Lieutenant Shrin was in her lab.  A place where she felt most at home.  Sitting before her were several samples of newly refined blood dilithium.  She shuffled through PADDs before finding the one she was looking for.  She scrolled thorough it and set it down having not found the answers she was looking for.

Standing she went to the replicator,  “Rak’tagino, sweet.”

The device obediently hummed and the Klingon drink materialised before her.  She picked it up and took a sip. “Computer analysis of scan 21-alpha.”

There was a pause and the computer replied, “Inconclusive.”

“Hmm… Okay, Computer,  scan for any kind of EM emissions being emitted by the sample.”

There was a pause as the computer analyzed the blood dilithium. “Processing… there are no detectable EM emissions eminating from the sample.”

Sighing Shrin leaned over the scanning bed and observed the curious material.   It was dilithium,  there was no argument about that, but there was something else going on.  The blood red color being the biggest giveaway.  The deleterious effects on telepaths being another.

She straightend and while cradling her coffee she made circles around the science lab. “Computer begin log.”

The computer simply beeped in acknowledgement. 

“Science Log: supplemental.   I have recieved the samples of the refined blood dilithium. So far scans have been inconclusive.  I can’t figure out what is causing the deleterious effects on telepathic species. 

“As a woman of science I am not one to give the super natural much credence,  but there is something unpleasant about this red dilithium that sets my attenae on edge.”

She completed her log and stared into her cup of Rak’tagino. She took a sip of the coffee and set the cup down.  There really was something about that dilithium that had her on edge.  Like a sore on the tip of your tongue. 

Turning her attention back to the source of her discomfort she placed a sample on the scanning pad and errected a force field.   “Computer bombard the sample with tachyons for thirty seconds.”

The computer beeped and a blue energy was directed at the blood dilithium sample.  At the conclusion of the allotted time the beam ceased.  “Status of the sample,” Shrin demanded. 

“No change,” the computer responded. 

Shrin sighed pinching the bridge of her nose. “Think!”

“Please restate command,” the computer replied. 

“Not you,” Shrin said in frustration.   She had been going at this all day and had made no progress.  Suddenly inspiration struck, “Computer bombard sample with 100 Seiverts of Gamma radiation.”

“Warning: 100 Seiverts of Gamma radiation is a lethal dose.  That procedure is not recommended.”

Shrin growled her fingers dancing over the console,  “I’m not asking for your opinion computer.”  She finished the final touches on the protective force field. After entering her command codes she dosed the blood dilithium with a heavy amount of radiation.

At first there was no effect, but slowly but surely the red faded from the crystal leaving the milk-white crystal of typical dilithium,  but as the red left the dilithium Shrin could have sworn she heard screaming of someone in agony. 

The crystalline structure started to fall in on itself and it shrank back into subspace leaving only impurities behind.

“What on Andoria?” Shrin muttered surprised.   Fingers dancing over the console sensors confirmed.  For three seconds the blood dilithium had been normal run of the mill dilithium, but for whatever reason the crystal structure destabilized.

She destroyed another dozen samples using various doses of ionizing radiation.   She found the best combination was 2 Seiverts of Alpha radiation.   Unfortunately even then after thirty seconds that sample too disintegrate into sub-space.   And each time she snesed more than heard the screams, but it was getting to her.  

No longer able to stomach the screams and making no headway she wrote up a preliminary report for the captain detailing her progress,  and projections which indicated that removing the blood from the dilithium and still being able to use it was impossible.  She closed out the lab thankful to be away from that uneasy feeling she got from the red stuff.