Scientifically Speaking
Posted on Tue Feb 22nd, 2022 @ 12:54pm by Lieutenant Commander Alyssa Maren & Lieutenant Junior Grade Mignon Mejia & Senior Chief Petty Officer Sha’Zen D'Tem
Edited on on Wed Feb 23rd, 2022 @ 1:56am
1,412 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission:
Episode 12 - Risin' To Risa
Location: Conference Room - Science
Timeline: MD001 1500 hrs
Alyssa didn't have a large department, which made getting everyone together a lot easier. She wanted to find out more about her team, what they were working on, and what ideas they had for moving forward. As she said to the Captain, she wasn't going to make any major changes--except for the cargo bay--but she did want to add her own touches here and there and this was the first place to start.
She set out a tray of fruit and pastries and waited for the other scientists to arrive.
Sha'Zen entered the Science Conference room. As always, she wore a stoic expression and her N'Zhara blades. She was interested to meet her new boss. She had liked Commander tr'Hwersuil and his leadership style. She hoped this Lieutenant Maren wasn't young and bubbly, like so many Starfleet officers.
Spotting who she assumed to be Lieutenant Maren, she approached the brunette woman.
"Welcome to the Pioneer, Lieutenant. I'm Chief Petty Officer D'Tem, Biologist." She said.
Alyssa smiled. "Nice to meet you. Tell me what you like about your specialty."
"On my world, one learns early what they can eat and what can eat them." Sha'Zen said. "I enjoy discovering how different animals function and how they interact with their environment." She added. "And as a warrior, knowing a potential enemy's weakness and strengths, gives me an advantage in a fight." A cruel smile crossed her lips and her skin changed colour to reflect her mood.
Alyssa nodded, intrigued by the way Sha'Zen's skin reflected her mood "Yes, that can be quite useful. I'm sure there will be times that your skills will be valuable on an away team."
"Indeed, Lieutenant." Sha'Zen agreed.
Lucas walked into the room and glanced around, watching as a fellow scientist approached another. He was a little nervous, having just come on board recently, he hadn’t even had a shift yet. He thought this meeting was brilliant, it would give them all a chance to meet each other. He headed over to where the two women were.
"Hello," the lieutenant said. "I'm Alyssa Maren. I'm the new chief of science."
"Ensign Lucas Walker." He identified himself. "I'm new to your department, having just come in a couple days ago. I specialize in biology but love everything sciency."
Mignon was next to arrive. She walked in and looked around, recognizing only one other person in the room. The food on the table, however, caught her interest. But first, she should meet the other two. "Hi," she said, joining the group. "I'm Mignon Mejia, xeno-archaeologist."
"I'm an archaeologist, too. Alyssa Maren. We'll have to talk later and compare notes."
Mignon smiled. She liked the idea of having another archaeologist around. "Definitely."
When more scientists arrived, Alyssa went over to the table. "Please, have a seat. This is a casual meeting so that I can get to know you and we can talk about what you'd like to see going forward." She gave them a minute to get settled. "Again, I'm Alyssa Maren. I specialize in history, archaeology, and anthropology, but I've got experience in other areas as well. Commander Vaebn has done some great things here and I don't want to make any radical changes, but I also want to take the opportunity to add to what he's done, if we can. I'm already making plans to turn one of the cargo bays into a vertical garden." She smiled. "Or more of a cube garden, as I plan to use all the available space. I'm open to other ideas. I'd also like to learn more about you. So, I'd like for each of you to tell me something about yourself and something you'd like to see or do here."
"Will this garden be only food plants or a mixture of plants?" Sha'Zen asked.
"A mixture," Alyssa said. "I'm thinking vines, like grapes, and berries along the top. The back wall will likely be herbs and medicinal plants. The deck will be trees, bushes, flowers, and walkways. I'd like an area for experimentation and some sections on the deck for children and crew who want to learn how to grow plants. We can even have some starters and supplies for them to take pots back to their quarters." She wanted to find an area to experiment with algae, but hadn't worked out exactly how she wanted to do that. Or where.
"I have a friend, Sergeant Thompson, she had training in botany and herbal medicine, she may be of use in this project." Sha'Zen said.
"She'd be welcome to help out," Alyssa said. "Both in deciding what to put in and in setting it up." The more ideas they had, the better the outcome would be.
"I'll contact asap, ma'am." Sha'Zen replied.
"Thank you." Alyssa smiled, then looked around the table. "Do any of you have other suggestions you'd like to bring forward?"
“I would like to do more research on plant life.” Lucas spoke up. “There are some theories on certain plants that may be useful to aid in medical treatment or give us a better understanding of their purpose:”
"Perfect," Alyssa said, smiling. "I'm hoping to have a section of the cargo bay set aside for experimentation. I'd love to hear more about what you have in mind."
“Yes ma’am.” Lucas replied. “I’ll write it up on a padd and bring it to you.”
Alyssa nodded. "I look forward to it. I've run a few arboretums, and I've planted gardens, but it's not my specialty, so I'm open for suggestions."
"I've worked with Sergeant Thompson on plant-based weapons that are used to bypass enemy scanning equipment." Sha'Zen said.
"Plant-based weapons?" Alyssa wasn't sure she wanted to turn the garden into a type of armory, but she had to admit that she was curious. Depending on the weapon, it might be worth exploring. "Yes, please continue your research."
"If we entertain doing this." Lucas spoke up. "I would recommend having it separate from these gardens if we are going to have children working in here."
"Yes. When the research develops to experimentation, we will use a separate lab, but if not, they should definitely be inaccessible to children," Alyssa said. "Going back to the cube, I was thinking of putting the the plots for the children in the front. They'd come at designated times to work on their gardens and learn how to grow plants. If we can get a workroom as well, we can put the children there and have supervised hours for them to work."
“The more they learn about the plants and responsibility.” Lucas said. “Then the more they can deal with the others.”
Alyssa nodded. "That's the hope." She would love to have the garden cube turn into an opportunity to teach and to get more plants growing in crew quarters.
"I'd like to see if we could set up a holographic museum, either on the Pioneer or Empok Nor," Mignon said. "We could start with species unique to this region of space and build from there. If it's holographic, it wouldn't need much space."
"There may be one on the station already, but if not, it's a possibility, if we can get the space," the chief said.
Mignon nodded. "I'll check. If not, I'll write up a proposal."
They continued to discuss ideas for the science department, and upgrades they'd like to see over time. She looked around. "Any final comments or suggestions?"
When none were forthcoming, she stood. "Thank you for your input. I look forward to working with all of you. If you think of anything, or have a research project you'd like to pursue, let me know. I come from an academic background and have no problem with any of you doing research and writing papers in your spare time." She nodded a dismissal.
Once everyone else left, she cleaned up the room and went to her office to write up some notes for future reference.
A Joint Post By
Lieutenant Alyssa Maren
Chief Science Officer, USS Pioneer
Ensign Mignon Mejia
Alien Archaeologist/Anthropologist, USS Pioneer
Chief Petty Officer Sha’Zen D'Tem
Biologist, USS Pioneer
Ensign Lucas Walker
Science Officer, USS Pioneer
RSS Feed