Troubling Autopsy

Posted on Thu Nov 27th, 2014 @ 4:48pm by Captain Tim Williams & Doctor Talm Aleint-Um MD

Episode: Orphans
Location: USS Highlander - Sickbay
Timeline: MD30 0920hrs

Doctor Talm Aleint-Um watched dispassionately as the two colonists materialised on a set of autopsy tables that had been positioned in the Highlander's sickbay. The main central console had been repositioned to allow for an extra bed, whilst the primary one he was stood next to had taken the place of the biobed normally situated under the sophisticated scanning sensors at the rear of the room. Both beds were essentially an alternative to the standard bio-bed; gone were the sensors and displays used for monitoring a patients vital signs, and the bioregenerative fields used to help patients recover from procedures. The cushions for comfort were gone too; leaving a plain metal slab for the bodies to lie upon. In place of the removed features were other scanners designed specifically for autopsies; scanners that automatically ran a detailed analysis of the bodies, providing heat-based data on every organ in the body, and creating a holographic representation of the bodies that appeared and hovered above the corpse, allowing the doctor and his staff to work on the holographic representations rather than further cut into the physical bodies. The computer also compared the transporter logs and included holographic representations of the microbes and organisms that were on the bodies and inside the wounds that may have been removed by the transporter's biofilters.

"Cause of death for subject number one confirmed as a penetrating trauma to the chest, leading to a pulmonary laceration on both lungs." Talm read out the official reports hovering over the representation of the woman who had made it back to the colony site and first alerted the teams on the surface to the threat. He then turned his attention to the other corpse; clearly in a worse shape, with one arm removed at the joint of the elbow, allowing the sickbay staff gathered around the other biobed to continue with the autopsy there while he focussed on the body which had received the most attention from its attacker.

"Subject number two also was a victim of a penetrating trauma. Four lacerations to the abdomen lead to additional lacerations of the stomach and liver, with the penetrating objects appearing to curve underneath the rib cage and cause lacerations to the hear and left lung. Build up of blood from internal hemorrhaging lead to a hemorrhagic shock and death.

"Subject's left arm was removed at the joint of the elbow antemortem, most likely whilst the subject was suffering the effects of the existing trauma. There appear to be teeth marks in the flesh around the wound, which appears to be a tearing of the limb. Most likely whatever removed the limb used its teeth to clamp on to the subjects upper arm whilst removing the lower extremity with brute force." The Aurelian doctor paused in his verbal accounting of the injuries to collect a genetic sampling scanner from the tray to his side and leant down to the limb of the real colonist on the autopsy bed. He activated the scanner and helds its beam over the teeth marks in the arm to allow it to gather DNA samples from any saliva left behind and add it to the computer's files. He then used a pair of tweezers to collect a few strands of ginger hair - or fur - and deposit them into a scanning dish.

"Computer, begin genetic analysis of the samples that have just been scanned," the doctor said, moving towards one of the monitors whilst the nurses continued the examination of the body. The genetic strand that appeared on the monitor was wildly chaotic; like nothing the doctor had ever seen in nature. "Computer, confirm that the genetic scan is complete and free of corruption?"

"Confirmed."

The doors to sickbay parted, and Captain Williams stood in the entryway, frozen for a moment at the sight of the two dead bodies with the medical technicians around them. Once he had regained his bearings, he looked over to Talm, clearly looking for a report.

"Nurse Oshinu, please continue the autopsies," Talm ordered, before stepping around and leading the captain into the chief medical officer's office to separate the commanding officer from the clinical post-mortems underway in the main sickbay.

"Have you found anything yet, Doctor? Anything to explain what could have caused... this?"

"I believe so, Captain, though I'm at a loss to explain it." Talm put up the genetic analysis on the office monitor for the captain to see, and stepped to the side to allow the man a full view. "This is the genetic profile of saliva and hair samples left on the body by the creature that killed them."

"It's all over the place," Tim commented, seeing straight away that it looked like some sort of jumbled puzzle put together in the wrong order.

"That's right captain. The analysis shows that the creature's genetic make-up has elements of human DNA, Cardassian DNA, Vulcan, Bolian and Bajoran. All five appear to be combined in some sort of mutated form, as well as some elements which I don't recognise."

"Could it be an extreme form of cross-species breeding?" Tim asked. Ever since the founding of the Federation species had been mating with those outside of their own genetic make-up. It wasn't uncommon for even someone such as himself, who registered as "100%" human to have traces of Vulcan or Andorian DNA in their genetic make-up. Many generations of inter-species relations had led to an inter-mingled gene pool.

"I don't think so, Captain. A result of inter-species mating would usually generate more of a blend of genetic profiles; the analysis wouldn't look so chaotic. This readout suggests that this blending of genes was artificially accelerated, enhanced perhaps by the processes that helped terraform this planet."

"An accidental by-product, or intentional meddling?" Tim was starting to get a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach as more questions sprang to mind.

"I can't say at this point Captain. But we can rule neither out."