Duty Log, Lt. Jen Lee

Stardate 9906.06

Jen sits at her desk, catching up on reports. A red light begins flashing on her console, taking her by surprise. She puts down her work, and hits the flashing red button. The screen comes to life in front of her, a recorded message being played. "Lieutenant Lee, a sample has been beamed into your restricted access lab. You are to use the utmost caution in handling these samples. All you need to know will be waiting for you in the lab, for your eyes only. This is a matter of utmost security to Starfleet. Admiral Ross out."

Wondering what this is all about, Jen gets up and heads to the restricted access lab, going over the security measures as she goes, so as not to set off any alarms. When she reaches the door, she puts her right palm on the reader. A flashing green light shows acceptance, and she goes on to the voice print, "Lee Omega 5." After analysis, the door opens.

She steps into an anteroom, devoid of anything except a bench with a biohazard containment suit. She suits up, making sure every part of her uniform is fully covered, and she places the clear plastic bubble over her head, attaches it to the suit, and plugs into her air supply. She walks over to the door leading into the restricted area, and places her eye to the scanner. A series of bright flashes signifies that the scanner is testing her eye for reaction to light, and monitoring the changes in the iris, since this is unique for each person. Finally, the door opens, and she enters the lab.

She walks over to the desk area, where the red light is flashing, informing her of the rest of her message. She sits, and hits the button, and Admiral Ross comes back onto the screen. "By now, you will have entered the restricted access lab, and have been verified as to who you are. I am sorry for all of these procedures, but right now, we can't be too careful. The samples you will find in your containment unit were taken from an enemy. We are trying to not allow many people to know much about this, so that is all you will know. Please analyze the samples, and send your findings directly to me. The coordinates and security measures to be taken are at the end of this message. This project has top priority. Ross out."

Jen gets up and goes warily to the containment unit. She opens the door and finds five vessels inside. She takes a tray, and places them carefully on it, and brings them over to a work station. She picks up one of the vessels, and begins her observations.

"Computer, record all actions in this lab from this point forward, security code Lee Alpha 3." The computer responds with a beep, and Jen begins her task. She takes the first vessel, which looks like a metal cylinder, with a point on one end, and flat on the other. She does a passive scan of it, which tells her that the vessel is empty. Releasing a breath she didn't know she was holding, she then does a more active scan on it. The pointed end has several joints in it, invisible to the naked eye.

Wondering what the joints could be for, she places the vessel in another containment unit. "Computer, scan the vessel in containment unit two, and cross reference with any known vessels like it. Display the results on my monitor." After about a minute, only one choice is listed on the monitor. She pulls it up, and studies. It is an exact fit for a child's toy, which simulates a gun. The vessel is placed into the gun, and after locking the chamber, the vessel opens, placing the contents (small spherical beads of paint) into the firing mechanism, for deployment one at a time.

"Why would they send me a toy and put all this hoopla behind it?" Jen looks to the other vessels on the tray. Two more look just like the one she just studied. Picking up the next one, she notices it is a lot heavier than the first. "Ah, this one's full." Taking this vessel to the containment unit, she removes the first one, and opens the second one. She spills the contents into a glass dish and looks at them.

"This certainly isn't paint." She carefully separates one sphere from the others, and does a complete scan on it, again, with the results coming up on her monitor. When the results come up, she breaks into a cold sweat. "Oh my God ..."

A schematic of the sphere is up on the screen. It shows a very thin plasticine compound forming the outside of the sphere, approximately one centimeter in diameter. Inside the sphere, are thousands of microscopic spheres. Jen magnifies these so she can see them better. These tiny spheres range in size from 20 to 100 nm in diameter, and are composed of a phospholipid bilayer. Within them, is a chemical compound, unknown at the time to the computer.

Jen extracts the compound, and displays the molecular structure. "Computer, display similar compounds, and their uses ." The results scroll up the screen. Each of them have one similar property. They are a deadly toxin, capable of killing a humanoid in minutes. Hands shaking, she sits at the terminal and closes her eyes, composing herself.

After a few minutes, she gets up and cleans up the containment unit, placing all the plasticine spheres back into the metal vessel they came in. She places the vessel in a storage unit, with a security forcefield around it. She then goes and gets the other similar vessel from the tray.

"This one's loaded too." Taking the same precautions, she opens the vessel, finding once again, plasticine spheres inside. This time, though, a different compound is within the phospholipid bilayer. A very common enzyme called lysozyme. This enzyme has but one purpose in its life, and that is to destroy living cells. Once released onto cells, it works its way in, and breaks them open, lysing them.

Shuddering at the thoughts running through her head, Jen cleans up again, and places this vessel with the other "loaded" one in the storage unit. She looks back to the tray with untested samples, and sees two more left, both different from those she had already tested, yet similar to each other. With a sigh of resignation, she takes the next sample and begins her testing.

Jen carefully inspects both remaining containers, finding that one is much heavier than the other. Hoping to have the same luck in deduction, she takes the lighter of the two over to the containment unit and has the computer scan it. The results show that indeed, the vessel is empty, though it is of a completely different design. The compound, though highly rigid and tough, is completely water soluble. Wondering what this new container could be used for, she places it with the other "empty" beside the containment unit.

With trepidation, she takes the remaining vessel, and opens it carefully within the containment unit. A jelly-like fluid spills out into the glass dish she's placed in the unit. She places a small aliquot into a vial, and places the vial into a scanning unit. Going back to her monitor, she blanches at the results.

Again, there are tiny spheres, composed of a phospholipid bilayer, this time, with genetic material inside. She brings the DNA up on her monitor and studies it. Comparing the sequence to the results of the compounds from the other vessels, she realizes that the DNA codes for the enzyme, and the toxin.

Making sure her suit is fully contained, she cleans up again, placing the DNA sample within the storage area as well, with an extra containment field around it. "Computer, initiate a wide range sanitation of this lab, including the use of DNAse and UV irradiation." Once it is done, she sits at the computer screen and composes herself, preparing her report to Admiral Ross.

Jen sits at her terminal in the Restricted Access Lab, and calls up the codes for the secure transmission of her data to Admiral Ross. Reminding herself to stay professional, and not to show her fear of what she found, she begins recording her findings.

"Admiral Ross, I have analyzed your samples, and have some very interesting results. My raw data will be compressed at the end of this transmission, and sent along as well. The two different types of vessels you sent have very different uses.

"First, the metallic unit you sent is a generic child's toy, used to hold paint balls. When placed in a specific mechanism, the balls of paint get released one by one. But of course, these aren't filled with paint, otherwise you never would have sent them to me. The spheres inside the containers are made to burst open at a fairly low level of impact. At the point of impact, the plasticine sphere bursts open, releasing its contents.

"If this happens on most surfaces, nothing will happen. But if it is released onto most humanoid skin, I dread to see the results. Inside the plasticine spheres are vesicles -- small bits of cell membrane -- which contain either a toxin, or an enzyme. Whichever it is, doesn't matter in the long run. Within five minutes of a typical humanoid being hit with just one of these pellets, they will be dead due to their cells being ruptured, and a powerful neurotoxin being released into the bloodstream.

"The second type of vessel you sent actually scares me more. It is made to be highly stable, until placed in water. Should something like this be placed, say, in a shower head, it will be undetectable to the average person. Now, someone goes into the shower, and turns on the nozzle. Nothing will be detected to the naked eye. But, the vessel will dissolve, and release DNA containing vesicles onto the unsuspecting person.

"Once contact is make to the skin, the vesicles incorporate the DNA inside, into the host, victim, whatever you'd like to call the poor humanoid showering. Once the DNA is incorporated, the cells will begin to produce the proteins coded within the DNA. And that would be both the toxin, and the enzyme mentioned previously. At first, the host would not notice anything. But, as the skin cells replicate themselves, and more of the skin cells are producing these proteins, trouble begins.

"Within six months of initial exposure, the host will die from the neurotoxin being released into the bloodstream, and the lysozyme killing cells wherever it goes. Essentially, it will be a very long and painful death, culminating in a liquefaction of the internal organs. I hope my report is helpful to you in your endeavors. Lieutenant Lee out."

"Computer, encrypt as per these codes, and compress the preliminary data and send as well." The computer beeps its recognition of the commands, and sends the information to Admiral Ross.