In the autopsy room Ianto had removed his jacket and replaced it with a lab coat. He also retrieved one of the anti-gravity supports from the Kralyro device and used it to float the stasis chamber high enough so that they could move the alien body over to their makeshift autopsy table.
"Careful now," Julia cautioned. "According to Jack we'll only have a few seconds to move the body before the field collapses completely. I'm not sure what will happen once we do so. Let's move quickly, but be careful not to allow it to splash us. If this is as corrosive as Jack and Rob said, then the only possible way to stop it if it were to hit the skin is amputation." Ianto met her gaze and nodded soberly. "All right, let's do it."
She touched a button on the bottom of the box and the field slowly started to retract. As soon as it had gotten past the point of the two ends of the blanket, Ianto and Julia gripped the material, prepared to heave the mass over to the glass table once it was completely free of the field. They both felt the increased weight the moment the alien was free of the field. Ignoring the hiss of the pooled blood dripping onto the tile floor they moved in unison and heaved the body onto the glass before letting go.
"Quickly, pour some water on that before it eats through the tile, or worse, gets down the drain," Julia instructed and Ianto poured the bucket that was standing by on the floor, diluting the shimmering liquid until it washed down the drain. They listened for a hiss as it went but didn't hear anything. "Good. I don't want to think how we'd explain leaky pipes to a plumber." Ianto smiled grimly.
"All right, let's see what we have," Julia said. She reached for her protective goggles and placed them on her nose. Ianto reached for the tray and grabbed a second set which he put on as well. "We have to be very careful because our gloves won't be any protection against the blood," she cautioned. Ianto nodded. "Please see if there are any retractors in that set of instruments."
Ianto nodded and opened the sterilizer. Steam billowed up and he waited for it to clear before unfolding a sterile cloth and taking the glass tools out, placing them carefully on the cloth. Moving the tray closer to where Julia stood, he picked up a set of matching retractors and held them ready. Julia smiled before pulling the mask up to cover her nose and mouth. She commanded the room into record mode and angled the light onto the table, making sure that it didn't reflect off the glass. She also turned on the sterile field which would surround them as they worked. This way, nothing could get out if there were some nasty surprise waiting inside the corpse. It wouldn't be the first time she had experienced something like that, and she would much rather perish than jeopardize the rest of the team in some way. She glanced up at the cameras recording everything that happened and nodded before looking down at the body in front of her.
"Let's see what we have," she said. Picking up a set of forceps, she carefully tugged on the edge of the blanket. The top of the alien didn't have any wounds, so the blanket remained whole. She peeled it back, folding it around the body, but keeping it on the glass. The grey scales gleamed and she examined it carefully for any signs of movement. "Commence diagnostic probe," she commanded. A light shone down from the ceiling and passed over the body before clicking off at the foot of the table. She knew it would be a few minutes before she could see any results on the display beside her and she carefully reached out the with glass forceps and pinched the skin of the forearm. Tugging on it gently, she was able to turn the body onto its back. Ianto watched intently, saying nothing.
The alien was part lizard and part dragon, for want of a better term, Julia decided. The dorsal scales were overlapping, protecting the back, upper arms and legs. The underside of the creature was covered with finer scales which upon probing carefully seemed to give more than the heavier ones on the back. She moved around the table and examined the body carefully. "This commences the examination of the species known as the Thral'dor," she said calmly. "This is the only known sample of this race and it is our goal to find any weakness with an eye towards repelling or defending against them in case of an attack. This specimen arrived via a timeswarm portal from the future with two other aliens. Together, the three killed one individual and decimated a room. It has been observed that they are sensitive to iron and our supposition is that an iron fireplace poker was responsible for this creature's death." She glanced over at the diagnostic display and saw that it was still processing the scan. "We will now do a cursory visual examination."
She proceeded to circle the table, verbally describing everything as she did so. She used the forceps to pick up the clawed hand and examine it. The claws shimmered and it reminded her of what the blood might look like if it was able to harden. She brought several different types of objects up against the claws and each item was damaged in turn. After she had exhausted the items in the room she glanced at Ianto.
"Let's see if we can find some other materials that we can test. I'm thinking in particular other metals and stones, particularly those known to be resistant to our own cutting devices," she said. Ianto had been making notes as she tried the various objects and said he had a few ideas of his own that they could try. She nodded and finally heard the sound that signified the diagnostic scan was complete. She turned toward the display and looked at the scan. "Interesting."
Ianto moved around the table so that he could look over her shoulder. The alien was made up of a composite of materials, almost something that the diagnostic machine registered as metal. The fluids had a long string of chemical algorhythms that meant nothing to Ianto. Julia peered closely at them. "Hmmmm." She looked up and noticed that Ianto was watching her. "Let's open it up."
Before they had started, Ianto had prepped a hose attached to a faucet in case they had to deal with the corrosive blood spilling. He placed the end of the hose in an area that would be easy for either of them to reach and picked up his retractors again.
"Ready?" She asked. He nodded. "Let's begin." She moved to the side of the table and picked up a glass scalpel. Working carefully, she created a small incision and waited. Nothing happened so she continued. The skin cut easily, and she was thankful for whoever it was who had commissioned these surgical instruments. They were amazing. As she continued to cut, Ianto reached over from his side and held back the loose skin with his retractor. Slowly, muscles were revealed as the epidermal layer was peeled back. They shared a glance before she began to cut into the muscle. Again, there was no sign of blood though Ianto kept a careful eye out for anything pooling at the bottom. Assuming gravity worked, it very well might be that most of the fluids had moved to the back of the creature.
The muscles were the same grey color as the skin. Julia stared at it thoughtfully as she cut. This layer was a bit harder and she had to press down more firmly to cut through. She grabbed a free retractor and dug into the gash to see how far she had to go. It was at least seven and a half centimeters thick. She made another pass and moved deeper. On the third pass she began to see a change in color as she reached something hard on one edge. She looked up at the diagnostic, which showed the endoskeleton of the alien. The area where she had started showed the end of the ribcage. Her scalpel scraped against it as she went further. As she went along the cut, she felt more give and pressed downward, carefully working her way through the muscles. She paused and waited for a moment, flexing her fingers. "That's hard work," she said. Ianto nodded. Together, they peered into the opening and each of the pulled back with their retractors, spreading the gap in the muscles.
The ribcage looked to be the same metallic like material that made up the claws. She saw that her scalpel hadn't damaged them though she knew she had been pressing down hard as she cut. They carefully opened the body cavity. Julia looked up at Ianto.
"No smell. Interesting," she said.
"For which I am exceedingly grateful," Ianto said, his voice muffled by the mask over his face. Julia chuckled. She looked back down into the body and picked up one of the clamping forceps. Using it to hold back the muscle and skin, she was able to stop using the retractor, allowing the clamp to contain the muscles and freeing her hands so she could look at the organs. Picking up her scalpel she continued.
