Lt JG Imril - Third Time's The Charm
Chris Taylor
((Holoeck 4, Deck 3 - USS Artemis-A ))
The doors opened and another of the Artemis crew joined them.
Morgan: VahlJeahn, Lieutenant Imril, this is Doctor Jaran. I’ve asked them here for another set of medical eyes while we wait for Richards to finish her analysis of the rock.
Jaran: ::bowing their head slightly:: Good day. Pleasure to meet you.
VahlJean stood up, smiled and bowed as well.
VahlJeahn: A pleasure to make your acquaintance.
Imril waved to the new arrival.
Imril: Hi. Lieutenant Imril, Engineering.
Morgan: VahlJeahn, why don’t you get ready to begin?
VahlJeahn nodded as Doctor Morgan took the recently arrived Doctor Jaran aside.
They sat down again and retrieved their crystal, setting again the moment for the ritual.
Doctor Morgan and Doctor Jaran rejoined them.
Morgan: I believe we have what we need, and I’ve brought Doctor Jaran up to speed. Imril, if you’re ready, we can go ahead and get started.
VahlJeahn nodded and began to clear their mind.
VahlJeahn: I am ready.
Imril: As am I. I should point out for accuracy’s sake that, so far, I don’t feel any different under the influence of the lights alone.
Jaran: I really do need to take some detailed readings before we begin. We don't know what we're getting into here. I'm also going to be monitoring both of your vitals very closely throughout the entire thing.
VahlJeahn closed their eyes, simply replying
VahlJeahn: We understand.
Imril: I’m sure I’m in good hands with everyone present.
The words were meant to be of most encouragement to VahlJeahn.
Jaran: The crystal seems safe as far as anything I can get off of it. But I'm no geologist. Is there anything about it that didn't make it into the briefing? I'd hate to miss something obvious.
VahlJeahn let the others reply as he began to feel the warming of the cristal in his lower hands.
Imril tried to sneak at peak at the crystal as the Yurum began to do their thing. They could not discern any notable change in its shape or coloring right away, so they once again closed their eyes and looked inward. Seeking that state of self-reflection.
Morgan: response
Jaran: I guess you're good to start whenever you want. I'll do my best to stay unobtrusive. But believe me when I say that I'm not going wait and hope if I start seeing something that worries me.
VahlJeahn began to breathe more regularly, but already that sound was fading away under the passive clarity of the [i]Artemis[/i] engines.
VahlJeahn: Again Lieutenant Imril, let your brain breathe.
‘Letting your brain breathe’ was an interesting turn of phrase, but one that made sense for a people with blowholes in their craniums. Thinking on it made for a temporary distraction from the meditative state. But only a very brief one. The ‘invitation’ they had felt before was faster in coming. Louder in a soundless sort of way. Easier to follow. Imril’s mind ‘moved in that direction, and as it did, an odd sort of comfort trickled into their fingertips. As though they had put on a pair of warm, silken gloves.
Jaran: Response
The holodeck door rushed open. VahlJeahn made a motion which Imril felt more than heard, a jitter of surprise. The crystal struck the holodeck floor with a sturdy ‘clunk’ which assured it was too dense to be easily chipped let alone fractured. Whatever mental bridge had been made between the two androgynes faded quickly and was gone.
A forward rush of footsteps proceeded Imril opening their eyes. Scientist Richards had stormed inside, upending the ritual.
Richards: It’s not just a rock!
Morgan: And I hope that’s a good discovery?
Imril spoke through pursed lips.
Imril: Could you have delivered that news a little more quietly?
This wasn’t as irreparable a disruption of the data collection process as frying an isolinear gem, but it still wasn’t good. There was limited time to get what the team needed. To undo some of the unjust censoring which the Boraxians had subjected the Yurum to in time to aid their case. And this first step would have to start all over again.
Jaran: Response
She took a few calming breaths, looking around at them. ValhJeahn picked up their crystal and looked inquisitively at her.
Richards: Uh.. The crystal. I’ll spare you the science talk, but its basic composition is the same as our dilithium. Instead of being charged for warp. They are charged for their people. ::Waving her hands around in front of her:: Same basic principle.
Morgan: Dilithium, but not dilithium?
Imril: ::pointedly:: Might we finish the test were we in the middle of performing before introducing more variables, please?
In no way did Imril want to keep this -- or any -- information from VahlJean. They’d be happy to write it all out on a technical padd to share with the other Yurum! But would discussing it now have an impact on VahlJeahn’s ability to concentrate on the ritual? The rush of new information that they themselves had been caught up in on some many occasions? The connections here were tenacious enough as they were already.
Jaran: Response
VahlJeahn looked at the others in utter confusion.
VahlJeahn: Dilithium?
Morgan: It powers our starships, among other things…
He looked to Imril, clearly hoping that the engineer might offer a more nuanced explanation. It was all the permission they needed to begin to clear up some of VahlJeahn’s state-imposed naivety. Even so, what they said was very simplified. Four years of Academy study reduced to a handful of sentences.
Imril: More accurately, it regulates the energy generation process. Sub-atomic particles are launched at each other, and they explode, releasing immense energies. The dilithium directs that energy for collection and distribution. Without it…
They pantomimed their two hands trying to contain a spherical explosion.
Imril: … It would all be much less efficient.
Jaran/Richards: Response
Trying to concentrate, VahlJeahn shook their head.
VahlJeahn: Please, can any of you explain in simpler terms?
Imril would have expected their answer to be pretty darned simplified under other circumstances. Such was the extent of Boraxian censorship of information that even the fundamental concepts underlining space travel eluded this Yurum.
Kyle nodded.
Morgan: Let me make sure I’ve got this correct… The crystal essentially serves as a power source for the Yurum? That’s how they’re able to… work their magic?
Magic, of course, being a fancy word for insufficiency-studied technology.
Morgan: I think I have an idea… VahlJeahn, I’d like you to continue with the ritual. Even if it doesn’t affect Imril, I believe the readings we get will be valuable. We already have a base scan, so comparing that to the readings when you’re receiving power from the crystal might give us a better idea of how your body chemistry is influenced by it. I suspect that could have been the reason for the experiments on the Boraxian ship…
It was a polite, if unsubtle, segue back to what the team needed done. How many times had VahlJean’s focus been redirected in similar fashion aboard the city ship? From what they wanted to what others demanded of them?
Imril: When we’re done, and the others are going over the scans, I’d be happy to explain about dilithium crystals in detail. ::To Morgan:: The technical data on the Boraxian warp coils implies a similar setup to their FTL engines. There’s no Prime Directive violation in sharing the information.
Richards/Jaran/VahlJeahn: Response
Kyle smiled, hoping that he was on the right track. He gestured for Sam to join him and Jaran to the side, and then to Imril and VahlJeahn to continue on.
Morgan: Please proceed with the ritual when you’re ready.
Imril: Thank you for your patience, VahlJeahn. I’m ready for round three.
Richards/Jaran/VahlJean/Morgan: Response
Once more, Imril closed their eyes, focused on the humming of the ship, and waited for the invisible hello. (But was it psionic, pheremonal, or something else altogether?) But this time, their mental journey was pockmarked with guilt. For not answering everything about dilithium satisfactorily. In joining the Boraxians in denying VahlJeahn information, if only so briefly. Would it blot out any chance of success, as the image of the city-ship had?
Richards/Jaran/VahlJean/Morgan: Response
The invitation came, and Imril answered. When the sensation of comfort, of ease, came to their fingers again, they focused upon it. Tracked its course up their arms and into their shoulders. Down a back that had been shifting in and out of a rigid meditative pose; the whispered threat of a cramp later tonight lessened. Along a jaw that had been half-clenched in sympathetic anger for the Yurums’ oppression; the tension in their cheeks lessened. It radiated outward from all of these places to encompass the rest of them. Their heartbeat slowed slightly. The conflicting ideals in their head -- duty versus justice, scientific rigour versus compassion -- wove into each other just a little. Fit within their being just a little bit better. They could accept these dualities, and find them easier to bear.
Imril: ::softly:: I… feel it.
Richards/Jaran/VahlJean/Morgan: Response
TAGS/TBC
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Lieutenant JG Imril
Engineering Officer
USS Artemis-A
A240110I12