The Intel Is In The Science
Posted on Thu Apr 25th, 2024 @ 7:33pm by Lieutenant Commander Alyssa Maren & Lieutenant Commander Rowena McGowen
Edited on on Sat Apr 27th, 2024 @ 8:08pm
0 words; about a 1 minute read
Mission:
Episode 15 - The Evil That Lies Beneath
Location: Office of the Chief Science Officer - Deck 8 - USS Pioneer
Timeline: MD004 1200 hrs
Science and intell haven't worked together on the Pioneer. Well, they have in a sense. But not like really teamed up on a case. And Rowena isn't really an outgoing person. Really on herself a lot of the time. And the most time she spent with people so far is her department and recently with Edmund. Socializing has never been a big thing with her. Not even when she was on the Malificus.
She was curious about Maren. Maybe she needed to get out of her shell and get to know some of the crew. She stopped in front of the science office. She pressed the chime. "Commander Maren, are you in here?"
"I am. Come in." Alyssa got up from her desk and walked around to greet the new arrival. When she saw the commander she smiled. "Hello. How are you?"
"I am well, thank you, Alyssa, I will keep things a bit informal, right now, I am not really here in uniform sort of speaking." Rowena smiled warmly. "I just realized I haven't really met the crew since I got on board. Well, I have, but not really, if you get me. I intend to rectify that. If that is alright?"
"It's fine," Alyssa replied, returning the smile. "It's been a bit...chaotic since I arrived. Then there was shore leave and the garden, so I haven't seen many people, either." She indicated a chair. "Have a seat. Can I get you something from the replicator?"
Rowena sat down slowly as she looked over the replicator and then back to Alyssa. "I would like a Cappuccino please and thank you. And yes things have been hectic. I heard you have been through quite a lot yourself too." She looked a bit in front of her in a haze. It seems so unreal to me. I don't know what you think."
Alyssa replicated a Cappuccino for Rowena and cinnamon tea for herself and brought them back to the chief. "I don't think much of my professional life has been what you'd call normal. This last though, has been a bit much. But I'm processing it, and I think I'm in a better place that Mignon. She's one of the scientists that was kidnapped. She is still trying to get over what happened." She sat down and took a sip of her tea. "Sometimes I wonder if this is just part of being in Starfleet."
"Well," Rowena started. "My time in Starfleet has certainly been ...interesting." She raised her eyebrows slightly as she put the mug to her lips. "To say the least. That is." She took a sip. She put it back down. "Is the mission something you're ok to talk about? Cause I have many questions and reports don't seem to give me satisfying answers."
"Of course." Alyssa took a sip of her herb tea. "I was fortunate in that I remembered a book I once read that helped me get through the experience more intact than the others. It's called A Wrinkle in Time and it's from the 20th century Earth."
Rowena nodded. "Interesting. I remember there was something else on the planet. You see during the time I was unconscious I remember things. Just images, voices feelings. Nothing concrete. I remember there was someone or something else. It or they were on the planet, and they talked to me. I am not sure what was said, but if I know what it was, I might remember."
"I know a couple of people on the team saw something in a mirror. And another group saw something in engineering. I believe the creature had tentacles." Alyssa shook her head. "I didn't sense anything on the planet itself, so it must have been contained in that facility." She considered Rowena for a moment. "What do you remember?"
Rowena looked to the side a moment as if trying to remember. "I do remember seeing the creature as walking in to engineering. I just seen it briefly, cause I then lost consciousness and after that the memories are haze at best. I remember distorted voices. As if someone was talking to me and yet not."
"I've talked with Jayna about what she saw. She's teaching me to throw knives," Alyssa explained. "She wasn't in engineering, but she saw what looked like tentacles in several mirrors. And she heard a voice, but only one. It's interesting that you had different experiences." The scientist in her wanted to ask more questions and then talk to Jayna again to get a better idea of the differences between their two experiences, but she had to curb that for now. This was not the time for research. "I'm sure the counselor might be able to help you figure out what you remember."
Rowena nodded. "Yea, I am also trying with the recover my memory of the event. So I am talking to many people to piece things together. But I haven't had luck yet. Thank you for telling me anyways." She smiled.
"You're welcome. I understand wanting to piece things together. I don't remember everything from when we were kidnapped, and I'm not sure I want to. But that was a very different experience. I think if I were in your shoes I'd be asking a lot of questions, too." Alyssa shook her head. "I do wonder if the two facilities were connected in any way. Both seem to have been doing experiments on people. But I'm not sure if the underwater lab was experimenting or if some sort of entity just took it over."
"You mean the tentacle creature?" Rowena asked as she leaned back in thought. "Could it be that the creature was once human, maybe a scientist?" She then shook her head. "No, that is probably a stupid thought. But yes the facilities were labs. And according to the reports from the team, experiments were being done. I can only imagine what you must have gone through. "
"There were no creatures and no tentacles where I was. Just Romulans experimenting on ways to cause BIID. But I wonder what sort of experiments were being done at the other lab and if those experiments could have invited whatever creature killed the occupants," Alyssa explained. "Could evil beget evil? I don't know, but to me it's worth looking into. It may be nothing, but you don't know until you look." She smiled wryly. "Or it's the scientist in me looking for connections that don't exist."
Rowena shrugged. "Or connections that are yet to be uncovered. As intelligence I don't have the luxury to make assumptions, but like science we can run a theory to uncover the hidden intell." She smiled.
"Yes. There are a lot of similarities between science and intel. We often do field research to gather information. I've worked with intel before as a scientist and found it fascinating. Then again, I find a lot of things fascinating, like what you, Jayna, and the Marines experienced." Alyssa chuckled, then sobered as a thought came to her. "You know, there are legends and folk tales about entities that can possess humanoids. I wonder if that's what happened to those scientists?" It was definitely an idea worth exploring. She'd have to talk to Jayna about it. "I think I'll do some digging and have another look at the data the away team brought back. Maybe I'll find something concrete to help explain what happened there." She looked at Rowena for a moment. "Some sort of non-corporeal being could be the answer to a lot of your questions."
"Interesting." Rowena looked in the distance, past the science chief for a moment, lost in thoughts. "You know," she continued, "You could be right. I never thought about it, but that just might be the answer we have been looking for." She put her empty mug on the desk and got up. "It was nice talking to you, but I should best make my way now." She walked to the door and then turned around. "Oh, and while you’re at it, you could find the doctor. She should be around here. And also..." As she slowly faded she said, "You were right about non corporeal, but I don't know if it will help you here. " Then she was gone.
"Rowena?" Alyssa stood, wanting to help, but the intelligence officer faded from view. What did she mean by it wouldn't help her here? She shook her head, puzzled. Myths and legends... She definitely needed to do some research, then talk to the doctor.
Rowena looked at the empty seat where the science chief just sat. She then put her mug back in the replicator before leaving the office. She gave a little smirk. "This is just way too easy."
A Joint Post By
Lieutenant Commander Rowena McGowen
Chief Intelligence Officer/Second Officer, USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Commander Alyssa Maren
Chief Science Officer, USS Pioneer
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