Words Are Society's DNA

Posted on 20 Jul 2012 @ 2:57am by Chief Petty Officer Lucalin Mrina Ph.D. & Tarishiana Barel

2,129 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Episode 01 - Project Sienna
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 4, Chief Science Officer's Office
Timeline: MD07 - 1330 hrs

As Remington had directed when he'd first stepped foot in the shuttlebay of the USS Galileo, Lucalin immediately went in search of his new commanding officer. The system of 'command' on 123 had been a bit lax considering they were all stationary officers, most of them engaged in their own research projects that had very little to do with the will of those ahead of them on the chain of command. That said, he understood the system academically and had experienced variations of it in his shuttle days. He expected few problems fitting in aboard this ship; he already loved it. It was small and full of people of all different races; the smells and the sounds were varied and fascinating and the walls were just textured enough to give him a fine varying echo for some distance. Good acoustics were very important.

He chowed down on a stick of butter as he followed the instructions of his PADD down the corridors towards the research labs. His own lab would be down on Deck 6, at least it should be unless they moved him around. He wasn't entirely clear on how many researchers were on the ship, but as it was a science vessel, he anticipated he'd be sharing lab space with someone. He just hoped it was someone who would talk to him.

By the time his PADD notified him that he'd reached the Chief Science Officer's office, he'd finished the butter and his stomach was feeling a little less unsettled. He'd need more, and soon, and to refill his pack, but he wasn't liable to collapse anytime in the next hour. Discomfort, he could bear. He whistled slightly between his teeth and tapped his tongue against his palate, locating the chime and pressing it to ask entry.

Tarishiana's fingers were making quick, hard circles on her temples as she looked over the information on her console. Between her mother and the Sienna Project her head felt like it was going to explode. Pulled from her self loathing by the the sound of her chime she looked up, "Enter..." She called as she sat back in her chair with her arms crossing her chest. She did her best to keep an open mind but at this moment she didn't have much hope it was going to be something that didn't involve more work.

At the sound of her call, he stepped forward a little further and the door opened for him. Flim Flam rubbed up against his leg on her way to explore the newly available space and he whistled quietly to bring her back to nuzzling and circling his feet. She'd been still for too long. She wanted to play; to do something. Sometimes he felt sorry that he'd given her such an appetite for adventure when he was so ill equipped to fulfill that need for her. He couldn't even really fulfill his own longing for it, despite his own dreams being of a more philosophical nature than 'rub my belly', 'play with me', 'scratch my head', 'touch my ears', 'feed me'... Actually, come to think of it, he had those exact same impulses too. Maybe he wasn't so philosophical, after all. "Hello, Lieutenant." He guessed. He couldn't be sure. But she was a female and she was in the Chief Science Officer's office. So... the probability was high. "I am Petty Officer Mrina. Lucalin. Or Luca. Or really any declension thereof, as you prefer. I also respond to 'hey, you, alien'." While Flim Flam rolled about, occasionally wandering away and then running to butt her head against his legs in a vague attempt to pet herself, he tilted his head to the side. He wasn't an empath and he couldn't see her expression or anything about her. He couldn't see anything. But he could hear very well, and he could tell she was wound on herself. Flim Flam wandered away from him and began sniffing about the bottoms of chairs and up under tables. Unless she is a humanoid who was just built that way, arms stuck together in front of her, and how horrid would that be? Worse than me, surely, and there aren't many I've considered had it worse. Then again, that's me. Everyone probably feels that way. As Flim Flam roly-polied her way around the room, investigating the space merrily, she began to wander off around behind the desk and he trilled at her to bring her back. This time, she didn't return, sniffing instead at the female's shoes and gently nudging her head against her. Still and all, she smells like some of the Betazoids I've met, but that doesn't mean she is one. Only that their scent was on her. Strong, but Betazoids are funny about touch. They can spread their scent a fair ways just by being friendly. Then again, he thought wryly, so can I. "Commander Remington met us at the shuttle," he went on, thinking her silence meant maybe she hadn't any idea why he was there and maybe she needed more of an explanation. "I've been assigned to your department. That is, I am a science officer, and I've transferred to the Galileo, so here I am. Bioengineering. I studied with Dr. Pilnar on Starbase 123." He waited another moment. "You are Lieutenant Barel, aren't you? I haven't got the wrong room?"

"You are in the right place Chief Petty Officer." Tarishiana said with a grin as she unwrapped her arms from around her. She was somewhat amazed by what she was watching. She looked over the man standing before her and watched the cat as well. "I take it your cat is more then she seems?"

"She's not a cat," he corrected her without guilt or offense. People often mistook the hekas for whatever they were most familiar with; after all, they were the first of their kind. He didn't really expect anyone to know what they were. It was surprising to him that it had taken anyone this long to ask. "She's a heka. I built her mother and her father from scratch genetic sequencing and then bred them. They had a litter of four. I couldn't bring all of them, so Flim Flam came with me. She's proven herself to be more of a glutton for contact than her parents. I've spent quite a bit of time studying the mutations in her genetics and haven't found a reason for that yet."

"To be honest...it was a guess." Tarishiana said easily. "I am a linguist which by most scientists evaluation isn't really an area of scientific study." She looked over the man standing in front of her. With a quick movement she motioned towards the chair, "Oh please...have a seat."

He missed the gesture, but heard the words and used the clicks in his reply to locate the nearest chair. "Thank you. Languages are very complex; an entire culture can be found not only in the sounds, but also the semantics utilized. It is, in fact, basically the genetic code for the society from which is comes. Making you and I largely in the same field, just with different parts of life." He sat.

Tarishiana let out a laugh. "I have never thought of it that way." She grinned as she closed up the file she had been looking at on her console. "So Luca...tell me a little about yourself." She asked simply.

What was there to tell? "I am Bireikar. I have spent my whole life in the edge sector of the Federation, cut off by virtue of the Romulans and the Klingons. I was accepted into Starfleet when I was fifteen, but wasn't able to make the crossing to reach the Academy so I took another path instead. I studied with Doctor Pilnar and enjoyed many years of study with him. Bireikar are quite accomplished in genetics; indeed, we exist in large part because of this knowledge. But the methods of the Federation are different, still intriguing, and I have enjoyed combining and comparing our methodologies over the years. I consider myself proof that a great deal can be accomplished and learned from genetic mistakes, so my work has been considered by some to be more... experimental than they might prefer. Pilnar never had any problem with it. I don't enjoy hypotheticals in my work, as they often are disproved the moment you get into practical experimentation; life finds a way to do what it will regardless of our intentions." His ears twitched independently as he considered what else it was important for her to know. "My metabolism is overactive, so I connect myself to the replicator while I'm working."

"By all means." Tarishiana said. A little bit more then impressed by the story she has just been told. From his record she wasn't as surprised as one might have thought. She had heard of the Bireikar but knew little about them. She was going to enjoy getting to know Luca. "So other then constant access to a replicator is there anything else you need in order to perform your duties?" she asked simply.

"Need?" He considered the question. Technically, he could do his work with very little, but it would take much much much longer. "I've previously had access to a re-arrayer, replica platers, DNA sequencer, petri plates, a media sterilizer, a microrobotic dish-filling system, a microplate replicator, an electronic multichannel pipette-" He paused. "Perhaps, once I get a feel for the lab I'll be working in, I'll know more."

"Feel free..." Tarishiana said with a wave of her hand. With the other she began to pull up the lab assignments. "You have been assigned to lab eight dash six. Anything you need that you don't find there just submit a request form and we will do our best to get it for you."

"Thank you," Lucalin replied. He missed the gesture, but appreciated the straight-forward reply. "Are there any particular projects you'll be needing my assistance on? Or am I to be left largely to my own research? Will I be sharing eight dash six with anyone?"

"All of the labs are shared with at least one other person." Tarishiana started. "Most scientists are group together based on need and resources. You will have your own lab space with security to protect your experiments and information, but the labs hold more then one person and project at any given time. As far as what you will be working on." She continued. "Our main focus is dealing with the Sienna project material. You are free to do your own experiments as long as it doesn't interfere with the transfer and continuation of the Doctors Hardaway's work." She paused for a moment, "Did I miss anything?"

"Ah. And the Sienna project is what?" Lucalin asked. He'd heard it mentioned a couple times in passing since he'd boarded the ship, but hadn't been given any details. If she expected him to work on it or even assist in some outside capacity, he would need to know more about it than its name.

"The sienna project is an alternate propulsion engine that has been underdevelopment on Starbase 152. " Tarishiana began. "It has the ability that replace the warp drive and would allow Starfleet and the federation to travel beyond the Milky Way galaxy. There is plenty of information on the drive in the ships computers if you care to take a look."

"I'll do my best to catch up," Lucalin offered. "I've very little experience with propulsion systems generally, but if someone asks me to run tests or scans, I'm happy to be of use." He folded his hands together, rubbing the fingertips ilghtly together as he thought. "Who will I be sharing eight dash six with? I'd like to get situated, find my way around where everything is and what's available."

"Feel free to get yourself settled." Tarishiana said as she pulled up the lab assignment listings. "You are the only one currently assigned to eight-six...But that could change over time." She paused for a moment, "Are there any other questions I can answer for you?"

He purred quietly. He liked working with others, generally, but having the lab to himself at first would allow him to get his bearings more easily. "Not at the moment," he answered her easily and whistled once to bring Flim Flam to his side. "Is there anything you need from me?"

"Not that I can think of." Tarishiana grinned. "Consider yourself dismissed and feel free to jump in." She had a feeling she was going to like Luca.

[OFF]
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Chief Petty Officer Lucalin Mrina Ph.D.
Bioengineer
USS Galileo

&

Lieutenant JG Tarishiana Barel
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

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