Posted March 12, 2019, 7:18 p.m. by Cadet Catt Beñnet (Scientist) (Roger Babin)
Catt had shed her uniform for the blue coveralls science wore when doing messy jobs. Since she was alone in the lab she wasn’t overly worried that her appearance was less than perfect. Her species tended to be vain but she was elbow deep in preparing what could only be considered mud. it wasn’t anything a Caitam would do manually under normal circumstances. But then the parameters of her experiment posited a situation where the colony had lost all power. This was the first batch of what would be several tons of mud she had to prepare. She was using raw soil. No improvements typical of 24th century agriculture. Again, the experiment assumed a disaster that ruins the fertile modern farming . So stone age tech except for the hydroponics units themselves.
It was hard work. It was tiring, and after only four hours she was already close to worn out. Was she being unreasonably stubborn about simulating things to this detail?
“Experimental farming log entry. Catt Bennet making entry. ‘, she sighed, “The amount of labour required to prepare the soil is proving to be more than one person can manage in the time constraints I have allotted to this task. My time at the Academy and a forced sedentary lifestyle at the reeducation center have reduced the work load I can manage. It pains me to admit that I must consider this a setback. One of many I expect. If I am honest the work load is likely impossible if I were to also subject myself to short rations and contamination in food and water as happened in the incident the experiment mirrors.”. She pulled her arms free of the mud with difficulty, and fell back painfully onto her backside. “End log”, she huffed as she sat there. She was a mess. Mud clung to exposed fur where it had splattered her. Attempts to wipe it off just smeared more on her snout. She wasn’t sure she would ever get the taste out of her mouth. She tried to stand but her balance was off. Her tail throbbed. It was at a strange angle. She sighed again. It wasn’t broken. But it was dislocated. She had found out how easy it was to dislocate her tail when she had tried to flee and her pursuer had grabbed her tail years ago. Another embarrassment. She swore softly. Took her tail in hand pulled and corrected the angle of her tail. At the same moment she bit herself on her free arm in a not as muddy spot. Pain helped mask pain. Also a mouth full of her own furry arm muffled her Yelp. It was definitely time for a break. So she sat gingerly.
“Experimental farming log addendum. I forgot that mud leeches heat from the body. I am weaker than I at first suspected. This has led to a minor injury. It is just as well. I chose not to include my lab partner at this stage. I have learned a lot. But likely would of missed this particular data if I had worked as a team. I know this approach is not logical. But that also replicated the desperation that would be felt after a disaster. Am I going to far with this approach? I’ll answer that once I have rested.”
She closed her eyes to focus of willing away the pain and sat there snoring softly after a few minutes.
Cadet Catt Bennet. Sciences. USS Challenger.
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