RP Log: Doctors, Diplomats, and Bajoran Prisoners
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| 2026-01-23 19:41 | |
Anewan is aleady in the Brig. He is leaning against a bulkhead catching up on some reports currently. As the doors open and Davis enters he looks up and considers the blue uniform, "You must be our new science officer because the Doctor I have already met."
"That's right, sir. Lieutenant Davis, new Chief Science Officer for Emissary Station," Davis replies, flashing an easy smile. She shifts the PADD she was reading a moment ago to her left hand, offering the right for a shake. "Would that make you," she trails off as her eyes scan Anewan, hesitating for a moment, "Captain Anewan? Forgive me if I'm being too presumptuous there, sir. I've met Captain T'Shaav, and there are only two captains on the roster."
Anewan takes the hand and shakes it firmly, "That right. I am Anewan," he pauses tapping something on his PADD. " I would say that your timing is perfect."
Davis matches the shake as best she can, though not quite as firm. She doesn't really seem like the physical type. When she replies, there's a grin on her face and a slight joking note in her voice. "Given the current issues and the timing of me being recalled to active service, I'm guessing it was less luck and more Starfleet's need. I am eager to help, though. I'm not sure how useful I'll end up being, but this happens to be right up my alley." She drops the volume of her voice a bit as she continues, likely to avoid their conversation being too obvious to the current occupant in the brig. "Captain T'Shaav asked that I get up to speed. I've already collated and reviewed all of the relevant reports, as well as recent news stories. But before I start doing more concrete legwork, I thought I'd also discuss things with the involved parties. With Captain T'Shaav's permission, I came to speak to our guest here. Anything you can tell me about this issue that would help would be greatly appreciated, though."
Anewan considers Davis for a moment then says, "All I know about what I imagine you will be involved in is that the soil in the Rakantha Province is barren," he motions to the cell. "The doctor here is trying to revitalize it. The vulcans say that the technology isn't exactly proven to be a solution."
Anewan adds, "You'll need to get a look at the technology."
Davis leans over a bit, looking past Anewan at Tikar in his cell. She seems to be debating on whether to say something. It's not clear what she decides, but she returns to a neutral stance a moment later and continues. "Yeah. That will likely be my primary focus. I've been preparing some simulations to look into potential longterm effects of the treatment on the soil, but I need a bit more data before I begin, hence me being here. Do you know much about the political and social situation surrounding the issue? I've read the reports and seen the protestors, so I know it's tense, but not much beyond that. Any details there could be helpful too. I know that's not quite my lane as a science officer, but I find understanding the greater context as much as possible can be useful."
Anewan nods not really whispering at all, "Bajor condsiders Vulcans intrustion a viloation of their soveriegnty. In their attemps to extradite the doctor here," he gestures to the cell. "The have cause a social backlast." Anewan frowns, "Not a good situation at all. And he," he points to the cell again. "Has all the answers. However, they have already started using the technology on Bajor."
Davis nods as she listens, letting out a slight sigh after Anewan. "Yeah." She falls silent for a moment, thinking on something. "It's very unfortunate. The scientist in me gets why the Vulcans want to control potentially dangerous technology, as well as why it's not a good idea to rush certain experimental technologies. The Starfleet officer in me gets why punishment and deterrence over misuse of technology is important." She pauses. "But the part of me that grew up on a remote farming colony and remembers the hard times really sympathizes with the Bajoran farmers."
Anewan considers the officer for another moment, "Lieutenant, we currently only have one side of the story. I am here to get the story diplomatically, I am guessing you are looking for the science. We have two very different jobs indeed," he addds. "We have Bajorans outside of security demanding his release and demanding visits. We have Bajoran goverment officials coming to the station. Where Captain T'Shaav is trying to keep the peace, I am trying to solve it."
"Which side of the story do you feel we're missing?" Davis asks.
Anewan again gestures to the cell, "His."
"Is there still a lot he hasn't shared?" Davis continues. "Has he not really opened up to anyone?"
Anewan nods slighty side to side, "You can imagine that trust that we will not toss him to the vulcans with what he says is an issue. He would like to get the work done and deeds to be sure that what he says can be said in confidence," he puts his PADD into his belt. "I don't know what he knows and what he hasn't said but I have gotten the Vulcans story. So. I hang out here waiting for him to finish his nap inbetween trying to talk down protestors and hunger strikes and going to Bajor to attempt to talk to the council. Maybe next time they will wave me through."
"Can I ask what the Vulcans have told you?" Davis says, suddenly sounding very curious. "I've only seen what's in the reports."
Anewan shakes his head, "What you have read in the reports is what I know. They talk to T'Shaav, not me," adds. "I am going to guess that you can ask much better questions."
Davis nods. "I should probably follow up with Captain T'Shaav on that, then," she says. "Thank you, by the way, for all of the answers, Captain. I have a feeling I'm going to need to do a lot of talking over the next few days to get a handle on this. I should probably also reach out to some of the station's BDF officers and some of our Bajoran starfleet crew, to get their perspective. There are also some things I need their help with."
Anewan nods, "I am starfleet. I am doing a job here, the Bajorans will of course have avenues of information that I don't. However, when it comes to what starfleet is doing, you should come to me. T'Shaav has her hands full with running this station. My hands are full with..." he gestures to the brig. "This. However, any information that you can get to me would be appreciated." He looks down at his PADD. "When he is ready, let me introduce you first before you talk with him."
"I'll do that, sir," Davis replies. She looks at the cell. "I think I'll wait here for a bit, then, to see if he wakes up. I've also got some work I can do from here."
A few hours later
[Brig Cell 1] Tikar stirs on his cot.
Anewan presses himself off of the bulkhead that he was leaning on and moves to the door of the cell. He geztures to Davis to get closer.
Davis had been reading something on her PADD, but when Anewan beckons to her, she stands and approaches.
[Brig Cell 1] Tikar snorts loudly, then stretches and smacks his lips, eyes still closed.
Anewan says quite calmly, "Doctor. You have company."
Davis remains silent for the moment, letting Tikar wake up a little more before speaking.
[Brig Cell 1] Tikar snorts again, stops breathing, and peals one eyelid open. He peers at the forcefield-covered doorway with that one eye, then opens the other one and sits up. His clothes are rumbpled and his hair and beard all messy. "I already had my damned medical exam," he grumbles, noting the blue markings on the uniform of the young lady.
Anewan nods, "And we are glad, we have to talk about that later," he gestures, "This person is our new Chief Of Science. A botanist by trade. She wanted to meet you," he gestures once more for her to get closer.
Davis smiles at Tikar's comment. "As Captain Anewan mentioned, the blue on my uniform is not medical, Doctor Tikar. I'm Lieutenant Anjali Davis, or Doctor Davis if you prefer to use academic titles. I'm with Starfleet Science. I'm actually here to talk to you about your work."
[Brig Cell 1] The Bajoran scientist's eyes focus a little more and he sits up straighter. "A botanist, you say? Well then that's different." He gets to his feet and shuffles over toward the doorway. "Come to meet the great man himself, have you?"
Anewan looks between the two. Happiest he has seen Tikar so he says nothing.
With Anewan's introduction out of the way, Davis comes closer. Her demeanor is relaxed, but there's a little bit of excitement in her voice. Not quite starstruck, but there's respect there, to be sure. "Actually, even before all of this happened, I was hoping to meet you. I've read quite a bit of your work. I've actually cited your paper on stimulated soil microbiota more than once in my own work. I'm not sure if you read it, but my dissertation was published a few years ago. The Agricultural Implications of Atmospheric and Geologic Terraforming Techniques. I completed it while doing fieldwork on Orias III. I was out of uniform for quite a few years, helping with the reclamation project there." She pauses, catching herself before she goes on overlong. "Oh, to be clear, I'm really not trying to butter your bread. Or my own. I just wanted to point out my area of expertise."
[Brig Cell 1] Tikar squints his eyes in thought. "Ah, you're /that/ Dr. Davis?" He looks down at the woman's uniform again. "I didn't realize you were one of these Starfleet minions. Still, that was excellent work you did. I try to read as many papers as I can which site my own work in them. To see whether they truly understand the value of my conclusions, of course. You... You came much closer than most. A credit to your intellect and training." He gives a self-satisfied grunt. He seems to have completely forgotten that Anewan is present as well.
Anewan is not offended at all. He lets the Doctors talk but does add, "Lieutenant, get to the point."
Davis seems to take the "minions" comment in stride. She shrugs at that, her reply filled with a bit of self-deprecating humor. "I'm sorry to disappoint. Starfleet does have its moments, though, sometimes." She looks over at Anewan briefly before her gaze returns to Tikar. "Getting to the point, then. I'll be perfectly frank with you, Doctor. At the end of the day, I am a Starfleet officer. I follow Starfleet's rules, and I comply with the orders I'm given, so I can't represent myself as anything but that. But if I'm speaking of my own personal convictions, as well as what my current assigned task is, I am chiefly concerned with three things: the health of the soil on the planet below us, the living things growing in it, and the people who are working that land and eating that food. I'm here because I'd like to understand what you've done, from a technical perspective, so I can do my own work both to understand the situation and potentially help. To do that properly, I need your cooperation."
[Brig Cell 1] Tikar grunts again. "Well pull up a chair then, my dear. It's time someone finally asked me for my side of the story," he says, then looks to Anewan. "You too, dear fellow. You said you would represent me at this
damned hearing, then you should hear this as well." He wanders back to his cot and sits on the edge facing the doorway. Luckily, it's a very short distance. "Let's see. Where to begin? Where to begin?"
Anewan puts a recording device in front of the cell, "You have said that more than once. Let's hear it doctor."
There are no chairs in the room, much to Davis's disappointment, though she doesn't let it show. She raises her PADD, tapping it a few times. "Thank you for this, doctor." A few more taps. "Oh. I'm going to be taking some notes. Please, continue."
Major Toran arrives from Station Security.
[Brig Cell 1] Tikar scowls at Anewan. "Patience, dear fellow. Patience." He collects his thoughts and nods. "Let's start with my trip to Vulcan. With a lot of convincing of the Bajoran government, they arranged for me to go study at the Vulcan Science Academy to work on my theories concerning the rejuvenation of the farmland in Rakantha Province. I spent two years there studying their various methods of getting as much from the soil as possible. Most of their planet is less than ideal farmland, you know?"
Toran enters the detention area but stands more or less out of the way for the moment, when he hears what sounds like an interview going on.
Anewan nods and agrees, "Lots of deserts. Yes"
Davis nods understandingly at what Tikar is saying. "I'm aware," is all she says, though she's clearly listening quite intently.
[Brig Cell 1] Tikar nods and goes on. "In my studies, I came across some work that the Vulcans had been doing with nanites, using them to resequence the enzymatic elements in the soil to increase the nutritional value by factors up up to 250. I was amazed. I set myself to learning everything I could about how this technology works."
Anewan looks down at his recording device then back to the doctor not interrupting.
Toran continues to listen, getting a feel for the conversation, he hopes. He starts to move a little closer to Anewan, the only one of the pair on the near side of the forcefield he recognizes.
Something about that catches Davis's attention, but for now, she doesn't interrupt.
[Brig Cell 1] "Once I had learned what I needed, I informed the Vulcans that I was ready to return to Bajor," the Bajoran scientist continues. "I thanked them for their help, made the arrangements to be flown back to Bajor, and collected all of my data. Your Major Toran showed up quite sooner than I expected, but I was ready to get back home. When I was told that it was time to go, I transmitted my data to my dear Nisah back on Bajor with the instructions on how to get started, and to do so right away, then boarded that imposing vessel of his and was brought here. Some time later, I was in the lab here on the station monitoring the progress of our work on the surface when a bunch of security people barged in and dragged me off to this dungeon."
Anewan nods, "I was there for all of what you are describing," he looks to Major Toran, "Were we early?"
Toran approaches the cell as he is named, but still stands a step or two behind Anewan. "That is where I found you, yes," he says. "Is this why Nissah didn't have the maintenance code to keep the nannites operational?"
Davis seems to have her own questions, but she keeps her peace for now, letting Toran's question get answered.
[Brig Cell 1] Tikar raises his brows. "Ah yes, the maintenance code. You should be made aware that we're not talking about a code as in some kind of sequence of letters, numbers, and symbols, such as you might use to compose an authorization code. In this case the word code refers to a sequence of instructions, a program which the nanites need periodically to remain active. You see, the Vulcans model, upon which my research was based, included a failsafe designed to destroy the nanites automatically should they somehow get out of control. Or perhaps it's more accurate to say that they will eventually destroy themselves unless periodically suplied with this program."
Toran nods to the brig cell. "So, a maintanence program would be an apt descriptor," he says.
Davis taps away at her PADD for a few moments, still taking notes. When she finally stops, she looks up at Tikar. "You said you were amazed, and frankly, I am too. What you are describing sounds incredible, and now I understand your eagerness to make use of this technology. I do have several questions, though, Doctor. What are the longterm risks which need to be managed with the use of this technology? With that level of increase in soil enzyme activity, we'd see a very large increase in plant metabolism, which is good. But we're dealing with soil which likely wasn't previously healthy enough to sustain a large population of typical soil microbiota. In that context, how is the corresponding rise in plant secondary metabolites dealt with? Do you think the soil's microbiome would self-stabilize over time? Are there any risks of soil toxicity over longer timescales?"
Toran glances to Davis, then scratches his head. "I'll pretend I understood all of that," he says. "But, it sounds like, if the soil can't handle the load, the results won't exactly be good?"
[Brig Cell 1] Tikar nods to Toran. "Yes, a maintenance program is an accurate description, Major," he says, then turns his attention back to the botanist. "Ah, but you see, the soil in question was at one time quite fertile. It was depleted of its natural fertility as a side effect of the Cardassian strip mining of the Rakantha Province. Once the land has been allowed to go through a few full season cycles with the help of the nanites, the dead plant debris recycled into the soil for a few years, the nanites will no longer be needed and the land will reestablish itself naturally."
Anewan listens to all of this and looks at Davis, "The Science is great and all. Why is Vulcan here Doctor?"
Davis nods, that seeming to be the answer she expected. As a brief aside, she turns to Toran and says, "Don't interpret my previous questions as me raising an alarm, Major. I was pretty sure Doctor Tikar had accounted for those things already. I just asked both to confirm that and to better follow his thought process." Back to Tikar, she continues her questions. "I believe you said you spent two years on Vulcan. Do you feel like you have a complete enough understanding of the technology? I will likely also be speaking with the Vulcans, at some point. Are there any technical questions or concerns you think I should raise with them, for the sake of the continued stability of the project in the near-term?"
Toran nods to Davis and remains silent for now.
[Brig Cell 1] Tikar sighs. "The Vulcans like to control things. They like to believe that their views are the only relevant ones in the galaxy. That they know what's best for all, and they're determined to put safeguards in place to insure their control over as much as they can." He glances at Anewan. "I'm being accused of stealing intellectual property. Well, let me tell you something, dear fellow. I stole absolutely nothing. I broke into no unauthorized areas, hacked into no databases. The information that I studied was all information that I was authorized to view. Every byte of it. I'm sure if you ask them that, they'll tell you. What they're accusing me of is stealing the maintenance program. At least, that's what I believe. But on that point they are wrong as well. I don't have the maintenance program. That's what I was working on when I was arrested and all of my work confiscated. If I had been allowed to continue my work, I'm sure I would have had the proper code by now. But instead, I'm in here, and the nanites are dieing, and the soil along with them, possibly irreversably. With the resequencing of the enzymes still in progress as the nanites destroy themselves, I'm not sure the soil can ever be reclaimed. Not even with the Vulcan nanites." He lets out another heavy sigh.
Toran nods to the cell. "You were authorized to view it, but was it ever communicated to you that the technology was restricted, or that you could not share the technical specifications of it offworld?" he asks.
Minister Yaru shuffles into the detention block from the security office. She moves at a snail's pace towards Tikar's cell. "I am here to see the Hero of Bajor." Her hand swats at the forcefield. "This is in the way." She looks at Toran. "Open this at once. I shall join him inside." She raises her nose into the air. "I will not speak with him through this horrible wall."
Davis does not recognize the new entrant, but she's clearly taken aback, not quite sure how to respond to her request. She defers to Anewan and Toran for the moment.
[Brig Cell 1] Tikar looks affronted at Anewan's question. "I am not a plagiarist, dear fellow." He points to his own head. "I didn't take their nanites or their files, I studied them and based the construction of my own nanites on what I learned during those studies. While mine use the same principles as theirs, the design is unique. Unfortunately, I had to incorporate many of the same logic pathways to insure proper function, but those nanites are mine, not the Vulcans'."
Toran glances from Yaru to Anewan to Davis. "Captain, lieutenant, this is minister Yaru Meriul of Dahkur Province, leader of the opposition party to the current Bajoran government." He nods to the minister. "I do recommend you speak with captain Anewan when you get the chance. He is the foremost diplomat attached to this sector, and you will find that your opinions on the current situation may not differ as much as you might think." He turns to the cell. "Okay minister," he says. "Go in."
The forcefield over Brig Cell 1 fizzles out.
Yaru leaves for Brig Cell 1.
A forcefield snaps into place over Brig Cell 1.
[Brig Cell 1] Minister Yaru steps into the cell with Tikar before turning to look at Toran. "Thank you." She says as the forcefield closes. She seats herself on Tikar's bed. "We have a lot to talk about. I won't need your services until later, Major.
Davis is silent for a few moments. "Ma'am, my sincerest apologies for interrupting. Doctor, I still have several questions," she begins, "but given that I don't wish to interrupt, I can come back later to finish our conversation, if you prefer that. But I must ask my most urgent question, since it seems like it may be time critical. What is the timescale before those outcomes you mentioned become irreversible? Is there something I can do right now to forestall that?"
[Brig Cell 1] Tikar eyes the Minister with open curiosity, then addresses the question from Davis. "The nanites have already begun to break down, my dear. I was told that I would be able to continue working on the maintenance code, but only with proper supervision from one of your security officers. That has yet to happen, I'm sorry to say. I'm also not certain I will be able to reliably devise the correct code without access to my previous work, which has all been confiscated. How long do we have?" He shrugs, true pain showing in his eyes despite his attempt at bluster. "I can't say. I hope that it's not already too late."
[Brig Cell 1] Minister Yaru doesn't reply to Davis's apology or interruption. She situates herself on the end of the bed and waits patiently for everything to conclude.
The expression on Davis's face is halfway between panic and despair. "I . . . I should . . . " She catches herself and regains her composure a moment later. "Ma'am," she says, nodding politely to Yaru, despite clearly not knowing who she is. "Doctor Tikar," she adds, "thank you for your time and patience with my questions. I will be back as soon as possible, but for now, there are some matters I must urgently attend to elsewhere. I will leave you two to it." She heads out a moment later, with the usual speed of somebody with a fire lit under them.