Triteia Station

Ellie Reinhardt
Infirmary


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Dr. Reinhardt looked up over her reading glasses at John Serrin and internally groaned. So far her tasks had been simple enough. Check vitals, record results, rinse and repeat. People were generally out of her hair within 10-15 minutes at most-- all except the man that imposed himself upon her doorway at this current time. Still, she forced her polite smile at him. "Ah, Mr. Serrin, is it that time already?" She looked at her watch, looking confused. "I could have swore I've set your alarm. I guess I must have forgotten.." She muttered, standing up.

She moved to pick up her chart. "Please, have a seat."
 
Delilah Hopkins/Dell
Lab 2​

The heel of Delilah's foot tapped rhythmically against the floor as she stood over a desk riddled with papers. Before, her disorganization lied in the roots of too much, but right now it seemed there was much too little. Samples were being collected and studied at a pace she was still adjusting to. The pace she knew followed a fast, stressful pattern: be handed work that had a strict deadline, overwork in hopes of finishing early, and barely making it on time regardless.
The constant lull in progress wasn't made any easier by her attitude. Delilah, worried about making bad impressions so soon, had purposefully distanced herself from her colleagues. It was getting increasingly harder to keep it up: she would have to start trying at some point, considering they were all stuck there together.

Turning around to lean against the desk, Delilah rubbed her eyes with a hand and reached back to pick up (what she hoped) was her notes on the storage situation.
"Not exactly thriving, but we're not seeing anything negative just yet. I'll contact Sebastian and ask him to head over now."
With a step forward and a bone-popping stretch, the woman walked over to where she'd left her communication device (she had a bad habit of setting it down out of reach-- she'd surely lose it sooner or later), and clicked the buttons until it went through to the other scientist in Lab 1.
"Sebastian? It's Delilah. We've got some time before the next batch of samples arrive. We'd appreciate it if you could head to Lab 2 so we can discuss what we have so far."
Delilah spoke quickly, and monotone: no doubt born from awkwardness over not knowing what to say.
 
Sebastian Lider
Lab 1​

The communicator buzzed awake with a crackle, cleaving through the silence in Lab 1 and startling Sebastian enough to make him drop the bundle of papers in his hand. "We'd appreciate it if you could head to Lab 2 so we can discuss what we have so far." Delilah's voice.

It had been three days since he had spoken to anyone other than the routine check ups with Dr. Reinhardt, and even then they were comprised of very short yes and no questions that didn't involve much thought. The hiatus on having actual conversations had led to a hypothetical atrophy in his ability to maintain a proper one so his mouth spat out some incoherent grunts of affirmation before composing himself and actually being able to form words. "Be there in a jiffy, I just need to clean up here," he managed to get across though his voice did slightly crack as though he was going through a second wave of puberty.

Lab 2 had the people who Sebastian mentally noted as "the big guy" and "the not-so-social butterfly" and was only around the corner and would take minutes, if not seconds, to get to it so Sebastian spent a few minutes stacking up the pile of papers he had dropped, but this time remembering to use a paperclip to keep them together - he would not be caught unawares again. After his tidy up, Sebastian busied over to Lab 2 grabbing his notepad.

He entered through the door of Lab 2. "Heyho, I'm here for the impromptu lab meeting." he cheerily chimed.
 
Theodore "Teddy" Tu'uao
Lab 2
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The coffee marker began to crackle and pop internally as Teddy stepped back, finding the entering form of Sebastian. The man had kept very much to himself once they'd settled the lab assignments. Unlike Teddy, in many ways he seemed tailor-made for the solitude of the assignment.

"Didn't think anyone would fancy a swim down to the bottom for some more samples, so might as well see how we're all getting along," he said with a hint of laughter. "I haven't been able to run any real reaction tests yet. It's taken this entire time just to learn how to store and sample the little things properly without contamination. I'm starting to see why they wanted all the tests down here -- no way these samples would be worth much if they had to make it all the way to a mainland lab before we could get our hands on them."

Turning and reaching up above the maker, he grabbed three cups and held one each out to Dell and Sebastien.​
 
John Serrin
Infirmary​

"Thank you, Doctor. Trust you slept well," he offered as he took the seat, crossing his legs quickly and removing his glasses, giving them a quick shine with the small handkerchief from his pocket.

"I was reading up on a number of illnesses that could easily be caught in extreme low temperature environments. If the atmospheric heating elements were to fail, we could be looking at a serious medical epidemic among the crew. Now, I took the liberty of seeing what possible inoculations or vaccinations might be available," he started, producing a small note pad and quickly reviewing his notes before what was clearly going to be something of a diatribe or speech.
 
Sebastian Lider
Lab 2​


Coffee - Sebastian's least favourite mode of caffeine injection. He politely took a cup and hid a surreptitious grimace as he he quaffed down a sizeable amount followed by a "Ah, that's the stuff". He knew that his opinion of coffee was somewhat controversial so hid it best as he could, avoiding meaningless conflicts and arguments was essentially rule 1 of The Survival Guide - How to deal with being stuck with work colleges in an enclosed environment.

"These samples are temperamental little buggers... the biological half lives on them make no sense any which way you slice it - it's actually kind of cool how annoying it is to keep them viable down here. I've been considering running some UV tests to emulate sunlight exposure down here but the lamp in lab 1 is on the blink again so I'm stuck until I can get it working. Have we made any progress on the phylogenetic side, any idea of what these things actually are?"

The taste of the coffee still lingered in his mouth. Sebastian's mind wondered how the samples tasted. "And most importantly, are we just gonna keep on calling them samples or give them some cool code name?" Attempt humour, endear colleagues and establish a lack of hostility. Textbook execution.
 
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Delilah Hopkins/Dell
Lab 2​

The coffee was accepted as quickly as she could take it, nodding towards Theodore as a thank you before taking a long, drawn-out sip. Sebastian's chipper entrance and the jovial tone the two other scientists had managed to coax a small smile out of Delilah- Though hidden well behind a now near-empty cup. Caffeine and coffee was something she didn't enjoy, but still appreciated a cup now and again. Years of relying on it as a sleep substatute really sours the taste.

"We've only just figured out the temperature least damaging to them, and right now it seems to only be short term preservation. Moving them to the surface would require constant balance. It'd be tricky, that's for sure."
Delilah commented with an exasperated sigh, setting the cup down to rest her arms crossed over her chest. The stab at comedy made her huff a single breath of something resembling laughter.
"I shouldn't be the one to name them. With how insufferably fragile they are, it'd be something...Less than decent. There's not too much we know about them yet, so classification is hard to guess. I hope it's just a case of early days, and the future will bring more results."

To say these unicellular units were trouble would be disgustingly understating it. If it wasn't a professional setting, she may have just went on a tangent on how infuriating it was. And she wasn't even a main researcher!
 
Theodore "Teddy" Tu'uao
Lab 2​

Teddy sipped slowly. For such a large, gregarious man, he could be incredibly gentle and delicate when the worked called for it. Everything about the man's exterior appearance defied his profession and intellect, something he greatly enjoyed in the surprise found in the faces of colleagues when he began to speak on topics with expertise. That was one of the draws of this program -- no one was here that didn't deserve to be here, that hadn't earned a spot. There was need to to question qualifications here.

"Xenophores like this exist all over the world, but most of them are pretty stable in just about any form of salt water regardless of pressure and temperature," he said to both of them, talking out loud to himself as much as anything. "But these ones here," Teddy gestured with his cup to the disposal bin where the samples he'd exhausted lay, "are temperamental little buggers."

He paused for a moment before standing up and walking over to the cold storage locker room to the side of the room.

"Does it bother anyone else that we have samples of some of the nastiness viruses and infectious diseases known in here? I mean, I get that's the point of why, but," he exaggerated a shudder.
 
Ellie Reinhardt
Infirmary


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Dr. Reinhardt smiled politely and put the blood pressure cuff over the man's right arm and took his temperature right after, recording the information down. "Sounds fascinating, tell me more." She said, the slightest sarcastic edge to her tone. She then put her stethoscope on and started pumping the cuff, keeping the end of the stethoscope just by the BP cuff as she nodded fervently towards the man and his speech. Fortunately, the sound of 'whisk whisk whisk' kept drowning out his words. If only she could keep pumping it forever.

It was only at this point he got to almost insulting the fact that she must not know what she must or must not do that she decided enough was enough. She pumped that cuff a bit more, until it was a tad painful. "Look, Mr. Serrin.. I'm pleased to know that your google research degree has given you ample knowledge of the possible outcomes of our untimely demises, and that it has given you the impression that I am inadequate to the task that I have been given. But let me rest assured that I did not go through years of medical school and medical training in multiple fields of study just to be outdone by your undiagnosed psychosis. I promise you I will do my best to keep us from the unlikely ailments of the bends, and if I truly need advice, I'll google it myself. But until then, please let me do my job in peace and stop spiking your blood pressure unnecessarily or I will diagnose you with cancer of the brain and I will send you back to the surface. Okay?"

She smiled politely at him.
 
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Sebastian Lider
Lab 2​


"Bother me? No sirree, I just don't think about how pretty much everything that can go wrong will lead to our inevitable deaths and a huge loss of money. That sort of mental burden is too much for me so I'll just leave it to the accountants top-side." Sebastian shrugged with an melodramatic motion.

"If I throw myself into the research, there isn't room in my mind for paranoia so that's the plan. Though, I do admit, if this were a movie or something I'd look like a right idiot for dismissing an obvious foreshadowing for the viewers' benefit. Speaking of, what do you guys do in your downtime between samples nowadays, some movie viewing or light reading?" Sebastian said with a light chuckle.

Sebastian had been quite withdrawn the past few days since he had dedicated all of his time to the research, but now with a moments interlude from work due to technological limitations, he'd dedicate at least a few minutes to working out the interests of his colleagues so that their conversations weren't just about work - Sebastian had spent a few hours exploring a wide variety of genres and activities to try and ensure that there would always be something to speak about in common with at least a few other people.
 
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Delilah Hopkins/Dell
Lab 2​

Delilah tipped her head to the side in Sebastian's direction, him having put it better than she could have. It bothered her a lot, but she ignored it as best she could. If or when all those fatal diseases get out, she can die with the comfort it wasn't her fault. She didn't like going near that freezer, trying to make it not-obvious.
"It's blood-chilling. Won't help us sleep at night if we think about it too much."

Since the conversation was drifting into more leisure-related topics, Delilah turned her back to busy herself sorting papers: turning her head a little every so often to prove she was still listening in. Being stuck on a space station was the perfect time to master hobbies- But that could wait. Right now she needed to establish a routine with the few little habits she had already.
"Crosswords are a go-to for me. Origami if I'm feeling adventurous. I've never had the patience for movies, really. I might try and marathon a boxset one day, if either of you have any suggestions for that."
 
Maxwell Yoel Judah
Lab 2
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"I absolutely love a good crossword." Maxwell said as he slipped into the lab, research papers and a magazine tucked beneath an arm for a brief moment before the scientist found himself place to put down his things. He sat down, picking up the somewhat outdated celebrity gossip magazine for himself.

Reading it and other magazines had become part of his routine since they'd all been on the station. A way to keep Maxwell's feet firmly planted on the ground while there. "Anyone think they'll ever expand the labs? I could do a bit more if I had a bit more." He said to his colleagues.

"Or at least had a specimens, ante- and post-mortem who's brains I could get my hands on." Maxwell continued. He was curious about what he had heard about the new discovery's healing abilities. What they would do to a person's, or an animal's, psyche. To how their brain reconciled with what what was happening to the body.

"I could also do with more reading material. I've read this twice." He said with a chuckle, holding up his magazine.
 
John Serrin
Infirmary​

Serrin remained completely silent for a moment after Ellie unleashed her true thoughts about his meddling and comments, allowing her to finish her examination. He stood up and adjusted his waistline slowly.​
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"I can see that I've touched a nerve, Doctor. Understandable, territorial nature of the profession and all." There was no malice in tone, nor any sign that her words had affected him negatively. If he was upset, embarrassed, enraged, or any other emotion one would expect after such a response, it seemed completely absent on the surface of the man. He spoke as if she'd eager accepted his notes and agreed to give them a thorough incorporation into her medical routine for the station's personnel.​
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"I must say, I was pleased with the speed with which the elevator system reaches the surface. I'm hopeful that, given any unfortunate mechanical accidents, say akin to an industrial furnace support collapse, we'll be able to get to a more...fully-staffed facility. I'm sure you feel the same way, Doctor," he said with the same even tone as he headed for the hatchway out.​
 
Ellie Reinhardt
Infirmary​


The woman felt the heat rise to her cheeks at the man's subtle but harsh implications. She knew in applying for this position, her past would be studied to figure if she would be a good match for this position. But to have her past mistake held over her head was a bit much, even from a man she just insulted.

"Mr. Serrin." She called after him. "It is of my experience of listening to your wonderful conversations these past few days that you have come to expect something to happen. As if you know something will happen. And if something does happen and I find out someone has intentionally put my patients in harms way, then I will stop at nothing to make sure that justice is served." She warned. She didn't say it outright, but she did hint at her concerns enough to get her point across. "I bid you good day, and I'll see you the same time tomorrow."
 
Theodore "Teddy" Tu'uao
Lab 2​

The lament of decent reading material, or at least anything recreational to help pass the time while waiting for samples or the results of an automated test, was something with which the big man could sympathize easily. He didn't take to boredom or sitting around too well, especially when there was so much exciting work to be done.

"Don't start with me on that. I'd kill for the ch--" Teddy's words were cut off quickly by the jarring buzzing noise that sounded throughout the lab. They were still adjusting to the procedures, but they'd hopefully all recognize exactly what that meant -- the automated sample collector that traveled down to the deepest part of the Trench was now safely moored in the Trench Access bay with everything they'd been waiting for all this time.

Work could finally continue.

"All right!" The large man almost slammed his coffee cup down as he popped up with excitement. "Let's see if we can't divide and conquer this new batch. We can surely get them going pretty quickly, right?"

Regulations would have called for them to have at least two members of the Ops Team to come and assist with the off-loading of the specimens from the mechanical loader. Instead, Teddy was rip-roaring and ready, confident they could manage it themselves. It wasn't like the corridor between Trench Access and the Labs was locked or restricted.

"Who's with me?"
 
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