Gremlins in the Works

Posted on Wed Apr 7th, 2021 @ 3:18pm by Ensign Elegy Nascimento & Crewman Finn Jones
Edited on on Wed Apr 7th, 2021 @ 3:34pm

Mission: Mission 4 - Eden
Location: The Caelestis - Hydroponics
Timeline: Day 164 - 18:00 hours
2180 words - 4.4 OF Standard Post Measure

If Elegy squinted, just a little, he could almost believe he was in a forrest. The long hydroponics bay was made from the same composite-metal bulkheads like the rest of this alien ship, but he could hardly see the bulkheads behind the leaves and vines and plantlife growing from every surface. There were shelves and troughs and tents, all overflowing with flora; not to mention cylinders set into every bulkhead also filled with plants. As much as he longed to understand what kind of world of origin these plants had come from, Elegy had found himself entranced by the hydroponics systems themselves. He was sitting under a shelf, encased in his environmental suit, studying a sleekly-disguised conduit of wires and tubes.

"I spy with my little eye," Elegy said in a sing-song, "something... something... suggestive."

“I know you warned me Sir but this is enough to make a grown man cry.” Finn had not stopped rubbing his eyes as he took in the hydroponics set up. Elegy has warned him but he really had not been prepared at all for the sheer volume of the space. He started to notice things about the plants and the differences between them. “These plants look like they grow in small groups, but are tough to control and maintain their growth. And these plants grow alone, but within a decent distance from each other.” He said moving a few spaces ahead out of sight as he took it all in. Plantlife was universal across the galaxies.

"You sound like you're describing the crew of Atlantis," Elegy said, teasing Finn lightly. From where he was sitting, Elegy leaned back to catch Finn's eyes, even if briefly. Explaining himself, Elegy remarked, "All of us living in our separate lives, so close together, but divided in our little boxes."

"That's a cheerful thought," Aurelius said as he scanned an area with his eyes. "I prefer to think of us as an ark. We're off to explore and to begin again by trying to find our way home but we are most definitely all smooshed in together."

"Well if you find yourself in that description Sir who am I to argue." He commented on turning around to look at the two men properly as they decided to carry on the conversation as they worked and plotted how to acquire the plan life for Atlantis. "I always liked the story of Noah's Ark and the idea of starting anew by rescuing the things you like and leaving the rest behind. But we do not have two of everything Sir. Men far outnumber women so our ark is very poor." Finn commented on sounding very serious for a moment before he smiled a little.

Elegy dragged the pads of his fingertips down the length of a transparent cylinder that was beneath a row of hydroponic shelves. The cylinder contained a brown fluid and a tube down the middle of it. Multi-tasking, while he studied the cylinder with his hand-scanner, Elegy tilted his head back again. "That situation doesn't sound so poorly to me," Elegy said at a deadpan. His eyes snapped back to the cylinder, when the tube began to pump the liquid up and out, showering it on the planets planted above him. Elegy dropped his gaze to the chronometer on his scanner, muttering a, "Huh."

Finn turned bright red and the deadpanned expression on the mans face as he said what he did. He hoped he had not offended him especially as his mind flashed back to the conversation with Mattias and how his match had been pretty more considering it was not his preference in a partner. "I just meant...You see... Um..." he paused stuttering and shrugged a little helpless. "What have you discovered Sir?" he quickly covered moving to where the man was to move past what had been said.

Oblivious to the fact that they had moved on Aurelius sighed and spoke with what next came to mind. "Yes, not all of us are going to get wives and live happily ever after in that respect." When he heard someone ask what they'd found he dropped the thought and came over to see what they were looking at.

"I've been keeping an eye on these fluid levels since the first day we came over," Elegy replied and he waggled a finger at the transparent cylinder under the shelving. He looked over his shoulder to make eye-contact with Finn; Elegy supposed there would be no benefit in further teasing Finn when he was already flustered. Elegy explained, "The bay's automated systems distribute this nutrient liquid to the plans, but the container isn't connected to a larger tank. At the rate the fluid is being dispersed, this must have been refilled before we arrived. Maybe one day? Maybe two? Otherwise, it would be empty by now."

That did not sit well with Finn at all and he found himself standing a little straighter and looking around trying to see something that was obviously not there. They had seen no other signs of life so far and the scans of the ships had not revealed anything other than the life signs from the crew. "Well isn't that interesting." The young crewman commented keeping his voice levelled. "No one is here now but where could they be? Could be the AI?" He offered not having met her to know if she was corporal enough to do something like this.

"Gremlins," Aurelius answered. "They break things and only make them work when you don't want them to? Seriously though, it has to be the AI, there's no one else here."

Elegy scooted himself out from under the shelf, and he got up to his feet. "Or," Elegy theorized, holding out his palms like the scales of justice, "the crew was here when the distress call was activated. They were still living here, still caring for the plants, and whatever happened to them, happened after. ...Maybe the gremlins came later."

“We have been hearing the distress call for a few days.” Finn mused looking around still for any equipment that could give them an idea of what was going on. It might even give them an idea of species or something. “You know we could just ask her?” Finn said thoughtfully as both men looked at him blankly he indicated around them all. “You know the AI. No one seems to just have asked her what all reports.” He shrugged the idea away. He was a crewman who looked over the plants for a reason but he was there to make everyone else look important and smart.

Nodding slowly at Finn's suggestion, Elegy murmured out an, "Hmmm." He met Finn's eyes and he told him, "That's a good idea," but there was reservation in his timbre. Elegy started to walk away, closing the distance between himself and the nearest computer access panel. His footfalls were slow and steady. "It makes me nervous," Elegy said haltingly and he took a breath. Admitting that, Elegy was relieved to have his back to Finn and Aurelius. "We're basically intruders here," Elegy remarked; "And most old movies about artificial intelligence turned out to be horror stories."

Elegy lay his palm on a smooth black panel and it came to life around his hand with vibrant computer text and menus. He tilted his chin up to speak to the air, and Elegy asked, "E.D.E.N., can you tell us, how does your garden grow?"

Aurelius raised his eyebrows. He would have taken a more direct approach with her but whatever worked. "Just don't call her Hal and I think we'll be okay."

The room was silent for a long moment before a figure appeared between two of the huge tents. It was easy to make her out against the green for the white she was dressed in gave her away. She walked through the shelves silently until she arrived at the console. “Ensign Elegy Nascimento? You requested to know how the Hydroponics bay works? Hydroponics is a method of growing plants, usually crops, without soil, by using mineral nutrient solutions in an aqueous solvent.”

“I think he means how is it watered there is no central feeding system. Someone has to be filling everything up.” Finn interjected before the AI could carry on even more. The AI flickered a few times looking around as if confused.

"I do not know." It finally decided to speak up. It sounded a little lost for a moment before flickering and disappearing.

"You don't have a physical presence on board doing such things?" Aurelius asked her with a slight frown.

Finn glanced at his fellow crew members pointedly as the AI flickered again and shook her head. “No. There are only 16 people onboard.” She said simply before disappearing again

That statement put a frown on Elegy's lips. Speaking slowly, Elegy looked to Finn and looked to Aurelius, and he said, "There's really... no crew... ?" When he started to speak, it was his scientific curiosity that sounded deflated. They would have no way to learn from this civilization if there was no civilization to engage in a dialogue. However, his voice went up at the end, thinking of the tragedy that must have befallen the crew. Most people weren't prone to abandon a starship in seemingly perfect operation.

"Okay . . . . that was weird," Aurelius said somewhat perplexed.

Finn nodded trying to think about it all with a rational mind despite how unnerved it was all making him. They didn’t know the reason there was no crew so they could not assume. It could have been a good reason like they had, had to evacuate and had lost their way back but also it more disturbing could have happened. “We do not know yet that there is no crew. They could be anyway on this vessel. There is so much space we have not explored.” He had his thoughts on the type of food that the hydroponic bay was serving but it would take a little bit of time to put it together for anyone else.

Elegy, meanwhile, had snapped his hand-scanner into an indenture on his EV suit. He withdrew a PADD from a pouch and he took some quick notes about the things E.D.E.N. had said. The mystery of the crew, Elegy supposed, was outside the hands of this away team, but Elegy would surely share what the A.I. had said with the rest of the senior staff. As if he was reading Finn's mind, Elegy also turned his thoughts back to the mission at hand. "What's on your wishlist, Finn?" Elegy asked. "What would you take back to Atlantis if storage space was no object?"

"Seeds and soil." He said without a moment's hesitation. It was what they desperately needed. He wanted to get a system in place to rest some of the soil. Despite all the nutrients that he put in there were still going to be an issue further down the line, the process was not designed for the long term. "I would love on of these systems but I would be content with anything really." The strain of the last few months with limited off time showing slightly on the young mans face.

"If we're prepared to offload deuterium and dilithium," Elegy casually remarked, "then I'm sure this ship won't miss a few seeds. That's... that's... that's practically a snack. It's some trail mix. They'll never miss them. Start tagging what you want." Waving a hand through the air, Elegy gestured his dismissal of the notion that E.D.E.N. would be concerned with a little soil and seeds being taken for Atlantis' stock. The Starfleet starship had such a small hydroponics bay by comparison. "As for stealing equipment..." Elegy started to say. He rose an eyebrow at Finn and he sounded a little more hesitant, but still determined. "Let's get approval from Engineering and Security to make sure it's safe first."

“Yes Sir.” Finn nodded already starting a search for what he wanted. It was basic stuff but for long term survival it was needed and as that was very much in his field of expertise he was going to get it all sorted. He did not have much control over anything on the ship but Hydroponics had been given to him way back as punishment but he had excelled to the point no one even remembered that he had been sent there by Commander Smith for messing up her experiment on their way to the diplomatic mission by sneezing at the wrong time.

Crossing the room, Elegy moved to retrieve the hand-scanner he had left on a shelf to idly scan something that looked like an Hydnellum Peckii. Taking up the hand-scanner, he examined the sensor readings, when he said, "Thank you. No one can tend to Atlantis' garden like you have, Crewman Jones."