The Poisoned Well

[Gidgiddoni 0]

They had set foot on Qo'noS to see firsthand the damage done to the Klingon homeworld by the explosion of the nearby moon of Praxis. How many members of Starfleet could claim that? With one step, they'd joined such luminaries as Jonathan Archer and James T. Kirk, and this time, there wasn't a public trial to follow.

 

The Klingon scientist had been thorough, explaining the ravages of the ecological disaster. She'd seen the reports and read the speculative files, but now she saw the evidence firsthand from someone who'd lived through it.

 

When the energy-production facility had exploded, more than 60% of Praxis had been obliterated. Debris still floated in orbit. Left alone, they'd settle into a ring, but she was sure the Klingons had no intention of that. The detonation had sent a subspace shockwave at least 10 light years in every direction, reaching even to the Federation border. While it was known there had been significant damage to the ozone layer of Qo'noS, it was unclear how this had caused the severe oxygen depletion that threatened to reach critical levels within five decades.

 

Theta radiation.

 

In addition to large pieces of debris, some of the contaminated antimatter byproducts of Praxis had fallen on the Klingon planet. In high doses, theta-band emissions could disintegrate organic tissue. In this case, cell structure had been damaged in much of the Qo'noS plant kingdom. If it could not be rejuvenated, oxygen levels would continue to drop until animal life would be unsustainable. It was a classic ecological cycle, as she'd learned in her undergraduate work on Delta IV.

 

Even without the radiation, orbital debris of the former moon would have caused problems. Pieces had rained down, lgenerating tsunamis in the ocean and leaving sizeable craters on the planet's large, single landmass. The elements in these pieces had probably leeched into the water table, making the ecological damage worse.

 

Lieutenant Poldara and Ensign Savros seemed to pay particular attention to the Klingon scientist, which made sense. The Challenger science and engineering departments had been hoping that, in addition to providing needed supplies and resources, they might suggest practical ways for restoring the planet. They'd been sending probes and asking questions. She was happy that the earlier cross-departmental dustup on the bridge had been largely forgotten. Gid thought the idea was ambitious, considering the Federation had consulted some of its foremost experts in planetary science and terraforming. Still, they were here. Perhaps there was some aspect that had been overlooked.

 

She found herself more interested in the toll on living beings. The Klingons hadn't passed much on regarding people killed or injured in the catastrophe, but this one had mentioned respiratory ailments among the young and the elderly. Her follow up questions had resulted in a promise to let them see a treatment facility in one of their nearby cities.

 

As she returned to the ship after a day reviewing the science, she was ready to see where she could help the survivors. More than treating a single bridge injury and a dog bite, it would help her practice her craft in a meaningful way. And maybe even the Klingons would appreciate it.

Edited August 6, 2008 by Gidgiddoni