*** Sickbay USS Chimera *** Mercedes' hair was standing in all different directions when she entered Sickbay. The EMH had woken her from a long nap to inform her of the results of the experiment. It seemed to have been a success. She'd rushed to the lab, got the results, and rushed next door to Sickbay without even checking on her appearance. She absentmindedly clutched at her hair when one of the nurses looked at her funny, and continued to Rangi's office. Rangi leaned back in her chair, stretching her arms above her head and yawning. "Oh I hate padd work!" she said to herself and rubbed her tired eyes. Reaching the glass door, Mercedes knocked frantically on it, startling the chief of medicine who was leaning leisurely back in her chair. "I have the results!" she shouted waving the padd in the air. "What?!" Rangi asked eagerly, sitting up and looking towards the door."What do they say?" Even the dishevelled appearance of the AMO couldnt distract Rangis attention from the possibilty of good news."Show me..." she said, standing up and moving around the desk. Mercedes stepped into the office as the door slid open, and plopped the padd down on Rangi's desk. She turned to the terminal on the wall behind them and brought up the analyses of the tissue sample she'd used in the experiment. "I used neutrino therapy," she began to explain. "I set them 180 degrees out of phase and bombarded the tissue sample with it. The neutrinos pass right through the atomic structure, but their radiation manages to affect the surrounding particles so that they shift back in phase permanently." Rangi studied the display with a smile slowly widening her lips.She looked at Mercedes."Good thinking...its impressive." "Well, now we need to test it on one of the patients," Mercedes continued. "The simulations I ran project no side-effects, and I recorded no side-effects after the experiment, so all in all it should be safe. But we'll never know unless we test it on a live person." Rangi turned away, carrying the padd in her right hand. "Yes..." she said slowly, reading the text once more."Thing is...who can we test it on?" Rangi looked back at the AMO, her expression one of deep consideration. She tapped her fingers on the padd, dropping her gaze and running over the possibilities. {The research scientists?...no....Private Wentworth?..mmmm....Ensign Hathaway...no..." She raised her eyes to Mercedes. "I think Private Wentworth.He seems to be the most stable and given that he's a marine...so tough as they come" she added with the glimmer of a smile " ..he would be the most obvious choice. What do you think?" "He seems the best candidate," Mercedes agreed. "We'll need to transfer him to the radiology lab and place him in the radiation chamber for the experiment. Shall I start to prep him?" "Yes..do that please....I'll see to the chamber." Rangi smiled as she moved towards the door "Well done ensign...you've achieved excellent results..lets hope they continue." "Thank you, ma'am," Mercedes smiled. As she stepped out, one of the nurses pointed to her hair, and she decided to find a mirror to make herself a little more presentable. ** Twenty minutes later...Radiology Lab. ** Mercedes turned to Rangi after she'd secured Private Wentworth inside the radiation chamber. "He's ready for the treatment," she said. "I've prepped him for the procedure. With any luck this should bring him out of his coma." "Lets hope so.." Rangi replied beginning to key in the required phasing sequence" Together they watched the biosigns of the marine, each fervently hoping that the treatment be successful. Mercedes walked over to the large display screen against the wall, and brought up a real-time display of the Private's cell tissue. They watched as the cells slowly started to stabilise and shift into phase. "We have to be careful not too give him too much at once," she advised. "It could be a shock to his system and he might experience synaptic failure." "This all seems to be going 'too' well." Rangi replied quietly,her attention focused on the VLS display as it gradually adopted a near normal pattern. Rangi's words were barely cold when a blue light signalling a degrading synaptic pattern started to flicker on the chamber, accompanied by a high-pitched beeping. "He's going into synaptic shock," Mercedes said as she read the screen. "We have to pull him out to treat him, otherwise he won't make it. The fluctuating sub-atomic particles are interfering with the synaptic formation." Even as Mercedes spoke, Rangi tapped the control panel in frantic haste, shutting down the radiation chamber. "Set up for an electrophoretic analysis she said running to the chamber door. "We need to be quick." She glanced hurredly at the AMO "Can you do it?" In one fluid motion, Mercedes reached over and activated the electrophoretic scanner. As the large device descended from the ceiling, she grabbed the neural and cortical stimulator and quickly followed Rangi into the chamber. There was no time to lose. Rangi applied the stimulator to the marines left temple and looked at it in dismay. {Its not working!...its dead!...} she snatched the device free and turning it over in her hand froze for a second. {The power cells out...geeez!! wait till I find out who...} "I need a power cell" she snapped at Mercedes "..the neural stimulator!" she demanded reaching out her hand. Mercedes quickly handed the neural stimulator to Rangi. She took a glance at the Private's biosigns on the panel outside the chamber: it was not looking good. It took just six seconds to change the power cell from one stimulator to the other. Rangi repositioned the device and momentarily closed her eyes.She turned her head to Mercedes and waited. Mercedes grabbed the cortical stimulator and placed it on the marine's other temple. Once his synapses were stabilised, she induced a cortical pulse to jump start his central nervous system. Wentworth's body convulsed slightly as his system was shocked back into function, but then his biosigns started to rise and his vitals began to stabilise. "His brainwaves are stabilising," Mercedes said with relief. "Along with the rest of his vitals." Rangi smiled to herself. "Indeed they are ensign..indeed they are." She looked at Mercedes and the smile broke widely. "I think you just found us a successful treatment!" She let out a satisfied sigh, returning her attention to their patient. Mercedes let out a nervous laugh. She realised she'd started to sweat, and wondered if it was from exposure to the lingering radiation. "At least we can be prepared for this with the next patient. For a moment there I thought he wouldn't make it." Rangi continued to read the constant flow of information pouring across the overbed display."We can move him now...he's stabilised enough.Give me a hand?" Mercedes helped Rangi pull him up, and they moved him towards the table. "These marines need to eat less... they're too heavy!" "Telling me!" Rangi said. "There you go gently, gently, gently....ok..." she glanced at Mercedes."If this scan gives us the results I hope it will..then...I think we can say he's in the 'all clear'." Mercedes reached up and pulled the device lower. She tapped a key on it, and it started to scan Wentworth's body, creating holographic image of the marine directly above him. Healthy areas would appear green-tinted, while any remaining affected areas would be red-tinted. "This looks good." Rangi remarked and glanced at at the AMO opposite. "..VERY good." she gave a slight shake of her head when she returned her gaze to the marine."It never fails to amaze me.." she said " ..that life can be so fragile yet so tenacious at the same time....and there's so much we dont know." A short silence followed the sober statement. "Hmmm" said a dis satisfied voice behind them "I think you might have kept 'me' involved?" Rangi turned to see the EMH standing a few paces away. She looked at Mercedes and grinned. *** End log *** Ensign Mercedes Carpenter. AMO USS Chimera & LtCmdr Rangi Summers CMO USS Chimera