Cascade – How does the saying go?
by Commander Karen Villiers & Lieutenant JG Ronan Larel & Lieutenant Commander Steve Wyman & Lieutenant JG Gralthek Sirran
Post Details
ON:
Through the usual bustle of Ops on Alpha Shift Karen spied Lieutenant Sirran, he was one of the key members of the investigating team and if the Counselor had a new insight into what they were dealing with it was only right that the Andorian be there to hear it. Additionally they were due to make a second foray into the alien ship with the aid of the device he had proposed – more efficient to assemble the team now.
“Lieutenant Sirran, will you join us,” she said, pausing briefly.
Sirran looked up from the plot. "Yes, ma'am," he said, nodding to another duty officer to take over. Falling into step with Villiers he added, "I take it we're ready to continue to the next step?"
"Indeed," Karen said. "Of course you know Lieutenant Wyman, but I don't think you've met Commander P'Trell," she said introducing the pair following behind her. "Counselor Larel thinks he may have made a breakthrough," she added.
Sirran offered a slight bow to his countryman. "What kind of breakthrough?" he asked Wyman.
"That's what we're going to find out. Hopefully..." Steve remarked as he followed closely behind the more ranking officers. He was feeling preoccupied - that weird blow up he had just had was bothering him because it was so utterly out of character. And he was oddly short with Welshy that morning as well...
As they entered the turbolift and began to hurtle towards deck 55 Karen lapsed into pensive silence. She hated this place. She'd never wanted to come here and the temporary posting only seemed to get longer and longer. The appeal of Starfleet HQ was alluring and every day she spent here only made her resent this posting even more, as well as the Asshat who asked her to take this assignment.
Stoney faced she flicked a sideways glance to her companions; as soon as this was over she was going to contact Admiral Brailsford and demand that she be replaced. It was time to go home.
This was proving to be the second most uncomfortable turbolift ride of Steve's day. But as the lift car descended into the bowels of the station, he realized that they had forgotten somebody. "Sharas, if you're going to stick around and help, you might want to let An'ta know."
For the first time in all the years they had known each other, Wyman saw a look of surprise come across P'Trell's face. "Yes, you're absolutely right. It seems to have slipped my mind that we left him manning the runabout. That's... very odd."
"You're telling me. You never forget anything. Your attention to detail is... bordering on obsessive." Wyman hissed back.
Sirran stood in the back watching the exchange. Oh, how he wished everyone would just shut up. The unprofessionalism of this place was astounding. Insolent subordinates. Security officers bickering like old hens. And that embarrassing display between Tahir and Villiers? Word of it had spread through every deck like a flood. This was one of Starfleet's most important strategic hubs? And I'm supposed to be the steward of that strategic presence. No, this whole place was a stain on the Federation's honor. If we can't maintain it, then the Romulans or Cardassians will be happy to take over for us. The thought of it made his antennae fold back defensively. Maybe these strange happenings are all their doing. They're a crafty lot, after all. Adept at all types of irregular warfare. Infiltration, brainwashing, torture. Could they have done something to the senior officers? Maybe they're planning to take over. Maybe they staged the bombing as a pretext to do just that.
Sirran wasn't about to let that happen on his watch. But who to trust? Thinking about it only made his head and antennae ache all the more. The pain hadn't gone away since their virtual away mission. But he wasn't about to go to sickbay. No, he had to stay on his feet...and be ready.
The doors opened and everyone stepped out, following Villiers.
A short walk later and the team arrived at the Chief Counselor's office - an officer who had stepped into the unknown every bit as much as those who accompanied Karen.
The door slipped open at her approach. "Lieutenant Larel," she said as she entered, "You have news?"
With a nod, Sharas motioned for Steve to follow the others inside while he stayed in the corridor. "P'Trell to Lieutenant An'ta. We're staying here to assist with whatever it is that's going on around here. Get in touch with the logistics officer and arrange guest quarters for us. And don't worry about Drakt - he'll just have to deal without us for a few more days." he explained, tapping his comm badge.
+"Umm... yes, sir. I'll get right on it. An'ta out."+
With that bit of business settled, P'Trell entered the lab quietly, not wishing to interrupt the flow of conversation.
Ronan looked up as the doors opened, and replied "Yes Commander, very interesting news indeed. Please take a seat everyone?" He gestured to the sofa beside his desk, then took an easy chair beside it. Taking a deep breath, he asked "Before I begin, I have to ask. Have there been any reports of strange behavior on the station? People acting sort of out of character?"
Wyman and P'Trell exchanged worried looks. "That... would be an understatement, Lieutenant." Wyman remarked. "Just before you commed Commander Villiers, I was arguing with Commander P'Trell. I think... we might have knocked each others block off." At that he trailed off, clearly ashamed of his actions, but hopeful for an explanation.
"I have also noticed that my patience is a shorter," Sirran conceded. "Perhaps I've even had feelings of paranoia. A sense that some predator is watching and is about to pounce." He crossed his arms and cocked his head to one side. "Don't keep us in suspense, Couselor. What do you know?"
Karen cracked her jaw from side to side. "I concur," she admitted with reluctance, "you have the floor, Counelsor."
Nodding, Ronan took a deep breath and said "I have to tell you that this may sound a bit odd, but I know its the truth. While I was on the 'away' mission, on top of trying to manage all the confusing input from the probe, I was carefully opening my telepathic senses to the ship." Pausing, he thought about the best way to describe his discovery "After the misson ended, I did a personal debrief. Its something I do after every misson, as it helps me to focus on the details of what I experienced. What I discovered, upon reflection, is that the presence I felt on the ship is very powerful, very scared and very angry. On top of all that the presence I felt is not fully developed, and in a sense, or perhaps literaly, a child."
Karen fixed her gaze on the counsellor, her deep brown eyes lacking warmth or empathy. Never work with children or animals, wasn't that the saying? "Is it actively hostile?" she asked. Even the suspicion of the presence of a minor swept 'Plan B' off the table. There was no way they could set the ship adrift with the knowledge that a child was on board.
Not knowing how to answer definitivley, Ronan replied "I can't answer that for sure, without opening myself fully to it. But I do sense that it is the cause of the strange behavior on the ship. It's projecting its fear and anger possibly without knowing it Commander."
"None of the scans we've done have shown an actual life form," Karen mused, "perhaps its in a shielded area. Can we modify the scan to pick up any internal cladding that might obscure life sign readigns?" she asked.
"If it's alive and conscious, we'll find a way," Sirran said. "We can modify the probe's scanners to sweep the quantum and subspace levels. We'll find it and try to communicate with it. Hopefully it possesses enough of a mind to listen to reason. If not, then we'll have to consider destroying it, Commander."
Karen had been considering that particular moral dilemma for some time. "That's no longer an option, Lieutenant. There's a sentient lifeform on board. If we can't reason with it we evacuate and send messages to the Yevadians in the hope that they can come and retrieve their ... their citizen," she said drawing a breath through her teeth as she fell silent again.
'A child? Man... this just keeps getting more difficult by the second...' Steve thought as he listened to the back and forth among the others. If Larel was right, then the bizarre happenings on board almost started to make sense. "Great Bird of the Galaxy... a kid? Now I feel bad about wanting to blow that ship up."
But then, something clicked in his brain. "There ARE some metals and a few alloys that our sensors can't scan through. We should be able to modify the probe to at least scan for the presence of them. Where ever we find a spot made of any of them - we should have an idea of where the kid is holed up."
Ronan nodded, feeling a bit concerned for the child on the ship. Clearing his throat, he said "Commander, I believe it would be the best idea to get more information about the entity before we make a decision. Not only, a physical scan, but perhaps a more direct telepathic connection."
Dangerous, dangerous, dangerous. Every little step they took wrapped another risk around the bundle and the counselor was taking so much of that himself. "Is it a risk you are prepared to take? We can bring in other telepaths to assist you, but the presence of so many minds might either alert or scare the child."
"With all due respect, Commander," Sirran said, "I don't think we have time to bring in more telepaths, give them a full briefing, and train them on the interface probe. We don't even know if they would take to it as easily as Mister Larel here. We must act quickly and decisively."
Nodding, Ronan added ,"I agree Commander. It needs to be me. I need to physically be over on the ship, because it should allow me to telepathiclly connect with the child. I know it is risky, very much so, but it needs to be done."
Karen pursed her lips then spoke, "We need to be able to extract the Leiutenant in an instant, it would also be useful to have someone 'in' there with him using the remote device, and a doctor on standby. How soon can we have everything prepared?"
"No more than thirty minutes to set up the remote device," Sirran said. "Just give the word, ma'am."
Wyman leaned back against the wall and folded his arms across his chest. "I'm just worried something's going to happen when you're in there. You haven't been on that ship - seen what this kid is capable of doing. It's pretty gruesome." With that he pushed off from the wall and stepped closer to the rest of the group. "That being said, I'll set you up with an emergency transponder. It should give us a more stable transporter lock than just your comm badge - especially if you find a spot the sensors can't read through. On that note, Commander, I volunteer to operate the transporter. I'll monitor the situation from transporter room three and pull him out if anything goes wrong."
"Place me where ever needed Commander. My services are at your disposal, ma'am." Sharas added succinctly, clasping his hands behind his back.
"Thank you," Karen said. The sentiment was real. This was one hell of a team, "We'll meet in an hour."
OFF
Lt.(JG) Gralthek Sirran
Strategic Operations
Lt.(JG) Ronan Larel
Chief Counselor
Commander Karen Villiers
Executive Officer
Lieutenant Steve Wyman
Chief Engineering Officer
Lt. Cmdr. Sharas P'Trell (NPC)
Asst. Chief Intelligence Officer
Starbase 182
by Commander Karen Villiers & Lieutenant JG Ronan Larel & Lieutenant Commander Steve Wyman & Lieutenant JG Gralthek Sirran
Post Details
| Title | How does the saying go? | |
| Mission | Cascade | |
| Author(s) | Commander Karen Villiers & Lieutenant JG Ronan Larel & Lieutenant Commander Steve Wyman & Lieutenant JG Gralthek Sirran | |
| Posted | Fri May 24, 2013 @ 5:25pm | |
| Location | Ops / Chief Counselor's Office | |
| Timeline | SD 72 1445 hours |
Through the usual bustle of Ops on Alpha Shift Karen spied Lieutenant Sirran, he was one of the key members of the investigating team and if the Counselor had a new insight into what they were dealing with it was only right that the Andorian be there to hear it. Additionally they were due to make a second foray into the alien ship with the aid of the device he had proposed – more efficient to assemble the team now.
“Lieutenant Sirran, will you join us,” she said, pausing briefly.
Sirran looked up from the plot. "Yes, ma'am," he said, nodding to another duty officer to take over. Falling into step with Villiers he added, "I take it we're ready to continue to the next step?"
"Indeed," Karen said. "Of course you know Lieutenant Wyman, but I don't think you've met Commander P'Trell," she said introducing the pair following behind her. "Counselor Larel thinks he may have made a breakthrough," she added.
Sirran offered a slight bow to his countryman. "What kind of breakthrough?" he asked Wyman.
"That's what we're going to find out. Hopefully..." Steve remarked as he followed closely behind the more ranking officers. He was feeling preoccupied - that weird blow up he had just had was bothering him because it was so utterly out of character. And he was oddly short with Welshy that morning as well...
As they entered the turbolift and began to hurtle towards deck 55 Karen lapsed into pensive silence. She hated this place. She'd never wanted to come here and the temporary posting only seemed to get longer and longer. The appeal of Starfleet HQ was alluring and every day she spent here only made her resent this posting even more, as well as the Asshat who asked her to take this assignment.
Stoney faced she flicked a sideways glance to her companions; as soon as this was over she was going to contact Admiral Brailsford and demand that she be replaced. It was time to go home.
This was proving to be the second most uncomfortable turbolift ride of Steve's day. But as the lift car descended into the bowels of the station, he realized that they had forgotten somebody. "Sharas, if you're going to stick around and help, you might want to let An'ta know."
For the first time in all the years they had known each other, Wyman saw a look of surprise come across P'Trell's face. "Yes, you're absolutely right. It seems to have slipped my mind that we left him manning the runabout. That's... very odd."
"You're telling me. You never forget anything. Your attention to detail is... bordering on obsessive." Wyman hissed back.
Sirran stood in the back watching the exchange. Oh, how he wished everyone would just shut up. The unprofessionalism of this place was astounding. Insolent subordinates. Security officers bickering like old hens. And that embarrassing display between Tahir and Villiers? Word of it had spread through every deck like a flood. This was one of Starfleet's most important strategic hubs? And I'm supposed to be the steward of that strategic presence. No, this whole place was a stain on the Federation's honor. If we can't maintain it, then the Romulans or Cardassians will be happy to take over for us. The thought of it made his antennae fold back defensively. Maybe these strange happenings are all their doing. They're a crafty lot, after all. Adept at all types of irregular warfare. Infiltration, brainwashing, torture. Could they have done something to the senior officers? Maybe they're planning to take over. Maybe they staged the bombing as a pretext to do just that.
Sirran wasn't about to let that happen on his watch. But who to trust? Thinking about it only made his head and antennae ache all the more. The pain hadn't gone away since their virtual away mission. But he wasn't about to go to sickbay. No, he had to stay on his feet...and be ready.
The doors opened and everyone stepped out, following Villiers.
A short walk later and the team arrived at the Chief Counselor's office - an officer who had stepped into the unknown every bit as much as those who accompanied Karen.
The door slipped open at her approach. "Lieutenant Larel," she said as she entered, "You have news?"
With a nod, Sharas motioned for Steve to follow the others inside while he stayed in the corridor. "P'Trell to Lieutenant An'ta. We're staying here to assist with whatever it is that's going on around here. Get in touch with the logistics officer and arrange guest quarters for us. And don't worry about Drakt - he'll just have to deal without us for a few more days." he explained, tapping his comm badge.
+"Umm... yes, sir. I'll get right on it. An'ta out."+
With that bit of business settled, P'Trell entered the lab quietly, not wishing to interrupt the flow of conversation.
Ronan looked up as the doors opened, and replied "Yes Commander, very interesting news indeed. Please take a seat everyone?" He gestured to the sofa beside his desk, then took an easy chair beside it. Taking a deep breath, he asked "Before I begin, I have to ask. Have there been any reports of strange behavior on the station? People acting sort of out of character?"
Wyman and P'Trell exchanged worried looks. "That... would be an understatement, Lieutenant." Wyman remarked. "Just before you commed Commander Villiers, I was arguing with Commander P'Trell. I think... we might have knocked each others block off." At that he trailed off, clearly ashamed of his actions, but hopeful for an explanation.
"I have also noticed that my patience is a shorter," Sirran conceded. "Perhaps I've even had feelings of paranoia. A sense that some predator is watching and is about to pounce." He crossed his arms and cocked his head to one side. "Don't keep us in suspense, Couselor. What do you know?"
Karen cracked her jaw from side to side. "I concur," she admitted with reluctance, "you have the floor, Counelsor."
Nodding, Ronan took a deep breath and said "I have to tell you that this may sound a bit odd, but I know its the truth. While I was on the 'away' mission, on top of trying to manage all the confusing input from the probe, I was carefully opening my telepathic senses to the ship." Pausing, he thought about the best way to describe his discovery "After the misson ended, I did a personal debrief. Its something I do after every misson, as it helps me to focus on the details of what I experienced. What I discovered, upon reflection, is that the presence I felt on the ship is very powerful, very scared and very angry. On top of all that the presence I felt is not fully developed, and in a sense, or perhaps literaly, a child."
Karen fixed her gaze on the counsellor, her deep brown eyes lacking warmth or empathy. Never work with children or animals, wasn't that the saying? "Is it actively hostile?" she asked. Even the suspicion of the presence of a minor swept 'Plan B' off the table. There was no way they could set the ship adrift with the knowledge that a child was on board.
Not knowing how to answer definitivley, Ronan replied "I can't answer that for sure, without opening myself fully to it. But I do sense that it is the cause of the strange behavior on the ship. It's projecting its fear and anger possibly without knowing it Commander."
"None of the scans we've done have shown an actual life form," Karen mused, "perhaps its in a shielded area. Can we modify the scan to pick up any internal cladding that might obscure life sign readigns?" she asked.
"If it's alive and conscious, we'll find a way," Sirran said. "We can modify the probe's scanners to sweep the quantum and subspace levels. We'll find it and try to communicate with it. Hopefully it possesses enough of a mind to listen to reason. If not, then we'll have to consider destroying it, Commander."
Karen had been considering that particular moral dilemma for some time. "That's no longer an option, Lieutenant. There's a sentient lifeform on board. If we can't reason with it we evacuate and send messages to the Yevadians in the hope that they can come and retrieve their ... their citizen," she said drawing a breath through her teeth as she fell silent again.
'A child? Man... this just keeps getting more difficult by the second...' Steve thought as he listened to the back and forth among the others. If Larel was right, then the bizarre happenings on board almost started to make sense. "Great Bird of the Galaxy... a kid? Now I feel bad about wanting to blow that ship up."
But then, something clicked in his brain. "There ARE some metals and a few alloys that our sensors can't scan through. We should be able to modify the probe to at least scan for the presence of them. Where ever we find a spot made of any of them - we should have an idea of where the kid is holed up."
Ronan nodded, feeling a bit concerned for the child on the ship. Clearing his throat, he said "Commander, I believe it would be the best idea to get more information about the entity before we make a decision. Not only, a physical scan, but perhaps a more direct telepathic connection."
Dangerous, dangerous, dangerous. Every little step they took wrapped another risk around the bundle and the counselor was taking so much of that himself. "Is it a risk you are prepared to take? We can bring in other telepaths to assist you, but the presence of so many minds might either alert or scare the child."
"With all due respect, Commander," Sirran said, "I don't think we have time to bring in more telepaths, give them a full briefing, and train them on the interface probe. We don't even know if they would take to it as easily as Mister Larel here. We must act quickly and decisively."
Nodding, Ronan added ,"I agree Commander. It needs to be me. I need to physically be over on the ship, because it should allow me to telepathiclly connect with the child. I know it is risky, very much so, but it needs to be done."
Karen pursed her lips then spoke, "We need to be able to extract the Leiutenant in an instant, it would also be useful to have someone 'in' there with him using the remote device, and a doctor on standby. How soon can we have everything prepared?"
"No more than thirty minutes to set up the remote device," Sirran said. "Just give the word, ma'am."
Wyman leaned back against the wall and folded his arms across his chest. "I'm just worried something's going to happen when you're in there. You haven't been on that ship - seen what this kid is capable of doing. It's pretty gruesome." With that he pushed off from the wall and stepped closer to the rest of the group. "That being said, I'll set you up with an emergency transponder. It should give us a more stable transporter lock than just your comm badge - especially if you find a spot the sensors can't read through. On that note, Commander, I volunteer to operate the transporter. I'll monitor the situation from transporter room three and pull him out if anything goes wrong."
"Place me where ever needed Commander. My services are at your disposal, ma'am." Sharas added succinctly, clasping his hands behind his back.
"Thank you," Karen said. The sentiment was real. This was one hell of a team, "We'll meet in an hour."
OFF
Lt.(JG) Gralthek Sirran
Strategic Operations
Lt.(JG) Ronan Larel
Chief Counselor
Commander Karen Villiers
Executive Officer
Lieutenant Steve Wyman
Chief Engineering Officer
Lt. Cmdr. Sharas P'Trell (NPC)
Asst. Chief Intelligence Officer
Starbase 182