Season 11: Episode 2 - Diplomatic Disaster

[Lizzie Vaughan]

[CMO's Office]

James kept his attention as she heard the statements for Lt. Vaughan.  He noticed that her voice was raised and she was leaning into her desk.  She was visually upset and had every reason to do so.  His actions were major violations.  Even though it was for the sake of the Federation it went against some of the core values.

Hawke looked at her green eyes.  Noticed that they looked serious and no blinking involved.  Instead of dogging them he look at her with his blue eyes.  His wife commented that his eyes were reflective of emotions.  At this moment, his eyes showed seriousness.

He responded with a calm demeanor "Yes...you don't have to lecture me about the ripple effect and the seriousness of my actions.  You are the only person in this timeline that knows.  I keept it a secret because it could cause negative consequences to individuals.  I always remember a story from the middle east, earth about a person that receives a prophecy that death was going to kill him.  As he walked out he sees death and began to run.  He ran until he could no more.  When Death was about to touch him he looked at him and said "I was surprised to see you here, since my instructions was to touch you in this very spot...I had no idea how or why you made it this far"  before death took him"...he took a deep breath and continued talking calm "It's easy to follow the rules when you are in paradise or during peace time...where a consequence are... no holodeck   time or time in the brig...maybe worst offender like me, a penal colony.  It's way harder when you are alone and you are fighting for your very survival...your right...I had no right to do what I did, and I don't know all the consequences of my actions, but I can tell you if it weren't for my actions Earth was going to fall within four years and probably most of your friends, shipmates, academy friends would be dead...The Federation was about collapse"

James approached her desk.  As he stood there without blinking "I don't need friends, I don't need an ear to talk about my trauma or mistakes...I don't need medals ...I don't need my rank back...I don't need to be loved.   What do I need is to make sure the Klingons or someone else that does not have our morality get a hold of a weapon that permits them to see the future.  Every day I live, I live with the consequences of my actions.  That's why I don't go to the Holodeck...because I can't enjoy myself.  I told you sometimes the Truth is worse than hell, I told you the truth.  You must hate me or find me arrogant for what I did...and quite frankly I can't blame you"

CMO's Office

Lizzie looked back into Hawke's startlingly blue eyes. Her own never wavered.

"I understand your reasoning Mr Hawke and if I'd been in your position with almost everything lost and a way to change it, I might have made the same decision. However while your reasons were good, you still had no right to make that decision. Your self inflicted punishment, while it might seem noble to you, you are not suffering because of it. That being said, there would be no benefit to me reporting you. You would probably end up being interrogated for the location of the pieces of the Mirror as the Federation would want to make sure no-one else got hold of it. And make no mistake, you would tell them eventually. I've decided that there is no reason for me to report you. I will arrange for you to come back so I can repair the damage you have suffered. I will also edit your medical records so that there is no discrepancies. I will consider this the end of the matter and I will not discuss it again. However I warn you. Should you step out of line and try to make changes again, I will ensure you suffer the full penalty for your previous crimes. Do you understand me Mr Hawke?" She asked, still not flinching as she wanted to be clear.

[Safefta Pardek]

[CSTO's Office]

Safefta often wondered why she accepted promotions or higher positions. The net result of both was usually 'higher responsibility for no damn reason'. At the moment, that was manifesting itself in the form of endless security roster reviews and personnel files to read, it was also prompting Safefta to begin wondering when she stopped finding massive amounts of work a good thing. The instant it became monotonous and more paperwork than anything else, she thought as she moved another PADD to the completed pile on one end of her desk. She was about to reach for another when he combadge chirped without warning.

=A=Commander Pardek! Security! This is Ensign Fraren; we need help down here!=A= A frazzled young voice was the source. Safefta didn't recognize it, and immediately her mental alarm was raised.

=A=Pardek here. Speak clearly, and explain to me the cause of this emergency. What is your location?=A= She replied. She was already out of her chair and ready to move, but that was pointless without a place to go.

=A=Deck Six, section five, sir! There's.. it's Lieutenant Hobbs. I called in a medical emergency just a second ago but he's... he's not moving or breathing and.. oh no...=A=

=A=Acknowledged, Ensign. Retain your position and wait for the medical staff or myself to arrive.=A= It seems my wish for more activity has been granted in precisely the wrong way. Safefta was out the door of her office and briskly moving down the hall. She slapped her combadge again.

[Corridor]

=A=Pardek to Crewman Ainsley, and Ensign D'Ren. There is a security situation on deck 6, section five. Please accompany me there immediately.=A=

Well, this would be one way to throw the new security crewman into things... From what Safefta had seen of his past history, she would want to get a feel for his behavior as soon as possible. A possible casualty aboard, conveniently when they were hosting diplomatic liaisons? Sounded about normal for the Discovery.

[Turbolift --> Deck 6, Sec. 5]

It didn't take too long to find the source of the call. The body lying in the middle of the corridor was blatantly obvious, as were the buzzing crewmen around. All were hovering back somewhat despite their natural curiosity. As soon as Safefta confirmed that there was, in fact, a body in front of her, she hit her combadge yet again.

=A=Pardek to bridge. What appears to be the body of Lieutenant Timothy Hobbs has been found. Something is extremely amiss; I recommend going immediately to security alert until this is resolved.=A= Even as they finished their sentence, their eyes were noticing the strange purple rings, almost like bruising, that were present on the dead officer's hands and forehead. Safefta knew she could speculate the cause of such until the end of time, but she knew her focus would have to be shooing the crew away from the scene and questioning Fraren until the medical staff and the rest of her detail arrived.

[Gavin Van Gelder]

[Astrometrics]

Anastasia watched over Gavin's shoulder as she scrolled through her work with a smug look on her face. "Not zhis time but zhis vas my first assignment from zhe Academy. I have been passed from hand to hand for a vile." She shrugged even though he wasn't looking at her. "I vent to zhe Academy at zixteen and left yust before my eightteenz birzday." Her tone became clipped for a moment as she glossed over her time at Starfleet Academy, signaling she didn't want to discuss it, still sour over the events that had happened precluding her from her commission at the time.

When Gavin asked about her permission to access the temporal mechanics models the smug look disappeared from her face and was replaced, to her own surprise with a look of glee. Yust maybe you do deserve zhat zhirty under zhirty title. "Zhere vas somezhing zhe computer said vhen I vas first stationed here but Keptin Kirok hard codded my permission vhen I ignored zhe computer's skvahking and went about my vork anyvay. Most of my CSO's never like it much but," she shrugged again, "vhatever."

Reaching over Gavin's shoulder she scrolled to the end of her work and beamed, happy to have someone who might at least get a ghist of what she was doing. "Zhis is zhe end goal." The screen displayed her own creation, a model depiction the creation of a wormhole through time, what she called a temporal tunnel. "Von day I vould like to visit zhe Bayoran vurmhole and talk to zhe "Prophets" about how zhe created zheir vurmhole. I see no reason ve could not use zhe same technique in a temporary vay and point it zhrough time razher zhan zhrough space." She stood defiantly before him and said, "Zhe maz supports my zheroy. I yust do not know how to make zhe hole."

[Astrometrics]

Leaning back in his chair a little, Gavin cocked an eyebrow as Anastasia gave him the run-down of her teen years and her Academy career.  It, remarkably so, kinda mirrored his own.  He wondered why she only spent two years there, though.  It was possible that she was so bloody brilliant to have passed four years of higher learning in two, but Gavin found that highly, highly improbable.  There was probably a story, there.  But...whatever time she did spend in matriculation, it was enough to gain her a commission, so...that was something.

"A wormhole," he stated, nodding.  "That would seem to be the most stable point of entry into a timeline, yes."  Gavin was already thinking, drumming his fingertips along the edge of the console, but careful not to accidentally enter a half a hundred odd commands in doing so.  "Better than flinging yourself around a sun, for sure.  But."  He tilted his head, his mop of auburn hair falling down over his eyes a little, "I really don't think anyone is going to convince the Bajoran government to let them tinker with the Wormhole aliens.  I mean, it's literally a religion to them, backwards as that sounds.  Even if you go before them with your blue eyes and adorably incomprehensible provincial accent, I think they'll tell you to go to hell.  Or...y'know.  Bajoran hell."

[Alexander Wu]

[Sickbay]

Nodding to the first officer, Zero gestured toward one of the rooms off the main sickbay where the majority of the rehabilitation equipment was kept, leading the way.

"I do not believe I will need to retain you for longer than half of an hour.  I do not wish to tax you during the first session, and judging by the phrasing of your question, you do not have much time to spare."

Once the door had slid shut behind them, the pale woman considered the best course of action for her patient.  Gentle stretching would likely be a good place to start, possibly massage too, to loosen off the muscles.  Over the sessions, she could add in exercises to build up the muscle as well, but that was for another time.  "I require you to remove your uniform jacket, but you may retain the shirt if you so wish."

[Sickbay]

Following Zero into her exam room, Alex removed his outer jacket as required, and then his undershirt, only raising his arm on the affected side enough to slip his head out. Although nowhere close to what he had ten years ago, Alex's physique was still well defined, until he turned around for Zero to examine his back.

His left shoulder was crisscrossed with vivid scarring all the way down to the bottom of his scapula, muscles knotted and uneven from several makeshift surgeries with tools and instruments that most physicians hadn't touched for a century. Unfortunately, it was all his rescuers had at their disposal. "I'm having a bit of trouble lifting my arm above shoulder level," He admitted, leaning up against the biobed. "The regenerator they had ran out of juice about halfway through, so they had to use internal sutures."

[James A. Hawke]

CMO's Office

Lizzie looked back into Hawke's startlingly blue eyes. Her own never wavered.

"I understand your reasoning Mr Hawke and if I'd been in your position with almost everything lost and a way to change it, I might have made the same decision. However while your reasons were good, you still had no right to make that decision. Your self inflicted punishment, while it might seem noble to you, you are not suffering because of it. That being said, there would be no benefit to me reporting you. You would probably end up being interrogated for the location of the pieces of the Mirror as the Federation would want to make sure no-one else got hold of it. And make no mistake, you would tell them eventually. I've decided that there is no reason for me to report you. I will arrange for you to come back so I can repair the damage you have suffered. I will also edit your medical records so that there is no discrepancies. I will consider this the end of the matter and I will not discuss it again. However I warn you. Should you step out of line and try to make changes again, I will ensure you suffer the full penalty for your previous crimes. Do you understand me Mr Hawke?" She asked, still not flinching as she wanted to be clear.

[CMO's Office]

James looked at Lizzie's green eyes as she made her statement.  James figured that by her tone she was serious.  It was not a laughing matter.

There was one sentence that stuck out in his mind. Your self inflicted punishment, while it might seem noble to you, you are not suffering because of it.   James figured that maybe she was right, maybe he has not suffered enough for his actions.  After all he did make countless bad decision, what makes him think that a second chance would make it any better.

As she finished he was a little surprised.  Not only she was not going to report it to security he is probably going to get proper medical care.  She had a secret that could destroy his life.  But the stakes were big.

James' face and blue eyes showed state of shock.  He was waiting for something a bargain or a quid pro quo.  His fate was in the hand of someone that he barely knows and she seemed to have saved him from torture or interrogation for today.

"Thank you, I appreciate what you are doing Dr. Vaughan.  I will report regularly at Sickbay. I won't mention this matter at all, but don't worry I don't intend to do that again.  I will never do to betray your trust.  As long as you live, I will never do anything that would cause you to regret this moment.  And by the way for a person that knows one of your biggest secret...you can call me James".   As James finished his statement he broke eye contact and looked in the Medical area.  There appeared to be some movement.

"Dr. Vaughan...something is happening out there"  James pointed out.  It looked like people more moving for a Medical Emergency.

[Tekin Nevir]

[Deck 10 - Shuttlebay - Theseus]

If there was one thing that bugged her about the Argo-class shuttles, it was probably the buggy. As much as she loved it, the thing kind of got in the way. Especially since there was only one way in and out of the bloody ship. At least a Danube had doors on the sides of the cabin close to the cockpit. Then again, Starfleet systems design was predicated on emergency transporters working to send the occupants to safety before being vaporized. If only the recorded history of the last two decades proved they actually worked and in the presence of those who would rather keep their fingers crossed, Jiseth was the type to prefer sulking about her predicament while floating in space and slowly suffocating.

After stepping past the buggy and into the cockpit, she was reminded of how many design features had been taken as inspiration from this type of craft and used on the Daedalus. Inspiration is perhaps inaccurate compared to shamelessly stolen. Things were on a time crunch and she just did not have the time to invent everything as she went. Plus, Admiral Brown gave her access to every bit of nonstandard tech she could get her greedy hands on. Phased polaron beam emitters, Breen energy disruptors, a cloaking device, even a shower. That last component was incredibly important because the hot water helped the Romulan get used to burning in Hell, which was where a surprising number of supposedly nonreligious humans wanted her to go.

Taking her seat at the controls, Jiseth strapped herself in and began powering up the warp core. Severing the lines that connected the Theseus to the Discovery, she held off starting the engines until Sukal was seated.

"We're on our own power... Rear ramp closing... Locked. Pressure seals are all green. Lift thrusters engaged... Altitude 2 meters and holding... Landing struts coming up... Struts locked. Impulse engines spooling up to idle..."

The Romulan was mostly talking to herself as she ran through her checklist. It was not until she reversed away from the landing pad, turned toward the forward end of the shuttle bay, and swiftly flew out into space the empty vacuum did she exit her almost mechanical process. Her hand went up to her helmet and the polarization faded, revealing her face once more.

"...I wonder how long we could explore. We have rations for days and they didn't exactly give us a deadline for this mission. Your thoughts, gents?"

[Shuttlecraft Theseus]

Nevir took the seat next to Jiseth, bringing up the schematics of the planet as the shuttlecraft took off and left the bay.  When she mentioned the freedom of their sort-of-mission, he chuckled, activating the atmospheric overlay.

"I'm sure the Captain will let us know when he wants us back.  Still, we should probably stick to the far side, away from the capitol's continent.  I think engineering wanted us to check this region on the eastern continent." Nevir zoomed into a portion of the map away from most of the major cities.

"Its mostly out of the way due to the seismic instabilities, but we were getting some unusual isotope signatures. Possible elements that aren't normally found in this sector.  It could go a long way into bringing commerce to this world.  There is also a cyclonic system to the southwest moving towards the area, but I think we have plenty of time before it reaches.  I certainly would rather not have to stay longer than our rations, though."

[Zero Alpha]

[Sickbay]

Following Zero into her exam room, Alex removed his outer jacket as required, and then his undershirt, only raising his arm on the affected side enough to slip his head out. Although nowhere close to what he had ten years ago, Alex's physique was still well defined, until he turned around for Zero to examine his back.

His left shoulder was crisscrossed with vivid scarring all the way down to the bottom of his scapula, muscles knotted and uneven from several makeshift surgeries with tools and instruments that most physicians hadn't touched for a century. Unfortunately, it was all his rescuers had at their disposal. "I'm having a bit of trouble lifting my arm above shoulder level," He admitted, leaning up against the biobed. "The regenerator they had ran out of juice about halfway through, so they had to use internal sutures."

[Sickbay]

Not all patients were comfortable being topless in front of their doctors, but apparently the first officer wasn't among that number.  It didn't bother Zero either way and she didn't react until she saw the amount of scarring on his shoulder.  Lifting a hand to it, she ran her fingers as lightly as she could over the skeletal structure and musculature, unsure whether or not the contact would pain him.

"You should have reported to sickbay or Starfleet Medical at the earliest juncture after this happened," she told him sternly.  "You will require far more attention than a simple course of physical therapy.  This requires reconstructive surgery in order to function correctly."  She offered him a faint, grim smile.  "Had Lieutenant Kintiss been here, I would have referred you to his care.  I am able to say from experience that he is an excellent surgeon."

=^= "Sickbay, medical emergency on Deck 6, Sec. 5!"=^=

"It would seem that my attention is needed elsewhere, but I will require your return in order to perform the surgery," she said.  "For the time being, I release you back to your duties, although I hope that I do not need to tell you to be cautious of your shoulder."

Leaving the physical therapy room, Zero grabbed a medkit and headed out of sickbay, heading for the origin of the call.

[Deck 6, Sec. 5]

It was clear why medical had been called, judging by the body on the deck plates surrounded by other members of the crew.  A few drew aside to make room for the pale woman in blue and Zero took her tricorder from the kit, scanning the patient, letting the device gather its data while she observed the strange markings on the lieutenant's skin.

A glance at the tricorder told her that doing anything to help the man would be pointless.  "He is deceased, sir," she said, looking up at the Vulcanoid who appeared to be in charge.

[Lizzie Vaughan]

[CMO's Office]

James looked at Lizzie's green eyes as she made her statement.  James figured that by her tone she was serious.  It was not a laughing matter.

There was one sentence that stuck out in his mind. Your self inflicted punishment, while it might seem noble to you, you are not suffering because of it.   James figured that maybe she was right, maybe he has not suffered enough for his actions.  After all he did make countless bad decision, what makes him think that a second chance would make it any better.

As she finished he was a little surprised.  Not only she was not going to report it to security he is probably going to get proper medical care.  She had a secret that could destroy his life.  But the stakes were big.

James' face and blue eyes showed state of shock.  He was waiting for something a bargain or a quid pro quo.  His fate was in the hand of someone that he barely knows and she seemed to have saved him from torture or interrogation for today.

"Thank you, I appreciate what you are doing Dr. Vaughan.  I will report regularly at Sickbay. I won't mention this matter at all, but don't worry I don't intend to do that again.  I will never do to betray your trust.  As long as you live, I will never do anything that would cause you to regret this moment.  And by the way for a person that knows one of your biggest secret...you can call me James".   As James finished his statement he broke eye contact and looked in the Medical area.  There appeared to be some movement.

"Dr. Vaughan...something is happening out there"  James pointed out.  It looked like people more moving for a Medical Emergency.

CMO's Office

Lizzie smiled, not a full blown one but as close as she could manage given the situation.

"Very well James..." She was about to add a bit about as long as you live, when she heard the call and Zero answer it.

She got up and headed out into the main part of Sickbay. Zero was nowhere to be seen. She decided to see if there was anything further needed.

=/\=Vaughan to Lieutenant Alpha. Do you require assistance?

[Kyle Briggs]

[Bridge]

Kyle had just finished making a pass of the Bridge when the call came in.

=A=Pardek to bridge. What appears to be the body of Lieutenant Timothy Hobbs has been found. Something is extremely amiss; I recommend going immediately to security alert until this is resolved.=A=

Kyle had only served with Safeta for a short while but she was the CTSO and his newly appointed Second Officer and if that didn't call for complete trust then nothing did. He nodded to the Ensign that was currently manning the Security station. "Sound Security Alert. Level One." This would cause no obvious change in ship's routine, though one Security Officer would be stationed on the bridge. All other Security Officers would be issued phasers from the ship's armory with the sidearms locked on stun. What ever the situation, he wanted to try to keep the negotiations going without interruption if possible.

"Mister Ferris. You have the Conn." he said as the turbo lift doors closed.

[Deck 6, Sec. 5]

Kyle had reached his destination and it seemed as if Medical had been called as well, as per protocol. He walked up just in time to her the Doctor's words.

It was clear why medical had been called, judging by the body on the deck plates surrounded by other members of the crew.  A few drew aside to make room for the pale woman in blue and Zero took her tricorder from the kit, scanning the patient, letting the device gather its data while she observed the strange markings on the lieutenant's skin.

A glance at the tricorder told her that doing anything to help the man would be pointless.  "He is deceased, sir," she said, looking up at the Vulcanoid who appeared to be in charge.

"Do we know anything else yet?" Kyle directed to Pardek as he approached.

He knelt down beside Zero and looked at the body of Lieutenant Hobbs.

"Any records of markings like that before, Doctor?" he asked still staring. He knew it wasn't polite but he had never seen markings like them before and was curious.

[Anastasia Zhestakova]

[Astrometrics]

Leaning back in his chair a little, Gavin cocked an eyebrow as Anastasia gave him the run-down of her teen years and her Academy career.  It, remarkably so, kinda mirrored his own.  He wondered why she only spent two years there, though.  It was possible that she was so bloody brilliant to have passed four years of higher learning in two, but Gavin found that highly, highly improbable.  There was probably a story, there.  But...whatever time she did spend in matriculation, it was enough to gain her a commission, so...that was something.

"A wormhole," he stated, nodding.  "That would seem to be the most stable point of entry into a timeline, yes."  Gavin was already thinking, drumming his fingertips along the edge of the console, but careful not to accidentally enter a half a hundred odd commands in doing so.  "Better than flinging yourself around a sun, for sure.  But."  He tilted his head, his mop of auburn hair falling down over his eyes a little, "I really don't think anyone is going to convince the Bajoran government to let them tinker with the Wormhole aliens.  I mean, it's literally a religion to them, backwards as that sounds.  Even if you go before them with your blue eyes and adorably incomprehensible provincial accent, I think they'll tell you to go to hell.  Or...y'know.  Bajoran hell."

[Astrometrics]

Anastasia blushed prettily. "Mr. Gelder you are too kind but I never said I vanted to ask zhem permission." Her blush vanished as she gave Gavin a wicked grin. "I simply said I vanted to visit zhe aliens. I don't need zhe Bayorans for zhat. Von day," she trailed off whistfully. Snapping out of her daydream, she gently moved Gavin's drumming fingers slightly farther away from her active workstation. "I never asked, vhat do you specialize in?"

[Sukal]

[Shuttlecraft:  Theseus]

Sukal had already taken the secondary station once boarding the shuttle.  The seat next to Lieutenant Jiseth he had left open for their companion from the Science department.  Jiseth was clearly quite knowledgable about how to prep the shuttle for their flight, and Lieutenant Nevir seemed to very sure about their objective.

"...I wonder how long we could explore. We have rations for days and they didn't exactly give us a deadline for this mission. Your thoughts, gents?"

The Operations Chief saw no reason to interfere with their thoughts, but hearing Jiseth mention their relative freedom for the length of their assignment actually made him smile.  Such things often came to his mind when coming aboard a shuttle for a mission.  One never knew just how long such things were to take unless a time constraint was placed on them.

"I suspect we could last for some time out here, Lieutenant," Sukal said with a barely concealed smile.  "After all, as you said, we have rations for days, but I somehow doubt that our new Captain will simply let us go touring for a week."  For a moment, he sounded Vulcan serious, but the smile returned and with it a bit of a chuckle.

"I'm sure the Captain will let us know when he wants us back.  Still, we should probably stick to the far side, away from the capitol's continent.  I think engineering wanted us to check this region on the eastern continent." Nevir zoomed into a portion of the map away from most of the major cities.

"Its mostly out of the way due to the seismic instabilities, but we were getting some unusual isotope signatures. Possible elements that aren't normally found in this sector.  It could go a long way into bringing commerce to this world.  There is also a cyclonic system to the southwest moving towards the area, but I think we have plenty of time before it reaches.  I certainly would rather not have to stay longer than our rations, though."

Sukal nodded to the Science Officer's comments about the chosen area, and began attuning the sensors from the aft station he had taken.

"I will have these sensor calibrated for your scans soon, Lieutenant Nevir," Sukal said confidently....once more the very professional officer, and no trace of the laughter or smile around.

[Eli Ferris]

[b[][Bridge][/b]

Kyle had just finished making a pass of the Bridge when the call came in.

Kyle had only served with Safeta for a short while but she was the CTSO and his newly appointed Second Officer and if that didn't call for complete trust then nothing did. He nodded to the Ensign that was currently manning the Security station. "Sound Security Alert. Level One." This would cause no obvious change in ship's routine, though one Security Officer would be stationed on the bridge. All other Security Officers would be issued phasers from the ship's armory with the sidearms locked on stun. What ever the situation, he wanted to try to keep the negotiations going without interruption if possible.

"Mister Ferris. You have the Conn." he said as the turbo lift doors closed.

[Deck 6, Sec. 5]

Kyle had reached his destination and it seemed as if Medical had been called as well, as per protocol. He walked up just in time to her the Doctor's words.

"Do we know anything else yet?" Kyle directed to Pardek as he approached.

He knelt down beside Zero and looked at the body of Lieutenant Hobbs.

"Any records of markings like that before, Doctor?" he asked still staring. He knew it wasn't polite but he had never seen markings like them before and was curious.

[Bridge]
"Aye, sir."

Eli had tried to familiarize himself with the various flight plans, as the shuttle operations were underway. He had primarily left that to his next senior flight officer, Jiseth, who, so far, had impressed him with her attention to detail.

At the moment, with security alert on high, Eli was not about to take any chances.

"Ops, full sensor sweep. Let's see if we have any uninvited guests."

While that was being started, Eli considered the console next to him at the center chair. It was not a position he envied, with potential threats all around, but he also knew that this was a part of the job. If only he felt more confident.

=^=Ferris to all shuttles. Status report, please.=^=

[Alexander Wu]

[Sickbay]

Not all patients were comfortable being topless in front of their doctors, but apparently the first officer wasn't among that number.  It didn't bother Zero either way and she didn't react until she saw the amount of scarring on his shoulder.  Lifting a hand to it, she ran her fingers as lightly as she could over the skeletal structure and musculature, unsure whether or not the contact would pain him.

"You should have reported to sickbay or Starfleet Medical at the earliest juncture after this happened," she told him sternly.  "You will require far more attention than a simple course of physical therapy.  This requires reconstructive surgery in order to function correctly."  She offered him a faint, grim smile.  "Had Lieutenant Kintiss been here, I would have referred you to his care.  I am able to say from experience that he is an excellent surgeon."

=^= "Sickbay, medical emergency on Deck 6, Sec. 5!"=^=

[Sickbay]

Alex involuntarily flinched as she ran her fingers along his shoulder, tensing against the cool touch. Ice queen, flickered humorously through his mind, before he took in what she said about surgery. "I don't need it perfect, Zero." Alex replied, glancing back at her. "I just need it to stop aching every time the humidifier kicks in."

=^= "Sickbay, medical emergency on Deck 6, Sec. 5!"=^=

"It would seem that my attention is needed elsewhere, but I will require your return in order to perform the surgery," she said.  "For the time being, I release you back to your duties, although I hope that I do not need to tell you to be cautious of your shoulder."

Leaving the physical therapy room, Zero grabbed a medkit and headed out of sickbay, heading for the origin of the call.

[Deck 6, Sec. 5]

It was clear why medical had been called, judging by the body on the deck plates surrounded by other members of the crew.  A few drew aside to make room for the pale woman in blue and Zero took her tricorder from the kit, scanning the patient, letting the device gather its data while she observed the strange markings on the lieutenant's skin.

A glance at the tricorder told her that doing anything to help the man would be pointless.  "He is deceased, sir," she said, looking up at the Vulcanoid who appeared to be in charge.

"I'm coming too." Alex retorted, grabbing his shirt. By the time he managed to shrug it on over his shoulder and pulled down, Zero had already disappeared out the door. Gauging the urgency of most medical emergencies, he left his jacket on the biobed and sprinted after her.

[Deck 6, Sec. 5]

By the time Alex arrived on the scene, Zero was already scanning the prone figure with a tricorder. It didn't take a medical professional to see that resuscitation wasn't going to help the poor man. "Merde." Lieutenant Hobbs had been newly promoted, he recognized the face from one of the personnel files that had passed his desk several weeks earlier.

"Safefta, we need to cordon off this area and remove bystanders, I think it's safe to say that we are now standing in a crime scene." Alex mentioned to the Romulan while watching Zero work. Captain Briggs had come up by then as well. "Sir, I would suggest locking down the ambassadors' quarters and sensitive areas until we have a better idea of what caused this."

[James A. Hawke]

CMO's Office

Lizzie smiled, not a full blown one but as close as she could manage given the situation.

"Very well James..." She was about to add a bit about as long as you live, when she heard the call and Zero answer it.

She got up and headed out into the main part of Sickbay. Zero was nowhere to be seen. She decided to see if there was anything further needed.

=/\=Vaughan to Lieutenant Alpha. Do you require assistance?

[CMO's Office]

James noted the commotion in the hallway and noticed that Lieutenant Vaughan seemed busy.   Clearly something was happening.  But the Starfleet Officer had no idea.  Hawke nodded to Lieutenant Vaughan and left her office.

[Sickbay]

As he left the office he noticed that there was sort of tension in the air.  He noticed subtle yet meaningful changed in the atmosphere.  There was slightly more security precautions taken at sickbay.  All security officers had a sidearm and the lights reflected that the ship was at a security alert.  With little time to waste James headed to the bridge.

[Bridge]

James felt the turbo lift swish behind him.   It was the first time he was at the Bridge of the Discovery.  He noticed that the ship was at Security Level One alert, it was subtle but something was going on. He was used to the fact that there was security forces armed with phasers.  The first step is to see if there was anything he could do to help the situation.

He looked around and reported in to the conn.   "Lieutenant Jg. James Hawke reporting for Engineering, Sir...permission to take my station, Sir"

[Jiseth]

[Shuttle Theseus]

The hardest part currently was yet to come. Landing presented its own challenges in and of itself, but the initial deceleration from orbital velocity was top on her list. Normally a shuttle could simply raise shields and let them take the brunt of the force of reentry. Normally... Starfleet had its own set of rules for first contact situations and minimal interference was required. Which meant she could not dive down like a fiery comet with a pair of sonic booms to herald her arrival even though it was really the only one fitting for her.

"Alright then. I'll find a spot for us to set down and we'll take the buggy. Mr. Sukal, would you assist me in removing that ridiculous gun from the back of it? After we land of course."

The anti-grav system could keep them at their altitude with ease, but the impulse engines had to be set to full reverse. In doing so, the Discovery appeared to zoom away on their monitors. Jiseth leaned forward and looked past Tekin in order to see the diminishing size of the ship in the viewport. A moment later her boss called and she cleared her throat.

Theseus to Discovery. Beginning minimum wake descent. All systems green. Maybe we'll come back with tans. Theseus out.