Bays Should be Filled with Water

[Archie Phoenix 0]

While Lieutenant Sema’J monitored the away team’s departure from the ship, Archie reviewed the hydroponic storage specs submitted to engineering by science. It was clear that transporting the chewana roots back to the Axrekravian system was not going to be an easy task. Two cargo bays were going to have to be emptied then made to simulate the chewana plant’s deep-sea habitat.

 

“Computer, begin recording engineer’s log for stardate 50804.16 and ensure that this analysis is made available to all cargo bay crew, all industrial and organic replication crew, and the away team.

 

“The hydroponics specs submitted by science indicate that we will need to line the cleared and sterilized decks of cargo bays 1 and 2 with a layer of soil at least two feet thick -- enough to safely encase the roots of the chewana plants. The composition of the planet’s topsoil is mostly simple; our industrial replicators will be able to expeditiously produce the required amount. On top of the soil will be needed a layer of water at least ten feet deep to encompass the plant; again, the desired amount may be quickly and easily replicated.

 

“The bays will need to be kept at a constant temperature of six degrees Celsius and a pressure of 32 atmospheres. Obviously the bays will have to remain strictly off-limits to any crew not wearing an EVA suit. Given the plant’s normal deep-sea depth as compared to the depth at which we will be storing it, lighting in the bays will need to be kept at a very low level. Environmental controls can account for all of these factors, but there will be significant strain on the system; power usage and resource allocation will need to be closely monitored.

 

“One significant problem exists. The water which the chewana plant inhabits is fertilized by the predominant local fauna -- a small bioluminescent eel that primarily consumes a weed growing around the base of the chewana. The molecular composition of this fertilizer is complex enough that it would take our organic replicators several weeks to produce the required amounts. If such time cannot be spared, it would be best to transport a generous amount of the fertilized water from the surface. Even this, however, could not assure the plant’s survival through a four day warp trip. The safest course would be to also transport a suitable amount of the eels and their food to ensure that the chewana’s supply of nutrients is kept fresh.

 

“This … essentially amounts to transporting the entire biosphere of the chewana and the eels. No doubt, the rarity of this plant can demand no less. The cargo transporters will be taxed to their limit, even once the away team secures the on-site transporter locks.

 

“If all of these points are observed carefully, the success of preserving the root on board Arcadia for a period of four days can be safely assured.”