NRPG: Compile Index: Day 185 (USS Dennison - Sickbay - OO Petty Officer 1st Class Chrystine Nicklaus - 2215) (USS Dennison – Main Engineering – ACEO Lanista – 2217) (USS Dennison - Sickbay – CMO Nymes -2218) (USS Dennison – CEO’s Office – ACEO Lanista – 2220) (USS (USS Dennison- Primary Engineering- Crewman Morgan Randell- 2230) (USS Dennison – CEO’s Office – ACEO Lanista – 2225) (USS Dennison - Bridge - TAC/SC Lt (sg) Joan Shrekt - 2227) (USS Dennison – Main Engineering - ACEO Lanista - 2228) (USS Dennison- Primary Engineering- Crewman Morgan Randell- 2230) (Maltoria- Power Station- ATac Ensign (jg) Ben Soma- 2231) (USS Dennison – Transporter Room 1 - ACEO Lanista - 2231) (Maltoria - Power Station - ATac Ensign (jg) Sanok - 2232) (Maltoria - Power Station – Commander Trevan West– 2233) (Maltoria - Power Station – ATac Ensign (jg) Ben Soma- 2234) (Maltoria - Power Station - Security Officer Crewman Abu Nighy - 2235) (Maltoria - Power Station - ATac Ensign (jg) Ben Soma- 2236) (Maltoria -Rescue Transport – Commander Trevan West- 2238) (Maltoria -Rescue Transport – ATac Ensign (jg) Ben Soma- 2240) (USS Dennison – Sickbay – CMO Nymes -2240) (Maltoria, First Minister's Office, First Minister Aleth, 2245) (Maltoria, Transport, Commander Trevan West, 2246) (Maltoria, Transport, CSO/2O Dale Bracken , 2248) RPG: >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Healer in the Tower Stardate: 2408.01.10 Day: 185 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< (USS Dennison - Sickbay - OO Petty Officer 1st Class Chrystine Nicklaus - 2215) Chrystine sat on the examining table as the doctor conducted his examination. To his first question, she answered, "It's a throbbing headache." She raised her hand to the lower back of head and said, "Around here." The doctor nodded and continued on. Chrystine shook her head to his next set of questions, "No, I'm just feeling a bit fuzzy. Just not quite myself." She thought about it and then admitted, "My vision has been a little blurry off and on." He pressed onward and Chrystine replied to his next question, "I've been on duty since 1500, so I'm almost done with my shift. The day's been pretty normal, except when we entered Maltorian space." Nymes noted her response and asked another question, to which Chrystine nodded and said, "No, not really. Just the jolt and I was sitting at the time." She sat as he ran some things into his tricorder, she tried to focus so she wouldn't fall off the table. He then asked her about her sense of smell. Chrystine thought it a funny question and giggled. "I can't say that I have. Shall I conduct an experiment, doctor?" she said, leaning toward him, closing her eyes and making sniffing sounds. (reply Nymes) “Well, the tricorder suggests that we need to get a proper scan of you; and then we will take it from there. I want to make sure I haven’t missed anything, so I’ll get the bioscan for you now.” said Nymes "Whatever the doctor orders." she said, giggling again. (Reply Nymes, Any) (posted by Kaweo Kanoho) (USS Dennison – Main Engineering – ACEO Lanista – 2217) “…Any further progress since what or when…?” Freeman asked. ~Very direct,~ Lanista thought. She smiled down at Freeman. “You don’t waste words. Good. I like that,” she said, but she resisted the temptation to suggest Freeman might have Klingon blood. Freeman continued, “If you mean since my progress report to the bridge, then negative. If you heard my report to the bridge, you know what we are working on.” “Ah,” Lanista responded, then she went on to enumerate her requests for materiel and personnel, to which Freeman replied the devices and manpower were both available. “Will there be anything else I can do for you?” Freeman asked. Lanista said “Dennison carries 11 auxiliary craft: 2 runabouts, 4 each of the Type-9 and Type-10 Shuttlecraft, and the Captain’s Yacht.” Lanista had read something about there also being Fighters aboard but she hadn’t actually looked for these in the Hangar. She decided that since the issue with the Maltorians was already sensitive it would not be wise to use fightercraft, even if Dennison did indeed have any. The aCEO explained, “The Mk-I Rapid-Bloom Offboard Microprobe Polyhedral-Deployment System, or RBOMPDS, will require a mounting assembly. Since there are 4 types of craft that will need to be refitted and no 2 types have the same external arrangement, that means there will need to be 4 different mounts for the turrets,” Lanista explained. “There will need to be at least 1 team assigned to designing and installing those. The mounts will need to accept the RBOMPDS turret, and I only want to have to build 1 kind of those. So a certain amount of flexibility and adaptability will be required of the mounting assembly personnel.” “The 2 runabouts should be outfitted with their sensor modules. I suspect that that detail can be handled by Ops. Correct me if I’m wrong,” Lanista said. (Reply Freeman, any in Engineering) “The turrets,” Lanista went on, “will be similar to the chin guns on the Old-Earth B-17Gs, if you’re as familiar with Terran history as I hope you are. A second group will need to build these – 11 of them, 1 for each aux. craft. They will consist of the launcher system and magazine. I expect the payload of microprobes to be between 20 and 35 per craft.” “Time and crew permitting, I’d like to build 1 master launch control panel for the Sciences Department and 1 bridge launch control panel, to tie them into the system. I would like both the labs and the senior staff topside to have access to the Integrated Telemetry received after deployment.” “And, I’m new in town,” Lanista said with a wink, “so I’ll be relying on you to tell me who’s best for which duty.” (Reply Freeman) “But let’s be sure we understand each other,” Lanista said, perhaps more bluntly than necessary, “whoever is assigned to each detail, they had better be prepared to put in some long hours. I get the impression that solving this dampening field problem is critical to success here.” (Reply any in Engineering) “I’ll be in the EO’s Office, hammering out the finer details of this, and working on coordinating the Rapid-Bloom system with the ANPF effort I’ve set up on Deck 23. If there are any questions or comments, I give standing permission to speak freely in Engineering.” With that, Lanista moved to the CEO’s Office on Deck 18. (USS Dennison - Sickbay – CMO Nymes -2218) "Whatever the doctor orders." she said, giggling again. Nymes smiled, his infectious smile, and led the way to the acute ward, to the biobed that would complete a thorough scan of the crewman. “This shouldn’t take long – but will take about twenty minutes to complete.” (reply iyw, none) (USS Dennison – CEO’s Office – ACEO Lanista – 2220) Lanista sat down and grimaced. “Chair’s too soft,” she grumbled as she accessed the Engineering Computer. She called up the data available on the dampening field. “Hmm,” she uttered as she studied the reports, “I wonder if anyone’s thought to use the phasing cloak. If we can’t analyze the phenom from the outside, I wonder if we’d have any better luck scanning from within the planet itself…” (Reply any in Engineering) (Posted by FT) (USS Dennison – CEO’s Office – ACEO Lanista – 2225) Ensign Lanista had been using a PADD and tricorder, as well as the Engineering computer, as she studied the microprobe on her desk. “Ri yeht-urgam!” she muttered, using the Vulcan term for “inefficient”. With her Klingon accent, the utterance sounded more like “rI’ yetlh ‘urgham”, which was of course gibberish. She took a few minutes away from her microprobe study to design a new piece of equipment. She stored the schematic in the computer’s memory as File “cha’wI’ je Hoqra’ wa’” and walked to the replicator in her office. “PADD-corder,” she demanded. The replicator produced a single hand-held unit that would accomplish the functions of both the PADD and the tricorder. The instrument was slightly larger than a normal PADD, but not by too much. It had a weight slightly less than that of the combined mass of the 2 separate implements as some components were common to both. Lanista chuckled after briefly pondering adding spiky bits to the unit and increasing its heftiness to make it also a suitable hand weapon. Equipped with her new device, an item thus far unique in the galaxy, Lanista returned to her desk and to her work. The PADD-corder Mk 1 had one additional feature that could not yet be utilized – it was made to be inserted into a port that would allow direct interface between P-corder and any properly modified workstation terminal. The port specs were in the computer – invented as part of the PADD-corder file. However, each workstation to be given this feature would have to be physically modified individually. “Time for that later,” Lanista murmured. (Reply any/none) (Posted by FT) (USS Dennison - Bridge - TAC/SC Lt (sg) Joan Shrekt - 2227) Shrekt was munching on a fruit, as she considered her options. The Maltorians had not been friendly to the idea of using Federation shuttlecraft in the search. But at this point, she was feeling a little backed into a corner. The idea of using miniature probes was starting to have more appeal by the minute. On the other hand, using their phasers and torpedoes to bombard the Maltorian capital was also having more appeal by the minute. Suddenly Ensign Spero said, "Lieutenant, we have contact from the surface. It's Commander West!" "That's the best news we've had all day," she said, "Get him on the screen, if you can." Spero turned to her console and replied, "Audio only, sir." "Understood, put them through then." Shrekt said. =/\=USS Dennison this is Commander West do you read me?=/\= "We hear you, Commander. What's your status?" asked Shrekt. The commander spoke swiftly and succinctly. Shrekt nodded her head, as she considered her reply to his own status request. It dawned on her that the line wasn't secure and she couldn't trust who would hear what they said, so rather than reveal their true status, she decided to give a report that was entirely true and hope that the Commander understood. "Commander the ship is operating at nominal efficiency and we stand ready to retrieve you. Have you met with the Maltorians?" asked Shrekt. (Reply West) "Ensign," Shrekt said, so that only Spero could hear, "Can you get a lock on their position?" "Working on it." replied Spero. "The commander is sending us data with a security encryption." "Understood, Ensign." said Shrekt, "Commander, we are receiving your data. Do you wish retrieval at this time?" (Reply West) After the line went silent, Shrekt said, "I want Tactical and Science to work on the data we've just received, see what they can make of it. I want a report in an hour. Were you able to get a fix on their location?" Spero shook her head. Shrekt cursed inwardly. "Keep an ear out for the Maltorians. If they really have found them, then they should be contacting us soon. Conn have the shuttlecraft ready to depart, just in case we need them to retrieve the away team and so that the Maltorians will not know that we've heard from them." said Shrekt. How they would be able to determine that from the planet, Shrekt didn't know nor did she care. No mistakes on this one. For the last several hours, Shrekt had been going over in her mind the possibility that the transporter accident was no accident and may not have been caused by the Maltorians, as was her first suspicion. Finally she tapped her commbadge, "Bridge to Engineering." (Reply Engineering) "Put a stop to the work on the shuttlecraft sensors. The away team has reported in." said Shrekt, "Can you get a team down to the transporter rooms to check them out. See if they've been damaged in any way or malfunctioned to have sent the away team to their current location." (Reply Engineering) (Reply West, Engineering, Any) (posted by Kaweo Kanoho) (USS Dennison – Main Engineering - ACEO Lanista - 2228) =/\=Bridge to Engineering.=/\= “Engineering here,” Lanista said with a definite undertone of “What is it now?” In the Ensign’s pre-Starfleet experience, the Bridge contacted Engineering for only two reasons – ‘more power’ and ‘even more power.’ There were occasional nuances – as in ‘more power to shields’ or ‘more power to weapons’ – but these were simply variations on the theme. Thus, Shrekt’s request of "Put a stop to the work on the shuttlecraft sensors (and) get a team down to the transporter rooms to check them out. See if they've been damaged in any way or malfunctioned…" puzzled the newcomer to the Dennison. “I’ll check them myself, Lieutenant,” Lanista volunteered, since one of her two ‘pet’ projects had now just been put on hold. “Atwood, you’re in charge.” (Reply Atwood, if present; any else otherwise) “Freeman, or Randell, you’re with me,” Lanista said, as she took up her PADD-corder and left Main Engineering. (Reply Freeman/Randell, any during transit to Transporter Room #1.) (Posted by FT) (USS Dennison- Primary Engineering- Crewman Morgan Randell- 2230) Morgan was studying the sensor readings at his terminal trying to figure out what had happened to the away team. He had reviewed the logs previously but he was certain if he stared at the display long enough he would see something he had missed or the answer would somehow jump out of the screen at him. Minutes passed and he was still staring at the logs when ACEO Lanista came out of her office and said, “Freeman, or Randell, you’re with me,” Lanista said, as she took up her PADD-corder and left Main Engineering. Morgan grabbed a tricorder and glanced at Freeman and hunched his shoulders as he began to follow in the ACEO's wake. He was unsure what was happening as he left Engineering and followed his superior down the corridor to the turbolift. Something required the presence of three engineers which could only mean there was a problem with some system or subsystem. Another problem to sort out from the transition to Maltoria. The Dennison didn't seem to have traversed to this region without a few problems and damaged systems. Since the new ACEO never specified what the problem was he would have to wait until they reached their destination or the ACEO decided to fill them in on the situation. (reply Lanista, Freeman) (posted by Milo Young) (Maltoria- Power Station- ATac Ensign (jg) Ben Soma- 2231) Ben turned as he heard footsteps approaching and was slightly surprised to see Ensign Sanok beside him. "It would seem that I made an error in judgment," said Sanok. "I take it Lieutenant Bracken didn't appreciate the fact that you returned to the upper level." Ben said. (reply Sanok) Ben looked down at his tricorder and made an adjustment and rechecked the readings. Something was approaching the power station. "Sanok, Nighy, I'm picking up movement outside. Can either of you confirm my readings?" Ben asked. (reply Sanok/Nighy) "Guess we'd better inform the others." Ben said after he listened to what his fellow security officers had to say. "Sanok you inform Lieutenant Bracken, it might help to smooth her feathers and little." "Mr. Nighy, hold position here with Ensign Sanok. I'm going to see if I can get a visual confirmation." Ben said as he made his way to the door. When he reached the door he opened enough to see the area from which he received the readings. At first he could only see shadows outside, then far off he noticed something moving. After a couple moments he could make out several forms moving towards the power station. He waited with his hand hovering at his comm badge. As the figures approached he was able to discern five individuals on approach. Tapping his comm badge he said, "Commander there are five Maltorian's approaching our position. Estimate we have about two minutes before they arrive." (reply West) (reply as above) (posted by Milo Young) (USS Dennison – Transporter Room 1 - ACEO Lanista - 2231) "Gentlemen," Lanista said, "We're to analyze and fix the Transporters. Run whatever Diagnostics haven't already been run already. I assume Level 1 or 2 will be warranted." Since coming aboard, Lanista had finished reading 33.149% of the Dennison’s mission logs. There were 3 situations of note, in Lanista’s opinion: 1) The Porthells incident, 2) something about wormhole weapons – which would almost certainly be classed as subspace weapons and therefore be banned under the 2nd Khitomer Accords, and 3) a matter regarding a holodeck malfunction resulting in shipboard viral infection of some of the crew. Of these, only 1 would continue to be of any relevance: the last – the holodeck issue. The virus was evidently in some way related to a werewolf (or “ushgul” in Vulcan) and/or a vampire (“khaf-monsu”, again in Vulcan). The situation made as much sense as supposedly logical Vulcans having words for “werewolf” and “vampire” while Klingons, with their richer mythology, had no such legends. But what made less sense was that Starfleet – particularly the SFMC – could probably make use of blood-thirsty war-wolves. A missed opportunity, to be sure, she thought, then she reminded herself the Dennison was not a warship. Lanista had not finished reading the full account of the incident, but apparently the virus had been dealt cured, as the ACEO had seen no ushgular scampering about aboard the Big D. Be that as it may, having recently read about a Holodeck problem and being presently assigned to examine (and fix, if need be) the Transporters brought the ACEO’s mind to the matter of efficiency. “Even if we fix the Transporters, assuming anything is actually wrong, the true flaw in the system in general is that it is a waste of space until it is used, as are all single-purpose dedicated sections,” she said to Freeman and Randell. (Reply Freeman, Randell) Lanista went on, “Holodecks, Transporters, and Replicators share several key systems. And yet these were separated and scattered about the vessel. Food replicators, of course, should be strategically placed throughout the vessel but doesn’t it seem more sensible to have at least the industrial-type replicators, along with transporters and holodecks combined and centralized,” she mused aloud. (Reply Freeman, Randell) Lanista had thought about more efficient use of these technologies while training at the Academy under Lt. Standorval Thrall. She had not mentioned her theories then, and was hesitant to elaborate on them now. Since Dennison had had trouble with Holodecks and was now having difficulty with its Transporters, that might make it difficult for Lanista to get approval to make her planned improvements. (Posted by FT) (Maltoria - Power Station - ATac Ensign (jg) Sanok - 2232) "It would seem that I made an error in judgment," said Sanok. "I take it Lieutenant Bracken didn't appreciate the fact that you returned to the upper level," said Soma. "No, she did not," said Sanok. "She did not even give me the opportunity to explain why I was there. Most illogical." "Sanok, Nighy, I'm picking up movement outside," said Soma after he checked his tricorder. "Can either of you confirm my readings?" Sanok did a quick scan. "Confirmed. There are several beings approaching from the southeast." "Guess we'd better inform the others. Sanok, you inform Lieutenant Bracken. It might help to smooth her feathers a little," said Soma. "Perhaps I should not," said Sanok thoughtfully. "Besides, we need more information before giving an accurate report." Soma told Nighy to wait with Sanok while he left to make a visual confirmation on who was approaching. Hopefully, the team could get to doing what they came to Maltoria to do. (Reply Soma, Nighy, Any) (Posted by Bob) (Maltoria - Power Station – Commander Trevan West– 2233) Trevan then noticed she looked a little perturbed, "Problem?" he asked her. Dale sighed, “Ensign Sanok. Saw fit to ignore my order to head downstairs to keep watch for the Maltorian rescue party, returned back up here almost as soon as he’d reached the bottom of the stairs. Nothing I can’t deal with, I'll have a word with him later.” Trevan nodded, not that he wasn't in agreement, but merely to show that he understood why she was perturbed, "Very well, that would of course be your call as you are the one who gave the order, and you are correct that this is not the proper time as the Rescue teams will be coming to get us. I don't want to have you worrying about Sanok when I need you the most." Dale nodded, “I understand.” Dale paused, then continued, “so, presumably we’re going to be lead toward the Maltorian First Minister, how are we going to handle this with what we know now?” "For now," he said, "I will play dumb as they say. This is a very delicate situation and I don't want to start pointing fingers and denouncing their methods on our first meeting. We will go ahead as planned and see where things lead." As he said that, his badge activated with the sound of Ben Soma's voice, =/\=Commander there are five Maltorian's approaching our position. Estimate we have about two minutes before they arrive.=/\= "Very well, take no action. We will be down in a moment to greet them." he replied, and not knowing what lay ahead. Making his way down the stairs, he arrived just as the rescue party was entering through the front of the main room. Trevan had expected that the First Minister himself would be greeting them, but perhaps that is not how they do things. A Maltorian, probably the head of the rescue, stopped about mid-way inside the room and placed two fingers into an open palm, "You are West?" he said as it came in through the universal translator. Trevan gave the same gesture before replying, "I am Commander Trevan West, and this is my team. Thank you for finding us." he said and then extended his hand to show how humans greet. The Maltorian leader, whom they learned was called Onju, took a firm grasp and shook it once, "I will now take you to our transport craft and escort you and your people to the First Ministers Office. The trip should take about an hour," That surprised Trevan, he didn't think they were that far away, "Why so long?" he asked. Onju replied that they were almost two thousand kilometers away from the central government buildings on the other side of the continent. Trevan looked at his team and then back to Onju, "Lead the way, but is it possible to get some food and water for my people?" Onju nodded and showed the away team to the transport craft, which looked like a larger version of a fleet type 9 shuttlecraft. It had no visible means of propulsion, but it did have a large glass window that wrapped around the entire craft and showed it to be capable of holding ten people. Trevan looked down at his tricorder and wished he could take even a quick scan of the craft, but he did give his word that he would not. (reply any) (posted by Kerry Fletcher) (Maltoria - Power Station – ATac Ensign (jg) Ben Soma- 2234) "Very well, take no action. We will be down in a moment to greet them." West replied. Ben closed his tricorder and returned it to its holder. He moved from the door and rejoined Sanok and Nighy. It would only be a few moments before the Maltorians arrived and the mission would resume its original purpose. Hearing footsteps coming from the stairway he turned and saw Commander West and Lieutenant Bracken making their way down. Another set of footsteps caused him to turn toward the door to see the Maltorian rescue party enter. The leader of the team addressed Commander West with some strange gesture with his hands, West returned the gesture and then extended his hand in greeting. Ben was surprised to see the Maltorian accept the handshake. Then the Maltorian said it would take one hour to reach the First Minister's office because they were two thousand kilometers away. Whoever diverted the transport did not want the team found easily, this troubled him. Why had they been diverted so far from their target coordinates? Hopefully they would get the opportunity to solve that mystery after the meeting with the First Minister. "Lead the way, but is it possible to get some food and water for my people?" Commander West asked the leader of the rescue party. The Maltorian known as Onju nodded and lead the way outside and to the awaiting transport craft. The craft was around the same size as a type 9 shuttle, with a wrap around window which would offer quite a view for the away team if there was enough light to appreciate it. The craft had no external nacelles or other evident propulsion devices, Ben wondered how movement was generated by the craft. Some races still employed magnetic tracks for some of their public transports but those used tracks embedded in the ground and there were no such tracks here. Ben noticed Commander West glance at his tricorder from the corner of his eye, but made no effort to retrieve the device. Ben would like to scan the craft to learn of its propulsion method but there was a strict order not to take any such scans. It was made clear in the briefing that no one would make any scans or try to steal the Maltorian technology. Ben assumed it must have been that much harder for Commander West given his connection with SFI. The craft looked like it could easily carry ten passengers in comfort. It was to bad it was dark and they would not be able to take in the scenes that an hour’s ride would offer over the two thousand kilometer trip. (reply any) (posted by Milo Young) (Maltoria - Power Station - Security Officer Crewman Abu Nighy - 2235) Abu did his best to be reassured at the Ensign's words, nodding his head to show understanding. He really didn't trust himself to say anything at the moment, but he did feel more relaxed, although why that was seeing as how the other Ensign had said more or less the same thing. Hadn't he? Well it was all out of his head at the moment and he was feeling better nonetheless. His attention was thus turned to his tricorder to see if it could detect anything outside of visual range and so that they wouldn't be surprised by the incoming Maltorians. Abu was doing his best to scan the area, but his tricorder was not cooperating. His thoughts were interrupted by the ensign, who asked, "Mr. Nighy, how would you suggest we handle the situation once the Maltorian's arrive?" "It's not my place, sir." replied Abu, quickly. "I don't have the training to make those kinds of decisions. I usually just do what I'm told. The officers usually know what to do. One time, I found myself surrounded by enemy soldiers, but Captain Stakes was able to save me just by speaking. It was amazing, sir!" (Reply Soma) A few moments later and they were rejoined by Ensign Sanok. With the arrival of the other officer, Abu withdrew from the conversation and returned his attention to the tricorder. He fiddled with the settings trying to get it to work. Or maybe it was working and there just wasn't anything to see. He couldn't be sure. Just then Ensign Soma declared that he had found something and wanted confirmation. Abu tried to do so, but found that he couldn't. He looked at the ensign and shrugged pointing to his tricorder and waving his hand to indicate nothing. But the ensign seemed relatively certain and wanted to check things out. So Abu was told to wait with Ensign Sanok, which Abu was happy to oblige. Standing and watching was one of the things Abu did best. Yup. Moments later the ensign returned to confirm that someone was coming and soon the moment that Abu dreaded arrived. The Maltorians came and the Commander was waiting. Abu's hand rested on his phaser, hoping that he would not be called upon to use it. He stood dutifully at the rear and kept a watchful eye out for any signs of betrayal. But there didn't seem to be any need for concern, as the Commander led them on to waiting Maltorian shuttlecraft. ~I wonder if there's going to be real food where we're going~ Abu wondered, as he followed along and stepped gingerly inside. (Reply Soma, Any) (posted by Kaweo Kanoho) (Maltoria - Power Station - ATac Ensign (jg) Ben Soma- 2236) "It's not my place, sir." replied Nighy, quickly. "I don't have the training to make those kinds of decisions. I usually just do what I'm told. The officers usually know what to do. One time, I found myself surrounded by enemy soldiers, but Captain Stakes was able to save me just by speaking. It was amazing, sir!" Ben listened intently to what Nighy was saying. Captain Stakes had saved the Crewman just by speaking to the enemy soldiers, he wished he had been present to witness the scene. "I like to consider multiple options when deciding on a plan of action, Mr. Nighy. Feel free to make any suggestions and don't be afraid to speak up. You are also a security officer and I look to my colleges whenever possible for suggestions, especially now seeing this is my first mission. Other officers may handle situations differently, but I would like to hear any input from a fellow team member regardless of training or rank." Ben said looking at the Crewman who seemed to be more relaxed now than he was earlier. Ben added, "I would have liked to have been present to witness that scenario with those enemy soldiers." Then they were joined by Sanok, and Crewman Nighy seemed withdraw from the conversation he and Ben were having. ~ At least he is not as nervous and apprehensive, maybe our little talk helped draw him out a little.~ Ben thought and hoped he truly help Nighy in some way. (reply any) (posted by Milo Young) (Maltoria -Rescue Transport – Commander Trevan West- 2238) The away team had secured itself into the first of the two transports. The interior was nothing special and pretty standard fare for a rescue craft, although it did sport a small medical dispenser and what looked like a food replication device. The chairs were slightly bulky to his human form, but to a Maltorian it seemed to fit quite securely. There were two seats in the front for a two person crew to fly and the overhead lights emanated from recessed lighting that ringed the ceiling. Without a mention, or any sensation, the craft lifted off the ground and was already quite high in the air when Trevan even realized that they had moved. He had not been looking out the windows, and with his eyes closed he would still be convinced that they were still at the power station. At about a few thousand meters the craft slid silently over the tops of buildings, some quite elegant in their design while others were looking somewhat plain and basic, but nothing compared to the buildings they had seen already on their mission. Trevan looked around the craft and took a short look at his team. In this light, which was somewhat bright to him, considering they had been in very dimly lit rooms for most of their stay thus far, his team, aside from Sanok and Alosar, looked quite tired and dirty from everything they had been through so far. "Everyone alright?" he asked his team. (reply any) After looking out the window he could see them banking towards the west and heading out towards a beautifully lit city ahead. "Is that our destination," asked Trevan to Onju who was seated in the left pilot’s chair. Onju shook his head, "No, that is the City of Rothmerganti," which is how it sounded when translated, "we are still quite a distance away from the First Ministers office in Government Block A." Trevan nodded politely and thanked Onju for the details before turning back to talk to his own team. "Well, all I can say is get some rest and if you can't, at least enjoy the view." said Trevan who slid a bit in the bulky chair and only managed to stop himself by firmly placing a foot on the floor and then crossed his leg and then arms as if it was something he actually intended to do. (reply ALL) (posted by Kerry Fletcher) (Maltoria -Rescue Transport – ATac Ensign (jg) Ben Soma- 2240) The away team proceeded into the two transport craft of the Maltorian rescue party. Once inside Ben sat in a seat that wasn't meant for a human, the interior was fairly plain and the lighting was a little too bright for Ben's taste. The bright light revealed just how dirty he was, his uniform was dusty and streaked with god knew what. The events of the day were taking their toll on the team, everyone seemed just as dirty as he was. Sanok and Alosar were the only ones who were not showing any signs of tiring. Ben was tired, it had been a long day. Ben looked out through the crafts window and realized it was airborne, he hadn't heard the engine power up or felt the slightest evidence of acceleration. "Everyone alright?" Commander West asked his team. "So far, so good, Commander." Ben replied. He would have said more but discipline dictated he keep the negative comments to himself. Others replied in their own way to West's enquiry. Ben listened as West asked the Maltorian pilot if their destination was the brightly lit city below, but the pilot said they were still some distance from the minister’s office. West thanked the Maltorian and turned back to the team and said. "Well, all I can say is get some rest and if you can't, at least enjoy the view." Ben didn't know about the remainder of the team but he was not going to rest until the mission was set back on track. Taking a cue from West he shifted position in his set and stretched out a little making sure he was not comfortable enough for the events of the day to put him to sleep. He looked out the window and took in whatever sites he could see as they passed over the landscape. (reply any) (posted by Milo Young) (USS Dennison – Sickbay – CMO Nymes -2240) Nymes watched as the fifteenth crewmember with minor fatigue, nausea and mild vertigo left his room, unsteadily. It was an unknown conundrum, and one that Nymes didn’t particularly like. He had a brief suspicion that something had been going wrong with the replicator system, given most of the ill crewmembers had just come off duty when they had been taken ill, or had just woken up for duty shifts, and found that they couldn’t function after their morning repast. “Sickbay to Engineering” (reply Engineering) “Dr Nymes here. Could you run a diagnostic of the ships food replicator system, with a bioscan as well, please?” (reply) “Just wondering why half the crew seem to want to come to Sickbay today. Nymes Out.” Nymes sighed once more; the engineering staff never failed to amaze him, even if it was by their complete disregard for the status quo. Even Dee, as a Scientist, usually knew when to stop and think about the ethical implications of her work. Engineers had, in the past, thought up horrible methods of turning a lively body into a cadaver, and seemed horrified that their inventions could possibly be used for such an inhumane process, even if they were called things like “Repeater deathbringer 4000”. =/\= Dennison, this is First Minister Aleth =/\= Nymes collected his thoughts before smoothing his uniform down and taking his seat in the CMO office. “This is the Dennison, First minister. Do you know anything more about our crewmen?” =/\= I have joyous news. Your =/\= he searched paused, as if searching his memory for a word that eluded him, =/\=away team has been recovered and is being delivered to my office as we speak. They should arrive within the hour and all are well and safe.=/\= “That is good news indeed, First Minister.”Nymes replied, keeping his relief light, but palpable. “I humbly request that we may initiate communications with our team as soon as possible? Have you had any further thoughts about a diplomatic meeting between our peoples tomorrow?” (Reply Aleth, Any) (posted by GC) (Maltoria, First Minister's Office, First Minister Aleth, 2245) Aleth, being a very religious person, even for a Maltorian, got up from his prayer cushion and placed his meditation ring (looking like a basic golden hoop about a foot in diameter) back into the drawer so it would be available for tomorrow morning. Aleth had been praying that all would go well with this contact with the Federation, and that the visitors would be found quickly and un-harmed. The communication device on the desk near the window activated and the face of Onju appeared, with the Federation visitors blurry in the background. "Minister Aleth, I have recovered the visitors. They are fine and we are en-route to your office and should be there within the hour." Aleth clapped his hands together in joy, "Wonderful!" he exclaimed, "Simply wonderful work Onju, proceed as quickly as you can, and escort them directly to me using the express elevator when you arrive." Onju nodded his reply and closed the channel. Little did Aleth, Onju, or anyone on the transport realize that this exchange was being personally monitored by the Ministry of Information. Aleth after ending his conversation with Onju, re-opened a channel with the Dennison, currently in orbit above Maltoria. "USS Dennison, this is First Minister Aleth." (reply Dennison) "I have joyous news. Your," he searched for the correct term, "away team has been recovered and is being delivered to my office as we speak. They should arrive within the hour and all are well and safe." Aleth hoped that those words were the correct ones. He had so little time to learn Federation Standard. (reply Dennison) (posted by Kerry Fletcher) (Maltoria, Transport, Commander Trevan West, 2246) Trevan, trying to catch a bit of rest, which was difficult as the view outside the transport was something he rarely saw, heard a personal conversation between Onju and the First Minister. Although the transport was quite silent, he could not hear what the two were talking about. A moment later, the conversation was over and Trevan asked Onju what it was all about. Onju replied that it was nothing and that he was just informing the Minister that they had been found and were en-route to his office. Nothing more and nothing less. Trevan thanked Onju for his patience and then went to the rear of the cabin to sit next to Dale Bracken who was mighty quiet. As Trevan slipped into the rear of the transport to talk to his Science Officer, another, unexpected communication had begun on the transport's small video screen. This time however, it was not observable to anyone in the craft as the video was on one of the side monitors out of view, and the audio was being routed into the pilot's headset. A moment later, the transport craft banked steeply to port and then leveled out after a few seconds. The great expansive city below started to fade, which brought a frown to Trevan's face as the lights were quite stunning. Up ahead lay utter blackness except for one, giant string of lights that extended all the way to the horizon, and possibly beyond. "What is that we are heading for?" asked Trevan. "That is the Gate," Onju replied. Trevan was not sure if it was Onju just being polite and not feeling the need to translate the actual name, or if it was really just called the Gate, "It is a very quick passage to the other side of the ocean, you enter at this point," he said pointing to the bright blue lights about three kilometers in the distance, "and in about fifteen minutes you end up at the other side." replied Onju. Trevan nodded, finally getting to see what had been called the Bridge on the intelligence layout of the planet. Trevan always assumed it was an actual bridge, like the one in San Francisco near headquarters. However, this 'gate' as Onju explained, was really a series of relays that were placed every hundred kilometers. The transport would enter, be 'beamed' to the next relay and then travel a few meters and then enter another and so on and so on. This, explained Onju, was one of the Maltorian's greatest achievements in engineering in the last fifty years. It was used for emergencies, government vehicles and certain civilians that were of the upmost importance to the planet. Trevan, wanting to ask why only those kinds of people were permitted to use such a device, decided not to get into an argument with the man that rescued him and turned his attention back to Dale Bracken, "So what have we learned so far. In terms of information that we did not have prior to this mission. Anything of value I can use?" (reply Bracken, any) (posted by Kerry Fletcher) (Maltoria, Transport, CSO/2O Dale Bracken , 2248) Dale had fallen into an introspective mood after boarding the transport, she had sat at the back, and allowed her mind to, figuratively speaking, wander out through the window, and over the city that passed beneath them. She’d had a chance to flick through some of the information that had been ripped off the communications array, some had been distressing reading, other parts, those that she brooded over now, had made very interesting reading indeed. She shifted in her seat, and ran her fingers through her hair, pushing it back behind her ears. Trying, in vain, not to think of the chemical make-up of the dust that her long black hair contained. She was aware of one or two conversations around the cramped transport, West was addressing Onju, who had been speaking about the gate, that brought one or two ideas to mind, nudging away the cobwebs, her mind putting two and two together at last. Trevan turned his attention back to her, "So what have we learned so far. In terms of information that we did not have prior to this mission. Anything of value I can use?" Dale sighed slightly, “actual physical information, very little.” She leant her head back against the back of the chair, slouching slightly in the exact manner that her mother had always told her not to. “It comes across as you read the history, that the government, well, society actually, is more like a technocracy that anything else. Oh sure we have the...other less savoury aspects that we discussed earlier, but for the most part a technocracy is about the best explanation. It seems that every step, every breakthrough, be it in technology, weaponry, genetic manipulation, everything was lauded as wonderful, with no nay-sayers at all. It seems that at every possible step they were thinking that they could do something, but not once did they wonder if they should. The bridge is a case in point, if so few people are allowed to use it, why bother building it? Why not just use a standard transporter?” Dale paused, her mind nudging one thing after another. “I did catch one thing that made for interesting reading actually, and rather explains their odd set-up reproductive-wise, and the presence of the 3 sexes.” (Reply West) “Well,” She began “I’m no biologist, but I know enough to get by. Without turning this into a genetics lesson, You’re aware of the genetic difference between Male and Female? XX and XY Chromosomes?” (Reply West IYW) “You see, it’s been long known, in humans anyway, that the Y chromosome in Males is actually shrinking, each generation it has got smaller and, forgive the expression, less significant. It’s so obvious i can’t believe no-one thought of this before, what we see here is the end result of that shrinking. The third sex are the remnant of the original male Maltorian population, now, what i think could have happened is that a certain portion of that population, most likely aristocracy, leaders or whatever, underwent a form of genetic manipulation to cure this problem of the lack of genetic males, of course it was a meaningless action, as the next step was soon taken and reproduction was handed over to the machines. Which leaves us with a nice, poetic point, the only genetically pure Maltorians, are actually the females, that’s why they’re so downtrodden, not because they are loathed and despised, but mostly because they are feared.” (Reply West) “Honestly I don’t know, whether technological changes, drove the changes and the stances in society, or if it was the other way round. There’s no way of telling.” (reply West, any) (posted by Mark) -USS Dennison Star Trek: Freedom - http://www.startrekfreedom.com