Mission 2: Tell No Tales

Captain's log:  
Despite our last mission, we are en route to the location of an automated distress beacon that we picked up two days ago.  We are now only a few hours away.  All attempts to hail the ship have been met with silence.  I have to admit some trepidation after our last run in with a distress call, but our orders are to investigate.

[USS Phoenix - Gym]

Thud.

A taped fist hit the punching bag with quite a bit of force as Archangel took out her anger on the piece of equipment.  Her pale bronze skin was coated in a light sheen of sweat, her hair damp and clinging to her. She had to take out her anger and frustration on something before it drove her nuts or Chira cottoned on to her temper flares.

Thud-thud

The double cut sent jarring vibrations up through her arm to her shoulder.  The bag had been designed for the stronger species to practise on, able to take more punishment than those designed for, say, humans.  Just as well. She breathed heavily, throwing another punch. She had taken care to wind the sports tape and padding around her hands though.  Gabriel didn't like it when he was called to sickbay because she'd broken her knuckles.  Again.

Thud-thud  THUD

The bag swung away and back again, knocking the Romulan back on her backside with an undignified 'oof!'.  Picking herself back up, she moved over to where she had left the majority of her uniform, picking up a bottle of water. She sat on the bench, closing her eyes and taking a moment just to breathe, letting the anger subside. Reaching over to her uniform jacket, she tapped her commbadge.

"T'Koris to the bridge.  How're things holding up there?"

[USS Phoenix - Bridge]

It's funny, Gabriel thought, how cramped and crazy Engineering was. It still felt bigger than this bridge, though. It was an odd thought, seeing as how a Nebula-class bridge was fairly roomy...all things considered. He knew damn well, though, that it wasn't the walls that threatened to close in on him. It was probably the rank.

"Mr. Sheridan," he quietly said, approaching Ops. "How're those gel packs getting along?" They'd had to replace about a quarter of the damn things a few days ago due to infection. So far, the circuitry had been humming along. He wanted to keep it that way. His engineer's heart could see the benefits of the new circuitry...but damn if isolinears weren't easier to work with.

Archangel wrote:

"T'Koris to the bridge. How're things holding up there?"

Rolling his eyes with a slight smile, Gabriel answered the captain's hail. "I'm still here, ma'am," he quietly said, before adding in a louder voice. "About an hour and a half out from the signal origin, captain. I'll keep you apprised if anything comes up. I hope to not interrupt your workout." That much was true...his wife hardly ever took time to relax. Not that she did much relaxing, even when she was.

Gabriel Arthur wrote:

"I'm still here, ma'am," he quietly said, before adding in a louder voice.  "About an hour and a half out from the signal origin, captain.  I'll keep you apprised if anything comes up.  I hope to not interrupt your workout."

[Gym]

Archangel flexed her fingers, working the knuckles after the abuse she had just put them through as she listened to the familiar voice of Gabriel reporting back from the bridge. She almost felt sorry for him. He had never been one for sitting on the bridge, even back when they had been engineering officers, but he continued to insist that she take the occasional shift off rather than working doubles all the time.

Plucking the badge from her jacket, she secured it to the thick strap of her vest top as she walked back to the punching bag she had been using.

"Understood, Commander," she replied, eyeing the bag, planning the rounds of punches she was going to use. "I should be back on the bridge before we get there, but keep me informed just in case."

USS PHOENIX: Bridge

Andrew had been working round the clock to make sure the replacements for the gel packs were working correctly. The infection had been pretty severe, but after some patience and hard work...the last of them had been replaced, and the infection removed.

"Everything is checking out, Commander," he reported from his station in answer to the XO's inquiry. "I'd say we finally got it nailed down. That last one we replaced was the origin of the infection. I think we should file a report with the Engineering Corps at the starbase. They will want to check the rest after such an infection in case it happened to any other ships that had these recently installed," Andrew added as he handed over the report on his PADD.

When the Captain called; Andrew listened to see if there was going to be a change in their orders. It was always wise for the person at Ops to keep an eye and ear open to better anticipate the needs of their superiors. There were, however, no changes, and Andrew nodded to the XO to confirm his evaluation of their ETA.

The distress call was something Andrew now began to focus on. With the gel packs replaced; he could now divert his entire attention to their assignment. Being only an hour and a half away was enough to allow Andrew to begin a more intensive scan of the area they were on course for. Whatever had caused it...he wanted to be ready. An unprepared Ops person could easily get the crew and ship in trouble. That was not something he intended to let happen with him on duty.

Archangel T'Koris wrote:

"Understood, Commander," she replied, eyeing the bag, planning the rounds of punches she was going to use.  "I should be back on the bridge before we get there, but keep me informed just in case."

[Bridge]

"Of course, captain. You'll be the first to know. Bridge out." To be honest, he wished that she were on shore leave on a sandy beach somewhere, instead of beating up hapless bags in the gym. Wish that I was with you, he thought, meaning the beach, obviously. But the gym might also be more interesting than bridge duty.

Andrew Sheridan wrote:

"Everything is checking out, Commander," he reported from his station in answer to the XO's inquiry. "I'd say we finally got it nailed down. That last one we replaced was the origin of the infection. I think we should file a report with the Engineering Corps at the starbase. They will want to check the rest after such an infection in case it happened to any other ships that had these recently installed," Andrew added as he handed over the report on his PADD.

Gabe smiled, nodding at Sheridan. "I'm glad to hear it. I'd hate to have to dust off the isolinear backups to install. The software techs would burn me in effigy. We'll forward everything we have to the base's people, but you can polish it up in a report, if you want." He fought back the urge to smile. Gabe could well remember his days of getting 'volunteered' to do things as a junior officer. "I hope starship life is suiting you, Mr. Sheridan?" The ensign had been one of the new duty transfers to the ship, and had become something of a minor celebrity for his spearheading of the rescue operations, not long ago.

USS PHOENIX: Bridge

"Aye, Sir. I...ummm....actually took the initiative to write the report already, Commander. It just needs your approval before I send it off to the starbase," Andrew stated. Writing was something he enjoyed doing, and while story writing was much more preferred to writing reports....well the latter was not a bad thing...not to Andrew at least.

"Yes, Sir, it suits me just fine," Andrew answered with a slight flush to his cheeks. Since leading the rescue team that recovered the PHOENIX from invaders, and recovering the crew...well things had been interesting for Andrew on the ship.

He had never been very popular before, and now with such popularity...minor though it was....also came something he had never been very good at: flirting women. A couple of women...both officer and enlisted...had been flirting with him, but Andrew didn't know how to respond to such actions. Where in his duties were concerned; he was professional with members of the opposite sex...even able to be friendly with them. Outside of his duties, however, and he froze up...his shyness took over nearly completely. Thankfully, it was only a very small portion of the female populace of the starship, but even those few were more than Andrew was used to. No woman had ever showed interest in him before, and now...well now he simply didn't know how to interact with those who were flirting with him.

That had led to Andrew volunteering to take care of upgrades for the starship, or filling out reports other junior officers didn't want to, or even spending time in the holodeck on his projects against the Borg. Sometimes, he would even enjoy his own personal holo-novels that he was writing...or the stories where he was able to interact in such classics as the Lord of the Rings. In either case, Andrew had simply made himself less available to such attentions, but he knew it was only a matter of time before such sanctuaries would not work.

It wasn't that he didn't want a relationship with a woman...he actually did...badly, but none of the ones flirting with him currently were truly ones he was interested in. Thus, Andrew's heart remained guarded.

[USS Phoenix - Sickbay]

Henriks never thought he would miss being on a starbase, but now that that he was stationed to a ship again, he realized how much he missed it. He missed the ever changing flux of people that came to and left the station, the layout, the friends he had made. Good things had happened on starbases, he noticed. He met Chira on a starbase, proposed to her on another.

And while he was glad to be on the move again, he found him missing the starbase. Teodors wasn't happy about leaving either, now confined to their quarters again. But so long as he could be with Chira, Henriks didn't care where he was.

The doors swished open, causing his head to instinctively pop up to see who it was. One of the ship's crewmen, a petty officer in red. "What can I do for you, sir?" Henriks asked, setting down his padd.

Henriks Ābols wrote:

[USS Phoenix - Sickbay]

Henriks never thought he would miss being on a starbase, but now that that he was stationed to a ship again, he realized how much he missed it. He missed the ever changing flux of people that came to and left the station, the layout, the friends he had made. Good things had happened on starbases, he noticed. He met Chira on a starbase, proposed to her on another.

And while he was glad to be on the move again, he found him missing the starbase. Teodors wasn't happy about leaving either, now confined to their quarters again. But  so long as he could be with Chira, Henriks didn't care where he was.

The doors swished open, causing his head to instinctively pop up to see who it was. One of the ship's crewmen, a petty officer in red. "What can I do for you, sir?" Henriks asked, setting down his padd.

[Sickbay]

Glancing up from what she was working on, Chira grinned as she entered Sickbay from one of the off-side medical labs. Henriks...her husband...was busy working with someone from the flight department. Ever since Jiseth had gone on medical leave, the Phoenix had picked up Nalaa from the Athena. Chira wasn't sure which chief of flight control that she pitied the poor junior officers having to work under more - the Romuan, or the Klingon.

She looked down at her padd, grinning broadly at its contents. It...wasn't exactly work-related, but it surely had something to do with medicine. Making herself look busy, Chira decided to hang around the main bay, waiting for Henriks to finish up with whatever he was doing. She wanted his full attention for this.

[Phaser Range]

Ayora stepped into the small room of the phaser range. It always reminded her of a holodeck's little cousin. Same concept, she guessed. Smiling at the thought (and in anticipation of handling weaponry), the Bajoran set her silvery case down, unsealing the safety lock with a quick scan of her thumbprint ID. By her count, the ship still had a bit of time before arriving at their location. Ayora was never one to waste time, so she decided to use that which was available to her.

The phase pistols were just as she'd left them - clean and charged. You take care of a weapon, and it'll take care of you, she thought, remembering her father saying just that, long ago, when she was a girl. Before he had died in the Resistance.

She checked her chronometer again. It was still a bit early for the time that the new arrival, Pardek was supposed to meet with her. Still, any good security officer would be punctual. "Computer, activate," she called out. The room darkened, leaving only the circular stage area illuminated. Deela decided to wait for Safefta to arrive before she started shooting.

Andrew Sheridan wrote:

USS PHOENIX:  Bridge

"Aye, Sir.  I...ummm....actually took the initiative to write the report already, Commander.  It just needs your approval before I send it off to the starbase," Andrew stated.  Writing was something he enjoyed doing, and while story writing was much more preferred to writing reports....well the latter was not a bad thing...not to Andrew at least.

"Yes, Sir, it suits me just fine," Andrew answered with a slight flush to his cheeks.  Since leading the rescue team that recovered the PHOENIX from invaders, and recovering the crew...well things had been interesting for Andrew on the ship.  

[Bridge]

Gabe nodded, giving the man a quick grin.  "Glad to hear it, Mr. Sheridan.  And we're glad to have you on board.  Forward that file to my office, and I'll send it right out.  I'm sure Admiral Stark will appreciate the mood reading."

He turned back to the secondary seat, almost stepping over Chief Callan, the lanky girl that also served in Ops, and had eagerly volunteered to acclimate Sheridan to his new post.  Gabriel smiled inwardly as he took his seat.  Guess I ain't the only one that's glad you're here, he thought.  

"Conn.  Mr. Black...see if you can coax a bit more speed for us.  Send Engineering a dozen roses later, if you have to."

[Bridge]

"Sorry," Sophie squeaked, as she barely dodged Commander Arthur.  She knew that Gabriel was pretty laid-back, as far as XOs that she'd served under, but nobody liked people careening into them.

Her chagrin changed to an actual grin as she approached the Ops station.  "Hello, sir," Sophie said, quite pleasantly.  "There's no sign of further infection in the systems.  I've been working with Engineering all morning."  Suddenly, it occurred to Sophie just how odd it was that she'd come all the way up to the bridge to make her report.  "Er...that...that's all, I guess."  Oh God, shoot me now.

[Bridge]

Andrew heard his superior's voice while she was giving her report from Engineering where she had just come from. Since coming to the ship; he had worked closely with Chief Sophie Callan, but there had been moments when he thought she was around him more than just for work. Oh, she never said as much. She was always professional, but there was extra warmth at times in her voice towards him when she spoke.

To be honest, he wasn't sure how he felt about her. She wasn't like the others that were flirting with him, and that seemed to put him more at ease with Sophie. On the other hand, Andrew still had no idea what to say or do with her beyond work. Such things he was quite out of his depth on. It took his considerable willpower not to look back immediately. He found it strange that his thoughts had been about the recent flirting from other female members of the crew, and then she turned up on the Bridge. It only then occurred to him that she didn't need to come to the Bridge at all to make her report. She could have done that just as easily from Engineering, but instead...she had come up to make her report personally.

Of course, it could be nothing more than her wanting to give her report that personal touch. He knew he didn't like giving reports over the comm only. To him, a report in person was better when possible. Perhaps, it was nothing more than that, but somehow Andrew didn't think so.

With that thought, Andrew turned back to face his superior. "Good morning, Chief," he greeted her kindly...was that just the slightest hint of extra warmth in his voice towards her? He flushed scarlet at that discovery, and had to look away before it could be noticed. There was a sense of...something....coming from the Commander, but it was impolite to read others, and so Andrew shut it away. It was even more difficult to shut away Sophie's emotions from him, and was only partially successful.

Chira Abols wrote:

[Sickbay]

Glancing up from what she was working on, Chira grinned as she entered Sickbay from one of the off-side medical labs.  Henriks...her husband...was busy working with someone from the flight department.  Ever since Jiseth had gone on medical leave, the Phoenix had picked up Nalaa from the Athena.  Chira wasn't sure which chief of flight control that she pitied the poor junior officers having to work under more - the Romulan, or the Klingon.

She looked down at her padd, grinning broadly at its contents.  It...wasn't exactly work-related, but it surely had something to do with medicine.  Making herself look busy, Chira decided to hang around the main bay, waiting for Henriks to finish up with whatever he was doing.  She wanted his full attention for this.

[Sickbay]

"Yeah," the redshirt replied. "I think it might've been something I ate. Stomach's not terribly pleased with me at the moment, and so I can't concentrate on anything but trying not to, well, you know... And I'm supposed to report for shift soon." And as if on cue, the PO's stomach grumbled, and his face took on a pale tinge.

It would be a quick fix, Henriks knew. He reached for his hypo, and turned it to the right setting before turning back to the PO. "This should help ease your stomach," Henriks told him pressing the hypo to his neck, "but I would suggest you get some rest right after your shift ends. Nothing settles an uneasy stomach like a good nap." The PO nodded before leaving sickbay, looking much relieved.

Now that was taken care of, Henriks turned to find his lovely lady keeping herself busy. Henriks grinned, making his way to her. "Anything I can help you with, miss?" he asked playfully.

[Sickbay]

Entering Matthew slowly made his way to a biobed. Something was off, even if it didn't show up on the surface. Remaining silent he took a seat.

Gabriel Arthur wrote:

"Conn.  Mr. Black...see if you can coax a bit more speed for us.  Send Engineering a dozen roses later, if you have to."

[Bridge]

Derek took a moment to scan his readouts before replying with a frown. "We're at Warp 9 currently sir, Engineering had asked we limit our top speed due to that recent issue with the bio-neural gel packs. I'll check with Lieutenant Celes regarding increasing to 9.4."

However much Derek wanted to get to their distress signal faster, the Nebulas were only normally rated for a much lower cruising speed, and it was up to the ship's maintainers to regulate their functions. Sending a text-only request to his engineering counterpart, he didn't have to wait long for a reply. "Increasing to 9.2, sir. That'll take about an hour off our original ETA."

Matthew Thompson wrote:

[Sickbay]

Entering Matthew slowly made his way to a biobed. Something was off, even if it didn't show up on the surface. Remaining silent he took a seat.

[Sickbay]

Thelos had been quite contentedly going about his work in sickbay. Things had been rather quiet that day, and Henriks was already taking care of the PO that had wandered in complaining of stomach trouble.

In fact, he was almost completely finished with a cellular scan report before anyone else came in. He noticed a yellow-shirted ensign take a seat on a biobed. How curious.

The Andorian dropped the PADD he'd been working on and approached Thompson.

"What brings you to sickbay, Ensign?" he asked cordially.

Thelos th'Zhela wrote:

[Sickbay]

Thelos had been quite contentedly going about his work in sickbay. Things had been rather quiet that day, and Henriks was already taking care of the PO that had wandered in complaining of stomach trouble.

In fact, he was almost completely finished with a cellular scan report before anyone else came in. He noticed a yellow-shirted ensign take a seat on a biobed. How curious.

The Andorian dropped the PADD he'd been working on and approached Thompson.

"What brings you to sickbay, Ensign?" he asked cordially.

[Sickbay]

A moment passed and all Matthew did was stare into the abyss like he was out of his body. Then like being hit by a train he came to handing the man a PADD but remaining silent. Anyone who knew him would likly find that alarming. The whole thing should raise a red flag actually, coming to a sickbay without orders, the silence, the being off-guard and staring into the abyss. But the people that knew him were busy. The PADD contained information on his vitals over the period of a week. It showed dips and spike reaching dangerous levels on multiple occasions, including now.

Matthew Thompson wrote:

[Sickbay]

A moment passed and all Matthew did was stare into the abyss like he was out of his body. Then like being hit by a train he came to handing the man a PADD but remaining silent. Anyone who knew him would likly find that alarming. The whole thing should raise a red flag actually, coming to a sickbay without orders, the silence, the being off-guard and staring into the abyss. But the people that knew him were busy. The PADD contained information on his vitals over the period of a week. It showed dips and spike reaching dangerous levels on multiple occasions, including now.

"Errrr....?" Internally, a red warning sign was going off in Thelos's mind, but he took the PADD and quickly scanned over its contents. It was a medical data PADD showing unusual biological activity, obviously intended to be his.

th'Zhela had heard nothing of this medical information, and he was obviously concerned for Thompson's health and well-being.

The ensign's silence wasn't helping the doctor out at all, so he put forth another question.

"Where did you get this, Ensgin?" he asked firmly as he pulled out a tricorder to scan his new patient with.

Thelos th'Zhela wrote:

"Errrr....?" Internally, a red warning sign was going off in Thelos's mind, but he took the PADD and quickly scanned over its contents. It was a medical data PADD showing unusual biological activity, obviously intended to be his.

th'Zhela had heard nothing of this medical information, and he was obviously concerned for Thompson's health and well-being.

The ensign's silence wasn't helping the doctor out at all, so he put forth another question.

"Where did you get this, Ensgin?" he asked firmly as he pulled out a tricorder to scan his new patient with.

[Sickbay]

On the inside he was screaming "DOES IT MATTER WHERE I GOT IT!?" Yet on the outside he remained silent tapping his wrist watch, which was also a vitals monitor. Then he lifted his left hand revealing the trimmer. His Parkinson's had become more aggressive. It didn't help he'd forgotten treatment on multiple occasions.

Matthew Thompson wrote:

[Sickbay]

On the inside he was screaming "DOES IT MATTER WHERE I GOT IT!?" Yet on the outside he remained silent tapping his wrist watch, which was also a vitals monitor. Then he lifted his left hand revealing the trimmer. His Parkinson's had become more aggressive. It didn't help he'd forgotten treatment on multiple occasions.

The doctor's eyes traveled from the man's wristwatch down to his trembling fingers. A single antenna bent backward momentarily as he attempted to piece together the clues that Thompson was obviously trying to give him.

He pulled up his medical file a moment later. Parkinson's? he thought to himself. It had been a long while since he'd come across someone with the human genetic disorder. It wasn't something known to Andorians, for obvious reasons. The records showed a regular treatment schedule, which Thompson had obviously either missed by accident or purposefully. Thelos hoped it wasn't the latter.

"Alright, Ensign. You're not helping me, here. I can't assist you as well as I can if you won't talk to me."

Thelos th'Zhela wrote:

The doctor's eyes traveled from the man's wristwatch down to his trembling fingers. A single antenna bent backward momentarily as he attempted to piece together the clues that Thompson was obviously trying to give him.

He pulled up his medical file a moment later. Parkinson's? he thought to himself. It had been a long while since he'd come across someone with the human genetic disorder. It wasn't something known to Andorians, for obvious reasons. The records showed a regular treatment schedule, which Thompson had obviously either missed by accident or purposefully. Thelos hoped it wasn't the latter.

"Alright, Ensign. You're not helping me, here. I can't assist you as well as I can if you won't talk to me."

[Sickbay]

Matthew shook his head for a moment and looked down. Then he attempted to force out the words "I can't.." But it came out as jumbled nothingness. Thinking loudly again the thought "No one will ever understand how remarkably frustrating this is for me. Slightly embarrassing too." He held up one finger as to say hold on and then closed his eyes. Maybe taking away his vision could give him enough mental capacity to muster out a single sentence.

"Just say...Speaking requires a much better mental state than I am in." The young man thought to himself. But instead the phrase came out like: "Skreaking requires a merch bettar mentral state than Y am rin." Then he pushed out a few words correctly. "Well, that was incorrect."

Matthew Thompson wrote:

[Sickbay]

Matthew shook his head for a moment and looked down. Then he attempted to force out the words "I can't.." But it came out as jumbled nothingness. Thinking loudly again the thought "No one will ever understand how remarkably frustrating this is for me. Slightly embarrassing too." He held up one finger as to say hold on and then closed his eyes. Maybe taking away his vision could give him enough mental capacity to muster out a single sentence.

"Just say...Speaking requires a much better mental state than I am in." The young man thought to himself. But instead the phrase came out like: "Skreaking requires a merch bettar mentral state than Y am rin." Then he pushed out a few words correctly. "Well, that was incorrect."

Well, then. It was certainly a blessing of invention that starfleet had invented the universal translator, or else Thelos might not have understood a single word of what had come out of Thompson's mouth.

To say that the doctor was shocked was an understatement- how did this progress this badly, especially given his position in sec/tac? One did not simply operate phasers with violently shaking extremities.

"Alright, alright. Don't strain yourself. What I do need to know is what you expect me to do with you, Ensign. You've missed multiple appointments for treatment and now you're shaking like a leaf! What more do you want from me aside from a good telling-to about missing your treatments?"

Andrew Sheridan wrote:

With that thought, Andrew turned back to face his superior.  "Good morning, Chief," he greeted her kindly...was that just the slightest hint of extra warmth in his voice towards her?  He flushed scarlet at that discovery, and had to look away before it could be noticed.  There was a sense of...something....coming from the Commander, but it was impolite to read others, and so Andrew shut it away.  It was even more difficult to shut away Sophie's emotions from him, and was only partially successful.

[Bridge]

Sophie found her cheeks growing warm at the same time as the Ensign in front of her blushed.  She couldn't help but wonder why that was.

Making a concerted effort to shake off that bizarre feeling, she turned to the operations console, scanning it with a practised eye. Work. Work was a safe object to concentrate on.

"Anything else come up?"

[Gym]

With a final punch to the bag, Archangel shook out her hand. Green blood had spotted the bandages around her hands. She raised an eyebrow as she looked down at them and supposed that it could have been a lot worse. She had broken knuckles in the dispelling of her anger before. She was fortunate that it was only a bit of split skin this time. It was worth it, though. She felt a lot calmer, ready to face the bridge again.

And she would have to face the bridge. Her feet and ears were telling her that the ship had sped up a little, meaning that time had been shaved from their ETA.

[Bridge]

After a quick shower and a run over with the dermal regenerator, Archangel headed for her domain: the command center of the ship.

Stepping out of the turbolift, she took a moment to survey the activity before heading to the command chair, offering her husband a brief smile. "You are relieved, Commander." She then looked up at the Ensign at the operations station, nodding to him. "Ensign Sheridan, keep eyes on the sensors as we approach. I don't want to be caught out like last time." Turning her attention then to the man sitting at the helm, she stepped forward to place a hand lightly on the back of his chair. "Let me know when we get close, Chief."

Thelos th'Zhela wrote:

Well, then. It was certainly a blessing of invention that starfleet had invented the universal translator, or else Thelos might not have understood a single word of what had come out of Thompson's mouth.

To say that the doctor was shocked was an understatement- how did this progress this badly, especially given his position in sec/tac? One did not simply operate phasers with violently shaking extremities.

"Alright, alright. Don't strain yourself. What I do need to know is what you expect me to do with you, Ensign. You've missed multiple appointments for treatment and now you're shaking like a leaf! What more do you want from me aside from a good telling-to about missing your treatments?"

[Sickbay]

The young mans mind raced for a moment, then his gaze was cast first to Chira, then to Henriks. "For the love of god, just kill me." He thought to himself. Then a momentary solution came to him.

Closing his eyes he attempted to speak again. "Danger...punch me...you need to punch me as hard as you can...I need to believe you want to hurt me." Then a thought crossed his mind. "Good, some ability is returning to me. I can speak...not fluently, but I can speak now."