Rrrresearrrch Prrroject

Posted on 20 Aug 2013 @ 11:48pm by Ensign S'Ranna T'Srrr'Kharh & Lieutenant Jacob Pendleton

1,085 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Episode 04 - Exodus
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 4, Chief Research Officer's Office
Timeline: MD02 - 0900 Hours

ON:

S'Ranna flicked out a claw to activate the chime to Lieutenant's Pendleton office, and walked in, swishing up her tail sharply to avoid it getting it caught in the closing doors. The flight control officer was wearing her duty inform, her golden fur combed immaculately and tufted ears standing up to attention. In her left paw, she held a PADD.

"Grrreetings, Lieutenant, I have the honourrr of being Ensign S'Ranna T'Srrr'Kharh. I am wonderrring if you arrre having a moment to discuss a possible rrresearrrch prrroject with me."

Jacob looked up from his desk to see a Caitian standing in his office. He stood up in respect to her; his massive six foot eight frame, huge broad shoulders and powerful musculature seemed to make the room feel smaller somehow, he held out his hand in greeting, "Well met Ensign S'Ranna.. if I may address you as that. How can I be of service?" He deep, but pleasant voice was filled with curiosity and intrigue.

S'Ranna held out her paw, copying the human gesture inexpertly. She had not realized when he had been seated, but stood up, Jacob's awesome size was evident to her: while she had met many taller Caitian males, she had seen few humans of his height. "Of course you may call me S'Ranna."

She then produced her PADD, from her other paw, and waved it about. "I have been told that you are the Rrrresearrrch Officerrr, and I have wrrritten up a prrroposal forrr a rrresearrrch prrroject." She looked around for a chair and sat down, sweeping her tail up into her lap, and sliding the PADD onto his desk as she explained.

"I would like to conduct some tests on ourrr new auxiliarrry crrraft. In parrrticularrr, I would like to monitorrr the effects of rrrapid orrrbital ascent and descent on differrrent alien physiologies. Caitian, human," she gestured, with a paw to her chest and then pointing to Jacob, and then sweeping around, "And any otherrrs who volunteerrr. I believe it would help us gain a betterrr underrrstanding of what prrrotocols to obserrrve when conducting planetarrry surrrvey missions."

Jacob smiled broadly, "I like your initiative S'Ranna, and I like that you are thinking ahead and doing important work. I would love to help you as much as possible. How many individuals of varying races aboard this ship would you want? And do you want a control group and an experimental group or just do general tests?"

S'Ranna's snaked about in her lap uncertainly. "This is why I am coming to you, Lieutenant. I am hoping you will be able to help me with the, I think the science terrrm is parrrameterrrs. As for how many individuals, hrrrrm. I will not be forrrcing anyone to parrrticipate: but whoeverrr volunteerrrs I can accommodate, and perrrhaps we can make up the rrrest frrrom hologrrraphic simulations?"

Jacob nodded, "Good plan, good plan." He thought a minute and then added, "Ok, so lets send out a participatory alert to the crew and then see how many want to be the proverbial 'guinea pigs' as it were, then add the rest as sims. Parameters could be a series of general tests first then ramp it up. It could be done species by species until we have some good hard data. What do you think of that S'Ranna?"

"I think that sounds like a verrry sound plan!" S'Ranna was pleased she'd followed her instincts and come to Jacob for help: she knew little about planning scientific experiments, but she had felt sure that she had the germ of a good idea. His approval and enthusiasm meant a lot, and she wiggled her ears happily.

"Would you be willing to help me see the prrroject thrrrough?" she asked hopefully.

"Of course S'Ranna! You have my full support and will back you and assist you to the best of my abilities. So where to start? Maybe we should start with the actual specifications of our craft and then also see if there have been complaints or other data already in Starfleet files regarding situations and circumstances similar to what you are proposing that have occurred previously. What do you think about starting there?" Jacob smiled at her.

S'Ranna nodded enthusiastically. "An excellent starrrting point. I believe we can exclude the Brrrunel Worrrkbee, as this would not be used forrr orrrbital operrrations. And the Type-9 shuttlecrrraft and Waverider crrraft have both alrrready been extensively tested. We should concentrate on the rrrunabout Marrrina and the Polarrris class trrransport. Would you agrrrree?"

"Very good points all S'Ranna." He pulled up the specifications for both. "Let me cross reference these with other Starfleet data.." His fingers flew across the PADD, "Ah ha! You were correct S'Ranna, there seems to be little data regarding testing of these vehicles as it pertains to specific species tolerance levels or other such parameters. Looks like you might be the first true researcher regarding this topic of study." He smiled at her widely and patted her gently on the shoulder.
Jacob the got himself another soda and said, "So, when you get your Nobel Prize for this research will you buy me dinner since I assisted?" His voice has a teasing, fun aspect to it.

S'Ranna's fur bristled at the uninvited touch and she gave him a curious look, eyes narrowing. "What is the 'No Bell Prrrize'?"

"Award given to extraordinare research, discoveries, and other such finds." Jacob smiled. "So, let's begin then?"

"Ah, I see, like, the Daystrrrom Prize, perrrhaps," S'Ranna mused. "Well, yes, I think we arrre well placed to starrrt. Although I am afrrraid we will not be able to get farrr today: I have a shift in the shuttlebay soon. Perrrhaps tomorrrow?"

"Excellent thought S'Ranna. I cannot wait to begin. As for yourself, I hope you have a fruitful and excellent shift." Jacob smiled and bowed to her respectfully.

S'Ranna stood up and returned Jacob's bow, wiggling her ears in respect. "I look forrrwarrrd to worrrking togetherrr, Lieutenant," she purred softly, before turning on her paw to make her exit. She was pleased with how the meeting had gone, and walked with a purposeful stride, accompanied by whipping her tail about busily.

Jacob smiled at her, watched her walk out admiring her feminine form and then went back to his own research.

OFF:

Lieutenant Jacob Pendleton
Chief Research Officer
USS Galileo


ENS S'Ranna T'Srrr'Kharh
Flight Control Officer
USS Galileo

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