The Antithesis of Tranquility
Synopsis: As the Enterprise begins its study of a nebula difficulty collecting samples of the gaseous body through its' violent electrical system causes chaos aboard the ship…and reveals there is more to the nebula that it seems.
Author's Note: This story is meant to follow "The Sirens of Thayra" as the third part of a series of OC-centric fanfics. WARNING! This story is rated M; it may contain scenes of extreme violence, death, and sexual situations. If the story's rating, subject matter, or the idea of OC characters just makes you queasy...hit your back button ^_~ Otherwise, please enjoy! I look forward to hearing about what you all think about this one! 3 RAMfish
Chapter One
"I hope you're satisfied now," Tria said after a wince in reaction to the brief pinch from the needle in her arm. Dr. M'Benga tapped the last vial of green Vulcan blood, satisfied with his samples. He stored the fourth vial in a case meant to preserve the cells, locking it shut with a hiss.
"I do indeed look forward to examining the differences in full-blooded Vulcan genetics and yours," Spock replied.
"I would be interested as well, Commander," said M'Benga. "The report you gave me on your own genetic makeup was very enlightening. I expect you'll be comparing Ms. Meyer's to your own?"
"Veritably," Spock confirmed. "I am most interested in comparisons of dominant and recessive traits. I had not considered in the past that brow shape could so easily be changed by a simple gene. Certainly the Vulcan Science Academy did not take it into consideration during my gestation."
Doctor M'Benga glanced back at Tria instinctively to reference what traits Spock was referring to. Indeed, rather than the dramatically up-swept eyebrows typical of all Vulcans, Tria had managed to maintain a human arch; something she was often grateful for. "I never thought about it before," said the Doctor, "I suppose other than your ears, my dear, you look quite human."
Tria looked to Spock; whom nodded in agreement. She sighed and gave M'Benga a mock-pleading look saying, "He thinks I'm recessive," then frowned theatrically.
M'Benga chuckled at her joke, but Spock raised an eyebrow in disapproval. "I am merely impressed how your physical traits manifested when there were such low allowances for them."
The bosun's whistle sounded in the room, "Bridge to Commander Spock," said Chekhov over the intercom.
Spock crossed to the com panel and flicked it on, "Spock here, go ahead."
"Commander we are within initial scanning range of the nebula."
"I'll be up shortly, Spock out." Clicking off the com he turned back to M'Benga. "Doctor if you wouldn't mind having those sent to the science lab."
"Certainly, Commander."
Spock nodded at them as a farewell, turning heel and leaving sickbay.
Slipping off the exam table, Tria said, "Well I have to thank you, Doctor M'Benga. I heard a rumor the ship's CMO wasn't nearly as adept at Vulcan physiology and recommended I wait until you were available to help out with his little experiment."
M'Benga chuckled. "You're welcome."
Tria smiled, said goodbye, and started out toward the front of sickbay. As she stepped through into the main entrance she spotted Doctor McCoy at his desk. She stepped around a table to say hello and intercepted the path of adjacent door. In a split second she heard someone coming out the door, clattering with a tray, but not in time to move out of the way. "Oh," both women exclaimed as Christine Chapel bumped into Tria's left side. She nearly dropped the tray of medical tools she was carrying, but Tria was quick enough to at least steady the other woman's arm before everything went clattering to the floor.
"I'm sorry," Tria said, "I forgot there was another hall there."
"Oh, it's no problem," said Christine, realizing who she'd bumped into. She gave a nervous smile, pulling her arm back slowly. "No harm done." Without another word, the Nurse crossed the room toward one of the other wards.
Tria watched the woman go, a sense of concern lingering in the air. She realized she must have been showing her thoughts in her face, because McCoy said, "Something wrong?"
She glanced at the doctor, consciously relaxing her gaze. "Just...I think I upset her for some reason."
"Woman's intuition?" mused the doctor.
"No," she gave a light chuckle. "When I touched her arm."
McCoy laughed. "So what, then? Vulcan intuition?"
"Call it whatever you want, I guess."
"I didn't think you'd have any training in that Vulcan mind melding mumbojumbo if you were raised by your mother on Earth," said McCoy.
"Well I guess a lifetime of thinking you're just really good at reading people can turn out to be some of that Vulcan mumbojumbo."
"No kidding? I suppose Spock told you all about that, did he?"
She shrugged. "He describes it as a 'tactile empathic sense'," she said, quoting him in a stern, official sounding voice. McCoy laughed. "But he's been trying to help me control it. I don't know when I'm doing it, most of the time. It just comes so naturally for me."
"I'm surprised he isn't concerned about how not having your abilities restrained could … I don't know … make you crazy? He always argues how logic is the way Vulcans overcame their violent nature. Personally I've always thought it was their unspoken egos telling the rest of us why they're better than us."
Tria gave a weak smile. "I think he is concerned, especially after the combat challenge on Thayara. Although I think it's more so as to why I'm not overly violent. This whole thing with the genetic tests. I suspect that he's trying to find some kind of scientific explanation for it all."
"You don't agree," McCoy said, affirming the tone in her voice.
"No," she laughed. "I think I am who I am because I had a loving mother who didn't want me to be like the Vulcans she knew."
McCoy looked intrigued. "How is it then, that you ended up on this tin can with that computer?"
Tria looked at the floor, blushing. "You know how when you look in the mirror, you see yourself, but in reverse?"
McCoy grinned. "I guess I can appreciate that." They shared a moment in silence, considering McCoy's puzzle from the other's point of view. The doctor couldn't help but still being concerned, deciding to enlighten Tria. "As to Nurse Chapel not liking you, I doubt it's anything personal. Let's just say I worry about any of the women who try to crack that nut."
Tria stared at him a beat, reading his expression and getting his meeting. She crossed her arms perceptively, saying, "I'm surprised I'm not the first."
McCoy responded by throwing his arms up in the air, as to wash himself from any expertise on the phenomenon. "I have no idea what you women find so damned appealing about that walking calculator."
Tria smirked. "Doctor I don't think it matters what part of the galaxy we come from, but I think it might just be a universal truth for the females to keep the males guessing."
~:~:~:~****~:~:~:~
Spock left the turbolift and was at the science station in seconds. The science officer manning the station turned the viewport over to the Vulcan. Spock looked at a series of slides, then to the officer. "Interesting protein structures," he commented. "Have any of our probes come back yet so that we can analyze these strains closer?"
He shook his head, looking a little mystified. "Neither of them came back, sir," he responded. "There seems to be a lot of electrical activity just inside the main mass of the cloud, we think it may have disrupted the navigational systems."
"So we are currently receiving no more data from the probes?"
He shook his head. "No. they hit the storm and we couldn't get them to turn back."
"Did you attempt to take samples by keeping the probes at a safe distance?" The officer stopped for a moment, his eyes showing he thought one thing, but said another. Spock was not unaware that the thorough way he conducted these surveys appeared overly critical to some of his officers; however it was something that they would have to adapt to. Precise data was far more important.
"We did," he said slowly, "with the second probe. We took measurements to decide how deep it could go safely and still make it go back. But when we sent it out, the storm grew and swallowed it up. We didn't even have a chance to reroute it before it was gone." The officer brought up some data, the bright light in the computer screen charted an irregular line along a three-dimensional axis. "We can't make any sense of the way to the storm grows. I'm not sure we will be able to find a way to get samples from deeper in the nebula without too much risk."
Spock nodded. "I will look at the data. It may appear random, but that might not be the case. Perhaps we do not yet have enough data of the storm's growth." Spock remained on the bridge for a few more hours, trying a number of different techniques to make sense of the nebula's unusual cycles. The samples they had been able to gather from the edges of the nebula were interesting enough that a closer look could lead to some major discoveries. It would be a regrettable to allow those discoveries to go unseen because of an issue with probes. A more aggressive approach might be necessary.
Captain Kirk appeared on the bridge shortly before he was due to take the command for the rest of the day. Spock took the time to describe the issue in detail to the Captain. Kirk agreed that the protein and mineral strains found in the initial samples were far too interesting to pass up and ordered everyone to find the safest way to get samples from deeper in the nebula by the time they arrived in its orbit in the next fourteen hours.
Not satisfied with what little data he was able to collect, he arranged for a third probe to be sent out, this time only to skirt the outermost edges of the nebula to take measurements of the electrical storm's growth and contraction over a period of time. He programmed the probe's course himself, certain that it would return with no incident.
As it would be at least six hours before the data was completely collected, Spock decided he would spend the remainder of his time in the science lab. There were a number of crewmen's experiments he had been requested to review and he was eager to start his own newest genetic project.