Ensign Mercedes Carpenter Assistant Medical Officer USS Chimera NCC 96899 = Medical Lab The lab was quiet as Mercedes continued her research. She’d been close to a breakthrough for the past few hours, and even though she was very tired, didn’t want to take a break just yet. Occasionally one of the nurses or the EMH had assisted her with some of experiments, but except for them the lab was empty. Mercedes studied the molecular scans displayed on the holographic pedestal in the center of the room. Tapping a few buttons on the controls, the projection rotated and then magnified to the atomic structure. The molecules she was viewing had been taken from the DNA of one of the affected crewmembers. So far she had been able to stabilize the fluctuation and keep from completely shifting out of phase. But as yet she had no way to reverse the effect. Looking at her padd, Mercedes checked off the last method she had tried as ineffective; two experiments still remained to be done before she ran out of ideas. Selecting a fresh sample, Mercedes walked over to the radiation chamber and started preparing the next experiment. This time, she would bombard the cells with neutrinos set 180 degrees out of phase of the fluctuating cells. The theory was that the neutrinos would react at the subatomic level with the nuclei and shift it back into normal space without adversely affecting any organic tissue. Walking back to the pedestal, Mercedes activated the chamber and watched the holographic display. She watched carefully as the readings were displayed and the neutrinos started to react with the tissue sample. Just then the EMH materialized in the lab. “Ensign, I do insist you take a break. You’ve been working far too long. I can monitor the progress of the experiment and let you know of any change while you rest.” Mercedes wanted to object, but the offer sounded too tempting. “All right,” she said. “I’ll be in my quarters. Please inform me as soon as there is any indication of change.” The EMH nodded and Mercedes headed towards the door. As she slipped off her labcoat and placed it in the locker, she could feel her body crave a bed. =