Cmdr. Katsim Peri - "Withered Results"
Amanda Nordstrom
((Fields of Æstin, Valaria III))
In front of the gates of the town, people gathered. Why, Peri could not ascertain. If the town was not their home, why did they linger when it was obvious they would not be let in? Why not return home where surely they would be a little less miserable than simply standing outside. Doing such a thing was especially odd to her when someone had two young children.
But they weren’t there to ascertain why people did things that Peri couldn’t understand - they were there to try and help the people end the famine. By doing so, they fulfill the mission the Continuance gave them and they could return the ship and, hopefully, figure out how to rid themselves of the Continuance’s control - if those who were still there hadn’t done so by that time. Nis was likely better at talking to people than Peri was, so she suggested she and Richards remain and ask more questions about the famine, such as whether or not it was caused by lack of rain or other factors. She and the mission specialist needed to take a closer look at the fields.
Katsim: Riley, with me.
Nodding, Peri turned and set out at another brisk pace, that time in the direction of the fields in the hopes that they could find something, anything, to help those poor people.
Riley: (nodding) Right behind you, commander.
The fields were not far, and it took only a moment to reach. Standing at the edge, Peri quietly studied the land. The fields were plowed, the soils churned and cultivated into rows, stark and dark compared to the areas around them where grass and weeds sprang up from the soil. A few crept into the fallow fields, indicating that though they had been prepared, no one had cared for them in some time. Weeds grew, but not crops that could feed the people.
Riley: Seems odd that there are fields ready for farming, but for some reason they are vacant.
Peri nodded, then stepped past the boundary of the field and into the turned soil itself. Nothing but a few weeds sprouted up. Nothing sustainable for food. Meanwhile, Riley continued to theorise, to which she listened, pondering over every word he said.
Riley: I was thinking raiders, actually. What little I gleaned from that parent outside the wall makes me think that there’s something in the soil. My initial readings of the sap didn’t give off any indication that it contributed to the famine at all.
At that she shook her head, not in disagreement, but in agreement. Scans hadn’t indicated the sap had anything to do with the famine at all. Part of her wondered if the Continuance had dropped them in there just to annoy them.
Katsim: No, it’s not.
Riley: My next guess was actually going to be the soil itself. Logically, it'd make sense for us to run a scan, would it not?
Katsim: Yes.
But though she agreed with his assessment that it was indeed the soil itself and they needed to run a scan, Peri did not do so immediately. Instead, she crouched down, getting closer to the soil in question. Her feet carefully positioned, she restrained from walking on the raised portions of the ground where the seeds would have been placed, but it was there she placed her hand. Brushing at the soil, she sought to uncover what might have been sewn, and she wasn’t disappointed. Sifting through the dirt, she discovered a couple of seeds, and from the looks of them, they had started to sprout, but whatever plant life had quickly withered away. As if the water and sun had gotten them started, but that it wasn’t enough. Peri quickly put them into a tiny vial she had tucked in one of her many pockets, then hid it away.
Riley: Response
Rising, the scientist finally did what she had planned on doing. Carefully looking about to make sure no one was near, she slipped her tricorder from another pocket and began to run a scan. The little machine trilled softly as it worked to find answers to her questions. A moment later, she read the results.
Katsim: The soil looks rich, but it’s low in vital nutrients.
And if an infant plant sprouted, it would try to gain more of what it needed from its newly formed roots. Since it couldn’t, it would quickly wither and die.
Riley: Response
Katsim: Possibly…
She trailed off as she heard a commotion coming from the direction of the town. Quickly slipping her tricorder into hiding, her eyes caught on to a small caravan emerging from the town made of richly, glass covered palanguins. The light shimmered and shone in a brilliance of colour, but among that, a blur of movement that her mind registered as Doctor Nis tried to slip past the door.
Guard: Grab them!
Immediately, Nis was stopped, but a woman’s voice rang out, though her word did not carry over to the other two. Peri glanced over at her companion.
Katsim: We should go back.
Riley: Response
-- Commander Katsim Peri Chief Science Officer USS Octavia E. Butler M239008AD0