S1-M7 The Danger of Secrets

[Amynta Lianez]

(Excape pods > hallway )

[Station]

Ardy grinned to the Trill, slightly wryly. "Sounds like a plan. You just missed the inspection, but they say there's a party they're hosting. I'm mainly there for the food, if you really want to know."

The tension in Amynta's shoulders fell slightly as her smile was returned, although she was still nervous to meet the people she would be living and working with for the first time. She stuck out like a sore thumb in her everyday uniform, but there wasn't really anything she could do about that at the moment. Rolling her shoulders in attempt to force the rest of the stiffness out of them, she followed her friendly crewmate over to their commanding officers.

"Na'shaya," T'Ra said by way of greeting to the new comer. "I take it you must be Miss Lianez? I'm T'Ra Jones, Chief of Science and First Officer."

"Na'shaya, Commander, Captain," she greeted the others with a slight bow, "You're correct. I apologize for my intrusion on the, ah, festivities; my transport was running ahead of schedule and insisted that they leave me with you." Her attention shifted to the woman in the dress who she recalled as leading the station, "Dr. Higgins's staff was kind enough to let me wait in an unoccupied conference room until you arrived."

She made sure that her face remained pleasant,  although her distaste was palpable on her tongue,as bitter as if she had a mouthful of burnt coffee. Something about this woman put her on edge...the body language, perhaps? She was hanging all over a Star Fleet Captain as if she were a woman of the night, not a well trained researcher, and her eyes didn't crinkle with the smile on her lips--it wasn't genuine. Still, could she really blame this woman for her attention to a handsome man of high rank? And no one really enjoyed these diplomatic occasions... She shouldn't jump to negative conclusions simply because of her profession.

[Kirok]

[Bridge]

Caelene paused as she considered the Zex's suggestion. There was a chance it could help the ship's systems return to normal...but that was assuming that the glitches they were experiencing were based on the Shran's proximity to the station. If whatever was causing the glitches was already embedded in their systems, they'd still have problems even away from the station. Not to mention that with comm systems acting up, they had no way to communicate their intentions with the station.

After pondering the idea a few more moments, Caelene was going to respond when suddenly everything shut down. The bridge went completely dark and the sounds of the ship went silent. It was eerie...

"That's main power going offline," Caelene explained, trying to keep her voice calm. "Auxiliary systems should be kicking in." Or so she hoped. If there was a problem with aux power, they'd be in trouble. Theoretically, the auxiliary systems should be okay as they were isolated from the main systems in the event of an issue with main power. But considering the glitches they'd had, the Trill was a bit less sure.

After what felt like an eternity, but was actually only a minute or two, emergency lighting turned on, illuminating the bridge as the bridge consoles came back to life. Caelene glanced over and noticed the lack of Steve...the computer wouldn't consider the holographic velociraptor a high priority for power, so his system wouldn't have come back online with auxiliary power.

Caelene's fingers quickly moved across the Engineering console as she checked on the Shran's systems. "We are now on auxiliary power. Non-essential systems, such as main lighting, holodecks, and non-emergency replicators are offline. We don't have warp drive on aux power and shields and weapons will be at reduced output. Life support levels are holding."

Looking around the bridge, Caelene could tell that some of the younger bridge officers seemed concerned; she couldn't really blame them. Half of the senior staff was on the station and unable to be raised on comms...and here they were on a malfunctioning ship.

"Everybody check your systems and report any oddities. Ensign Zex, try running the scans now that we've restarted on auxiliary power. I'm going to coordinate with Engineering and run a level 1 diagnostic on the main power systems since they're already down. We'll run additional diagnostics on the holodecks and any other offline systems, but prioritize online systems if we find more issues," Caelene explained.

=/\=Tam to Engineering. Obviously we've lost main power. I'm starting up diagnostics and will need you to coordinate the manual inspection portions of them. Let me know of any other system glitches or issues.

=/\=Aye, Lieutenant. We'll monitor from here and take care of the inspections. Engineering out.

Hopefully now that the computer had essentially restarted itself the glitches from before wouldn't be an issue. The Trill had a feeling they would though...if the glitches were in the individual systems themselves and whatever was causing them was buried in the coding, a restart may not have resolved them. In fact, it could spread to the auxiliary power system as well. If they lost that...well, it might be time for Environmental suits or abandoning the ship. They weren't to that point yet though.

Caelene pulled up the diagnostic screen from her console and started inputting the appropriate parameters. As she was choosing which systems should be tested, the console flickered and went dark. She closed her eyes briefly and sighed. The problems were still in the system. It took nearly a full minute this time, but the console turned back on and she continued her work. This was not good...

OFF: Tag people on the ship

[Bridge]

"Aye, Ma'am" Zex replied.  She turned back to her station.  She tapped out a few commands.

The task was all that harder now due to the dimmed lighting.  But she did not complain.  "I'll have an answer for you in a moment, Ma'am" the Deltan called out.

[Ardyn Jaeger]

[Mess Hall/Hallway]

It was almost as if a silent dinner bell had rung, beckoning the remaining members of the away team to rejoin the group to eat. And it seemed a new face was joining them. The young trill wasn't in dress whites or wearing the typical station garb. The medical blue uniform that she wore made it highly likely that she was the Shran's new counselor, though if this was indeed the case, she was early. "Na'shaya," T'Ra said by way of greeting to the new comer. "I take it you must be Miss Lianez? I'm T'Ra Jones, Chief of Science and First Officer."

And speaking of early, where was the android? K-5's punctuality would normally give a Vulcan a run for their money. "Miss Jaeger," T'Ra added, now addressing the flight officer, "have you by chance seen K-5 anywhere?" She couldn't recall if the android was interested in the notion of food, but it still struck her as odd not to have heard from her.

[hallway]
"Come to think of it, ma'am; No, I haven't seen Kay anywhere. It's really unusual to see her late. Though I do remember her with that assistant, Takur. Maybe he knows where she's at. " Ardy said, eying Miss Higgins slightly.

[T'Ra Jones]

(Excape pods > hallway )
"Na'shaya, Commander, Captain," she greeted the others with a slight bow, "You're correct. I apologize for my intrusion on the, ah, festivities; my transport was running ahead of schedule and insisted that they leave me with you." Her attention shifted to the woman in the dress who she recalled as leading the station, "Dr. Higgins's staff was kind enough to let me wait in an unoccupied conference room until you arrived."

[Banquet Room]

"There is no need to worry yourself, Miss Lianez," T'Ra responded. "It is more an inspection than a gala, though I wonder if they will try to win our good favour with some fine dining. Perhaps you can confer with me later on this." From what she had seen so far, T'Ra was not impressed, but she wasn't quite disappointed either. And as Higgin's assistants led them into the banquet room, she could smell the odor of alcohol wafting through the room. That was enough to make her stomach recoil a little, so T'Ra avoided the row of drinks that had been set out for them, opting instead for a strong, steaming cup of ginger tea.  As she sipped from the mug, her eyes wandered, watching and waiting.

[hallway]
"Come to think of it, ma'am; No, I haven't seen Kay anywhere. It's really unusual to see her late. Though I do remember her with that assistant, Takur. Maybe he knows where she's at. " Ardy said, eying Miss Higgins slightly.

T'Ra furrowed a brow, not at all pleased by what she heard. Something was off. And now that she had sated the grumbling of her stomach, she could lay more focus on this new matter that was beginning to trouble her. Not sure if it would even work, T'Ra gently pressed her comm badge. =/\=Jones to Petty Officer K-5, please respond. As she spoke, she scanned the room, looking for the assistant Jaeger had mentioned.

[USS Shran - Sickbay]
[NPC Evan Buehler]

"I know it's hard, but I need you to hold still," Evan said, running a protoplaser over the arm on an engineering crewman who was struggling to comply, his forehead scrunched and eyes clamped tight in pain. Evan kept his breathing slow as he steadily moved the tool up and down over the crewman's skin.

The lights suddenly went out, plunging sickbay into darkness and causing Evan to drop the protoplaser. "Was zum Teufel?" he hissed under his breath, reaching to tap his communicator just as the emergency lighting came on. =/\=Sickbay to Bridge, what the hell is going on up there?

[Fala Awen]

[Bridge]

"Aye, Ma'am" Zex replied.  She turned back to her station.  She tapped out a few commands.

The task was all that harder now due to the dimmed lighting.  But she did not complain.  "I'll have an answer for you in a moment, Ma'am" the Deltan called out.

Hearing Zex's response, Caelene nodded, "Thank you Ensign." The Trill turned back to the console in front of her and started the diagnostic. The first few steps went through as intended, automatically. The next one required a manual check and verification in the system from Engineering. A message flashed on her screen, indicating that one of the Engineers was working on it.

[USS Shran - Sickbay]
[NPC Evan Buehler]

The lights suddenly went out, plunging sickbay into darkness and causing Evan to drop the protoplaser. "Was zum Teufel?" he hissed under his breath, reaching to tap his communicator just as the emergency lighting came on. =/\=Sickbay to Bridge, what the hell is going on up there?

As she waited for Engineering to verify the next step, Caelene heard Evan's voice over the comm system. He didn't sound very happy, but considering that sickbay had just been plunged into darkness she couldn't really blame him. She tapped her comm badge to respond, =/\=Bridge to Sickbay. The ship is experiencing glitches in several systems. We just lost main power and are currently running on auxiliary power. We're running diagnostics and trying to sort it out as quickly as we can. Sorry Doctor. If you notice any glitches or issues, please let me know. Bridge out.

Hopefully Evan hadn't been in the middle of any important procedures, but there was little she could do about it. Technically Sickbay's systems should be safer than most - their systems were deliberately isolated from many of the other ship systems to protect its operations in the event that they did lose power. Regardless, the happenings on the ship were worrisome.

Caelene noticed that the diagnostic had moved on to the next step - another serious of automated tests. So far it seemed to be doing okay, but that could change at any...

"Lieutenant!" Ensign Murphy's (NPC) voice called out from his position at Flight Control. "I've lost all helm control. I know we lost warp capability when we switched to aux power, but I've lost it all now."

Frowning, Caelene stood and moved over to Christian's console, looking over his shoulder. Stepping back, she looked at him and asked, "Okay Ensign, what exactly happened?"

Christian turned toward her, "I was running some normal helm checks, just in case we did decide to move away from the station and also out of habit. We switched power sources, so I wanted to make sure everything was okay. But when I tried to get into the impulse engine control...nothing." He tapped on the console, demonstrating the issue. As he tried to bring up the proper controls, nothing happened.

"What about maneuvering thrusters? Do you have access to those?" Caelene didn't like this one bit. Technically she hadn't been fond of the idea of leaving the station - being potentially stranded with the computers glitching didn't sound wise. However, she would have preferred if it had still been an option.

Christian shook his head, "No, Lieutenant. I tried the thrusters next - same thing."

Sighing, Caelene tapped her finger against her lips in thought. "It's almost as if we're being locked out of our systems," she mused quietly. Speaking louder, she said, "See if you can start a level five diagnostic on the console, Ensign Murphy."

The young man nodded and Caelene moved back over to the Engineering console. It was almost as if someone or something was trying to keep them there or take over the ship. Neither option sounded particularly pleasant to her. She needed answers, but the more she looked, the worse things seemed to get... Hopefully things were going better for the away team.

OFF: Tag ship people

[Amynta Lianez]

T'Ra furrowed a brow, not at all pleased by what she heard. Something was off. And now that she had sated the grumbling of her stomach, she could lay more focus on this new matter that was beginning to trouble her. Not sure if it would even work, T'Ra gently pressed her comm badge. =/\=Jones to Petty Officer K-5, please respond. As she spoke, she scanned the room, looking for the assistant Jaeger had mentioned.

Amynta settled herself at the same table as her crewmates, but despite the food around her which should have been delicious smelling, she found herself feeling slightly nauseous. She could tell by the slight furrow of Commander Jones's brows that the woman was upset; and considering that most Vulcans were masters of hiding their feelings, it likely went a good bit deeper than the slight concern on her face. Something was definitely wrong.

Pushing her food around her plate without placing a single bite in her mouth, she glanced at the members of the station's crew at the other tables laughing and chattering. As she watched, she noticed something odd--the other crew members kept glancing at them, but rather than looking curious they were showing expressions of fear.

"Commander...Is there something going on?" she asked quietly, not wanting to draw attention to their conversation.

[T'Ra Jones]

[Banquet Room]

T'Ra nibbled lightly on appetizers, appeasing the gentle rumbling of her with breadsticks, one of the blander options available. Her eyes continued to wander around the room, checking to see if the members of the away team were enjoying themselves and hoping too see the android appear. But somehow her gaze kept drifting back to a certain station worker someone had called Takur. His posture was that of a person ill at ease, constantly tugging at his collar, even getting up and leaving at one point.

"Commander...Is there something going on?" she asked quietly, not wanting to draw attention to their conversation.

"I'm not certain," T'Ra replied in a hushed tone. "But what do you make of the man over there?" she asked, making a slight gesture in Takur's direction.

[Amynta Lianez]

But somehow her gaze kept drifting back to a certain station worker someone had called Takur. His posture was that of a person ill at ease, constantly tugging at his collar, even getting up and leaving at one point.

"I'm not certain," T'Ra replied in a hushed tone. "But what do you make of the man over there?" she asked, making a slight gesture in Takur's direction.

[Banquet]

Amynta followed the other woman's attention over to a member of the station's crew she had met briefly earlier. He was unmistakably nervous, and not just because of the pretty women around him--if she didn't know better, she'd think this young man was going to have some kind of panic attack or other outburst. But even more than that, he looked guilty. He kept touching his forehead and looking down, and he wasn't making eye contact with anyone around him. A crew member, Kay, was missing, and she had been seen with a boy earlier...chances were this was the same person. She normally would have just assumed that the two of them had been...extra-curricularly engaged, but the intensity of his emotions suggested there was more to it than that.

The unease in Amynta's stomach solidified into certainty. Something wasn't right on this station, and chances were it had to do with the Shran's crew and their inspection.

"He's clearly agitated," she murmured in reply, "And he seems to be feeling guilty about something. I could introduce myself to him if you like, but considering that he's not sharing whatever is bothering him with a friend on his own crew he's probably not likely to open up to a strange woman from the 'intruding' crew. But considering that he looks that way, and one of our own is missing...I'd say that your discomfort is justified."

[Kirok]

[Bridge]

Hearing Zex's response, Caelene nodded, "Thank you Ensign." The Trill turned back to the console in front of her and started the diagnostic. The first few steps went through as intended, automatically. The next one required a manual check and verification in the system from Engineering. A message flashed on her screen, indicating that one of the Engineers was working on it.

As she waited for Engineering to verify the next step, Caelene heard Evan's voice over the comm system. He didn't sound very happy, but considering that sickbay had just been plunged into darkness she couldn't really blame him. She tapped her comm badge to respond, =/\=Bridge to Sickbay. The ship is experiencing glitches in several systems. We just lost main power and are currently running on auxiliary power. We're running diagnostics and trying to sort it out as quickly as we can. Sorry Doctor. If you notice any glitches or issues, please let me know. Bridge out.

Hopefully Evan hadn't been in the middle of any important procedures, but there was little she could do about it. Technically Sickbay's systems should be safer than most - their systems were deliberately isolated from many of the other ship systems to protect its operations in the event that they did lose power. Regardless, the happenings on the ship were worrisome.

Caelene noticed that the diagnostic had moved on to the next step - another serious of automated tests. So far it seemed to be doing okay, but that could change at any...

"Lieutenant!" Ensign Murphy's (NPC) voice called out from his position at Flight Control. "I've lost all helm control. I know we lost warp capability when we switched to aux power, but I've lost it all now."

Frowning, Caelene stood and moved over to Christian's console, looking over his shoulder. Stepping back, she looked at him and asked, "Okay Ensign, what exactly happened?"

Christian turned toward her, "I was running some normal helm checks, just in case we did decide to move away from the station and also out of habit. We switched power sources, so I wanted to make sure everything was okay. But when I tried to get into the impulse engine control...nothing." He tapped on the console, demonstrating the issue. As he tried to bring up the proper controls, nothing happened.

"What about maneuvering thrusters? Do you have access to those?" Caelene didn't like this one bit. Technically she hadn't been fond of the idea of leaving the station - being potentially stranded with the computers glitching didn't sound wise. However, she would have preferred if it had still been an option.

Christian shook his head, "No, Lieutenant. I tried the thrusters next - same thing."

Sighing, Caelene tapped her finger against her lips in thought. "It's almost as if we're being locked out of our systems," she mused quietly. Speaking louder, she said, "See if you can start a level five diagnostic on the console, Ensign Murphy."

The young man nodded and Caelene moved back over to the Engineering console. It was almost as if someone or something was trying to keep them there or take over the ship. Neither option sounded particularly pleasant to her. She needed answers, but the more she looked, the worse things seemed to get... Hopefully things were going better for the away team.

OFF: Tag ship people

[Bridge]

"I'm still getting the same issue" Zex complained.  She took in a small breath.  Then released it.  Her frustration was starting to grow.

[Ardyn Jaeger]

[Banquet]

Amynta followed the other woman's attention over to a member of the station's crew she had met briefly earlier. He was unmistakably nervous, and not just because of the pretty women around him--if she didn't know better, she'd think this young man was going to have some kind of panic attack or other outburst. But even more than that, he looked guilty. He kept touching his forehead and looking down, and he wasn't making eye contact with anyone around him. A crew member, Kay, was missing, and she had been seen with a boy earlier...chances were this was the same person. She normally would have just assumed that the two of them had been...extra-curricularly engaged, but the intensity of his emotions suggested there was more to it than that.

The unease in Amynta's stomach solidified into certainty. Something wasn't right on this station, and chances were it had to do with the Shran's crew and their inspection.

"He's clearly agitated," she murmured in reply, "And he seems to be feeling guilty about something. I could introduce myself to him if you like, but considering that he's not sharing whatever is bothering him with a friend on his own crew he's probably not likely to open up to a strange woman from the 'intruding' crew. But considering that he looks that way, and one of our own is missing...I'd say that your discomfort is justified."

[Party]

Ardyn snagged a breadstick as she moved over closer to the group. "I think I'm going to have a talk with this Takur fellow. Seems like a nice guy." She said, making her way over. "Amynta, could you cover  me as well? Diplomacy's not my strongest point, so I'll need you to be the good cop here." She said with a playfully smug smirk.

Takur was looking around warily. She couldn't read minds very well, but she could definitely tell enough that he was feeling guilt about something. Casually coming over to him, she smiled to put him at ease. "Hey man, how's it going tonight? Inspections go well for you?"

[Fala Awen]

[Bridge]

So far the main power diagnostic was going more smoothly than Caelene had hoped, but she had the uneasy feeling that it wouldn't last. Or if they were able to complete it, it probably wouldn't tell them anything useful. What was going on with the ship?

"I'm still getting the same issue" Zex complained.  She took in a small breath.  Then released it.  Her frustration was starting to grow.

Caelene frowned as she looked over in Zex's direction. Obviously the switch to aux power hadn't cleared the issues from the science systems...either that or they had shown back up rather quickly. "Thank you Ensign. I'm afraid we're not getting much closer to solving this mystery. I'll ask someone in Engineering to run some more diagnostics, but for now, keep an eye on your readouts, keep trying to run scans, and let me know if anything shows up or if something different is going wrong."

"Lieutenant, I've finished the diagnostic," Ensign Murphy (NPC) announced. He waited til he saw the Trill looking at him before continuing, "Nothing is being reported as wrong. Based on these results, I should be able to fly the ship on impulse or at least maneuver with the thrusters, but I can't..."

"Alright, thank you Ensign. If something changes, let me know." Although Caelene enjoyed puzzles, even challenging ones, she had to admit that this particular 'puzzle' was getting less and less enjoyable. Whatever was invading their systems wasn't even allowing them the chance to get a glimpse into it. She might have been able to find a reasonable course of action if she had even an inkling as to what it was, but trying something without that could be dangerous, even fatal.

=/\=Damage Control Team One to Bridge=/\=

What now? Caelene cringed inwardly. She tapped her comm badge to respond. =/\=Bridge here, go ahead.

=/\=Ma'am, um...well... We're now getting reports from all over the ship that the replicators will only make orange jell-o.

Orange jell-o? Caelene tried to think if she knew what that even was.

Ensign Murphy must have noticed the confused look on her face as he quietly said, "It's an Earth gelatin based flavored dessert, Lieutenant."

Caelene nodded her thanks at his explanation. =/\=Any luck finding out what's  causing that, Damage Team? And you're sure it's all replicators?

=/\=Yes, Lieutenant...all of them. And we've torn apart replicators on several decks, ran diagnostics, checked programming and hardware. Nothing appears wrong. If there is something, it's hidden itself rather well. Oh, and we just spoke with Damage Control Team Two. Apparently some holographic Egyptians have been seen roaming the corridors.

=/\=Acknowledged regarding the replicators, but...holographic Egyptians? All holodeck and holographic programs should be completely shut down since we're running on auxiliary power. We need to get those shut down immediately before it starts affecting other systems. Keep me informed. Bridge out=/\= Caelene leaned back in her chair, her thoughts spinning wildly around in her head.

What in the universe was going on? Orange jell-o and holographic Egyptians? Not even Steve had shown back up after they were switched to auxiliary power. Or had he?

Caelene was running out of options. The most drastic one would be to completely shut down all systems on the ship and try to restart them. However, she strongly felt the need to avoid it...they hadn't been able to get main power back online and if they shut down all systems, they'd lose life support, gravity, controls...everything. And there was no guarantee they'd get them back. Besides that, they still didn't know what was happening on the station since communications still weren't working.

If nothing else, she probably wouldn't have to worry about being left in charge again - it seemed Caelene would go down in StarFleet history as the Chief Engineering Officer who'd let her ship slip into oblivion, one system at a time. If only there were a rock she could crawl under... Instead, she tried her best to not let her frustration and concern show - she didn't want to alarm the others more than they already were - and turned back to the diagnostics.

OFF: Tag ship people. Watch out for those pesky Egyptians and I hope you like orange jell-o

[K-5]

[Banquet Room]

T'Ra furrowed a brow, not at all pleased by what she heard. Something was off. And now that she had sated the grumbling of her stomach, she could lay more focus on this new matter that was beginning to trouble her. Not sure if it would even work, T'Ra gently pressed her comm badge. =/\=Jones to Petty Officer K-5, please respond. As she spoke, she scanned the room, looking for the assistant Jaeger had mentioned.

[Maintenence Closet Twelve]
A strange sound made her jump, pulling her from updating her systems. She fell backwards, but couldn't find the source of the sound. A second later, a voice followed the sound, looking for the host body, then the noise followed it. Silence ensued. LCAR got up from her position. She was... Angry at having her quiet disturbed and her coding interrupted. She looked through the isles of shelves but couldn't find where the sound had come from. She did, however, find the door, and beside it was a panel. She placed her palm on the pad and worked her way through the old systems she had once operated in.

She had been the station's AI system before finding this host body, and while she was outside of her body, the host could return to control. She searched the station for teh source of the voice and found it inside the mess hall.

{K-5, Maintenence Closet Twelve]

The AI eft her system and she left the room. She was pulled back into her body and fell forward to her knees. She was unused to her body.

She immediately tried to open the door, panic and worry flooding her programming. She realized this was fear, but more potent. Terror, this was called. What ever had just taken her body was not one to let go easily, she could tell.

When the door wouldn't open, she closed her eyes and thought for a moment. She remembered through the haze of grey and fog, she heard the Commander's voice asking her to respond. Her eyes snapped open and she frantically began searching for her shirt. She found it again, between the first and second row of shelves to the left, and grabbed it. She ripped the communicator off and tapped it.

Commander T'Ra, I'm trapped- Something took control of my programming, I am in a closet somewhere on the main floor-=/\= She was panicking. She realized tears were going down her face and she was trying not to sob. She tapped the comm badge again and whispered into it.

Commander, please, if you can find me- I'm scared. Help-=/\= She fell silent as she felt the pull again. Then she ran to the corner, screaming and holding her head. Somewhere along the line she had dropped her communicator. She tried to shut down again, but it was too late.

[LCAR, Maintenance Closet Twelve]

The host had moved. And what's this? Her face was wet, and her chest was heaving, as if from running beforehand. She felt the remnants of what felt like fear rushing out of her veins. She knew the host had tried to contact her commanding officer, the woman at the party in the mess hall, but without proper coding, it was impossible. LCAR was causing interference within all lines not origination from the station's crew. Even if her commander had received her message, it was in bits and peices.

[Amynta Lianez]

[Party]

Ardyn snagged a breadstick as she moved over closer to the group. "I think I'm going to have a talk with this Takur fellow. Seems like a nice guy." She said, making her way over. "Amynta, could you cover  me as well? Diplomacy's not my strongest point, so I'll need you to be the good cop here." She said with a playfully smug smirk.

Takur was looking around warily. She couldn't read minds very well, but she could definitely tell enough that he was feeling guilt about something. Casually coming over to him, she smiled to put him at ease. "Hey man, how's it going tonight? Inspections go well for you?"

[Maintenence Closet Twelve]
Commander T'Ra, I'm trapped- Something took control of my programming, I am in a closet somewhere on the main floor-=/\= She was panicking. She realized tears were going down her face and she was trying not to sob. She tapped the comm badge again and whispered into it.

Commander, please, if you can find me- I'm scared. Help-=/\= She fell silent as she felt the pull again. Then she ran to the corner, screaming and holding her head. Somewhere along the line she had dropped her communicator. She tried to shut down again, but it was too late.

Startled by the brisk pace that Ardyn set, Amynta hesitated to look nervously between her and Commander Jones. Just as she decided that someone would have to talk with the strange officer and began to follow the tall blonde across to his table, a small voice began to cry out from the science officer's badge. She didn't understand much of it besides "trapped" and "help"--even just a few steps away was too far to hear it all--but the sheer terror in the person's voice made her freeze in place. After a brief shiver, however, she shook out the tension in her shoulders, smiled brightly as if she had just heard a wonderful joke rather than a distress call, and turned back to Jones. A voice in her head hoped that her commander wouldn't find her untrustworthy after seeing her acting abilities, but if someone was in danger, then she had to give it everything she had. If she could fool her parents and the Symbiosis Commission for years, a few minutes with a panicked boy should be no trouble.

"I'll be back in just a moment, I think it's just become even more important to speak with our new friend." New confidence in her step, she easily caught up to Ardyn and grinned at Takur. "Hello there! I'm Amynta, the Shran's Counselor. It sounds like you made a good impression with my boss, and my friend Ardy, here."

Laughing cheerfully, she hung onto Ardyn's arm as if she had done so a million times before and had just a little too much of the alcohol she had smelled when they came in. She may be laying it on a bit thick, but better if he thought she was young and ditzy than realize how suspicious she really was. Hopefully Ardyn didn't mind the invasion of her space if it meant they could help K-5...

[K-5]

[Food Hall]

Takur sat in the Mess hall, twirling his drink in his hand mindlessly, staring off into space. He didn't really know what he was doing, his nervous ticks. He was just so caught up in thoughts and tangents on what could happen.

New confidence in her step, she easily caught up to Ardyn and grinned at Takur. "Hello there! I'm Amynta, the Shran's Counselor. It sounds like you made a good impression with my boss, and my friend Ardy, here."

Laughing cheerfully, she hung onto Ardyn's arm as if she had done so a million times before and had just a little too much of the alcohol she had smelled when they came in. She may be laying it on a bit thick, but better if he thought she was young and ditzy than realize how suspicious she really was. Hopefully Ardyn didn't mind the invasion of her space if it meant they could help K-5...

He jumped slightly, pulling himself out of his mind and stood up, uncomfortably clearing his throat. He switched his glass into his left hand and stuck out his right to shake. The was unbelieveably awkward and uncomfortable. Honestly, the more they can leave me alone the better.

"Hello. I'm Takur. Ship's councelor, you said? That sounds like a... what's the term? 'Cool' job." He plastered a smile all over his face, trying as hard as he could to make it look real. He wasn't getting anywhere. In his stupor he didn't realize who he was talking to or what she could do talking to him. He just blissfully tried to get through the party.

"Sorry, If you'll excuse me, I believe the pasta is calling my name." He turned away from the two ladies and tried to make a beeline for the food, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him cold.

[T'Ra Jones]

[Maintenence Closet Twelve]

Commander T'Ra, I'm trapped- Something took control of my programming, I am in a closet somewhere on the main floor-=/\= She was panicking. She realized tears were going down her face and she was trying not to sob. She tapped the comm badge again and whispered into it.

Commander, please, if you can find me- I'm scared. Help-=/\= She fell silent as she felt the pull again. Then she ran to the corner, screaming and holding her head. Somewhere along the line she had dropped her communicator. She tried to shut down again, but it was too late.

"I'll be back in just a moment, I think it's just become even more important to speak with our new friend."

[Food Hall]

He jumped slightly, pulling himself out of his mind and stood up,
"Sorry, If you'll excuse me, I believe the pasta is calling my name." He turned away from the two ladies and tried to make a beeline for the food, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him cold.

[Banquet Room]

T'Ra watched as her flight lieutenant stood up and walked over to the young man in question, cozying up to him. Ardyn almost always had a smile plastered across her face, and with any luck her easy-going attitude would be enough to get him to open up. T'Ra simply nodded as the counselor stood up to join the pair, watching with a curiosity that turned to mild amusement as the counselor seemed to hang drunkenly off Ardyn's arm.

A sudden burst of static caused her to look away. It almost sounded as if her comm badge were cackling, but surely that was just her mind playing tricks on her. And between the seeming laughter, she could only make out a few words. ~~trapped...~~programing~~....scared----=/\= It almost sounded like K-5, but based on the intonation, it sounded like the android was... crying?

Enough was enough. T'Ra pushed herself to her feet, walking briskly to where Takur now had two beautiful woman next to him, one to either side. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Right then," she began. She would have addressed him by rank if she knew what it was, for she was indeed rather pissed. "Where's K-5?"

[Ship - Sickbay]
[NPC Evan Buehler]

Not that it was any surprise, but sickbay had turned into a zoo once the main power went down. A handful of crewmen who had been burned when they were interrupted in the middle of performing warp core maintenance; a young science ensign who'd had a panic attack; and now there was a flight officer complaining of an allergic reaction to the orange jello that came out of the replicator instead of the coffee he'd ordered.

Evan wouldn't have minded a cup of coffee himself, but there was no point in trying, so he stuck his head out into the hallway to see if there were any yellow shirts walking by who might be able to fix that problem. No engineers, but wait a sec... were those Egyptians? Evan blinked hard, rubbing his eyes before turning back into sickbay, only to be confronted with a much bigger problem. =/\=Buehler to bridge,=/\= he sputtered, =/\=there's a certain holographic raptor in sickbay...

Steve looked up at Evan and blinked his big eyes a couple times before ramming right into the doctor's shin. "ScheiÁƒÅ¸e," Evan mumbled, rubbing his now throbbing knee. "Who ever approved this thing anyways?"