I do not own The Last Ship

Protecting: Interlude

30 January 2015

"Welcome to this Voice of America special report. I'm Miguel Hernandez and last week I was lucky enough to spend time with Dr Rachel Scott of the CDC and I was able to find out a little of the background behind how she was able to find the Cure and, more importantly, what it cost. Ladies and Gentlemen, parts of this report may be unsuitable for children.

"Dr Scott, it is an honour to meet you and I'd like to thank you for agreeing to do this interview."

"Oh, it's a pleasure Mr Hernandez. It's very important that we communicate to people how to pass on the Cure. Please – if you are listening to this – there are so few of us left – it's important that as many are saved as possible. If you are contagious with the Cure, we ask that you make the effort to come into contact with as many people as possible. Please take the time to travel to the next village or town from you and try and cure as many people as you can. You will be contagious for five days after you receive the Cure and you can pass it along by shaking hands with someone, by breathing in their face for a few seconds, by sharing a water bottle."

"Thank you, Doctor Scott. You talked about so few of us being left. Can you expand on that?"

"Yes, unfortunately I can. In urban areas studies have shown a 90% mortality rate. In some places, particularly large cities, it's higher. In rural areas that level is lower, because rural areas are more isolated and people can live off the land. We are only seeing 75% mortality rates in rural areas. The problem is that 55% of the population lives in urban areas and in the developed world it's closer to 80%. The Earth's population was over six billion before the Red Flu. We'll be lucky if it's more than six hundred million afterwards. What does that mean for the US? Well we were about 320 million before the Red Flu. There'll probably be about 30-35 million of us rattling around in this very big country."

"That's very disturbing Doctor. Can I ask you a question? You are British but you talk about "we" with regards to the US?"

"I am a British citizen and always will be. In a way I'm proud to be British, but I've only lived in Britain for about 15 years of my life. My parents were religious missionaries and we travelled all over Africa and India. I returned to Britain for school at 12, did my first two degrees there and then left in my mid-twenties. I've travelled a lot. I was with the World Health Organisation and Center for Disease Control and was with Doctors Without Borders for a while, but I've been based in the US for the past 10 years and it's my home now. I'm a permanent resident and I was a Medical Director of the CDC."

"Thank you Doctor for telling us a bit about yourself. I think I speak for all of our listeners when I say that we are delighted that you regard the United States as your home.

"Now, there's all sorts of rumours going around about the development of the cure Doctor, can you give us any information?"

"What sort of rumours, Mr Hernandez?"

"That you were kidnapped by the Russians. That you were badly treated…"

"Oh, err. That is correct, although it wasn't the Russian government, it was a standalone warlord."

"Where were you when you were kidnapped Doctor?"

"We were working up in the Arctic. I was embarked on the USS Nathan James. We had spent four months in the high Arctic looking for what we call the primordial strain of the virus."

"Can you explain that Doctor?"

"This virus came from nowhere. We'd never seen anything like it before. I hypothesised that it had been exposed by the melting polar icecaps. Birds feed on the fresh groundwater there and become infected with the virus, then they transfer it between themselves as they migrate. It doesn't impact them like it does humans. The first occurrence for this virus was actually in Egypt, and we hypothesised that it was transferred from bird to human by exposure to faeces."

"Like Avian flu?"

"Yes, just like that. We spent four months digging around in the Arctic looking for the feeding grounds and hence the source. We finally found it. Then the Russians came."

"What happened Doctor?"

"We were out on the ice. I was about to wind it up. We had what we'd come for, and then these helicopters attacked us. My co-worker was killed and I was wounded and our guard team was decimated. I was trapped and I ordered the last remaining member of my guard force to take my samples and get them back to the US. He didn't want to leave me, but he did when I explained how important it was."

"Why was it more important to take the samples than rescue you?"

"Because I thought that someone else could build on my work. It was only later that I discovered that there was no-one else. Poor Captain Chandler (of Nathan James) found that out that evening but I didn't find it out until after he and his team had rescued me, months later."

"So, let me get this right. You were prepared to give up your life so that your samples got back to safety?"

"Well, you make it sound so much more than it was. The fate of the world's remaining population hung on those samples getting to a lab. It was a no brainer."

"Maybe we'll agree to differ on that Doctor. So what happened then?"

"I passed out from blood loss and woke up on the Russian ship."

"Oh God, that must have been very scary."

"Yes, it really was. While I wasn't that welcome at the time on Nathan James, at least it was safe and I knew we were all working to find and then distribute the cure. That wasn't what the Russian warlord had in mind."

"Who was the warlord?"

"His name was Admiral Konstantin Nikolajewitsch Ruskov. Captain Chandler told me he had been a celebrated officer during the Cold War. He had stolen his ship, a nuclear-powered battlecruiser, and was intent on finding the cure."

"So what happened?"

"From my conversations it became obvious that the Admiral wanted me to continue my work, which I was happy to do. But it also became obvious that he wanted to use any vaccine or cure as a strategic asset and only make it available to people who would pay. That's against all my beliefs and I realised that not only would I have to make a cure, but I'd have to make it contagious because there was no way that I would be able to access the manufacturing infrastructure to make enough of it."

"That's quite a jump Doctor."

"Well, it didn't come to me overnight. I'm talking about weeks of thinking around the problem."

"So how long did it take you to develop the cure Doctor?"

"Oh, many weeks. I was kidnapped around the beginning of October. I finalised the contagious cure towards the end of November."

"Wow, that is a long time."

"It's actually quite quick. To keep the Admiral off my back I told him the story of Max Theiler. Have you heard of Max Theiler?"

"No Doctor, please explain for the listeners."

"Well Max Theiler was working on developing a vaccine for yellow fever in the 1930s. His team tested over 99 strains of the virus and it was only on the hundredth attempt that they found it. Given that I was working on my own with not many resources I was very lucky to find it as fast as I did."

"And you said "to keep the Russians off my back" Doctor. Were they applying pressure?"

"I don't really want to talk about it but let's say there were punishments for failure."

"Oooo-kay. I'm sorry to bring it up doctor. So how were you able to get the cure out?"

"Well at the end of the day I wasn't. That was all up to Captain Chandler and the Nathan James. I had planned to, but events intervened."

"Could you explain a bit more Doctor?"

sigh "OK… well after I developed the final version of the vaccine I needed to test it to make sure it was airborne. The only way was to test it myself and my guard. I injected myself with the virus…"

"What?! You gave the virus to yourself?! What if you had died?"

"Oh, I wouldn't have died. I knew that the vaccine part worked, it was just whether the contagious part worked."

"But how did you know?"

"Well we had some vaccine trials. I had to hide the fact that the last one was successful because I knew that if the Russians discovered I had a vaccine then I would be surplus to requirements."

"So you pretended the vaccine didn't work?"

"Yes… it was one of the hardest things I've ever done. I… I…"

"Are you alright Doctor?"

"Yes," sniffles, "I'm not proud of what I did."

"I'm sorry for bringing it up Doctor. So you tested the vaccine on yourself?"

"Yes, I did. And then, since I was held captive in my lab during the day, I was able to test the airborne component on my guard after I had exposed him to the virus. Suffice to say it worked."

"What happened then doctor?"

"Well that was when it all started to go a bit pear-shaped from my point of view. We were heading towards Brest so I had thought that my best chance was to try to get off the ship there. I made a copy of my notes and stowed that and a vial of vaccine in a safe place in case I was captured, and then I took another few vials and my notes with me. The boat was nearly to the shore when they discovered I was missing and called it back. I had to chuck everything overboard."

"Why Doctor?"

"If they had my notes and the cure they would have killed me…as it was they nearly killed me anyway. The annoying thing was it was all such a waste. If I'd waited just one more night it would have worked out fine."

"What do you mean Doctor?"

"The next night Captain Chandler came from Nathan James. If I'd waited another night he and I could have just walked out together. Unfortunately, he found me in a slightly different state…"

"Doctor?"

"When they re-captured me, they worked out that I must have had a vaccine. They tried to get me to tell them. They beat me and, to make sure I didn't try to escape again, they used a hammer on my legs."

"Oh my God."

"Captain Chandler found me. He wanted to take me with him but I couldn't travel. I told him where my notes and sample were and asked him to go the UK and start circulating the virus."

"Why the UK?"

"Because we were closer to there than the US. It would have taken more than six days at full speed to get back to the US whereas the UK was closer and I knew that the emergency management infrastructure was more decentralised than it is here. I thought if Captain Chandler could make contact with the British military they could see about getting the Cure spread as soon as possible. And that's actually how it worked out."

"Why not France?"

"Well, I'm a Brit so I know a lot of people in my field in the UK but not so much in France. Also, France is a big country and I think a lot of their research operations are in the south of the country, and also there's the language barrier. The UK was much easier."

"But you Doctor. You were trapped on that ship. What was going through your mind?"

Pause "I wanted to die. I was in a lot of pain and I knew that it would be difficult for Captain Chandler to get back. I was ready to die then. I knew that Captain Chandler would have circulated the cure and my job was done, so there was no need for me to live any longer."

"I'm sorry Doctor."

"Well, luckily it all worked out in the end. Captain Chandler, the crew of the Nathan James and British special forces came back for me. I'll always be so grateful for everybody that risked their lives to save mine."

"I would think they were happy to do it Doctor. After all, your cure has saved millions of lives."

"I always regret that I couldn't have been faster."

"Given what you've told me today Doctor, I honestly don't believe you could have done more than you did."

"I know that in my head, but in my heart I wish I could have been faster."

"So, you were rescued by Nathan James. What's happened to you since then?"

"Well they evacuated me to the UK for medical treatment and then I asked to be transferred to Nathan James so I could come back to the US. We were lucky enough to make contact with the hospital ship Solace on our way back which gave us access to some world-class doctors and manufacturing capacity. We brought them back to Norfolk with us.

"However, we've had to decentralise our cure-manufacturing infrastructure. I don't know if your listeners are aware but there is a cult out there of people who are immune to the virus."

"I didn't know that…"

"Well there is, and these people have stepped over a line. They are responsible for attacks on virology labs both before and after a cure was discovered. We believe that they are in control of a submarine and this submarine has launched missile attacks on the US Army infectious diseases labs at Fort Detrick and the CDC headquarters in Atlanta. They are responsible for the attack on Heathrow airport aimed at disrupting cure distribution flights. These people believe that they are God's chosen people because they are immune to the virus. But they're willing to take up arms to make sure that only they live.

"We've had to set up defences around our labs and scientists to make sure that these people can't get to them. If your listeners have any information about the whereabouts of these people, please tell us."

"I'm sure people will, now they know about this. How are you doing now Doctor? Apart from your leg you look fine."

"I am much better, thank you very much for asking. I'm hoping to get my leg out of plaster this week and, apart from that, I'm nearly recovered physically. Unfortunately, it will take me a little longer to get over things mentally, but I'm lucky to have a great network of friends who are helping me through it.

"I'm certainly not alone in this. I think it will take all of us a while to get over what's happened. Everybody's lost someone dear to them. From my experience I can say that talking with others helps a lot. Don't bottle it up. Others have different perspectives and can really help to share the load."

"And what are you working on at the moment?"

"Well, I'm currently based on the USS Nathan James. We are moving up and down the east coast and will be moving into the Gulf of Mexico as well, distributing the cure to coastal locations."

"So you're not putting your feet up Doc?"

"There's still too much to do. When there's nobody dying from the virus any more then I can put my feet up. Until that time there are still people that need our help. At some point I will move on to helping to re-establish the CDC and putting the infrastructure that we will need back in place. But that's still a long way out. For now, the focus is on getting the cure to as many people as possible as fast as possible."

"Doctor Rachel Scott, thank you for talking to me today."

A/N: Again, this one's a bonus. I wrote it early on but it didn't quite fit into my new chapter structure.