Lieutenant Ras El'Heem - Drink 'em if you got em
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((Main Engineering, Deck 12, USS Khitomer))
Ensign Eeso was shaping up to be a good fit for his department. More surprisingly, she seemed to be shaping up to be a good fit for the Khitomer. There was a particular kind of officer that thrived aboard exploratory vessels and an even more particular kind that could handle the odd brand of individual that populated this ship. They didn’t need to be the smartest in the room, though they often were, but you needed to be willing to throw everything you learned at the academy out the window and find a way to get things done in the most unorthodox ways. Eeso, for better or worse, seemed perfectly willing to throw an idea at a problem and see if it stuck.
Considering their current situation, that was proving remarkably useful. Ras crouched beside the filament cluster with his tricorder in hand as he watched lines of data scroll across the display. The device had been recalibrated using the Velithari sample as a baseline. If resistant filament colonies existed aboard the ship, the modified scan could identify the same genetic configuration responsible for the Velithari’s apparent tolerance to Sencha exposure. That is, if the alleles responsible for it could be identified and acted in a transparent manner that could be observed in the filaments as well.
So far, it had found very little. The cluster anchored near the turbolift showed traces of adaptation, but nowhere near the degree they had hoped for. Certainly not enough to justify harvesting it for large-scale propagation. Ras adjusted the scan parameters again. Sometimes science felt less like discovery and more like asking the same question repeatedly while changing the wording. This cluster, unfortunately, remained inconclusive.
El’Heem: Sparks. Are there any clusters yet to be removed that are closer to the warp core? We need a sample of the most subspace resistance filaments as we can get.
Ras stood from his crouched position.
Sparks: ::nodding:: Pockets of them suckers are all 'round, theys ain't reached the core persay, but a cluster of 'em are right adjacent like.
El’Heem: Show me.
Eeso: Response
He followed the enthusiastically bright PO towards the warp core.
Sparks: ::bowing slightly, the sing-song returning:: Ifn' Y'all would foOoooollow meee....careful wheeeerree you stick yer hooOoooves...
As they worked their way through engineering, the filament clusters became denser. Some, though, had already been cut away by damage-control teams, leaving behind little more than pale residue on the bulkheads and deckplating. Others, though, clung stubbornly to conduits and rafters. Each time they stopped, Ras recalibrated the tricorder and compared the results against the Velithari baseline. And each time the numbers improved.
He glanced over his shoulder at Eeso and gave a small nod. The ensign’s theory was panning out. The deeper they moved towards the warp core, the stronger the resistance markers became. Filament clusters nearest to the warp systems consistently showed greater adaptation than those found elsewhere. Whatever selective pressure had shaped the colonies, proximity to sustained subspace stress appeared to be a significant factor.
Sparks: ::crestfallen:: I done spent all last shift calibraitin' the darlin'...now she's runnin 'bout 73% capacity avoidin' them suckers...
Ras slowed to a stop and studied the display for a moment before lifting his eyes to the tangled mess in front of them. It seemed they had found what they were looking for. Or at least the closest approximation they were likely to get.
El'Heem: I’m getting some dec-
The deck lurched violently beneath his feet. One moment Ras was studying the tricorder display, the next gravity seemed to reconsider its priorities. His boots lost purchase and the six-foot-something Kressari dropped to all fours, one hand slamming against the deck plating hard enough to jar his shoulder. The tricorder skittered away from him, bouncing once before sliding several feet down the corridor.
oO Wonderful. Oo
He pushed himself upright to retrieve it, only for the ship to heave in the opposite direction. The sudden shift caught him halfway through standing and sent him crashing onto his other shoulder as he struck the deck. Ras hissed through his teeth and planted a hand against the plating, waiting for the vessel to decide whether it was finished trying to throw him around.
oO Who’s driving this bus? Oo
When the motion finally settled into something less violent, he looked up immediately. The tricorder could wait another moment. His eyes searched the corridor for Eeso and Sparks as the lighting flickered for a moment.
El’Heem: You two okay? Feels like evasive maneuvers.
With much more delicate and deliberate balance, Ras strode to the tricorder and retrieved it.
Sparks/Eeso: Response
The ship rocked much harder and a klaxon rang out. The time, though, he was ready. He widened his stance as one hand shot to the bulkhead before his balance could betray him again. The deck still rolled beneath his feet but at least now he remained upright. Small victories. Ras looked toward the ceiling instinctively, as though the source of the disturbance might reveal itself through the deck above.
El’Heem: Inertial dampeners still need some work, huh?
Ras scoffed as he returned to the cluster.
Sparks/Eeso: Response
El’Heem: It’s now or never. ::beat:: any objections to using this cluster?
Sparks/Eeso: Response
El'Heem: Good. Didn't think so. Computer, lock transporter pattern on the filament cluster directly ahead. Divide the pattern into the smallest viable transportable fragments possible without compromising cellular integrity.
Computer: Acknowledged.
El'Heem: Store all fragments in the transporter buffer. Continuously cycle pattern reintegration and rematerialization within the transporter buffer, supplementing biomass through available replicator matter reserves. Monitor for loss of viability and adjust confinement parameters as needed.
Ras stepped closer to the cluster as tricorder data continued to scroll across the display.
El'Heem: Once biomass has increased by a factor of one million, disperse fragments throughout the outermost two percent of the nebula's volume. Prioritize regions projected to experience first contact with the Sencha wave. Randomize dispersal vectors to maximize ecological distribution.
Computer: Warning. Estimated transporter buffer utilization exceeds standard operational parameters.
He glanced, at Sparks, looking for approval that they wouldn’t fry the entire ship’s power systems.
Sparks/Eeso: Response
He nodded at her.
El'Heem: Override authorization El'Heem Gamma-Seven-Niner. Use every available transporter buffer on the ship if you have to.
Computer: Authorization accepted.
El'Heem: And computer...
He watched the pale strands twist around the conduit like living roots.
El'Heem: Maintain genetic diversity between fragments where possible. The goal is not replication. It's adaptation.
Computer: Parameters accepted.
El'Heem: Begin. ::to Sparks and Eeso:: Drink ‘em if you got em.
Sparks/Eeso: Response
TAGS/TBC
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Lieutenant Ras El ‘Heem
Chief Science Officer
USS Khitomer (NCC-62400)
K240106RE3