Carbon Dating

Posted on Thu May 2nd, 2019 @ 5:48pm by

1,762 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 98 - A Raid on Peace
Location: Starbase 400, Serenity Gallery
Timeline: MD 01 -- Current

ON:

Kalani had heard the hubbub of the ships heading out. She wished she was going but realistically as an Archaeologist and Anthropologist what could she do, throw relics at the enemy? Besides she had a meeting with Mr Vox. She was going to take scans and do an analysis. She headed into his gallery. "Mr Vox?"

"Hey Kalani, I am in the back office. Come on through. My associate is minding the gallery at the moment. " Vox shouts back from the office.

Kalani followed the voice to the back. "Hello, Mr Vox. My apologies my shift ran long today." She held up the equipment. "I brought some goodies and some information for you."

"Oh, that's ok. Had some unexpected business to deal with from the Trill Homeworld so I have only just started work on the manuscripts. Also, I like goodies so what have you brought?" Vox replied.

"Equipment to date the items and contacts for museums so that you can confer with them. Just let them know I sent you and some information on the items we looked at so far." She said happily.

"Excellent, thanks," Vox replied.

Kalani smiled. "Alright. Let's get to getting these items dated. Where would you like to start?"

"How about this one? " Vox replied handing her a fastened transparent bag containing a papyrus text.

"Perfect."

"Oh my." She said gently laying it on the table with her gloved hands. She brought the device close and the blue beams started scanning it. Minutes ticked by and then a ping of sorts. She studied the readings. "This is....very old." She studied it. "It is old Earth...Ancient Egyptian I believe it will take me a moment to get the precise year."

"I thought as much. Not sure where or how the smuggler got his hands on this. It ought to be in a museum." Vox replied.

"Wow. This is between 1279 and 1213 BCE. It's still running precise year. Mr Vox you have some gems." She watched the machine work. "I don't have a contact on Earth but...maybe one of my other contacts does for the museums."

" Amazing. I sent the items that originate from my own homeworld and they were quite shocked by it all. I did find one item that isn't a manuscript or book. It was at the bottom of the container everything was in." Vox held up a pendant. A polished green crystal, smooth and egg-shaped, wrapped by a silver lattice frame with a chain through a hoop at the top.

"Indeed. While the scan is completing on the papyrus I will examine this with your permission." He took the item gently.

She studied the stone. Taking it under a special microscope-like device she looked at it through the lens. "Interesting. It's a form of hardened resin...It looks like something found on Folnar III. It's a gemstone...but the setting...I have a theory its Palladium."

"The smuggler certainly had an eye for very different things. " Vox commented "How old is the pendant? Any idea?"

"Roughly 2260 give or take a few years. I will take a closer look." She pulled the machine that had just finished the papyrus. "This will tell us as for the papyrus 1283 BCE to be exact." It took several minutes but the machine chimed. "Well! 2260 exactly! Ha! I got the year right." She handed the necklace to Vox. "This is really beautiful." She tilted her head. "Thank you for giving this back to where it belongs. Too many people take things. It's nice to see someone bring it back to the place it was taken from."

"The papyrus is easy to take back to where it came from but the pendant isn't that easy. We don't know who owned it. Mind you, it does look familiar, it's like I have seen it before somewhere. He pondered for a moment. "Computer, on the display in front of us, display any paintings in the gallery, both on display and in storage that features jewellery."

the computer replied.

They looked over at least 30 images and then. "Look" Vox exclaimed. The picture on the screen was of a young Trill woman. "If I am not mistaken, that's Emony Dax. The picture was painted in 2261. So that means the pendant might need to be given to the current Dax host. " Vox replied.

"Excellent." Kalani looked around. "The gallery certainly is big. Do you paint?"


"Well, I use to. What I mean is, Azrel Vox, my second host, was a painter. "Vox replied. "A good one too. I think we have two of her paintings in the gallery, 'Wind and Rain' and 'Aurora'" Vox added.

She smiled. "Well, I'd love to see them. Are there any other items for testing?"

"That's probably enough for today. Let me show you the paintings by Azrel." Vox replied.

She smiled, "Let me just shut down the machines." She did so quickly and packed them away storing them in a corner of the office. "Alright let's go!" She was excited to see them.

Vox moved over to a painting on the wall of the gallery. The painting, an energetic swirling of brushstrokes in a multitude of different shades of blues, greens with trees and leaves in between was in front of them. "This is 'Wind and Rain'," he announced.

She studied the painting, "It's so beautiful. She must have loved the wind. You can almost feel it when you look at it." The colours were vibrant and strong. She tilted her head. "She must have been a passionate person."

"Yes. she was, I remember that day as if it was yesterday. The worst storm that year and I just had the urge to paint. " Vox replied. He then moved over to another painting. This one was very different. It depicted a young woman with windswept light brown hair, with Trill markings standing by an old wooden gate in front of a green field with rolling hills behind. The gate was dripping with rain. Behind the young woman's head was a rainbow in much more vibrant colours than the rest of the picture. "This is 'Aurora' " Vox said.

"She is beautiful. Who is this Aurora." She smiled the care taken almost as if the very image of the woman brought joy."

"Most people who see this picture ask that question but often they don't realise this is a self-portrait. The young woman is Azrel Vox. " Vox replied.

"Oh my! She was beautiful. She saw her own inner light. She must have been a wise woman." She looked at him. "I have heard of Trills getting to meet their old hosts via the Symbiont Pool. Have you ever considered petitioning to do that?"

"I have thought about it but so far not considering putting in a request. There is a sculpture of her in the Museum of Art on the Trill Homeworld. She is considered to be one of the best artists of her time." Vox replied.

She smiled, "I can see why." She studied him. "Can I ask you something? This is probably the weirdest question you will ever have anyone ask."

"Sure, I have been asked some strange things but I relish the thought of something really weird." He said with a smile.

"The symbiont that is in your body what is it like. Is it like a having a worm swimming inside you....does it hurt....do you argue with it...him...her?"

"Ok, that is a weird one but understandable. The symbiont doesn't really swim or move much, to be honest, so it's hardly noticeable in that sense and there is no pain to speak of. As for arguments, not really. The mind of the symbiont, Vox, and the mind of Raekwon are in symbiotic harmony. They are one mind. However, the host has most of the control, so to speak, so in argument terms, Raekwon tends to win out. As for he or she, symbionts are asexual and when not in a host, as in not had one yet, they tend to swim in pools in their natural habitat on our homeworld, for example in the Caves of Mak'ala." Vox replied.

She smiled, "Fascinating! How long do the symbionts live?"

"Oh between 350 to 400 years," Vox replied.

"Amazing." She sighed, "The Orian dilithium camp I was in had a Trill. He wasn't joined though." She looked around some more. "I have another weird question."

"Go on. By the way, hosts tend to live for about 110 years. Ask away." Vox replied with a smile.

She grinned, "Do you have paintings of the mythical Earth creatures known as unicorns?" She'd always wanted to see a painted picture. She'd seen images but never a painted one. "I like unicorns."

"Possibly in the storage room but not in the gallery on display so we could go look if you have time." He replied.

She smiled, "I have lots of time! The shift is over so I would love to look around."

"Ok then. " Vox lead Kalani into the main storeroom for the Galery. " I think I have some items still in storage on my ship which is in one of the hangers on the station. My ship is an Aeries Class vessel and is called Tenaran. I need to check her out later this week."

"Sounds wonderful." She thought a moment, "Only if it's no trouble." She really didn't want to put him out.

"Well, let's check out here first as getting access to my ship is tricky at the moment as they are doing maintenance on the bay she is sat in. " Vox replied.

She smiled and followed him.

"Well, that's a surprise. Only one item that has anything to do with unicorns in the storage room is this sculpture of the head of a unicorn. " Vox said pointing to the sculpture. "Its made of a clear resin which has had crushed semi-precious stones mixed into it, whilst it was still in a liquid state and then set in a mould."

He looked closer. "Then it has been carefully carved to give more detail. I believe it was made on Earth, in the United Kingdom," he added.

She studied it. "It's so beautiful!" She looked at Vox. "Will you display it?"


"Sure why not," Vox replied. "Where should we put it?" He asked.

She smiled brightly. "How about that beautiful exhibit of mythical creatures across the galaxy that you have." She had toured that the last time she'd been in the gallery.

"Oh yeah, good idea. Let's do that. " Vox replied.

OFF:

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