Lt. Alieth - Long way from home
Alieth
((Excavation Site, Darime Colony))
Darime had welcomed them with leaden skies and damp, dense weather that heralded a storm. Wind howled eerily through alien trees, lacing its whine with the rustling of branches and the elusive sounds of unseen wildlife in the undergrowth. The petite Vulcan tried to unravel these sounds, head slightly tilted head slightly tilted in the darkness of her hooded, as she waited, folded hands, for her away team's leader arrival.
At that moment, a clap of thunder rolled over the nearby mountains, a forewarning of the coming rain.
Alieth's slanted eyebrows descended faintly over her eyes. On Vulcan, rain was a rare privilege, but on this garden planet it was almost ubiquitous and ordinary. And no less unsavoury for someone who would rather have water in a cup or in a bowl of soup rather than all over herself. First, oceans and then rain. It seemed that her induction on the Gorkon, whether she wanted it to or not, was going to be a watery one. The diminutive doctor's eyebrows relaxed somewhat when she determined that there were no threatening octopods there, at least.
Fortune: ...soooo. How are you faring on the Gorkon? Had a good shore leave?
The Vulcan blinked a couple of times before she stiffly turned to the steel-haired officer who waited beside her beside the yellow and amber holographic barrier. The phrase caught her off guard, not yet accustomed to the small-talk culture, even though she was aware of its prevalence among emotional beings.
Alieth: ::flatly:: My adjustment to the Gorkon routines has been along the expected parameters.
If she didn't include octopus attacks and seawater dives. Nor the submarine adventures in the Arctic. Nor Cheesecake shenanigams. Or the wedding and the drinking and a Marshall brother who knew more about her than he should have.
Obviously irrelevant events that she shouldn't bring to her teammate's attention.
Sure.
Of course, there was none reflection of any of this on Alieth's stern countenance, as she just bowed her head deferentially towards the black-eyed counsellor. Corliss shrugged, and Alieth deemed that the communication had been successful and had met the Betazoid's needs, thus she commended herself internally for it.
Mere minutes later, the transporter's familiar stream of blue-white sparks brought with it Rear Admiral Reynolds, a terse, minute smile on her face as her mackintosh dripping the rain that had not yet reached them and which (if Alieth had anything to say in the matter) wouldn't reach them uncovered. She hoped.
Reynolds: Thanks for waiting. ::She breathed out a sigh and adjusted her uniform, pulling up the collar of her coat against the wind.:: It’s been all go this morning.
Fortune: I can only imagine. New mission and everything.
Alieth raised her right hand in a flawless ta'al before she spoke.
Alieth: We are here to serve
Whether her words were a greeting or a way of dismissing the need to express thankfulness for what duty required, remained to be interpreted by the other two women.
Reynolds: You might already be aware there’s been an outbreak of sickness on the colony. The doctors managed to trace it here; the workers and scientists involved in the excavations are the Patient Zeros of the outbreak.
The counsellor nodded wordlessly. The petite Vulcan, a doctor before a scientist, frowned.
Alieth: The archaeological site containment measures seem the standard, but... Should we take additional precautions to avoid contamination? What do we know about its transmission?
Reynolds: Well, that’s the thing. The only people who’ve shown symptoms are Pelian, and the preliminary tests show that they’re not just the only ones infected, no other species are even carriers. So it’s not jumping species, but—::she gestured toward the exposed bones of another civilisation::—these ruins pre-date the arrival of the Pelians by millennia. I’m told the early estimates are that they're at least two thousand years old.
The Vulcan's eyes glinted for a brief moment after that statement. Perhaps the reflection of a faraway lightning. Maybe curiosity sparkling within her dark eyes.
Alieth: Intriguing
Fortune: Huh! That's...well, that's very interesting...species-specific illnesses aren't unusual, but for it to target only two...?
Reynolds: Thus the mystery. We’re hoping there’s something in these ruins that can shine some light on the nature of the disease. What it is, why it’s affecting the Pelians, what treatments there are... anything that could help the doctors treating the sick.
Fortune: We better take advantage of the still of the weather right now. If the clouds follow course like they do at home, then it won't be long until we're under pouring rain.
The diminutive scientist struggled to suppress a shudder at the prospect.
Alieth: I concur ::Turning to Reynolds:: I recommend protective gear for entering the ruins, but otherwise the sooner we get to work the more time we will have to conduct the research.
And to avoid the rain, a phrase that hung in the increasingly strong wind.
Reynolds: Response
The counsellor raised her gaze to the clouds.
Fortune: I'll be optimistic and give it an hour, two hours until we start seeing rain drops. That should give us a good headway on the outside stuff here. ::she motioned around them, then at the cabins.:: Then, once we're given our mandatory showers, ::she chuckled:: we can at least take shelter in a cabin or under a tent and start a search on what they've found so far.
The Vulcan's brow deepened once more as she remained in silence. No more showers of any kind for her, except for sonic or sand ones. And she had already had her scheduled one during her morning ablution routine
Reynolds: Response
With these words, the small group took the necessary precautions to protect themselves from any possible (even remote) chance of contracting the unknown illness or carrying it outside, before they picked up their tools. Shortly after, the first section of the yellow barrier opened, letting them in. The wall closed behind them and the three women stood for a long minute in a prison of holographic ochre shields, before the wall closest to the archaeological site rose up and let them through, keeping the place contained.
Despite the holographic security, the wind raged furiously as they approached the nearest ruins, a sort of circular building that had lost almost all of its walls, but could still be distinguished by the supports and remnants of columns that had once cast a shadow around it. Beneath them and the jagged, crumbling wall, ( barely a blue-veined remnant of what had once been), lay a chamber of uncertain use. Its floor was covered with a mosaic of shimmering blue and gold tesserae that twisted in tight spirals, circles and mysterious curves.
The petite Vulcan approached the building and pulled out her tricorder to take a preliminary read of the site.
Alieth: This looks like a good starting point.
Reynolds/Fortune: Response
The progress bar moved slowly across the tiny screen of her device as the Vulcan moved through the columns.
Alieth: There is no indication of its use. :: She paused to look around, at the nearby ruins and the even closer forest:: Given the surroundings I suggest that it was a civilian purpose building of some kind. What information we have about it from the Pelian researchers?
Reynolds/Fortune: Response
The petite Vulcan nodded as she took a step further into the building.
Alieth: This is useful.
She had barely uttered these words when her tricorder emitted a cheerful series of beeps. Alieth turned her gaze to the device and read the data it provided, her lips tightening as she did so.
Alieth: Unusual, the columns are made of Anorthosite with vein-like intrusions of other materials, including Labradorite. They are a phaneritic, intrusive igneous rocks that can be found on many planets or satellites as the Earth Moon also including Darime... just not in this area.
Reynolds/Fortune: Response
Alieth: In fact, even further afield, the nearest known source is in the opposite hemisphere of the planet.
Reynolds/Fortune: Response
Lt. Alieth
Chief Science Officer
E239702A10
Image Collective Facilitator /Art Director
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