S12 - M7: Back to Basics

[T'Ra Jones]

"Well done Mr Montana, we might have found our callers," Inzjana said. Inigo smiled as Inzjana tapped her combadge,  "Captain, excuse the impertinence, but we may have found the origin of the transmission. It is in a system with an orange dwarf star 8.9 light-years from our current position which means the transmission was sent 8.9 years ago, it would seem, ma'am. The coordinates are seven five by eight two by one seven three."

Inzjana suddenly felt that her life was in danger from someone aboard the ship.

[CONFERENCE ROOM]

Johan Spielenberg, chief science officer of the USS Discovery, just popped a blood-vessel, "Captain!" He said, making it obvious as to what he was referring to.

[Conference Room]

Unlike the Chief of Science, Lieutenant Inzjana at least had the decency to apologize before interrupting. -/\-Excellent work,-/\- T'Ra replied, briefly touching her badge. That said, she focused her gaze on Spielenberg. "This isn't a game, Commander. This is not a competition. It is your job to facilitate a department, not inflate your ego." What he meant by his next outcry, she hadn't the foggiest, and she wasn't about to waste any time on trying to figure it out.

[Conference Room]

"With all due respect, Admiral, I'd prefer to find out first hand rather than postulate." Alex was a tad rougher in his tone, still unsettled by the note shown to him by Adeyemi in the turbolift. "8.9 lightyears would be roughly two days at maximum warp."

[Conference Room]

"I would be inclined to agree with Mr. Wu," T'Ra replied to the admiral. "It may, as you say, too late to do anything to help them. But at the very least we can investigate and learn, and thereby be better situated to prevent something similar from happening again in the future." She shifted in her chair, turning to see the points light up on the screen, demonstrating the distance between them and the perceived sufferer. "Two days is not too far out of our way that we cannot at least try."

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Conferece Room]

Adeyemi took in the team's thoughts, crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. It was a position of defiance, of childlike petulance. He wasn't a man who was accustomed to being spoken to so frankly. Still, he was here as a guest, not as a leader. He would do his duty just as the lowest ranking enlisted crew member would.

"I believe I will settle in, if that's all, captain," The admiral announced to Jones and the assembled officers. Having to work with a group in this manner, under this dynamic, was wearing on him. He wasn't used to it. He needed a few moments to regroup. "And I should check on the repairs of the runabout. Captain Tritter would not appreciate my so severely damaging his vessel."

With that, he nodded in a perfunctory way to the officers and made his exit, headed to the shuttle bay.

[Alexander Wu]

[Conference Room]

"I would be inclined to agree with Mr. Wu," T'Ra replied to the admiral. "It may, as you say, too late to do anything to help them. But at the very least we can investigate and learn, and thereby be better situated to prevent something similar from happening again in the future." She shifted in her chair, turning to see the points light up on the screen, demonstrating the distance between them and the perceived sufferer. "Two days is not too far out of our way that we cannot at least try."

[Conference Room]

"I'll get that probe guidance program written up and ready for you, Kali." Alex mentioned, silently approving when Jaeger left the room to get them moving. "It'll be difficult to gauge an appropriate response until Johan's team can decipher more of the message, but we'll have all of our auxiliary craft up by the time we arrive at the planet."

"I believe I will settle in, if that's all, captain," The admiral announced to Jones and the assembled officers. Having to work with a group in this manner, under this dynamic, was wearing on him. He wasn't used to it. He needed a few moments to regroup. "And I should check on the repairs of the runabout. Captain Tritter would not appreciate my so severely damaging his vessel."

"Speaking of your runabout, Admiral," Alex quickly added, interrupting Adeyemi's departure, "If it's at all possible dependent on repairs and requirements, we may need to utilize your runabout as well for this mission. She's a fair bit larger than our own available craft and may prove invaluable." He glanced around the table, before turning to T'ra. "Any further orders, Captain?"

[Kali Reyes]

She turned to Kali, adding, "Now that we have a better idea of the type of transmission, will you be able to filter out more of the static and clear up the signal?" And to Spielberg: "I want you to get going on tracking the laser back to its source. Once you do, send the coordinates to Flight so they can get us on course, and so that we can send out a probe to scout the way."

"Now," T'Ra continued, glancing briefly back at her XO and the rest of the officers assembled, "does anyone have anything else to add? Any other concerns to voice?"

[Conference Room]

"With all due respect, Admiral, I'd prefer to find out first hand rather than postulate." Alex was a tad rougher in his tone, still unsettled by the note shown to him by Adeyemi in the turbolift. "8.9 lightyears would be roughly two days at maximum warp." He quickly recovered, rounding up the calculations in his head, followed by an estimation of what kind of response they could provide. "Lieutenant Jaeger, can you bring up those coordinates on the display screen?" He didn't have the luxury to keep being squeamish around her, not if they had a mission to complete. "Two days would give us enough time to prepare the disaster pods for transport, and I think that would give Kali's teams adequate opportunity to spruce up the Cargo Bays, in case we're looking at evacuation?" He glanced quizzingly at the Ops Chief, reluctant to step on her toes.

Alex paused, startled by Johan's interruption. While not the most pleasant of people, the science officer was generally competent. What he wasn't known for was spates of uncontrolled tourettes.  "Spielenberg, everything alright?"

[Conference Room]

"I'll get that probe guidance program written up and ready for you, Kali." Alex mentioned, silently approving when Jaeger left the room to get them moving. "It'll be difficult to gauge an appropriate response until Johan's team can decipher more of the message, but we'll have all of our auxiliary craft up by the time we arrive at the planet."

"Speaking of your runabout, Admiral," Alex quickly added, interrupting Adeyemi's departure, "If it's at all possible dependent on repairs and requirements, we may need to utilize your runabout as well for this mission. She's a fair bit larger than our own available craft and may prove invaluable." He glanced around the table, before turning to T'ra. "Any further orders, Captain?"

[Conference Room]

Professionalism aside, Kali was more intrigued by the mounting tension that was happening in the room. There were plenty of officers in high pedestals she didn't have the pleasure of knowing, so she found herself instinctively leaning for Alex and Tekin who have been her superiors since she was a nameless crewmen. But T'Ra was a captain she was just fine with all things considered. The Vulcan woman held herself in a way that Kali personally admired in a weird way.

She could not help but playfully rib at the sudden influx of responsibility now thrown in her direction. "I would think the on-board Communications Officer would be better at filtering out subspace static than I ever could." Worst case scenario, Alex was probably going to flex his weight around with the guidance program more than she could at it.

Double that with running the ship and operating a team to convert the cargo bay for possible evacuees? Kali definitely did not have enough coffee today. She smoothly climbed out of her seat and stretched. "Johan, hm?" Her gaze went to the Chief Science Officer. "Send your findings to my PADD. I'd say take your time, but we might need to number crunch given, you know, the whole distress call thing. And while you adorable nerds start compiling codes, I'm going downstairs to ruffle up the crewmen. Those cargo bays aren't going to rearrange themselves!"

[Tekin Nevir]

[Conference Room]

"I'll get that probe guidance program written up and ready for you, Kali." Alex mentioned, silently approving when Jaeger left the room to get them moving. "It'll be difficult to gauge an appropriate response until Johan's team can decipher more of the message, but we'll have all of our auxiliary craft up by the time we arrive at the planet."

"Speaking of your runabout, Admiral," Alex quickly added, interrupting Adeyemi's departure, "If it's at all possible dependent on repairs and requirements, we may need to utilize your runabout as well for this mission. She's a fair bit larger than our own available craft and may prove invaluable." He glanced around the table, before turning to T'ra. "Any further orders, Captain?"

[Conference Room]

Nevir took the silence of the CSO as his answer, and listed for a few moments more, turning towards the Captain.  Either she would answer Alex, or she would expect her first officer to handle the logistics.  With an understood look, he turned back to the table, standing up.

"For now, get an assessment of the runabout, then we can discuss using it.  With the Admiral's permission, of course.  Alright, you have your duties.  Dismissed.  Alex, get us there as soon as possible." he said, releasing the senior staff to get to work.  As the CSO turned and walked out, Nevir called out.

"Lieutenant, I expect you to give your team, especially Inzjana, the full credit for their work, and your undying support.  This isn't Daystrom." he said, waiting only a moment for the room to clear.  With a look to the other two, he followed the rest out, preparing his part: the away team.

=== One Hour Out from Distress Call ===

It was Nevir's turn on the Bridge, which he was using the opportunity to look over the current science roster.  Johan rubbed him the wrong way, and he was concerned that he might have made a mistake letting him take over from Kinley.  He would have to speak with the man later, but he knew that there was an upcoming argument, at least when it came to the away team.

"Status Report."

[Declan Vincent]

[Conferece Room]

"I believe I will settle in, if that's all, captain," The admiral announced to Jones and the assembled officers. Having to work with a group in this manner, under this dynamic, was wearing on him. He wasn't used to it. He needed a few moments to regroup. "And I should check on the repairs of the runabout. Captain Tritter would not appreciate my so severely damaging his vessel."

With that, he nodded in a perfunctory way to the officers and made his exit, headed to the shuttle bay.

[Shuttlebay, Deck 10]

Declan apologized to Lennox that he had to return to duty. Johannsen had notified him that the runabout had been moved from the Cargo Bay to the Shuttlebay due to mission requirements. What that mission was, well his conspiracy fetish cohort was at a loss for once.

It meant he no longer had the isolation of the Cargo Bay that he had come to prefer, even with the Admiral's man, Smythe, hovering nearby. Lennox's own cohort, Lena Jensen, only reminded him just how isolated - lonely- he was, on a ship with less than 200 souls, that was much of his own doing. Dead wife, estranged son...He could write his own holodeck program.

When he did arrive in the Shuttlebay, he nodded politely to the maintenance technicians that inhabited this spot. Some, he was sure, resented the Engine Room technician he was for doing what would have been their job. He ignored any potential gripes, being cross trained and his experience as a Colonial (fixer upper) and proceeded pass the shuttlecraft  and other auxillary vessels - including a Delta Flyer belonging to one of the helmsmen.

The repairs to the Admiral's runabout was nearly completed as Declan finally entered it's inner sanctum to find Smythe with arms crossed standing behind Johannsen half buried within the bulkhead's innards.

It was time to get his mind back on the job at hand and without a word, picked up a spanner and scurried beside his fellow engineer.

[T'Ra Jones]

[Conference Room]

"Right, then. You all have your work cut out for you. Dismissed."

The tension in the air plummeted almost immediately once the admiral was out of the room, and T'Ra was able to relax a little herself now that big brother's eyes were off her back. Something about having too many redshirts congregated in one spot tended to do funny things to people, instilling a sort of frenzy like sharks drawn to blood in the water.

[Time Jump - ETA 1 hour to Planet]

It was times like this, when exhaustion followed her constantly like a little dog nipping at her heels, that she almost forgot that she was no longer the Chief Science Officer and XO aboard the Shran. But she got the impression that she would not be to welcome in the science labs, not so much for the colour of her coat but rather the inflexible man who occupied her old position.

Despite what she had said in the conference room, three days felt like a long time to wait, but at the same time she was grateful for the ample time it gave her crew to prepare. T'Ra could have used that time to sleep, but Mother Nature, and the baby, had other ideas. It was only thanks to her Vulcan physiology and a steaming cup of coffee that she was able to function as well as she did on so little sleep. Evan and T'Lana were snuggled up together, fast asleep on the couch, as T'Ra pulled on her boots and downed the last of her drink. She kissed the both of them lightly on the forehead, taking care not to disturb them, before making her way to the bridge.

"Na'shaya, Tekin."

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Conference Room - Before Exiting]

It went without saying that his resources and knowledge would assist in any way possible. Adeyemi nodded to Wu, and said:

"I would have brought an admiral's yacht had I known we were going to be responding to a distress call." He told him in an unaccented voice. It wasn't a joke. Adeyemi only wanted them to succeed. "Good luck, everyone."

[Shuttlebay, Deck 10]

Declan apologized to Lennox that he had to return to duty. Johannsen had notified him that the runabout had been moved from the Cargo Bay to the Shuttlebay due to mission requirements. What that mission was, well his conspiracy fetish cohort was at a loss for once.

It meant he no longer had the isolation of the Cargo Bay that he had come to prefer, even with the Admiral's man, Smythe, hovering nearby. Lennox's own cohort, Lena Jensen, only reminded him just how isolated - lonely- he was, on a ship with less than 200 souls, that was much of his own doing. Dead wife, estranged son...He could write his own holodeck program.

When he did arrive in the Shuttlebay, he nodded politely to the maintenance technicians that inhabited this spot. Some, he was sure, resented the Engine Room technician he was for doing what would have been their job. He ignored any potential gripes, being cross trained and his experience as a Colonial (fixer upper) and proceeded pass the shuttlecraft  and other auxillary vessels - including a Delta Flyer belonging to one of the helmsmen.

The repairs to the Admiral's runabout was nearly completed as Declan finally entered it's inner sanctum to find Smythe with arms crossed standing behind Johannsen half buried within the bulkhead's innards.

It was time to get his mind back on the job at hand and without a word, picked up a spanner and scurried beside his fellow engineer.

[Shuttlebay, Deck 10]

The admiral entered the shuttle bay, eyes searching for his runabout. Two enlisted crewmembers who were preparing to pick up a barrel of cargo stopped and started to greet him. Adeyemi waved them back to work, not making eye contact, still looking for his craft.

He spotted Smythe and made his way over to the man, boots clinking hollowly on metal. The admiral was a tallish man and he walked the deck as if he owned it, a long, efficient stride that ate up the floor. Soon the runabout and Smythe were before him.

"Report." Adeyemi said in his accented voice.

"She's just about ready, sir." Smythe replied. He lowered his voice. "No thanks to this lot."

Adeyemi's expression darkened just a bit. Mumu. From listening to the admiral's working class London accent and Smythe's sing song Scouse one might assume they had kinship at least on a national level. Although the lower ranked Englishman was a hard worker, his whining and snark had worn on Adeyemi over their journey. The admiral nodded and dismissed him, instead searching out a Discovery crew member.

He spotted one, a petty officer in yellow. Adeyemi was surprised to notice that the man was just as old as he. A middle aged petty officer was a rare thing. Still, the admiral wouldn't hold it against him.

"Admiral Adeyemi," He said to the petty officer briefly, as an introduction. "Smythe tells me my ship is nearly repaired. Good work, petty officer."

[Declan Vincent]

[Shuttlebay, Deck 10]

The admiral entered the shuttle bay, eyes searching for his runabout. Two enlisted crewmembers who were preparing to pick up a barrel of cargo stopped and started to greet him. Adeyemi waved them back to work, not making eye contact, still looking for his craft.

He spotted Smythe and made his way over to the man, boots clinking hollowly on metal. The admiral was a tallish man and he walked the deck as if he owned it, a long, efficient stride that ate up the floor. Soon the runabout and Smythe were before him.

"Report." Adeyemi said in his accented voice.

"She's just about ready, sir." Smythe replied. He lowered his voice. "No thanks to this lot."

Adeyemi's expression darkened just a bit. Mumu. From listening to the admiral's working class London accent and Smythe's sing song Scouse one might assume they had kinship at least on a national level. Although the lower ranked Englishman was a hard worker, his whining and snark had worn on Adeyemi over their journey. The admiral nodded and dismissed him, instead searching out a Discovery crew member.

He spotted one, a petty officer in yellow. Adeyemi was surprised to notice that the man was just as old as he. A middle aged petty officer was a rare thing. Still, the admiral wouldn't hold it against him.

"Admiral Adeyemi," He said to the petty officer briefly, as an introduction. "Smythe tells me my ship is nearly repaired. Good work, petty officer."

[Shuttlebay, Deck 10]

Declan stood and looked up at the flag officer. Second time in so many hours his short stature became obvious when standing before tall men. He inwardly sighed which had become almost subconscious reflex by now.

Johanssen also stood up but his reaction almost made Declan laugh. The paranoia was clearly etched in his bulging eyes and stiff stance. One could imagine the poor fellow assuming the Admiral was here to toss them in a penal colony for their deliquent actions during the poly water incident.

Declan had been around the block, both in his civilian occupation and Starfleet, when dealing with the brass. Not that he ever came face ..to chin... with a task group commander before.

"Petty Officer Vincent, Sir." Declan was going to introduce Johanssen but was scared what the other might blurt out. Besides, the Admiral's presence had shut the man up for once. "We are just waiting for the T-14 modules to be fully charged. The warp Core assembly did not require replacement and the few fissures have been repaired."

Declan understood the red shirts may not be technically savvy, from pass experience, and reduced any lenghty 'babble' of all the required repairs. "If I may say, Sir, your repairs on the fly were pretty impressive considering what you had to work with." He wasn't attempting to flatter the Admiral with gratitude.  He genuinely was impressed.

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Shuttlebay, Deck 10]

Declan stood and looked up at the flag officer. Second time in so many hours his short stature became obvious when standing before tall men. He inwardly sighed which had become almost subconscious reflex by now.

Johanssen also stood up but his reaction almost made Declan laugh. The paranoia was clearly etched in his bulging eyes and stiff stance. One could imagine the poor fellow assuming the Admiral was here to toss them in a penal colony for their deliquent actions during the poly water incident.

Declan had been around the block, both in his civilian occupation and Starfleet, when dealing with the brass. Not that he ever came face ..to chin... with a task group commander before.

"Petty Officer Vincent, Sir." Declan was going to introduce Johanssen but was scared what the other might blurt out. Besides, the Admiral's presence had shut the man up for once. "We are just waiting for the T-14 modules to be fully charged. The warp Core assembly did not require replacement and the few fissures have been repaired."

Declan understood the red shirts may not be technically savvy, from pass experience, and reduced any lenghty 'babble' of all the required repairs. "If I may say, Sir, your repairs on the fly were pretty impressive considering what you had to work with." He wasn't attempting to flatter the Admiral with gratitude.  He genuinely was impressed.

[Shuttlebay, Deck 10]

The other crewman's reaction also amused Adeyemi, but it didn't show on that granite face. Even outside of uniform he wasn't one for joking.

"At ease," He said to the pair, for what little good it did. Vincent was correct in assuming that the red shirted admiral did not have much functional knowledge of shuttlecraft beyond how to make field repairs or operate one. But he had a general grasp of the systems, of course, and knew that both his and Smythe's work had been impressive, considering the circumstances. So was the Discovery's, and Adeyemi had no trouble saying so.

"Your repairs have been equally impressive, petty officer," The admiral said to the older man. He immediately appreciated the respectful but not overwhelmed demeanor Vincent was giving out. Sometimes people thought brass shone so brightly that they let it blind them. "Your chief flight officer tells me that this craft will be used shortly. Not sure if you're aware, but we've warped to a distress call. Some kind of plague. I appreciate the hard work to get her functional again."

[Alexander Wu]

[One Hour Out: Main Shuttlebay]

The clamour and intensity was practically tangible as Alex walked between the rows of closely parked shuttles, each one a miniature hive of activity as their assigned crews came in for the final checks. Having wanted all of his pilots and support staff rested for what was to come, Alex had altered the shift rotations to ensure maximum hands were on deck, and nearly every member of his department, along with the attached maintainers, were at their stations. The sight actually made him fairly proud, inspite of the reason why this was necessary. On the far side of the bay, Admiral Adeyemi's runabout was sitting next to her unhappy pilot, an irate man who had been persuaded to 'volunteer' for the mission. Alex had no doubt his passenger had something to do with that.

Glancing at the chronometer ticking down by the 'tower', Alex reckoned the probe they had launched several hours ago would be arriving at it's destination within minutes. They wouldn't be able to complete preparations until they had that information, so he made a final turn, strolling along the last few shuttles. "Mr.Vincent." Alex greeted the technician with a smile and a firm handshake. "I heard you had a large hand in getting the Admiral's runabout off the ground in time for our upcoming excursion. Well done, and thanks for continuing to help out here. I know Chief Donovan's been keeping you busy."

[Declan Vincent]

[Shuttlebay, Deck 10]

The other crewman's reaction also amused Adeyemi, but it didn't show on that granite face. Even outside of uniform he wasn't one for joking.

"At ease," He said to the pair, for what little good it did. Vincent was correct in assuming that the red shirted admiral did not have much functional knowledge of shuttlecraft beyond how to make field repairs or operate one. But he had a general grasp of the systems, of course, and knew that both his and Smythe's work had been impressive, considering the circumstances. So was the Discovery's, and Adeyemi had no trouble saying so.

"Your repairs have been equally impressive, petty officer," The admiral said to the older man. He immediately appreciated the respectful but not overwhelmed demeanor Vincent was giving out. Sometimes people thought brass shone so brightly that they let it blind them. "Your chief flight officer tells me that this craft will be used shortly. Not sure if you're aware, but we've warped to a distress call. Some kind of plague. I appreciate the hard work to get her functional again."

[Shuttlebay, Deck 10]

Declan placed a hand on Johannsen's shoulder, hoping to still the man's thoughts about a plague that must, for no logical reason, have something to do with Klingon domination.

"Understood, Sir." Declan finally said. "The Liao
will be operational if the mission requires her."

So that was it, a mercy mission. Not exactly the usual type of operation for what in all extents was a battle cruiser but saving lives was a hell of a lot better than taking them.

"I appreciate your kind words, Sir but it is our duty regardless of whether it's the warp core or a runabout." After he said it, instantly regretted it. If he had been saluting and marching, would have had the same effect. Quickly added, "We'll do a diagnostics, should only take a few hours, as per  safety protocol, make sure the modules keep constant and the core can create a negative warp bubble. At this point I see no problem."

[One Hour Out: Main Shuttlebay]

The clamour and intensity was practically tangible as Alex walked between the rows of closely parked shuttles, each one a miniature hive of activity as their assigned crews came in for the final checks. Having wanted all of his pilots and support staff rested for what was to come, Alex had altered the shift rotations to ensure maximum hands were on deck, and nearly every member of his department, along with the attached maintainers, were at their stations. The sight actually made him fairly proud, inspite of the reason why this was necessary. On the far side of the bay, Admiral Adeyemi's runabout was sitting next to her unhappy pilot, an irate man who had been persuaded to 'volunteer' for the mission. Alex had no doubt his passenger had something to do with that.

Glancing at the chronometer ticking down by the 'tower', Alex reckoned the probe they had launched several hours ago would be arriving at it's destination within minutes. They wouldn't be able to complete preparations until they had that information, so he made a final turn, strolling along the last few shuttles. "Mr.Vincent." Alex greeted the technician with a smile and a firm handshake. "I heard you had a large hand in getting the Admiral's runabout off the ground in time for our upcoming excursion. Well done, and thanks for continuing to help out here. I know Chief Donovan's been keeping you busy."

[One Hour out]

There had been a small snafu during the diagnostics done to the runabout which had been unexpected. So another piece of the engine assembly had to be repaired, including connections and relays to the console itself. 3 days since the Admiral's visit, Declan and Johannsen  finally corrected the problem. They had some assistance from Ops technician Elena Forscher - Operations was bound to show up - but she was a pleasant distraction from Johannsen's rabblings. He even shared a coffee with her and she did not even once require him to address her by her senior rate.

When he saw Alex, he had almost expected it. A stream of officers checking on his progress. The Liao was the Admiral's ride and repairs had taken longer than expected.

He, however,  never expected a handshake, from an officer, so maybe it was a good sign.

"We had a bit of a problem, Sir, but we got it ironed out. You should be able to use the Runabout for the mission perameters." Sir...Declan thought, the lieutenant commander was perhaps in his twenties, maybe early thirties, and he had to call him 'sir'. Price of being an enlisted man where baby face ensigns could order him around.

He had heard it was Lt. Commander Wu that had come upon Engineering during the poly water incident...Awkward but if the chief pilot wasn't going to bring it up,  Declan certainly wasn't going to.

[Ardyn Jaeger]

[Bridge, One hour out]
Still at the helm, Ardyn stroked the purring little raptor in her lap. It was getting to be his regular spot for some reason, not that she wasn't complaining, it just was somewhat odd, to say the least. Usually, his favorite position was perched on top of the helm chair, his head resting on top of hers, keeping watch over everything.

The stars were streaking past in their usual warp 9 cruising speed, with only minor alterations to avoid colliding with stars and the like. She turned to T'Ra. "Everything's going on schedule.  We should be there within an hour. Need me to do anything?"

[Tekin Nevir]

[Conference Room]

"Right, then. You all have your work cut out for you. Dismissed."

The tension in the air plummeted almost immediately once the admiral was out of the room, and T'Ra was able to relax a little herself now that big brother's eyes were off her back. Something about having too many redshirts congregated in one spot tended to do funny things to people, instilling a sort of frenzy like sharks drawn to blood in the water.

[Time Jump - ETA 1 hour to Planet]

It was times like this, when exhaustion followed her constantly like a little dog nipping at her heels, that she almost forgot that she was no longer the Chief Science Officer and XO aboard the Shran. But she got the impression that she would not be to welcome in the science labs, not so much for the colour of her coat but rather the inflexible man who occupied her old position.

Despite what she had said in the conference room, three days felt like a long time to wait, but at the same time she was grateful for the ample time it gave her crew to prepare. T'Ra could have used that time to sleep, but Mother Nature, and the baby, had other ideas. It was only thanks to her Vulcan physiology and a steaming cup of coffee that she was able to function as well as she did on so little sleep. Evan and T'Lana were snuggled up together, fast asleep on the couch, as T'Ra pulled on her boots and downed the last of her drink. She kissed the both of them lightly on the forehead, taking care not to disturb them, before making her way to the bridge.

"Na'shaya, Tekin."

[Bridge]

He was wondering if maybe he mumbled when the bridge remained silent... he certainly wasn't very energetic.  His only rouse from his mental slumber being the presence of the Captain.  He stood up rather hurridly, and moved over for her to sit in her chair.

"Prophets with you, Captain.  About an hour out... been unbelievably dull.  Its no wonder no one has gone this far out."

[Bridge, One hour out]
Still at the helm, Ardyn stroked the purring little raptor in her lap. It was getting to be his regular spot for some reason, not that she wasn't complaining, it just was somewhat odd, to say the least. Usually, his favorite position was perched on top of the helm chair, his head resting on top of hers, keeping watch over everything.

The stars were streaking past in their usual warp 9 cruising speed, with only minor alterations to avoid colliding with stars and the like. She turned to T'Ra. "Everything's going on schedule.  We should be there within an hour. Need me to do anything?"

He turned to the Captain, and then back to the Helmsmen.  "Get a status from Wu on the shuttle preparations." he said, turning back to T'Ra.

"If they are not done by now, I will be impressed."

[Inzjana]

SCIENCE LAB 2

T-MINUS 58 MINUTES 56 SECONDS

For the last three days Inzjana and Inigo had been working on the distress call, pulling every trick out of the book to clear up the message as best they could, Inzjana had just arrived back from a much needed break for lunch and a rest, at the science petty officer's insistence and the last batch of filters and complex audio visual algorithms had just finished. Inzjana sat back at her console, while Inigo MontaÁƒ±a sat back at his.

Neither officers had seen the Chief Science Officer in three days but Inzjana concluded that he was no doubt busy with his own assigned tasks from the captain, or first officer.

It was then that two events happened simultaneously; the distress call had finished with the final set of filters and they received a subspace message from the probe that it had arrived at its destination. First thing was first though, so Inzjana played the message for the last time, for it wasn't clear enough now, it would never be, they had used the last trick in the bag.

"Computer, play distress call and record the telemetry from the probe," Inzjana ordered.

COMPUTER: "Acknowledged."

On the screen above both officers the message replayed, it was still quite fragmented but they could make out more words this time and a visual, meaning for the first time ever they actually had an image to fit the voice: "I-IF...ONE...THIS MESSAGE...WE REQUIRE ASSIST...GLOBAL WA...BROKE OUT BETWEE...CATASTROPHIC FAILURE...POWER GRID...STARV...DYIN...NEED ASSISSSSSSSS." It was there that the transmission froze after becoming stuck like an old warn out record on the voice's 'S'.

Inzjana rewound the message and froze it on the clearest image of what the beings must look like and isolated a copy to another file, sending both to science station one on the bridge.

Inzjana then went to work on the probe's telemetry data with Inigo MontaÁƒ±a staring at the image of the unknown species, fantasizing of what they must be like, for that was why the 19 year old had joined Starfleet and did science in the first place, the wonder and mystery of SPACE, THE FINAL FRONTIER!!!

The telemetry from the probe showed an irradiated atmosphere from the only habitable planet in the system, which just happened to be the only planet in the system..."That was lucky" Inigo MontaÁƒ±a said, pointed at the planetary metrics, when he finally came out of his revelry and read the telemetry with Inzjana. "Indeed Mr MontaÁƒ±a," Inzjana agreed, bringing the rest of the telemetry on screen.

***
PLANET SIZE: 12,701 km
GRAVITY: 0.8G
PLANET CLASS: M
STAR CLASS: G1V
ORBIT: 0.8 AU
ATMOSPHERE: 16% OXYGEN, 5% NITROGEN, 79% TRACE
SURFACE CONDITION: HAZARD LEVEL 2
INDIGENOUS POPULATION: UNKNOWN
BIOMETRICS: INHABITED.
***