Knowing Your Crew

Posted on Sat Jul 21st, 2018 @ 7:20am by Lieutenant Valeria Mordin & Ensign Leyara Hamuul

Mission: https://wellington.pegasusfleet.site/index.php/sim/missions/id/4
Location: Science Chief's Office
Timeline: Flashback

With the bulk of the instruments on automatic, needing a few hours to get anything remotely close to results, the daughter of Ts'usu found herself in an odd placement. In that, she had little if anything to actually do. Idle time wasn't her foremost pleasure, so she decided to fill that time with something that should have been done almost a week ago.

"Ensign Hamuul, would you kindly meet me in my office at your convenience?" she said over the comm badge as she tidied up her office desk. Such a bother, though a welcome and necessary one. A sign of advancement, of recognition. Prestige, perhaps, but nothing to brag about. Some dream for the desk, other's pray to be free of its shackle.

"Ensign Hammuul Reporting as ordered," replied a voice over the coma a few minutes later. this was followed by a gentle rap on the door though it seemed to be from lower down than might normally have been expected.

"Come in." Valeria requested at the gentle knock. Lower, hmm.... she was now curious.

The door opened and what very much appeared to be an Alaskan Malamute entered the room.
" My apologies Lieutenant but the rest of my colony is on the planet's surface at the moment so this form was the closest available to answer your summons expediently.," it said through the voice that came out sounded surprisingly like a male human (imagine Kurt Russell)

This perked Valeria's attention. "You're a non-conservative shapeshifter? Interesting." she walked around to actually get a look at the Malamute. "Are you just as aware and conscious as the full colony? Can you divide at will? Is there a..." and she caught her curiosity quick, and cleared her throat. "I must apologize for my rudeness. Please, forgive my lapse."

"quite understandable. to answer your first question we are at the moment of sufficient biomass and within sufficient proximity to the main colony to not suffer a significant loss of cognitive function but as the distance grows our ability to maintain this link is compromised. and as for division while it is possible to do so at will each division lessens the cognitive function of each part until it gains sufficient biomass," explained Layara calmy if she was aware of the irony of her current form she gave no sign of it.

Valeria came around her desk for a closer inspection. "You're a fascinating entity, Ensign Hammuul. Canids don't have the organ capacity or the body structure for complicated speech. I presume you're making adjustments on the moment to allow for such?" Valeria was, to say the least, incredibly curious now. "And if you don't mind my asking, you mentioned sufficient proximity to the main colony. We're maybe fifteen or twenty thousand kilometers from the surface. What's your range? So that we don't risk straining it in the future."

"Are there warning signs in case the link is in danger?"

"Range is also a function of mass if we were to use the analogy of a radio transmitter and receiver the bigger the receiver the longer the range, but as with all thing there is a limit right now I have no difficulty in maintaining contact with the main colony but I would have considerable difficulty if the range was doubled. the main colony could till reach me but I would probably not be able to respond well at all. I could reconfigure myself to increase the link but at the expense of becoming more limited to other tasks until I reconfigure back. for all practical purposes, we are limited to intrasystem communication," Layara paused a moment thoughtfully.

"there were rumors that some of our elders were able to communicate across the galaxy but that is something I cannot verify I think it might be what is called an 'urban legend' she said using her ears to make the equivalent of air quotes.

"I am modifying this forms structure to facilitate to speech her left pawn began to stretch each toe splitting until it resembled a small writhing mass of tentacles that quite obviously belong to nothing in the canid family. while changing portion of the form is easy it is not the same as literally taking parts of multiple creatures and using them in concert I could not, for example, replicated a Klingons body and Vulcans mind I could physically appear to look that way. It would be merely cosmetic and deep genetic appearances are there full replication of a single organism or a splice with my own native DNA though it is a very complex process to explain and I must admit much of what I do is intuitive and I may be guilty of not explaining everything correctly," admitted Layara.

The sight of the splitting paw and the writhing mass of tendrils might startle some, but Valeria's stomach was solid neutronium. "Fascinating. Utterly remarkable, I must admit." she whispered, "You're unlike anything I've ever seen or studied before. I must admit to a scientific curiosity, but it's rude to analyze your co-workers and fellow scientists. If the link you share with the core mass is telepathic, or cellular-kinetic, I'd recommend against imitation of a Ts'usugi. Our biological make-up inhibits such talents. Though, for the sake of the crew's paranoia, I'd recommend retaining a single familiar shape when around others outside of the department. The last thing this crew need is an excuse to search the ship door by door calling out 'Who goes there?' at every pass."

Layara laughed and dipped her head
"quite understandable hence why we prefer to take the form of a Caiten it is easy to recognize and suitable nonthreatening and this form I created because of its ability to move about the ship and to appear non-threatening. my research indicates that dogs are mans best friends, hence the non-threatening form," explained Layara pragmatically.

"True as that may be, I never encountered a Dog until I left Ts'usu. Interesting species," she admitted. "I find your species fascinating, but scientific curiosity must yield to diplomacy." The rabbitess admitted with a nod, "If you need anything, my door is always open. Feel free to ask any questions or raise any concerns. I want this to be a safe and open laboratory, rather than one where hesitance causes mistakes and risks."

"Thank you for your attendance. Unless you have any questions of your own, feel free to return."

"I offer you a gift among my people I am referred to as a life shaper because I am exceptionally skilled at manipulating life at its most basic levels should you need assistance with understanding anything biological I would be happy to assists I can understand life in ways others cannot comprehend," said Layara dipping her head slightly. as she turned and headed for the door. her form rippling and shifting as she did so taking on the form of a juvenile Caiten "sorry its all the biomass I have available until my main colony returns or I go on an eating binge," she said as the door closes behind her.