Science meet up

Posted on Tue Aug 15th, 2023 @ 2:38am by Ensign Quinton Grey (Kosugi) & Lieutenant Commander Mel Torma & Ensign Emma Walken (Walken)

Mission: Just Another Day on Gladiator
3101 words - 6.2 OF Standard Post Measure

Quinton had just put away the petri dishes he had been working on, he had been examining some of the samples of the flora he had picked up when they had been on that planet that had been occupied by the Unholy Trinity. He gave a stretch with his arms, yawned just a bit then went to go look for who may have been still in.

Deciding rather than go look in the different areas of the science labs Quinton decided to just do the practical way, by communicator.

"Commander Torma and Ensign Walken would you care to go grab a meal and we can just visit? Ensign Grey out. " then he waited for an answer.

The isolation lab hissed open, and one of the two forms of Mel Torma poked her head out. "Is it lunchtime already? Dia's knees I lost all track of time. Give me a moment and I'll be ready to join you. Just, foot stuck in boot. No no not this foot." one of her forms stepped out from isolation, having had no difficulty removing her simple smock and gown. No spills means no harm.

Her OTHER form, however, was having a little difficulty with one of the shoes. Seems the fit was a little TOO snug. "Ahhhh, there, got it!" came her voice from the other room, and soon the pair stood before Quinton in triumph. No longer would a boot oppress her!

"So, food?" she quickly turned back to her favorite topic.

"Most definitely food is in order." hearing his own stomach growling when he said food. "And my boss is currently wholeheartedly agreeing."

"Emma are you around? How does taking a lunch break sound?" Quniton called out.

Emma pops her head out of the door to her little botany lab, "Lunch? Hmmm, I guess I have some time to spare, it will still be a few days before any of the current seedlings sprout above ground. Give me a moment to get cleaned up please." Emma would vanish back into her lab to clean up her hands and any soil from her uniform.

Quin gave a nod, then looked over to Mel, "The break room? Since its not too far away." Flashing a grin. "I am pretty hungry right now. I'll probably have a large sandwich to allay the hunger pangs."

Mel gave a smile, cautious not to show teeth. A lot of sentient species didn't have the lineage of evolving from predator stock like the Dalacari did. Not that you'd know that now. Not that THEY'D know it. Not like any of them know where the natural habitat of the wild cheeseburger was, at any rate.

"Ooooo, I'd kill for a sandwich right now." one said, "That settles it, it's officially cheeseburger o'clock." and then her other twin piped in, "Did you hear someone in the fleet invented the Hamburger Muffin? It's cornbread, wrapped around a puck of beef and cheese."

"Think I might try one. I mean, worst that happens is I recycle it and get the old tried and true Three B's: Bread, beef, and bun."

"Hamburger Muffin? Okay I've not heard of that one before." Quinton exclaimed "sounds interesting I'll have to try that one later on, for now I want a roast beef sandwich with all the works."

Quin waited for Emma before he proceeded to the break room, which was a section of the science lab level. Got to have a place to get something to eat if a science project was going on and you didn't want to travel all the way to the messhall.

Emma finally popped out of her lab, "Did I hear someone say hamburger muffin? Do I need to teach you to cook?" She joked as she fixed up her hair.

Mel scoffed, "Teach me? How to cook? Look I've have wilderness survival training. I've roughed it before. I know how to survive without an attendant drone or in..."

"... low signal reception environments, alright? I've braved the elements. I've gone camping. I know what it's like out there in the wild."

In order. Yes she did. No she didn't. No she doesn't. No she didn't, and yes she did.

"But, in the spirit of cultural appreciation, I'll..... see what you can teach me." she said. No doubt that she had never been further than a kilometer from a fabricator before in her life.

"Really..." Emma smiles a little as she leans close to her boss. "You had the Academy's survival training? Impressive, how would you like to join me, my brothers, and my father on the Marine version we do every few years. It's a lot more 'effective'?"

"Oh, I appreciate the invite, but, well it sounds like it's just a Family thing and I wouldn't want to impose." she offered. "Besides I didn't exactly ACE the training, just enough to..."

"... you know, survive. Plus, you said it's marine training and well, Dalacari sink in water so, there's that." she offered again.

Emma laughs, "Do I look like a marine, Commander? This will open you up to a wonderful Walken Training, Quinton you up for the challenge next time we get back to Earth?"

"Whoa whoa, I know that one. You're not supposed to ask what a something something LOOKS like because it's insensitive..."

"... and rude. Not gonna catch me in that, I passed my multicultural sensitivity training." Mel said, proud of herself. "Never touch a Ts'usugi without consent, never..."

"... rub a human's rhubarb, never accuse a Slate of hording moss, and never ever use the S-Word around another Dalacari." she recited. Now with that out of the way, "Though if..."

"... it's not actual actual Marine training and boot and such, then sure. I'm game. As long as it doesn't actually involve boots." she paused, as her twin took over. "No offense, but your boots aren't comfortable long term. Not YOUR boots, YOU YOU, but your boots, as..."

"... a species. Just, off." she excused. Though now she was committed, and curious. A dangerous clash of options.

Quinton took a look at Mel, then towards Emma. "Sure that sounds like a plan, will there be some Parkour? Its something I am very interested in and also do." Heading towards the breakroom and order himself a sandwich.

Emma couldn't stop her laughing towards the Commander, "Oh Mel no need to worry, I was just messing with you a little. No need to force yourself through this, and no Quinton. Purely survival training go in the woods with nothing and survive that is it."

"Oh, heh I was thinking of Marine Training, it getting muddled into survival. Okay I'm up for the survival Walken style when we get back to Earth. I'm game." Quinton giving a laugh.

Quin walked over to the table once he got his food and took a seat. "How often have you been on the Walken family style survival trip?"

"Been roughly a year, got harder to get together," Emma answers as she takes a seat without any food. She wasn't planning on eating yet but still wanted to spend time with the others.

Mel's twin forms meant twin trays, but the two couldn't be more different in that regard. Bacon, ham, eggs for one, and a Philadelphia style cheesesteak for the other. She offered a pair of smiles, "I... I felt a little divergent today, wanted to try a few combinations, see what hit my brain harder." she offered as an excuse before sitting down. "I'm a little jealous. Dalacari aren't..."

"... allowed to have big families unless they have a Pioneer's License, so whenever I hear of people with lots of siblings, or ANY siblings for that matter I..."

"... get a little wishful. But, you know how it is, every Dalacari is two mouths to feed and four feet of room." she giggled. "But truth be told with the Mark Forty Three..."

"... Fabricators about to hit the main line, who knows. Maybe more future Dalacari will have siblings."

"I guess under Dalacari rules me and Kyle would be fine, we are twins after all. It would be a shame though our younger brother Tony is always so full of energy."

Mel gave a giggle, "Okay so first off, I'm not twins. BUT... I get your meaning." she paused, "What's it like, having a brother? Or a sister?" she paused to chomp on her hoagie. Sheesh, that mouth was all teeth.

"I hear horror stories, but I hear so many loving stories too." spoke the other, while the first contended with cheese and steak.

Quinton washed down his bite of sandwich with a drink of ginger ale, then he remarked. " It is nice having siblings depending on the family. I guess in my family my siblings and I get along okay enough. We argue at times, boy can we argue. But, even if we are angry at each other, if someone is messing with family then we band together, and deal with the problem."

Quin looked at Mel, "A pioneer's license? What does that entail?"

"So, a Pioneer's License is for anyone who braves the edges of Dalacari space. The family in question has to be in good standing with the provisional system, willing..."

"... and capable of life on the fringes, building a colony and a splinter of Dalacari society from the ground up. There's psych evaluations to make sure that they can..."

"... handle the strain of isolation and the nuance of life without the creature comforts of home. No mass fabricators, no gravity net, and only about thirty or so..."

"... drones to assist with their day to day needs. That is, you know, when they're not busy setting up the colony." Mel mentioned. "Yeah it's rough out there. I don't know if I'd..."

"... have it in me. They're real pioneers..." she said. She had no idea how they managed. "But for those few, they're allowed to have additional children to help stabilize the morale of the..."

"... fledgling colony and reward them for taking such a huge risk."

Quin finished his bite then said. "I do not see you having drones helping you here on this ship. And you are having to do things on your own, so, I think you would have the capabilities, just saying."

Mel gave a pair of smiles, "I... I really appreciate that. I mean, there's room to improve Federation replicators but I don't think that qualifies as ... I mean, thank you." she said with a pair of nods.

"I appreciate your confidence. Mind you, I'm not in a rush to get a Pioneer License, and I'm CERTAINLY not in any rush to have children." she admitted, with a humorous tone to her admission. "No, nope nope. No."

"No one special waiting for you back home Mel?"

"Not really, no. I mean, there's a lot of attractive folks who HAVE caught my eye, but I signed on for stellar exploration and figured it was one less distraction to my ..."

"... career if I stayed unattached. Also it wouldn't be fair to my partner if they couldn't come with me, so, here I am. Decidedly unattached." she offered in reply.

"Nothing wrong with that, sometimes a little small romance can be fun. Nothing wrong with going out on a few dates." Emma nods at her own ideas.

At that, Mel shook her heads, "No no no, no thank you. No offense to, well, all of you but Single Instance life just doesn't appeal to me on that level. Friendships, sure. Sit on the couch and ..."

"...watch a movie? Maybe but... try to pull the classic Call For The Drone Over The Shoulder with a Single Instance lifeform? Sorry, but no."

"Watching a movie, hmmnn... I do like at leas the aspect that you allow for friendships. So question, how does the courtship happen with your people?" Cause the other scientists made Quin wonder.

"Well of COURSE I allow for friendships! What kind of Dalacari would I be if I said NO to a social gathering? Sheesh." Mel seemed flustered at the notion of turning away a hangout, as it were. Though the next question left her a little quiet. Tails flopped down, ears a bit red.

"Oh, ummm, courtship is, you know, like any other species. Really. You find someone you like, you go on a few dates, you meet their folks, you apply for a marriage license, you..."

"... weigh the social and economic perks and drawbacks of having a child, and if you, you know... WANT a child you apply for a family license unless you're going for..."

"... a pioneer license and then, well, you know the rest. See, not at all different from how anyone else does it." a pause, "Assuming, that is, that the couple can have a child that..."

"... wants a child. If the pairing doesn't include a producing female then, well, they might be able to sponsor someone else's second child."

She was silent for a moment, "I'd..." boy she was embarrassed, "... rather not get into the silgs and sidrials with my friends."

Emma smiles and pats one of the shoulders of each of Mel's bodies. "Do not worry about it Mel. Do what makes you happy."

Quin gave a chagrined expression. "Sorry to have opened up some embarrassing topic. I honestly wanted to know, but you don't have to go into anything further. I appreciate the fact that you answered." he picked up his sandwich taking a bite, feeling all sorts of embarrassment that he caused Mel some.

She shook her heads, though. "No no it's... You didn't mean it as an invasion, just scientific curiosity." she covered. "And I can see how, from a Single Instance point of view there'd be some..."

"... confusion and curiosity. Trust me, we were just as curious about Single Instance life as you are about Binary Instance life." she offered. "And I..."

"... couldn't rightly call myself a civilized being, nevermind a scientific mind, if I didn't at least do you the service of an answer." she paused, her focus shifting, "If I didn't answer, or if I pushed the answer aside, your curiosity might become something more dangerous. An obsession or..."

"... a compulsion, a question that demands an answer. I'd rather suffer a little harmless embarrassment and sate your curiosity..."

"... than turn the question into a focus. Trust me, the last thing I need is to look over my shoulders on ever date wondering..."

"... when you're going to hop out of a bush or something." She giggled, amused. The interesting notion of being a Dalacari was that whichever body WASN'T talking was nibbling. There was a rhythm to it.

"And before you ask. Yes. Dalacari are born adorable." she smiled.

Quin grinned at the comment. "So sort of switching to a different subject if we had the chance to go exploring science wise, what would be the best sort of exploration?" looking at Emma and Mel.

"Okay so time travel is dangerous. Synthetic intelligence is VERY dangerous." Mel started, thinking out loud. "I enjoy meeting new people, though. Does that count?"

Quin grinned, "Yes, that definitely counts. meeting new people. I am looking forward to seeing a planet I've never seen before, seeing the geology of it along with its own ecology. What flora or fauna will we be seeing? And what sort of races will we possibly meet? Or even maybe we will see a birth of a planet or a star or even the waning of one. Even come across different species that live out in space."

"Ever seen Dalacar?" Mel offered with a pair of smiles. "You'd have to stay in the visitor area, we have gravity generators set up to stabilize the gravity in those regions. Otherwise..."

"... it's a very comfortable one point three. As for what sorts of races you'll meet, I can name three or four in the Delta that would blow your mind."

"Oh really? What are the names of the races you are referring to?" Quin asked, definitely interested in this. As he waited for the answer , Quin took another bite of his sandwich followed by a sip of his drink.

"Well first, there's the Ts'usugi. A noble people, proud and disciplined. We've been their allies for, oh gosh, almost two hundred years now." Mel remarked. "They're a very secretive..."

"... race, though, so I don't know how much I SHOULD be talking about them. Though there's the Slate, they're silicon based. Living rocks. With a culture and a religion that..."

"... worships planets with warm cores. It's fascinating, really. Takes forever to really accomplish anything with them though. I mean, what's five minutes to a rock?" she asked rhetorically.

"There's the Trilark, they're fluidic gelatinous intelligences. Sentient cohesive protoplasm, and they use suits to interact with solid life. They're unique, as far as we've..."

"... met, but I hear the Federation encountered a semi-solid race of their own." a pause, "And as for Flora, there's a navitagtion hazard in the home sectors known as..."

"... Fera. It's equal parts plant and fungus. Grows anywhere, consumes everything, and spreads through space by launching seed pods through hyper oxygen detonation." Mel offered, each half taking a nibble when it wasn't the talking half. "Fera has a cult, though. A doomsday cult that's determined to spread it throughout known space. They see its simplicity as a purity. Nevermind that it's lethal..."

"... in seven days."

"okay I do not want to meet that last one, reminds me too much of what we all witnessed." Quin giving a bit of a shudder.

Mel shook her heads. "No, no it's beautiful, but only in photos." she offered. "Though, I think you'd like the Slate. They're different. Diverse..."

"... in ways we can't imagine. Subtle, but very... oh what's the word. You know, I think I'm just going to say 'They're unique'." she gave a nod, content.

Quin gave a nod as he finished up his sandwich, when his meal was done he looked at Mel then at Emma. "I think it is time to get back to work on something." giving a bit of a chuckle, "I wouldnt' want my boss..." giving a wink at Mel, "Think I am being neglectful at my microbe culture, studies."

A pair of giggled, "Yeah, I hear she's a menace. Wouldn't want to get on her bad side." a pause, "I'll handle the trays, go on. Get back to..."

"... your station. I'll handle this." the Dalacari offered as she stood, hands already reaching for trays.

"Yes Commander, by your command." giving a chuckle and surrendered his tray to Mel. Then he left, it was back to work.



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