Challenges Ahead

Posted on Thu Mar 23rd, 2023 @ 6:46am by Lieutenant Commander Venn D'Sai & Commander Irene Vincent "Rally"

2,844 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Season 1, Episode 1: Wanted: A Few Brave Men
Location: Deep Space K-9- Commander Vincent's Office, Deck 9

Another day, another slog.

It seemed the more they worked on this station, the more things they found that didn't work. While attempting to work on one of the auxiliary pressure tanks, an engineer happened to notice that one of the duotronic relays had burned out, likely from a power surge of some fashion, so Rally had spent two hours today trying to track down a replacement part, only to find that they didn't manufacture it any more and they'd have to furnish one from scratch. But once that pain in the ass had been taken care of, Rally had some time freed up in her schedule, so she tried her hand at programming the food synthesizers to make herself some authentic Lou Malnatti's, which she was now relishing from the relative comfort of her office. A few boxes of her personal belongings- most of it her vintage firearm collection- were stacked over in the corner, awaiting unpacking, but for the life of her, Rally hadn't had the energy to get around to that.

=Shuttlebay to Commander Vincent,= a transmission suddenly came through on her communicator.

Rally rolled her eyes and flipped her communicator open. =This is Commander Vincent; what do you need, shuttlebay?=

=The Chief of Sciences just arrived, ma'am; they were hoping to get a word with you, if you have a moment?=

Rally sighed. =Send them up to my office,= she ordered.

=Copy that; shuttlebay out,= came the response.

"Right," Rally sighed once the communication terminated. "Let's see about cleaning up this mess..."

Shuttle Bay

The sound of a crate slamming into the deck plate made Venn turn abruptly, midnight blue gaze homed in on the individual who had (again) treated nearly irreplaceable equipment in a way that was just ... unacceptable. "We've been over this, Alex," Venn said in a voice that traveled the boundaries between a female alto and a male tenor but then, there was little about the station's new Chief Science Officer that could be easily pegged. "It's delicate equipment and replacements won't be available for months. If then. How about we find a better way to handle this?"

"Sorry, S..Commander," Alex said. "Lost my grip on the edge. I'll get a couple of guys to help."

"Sir is fine, Alex," Venn said, "and thank you. I appreciate both your patience and your help."

Alex flashed a grin and headed off while Venn muttered under his breath, "And thank the nine I asked to double the ordinary packing materials." Manifest in hand, he returned to his self-appointed task. Making sure that everything was there and that nothing had been damaged in transit. It was that last part, getting everything to the lab in one piece that was proving to be the challenge.

The station wasn't ready; that much was apparent and everywhere Venn looked, there was evidence of the staggering amount of work that lay ahead. Setting up the labs was the reason he had come early because getting it done correctly was equally as important as getting it done on time and while he had no doubt that the station's engineers were more than capable, he had thought to alleviate some of the workload.

Well, that and to be sure everything was done to his satisfaction. Relieve stress and, by lending a hand, not create stress on either side. Win-win. Venn smiled at that. Idiomatic speech was difficult to learn and while the Nicati avoided it as much as possible, there were some phrases he had learned since joining Starfleet that stuck. And after all this time, he had even reached a point where he was using the words correctly.

Pause for a moment of self-congratulation, he thought, and then, back to work.

The next task was to ensure that all of the crates were labeled correctly and stacked (except for the ones that required antigravs and/or a group of beings) by lab to facilitate the process. He was just finishing that up when the help arrived with antigravs in hand. He smiled as the group approached and took Alex aside, explaining what had been done and what went where. Alex listened and nodded appropriately and then delivered his share of the news.

"Commander," he said, "I was supposed to tell you that the Captain is ready for you."

"Oh right, thank you," Venn said with a touch of the index and middle finger of their left hand to the heart which, on his home world, was located a little right of center. The salute was an automatic gesture, one that had traveled with him from his home world, and a habit he couldn't shake though these days, he added the words that were appropriate on most Federation worlds. Accommodation was key to getting along just as accepted the pronouns "he/him" though they in no way applied had made his life so much easier as far back as the Academy.

He closed his eyes for a moment, envisioning the map in his head and then set out for the Captain's office, humming an old folk song from his home world as he went. When he arrived, he pressed the chime and when that didn't work, knocked.

"Just a second!" someone on the other side- likely the Captain- could be heard shouting.

A few seconds passed before one of the heavy steel doors was pried open, and a tall, dark-skinned brunette poked her head out.

"Apologies for the delay, Commander," she replied, rubbing the back of her neck somewhat sheepishly. "The retraction gears on this door seized up a while back, so until we have a certified Engineer down here to it look it over, these doors are manual-only."

She paused for a brief moment, shunting the door aside just enough so that Venn had enough room to enter. "Anyhow, what's say you come in and have a seat? I take it you've had a long flight out here."

"Yes," Venn said. The Nicati were honest, as he suspected most telepathic species were, and the idea of polite fictions was not one he entertained. And then, because brief answers were seldom good for conversations, added, "longer than expected certainly." He canted his head slightly to one side in an approximation of a shrug. "The transport detoured. Not entirely interesting, it being a cargo stop, but good for the station and I did get to learn a few swear words in Klingon. Warehouse personnel always seem to know the best ones."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Commander Vincent noted as she sat back down in front of her desk. "So, I presume you've been briefed on the situation regarding the Eifie and the Rheuysians?"

"I have not," Venn said as he waited for the commander to sit down and then found a seat for himself. "Hopefully, station computers are working?"

"On whatever given day the Computer Core decides not to be a moody little bitch," Commander Vincent grumbled, before dismissing it with a wave of the hand. "But anyway, that's irrelevant; seeing as no one's brought you up to speed yet, let me give you the Reader's Digest."

Venn made a mental note to research the idiom, 'Reader's Digest', when he had both time and reliable computer access. From what he had heard, that might need to wait for some time.

Retrieving Venn's PADD, she pulled up a map of the sector and handed it off to Venn for review.

"I've downloaded the background information on our current situation to your PADD, but to put a long story short, we're here to provide administration to the Eifie Republic and Rheuysian Reich, and act as a deterent to Klingon aggression."

"And what do we know of these worlds," Venn asked. "I heard the stories about first contact on my own world. How many mistakes were made. Funny really, in retrospect, but at the time, a bit tense."

"I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the previous expedition made some mistakes along the way," Commander Vincent sighed. "But what we do know is that the two of them are polar opposites, at least on a cultural level; the Eifie are spiritual and pacifistic, while the Rheuysians promote concepts of glory though expansionism. And, granted, we have yet to hear whether or not they hold animosity towards each other, but in order to keep the peace, we have elected to house their embassies on separate decks."

"Expansionistic cultures have been known historically to use methods the Federation would consider abhorrent. And misunderstandings in such cases could be disastrous." He shook his head slightly, in part because he also considered such methods to be abhorrent, but it was also a mannerism he'd adopted when his eidetic memory was being entirely too helpful. "Still, that's conjecture not based in evidence and speaking of that, how much do we know about the history of these two cultures? Their interactions?"

"Well, we know that the both of them have relatively primitive warp capabilities," Commander Vincent explicated. "The Rheuysians only perfected the technology by 2250; the Eifie by 2252."

Close, Venn thought, within two years. That could put them close from a technological viewpoint.

"When we made contact with the Rheuysians, they were a society on the verge of collapse, barely 50 years removed from a civil war that nearly cost them their planet. The last reports we have on them indicate that they were in the process of early colonization and expansion, but we still have yet to figure out what caused their shift in ideologies."

"I see," Venn said quietly. "It would be good to know more about their colonization efforts. Were they, for example, focusing on worlds that could support life but had no sentient population. Much less threatening than a warrior culture, such as the Klingons, who crave the fight and would prefer domination."

"That's part of what we'll need to find out over the next several months," Commander Vincent replied. "Comparing star maps from when the sector was first charted, it would appear that they've subjugated worlds that were previously documented to have been inhabited by pre-warp societies, but since the last major expedition into this sector was 14 years ago, we have no way of knowing how deep the cultural contamination goes."

"And do we know," Venn asked, "whether its actual subjugation or some sort of voluntary cooperation? While its certainly against our prime directive, it's conceivable that a pre-warp world would be interested in contact with a more advanced species and in their interest in new technologies, perhaps even set up some sort of a trade agreement or sharing of space? Granted, it's more likely that it was forced given what you've said about their culture, but I think it's reasonable to at least entertain the possibility that the Rheuysians have opted for a more subtle approach."

"The rumors certainly haven't been promising," Commander Vincent sighed. "Then again, they are just that: rumors. But if, for some reason, it comes to light that their cooperation with these pre-warp worlds wasn't entirely voluntary, then they'll be made fully aware that their model of operations is going to have to change if they want Federation membership badly enough."

She adjusted ever so slightly in her chair.

"Conversely, the Eifie were observed to have attained a semi-utopian status," she continued, getting back on topic. "They claimed to have warred in the past, but reportedly set aside their differences some 300 years prior. And yet, in spite of all the technological and scientific leaps that they've achieved in that time, I'm concerned with certain reports regarding their low gender ratios- reportedly one male to every twelve females. Concerns are such that the males are reportedly sheltered from outsiders- to date, all we have to confirm the existence of the male Eifie was an antigen sample graciously provided to Starfleet Sciences by an Eifie Representative."

"A bit surprising," Venn said, "that they'd be that forthcoming but, if we have samples of both male and female genetic material, there are a number of tests that can be run. Between exome and genome sequencing tests, we can maybe get some insight into why the male birth rate is so low." He paused a second, frowning slightly. "Forgive me. I am making assumptions and that's not acceptable. Let me back up a bit. Why did they provide these samples?"

"The reports inform me that it was a request made on behalf of Starfleet Sciences," Commander Vincent explained, brushing a few stray hairs aside. "Then too, given the precarious nature of their abnormal gender ratios, interacting with other species poses a much greater risk to the Eifie than it does other civilizations; if the males were accidentally introduced to a foreign pathogen that their immune systems couldn't handle, that could very easily spell the end of them as a whole. So, with that concern in mind, the Eifie voluntarily submitted to a course of immunotherapy in the hope that our technology will help bolster their immune systems."

"And presumably," Venn said as he thought about exposure possibilities on a station where new factors were introduced almost daily by transitory species and their cargo, "they will be leaving their males behind?"

"That's pretty much the gist of it," Commander Vincent explained. "Thanks in part to the breeding programs they have in place, the males are shielded from outsiders for their own safety."

"To recap, the genetic sample is provided in the hope that we might be able to offer some insight into the situation but, in any case, those who come will receive a course of immunotherapy to help bolster their immune systems." Venn sighed quietly." His voice softened, dropped, as he thought about the precariousness of their situation. "It's a risk but then contact with another species always is. You know, scientists generally consult each other when there's a difficult problem; do I have permission to reach out if there's need?"

"By all means, Commander," Commander Vincent nodded. "Both the Rheuysians and the Eifie want Federation Membership bad enough, so it's vital that we learn as much about them as we can- both biologically and culturally."

"Thank you, SIr," Venn said. "I'm acquainted with several scientists back on Vulcan who might be able to offer some insight." He hesitated as the notion of an aggressive, expansionist species wanting Federation membership took hold in his mind. "Why would the Rheyusians want membership in the Federation? Their expansionist policies, if they are aggressive, won't be welcomed certainly."

"Believe me, you're not the first person to be asking that," Commander Vincent grinned. "But in answer to your concerns- we have made it crystal clear that if they're determined to earn our support, they will have to reconsider some of their policies- and that's something I intend to make sure they follow through on as diplomatic talks get underway."

"I'd be interested in learning more about both the Eifie and the Rheuysian culture," Venn said. "From a xenoanthropological standpoint, it should be quite interesting not to mention the insights it might lend."

"If we're to pull this off without a hitch, then we're going to need to need all the info we can get," Commander Vincent assured him "Which is where your department is going to come in."

Pausing for a second, she pulled up a deck schematic on her PADD before handing it back to Venn.

"We've already already set aside some space on Deck 18 for scientific research," she explained. "6 labs purpose-built for physical sciences, a further 7 for life sciences, and 3 more for astronomics; I take it with your expertise, you'll have some insight into how to best make use of the space?"

"Yes, SIr," Venn said as he accepted the PADD and took a quick look. "I've done my share of setting up laboratories and, what I don't know, I can research." He sighed happily. "I do love a challenge."

"Right, then," Commander Vincent smiled. "Any other questions, or will that be all?"

"How long before the bulk of the staff start arriving," Venn asked. "I'll get started on lab setup, of course, but a little help wouldn't go amiss."

"If we're lucky, they should start trickling in in another week or two," Commander Vincent sighed. "But factoring in delays, I wouldn't bank on it."

Venn nodded and offered a rueful smile. "Well, I did say like a challenge."

"Well, then I suppose I should be leaving you to it," Commander Vincent nodded as she got up and offered her outstretched hand.

"Welcome to Deep Space K-9, Commander."

"Thank you, Captain," Venn said as he rose smoothly to his feet and extended his hand. This was an Earth-custom and one he'd researched as well as practiced in his first months at the Academy. "I'm eager to get started."

---

Posting By (In Order Of Appearance)

Commander Irene Vincent
Commanding Officer, Deep Space K-9

Lieutenant Commander Venn D'Sai
Chief Science Officer, Deep Space K-9

 

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