Heading downstream, Part 2: Ferengi Water Source

Posted on Mon Oct 16th, 2023 @ 7:44am by Commander Chalan Kendri & Lieutenant Commander Johanna Lyngstad & Ensign Ivitha zh'Vaoreth

1,406 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: Campor III - Resupply
Location: Grabok Settlement, Campor III
Timeline: MD C12 0830 hours

"Let's continue downstream then," Kendri ordered. "The treatment facility is less than 2 kilometers away, if we don't see anything before then, we'll circle back and get the shuttle and try closer to the tower."

As the group walked, the vegetation around the stream grew thicker and the trees sporadically made their way closer to the water line. None of the trees here seemed to grow taller than 12 feet tall or so. They grew outward with spindly branches and bright large flowers of varying colors depending on the tree.

They walked along, Sarah alert to danger. She remembered her encounter with the deer-thing from Star Point, and really didn't want to see it again. At least this time, she was granted the privilege of a phaser. She listened to the light chatter from the others, but her eyes were searching. More moon berries! She wondered if Chalan would have a problem with these. She parted from the group, slightly, and picked one off the branch. Nearby, she noticed the vegetation had gotten thicker. She hadn't seen these particular grasses before on her various escapades-they were something like Kentucky bluegrass, but in vivid shades of maroon and purple. She watched as a small rodent danced along the path in front of her, and smiled. She found another fruit-a peach-like fruit, and pocketed one for Sar later. She was aware that the others were a bit ahead, and she jogged to catch up. She paused a moment...something weird caught her attention, but she looked around. Nothing she could see. Probably just nerves about getting in trouble for separating.

"Ensign, did you scan the moonberry?" Johanna was trying to apply some of the lessons she had learned in Department Head School. Give your underlings a leash, but not too long.

Sarah sighed. "No, ma'am, my Tricorder is only trained for Operations type things," she said, her voice a little tight. Why was everyone so worried about this damn fruit?! It was fine. She was fine. She'd been eating them for the week they were here and hadn't died yet! "Ensign Sar got ill because his dumb Vulcan sensitivities couldn't handle it," she said. "I am fine. I've been eating on them for a bit," she said, "and other than being more regular than usual, I am suffering from no ill effects," she said. "Do you think that the Ferengi poisoned a random Moon Berry tree on the off chance that a Starfleet officer would sample the fruit, ma'am?"

As soon as the phrase left her mouth, she recoiled. It wasn't like her to question things, but really, what was everyone's problem with these things?! "Perhaps you have a second Science tricorder?" She was only an Ensign and thus, she wasn't allowed certain things that came with rank privileges-general Tricorders and phasers among them. Hers had to be checked in and out daily and monitored closely. She understood why.

Kendri overheard the conversation between Johanna and Sarah and was confused about the bit about an 'operations tricorder'. "Ensign bet Ira, can I see your tricorder?" she asked.

Sarah nodded. "Yes, ma'am," she said, handing the machine over.

Johanna wanted to correct Sarah but this was not the time or place. While the XO was looking at the Ensign's tricorder, Johanna scanned the moonberry plant that Sarah had gotten the moonberry from. Her brow furrowed as she ran the test a 2nd time. "I am getting a trace amount of the contagion from the fruit on this plant. Not very much, but definitely there."

Kendri stood side by side next to Sarah and spoke softly to her. "All of our scientific tricorders are the same - ops and engineering included. Medical tricorders have a separate attachment that allows medical personnel to read more specific types of diagnostic data, but even your tricorder can read basic life sign information, like elevated heart rates, blood pressure, even a temperature." She showed her the buttons at the top of the instrument that would direct the instrument to scan in different modes. Kendri made a mental note to follow up with Sarah after the mission and see that equipment refresher courses may be useful to her.

Sarah nodded, blushing. "I think Commander F'Rar was trying to play a prank," she said. "I understand."

She also dropped the berries into a hole she'd been digging. They could compost, and feed the Earth. "My apologies, Lt. Lyngstad," she said. "We should check these peach things," she said, retrieving one from her pocket, and handing it to the Scientist.

Johanna wondered why Sarah kept calling her by her old rank. She tweaked her collar, indicating her rank of Lieutenant Commander. "Good thinking, Ensign." Johanna held the fruit in one hand and her tricorder in the other. The moonberry was small and it was hard to determine if the virus was on the surface or in the fruit. The peach was much larger. It had the small percentage the berry had but it was definitely in the fruit.

"Commander Lyngstad, that is rather disturbing," Kendri responded. "Is the virus on on the fruit or inside it, or can we tell?" she asked. "If contaminated water is used to water these groves that would explain why the virus might be on the fruit. If it's inside, we're dealing with something more insidious than I've ever read about."

"The virus, from what I can tell, is in the fruit."

The commander was never a science officer, but she was well-read and had a near eidetic memory thanks to her half-cardassian genetics. She knew viruses to be water borne, air borne, or transmitted from person to person, or even from animal to person. But for a virus capable of infecting a mammal to be able to be cultivated inside of a fruit was potentially a new discovery. If it were bio-engineered, they were dealing with a dangerously sophisticated species with no regard for the multi-quadrant concord against the use of biological weapons.

While the others investigated the fruit, Ivitha turned her attention to the water. That had been their first point of information after all. Sure enough, her tricorder began to beep as soon as she reached the water's edge, which only increased in urgency and speed as she walked down the bank. What she saw on the screen made her antennae squirm uncomfortably. "The virus is in the water here. Trace amounts, but getting more saturated as I follow the river. If I were to guess..." Her snowy eyebrows knitted together as she laid eyes on the treatment plant. "It only gets worse near the plant. I suggest that we investigate."

"Agreed," said Johanna.

"Let's get some soil samples to be sure," Kendri said looking at the vines where Sarah had picked the moon berries.

“I’m no botanist or virologist, but whatever is on the fruit is getting into the water table. We need to set up some kind of quarantine. I can call Columbia, get the equipment for a quarantine field,” suggested Tomm.

“We obviously don’t know how far the infection has spread, but it appears to get worse before it gets better,” he added.

"Ivitha, look out!" Tomm shouted, as a gold disk about half a meter in diameter and 20 centimeters high flew threw the trees heading toward her location, quite a bit downstream from the others. Tomm could make out that it was armed and he drew his phaser and ran toward her.

The disk began shooting short phaser burst in Ivitha's direction, and Tomm aimed his phaser, and locked on with on long shot, increasing the frequency setting until the disk fell from the sky.

Sarah's head turned in the direction of the Andorian. Oh, shit, things just got real. From her waist holster, she extracted her phaser. It was on "stun", as it was customary, but she had no better idea. Luckily, she didn't need to DO anything because the security chief was fast. She reholstered the weapon, and waited for the trio to join herself and the Commander.

Kendri jogged to where Tomm had taken his stance. "Ensign, get away from the water. Let's regroup," Kendri ordered.

Commander Chalan Kendri
First Officer
USS Columbia

Lt. Commander Johanna Lyngstad
Chief Science Officer
USS Columbia

Lt. Commander Kobi Tomm
Chief Security Officer
USS Columbia

Ensign Sarah bet Ira
Operations Officer
USS Columbia

Ensign Ivitha
Science Officer
USS Columbia

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