All Hands on Deck (Part 6 of 9)

Posted on 03 Mar 2015 @ 7:44pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Commander Andreus Kohl & Lieutenant JG Kalos Jang Ph.D. & Ensign Ibrahim Dragovic & Commander Norvi Stace & Lieutenant Oren Idris Ph.D. & Ensign Jaana Voutilainen & Trisant Myrddin & Petty Officer 1st Class Threxa Shroll & Command Master Chief Markum Quinn & Petty Officer 1st Class Rebecca Williams

3,162 words; about a 16 minute read

Mission: Episode 07 - Sojourn
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 3, Multi-Purpose Lab
Timeline: MD 44 - 0935 hrs

Previously, on All Hands on Deck (Part 5)...

"Thank the Twins that is over," Allyndra grabbed a beaker and held it out for Mott to fill. She waved her hand when he went to stop and with real relief in her voice, "No, more than a little sip. At least we managed to avoid a complete argument between everyone in front of the Admiral."

Olsam nodded. "Yeah, I think we barely skated by... How come the counselors didn't stay? Did I say something? Do they not drink? Are they like monks? Sometimes they seem like monks. Maybe there's an oath..."

Allyndra shook her head, "Not that I am aware but maybe I missed that part. You did know I am certified right? No, I just do not think they like us and our ways. Well, their loss no pour me another glass please."

And Now, the Continuation...

[ON]

Deck 3 - Multi-Purpose Laboratory

With each and every member of the Science staff lined up in one of the multi-purpose laboratories, Andreus Kohl felt a flash of claustrophobia. But only for a moment. He was standing at ease, his body in a parade rest posture. His booted feet were shoulder width apart, his hands were clasped behind his back, but his shoulders and chest remained at attention. Staring ahead of himself --at the closed doorway-- he certainly hoped all the rest of them were doing the same. Kohl had directed the staff to line up according to rank, mostly, even though he would have preferred to line them up according to height.

Kohl breathed out. "Huh. I didn't think we'd all fit."

Kal, as a junior grade lieutenant, was a fair distance down from the door, standing at relaxed attention. Were they supposed to be standing like that so long? At least it wasn't the lab that contained his usual workstation. If it were, he'd be enticed to sit down and work on some of his stuff. As it was, he had to console himself with thinking about what he was doing. "Do we do this kinda thing often?"

At the very end, as one of the rare civilians in Science, stood Oren, still pulling at his uniform. "I hope not," he called out to whomever had asked the question in the first place. He'd gone through one inspection before, on the Belgrade so was used to all of the pomp and procedure. For Oren, the entire ordeal felt ridiculous, just like he found real life applications of ranks to be ridiculous. Sure, he knew hierarchy was important in any institution to keep things flowing, but the whole 'I am, by way of simple rank, somehow better than you and have the right to judge you' aspect of it didn't sit well with Oren.

Stace stood looking about the room in silence herself. She ceremoniously tugged at the front of her dress uniform and then brushed it down for the third time she'd been standing there. Throughout both her careers, Stace had undergone a multitude of inspections and rather, seemingly controversially, enjoyed the ceremony of it all. She cut Kohl a look and then winced a smile. "Brace yourself, people," she remarked with a sideways, mischievous glance.

Ibrahim suppressed a groan. How many distinct stages did this inspection require? This wasn't even his lab. As he looked around, he thought it seemed more oriented towards the planetary sciences: geology, biology, botany, and so on. His eyes wandered to a hydroponic setup that would put his little backwater start-kit to shame, and they lingered longingly on some of the exotic plant specimens that he didn't recognize. Shaking the impertinent curiousity from his mind, he resumed his at-attention stance.

Nervously plucking on her uniform Jaana didn't know how to compose herself. She was nervous as hell. But why? This wasn't the first Inspection she going through. She took a deep breath. She was feeling queasy. Was her body finally telling her to start eating again?

To Jaana's right, stood the Bajoran enlisted Stellar Cartographer, Trisant Myrddin. Clad in his own white dress uniform, his body was stood at attention, except for his eyes. He was looking all around, even craning his neck to do so, watching all of the fidgety science officers. They seemed as uncomfortable in their own skins as they did in their uniforms.

This was the first time Tulkas had the opportunity to see the rest of the science department in one place. It was an interesting collection of individuals, and as Tulkas adjusted his uniform confidently one final time, he smiled to himself. This would be very different to the USS Tigran.

As expected, the Aenar zoologist was standing at perfect attention. She wasn't entirely certain if she was standing in the right direction, but she knew she was in the right spot.

The door to the multipurpose lab swished open to signal Lirha's arrival along with the rest of the command staff. Having just come from a rather unorthodox situation in sickbay, it was much of a relief to get back to some semblance of normalcy that did not include strange holograms and outspoken crew members.

The lab itself looked about as clean and tidy as it could be, and somehow, all of Galileo's science personnel -- one-third of the crew -- had managed to squeeze in to the confines of the room and neatly organize themselves. Lirha approached Stace and Kohl, then gave them a small smile. "Commanders," she greeted. "Would you like to present your staff for inspection?"

Given Stace's new responsibilities, she had been demonstrating greater and greater trust in Lieutenant Commander Kohl's leadership of the staff. This was what gave Kohl the confidence to speak up first. "Rear Admiral, please allow me to present the officers and non-commissioned officers of the Science and Research department; behind them are the officers and non-commissioned officers of our Planetary Sciences division. Finally, allow me to present our civilian scientists, who I'm certain are extremely grateful for the resources and opportunities provided to them by Starfleet."

Stace stepped back a little to allow Kohl to speak directly with the admiral. A warm confident feeling filled her belly as her counterpart introduced their crew to her. A lined-up row of people with their chests heaved up and in immaculate dress. The Trill looked down the line and smiled with pride at her staff.

Pacing slowly across the rows of scientists, Lirha checked each of their uniforms and took in their faces -- some familiar and some new -- while also smiling at the civilians ones to help put them at ease. It wasn't always easy for the non-Starfleet members of the crew to perform formal protocol duties, and she hoped to alleviate some of the tension.

"A fine science team, indeed," she commented after walking past the last crew member and turning on her heels to walk back down the line. "And what types of scientific study and experiments are you all currently working on?" she asked the group, hoping a few of them would pipe up and enlighten her.

From behind her, at the end of the line, Oren glanced from one of his colleagues to the another before speaking. "I'm preparing to conduct an ethnography of the Galileo," he said with a smile. It was a little odd seeing the Rear Admiral up close. When people spoke about her, Oren always got the feeling she was this imposing figure, contacting people through reports and messages and comm links from her office which was in an undisclosed location on the ship, much like the famous zero gravity pocket.

Seeing her up close was fascinating and enlightening for Oren. She looked different than he'd expected. After learning of her Orion heritage, he'd been curious about her, but now he saw what he probably should've expected. Back straight, uniform pristine; she looked just like any other Starfleet officer. He couldn't help but be slightly disappointed.

"Ethnography? Interesting...and what do you plan to do with your research once it is complete?" Lirha proceeded to ask. She wasn't exactly sure what the process behind compiling and analyzing such data was, but it seemed to be an intriguing study.

"Well," Oren began, moving his hands as he spoke. "I'm not the only anthropologist focusing on life aboard starships. There are several others so, in the end, we'll probably compile all of our data. Generally speaking, ethnographies are used in different studies to analyze how people react in such close quarters with their colleagues. The Galileo, as a Nova class, is very peculiar, since it has such a small crew. So it's interesting to observe how different social entanglements affect work cohesion and vice versa." Oren knew that he could go on and on but quickly realised he might be rambling, so he stilled his movements and pursed his lips, giving the woman the opportunity to comment.

"I see," said the rear admiral while she pondered the different possible outcomes of such an analytic investigation. She was acutely aware of the crew size differences between the various starship classes and also the impact of said difference upon the crew themselves, but she had never performed an actual scientific study on the matter. It would be interesting to see the final results. "I would be interesting in reading your findings once your project is complete. Please keep me informed," she said before turning to look at some of the other assembled scientists.

Oren just nodded, glad the Rear Admiral's reaction to his work was positive. A lot of his superiors in the past found Oren's work to be either completely dull or completely useless. Or both.

"I'm researching the Heliopause of Earth and the four other primary Federation members. And mostly focussing on the course the planet took in gaining their knowledge of the Heliopause." Jaana said. Her nervousness caused her to speak in a pace that would be hard to keep up with. But at least she said something. The rest of the department, except one, were still keeping quiet. While she knew there were thousands of other projects going on.

Lirha's eyebrows raised slightly with interest. Astronomy had never been her most proficient field of study at the Academy, but she'd had plenty of interest in the subject matter especially considering she'd been born and raised in space aboard a trade freighter. "And what is the purpose of your research?" she went on to ask. "Have you discovered anything...unique about it?"

And that's when Jaana remembered why she normally kept her mouth shut. She felt a bit embarrassed having to say that her research wouldn't provide any direct benefit to the Galileo. "Uhm... the goal is to provide new discovered planets a means to speed up their research of their system. To give them the tools to conduct the research themselves, and not have the Federation do it for them." She stuttered. "As for your second question. I'm currently looking at the possibility that commonalities in Vulcan & Andorian evolution have been brought on by particles that I've discovered between those systems. Particles that probably have an origin there because of the close proximity of the Heliopause of those two system."

"If I remember correctly," recalled Lirha, "Admiral Picard and the late Professor Galen discovered an ancient humanoid species in 2369 who revealed themselves as the ones responsible for seeding all humanoid life in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. Are you suggesting this alien race could have used a solar system's heliopause to spread their genetic code?" she wondered. It was quite an interesting hypothesis, if so.

"Negative ma'am," Jaana replied. "My discovery doesn't connect to the origin of life. The particles I've found do not appear to be present in the Sol, Tellar or the Alpha Centauri system. They might be present at other systems but my research is limited to these five systems." She explained. "If there is an ancient link between the Vulcan and Andorian species, more ancient then the Vulcan-Romulan link that is, it would be very interesting given the tensioned relationship between them. Unfortunately to examine this theory fully would be a complete separate research subject."

A most interesting study, Lirha thought to herself. If the ensign had somehow discovered (or would discover) an additional genetic link between the two infamous species, it would no doubt go down as one of the greatest scientific discoveries of the decade. "I hope for the sake of science that you will do whatever it takes to further your research," replied Lirha with a confident smile. "After all, it would be nice to see your name in the Starfleet historical records for making such a discovery."

"Me?" asked Jaana. She had never had any ideas of being a famous scientist, preferring to simply keep her head down and focus on her work. The thought of ever becoming famous for her work made her nervous. Even this little bit of scrutiny from the admiral was causing her to break out into a cold sweat. "That would be... wow."

Kal wasn't sure if it was time to be speaking up, but the admiral had asked. By the time they came close to his station, he figured he could offer something up. If he got the admiral's attention on this early prototype, maybe it'd be easier when he started to advance into more challenging work. "I've started work on a personal protection system for Starfleet uniforms," Kal said. "Using a coating of nanotechnology, I'm hoping to develop a system of basic protection against weapons and harmful substances that can be used with all Starfleet uniforms. That's where I'm starting, anyway."

"Oh? Nanotechnology... Like the Borg?" Lirha asked somewhat hesitantly. The idea of nanites working to reinforce the standard uniform seemed very intriguing, but she couldn't but equate the word 'nanite' with 'Borg' upon its mention. And it didn't help that she, herself, had had many of those unpleasant Borg assimilation devices inside of her several months prior.

He couldn't really stop the slight wince that followed, even though he wished that he had. It was a concern everybody who went into nanotechnology heard all too often. Still, he forced his face as impassive as he could get it. "No, not at all, Admiral. The only thing that the Borg have in common with the work I do is that the machines are very small. The purposes couldn't be any more different. Nanotechnology isn't in and of itself nefarious. The Borg perverted the science, just as they perverted the science of...prosthetic limbs, say. It's a technology, a tool that can be explored to the great benefit of us all. That's what I believe."

Quinn wasn't the most sciency person aboard by any means, but he had read of even using nanotech to improve FTL drives. "I'd like to see what you do with that, Doctor Jang."

Lirha wasn't sure if she was 100 percent convinced by the junior lieutenant's reassurance, but as long as said tiny machines remained under control, then she supposed it was a worthy experiment. "I see," she replied. "And how is your researching coming along so far? Have you developed any prototype nanites for testing?"

Quinn's encouragement gave Kal a bit more confidence, and he said, "I've got a pretty workable design, it's something I've been spitballing since I started out at the Academy. Right now I'm working on programming, which is always kind of the biggest part of the job. Building the brain, more or less. I hope to have it done within the next two weeks, and then I fabricate and test."

Rebecca had been hovering in the background but listening to all of the information being volunteered by the various members of the crew. Some aspects caused a level of concern, such as nanotechnology and the thought of what would happen if it got loose; but other aspects such as the genetic link between races was intriguing to understand more about. This was the aspect of her job that she loved most, the opportunity to understand the workings of other departments that outsiders generally didn't get a look into.

As the rear admiral came to a natural pause after her crew had reeled off experiment and theory after one another, Stace stepped in and smiled, piquing an eyebrow to her superior officer with a knowing glance. "And that, Rear-Admiral, is why we have two senior officers heading up the Science department: with us being such a science-specific vessel, I simply wouldn't have time to orchestrate the day-to-day mission running of the department along with the Research. And that is where Commander Kohl picks up the reigns. We're lucky on the Galileo, us scientists. For her size, the space available to my crew is vastly disproportionate. And that allows us to push the boundaries of science much further than say, a Defiant class. We're allowed to indulge in the sciences here. And for that, we are ever thankful."

"Yes," agreed Lirha with a slight tease, "the Starship Design Bureau most certainly was biased towards the sciences when they designed the Nova-class. I am happy to see you are making good use of your accommodations." As long as the nanites don't get out of control and take over the ship, she silently added.

"Very well, then. Thank you Commanders Stace and Kohl...your science team is most impressive. Carry on," she said, pleased that all appeared to be well with Galileo's largest and most important department.

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

RADM Lirha Saalm
Mission Advisor
USS Galileo

CAPT Jonathan Holliday
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant JG Wakeham Paul Alasia
Diplomatic Officer
USS Galileo

Petty Officer 2nd Class Rebecca Williams
Commanding Officer's Yeoman
USS Galileo

Lieutenant JG Drusilla McCarthy
Assistant Chief Counsellor
USS Galileo

Ensign Jaana Voutilainen
Stellar Cartographer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (J.G.) Tuula Voutilainen M.D.
Medical Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Asahi Kita
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Galileo

Chief Petty Officer Lyras Ueda
Diplomatic Officer
USS Galileo
[PNPC - Kita]

Chief Petty Officer Pax-Inyo
Masyer-at-Arms
USS Galileo

CMDR Scarlet Blake
First Officer
USS Galileo

CN Ash Rowe
Support Craft Pilot
USS Galileo
[PNPC Blake]

Father Ethan Walker
Ship's Chaplain
USS Galileo

LCMDR Allyndra illm Warraquim
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

Oren Idris, Ph.D.
Archaeologist/Anthropologist
USS Galileo

PO1 Pieter Van Zyl
Botanist
USS Galileo
[PNPC by Idris]

Lieutenant Commander Andreus Kohl
Chief Research Officer
USS Galileo

CMCPO Markum Quinn
Chief of the Boat
USS Gallileo

Lt. Jared Nicholas
Language Specialist
USS Galileo

Jonah Chaparral
Epidemiologist
PNPC Jared Nicholas
USS Galileo

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