From: Jamie LeBlanc (plainsimplegarak_at_yahoo.com)
Date: Mon Jan 07 2008 - 22:21:29 PST
“Sins of the Fathers” (continued from “Survey Says?”)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Location: NOCTURIA
Stardate: 2.80108.0100
Scene: Hatchery
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Aerdan Jos furrowed his brows, looking over the
same stubborn list of readouts for the seventh time.
Once again he got to his feet and resorted to pacing,
antennae twittering on the top of his head in
annoyance.
“Are you alright, Doctor Aerdan?” Mya Alcedo’s
voice was peaceful, focused.
“Mostly.” He replied with a sober tone. “The
information here seems to correlate with the
information we had on the STONEHENGE. The symptoms
all point to the same cause.”
The Nocturian elder tilted heris head. “Then
what keeps you from solving the disease?”
“There is absolutely no indication of something
that would cause the sickness that affected your
hatchlings coming from the meteor or the Nocturian
atmosphere after the meteor hit. The effect is there
but the cause is missing.” He paused a bit, brushing
a shag of white hair from his eyes. “It is like a
puzzle missing a key piece.”
“Perhaps you are looking in the wrong places,
young one.” The eldest suggested.
Aerdan turned, watching the red skinned creature
for several seconds as that idea sunk in. “You might
be right, Eldest one… if you will pardon me for a
moment.”
Mya Alcedo merely nodded as the Andorian medic
scampered away.
~*~
“What do you mean you can’t give me a level 5
scan of the hatchery?” Aerdan shook his head in
frustration. Trying to talk with the science staff
was usually tasking; talking to them when they were
panicked and pulling overtime trying to fend back a
meteor was nearly impossible. “Yes, the comet, I
know.” The Ensign’s voice on the other end of the
comm had blurred to a dull drone. “Allright, if you
can’t do the scans, can you at least send down the
portable equipment for the scans? No… yes… look. I
know you can’t spare anyone to run it. I can set them
up, can you please just have the equipment sent here.
Thank you.”
He leaned back in his chair and sighed.
“Scientists.”
~*~
It was some time later before the device was
delivered, brought in by one of the youth of the
Alcedo clan. Mya walked over, inspecting the scanner.
//What is it, child?//
//Some sort of scanning device for the Offworld
doctor, Eldest one.// He/she replied.
//Please, do set it down, child.// Mya Alcedo
gestured to a table. The younger Nocturian set the
scanner down without a word before nodding to the
eldest and retiring. The Eldest one paused,
inspecting the sleek piece of equipment with a curious
gaze when he/she heard the CMO enter.
Doctor Jos had a confused look on his face,
antennae curled forward. “Was there someone here?”
“Yes, young one. There is a device that has been
delivered for you,” he/she paused. “How did you know
that someone had entered?”
Aerdan knit his brows slightly, antennae curling
forward. “I could hear the conversation,” he
admitted.
Mya Alcedo perked a brow, curious. “You can
understand our language?”
“No, I cannot make it out clearly enough to
understand it; but I can hear it. I don’t know if the
description ‘insects buzzing’ makes sense to you…” the
neurosurgeon started to explain.
“It does.” The eldest smiled slightly. “You are
full of surprises, Doctor.”
“I find that all people are full of surprises if
you take enough time to get to know them.” Aerdan
murmured, going over to the scanner and starting to
calibrate it.
“Interesting words for one so young.” He/she
paused and watched the set up process. “What does
this device do?”
“It will scan the atmosphere in the hatchery for
any contaminates. I decided you were right, and maybe
I was looking in the wrong place. The disease might
have started inside the citadel.” He replied.
“Inside?”
Aerdan gave a short nod. “As in, it might be
gone from your atmosphere, but still linger inside
this place. If I can get a complete scan, perhaps I
can confirm what the symptoms say and we can start to
produce a serum to counteract this disease.”
Mya Alcedo gave the slightest hint of a smile.
“Perhaps your hidden answer will appear.”
~*~
It took time to complete a scan of the detail
Aerdan needed, and he filled that time by looking back
over the medical scans he had taken of the Nocturians
and the hatchlings. He didn’t quite know what it was
about this time through, but he found himself not
concentrating on the delta radiation and sifting
through the information with fresh eyes.
He found himself catching small details he missed
before, and when he sat back and added them all up, he
found something rather distressing. Lifting his gaze,
he spoke softly. “Eldest one… were all the scans
given to me on the STONEHENGE accurate?”
“Doctor Aerdan. The life of our hatchlings is
the most important concern in my mind. We did not
pass you any deceitful information.” Mya Alcedo’s
voice and tome bore the utmost candor.
He paused again, shaking his head a little.
“Eldest one… is it possible for me to see Rharn
Alcedo? I have a question to ask my Captain.”
“it should be, he/she is in the citadel.” Mya
looked as if he/she might say more, but he/she trailed
off.
[from Joy’s post]
Aerdan Jos glanced up as a noise seemed to echo around
him, he winced as his Andorian hearing picked up the
combined shouts of a race of people who communicated,
moved and fought with sounds.
The doctors antenna drooped into his white hair as he
glanced to where Mya Alcedo was sitting, the eldest
one looked nonplussed heris features settled into
almost a contented smile.
"Could I ask what that is?" Aerdan asked respectfully
his eyes torn between a tricorder and the Nocturina.
"That would be an angry mob." The eldest one answered
herim glanced upwards at the Andorian.
He considered her words and her actions and decided he
was safe for now. "Could you ask them to keep the
noise down?" Mya chuckled quietly at that while the
doctor went back to his work. After a few minutes he
finally spoke again, trying to drown out the growing
noise outside with his own words.
"You didn't have their permission to bring us."
The Eldest one smiled although it looked pained. "they
want help they're just too proud to ask for it." Herim
explained quietly. "The Alcedo clan will have to face
the others, and we will, hopefully with answers." She
finished pointedly.
"So you didn't ask." He repeated quietly watching
scans intently aware just how much was riding on him.
"A Nocturina does not ask." Mya reminded the Starfleet
officer. "and sometimes a leader has to do what's best
for their people whether the people want them to or
not."
Aerdan considered this and then nodded, "maybe the
leader should speak to the people before they really
do become an angry mob."
Mya looked at him intently then and Aerdan found
himself forced to gaze into eyes that seemed to burrow
to his core. "Give me something to say to them." Herim
demanded a note of pleading in his tone.
[Back to mine]
Aerdan walked over to the scanner and flicked
through the preliminary scans. In a second or two he
seemed satisfied enough to offer Mya an answer. “It
looks like there are trace elements of delta radiation
in the hatchery. I don’t know what might have caused
it to linger there, but I can tell you that we can
treat that, Eldest one. There should be no reason
that we cannot inoculate your young before they
hatch.”
“Then I will go and speak with them.” He/she
replied firmly. “Go see Rharn, I will meet with you
when you return.”
Aerdan gave a respectful nod as they parted ways.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Scene: Alcedo Citadel
Aerdan had slipped in, giving soft greetings to
Peter and Izzie before asking to speak with Captain
Alcedo alone. They had retired to a back room, with
comfortable furnishing, and a few bleak rays of light
from elsewhere in the citadel straggling though an
open window.
“What concerns you so, Doctor Aerdan?” Captain
Alcedo asked, watching the CMO with heris dark eyes.
“Captain… I have a concern that goes beyond the
disease affecting the hatchlings. I think there might
be more to this than we previously thought.” The
Andorian started, pulling his tricorder off his belt.
“Beyond the disease?” the Nocturian asked,
stepping forward curiously.
Aerdan bit his bottom lip slightly. “Every scan
the STONEHNGE took and I can find says that the meteor
strike did not cause the disease that affected the
hatchlings.” He paused, and lat that sink in before
continuing on. “It did, however, break up the
Nocturian atmosphere, and raised levels of
electromagnetic solar irradiance – basically it
charged the atmosphere.”
“To what effect, Doctor Aerdan?” Rharn asked
curiously.
“I think it speeded up an evolutionary process
that might have taken decades, if not centuries to
complete.” The CMO murmured enigmatically.
Rharn Alcedo perked a brow and brushed back a
shock of electric blue hair. “Can you explain that,
Doctor?”
“Captain, I would like you to look at this.” He
pressed his tricorder into heris hands. “These are
the readings of the newest hatchlings. Some of them
bear a very strong resemblance to your genetic
structure, far more than any other hatchling readings
I can find.”
“They are becoming more like myself and T’nnent”
the Captain murmured, searching over the data.
Dr. Jos took in a short breath. “This could be a
startling step for the future of your species, if the
hatchlings survive.” He raised his eyes to meet
heris, “but I am worried that there might be
complications to overcome.”
“Howso?”
“Captain, I still haven’t found the exact cause,
but scans indicate that Cade Foster was right. There
was delta radiation that penetrated the hatchery and
affected the young, and I can’t explain why it was
there.” His face had taken on a worried expression.
“Until I know what happened, I fear that all of you,
with you in particular, could be in danger.”
“Doctor Aerdan;” Rharn spoke as reassuringly as
he/she could, “I have been recalled to help in this
time. While I understand your concerns, I cannot
remove myself from the citadel when I am needed. The
stakes are too high, the cannot deny me now.”
Aerdan knit his snowy brows. “With all due
respect, Captain, you come from a culture where
shaving one’s head invites capital punishment.
Whatever social debate such choices invites, the fact
remains that your species, by its very nature, clings
tenaciously to its traditions and values. Preventing
change is much more than the paranoid talk of the
elders here. It becomes a matter of life and death.”
He sucked in a breath and added, “literally.”
“That’s why I’m here, you know?” Iszhlana Vort’s
voice came seemingly out of nowhere. She peered
around the corner with a perky expression. “The mob
is dispersing, Captain, and there is another Alcedo
here that wants to speak with you.”
“I shall be right there.” Rharn replied before
looking back towards the CMO.
Aerdan dipped his head slightly. “I will be
heading back to the hatchery. I think I can get
sickbay started on a serum with the information I
already have.” He paused, looking back up. “Be
careful Captain.”
“I will, Doctor Aerdan.” She/he smiled slightly
before following Izzie out.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Scene: Citadel Hallways -> Hatchery
He walked back quickly, arms tucked around one
another. The chill air reminded him of his home
planet, but this place didn’t have the same sense of
frigid calm. There was a nervous energy that stirred
in the craggy darkness. It was as if eyes stared out
from every nook and cranny of the grand architecture.
And for all he knew they actually did.
Slipping down the back hallway back towards the
hatchery he took note of Zipa Pleo still standing in
hiser usual place, still watching the Andorian like a
hawk. Aerdan did his best to ignore it. He could
vaguely hear the sounds of the crowd outside, and what
he assumed was Mya Alcedo speaking to them. Nothing
like being on a deadline and having an angry mob
beating down your door. The neurosurgeon sat down,
picking up the PADD of scanner readouts, looking to
see if they would hold any magic answers.
They held something interesting, but not what
Aerdan had expected. As he flicked the PADD on, he
watched as the screen turned hazy and then flared to
life, void of any information but it’s base
programming. The blue skinned man, swallowed a breath
and sat up, rechecking every databank the little
device had, and even running a diagnostic.
The PADD had been wiped clean.
“Interesting.” Aerdan muttered, tossing it across
the table and standing up. He walked over to the
scanner and checked it over. While it still was on
and seemed to be running perfectly well, it, too, had
no information left in its internal database. Aerdan
was no engineer, but he highly suspected the scanner
had been tampered with as well. “Well, whoever they
are, they’re thorough.”
He stopped just as soon as that thought left his
lips and straightened up. Antennae perked upwards at
full attention, he swiveled his head around the
hatchery room, listening. When he was finally
satisfied that there was no one watching or
eavesdropping on him he took in another breath and him
his commbadge. “Doctor Jos to Doctor Foster…”
[Well, I was wondering when you were going to
need my help.] The human’s voice was taunting.
Aerdan didn’t really care at the moment; he cut
directly to the chase. “Cade, did you monitor my
atmospheric scan or download the information?”
Innocence bled through his voice. [Now why ever
would I do that?]
Aerdan let out a sigh of relief. Anytime Cade’s
voice sounded innocent rather than irritated, he was
hiding something, and right now it was going to be a
godsend. “Because you wanted to prove your diagnosis
was correct, rub it in my face, and say I told you
so?”
[Well there was that…] the older human admitted.
“Cade, someone just destroyed all my research
down here, wiped the datapads clean and reset the
scanner. If you did just happen to download the
information, I could really use your analysis;” the
CMO replied evenly.
He could hear Dr. Foster’s tone turn sober.
[Friendly, hm? Well, I hate to tell you this, Doctor
Jos, but I was right.]
Aerdan let his antennae droop. “Delta radiation
poisoning?”
[Yes!] Cade crowed gleefully, and the Andorian
could hear him, chuckle for a second before turning
serious again. [The scans picked it up in minute
traces in the Hatchery and the Hiberitum and the
Nursery… but not anywhere else in the citadel.]
“Let me guess, doses of radiation low enough that
adults wouldn’t be affected – or at least fatally
affected; but the hatchlings and younglings haven’t
built up their defenses yet; the doses were high
enough to make them ill. Fatally ill.” Dr. Jos
guessed grimly, his whisper-thin voice sounded
gravelly and dry. Everything was confirming his
suspicions.
[Exactly.] Cade affirmed, sounded none too
pleased about it, despite his correctness.
“Did they pick up anything else unusual?”
[You could say that. I’ll send the data back to
your tricorder, and I suggest you keep it on your
person if there are saboteurs running around.] The
older man chided. [But in short, there is a high
concentration of Thorion particles in the areas with
Delta radiation. Now don’t quote me on this, you
should probably wrangle wing-boy to tell you straight.
The last time I checked my basic science, depending
on how well Thorion particles are or are not
contained, they can interact with power sources and
create small amounts of…]
“Delta radiation.” Aerdan cut him off, feeling a
growing lump in the pit of his stomach. “But why
Thorion particles? They don’t have many medical
uses.” He slowly sat back in the chair, rubbing his
temples.
[Well, they were popular in the old style
genetics labs. Thorion fields were useful in
stabilizing or preventing genetic mutation.]
The neurosurgeon stopped, staring straight ahead
as the pieces started to fall into place. “Oh my
God….” he murmured, blue eyes going wide. “Cade, tell
the medical lab to start producing as much delta
radiation serum as they can.”
[So I *was* right…] The older man sounded
extremely pleased with himself.
The Andorian was already on his feet; turning
back towards the door that Mya Alcedo had exited. “I
need to go Cade. Just get the serum done.” He cut off
the transmission while Cade was still chuckling to
himself and picked up the tricorder, clipping it to
his belt, before tucking his arms around himself
again, like a man on a mission.
But he didn’t make it through the door.
“Very clever Doctor Aerdan.” Zipa Pleo’s voice
was extremely calm, almost mechanical as he/she
entered. The elder’s face was set in a stony, dutiful
gaze.
The Andorian gave a nod and for a few seconds
thought that maybe if he just kept walking forward
this wouldn’t turn out as badly as his gut kept
telling him it would. “Pardon me, elder. I must
bring this information to the eldest so we an work on
inoculating the unhatched children.”
Zipa Pleo sidestepped slightly, hiser body
forming a blockade between the doctor and the doorway.
“I don’t think you want to leave this hatchery.” To
emphasize his point he pulled out a slim, silvery
device. Aerdan couldn’t quite tell if it was a
medical device or a weapon, either way, it made him
stop in his tracked and pitch backwards slightly.
“Well, I suppose that confirms my suspicions.”
The CMO murmured, indicating the device.
The Nocturian elder took in a small breath. “I
cannot allow the information you posses to pass beyond
the walls of this hatchery, Doctor Aerdan.” He/she
paused for a second, before thoughtfully adding, “This
is not for my benefit, but for my race as a whole.”
Aerdan leveled his gaze back at the green-skinned
alien. “So your scientists specifically created the
Thorion fields to prevent genetic mutation in the
hatchlings?”
“There was a small group of concerned Nocturians.
But you speak of us as if we were monsters, Doctor.
We never once meant to cause harm to them.” Pleo’s
voice was heavy, almost sad.
“No, not monsters.” The CMO replied, his own tone
soft as the cold breeze, which penetrated even the
citadel. “But you are shortsighted and foolish. Just
because you do not wish to change should not mean that
following generations should suffer.”
“You will never understand, Doctor Aerdan.” The
Nocturian shook hiser head. “We are a culture that
survives on its tradition. It is the most important
part of our race. And at the heart of that is our
identity as a neuter species.”
“No one ever said you can’t retain that identity;
but you also cannot prevent change from taking place.”
Dr. Jos replied stubbornly.
Pleo shook hiser head. “No. You are an
offworlder. You can never understand. We will not be
the same if we change. There are some things you
cannot hold on to.”
“You believe you are the only species that had
gone through gender evolution, but you’re wrong. If
you would give us ‘offworlders’ a chance, you might
find we can empathize with your situation better than
you think.” The words fell sharply from his mouth,
filling the room with an electric silence before he
continued. “I’m not here to tell you how to run your
planet. I’m here to save lives.”
The Nocturian leveled hiser gaze at the blue
skinned man, never once lowering the device he/she
held in hiser hand. “But you will tell the eldest
what has happened here.”
“Mya Alcedo has every right to know. As do the
rest of your people.”
Pleo’s voice was even and firm. “I cannot allow
that, Doctor Aerdan. They will not know. They
cannot.”
“Because you’re going to continue using the
Thorion fields.” The neurosurgeon guessed, shaking his
head.
The Nocturian elder nodded. “With your research
we should be able to correct our errors and continue
on, with both our hatchlings and our traditions
intact.” Ploe stepped forward, leveling the device.
Aerdan knit his snowy brows, backing up once
again. “You can’t be sure of that. You’re willfully
tampering with your races’ evolution.”
“I’m willing to take that chance, Doctor Aerdan.”
~*~*~*~*~
NRPG: So… at base there is a small group within the
citadel committed to preventing change at all cost.
What might this mean for our intrepid offworld crew?
*Ahem* Tags!
Notes and thoughts:
Sorry that this is rather character centered, but I
had a lot of ideas to work into one post. I will try
to include more next post.
The last conversation about gender is an interesting
little point to bring up. I have been talking about
Andorians with the player of Eishnala Kor on Gateway.
Both of use used difference reference material to
create our characters – one which assumes that
Andorians have basically 2 sexes, and one which
assumes Andorians have at least 4 sexes. (Eishnala
being of a 4 sex group, Aerdan of a 2 sex group) and
how we could have both characters be validly Andorian.
So from those conversations I am working from the
idea that the Andorians developed a mixed gender
society; and Aerdan might be able to understand the
difficulties therein better than some might imagine.
Anyways. That’s a long rambling explanation for a
very short bit of post >.<
Peace y’all.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Jamie LeBlanc
Lieutenant Aerdan Jos
Chief Medical Officer
USS STONEHENGE
"Why do we fly? Because we have dreamt of it for so long that we must"
~Julian Beck
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