Meanwhile, In Science

Posted on Tue Nov 13th, 2018 @ 7:34pm by Lieutenant Mika Rai'z D.Sc. & Captain Horatio Refelian

836 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Mission 2: Into The Breach
Location: Main Science Lab, Science Hub
Timeline: MD02 - 1200 Hours

While the Science department was busy as a whole, priority had been placed on the sensor arrays and a few labs. Science personnel were all busy, engrossed in their work, yet occasionally someone would look up to acknowledge the Captain as he made his way through the department.

Refelian approached the science station where Doctor Rai’z was working. “How’s it going, Doctor?”

Mika stood behind one of the seated sensor technicians, having been watching the man work, occasionally offering input.

"Captain..." he acknowledged Horatio, taking his eyes away from the console briefly as he reached over for a datapad and then returned to what he and the technician had been looking at. "It’s going good..." he said and then directed to the technician, "There..." pointing to the monitor screen, "That's what I want to see."

The smile he'd worn had lessened as he pulled away to give Horatio his full attention. "I apologise, Sir. I needed to see that through. Thanks to the sample provided by Intel, we were able to come up with the numerical formula for our computer to recognize the current plague that hit Atuginia."

“Excellent news, have you started working on a cure for the plague?” Refelian asked.

“We have,” Mika answered as he started leading them away for a more private conversation. “Containment protocols have been put in place and entry into the labs have been restricted to all but essential personnel.”

“Excellent. How long will it take to get a cure found roughly?” Harry asked.

Mika slightly shook his head, “It’s too early to say. What I can tell you right now is that the disease was made in a lab, and that it isn’t airborne although that can easily change. We can start running scans on Faltan's environmental sources and hopefully have some answers on how it's currently being transmitted by the end of the day, if not sooner.”

“You’re saying this was manufactured?” Refelian said with a frown.

“I’m afraid so,” Mika replied with his own grim expression. “Captain, the way I see it, either we’ll be taking the blame, we’re the next target, or those infected are test subjects for the development of something much worse.”

Harry took a moment to digest what he been told. “What do we know about this plague, Doctor?”

Feeling the need to breathe in deeply, Mika entered something on the datapad he’d been holding, then handed it over to the captain. “Not much more. We do have some observation notes made by Intel, but based on those, we can only guess on a few of its symptoms. I have begun tissue engineering in one of the labs which should aid in studying the plague’s affects, but Captain, what would benefit our research even more is if Doctor Aereen and myself could go out to Atuginia, meet some of the victims firsthand, run some scans, possibly run some tests.”

Refelian sighed, “You do realise the political implications of what your asking?”

After hesitating, Mika had to admit he did. Reluctantly, he nodded, "I do...but considering we already have people out there," meaning the intelligence team, "I was hoping it was a possibility."

“My good Doctor, the Intel team out there is undercover.” Harry said with a smile. He paused in thought for a moment. “How bad is it down there?”

Mika gave him a knowing expression, well aware the intelligence team was undercover. He was willing to go there too if it came down to it. "My impression is that it's pretty bad."

“After the ceremony I’ll speak to the Faltan Government. See if we can get some clearance for you to investigate the plague.” Refelian said. “If not then maybe we’ll need to use covert means.”

"I wish I had faith it wouldn't come down to that," replied Mika.

“You never know, Doctor, they might surprise us.” Refelian said with a smile as he patted the Chief science officer on the back. “Have Doctor Aereen and yourself make up a small team ready to depart after the ceremony. I’ll get you there.”

Mika was appreciative and it showed. He started heading away, with eagerness in his voice, "I hope you're right. I'll go set things up with Doctor Aereen right now...and thank you, Captain."

“Not a problem. Now, speaking of the ceremony, I’m guessing you haven’t come across anything untoward?” Refelian asked.

Mika stopped, placing his hands in his labcoat pocket, making sure to relax his reply this time. "No, Sir. The sensor arrays were enhanced, which of course included the numerical formula for the plague. We've set up some relays towards the mountains where we've had some mineral electrical interference. Nothing's come up. Of course you'll be among the first to know if anything changes."

“Excellent work, Doctor. I’ll leave you to your work.” Refelian said with a smile.

“Thank you again, Sir,” Mika nodded, and then turned away to leave.

 

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