Complacency is the enemy.

Posted on Sun 13th Nov, 2022 @ 5:03am by Olumorron Eirie 'Xin'

2,119 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: A Fresh Perspective
Location: SB109/ XA: Attina
Timeline: MD 1, 1030

{Xindus Institute for Advanced Research: Xindus V}

Among his people there was a saying, “Still waters are calm, but we are not made to idle.” Olumorron had circled the vast bubble of water suspended in gravity twice now, laboring in contemplation for what to do next. His once powerful tail had lost the flexibility and raw strength of his youth but had learned how to delicately angle for seining the water to accomplish locomotion. Swimming in the easy currents let his mind wander, it was a regular sight, to see the researchers pondering as they blindly circled the vast enclosure. The matter at hand today was how to find meaning in his life once more. Youth had brought opportunities to his feet, to squander or develop. Now it seemed his lot in life was to swim around aimlessly trying to make the days count. Few Xindi of his species developed familial bonds that lasted, with a spawning season every year and thousands of genetic relatives it was impossible really. Still the keening loneliness of his present condition intruded on every thought.

This was a fourth rotation at the Xindus Institute for Advanced Research. Almost a third of his life had been spent here, with scattered excursions which were far and wide, but always, he returned here. He knew the time of day by the smells of the vents along the ocean floor, the filtration affected the light scattering so even on days the filters were cleaned he was painfully aware of all of it. His contemporaries from previous eras had left jokes behind still told by the incoming classes, but new parlance moxed with old references left Olumorron behind. Branching Coral his graduating class had planted and cultivated had joined with the years of classes before it now merged into an edifice reaching beyond the surface. Time passed in a relentlessly slow, steady beat, and Olumorron was now cognizant of every passing second.

I’m going to die here if I don’t find meaning.

The internal thoughts came to him without restraint, honesty with himself was a paramount trait he maintained. Others of his species could take days for even the smallest decisions. A lifespan of six hundred years, sometimes seven, lead to the loss of urgency especially out of the food chain now as they had colonized this whole world. Myriad factors, calculations, even plain old complacency made Olumorron stand out with an ability to decide based on incomplete data. He had left that behind, and driven the bounds of science forward for his bravery. Where then, was that brash upstart who dared to make decisions and move fast? The various sites of labs and constructions passed beneath him, a dull glow so far beneath his awareness as to be irrelevant. Every so often, the wanderlust bug would strike, compelling him to leave, and the urge was familiar today as well. Learning from his Human counterparts had made this brashness worse, for as Olumorron was rash and impatient by Xindi Aquatic standards, Humans were downright terrifying in their confidence. Such foolish bravado had once made his stomachs turn into one another with pure terror. They all laughed at the alarm Olumorron rightly sounded, telling them this peril was, “Just a Tuesday.”

In younger times, Olumorron would swim the bubble in less than an hour, and feel the wake from his own passage on the return. Given his more advanced age now, making it around once without stopping was the feat, this habit was ingrained in him, tied to this place. Staying any longer would mean losing his individuality, and that was intolerable. Finally reaching the end of his second lap, exhaustion had reached its peak and there was no reprieve from the thoughts which plagued. A deviation into his home tube let him relax somewhat as the temperature variants created a natural current that pulled him inside.

A whole world had been converted into a rocky spongiform colony for the Xindi Aquatic when Xindus had been destroyed. Replacing their numbers had taken all of the romance out of mating, and each Aquatic had forcible gamete extraction foisted upon them. This left subsequent generations with no sense at all of familial worth and eroded their society to a great degree. Numbers were all that mattered but even after so long, all they had was what the Builders had provided them. Ships, worlds made barely habitable, and just enough knowledge to keep it all running but never make it anew. This institute represented the first all Xindi-Aquatic built research station, on their largest colony of just over two million. By linking the oceans underground, the whole world was made slowly into real home, and the effort of linking them had begun a society of hard workers who wanted to raise their young in one place, a safe place. The Xindus Institute for Advanced Research was a city-state comprising a quarter of the planet, employing thousands in noble fields of thought and design.

Within the vast institute was a network of tubes connecting to coves on the surface. Sleeping near the surface was easiest, given his older age, and the lab required some components to be above sea level or dry. This meant operating holograms and utilizing researchers in suits to work in the dry theater, and Olumorron could interact from the amphibious lab and water chambers surrounding them. The air breathing fellows had their own spaces, but they were small, and even if flooded, or in a suit Olumorron wouldn't even fit. Tonight, though, was a restful night away from endless work. A tasty snack awaited him, Vensky, a drink created out of venomous fish, promised to relieve the worst of his troubles.

Surfacing from total darkness, echolocation guided the path all the way into the floating dock of his lab. There were few other creatures, the biome was still young, and no fear of predators or weather events to make any day more exciting. Expecting the same thing as the previous months, total silence and nobody to talk to, instead there was a message awaiting on the holo-pad. Curiosity and the desire for something exciting pushed everything else out of his mind. A powerful pump of the tail got him there in a single stroke, and he sang the activation phrase, activating the message.

=/\= This is a Starfleet Communique- Priority Two. Affirm DNA scan for Olumorron-Kal’Efie before continuing.=^=

Through slitted eyes, Olumorron noted the Human's young face and curled yellow hair. Their remarkable similarities to the Xindi-Arboreal never sat well with the Xindi Aquatics, who had long ago suffered under the rule of the Arboreals. Nonetheless, the Federation had resources Olumorron craved to wield once more, and they only contacted him when something important was going on. If Starfleet was truly reaching out to him, his prayers were answered.

A clicking sound and heavy piercing shrill called the computer to perform a biometric scan, and the communique went on automatically.

=/\= Olumorron, Starfleet has sent a packet of data for your analysis. There are several sites within the Federation which are viable candidates for the research program designated, “Proto-Star.” We have requested another tour of service from the Xindus Institute for Advanced Research, and upon your approval, we ask to relocate your science team to Starbase 109 for further development. Please reply directly to this missive, as it will relay directly to Starfleet R&D Admiralty. We have requisitioned Xindus Institute via the United Federation of Planets Research team to commission Attina for service, which has been granted. It is presently being fit in anticipation of your acceptance. We hope to hear from you soon.”

Unable to contain the joy from this unexpected miracle, he let out a song which exceeded his cove's confines. Several of his neighbors sounded in reply, unsure of why Olumorron was so happy, but eager to respond in kind out of support. Though the notion of traveling in space was dreadful, dying in this Institute of boredom was no better. His lab could be packed up to fit on a cruiser, the research associates were his to command. The more he thought about it, the more excitement was built.

A mental uplink device relayed thoughts to commands, Send reply, request granted, need labs on SB109 to be made to exact specifications. Attach Present configuration of lab in reply, along with life support requirement.

Another incoming hail, and Olumorron felt true excitement. His acceptance had yielded an immediate reply.

The face of a Xindi Arboreal greeted him, Itabo a friend from his youth, now in his elder years. "Oluuu, you are going out, I see Attina in port? Surely you need a systems engineer? Do not forget Itabo, I can make her sing better than you!"

Olumorron laughed in the special way Aquatics did, the gills fluttered and eyes rounded. Twelve sets of sharp clicks punctuating a melody at 84 hertz for half second intervals gave reply. "You gave me no time Itabo, old friend; you are monitoring my messages and, though I trust you, it becomes apparent I must also keep you close. Open space gives me the terrors as I sleep, but knowing you are there is soporific. Especially when you tell stories from your war days!"

Itabo grinned, "Good! I have already had my things sent to the ship. I will be there by tomorrow. Itabo must tell his wives to go to their consorts for now, as Itabo must go on adventure."

A piercing wail, and several guttural bass soundings let Itabo know how much the kindred spirit meant to him. When the channel dropped, Itabo proved there were others here in similar dire straits. Over a thousand living beings shared this space, an ocean brought with great cost which was the site of hundreds of labs. With the ideal equipment, and open spaces the Federation Research divisions had taken over where Diplomacy had failed so often. The bio-diversity of the Institute was a pride and joy, with several islands to offer the air breathers places to live. Starfleet had a peculiar joy in contributing to the Institute where they were the ones making accommodations, letting their Aquatic friends exist in a better environment.

Attina was a pleasure cruise, but a Starbase posting meant living in space again. It would need to be comfortable. Olumorron hated the Dry-Suits, anti-gravity harnesses with bubbler units for respiration which left them clumsy and impossible to focus. Interacting as a hologram was worse, the non-corporeal body and mind link was traumatic for him. This ship had five wet decks and a dry passenger area with monitors to the lab below. In the belly of the vessel, where most ships kept cargo and fuel, a massive enclosure of water, suspended in a gravity belt, formed a sea-like orb. The systems were powered by an unknown engine which had never failed them before, but couldn’t be built anywhere else.

Knowing how desperately many of the Starfleet and Xindus Fellows wanted to come, he considered what to say first, and decided that less was better. If Itabo had gotten that message then so had everyone else. No point in belaboring the issue, it was good they all knew. Opening the soundgates amplified his noise without need of speaker even, "For all who wish to travel, I am opening the roster for the Attina, our dedicated research vessel to go on assignment. The Attina has a crew complement of sixty, Starfleet will surely take a few. So we can can take many of you, but not all. I await your petitions, and bribes."

The Sound gates slammed close, and Olumorron drifted closer to the copse where he slumbered every once in a great while. Tonight would be the last night in his home and, though he yearned to explore, anxiety began to gnaw as well. Space was an unforgiving frontier he found utterly abysmal, but the reward of something new and the chance to ignite proto stars was more than the anxiety could overcome. He recalled advice given to him on hjis first tour, after he had declined the offer out of cowardice, "To wander aimlessly is the same as never being lost." The fear was pervasive, but the chance to go out and be vital to the world was stronger.

(This is an open source for players to use as the reason their aquatic crewman is on board Attina, which will be going out into the galaxy a bunch. When making an Aquatic character please feel free to add yourself to Attina/Institute and add it to the bio! FYI this ship has dry crew as well.)

-End-

 

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