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seren_ccdChapter Three
The dim light from the dawning sun only helps to accentuate how dire her situation is. The water is so very cold from having run down from the side of the mountain and she shivers every time the water touches a new inch of her skin.
She groans as the mud slides beneath her and yet she still moves upwards.
She's pretty sure she's not going to win this.
But she's not going to give up.
The region of Taphan steadily came into view as the shuttle made its way from the Enterprise to the planet of Kalpharia. The shuttle flew over the Kallapan Sea before reaching land. Christine shook her head in wonder at the sight of the famous rice terraces. Massive steps carved out of the mountains held the deep green rice grasses and the steps meandered and curved their way down to the valley where they eventually met the sea. The brilliant green of the fields dazzled the eye.
The shuttle soared along the edge of one of the steps and everyone on board craned their neck to look up at the steps that continued on to the tops of the mountains.
“They say they were built by hand thousands of years ago,” Uhura said quietly from her seat next to Christine. “They still prefer to maintain them using ancient methods.”
“Beautiful,” Christine murmured. “They just go on and on.”
A stone structure came into view just ahead and Sulu piloted the shuttle towards the capital city of Kalphan. The city was a mix of ancient and new. The main research facility was metal and white, while the government offices appeared to be made from a sandwashed stone. Sulu circled the landing pad and slowly set the shuttle down.
Christine could hear McCoy's sigh of relief from his seat behind her. She fought the urge to turn around and smile at him. As it was, she hadn't spoken to him since her abrupt exit from his office the evening before. She still wasn't quite sure what she was going to say to him when he inevitably questioned her later.
The crew exited the shuttle and was greeted by the Kalpharian governor and his staff along with two of the Starfleet research scientists. The governor and his staff were easily identifiable from the lightly colored tunics that they wore and their distinctive violet eyes.
“We are most happy to greet you, Captain Kirk,” the governor said solemnly. “I am Xanphar and this is our ambassador, Ruthan. Welcome to Kalpharia.”
“We are delighted to be here, governor,” Kirk said with a formal bow. “We are in awe of the beauty of your planet already.”
The governor smiled. “Thank you. We have prepared some refreshments for you and your crew. We also have scheduled some tours of the terraces and the research facilities for later today.” Here the governor and the ambassador exchanged glances. “We would also be grateful for a private audience with you as well.”
“On behalf of myself and my crew,” Kirk said, “we would be pleased to see more of your planet and I assure you, I am at your disposal.”
“Then if you will follow us?” The ambassador gestured to the arch at the edge of the landing. The group headed in that direction; the governor and the captain talking quietly. Christine felt McCoy's presence right behind her and she bit her lip when he brushed past her to speak to Commander Spock.
The juice and food given to the crew was light and sweet and everyone made polite small talk after being shown a small presentation was given showing the progress of the rice genome experimentation.
Eventually Ambassador Ruthan stood and cleared his throat. “I would suggest splitting into two groups for the tours. Captain, would you and your commanding officers like to join the governor while the others see the terraces?”
“Sounds agreeable to me.” Kirk made eye contact with Spock and McCoy. The gentlemen headed out one door, while the rest of the crew followed another representative of the Kalpharian government.
As Kirk and the others entered a small antechamber, two of the Starfleet scientists in residence on the plant followed. The shorter male scientist approached them
“We appreciate you coming all this way, captain,” he said, his brown eyes crinkling as he smiled. “I'm Dr. Charles Owen, the science team leader and this is my second in command, Dr. Rhona Hall. I've got to say, it's been a heck of a long week.”
“Have there been any other incidents?” Spock asked.
“Well, actually, there was something last night,” Owen said. The man scrubbed a hand over his round face, the shadows under his eyes betrayed his exhaustion. “I still don't understand why this is happening.”
“Perhaps you should start from the beginning,” Kirk said with a friendly smile as they took their seats around a large table in the center of the room. McCoy hid a smirk as he recognized the early signs of Kirk playing detective. Especially when the captain leaned back in his chair and angled himself to get the best view of everyone in the room.
“It started about two months ago,” Dr. Hall said. She shrugged her shoulders, her dark hair bouncing with the motion. “Small things really. Slides out of order, unlocked doors, nothing any of us really took any notice of…until later”
“We only noticed when it started to escalate,” Dr. Owen said. “One morning we came into the lab and someone had broken every single beaker. There was glass everywhere. No one was injured and none of the research was damaged, but it took almost a day to get the lab back in working order.”
“The next incident involved some severe tampering with the seedlings.” Dr. Hall shook her head. “It wasn't critical, but an entire flat of seeds was destroyed.”
“How was it not 'critical', doctor?” Spock asked.
“Well, that's actually what's so odd, commander,” Dr. Hall said. “These incidents have been worrying and time-consuming, but they haven't actually destroyed anything terribly valuable.” She spread her hands. “You'd think that if the intent was to sabotage the research, they actually destroy something crucial.”
“You said there was another incident last night?” Kirk asked tapping a finger on the table and looking thoughtful.
“The latest thing to happen was, well, a bit more intimidating,” Dr. Hall said, shooting her colleagues a sad look.
Dr. Owen sighed and said, “Last night, I came into the lab to do some work and when I got here, my office had been ransacked. All of my PADDs were on the floor, some had clearly been accessed.”
“What were they looking for?” McCoy asked.
“This, I imagine,” Dr. Owen said holding up a smaller PADD. “On here is the final genome sequence for kyan oryza sativa. We plan to release it to the public two days time.” He chuckled. “You know, I always carry this with me. Always. Everyone called me paranoid.”
“Now, we’re calling him sensible,” Dr. Hall said with a grin.
Kirk and McCoy smiled while Spock merely inclined his head.
“And you suspect who? Someone local?” Kirk asked.
The two scientists looked down and then over at the governor and ambassador. The governor sighed.
“We don’t want to,” Dr. Hall said at long last. “But the beakers were smashed with a very specific type of tool. A type of spade used solely by the rice farmers.”
“Traces of soil found only in the fields was found on some of the large pieces,” Dr. Owen said.
Ambassador Ruthan frowned. “It isn’t conclusive. Anyone could have found a tool and used it. Thereby implicating a Kalpharian.”
“There is also another angle to be considered,” Spock said. Everyone looked over at him. “I understand that the science facility has security fields in place at the end of every corridor. Is this correct?”
“Yes, it is,” Dr. Hall said.
“And everyone who wishes to enter must have a code and pass?”
“Yes.”
“Then it stands to reason that whoever, whether they are part of the Starfleet expedition or a Kalpharian, would have to had pass codes to enter,” Spock said. “Or had the means to distribute them.”
An uneasy silence filled the room.
Dr. Owen broke it. “I don’t like the idea that one of my team would be aiding and abetting this kind of behavior.”
“As I do not like the idea that one of my people would be involved,” Governor Xanphar said. The two men eyed each other. Not with distrust or dislike, McCoy noticed, but with simple tension.
“Has there been any indication that any of your people would be involved?” Kirk asked, eyeing Xanphar.
“There are always those who wish for our planet to remain apart from the rest of the universe,” the governor said. “I myself had my misgivings all those years ago when we first made contact, would we be losing our own culture at the expense of being part of something larger?” He shook his head and smiled. “I have had no cause to regret our alliance with the Federation. But, I know there are those that want to distance ourselves.”
Here the governor looked at Kirk. “So, to answer your question... Yes, I do believe it is possible for members of our community to be involved.”
Next
The dim light from the dawning sun only helps to accentuate how dire her situation is. The water is so very cold from having run down from the side of the mountain and she shivers every time the water touches a new inch of her skin.
She groans as the mud slides beneath her and yet she still moves upwards.
She's pretty sure she's not going to win this.
But she's not going to give up.
The region of Taphan steadily came into view as the shuttle made its way from the Enterprise to the planet of Kalpharia. The shuttle flew over the Kallapan Sea before reaching land. Christine shook her head in wonder at the sight of the famous rice terraces. Massive steps carved out of the mountains held the deep green rice grasses and the steps meandered and curved their way down to the valley where they eventually met the sea. The brilliant green of the fields dazzled the eye.
The shuttle soared along the edge of one of the steps and everyone on board craned their neck to look up at the steps that continued on to the tops of the mountains.
“They say they were built by hand thousands of years ago,” Uhura said quietly from her seat next to Christine. “They still prefer to maintain them using ancient methods.”
“Beautiful,” Christine murmured. “They just go on and on.”
A stone structure came into view just ahead and Sulu piloted the shuttle towards the capital city of Kalphan. The city was a mix of ancient and new. The main research facility was metal and white, while the government offices appeared to be made from a sandwashed stone. Sulu circled the landing pad and slowly set the shuttle down.
Christine could hear McCoy's sigh of relief from his seat behind her. She fought the urge to turn around and smile at him. As it was, she hadn't spoken to him since her abrupt exit from his office the evening before. She still wasn't quite sure what she was going to say to him when he inevitably questioned her later.
The crew exited the shuttle and was greeted by the Kalpharian governor and his staff along with two of the Starfleet research scientists. The governor and his staff were easily identifiable from the lightly colored tunics that they wore and their distinctive violet eyes.
“We are most happy to greet you, Captain Kirk,” the governor said solemnly. “I am Xanphar and this is our ambassador, Ruthan. Welcome to Kalpharia.”
“We are delighted to be here, governor,” Kirk said with a formal bow. “We are in awe of the beauty of your planet already.”
The governor smiled. “Thank you. We have prepared some refreshments for you and your crew. We also have scheduled some tours of the terraces and the research facilities for later today.” Here the governor and the ambassador exchanged glances. “We would also be grateful for a private audience with you as well.”
“On behalf of myself and my crew,” Kirk said, “we would be pleased to see more of your planet and I assure you, I am at your disposal.”
“Then if you will follow us?” The ambassador gestured to the arch at the edge of the landing. The group headed in that direction; the governor and the captain talking quietly. Christine felt McCoy's presence right behind her and she bit her lip when he brushed past her to speak to Commander Spock.
The juice and food given to the crew was light and sweet and everyone made polite small talk after being shown a small presentation was given showing the progress of the rice genome experimentation.
Eventually Ambassador Ruthan stood and cleared his throat. “I would suggest splitting into two groups for the tours. Captain, would you and your commanding officers like to join the governor while the others see the terraces?”
“Sounds agreeable to me.” Kirk made eye contact with Spock and McCoy. The gentlemen headed out one door, while the rest of the crew followed another representative of the Kalpharian government.
As Kirk and the others entered a small antechamber, two of the Starfleet scientists in residence on the plant followed. The shorter male scientist approached them
“We appreciate you coming all this way, captain,” he said, his brown eyes crinkling as he smiled. “I'm Dr. Charles Owen, the science team leader and this is my second in command, Dr. Rhona Hall. I've got to say, it's been a heck of a long week.”
“Have there been any other incidents?” Spock asked.
“Well, actually, there was something last night,” Owen said. The man scrubbed a hand over his round face, the shadows under his eyes betrayed his exhaustion. “I still don't understand why this is happening.”
“Perhaps you should start from the beginning,” Kirk said with a friendly smile as they took their seats around a large table in the center of the room. McCoy hid a smirk as he recognized the early signs of Kirk playing detective. Especially when the captain leaned back in his chair and angled himself to get the best view of everyone in the room.
“It started about two months ago,” Dr. Hall said. She shrugged her shoulders, her dark hair bouncing with the motion. “Small things really. Slides out of order, unlocked doors, nothing any of us really took any notice of…until later”
“We only noticed when it started to escalate,” Dr. Owen said. “One morning we came into the lab and someone had broken every single beaker. There was glass everywhere. No one was injured and none of the research was damaged, but it took almost a day to get the lab back in working order.”
“The next incident involved some severe tampering with the seedlings.” Dr. Hall shook her head. “It wasn't critical, but an entire flat of seeds was destroyed.”
“How was it not 'critical', doctor?” Spock asked.
“Well, that's actually what's so odd, commander,” Dr. Hall said. “These incidents have been worrying and time-consuming, but they haven't actually destroyed anything terribly valuable.” She spread her hands. “You'd think that if the intent was to sabotage the research, they actually destroy something crucial.”
“You said there was another incident last night?” Kirk asked tapping a finger on the table and looking thoughtful.
“The latest thing to happen was, well, a bit more intimidating,” Dr. Hall said, shooting her colleagues a sad look.
Dr. Owen sighed and said, “Last night, I came into the lab to do some work and when I got here, my office had been ransacked. All of my PADDs were on the floor, some had clearly been accessed.”
“What were they looking for?” McCoy asked.
“This, I imagine,” Dr. Owen said holding up a smaller PADD. “On here is the final genome sequence for kyan oryza sativa. We plan to release it to the public two days time.” He chuckled. “You know, I always carry this with me. Always. Everyone called me paranoid.”
“Now, we’re calling him sensible,” Dr. Hall said with a grin.
Kirk and McCoy smiled while Spock merely inclined his head.
“And you suspect who? Someone local?” Kirk asked.
The two scientists looked down and then over at the governor and ambassador. The governor sighed.
“We don’t want to,” Dr. Hall said at long last. “But the beakers were smashed with a very specific type of tool. A type of spade used solely by the rice farmers.”
“Traces of soil found only in the fields was found on some of the large pieces,” Dr. Owen said.
Ambassador Ruthan frowned. “It isn’t conclusive. Anyone could have found a tool and used it. Thereby implicating a Kalpharian.”
“There is also another angle to be considered,” Spock said. Everyone looked over at him. “I understand that the science facility has security fields in place at the end of every corridor. Is this correct?”
“Yes, it is,” Dr. Hall said.
“And everyone who wishes to enter must have a code and pass?”
“Yes.”
“Then it stands to reason that whoever, whether they are part of the Starfleet expedition or a Kalpharian, would have to had pass codes to enter,” Spock said. “Or had the means to distribute them.”
An uneasy silence filled the room.
Dr. Owen broke it. “I don’t like the idea that one of my team would be aiding and abetting this kind of behavior.”
“As I do not like the idea that one of my people would be involved,” Governor Xanphar said. The two men eyed each other. Not with distrust or dislike, McCoy noticed, but with simple tension.
“Has there been any indication that any of your people would be involved?” Kirk asked, eyeing Xanphar.
“There are always those who wish for our planet to remain apart from the rest of the universe,” the governor said. “I myself had my misgivings all those years ago when we first made contact, would we be losing our own culture at the expense of being part of something larger?” He shook his head and smiled. “I have had no cause to regret our alliance with the Federation. But, I know there are those that want to distance ourselves.”
Here the governor looked at Kirk. “So, to answer your question... Yes, I do believe it is possible for members of our community to be involved.”
Next
no subject
Date: 2010-10-20 06:37 pm (UTC)