Space Cow Watch [Back Post]

Posted on Sun Sep 19th, 2021 @ 7:18pm by Lieutenant Bharani Gupta & Lieutenant Commander Michael Ki

Mission: Character Development
Location: Science Lab
Timeline: MD04
1640 words - 3.3 OF Standard Post Measure

Bharani was perplexed why she had been given this task. She understood that they were currently short staffed and the other science officers were involved in other matters involved with running the ship, but this seemed a bit out of the ordinary. She was an astrophysics not a biology expert. This department could be ran in a much more efficient way and she was itching to tell Lieutenant Danton all of her ideas when she finally returned to the ship. Despite her reservations, orders were orders and she wasn't one to go against the chain of command, no matter how much she didn't agree with the assigned roles, or the wasting of key personnel.

"Lieutenant Gupta to Doctor Ki, please report to science lab one at your earliest convenience," she said as she tapped the combadge pinned to her uniform.

Michael cocked his eyebrow in the Vulcan manner. He could tell by the tone of the Lieutenant's voice that it was not an emergency. He tapped his commbadge "I am on my way Lieutenant." Michael took a medkit with him he felt it was better to have it and not need it, then to need it and not have it.

He strode into Science Lab One with the kit on his shoulder. "What can I do for you Lieutenant?"

"Doctor Ki I presume?" Bharani said as she made her way to the man. "I am Lieutenant Bharani Gupta," she said formally as she rigidly stuck out her hand for the man to shake. She had been trying recently to appear more friendly towards her colleagues, apparently it might go a long way in making lasting relationships, not that she wanted lasting relationships, but it couldn't hurt. "You won't need that," she added, spotting the medkit the man was carrying.

Michael took the hand offered and shook it. Perplexed as to why he had been summoned if there was no medical emergency. "If there is no medical emergency may I ask why you summoned me here Lieutenant?" It was a rare circumstance that someone from the science department summoned a doctor to the science lab. Ki did not know what was going on, but what he did know was that this had better be good. He had bigger fish to fry than to go on a goose chase.

Bharani nodded her head in understanding, "yes I am sure you are extremely busy and I promise not to keep you here a second longer than needed." She made her way back over to the console and activated the overhead screen. The picture that appeared was of the surrounding space, she pressed a few buttons and zoomed into what first appeared to be white spots against the velvet black of space. "The Pilgrims," she said simply. "As you may know we have been studying them in their natural habitat, well mostly the Cavalier has, but we have also been running our own deep scans. With the recent battle with the pirate ship, I have been tasked to make sure no harm has come to them. The Cavalier is in no shape to perform the scans and the Pilgrims are of the utmost importance to Starfleet. I know they aren't exactly your area of expertise, but I thought having a medical professional go through the readings with me may make the task more efficient. We have base readings from when we first entered the region, that should give us something to work from, if you can spare the time, Doctor?"

Ki was a diagnostician and seeking out the medical unknown was his expertise. He smiled as he set the medkit down. "Yes Lieutenant I believe I have all the time in the world for this. Do we have any diagrams of their anatomy?" Michael stepped toward the console and stared at the images. "Fascinating... simply fascinating."

"Yes Doctor," Bharani said, a sense of relief washing over her. Biology was completely not her area of expertise, she felt a lot more comfortable with stellar masses and planetary bodies, so having the doctor here made her feel more comfortable that the work would be completed accurately. She pressed a few buttons and the screen changed to show the anatomy of the Pilgrims on one side and the diagnostic base readings on the other side. "These are the readings that we gathered first."

Michael's eyes immediately scanned the diagrams and the first thing stuck out to him was the respiratory system. "It seems that the Pilgrims are capable of inspiring the solar wind from nearby stars. It looks like a combination of argon and hydrogen is what they need. They then exhale nitrogen... This is unlike any living organism that I have ever known." For the first time in a long time the jaded doctor looked at something with wonder and interest.

Bharani smiled. The way the doctor talked about the creatures, that level of excitement and wonder, was the same feeling she had when she discovered new stellar phenomenon. She pressed a few buttons again and the current picture was overlaid with what looked like a heat signature scan, though it was more complex. The Pilgrims appeared as orange, red, and yellow blobs, the same with the two starships. There were blue broken blobs that indicated the now destroyed pirate ship, and between all of them was green 'speckles', intensely around the destroyed pirate ship, somewhat around the two starships, and sparsely around the Pilgrims.

"The green areas are pockets of radiation," Bharani explained to the doctor, "caused by phaser fire and the engine emissions from the two starships. It's mostly harmless in regular space, and as you know we try to recycle as much of it as possible, however they may cause damage to the creatures. Can you please check your readings, run some scans and see what your expert eye can find?"

Michael took a closer look at the scans and cross referenced them with what he knew about space bourne lifeforms. "Yes it seems that you are on to something here. Not only can the Pilgrims be harmed by a phaser blast as any living creature can. But, the residual radiation can cause them breathing difficulties. This could be why their mobility has lessened." He spoke as he took notes on the screen with his computer safe pen.

"That was my worry," Bharani said, concern etched in her voice. "Is there anything we can do? If we remove as much as the radiation as possible, can the effects be reversed or has the damage already been done?

Michael stroked his chin as he pondered the question. The answer came quickly, simply treat the patient as you would any other. "If the patient were as we are, the first thing I would do would be to place them in a containment with their natural air flowing. Is it possible to extend the Athena's shields around the Pilgrims and then use the Bussard Collectors to fill the area around the ship with radiation free gasses. Those gasses that would be found naturally in space, or better yet fill it with pure argon and hydrogen?" He would be creating his own decompression chamber, the question was if it were possible with the time and technology at hand.

"Interesting," Bharani said as she thought through the Doctor's plan. Her mind had gone into full mathematic mode, which she imagined was similar to the man's diagnostic mode he clearly was channeling right now. She picked up a PADD and started doing some rough calculations. Firstly the size and amount of the creatures that were present in the vicinity, the power output it would take to extend the shields around one of the creatures, then multiplied by the number of them present. She then factored in the amount of energy it would take to run the bussard collectors, thankfully the ship had four of them. No, wait, the ship had six of them. If they were to separate using MVAM, not only would they be able to maneuver better between the Pilgrims, but they could also utilise all six bussard collectors.

"I think you're onto something," she said after a solid few minutes of silence. "How long do you think the whole procedure will take? Bearing in mind power outage is a real factor in this?"

"I am no engineering mind, but if we can keep the power output up. It should only take about 20 to 30 minutes to clear the area of radiation. Once that is done we would have to keep phaser fire to a minimum of course." The diagnostician was in all his glory. Work the problem, solve the problem, work the next problem this is what Michael lived for. Perhaps there was something to serving in space and not at Starfleet Medical.

Bharani nodded her head as she inputted the final calculations. "I think that should be reasonable," she said with a nod. "I obviously don't have the authority to authorise such a plan, but if we can gather what information we have and give it to the Command staff I'm sure they will implement it straight away. After all, we are out here to help protect these creatures and this is by far the best course of action from what I can tell. If you take a final look at these figures and make sure my work looks fine, then I can present it to the senior staff?"

Ki smiled as he began to look over the figures. "As Chief Medical Officer I think we can get this done. We will go to the Captain together. After all they are my patients."

Bharani smiled. "A doctor's work is never done. Shall we?" She indicated towards the door and the two officers left with a plan to save the space cows, one herd at a time.