Intermission – A Simple Cargo Inspection...Right?
by Alderman Dorian Gabriel & Lieutenant JG Gralthek Sirran & Lieutenant JG Petro
Post Details
[ON]
The turbolift doors opened and Sirran stepped out. Ops was buzzing with activity as usual. As he walked past a bank of monitors showing the live feed from the zero-g harbor he saw the USS Polaris sitting in her berth, and sighed.
"Good morning, Lieutenant," a cheerful crewman said as he walked past the Andorian.
"Good morning," Sirran mumbled back. He went to the replicator and ordered up a Tarkalean tea. Then walked to his station and sat down. Petro was across from him, already busy with her duties.
"Good morning, Petro," Sirran offered. Before Petro could say anything back an incoming transmission demanded her attention.
=^= DS Five operations, this is MV Yucatan. Multi-purpose freighter eighteen weeks out of Meridius. Requesting vectors for approach and docking, over. =^=
=^= Copy that Yucatan =^= Petro said, checking the manifest, the ships statistics and docking requirements. =^= Looks like you made it a day early. Routing coordinates for docking to you now. Welcome to Deep Space Five =^=
"Morning Sirran." Petro said, not taking her eyes off the monitor. "That's odd. Customary scans of the Yucatan show only three life signs. That freighter type is usually staffed with at least a dozen situated personnel and depending on their cargo, up to another eighteen deck hands on contract."
Sirran merely grunted at that as he logged in to his own work console. "Is that something we ought to be concerned about?" He already assumed not, unless it was a violation of some safety regulation.
"It's an odd thing." Petro said, "might be nothing."
Lieutenant Si'Lar Trellis just happened to be on OPS updating station secured protocols. It was a simple task that could have been performed in his own office, but he appreciated the opportunity to be within the HUB of the station.
Trellis continued to upload the information when he heard the concerned tone in the voices of Lieutenants Sirran and Petro. Trellis walked to the Strategic Operations Officer and looked at the Main Viewer.
"Is there a problem with the crew?" Trellis asked. If so, then he would immediately dispatch a team to check on the freighter in order to ensure its safety and that of the station.
"I suppose we could ask," Sirran answered. He opened a channel to the freighter. "DS Five to MV Yucatan. Our routine scan of your vessel indicates that you have only a crew of three aboard, whereas a ship of that size normally operates with many more. Is everything alright aboard your ship?"
There was a pause on the channel. Then the answer came back.
=^= Affirmative, DS Five. Everything is fine. We had an outbreak of Thalusian flu a couple of weeks ago, and some of our crew were evacuated by shuttle to a Ketarian hospital. The rest of us have been given a clean bill of health. We are a bit overworked here but we've got the situation well in hand. =^=
"Acknowledged, Yucatan," Sirran said. "Do you require any assistance getting your ship docked?"
=^= Ah, negative. We've got it under control, DS Five. =^=
"Yucatan, what is your cargo and destination?" Sirran asked. It wasn't a necessary question. Petro already had that information in front of her. He asked it anyway.
There was another pause over the channel. On the viewer the Yucatan was now passing through the space doors and entering the zero-G harbor. Finally the answer came back.
=^= We are transporting terraforming and industrial equipment, and our destination is the Lagus frontier colony. Is there anything else, DS Five? We're somewhat busy over here. =^=
Sirran traded a look with Trellis and Petro, then replied, "Negative, Yucatan. Please be advised we reserve the right to conduct a safety inspection of your vessel."
The reply was terse. =^= Acknowledged. Yucatan out. =^=
Trellis seemed a bit taken back by the exchange. "They seemed somewhat. . .pre-occupied." Trellis said. "If there are only three of them, then why the hesitation in responding?" Trellis asked rhetorically.
"They do have their hands full," Sirran said. "Three people operating a ship that size surely means a lot of work and little rest." He looked at the ship on the viewer as his antennae bent forward, deep in thought. "Of course, it might not hurt to do that safety inspection. We wouldn't want to risk an outbreak of Thalusian flu on the station. Clean bill of health or not."
Trellis nodded. "I can have a security team meet us at Hangar Bay 4, you're welcome to come along if you wish." Trellis said as he sent word to the deck security office to be aware of the situation.
Sirran responded with a slight bow of his head. "Glad to be of service."
"I don't know if there's a glitch in the system, but another life sign just showed up." Petro said.
Sirran's antennae almost stood on end at that news. "After he just finished explaining to us why there are only three people aboard?" He looked at Trellis with an arched brow. "The plot thickens."
Trellis nodded as he made his way to the turbolift along with Lt. Sirran. "Indeed it does. Lt. Petro, we're heading down to Hangar Bay 4, please monitor us from up here just in case another 'surprise' emerges." Trellis requested as he and the Andorian stepped into the turbolift.
[Hangar Bay 4]
Trellis exited and was greeted by two lower ranking officers assigned to the security hub for that deck. "Has anyone exited the vessel?" Trellis asked.
"No, sir." The Petty Officer responded. "The vessel has remained on lockdown since you contacted us. However, we have received numerous communiques from the freighter's Captain. Evidently, he is not happy about being restrained on his own ship."
"Well, hopefully we are all just overreacting." Trellis said as he began to walk towards the docking entrance for the particular vessel.
Sirran followed just behind the security team, open tricorder in hand. He was glad to be along but careful to stay out of the way. Just in case this became a serious security issue.
The Captain of the Yucatan showed up at the entrance of his ship's airlock. He was humanoid but his exact species was not readily identifiable. That was not unusual. Merchant vessels hired help from all over, even places Starfleet hadn't been to yet. "Are you in charge?" He said to Trellis. "Want to tell me what this is all about?"
"Captain, I am Lieutenant Si'Lar Trellis. Chief of Station Security." Trellis responded formally. "I apologize for any inconvenience. I am simple conducting a standard welfare check of your vehicle due to a slight. . .irregularity we detected shortly after you docked with the station." Trellis stated hoping that this would go easy.
"Really? Well, we don't appreciate being treated like criminals," the captain said.
Another man, shorter but stout, stepped up behind the Captain and gave a slight cough. "Sir, the cargo is ready to be offloaded. The containment unit is functioning but at a low capacity. If we don't get them stabilized they'll be no good to anyone." He looked at the security personnel and gave a nod before continuing to speak with the Captain. "Thompson made a list of parts he needs to repair the sensor systems." He handed the Captain a PADD before turning to leave.
"Captain, if you would permit us to perform just a brief safety inspection of your cargo, we will be out of your way as soon as possible." Trellis stated. "I'm sure Lieutenant Sirran would be more than capable of assisting in your necesary repairs." Trellis added.
"We thought you were hauling terraforming equipment," Sirran said. "Why would you need a containment unit?"
The freighter captain narrowed his eyes at the Andorian. "We are also carrying a shipment on behalf of a private broker, who has asked that we exercise discretion about its presence on our ship."
"What kind of shipment?" Sirran asked.
"I'm not at liberty to say."
Sirran traded another look with Trellis.
"I assure you its nothing illegal or hazardous," the captain said.
"May we have a look at it?"
"No, I'm afraid not."
"Captain," Sirran said, "if it's nothing illegal or hazardous then I assure you we probably won't take much interest in it. But we do mean to inspect this vessel. We can do it with your cooperation or we can do it with a warrant from this sector's magistrate. It's up to you."
The captain opened his mouth to say something, but relented and closed them tight. He turned and looked back inside the airlock, then heaved a sigh. "Very well," he said, motioning inside.
Sirran and Trellis followed him, accompanied by a pair of security personnel.
"How long have you and your crew been the only ones keeping the ship going." Trellis said, as he tried to keep conversation light. At this point, he was still unsure what exactly was going on. But he did know that he wanted to keep everybody calm.
"About a week," the captain said. He led the small group through a short corridor and up a ladder. Then down another corridor, this one a bit longer, until they reached a hatch. The captain punched in a code on the keypad and the hatch whooshed open. "Our cargo area is beyond this point. I'll be up on the bridge. That's two decks up and all the way forward, if you need me." He turned to leave.
"Captain," Sirran said. "We never did get your name." Nor had he asked for any of theirs, he noted.
"Uval," the man said, and left it at that.
Sirran and Trellis watched him go silently. Once Uval was well out of earshot, Sirran peeked inside the cargo hold. It was a cavernous space, and packed from bottom to top with all manner of containers, barrels, and heavy equipment wrapped in protective plastic. There was very little space to move among it all. This was going to take them a long time.
"After you?" Sirran said, flipping open his tricorder.
~END~
Si'Lar Trellis
Lieutenant
Acting Chief of Security
Lt(JG) Gralthek Sirran
Strategic Operations
by Alderman Dorian Gabriel & Lieutenant JG Gralthek Sirran & Lieutenant JG Petro
Post Details
| Title | A Simple Cargo Inspection...Right? | |
| Mission | Intermission | |
| Author(s) | Alderman Dorian Gabriel & Lieutenant JG Gralthek Sirran & Lieutenant JG Petro | |
| Posted | Sat Nov 30, 2013 @ 11:05pm | |
| Location | DS5 Ops | |
| Timeline | Day 1 of "Small Things" - 0900 |
The turbolift doors opened and Sirran stepped out. Ops was buzzing with activity as usual. As he walked past a bank of monitors showing the live feed from the zero-g harbor he saw the USS Polaris sitting in her berth, and sighed.
"Good morning, Lieutenant," a cheerful crewman said as he walked past the Andorian.
"Good morning," Sirran mumbled back. He went to the replicator and ordered up a Tarkalean tea. Then walked to his station and sat down. Petro was across from him, already busy with her duties.
"Good morning, Petro," Sirran offered. Before Petro could say anything back an incoming transmission demanded her attention.
=^= DS Five operations, this is MV Yucatan. Multi-purpose freighter eighteen weeks out of Meridius. Requesting vectors for approach and docking, over. =^=
=^= Copy that Yucatan =^= Petro said, checking the manifest, the ships statistics and docking requirements. =^= Looks like you made it a day early. Routing coordinates for docking to you now. Welcome to Deep Space Five =^=
"Morning Sirran." Petro said, not taking her eyes off the monitor. "That's odd. Customary scans of the Yucatan show only three life signs. That freighter type is usually staffed with at least a dozen situated personnel and depending on their cargo, up to another eighteen deck hands on contract."
Sirran merely grunted at that as he logged in to his own work console. "Is that something we ought to be concerned about?" He already assumed not, unless it was a violation of some safety regulation.
"It's an odd thing." Petro said, "might be nothing."
Lieutenant Si'Lar Trellis just happened to be on OPS updating station secured protocols. It was a simple task that could have been performed in his own office, but he appreciated the opportunity to be within the HUB of the station.
Trellis continued to upload the information when he heard the concerned tone in the voices of Lieutenants Sirran and Petro. Trellis walked to the Strategic Operations Officer and looked at the Main Viewer.
"Is there a problem with the crew?" Trellis asked. If so, then he would immediately dispatch a team to check on the freighter in order to ensure its safety and that of the station.
"I suppose we could ask," Sirran answered. He opened a channel to the freighter. "DS Five to MV Yucatan. Our routine scan of your vessel indicates that you have only a crew of three aboard, whereas a ship of that size normally operates with many more. Is everything alright aboard your ship?"
There was a pause on the channel. Then the answer came back.
=^= Affirmative, DS Five. Everything is fine. We had an outbreak of Thalusian flu a couple of weeks ago, and some of our crew were evacuated by shuttle to a Ketarian hospital. The rest of us have been given a clean bill of health. We are a bit overworked here but we've got the situation well in hand. =^=
"Acknowledged, Yucatan," Sirran said. "Do you require any assistance getting your ship docked?"
=^= Ah, negative. We've got it under control, DS Five. =^=
"Yucatan, what is your cargo and destination?" Sirran asked. It wasn't a necessary question. Petro already had that information in front of her. He asked it anyway.
There was another pause over the channel. On the viewer the Yucatan was now passing through the space doors and entering the zero-G harbor. Finally the answer came back.
=^= We are transporting terraforming and industrial equipment, and our destination is the Lagus frontier colony. Is there anything else, DS Five? We're somewhat busy over here. =^=
Sirran traded a look with Trellis and Petro, then replied, "Negative, Yucatan. Please be advised we reserve the right to conduct a safety inspection of your vessel."
The reply was terse. =^= Acknowledged. Yucatan out. =^=
Trellis seemed a bit taken back by the exchange. "They seemed somewhat. . .pre-occupied." Trellis said. "If there are only three of them, then why the hesitation in responding?" Trellis asked rhetorically.
"They do have their hands full," Sirran said. "Three people operating a ship that size surely means a lot of work and little rest." He looked at the ship on the viewer as his antennae bent forward, deep in thought. "Of course, it might not hurt to do that safety inspection. We wouldn't want to risk an outbreak of Thalusian flu on the station. Clean bill of health or not."
Trellis nodded. "I can have a security team meet us at Hangar Bay 4, you're welcome to come along if you wish." Trellis said as he sent word to the deck security office to be aware of the situation.
Sirran responded with a slight bow of his head. "Glad to be of service."
"I don't know if there's a glitch in the system, but another life sign just showed up." Petro said.
Sirran's antennae almost stood on end at that news. "After he just finished explaining to us why there are only three people aboard?" He looked at Trellis with an arched brow. "The plot thickens."
Trellis nodded as he made his way to the turbolift along with Lt. Sirran. "Indeed it does. Lt. Petro, we're heading down to Hangar Bay 4, please monitor us from up here just in case another 'surprise' emerges." Trellis requested as he and the Andorian stepped into the turbolift.
[Hangar Bay 4]
Trellis exited and was greeted by two lower ranking officers assigned to the security hub for that deck. "Has anyone exited the vessel?" Trellis asked.
"No, sir." The Petty Officer responded. "The vessel has remained on lockdown since you contacted us. However, we have received numerous communiques from the freighter's Captain. Evidently, he is not happy about being restrained on his own ship."
"Well, hopefully we are all just overreacting." Trellis said as he began to walk towards the docking entrance for the particular vessel.
Sirran followed just behind the security team, open tricorder in hand. He was glad to be along but careful to stay out of the way. Just in case this became a serious security issue.
The Captain of the Yucatan showed up at the entrance of his ship's airlock. He was humanoid but his exact species was not readily identifiable. That was not unusual. Merchant vessels hired help from all over, even places Starfleet hadn't been to yet. "Are you in charge?" He said to Trellis. "Want to tell me what this is all about?"
"Captain, I am Lieutenant Si'Lar Trellis. Chief of Station Security." Trellis responded formally. "I apologize for any inconvenience. I am simple conducting a standard welfare check of your vehicle due to a slight. . .irregularity we detected shortly after you docked with the station." Trellis stated hoping that this would go easy.
"Really? Well, we don't appreciate being treated like criminals," the captain said.
Another man, shorter but stout, stepped up behind the Captain and gave a slight cough. "Sir, the cargo is ready to be offloaded. The containment unit is functioning but at a low capacity. If we don't get them stabilized they'll be no good to anyone." He looked at the security personnel and gave a nod before continuing to speak with the Captain. "Thompson made a list of parts he needs to repair the sensor systems." He handed the Captain a PADD before turning to leave.
"Captain, if you would permit us to perform just a brief safety inspection of your cargo, we will be out of your way as soon as possible." Trellis stated. "I'm sure Lieutenant Sirran would be more than capable of assisting in your necesary repairs." Trellis added.
"We thought you were hauling terraforming equipment," Sirran said. "Why would you need a containment unit?"
The freighter captain narrowed his eyes at the Andorian. "We are also carrying a shipment on behalf of a private broker, who has asked that we exercise discretion about its presence on our ship."
"What kind of shipment?" Sirran asked.
"I'm not at liberty to say."
Sirran traded another look with Trellis.
"I assure you its nothing illegal or hazardous," the captain said.
"May we have a look at it?"
"No, I'm afraid not."
"Captain," Sirran said, "if it's nothing illegal or hazardous then I assure you we probably won't take much interest in it. But we do mean to inspect this vessel. We can do it with your cooperation or we can do it with a warrant from this sector's magistrate. It's up to you."
The captain opened his mouth to say something, but relented and closed them tight. He turned and looked back inside the airlock, then heaved a sigh. "Very well," he said, motioning inside.
Sirran and Trellis followed him, accompanied by a pair of security personnel.
"How long have you and your crew been the only ones keeping the ship going." Trellis said, as he tried to keep conversation light. At this point, he was still unsure what exactly was going on. But he did know that he wanted to keep everybody calm.
"About a week," the captain said. He led the small group through a short corridor and up a ladder. Then down another corridor, this one a bit longer, until they reached a hatch. The captain punched in a code on the keypad and the hatch whooshed open. "Our cargo area is beyond this point. I'll be up on the bridge. That's two decks up and all the way forward, if you need me." He turned to leave.
"Captain," Sirran said. "We never did get your name." Nor had he asked for any of theirs, he noted.
"Uval," the man said, and left it at that.
Sirran and Trellis watched him go silently. Once Uval was well out of earshot, Sirran peeked inside the cargo hold. It was a cavernous space, and packed from bottom to top with all manner of containers, barrels, and heavy equipment wrapped in protective plastic. There was very little space to move among it all. This was going to take them a long time.
"After you?" Sirran said, flipping open his tricorder.
~END~
Si'Lar Trellis
Lieutenant
Acting Chief of Security
Lt(JG) Gralthek Sirran
Strategic Operations