Vice Admiral Quinn Reynolds - The Dread Scarlet Goo
Quinn Reynolds
((Research and Development Wing, Gibaria Outpost))
A sealed door lay between Quinn's team and their goal, but the technological security measures were not their only obstacle. A slime mould, a lifeform leaking through the open wound between dimensions, seeped through the cracks and edges. They knew almost nothing about it, except it had reacted somewhat violently to Spelvan's attempt at a scan, slapping the tricorder out of his hand.
Reynolds: I'd hate to just... phaser this mould for being in the way, but if we needed to, would that work? Or would we make the situation worse?
Valek: Admiral, based on current evidence, the use of phasers would most likely intensify the situation.
Spelvan: I agree.
Quinn made a small sound, either acknowledgement or agreement. She wasn't entirely sure whether she was relieved or disappointed to hear their answers. Pulling out a phaser to solve a problem was usually her choice of last resort... but she wasn't sure how she felt about not having that choice at all. Any maintenance access would have similar security measures, and if that was just as gunked up with mould, where did that leave them if they couldn't bypass the technology?
Perhaps she was getting ahead of herself.
Valek: Admiral, I would recommend we attempt access via the surveillance room.
Spelvan: I also concur.
Reynolds: All right, let's give it a whirl.
Valek: Given my responsibility for your security, exercising maximum caution would be the most logical course of action.
While Spelvan nodded his agreement, Quinn cast a faint smile in Valek's direction, acknowledging his statement with a glance. It was always something that settled uneasily on her shoulders: that preserving her life was a higher priority than anyone else's on the crew. Thankfully, she'd so far avoided any situations where someone had to choose between her and another member of the crew.
She turned her attention back toward Spelvan, whose interest in the door appeared to have reignited. He was staring at it thoughtfully, and then blinked, as though the flare of inspiration had briefly blinded him.
Spelvan: Admiral, while you are attempting to override the door, I have a proposal.
Reynolds: ::She waited a moment for him to continue, and then gently prompted,:: Which is?
Valek: Response
Spelvan: I could attempt a mind-meld with the slime mold. I do not believe it wants to attack us, and we could gain valuable information about the current situation.
It took her a moment to process the request. Not so much the unconventional nature of it — she was a touch telepath herself, and had made connections to some... unusual beings in the past — but the reasoning behind it. It had already attacked them, and it was unclear if the fact Spelvan avoided harm was intentional or mere happenstance. The red goo seemed benign, but then again, it had seemed benign in the split second before it lashed out at the tricorder. Hell, they didn't even know why it had lashed out at the tricorder.
Reynolds: That... seems like a sizable leap in logic, given the limited evidence we have to work from.
Valek: Response
Spelvan speculatively glanced toward the other Vulcan, watching Valek's face intently. For any hint of an expression that would reveal his inner thoughts, perhaps. Quinn, for her part, eyed the doorway and the slime mould. She'd be a liar if she said the idea hadn't piqued her interest, but at the moment the potential hazards vastly outweighed the uncertain benefits.
Spelvan: I understand the risks of such an attempt, of course, but I believe it can be done safely without harm to myself or the slime mold.
Quinn paused before she answered, a breath sailing out between her lips before she pressed them together. Walter would say that she'd been reckless with her own telepathic contact in the past, and he was almost certainly right. Did that make her a hypocrite, or someone learning from their own mistakes?
Reynolds: ::Mildly,:: I appreciate the noble intentions, but you literally cannot understand the risks. None of us can, not yet. This is a species of unknown intelligence with unknown capabilities and unknown intentions. And I can't ignore the fact that people are dying because of exposure to something that's come through that gateway. For all we know, ::she gestured toward the door,:: this is it.
Spelvan / Valek: Response
Reynolds: That, and I'd like to avoid you becoming the enslaved puppet of the Dread Scarlet Goo from Dimension Cymbidium.
Delivered with a wry twist in her voice, she sent a faint smile in Spelvan's direction. Once upon a time, she'd been chastised for her own wild ideas. Albeit in the far safer context of Utopia Planitia, where the only consequence of implementing them would be a simulation ending in (simulated) flames. But every once in a while, wild ideas struck gold.
Spelvan / Valek: Response
Reynolds: I like novel ideas; keep coming up with them. But in the meantime, let's exercise that maximum caution and head to the security room.
Spelvan / Valek: Response
Commanding Officer
USS Gorkon
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