***Sim Log Narrative, SD 201908.23***
Bridge:
The Penumbra finally left Janidor and rendezvoused with Delta Flight at a star system several light years away. Lt. Cmdr. Relok, nominally the Chief Science Officer, was still sitting in the Executive Officer's seat as the Acting First Officer, since Lt. Col. Patterson had not yet relieved him.; Lt. Cmdr. Jason Carter, Chief of Flight Operations, was sitting at the Helm, but was going through a PADD with personnel and potential flight rosters, trying to find the least-fatigued pilots to get back in flight. LtJG. T'Lin, Science Officer, was at the Primary Science Console, running scans on the other planets in the star system (as requested by Relok). LtJG Tabeshk Tibris manned the Operations Console, coordinating the sensor feeds and power distribution and searching out ways to further annoy his crewmates. Ens. Denovan Hawke manned the Tactical Station, scanning the plethora of Kyrathian craft in the system as well as tracking any dangerous asteroids in the rings of the huge planet.
Capt. Zak Taylor had withdrawn to his Ready Room to pace, seeing as how it seemed to bother Relok so much when he paced across the Bridge. He tapped his commbadge, "Travis," he called the Colonel, "have you finished the cigar and changed clothes yet?"
Patterson replied, "I have all the intel processed in Astrometrics. We may want to call the Senior Officers here." Astrometrics had a large domed holographic projection area that better suited the tactical display of the area.
Zak answered, "Understood. I'll bring them down." He turned and stepped towards the Bridge.
Tabeshk watched Relok, seeing his uncomfortable posture. He mused, "I wonder how warm that chair is, Relok."
Relok replied, "This one seems to be becoming a Hot Seat ... I'm ready to get out of it."
Tabeshk giggled, "Poor Relok, his butt is getting hot! Must not have much of one to begin with, then!"
Carter turned to Relok, "My station isn't doing anything right now, Relok. I'll take the CONN so you can go back to your surveys with T'Lin."
Relok raised an eyebrow at Carter, "Actually, I need to get down to Sickbay for my dose of Merasha ... oh, and there's the Captain now." Before the Captain came too far into the Bridge, Relok added, "And my gluteous is sufficiently maximus, not that it's any of your concern, Mr. Tibris."
Tabeshk made a sound, "Pssht, oh please, Relok, I don't swing that way! Anyway, even if I did, you're not my type."
The Captain interrupted, "Relok, call the Senior Officers. Let's go to Astrometrics for Patterson's presentation."
Relok answered, "Aye, sir, but I do need to pass by Sickbay."
T'Lin said, "That reminds me, I must get my dose as well." She logged off her station and began marching off towards the turbolift.
Carter addressed the Captain, "We should have Shadow bring Merasha inoculations there as well, sir."
Relok accessed the ship-wide communications system in the arm of the XO's chair. "All Senior Officers (and concerned staff) report to Astrometrics for a Briefing."
Suddenly Carter had what may have been a stroke of genius. He said, "Wait a minute ... is it possible to introduce the Merasha through our air filtration systems on a constant?" But he didn't get a response as several people headed towards the turbolift to head down to Deck 11 to Astrometrics.
The Captain glanced around as people headed towards the lift. He said, "Though it makes me uncomfortable saying it ... Tabby, once again, you have the Bridge while we're in the meeting. Call me if you need me."
In the turbolift the Captain commented, "A little crowded in here, eh?" There was Zak, Relok, Carter, T'Lin, and Hawke clustered in the small compartment. Zak smirked and brushed a shoulder against his Vulcan Science Officer, knowing Vulcan's didn't care for casual physical contact, "Uncomfortable, Relok?"
Relok almost suppressed his shudder. Pressed against the far wall, T'Lin, the other Vulcan in the turbolift, mumbled quietly, mostly to herself, "Why must humans be so physical?"
A few moments later, the turbolift had dropped to Deck 11. T'Lin stepped out to allow others to exit. Relok stepped out beside her then realized they'd forgotten to specify they needed to stop at Deck 5 for Sickbay. He muttered, "Um, T'Lin, you and I back in, huh?" She silently smiled as they stepped back into the turbolift.
On the Bridge, Tabeshk realized he was all alone. He swayed in his chair, singing to himself in a deliberate off-key, horrid tone, "I can show you the wooooorld! Shining shimmering spelded!"
After a moment he stopped singing and sat in awkward silence. Then he burst out, "I'm ... so ... BOOOOOORED!" He dropped his head then snatched it back up again, "Wait! Prank time!" He rubbed his chin, "Hmm . who's stuff can I mess with that isn't bad ."
But before Tabeshk could arrange an appropriate prank, one of the Bridge Pedestals flickered, then another, then another. A voice came through the comm system that hadn't been heard in a while. "Network reestablished." There was a pause and then, "Hello, Tabeshk."
Tabeshk turned to one of the pedestals and said, "Hiya, MAX, long time no see! How are you?"
MAX, the artificial intelligence that had evolved sentience within the reconnaissance systems of the USS Darmok had been transferred to the Penumbra's systems, but had been taken offline to conserve power in their time of need. He answered, "I am a bit ... confused . as to why my program was offline for such an extended period."
Tabeshk replied, "I don't know why, myself, MAX. I thought that you were on, just . elsewhere." He shrugged.
MAX commented, "I am capable of being in every room on this ship simultaneously."
Tabeshk changed the subject, "Hey, MAX, what do you think of androids?"
MAX answered, "I know of whom you're referencing when you mention Androids. He is a remarkable specimen of engineering mastery."
Tabeshk asked, "What if YOU were an android, though?"
MAX considered a few nanoseconds before answering, "I would much rather have the more ... ethereal mentality of being everywhere and nowhere all at once."
Tabeshk replied, "Yeah, but you could still do that, just plug yourself in."
MAX responded, "I do not like being restrained to a device ... I've been stuck on a microchip for two weeks as it is." He paused as if looking elsewhere then said, "Excuse me for a moment."
Tabeshk sat in silence another moment or so before T'Lin emerged from the turbolift and returned to her Science station. Tabeshk greeted her, "Hello, T'Lin." She responded, "Good afternoon."
Astrometrics:
Lt. Col. Travis Patterson was alone in the Astrometrics Lab compiling all their data and checking for any gaps when his commbadge chirped with a call from the Captain, "Travis, have you finished the cigar and changed clothes yet?"
Patterson removed the cigar from his mouth, glanced at the slightly chewed tip and smirked. He tapped his commbadge and replied, "I have all the intel processed in Astrometrics. We may want to call the Senior Officers here." Astrometrics had a large domed holographic projection area that better suited the tactical display of the area.
Zak answered, "Understood. I'll bring them down." He turned and stepped towards the Bridge.
A moment later, Relok's voice came over the PA system, "All Senior Officers (and concerned staff) report to Astrometrics for a Briefing."
As he waited for the others to arrive, Patterson produced a datachip from his pocket and inserted it into one of the pedestal consoles. "Computer," he said, "activate program on isolinear chip B347-17, subroutine MAX, authorization Patterson-4-1-9er-Omega."
The voice was MAX's but didn't yet have the . personality. It said, "Subroutines coming online. System diagnostics in progress." A few moments of silence passed and then it said, "Program fully operational." The voice then slowly took on depth, "I am ... awake!"
Patterson nodded, "It's good to have you back, MAX."
MAX commented, "It has been ... 17 days, 12 hours, 32 minutes, 17.31 seconds since my deactivation. What took you so long, Patterson?"
Before Patterson could answer, the others began to arrive for the briefing. Dr. Shadow K'Trevala arrived, carrying a supply of Merasha to take care of anyone who hadn't had a booster. Lt. Cmdr. Bevin MacArdry and MGny. Derek Hines came in from where they'd been working in the Hangar Bay on the Delta Flyers, trying to get them back in space on the Captain's orders. And Hawke, Carter, and the Captain from the Bridge all arrived together.
Seeing that almost everyone was there (Relok had not yet arrived) the Captain glanced at Patterson and said, "Good to see you, Colonel. Whatcha got?"
Patterson nodded and began the briefing. "The same thing I already showed you, sir. Patrol routes. Numbers of contacts. The two stations. Entry and exit from atmosphere ... there's a LOT of activity." As he spoke, he brought up the holographic display of the gigantic planet, it's three dozen moons and sprawling rings. All through it they could see the Kyrathians' craft with their ion drives and glistening hulls flitting everywhere.
As he studied the holographic display the Captain asked, "What the hell are they doing in a gas giant? I get mining the asteroids and moons for minerals and water ice ... but that monster?" He gestured to the huge planet, fully three times larger than Jupiter and more than thirty times the size of Earth.
Patterson nodded, "That was my initial thought. The atmospheric temperatures would be substantially high, and the density would be 5.5 times Earth Gravity ... but then I came up with a theory. Why would the Swarm have two stations here? Such a large number of patrols ... multiple vessels in various stages of completion ...," he trailed off.
Bevin filled in for him in her strong Brogue, "Caeld be hairvistin maithaine fer fairtilizir."
Zak nodded at Bevin, "That's an excellent observation, Commander! Methane for fertilizer for their plant. All that 'technology' ... all those plant fibers. They need to grow more plant!"
Shadow had finished giving booster shots just as Relok arrived, having gone to Sickbay for his, not knowing Shadow was bringing it to the briefing. The Vulcan sputtered out, "Sorry I'm late, sir."
Patterson continued, "I considered that myself, but there's far more activity than what I would expect from just mining expeditions. I'm thinking something else is hiding in the atmosphere ... that's why I reactivated MAX."
On cue, one of the pedestals lit up and MAX spoke, "Zooming on Section A-13, subsection 42." The holographic display changed, but the roiling atmosphere obscured the view.
Suddenly an enormous lightning bolt flashed through the sector MAX was displaying. Zak flinched and said, "Whoa! That bolt of lightning was probably as big as Texas!"
Bevin mused, "Thay mait be cawliktin mair ainirgy fra tha iffin thay hae baig ainawf caipicitirs."
MAX said, "Applying geothermal dampening." The display focused, and then cleared even further to display a specific section of atmosphere within the Gas Giant, with more clarity than the sensors of the Delta Flyers could have, revealing an unusual mass of biomatter and metallic alloys. MAX said, "Geothermal dampening in effect. Tactical analysis overlay complete... displaying results."
Patterson studied the display, scratching the stubble on his chin, "Now this . I haven't seen from any reports on Kyrathians."
Zak asked, "MAX, what the hell are we looking at?"
Bevin cursed, "Hawlee maird!!! Luiks lak thay're pittin taegaitir same sairt o autpawst air nairsiry fer thair plaints air braits!."
Hawke mumbled, "I believe we're looking at . something . that . well, that!"
Relok stepped to one of the consoles, pulling up some sensor data and running it through some post-processing routines. He said, "The biomatter is ... wax? And ... honey? What?" He re-ran the analysis.
Zak glanced at Relok, "You're saying it's a ... beehive?"
MAX made his report, "This ... appears to be an atmospheric condenser, sir. It's very similar in design to the water reclamation facilities deployed by Capt. Hardin Davik and the original Starfleet team from the USS Maverick that made contact with the Kyrathian's homeworld."
Another streak of lightning flashed across the unusual mass, and arced to and fro between a few Kyrathian vessels before they head back out to orbit. Relok answered, "No, not a beehive ... but it's apparently composed of the ... ahem, extrusion of the Kyrathian Builders. It's like wax or webbing, but ... harder."
Hawke said, "It's like a spider web that is unstable, and electrical charges that it cannot contain, thus the lightning flashes."
Relok corrected him, "Actually, I think the lightning is naturally occurring and the ... structure is lined with ... lightning rods? I think it's collecting the energy from the lightning!"
MAX commented, "Well observed, 10 points to the Vulcan in Blue. Yes, this is a biomolecular generator that is harvesting the raw energy of the atmosphere ... but for what?"
Zak ran his fingers through his hair then said, "OK, so, next big question. We need to take a closer look at that ... thing. But how the hell do we get into that atmosphere with our Flyers without getting ripped apart or detected by Kyrathians?"
MAX said, "Records state the USS Voyager deployed an Ablative Generator to enter a dense nebula of sorts to take down a Borg Unimatrix. If we were able to replicate the same armor for our Flyers, it may give us the strength to go in, but doing so undetected .," he trailed off.
Zak turned to his Chief Engineer, "Bevin, see what you can do to armor up a couple of Flyers ... or, the Cerberus?" He glanced at Patterson at the last.
Bevin responded, "Aye, sair, waill dae. Cairte blainche an wha aill I kin dae?"
Patterson balked a bit, "Not the Cerberus, no. Don't touch my baby." He smiled to soften the blow. "There are secrets and classified tech on there that not even the Captain is aware of."
Zak raised an eyebrow but said, "Upgrade the Flyers, Bevin. The Cerberus is launching as is."
Bevin nodded, "Vairy waill, sair."
Patterson added, "If you have suggestions for the Cerberus, when I get back we can discuss it."
Relok chimed in, "Captain, I respectfully request I be included on that Away Mission. I would very much like to study that facility."
Patterson glanced around the room then said, "Get with your teams. See if we can figure out a way to conceal our Delta Flyers better, and increase their hull integrity with Ablative panels. I want reports in 2 hours. I'll take the Cerberus out and see if I can get closer, but I'll need MAX to copilot me. Anything else, Captain?"
Zak nodded, "Sounds good, Colonel. Hawke, Carter, let's bring the Penumbra closer to that hot station and see if we can get any good scans. Can't sit here and do nothing while Patterson has all the fun!"
Patterson closed out the briefing, "Get to it. Dismissed." He turned and tapped Relok on the shoulder, "Gear up with some air sickness bags ... just in case." He grinned as he left.
Sickbay:
Dr. Shadow Wind K'Trevala was working in the medical labs, developing more of the "Bug Bombs" and "Stink Bombs" for the Kyrathians as well as more herbicidal sprays to use against the Kyrathian Plant. When the call came for Senior Officers to meet in Astrometrics, he closed out his work and grabbed several vials of Merasha and headed out the door.
Mere moments after he'd left, Relok and T'Lin arrived. Relok called, "Shayana, are you here?" He used the Tayledrian word for "Oath Brother" in reference to the mental bond he shared with Shadow.
Nurse Nakamura answered as she came from around a corner, "He went to the meeting already, sir."
Relok acknowledged and said, "Ah, well, I'm missing it, so I need my update of Merasha so the bugs won't see me."
T'Lin added, "Could you administer the booster of Merasha for us?"
The nurse said, "He took a number of booster doses with him to the meeting, sir, thought it would be easiest to take care of everyone there." But, she grabbed a couple of hyposprays and loaded them up, giving the two Vulcans their boosters. "Make sure to tell him that you already got them."
T'Lin answered, "Very well. Thank you, nurse."
Relok also thanked her, "Thank you, nurse. I need to hurry back to Astrometrics. T'Lin, you're headed back to the Bridge, correct?"
T'Lin nodded, "That is correct, Relok. I shall continue my scans while you are at the meeting."
The two Vulcans exited sickbay and split up to get to their respective duties quickly.
In Attendance:
Capt. Z. Taylor, Dr. K'Trevala, Ensign Denovan Hawke, LtCmdr. J. Carter, LtCmdr. MacArdry, LtCmdrRelok, LtCol. T. Patterson, Ltjg Tabeshk Tibris, Ltjg. T'Lin, MAX, MGySgt. Hines
NPCs:
Nurse_Nakamura (played by Shadow)