Science Stuff

Posted on Sat Feb 28th, 2009 @ 5:37am by

1,968 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Citadel Prime
Location: Science Labs
Timeline: current

[Science Labs]

Dhindara walked up to her department head's office, knocking on the doorframe before entering, handing him a PADD. "Technical readiness report on all the equipment at your disposal, Sir", she said, "I repaired some things, calibrated a few others and had some help from ops and engineering as well." She smiled. "But now everything is working." She paused, then added, "I hope you slept well for the rest of the night?"

Larkin had already begun perusing the data on the PADD she'd handed him, and it took a moment for him to comprehend her last statement. "Oh, yes, I did. Thank you, and, so far, I haven't had any other problems." He knocked his hand against his desk several times. He wasn't sure exactly where he'd picked up this habit, but he knew it was meant to represent a degree of trepidation at one's words. Every time he found himself doing it, he resolved to look up its origins, but he never remembered to do it.

"I'm glad to hear that the spectrometric scanner is working now; good job catching that. I mean, I know it's only one of about fifty little glitches that we've found so far, but the sooner we find them all, the better, right?"

"It is nothing but the usual starbase-related matters", Dhindara replied, "it's what we get for using the most inexperienced personnel at the starbase level. But then again, where else would we give them a chance to gain experience?"

"Actually, Master Chief, I'm glad you're here, I wanted to ask you what you know about the history of Citadel space and the council races. Our mission here has gotten me a little," he paused, looking for the right word. "...curious about them." He wasn't quite sure where this curiosity was coming from, but he rarely ever was one something caught his eye in this way.

"I don't know a lot about the place or the people", Dhindara replied, "I have researched what Starfleet has on them, and it's not very comprehensive. The entire sector of space has a commercial, cultural and political centre known as Citadel station, hence the name Citadel space." She took a seat opposite the desk and then continued, "The sector is jointly administrative by representatives of the three major indigenous species, the Asari, Salarians and Turians. The seat of government is Citatel station. Most of the sector is unified and answers to this government, however there are groups who do not recognise this government as legitimate, especially species that do not have a share in it. We do not know much about their technology, though they're neither significantly behind nor significantly advanced. They do, however, routinely use cybernetic implants that will increase a person's abilities, for example enhance eyesight or build medical equipment or weapons directly into the bodies of the people serving in that capacity, which makes it very hard to disarm them should we be required to do so."

"Interesting," Larkin leaned back in his chair. "I don't suppose you happen too know much about the Asari, Salarians, or the Turians themselves, do you? I mean, I don't wish to put you on the spot. This isn't anything official, I'm just curious."

"The thing is, there isn't much officially known", Dhindara said, "there are merely rumours, besides what I have told you. And these rumours are little better than fairy tales."

"Well, enough of that." Larkin sat forward again. He found that his curiosity was never really satisfied. "Assuming that you don't have anything pressing to get back to, do you have any interesting research projects going on at the moment that you'd like to discuss? I have to admit that, with everything I'm supervising, I'm not quite at the point yet where I can remember what everyone is working on."

"Not at the moment, no", Dhindara replied, "since I just got done making sure everything works in the labs. I am also spending 45 days of extra duties directly with Commander Arkham, as a result of the... incident with Ensign Turoc."

"That's perfectly understandable, and, as for the incident, I guess we should be glad that it was resolved as well as it was. Things could have turned out much worse at pretty much every juncture." Now that the Master Chief had brought the issue up herself, Larkin felt it necessary to comment on it. "From what I've read, it sounds like the blame for the altercation rests with the ACSO, but, in the future, if you could try to steer clear of these things, I'd appreciate it. It would just make my life easier." Larkin was treading very carefully, and attempting to sound reassuring. He wasn't sure how successful he'd been.

"Believe me, I do not mean to be dealing with the savage again", Dhindara replied. "and I have said so to the security chief as well. And to Commander Arkham. I don't get angry easily, but this guy takes the cake. And when it comes to cake I'm very protective, as I like to eat it myself."

"Yes, I understand the sentiment," he finally said, chuckling a little. "Interesting metaphor, by the way." A silence fell for a moment. "Alright, Master Chief, was there anything else that you wanted to bring to my attention?"

"I would like to ask you", Dhindara replied, "since every department head runs their department differently it would be helpful to know which way you want to run yours."

"Well, as I'm sure you know, the science department on a ship has two primary functions. We carry out any scientific procedures required for the Archimedes current mission, and, when we're not required for that, we work on separate projects. As far as mission duties go, I intend to try to assign those to whoever I deem will do the best job at the task, but I'm going to try to allow for as much leeway with separate projects as possible. Obviously, any research projects or experiments will need my approval, or possibly that of the command staff, depending on their scope. But, for the most part, I want to give you as much freedom to pursue your own ideas as possible. Does that answer your question, or were you looking for something more specific?"

"Indeed, I was looking for something more specific", Dhindara replied, "you see, Sir, I've been working in a science capacity for eleven years now. So I know the standard operating procedures." She smiled.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry. I really didn't mean to sound patronizing, if I did, uhh that is. What is it exactly that you wanted to know about, so that I don't make myself look like a jerk again?" Larkin attempted to hide the fact that he felt embarrassed by knocking himself down a few notches. He kept forgetting that he was talking to an empath.

Dhindara continued to smile at him. She wasn't offended. She wasn't easy to offend, anyway. "I was wondering how deeply you wish to be involved in the different ongoing projects. My specialty being history and archaeology I have basic knowledge of other fields of science, enough to assist science specialist, and I have worked as a sensor maintenance and science technician long enough to know how to fix most faults. Which means, I would like to know how much time you want me spending in that capacity and how much research and time I will have. I enjoy writing for historical magazines both inside and outside of Starfleet, publishing research results and interpretations. Also, I would like to know what your own specialties are, and whether we could learn from one another on this trip."

"Well, for the most part, I feel that this is something I should leave to your discretion. I'm not going to directly require that you take part in anything that doesn't suit your expertise unless I absolutely have to, but, whenever you feel that you have something to offer to a project or repair effort, you should feel free to do so, as long as it isn't interfering with your duties. I'm sure the other party would appreciate your assistance." Larkin took a sip from the glass of water at his table. He wasn't used to talking this much. "As for myself, I guess I intend to reserve the right to take part in projects either if I feel I have something to add or if my assistance is needed, but, for the most part, I'll probably be acting in an administrative, supervising role. I'll have to get myself involved in projects every now and again though, if only to remind myself that I am actually still a scientist." He smiled at his own joke.

"My specialty is in astrophysics, although I do have quite a bit of knowledge concerning planetary development. I suppose that's probably why I was considered for this posting, considering that most of our equipment is geared toward geology and the like. I also know quite a bit about computer science, but most of that comes from self teaching, rather than formal training. Our disciplines don't really overlap that much, but I guess, in a way, that means that we have all the more to learn from each other."

Dhindara nodded. "True. And when studying a planet that has or had an intelligent lifeform living there, it's always good to have experts from both fields."

"Indeed, Master Chief, quite right. What's that old Earth expression? 'It takes two to tangerine?'" The CSO thought for a moment. "I don't think that I got that one quite right. It doesn't make any sense that way. Oh well, was there anything else that you wanted to talk about?"

"Your memory loss, if that is okay with you", Dhindara replied, "Where a Vulcan mind meld fails Betazoid techniques might be successful. I am offering to you that I will at least try what I can do."

Larkin leaned forward, lacing his fingers together. "To be quite honest, no, the memory loss isn't fine with me," he paused, and then added, "anymore. But, I'm not sure I'm to go down this road just yet. In time, maybe I will be, but I've still got a few things that I have to sort out for myself, first." There was a genuine sincerity in Larkin's voice that didn't usually come across, even when it should have been there. "Thank you, though. I will probably take you up on that offer in the days ahead."

Dhindara nodded slowly. "I just wanted you to know that I'm here if you need anything. My joy comes from seeing others happy, and when I sense that someone is not it makes me want to change that." She paused, then added. "See? We telepaths are crazy, but this is how it works for me."

"On the contrary, Master Chief, I've got a feeling that if everyone felt a bit more like a telepath about such matters, the universe might be a nicer place to live."

"Not all telepaths feel like this", Dhindara replied, "but I do."

"Well, I'm glad that you do, anyway. Now, I don't mean to be rude, but if there isn't anything else, I should probably be getting back to my work, before I completely lose track of what I was doing." The CSO smiled, "If you have anything else that you need to discuss in the future, be sure to let me know."

Dhindara smiled. "I am only a call away when you need me."

"Like wise. I'm looking forward to working with you," Larkin bade the Master Chief good bye, and went back to his analysis of the sensor sweeps of Citadel Prime.

A JP by:

Lieutenant JG Kevin Larkin
Chief Science Officer

Master Chief Petty Officer Dhindara Vrel [NPC]
Historian/Archaeologist

 

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