((Science, Ursa Major))

::Aeric switched off his comm badge and stepped away from his station to
prepare for the away mission. If there was truly a radiation problem on the
planet, the sooner it could be dealt with, the better. Radiation had never
been his specialty, but when examining the ship's roster during the long
months it took to arrive, Aeric had noted that there was an expert on
radiation in the ship, a Doctor Iago who had been studying the radiation
emissions of the various ship functions. Aeric quickly found an empty
conference room and called him from an available terminal::

Dr. Iago: "Yes, what? What is it?"

Tiernan: "Doctor Iago, I'm sorry if I've interrupted an experiment, but
there appears t' be a radiation leak on the planet. You are the ship expert
on radiation, I was hoping you could come with us."

Dr. Iago: ::frowning at the communications panel:: "I've never been asked on
an away mission before." ::He tugged at his lab coat::

Tiernan: "Aye, sir. I've checked the ship's records, it's almost as if you
never existed on the ship before right now, when I arrived and needed
someone to come along t' cover for th' fact that I'm a botanist, not a
radiologist. If this were a play, you'd be considered a plot device, nothing
more."

Dr. Iago: "A poorly written play, no doubt."

Tiernan: "Aye, 'tis."

Dr. Iago: "I've been in better."

Tiernan: "I'm sure of it."

::Dr. Iago simply glowered at the screen for a while:: "Alright. I'll meet
you in the transporter bay. The second one. It'll do me good to get off this
death trap for a while."

Tiernan: "Th' Ursa Major is a death trap?"

Dr Iago: "Of course, boy." ::he snapped.:: "It flies through space. Everyone
knows that's impossible."

::There was a lengthy pause as Aeric struggled to find words to reply to
that.::

Dr. Iago: "Gullible, aren't you?" ::The comm line went dead.::

::Aeric sighed slightly; he could tell he was getting in slightly over his
head; but no time to waste musing about it. He had the rest of a team to
pull together.::

((Wheeler Colony: Power Station))

::They were a team of true scientists, which is to say that the moment the
transporter dissipated they all had their tricorders out and were scanning
the area. Aeric had distributed radiation medication in hyposprays before
they arrived; all except to the doctor, who not only had his own but was
wearing a full radiation suit and carrying a rack of test tubes in one hand,
and an old-fashioned geiger counter in the other, both of which he insisted
on carrying himself. It let out a quiet mumble of clicks as they stepped
away from the landing site.::

::Ensign Janice Lutz, a short-haired brunette, looked up from her tricorder
to the walls of the power station.::

Lutz: "I'm showing definite background radiation here. Elevated from
standard levels, but well within expectations for a power station of this
quality."

Tiernan: "Any danger t' th' workers?"

Lutz: "Not if they take basic precautions. A simple anti-rad pill once a
month and nothing to worry about."

::The doctor snorted. Aeric looked over at him questioningly:: "Doctor?"
::The doctor waved his hand dismissively, setting the test tubes rattling in
their containers for a moment.::

::Ensign Byron Koshto spoke up:: "There aren't any residences close enough
to reach with this level of radiation. They'd need to be practically living
inside the power station for a month or two. The radiation shielding is
hardly Star Fleet standard, but it seems to be sufficient."

::Aeric nodded.:: "That's what earlier reports confirmed, that it shouldn't
be a danger... which means there might be a leak somewhere that we haven't
picked up."

::Doctor Iago snorted without looking up.::

Koshto: "Or a different source of radiation.::

::Doctor Iago snorted again.::

Tiernan: "Exactly. Ensign Koshto. Ensign Lutz, take a walk around the
outside of the power plant, see if there's any significant change in
radiation. Let me know immediately if you find anything."

::Aeric glanced over to the doctor::

Tiernan: "Doctor, have you found anything of interest?"

Dr. Iago: "Oh, no. Why would I have found anything? I'm just a scientist. I
won't notice anything."

Tiernan: "I just wanted t' know..."

Dr. Iago: "Oh, well, don't let me stand in your way. Go on, talk to the
family. I'm sure you've already thought to ask where they've been swimming
lately, and where they live. I'll just rattle my test tubes some more."

Tiernan: "... right... " ::He tapped his commbadge:: =/\= "Tiernan to Doctor
Prox. We're investigating the radiation leak you indicated. I was wondering
if you could ask your patients a few questions for us." =/\=

-- Response?

Tiernan: =/\= "Where they live, where they've been swimming, anywhere
they've been spending a lot of time lately." =/\=

-- Response?

Dr. Iago: "Are their toenails bleeding?"

Tiernan: "What?"

::Dr. Iago waved his hand:: "Ask him if their toenails are bleeding."

Tiernan: =/\= "And we're wondering if their toenails are bleeding at all."
=/\= "Is that a symptom of radiation poisoning?"

Dr. Iago: "'Is that a symptom of radiation poisoning'?" ::He muttered to
himself.::

-- Response?


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]