Peel - Just A Science Kind Of Day Pt.2

Posted on Fri Jul 10th, 2026 @ 10:26pm by Captain Jamie O'Connell & Lieutenant JG Sayvek

Mission: SHAKE DOWN IN A NEBULA
Location: S/M: A New Hope
Timeline: Stardate: 79988.9

::ON::

~Snip~

"And I could use the assistance until we know hydroponics are safe for consumption" Erica stated being quite glad for the extra help.

Minutes later the shuttle was back to the Colony "Lieutenant we're within transporter range; I can beam you both back to the exact location you beamed out" Sam explained anxious to get back to the Peel.

Sayvek was also intrigued and prepared for the beam back.

~End Snip~

Lieutenant Sayvek and Head Scientist Erica Bain materialized exactly where they had previously beamed out. Looking to Sayvek "So now what Chief....how do we proceed from here" she inquired interested in his approach.

" Now that we're know that there is active proto matter resign in this system still we first confirm with engineering that the hull and shields are strong enough to keep out the proto matter. We also have to scan each plant and make sure non of the proto matter has influenced the yields. We will know if there are signs of rapid aging. " Sayvek responded.

"Well I guess I'd better contact engineering first off" Erica replied before going to a nearby communication device "Mr. Dobbs, this is Erica Bain. The Chief Science Officer from the Peel and I have discovered proto matter in the area. Are our shields strong enough to protect us from any contamination" she inquired.

Thinking for a few moments "Not that I'm aware of but now that you have mentioned it I'll check and see what's what" as he paused briefly "Or shields were designed for this sort of thing but I'll have some of my people do scans through out the Colony just to be sure and I'll get back to you.....thanks for bringing this to my attention" Dobbs responded.

"You're welcome and I'll wait for your data from the sampling" Erica replied. Looking towards Sayvek "I guess we'd better go have a serious chat with some plants then."

Sayvek monitor the conversation and made a mental note to put this in the report back to Captain O'Connell.
" Lead the way Doctor."

Elsewhere the distant ship crept closer into the system on their own mission .Their purpose was to collect proto matter to go along with their trilithium deposits. Which was necessary for their production of weapons against their enemy.

The two Officers made their way to the Hydroponic area. Once arriving Erica went to a cabinet and grabbed two tri-corders, handing one to Sayvek "If you would like to start on one end then I'll start on the other checking the plants and we'll meet in the middle" Erica suggested "That is unless you have a better approach."

" That is sufficient. You will need to reset your tricorder for non matter scans in order to detect any proto matter particles. Typically when matter and anti matter come in contact with one another they tend to erase each other from existance." Sayvek replied. " We're the plants grown here from seeds or transplanted here?"

Thinking for a few moments "Most of the plants were transplanted before we abandoned Takara but we're to the point now where any replanting will come from seeds" Erica responded "Why does that make a difference?"

" If they were transported here the odds are higher. If they were manually carried aboard the odds are lower." Sayvek answered. " The colony being in this sector with all of this residual proto matter material is an accident waiting to happen."

Unfortunately the habitat isn't a starship and can't just be moved to a new location. So I guess we check all the plants and go from there unless you have a better idea" Erica replied not really liking what she was hearing at the moment.

" Lead the way Doctor." Sayvek replied.

Pointing in a southerly direction "If you would like to start at that end then I will start at the other end" she instructed the chief. They set off in opposite directions and minutes later Erica activated her try-coder and started scanning the plants row by row. Checking the readings the photo matter seemed to be in very small trace amounts; nothing overly alarming and certainly nothing that would cause harm through ingestion.

Several minutes later she received a call "Erica Bain, go ahead.

"This is Engineering. I've scanned the entire habitat and have only found very small trace amounts of the proto matter in a few places so it looks like our shields are doing their job. From now on I'll have this checked on a daily basis just to be on the safe side" the Crewman replied.

"Thank you and that's a big load off my mind.....I getting the same readings here in the Hydroponic Fields so I think we should be good in that respect" Erica stated feeling much better about the situation.

" For safety sake I would like to submit this to the Peel Chief of Engineering for review. The trace elements are present and yet they have not caused rapid aging. Fascinating." Sayvek replied.

"Yes please by all means. I'm sure your Chief Engineer is very qualified being he's responsible for an entire ship" Erica replied with a smile.

" I am.preparing my report to Captain O'Connell and will include that recommendation. Let us continue our catalogueing." Sayvek added.

"Thank you Chief I really appreciate all your help and input.....I want to make sure our food is safe for consumption" Erica responded as she continued her work.

" That is also my plan. " Sayvek replied as he scanned a particular green leafy vegetable. " This is odd and yet not. I tagged this species of kale when I arrived and it is now the same size as the more mature ones. The fertilizer must have traces of the proto matter resin."

Hearing Sayvek, Erica had some concerns "So is the amounts enough to make the Kale unsafe for consumption" she inquired.

" Not according to the bio filter scan. That is the peculiar part of all of this to me. The mere presence of proto matter should annul all matter. This resign seems to have made a dormant fertilizer for these plants." Sayvek replied. He paused and then added. " I believe that was the catalyst that caused the explosion. The Genesis Effect used forced proto energy and the safe guards for the device had been turned off. Had the safe guards been used the nebula would still be here."

"So there shouldn't be a bad thing then" as she paused "I wonder what prompted those people to turn off the safe guards; they must have known they were in place for their protection. I take then when the device went off those involved perished" Erica concluded.

" Very much so. History records the death of several on station Regula 1 before the explosion and the USS Reliant was self destructed causing the Genesis torpedo to explode prematurely. The Enterprise narrowly escaped with their lives. Actually one of the crew did perish." Sayvek replied.

"That's horrible but that just goes to show safety protocols are in place for a reason and by removing those you're just asking for something bad to happen...like an explosion" Erica responded.

Sayvek closed his tricorder.

" Using our equations I think we can safely implement your new growing protocols."

Letting out a long sigh "Lieutenant you have no idea how relieved I am to hear that. I'll get my people on the new equation right away" Erica replied with a happy smile.

Sayvek did not return the smile but was relieved to know he had helped.

" I will return to the Peel and present my report to the Captain." Sayvek replied.

"Again thank you for all your help and travel safe" Erica replied as she watched the Chief vanish in a beam of light.

::OFF::

Lieutenant J.G. Sayvek
Chief Science Officer
USS Peel
NCC-71015

Erica Bain
Lead Scientist
New Hope Colony