Orbiting...
Posted on Tue Oct 8th, 2024 @ 8:09pm by Commander Lorut Vila & Lieutenant Commander Ukram Gocx & Lieutenant Rowena "Rena" Campbell & Commander Rylen Lyo & Lieutenant Commander Frasier Greene & Lieutenant Odren Xall & Lieutenant S'Tera & Lieutenant JG Aurora House of Kor & Lieutenant Callan Armidale & Lieutenant Wara Tête & Lieutenant Scott Jones
4,167 words; about a 21 minute read
Mission:
Silver Rain
Location: P-25-J
Timeline: MD-2, Late evening
The mornings' goings-on had finally passed. Vila, Rena, Wara, and Kevin had been cleared by medical and counseling to return to duty. Vila was sat at the command station, Commander Lyo next to her.
As the Intrepid approached Xavier’s planet, Vila ordered, "Helm, prep for orbit. Science, what's our atmosphere like?”
Scott had a bad feeling about this planet. One half was an industrial nightmare and the other half was an idyllic garden planet. It reeked of trouble. Still, he brought the ship into a very high orbit, keeping Intrepid out of weapons range.
On the other hand, he simply gave out an, “Aye, Captain.” She didn’t need to know all the details.
"Reading says m-class but with unidentified microscopic contaminants."
“Mister Xavier, please come sit by me," she said, preferring to have the planets' ambassador ready to go. Rena was on hand to assist with the public relations stuff, and while Vila knew that she'd soon have to address the missing Lovelace crew now.
The waifish blond moved across the bridge, far from his element and sat next to the Acting Captain. “This is not anything like the world I remember,” he told her in a hushed tone.
Vila nodded. "What can you tell me about before?" she asked. "It'll stay between you, myself, and Commander Lyo," she said. "We can move to the Ready Room if you'd prefer," she said.
“Here is fine, Captain. Thank you,” Xavier answered quickly. “The planet was mostly forested. We had few major cities or structures. It was a Kingdom, so most of the people gathered near to the interior of the cities.
“Rumors of large and dangerous animals living in the deepest parts of the forests and mountains were often spread by travelers, but the X-1 models never detected any large animals wild or otherwise dangerous enough to present any concern to the Royal Guard.
“As an early model of the X-1, I was given to the Royal Family first. I became a friend and guard to the Prince. Of course, my primary duty was to the entire Royal Family.
“When the X-2 models were introduced, they waited until their numbers were great enough to overtake the Throne in a coup. We fled for the woods and a deep mountain fortress. This is where my records end.”
Lorut nodded. "Alright, thank you. Feel free to go do what you need to do to return," she said.
Among the bridge crew, things were okay, despite the tension of the morning’s events. The past several hours had gone on without a hitch, everyone working and getting along, finally.
"Lieutenant Aurora, are you and the CetOps crew ready? We should be arriving in orbit shortly, and I need you three prepped to go within the hour," she advised to the Klingon hybrid.
"Aye, ma'am, we're ready. [Going down solo's gonna be interesting]" Aurora thought this last part, drawing a deep breath to thwart her dark thoughts.
"Thank you. Stand by," she said.
"Everyone else, prep your stations for orbit. For now, only a small team will disembark. Lieutenant Aurora, and her Cetaceans, possibly Mister Xavier as well, to ascertain we are...here without issue." Her voice was loud but calm - indeed, the issues of the morning had caused chaos but she really WAS better now.
“Captain,” Rylen interrupted the flow of orders being issued. Wara seemed to catch his eye just as he moved forward in his seat. His posture moved from comfort to the literal edge of his seat. “We’re getting a message from the Lovelace. Lieutenant Wara, put it on speaker.”
Vila looked at Lyo, and nodded. The news they'd been waiting for.
=^= Planet P-25-J has been placed under level one quarantine by Fleet Captain Maxwell Culver, Commanding Officer of the United Federation of Planets Starship Lovelace. =^=
=^= Breaking quarantine will result in extreme damage to your starship and death of your crew, with the likelihood of all hands lost. Do not, I repeat, do not approach P-25-J at any cost. =^=
Aurora's stomach dropped into her shoes as she fought desperately to keep the howl of rage and fear from escaping.
Rylen could feel a pit growing in his stomach. Still, they had a job to do. “Lieutenant Armidale, begin a planetary survey for any possible landing sites, specifically any surface damage that does not belong on the planet.
“Helm, all stop. Lieutenant S’tera, begin a detailed study of whatever you can discover about the current population down on the planet. We know that the X model was upgraded to a level two model. We need to know more about them as soon as possible.”
“Lieutenant Tête, take the ship to red alert. You fire on anything coming off that planet that isn’t Starfleet technology,” Rylen ordered, still at the edge of his seat.
The red alert klaxon blared throughout the ship, red lights replaced the blue and white lights. “Ready to blow anything that comes my way to hell,” Commander Lyo. Wara was impressed, Rylen Lyo seemed to be channeling their lost captain, which made her think Max might be alive. It gave her some sense of hope.
“All stop confirmed. We are now at station keeping with enough distance that no ground to space weapon could reach us, sir,” Scott responded easily.
"Aye scanning now,” S’tera responded quickly. “Well, reading 200 humanoids, probably the staff. 190 humans, a Caitian, a Bolian and well whatever that blue thing is."
“And I’ve got massive, but localized damage in the northeast mountains. A valley there has been obliterated by the mass of the saucer section. Whoever put it there was lucky the mountain contained the blast radius.”
Vila shook her head, and let a sigh escape. "Alright. Hold steady outside of planetary orbit," she said, aloud. To Lyo, she turned again. "We need to get down there. I want eyes on it and boots on the ground," she said. "Think of an idea and think it fast since you don't like any of mine," she said. Not that she blamed him necessarily; "blasting them to the Prophets" wasn't always the best solution.
“Captain, I think we need to break that quarantine, find our people and get out of here,” Rylen said, his voice firm though inside he was panicking. He’d been trying to reach out and find Max, or at least provide some beacon of hope if he knew they were out here, nearby.
Vila nodded. "I agree," she said. And she did. "Prep a SAR team. We're going down," she said. She turned to the science console. "Lieutenant S'tera, please assist Lieutenant Aurora in outfitting the dolphins with cloaking devices. I'd rather not risk more crew. Aurora, the new sub-dermal devices are equipped with cloaking tech. Has yours been installed?" It was simple incision done by Doctor Greene, and took moments.
"Of course. Be happy to. Okay, Aurora, Let's get those dolphins ready."
"Thank you, Lieutenant," Vila noted.
"Not yet Ma'am...I had a reaction the last time, so I have been putting it off," Aurora smiled at S'tera before tightening her shoulders at the thought of the implant, trying to keep from dropping her head in shame.
Vila nodded. "Please go see Doctor Greene now, and explain what you need. You will need that so we can keep in constant contact, okay?" Vila said.
"Aye, Ma'am. [Blek]," Aurora mentally shuddered as she walked to the turbolift and went down to sickbay.
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"Hey, Doc? You here?" Aurora asked, looking around.
"Of course," Greene appeared still threading his arms into a lab coat as sickbay grew into life at the alert readiness. "What can I do to help Aurora?"
"So...I need the new cloaking sub-dermal device...but I had a reaction last time, so I've been putting it off until now, when I need it the most," Aurora tried not to show embarrassment.
A frown grew on Greene's brow. "What sort of reaction did you have?" he asked. "When was this?"
"It was a month before I joined the Intrepid that I was 'picked' for an experimental expedition...and whatever they had was NOT regulation anything. Since then, every type of sub-dermal I've had has made me break out...or throw up," Aurora shivered, trying to hold down her lunch at the mere thought of it.
The Doctor nodded slowly taking in her description and contemplated what he could prescribe to counter attack her previous symptoms. "The nausea should be easy enough to overcome," he replied. "The skin complexion may require a couple of thinks, unfortunately time isn't in our favour right now. But I'll see what I can do," Frasier nodded again. "Wait here a moment please."
Aurora nodded, then started rotating her shoulders and neck to get the tension out.
[Woman up, Aurora! You're in Starfleet now!] Aurora chidded herself, twisting to make her back pop.
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Vila sighed, but stood up, and turned, so she could see each member of the bridge crew.
"Open a channel." She waited a moment.
"Attention all crew and our civilian friends. The USS Lovelace is reported as missing in action. The fate of our fellow crew is unknown. We're sending a search team, and I will keep you posted regularly. As you go about your duties, please keep the crew in your thoughts, and their families and friends. If you have any questions, direct them to your department heads and I will be happy to answer them as I can." She waited for the channel to close. She turned to the Senior Staff.
"I don't have a good feeling in my gut about finding any survivors. This needs to be a quick mission in, grab any survivors, get the hell out. I need a five member team: security, tactical, medical, science, and command. You pick and let me know. One hour," she said. Quietly, she took her seat again. "Lyo, do you want to go down with the others? If not, it'll be me."
Lyo exhaled deeply through his nose. “Do I want to? No. But Starfleet protocol dictates that you, as acting Captain, remain on the Intrepid. So leading the away team falls under my umbrella as acting XO. For the away team…myself, Kowalski, Tête, Doctor Gocx and S’tera.”
Vila nodded. "You are doing fine in command, though," she said. Besides, no one would miss her if something went south. "That's a good team. Thank you. Be careful," she said, keeping her gaze trained forward.
"Yes Ma'am," he said crisply. Rylen motioned toward Tête, then toward the turbo lift. He assumed the Bolian woman would understand.
Kevin had been standing off to the side of the command chair after his return to bridge — and a change of clothes — keeping out of the way. He was wary of interrupting what was a serious conversation about operation procedure between Lorut and Lyo, but since no one had brought up the quarantine guidelines yet, he cleared his throat and stepped forward. "Captain, Commander... just for the record, I should remind you that Starfleet General Order twelve states that under no circumstances should a planetary quarantine be overridden unless it's been determined safe to do so — or an officer with superseding authority to Captain Culver has rescinded his order. Anyone breaking this quarantine could be subject to court martial and it is still the only order in which the death penalty still exists."
Vila looked at the Counselor. "I am aware. Let them court martial me. Death would be welcome at this point in my life," she said. "You know, when I was a child and the Cardassians invaded? The Fleet knew - they HAD to have known. And yet...they did nothing. But me? I can NOT let that continue. The Fleet's rules about that are stupid. If it saves lives, I am going to do it," she said, evenly. No one here was a child, but still. If she could ensure that someone lived, maybe it'd make up cosmically for the lives that she watched lost - or took herself. Still...she supposed she might be acting just a little brashly.
"Hold on," she said. "Commander, the Counselor is...partly correct. It may be best to at least wait for an atmospheric report and such...make sure that nothing down there will kill us before we can kill THEM," she said. She raised her hand to her comms.
=/\=Delay my last orders. Remain on Red Alert status but do NOT prepare to disembark. Except you, Lieutenant Aurora.=/\= She added the last part hastily for clarification.
'Great!' thought S'tera. 'First we go then we don't go.'
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Aurora smirked as she heard the change of pace from Sickbay.
[She's getting there,] Aurora thought, leaning against a counter to wait for the Doctor to reappear with a sub-dermal device.
The grim update from the Bridge caused Greene to gasp out loud and caused his grip on the store drawer he'd been rooting through to slam close harshly. The entire Loveless had been lost? No, surely not, he shuddered with the thought of those lost lives and how Vila was about to commit further souls into the known to seek answers.
He shook his head to clear away the image of her heading down to surface herself and finding a hostile force of androids eager to strip her flesh like ravenous monsters.
"Sounds like I'd better not keep you much longer," he said to Aurora returning to her side.
"Chilax, Doc! I'm stealth itself when I need to be!" Aurora winked at the Doctor, sensing his fears as she held her arm out to receive the device.
Greene hesitated momentarily at her response and cheeky wink. "All the same don't be complacent," he warned before injecting her forearm. Then followed up with a hypo: "This will counteract those side effects you experienced previously."
"Will do, and thanks, Doc! I'd better head up to the Bridge!" Aurora nodded, rolled her uniform back down, and headed for the Bridge.
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"I am inclined to park ON the shield, and from there, conduct some tests. Lieutenant S'tera," she said, raising her voice. "I need that atmosphere report, stat, please," she said. "And whatever we have about whatever type of shield they're employing." She'd missed that part while dealing with their Changeling earlier.
"Engineering, start working on getting me information on what the hell is down there." She tapped her coms again.
=/\=Gocx, report to the Bridge, please. =/\= She'd need someone from Medical to assist Engineering in figuring out how to get bodies back. HOPEFULLY alive.
"I believe I already gave it to you, Captain. Class M with some unidentifiable nanoscopic contaminants."
Vila raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "Thank you," she said.
As Kevin watched the Intrepid's acting captain give out orders, he was glad to see she was at least taking some of his advice to heart. She was clearly determined to follow her current course of action, though, and he couldn't blame her; if he was in her shoes he might have done the same to save his CO. Best he could do for now was at least give her some advice to make sure she had her bases covered should Starfleet decide to proceed with a court-martial.
"Captain, I suggest we broadcast standard diplomatic protocols on all channels," Kevin said as an idea formulated in his mind. "Ask them to cease all hostilities and return all Federation citizens and Starfleet crew. I realise the chances of that are zero, but it will give us cover with Starfleet that we at least tried. If we can also determine that the androids pose a threat to the Federation or anyone else beyond this planet, it might be taken into consideration by the admiralty when examining the reason to break protocol." He realised Starfleet rules and the admiralty were probably the last thing Vila wanted to be concerned about, but he hoped she could see the sense in his argument.
Vila looked at Kevin, and nodded.
"Yes, Mr. Bianchi. Do it. Thank you," she said. "Thank you, Lieutenant S'Tera. Can you assist Lieutenant Aurora in outfitting the Cetaceans with their homing devices once she returns from medical? Lyo, let's see if we can get any kind of message through whatever atmospheric shields they have up," she said. Maybe she was getting the hang of this after all. "How are we doing, Ops? Engineering? Everything holding steady?" Vila asked.
"Of course. I'll help her in any way I can." s'tera replied.
Callan half turned in his chair. “Operations are running with no complaints. I already have secondary and battery backup systems online and ready to go in an emergency,” he reported crisply. “Although, I hope we don’t have to use them.”
“Helm is ready as well, Captain. Whatever the order. I also have two fighters being fitted for additional personnel. They’re the fastest and strongest small craft we have. The cabins may be a little cramped, but manageable,” Scott added his own advice. “I’d like to volunteer as pilot for Commander Lyo, Captain Lorut. I know my fighter better than anything or anyone of this ship.”
Vila sighed. "Have them on standby," she said. "Thank you," she finished.
“Engineering is nominal,” came the response from Willard, the current acting Chief Engineer. “Transporters, impulse and warp are all ready at your command.
Vila nodded at Willard. "Thank you. Stand by," she said.
“Though I wouldn’t suggest approaching the planet or ‘parking the Intrepid on any shields, ma’am. There’s enough material left in orbit to indicate the Lovelace was attacked, most likely torn apart by whatever weapons these androids use.” Connor Willard was using the bridge station, unlike his predecessor. Nyx avoided the bridge for, now, very obvious reasons.
"I realize that," she said. She stood up to pace again. It helped her to think. "We can detach the Saucer, though," she said. "It's much easier to maneuver, and has arms. Do we have life scans?" She asked. She was inclined to blast the whole surface but that would make a rescue mission impossible. "As soon as we can get the CetOps in, we can make a more concrete plan of action. Lyo, are you at familiar with the Tractor Beam function? Possible we could tractor beam them all in if Aurora can find them," she said. Yes, it could work!!
"Lt. S'Tera, please report to the CetOps pool to assist Lt. Aurora. I need her to beam out shortly," she said. "I'll watch your Console, or you can ask Lt. Sardeek to come up," she said. She WAS a scientist, after all. She tapped her Comms.
"On my way! If you want to watch the console Commander, please do." with that she left and headed down to cetacean ops.
=/\= Lt. Aurora, Repun, and Haida. Please prep to beam out in fifteen minutes. =/\= The whales would need their harnesses and such, and Lt. Aurora would need to turn on her new transmitter and such.
=/\=On my way!=/\= Aurora responded, suppressing a soft snicker.
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S'tera walked into the CetOps. "Hey, Aurora, so let's get this done, shall we?"
"Right O! I'm putting a long-range communications booster on one of the whales," Aurora flicked her wrist, a tattoo showing briefly.
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She clicked off and turned to Lyo.
"Let's separate the Saucer," she said. "Grab some bodies and get the hell out," she said. "Any chance you know if an IED can break through the shields?" She posited. She knew how to do that-Vila had built bombs in the Militia, years ago.
She turned her head back, and reopened her COMMS.
=/\=Three to beam out from CetOps to the riverbed. Petty Officer Sar, do it on my count. Five, four, three, two....one.=/\= The CetOps team were on their way. It was Go time.
"Science, open a channel. Ops, send their info to my screen, please," she instructed. "It is break time if anyone needs one. Get your replacements up here and take your fifteen. Get back here immediately, please," she'd get herself some more coffee later. When she was focused, she could focus for HOURS. Left alone to run things her way, she'd do just fine. They'd see.
Down in the Science labs, Jr Lieutenant Elly Clark, one of the Botanists, was watching the screens with interest. She didn't exactly understand what was going on. She only understood cell walls and stamens and things like that. But she knew it wasn't good. Suddenly, she watched as the screen...glitched?! What the hell? She turned around. "HEY SARIAL. Is it supposed to glitch like that?" She asked. She reached up for her Comms.
=/\=Commander Lorut. Lt. S'Tera. Someone needs to come to the labs uh...right now. Something is happening! =/\=
Vila looked to Lyo. "I guess I'll go and meet S'tera down there," she raised her voice an octave. "Commander Lyo has the bridge for a moment," she said. She made her way for the Turbolift, and down to the labs. What on Earth?!
S'tera was already on her way down. She responded. "This is s'tera. I'm on my way down now."
On her way to the Labs, Vila issued a second order via Comms.
=/\=Ensign Sar, three to beam out from CetOps. Lt. Aurora, on my order, you're out. Report back immediately. Sar? Do it. =/\=
She sighed, but stepped out of the lift and into the familiar corridor. It had been a few weeks since she'd been down here. She missed it a lot.
=/\=Aye, Commander=/\= "Here we go," Aurora breathed, despite the danger eager to get back into REAL water again!
"What's going on?" She asked as she entered the main Labs, and put on some gear-old habits died hard.
S'tera entered the lab. "Ok so what is going on? What's the emergency?"
The young blonde Botanist shrugged. "The computer display showed a glitch, kind of like the shields are falling," she said, pointing. "Just thought someone should know. Can I go back to the mushrooms now?" She asked.
Vila looked at the view screen. "Send this to the Bridge," she ordered Sarial. "Yes, Elly," she said, absently, nodding. "Do that, please." She stepped back. "Lt. S'Tera, investigate this further, please. I'll watch your Console from the Bridge," she said. She headed back to the Turbolift and back to the bridge.
She stepped out, and to the seat. "On the view screen here, Commander, the Botanist, Dr. Clark, found a place where there is glitching. The Lovelace must've broken through the atmospheric shields," she said, pointing to a section of the screen. "That's where we'll go in once Lt. Aurora and the whales report in," she said, her voice raising an octave with her newfound confidence in her plan.
Aurora took a minute to let her body adjust to the different saline level in the water, then checked the whales, both of whom were just as happy as she was to be back in real water...even if said water could be full of danger.
=/\=Aurora to Intrepid, we're in position,=/\= Aurora spoke softly, just to insure that she was alone.
Back on the Bridge, Vila settled in with a fresh cup of coffee, just in time to hear Aurora's reply.
=/\=Excellent. Please keep the long-range scanners on, but you don't have to video everything.=/\= For privacy, Vila wouldn't expect her to do that unless she chose to. CetOps wasn't Vila's wheelhouse, so she had to leave it up to Aurora, as much as it pained her to do so. Vila moved to the Science console, issuing a command to the computer to track the Cetacean's movements, and reroute them to her view screen.
=/\=Aye, Commander=/\= "Kir nal ebet sotorba. (Swim quietly my friends)" Aurora spoke to the whales as she began her grid pattern, keeping the distant shore to her right.
"Ops, kill any unnecessary ship functions so we can keep our energy on that sensor. Engineering, how long can we maintain orbit at our current speed?" She asked.
Aurora got through the first grid, and started her second one.
"For the next three days, minimum, but five if we kill unnecessary systems," came the reply.
"Ok. Thank you." She spoke into her badge then.
=/\=Thank you, Lieutenant Aurora. Please continue. You are all doing well. I can see your travels on the Console. =/\= Vila was sat at the Science console now, having moved over to it after speaking with Lyo. =/\=Continue at your current speed. Security is monitoring and will be prepped to assist if necessary, ok?=/\=
=/\=Acknowledged. Aurora out,=/\= "Cresc bach!" Aurora cursed a little as a mushroom looking thing almost floated into her mouth!
=/\=Be careful, Lieutenant.=/\=
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