The Science Team

Posted on Apr 03, 2017 @ 12:01pm by Ensign Sofia Andersson
Edited on on Apr 03, 2017 @ 12:02pm

Mission: In Place of God

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"The Science Team"
[previous post was "A Pin-Prick In Space"" by the leading Jerome]
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LOCATION: USS PHOENIX
SD [2.17] 0403.0958
SCENE: Conference Room - deck 1, saucer section

Sofia sat at the far end of the table, her gaze scanning one-by-one the other members of the senior staff as they discussed and debated the reason for the gathering through whispered voices. The scanning eyes of the Assistant Chief Medical Officer stopped on Captain Michael Kane just as he called the meeting to order.

The aCMO listened to the thoughts, ideas and theories being offered with enthralled interest. This was what Starfleet had been meant for: to explore the unknown. At the moment the only thing they had were questions but soon she hoped that this would change. As the Captain made the teams and gave out their respective tasks, Sofia's gaze drifted onto the officers with whom she would be working with.

She would be assisting Lieutenant Commander Aerdan Jos, the Andorian Chief Medical Officer and Ensign Arak Schad, the Aaamazzarite Science Officer in their quest to discover all that there was to be found about the creatures responsible for the message and its content. Knowing as little as they did, Sofia held her hopes high that at least some answers would be quick to be discovered, but still the thrill had not been in the objective but rather the quest.

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SCENE: Corridor
TIME INDEX: After the end of the meeting

She followed only a few steps behind while Doctor Jos and Ensign Schad debated the primary foundation of their search.

"They have to be related in some way to arthropods," Arak offered as he pointed to an image on the PADD that he had been carrying.

"That is a forgone conclusion," Aerdan agreed. "I am more interested in what seems to be a rather thick exoskeletal covering which would make them crustaceans."

"Agreed," the Aaamazzarite agreed with a thoughtful nod of his head. "This brings an entirely different field to consider. The length and shape of the legs do not seem to be sufficient to provide a solid support for a thick armored shell."

"Gravity," Sofia muttered, not even having realised that she had said the single word loud enough to be heard. It had been meant as something for her to consider before offering it as a possible explanation, suspecting that both the expertise of both CMO and aCSciO far surpassed her own in this field.

"Agreed," both said in unison, shifting their debate accordingly as they continuing their travel to the science lab still closely followed by the blonde haired woman.

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SCENE: Science Lab
Time Index: 20 Minutes later

A large holographic recreation of the creature slowly rotated in mid air as the three officers worked on the task at hand.

"The problem is that we still do not have any way to establish their size," Arak sighed. "We need more info."

"The Captain has tasked us with, and I quote, to find 'everything you can about these creatures - speculate how they might have evolved, how they might reproduce, what their internal biology might be like, what environment they live in'." the CMO said in a voice and tone that roughly resembled that of their Captain. "We are not meant to find all of the answers, but to explore as many possibilities at this time. It is hoped that with the help of the other teams, we will be able to fill in some of the gaps in our knowledge o them."

"Speaking of gap," that aCSciO continued shifting the holographic image to focus on the top of the creature. "What the heck is that missing section in their exoskeletal armor? Wouldn't that prove to be a blatant weakness in their ability to survive an attack from a predator?"

"In nature things are as they are for a purpose," Sofia offered. "If this is a weakness in their defence, it means that the purpose of the gap is more important than the protection of the entity."

"True," Doctor Jos nodded. "So what is more important than protection?"

"Being able to stay alive in the first place?" Arak suggested.

"Given the shape of their legs forcing the body to be at such a high elevation, it is possible that the gap serve as a point of entry for air or water or both allowing the creature to survive. Whatever threats they may be exposed to are of a lesser importance than actually being able to live," the golden haired woman offered.

"Now we have a very interesting course to explore as to the evolution of these creatures," the Andorian Doctor noted with a smile. "It appears that they had to evolve seeking protection from ground based dangers forcing their physiology to be as we see it."

"One answer down, a few million to go," Sofia chuckled as she focussed her attention back on the image of a DNA strand, the one that had been transmitted by the creature and which the team hoped had been meant to represent that of the originators of the message.

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NRPG:

Jamie, Justin, hope I did not butcher your characters too too much.

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Tiffany Reeve

Ensign Sofia Andersson
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS PHOENIX