Something Wicked Clever about Radiation Exposure

Posted on Tue Jan 28th, 2020 @ 4:26pm by Captain Abigail Laurens & Lieutenant Commander Calvin Morgan

Calvin hummed to himself in the turbo lift as it hummed back on its way up to deck one. He wasn't entirely sure, but he figured the Captain would be in her Ready Room and this was a conversation better in person than by message. He looked down at himself to realize he never put his uniform jacket back on, and rolled his sleeves down to at least make his blue shirt look presentable.

The swooshing doors announced his arrival, and he made the quick walk from turbo lift to Ready Room door, pressing the chime gently and waited to see if the Captain was there.

Abigail stood near the view port, staring at the streaking stars beyond. "Enter," she called quietly in response to the chime, but she made no effort to move, instead opting to wait until her visitor announced themselves.

Walking in, the stoic pose caught Calvin's eyes first. The stoic pose that was less for effect, and more for the ability to cover the stress on her shoulders, if he had a guess. "Captain," He said simply, working his way up to the chairs on his side of the desk and stopping, standing casually waiting to find out the tone of the conversation.

There was barely a change in her appearance, just a slight intake of breath as she fixed a smile on her face. Turning toward him, she motioned toward the seats he was standing next to. "Lieutenant Morgan, I wasn't expecting you. I was just about to get myself a latte, did you want something?" She ignored the three mugs that were already cold on her desk as she headed toward the replicator.

Calvin leaned forward to look inside the mugs to see while varying in levels, mostly full. He plopped down in a chair, crossing his leg loosely and leaning back in the chair. "Oh a little coffee never hurt, thank you. You know lattes work best when you actually drink them, unless there is a new style of decoration I'm unaware of."

"It's called 'stressed Captain chic'" Abigail replied with a smirk, replicating a latte for herself as well as a coffee for Calvin, carrying them back to the desk. "It's all the rage in the 'Better CO's and Gardens' circulars I keep getting. But I'm sure you're not here to chide me for my inability to finish a drink. What can I do for you doctor?" She asked as she handed his coffee to him.

Calvin took the coffee, thanking her for it and bringing it under his nose to smell the aroma, "I had a technician once who made the absolute best coffee from the replicator. Could never get the secret out of her how she did it." He reminisced in his mind for a moment before coming back to reality.

"So I have a plan for the crew. I've heard rumor of Engineering or Operations whipping up some radiation protection for the ship. If they can, fantastic, then we don't have to trust a drug cocktail off some," He paused for a second thinking, "highly educated guesses based off a lot of computer simulation and some previous sensor files. Bad news, our diverse crew leaves some question marks. I'm concerned about some species. We have a few Caitians and Andorians onboard who might be affected adversely even with a modified drug profile. And then the Ts'Usungi. I'm most concerned about them. I'm not sure even a heavily modified and increased drug profile they are going to be able to deal with the radiation we might be facing."

Abigail rubbed her hands over her face, a heavy sigh escaping her lips. "What kind of reactions are we talking about?" she asked quietly. "I need to know what I'm likely facing so I can make informed decisions."

"That's the kicker, I'm not 100% sure. Ts'Usungi physiology is well, not like us simply. And this sector, well bluntly, is a soup of fuckery. My guess is the Caitians and Andorians will need extra doses tailor made once we see how it affects them. The Ts'Usungi? Based off the research, I'm not sure the way their bones chemically bond will react well. Some of this radiation doesn't exist on their side of the universe, so their bodies would have never adapted for this."

Calvin sat forward to sip at his coffee again, he wasn't done, and it was obvious. He watched her toy with the mug, something he assumed she did with all the previous ones. "Bottom line, if they start having major issues I'm most likely going to advise relief of duty until we get out of the range of the effects of radiation. I've got a couple spots to hide them in medical that are designed normally keep radiation in, but should work in the reverse. Medical scanning rooms."

Abigail nodded slowly. "I want you on the bridge," she said quietly as she turned the latte mug in her hands. "When we go into Hell, I want you on the bridge. First sign of trouble, get Ichiko out of there. Have medical teams on standby to help anyone else that needs it."

Calvin nodded, understanding the gravity of her words. "She's gonna put up a fight. She won't be happy when I medically relieve her of duty. I have brought on parts of both off watches for extra duty. The entire ship will be covered with roving medical teams to better assist any crewmen. I don't have to tell you that the medication will only slow the problems. I can know better once we get there but we will have a limited operating time potentially."

There was a moment of silence as Abigail contemplated over what he said. "I'll leave it in your capable hands," she said, offering a vague smile. "But my plan is to get us out there as quickly as possible. Trust me, I don't want to be spending any more time in Hell than is absolutely necessary."