SIM LOG NARRATIVE - SD 201907.12
Announcement:
Our recurring guest, Lt(JG) S. Grimes, has decided to take the plunge and has officially joined the Penumbra sim! In this sim (and one or two previous ones), he portrayed the character of Staff Sergeant Denovan Hawke of the Marine Pathfinders unit, and that is the rank and character he portrayed in this sim. However, upon conferring with Captain Zak Taylor, the character has been approved for transfer to regular Starfleet and promotion to Ensign in the Security/Tactical department. He will most frequently be manning the Tactical Station on the Bridge. Welcome aboard, Mr. Hawke! (Remember that in the story line, this character has been aboard the Penumbra since it arrived in the Gamma Quadrant but has remained "behind the scenes" until now.)
Hangar Bay:
Lt. Cmdr. Bevin MacArdry was in the Hangar Bay looking over the awful detritus from the exploding "dragon" that covered the Federation Express runabout after Carter's run-in with the creature on the Resource Mission.
With a grunt and a shrug she grabbed a high-pressure power washer, loaded with plenty of cleaning solution, and went to work. In some cases she had to resort to her trusty pocketknife to scrape goop from the hull and intake fan blades. At times she required a strong ethanol-based solvent and long cotton-tipped swabs to reach tiny cracks and circuitry.
After some time at this, her commbadge chirped. It was Lt. Aaron Riedinger in Main Engineering. "Jefa, your dazzling presence is required here, we just detected a Colony Ship!"
She tapped her badge and responded in her strong Brogue, "Ailraight, Aaron, I'll bay raight their." She put aside the washer and the other cleaning supplies and headed for Main Engineering.
Sickbay:
Dr. Shadow K'Trevala was working on a few miners that had been injured during their work, as well as the slowly recovering Janosian burned in the airstrike early in their mission on Janidor.
At one point, he stiffened, listening to something only he could hear. A moment later he tapped his commbadge. "Captain, I just got a message from the Kyrathians, probably one of the nobles since it was so powerful, but I don't quite trust it for some reason. The message is 'Federationers ... what have you done to our new planet? Everywhere is painfully repulsive! We wish to abandon this awful place. You may have it!'"
The Captain responded, "You were contacted by a Kyrathian Noble? And ... they want to pull out! If it's true, that's good news!"
The voice of Lt. Cmdr. Relok, the Chief of Sciences and Oath-Brother of Shadow, sharing a mental bond, came over the comm system, "Shayana, we could use two-way communication with them. Can you do that or is it dangerous?"
Shadow replied, "I can try to. I'm heading for the bridge and IF it's true . it's good news indeed!"
The Captain responded, "On the double, doctor."
Shadow quickly finished what he'd been working on and rushed to the Bridge.
Main Engineering:
Lt. Aaron Riedinger was holding down Main Engineering while MacArdry cleaned the FedEx runabout in the Hangar Bay. He glanced over at one of their assistants, Ensign Connolly, and commented, "This is the third diagnosis we've made on the nacelle. It seems, in my eyes, that the problem with Nacelle 3 is on the security algorithms." He paused and caressed his moustache in a thoughtful way. "Hmmm," he murmured, "but that would not explain what is the 'cotton candy' inside the nacelle itself ... that's odd."
Connolly replied, "Could it be a consequence of the malfunction of the nacelle?"
Aaron asked, "Such as ... what?"
Connolly gave a small shrug. "I mean that the impacts on the nacelle could have caused the 'cotton candy' to be generated."
Aaron answered with a sarcastic tone, "Oh, how could it not have occurred to us?" He resumed a normal tone, "Nah, I'm lying! It had never occurred to us, and the truth is that it sounds reasonable. Good job, Ensign! High five!" They shared the hand slap.
After the high five, Aaron asked, "Is there any sample of cotton candy around here to examine?"
Connolly glanced around before answering, "Mmm ... no? I have to go find one, right?"
One of the technicians, Crewman Sognaal, who was standing near the "pool table" center console, looked up, "Aaron, we just detected a KC." The abbreviation was used for a "Kyrathian Colony Ship".
Aaron turned to Sognaal, "Oh, that's bad." He turned to Connolly, "I think the bell saved you, Ensign!" He tapped his commbadge, "Jefa, your dazzling presence is required here, we just detected a Colony Ship!"
Bevin's voice came back over the comms, "Ailraight, Aaron, I'll bay raight their."
Aaron moved to the "pool table" and checked the security algorithms of the shields, to make sure they were not damaged like those of the nacelles. He glanced at Connolly on the other side of the table, "Safety comes first, Ensign. Maybe you want to check that there is nothing else with the same problems of the nacelle ... although the other is also security ... what a curious altercation of possibilities!"
The Ensign replied, "Better than being inside a nacelle extracting a suspicious substance!"
Aaron grinned at her, "Oh, you do not know what you're losing, Ensign!"
She winked at him, "You did not go there either!"
He continued grinning as he said, "Of course not, my mustache is disheveled disproportionately in those places!"
She huffed, "Pff, that's bull --!" but she was cut off by Sognaal who interrupted.
"Do you want me to go find the sample, Aaron?" the Crewman asked.
Aaron smiled at the man, "You are a wonderful person, mi amigo!"
Sognaal strode confidently out of Main Engineering as Aaron completed his scan of the systems. "Well, all the other systems appear to be okee-dokee."
Connolly confirmed without looking up, "I can confirm it. Thank God!"
A call came from LtJG. Tabeshk Tibris at Operations on the Bridge, "Operations to Engineering, can I use Bug Zapper now, if shit hits the fan?"
Aaron tapped his commbadge to reply, "Aaron here. I think so, there should not be problems. And hey, watch the vocabulary!"
Tabeshk replied, "Vocabulary? Oh! My apologies. My Klingon father was quite the potty mouth."
Bridge:
The Bridge of the Penumbra still had a small team with only Capt. Zak Taylor, strolling across the bridge; Lt. Cmdr. Relok, filling in for Patterson in the Executive Officer's seat; LtJG. Tabeshk Tibris, still trying to "clean up" after Ens. Filler had manned Operations while Tabeshk was on the Resource Mission; and SSgt. Denovan Hawke, taking a stint at the Tactical Console.
Hawke felt being on the Bridge was likely better than being down at the Forward Operations Base with Patterson right now, considering how the Colonel had reacted to the Sergeant's suggestion of using his Borg nanites on their systems.
The Captain stretched and yawned and Tabeshk scoffed from the floor under his console, "You're tired, huh? What about me? I had someone other than me touch my console! Boy did he leave a mess! How long was there gum under my console, Captain?"
About that time Ens. Lea Kalawai'a stepped out of the turbolift, her uniform jacket still unzipped, revealing a sickbay patient's shirt beneath. Her hair still hung loose about her shoulders. "Evening, sir," she said to the Captain.
Zak glanced at Lea then said, "Ensign ... are you ... off duty? Why come to the Bridge?"
Lea answered, "No, no, I just got released from sickbay, I'm back on duty. Nurse wanted me to sleep there overnight so they could monitor me."
Tabeshk looked at Lea, "Oh, glad you're okay, Lea. Must have been fun yet bumpy over my shoulder! My bad."
The Captain studied the Ensign before finally saying, "Hmm ... you might want to get your uniform ship-shape then, Ensign ... and take your station."
She quickly zipped up her jacket, although the sickbay shirt still peeked out from the bottom. "Yes, sir," she said and moved to the Engineering station.
Tabeshk mumbled under his breath, "Hmph, Lea's actually really cute with her hair down. Still prefer Bevin."
Zak turned to Tabeshk, deliberately ignoring the half-Klingon's mumbled comment and instead replying to his earlier question, "Filler was only there for one shift, Lt. How bad could it be?" He strolled over to the replicator at forward-starboard, "Coffee, black, sweetened ... large mug."
Relok glanced up at Hawke, "I heard about your altercation with our Colonel ... he is a bit sensitive about nanites ... and might feel some prejudice against ... your kind."
Hawke responded, "I particularly gathered that, sir. I also don't have to agree, but I do need to respect his orders."
Relok stood and strolled nearer to Hawke. "You weren't aboard back when we had the issues with the Vulcan bugs, so you're probably out of the loop. Patterson danced the line of court-martial for his own nanites ...," he trailed off. After a moment he resumed, "The Colonel is sensitive about the ... unusual circumstances ... regarding those little ... adaptations of his. Try not to take it personally."
Hawke shook his head, "No, I wasn't and I'm not. I just thought it was a sound use to circumvent the current problem."
Relok raised an eyebrow, "Sometimes our Colonel isn't as logical as some might wish."
Lea settled into the Engineering station and reached to tap her commbadge, only to discover she wasn't wearing it. Instead she used the comm built into her console to contact Main Engineering, "Hey guys, anything I can do from up here?"
Tabeshk saw Lea's move and fought to control a chuckle. "It's all right; I've done that too, Lea." He turned towards the Captain, "Hey, Captain, what is the funniest memory you have of me?"
The Captain blew steam from his coffee, took a sip, and turned to walk back to his chair. He sat and considered Tabeshk's question. "I think when the Ambassador remembered you as Mr. Troublemaker ...," he trailed off.
As the Captain made his remark, Tabeshk went to rise and bumped his head on the bottom of his console. "Ooof! Watch the ridges, Tabby, watch the ridges. Ow."
The Captain smirked, "Of course, that one now replaces it I think!"
Tabeshk scowled at Zak, "Shut up, Captain, it hurts worse when your forehead is almost a bunch of horns layered on top of one another." He got back to his feet, "Ahh, finally clean now." He sat in his chair and got the system all set up.
They were interrupted by Hawke who called, "Captain, proximity alert: Kyrathian Colony ship on approach."
The Captain stiffened, "A Colony ship? We're already at Red Alert, right?"
Hawke nodded, "Yes, sir. Weapons charged, all torpedo bays loaded and shields at maximum."
Zak said, "Hawke, check in with the Aslan Battlecruisers ... let's not get in their way, but be helpful if needed."
Hawke looked down at his console and sent a manual, text-only, message instead of opening a comm channel.
Relok returned to the XO seat but pulled up sensor scans. "Sir, there are not as many life signs on that ship as we ought to be detecting."
Suddenly the comm system chirped as Dr. Shadow K'Trevala called, "Captain, I just got a message from the Kyrathians, probably one of the nobles since it was so powerful, but I don't quite trust it for some reason. The message is 'Federationers ... what have you done to our new planet? Everywhere is painfully repulsive! We wish to abandon this awful place. You may have it!'"
The Captain responded, "You were contacted by a Kyrathian Noble? And ... they want to pull out! If it's true, that's good news!"
Relok added, "Shayana, we could use two-way communication with them. Can you do that or is it dangerous?"
The Captain glanced at Relok but said nothing, waiting for Shadow's response.
Shadow replied, "I can try to. I'm heading for the bridge and IF it's true . it's good news indeed!"
The Captain responded, "On the double, doctor."
Zak turned to Hawke, "Hawke, just as a formality, see if you can hail the Kyrathian ship. I don't expect they'll respond, but ...," he trailed off, then suddenly said, "Actually, belay that, Hawke ... Tabeshk, isn't it your job for comms?"
Tabeshk turned to look at the Captain, "Aye. I gotchu, Captain, hailing the Kyrathians."
Shadow stepped from the turbolift at that point, gulping a sugary drink as he did.
Zak turned to him, "Shadow, we're trying a conventional hail to the Kyrathians, but if it doesn't work ... you're it. OK?"
Tabeshk responded, "They aren't answering, Captain."
The Captain nodded, "Acknowledged, Tabeshk. Shadow, all yours. Let us know what transpires, understood?"
Shadow looked to Relok, "Shayana, would you be willing to help?"
Relok stood and placed a hand on Shadow's shoulder, willing a calmness to settle over the both of them. He said, "I am with you, Shayana."
Shadow quieted, taking a breath, then asked, "What message do you want sent?" He sent his mind over to the Kyrathian ship and began probing.
While they prepared for telepathic communication, Hawke scanned the Colony ship, not just for weapons, but also to detect anything that might be shielded from ordinary sensors. His scans showed the Colony Ship was virtually empty and nearly unarmed, almost as if it wasn't quite finished. He reported, "Um,.Captain, there's nearly no one on it. It's pretty much unarmed."
It was Relok who spoke first, "I can hear them, Captain. They seem to strongly dislike the 'painful repulsiveness' that Janidor suddenly presents them."
Shadow communicated wordlessly to Relok, showing him images of the mostly empty and unarmed ship. He sent to his Oath-Brother, ~ It seems like they are telling the truth, that we've made things too hot for them HERE, but that doesn't mean elsewhere. But, we've stopped them from bothering Krigeth's people apparently permanently. ~
Relok said out loud, "They want 'safe passage' ... the freedom to withdraw without a fight. The incoming ship is their transport out."
Zak narrowed his eyes. "Are they being duplicitous? Are they lying to us? It screams of 'It's a Trap!'"
Lea commented, "I'd say we let them. I'd rather wait for it to be a trap than commit war crimes on a hunch."
Hawke added, "Let me see if I can find anything else." His fingers flew over his console. "So far there's nothing shielded, but that doesn't mean there may not be explosives." He continued scanning.
Shadow looked at Zak, "Your choice, Captain, but it would give us a secondary foothold and base against them. I can only report what I saw in my scan of their ship."
Zak stared at the telepathic doctor a moment then asked, "Shadow, can you tell their level of truthfulness?"
Shadow considered a moment then answered, "They have a veracity rating of 95% for dealing with Janidor, but the duplicity is off the scale for everywhere else."
Relok added, "They can't outright lie, Captain ... their telepathic connections make such a foreign concept to them. They might conceal their motives ... but they can't lie."
Tabeshk used that opportunity to call Main Engineering. "Operations to Engineering, can I use Bug Zapper now, if shit hits the fan?"
Aaron tapped his commbadge to reply, "Aaron here. I think so, there should not be problems. And hey, watch the vocabulary!"
Tabeshk replied, "Vocabulary? Oh! My apologies. My Klingon father was quite the potty mouth."
Zak came to a decision. "OK, then, I'll trust you, Shadow. Let's let them leave. Hawke," he turned to his Tactical Officer, "set a few quantum torpedoes to target their ship and hold them in reserve. We'll let them board and leave without further hostilities, provided they keep the peace themselves."
Hawke nodded and his fingers moved over his console, "Three primed, sir." It wouldn't have bothered him to have blown them from orbit, but . that was him.