The Science Behind Seeds of Doubt... Pt. 2

[Science Lab 5
USS Normandie
8 August 2386 CE, 1040HRS]

Of all the intriguing species to be sampled by the away teams, one was an obvious candidate for immediate analysis: the plant which was allegedly responsible for altering Ensign Carter’s behavior. Inside of a vacuum-sealed isolation container, Garrett delicately held a single flower of that species and tried to keep his gloved hands from trembling. What a time to be such a klutz. Good thing I didn’t become a surgeon. Despite his years in science, the flower represented one of the first extraterrestrial species Garrett had studied firsthand. The responsibility to perform a first-rate analysis and get first-rate data to share with his colleagues fell squarely on his shoulders, and the fact that Carter’s health could depend on his thoroughness did nothing to ease his nerves either. Ever so gently, Garrett teased apart the petals, trying to avoid providing whatever stimulus had caused the release of powder into Carter’s face. It seemed obvious that exposure to the mysterious powder was what had affected the hapless grayshirt’s behavior; thus, determining where in the flower it was stored, isolating it, and analyzing it would give valuable clues to the nature of Carter’s condition. The isolation container would prevent Garrett from being contaminated if the flower discharged, but gathering the powder would be much more difficult if it were to be sprayed in a fine mist throughout his workspace. Petals removed, Garrett eyed the anatomy of the specimen. Tricorder scans had indicated the presence of a stigma, style, and ovary, but also a secondary, torus-shaped structure around the base of the ovary, potentially an accessory reproductive organ of some sort, but also potentially the source of Carter’s woes. Pheromones tend to be produced and released in very small doses. Whatever I’m looking for might not even be visible to the naked eye. He looked up from his work for a moment into empty space.

“Computer? Please magnify the specimen under dissection by a power of 1,000, enhance the image, and display it on panel 2.”

The requested image appeared, flooding the display panel across the lab. For a moment, the artistic perfection of the flower’s layout made the biologist forget the weight of the situation and smile at the thought of the secrets this tiny flower could tell him. A moment’s inspection of the magnification ended his all-too-brief reverie: no aspect of the donut-shaped ring of tissue immediately suggested an exocrine function. A small incision with a laser scalpel laid open the structure to Garrett’s inquisitive eye.

“Computer? Reference the tricorder readings on Ensign Carter after his exposure to the unknown pheromone, with particular attention to his blood chemistry. If any chemical present in Carter at that point matches the profile of a chemical in the dissection specimen, please label the containing tissues in fluorescent blue on the display panel.”

A moment later, the display panel showed the interior of the donut-shaped organ glowing cyan. Bingo. Now to figure out how to isolate and purify it, and then I’ll run a spectrogram. There was still plenty of work ahead, but Garrett was well familiar with the motivating power of stress. I might be working late, but I’ll have company, at least… I’m sure this little flower has plenty to say to anyone who’ll listen.

Eiri poked his head into Lab 5 and looked for Garrett. All he wanted to do was catalog things that they had come across on their away mission and he was certain that Garrett had already started. He was relieved to no longer be the captain of the ship although he felt that he still had a lot of work to do to make up for the way the away mission had gone. In many ways he blamed himself. He should have made sure himself that everyone was wearing their biohazard suits. He spotted the scientist and made his way to the work station, a PADD in his hand with his own work on it. "How are your studies progressing Lieutenant?"

<Tag!>

[Science Lab 5
USS Normandie
8 August 2386 CE, 1040HRS]

Of all the intriguing species to be sampled by the away teams, one was an obvious candidate for immediate analysis: the plant which was allegedly responsible for altering Ensign Carter’s behavior. Inside of a vacuum-sealed isolation container, Garrett delicately held a single flower of that species and tried to keep his gloved hands from trembling. What a time to be such a klutz. Good thing I didn’t become a surgeon. Despite his years in science, the flower represented one of the first extraterrestrial species Garrett had studied firsthand. The responsibility to perform a first-rate analysis and get first-rate data to share with his colleagues fell squarely on his shoulders, and the fact that Carter’s health could depend on his thoroughness did nothing to ease his nerves either. Ever so gently, Garrett teased apart the petals, trying to avoid providing whatever stimulus had caused the release of powder into Carter’s face. It seemed obvious that exposure to the mysterious powder was what had affected the hapless grayshirt’s behavior; thus, determining where in the flower it was stored, isolating it, and analyzing it would give valuable clues to the nature of Carter’s condition. The isolation container would prevent Garrett from being contaminated if the flower discharged, but gathering the powder would be much more difficult if it were to be sprayed in a fine mist throughout his workspace. Petals removed, Garrett eyed the anatomy of the specimen. Tricorder scans had indicated the presence of a stigma, style, and ovary, but also a secondary, torus-shaped structure around the base of the ovary, potentially an accessory reproductive organ of some sort, but also potentially the source of Carter’s woes. Pheromones tend to be produced and released in very small doses. Whatever I’m looking for might not even be visible to the naked eye. He looked up from his work for a moment into empty space.

“Computer? Please magnify the specimen under dissection by a power of 1,000, enhance the image, and display it on panel 2.”

The requested image appeared, flooding the display panel across the lab. For a moment, the artistic perfection of the flower’s layout made the biologist forget the weight of the situation and smile at the thought of the secrets this tiny flower could tell him. A moment’s inspection of the magnification ended his all-too-brief reverie: no aspect of the donut-shaped ring of tissue immediately suggested an exocrine function. A small incision with a laser scalpel laid open the structure to Garrett’s inquisitive eye.

“Computer? Reference the tricorder readings on Ensign Carter after his exposure to the unknown pheromone, with particular attention to his blood chemistry. If any chemical present in Carter at that point matches the profile of a chemical in the dissection specimen, please label the containing tissues in fluorescent blue on the display panel.”

A moment later, the display panel showed the interior of the donut-shaped organ glowing cyan. Bingo. Now to figure out how to isolate and purify it, and then I’ll run a spectrogram. There was still plenty of work ahead, but Garrett was well familiar with the motivating power of stress. I might be working late, but I’ll have company, at least… I’m sure this little flower has plenty to say to anyone who’ll listen.

Eiri poked his head into Lab 5 and looked for Garrett. All he wanted to do was catalog things that they had come across on their away mission and he was certain that Garrett had already started. He was relieved to no longer be the captain of the ship although he felt that he still had a lot of work to do to make up for the way the away mission had gone. In many ways he blamed himself. He should have made sure himself that everyone was wearing their biohazard suits. He spotted the scientist and made his way to the work station, a PADD in his hand with his own work on it. "How are your studies progressing Lieutenant?"

Garrett looked up at the sound of Ashshy’s voice and blinked. He hadn’t even heard the slim counselor enter the lab. “Oh, good morning, sir,” he greeted, pulling his hands out of the isolation chamber and rising, grateful for the excuse to stretch his legs. I guess that makes two of us under analysis at the moment, he thought, still peripherally focusing on the flower as he levelly met Ashshy’s gaze. “I figured I’d start by examining this little beauty here, considering what it did to Carter.” He pointed to the flower with his thumb. Chill out, already. Your analysis is going to turn out fine, and Carter will be okay. Ashshy’s a scientist, too. He didn’t stop by because he wanted to give you more stress. Garrett knew he’d be more relaxed when and if he completed his tests and obtained quality data, but for the moment, his success was still uncertain, and he was now under the eyes of a telepathic senior officer. “Frankly, sir, I’m flying mostly blind, but I’ve got a pretty good idea of how to isolate and purify the compounds Sickbay’s interested in. Once I’ve got them I’ll run some tests and then I can share everything I find out.”

<SCIENCE!!!tag>

[Science Lab 5]
[USS Normandie]
[8 August 2386 CE, 1040HRS]

Of all the intriguing species to be sampled by the away teams, one was an obvious candidate for immediate analysis: the plant which was allegedly responsible for altering Ensign Carter’s behavior. Inside of a vacuum-sealed isolation container, Garrett delicately held a single flower of that species and tried to keep his gloved hands from trembling. What a time to be such a klutz. Good thing I didn’t become a surgeon. Despite his years in science, the flower represented one of the first extraterrestrial species Garrett had studied firsthand. The responsibility to perform a first-rate analysis and get first-rate data to share with his colleagues fell squarely on his shoulders, and the fact that Carter’s health could depend on his thoroughness did nothing to ease his nerves either. Ever so gently, Garrett teased apart the petals, trying to avoid providing whatever stimulus had caused the release of powder into Carter’s face. It seemed obvious that exposure to the mysterious powder was what had affected the hapless grayshirt’s behavior; thus, determining where in the flower it was stored, isolating it, and analyzing it would give valuable clues to the nature of Carter’s condition. The isolation container would prevent Garrett from being contaminated if the flower discharged, but gathering the powder would be much more difficult if it were to be sprayed in a fine mist throughout his workspace. Petals removed, Garrett eyed the anatomy of the specimen. Tricorder scans had indicated the presence of a stigma, style, and ovary, but also a secondary, torus-shaped structure around the base of the ovary, potentially an accessory reproductive organ of some sort, but also potentially the source of Carter’s woes. Pheromones tend to be produced and released in very small doses. Whatever I’m looking for might not even be visible to the naked eye. He looked up from his work for a moment into empty space.

“Computer? Please magnify the specimen under dissection by a power of 1,000, enhance the image, and display it on panel 2.”

The requested image appeared, flooding the display panel across the lab. For a moment, the artistic perfection of the flower’s layout made the biologist forget the weight of the situation and smile at the thought of the secrets this tiny flower could tell him. A moment’s inspection of the magnification ended his all-too-brief reverie: no aspect of the donut-shaped ring of tissue immediately suggested an exocrine function. A small incision with a laser scalpel laid open the structure to Garrett’s inquisitive eye.

“Computer? Reference the tricorder readings on Ensign Carter after his exposure to the unknown pheromone, with particular attention to his blood chemistry. If any chemical present in Carter at that point matches the profile of a chemical in the dissection specimen, please label the containing tissues in fluorescent blue on the display panel.”

A moment later, the display panel showed the interior of the donut-shaped organ glowing cyan. Bingo. Now to figure out how to isolate and purify it, and then I’ll run a spectrogram. There was still plenty of work ahead, but Garrett was well familiar with the motivating power of stress. I might be working late, but I’ll have company, at least… I’m sure this little flower has plenty to say to anyone who’ll listen.

Eiri poked his head into Lab 5 and looked for Garrett. All he wanted to do was catalog things that they had come across on their away mission and he was certain that Garrett had already started. He was relieved to no longer be the captain of the ship although he felt that he still had a lot of work to do to make up for the way the away mission had gone. In many ways he blamed himself. He should have made sure himself that everyone was wearing their biohazard suits. He spotted the scientist and made his way to the work station, a PADD in his hand with his own work on it. "How are your studies progressing Lieutenant?"

Garrett looked up at the sound of Ashshy’s voice and blinked. He hadn’t even heard the slim counselor enter the lab. “Oh, good morning, sir,” he greeted, pulling his hands out of the isolation chamber and rising, grateful for the excuse to stretch his legs. I guess that makes two of us under analysis at the moment, he thought, still peripherally focusing on the flower as he levelly met Ashshy’s gaze. “I figured I’d start by examining this little beauty here, considering what it did to Carter.” He pointed to the flower with his thumb. Chill out, already. Your analysis is going to turn out fine, and Carter will be okay. Ashshy’s a scientist, too. He didn’t stop by because he wanted to give you more stress. Garrett knew he’d be more relaxed when and if he completed his tests and obtained quality data, but for the moment, his success was still uncertain, and he was now under the eyes of a telepathic senior officer. “Frankly, sir, I’m flying mostly blind, but I’ve got a pretty good idea of how to isolate and purify the compounds Sickbay’s interested in. Once I’ve got them I’ll run some tests and then I can share everything I find out.”

"I am not here for a report, I came by to see if you could use some assistance. I have been looking over the other readings that we took of the area and the information I gathered might be of use to you and it might not be." He smiled stiffly and looked at the readings on the monitor over Garrett's shoulder. "The soil was low in nitrogen and nutrients that many plants need to live so that might explain why it is of a carnivorous nature. The soil probably increases in richness the deeper you go, so anything that lives on the top without deep taproots would probably need to supplement their diet with something, mostly anything containing amino acids or ammonium ions. Although, I am still not certain I understand how it was using Carter. It was definitely spore bearing, but normally that behavior is only seen in fungi and with deadly effect. Since Carter did not die... I would assume that the plant was using him in some way to either be prey or get prey for the plant. I have heard that some species of carnivorous plants form symbiotic relationships in order to feed themselves. What do you think?"

<SCIENCE!!!tag>

[Science Lab 5]
[USS Normandie]
[8 August 2386 CE, 1040HRS]

Of all the intriguing species to be sampled by the away teams, one was an obvious candidate for immediate analysis: the plant which was allegedly responsible for altering Ensign Carter’s behavior. Inside of a vacuum-sealed isolation container, Garrett delicately held a single flower of that species and tried to keep his gloved hands from trembling. What a time to be such a klutz. Good thing I didn’t become a surgeon. Despite his years in science, the flower represented one of the first extraterrestrial species Garrett had studied firsthand. The responsibility to perform a first-rate analysis and get first-rate data to share with his colleagues fell squarely on his shoulders, and the fact that Carter’s health could depend on his thoroughness did nothing to ease his nerves either. Ever so gently, Garrett teased apart the petals, trying to avoid providing whatever stimulus had caused the release of powder into Carter’s face. It seemed obvious that exposure to the mysterious powder was what had affected the hapless grayshirt’s behavior; thus, determining where in the flower it was stored, isolating it, and analyzing it would give valuable clues to the nature of Carter’s condition. The isolation container would prevent Garrett from being contaminated if the flower discharged, but gathering the powder would be much more difficult if it were to be sprayed in a fine mist throughout his workspace. Petals removed, Garrett eyed the anatomy of the specimen. Tricorder scans had indicated the presence of a stigma, style, and ovary, but also a secondary, torus-shaped structure around the base of the ovary, potentially an accessory reproductive organ of some sort, but also potentially the source of Carter’s woes. Pheromones tend to be produced and released in very small doses. Whatever I’m looking for might not even be visible to the naked eye. He looked up from his work for a moment into empty space.

“Computer? Please magnify the specimen under dissection by a power of 1,000, enhance the image, and display it on panel 2.”

The requested image appeared, flooding the display panel across the lab. For a moment, the artistic perfection of the flower’s layout made the biologist forget the weight of the situation and smile at the thought of the secrets this tiny flower could tell him. A moment’s inspection of the magnification ended his all-too-brief reverie: no aspect of the donut-shaped ring of tissue immediately suggested an exocrine function. A small incision with a laser scalpel laid open the structure to Garrett’s inquisitive eye.

“Computer? Reference the tricorder readings on Ensign Carter after his exposure to the unknown pheromone, with particular attention to his blood chemistry. If any chemical present in Carter at that point matches the profile of a chemical in the dissection specimen, please label the containing tissues in fluorescent blue on the display panel.”

A moment later, the display panel showed the interior of the donut-shaped organ glowing cyan. Bingo. Now to figure out how to isolate and purify it, and then I’ll run a spectrogram. There was still plenty of work ahead, but Garrett was well familiar with the motivating power of stress. I might be working late, but I’ll have company, at least… I’m sure this little flower has plenty to say to anyone who’ll listen.

Eiri poked his head into Lab 5 and looked for Garrett. All he wanted to do was catalog things that they had come across on their away mission and he was certain that Garrett had already started. He was relieved to no longer be the captain of the ship although he felt that he still had a lot of work to do to make up for the way the away mission had gone. In many ways he blamed himself. He should have made sure himself that everyone was wearing their biohazard suits. He spotted the scientist and made his way to the work station, a PADD in his hand with his own work on it. "How are your studies progressing Lieutenant?"

Garrett looked up at the sound of Ashshy’s voice and blinked. He hadn’t even heard the slim counselor enter the lab. “Oh, good morning, sir,” he greeted, pulling his hands out of the isolation chamber and rising, grateful for the excuse to stretch his legs. I guess that makes two of us under analysis at the moment, he thought, still peripherally focusing on the flower as he levelly met Ashshy’s gaze. “I figured I’d start by examining this little beauty here, considering what it did to Carter.” He pointed to the flower with his thumb. Chill out, already. Your analysis is going to turn out fine, and Carter will be okay. Ashshy’s a scientist, too. He didn’t stop by because he wanted to give you more stress. Garrett knew he’d be more relaxed when and if he completed his tests and obtained quality data, but for the moment, his success was still uncertain, and he was now under the eyes of a telepathic senior officer. “Frankly, sir, I’m flying mostly blind, but I’ve got a pretty good idea of how to isolate and purify the compounds Sickbay’s interested in. Once I’ve got them I’ll run some tests and then I can share everything I find out.”

"I am not here for a report, I came by to see if you could use some assistance. I have been looking over the other readings that we took of the area and the information I gathered might be of use to you and it might not be." He smiled stiffly and looked at the readings on the monitor over Garrett's shoulder. "The soil was low in nitrogen and nutrients that many plants need to live so that might explain why it is of a carnivorous nature. The soil probably increases in richness the deeper you go, so anything that lives on the top without deep taproots would probably need to supplement their diet with something, mostly anything containing amino acids or ammonium ions. Although, I am still not certain I understand how it was using Carter. It was definitely spore bearing, but normally that behavior is only seen in fungi and with deadly effect. Since Carter did not die... I would assume that the plant was using him in some way to either be prey or get prey for the plant. I have heard that some species of carnivorous plants form symbiotic relationships in order to feed themselves. What do you think?"

Garrett listened attentively, nodding. Biologists were a very rare species on the Normandie, and he particularly welcomed company that came with even a basic understanding of ecology. “You read my mind, sir,” he replied, cracking the slightest hint of a smile. “At this point I can’t discount very many possibilities, but our photosynthesizing friend certainly wouldn’t have evolved aggression-inducing pheromones and an airborne delivery system for no purpose. It didn’t incapacitate or kill Carter outright: it just altered his behavior, probably because it wanted him to do something for it. Some parasites do that to their hosts before ultimately killing them. That’s what worries me.” Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts. You’ll figure it all out and he’ll be fine. This will be one hell of a paper when you’re done and it’ll have your name on it. The thought slightly cheered him. Then, he recalled something Ashshy had said. “You mentioned it’s spore-bearing, sir? That’s weird for a flowering plant, though some species do that…” His eyebrows knit and he lowered his gaze from Ashshy in thought for a moment. “Have you spoken to our medical people recently? Do you know if they noticed anything strange on Carter’s internal scan? Maybe in his respiratory tract?” An idea, planted by Ashshy, was sprouting in Garrett’s mind like summer weeds. “Assuming we’re not barking up the wrong tree, sir, Mother Nature hasn't closed Carter's case yet. I think he got a snootful of more than just pheromones, and I think I know what that plant needed him to do.” The anticipation that only came when he caught the scent of an answer flashed in his eyes.

<SCIENCE!!!tag>

[Science Lab 5]
[USS Normandie]
[8 August 2386 CE, 1040HRS]

Of all the intriguing species to be sampled by the away teams, one was an obvious candidate for immediate analysis: the plant which was allegedly responsible for altering Ensign Carter’s behavior. Inside of a vacuum-sealed isolation container, Garrett delicately held a single flower of that species and tried to keep his gloved hands from trembling. What a time to be such a klutz. Good thing I didn’t become a surgeon. Despite his years in science, the flower represented one of the first extraterrestrial species Garrett had studied firsthand. The responsibility to perform a first-rate analysis and get first-rate data to share with his colleagues fell squarely on his shoulders, and the fact that Carter’s health could depend on his thoroughness did nothing to ease his nerves either. Ever so gently, Garrett teased apart the petals, trying to avoid providing whatever stimulus had caused the release of powder into Carter’s face. It seemed obvious that exposure to the mysterious powder was what had affected the hapless grayshirt’s behavior; thus, determining where in the flower it was stored, isolating it, and analyzing it would give valuable clues to the nature of Carter’s condition. The isolation container would prevent Garrett from being contaminated if the flower discharged, but gathering the powder would be much more difficult if it were to be sprayed in a fine mist throughout his workspace. Petals removed, Garrett eyed the anatomy of the specimen. Tricorder scans had indicated the presence of a stigma, style, and ovary, but also a secondary, torus-shaped structure around the base of the ovary, potentially an accessory reproductive organ of some sort, but also potentially the source of Carter’s woes. Pheromones tend to be produced and released in very small doses. Whatever I’m looking for might not even be visible to the naked eye. He looked up from his work for a moment into empty space.

“Computer? Please magnify the specimen under dissection by a power of 1,000, enhance the image, and display it on panel 2.”

The requested image appeared, flooding the display panel across the lab. For a moment, the artistic perfection of the flower’s layout made the biologist forget the weight of the situation and smile at the thought of the secrets this tiny flower could tell him. A moment’s inspection of the magnification ended his all-too-brief reverie: no aspect of the donut-shaped ring of tissue immediately suggested an exocrine function. A small incision with a laser scalpel laid open the structure to Garrett’s inquisitive eye.

“Computer? Reference the tricorder readings on Ensign Carter after his exposure to the unknown pheromone, with particular attention to his blood chemistry. If any chemical present in Carter at that point matches the profile of a chemical in the dissection specimen, please label the containing tissues in fluorescent blue on the display panel.”

A moment later, the display panel showed the interior of the donut-shaped organ glowing cyan. Bingo. Now to figure out how to isolate and purify it, and then I’ll run a spectrogram. There was still plenty of work ahead, but Garrett was well familiar with the motivating power of stress. I might be working late, but I’ll have company, at least… I’m sure this little flower has plenty to say to anyone who’ll listen.

Eiri poked his head into Lab 5 and looked for Garrett. All he wanted to do was catalog things that they had come across on their away mission and he was certain that Garrett had already started. He was relieved to no longer be the captain of the ship although he felt that he still had a lot of work to do to make up for the way the away mission had gone. In many ways he blamed himself. He should have made sure himself that everyone was wearing their biohazard suits. He spotted the scientist and made his way to the work station, a PADD in his hand with his own work on it. "How are your studies progressing Lieutenant?"

Garrett looked up at the sound of Ashshy’s voice and blinked. He hadn’t even heard the slim counselor enter the lab. “Oh, good morning, sir,” he greeted, pulling his hands out of the isolation chamber and rising, grateful for the excuse to stretch his legs. I guess that makes two of us under analysis at the moment, he thought, still peripherally focusing on the flower as he levelly met Ashshy’s gaze. “I figured I’d start by examining this little beauty here, considering what it did to Carter.” He pointed to the flower with his thumb. Chill out, already. Your analysis is going to turn out fine, and Carter will be okay. Ashshy’s a scientist, too. He didn’t stop by because he wanted to give you more stress. Garrett knew he’d be more relaxed when and if he completed his tests and obtained quality data, but for the moment, his success was still uncertain, and he was now under the eyes of a telepathic senior officer. “Frankly, sir, I’m flying mostly blind, but I’ve got a pretty good idea of how to isolate and purify the compounds Sickbay’s interested in. Once I’ve got them I’ll run some tests and then I can share everything I find out.”

"I am not here for a report, I came by to see if you could use some assistance. I have been looking over the other readings that we took of the area and the information I gathered might be of use to you and it might not be." He smiled stiffly and looked at the readings on the monitor over Garrett's shoulder. "The soil was low in nitrogen and nutrients that many plants need to live so that might explain why it is of a carnivorous nature. The soil probably increases in richness the deeper you go, so anything that lives on the top without deep taproots would probably need to supplement their diet with something, mostly anything containing amino acids or ammonium ions. Although, I am still not certain I understand how it was using Carter. It was definitely spore bearing, but normally that behavior is only seen in fungi and with deadly effect. Since Carter did not die... I would assume that the plant was using him in some way to either be prey or get prey for the plant. I have heard that some species of carnivorous plants form symbiotic relationships in order to feed themselves. What do you think?"

Garrett listened attentively, nodding. Biologists were a very rare species on the Normandie, and he particularly welcomed company that came with even a basic understanding of ecology. “You read my mind, sir,” he replied, cracking the slightest hint of a smile. “At this point I can’t discount very many possibilities, but our photosynthesizing friend certainly wouldn’t have evolved aggression-inducing pheromones and an airborne delivery system for no purpose. It didn’t incapacitate or kill Carter outright: it just altered his behavior, probably because it wanted him to do something for it. Some parasites do that to their hosts before ultimately killing them. That’s what worries me.” Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts. You’ll figure it all out and he’ll be fine. This will be one hell of a paper when you’re done and it’ll have your name on it. The thought slightly cheered him. Then, he recalled something Ashshy had said. “You mentioned it’s spore-bearing, sir? That’s weird for a flowering plant, though some species do that…” His eyebrows knit and he lowered his gaze from Ashshy in thought for a moment. “Have you spoken to our medical people recently? Do you know if they noticed anything strange on Carter’s internal scan? Maybe in his respiratory tract?” An idea, planted by Ashshy, was sprouting in Garrett’s mind like summer weeds. “Assuming we’re not barking up the wrong tree, sir, Mother Nature hasn't closed Carter's case yet. I think he got a snootful of more than just pheromones, and I think I know what that plant needed him to do.” The anticipation that only came when he caught the scent of an answer flashed in his eyes.

Eiri looked at his PADD. "Yes, I have the report here. The Doctor has released Ensign Carter from sick bay, but he is not yet cleared for duty. They found spores in his lungs and nasal passages and are treating him with antibiotics, but that is all I know. What if the flower was using Carter as a means of reproduction? Flowers do produce spores All flowering plants are heterosporous, producing two types of spores. Microspores are produced by meiosis inside anthers while megaspores are produced inside ovules. In fact, anthers typically consist of four microsporangia and an ovule is an integumented megasporangium. Both types of spores develop into gametophytes inside sporangia. As with all heterosporous plants, the gametophytes also develop inside the spores." Eiri looked at Garrett again. "If the plant was not self-pollinating then it would face selective pressure to optimize the transfer of its pollen, and this is usually reflected in the morphology of the flowers and the behaviour of the plant. Pollen may be transferred between plants via a number of 'vectors'. Some plants make use of abiotic vectors — namely wind or water. Others use biotic vectors including insects, birds, bats or other animals. Some plants make use of multiple vectors, but most are highly specialized."

<SCIENCE!!!tag>

[Science Lab 5]
[USS Normandie]
[8 August 2386 CE, 1040HRS]

Of all the intriguing species to be sampled by the away teams, one was an obvious candidate for immediate analysis: the plant which was allegedly responsible for altering Ensign Carter’s behavior. Inside of a vacuum-sealed isolation container, Garrett delicately held a single flower of that species and tried to keep his gloved hands from trembling. What a time to be such a klutz. Good thing I didn’t become a surgeon. Despite his years in science, the flower represented one of the first extraterrestrial species Garrett had studied firsthand. The responsibility to perform a first-rate analysis and get first-rate data to share with his colleagues fell squarely on his shoulders, and the fact that Carter’s health could depend on his thoroughness did nothing to ease his nerves either. Ever so gently, Garrett teased apart the petals, trying to avoid providing whatever stimulus had caused the release of powder into Carter’s face. It seemed obvious that exposure to the mysterious powder was what had affected the hapless grayshirt’s behavior; thus, determining where in the flower it was stored, isolating it, and analyzing it would give valuable clues to the nature of Carter’s condition. The isolation container would prevent Garrett from being contaminated if the flower discharged, but gathering the powder would be much more difficult if it were to be sprayed in a fine mist throughout his workspace. Petals removed, Garrett eyed the anatomy of the specimen. Tricorder scans had indicated the presence of a stigma, style, and ovary, but also a secondary, torus-shaped structure around the base of the ovary, potentially an accessory reproductive organ of some sort, but also potentially the source of Carter’s woes. Pheromones tend to be produced and released in very small doses. Whatever I’m looking for might not even be visible to the naked eye. He looked up from his work for a moment into empty space.

“Computer? Please magnify the specimen under dissection by a power of 1,000, enhance the image, and display it on panel 2.”

The requested image appeared, flooding the display panel across the lab. For a moment, the artistic perfection of the flower’s layout made the biologist forget the weight of the situation and smile at the thought of the secrets this tiny flower could tell him. A moment’s inspection of the magnification ended his all-too-brief reverie: no aspect of the donut-shaped ring of tissue immediately suggested an exocrine function. A small incision with a laser scalpel laid open the structure to Garrett’s inquisitive eye.

“Computer? Reference the tricorder readings on Ensign Carter after his exposure to the unknown pheromone, with particular attention to his blood chemistry. If any chemical present in Carter at that point matches the profile of a chemical in the dissection specimen, please label the containing tissues in fluorescent blue on the display panel.”

A moment later, the display panel showed the interior of the donut-shaped organ glowing cyan. Bingo. Now to figure out how to isolate and purify it, and then I’ll run a spectrogram. There was still plenty of work ahead, but Garrett was well familiar with the motivating power of stress. I might be working late, but I’ll have company, at least… I’m sure this little flower has plenty to say to anyone who’ll listen.

Eiri poked his head into Lab 5 and looked for Garrett. All he wanted to do was catalog things that they had come across on their away mission and he was certain that Garrett had already started. He was relieved to no longer be the captain of the ship although he felt that he still had a lot of work to do to make up for the way the away mission had gone. In many ways he blamed himself. He should have made sure himself that everyone was wearing their biohazard suits. He spotted the scientist and made his way to the work station, a PADD in his hand with his own work on it. "How are your studies progressing Lieutenant?"

Garrett looked up at the sound of Ashshy’s voice and blinked. He hadn’t even heard the slim counselor enter the lab. “Oh, good morning, sir,” he greeted, pulling his hands out of the isolation chamber and rising, grateful for the excuse to stretch his legs. I guess that makes two of us under analysis at the moment, he thought, still peripherally focusing on the flower as he levelly met Ashshy’s gaze. “I figured I’d start by examining this little beauty here, considering what it did to Carter.” He pointed to the flower with his thumb. Chill out, already. Your analysis is going to turn out fine, and Carter will be okay. Ashshy’s a scientist, too. He didn’t stop by because he wanted to give you more stress. Garrett knew he’d be more relaxed when and if he completed his tests and obtained quality data, but for the moment, his success was still uncertain, and he was now under the eyes of a telepathic senior officer. “Frankly, sir, I’m flying mostly blind, but I’ve got a pretty good idea of how to isolate and purify the compounds Sickbay’s interested in. Once I’ve got them I’ll run some tests and then I can share everything I find out.”

"I am not here for a report, I came by to see if you could use some assistance. I have been looking over the other readings that we took of the area and the information I gathered might be of use to you and it might not be." He smiled stiffly and looked at the readings on the monitor over Garrett's shoulder. "The soil was low in nitrogen and nutrients that many plants need to live so that might explain why it is of a carnivorous nature. The soil probably increases in richness the deeper you go, so anything that lives on the top without deep taproots would probably need to supplement their diet with something, mostly anything containing amino acids or ammonium ions. Although, I am still not certain I understand how it was using Carter. It was definitely spore bearing, but normally that behavior is only seen in fungi and with deadly effect. Since Carter did not die... I would assume that the plant was using him in some way to either be prey or get prey for the plant. I have heard that some species of carnivorous plants form symbiotic relationships in order to feed themselves. What do you think?"

Garrett listened attentively, nodding. Biologists were a very rare species on the Normandie, and he particularly welcomed company that came with even a basic understanding of ecology. “You read my mind, sir,” he replied, cracking the slightest hint of a smile. “At this point I can’t discount very many possibilities, but our photosynthesizing friend certainly wouldn’t have evolved aggression-inducing pheromones and an airborne delivery system for no purpose. It didn’t incapacitate or kill Carter outright: it just altered his behavior, probably because it wanted him to do something for it. Some parasites do that to their hosts before ultimately killing them. That’s what worries me.” Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts. You’ll figure it all out and he’ll be fine. This will be one hell of a paper when you’re done and it’ll have your name on it. The thought slightly cheered him. Then, he recalled something Ashshy had said. “You mentioned it’s spore-bearing, sir? That’s weird for a flowering plant, though some species do that…” His eyebrows knit and he lowered his gaze from Ashshy in thought for a moment. “Have you spoken to our medical people recently? Do you know if they noticed anything strange on Carter’s internal scan? Maybe in his respiratory tract?” An idea, planted by Ashshy, was sprouting in Garrett’s mind like summer weeds. “Assuming we’re not barking up the wrong tree, sir, Mother Nature hasn't closed Carter's case yet. I think he got a snootful of more than just pheromones, and I think I know what that plant needed him to do.” The anticipation that only came when he caught the scent of an answer flashed in his eyes.

Eiri looked at his PADD. "Yes, I have the report here. The Doctor has released Ensign Carter from sick bay, but he is not yet cleared for duty. They found spores in his lungs and nasal passages and are treating him with antibiotics, but that is all I know. What if the flower was using Carter as a means of reproduction? Flowers do produce spores All flowering plants are heterosporous, producing two types of spores. Microspores are produced by meiosis inside anthers while megaspores are produced inside ovules. In fact, anthers typically consist of four microsporangia and an ovule is an integumented megasporangium. Both types of spores develop into gametophytes inside sporangia. As with all heterosporous plants, the gametophytes also develop inside the spores." Eiri looked at Garrett again. "If the plant was not self-pollinating then it would face selective pressure to optimize the transfer of its pollen, and this is usually reflected in the morphology of the flowers and the behaviour of the plant. Pollen may be transferred between plants via a number of 'vectors'. Some plants make use of abiotic vectors — namely wind or water. Others use biotic vectors including insects, birds, bats or other animals. Some plants make use of multiple vectors, but most are highly specialized."

Garrett grunted, half-pleased, half-surprised. He knew respected professional botanists who’d be incapable of casually rattling off paragraphs of terminology without batting an eye, the way Ashshy had just done. The Counselor had come meaning business, indeed. Did you learn all that just from terraforming and shrinking heads? Whatever else can be said about Vulcan genes, they sure seem to help make top-notch students.

“Uh, totally correct, sir,” the biologist replied, gathering his composure and thinking back over the finer points of his plant biology classes at the Academy. “I spent years doing animals, but my botany’s a little slow coming back.” He motioned to a nearby lab bench as he resumed his own station at the isolation chamber. “Sit, please, if you’d like, sir. I can poke around here and get some work done while we pick each others’ brains.” He slid his hands back into the chamber’s gloved inserts, reaching for a pair of forceps. The idea Ashshy had given him warranted investigation, and he tried to keep his excitement from making his speech rapid.

<tag if desired>

“From what I can tell, this flower is monosexual and pistillate. Female reproductive parts only. There’s nothing in here recognizable as a stamen or an anther, so she wasn’t making pollen and she probably wouldn’t have needed Carter to be a vector for her gametes, anyway. Of all the species with monosexual flowers we know about, there are a few around the galaxy in which the females disseminate their gametes to the males, but that’s quite rare; it’s almost always the other way around. This flower gave Carter a big hit of an aggression-inducer and who knows what else, but that ‘what else’ included spores, which are now in his respiratory tract. I’d say it’s a safe bet that this little lady didn’t need Carter to carry her unfertilized megaspores to a staminate conspecific.” He paused to take a breath and look up at Ashshy. Sometimes he enjoyed minor theatrics when he was hunting a solution. “It’ll take me a day or so to isolate them and run the tests, but I think those spores Carter inhaled were already fertilized and set to start germinating into new plants. All they needed was a proper environment. Or, host, rather.” A moment of dark pleasure at the cruel inventiveness of Mother Nature took Garrett in spite of himself. Some of the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place. Jumping to conclusions too early was anathema to Garrett and the tests he had yet to run might still negate the likelihood of his hypothesis, but Ashshy might have just led the biologist to a windfall, not just for Carter’s sake, but for his own career.

<tag if desired>

“Even if we’re right, though, Carter’s spores might be doomed to failure. Assuming we’ve figured the reproductive strategy right, this species would have adapted to plant its spores in species other than Homo sapiens. We’d present it with a new, unfamiliar physiology. Or maybe the spores need some environmental cue to trigger their growth, and they’ll never get that cue now that they’re not on their own planet. Maybe Carter would even have needed to die first for them to sprout, and the aggression inducers were supposed to ramp up his metabolism and hasten his death. If they do somehow manage to germinate, though, there’s no predicting what might happen to him.”

<tag>

[Science Lab 5]
[USS Normandie]
[8 August 2386 CE, 1040HRS]

Of all the intriguing species to be sampled by the away teams, one was an obvious candidate for immediate analysis: the plant which was allegedly responsible for altering Ensign Carter’s behavior. Inside of a vacuum-sealed isolation container, Garrett delicately held a single flower of that species and tried to keep his gloved hands from trembling. What a time to be such a klutz. Good thing I didn’t become a surgeon. Despite his years in science, the flower represented one of the first extraterrestrial species Garrett had studied firsthand. The responsibility to perform a first-rate analysis and get first-rate data to share with his colleagues fell squarely on his shoulders, and the fact that Carter’s health could depend on his thoroughness did nothing to ease his nerves either. Ever so gently, Garrett teased apart the petals, trying to avoid providing whatever stimulus had caused the release of powder into Carter’s face. It seemed obvious that exposure to the mysterious powder was what had affected the hapless grayshirt’s behavior; thus, determining where in the flower it was stored, isolating it, and analyzing it would give valuable clues to the nature of Carter’s condition. The isolation container would prevent Garrett from being contaminated if the flower discharged, but gathering the powder would be much more difficult if it were to be sprayed in a fine mist throughout his workspace. Petals removed, Garrett eyed the anatomy of the specimen. Tricorder scans had indicated the presence of a stigma, style, and ovary, but also a secondary, torus-shaped structure around the base of the ovary, potentially an accessory reproductive organ of some sort, but also potentially the source of Carter’s woes. Pheromones tend to be produced and released in very small doses. Whatever I’m looking for might not even be visible to the naked eye. He looked up from his work for a moment into empty space.

“Computer? Please magnify the specimen under dissection by a power of 1,000, enhance the image, and display it on panel 2.”

The requested image appeared, flooding the display panel across the lab. For a moment, the artistic perfection of the flower’s layout made the biologist forget the weight of the situation and smile at the thought of the secrets this tiny flower could tell him. A moment’s inspection of the magnification ended his all-too-brief reverie: no aspect of the donut-shaped ring of tissue immediately suggested an exocrine function. A small incision with a laser scalpel laid open the structure to Garrett’s inquisitive eye.

“Computer? Reference the tricorder readings on Ensign Carter after his exposure to the unknown pheromone, with particular attention to his blood chemistry. If any chemical present in Carter at that point matches the profile of a chemical in the dissection specimen, please label the containing tissues in fluorescent blue on the display panel.”

A moment later, the display panel showed the interior of the donut-shaped organ glowing cyan. Bingo. Now to figure out how to isolate and purify it, and then I’ll run a spectrogram. There was still plenty of work ahead, but Garrett was well familiar with the motivating power of stress. I might be working late, but I’ll have company, at least… I’m sure this little flower has plenty to say to anyone who’ll listen.

Eiri poked his head into Lab 5 and looked for Garrett. All he wanted to do was catalog things that they had come across on their away mission and he was certain that Garrett had already started. He was relieved to no longer be the captain of the ship although he felt that he still had a lot of work to do to make up for the way the away mission had gone. In many ways he blamed himself. He should have made sure himself that everyone was wearing their biohazard suits. He spotted the scientist and made his way to the work station, a PADD in his hand with his own work on it. "How are your studies progressing Lieutenant?"

Garrett looked up at the sound of Ashshy’s voice and blinked. He hadn’t even heard the slim counselor enter the lab. “Oh, good morning, sir,” he greeted, pulling his hands out of the isolation chamber and rising, grateful for the excuse to stretch his legs. I guess that makes two of us under analysis at the moment, he thought, still peripherally focusing on the flower as he levelly met Ashshy’s gaze. “I figured I’d start by examining this little beauty here, considering what it did to Carter.” He pointed to the flower with his thumb. Chill out, already. Your analysis is going to turn out fine, and Carter will be okay. Ashshy’s a scientist, too. He didn’t stop by because he wanted to give you more stress. Garrett knew he’d be more relaxed when and if he completed his tests and obtained quality data, but for the moment, his success was still uncertain, and he was now under the eyes of a telepathic senior officer. “Frankly, sir, I’m flying mostly blind, but I’ve got a pretty good idea of how to isolate and purify the compounds Sickbay’s interested in. Once I’ve got them I’ll run some tests and then I can share everything I find out.”

"I am not here for a report, I came by to see if you could use some assistance. I have been looking over the other readings that we took of the area and the information I gathered might be of use to you and it might not be." He smiled stiffly and looked at the readings on the monitor over Garrett's shoulder. "The soil was low in nitrogen and nutrients that many plants need to live so that might explain why it is of a carnivorous nature. The soil probably increases in richness the deeper you go, so anything that lives on the top without deep taproots would probably need to supplement their diet with something, mostly anything containing amino acids or ammonium ions. Although, I am still not certain I understand how it was using Carter. It was definitely spore bearing, but normally that behavior is only seen in fungi and with deadly effect. Since Carter did not die... I would assume that the plant was using him in some way to either be prey or get prey for the plant. I have heard that some species of carnivorous plants form symbiotic relationships in order to feed themselves. What do you think?"

Garrett listened attentively, nodding. Biologists were a very rare species on the Normandie, and he particularly welcomed company that came with even a basic understanding of ecology. “You read my mind, sir,” he replied, cracking the slightest hint of a smile. “At this point I can’t discount very many possibilities, but our photosynthesizing friend certainly wouldn’t have evolved aggression-inducing pheromones and an airborne delivery system for no purpose. It didn’t incapacitate or kill Carter outright: it just altered his behavior, probably because it wanted him to do something for it. Some parasites do that to their hosts before ultimately killing them. That’s what worries me.” Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts. You’ll figure it all out and he’ll be fine. This will be one hell of a paper when you’re done and it’ll have your name on it. The thought slightly cheered him. Then, he recalled something Ashshy had said. “You mentioned it’s spore-bearing, sir? That’s weird for a flowering plant, though some species do that…” His eyebrows knit and he lowered his gaze from Ashshy in thought for a moment. “Have you spoken to our medical people recently? Do you know if they noticed anything strange on Carter’s internal scan? Maybe in his respiratory tract?” An idea, planted by Ashshy, was sprouting in Garrett’s mind like summer weeds. “Assuming we’re not barking up the wrong tree, sir, Mother Nature hasn't closed Carter's case yet. I think he got a snootful of more than just pheromones, and I think I know what that plant needed him to do.” The anticipation that only came when he caught the scent of an answer flashed in his eyes.

Eiri looked at his PADD. "Yes, I have the report here. The Doctor has released Ensign Carter from sick bay, but he is not yet cleared for duty. They found spores in his lungs and nasal passages and are treating him with antibiotics, but that is all I know. What if the flower was using Carter as a means of reproduction? Flowers do produce spores All flowering plants are heterosporous, producing two types of spores. Microspores are produced by meiosis inside anthers while megaspores are produced inside ovules. In fact, anthers typically consist of four microsporangia and an ovule is an integumented megasporangium. Both types of spores develop into gametophytes inside sporangia. As with all heterosporous plants, the gametophytes also develop inside the spores." Eiri looked at Garrett again. "If the plant was not self-pollinating then it would face selective pressure to optimize the transfer of its pollen, and this is usually reflected in the morphology of the flowers and the behaviour of the plant. Pollen may be transferred between plants via a number of 'vectors'. Some plants make use of abiotic vectors — namely wind or water. Others use biotic vectors including insects, birds, bats or other animals. Some plants make use of multiple vectors, but most are highly specialized."

Garrett grunted, half-pleased, half-surprised. He knew respected professional botanists who’d be incapable of casually rattling off paragraphs of terminology without batting an eye, the way Ashshy had just done. The Counselor had come meaning business, indeed. Did you learn all that just from terraforming and shrinking heads? Whatever else can be said about Vulcan genes, they sure seem to help make top-notch students.

“Uh, totally correct, sir,” the biologist replied, gathering his composure and thinking back over the finer points of his plant biology classes at the Academy. “I spent years doing animals, but my botany’s a little slow coming back.” He motioned to a nearby lab bench as he resumed his own station at the isolation chamber. “Sit, please, if you’d like, sir. I can poke around here and get some work done while we pick each others’ brains.” He slid his hands back into the chamber’s gloved inserts, reaching for a pair of forceps. The idea Ashshy had given him warranted investigation, and he tried to keep his excitement from making his speech rapid.

Eiri sat down on the bench. This was their most pressing thing that needed to be taken care of. Carter had not shown any aggressive tendencies since arriving back on the ship. He pondered that a moment. The ship's bio filters should have caught and filtered out the invading species, and yet there were still spores present. He wondered suddenly if maybe the the enzymes of the plant had in some way attached themselves to Carter's DNA sequence. Certain DNA-binding proteins would definitely cause the bio filter to think that the plant spores were part of the Ensign and not an invader to be filtered out. He held his opinions back for now and turned his attention back to Garrett.

“From what I can tell, this flower is monosexual and pistillate. Female reproductive parts only. There’s nothing in here recognizable as a stamen or an anther, so she wasn’t making pollen and she probably wouldn’t have needed Carter to be a vector for her gametes, anyway. Of all the species with monosexual flowers we know about, there are a few around the galaxy in which the females disseminate their gametes to the males, but that’s quite rare; it’s almost always the other way around. This flower gave Carter a big hit of an aggression-inducer and who knows what else, but that ‘what else’ included spores, which are now in his respiratory tract. I’d say it’s a safe bet that this little lady didn’t need Carter to carry her unfertilized megaspores to a staminate conspecific.” He paused to take a breath and look up at Ashshy. Sometimes he enjoyed minor theatrics when he was hunting a solution. “It’ll take me a day or so to isolate them and run the tests, but I think those spores Carter inhaled were already fertilized and set to start germinating into new plants. All they needed was a proper environment. Or, host, rather.” A moment of dark pleasure at the cruel inventiveness of Mother Nature took Garrett in spite of himself. Some of the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place. Jumping to conclusions too early was anathema to Garrett and the tests he had yet to run might still negate the likelihood of his hypothesis, but Ashshy might have just led the biologist to a windfall, not just for Carter’s sake, but for his own career.

"Oh yes!" Eiri piped in. "There are certain types of beetles that nest in the dead bodies of mice and rats. It could easily have been creating a bio bed out of Carter to germinate the new seedlings. If the plant was going to do that though... should there be enzymes present that are focused on breaking down the body into a more "digestible" meal for the new plants? I would think that she would want the vector to break down quickly, but not so quickly as to provide competition for the parent plant. I mean the whole point of this method is to spread the seed so that it is not interfering with the mother planet. Correct?"

<tag maybe>

“Even if we’re right, though, Carter’s spores might be doomed to failure. Assuming we’ve figured the reproductive strategy right, this species would have adapted to plant its spores in species other than Homo sapiens. We’d present it with a new, unfamiliar physiology. Or maybe the spores need some environmental cue to trigger their growth, and they’ll never get that cue now that they’re not on their own planet. Maybe Carter would even have needed to die first for them to sprout, and the aggression inducers were supposed to ramp up his metabolism and hasten his death. If they do somehow manage to germinate, though, there’s no predicting what might happen to him.”

Eiri nodded. "I was thinking about the bio filters in the transporters and why they did not filter out the invading spores, but why Carter no longer shows signs of aggression. What if the plant uses DNA-binding proteins. It would explain why the bio filters ignored the spores but removed whatever enzyme was responsible for his aggression. There are specialized enzymes that move along DNA strands and repair them, but there are other enzymes that can untwist DNA strands to reproduce them and still others can find small patterns on DNA and attach to them, blocking access to that section of DNA. From there they DNA can be used to produce enzymes. Does that make any sense to you?"

<tag>

[Science Lab 5]
[USS Normandie]
[8 August 2386 CE, 1040HRS]

Of all the intriguing species to be sampled by the away teams, one was an obvious candidate for immediate analysis: the plant which was allegedly responsible for altering Ensign Carter’s behavior. Inside of a vacuum-sealed isolation container, Garrett delicately held a single flower of that species and tried to keep his gloved hands from trembling. What a time to be such a klutz. Good thing I didn’t become a surgeon. Despite his years in science, the flower represented one of the first extraterrestrial species Garrett had studied firsthand. The responsibility to perform a first-rate analysis and get first-rate data to share with his colleagues fell squarely on his shoulders, and the fact that Carter’s health could depend on his thoroughness did nothing to ease his nerves either. Ever so gently, Garrett teased apart the petals, trying to avoid providing whatever stimulus had caused the release of powder into Carter’s face. It seemed obvious that exposure to the mysterious powder was what had affected the hapless grayshirt’s behavior; thus, determining where in the flower it was stored, isolating it, and analyzing it would give valuable clues to the nature of Carter’s condition. The isolation container would prevent Garrett from being contaminated if the flower discharged, but gathering the powder would be much more difficult if it were to be sprayed in a fine mist throughout his workspace. Petals removed, Garrett eyed the anatomy of the specimen. Tricorder scans had indicated the presence of a stigma, style, and ovary, but also a secondary, torus-shaped structure around the base of the ovary, potentially an accessory reproductive organ of some sort, but also potentially the source of Carter’s woes. Pheromones tend to be produced and released in very small doses. Whatever I’m looking for might not even be visible to the naked eye. He looked up from his work for a moment into empty space.

“Computer? Please magnify the specimen under dissection by a power of 1,000, enhance the image, and display it on panel 2.”

The requested image appeared, flooding the display panel across the lab. For a moment, the artistic perfection of the flower’s layout made the biologist forget the weight of the situation and smile at the thought of the secrets this tiny flower could tell him. A moment’s inspection of the magnification ended his all-too-brief reverie: no aspect of the donut-shaped ring of tissue immediately suggested an exocrine function. A small incision with a laser scalpel laid open the structure to Garrett’s inquisitive eye.

“Computer? Reference the tricorder readings on Ensign Carter after his exposure to the unknown pheromone, with particular attention to his blood chemistry. If any chemical present in Carter at that point matches the profile of a chemical in the dissection specimen, please label the containing tissues in fluorescent blue on the display panel.”

A moment later, the display panel showed the interior of the donut-shaped organ glowing cyan. Bingo. Now to figure out how to isolate and purify it, and then I’ll run a spectrogram. There was still plenty of work ahead, but Garrett was well familiar with the motivating power of stress. I might be working late, but I’ll have company, at least… I’m sure this little flower has plenty to say to anyone who’ll listen.

Eiri poked his head into Lab 5 and looked for Garrett. All he wanted to do was catalog things that they had come across on their away mission and he was certain that Garrett had already started. He was relieved to no longer be the captain of the ship although he felt that he still had a lot of work to do to make up for the way the away mission had gone. In many ways he blamed himself. He should have made sure himself that everyone was wearing their biohazard suits. He spotted the scientist and made his way to the work station, a PADD in his hand with his own work on it. "How are your studies progressing Lieutenant?"

Garrett looked up at the sound of Ashshy’s voice and blinked. He hadn’t even heard the slim counselor enter the lab. “Oh, good morning, sir,” he greeted, pulling his hands out of the isolation chamber and rising, grateful for the excuse to stretch his legs. I guess that makes two of us under analysis at the moment, he thought, still peripherally focusing on the flower as he levelly met Ashshy’s gaze. “I figured I’d start by examining this little beauty here, considering what it did to Carter.” He pointed to the flower with his thumb. Chill out, already. Your analysis is going to turn out fine, and Carter will be okay. Ashshy’s a scientist, too. He didn’t stop by because he wanted to give you more stress. Garrett knew he’d be more relaxed when and if he completed his tests and obtained quality data, but for the moment, his success was still uncertain, and he was now under the eyes of a telepathic senior officer. “Frankly, sir, I’m flying mostly blind, but I’ve got a pretty good idea of how to isolate and purify the compounds Sickbay’s interested in. Once I’ve got them I’ll run some tests and then I can share everything I find out.”

"I am not here for a report, I came by to see if you could use some assistance. I have been looking over the other readings that we took of the area and the information I gathered might be of use to you and it might not be." He smiled stiffly and looked at the readings on the monitor over Garrett's shoulder. "The soil was low in nitrogen and nutrients that many plants need to live so that might explain why it is of a carnivorous nature. The soil probably increases in richness the deeper you go, so anything that lives on the top without deep taproots would probably need to supplement their diet with something, mostly anything containing amino acids or ammonium ions. Although, I am still not certain I understand how it was using Carter. It was definitely spore bearing, but normally that behavior is only seen in fungi and with deadly effect. Since Carter did not die... I would assume that the plant was using him in some way to either be prey or get prey for the plant. I have heard that some species of carnivorous plants form symbiotic relationships in order to feed themselves. What do you think?"

Garrett listened attentively, nodding. Biologists were a very rare species on the Normandie, and he particularly welcomed company that came with even a basic understanding of ecology. “You read my mind, sir,” he replied, cracking the slightest hint of a smile. “At this point I can’t discount very many possibilities, but our photosynthesizing friend certainly wouldn’t have evolved aggression-inducing pheromones and an airborne delivery system for no purpose. It didn’t incapacitate or kill Carter outright: it just altered his behavior, probably because it wanted him to do something for it. Some parasites do that to their hosts before ultimately killing them. That’s what worries me.” Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts. You’ll figure it all out and he’ll be fine. This will be one hell of a paper when you’re done and it’ll have your name on it. The thought slightly cheered him. Then, he recalled something Ashshy had said. “You mentioned it’s spore-bearing, sir? That’s weird for a flowering plant, though some species do that…” His eyebrows knit and he lowered his gaze from Ashshy in thought for a moment. “Have you spoken to our medical people recently? Do you know if they noticed anything strange on Carter’s internal scan? Maybe in his respiratory tract?” An idea, planted by Ashshy, was sprouting in Garrett’s mind like summer weeds. “Assuming we’re not barking up the wrong tree, sir, Mother Nature hasn't closed Carter's case yet. I think he got a snootful of more than just pheromones, and I think I know what that plant needed him to do.” The anticipation that only came when he caught the scent of an answer flashed in his eyes.

Eiri looked at his PADD. "Yes, I have the report here. The Doctor has released Ensign Carter from sick bay, but he is not yet cleared for duty. They found spores in his lungs and nasal passages and are treating him with antibiotics, but that is all I know. What if the flower was using Carter as a means of reproduction? Flowers do produce spores All flowering plants are heterosporous, producing two types of spores. Microspores are produced by meiosis inside anthers while megaspores are produced inside ovules. In fact, anthers typically consist of four microsporangia and an ovule is an integumented megasporangium. Both types of spores develop into gametophytes inside sporangia. As with all heterosporous plants, the gametophytes also develop inside the spores." Eiri looked at Garrett again. "If the plant was not self-pollinating then it would face selective pressure to optimize the transfer of its pollen, and this is usually reflected in the morphology of the flowers and the behaviour of the plant. Pollen may be transferred between plants via a number of 'vectors'. Some plants make use of abiotic vectors — namely wind or water. Others use biotic vectors including insects, birds, bats or other animals. Some plants make use of multiple vectors, but most are highly specialized."

Garrett grunted, half-pleased, half-surprised. He knew respected professional botanists who’d be incapable of casually rattling off paragraphs of terminology without batting an eye, the way Ashshy had just done. The Counselor had come meaning business, indeed. Did you learn all that just from terraforming and shrinking heads? Whatever else can be said about Vulcan genes, they sure seem to help make top-notch students.

“Uh, totally correct, sir,” the biologist replied, gathering his composure and thinking back over the finer points of his plant biology classes at the Academy. “I spent years doing animals, but my botany’s a little slow coming back.” He motioned to a nearby lab bench as he resumed his own station at the isolation chamber. “Sit, please, if you’d like, sir. I can poke around here and get some work done while we pick each others’ brains.” He slid his hands back into the chamber’s gloved inserts, reaching for a pair of forceps. The idea Ashshy had given him warranted investigation, and he tried to keep his excitement from making his speech rapid.

Eiri sat down on the bench. This was their most pressing thing that needed to be taken care of. Carter had not shown any aggressive tendencies since arriving back on the ship. He pondered that a moment. The ship's bio filters should have caught and filtered out the invading species, and yet there were still spores present. He wondered suddenly if maybe the the enzymes of the plant had in some way attached themselves to Carter's DNA sequence. Certain DNA-binding proteins would definitely cause the bio filter to think that the plant spores were part of the Ensign and not an invader to be filtered out. He held his opinions back for now and turned his attention back to Garrett.

“From what I can tell, this flower is monosexual and pistillate. Female reproductive parts only. There’s nothing in here recognizable as a stamen or an anther, so she wasn’t making pollen and she probably wouldn’t have needed Carter to be a vector for her gametes, anyway. Of all the species with monosexual flowers we know about, there are a few around the galaxy in which the females disseminate their gametes to the males, but that’s quite rare; it’s almost always the other way around. This flower gave Carter a big hit of an aggression-inducer and who knows what else, but that ‘what else’ included spores, which are now in his respiratory tract. I’d say it’s a safe bet that this little lady didn’t need Carter to carry her unfertilized megaspores to a staminate conspecific.” He paused to take a breath and look up at Ashshy. Sometimes he enjoyed minor theatrics when he was hunting a solution. “It’ll take me a day or so to isolate them and run the tests, but I think those spores Carter inhaled were already fertilized and set to start germinating into new plants. All they needed was a proper environment. Or, host, rather.” A moment of dark pleasure at the cruel inventiveness of Mother Nature took Garrett in spite of himself. Some of the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place. Jumping to conclusions too early was anathema to Garrett and the tests he had yet to run might still negate the likelihood of his hypothesis, but Ashshy might have just led the biologist to a windfall, not just for Carter’s sake, but for his own career.

"Oh yes!" Eiri piped in. "There are certain types of beetles that nest in the dead bodies of mice and rats. It could easily have been creating a bio bed out of Carter to germinate the new seedlings. If the plant was going to do that though... should there be enzymes present that are focused on breaking down the body into a more "digestible" meal for the new plants? I would think that she would want the vector to break down quickly, but not so quickly as to provide competition for the parent plant. I mean the whole point of this method is to spread the seed so that it is not interfering with the mother planet. Correct?"

“That’d certainly be advantageous, especially considering the local soil quality isn’t so great. I trust our medical people would check for alien proteins in Carter’s circulation, but if it did dose him with digestive enzymes and the catalysis of host tissues proceeds at the rate you’re suggesting, it might not hurt to keep an eye on him, just in case. There are still a lot of unknowns here, as yet.” At least until I get these tests done and get to know our insidious photosynthesizing friend a little better. He paused and looked at the flower in the isolation chamber as if it were a painting in an art gallery.

“Even if we’re right, though, Carter’s spores might be doomed to failure. Assuming we’ve figured the reproductive strategy right, this species would have adapted to plant its spores in species other than Homo sapiens. We’d present it with a new, unfamiliar physiology. Or maybe the spores need some environmental cue to trigger their growth, and they’ll never get that cue now that they’re not on their own planet. Maybe Carter would even have needed to die first for them to sprout, and the aggression inducers were supposed to ramp up his metabolism and hasten his death. If they do somehow manage to germinate, though, there’s no predicting what might happen to him.”

Eiri nodded. "I was thinking about the bio filters in the transporters and why they did not filter out the invading spores, but why Carter no longer shows signs of aggression. What if the plant uses DNA-binding proteins. It would explain why the bio filters ignored the spores but removed whatever enzyme was responsible for his aggression. There are specialized enzymes that move along DNA strands and repair them, but there are other enzymes that can untwist DNA strands to reproduce them and still others can find small patterns on DNA and attach to them, blocking access to that section of DNA. From there they DNA can be used to produce enzymes. Does that make any sense to you?"

“That’s the problem with transporter biofilters, isn’t it? They’re excellent at removing every pathogen we already know how to deal with, but they don’t catch the weird stuff Nature throws at us. If you’re right and these spores can bind to the host’s DNA, they may be a lot more compatible with Carter’s physiology than I’d wagered. He could be in serious trouble.” Again, the weight of the situation became apparent to Garrett. Certainly, marine ecology—his original discipline--impacted the well-being of sentient life-forms, but not nearly as directly as medical problems such as the current one. It excited and humbled the biologist at the same time. You asked for this kind of responsibility when you put on that uniform, Lieutenant. Just keep being a good scientist. That’s all you can do.

“Sir, I recommend we keep a very close eye on Carter while I figure out exactly what these spores might do to him if they start germinating. It’ll be a day or so, but I can run some simulated tests in human tissue with the computer after my chemical analyses turn out. Based on the chemical data and Carter’s medical report, I should be able to get a pretty clear picture of how his lung garden is going to turn out.”

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