The Blue and the Beautiful

Posted on 17 Sep 2014 @ 8:45pm by Lieutenant Olsam Mott & Commander Norvi Stace

4,149 words; about a 21 minute read

Mission: Episode 06 - Legend of Souls
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 4, Science Office
Timeline: MD06: 0830 hrs

[ ON ]

Olsam paused outside Supply Storage Locker 05-1202. The chronometer said 0830 hours, which meant his shift had already started and whoever had taken over his shift was already hard at work. So there was little sense in reporting to Sickbay at the moment when he could be pursuing a personal matter instead. He knew few people followed his own unique brand of logic, but it made sense to him and that was all that mattered, right?

=-=-=

When he turned up, the Science Office was completely empty. Lieutenant Stace had said she'd meet him there, but she'd undoubtedly not yet arrived. Where everyone else had gone was a bit of a mystery, though. Was the Science Office usually empty? He couldn't even recall setting foot in here once since coming aboard the ship, so there was no frame of reference. They're probably off doing experiments or something, Olsam thought to himself as he took a casual stroll around the office. Scientists were always doing experiments.

A small petri dish on a desk caught his eye, so he picked it up and squinted in inspection. It seemed to hold some gelatinous substance with a high viscosity as it took several long moments for it to move after he flipped it over. When it finally did hit the top of the container - now the bottom - it changed colors and pulsed brightly. The combination of the change and the sound of the opening doors behind him was enough to make him jump and rush to replace the petri dish. Maybe they'll blame a crewman.

"Oh, Norvi, hello. You startled me," Olsam explained, though it seemed silly. How could you be startled by someone you were expecting? He stepped to the side and leaned back against the desk, hiding the petri dish with his bulk.

Norvi walked over to Olsam and smiled. "It's been a while, Doctor. To what do I owe the pleasure?" She rounded the desk and then sat heavily in the chair behind it, pulling it underneath as she righted herself in its bucket. "Please," she offered the seat opposite. "How are you?"

"Well, I have certainly been better," Olsam said, flopping down in the chair with all the grace of a Pakmulian hippopotamus. He caught her looking 'round him toward the petri dish and froze in place as if some primordial survival instinct had kicked in, urging stillness in the presence of a predator.

As Olsam moved from the petri dish, the shallow container caught her eye briefly. She smiled to Olsam and then stood from the chair, walking casually over to it. "HU07 doesn't like to be upside down," she said as she turned it back over and it began to change colour again to its original green. "She's in her nesting cycle. Disturbances seem to cause her anxiety, which is the colour change." She placed it back on the desk and returned to her seat. "One of our crewman must have moved her."

The Bolian doctor looked visibly relieved by the time Norvi returned to the desk. "Uh, yes, probably." His best efforts couldn't seem to bring his shifting eyes under control. "They're forever moving things about in Sickbay." He cleared his throat and shifted in the seat, hoping to change the direction of the conversation away from HU07. "So, uh... Did... Um. Did you have a good shore leave? I don't think I've seen you since the promotion ceremony in San Francisco."

"It seemed longer than most," Stace replied, lowering herself once again into her seat. "But then that seems like a lifetime away from today. How was yours?"

"I spent most of my time on Earth," he said, nodding his head in the hope that it would keep him from giving in to the urge to turn around and look at HU07. He hoped it wasn't dead, a desiccated green powder with his fingerprints all over the dish. "I helped organize the Winter Festival in my village outside Paris, spent a lot of time with my best friend Teth, and I even went with Dr. Allyndra to visit her homeworld. Did you know they drink blood? But not once did they even try to bite me! I didn't know whether to be offended or grateful."

"I'd go with grateful," she smiled, flicking her eyebrows up with an interested glance. "But the Winter Festival sounds like it was fun. I love things like that." She paused and then looked over to the observation desk once again. The pulsing hue of HU07 suddenly caught her attention once again. "Uh-oh," she said, rising again from her chair and striding over to grasp at the dish. She picked it up and looked underneath it through the light of the overhead lamp. "This is... unexpected."

Unexpected? Olsam thought nervously, shifting in the seat to get a look.

She placed it down as the green gelatinous matter pulsed like a heartbeat as it shimmered and shuddered with fluorescent colours. She placed one hand on the bottom of the dish to steady it and attempted to prize the lid off. But it wouldn't budge. The matter inside had begun to swell and seemed to have sealed the container tightly. She pulled at the lid again but without success. "Um..." she called over, looking to him. "Could you please help me, Doctor. Kinda... quickly."

Olsam Mott was not exactly built for speed, so it took him a good minute to wrench himself free from the seat and get upright. Looking both nervous and guilty, he shuffled over and held his hands out at length, prying at the lid but trying to stay as far away as possible. He didn't know what an HU07 was but he was concerned it might be smart enough to come after him once released. He'd seen a Terran movie once about just such a creature swallowing people whole like a giant amoeba, and that wasn't the sort of glorious death he'd imagined for himself.

As both Stace and Olsam struggled with the dish, Stace holding the bottom of the container and Olsam pulling with all his might at the top, a slow suction sound popped fluidly as Stace landed on the ground with a thump. Now, the purple and pink jelly flooded over the sides of the bottom filling the Trill's cupped hands. She scrambled to her feet and rushed over to the other side of her office where a large tank of water stood. Almost leaping from her feet she tossed the dish through the air as it landed with a splash in the cool water. The jelly began to bubble and erupted into a spawn of clear spherical eggs. Looking up from where she lay on the floor, Stace sighed in relief and swept the hair aside that had unfastened from its grip and rested on her forehead. "I've been trying to get her to mutate for weeks. I wonder what's changed her mind."

Olsam let out a quick, sharp, hysterical laugh. He eyed the tank cautiously, still half-expecting one of those eggs to fly out of the water and attach itself to his skull.

"Uh... Maybe the crewman did something to it to encourage mutation and that's why it was moved?" he suggested. A thin sheen of sweat had popped up on his bald head, and he'd begun wringing his hands in front of himself. It was unclear how much longer he could keep up the pretense without screaming a confession; he'd never been very good at lying.

"Perhaps," Stace said with a raised eyebrow. "I'll have to check the logs to see who accessed this room." She squared up face to face with him and nodded. "Even for my own sanity. Anyway," she cast aside the conversation. "What can I do you for?"

"Well, I was wondering if you could help me with a little research question, actually," Olsam said, casting a final furtive look toward the tank. "Have you ever run across anything resembling an interphasic organism? Something that can shift in and out of phase, maybe like as a protective measure against predators? I've looked in the standard medical databases, and there's not much information. But I know Trill symbionts sometimes have knowledge that isn't in databases."

"Interphasic?" Stace questioned with a knowing squint. "It's not my specialty by a long shot, but one of my previous hosts; Yvaine, dealt a lot with off-world affairs and possibly came across some kind of research. It's certainly something I could look into." She smiled warmly and looked directly at him as though a lightbulb shot off in her head. "We do have a resident ecologist and zoologist onboard, though. I'd be happy to set up a meeting for the three of us."

"Oh," he replied simply. He'd forgotten the science department had a diversity of specialists available, although he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to expand the research. It might end up on a record somewhere. Someone might be watching. Besides, Dr. Coleman was the ecologist... He'd once bumped into her in the hallway while admiring the buttery flakes of his morning croissant, and she had been...unpleasant. Nevertheless, he figured this was his best shot. "Uh, sure, that would be very nice. Do you think there will be finger food at this meeting? If not, I'll need to eat before coming, and I like to plan my meals ahead by several weeks."

Stace leant in a little and narrowed her gaze upon Olsam. "You, uh, seem a little hesitant about that. Finger food planning aside, I mean. Would you rather investigate this off-book?" Stace knew the intricacies of science and the sharing of one's theories. Anyone can investigate a thought... a notion. But the spark that ignites in one's scientific imagination is precious. And not to be shared with just anyone.

"Uh... Yes. Sure. Please. If you don't mind. It's just that..." He dropped his voice into the barest of whisper and looked around for good measure. His eyes had bulged considerably, giving him an even crazier look. "...you never really know who might be listening."

Stace seemed to enjoy Olsam's eccentricities and leant in with him. "I know exactly where you're coming from," she remarked, likening her tone and volume to his. "It'll be our secret." She tapped her nose and gave him a wink. "Speaking of food, have you eaten this morning?"

"No," Olsam lied, seeing no ethical problem in a little white lie that led to a second breakfast. What harm did it do? None! "Oh, speaking of breakfast reminds me of my favorite breakfast! On Vorgon II they have these tiny little fowl that produce the most delicious tasting eggs. Oh, and to sit on the beach and eat them..." He closed his eyes, relishing in the taste memory.

"I don't suppose they're in the replicator menu, are there?" she inquired. "If not, there's no harm in requisitioning a case for us 'in the name of science'. I'm sure that I could come up with a scientific reason why I need them." She smiled and then sat back in her chair. If you couldn't break eggs with a work colleague, especially one as fascinating as the doctor, then who could you with? "One of my previous hosts - my first in fact - lived off the land as much as she could. A kindred spirit, if you will. Very artistic and yet on the other thing I can barely paint are my nails." She trailed off and then returned her attention back to the Bolian. "Anyway, she was handed down a recipe for Floating Eggs Surprise. It's a complicated, Cardassian dish, so I'm told, but when you get to the surprise you'll scold yourself for never having eaten it before."

"I don't think they can really be replicated, although if we could acquire some," Olsam said, eyes as big and round as eggs with excitement. He was quickly, further, distracted by the mention of Floating Eggs Surprise. He had no idea what it was, but it sounded both fun and delicious, which left him in several moments of quiet reflection as to how he'd never eaten such a thing before. "Well that sounds delicious! I bet you've eaten nearly everything in the galaxy... I wish I was a Trill sometimes. Seven lifetimes of food." Olsam sighed and looked off into the distance, snapping back a second later. "And other stuff, too, I'm sure. That's why I asked for your help! Trills are always so helpful. Just like Bolians. Except spotted, not blue."

Norvi chuckled. "Well, I only have five lifetimes under my belt, so to speak, but I have eaten A LOT of food over that time!" She crossed her fingers on her desk in front of her and then leant to her left to pick up a data padd. Haplessly tapping on it, she flicked her green eyes up to him and then placed the padd down. Warmly, she said, "They'll arrive with the next research consignment, Doctor. The eggs, I mean. Perhaps you can introduce them to me properly."

For a moment Olsam wondered which of them had eaten more before dismissing the thought as foolish; obviously, he'd eaten far more than her, even in five lifetimes. Then he switched to wondering why she'd want him to introduce her to eggs. Was he supposed to hatch them, then introduce her to the Vorgonian red-crested hopper? Or give the eggs names and personalities then mercilessly sacrifice them to a pot of boiling water? Must be a weird Trill thing... Sometimes it was best to just smile and nod and chalk things up to cultural differences, so Olsam smiled and nodded.

He was good at that.

"I can't wait to get them! They're going to be so delicious! We'll have them fried and scrambled and hard-boiled and poached and soft-boiled and deviled and baked and curried. Not all at the same time, of course," Olsam said dismissively, as if she'd actually suggested it.

"I'll look forward to it," she replied genuinely. "Now, to your research." She stood up and went to the circular work-table across the room, throwing her eyes towards HU07 with a curious glance and then continuing. "Computer," she broke the silence with, "create a database for all known research on interphasic organisms from the Federation database." She nodded over to Olsam. "Would you like to include your own, Doctor, so we can see what we have in its entirety? I promise to secure access to this database for just myself and you."

"Oh, right," Olsam said, stepping up beside her at the computer console. He pulled up his personal files, accessed the information on interphasic organisms, and transferred it over to the database. "I wasn't able to discover much, really. There was only one article in the medical database that suggested the possibility of such an organism; three articles seemed to dismiss the idea altogether. And the one that highlighted it... Well. He seemed a bit... Uh. Like a fringe member of the scientific community." Olsam paused another moment, trying to think how best to phrase it. "He sounded crazy."

Stace's face warmed as he spoke. Scrunching up her nose, she leant in a little and smiled. "The crazy ones are usually the best ones to follow. They're not hampered by peer pressure from the scientific community or logic. And sometimes it's better to follow a theoretical thread without any restrictions. We'll start with his findings first." She opened up the database, took a seat and began to read.

Olsam eased down into a seat next to her, which protested a bit at his weight. "I suppose you're right... The others theorized that such an organism would have to be artificially constructed and even then noted we wouldn't have the technology to go pushing things in and out of phase with any degree of regularity. But this guy - Dr. Sartoolian - uses research based on the interphasic organisms encountered by the USS Enterprise to suggest that there may actually be several bacteria, viruses and other pathogens lurking just out of phase with our....reality. Or whatever. That's about where my understanding of the matter ends. The most disturbing implication for a confirmation of his theories is the weaponization of such pathogens - virtually undetectable until it's too late."

Stace raised her eyebrows. "It's a shame that the power of science can be used for such ill intent." She sighed and then lowered her head to read the data padd she now clutched. "But, where there's a will there's a way and nature always finds a way to survive and thrive."

Olsam nodded. There was no lack of debate among the medical community on the ethics behind weaponized medicine, even for crowd-control purposes. He generally erred on the side of gassing people (they'd wake up, what's the big deal?), but there was rightfully a great deal of research and resources poured into combating the nastier sorts of bio-weapons. The potential for something virtually undetectable was beyond alarming. "Well, I'm not ready to believe they don't exist. But you can't study what you can't observe. Is there any way to begin working on a means to detect interphasic pathogens? I don't know the first thing about pushing something out of phase, much less bringing it back in...."

"That's my only concern," Stace replied with a wince. "Without knowing too much about these creatures, I'd be reluctant to pull them into our phase to study. Almost like catching a fish out of water and testing to see how long they can survive." She paused and then widened her eyes. "Not that I think that's what you're suggesting, Doctor. But we just have to consider how we would safely do it without harm."

Olsam remained quiet for several long moments of contemplation. "I agree. There are too many unknowns involved to start pulling things into this phase, particularly a pathogen. Any means of establishing a controlled environment could just be circumnavigated by something that could slip out of phase. I guess the very first step could be looking for... I don't know what. Screening for some sign of a phase variance?" He suddenly began squirming nervously in his seat, eyes shifting around. "Say, uh, I had some, uh, samples that might contain such a pathogen. Er, and, we could, uh, maybe screen them, or something. Somehow. With a thing. You've got lots of scanny things around here." He looked around, thankful to have somewhere to look other than at her, though he still didn't know what to do with his hands. "We could use some of those, right? Just you and me? Not that I don't think the rest of the staff isn't competent. I just, uh, I'm pretty sure Lieutenant Kohl doesn't like me, and..."

"Doesn't like you?" Stace questioned with a furrowed brow and a downward smile. "I'm sure that that's not true. I've never heard Andreus say a bad word about anyone, Doctor." She paused and then leant in a little, interlacing her fingers. "Are you sure you're not paranoid?"

Olsam's laugh came out like a cross between a snort and a scoff, all the while darting his eyes from side to side. He repeated the laugh again, as if for emphasis. "Don't be... That's just silly. I'm not paranoid at all. I mean, I haven't got a reason to be...right? No one's plotting against me or watching me or monitoring me or reporting on me or following me to my quarters after a late-night shift, waiting until I fall asleep and then breaking into my quarters to perform detailed biometric analyses." He laughed again, high-pitched, like he was disturbed by his own scenario. "But, uh, the scanning for the pathogens..."

"But, yes, of course. We can use some of these scanny things that I have lying about." She flicked her right eyebrow up as she gestured to a tricorder. Where are these samples?"

"Hmm? Samples?"

"You know? The samples?" Stace didn't quite know how to be any clearer considering their line of conversation but smiled through and raised her eyebrows to him.

"Oh! The samples. Right. Uhhh," Olsam stumbled. "They're, uh... In Sickbay? I mean, they're in Sickbay. I'll just have to collect them. From Sickbay." Suddenly realizing she was going to catch on when he brought in samples of blue Bolian blood, his eyes widened. Better to tell the truth. "They're actually...you know, the samples...my blood. The samples are my blood. I may be infected with a deadly interphasic pathogen that could kill us all." He slid down a bit in his seat and sulked. "Sorry. Hopefully you don't die, I like you."

Stace sighed with a confused and yet amused expression. "You're infected with interphasic pathogens?" she questioned, now sitting up in her chair and leaning forward more closely to him. "Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves, eh?" She stood up and rounded her desk, walking over to him. Kneeling down in front of him, she placed a comforting hand on his leg. "I'm sure that we've all survived worse." She leant over and offered him a bear hug.

Olsam, a great admirer of the bear hug, hugged back with great ferocity. Until he remembered there was a symbiont in there somewhere, then he pulled back. It would be a shame to damage something like that, especially since he didn't have the first clue about repairing them. Not that it would stop him from trying, but still.

"Now, let's get to business since you're life is now in my hands, yeah?" She walked him over to the diagnostic console and took out a medical kit that was fixed beneath the overhang. Opening it, she took out a hypospray, attached an empty vial to it and then drew some blood from Olsam's neck. "Let's start with a fresh sample, shall we?"

"Hey!" Olsam protested, jerking away from the hypospray after it had already done the job. He frowned at her, brow comically drawn together. He was accustomed to being on the other side of the hypospray; being a patient was not one of his favorite things to do. The sensation of being out of control about your own health, especially when you were accustomed to being so in control of medical situations, was unnerving. "Are you a qualified medical professional? Do you know what you're doing, Lieutenant? Maybe I should just do the samples myself..."

"Would you let someone else be your hands whilst you perform a surgical procedure?" Stace asked flatly. "No, of course you wouldn't." She took the vial and placed it into a diagnostic machine. "And if I'm going to help you, Doctor, then you're going to have to trust me to be competent."

Olsam frowned and looked a little embarrassed as what he'd said was reframed for him. "I didn't mean to imply you're not competent... It's...well...I'm usually the one using the hypospray and not the other way around. It's just, uncomfortable."

"You're usually the doctor, Olsam, and not the patient," she replied with a flash of a smile. "This whole experiment might be a new experience for you. You just need to let me work in my field of expertise and we can combine our efforts." She lowered her voice a little and then sighed, looking at him warmly. "Whatever you think you have, we'll successfully overcome, okay?"

For a moment, Olsam looked like he had a bit more argument left in him, but his shoulders finally slumped and he relented. "All right. Just be careful, okay? I have very delicate skin. And don't get too close to my ears, I hate things around my ears. Oh, and try not to draw from the external jugular vein, please. You'll never get a proper reading with that. Also-" He stopped mid-sentence, cut his eyes to look at her, then grinned sheepishly, like a child with his hand in the cookie jar. "Oh. Sorry. I was doing it again... I'll be a good patient. Honest. The best. Better than the best, even. I'll be Patient of the Year 2390."

"I'm not looking for you to be Patient of the Year, Doctor," she replied, intaking a long breath and then bending down to look at the diagnostic readout, "just for you to let me help you. And for you to also help me. Now," she paused standing up to squarely face him, "let's get started, huh?"

Olsam looked visibly relieved that he didn't have to be Patient of the Year. Because, frankly, there was no way he was going to make it. "Yes, let's..."

[ OFF ]

Lieutenant Olsam Mott, M.D.
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

&

Lieutenant Norvi Stace
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

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