Doctor Rachel Scott was the leading Paleomicrobiologist aboard the USS Nathan James along side Doctor Quincy Tophet. She worked for the Center for Disease Control and the World Health Organization to create a cure for the virus that had wiped out most of the human race.
Scott eventually managed to create the cure as well as the vaccine.
She was portrayed by Rhona Mitra.
Biography
Early Life
Her mother died of malaria when she was around 9 years old. Her father is Catholic, so the family was not vaccinated. Vaccination is fully compatible with Catholic bioethical teaching, however.
Just after her mother's death, she spoke to one of the nurses. After that talk she wanted to be a doctor.
Education
Oxford University - BS
Cambridge University - MD
Yale University - PhD in Virology
Yale University - PhD in Public Health
Events of The Last Ship
Season 1
Rachel joins the crew of the Nathan James for the first time. Later in the Antarctic, she searches for the primordial strain of the virus with Dr. Quincy Tophet.
Ep.2
Ep.3
Rachel asks for Quincy to be released from the brig to help her with her tests, later she manages to create a vaccine prototype and celebrates with Tom Chandler. The ship loses power and she seeks help from the crew to keep the sample cool. (“We'll Get There”)
She accompanies the landing party to show them the species of monkey she needs. When the team encounters infected people, she is sent back to the Nathan James. (“El Toro (Episode)”)
She discovers an unidentified gene in the virus and informs Chandler that her vaccine prototype was failing. She then discreetly disposes of the monkey corpses by throwing them off the ship. Later, when Lt. Danny Green comes down with a sickness, she diagnoses him with Dengue fever. (“Lockdown”)
With the vaccine ready, Rachel starts human trials. She administers the vaccine and monitors the patients. After the patients start dying, she realizes that something else is needed in the vaccine and manages to create the cure. (“Trials”)
Rachel arrives in Baltimore with the rest of the crew and meets Amy Granderson. Granderson takes her and the rest of the landing party to her headquarters, she tells her that she has sufficient facilities to mass-produce the vaccine and the cure. In the lab, the scientists are pleased to meet Dr. Scott and applause her. Later, Tex approaches her and tells her that he was moving on. They share their first kiss before Tex leaves for good. After spending sometime in the laboratory, Rachel stumbles upon something in Granderson's "treatment for the virus". Rachel determines that the doctor's assumption of the virus was incorrect. Their treatment was, apparently ineffective, in-fact, the dosages that the treatment is administered in is highly toxic. She confronts Granderson about this matter and the later is informed of Granderson's true motives. Granderson recalls the time of the Black Death, and states she was trying to prevent the Dark Ages from happening again. (“Lockdown”)
Season 2:
Rachel kills patient zero on purpose while detaching the virus from his genes. She does this because she can't stand that a monster who genetically mutated the virus and killed so many people could continue living without any consequences. She comes clean to Chandler after being watched under suspicion by the whole crew. Her fate lies in Chandler's hands and he's torn between order and rules and doing what's right and all the good Rachel has done.
Season 2 Finale:
Rachel talks to Tom and on the way back she gets shot by an immune who says 'sic semper tyrannis' (thus always to tyrants, said to Abraham Lincoln before he got shot).
Current Status
Deceased.
Trivia
- When looking at Dr. Scott's file it says that she got an MD from the University of Cambridge. This is an error as in England the medical degree given is an MB BChir (Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery, in Latin: Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae), not an MD.
- Also the file says Cambridge University, when it is actually University of Cambridge.
- In “Don't Look Back”, when talking about the people he's lost and given speeches for, Chandler mentions Scott and his voice noticeably breaks.
Gallery
Appearances
- - "Phase Six" (First appearance)
- - "Welcome to Gitmo"
- - "Dead Reckoning"
- - "We'll Get There"
- - "El Toro"
- - "Lockdown"
- - "SOS"
- - "Two Sailors Walk into a Bar"
- - "Trials"
- - "No Place Like Home"
- - "Unreal City"
- - "Fight the Ship"
- - "It's Not a Rumor"
- - "Solace"
- - "Achilles"
- - "Long Day's Journey"
- - "Alone and Unafraid"
- - "Safe Zone"