The Rule Of Science

Posted on Tue Feb 19th, 2019 @ 8:50pm by Lieutenant Commander Garai Fenia PhD & Captain Mrazak

1,373 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Season 1 Interlude I (E2.5)
Location: Deck 6, Science Labs, Overwatch Station (Memory Theta)
Timeline: MD 71

Oh, was it ever good to be back.

Mrazak strode through the familiar environment of the science labs of Overwatch Station. Some of his best work had been conducted here. Whenever a new relic, artifact, or any other precious entry into the archive needed to be processed, it passed through here first. Of course, the more volatile stuff was beamed directly below the planetoid's surface into Deep Storage, but such were the perks of office were being able to tinker with the fun pieces of tech before locking them away in the vault.

Having been assigned to the Archives for nearly 2 months and then confined to the Infirmary for some weeks to prove he wouldn't turn into a Synchrony arachnid, there were numerous staff changes to which Mrazak had not been privy. Names were to be forgotten along with faces as a rule, but Mrazak felt hard-pressed to identify either among the people he passed by.

Such as that Bajoran. She was new. Mrazak came over to her. "Excuse me, Lieutenant Commander... just what in Vulcan's Forge is your name again? I am astonishingly certain we have never met, yet you seem to have your run of the lab."

Fenia looked up from the item she was studying. "Doctor..." She replied to the peculiar vulcan she'd heard much about in the past weeks. "I prefer Doctor, but my name is Garai Fenia. I'm your new Forensic Science Specialist. I got in just as you got sent to Down Below." Setting the item aside, she looked over at him. "How are you?"

"Oh. Yes." Mrazak straightened the collar of his duty jacket. "That unfortunate business has been concluded. I am, and will remain, the Chief Science Officer of Memory Theta and the Field Team's Lead Science Specialist." He arched his prominent brow, awaiting for Fen to be duly impressed.

Fenia arched an eyebrow in return, fighting back a chuckle at the vulcan version of puffing one's chest. "That's good to know, sir." She said with a nod, the smile still threatening to quirk up at the end of her lips. "Glad we managed to get you and the others out in one piece. Reading about the Synchrony is one thing, but actually being there and seeing it...quite another."

What happened next was somewhere between a head-to-toe shudder and a full-body dry heave. "If I ever see another spider or puddle of goo again, it will be too soon. But, yes, I remember now. You were there. Good work, Doctor." He cocked his head to one side. "You know, it's about time Starfleet sent us more doctors around here that aren't the medical kind. So many science officers are trained in little more than sensor reading and dictating instructions to a computer." He peeked around her shoulder at her work space. "So what do you got there?"

The unusual and very human way of speaking and mannerisms clicked the slight confusion in Fenia's head. He was V'tosh Ka'tur, that was why he seemed so starkly different than her old Captain of the Kensington, T'Sora.

"These..." she pointed at three artefacts strewn about on her work desk, each contained in it's own isolation field, "have been delivered to us a few days ago by the Delphi Team. They picked them up on their last mission past the RTC arm, in the pocket of No-Man's land between Khazara and Portal. With their limited time and research facilities, they passed these over to us. So far, they have yielded some interesting results." She motioned over to the carbon imaging scanner.

"UNABLE TO PINPOINT EXACT CARBON DATE. APPROXIMATE STARDATE: -400/00 - -200/00." It said.

"That area used to be Romulan space before the Treaty of Nelvanna." Fenia added, wondering of he would make the connection.

Mrazak's interest perked up at that. "Lots of lost civilizations from that region," he said. "Any idea what they do?" The urge to prod one of the isolation fields was rather strong.

The Bajoran gave a half shrug, "that's part of why I've got them here, trying to date them and figure it out. They are old enough to be anything from the Iconians, Preservers, the Tkon or even Sargon's people. If I can lift any physical samples from any of these artifacts, maybe I can narrow it down with a genetic analysis."

"What about cross-referencing with other known artifacts from the same region?" Mrazak asked. "Running a profile against older artifacts has helped classify new ones in the past."

Fenia nodded, tapping a few controls, "was just about to start a comparative analysis. We only got them yesterday, so we've been dating them first, then seeing what we can compare them to...eliminate one notch at a time, until we find the right one. The boring part of research."

The last part made Mrazak give a knowing smirk. "There's no need to condescend in present company, my good doctor. While you may be accustomed to the plebeian masses which comprise the bulk of Starfleet, here you will find only the best and the brightest." He leaned forward and grinned broadly. "No need to pretend that any aspect of your research is boring. Here we know better and aren't afraid to admit it."

Fenia chuckled, "ah, we acknowledge our greatness and revel in it. Got it. The regular joe of Starfleet, especially after the war still prefers action security or gear head engineer than research scientist."

"Our war is a never-ending one," Mrazak said, raising a hand in dramatic flair. "One against ignorance. The minor scuffles of warships in border disputes and resource allocation are blips on the radar of our eternal struggle."

Fenia observed him for a moment, fighting another chuckle. Part of her was still trying to figure out if he was actually serious or just using the amplified version of Vulcan sarcasm, being who he was. Somehow though, she was leaning towards - serious.

"It's a good thing we're here then, eh? Where knowledge is paramount to all else?" Garai said finally.

"Precisely!" Mrazak snapped his fingers and pointed at Fenia in excitement. "It is so refreshing to have more like-minded souls on staff."

"And here I thought myself the outsider...not having spook background and all." The bajoran had to chuckle at the man's antics, real or fake.

"Spook?" Mrazak furrowed his brow. "Is that some kind of religious expression? We can't formally forbid spirituality, but let's keep the talk of ghosts to a minimum."

"Intelligence. Whilst this facility is not exactly an Intelligence facility, I have no misconceptions that they have a heavy hand in what goes on around here and that some if not most people here work or have worked for them at some point in their careers." Fenia explained.

Mrazak scoffed. "A necessary evil of acquisition and record-keeping simians. Rest assured, the Science Corps reigns supreme in these halls of erudition." Leaning in as if to share a secret, the Vulcan added, "Of course, we let the Intel agents, Marines, space jockeys, and other assorted and replaceable personnel think they are more important than usual. The Earth sage Plato called it a 'Noble Lie,' a fitting concept to come from a primeval culture bent on world domination through the proliferation of knowledge." As he spoke, a faraway look took over Mrazak's face as if seduced by a daydream.

Fenia blinked, fighting a sigh. "They probably think the same of us."

"Psssh. Just you wait, Doctor. You will find that in Memory Theta the science division is finally given its due." He grinned beneath a brow furrowed in repressed anger. "And you be sure to let me know if you find otherwise."

"Somehow I feel they only let you believe that so that you can do their dirty work with more gusto..." Fenia thought to herself as she slowly nodded. Perhaps accepting the invite from Memory Theta wasn't such a keen idea after all? If their leader was like this...what were the others like? Better? Or worse?

Mrazak smiled at her apparent agreement and gave her a chipper pat on the back. "Keep up the good work. Let me know if you find anything."

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