Lieutenant JG Etan Iljor - A Skein Of Contradictions
Michael Meir-Wright
OOC: I was a little unsatisfied with some of my writing towards the end of the last simm so I have altered things slightly but I have taken great pains to ensure that the original spirit of the piece remains!
(( Science Department, Rinascita Station ))
Grendle had commandeered Iljor and Hallia, leading them away from Adyr, Aine and the insufferably cheerful Careswell, with the intention of showing them ‘the making of water’. Although his suspicions were now growing exponentially and the idea of being parted from the Chief of Security and Mission Specialist was unappealing, Iljor had little choice but to go along with it.
Being significantly taller than the two visiting scientists, Grendle had long strides that meant he quickly walked ahead of them, which gave Iljor the opening that he needed. His tugged gently on Hallia’s arm when he was confident they were out of the Dokkaran’s hearing. She looked at him expectantly.
Etan: I’m not buying any of that. ::he said in a hushed tone, as he thumbed over his shoulders, towards the section of the station that they had just left.:: Have you ever heard of a science station dedicated to water reclamation?! ::there was more than a touch of incredulity in his voice.:: They’ve got a replicator for Prophets’ sake! That’s unlimited water right there!
Yellir: ::In a hushed tone:: Exactly! I would’ve thought this was at least serving as a producer of hydroelectricity. But I feel I was mistaken, also — where are the biohazard measures? ::pulling out her tricorder:: here, there shouldn’t be this little presence of airborne microbes without more intensive quarantine measures.
Iljor peered at the readings on the woman’s tricorder and it’s findings made his eyebrow hike upwards once more. It was becoming clearer by the nanosecond that nothing on the station added up. Instead all they got was a growing skein of contradictions, a puzzle that needed to be solved- although the Bajoran was now of the opinion that if they did manage to solve it- none of them would like what they found at the end.
He looked back up at Hallia with a growing sense of urgency.
Etan: And why can’t they answer our questions about the history of the station- or what they do with the water they produce?
Yellir: ::holstering her tricorder:: I’m beginning to think they don’t know what they’re doing. They’re obviously avoiding the questions. We need to be careful. Whatever you do, stay behind me.
Although touched by the concern that was writ large on Hallia’s face, Iljor motioned to his phaser- content that he could look after himself. Though he had never fired a phaser in combat before- it was a skill that one never forgot, much like riding a hoverbike or piloting a shuttlecraft. He did not have time to reply, however, as he heard footsteps approaching them from further along the corridor. Grendle had obviously realised that they had become separated. Thinking quickly, Iljor removed his combadge from his uniform and dropped it on the floor. As their Dokkaran guide appeared again, he stooped down to make a show of picking it up.
Etan: Sorry, ::he said in a loud and faux-apologetic tone.:: I dropped my combadge! I’m so clumsy! ::he appended his words with an approximation of an embarrassed chuckle.::
Hallia followed along- a testament to their work relationship and their friendship that she could sense the effect he was going for without the need to explain it.
Yellir: I keep telling you, magnetic fascinators are much more secure!
Grendle: Response?
Affixing the communicator to the black uniform overshirt, Iljor quickly fell into step with Grendle, something of a minor miracle considering how long the towering Dokkaran’s strides were. Hallia also seemed able to keep up with him. Aside from his pale, albino-like skin, the Chief Scientist could have easily passed for a human- which stemmed from the fact that every Dokkaran was born from the template of two Starfleet officers who were killed on their homeworld of Ceata.
The Bajoran remembered a snippet of conversation from minutes earlier, another contradiction in the tangled web and took the opportunity to seize upon it while remaining careful not to offend or appear to be levying an accusation. He was never more grateful for his training in diplomacy than he was at that moment.
Etan: You mentioned that some of the reclaimed water goes to the plants kept on this station? ::beat:: Do you or your colleagues undertake botanical research as well? Surely water reclamation is not the only goal of Rinascita Station?
Iljor felt a sliver of pride at the way he had handled that. Diplomacy was not something that came to every Starfleet officer naturally. His question had been the first time he had been able to put his practice into training (if one discounted dealing with Gertrude Kettleworth) and he was quietly pleased that it had come to him rather easily.
Grendle: Response.
Yellir: Do you do much research into the oxygen-producing properties of your plants? If so, what sort of plant species do you house?
Grendle: Response.
Yellir: I’m very well versed with plantlife, botany was never my main subject, however, how plants function in ecological lifecycles was required learning, especially identifying and learning how to generalize specific groupings of flora.
Grendle: Response.
Iljor had never found botany a particularly interesting science, although it did have some ancillary uses especially when studying cultures with close ties to the natural world. It had never had the same hold over him that archaeology continued to have. He was content for the time being to leave Hallia to field the botany questions.
He was about to reply to Grendle’s answer when the overhead lighting flickered and the quiet omnipresent sound of the station’s power generator dipped in intensity. Coming to a stop, Iljor looked up at the lights with alarm and suspicion before turning to Grendle’s pale face.
Etan: Are you having issues with your power supply? ::he looked to Hallia.:: Perhaps we could send over a team from our engineering staff?
Grendle/Yellir: Response.
Etan: Does anyone have any idea what is causing it?
Grendle/Yellir: Response.
Iljor wasn’t sure that he believed the Dokkaran.Once again, he was reminded that everything about the station made little sense and was often contradictory- not to mention a still unknown connection to Carol Marcus. His studies on the Genesis Project had mostly been based around its ethical implications but he was aware that the technology required vast amounts of power. As the flickering in the lights ceased, Iljor wondered if they had stumbled into a forbidden experiment. It would certainly explain Grendle’s reluctance to show them around.
Any further questions about the station’s power issues seemed to die off as they reached Grendle’s laboratory. They entered and Iljor looked around, taking in every piece of equipment and the various objects that the Dokkaran had collated. Interestingly, not all of them seemed to be connected to water reclamation. There appeared to be several tall flowering plants in glass cylinders.
((OOC: I’m going to keep the description of the laboratory to a minimum so that Marie can go into more detail.))
Iljor stepped to the side but kept himself near the door.
Etan: Most impressive. ::he said.:: Your laboratory is much larger than anything we have on the Resolution.
Moving out of Grendle’s line of sight, he slowly reached for his tricorder, hoping to collect some covert scans of the laboratory in the hopes of unpicking the web of incongruities that had amassed in the short time they had arrived on Rinascita. He tapped the screen gently and inputted a command string, ordering the device to scan on every wavelength and collect as much information as possible.
Grendle/Yellir: Response.
Etan: Fascinating. ::he said, moving closer to the apparatus, shielding his tricorder from Grendle by attaching to the his belt on the opposite side to the Dokkaran.::
Grendle/Yellir: Response.
—
TAG!
Lieutenant JG Etan Iljor
Science Officer
USS Resolution
C239203TW0