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Main Science Lab - Inquiries

Posted Sept. 13, 2021, 8:29 p.m. by Lieutenant Dr. Solomon Kane (Chief Science Officer/Research & Development) (James Sinclair)

Posted by Lieutenant Tija Aizala (Doctor) in Main Science Lab - Inquiries

Posted by Lieutenant Dr. Solomon Kane (Chief Science Officer/Research & Development) in Main Science Lab - Inquiries

Posted by Lieutenant Tija Aizala (Doctor) in Main Science Lab - Inquiries
Posted by… suppressed (9) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Kane waved at her to sit. “Move those PaDDs and sit. If you can tell me what you need, I can see if I can find it. No guarantees… I’m not really sure how anything was organized before, so it’s kind of me drowning in a bowl of cereal and you asking me to find a specific corn flake.” He sat down at the desk, glared at PaDD with notes on it, and threw it across the room.

Picking up the PaDDs and placing them neatly on the floor next to the desk, Aizala looked a little confused. “What is a corn flake?” she asked as she sat down.

“Shoot. What’dya need?”

Kane, CSO

“One of my fields of expertise is herbal medicine or what many people call alternative medicine. Some plants and ingredients I need for that I can replicate and they still do what they are supposed to do. But that doesn’t work with everything. So I’ve always had seeds of other plants and been able to grow most of them fairly successfully for years now. But there are some that just don’t want to grow and and one of plants always grows as it’s supposed to but something about growing on board a starship instead of in a forest on Bajor seems to alter it. It looks a lot like digitalis from Earth, but the blossoms are crimson. And just like it’s counterpart it has amazing medical properties. It calms one down and thus helps with such conditions as anxiety, depression and PTSD. But when I grow the plants here the effects are minimal at best. Till now I never had enough time to really look into it, but being in between places allowed me the time to really do some research and experimenting. What I found is that an enzyme seems to be missing. But I’m not a botanist, so I was hoping someone from your department could have a look at the plant and what I’ve found as well and tell me if I’m actually on the right path or not. And maybe they even have an idea how to fix the problem. I was told that someone would look into it, but I haven’t heard back from anyone yet.” Her voice was level and calm as she spoke and her eyes never left his face. “If you could look into it and see if someone is already working on that or point me towards someone in your department who might be able to help, I’d appreciate that a lot.”

~Lt. Tija, Doctor

Kane pulled up all the botany experiments and reviewed them with a speed that was actually quite impressive. Finally he scowled and said “Ok… so it seems the experiment is on-going. But the problem you identified has been found. So now, it’s a matter of coming up with a solution.” He looked at the data for a few long moments and then said “Have you tried DNA splicing a redundant genome sequence for the traits you are looking for? Or have you done a forced-growth cross-pollination for selective traits?”

Kane, CSO

Aizala shook her head, “No, I haven’t. I was waiting to hear back from science and quite honestly: I wasn’t certain how to best proceed from here. While I know a lot about how to use plants as medicine, I rarely ever needed my knowledge about genetics and never when it comes to plants.” She gave him a small, slightly sad smile, “My speciality used to be emergency medicine and trauma surgery.”

~Lt. Tija, Doctor

“Mine too…” Kane said while looking at the data. “Ok, I’m no botanist, but I think we can get you what you need.” He tapped a few commands into the desk interface and then said “Lieutenant JG Hollenbeck. Experimental Horticulturalist. Comes on duty in two hours. I’ll send him the file and tell him to expect you to discuss.” and he glanced at Rija and said “Good enough?”

Kane, CSO

“Yes, absolutely. Thank you Lieutenant,” Aizala replied and began to turn in order to leave the lab. But suddenly she faced him again and asked curiously, “Why did you stop working in emergency medicine and trauma surgery?”

~Lt. Tija, Doctor

Kane leaned back and looked at her for a moment. He put his hands behind his head and fixed her with an intense look through the hair that fell over his face. “Why do you want to know?” he asked flatly, but with a small hint of curiosity.

Kane, CSO

Aizala gave a small shrug and almost said ‘Never mind’. But instead she looked intensely back at Kane and said, “My life has been turned upside down and I’m still trying to find my footing again. Shifting the track of my career … it makes me wonder why other people do it and did it. And also how they choose where to go next. I’m thinking that, maybe, it will help me.” Her cheeks turned slightly pink as she realised that she had shared more than she had meant to. And now feared that he might make fun of her again. Or use what she said in some other way against.

~Lt. Tija, Doctor

Kane stared at her for a long time… and the reached forward and tapped the desk interface and the door slid closed. “Have a seat, Doc.” he said and stood up and went to the replicator. “Drink?” he asked as he dialed in something and the shower of lights coalesced into a tall glass with something bright green inside it. “Sacred Mountain of the Pekingese Cloud God, I call it. Pretty good. Want one?” he asked as he turned and looked at her.

Kane, CSO

Aizala felt a soft shiver run down her spine as the door closed behind her, but she tried not to show it. Instead she slid onto the offered chair; legs crossed at the knee, hands folded neatly in her lap. Twisting in her chair to look at Kane and the drink she was holding, she hesitated. “Is there any alcohol in it?” she asked after a moment. “If so I’d prefer a cup of tea. If not, then I’ll give it a try.”

~Lt. Tija, Doctor

Kane handed her the glass and then retrieved one for himself. Sitting back down, he looked at her and took a drink. “So… what happened? Why happened to turn your life upside down? And trust me… I’ve heard worse.” he said flatly and then took another drink.

Kane, CSO

After taking a the glass, Aizala took a tentative sip and pondered for a moment how to explain. Where to start even. Eventually she looked her gaze with Kane’s and asked, “Do you want the short story or the long one?”

~Lt. Tija, Doctor

The drink was a mixture of citrus juices and something bubbly… effervescent and refreshing. “Oh, I’m here all day… you tell me whichever version you want.”

Kane, CSO


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