Posted March 14, 2020, 12:19 p.m. by Lieutenant Junior Grade Kiama Naim ((A) Chief Science Officer) (Silke Fahl)
Posted by Lieutenant Faye Calloway (Mission Specialist) in CSO’s Office - Questions over questions
Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Kiama Naim ((A) Chief Science Officer) in CSO’s Office - Questions over questions
Posted by Lieutenant Faye Calloway (Mission Specialist) in CSO’s Office - Questions over questions
Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻(snip)
“Yes, we should. As soon as we do, I’ll let you know,” Kiama replied with a nod. “In the meantime, would you mind bringing me up to speed with things I should be aware of and/or keep in mind when it comes to farming? I know the basics, like every plant needs a different amount of water, sunlight and fertilizer. But that’s about it.”
~Lt.jg. Naim, aCSO
She spread her hands out to the side and shrugged slightly. “It can get really complicated, but you’ve got the general gist of it right there. Another important factor is crop rotation and soil health. It’s not just fertilizers but the microbiome of the soil itself. Understanding how a plant interacts with its environment is key to knowing what it can and can’t tolerate. I’m not sure how much we can do for these people except give them a direction to take their agriculture and suggest changes they can make. Crop hybridization and selecting for desired traits takes time. You’re talking about seasons upon seasons of changing one variable at a time. That and meticulous record keeping. I can only hope this planet values science methodology or I might cry,” she said flatly.
~Faye Calloway, Data Specialist
Kiama nodded here and there while listening very closely to everything Faye said. She was glad to have someone at her side who knew that much but all of this. Sure, she was generally a quick study, but there was only so much time left and she would’t even have known where best to start in her research. “From what I can tell, they do. They may have given up warp drive and use physically intensive equipment for cultivating and harvesting. But they haven’t given up their knowledge. At least not from what I can tell by the conversation we had with their minister Jawn Biehl.” Smiling warmly at the woman, she added, “Thank you so much for your help. I appreciate it a lot.”
Faye nodded. “Glad I can be useful,” she said sincerely. After all, it was the thing she actually cared most about. People could read her as being self-centred and anti-social, but at the end fo the day Faye just wanted to feel useful.
The newly appointed aCSO then reached for another PaDD and said, “I started to compile a list of equipment that I thought might be useful for our work down on the surface. From tricorders and microscopes to a portable computer. Is there anything you can think off that we should take along?” That said, she pushed the PaDD with the list towards Faye as well.
~Lt.jg. Naim, aCSO
She peeked at the list. “Just soil sample gathering supplies. And safety gear, especially gloves. Just in case there is anything odd going on. Direct contact with soil that is possibly contaminated in some way is generally bad. But I think until we get a good gist of what their situation is, it’s not worth brining down more supplies than that. We can always have someone ferry other stuff down as needed,” Faye said.
~Faye Calloway, Data Scientist
“Thank you, Lieutenant,” Kiama said once Faye had stopped talking. She then turned the PaDD around once more and quickly added those items to her list. Looking up again, she continued, “Do you have any questions? Either regarding this mission or about anything else?”
~Lt.jg. Naim, aCSO
Calloway shook her head. “Nope. Now that I know you’re not going to kibosh my garden project, I’m good. And as long as you’re also good with my continued weird department access and people just let me get on with my work, we’ll get along just fine.”
~Faye Calloway, Data Scientist
“I will,” Kiama replied with a nod. “I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t wish I’d be able to know about it. And yet I understand that that isn’t possible and that you get your orders from higher up. And that’s okay. Just …” She hesitated slightly and then continued, “keep me in the loop where possible and while I don’t think that will be an issue: I’d rather hear ‘I can’t tell you’ than a lie. I know I’m a very curious person and not knowing something doesn’t always come easy to me. I’ll do my best not to get on oyur nerves or in your way. But if I do: tell me.”
~Lt.jg. Naim, aCSO
© 1991-2024 STF. Terms of Service
Version 1.15.11
RSS Feed