Secundus

Posted on 26 Nov 2018 @ 4:18pm by Commander Scarlet Blake & Petty Officer 3rd Class Raine Ni-ya
Edited on on 07 Jan 2019 @ 1:48pm

2,510 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Episode 17 - Crystal of Life
Location: USS Galileo-A - First Officer's Office
Timeline: MD -162, 10:00

[ON]

Scarlet glanced to the time. Still a few minutes left. She gave a nod to herself, looking back to her computer screen. She read the Cereijan's record again, to be sure she hadn't missed something. She was trying to ensure she was familiar with all crew, and the Scientist's Mate's record had caught her eye. Enough for Blake to call her to a meeting. She had quite a few questions for her, but she wasn't entirely sure what the answers would be. As an ex-counsellor, she had an idea, but wasn't certain. She was curious of the direction the meeting would take.

Crewman Raine Ni-ya frowned as she found herself outside the XO's office. She had been surprised when she had been called to come here. Reflecting on her time on the Galileo she wondered if it was because her lack of enthusiasm in the training she had been put on. The firing practice before the Galileo had departed had been painful for her, because it put her face to face with something she had ignored. And the same with the simulation exercise. She tilted her head and rang the chime to announce herself.

"Come in," Scarlet called out, closing the lid of the computer firmly so that Raine would have her full attention. She nodded as the pale woman moved in, sitting back with a small smile. "Thank you for coming," and promptly on time, she noted as she motioned to a seat for her to take. "I thought we could talk about your duties."

Raine nodded and took a seat, her gloved hands resting in her lap. "Have I not been performing them to a satisfactory standard?" she asked as she held the human's eyes, unblinking and unflinching. If it was the case, she would find ways of improving. But making sure the equipment was there and ready, cleaning up after the shift and monitoring the experiments that the actual scientists were doing was something she felt she had under control. But even so, if someone had complained she wanted to address it. Even if it had been raised up to the level of the XO rather than her Chief.

Blake shook her head quickly, giving a slight wave of her hand to dismiss that idea swiftly. "Nothing like that," she assured firmly, resting her arm on the desk as she leant forward a little. "How do you...enjoy your work?"

Raine held her eyes for a moment before she glanced down at her gloved hands and then back at the other woman. "It is work," she said after a moment. "I enjoy doing it well." It was not a real answer, but she didn't have one. She did the tasks and that was that. Enjoyment did not come into it for her. Not with what she did on this ship.

Scarlet just watched her in silence for a long moment, trying to take what she could from her eyes and stern expression. "I've read your file, Raine," she finally replied, using the name deliberately, not wishing to use her self picked last name now that she knew what it meant. "You have a very...involved background with science."

Raine took a deeper breath at the words, at what they meant. She tilted her head a bit before she gave a small shrug. "Then you know very well why I am doing what I am doing. My background in science breaks most of the Federation laws. Not to mention being morally reprehensible."

Scarlet shook her head briskly, holding the woman's eyes as she leant forward to her, her voice lowering slightly to a more confidential tone. "But that doesn't change the fact that you are vastly over qualified for a Scientist's Mate."

"Is that what it is about?" Raine asked with a small smile, holding her eyes before she let out a breath. "Yes, I am overqualified. But that is...okay. Less damage can be done if I am just cleaning things, putting out equipment and monitoring other scientists' experiments. I am not the sort of person you want doing more."

"Why not?" Scarlet shook her head with a slight frown. "I understand why you have taken a step away from it. I understand that the kind of science you did before is not what we would consider ethical. But you understand that too. Knowing when something isn't right, feeling regret and guilt for it...that's half the battle won. It will stop you from ever going down that path again. And more? It may well gear you up to try and even the scales."

Raine frowned at the words before she looked down, rubbing her hands together. "Some people aren't bred to be good," she said quietly. "My morals, even now, are muddy at best. It is safest I don't get involved. I...love science. I do. I was bred to love it and it is part of me. It is a slippery slope, Commander. A very slippery slope down. If I start using that part of me, I fear I will never stop. That what I perceive as the greater good will take over."

Scarlet sat back at the words, letting out a soft sigh as she crossed her legs, resting her hands neatly on her thigh. She had to respect that kind of honesty. But it was that kind of self understanding that made her think it *wasn't* a risk. "You're going to go mad from boredom," she said quietly with a shake of her head. It wasn't even a question. The woman was massively over qualified for her position, that was going to make her job very dull, very quickly.

Raine chuckled at that and gave a small smile, shrugging weakly. "I survived going through the Academy," she said after a moment. "I occupy my brain by learning about the Federation. My own studies, outside of there. I will not lie. I miss...science. Real science. But I do not think my species can be trusted with it," the last was said bitterly as she sat back. "We are engineered to...have certain attributes."

"Tell me about it," Blake said quietly, watching her calmly. Perhaps if she understood more, then she could find a better solution for the young woman.

For a moment, Raine looked extremely uncomfortable, tugging at her gloves before she closed her eyes. She hated speaking about it, shame washing over her every time. Emotions she tried to lock away and more often than not succeeded. She took a deeper breath and met her eyes. "My people are...artificially made from genetic material of those that can reproduce. We are...grown in batches. At an early age we are tested...the same education until we have lived for 12 cycles before we get assigned what position we will have based on our attributes, intelligence and personality. I was...I was assigned to be a Scientist. So from that age I was trained in science, day and night. It was all that mattered," she paused and swallowed, suddenly unable to sit. So she stood, moving to the window and looking out at the stars. Her voice wasn't quiet, but still muted as she spoke. "I was 20 when I was sent to the Birthing Facility. We would use harvested eggs and sperm to grow our people. Each fertilised egg would be screened, those not deemed up to standard we would experiment on. To find a way to...cure us.

It was not all we did. Truth is, the conditions we keep our...Breeders in, it's...horrible. Chained to the beds, pumped full of hormones and drugs. And when they are...when their use is..." Raine stopped and pulled off her gloves, reaching to touch the glass. The coldness of it, the sensations, cleared her head and kept her grounded in the present. "When they no longer produce eggs and viable sperm, we harvest their organs, anything that might unlock it. We kill them. We kill our mothers and fathers. I spent years doing that. Years of...torturing and mutilating...I ended up coming to a scientific theory. That it was not viable solution. What we needed was...fresh DNA. The only way our people will ever be cured is if those that can reproduce reach out and have children naturally with people from other species."

Raine turned away from the window and looked at Blake, her jaw tight. "So I joined a group of people who felt the same way. And we...were going to rebel against all of it. It didn't work. We had a spy in our midst, or a leak...I never found out. But I ran away. I ran here. So...that's why I can't make myself be anything except a Scientist's Mate. What I did was...unspeakable...and I did it for years before I stopped. And I didn't stop based on compassion. I stopped because it did not make sense to me from a scientific point of view. What sort of a person does that?"

Scarlet searched the woman's eyes, shaking her head with a slight frown. Raine hadn't just told her about herself in what she said, she'd almost shown more in how she said it. "I see, and hear, a lot more emotion in you than your last statement claims," she said quietly. "I'm not sure you're being honest with yourself when you say that you stopped only from a scientific view."

Raine looked at her before she gave a weak smile, almost conceding the point. And yet she let out a soft breath and put her gloves on. "The scientific logic came first. Naiera...changed my emotions," she said and moved to sit down, swallowing. Even saying her name hurt, ripped something inside of Raine as if someone was squeezing her hearts. She let out a soft breath. "She had a kinder soul than I ever did."

"It's not a competition," Scarlet said softly with a slight frown, shaking her head. "You've changed, Raine. And you feel differently. The very fact you took the name you did? It shows that you regret and have guilt. And that you want to find a way to make up for it. That says a lot. A lot."

"And then you must see why I do not strive to be anything except what I am," Raine said softly before she frowned. "I do not trust myself to be anything more. If...If I slip..." she stopped herself and looked away. "Besides, someone has to organise the scientists. Everyone is very disorganised."

Scarlet nodded slowly as she looked to her hands with a slight sigh. Yes, she understood. She did. Yet, this woman was so over qualified that she was going to get very bored, very quickly. And with her logical hat on, she was an under utilised asset. "What if you were to train in a different area of science?"

Raine looked at her with surprise, her lips parting. She swallowed and sat back, slowly, watching her. "I...have never been trained in anything except science," she said after a moment. "When I was training in Starfleet, it was the first time I was exposed to other things. I...enjoyed it, but I was not as good at it."

"There are so many different kinds of science you could explore," Scarlet leant to her with a confidential tone. "Areas that don't remind you of that time. That don't worry you."

Raine frowned as she considered it, her lips parting as she breathed through the ideas that came to her. "I...suppose there are other areas I could go in that do not involve genetics..." she conceded as she glanced down. "I would not even know where to start though. How does someone start?"

"Learning," Scarlet gave a small smile to that, shaking her head as she watched her. "You can train in another specialism. It would take time, probably years alongside work as a scientist's mate...but it would challenge your mind." And give her a goal. Stop her from getting bored with a role that was far below her level.

Raine let out a shaky breath at the words, nodding weakly. She smiled suddenly, shaking her head at her own stupidity. "I have allowed them to trap me," she finally said. "To trap my mind down to one insignificant side of a world. Of science."

Scarlet nodded slowly at how she put it. It was a fair assessment. "I understand why you let it happen though," she said honestly, shaking her head. "It was safe. Easy. Keeping yourself locked in a box away from what you feared. But when you learn to face it, and choose to walk away rather than rely on a false trapping? That's when you'll have your life back, Raine. So small steps. Find a different area of science that interests you, and I'll sponsor your training. I will expect you to fulfil you duties as scientists mate though."

"I am sure I will be able to handle both once I have found what I wish to study," Raine admitted before she gave a small shrug. "After all, I have a good overview of the scientists and what projects they have on at the moment."

"Good," Scarlet gave a firm, confident nod in her ability to juggle the two. She was just glad she'd agreed to look into training; for a moment she'd thought that she'd outright refuse. And she wanted everyone satisfied in their roles. "Is there anything you'd like to ask while you have me?"

Raine watched her before she nodded, taking a deeper breath. "Why did you take an interest in me?" she asked bluntly. "There are many people on the ship. Officers. Why me?"

"Because if there's one thing I hate, it's a missed opportunity," Scarlet replied bluntly, holding her gaze so she could tell she was telling the truth. "And someone of your experience, and with your talent for science, remaining in what is, essentially, an assistant's role for the rest of your career in the 'Fleet is a missed opportunity. Both for Starfleet, and for you."

"I appreciate the honesty," Raine said and nodded, considering it. "And I will be...as honest in return. Although I don't think it will always be appreciated. My people...are not as good with reading emotional situations as humans are."

"Not all humans are as good at it as they think they are either," Blake assured with a small but wry smile, shaking her head lightly. "Besides, that's what makes the Federation strong, our differences."

"I suppose so. And working with those differences," Raine said thoughtfully, frowning as she considered it. It was the different aspects of all its members that made the Federation strong. That they worked together despite their differences and respected them. It was what it boiled down to. Respect.

[OFF]

--

Crewman Raine Ni-ya
Scientist's Mate
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Vansen]

CDR Scarlet Blake
First Officer
USS Galileo-A

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