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Trials
Lastship 081514 1600
Season 1, Episode 9
Written by: Onalee Hunter Hughes
Directed by: Jack Bender
Running time: 42 minutes
Original airdate: August 17, 2014
Nielsen rating: 18-49 rating:
1.01
Viewers (million):
4.124
Previous:
Two Sailors Walk Into a Bar
Next:
No Place Like Home

Rachel and Chandler ask for six volunteers to participate in human trials of her vaccine, but the tests could be a living hell as the virus and the vaccine do battle inside their bodies. Meanwhile back in the States, Chandler’s wife and father are doing everything they can to keep their family alive.

Summary[]

Out in the woods of Virginia, Jed Chandler brings a deer he bagged to a trailer, but the people inside warn him they're sick and tell him to stay away. He announces he won't let them starve, then leaves the deer, marking the trailer with a red X. Back at his cabin, Jed announces to Darien and the two kids, Ashley and Sam, that the hunting was scarce. She and the kids did well scavenging in nearby Plainview. She saw an electronic store and wants to go back for the radio part Mr. Chandler needs to fix his radio to reach Tom. He tells her not to, but when she insists on going, he tells her to be careful.

On the USS Nathan James, Chandler and CMC Jeter stand over the body of Petty Officer Cossetti. Chandler feels guilty that Cossetti gave his life for redemption, but Jeter reminds Chandler that Cossetti gave his life for the mission. In the lab, crewmen help Dr. Rachel Scott rearrange and prepare for human trials of her vaccine. She's going to inject six people of differing genetic make-up with the vaccine and then with the virus, but Tex thinks she'll be short on volunteers. In comms, Mason lets Bertrise listen to a radio transmission from her father, but it just makes her sad. She's resolved to be there for the vaccine trials since it was made from her blood.

After Cossetti's funeral with gun salute, his body is laid to rest at sea. Chandler, XO Slattery and Jeter discuss how they'll get six volunteers for the trials. Chandler says someone in leadership has to volunteer, and suggests himself, but Jeter says he's already been approved by Dr. Scott to participate. Jeter states that he thinks this might be why God put him on the ship. Chandler pays a visit to the Tophets. Quincy thanks Chandler for giving him a second chance. He is surprised to see dozens of volunteers that Doc Rios and Quincy are interviewing. Dr. Scott tells Danny Green that given the fact he just survived dengue fever, he can't volunteer.

They end up choosing: CMC Jeter, Lt. Foster, Tex, Chief Engineer Garnett, Miller, and Maya. Dr. Scott injects them with the prototype vaccine, warning them they'll likely feel some of the early symptoms of the disease. Then she ushers them into the quarantine room where they'll remain for the next three days and injects them with the virus.

In the electronics store, Mrs. Chandler looks for the part she needs for the radio when she hears someone shouting outside. She looks out and sees a man with a gun warning an infected woman to stay back. When the woman doesn't stop, he shoots her as Mrs. Chandler hides unknowingly right near an infected dead body. After she runs away, the man paints a red X on the door, indicating the place contains the Red Flu.

Dr. Scott checks on the volunteers and Tex continues his flirting with Dr. Scott. Maya goes through old emails from her boyfriend, telling Miller that she's an only child and her parents died on 9/11, so he might be the only one missing her. Standing outside the quarantine with Slattery, Tom remembers when his son Sam was born prematurely and all he could do was wait in the NICU. Dr. Scott sees a photo of Andrea Garnett's daughter and tells her she hopes she could be back with her within a week. Lt. Granderson gets an update six hours into the trial and the crew gets excited about the idea they could go home soon with a vaccine. Danny Green shuts them up, telling them not to jinx it.

In the quarantine, Kara Foster is running a fever but Doc Rios assures her it's just her body fighting the sickness. Miller notices his throat is sore. Jeter and Tex seem fine. Waiting outside the quarantine, Slattery tells Chandler that he gave a nice eulogy for Cossetti. Chandler tells tells him he doesn't want anymore funerals. Slattery says that Dr. Scott seems to have it all in hand and tells Chandler he was right to have faith in Dr. Scott.

In the quarantine, Tex is talking to Kara when she passes out and starts seizing. Dr. Scott, Rios and Tophet tend to her but she's not responding. When no one is able to come out of the tent to get ice after Dr. Scott calls for it, Bertrise brings a bucket of ice into the quarantine area. They're able to get Kara's fever down.

Later, Tophet worries they didn't build a strong enough virus decoy from Bertrise's receptors, but Dr. Scott thinks they checked it a dozen times and it has to be something in Kara's medical history. Rachel says to repeat the CBC and Lytes on everyone, and to add on LFTS and Endocrine panels as well, to make sure they didn't miss something in their blood work. When Slattery asks about helping the volunteers with their symptoms, she tells Quincy to give them interferon.

Lt. Carlton Burk and Danny Green play cards, but Danny is completely distracted worrying about Kara.

In quarantine, Maya tells Miller that her firefighter father went into the north tower to try to save her mother. That's why she joined the Navy. Everyone seems to be doing much worse. Garnett has lost blood flow to her fingers and Tex's back is covered in a rash. The rest of the crew tries to stay busy on the ship.

In quarantine, Garnett is delirious and mistakes Kara for her daughter. Tex is immobilized with the shakes. Dr. Scott sees that Tex has a picture of a young woman in a locket. He grabs her hand and tells her he makes her want to love again. Jeter stands upright, and starts walking, saying he's ready to see his daughter. Dr. Scott tries to restrain him while Tophet injects him with a sedative. Miller turns and sees that Maya is still, with blood running out of her nose.

In the cabin, Mr. Chandler works on his radio and they hear a broadcast telling anyone who's sick to come to Olympia.

In quarantine, they wrap Maya's body in a body bag. Chandler wants her given the Navy Cross. Quincy tries to convince the captain that the vaccine isn't working, but Rachel insists that the heart attack Maya died from isn't a symptom of the virus. Tophet wants to take the plasma from Bertrise's blood and inject them directly with it, but Dr. Scott thinks it'd be too risky, but Bertrise volunteers anyway. Later, Dr. Scott draws her plasma and Quincy hands her a file.

Chandler goes to talk to Danny Green and tells him that Kara is pregnant. They let Danny visit Kara, who now has sores on her head and is bleeding from her nose. The captain says anyone who wants to visit, now is the time.

Quincy finds Dr. Scott huddled in a corner, trying to hold it together. The plasma injections aren't making a difference, but Bertrise is going to be okay. Quincy assures her they'll find another way. As soon as he walks away she sees the monkey and wonders why it worked on the animal. In the hallway outside quarantine, Chandler and Slattery are second guessing themselves and are upset they let the trials go forward. Lt. Andy Chung visits Garnett, telling her he doesn't want to be chief engineer. The volunteers are all weak and seem near death, some of them have bloody noses. Chandler visits and tells them that when they talk about the great plague of the 21st Century, they'll talk about the six. Quincy is preparing morphine when Dr. Scott comes in with an epiphany.

After realizing Bertrice's childhood illness was likely a result from her immune system targeting a self-molecule and leading to an autoimmune response, Dr. Scott explains that what they're seeing is the volunteer's bodies attacking themselves, because after binding to the vaccine, the virus changes its shape to expose a human molecule from Niels' DNA. Then the volunteer's immune system recognizes this viral-exposed human component as foreign and attack it along with the same human molecules in the volunteer's body, thus causing the autoimmune responses. It didn't affect the monkey because, of course, he doesn't have human DNA. She thinks if the primordial strain of the virus could be used as a vector to help the body produce a modified version of the vaccine to hide this human molecule, they can stop the volunteer's bodies from attacking themselves. The new vaccine can hide this human molecule to prevent the autoimmune responses and weaken the virus for the immune system to clean up, thus acting as a cure for the infected. She whips up a new vaccine and injects the volunteers.

In the morning, Mason sits by Bertrise's bedside. Bertrise asks, doubting that it worked. Mason tells her to look and helps her sit up so she can see that the five remaining volunteers are all recovering. Dr. Scott tells Danny Green that Kara's baby will be born immune. He goes to tell Kara the news. Chandler goes to see Dr. Scott, stunned that they actually have a vaccine. She tells him they don't just have a vaccine, they have the cure. They hugs each other, both near tears.

In the Virginia cabin, Jed Chandler gets his radio working and sends out a broadcast looking for the Nathan James. Mrs. Chandler looks like she's running a fever. After a moments thought about how she's suddenly not feeling well, she gets a worried look on her face because she just served her whole family water and cleaned her son's face with her own saliva.

Quotes[]

Cast[]

Starring[]

Guest Starring[]

Co-Starring[]

Episode Deaths[]

  • Maya Gibson
  • Unnamed infected woman
  • Unnamed man (confirmed)

Gallery[]


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