Hot on the Trail

Posted on Wed Oct 30th, 2024 @ 1:32am by Lieutenant Tyler Rehman & Lieutenant Commander Gulati

2,073 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Mission 2 - Death is Only the Beginning
Location: Corridor/Science Lab Two
Timeline: After "It Was Not Spontaneous Combustion"

Tyler Rehman was sweating like a pig.

He and three others were taking a hot yoga class run by Lieutenant Commander Lucario. Tyler was no newbie when it came to yoga, but this had been his first time experiencing it in a hot box. He was sweating profusely, he could smell his own body odor at this point, but he endured. It also didn't help that it was later in the evening. His slight fatigue hadn't helped, but he flowed from pose to pose smoothly while trying to keep his now flat, damp hair from his eyes. Just as he was going back to warrior pose, he heard a chirp and a muffled voice. Out of habit he went to touch his combadge but realized he had removed it and stuck into the pocket of his shorts. He pulled it from his pocket and pressed it between his thumb a forefinger.

"Rehman here."

"It's Gulati, I need you to meet me right away."

Tyler looked up to see Lucario standing there, hands on hips. "Mister Rehman, I asked you to mute your combadge." He blushed, though thank goodness it couldn't be seen with how flushed his face was to begin with.

"Aye, you did ask that, commander," Tyler responded. He knew Gulati was hearing this exchange because he hadn't closed the link. Seeing the stare down he received from Lucario and the three others was chilling. He grabbed his towel, water bottle and offered an apology before he exited as quickly as possible, knowing that was the first and last time he would be participating in hot yoga with Lucario.

A few minutes later, Tyler was jogging down the corridor, his water bottle in one hand and the standard issued dark grey towel around the back of his neck, absorbing some of his sweat. The cooler air of the ship compared to the hot box had caused goose pimples to raise on his skin. He was soon at Gulati's side. "What's the matter?" he asked, noticing that Gulati's pale bluish grey skin looked even paler.

The Benzite exhaled vapor from her breathing apparatus catching sight of the young officer as she looked pale and ghostly, still haunted by what she had seen only a short while ago. She had been treated and released from Sickbay, or at least that was how she viewed things. Treated, yes, released was a matter of contention. Needless to say, the insistent Benzite had discharged herself from Sickbay and with heavy protest from the tending physician. Her hand was decent enough to hold a phaser though at the moment it was holstered, having visited a weapon's locker along the way.

"You just became Acting Chief Science Officer," she said making the determination. At least in her mind, Tyler was the most suitable candidate for the job, and she did not give a Bolian's ass what rank he had or if there were more seasoned science officers aboard fiddling around with rocks. She could tell that she had caught him completely off guard as his mouth began to come ajar. She was quick with her synopsis.

She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes. "She's dead. It attacked her in her quarters, Tyler. There was nothing anyone could have done. We need to find this thing, hunt it down, and make sure that it does not harm anyone aboard ever again." There was a fire of determination in her voice. "For Lieutenant Carter" she added.

Acting Chief Science Officer, that was his first thought, despite his body reacting totally different to what he was hearing. He tried to absorb all the information, but as usual his brain was going a mile a minute as his body stood there is shock. His mouth hung open in surprise, not about this abruptness in change of position but the fact Lieutenant Carter was dead. The same Lieutenant Carter he was just talking to the other day, laughing about that dog like thing named Gr'Thor. Carter had thought Gr'Thor was cute and playful, Tyler thought otherwise.

"I... I... I don't under... stand," he managed to say as the language centers in his brain finally jump started. He blinked some beads of sweat from his eyes and shook his head. Then just like that, calm rushed over him, his brain kick starting in high gear. "How do we find it? As you notice this ship isn't that small, it could be anywhere at any time, posing as anyone."

Gulati saw the switch, the shift in Tyler Rehman from someone a bit frightened and hurting, questioning and uncertain into a determined officer. "I made a mistake, Ty. I thought in order to put an end to this, to stop it, that we needed to hunt it down, but instead of being the hunters, we became the hunted."

The Benzite took a deep breath and exhaled. "We change our approach. We stay true to ourselves and do what we know best" Gulati said grabbing his hand. "We Science!"

Tyler nodded and the two made their way down the corridor at a run.

** Science Lab Two **

"Computer, lights," Tyler said as he entered the science lab. In the middle of the room was the main console, it was round and then with several workstations and a raised holographic projector in the center. The lab wasn't used as often, so Tyler knew they wouldn't be interrupted. He moved to the console in a few steps and was already activating one of the workstations, talking as he went. "Luckily we have the sample of changeling goo in the database," he said as his fingers did the familiar dance over the lighted board. "We also have the goo stored in a protective field; the changeling may try to seek out the pieces to make itself whole again. Which means we could use it as bait to draw it out."

Gulati liked the way Tyler's brain worked. "We do and that's a good idea, it will likely want to absorb its missing piece at some point soon." The Benzite thought about it. "We can use it as bait, but containing the changeling may be a whole other matter."

"Have you performed any environmental tests on the piece of it that we have? How it responds to different chemicals or climate conditions?"

Tyler looked up from his work and nodded. He looked back at the workstation he was working on, and once again his slim, long fingers did their dance. "There isn't really much out there that can harm them, beyond a high yield phase blast, a shuttle crash, or some type of electrical discharge," Tyler said.
"However, the morphogenic enzyme is the key here. I remember reading that at some point they were solids, and through evolution, we now have the goo people as we know them. That enzyme had to have been there all along, and it evolved. I know polaron radiation can cause it go back to its gelatinous state, but that type of radiation can harm the ship if used in full force." He tapped a couple of more commands into the workstation, and a heavily enhanced picture of a morphogenic enzyme showed on the screen. "Enzymes keep the body going, it is no different for changelings, they need them just as much as we do... except their enzymes, as I said, evolved to include the morphogenic matrix within that enzyme. We can trap it or neutralize it permanently by targeting that enzyme." Tyler paused and looked directly at Gulati. "I suppose my next question is are you looking to kill it or trap it, because either way the enzyme will be helpful with that."


Lieutenant Gulati contemplated what her answer to Tyler's question would be. Did she want to capture it or kill it? She looked at her science officer colleague. "Good question, Ty," she replied though did not give a response. "A really good question" she added.

The Benzite was not a physician nor was she a true-blue science officer like Ty. She had ethics, but no real do no harm oath besides what Starfleet bound her too. "How do you feel about it? It did not grant any mercy to Lieutenant Carter nor our Chief Operations Officer before her."

The science officer crossed his arms over his chest and gave a slight shrug. "Starfleet isn't in the habit of seeking revenge, we took an oath to that. As a scientist, I want to preserve life the best way I can. I guess the big question, does it make us the better individuals for showing mercy to the beings who don't show us mercy." He unfolded his arms and put his hands out palms up and moved them up and down as if weighing the idea. "We have to weigh the implications of what our own values hold. Is revenge the right course of action? Maybe, on some basilar instinct. Should we exact revenge, no. Who are we to say who lives or dies, even despite the circumstances surrounding the two deaths."

The Benzite exhaled a frustrating cloud of vapor and looked at Tyler. "Then the thing can live, but I will make sure it does not live in any sort of comfort when we catch it. It will get mercy only because of these uniforms and our oaths. There will be justice."

"That is what tribunals, and the courts are for," Tyler said, as he turned back to his station. "Now, we just need to set our trap, it probably knows the ship inside and out, so we need to be clever how and where we do this."

Gulati gave a nod albeit one of a little reluctance. She knew what Tyler was saying, understood the ethics of the matter, but she could not shake the feeling of what the shapeshifter would do to either of them if it had the opportunity. "Just give me the bait, Lieutenant, I'll handle the rest. I know its clever and I'll be careful."

Tyler knew that he and Gulati did not fully agree on this ethical question, but she wasn't a scientist or a medical officer. Then all of a sudden, something occurred to him. Something he wanted to check before he handed over the samples of goo. "Before I hand it over," he started as he turned toward the Benzite, "I think we should test each other to make sure we are who we are before I hand anything over." He moved to a side cabinet and pulled out two vials and a hypospray. He plugged the bottom of the hypo and pressed it against his arm, he triggered it, a gentle hiss, a slight wince, and the tube began to fill with the dark red of human blood. Tyler pulled the vial from the hypo and swirled it around; the blood stayed its color and consistency.

He took the second vial and plugged it into the hypospray and held it out to Gulati. "You're turn."

Lieutenant Gulati presses the hypospray against her neck instead of arm. The mercury and platinum based blood entered into the vial, orange like sweet nectar. When finished she handed it back to Tyler. He undoubtedly knew enough about Benzites to know her blood color was accurate.

"Unfortunately, just a slight difference between my blood and Changeling goo" she stated. "Looks like we both are who we appear to be."

"Looks like it," Tyler said, as he took the vial from Gulati and placed it next to his. He then took the hypospray from the Benzite and placed it down. "I kept the samples here for safe keeping." He moved to the other side of the science lab to a set of lockers that were embedded into the bulkhead. He tapped in a few commands on the side panel and a door swung open. Inside sat a vial of the goo, separated from the stomach contents of the Bolian. He took a hold of the vial and closed up the locker. "Guard this with your life," he said as he handed it to Gulati, "this is all we have."

The Benzite nodded. "I promise. I'll guard it with my life, and keep it on me or within sight" replied Gulati. "If you'll excuse me, I have a trap to set" she said confidently. Something was cooking in that mind of hers.

 

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