USS Penumbra Sim Narrative, SD 202002.28 Bridge, Sickbay, & Main Engineering: . The Penumbra was parked a light-year or so from the star system where a lone Kyrathian Colony Ship (and a mysterious Kyrathian submersible) had been encountered. That lone ship had made telepathic communications with Dr. Shadow K'Trevala saying, "Leave this place. We mean you no harm." This was the first time the Kyrathians had made peaceful contact, but the Penumbra wasn't able to follow up since three more Kyrathian ships were incoming. . Lt. Col. Patterson, without orders mind you, took his personal reconnaissance ship, the Cerberus, to monitor the situation while the Penumbra withdrew to make contact with our Aslan allies and consider options. . Now, on the Bridge of the Penumbra were Capt. Zak Taylor, doing his pacing thing again, back and forth across the Bridge; Lt. Cmdr. Relok, sitting in the XO chair, unconsciously counting the Captain's steps; Lt. Tabeshk Tibris, mumbling to himself and trying to make sure things were ready and in place; and LtJG. Denovan Hawke, stoically manning the Tactical Station. Ens. Hesa Standin was filling in for Lt. Cmdr. Jason Carter at the helm. . Meanwhile, down in Sickbay, Ens. Thelthaa th'Rone was making beds as Dr. Shadow K'Trevala was going through the inventory and keeping all the records straight. . Deeper, in Main Engineering, Lt. Cmdr. Bevin MacArdry was checking the engines and relays to the shields, weapons, and all to make sure everything was working properly. She kept an open line to the Bridge on a nearby console so she could stay informed. . The Captain spoke mid-pacing, "Tabby, can you get the Aslans on the line yet?" . Tabby answered, "Aye, sir, working on it." . Relok was paging through Lt. T'Lin's notes on the Kyrathian pictographs. He muttered, "I still don't see how T'Lin deciphered this stuff. Pink elephants and green butterflies do not make words!"

. The Captain turned at the end of his pacing stride towards his Tactical Officer, "Hawke, where are those other Kyrathian ships?" . Hawke checked his readings before answering, "They're still in the 'combat zone' we left out of." . The Captain responded, "And Patterson's Cerberus is invisible? Still undetected?" . Hawke answered, "I'm not detecting weapons fire, so I would assume so." They both knew that the Cerberus's cloaking system was nearly impenetrable. . Tabby interrupted, "Captain, Aslans are on the line." . Zak whirled towards Tabby, "Finally! On screen!" . Tabby answered, "Aye, sir," and then ducked down behind his console, muttering to himself, "I hate beetles." . As he said this, the image of an enormous cockroach-like Aslan, all brown, mottled with green splotches, appeared on the main viewer. A series of clicks, thunks, and buzzes came from the creature and a second later the Universal Translator kicked in. "This is Commander Yzzklunkcrik of the Aslan Battlecruiser Shik's Shell calling the Penumbra ...." . Zak glanced around the Bridge, trying to conceal his smirk at the Aslan's name. "Yes, Commander Yzz- whatever. We called for backup." . Hawke said quietly, "Klunkcrik, sir." . Relok offered in a soft mumble, "Yzz-klunk-crik ... sir." . Tabby mumbled as well, "I really hate beatles! They make me shiver. Sure, I'd get used to them, they said. No, I won't!" . The Aslan Commander had heard some of the mumbles around the Penumbra's Bridge. He said, "I have difficulty with your name as well, Captain Tayy-Lor. We are bringing two Battlecruisers and a Frigate to your aid. What are we up against?" . Zak gestured to his Tactical Officer, "Hawke, send data on the Kyrathians." . Hawke nodded, "Understood," and compiled the requested information and sent it to the Aslan's Tactical Officer. He continued exchanging messages with the Aslan officer via text. . Relok stood from his chair, "Captain, if I may ...."

. Zak glanced at his Chief Science Officer and Acting First Officer, "Go ahead, Commander." . Tabby peeked from behind his console and muttered, "Ah .. ha ha! Heh, no," and ducked back down again as Relok began speaking. . "Commander Yzzklunkcrik," the Vulcan began, "One of the Kyrathians - the lone ship - made communication contact with a member of our crew ...." . The Aslan interrupted, "One of them made contact? With a member of your crew? Was that wise?" . It was the Captain who answered, shaking his head, "It wasn't our idea, Commander. Our doctor is a strong telepath, and their Noble called him mind-to-mind." . Relok continued, "Regardless, Commander, contact was made and the Kyrathian asked for peace. He said he meant us no harm." . Suddenly, the Aslan's whole body heaved, and strange thunking noises issued from his huge shell ... an Aslan belly laugh? Eventually, the Universal Translator kicked in. "You are buzzing my reed!" . Zak glanced at Relok, a questioning look on his face as he mouthed an unspoken, "What?" . But it was Hawke that answered the Aslan, "No, we are not shatting you, Commander." . Relok continued, "The Kyrathian asked us to leave that place and that he meant us no harm." . Then Tabby spoke up. "Captain, may I speak the possibility I mentioned?" . The Captain studied the sometimes-difficult Lieutenant, then nodded and gestured for the man to say his piece. . Tabby stood and cleared his voice, stepping over to the Captain, and with his back to the viewscreen whispered, "If my Klingon side gets to me, order me away, all right?" . The Captain also turned and gave his Operations Manager a smirk, "Don't let it, Lieutenant."

. Tabby gave a short nod and turned to face the cockroach-like giant on the main viewer, "Commander Yzz - if that's okay to call you - I believe, based on the glyphs that our assistant in the science department decoded from the Kyrathians, that they have a problem within their system." He paused and then said, "I believe, though I am no science officer, that the glyphis are not only from their language, but a cry for help." . The Aslan heaved and thunked again, "A cry for help? From the Kyrathian Swarm? Their whole species should be exterminated! We're not helping them with anything!" . The Captain bristled, "Commander Yzz, I'm not sure the Federation would condone genocide on that level ...." . Tabby ignored the Aslan Commander's outburst as well as his Captain's comment and continued, "They're controlled by a plant and it has gone insane. The things the Kyrathians are doing are against their will. The plant, which has done this before in the past, needs to be killed." . The Aslan leaned forward and said, "Captain Tayy-Lorr .... you and your vessel are within the Aslan Heirate to assist us in our war against the Kyrathians, correct? Then assist in the war! The Swarm must be annihilated! Anything less is nothing short of surrender!" . Relok, still standing next to the Captain, raised an eyebrow and gave a subtle hand signal meaning, "Close the commlink." . Growing a little frustrated, Tabby pressed on with his argument, "What I am trying to say is that the Kyrathian plant is not only controlling an entire race, but has lost its mind entirely! This is known as the Wild Growth. Knowing the wrongs that have been dealt, it isn't the Kyrathians' fault!" Then Tabby saw he wasn't getting through to the Aslan Commander and sighed, "I'll return to my station, Captain."

. The Captain caught Relok's signal and turned his back to the viewer, "Oh, we're having some comm-signal trouble? Tabby, can you see if you can 'fix' our problem?" He relayed Tabby the subtle "kill it" gesture. . Tabby noticed the signal and answered, "Aye, sir," as he took his seat at the Operations console. Relok stepped beside him to be sure the instructions were clear but he hadn't needed to, because Tabby quickly closed the comm signal. . Hawke gave an exasperated sigh, "Well, that's going to be a problem." . Tabby grunted, "I'm sorry, the Aslans have been through a lot, but ... God, he's an arse! What now, sir?" . Zak walked to his chair and flopped into it, saying, "I'm not sure I like where this is headed." . About that time, Dr. Shadow K'Trevala stepped from the turbolift onto the Bridge, having come up from Sickbay. Relok glanced up as he entered and said, "Shayana, we may be needing you sooner rather than later." . Shadow, with his sensitive empathy, answered, "I thought I might be needed." . The Captain looked up at Shadow and said, "I hate to put you at risk, doctor, but you may be our only way to talk to the Kyrathians, and I think talking is the next step." He paused a moment and then said, "I think we're going to need to get back to those Kyrathians before the Aslans do or there won't be anyone to talk to." . Tabby said, "Talking to the Kyrathians is risky. Some may be influenced. If these aren't, we need to know how and why." Then he added, "Genocide is still genocide, and my gut tells me the Kyrathian bug race is not entirely at fault. If the Wild Growth plant went insane once before, and our help didn't stop it, I think putting it out of its misery is our ONLY option." . Relok looked at Tabby and said, "But ... is destroying an insane world-spanning plant not genocide also if the plant is sentient?" . Tabby said, "I ... can see that. But the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, Relok."

. The Captain grunted, "Come on, Relok, it's a plant, not a species!" . Relok turned to the Captain, "If it is, in fact, sentient, sir ...," he trailed off. . Hawke commented, "Plants are sentient also. Just because they don't talk or communicate the way we do doesn't mean anything. It's alive and we're supposed to protect life. Or try, at least." . Tabby said, "Yes, it is sentient, but ... we tried to help before, Relok, and nothing we did worked." He turned to Hawke, "We have tried, Den." . Relok held his ground. "My point, sir, is that killing the plant instead of the Kyrathians isn't much better. If the plant is sick, we need to heal it, not kill it." . Tabby retorted, "So what? If we cure it this time, it might happen again! Maybe not in our lifetime, but the next. One more thing, Relok, that plant has killed people! It's a murderer! And what happens to murderers? It's either life sentence, or death." He snapped his mouth shut and returned his attention to his display screens. . Shadow had stood silent for several minutes but now said, "Sounds like we need to check for a fungal disease as a possibility of a problem, since the virals and bacterials are less likely." He turned to Tabby and said, "Tabby, if it's due to a disease that we can cure, might that not be better for everyone if we're able to do that?" . Tabby grumbled, "If everything could be cured ...," his voice broke slightly as he continued, "My mother would still be here, wouldn't she?" . Shadow spoke softly, "We don't know everything, but we can only do our best to try." . There were several seconds of tense silence and then the Captain exploded with frustration, "Damn it! We're a recon vessel! Let's do some damn recon then! Get some answers, not all this damned guessing!" . Relok calmly returned to the XO seat and sat before turning to the Captain and asking, "So, what are your orders, then, Captain?"

. The Captain grumbled softly under his breath, thinking. His Acting First Officer sat waiting patiently, along with the rest of the crew. The Captain shifted uncomfortably in the Big Chair but still said nothing, still thinking. . Finally Relok offered, "Captain, perhaps we can go back and get the Noble that contacted us and bring him aboard? Treat him like an ambassador?" . Hawke asked, "Asylum? Hmm ...." . The Captain glanced over at Relok, then turned to Hawke, "Fine," he said, "let's do that then." He turned back to the front, "Helm, take us back. Let's get that friendly Kyrathian, and our wayward Colonel, before the Aslans exterminate the whole system." . The Penumbra came about and made best speed back to the system. . Tabby sat quietly in his chair a moment. He pulled up a picture of his mother on one monitor screen, when she was still in good health shortly after he was born. He muttered softly, his voice barely audible, "Mom, what would you do, if this was you?" . Shadow sensed Tabby's discomfort and walked over, gently laying a hand on the half-Klingon's shoulder without saying a word. . Tabby struggled to control his emotions, and then turned, seemingly inspired, and said, "What if we quarantine it? Seal it off or something." . Hawke said, "You know, if we could get information, it could be just one that is doing it. If we do have to kill, kill just the main hive head. That would snap all the others out of it." . Tabby answered, "That plant is the hive head, Den." . Hawke responded, "Yes, but it's not the whole 'race.' Just probably the controller. Might have been controlling the spores and stuff this whole time. So, if it goes down then the rest would stop." . Relok suggested, "Captain, we can have Shadow speak telepathically with the Kyrathian. I can monitor him through our mental bond and alert you of anything amiss." . Shadow added, "I'm willing, Captain."

. Zak grumbled, "I think I need to study Captain Davik's mission logs." . Relok corrected him, "It's Hardin, sir. Captain Hardin. He's Bajoran, surname first." . Zak rolled his eyes, "Whatever, Relok." . Musing mostly to himself, Relok said, "What if it is a genetic mutation in the plant? If the spores had mutated into the insane version of the plant, and then those insane plants control the Kyrathians. Some Colony Ships might have the 'clean' plants and not be affected." . Zak turned to Relok, "So, only the insane plants drive the Kyrathians to 'swarm'? And the not insane ones just live quietly in small colonies? Interesting idea." . Hawke grunted, "Dunno, guess we're gonna find out."

@everyone What's that? Another Sim Log Narrative? Yep! Enjoy!