Exobiology

Posted on Sat Sep 3rd, 2022 @ 10:01pm by Cadet First Class Pallas & Lieutenant Commander Mel Torma
Edited on on Mon Sep 5th, 2022 @ 8:55pm

Mission: The Goddess
Location: Science Labs
Timeline: Pallas Backpost #4 (after “Intimidation”)
2594 words - 5.2 OF Standard Post Measure

In her second year at the Academy, Cadet Pallas had taken an exobiology survey course on Delta Quadrant species. It was, in fact, the class that had sparked her interest in the field; prior to that, she had been much more focused on her engineering studies, which was quite a heavy lift on its own. While her schedule hadn't allowed her to take the related upper level seminar on the same topic, she still remembered enough from that course that it had immediately jumped out to her that the Gladiator had not one, but two officers onboard hailing from the Delta Quadrant. And one of them was the Chief Science Officer. Pallas was not one prone to giddiness--it was just not in her nature--but her excitement certainly managed to sneak onto her face when she had first read the biographical details on the crew manifest on her ride over from Earth.

So it was not surprising, then, that as she carefully monitored the specimens that Dr. Svidi had asked her to analyze with the specialized Science Lab equipment, Pallas from time to time poked her head up and looked around for signs of twin Dalacari walking around the department.

It didn't take long for Mel to arrive, the sound of the doors to the Science Bay all but summoning her. "I'm on my way. " she called out, and unless you knew what to expect, you'd be waiting for one someone. What walked around the bend was indeed, a pair. Twins, perfectly identical in every way. Fluffy tails, a bounce in her steps, she seemed perpetually happy. "Oh hello! You're a new face, welcome to sciences. My name is..." and that was it. The conversation ended mid-sentence. Except that it was picked up, instantly by her twin.

"... Mel Torma, I'm the current head of the department. What can i do for you?" she inquired, with that curious head tilt.

Pallas looked up from her work as soon as she heard the doors. She had seen holograms of Dalacari, of course, but in person it was quite something else entirely. She suppressed her excitement and kept a straight face, though perhaps her eyes widened slightly as she stood stiffly at attention. "Commander Torma. It is a pleasure to meet you. I hope you don't mind, sir, but Dr. Svidi had asked me to run these samples immediately," she nodded at the machine before her, "and there was no one here when I arrived." After she stopped speaking, Pallas suddenly realized that she didn't know how Dalcari officers preferred to be addressed. "My apologies in advanced if this is considered a rude question or breach of protocol, but should I address you as 'sir' or 'sirs'?"

"No no no bother at all. You seemed to know what you were doing so..." and there it was again. The speaker went quiet, while the silent twin spoke, "... no need to disturb the flow. Just give a call if you need help."

She smirked, a funny gesture that does from one face to another, "I'm just one Dalacari, so just one sir. A common mistake the first time someone..."

"... actually meets one. I'm not twins, much to the disappointment of many folks in..."

"... the Academy. Though, even still, no. No offense but Single Instance life just does..."

"... not interest me. " the literal flow of the conversation was easy to follow as long as the pair of her stayed relatively close together.

Pallas's eyes moved from one to the other as they spoke. After a few of the focus shifts, something she did remember from that course, she did find that she naturally moved her attention to the other half of the pair during the pause, instead of waiting for the next one to pick up the speech. "Thank you for your understanding, sir. And you are not interrupting the flow of my work at all; the machine is doing most of the work, and right now I am just waiting on it to finish its analysis. In all honesty, sir, I was hoping to run into you. I..."

It was at that moment that the cadet realized she hadn't even introduced herself. She quite suddenly felt a lump stuck in her throat out of embarrassment. Partially for the failure of protocol, but more so because she had so looked forward to working with Commander Torma, and now was mucking up her first impression. "I am Cadet First Class Pallas, sir," she continued, hoping her internal feeling of awkwardness and discomfort was well-hidden in her expression and mannerisms. "I am very much interested in the Sciences: I majored in exobiology, xenoanthropology and engineering at the Academy."

"Exobiology, hmm? Fascinating. I love a curious mind, reminds me of myself." She giggled, a personal melody.

"Not being vain. Dalacari are, by nature, inquisitive. So please, ask anything that..."

"... pops into your mind. I'll do my best, Cadet Pallas. And a pleasure to meet you." The pair.. she.. seemed very friendly. "Make sure you get the time to chat with Callisi in the fighter bay. Just, well..."

"... don't stare." She cautioned.

"Thank you, sir," she replied to the self-comparison of the cadet to the commander. "Learning about how all of life across the whole big galaxy got to be the way it is was exactly as challenging and rewarding as I had hoped. More so, even."

At the latter half of the Dalacari's words, however, the cadet's eyes widened slightly again. "Callisi, she's Ts'usugi, correct? Also from the Delta Quadrant? I had planned to try to meet her as well... but, what do you mean by 'don't stare,' sir? I appreciate the warning, but is there a particular reason why I might unintentionally be more inclined to staring?"

"Oh that's the truth. When we first venture to the stars and first encountered other..."

"... forms of life, the first time we thought that single instance was a fluke. Boy..."

"... were we wrong. So, about Veera. Yeah she's a Ts'usugi, they're very..."

"... traditional, very formal. You shouldn't have trouble chatting with her. As for..."

"... the warning, so, all Ts'usugi serve time in their navy. Three years, at minimum. During..."

"... he service, she was very seriously injured. They had to replace an eye. It's under a..."

"... patch, just be advised it's a very touchy subject for her."

Pallas nodded in genuine understanding. "I know many people, including family, on Andara who have suffered very serious physical injuries, either during the Great Disruption, during the unrest of the late '70s and early '80s, or in the zenite mines. Some of them choose to keep some of their injuries as a reminder, despite Federation medical technology that could repair the damage. Yet, at the same time, they might simultaneously feel shame or embarrassment and try to hide the very injury that they refuse to get rid of. As my xenoanthropology professor would say, 'Scars have many meanings'... though to be fair, he often said that many things had 'many meanings.'"

The cadet took the Chief Science Officer up on her offer to ask her anything, and continued, "What you were saying about your people being surprised that single instance was a fluke... are the non-sentient species on your home world also multi-instance, or was your expectation primarily with regard to other forms of sentient life?"

"We evolved from a species of swarm predators, so we've always been multiple .."

"... instance. We just assumed that this was how higher life was." she recounted. "The first extraplanet sentient life we encountered was single instance. A fluke."

"It was the second, and third, that sold it. We were the odd ones."

Pallas looked thoughtful for a moment. "Maybe not so odd. Most sentient life seems to be unique in some way or another. Some biological, some cultural or sociological, a few technological. I'm sure that others have spoken with you about the superficial similarity of a paired existence to the socio-technological one of the Bynar in the Alpha Quadrant. My point isn't that your people are anything like the Bynar, sir; in fact, they are almost nothing like you. You might have more in common with me, an single Andaran, than you do with a Bynar pair."

"We've been compared to them often, thank you for not." She giggled again. "Though I'm familiar with the Bynar. Fascinating people. But yeah, that's the ..."

"... clarification. Though like you said people might focus on the superficial. See two, think two."

"Symbiotes may actually function as a closer analog, or maybe a sort of third way between single instance, as you call it, and multiple. The Trill, who are born single instances, but have in some cases the opportunity to join with a much longer-lived symbiote, connecting their existences. Very different from both the lone life I lead and your paired one." Pallas stopped and smiled. "I apologize for getting so academic, Commander. But as you said, exobiology is fascinating. I appreciate you indulging both my question and my rambling."

She gave a pair of nods, "Oh I'm familiar, and curious, about the Trill. Possibly the closest example I've found to the binary instance life that the Dalacari exhibit. Though, still, not exactly. Some would say..."

"... we're alone in the universe. I personally prefer to think of us as unique. Though that's the secret to life in the home sectors. What you call the Delta Quadrant." she paused, "It's unique."

"There's a whole wonder of life out there that the Federation hasn't even begun to encounter, and you know, some of it actually isn't all that bad." she giggled again. "So I'm eager for them to..."

"... start really making contact. Of course, myself and Veera will be there to steer them away from problems. It's not all sunshine and roses out there." she paused, mostly to gather herself "And don't you worry about..."

"... academia or anything with me, I'm more than happy to chat. I love meeting new people, it's what 'exploration' is really all about. You're very welcome, and please, feel free..."

"... to ask. I know a lot of people on the ship might not be so indulgent with curiosity. I couldn't think of myself as a good Dalacari if I turned it away."

“Making contact with the parts that aren’t all bad sounds like an excellent plan to me. I look forward to it, and to whatever I can do along the way to help avoid unnecessary suffering.” Pallas looked down at the samples. Still processing. “Commander, as I mentioned, I have spent most of my time at the Academy focused on science and engineering. With your permission, I’m hoping to do one of my rotations in your department. After I finish working for the Doctor, of course.”

Mel considered the request, "I don't see a reason why not. I can put you on a light rotation for starters until you figure out where it is you want to best apply yourself. If that's here, then..."

"... excellent, I'll get you on a proper roster. Otherwise, a more rounded knowledge base can only help you in the future. Plus it's not like the doors to sciences close forever..."

"... if you're not in basic blue." she said with a snicker.

Pallas grinned back at the pair. “I promise not to report that comment back to the Doctor, sir,” she laughed. “I meant the part about basic blue… though I do wonder whether that would offend her more or the idea of a ‘light rotation,’” she clarified with the smile still on her face.”

"I'd appreciate that, considering for at least a few hours or so a week I'm going to be your station chief." she giggled again, clearly amused. "Don't worry, I'm a benevolent god." and then she struck a thoughtful pose. "Is that..."

"... the right expression? Xerxes, Persian emperor, ancient Earth history. There's so MUCH of it it's so hard to keep track of. Okay so regardless, I think of myself as a ..."

"... good and fair chief. If you need something, just ask. Until then, let me know how those results turn out, and we'll both catch up along the day. Dia willing, that is." she paused, then her twin picked up, "Oh, sorry. New topic. Dia, they're a divine figure on Dalacar. As we become more advanced scientifically and socially, our clinging to the religious is slowly..."

"... becoming myth in and of itself. Dia's the sole remaining deity on the Dalacari docket. There's evidence there were more but that was *ages* ago."

“I can’t recall…” Pallas pursed her lips in thought. “I do remember something about a Xerces, but most of the Earth history I studied was more theoretical, so
I didn’t read as many original sources from all the eras. Religion on Earth, that is a much longer conversation! On Andara, it has been a long time since anyone believed in gods, but for a very different reason than it sounds like for your people: for most of our modern history, centuries of it, those who dwelled in the cloud city of Stratos thought they were as good as gods, and those who were left in the toxic land below knew that no just gods would have allowed them to be treated the way that they were. There are some exceptions and hold outs, but that seems to generally be true.”

"Oooo, religious separation due to social standing. Sounds like. Fascinating." she paused, "Sorry, I'm fascinated by the notion of societies impact on welfare. The Ts'usugi used..."

"... to have the most intricate system of social castes, but most of those were abolished around, oh which one was it.... seventeenth? Eighteenth? One of those Emperors. I think..."

"... around the time of their big economic reform. I'm terrible at history, and I'm a provincial citizen of their society for Dia's sake." she giggled again, "But, no this is fascinating. I..."

"... can see us sitting down and having a great many long talks. Thank you for taking the time to join me today, Cadet."

“No apology necessary, sir. Xenoanthropology requires the ability to be objective in analysis even when the subjects of study cause personal emotional distress. It’s a hard lesson that I am still getting used to, but I do think it is an important one.” Pallas straightened up again. “And I should be thanking you, Commander. I appreciate you making space for me. I know that the Gladiator receives many high-priority assignments, and that your time is at a premium. I hope that you’ll find my assistance useful: even though I am here to learn, I very much want to contribute and assist. I’ll submit my formal rotation request through Operations and look forward to working with you.”

Mel offered a pair of smiles, "Being a good host is a good step. Besides, the computer is still confused when it comes to Dalacari, so I actually have two lunch breaks on the rotation." she giggled.

"Don't tell Operations. I'm sure it'll work itself out." and with that she gave a pair of nods. "Let's see what tomorrow brings. I'll be around, call if you need." and with that, the pair offered a cheerful smile and a wave each. She didn't show any teeth in her smile, mostly because studies showed that most other life in the cosmos got a little unconsciously nervous when something distantly predatory showed its teeth.

"Thank you, sir." Pallas smiled back, and then returned her attention to the samples, which looked like they were just about done.

END