All in the past

Posted on Sat Jan 2, 2021 @ 4:31pm by Lieutenant Penny Mc Taggard

Mission: Mission 2 - "Drawing Deeply From The Well"
Location: Science Lab
Timeline: Current

Starfleet had virtually swooped in and taken away. Their live sample blister creature from the last mission. Steven had been a little disappointed. As he wanted to investigate what made the thing tick. At least they let him keep the samples of the stinger.

Steven watched as the mechanical arm. Slowly placed the slide under the microscope. He then looked at the monitor screen. The image showed the stinger. Even after all this time being away. From the squishy pillow that had deployed it. The thing still seemed to writhe and wriggle.

The doors swooshed open. Steven looked around and smiled.

“ Hello. Commander how may I help you?” He asked.

"I came in to see how you were doing. You did some really fine work on those creatures. I'm sorry Starfleet came and took your samples. Turns out they were most akin to brain cells and could actually coordinate with each other. No one really knows how they got there but they are sure it wasn't the Romulans. What are you working on now?" Amanda asked.

Steven gave her a big smile. He pointed at the microscope monitor.

“ Starfleet aloud me to keep one of the stingers. From the creature to study. You see on our way back to the Hornet. It struck me that these things attack. In the very same way as the Borg. They both inject their victims with things. That lead to taking over the body. I convinced Starfleet to allow me to keep this stinger for research. As you can see even though it’s no longer in contact with its host.The stinger still seems to be alive.” Steven informed her.

Amanda took a look at it through the microscope monitor, she was'nt exactly a scientist or biologist but to her the stinger looked like it was still trying to inject nerve fiber ganglia.

"This is like a Borg nanoprobe. except its completely biological, its still seems to be trying to infect something. Certainly is a resilient little bugger." Amanda said.

"What else have you found out about it?" Amanda said.

Edgeware nodded and rubbed his beard.

“ Well it seems to be fully independent. Like it is a different creature altogether. It is possible that these stingers could become fully blown pillow creatures. If at such time there became a shortage of adults. You see those small ridges.” Steven pointed on the monitor. “ it is already beginning to start growing.”

Interesting, that would seem to indicate a very strong regenerative resilience in the whole creature. What is its rate of mitosis? Why is it growing? Something must be feeding it. Background radiation? Malloy conjectured.

Steven adjusted a couple of settings on the microscopes control panel. Some figures came up on the monitor screen. Edgeware watched them for a few seconds before speaking.

“ Rate of mitosis 5%.So no danger of it breaking out. The sample is kept in the container. Suspended in a force field. I wonder......” Steven altered the power of the force field. He noted the figures before speaking again.” Just as I thought. It’s drawing energy off from the force field. Just like if it had been inside a body. Except that would be biological energy.”

"So what does that prove? That it has the ability to draw energy from high intensity EM fields to use to regenerate itself? That is remarkable. No wonder it was on the station, it must have been feeding". Amanda said.

Steven looked down as another thought entered his mind.

“ Ma’am by using this method of gaining sustenance. Plus the stinger being able to live outside the creature independently. The evidence points to this being not a natural mutation. Based on the creature encountered by the original Enterprise. Someone has messed around with it’s DNA.” He told her.

"Are there any genetic markers which may lead you to believe who it might have been that altered them?" Amanda asked.

Steven looked at the monitor and adjusted a setting.

“ There are a few markers but they lead to three different races. Capable of doing something like this. Cardassian , Gorn and sadly us.” He said.

Suddenly something started to happen on the monitor. The sample began to have convulsions. The marks on it’s fibres began to go deep brown. Then the whole thing shrivelled up like a dried leaf. It was dead.

“ What...... it’s dead. It must of reacted to its DNA being probed. So that we could not discover who made it. Whoever made this is way ahead in DNA manipulation. Incredible if only it was not such a terrible thing....” Steven said.

"It acted like it understood what we were saying, and ended its own life to prevent us from finding the truth.. Remarkable. Even separated from its host body it acted sentient. Have you ever seen the like"? Amanda asked.

Steven nodded.

“When I first arrived on the Ranger ........Oh........” he began. Edgeware was on the point of telling her. About some creatures they he had come across. When he was first stationed on the USS Ranger. But the memory of falling down the turbo lift. Suddenly jumped into his mind. Steven shook his head.

“Sorry were was I?” He said.

"When you first arrived on the Ranger". Amanda said helpfully.

Steven blinked. He looked at her and nodded.

“ Sorry. As you know my time on the Ranger ended.......yes yes. I remember we came across what we thought was moss. On this planet but when it sensed us near it. Gave off a toxic gas. Lethal to those with a copper based blood. Mind you it made the rest of us see nightmarish visions.”

"A toxic gas with hallucinogenic properties? I'm glad you survived it. What did you learn from it?" Amanda asked.

“ Not to go near it again” Steven said with a cheeky smile. But then he remembered who he was speaking to.

“ Sorry ma’am. What we learned was quite interesting. There were all sorts of different creatures living on that planet. But the only creature that was dangerous to the moss. Had copper based blood. The plant had learnt how to defend itself. Against an enemy by giving off a poison. That would harm its predator but not kill anything else. This showed a form of cognitive awareness. Just like the stinger here. It knew we were investigating it. So rather then let us trace who made it. It ended its own life.” Steven reported.

"Well at the very least this will make an interesting write up. We may never know where they originated." Amanda said.

Steven agreed.But then again a theory came to mind.

“ You know. It may not of been as we first thought. If this was part of a whole creature. Who is probably hiding somewhere out there. It would not want us to learn about it. Because it needs to hide its self away. Either because it fears others or is so weak.A minimum Phaser blast. Could kill it completely or UV light.”

Steven knew this was another of those what if’s. But wasn’t science full of those?

"Would you like to have dinner with me sometime?" Amanda asked.

Steven nodded. Looking up they realised it was time for the meeting. So with a mutual nod he followed her out the lab.

[End]

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A post by

Lt Cmdr Amanda Malloy
USS Hornet/XO

Lt Steven Edgeware
USS Hornet/CSO