Exploring Science

Posted on Thu Nov 5th, 2020 @ 1:48am by Lieutenant Lily Marlow & Commander Dominic Aldrich

Mission: End of Line
Location: Science Labs
Timeline: MD 01
1685 words - 3.4 OF Standard Post Measure

Lily made her way to Deck 7 one floor above hers. The science area was there and she wanted to take a look at it. Plus, maybe she would meet those who work there. She was still on her walkabout on the ship, her goal to get to know the crew. After all, one never knows when the person they meet would enrich their lives. And that was an adventure in and of itself. She stepped inside, going into the center, gazing about at the different stations there.

"This is so nice!" giving a little bit of a quiet squeal.

Dominic raised an eyebrow and turned around to face the voice. "Hello? Can I help you?"

Lily's attention turned towards the man she hadn't noticed in her first perusal, smiling warmly in greeting . "Hello, I'm the new CMO, Lieutenant Lily Marlow. Hopefully I'm not disturbing you, but I just wanted to come here and see the science section of the ship." moving over to get a better view of him.

Dominic nodded, "Welcome aboard, Lieutenant. I'm Lieutenant Commander Dominic Aldrich, the Chief Science Officer. You didn't so much disturb me as I was just not expecting visitors. Please feel free to look around." His demeanor was, as it normally was, very together bordering on stoic.

"I suppose it is rare that a person would come to the science department just to visit. However this visit has a dual purpose. One as I had mentioned before, seeing the science department. Two, I wanted to meet you, that is... the people who work here, and get to know them just a little bit." Pulling up a chair and taking a seat. She didn't seem at all put off by his demeanor. She smiled, "What sort of projects have you been working on?"

The Commander was a little put off himself with the visit. She was right; people did not just visit usually. His brain took a second to shift gears. "Well," he started leaning against the console, "as off now we aren't working on much. After our little excursion as of late and ripping holes in space and time, I'm currently running analyses on all of our sensors and scientific systems."

"Ripping holes in space? Sounds like something really serious happened, before I arrived." showing great interest. "is there any way I can see the data that you have so far? And is everyone okay from that experience." taking a seat at a nearby console to hear what he had to say.

"Unfortunately, Lieutenant, the data from that little adventure is restricted to just a handful of us as per the Captain's direct orders. I can only analyze it myself when in private and off-network. What I can say, is that we are lucky to be here today and having this discussion. The ship was put through its paces for sure," Dominic replied.

"Which is understandable about the protocol. I do have questions though. Has anyone shown indications of any adverse effects to that phenomenon, if that is okay for me to ask. Have you suffered any after effects from that experience? I had a notation as to keeping an eye out on certain members of the crew, but no real clear information as to whom that would entail." she leaned back in the chair. "This gives me a bit of a mystery to solve."

Dominic thought for a moment. "Well, during the event there were seemingly random cases of everything from headaches to dissociative tendencies reported throughout the crew. Since our return, I have not heard of any effects personally, however that doesn't mean there aren't some sort of lingering issues amongst the crew."

"Seems to me that I may have to talk with the Captain sometime and see if I can get more information." Lily mused. "I have more questions that can't be discussed at this point and time. All I can do is come to some hypotheses, and deal with what may or may not come about from what happened to the Majestic before I came aboard." she thought quietly for a moment, then asked. " Have you ever dreamed about a friend or someone you cared about, who had died awhile ago and yet they seemed so real in a dream like they were alive once more?"

The question shocked Dominic somewhat. He wasn't used to having such conversations and had to think for a moment. "On occasion, I have had that experience. Why do you ask?"

"Well, on the way here to the USS Majestic, I had the oddest... dream. It was a dream within a dream. I dreamt of my best friend whom had died many years ago. I dreamt I was sleeping in my quarters, having a dream of her I could smell the perfume that she loved to wear for her boyfriend. In the dream within the dream, I found myself in front of the building she performed at, we met up, we laughed had a brief conversation."

" Then the dream changed to where I was standing by her gravestone, leaving a pink rose and a lily next to it upon the base. Then in my dream, years passed by I was crying in my sleep from the other dream. I woke up in my dream hearing a voice that was so familiar, feeling someone stroking my hair in a comforting way. The room was dimly lit by my clock, then I saw her, my dear sweet friend seated next to my bed. She gently chided me for eating something that caused my other dream. She asked if I had been dreaming of her death again. All I could do was laugh, with tears of relief and joy for seeing her once more."

Lily went silent for a moment, to shove her emotions back down before she continued.

"I didn't want to wake up from the dream, at first but, I needed to as it was just a dream. " She looked at Dominic. "Now the reason why I told you this, is there any scientific reason why I would be having that sort of dream? Or is it something I need to be talking about with a counselor?" she was utterly serious in her question.

"Well, that's hard to say. It certainly sounds, on the surface at least, that you are still processing the grief of losing your friend. Perhaps a sensory trigger on your trip here brought those memories to the forefront of your mind. I don't think it would hurt to speak with the counselor." Dominic paused for a moment. "That said, there are still many things we don't understand about our universe. We like to think we are beyond smart as we cruise around in star ships, but the fact is we are still making discoveries. I am not one that believes in ghosts or anything of that nature, but I also know what I don't know. May I ask how she died?"

"She died ten years ago, when her cabin in the woods exploded." Lily stated, her voice mostly steady, but her eyes showed the slight shimmer of tears that threatened to appear. "Unfortunately, I was witness to it." A moment of silence,then she continued. "I did go through counseling for being witness to that."

"Counseling only teaches us how to cope. It does not remove the fact that we must cope and that in many cases it is a lifelong exercise. From time to time we are faced with these pains and things can feel as real as they ever did. Perhaps it would be worth recording your wave patterns while you sleep to better understand what is going on in those moments," Dominic replied.

"That is a rather good idea. Perhaps you would like to assist me in doing so sometime? I am also wondering if my having that vivid dream could have been a delayed reaction to what happened during my last assignment. The ship I had been serving on was a military ship, the USS Nighthawk. It had taken extensive damage during a fight with pirates. She had to be towed in for repairs. "she shrugged, "Probably I am just grasping for straws to explain why I dreamt so vividly. "

"I'd be happy to help in any way I can, Lieutenant. As far as your previous assignment contributing to your current dilemma, I suppose it's possible. High stress and trauma can trigger all sorts of reactions in people. I think time, rest, and reflection will do you a world of good," Dominic replied.

Lily nodded, "I plan on taking you up on that." giving a quiet smile. "And I plan on following your advice on that certain matter." Lily shifted in the seat, bumping against the duffle bag she had with her. "Oh! I almost forgot, would you like an apple or orange? The oranges are from my Aunt's citrus orchard, and the apples are from my mother's orchard. They sent several crates of fruit with me, which are in stasis to keep them from spoiling."

Dominic smiled and nodded, "Sure; that sounds lovely. I'll never turn down fresh food."

Lily dug into the bag and brought out two apples and two oranges. "Here you go. "Handing them to Dominic. " I best be going, got more places to explore on the ship. If you wouldn't mind, I would love to meet up with you at another time just as a getting to know you sort of thing. I've always made it a point to get to know my fellow crew members; no matter what capacity, rank or position, they serve in. Besides, who knows what sort of new things I will learn from each individual. It's all about the journey and exploration of life." giving a bright smile. "I truly love the adventure of life."

"Thank you. Whenever you want to work on that, just let me know. I'm always around," Dominic replied with a smile.

"I will do so." Lily replied, shouldering her duffle bag and then left, feeling like it was a successful visit in Science.