To: DS13/Science
CC: CAPT Varley, Lauren
From: CMDR Mandra, Alina
Subj: Science Department Update
Hello Science Department! I know we’ve been set up and running for a few weeks but as this is my first overall message to all of you since my appointment to Chief, reappointment I suppose. To those that have already welcomed me thank you. I know not all of you were here for my first go round of this but the messages from all of you are touching, especially the ones who served under me before.
Onto business though, we have orders! In addition to existing research and ongoing projects Command has some tasking for us. I also have an update on a new special project we’ll be running soon and… a statement on the recent issues with a certain experiment gone sideways.
First up, for the Stellar Cartography Division we have a request to train our attention on IO-V774T-9D an inbound interstellar asteroid on a slingshot route of our local star. Command wants us to verify it’s path won’t be a collision hazard. I believe the Independent Trans-Solar Objects Branch of yours has the best record on this. If you spot any need for avoidance maneuvers I’m authorizing you to reach out to Ops Department on coordinating the movement of any assets capable… if it is a big issue we’ll look into talking with Engineering about moving the asteroid itself, or absolute worst case, implementing a tactical solution with Ops.
Lt. Sjardisa of the Planetary Sciences Divsion, the Branch head of Atmospheric Sciences says you are good at presentations. I’d like you and Ensign Sorik ((@cob450)) (I won’t stop Nunya from volunteering either) to help with a civilian school field trip to V774 Tau III to show them how we do a planetary survey in a Runabout. You don’t actually have to conduct the survey to get results for us, just make sure they get an idea oh what we do to learn about planets like this. I’ll get you set up with the school so they know who to expect.
Next item is our junior Psionics lead Ensign Thyzee ((@ElvenLord)) is spearheading a project to upgrade the Psionic rating scale to a cross Federation standard. We may be doing some cross Alliance work on that in the coming weeks as well. Dr. Maldar is offering his lab, being switched to standard humanoid environment settings, to take on that work. We’ll be getting some equipment there to help with that in the coming days and since there may be Alliance dignitaries try to be on good behavior in the vicinity of the meta-conscious lab area while this is going on.
Speaking of my expectation of good behavior… our resident geniuses from the Exotic Subspace Energies branch, as some of you likely heard today, managed to infuse a lab tribble with what I’m told is… P. Stellavatori spores that supposedly had latent Mycelial readings… or so they thought until it started hopping across dimensions and appearing all over station and causing trouble for other departments. Now I admit I am rather unclear on the specifics of how all this works but they assured me the tribble cannot reproduce so I had Mr. Tengar of the Wildlife Research division, himself a former big game hunter on the legal safaris of Antos IV go on the hunt with an inverse tachyon cage. He is at this time in a race against LtCmdr H’ajah who has formed a hunting party out of the Engineering department to find it and return it to the labs where its new powers can be controlled.
This should go without saying but while I give a lot of leeway to all of you to run your projects and experiments how you see fit, and I am lenient with how the effects can reach beyond labs into the department. However when it breaches the department and starts affecting other areas of the station… it reflects badly on our work, on me, and the department. I will be looking into something as a response to this breach once the tribble, which the DS13 Relay chatroom had named “Zoop”, but we need to do better, otherwise you might be looking at the Captain getting involved.
I’ll end it there for now. I’ll be making my rounds every Wednesday as usual and my office hours are as posted on the Department internal network. Keep being crashing the mode everyone!
//SIGNED//
Alina Mandra
Chief of Science Department,
Deep Space 13