Mission 9: Tears of Procopius

Gavin Van Gelder wrote:

[Corridors]

Smiling, Gavin nodded.  It was a little strange to hear a Vulcan talk about being excited, but he remembered hearing a while back that she was half-Vulcan.  She had a point, though.  Even with the Dominion War over three years gone and over, it seemed like Starfleet was still trying to find its footing again.  Trying to find a way out of the bleak repetition of war.

=^="Van Gelder to Rellek.  Can I steal T'Lara from you for Stellar Cartography?  I could use her help going through these files."=^=

He grinned, winking.  "You didn't want to go to the bridge, anyway...did you?"

Julia considered Gavin's request. T'Lara had proven to be a solid science officer in her brief time on the ship. Perhaps it was time to let her work without a net.

=/\="Very well Lieutenant. Contact me the moment that you have something to report. Captain T'Koris is anxiously awaiting our findings."=/\=

Corman Stark wrote:

[Ready Room]

"Well."  The word was left open-ended and somewhat ambiguous.  Stark tended to like to let people draw their own conclusions as to what he meant.  That wasn't always a luxury that was to be had, but when it was....it was a valuable psychological bargaining chip.  However, there wasn't much need for such things today.  "That wasn't the answer I wanted to hear, but it is what it is, isn't it?"

Sighing, Corman pinched the bridge of his nose.  "But.  If you say that's how it is, I trust your judgment."  It wouldn't do to put this kid in a cockpit, only to have her break down again.  And maybe get his people killed, this time.  "Keep her under observation, then.  And go ahead and answer Sickbay's call.  They probably need you more than I do.  Dismissed."

[Ready Room]

No, he supposed it wasn't what he wanted to hear.in fact, no one really wanted to hear that one of their crewmen had lost the ability to work as a member of the crew. He'd have to try harder at getting to the bottom of Dexter's problems. George was just going to have to yank some strings to get her medical files, it seemed.

He'd heard the sickbay call from before, and was happy to get out of the room and away from the Admiral it seemed he'd already disappointed. "I wish I could give you a better report," he said with sincerity as he stood up to go. An awkward salute and a few seconds later, George was out of the ready room and on his way down to answer Kintiss's call.

[Sickbay]

He wasn't sure what he'd be walking into, so he didn't make a great racket when he entered the medical bay. It didn't take long to find the selay with Zero Alpha. Oh, yes. He'd read the report for that one. The Tal'Shiar, though not having her long, had clearly given her a fair dose of trauma.

To avoid startling her, he entered the room calmly and stood a distance away from the two. "Hello," he greeted kindly. He wanted to see what was wrong or why he'd been called. She certainly looked upset enough, though not exactly panicking-- a good sign. "Sorry for the delay," he said to Kintiss.

George Warden wrote:

He wasn't sure what he'd be walking into, so he didn't make a great racket when he entered the medical bay. It didn't take long to find the selay with Zero Alpha. Oh, yes. He'd read the report for that one. The Tal'Shiar, though not having her long, had clearly given her a fair dose of trauma.

To avoid startling her, he entered the room calmly and stood a distance away from the two. "Hello," he greeted kindly. He wanted to see what was wrong or why he'd been called. She certainly looked upset enough, though not exactly panicking-- a good sign.  "Sorry for the delay," he said to Kintiss.

[Sickbay]

Clenching her hands in an effort to get them to stop trembling, Zero forced herself to take a deep breath, just as the computer had told her when she had consulted it. No matter what she did, she just didn't seem to be able to stop shaking. The best she had been able to do was confine it to her hands.

Her head snapped up as she heard the doors into sickbay hiss open, then looked away again as she recognised the ship's counsellor. She wasn't sure why, but she still expected to see a Tal Shiar officer striding in, even though she was back in Federation space and not in the Star Empire any more.

"Hello," she murmured in return.

Julia Rellek wrote:

=/\="Very well Lieutenant. Contact me the moment that you have something to report. Captain T'Koris is anxiously awaiting our findings."=/\=

[Stellar Cartography]

"Looks like our work's cut out for us," Gavin said, as he and T'Lara entered the large chamber of Stellar Cartography. The ambient lighting automatically lowered as Gavin tapped a few commands onto the main console. Soon, the empty chamber walls were replaced with thousands of pinpoint-like stars, and planets glowing softly. The entire scene shifted, somewhat uneasily, as the view moved to the Horatius Sector. Gavin noted that the mapped stars were notably more sparse in this sector.

Gavin reached up, pulling a holographic representation of the third planet closer to them. "This is our destination," he smiled. "'Louie', or Enyo III. Interestingly enough, the original USS Enterprise visited this system over a century ago. Only they were much, much further into the system. That'd take us days at warp...which was even further, back in those times. We're basically only just on the edge...right here," he said, waving his hand around in a cloud of holographic nebulae. "They didn't even know these planets were here."

He turned to the Vulcan, his voice brimming with excitement. "We're the first to chart them in...well, maybe ever!" He coughed, clearing his throat, cheeks flushing slightly. "Anyway. The region is a little unstable, and riddled with nebulae. The real trick would be to find out just what interspatial disturbances caused Enyo I, II, and III to be uncovered in the first place."

Quote :

Stark had to give T'Koris credit. Whatever resentment she harbored, she was hiding it with Vulcan-like reserve. Of course there was resentment - how could there not be? He imagined what he'd have been like, had Starfleet Command foisted an admiral on him during his own days in the chair. It probably wouldn't have been pretty.
He did his best not to think about Jiseth right now. Stark's doctors were always going on about stress and tension, and the Romulan pilot was a wellspring of both. Stark did wonder, however, if they'd sent Ezac to be her guardian.  A Breen keeping watch over a Romulan. God help us all. "Thank you," he simply said, nodding to T'Koris and turning his attention to the Operations forward console. It was currently manned by a new member of the crew that had been picked up from Athena.  
"Mr. Kejal," Stark said, referring to the Bajoran by name rather than function. He always preferred to know the crew that way. "When we come out of warp in a few minutes, I want a class-1 probe with a full sensor set launched and put in orbit of the planet."

[Bridge]

Buris was the odd man out here, and he knew it. This was a crew of misfits, and when he and the Admiral were the normal ones aboard, there was a problem. He was well accustomed to the sense of 'otherness' here, but at the same time, he couldn't see who the insiders were - certainly not the XO who'd been demoted, or the nut cases in Sickbay. Still, he snapped to attention when the Admiral addressed him directly - and usually, 'Mister Kejal' from an Admiral usually meant he was in it, and deep.

But this was really a request from the ship's Captain, so he exhaled slowly and started typing on the Ops board, looking at the readings coming in from the Science and Tactical stations about the planet most of the Human crew referred to as "Louie" - a reference he didn't understand.  But as he thought about the situation, he bit his lip. The Captain of the Bellerophon had been a scientist and a Commander, two things that made her more approachable with alternate plans - plus, by the time he'd been at that back station for Ops, he'd served aboard for a while and he was the most experienced Ops crewman aboard - and probably the same for Engineering too. But this Admiral had unseated a captain for a simple survey mission. And yet... He turned his head and spoke, as clearly and calmly as he could. It was full of the nerves any Enlisted man would have "disagreeing" with an officer - even if he was one himself now. But the idea was solid and backed by the regs. If he got keelhauled for insubordination, he could defend himself with that at least.

"Aye, Admiral.  But I suggest we also launch a class-3 probe directly to the planetoid's surface, in addition to the class-1 in orbit. I, um, I think we'll get a more complete picture of the situation that way.  We'll, uh, be able to coordinate ships' readings with both probes and figure out what's going on faster."  He was sure everyone on the Bridge would see him trying not to sweat. Here he was, arguing with an Admiral!  On the Bridge of a Starship!  Oh, geez, why couldn't he keep his mouth shut...?  "I, uh, permission to prep the additional probe for launch?"

He was trying not to hyperventilate - and he was glad that he'd be able to turn away from the Admiral and get his own bearings before he had to set up the probe launch.

Gabriel Arthur wrote:

[Engineering]

"Alright," Gabriel muttered, crossing his arms and staring at the MSD, almost as if to dare it to tell him what was going on.  His department had been putting effort into the shielding ever since the call from Admiral Stark.  They'd responded with the usual efficiency, of course...except for that damned...blip.  There wasn't any better way to describe it.  A tiny, nearly-imperceptible variation in the engine output that didn't seem to be effecting ship operations.  But he didn't like it.

He glanced into his office, noting that Aria was still napping in her little pod-bed.  She and Seika had been spatting all morning, and Gabriel decided to give the sitter a break.  The little girl always seemed as if she'd rather spend her days napping and playing in her father's office instead of being babysat, anyway.  "Leela, Nelkar...what do you all make of this?" he asked, gesturing toward the pool table readout, leaning forward against the rim of the display.  "Do you see that energy blip?"

[Engineering]

Leela had been running routine diagnostics for Gabe. His daughter napping in his office elicited flashbacks from her own experiences as a parent. She could relate to Gabe's children shadowing along at work and taking apart everything in site. Preta's youngest son once knocked out power to half of the Utopia Planetia ship yards during the construction of the Ambassador. She flashed a quick smile as she was lost in the memories. She was brought back to reality by Gabe's blip. She stood from her console and moved over to Gabe's. The Trill peered over his shoulder. "Hmm. That's odd." She knew there was a litany of things that could cause such a small change in the energy output. She wouldn't usually worry about such things but Gabe ran a much tighter ship than she would have. He was proud of those engines. They seemed like a third child. "We should probably initiate a level 3 diagnostic on the EPS system and the plasma injectors."

Leela Kaz wrote:

Leela had been running routine diagnostics for Gabe. His daughter napping in his office elicited flashbacks from her own experiences as a parent. She could relate to Gabe's children shadowing along at work and taking apart everything in site. Preta's youngest son once knocked out power to half of the Utopia Planetia ship yards during the construction of the Ambassador. She flashed a quick smile as she was lost in the memories. She was brought back to reality by Gabe's blip. She stood from her console and moved over to Gabe's. The Trill peered over his shoulder. "Hmm. That's odd." She knew there was a litany of things that could cause such a small change in the energy output. She wouldn't usually worry about such things but Gabe ran a much tighter ship than she would have. He was proud of those engines. They seemed like a third child. "We should probably initiate a level 3 diagnostic on the EPS system and the plasma injectors."

[Engineering]

Nodding, Gabriel continued to chase ghosts along the pool table display. "Okay. That sounds good to me. Better to be safe." He didn't have to add 'especially with an admiral on board'. It was rather implied.

He turned around at a familiar tug on his pant leg, looking down at the still-sleepy face of Aria. The little toddler had made her way out of the office an into the main area. "Hey, Miss Arry," Gabriel grinned, scooping the blonde girl up into his arms. "You come to help us figure it out?" He would have to start keeping better security tabs on her, since Aria was beginning to be able to reach things. "Hullo, daddy," the girl yawned. "Hi Miss Leela," she added, giving a little wave with her tiny fingers. "I can't sleep. People were talking."

Kejal Buris wrote:

"Aye, Admiral.  But I suggest we also launch a class-3 probe directly to the planetoid's surface, in addition to the class-1 in orbit. I, um, I think we'll get a more complete picture of the situation that way.  We'll, uh, be able to coordinate ships' readings with both probes and figure out what's going on faster."  He was sure everyone on the Bridge would see him trying not to sweat. Here he was, arguing with an Admiral!  On the Bridge of a Starship!  Oh, geez, why couldn't he keep his mouth shut...?  "I, uh, permission to prep the additional probe for launch?"

He was trying not to hyperventilate - and he was glad that he'd be able to turn away from the Admiral and get his own bearings before he had to set up the probe launch.

[Bridge]

Frowning slightly, Stark gave the suggestion consideration. The planet was, as far as they knew, uninhabited, but they wouldn't know that fully until they arrived. Still, he was familiar with threes, having used them on a somewhat regular basis during the war for various things...just about anything other than their intended purpose of exploration. In a way, it was a little refreshing. He knew that they could survive atmosphere entry, and were virtually undetectable, unless someone knew just what to look for.

"Go ahead," he answered, with a incline of his head. "No use to have one of the most advanced collections of sensors and probes in the fleet and not use them. Have them ready to launch when we drop out of warp." That, he knew, would be happening soon, given M'Rai's last ETA.

Kaitlin Dexter wrote:

"I can see that, your all highly decorated. I admire you. I read some of your mission files back at the Starbase and they were amazing!" Kira said taking a sip of the coffee. "What was it like in the Romulan fleet? Is it much different to starfleet?" Kira asked. Jiseth mentioned the Catian, she hadn't met him yet, she was left on Athena for the last mission.

Jiseth waited for her crewman to take a sip before letting her left eye twitch slightly. Mission files were notoriously unreliable for explaining who someone was, simply what they had been a part of. Amazing was hardly the word she would have used though, at least so jovially.

"...Of course it's different. We still have a rank structure, but that's where the similarity ends. We learn the Tal-Shiar insignia far sooner than our own military ones. Due to exposure mostly. We don't have color distinctions between our job functions, we all wear the same uniform. Most of all, we rarely have little chats like this, so forgive any perceived hostility. Getting to know someone usually means the you have a target on the individual's head."

Corman Stark wrote:

"Go ahead," he answered, with a incline of his head.  "No use to have one of the most advanced collections of sensors and probes in the fleet and not use them.  Have them ready to launch when we drop out of warp."  That, he knew, would be happening soon, given M'Rai's last ETA.

[Bridge]

Now that they were within the outer regions of the star system, Persephone carefully pulled the ship back from warp down into impulse power. They needed time to react now, not speed to get somewhere. Flying a ship into the unknown was one of the most stressful things a pilot could do, let alone one as inexperienced and scared of angering her department head as Persephone was.

The tip of her tail was flicking nervously from side to side as she reported: "Drrrrroping out of warrrrp now, sirrrrr. Apprrroaching at half impulse."

Persephone M'Rai wrote:

Now that they were within the outer regions of the star system, Persephone carefully pulled the ship back from warp down into impulse power.  They needed time to react now, not speed to get somewhere.  Flying a ship into the unknown was one of the most stressful things a pilot could do, let alone one as inexperienced and scared of angering her department head as Persephone was.

The tip of her tail was flicking nervously from side to side as she reported:  "Drrrrroping out of warrrrp now, sirrrrr.  Apprrroaching at half impulse."

[Bridge]

"Thank you, ensign," Stark replied, fighting the urge to give the poor girl a hypo relaxant.  He remembered well his first long-term space assignment, on the USS Lantree.  Corman wondered if he had been that nervous.  Or more so.  "Bring us into geosynch.  On-screen."  


Just like that, Enyo III's pale surface filled the forward viewer.  It was a pale, bluish-white orb, with small, twin suns. Standing, Stark moved toward the main consoles of Ops and Helm.  "Julia, make sure they're getting these readings down in Stellar Cartography.  Mr. Kejal, feel free to indulge yourself in probe-launching," he ordered, allowing a touch of a smile on his lips.

Gavin Van Gelder wrote:

[Stellar Cartography]

"Looks like our work's cut out for us," Gavin said, as he and T'Lara entered the large chamber of Stellar Cartography.  The ambient lighting automatically lowered as Gavin tapped a few commands onto the main console.  Soon, the empty chamber walls were replaced with thousands of pinpoint-like stars, and planets glowing softly.  The entire scene shifted, somewhat uneasily, as the view moved to the Horatius Sector.  Gavin noted that the mapped stars were notably more sparse in this sector.

Gavin reached up, pulling a holographic representation of the third planet closer to them.  "This is our destination," he smiled.  "'Louie', or Enyo III.  Interestingly enough, the original USS Enterprise visited this system over a century ago.  Only they were much, much further into the system.  That'd take us days at warp...which was even further, back in those times.  We're basically only just on the edge...right here," he said, waving his hand around in a cloud of holographic nebulae.  "They didn't even know these planets were here."  

He turned to the Vulcan, his voice brimming with excitement.  "We're the first to chart them in...well, maybe ever!"  He coughed, clearing his throat, cheeks flushing slightly.  "Anyway.  The region is a little unstable, and riddled with nebulae.  The real trick would be to find out just what interspatial disturbances caused Enyo I, II, and III to be uncovered in the first place."

[Stellar Cartography]

T'Lara watched as Gavin set the holographic representation, also noting the sparse amount of stars. She had never worked in stellar cartography before. At least, not outside of Starfleet Academy. She listened to Gavin talk about Enyo III and its connection to the Enterprise. Then, when he continued to explain how the Phoenix would be the first to chart it, she was startled by his flood of enthusiasm.

She looked at him closely, trying very hard not to judge him and waiting for him to go on talking. When he started talking about the interspatial disturbances, she internally gave a sigh of relief. Now she could finally understand him. However, she was still partly lost. She had to admit that stellar cartography wasn't her strongpoint. She was more knowledgeable about biology and chemistry. She understood that they needed to find out how the planets were found, but as to how...

"How do we do that?" she asked, feeling embarrassed.

Corman Stark wrote:

[Bridge]

"Thank you, ensign," Stark replied, fighting the urge to give the poor girl a hypo relaxant.  He remembered well his first long-term space assignment, on the USS Lantree.  Corman wondered if he had been that nervous.  Or more so.  "Bring us into geosynch.  On-screen."  

Just like that, Enyo III's pale surface filled the forward viewer.  It was a pale, bluish-white orb, with small, twin suns.  Standing, Stark moved toward the main consoles of Ops and Helm.  "Julia, make sure they're getting these readings down in Stellar Cartography.  Mr. Kejal, feel free to indulge yourself in probe-launching," he ordered, allowing a touch of a smile on his lips.

Julia spun around to looked at the screen. It was a beautiful blue orb that seemed to be shrouded in a layer of. She was taken back by what she was looking at. After all of the tactical encounters, it was relieving to be back to exploring. She glanced over to the admiral. "Acknowledged sir. We'll let you know the moment we have something." She tapped her communicator. "=/\=Rellek to Stellar Cartography, we are in optimal position for a detailed analysis."=/\=

While Stellar Cartography was working on a more detailed analysis Julia began a cursory examination. A perplexing look appeared on her face during her initial scan. "Sir, I think I have something now. I'm detecting some odd energy signatures emitting from the planet. We'll have to wait on a more detailed analysis, but I doubt we'll be able to transport."

While stellar cartogr

Jiseth wrote:

Jiseth waited for her crewman to take a sip before letting her left eye twitch slightly. Mission files were notoriously unreliable for explaining who someone was, simply what they had been a part of. Amazing was hardly the word she would have used though, at least so jovially.

"...Of course it's different. We still have a rank structure, but that's where the similarity ends. We learn the Tal-Shiar insignia far sooner than our own military ones. Due to exposure mostly. We don't have color distinctions between our job functions, we all wear the same uniform. Most of all, we rarely have little chats like this, so forgive any perceived hostility. Getting to know someone usually means the you have a target on the individual's head."

"Why did you leave? I mean by the looks of it you'd rather be there." Kira asked as she took another sip out of her coffee then begun to put her hair up into a ponytail. Once she had finished crafting the ponytail she turned her attention back to Jiseth.

Quote :

Frowning slightly, Stark gave the suggestion consideration. The planet was, as far as they knew, uninhabited, but they wouldn't know that fully until they arrived. Still, he was familiar with threes, having used them on a somewhat regular basis during the war for various things...just about anything other than their intended purpose of exploration. In a way, it was a little refreshing. He knew that they could survive atmosphere entry, and were virtually undetectable, unless someone knew just what to look for.

"Go ahead," he answered, with a incline of his head. "No use to have one of the most advanced collections of sensors and probes in the fleet and not use them. Have them ready to launch when we drop out of warp." That, he knew, would be happening soon, given M'Rai's last ETA.

Now that they were within the outer regions of the star system, Persephone carefully pulled the ship back from warp down into impulse power. They needed time to react now, not speed to get somewhere. Flying a ship into the unknown was one of the most stressful things a pilot could do, let alone one as inexperienced and scared of angering her department head as Persephone was.

The tip of her tail was flicking nervously from side to side as she reported: "Drrrrroping out of warrrrp now, sirrrrr. Apprrroaching at half impulse."

"Thank you, ensign," Stark replied, fighting the urge to give the poor girl a hypo relaxant.  He remembered well his first long-term space assignment, on the USS Lantree.  Corman wondered if he had been that nervous.  Or more so.  "Bring us into geosynch.  On-screen."  

Just like that, Enyo III's pale surface filled the forward viewer.  It was a pale, bluish-white orb, with small, twin suns. Standing, Stark moved toward the main consoles of Ops and Helm.  "Julia, make sure they're getting these readings down in Stellar Cartography.  Mr. Kejal, feel free to indulge yourself in probe-launching," he ordered, allowing a touch of a smile on his lips.

[Bridge]

All Buris could do was respond with two breathless words.  "Aye, sir."

Well, at least the woman on Helm was just as nervous as he was, as he could easily tell from the tail flicking this way and that at the station beside him.  He hoped his 'tells' weren't so blatantly obvious to everyone aboard.  He figured they were though.  But the Admiral had smiled on his request, and he finally exhaled as he turned around, his fingers dancing over the Ops board, readying a Type-1 Probe for a polar orbit of the planet and a Type-3 to land at the center of the strangest cluster of readings - there was no use, after all, beating around the bush, best to just cut to the heart of it.  

And the things were almost undetectable by any standard anyway, especially Cardassian.  He remembered being in a "Raider" vessel that was made up of cannibalized pieces of Starfleet vessels and (for no good reason from what he knew), a science array.  When they'd run out of torpedoes, the type-3 probes had been able to use their cutting phasers on the ice-core setting to open up the EPS plasma tubes on a military frigate, which they were able to set off with a single phaser blast, killing a few of the lizards - a small victory, perhaps, but one he remembered.  Or the time they'd used one to bore through underneath a food-storage facility and "liberate" it.  Of course, getting to Academy had opened his eyes - if more Bajorans had known about half of the damn thing's sensor functions in the Rebellion, they might have really won the war instead of needing Starfleet to negotiate a tense turnover.

But that was years ago.  A lifetime ago.  And now he was a commissioned Starfleet officer.  He glanced at the helmswoman and nodded tightly, then turned to the Captain... Admiral.  "Probes away, sir.  Routing telemetry to Bridge and Stellar Cartography lab."

Quote :

While Stellar Cartography was working on a more detailed analysis Julia began a cursory examination. A perplexing look appeared on her face during her initial scan. "Sir, I think I have something now. I'm detecting some odd energy signatures emitting from the planet. We'll have to wait on a more detailed analysis, but I doubt we'll be able to transport."

He looked over his board - if it came time to beam anybody down, he knew that the Captain would get his judgement call first.  The woman at Science was no slouch in her data-crunching, but end of the day, it rested on his shoulders to break people apart into quantum data... and then, most importantly, put them back together in one piece safely.  He shook his head and spoke in as clear a voice as he could manage.  "Ops confirms that report, Admiral.  We are outside maximum safe bounds for proper annular confinement or Heisenberg compensation.  Even if we could put someone down - and that'd take a miracle... there's no way we could bring them back up.  And, Sir?  Based on these readings, pending further review, I suggest that if you're taking anything down there, take the Runabout."

Buris knew they could sometimes push the transporters - every spec on it was written by a conservative, and most everyone knew it.  But staying in those ranges made sure mistakes didn't happen.  Outside that, it took a great deal of knowledge, skill, and instinct.  Instinct that Buris didn't have for these transporters.  He'd never been there with the Engineer and stripped down the consoles and the pads, he didn't know the transmission lags, there were a million variables about this ship that he didn't know.  So he was not going to chance it.  Not for a few ergs of energy that'd end with a dead crewman more likely than not.

This wasn't a war, after all, it was a survey.  They could take their time to make sure it was right the first time.

T'Lara wrote:

T'Lara watched as Gavin set the holographic representation, also noting the sparse amount of stars. She had never worked in stellar cartography before. At least, not outside of Starfleet Academy. She listened to Gavin talk about Enyo III and its connection to the Enterprise. Then, when he continued to explain how the Phoenix would be the first to chart it, she was startled by his flood of enthusiasm.

She looked at him closely, trying very hard not to judge him and waiting for him to go on talking. When he started talking about the interspatial disturbances, she internally gave a sigh of relief. Now she could finally understand him. However, she was still partly lost. She had to admit that stellar cartography wasn't her strongpoint. She was more knowledgeable about biology and chemistry. She understood that they needed to find out how the planets were found, but as to how...

"How do we do that?" she asked, feeling embarrassed.

[Stellar Cartography]

Grinning, Gavin shook his shaggy head. It seemed like a momentous occasion, a Vulcan admitting that they didn't know something. Then again, Vulcans were usually smarter than humans. True knowledge sometimes came from knowing when to say you didn't know. "I have no idea," he shrugged. "Hopefully, we might find that out. In the mean time..."

Gavin swiped his hand through the holographic space again, bringing up a closer reading of Enyo III. Data from the bridge was coming fast and heavy now. "This bloody space is brimming with anomalous readings, not the least of which is coming from the planet itself. Lots of weird nebulae, too. I sincerely hope Admiral Stark isn't wanting to use the transporters to go down there, if he decides to."

George Warden wrote:

He wasn't sure what he'd be walking into, so he didn't make a great racket when he entered the medical bay. It didn't take long to find the selay with Zero Alpha. Oh, yes. He'd read the report for that one. The Tal'Shiar, though not having her long, had clearly given her a fair dose of trauma.

To avoid startling her, he entered the room calmly and stood a distance away from the two. "Hello," he greeted kindly. He wanted to see what was wrong or why he'd been called. She certainly looked upset enough, though not exactly panicking-- a good sign.  "Sorry for the delay," he said to Kintiss.

[Sickbay]

"Thank you for coming anyway," Kintiss replied, stepping away from the patient so as to speak with the Counselor. It was difficult for one to admit their faults, but he could really use the help.

"Ssshe'sss been recovering very well, physssically ssspeaking," he explained, "but I'm concerned about her psssychological recovery. It'sss not my area of expertissse, so I'd appreciate any help you can offer."

Corman Stark wrote:

"Thank you, ensign," Stark replied, fighting the urge to give the poor girl a hypo relaxant.  He remembered well his first long-term space assignment, on the USS Lantree.  Corman wondered if he had been that nervous.  Or more so.  "Bring us into geosynch.  On-screen."

Kejal Buris wrote:

"Ops confirms that report, Admiral. We are outside maximum safe bounds for proper annular confinement or Heisenberg compensation. Even if we could put someone down - and that'd take a miracle... there's no way we could bring them back up. And, Sir? Based on these readings, pending further review, I suggest that if you're taking anything down there, take the Runabout."

With the order to enter into geosynchronous orbit received, Persephone was able to adjust her approach vector to line up with the Enyo III's equator, carefully adjusting the ship's speeds to match the spin of the planet and therefore keeping the Phoenix aligned precisely above a particular point.

"Geosynchrrrronous orbit achieved, sirrr," she reported, locking the commands in that configuration before turning to look at the Admiral, nodding briefly to the Bajoran at the ops station as she did. Not knowing much about the transporters, she couldn't say whether or not he was right about them, but she could at least give her opinion about taking a runabout or shuttle to the surface.

"Taking a crrrraft down could prove difficult if we don't know what we'rrrre facing, whetherrrr it be in flight orrrrr on the surrrrface. Also, we should take into considerrrration that ourrrr best pilot is grrrrounded at the moment."

Jiseth wrote:

Jiseth waited for her crewman to take a sip before letting her left eye twitch slightly. Mission files were notoriously unreliable for explaining who someone was, simply what they had been a part of. Amazing was hardly the word she would have used though, at least so jovially.

"...Of course it's different. We still have a rank structure, but that's where the similarity ends. We learn the Tal-Shiar insignia far sooner than our own military ones. Due to exposure mostly. We don't have color distinctions between our job functions, we all wear the same uniform. Most of all, we rarely have little chats like this, so forgive any perceived hostility. Getting to know someone usually means the you have a target on the individual's head."

"What rank were you and what colour where the uniforms?" Kaitlin asked as she looked around the mess hall and observed all the different parties of people. She itched her back then looked at Jiseth once again.

[quote="Persephone M'Rai"]

Corman Stark wrote:

With the order to enter into geosynchronous orbit received, Persephone was able to adjust her approach vector to line up with the Enyo III's equator, carefully adjusting the ship's speeds to match the spin of the planet and therefore keeping the Phoenix aligned precisely above a particular point.

"Geosynchrrrronous orbit achieved, sirrr," she reported, locking the commands in that configuration before turning to look at the Admiral, nodding briefly to the Bajoran at the ops station as she did.  Not knowing much about the transporters, she couldn't say whether or not he was right about them, but she could at least give her opinion about taking a runabout or shuttle to the surface.

"Taking a crrrraft down could prove difficult if we don't know what we'rrrre facing, whetherrrr it be in flight orrrrr on the surrrrface.  Also, we should take into considerrrration that ourrrr best pilot is grrrrounded at the moment."

[Bridge]

A little twinge in Stark's jaw muscles was the only indication of his level of irritation at the mention of Jiseth's name. While he personally liked the Romulan, her lack of respect for the chain of command left as foul a taste in his mouth as he could remember in recent times. He hoped it wasn't an attitude that got passed down through her department. Well, it's technically not *her* department right now...and half of her original crew is dead, he ruefully thought.

"Ensign M'Rai," Stark said, his voice deceptively calm. "I would expect all pilots of this ship's Flight department to have the skills and abilities guaranteed by their Academy diplomas to carry out a ship-to-surface landing. I expect you to be able to operate under those conditions, because you're going to be flying the runabout."

He turned back toward the center chairs, catching Archangel's eye. "When damn near all my departments tell me something, I tend to listen. We won't try transports. I want you to go down there and see what this is all about." Touching his commbadge, the admiral opened inter-ship communications.

=^="Bridge to T'Lara, Van Gelder, Pardek, Arthur, Kintiss...meet in Shuttlebay One for departure to the planet surface."=^=

Stark stood a little closer to Archangel's chair. "Landing parties are the XO's purview. I want you down there, too. Mr. Ezac," he said, turning toward the tac console. "Accompany the landing party." With that, he re-took the center seat. "And be careful down there."

Corman Stark wrote:

=^="Bridge to T'Lara, Van Gelder, Pardek, Arthur, Kintiss...meet in Shuttlebay One for departure to the planet surface."=^=

[Sickbay]

=^="Kintiss to bridge, I'm on my way."=^= he replied, tapping his combadge. It was a pain to leave a patient during recovery, but if the acting Captain gave him an order, he didn't have much of a choice about it. He set to work packing a medical kit with every piece of equipment he could fit in the case. Given that he had no idea what to expect, it was best to prepare for everything and leave nothing to chance.

"I'm afraid duty callssss," he said, addressing George. "If you could look after her until I come back, I'd appreciate it." He left sickbay in a hurry, heading for the turbolift.

"Sssshuttlebay One," he said aloud, and as the turbolift began its ascent, he realised that this was the first moment he'd had to himself while on duty for some time.

[Engine Room]

Gabriel didn't necessarily like the idea of leaving Engineering without having trace down the anomalous reading, but an order was an order. Stark obviously thought that there might be some alien tech down on that planet, or else he wouldn't have sent an engineering complement. Scooping Aria up, he put her back in his office. "I have to go to work, kiddo. Remember what we talked about?" The little girl nodded, her curls bobbing as she did. "Uh-huh. I need to be good and listen to everyone and not leave." Gabriel smiled, kissing her on top of her head. "That's right, Aria. I'll be back soon and we can have ice cream tonight." With that, he activated the holographic sitter program, which proceeded to begin telling the toddler a story. He hated to do this, but it was a reality of raising a family on a starship.

"You have the Engine Room, Leela," he said to the Trill as he exited the office. "See if you all can make any more headway on those readings."

[Shuttlebay One]

The flight crew had already prepped the Monongahela-A for takeoff as Gabriel made his way to the launch site. It felt strange not seeing Jiseth around, but he assumed she was verboten from even thinking about flying. He didn't know her as well as Archangel did, but the Romulan pilot's actions with Zero had not sat well at all with Gabriel. Zero was cold, but she'd done wonders in helping Aria come into the world. For that, he'd forever be in her debt.

Corman Stark wrote:

A little twinge in Stark's jaw muscles was the only indication of his level of irritation at the mention of Jiseth's name.  While he personally liked the Romulan, her lack of respect for the chain of command left as foul a taste in his mouth as he could remember in recent times.  He hoped it wasn't an attitude that got passed down through her department.  Well, it's technically not *her* department right now...and half of her original crew is dead, he ruefully thought.

"Ensign M'Rai," Stark said, his voice deceptively calm.  "I would expect all pilots of this ship's Flight department to have the skills and abilities guaranteed by their Academy diplomas to carry out a ship-to-surface landing.  I expect you to be able to operate under those conditions, because you're going to be flying the runabout."

[Bridge]

Her ears flicked back again as Persephone read the unsaid words behind Admiral Stark's words. The Caitian was perfectly capable of flying the ship, or even a shuttle, in a combat situation, but she had been watching the planet as they approached, and the amount of anomalies surrounding the planet would make any pilot nervous about taking any vessel down to the surface.

Although she was a little annoyed by his calling her skills into question, she was still wary of the fact that she didn't know what Jiseth would do if she found out that Persephone had taken out one of the shuttles, Admiral's orders or not.

She pushed herself up from the console, blue eyes slightly narrowed at the Admiral. Apparently, one needed to stand up for themselves on this crew.

"Of courrrrse I can, sirrrr," she replied stiffly, stalking to the back of the bridge and the turbolift to wait for the other members of the bridge crew assigned to the away team.

Corman Stark wrote:

A little twinge in Stark's jaw muscles was the only indication of his level of irritation at the mention of Jiseth's name.  While he personally liked the Romulan, her lack of respect for the chain of command left as foul a taste in his mouth as he could remember in recent times.  He hoped it wasn't an attitude that got passed down through her department.  Well, it's technically not *her* department right now...and half of her original crew is dead, he ruefully thought.

"Ensign M'Rai," Stark said, his voice deceptively calm.  "I would expect all pilots of this ship's Flight department to have the skills and abilities guaranteed by their Academy diplomas to carry out a ship-to-surface landing.  I expect you to be able to operate under those conditions, because you're going to be flying the runabout."

He turned back toward the center chairs, catching Archangel's eye.  "When damn near all my departments tell me something, I tend to listen.  We won't try transports.  I want you to go down there and see what this is all about."  Touching his commbadge, the admiral opened inter-ship communications.

=^="Bridge to T'Lara, Van Gelder, Pardek, Arthur, Kintiss...meet in Shuttlebay One for departure to the planet surface."=^=

Stark stood a little closer to Archangel's chair.  "Landing parties are the XO's purview.  I want you down there, too.  Mr. Ezac," he said, turning toward the tac console.  "Accompany the landing party."  With that, he re-took the center seat.  "And be careful down there."

[/quote]

[Bridge]

Having been observing the Admiral out of the corner of her eye, Archangel was able to spot the subtle clenching of his jaw at the mention of Jiseth. He was a firm believer in the sanctity of the chain of command, so having one of his department heads called up for insubordination couldn't have sat well with him, even if it hadn't been combined with all of the other charges.

Getting to her feet, she straightened her uniform and nodded to her commanding officer. "Acknowledged, Admiral. I'll keep a channel open to the ship on the way down. I don't know if we'll be able to get a communication through those anomalies." Looking up to the security station, she nodded to the Breen standing behind it. "With me, Mr Ezac," she told him, heading after Persephone toward the turbolift.

Gavin Van Gelder wrote:

[Stellar Cartography]

Grinning, Gavin shook his shaggy head.  It seemed like a momentous occasion, a Vulcan admitting that they didn't know something.  Then again, Vulcans were usually smarter than humans.  True knowledge sometimes came from knowing when to say you didn't know.  "I have no idea," he shrugged.  "Hopefully, we might find that out.  In the mean time..."

Gavin swiped his hand through the holographic space again, bringing up a closer reading of Enyo III.  Data from the bridge was coming fast and heavy now.  "This bloody space is brimming with anomalous readings, not the least of which is coming from the planet itself.  Lots of weird nebulae, too.  I sincerely hope Admiral Stark isn't wanting to use the transporters to go down there, if he decides to."

"I am sure the bridge crew is aware of the danger," T'Lara said. She observed the pictures of the planet coming from the bridge, and the flood of information that came along with it. Then she heard a hail from the bridge.

Corman Stark wrote:

=^="Bridge to T'Lara, Van Gelder, Pardek, Arthur, Kintiss...meet in Shuttlebay One for departure to the planet surface."=^=

"Well, it sounds like they took your advice," she said to Van Gelder. "Shall we go?"