A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss

Posted on Sat Feb 12th, 2022 @ 1:39am by Lieutenant Percival Bálor Ph.D & Lieutenant Haruna Mizuhara

1,612 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: The Bandits of Black Rain
Location: USS Ontario | Deck 8 | Seconday Science Laboratory Beta

Lieutenant Percival Bálor had been making trips to and from cargo with the assistance of some operations personnel it had been a productive yet relatively uneventful day aside from a minor incident where a barrel shaped cargo container fell and nearly severely injured a young ensign from operations. Fortunately, the poor fellow seemed to get out of the way in time and was shaken but unharmed.

Secondary Science Lab Beta was recently cleared out, leaving it open for the claiming. Percy of course jumped on the opportunity like it was prime property on Mayfair Street. The Chief Science Officer was going to do some questionable things to the room itself which involved soil, lots of soil and a bit of mulch. He stood there a moment admiring the spacious lab. It was a shame he was going to have to get rid of most of the technology in the room.

As Percy unpacked some of the neatly packed Diomedian scarlet moss which feathery texture tickled his skin, he began to think about Yiv and the Efrosian's whiskers. He was going to need help to get this lab under ideal conditions.

=/\= a tap of his communications badge was a call for reinforcements. "Lieutenant Bálor to Engineering. Mizuharachan, when you have time, could you meet me on Deck 8? I'm in Secondary Science Lab Beta."

A few minutes later a nearby access hatch swung open and a very tired Haruna popped her head out. "Onii chan, Haruna was napping..." she yawned as she rubbed her eyes. "Plasma conduits ard nice and warm"

Percy could hear the grogginess on her voice. "Lieutenant, were you napping in the jefferies tubes again?" he inquired though he was fairly certain she was. If he did not know any better, he would think she were narcoleptic. "I could use your help" he restated.

"Plasma junction today" Haruna grinned. "So, what can this girl genius do for you?"

"I need this lab to be the ideal conditions for growing these plants I have," Percy stated. He knew she was more of a technology rather than herbology person. "They are a special moss, very difficult to grow, and highly important if I can. There can't really be any consoles in here because, I need to keep the moisture content in this lab at a certain range."

Haruna smirked. "Heh...Moist..." she said pulling a face knowing that for some reason some people didn't appreciate that word, she wasn't sure why, but it was always funny as a wind up.

"Yes, moist," Percy repeated. He had no issue with the word. "Moss requires a certain dampness, and this moss especially. Another matter I need help with is, I some sort of watering system installed. Something that can spray them from above, but that I can control the amount and pressure. Ideally, these plants would get rained on from time to time, but a rainstorm isn't going to naturally happen aboard a starship."

"So basically..." Haruna asked as she climbed out of the hatch. "You want me to build you a rainforest?". She pulled out a tricorder from somewhere on her uniform and began to scan the room.

"Not quite as tropical nor humid," he replied. "The other thing is I need to create gusts of wind for fertilization. These mosses like a lot of mosses reproduce by asexual reproduction involving spores. Rain and wind are key to that happening successfully" he explained.

"I'm sure I can get something sorted" Haruna replied. "How do you want your water. Heated, cold, salted, chlorinated or with extra fries?" She asked.

"An average water temperature for the rain on Diomedia Prime please. It should contain standard amounts of sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, chloride, bicarbonate, and sulfate ions. Then traces of ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, nitrogen. If it is preferable, leave the control of that concoction up to me."

"I'll get the plumbing installed. But I need a schematics or diagram showing me where you want it all. As for the consoles... I can take them apart for you" she said as she pulled off her gold tunic, stripping to the cropped grey undershirt. "Hold this, I'm going to need to crawl behind them to disconnect the power" she paused. "Oh and no peeping!"

Percy held what Haruna gave him and he shook his head. "I don't make it a habit of peeping at people I see as my sister," he said cringing at the thought of anything between he and Haruna. "You are so not my type. I'm not looking for a waifu."

"Good point" Haruna smiled. "Plus I'd have to be Two-D..." she paused for a moment a strange silence falling upon the room. "Moving on..."

"What do you think about Yiv and I?" Percy said bluntly. "I kind of am falling for him, Mizuharachan. At least I think..."

Haruna crossed her arms and faced Percy. "Does it matter what I think?" She asked. "If you're happy, then why do you seek validation?" She paused. "Look at me, I'm strange and different. But I'm happy, so I don't are what people think. You're who you are, why change that?"

"Not change who I am," he replied. "My only sibling died when my mother gave birth. It was a complicated pregnancy, and I survived, my sibling did not. I am not asking you to seek validation. I'm asking you as the closest person I have to a sister if you'd be supportive."

Haruna pondered for a few moments. "I think that you together will be happy. You can't biologically have children..." she placed both hands over her exposed stomach and navel. "My tummy and womb isn't for rent though!" She added before snapping back to topic. "But I think you'll both work well" she smiled.

"Actually..." Percy began but stopped. Nope, he did not want to get into a genetics discussion and bring up experimentation on mice. Science had come a long way, but he opted not to pursue the lengthy topic. "I'm not in the market for wombs right now, but it's not either Yiv or I that you need to worry about. It's alien beings coming aboard and inserting itself into your womb and growing overnight."

"That would be weird..." Haruna said before starting to blush. "However... I suppose if you and him really really really wanted a child. I might... you know... allow you to use my womb." She paused "Not that I want to be pregnant, but if it helps you out... I could do it for you..." she blushed more and turned away.

Percy shuddered to think about any of that. Use her womb? No thank you. And what if it was more than her womb, but her genetic material fertilized by his in some Petri dish procedure. The biological pff spring of Percy and Haruna? "I don't think that will be necessary, Lieutenant. Thank you for entertaining the idea, but I wouldn't want to burden you like that...ever. Commander Vetur would likely be a more suitable candidate."

"Ok" Haruna said as she popped off the panel. "I'll get these powered down..." she told him in a slightly sadder tone. "It's OK though, I know I'm defective. The commander would be better at that sort if stuff" she added with a smile. "Do you need these consoles? I can use them for spare parts..."

"Take it all," Percy said. "The only tech in here will mostly be up there," he pointed upward. "This whole thing will be dirt, damp, and moss covered eventually, if all goes to plan" he explained. "Also, it isn't that you are defective. Think about it..you and me. Theoretically, an offspring that might have even a bit of our two personalities? That kid would be more menacing than a teenage Q."

"That's true. But it could also be Yiv and me" she added. "Or, using genetic engineering, you modify an egg cell with the same genetic sequences of Yiv or yourself and bond it with the others sperms cell. Then you would just use me as a big incubator" she told him. "I did a course in genetics at the Academy..." she told him to explain why she knew this sort of knowledge which wasn't in her area of expertise. "I saw that demonstrated once in a field study, so that two Males could have a genetic child between them. But it had a two percent chance of success"

Percy nodded. "That is all true," the Chief Science Officer stated. "Though add an Erosian into the mix and you have the possibility of inheriting poor eyesight if not blindness entirely. Of course that could be corrected, but I'd feel wrong to correct something Yiv himself embraces." Percy sighed. "It's all stuff to think about, but I haven't even had a proper snogging yet. Let me not get too ahead of myself."

"Of course" Haruna replied as she began to literally rip componants out of the console. "I've been told I have a bad habit of overplay into things. Its good for staff assignments though, I have all the engineering shifts and tasks delegated and lined up for the next four months"

"I'll go work on getting you designs and schematics of what I will need," Percy said. "I'll leave to here to dismantle these consoles and do with them what you want."

"Ok Onii Chan" she replied simply. "Give me about an hour."

Percy nodded. "You got it," he replied. He liked her cute little name for him, but he hadn't commented on it.

____
OFF

Lieutenant Percival Bálor, Ph.D
Chief Science Officer
USS Ontario

Lieutenant Haruna Mizuhara
Chief Engineer
USS Ontario

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