Starting from Scratch

Posted on Friday, 8 May 2020 - 1:18pm by Lieutenant Alex Kingsley

Mission: Operation: Recall
Location: Science Labs
Timeline: MD 3, 1030 hours (before Moving Day)

Journeys through a nebula were not just dangerous for starships and people...

Nestled within the palm of her hand, the small storage cube bleeped once as Lieutenant Kingsley deactivated the device. The flashing red light went dark and, with reluctance, she began to disconnected the various connections which helped to maintain the highly regulated environment within. A task she had been postponing for two days to focus on more urgent repairs and - of course - to avoid destroying of weeks and weeks of study.

Prying open the device she began to remove the individual samples contained within each subsection. Careful not to damage the network of sensors or the systems built in to the compact design. For while it did not look much from the outside, the interior was completely different. Once sealed and properly connected, the environment within the container could be adjusted with breath taking accuracy and precision. To compliment this, a sophisticated web of sensors allowed the samples to be monitored without ever having to remove a sample.

For this particular project, her task had simply been to monitor, observe and report. It was far from exciting, yet her study was being replicated in various laboratories throughout the Federation. Each one running a slight variation to test the impacts of different environmental factors. In her case, the containers replicated a zero-G environment.

Or had - until this section lost all power. A slight delay in the backup generator kicking in had been enough to destroy the validity of the samples, something a quick inspection had confirmed. Fortunately, she could restart. It would just take a little time.

In any event, she could not change what had happened. Of course she had learned that adapting to the sudden return of gravity was catastrophic to this particular family of bacteria. She couldn't blame them really.

“Bye guys,” she sighed as she placed each sample within the biohazard disposal.

It was overkill, there was no risk to the ship or crew but it seemed more fitting than the waste disposal. And okay, so naming the samples with actual names was a mistake and making this a million times harder. But she had done it anyway. Why not? Her actual lab notes were pristine and accurate and thorough. She just didn’t think it was necessary to always refer to them with a sixteen digit alpha-numeric code every time.

It wasn’t right. She wasn’t sure naming them after creatures from an old movie she had watched when she was five was much better.

Yet Bob especially had been doing amazingly well. Or rather, his great-great-great grandchildren were. All one thousand, three hundred and twenty eight of them. She had high hopes for them. Or did. With a sigh, she reached for the second container to repeat the process.

Thoughts of a certain Vulcan popped into her mind and her mood instantly lifted. She wondered if he was resting just like the Doctor ordered. Somehow she doubted it. Yet just the idea of seeing him again made her smile despite it all. While at the back of her mind a little voice pipped up with a simple question. So, whatever happened to keeping a distance, Alex?

She ignored the question and went back to work.

OFF

 

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