To Good Observations

Posted on 13 Jan 2014 @ 7:06pm by Lieutenant Olsam Mott & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim

1,730 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 05 - Solstice
Location: Pasteur Institute, Paris, Earth
Timeline: MD 18 - 1645 hrs

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Dr. Olsam Mott was trying to keep himself from pacing back and forth in their lab space while he and Thomas awaited the arrival of the Inbriden team leader, Dr. Alicia D'Tries. Some of the team members had expressed on more than one occasion that pacing was both annoying and distracting, especially in an environment where concentration was key. Olsam understood and appreciated their concerns, but he had so much nervous energy sometimes that he felt like he could explode.

For the past week since they discovered the mystery of the drug's unusual metabolism problem, Olsam and his team had been testing and re-testing their solution. The sensitive chemical composition of the drug had stumped them on the first few passes. But through collaborative expertise and diligence they'd managed to craft a lipophilic tail for the drug that allow it to evade first-pass metabolism, successfully pass into the lymphatic system, and deliver its immune suppressing benefit to pregnant mothers. It was expected to ameliorate some of the most difficult side-effects of many instances of interspecies breeding, allowing more couples to conceive. Olsam also hoped it would, in some small way, contribute to the founding principles of the Federation by making way for more and more interspecies couples to have families.

"Is she late?" he half-muttered to Thomas, his graduate research assistant. "No, she's not late. It just seems like it. What do you think the final results were? We worked forever balancing out that lipophilic group. Who made this drug, anyway? It's so touchy. So touchy!"

Alicia walked down the hall still looking at the latest data, a bag dangling off one arm. The results of the new modification and excipient were promising. There were still hurdles though. The toxicology window was pretty narrow, only three-fold over efficacy. That would have to be addressed if possible but right now it was time to celebrate that the project would at least be moving forward.

She reached the lab and put on a serious face. She kept the PADD in hand and then pushed open the door. "Well you two," she glanced up and then back down. "Have you two seen the latest toxicology data? The NOEL is pretty low."

Olsam looked to Thomas and then back to Dr. D'Tries. He thought back to early classes at Starfleet Medical to remind himself that NOEL was No Observed Effect Level, not that nebulous concept Madame Dubois insisted on rambling about during the Crecy-la-Chapelle's Winter Festival. He recalled it was an important aspect of toxicology when it came to testing a new drug but the closely related concept, No Observed Adverse Effect Level (NOAEL), was a far more important aspect of risk assessment.

"Well, what about the NOAEL?" he asked, almost like an impatient child.

Alicia looked over the PADD at Mott. "You don't have to deal with increased morning nausea do you?" There was silence for a moment and then Alicia shook her head. "We have about a three-fold window there. Lower then we would like but maybe a bit more work and we can boost. At least it seems to be working and with careful monitoring we can move forward. So........" Alicia set the PADD down and then reached into the bag and pulled out a bottle of Dom Perignon already chilled and then with a big smile, "Break out the beakers, you two deserve this."

Olsam grinned and gave Thomas a celebratory clap on the back. "No way we would have done this without you, Thomas. I think you've got a bright future." He nodded subtly toward Dr. D'Tries, an acknowledgement of the talk he'd already had with her about Thomas's dedication and performance. "Um, what will we be doing with the beakers?"

He turned around to one of the work stations and began shuffling beakers around, not entirely sure what size to select since he didn't understand the purpose. Suddenly concerned, he gave them both a distrusting look over his shoulder.

"This isn't some kind of tradition from the Klingon scientific community where we hit each other with beakers, is it?"

Thomas was about to say, "No we smash them all," but the Bolian doctor took everything so literally and he stood up and jerked his head. "Just an expression doc. Besides you know we are not allowed to eat and drink in the lab. It means we celebrate with a toast of champagne."

Olsam cleared his throat, inconspicuously scanning the floor for any crumbs that may have fallen off of him at any point during the project. "Yes, of course. No food or drink in the lab, Thomas, absolutely. A real stickler for the rules, Thomas here." He did his best to control his eyes, not wanting to look shifty and draw attention to himself. "Let's celebrate elsewhere, then, eh?"

Alicia had slipped the bottle back into the bag. "Come on the break room is just down the hall. After you two."

Olsam gestured for Thomas to go ahead of him and then he followed his assistant down the hall to the very-familiar break room where they'd shared more than a few cups of coffee.

"Dr. D'Tries, you said the window is three-fold?" Olsam asked, moving to a cabinet and rummaging around for something that could pass for a champagne glass. He knew a three-fold window was fairly small for adjusting dosages - go just a bit down and you'd see an exponential drop-off in efficacy, but go too high and you'd start to encounter toxicological effects that were undesirable to say the least. "Is that going to be enough to work within for everyone, or will it reduce the number of women the drug can help?"

"Well, it will require some careful monitoring in some. As you no doubt are aware of some are rather delicate and others much more tolerant such as your own species doctor. That we can get it to work properly at all is going to be a miracle to many couples that will want to thank you. Hopefully some modifications we can open that up but it will take some time. You're welcome to stay with us. I could inquire as to seeing you posted here rather than on some ship?"

Olsam smiled sheepishly, truly flattered by the offer. He finally produced a set of glasses from the cabinet and placed them on a table, ready for the celebratory bubbly. "Thank you, Dr. D'Tries. Thomas makes a wonderful assistant, and I'd love to see the drug through to the final stages... But I'm afraid my place is in the field. There are too many clumsy engineers in the Fleet, and I'm indispensably handy with a dermal regenerator."

"And that is more interesting to dermal patch clumsy engineers? Really Olsam, I would die of boredom. So what position is that you are leaving us for again? I have forgotten?"

"Assistant Chief Medical Officer on the Galileo," he said, unconsciously letting some amount of pride come through in his voice. "She's a Nova-class, undergoing refit in San Francisco right now. We'll get our mission orders in a little more than a month, I believe."

"Well, I hope your Chief is not some dullard. Good luck to you."

Olsam smiled. "Not a dullard at all. I think we'll work well together, make a few discoveries and care for the crew as best as possible."

Alicia had Thomas pop the cork and he managed not to let too much bubble out of the bottle.

The Bolian doctor took his glass from among the others and lifted it, trying to think of a clever toast.

"To what the universe always needs: more babies," he declared.

"Not just babies but to families that have been hoping for their own."

Olsam nodded his agreement. "Cheers," he said, engaging in the time honored Terran tradition that seemed second nature to him now. His throat immediately felt like it was on fire, and he nearly choked. "I don't think this is synthehol...."

Alicia stood straight and ejaculated the words out vehemently, "Certainement pas! C'est pisse de cheval!" She looked affronted for a moment and Thomas put a hand on Mott.

He whispered, "This is really high end French Champagne. It's alright she will cool down in a second."

He then spoke up. "Now this is the real good stuff Doctor D'Tries, thank you!"

Alicia cooled down and tossed down her glass and made a tight nod and then left.

Olsam watched her go with a blank stare, as if the emotional outburst didn't have any effect on him at all. After the door closed, he shrugged to Thomas. "It's okay. I've been living in France for a long time, so it happens a lot. Once I told my neighbor the best cheese I'd ever eaten had been from Ktaris. She had a similar reaction and refused to speak to me for three weeks. I'll just add champagne to the list of things never to mention to the French."

"Probably the second best observation you have had doc. Now I plan on getting a good buzz off the stuff. Too bad, Bolian physiology has some pretty strong digestive features so doubt you might not, but help me finish it anyway."

Olsam nodded his agreement.

"Generally true, Thomas, with some few exceptions. For instance, I once drank too much at a wedding on Risa and somehow woke up two days later on Kreetassa. I found myself among rolls of Tholian silk in the back of a trade depot warehouse with some rather crude Klingon poetry scrawled on my forearm. Somehow I'd become absolutely drenched in I'danian spice pudding, and I had no recollection of the events of the previous two days," he said, in a matter-of-fact tone, as if that sort of thing had happened to everyone at least once.

Olsam raised his glass of champagne and inspected the bubbles of carbon dioxide making their way to the top of the glass, finally released after decades of being subjected to the time-honored Methode Champenoise style of fermentation and carbonation.

"Perhaps, on second thought," he allowed, clearing his throat, "I should limit myself to just the one glass, hm?"

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Lieutenant JG Olsam Mott, M.D.
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

&

Thomas
Graduate Student
Pasteur Institute
[ NPC - Allyndra ]

&

Dr. Alicia D'Tries
Pasteur Institute
[ NPC - Allyndra ]

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