remove the ventilator tube, conduct a more in-depth exam, then Frank and John need to get him cleaned up and into a bunk. He's going to be asleep for quite some time, his body is exhausted from putting up such a valiant fight."
"Will do," Nelson replied. "Come on Lee, I could use something to eat and I bet you could too."
"Yes, sir," Lee answered. "That will be perfect. I have a theory I want to run by you anyway. I just need to stop by the control room to check on Brice first."
"Okay, I want to freshen up a bit as well, and then I'll meet you in the wardroom in 15 minutes."
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As they finished up their meal, Harri pushed his plate forward and sat back against his chair and sighed. "So, what theory do you want to run by me, Lee?"
"While I was in the con waiting for word on Chip, I started staring out the windows at the mess in front of us. I started to count the pellets interspersed amongst the drums and realized that there was a wide variety of species represented there. This seemed anomalous to the normal behavior of these jellyfish to have such a concentrated killing field, being a nomadic species. It almost seems as if these things hunt for their prey then return to this area, their territory if you will, to digest their meal. I had to wonder why, until I recalled something O'Brien had said when he relayed what Chip had told him. In the cave, he said the thing was covered with polyps for as far as he could see, I'm wondering if these mutant jellyfish have somehow developed a paternal instinct to protect their offspring until they're mature enough to survive on their own."
Nelson stared at Crane intrigued by his observation and attendant theory. As he thought back over what he had observed, Lee was absolutely correct. "Very interesting theory."
"Consider this as well, sir. The jellyfish didn't show up until Chip arrived at the mouth of the cave and presented a threat to the polyps inside. It may be a stretch on my part, but couldn't it have reacted to protect its offspring?" Lee continued. "If that is the case then hopefully the fish that attacked me and Chip are the Adam and Eve of this mutant species, this is their first clutch of offspring and they haven't matured to the point of being free swimmers to go forth and multiply. This could be our only opportunity to eliminate the threat that they present to the rest of the ocean community."
Harri nodded his approval and smiled. "Good thinking, Lee. It will be easy enough to test that hypothesis by introducing a 'threat' to the offspring by moving near the nursery and see if momma and papa come calling."
"I've had the control room crew watching the monitors looking for any sign of the jellies, but nothing since the attack on Chip. We can try moving Seaview closer to the cave to see if that works as a trigger. Although I'm wondering if she would be too large and the animals would see it as an unacceptable threat to themselves."
"Only one way to find out. Let's go reposition Seaview now and see if that elicits a response. If it doesn't we can come up with something else, maybe a ROV or possibly something dropped from the moon pool near the mouth of the tube."
"Sounds like a plan, sir." They arose from the table and headed out the door towards the control room.
"How are you feeling, son?" Harri asked as he regarded his son. "You've had a busy day between your duty rotation, going out to rescue FS-1, and donating blood. You're looking more than a little beat."
"I'm fine," Lee replied neutrally.
Harri laughed. "Why did I even ask? Once we've relocated Seaview, I want you to go to your cabin and get some rest. I'll cover the rest of the shift until O'Brien comes on duty."
Lee was about to protest until he caught the look on Harri's face indicating any response other than 'Yes, sir' would not be acceptable. He released a frustrated sigh. "Aye, sir."
"Smart lad," Harri said and chuckled as they entered the control room.
"Looks like everything is just as I left it, well done. Mr. Brice, I have command," Lee announced as he entered.
"Aye, sir," Brice responded sounding somewhat relieved.
Lee and Harri smiled at the ensign's response and then moved forward to look out the windows. Lee pointed out what he had observed and Nelson was quick to agree with his captain's assessment of the site.
"Mr. Brice, any sightings of the jellyfish?" Lee inquired.
"No, sir. We haven't seen much of anything; the ocean seems pretty much devoid of sea life of any significant size."
"Not surprising given what's roaming around these parts," Lee remarked. "So, Admiral do you think positioning Seaview directly over the entrance to the cave will draw a response from those animals?"
"I think it's as good a choice as any. Though you may be right about her size being a deterrent for their return. We can leave her there for the rest of the night and if nothing arrives by morning we can rethink our strategy."
Lee nodded. "Helmsman ahead dead slow," Lee ordered. His command was immediately parroted by the crewman. Seaview crept forward slowly until Lee was happy with her location. "All stop and maintain position."
"All stop, aye, sir."
Harri and Lee strained their eyes searching the water ahead for any sign of the jellyfish but found nothing. The other crewmembers monitoring the cameras likewise saw no sign of the mutant fish. They continued to stare out the windows for nearly an hour. Harri finally rubbed his eyes and stretched.
"Well you have completed your task, Captain. I believe you are now off duty and heading for you cabin and bed, correct?" Nelson stated.
Lee gave him a quick smile as he rolled his eyes. He just took his walk-a-boat away. "Aye, sir. I'll see you in the morning, sir."
"Sleep well, son. I'll contact you if anything should pop up."
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