Mission 3: Choices

Captain's Log, Stardate 55941.5

The Phoenix has been sent by Starfleet Command to render assistance to a newly established colony.  Their water supply has been contaminated by unknown sources and none of the usual decontaminants appear to be working.  With any luck, my science teams may be able to come up with a solution.

[USS Phoenix - Briefing Room]

Standing at the bank of windows that lined one wall of the briefing room, Archangel waited for the members of her crew that she had called to the briefing:  representatives from the Operations, Sciences and Medical department.

[USS Phoenix - Turbolift]

Gavin Van Gelder leaned against the duranium wall of the turbolift, whistling tunelessly as he reviewed the information on the padd in his hands. Actually, it didn't contain a damn bit of real work-related info. It was actually a message sent to Thelos about fifteen minutes ago...asking the Andorian to meet him for dinner, later. Grinning stupidly, Gavin powered the padd down, stuffing it into his attache case, and taking out another one. This one had real work stuff on it. Hopefully, he would know exaclty what he needed once he got to this meeting. Gav still wondered if being sent to meet with the captain was a sign that his department head trusted him, and knew that Gavin's lack of being promoted was a purely political move, or if the Vulcan just hadn't wanted to deal with the meeting.

Both, maybe?

[Briefing Room]

"Hello, ma'am," Gavin beamed, nodding as he entered the briefing room and setting is satchel on the table. He'd basically grown up around Starfleet brass, so pips had never been much of an intimidation to him. Normally, Romulans would be, but...well. With all the oddness in his life of late, very few things were left to surprise him. Or intimidate. "Guess I'm the first one here."

[Mess Hall]

Matthew sat alone at a table, he was waiting for Chira, but he knew she might be awhile. So he sat alone instead. On the table sat an unopened envelope next to his tray of food. For some reason he couldn't go anywhere without people giving him those judgmental glares. He wondered if any of them really knew what he'd gone through in his life. His parents being framed for murder, the years on the run, when they were proven innocent how they were murdered, the years of torture, and even his fiancé being murdered. No, they didn't see any of that. Why would they?

They saw a broken young man and thought he should just be fixed, or at least that's what he thought they thought. In reality most of them probably wished they could help, but they just didn't know how to even approach him. It was fair, but it would help more if they just left him be without all those judging looks.

[USS Phoenix - Bridge]

Sophie entered the bridge, another junior officer in tow.  Actually, the girl was an ensign, so she was a superior officer to Sophie's NCO status.  On the books, that was.  Sophie was glad to know that all of her Ops staff understood that experience sure as hell outweighed the fact that someone had spent four years at an Academy.  

Approaching the Ops station, she laid a gentle hand on Sheridan's shoulder.  "Hey, wunderkind," she grinned, her voice playful and low.  "DH meeting.  The skipper wants you in on this one, too."  Nodding to the other ensign to take over, Sophie threw another smile back at Andrew.  "Maybe there'll be donuts."

Matthew Thompson wrote:

[Mess Hall]

Matthew sat alone at a table, he was waiting for Chira, but he knew she might be awhile. So he sat alone instead. On the table sat an unopened envelope next to his tray of food. For some reason he couldn't go anywhere without people giving him those judgmental glares. He wondered if any of them really knew what he'd gone through in his life. His parents being framed for murder, the years on the run, when they were proven innocent how they were murdered, the years of torture, and even his fiancé being murdered. No, they didn't see any of that. Why would they?

They saw a broken young man and thought he should just be fixed, or at least that's what he thought they thought. In reality most of them probably wished they could help, but they just didn't know how to even approach him. It was fair, but it would help more if they just left him be without all those judging looks.

[Mess Hall]

Chira knew that she was being followed by ship's security, but they were being much more discreet about it than they had been in the past. Perhaps Thompson had shown some of the officer staff that he could be trusted, but she knew that Security was a branch that was long on memory and short on indulgence.

As she entered the ship's crew mess, the goldshirt sec officer moved off to one side, ordering a drink from the replicator and causally sipping it. Just a day at the office, huh? she thought, giving the man a reassuring smile and approaching Thompson's table. He sat alone, as he usually did. One of the things she intended to work on was his antisocial behavior.

"Hello," Chira said, clasping her hands in front of her. "Mind if I take a seat?"

Henriks stood, a motion that caused his chair to push backwards as he did so. He straightened the pile of padds that he had been going through, mostly crew medical records. He had been made Chief of the department again, it seemed, so he wanted to know each crewmember on the ship and have at least some vague idea of their medical history. There was one padd in particular that he spent more time on than any other. His wife's padd lay apart from the stack, and even just glancing at it would send a tingle down his spine, know that he knew she was expecting. Chira had given him the padd as an early Christmas present, and after that, there was nothing else he could want.

Though he wished he could just hide away in his office and muse about the impending joys of the future, the captain had called for a briefing, and as the department chief, it was his obligation to go. He had to pass through two sets of doors, out of his office first and then out of sickbay, before he could even get into the corridor to find the nearest turbolift. But after that, it was smooth sailing and he found himself at the briefing room in no time at all.

"Sveiki," he said by way of greeting to those already there.

Gavin Van Gelder wrote:

[Briefing Room]
"Hello, ma'am," Gavin beamed, nodding as he entered the briefing room and setting is satchel on the table.  He'd basically grown up around Starfleet brass, so pips had never been much of an intimidation to him.  Normally, Romulans would be, but...well.  With all the oddness in his life of late, very few things were left to surprise him.  Or intimidate.  "Guess I'm the first one here."

Henriks Abols wrote:

"Sveiki," he said by way of greeting to those already there.

[Briefing Room]

Archangel turned as she heard the door open, smiling slightly at the two members of her crew who had arrived for the briefing. She was glad to see Ensign Van Gelder representing the science department. She had been impressed by his record, although the sudden change from the medical department to the sciences had come as something of a surprise to her. The Van Gelder name was well known for its affiliation with medicine.

The other man who had arrived was Chief Abols, her brother-in-law through Chira. She inclined her head to him in greeting.

"Gentlemen," she said. "Please, take a seat while we wait for the rest of the team to arrive."

Chira Abols wrote:

[Mess Hall]

Chira knew that she was being followed by ship's security, but they were being much more discreet about it than they had been in the past.  Perhaps Thompson had shown some of the officer staff that he could be trusted, but she knew that Security was a branch that was long on memory and short on indulgence.

As she entered the ship's crew mess, the goldshirt sec officer moved off to one side, ordering a drink from the replicator and causally sipping it.  Just a day at the office, huh? she thought, giving the man a reassuring smile and approaching Thompson's table.  He sat alone, as he usually did.  One of the things she intended to work on was his antisocial behavior.

"Hello," Chira said, clasping her hands in front of her.  "Mind if I take a seat?"

"Please, go ahead." Usually while he ate he ate alone, it was faster. After all eating was part of his training. He'd already noticed the security, but at least they were trying to hide. For some reason, he trusted them more when they weren't in plain sight. Perhaps it's because they were trying to give him a sense of security.

"I need your help with something." Matthew commented.

Matthew Thompson wrote:

"Please, go ahead." Usually while he ate he ate alone, it was faster. After all eating was part of his training. He'd already noticed the security, but at least they were trying to hide. For some reason, he trusted them more when they weren't in plain sight. Perhaps it's because they were trying to give him a sense of security.

"I need your help with something." Matthew commented.

[Mess Hall]

Nodding, Chira moved quickly over to the wall terminal, creating a glass of mineral water for herself. She knew that she'd have to keep a close eye on her diet, now that she was consuming for two. "Thanks, Matt," Chira said, sliding into the seat and setting her water down.

From the way he was holding that envelope, it obviously contained something important. She didn't mention it, though...if Matthew wanted to bring it up, he would. "What can I help you with?"

Chira Abols wrote:

[Mess Hall]

Nodding, Chira moved quickly over to the wall terminal, creating a glass of mineral water for herself.  She knew that she'd have to keep a close eye on her diet, now that she was consuming for two.  "Thanks, Matt," Chira said, sliding into the seat and setting her water down.  

From the way he was holding that envelope, it obviously contained something important.  She didn't mention it, though...if Matthew wanted to bring it up, he would.  "What can I help you with?"

"This letter, it was the last thing my fiancé ever wrote me. Never been able to read it. To afraid." Matthew commented. "Still terrified. Can you open it?"

Matthew Thompson wrote:

"This letter, it was the last thing my fiancé ever wrote me. Never been able to read it. To afraid." Matthew commented. "Still terrified. Can you open it?"

[Crew Mess]

Ah. So, apparently, he did want to get to the letter, first off. Very well. Chira took the envelope, wondering at the feeling of paper between her fingers. It was quite the rarity on board a starship. Carefully, she opened the sealant, popping the envelope open. Reaching in, Chira pulled the letter out, laying it against the envelope, folding the flap over the paper and sliding it over to Matthew. "Would you like to read it now?"

[USS Phoenix - Bridge]

It's blessedly quiet, Gabriel thought, shifting in the secondary command chair. With Arch pulling some of the department heads, he was left in charge of the bridge. Which meant, basically, reading over padd data. Their current mission itself was fairly unremarkable - the colony of Thera Gamma, an adjunct Federation world (and about as 'frontier' as one could get), was requesting help in tracking down water contaminants. At least, Gabe hoped that it would be a simple task. Aside from all those people getting the beaver fever.

More worrying was the info on his padd data - their reports, or lack thereof, pertaining to the type of cloak tech used by those Orion pirates. He wished to hell that they'd been able to recover one, but between the planetside bombardments, destroyed ships, and suicide runs, the evidence was neatly blasted away by the Orions. And so, they were left back at square one...and hoping that more hostile forces didn't pick up on this so-called "ion glide".

Chira Abols wrote:

[Crew Mess]

Ah.  So, apparently, he did want to get to the letter, first off.  Very well.  Chira took the envelope, wondering at the feeling of paper between her fingers.  It was quite the rarity on board a starship.  Carefully, she opened the sealant, popping the envelope open.  Reaching in, Chira pulled the letter out, laying it against the envelope, folding the flap over the paper and sliding it over to Matthew.  "Would you like to read it now?"

[Crew Mess]

"Yes, but there's the problem. I don't know if I can. I mean, I can in the literal sense. You know what I mean." Matthew commented. "How do you look at something knowing it the last thing you'll ever see from the person you love most?"

Andrew looked up at the woman who had been his date at the Christmas party where he had been promoted to Lieutenant J.G. by the Captain.

"Indeed," he said with some surprise. Though he had known of the DH meeting about to start; he had no idea he was to be attending. He slipped out of his chair to allow the woman Sophie had brought with her to take over, and then went with her to the briefing room. "Hmm, donuts and hot chocolate wouldn't hurt either," Andrew stated with a smile to her just before they entered.

Briefing Room

With a nod to the Captain and the CMO Henriks Abols; Andrew entered with Sophie and took a seat next to the Medical officer.

"Good morning, Companions," he greeted them...still surprised that he was to be present for the DH meeting. After all, Sophie was the head of Operations, but as he was one day wanting to command his own starship...well, it was going to be good working with the others in such a meeting. Certainly it would be good practice for later. "I am afraid I have nothing new on the Orion's ion glide tech used in their stealth approach. They made sure that we didn't catch one of them intact," Andrew added to the Captain.

He didn't like telling her such information. The lack of good information about enemy technology was not something Andrew liked to leave as an open mystery. Such things, in fact, made him very badly want to solve them all the more. Perhaps this came from how badly the Borg were a mystery to his timeline as their technology and superiority continued to ravage that Federation and Starfleet.

Archangel T'Koris wrote:

"Gentlemen," she said.  "Please, take a seat while we wait for the rest of the team to arrive."

Andrew Sheridan wrote:

With a nod to the Captain and the CMO Henriks Abols; Andrew entered with Sophie and took a seat next to the Medical officer.

"Good morning, Companions," he greeted them...still surprised that he was to be present for the DH meeting. After all, Sophie was the head of Operations, but as he was one day wanting to command his own starship...well, it was going to be good working with the others in such a meeting. Certainly it would be good practice for later. "I am afraid I have nothing new on the Orion's ion glide tech used in their stealth approach. They made sure that we didn't catch one of them intact," Andrew added to the Captain.

He didn't like telling her such information. The lack of good information about enemy technology was not something Andrew liked to leave as an open mystery. Such things, in fact, made him very badly want to solve them all the more. Perhaps this came from how badly the Borg were a mystery to his timeline as their technology and superiority continued to ravage that Federation and Starfleet.

[Briefing Room]

Henriks gave a quiet nod before taking a seat somewhere along the side of the table. It wasn't long before a couple others arrived, including a face that was relatively new to him. Having poured over medical files all morning, he was able to match the name Andrew Sheridan to the face he had only seen a few times. "Sveiks," he said to the yellowshirt as he slipped into the seat beside Henriks. Sheridan looked a little grim, which wasn't all that surprising considering the information he gave the captain just a few seconds later.

Andrew Sheridan wrote:

Briefing Room

With a nod to the Captain and the CMO Henriks Abols; Andrew entered with Sophie and took a seat next to the Medical officer.

"Good morning, Companions," he greeted them...still surprised that he was to be present for the DH meeting.  After all, Sophie was the head of Operations, but as he was one day wanting to command his own starship...well, it was going to be good working with the others in such a meeting.  Certainly it would be good practice for later.  "I am afraid I have nothing new on the Orion's ion glide tech used in their stealth approach.  They made sure that we didn't catch one of them intact," Andrew added to the Captain.

He didn't like telling her such information.  The lack of good information about enemy technology was not something Andrew liked to leave as an open mystery.  Such things, in fact, made him very badly want to solve them all the more.  Perhaps this came from how badly the Borg were a mystery to his timeline as their technology and superiority continued to ravage that Federation and Starfleet.

[Briefing Room]

Archangel nodded to Lieutenant Sheridan as he walked into the room and listened carefully to his report on his investigations into the ion technology they had encountered with the Orions not all that long ago.  She hadn't really expected him to be able to tell her much more than she already knew given that they hadn't been able to secure any form of useful wreckage from the firefight.

"That's understandable, Lieutenant," she replied, offering him a smile.  "There are only so many conclusions you can glean from a limited amount of information."

Now that the last of the personnel she had summoned to the briefing had arrived, Archangel took her place at the head of the long table.  Coffee and biscuits had been laid out on the table, a hold over from when she had just been assigned Chief Engineer on the Discovery and had little time for decent meals in her schedule.  She wanted the officers' attention on the briefing, not on their grumbling stomachs, and had found that providing something to nibble on helped that goal.

"New orders came in from Athena.  Just under a year ago, a colony was settled on Thera Gamma.  Settlement went well and there had been no problems until now.  The colony reported that there's some kind of contaminant in the water sources and standard measures of decontamination aren't working."

Archangel T'Koris wrote:

"New orders came in from Athena.  Just under a year ago, a colony was settled on Thera Gamma.  Settlement went well and there had been no problems until now.  The colony reported that there's some kind of contaminant in the water sources and standard measures of decontamination aren't working."

[Briefing Room]

Frowning, Gavin tapped his lower lip in thought as he considered the captain's information on the colony. He glanced over at Henriks, giving a little shrug. It sounded like a problem that both Sciences and Medical would need to knock their heads together on.

"A contaminant, huh? Has anyone from this colony said what kind of symptoms have been appearing with the contamination?" All the classics, like giardia, dysentery...those should be easy enough to filter out.

Matthew Thompson wrote:

"Yes, but there's the problem. I don't know if I can. I mean, I can in the literal sense. You know what I mean." Matthew commented. "How do you look at something knowing it the last thing you'll ever see from the person you love most?"

[Crew Mess]

Chira sat quietly, considering what the young man was telling her. Was he looking for her advice, or just presenting his current feelings? Probably a little of both. "I do know what you mean," she said, after taking a drink of water to gather her thoughts. "The truth is, I really don't know, Matt. I guess the main question to ask yourself is...what do you want the letter to mean? Do you want it to be that which anchors you to a past life, or do you want it to be the first step in a new?" She sat a few moments more, looking at the letter. "And...what do you think she would want you to do?"

Chira Abols wrote:

[Crew Mess]

Chira sat quietly, considering what the young man was telling her.  Was he looking for her advice, or just presenting his current feelings?  Probably a little of both.  "I do know what you mean," she said, after taking a drink of water to gather her thoughts.  "The truth is, I really don't know, Matt.  I guess the main question to ask yourself is...what do you want the letter to mean?  Do you want it to be that which anchors you to a past life, or do you want it to be the first step in a new?"  She sat a few moments more, looking at the letter.  "And...what do you think she would want you to do?"

[Crew Mess]

He paused silent for a moment. "I suppose she'd want me to move on. I also know I can't do that by holding onto this. I suppose maybe it's better to just remember her as she was, whatever is in this letter shouldn't matter. I knew everything about her. I suppose maybe it's just best to let go." Matthew commented sliding the paper to the woman. "Can you hold onto this for me?"

Matthew Thompson wrote:

He paused silent for a moment. "I suppose she'd want me to move on. I also know I can't do that by holding onto this. I suppose maybe it's better to just remember her as she was, whatever is in this letter shouldn't matter. I knew everything about her. I suppose maybe it's just best to let go." Matthew commented sliding the paper to the woman. "Can you hold onto this for me?"

[Crew Mess]

Nodding, Chira took the piece of paper. She carefully folded it back into the envelope. "If that's what you want, I'll hold onto it for now." Chira slid the envelope aside, taking another drink of her water. "But I will not read it. It's meant for you, Matt. And you should be the first to read it. Or not read it. That'll be up for you to decide....I believe that she would approve, either way."

Chira Abols wrote:

[Crew Mess]

Nodding, Chira took the piece of paper.  She carefully folded it back into the envelope.  "If that's what you want, I'll hold onto it for now."  Chira slid the envelope aside, taking another drink of her water.  "But I will not read it.  It's meant for you, Matt.  And you should be the first to read it.  Or not read it.  That'll be up for you to decide....I believe that she would approve, either way."

[Crew Mess]

"Have I ever told you what happened on that day? I could have killed the two men that killed her, but I let them go. There was no way to save her and I knew it, yet for some reason I showed mercy. I've run so many simulations, there was no way to save her. It was my first Kobayashi Maru." Matthew commented.

Matthew Thompson wrote:

"Have I ever told you what happened on that day? I could have killed the two men that killed her, but I let them go. There was no way to save her and I knew it, yet for some reason I showed mercy. I've run so many simulations, there was no way to save her. It was my first Kobayashi Maru." Matthew commented.

[Crew Mess]

Nodding, Chira leaned back in her seat, giving Thompson an appraising look. "You showed mercy," she said, after taking another sip, "because that is who you are. You may have skeletons. I'm sure you do. We all do, to a degree." Her mind immediately went to her sister-in-law, Archangel, and the contents of her psych profile. "Maybe getting revenge that day would have made you feel better, but I doubt it.

Chira glanced up at the security officer not-so-casually drinking his beverage at the bar, looking back at Thompson. "There's an old Earth proverb, something about the one who seeks revenge should dig two graves." At least, she thought it was human. It definitely wasn't Klingon. "I would like to place you back on active duty, Matt. Do you believe you are ready for it?"

Chira Abols wrote:

[Crew Mess]

Nodding, Chira leaned back in her seat, giving Thompson an appraising look.  "You showed mercy," she said, after taking another sip, "because that is who you are.  You may have skeletons.  I'm sure you do.  We all do, to a degree."  Her mind immediately went to her sister-in-law, Archangel, and the contents of her psych profile.  "Maybe getting revenge that day would have made you feel better, but I doubt it.

Chira glanced up at the security officer not-so-casually drinking his beverage at the bar, looking back at Thompson.  "There's an old Earth proverb, something about the one who seeks revenge should dig two graves."  At least, she thought it was human.  It definitely wasn't Klingon.  "I would like to place you back on active duty, Matt.  Do you believe you are ready for it?"

[Crew Mess]

That was the best news he'd heard in a very long time. "I thought you'd never ask. All this sitting around has been killing me." He offered the woman a very sincere smile as his eyes lit up and became a beautiful deep blue.

Gavin Van Gelder wrote:

[Briefing Room]

Frowning, Gavin tapped his lower lip in thought as he considered the captain's information on the colony.  He glanced over at Henriks, giving a little shrug.  It sounded like a problem that both Sciences and Medical would need to knock their heads together on.

"A contaminant, huh?  Has anyone from this colony said what kind of symptoms have been appearing with the contamination?"  All the classics, like giardia, dysentery...those should be easy enough to filter out.

[Briefing Room]

Archangel picked up the PADD she had downloaded the mission parametres to, checking the information on it to make sure that she wasn't about to tell Gavin a load of nonsense.

"The colonists are reporting severe gastrointestinal issues, liver and kidney problems even some nervous system problems. The colony's hospital is rapidly running out of supplies and just isn't big enough to handle the influx of patients needing treatment."

Archangel T'Koris wrote:

[Briefing Room]

Archangel picked up the PADD she had downloaded the mission parametres to, checking the information on it to make sure that she wasn't about to tell Gavin a load of nonsense.

"The colonists are reporting severe gastrointestinal issues, liver and kidney problems even some nervous system problems.  The colony's hospital is rapidly running out of supplies and just isn't big enough to handle the influx of patients needing treatment."

Gavin having beat him to asking about symptoms, Henriks jotted down notes from the captain's reply before posing a few questions of his own. "What supplies are the hospital running out of, and do we know if they are having an affect, if any, on treating the contamination?" Other questions immediately sprang to mind, making Henriks feel rather like a fountain bursting to overflow, but there was only so much he could ask at one time and expect reasonable answers.