Small Steps

Posted on Wed May 17th, 2023 @ 2:49am by Ensign Ilan Ocara & Lieutenant Dr. Daniel Brasken
Edited on on Thu May 18th, 2023 @ 6:26am

Mission: In-Between (S1:E4-S1:E5)
Location: Science Labs
Timeline: Mission Day 2 at 1730
3455 words - 6.9 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

The doctor rubbed at his eyes a bit as he made his way to the science lab. It had been a couple sleepless nights since they had successfully escaped from the organic nebula and for some reason he just couldn't bring himself to calm long enough to fall into unconsciousness. Admittedly it was fascinating and the projects on hand were interesting enough but, he was certainly feeling the affects at this point. Perhaps he might lock the doors and medically assist himself...oh well, thoughts for later.

Daniel stepped into the lab and glanced around to find Ilan before making his way over without a word. Usually the doors opening would be enough for most people in a public space but the warrant officer had ways of tuning out the rest of the ship as he found on when they first started this project. So, not being sure if those ways were currently being implemented he simply walked up and stood quietly until she acknowledged his presence.

As most days on duty, this was turning out to be a rather boring one. Ilan knew how to keep herself entertained of course, but every now and then it did strike her how mundane her work life was. With the chief science officer continuing to be reclusive, Ilan was more often than not very alone for the majority of the day. Her shift was well over, but she was working on a project that just demanded her attention so much so that once again she didn’t even register that someone had come into the lab with her. Some quiet but poppy music was playing as she worked on whatever she was tackling. It appeared to be genetics related, but also quite advanced.

As Daniel stood there, she still didn’t appear to notice him, but after a few moments she finally spoke. “Can I help you, whoever you are?”

"That depends on if you are up for some company and intellectual discourse." Daniel didn't move into her line of sight but kept an eye on what she was working on while seeing how she responded. He held no romantic notions of their planet side encounter and so didn't expect some over the top greeting. Still though, making her turn to him or to piece together his voice to recognize him was amusing to him. She was smart, so this was a minor thing to test her on, but they can't all be big plays.

On hearing his voice, Ilan smiled to herself and finally turned her chair around so she could look up at him. "Oh hey you, what a nice surprise to see you here. Need some help with something?"

"I was hoping you could check my work on our little side project." Daniel took a couple steps to grab a stool and brought it over to the table Ilan was working at and took a seat. He smiled congenially and pulled a data chip out of his pocket, offering it to her. "I think I have a good base to go on, enhanced musculature, hand eye coordination, that type of thing. I was wondering about eye sight in general though."

“Sure. What are you wondering about specifically?” She took the chip and inserted it into the slot in the computer to bring up the information. As usual, Ilan seemed perfectly at ease and this was her space. She really was the one down here the most and while it was boring from time to time, she really couldn’t complain all that much. As the data came up, she immediately began to scan it.

"I was working to include telescopic vision, which of course means extra musculature around the eyes. I just wanted to minimize the physical appearance." Daniel reached across and pointed to a few structures on the screen to indicate what he was talking about more accurately. "Not certain if I went too far with it though and ruined the initial plan."

“Well I’m sure we can figure something out.” Ilan said as she reached to her other side and grabbed the bowl of nuts and dried fruit that she typically picked at through her day to put between them and share with her guest. “Yeah doing something like this it’s hard not to mess with the face if you don’t want to make an eye that is super complex and potentially hard to repair.” She picked up a dried cranberry and popped it into her mouth so she could chew on the problem while chewing her snack.

“Been up to anything exciting?” She asked conversationally after swallowing.

"You mean since you?" Daniel smirked slightly and leaned back slightly on the stool as he watched her work through the equations. The mess with the space organism was certainly exciting, but not something new for them and admittedly it was more fun to tease. "Just the equations and data in front of you...though the next day or two should be exciting."

"Flattery will get you many places with me." Ilan grinned at him then returned her attention to what was in front of her. "What's happening in the next day or two?"

"I get to see what happens when I remove an empathic parasite from a half vulcan." His tone was matter of fact, but his eyes held a shine that betrayed his interest in finding out the answer. "I will of course do everything possible to protect our crewman. I will also be making sure every sensor I can is recording while I do it."

"Sovas?" She asked in surprise and her attention came off of what she was looking at and instead was now fixated on Daniel. She was curious, but there was also perhaps hints of concern in her expression. "Finally taking out the brain worm, hm?" Actually, she was a bit surprised that Daniel had come straight out and told her so easily, but she wasn't going to complain.

"None other. And yes, I believe I have all the data I need to remove the parasite. The trick will be making sure it doesn't try to escape into another host...or at least not a host we care about." Daniel thought of some more tempting hosts that he wouldn't mind eliminating but kept his face neutral as he looked back at Ilan. "I will be journaling my findings and details of the scans afterwards for the few who care about such things out here."

“Hold on, you think it could actually jump hosts?” She turned in her chair to face him fully now, the initial question and project forgotten in favor of something new and much more fascinating. “Do you think it would have to be to someone with telepathic abilities like another half Vulcan?”

"The possibility is there, certainly. I think that would be a preference, but for survival it would probably latch onto anything that can generate emotional responses." He lifted a shoulder in a shrug. "Energy based life forms are not the most well studied things. Admittedly why I am disappointed that it progressed to the point where removal is necessary."

“What kind of precautions will you put into place to protect yourself and anyone assisting you? What are you going to do to the life form?” She asked, doing her best to keep her questions to one or two at a time but it was clear she was very curious and excited about this entire prospect.

"There will be a security field as well as a bio dampening field surrounding the medical bay. My plan is to over stimulate Sovas to gorge the creature to put it into one of it's low activity states that I have seen indicated in the readings. From there a chemically induced coma to make Sovas an inhospitable feeding ground. With a tricorder programmed to emit energy waves on par with a telepathic mind the creature should attempt to move on at which point the dampening field will be brought to full power to terminate it."

"Too dangerous to keep around to study, then?" Ilan asked. "If we could, it might prove an interesting avenue to pursue. Imagine if we could bend that thing to our wills and it would in turn make sure others were enslaved to us."

"Unfortunately I have no sure way to contain it long term and if it got into the wrong crew member, things could deteriorate quickly." Daniel shook his head in disappointment. "If only we weren't in the situation we are, a remote outpost might be able to work on it further."

Ilan considered this a moment. "Do you think it has the ability to jump from person to person at will? I wouldn't think it did, because if it were a life form wanting to explore it probably would have done that by now, no? With that in mind, what if you just put it into a slave?"

"I would be surprised if it did not have the ability to jump at will, otherwise it wouldn't survive very long if conditions weren't met and the host was failing." Daniel shrugged and stood up, moving to lean against a console instead of keeping his seat. "So long as the host is viable though, it is likely content to settle in while it knows other hosts are nearby."

"That is the theory, anyways." Daniel chuckled and shrugged again.

"True... true... what if you could suppress that ability?" Ilan offered up, obviously fascinated by the conundrum. "Keep it wherever you wanted it to study it. Like I said we don't get the chance to do that on a life form such as this hardly ever... it might be worth exploring."

"I have considered that, but so far no options have shown successful. I have run simulations using a multitude of different containment fields and none seem to contain it for long." Daniel moved around Ilan to hit some keys on the console, bringing up data from his own database in Sick Bay. "You are welcome to look at that data as well, since you are interested."

“Oh yes.” Ilan leaned in as the data came up, her eyes intently focused on what was in front of her. “Maybe you need to approach it from a different angle though. Less containment fields more… chopping bits off or injecting bits in?” Ilan offered up to Daniel then turned to look at him fully. “Do we think it even needs a host? I mean where was it before it was in Sovas? Maybe you could figure out the environment it originated from and recreate it, shove it in there and study it?”

"Based on Sovas' medical records, he was infected shortly after reaching the Delta quadrant. In fact I'm fairly convinced it happened during the trip that overloaded most of our sensors. I just don't have the data on what happened during the event to put together that kind of thing." Daniel brought a hand up to run his fingers through his hair and let out a defeated sigh. "I've been working on this for a while and I'm at a loss for any long term options that don't endanger others."

“Hmm… well there is the slave route of course…” She frowned a bit and sat back while tugging at her lower lip. “I wonder what would happen if the host was put into stasis? Would it affect the creature?”

"Considering it is living energy and feeds off the reactions of it's host, I believe that it would leave the host similar to death if it can tell a viable host is around." Daniel sighed and shook his head. "Worth a thought, unfortunately I just can't risk being responsible if it were to escape. I am too delicate for corporal punishment."

“Oh you poor thing.” Her voice was full of sardonic, playful sympathy. She turned to him and reached out to rub his arm as if she were trying to comfort him. “Don’t worry. Cassiel has delicate wrists, I’m sure it wouldn’t be too bad.”

"Then I might be forced to criticize their work and I can't imagine that would make things any better..." He looked over at her and smirked. "No, I do believe my only course of action would be simply to destroy it and hope another opportunity comes along. Were we in Empire space proper, perhaps I might be more adventurous."

“Ooo careful there, Daniel. Wearing that look people might think you’re looking to get tossed around and you’d enjoy it.” Ilan chuckled at the notion given Daniel was much more the type inclined to do the tossing in her personal experience. “Well, since we can’t do it the fun way, is there anything I can do to help you?”

"Not that I can think of. Just need to get rid of the damned thing so I can keep my mind on the more fun projects." Daniel shrugged slightly and then moved behind Ilan and put his hands on her shoulders. Pressing his thumbs in to kneed her muscles gently as he turned her back to the monitor with the genetics.

A pleased sigh passed her lips as he pressed his thumbs into her shoulders. Despite her seemingly laid back position on the ship, Ilan seemed to hold quite a bit of tension there. As her eyes fell on the genetic information in front of her again, she grinned. "Have you considered instead of telescopic vision potentially giving them an expanded visual spectrum instead?"

"That is certainly an idea." Daniel continued the massage as he looked over her head at the monitor. "My thought was that basic visual spectrum is more often important and anything outside that would be compensated with additional technology, though I can see the argument that more immediate awareness of danger would be more valuable to not need technology than further threats."

Ilan took a deep breath and let it out slowly, her attention drifting slightly to the feeling of his hands on her shoulders and then drifting further to the time they shared on Anorra. He was a force and she had truly enjoyed that with him. She blinked and licked her lips, trying to bring her focus back to the moment. “Mmm… yeah. Yeah it would. Technology is also easier to damage, lose, or completely disable so-“ Her breath hitched and she made a soft sound.

“Oh right there…”

Daniel smirked as he could feel the knot that he had found and the increase to her pulse while minor was also noticeable. He was relatively certain what the reactions and the somewhat less focused speech indicated where her mind was for a moment and so to help her return to the moment pressed in on the knot and held it. His thumb slowly increasing the pressure until finally the muscle gave way and the fibers spread back out into their normal resting alignment.

Once done with that knot he took his hands off of Ilan and tilted his head slightly. "Perhaps rather than increase the eyes so much, we add a little redundancy with secondary sensing organs for the expanded range?"

After a symphony of "ow ow ow ow ow" when he was pressing the knot he had found, she let out a sharp sigh when it finally gave way. It took her a moment to recover and she blinked a few times as he continued to talk about their experiment; it took a moment for her brain to catch up.

"Uhh... yeah... maybe. What did you have in mind exactly?" She asked, blinking again and reaching up to rub the back of her neck absently. Her attention was mostly there, but her desire was now focused on an entirely different area. She looked over her shoulder at him, not wondering for his input but simply looking him over again. He really was handsome and had a certain way about him.

"If you recall..." Daniel reached over her shoulder to enter some commands on the console, bringing his face down so his breath would now run over her neck as he continued without pulling back. "The planet known as Andor has a sub species of blind humanoids. They developed a new sense that allowed them to be aware of things around them that was outside of any sight sense."

"Mmm... the Aenar." Ilan nodded slightly, though internally she was losing the battle and he was well aware of that given he was obviously, purposefully trying to torment her. Two could do that. Sighing again, she leaned her back against his chest. "Their telepathy was advanced because of their blindness, but perhaps there would be a way to develop it early in the growth cycle..."

One hand drifted back, resting against his leg.

"Mm, indeed. I was thinking maybe that this section..." Daniel paused and sent another command to the computer to bring up the genetic code specific to the telepathic traits in question. Taking a moment to confirm it was the right information before pulling his hands back to rest on her upper arms. "We could introduce it early as you mentioned as well as something to artificially block connection of the optic nerve to allow it to develop. Would be a minor thing to connect them later on."

He stood up straight then, arching his back slightly as his fingers pressed into her arms to steady himself. He leg pushing into her hand as well as his body shook slightly at the small exertion of stretching out all his muscles before settling back to a normal standing posture and letting his hands fall from her arms. "I suppose that takes down a point of viability if they all would need a medical procedure before they were viable though."

"Yeah it would." Ilan confirmed and then finally spun her seat around so she was fully facing him. She crossed her arms under her breasts which made them even more pronounced against the crop top of her uniform and on her face she wore a slightly pouting expression.

"Is there a reason you're being so mean to me?"

A self satisfied smirk appeared on Daniel's face as he looked down at Ilan. "Curiosity as to your level of interest and breaking point. Enjoyment for the sake of enjoyment, I suppose, so I'm not sure reason factors into the equation."

"Uh huh." Ilan just looked at him through slightly narrowed eyes as if she were trying to decide something. Daniel liked to be in control like any Terran man. The question was, did he have that same fragile ego that was oh so very common to Terran men when they didn't get their way or things didn't happen exactly as they wanted them to? It was sickening and pathetic, really. In the end, though, teasing and being mean without some follow up wasn't fun for her, and she was all about fun. Right now, he didn't seem inclined to give her that, so she would take it.

Or he would throw a tantrum and stomp off.

"Well," she began, sliding out of her chair and right up into his personal space, "I can be mean too."

Her hands found his hips and she pressed against him with her legs shifted enough that she could make sure she was pressing herself up against his groin. Her lips found the skin right above his collar and she began to kiss him there slowly.

"Do you want me?" She cooed into his ear.

Daniel slid his hands down her arms, starting at her shoulders. He made no move to step away from her and even let a soft rumbling sound out through his throat as her lips pressed against his skin. Once his hands met hers, he grabbed her wrists and put them behind her back as he pulled her even closer against himself. His hold on her wrists was firm enough to keep her arms from falling back to her sides, but not so firm as to restrict movement should she wish to move them.

"You'd have to be more specific. I got the answer I was looking for and would enjoy some recreation with you, if that is what you are asking."

"Mmm... right here in the science lab? I could do so many interesting things to you." Ilan grinned but didn't fight his grip, simply looked into his eyes with playfulness and lust.

"Computer, lock entrance to room. Medical lock, authorization Brasken-Four-Nine-Tango-Bravo-Eight." Daniel smirked at her and let go of her wrists. "Dazzle me."

Ilan's grin grew at his words and she raised her hands. "With pleasure..."

END