USS Penumbra Sim Narrative, SD 202005.08 ANNOUNCEMENT: . This sim is the second installment of Lt. Tabeshk Tibris' sim plot. It's finally beginning to reveal itself! Bridge: . The Penumbra was parked in interstellar space alongside a "friendly" Kyrathian Colony Ship that was decidedly non-Swarm. While an Away Team had been over to the Kyrathian ship and met with their Noble Mother, now it was time for the Captain and the Colonel to meet her, on the Penumbra, and show her that her eggs were safe and sound. . That meeting was being held in the Marine Vehicle Bay, because it was a smaller space easily energized and polarized with electrostatic shielding to prevent against any Kyrathian Plant Spores that might be on the Noble or her escorts. The Captain did not want to run any risk of those Spores dissolving any organic materials they happened to come in contact with and then growing Kyrathian Plants all over his ship! . The Bridge was under the command of Lt. Cmdr. Jason Carter, who was sitting in the Command Chair looking uncomfortable. In front of him was Lt. Tabeshk Tibris at the Operations console. Standing to Carter's right was Lt. Denovan Hawke at the Tactical station, and across from him, LtJG. Katarina Hawke sat at the auxiliary Medical console. . The Turbolift slid open and Lt. Cmdr. Relok emerged. He glanced around the Bridge and noted who was present, and who was absent. In particular, he noted that both of the Command Team were absent and that he was the ranking officer on the Bridge. He moved towards the center chair and addressed Carter. "I relieve you, sir. I have command." Carter nodded and stood, saying with a smirk, "The chair was getting uncomfortable for me anyways. All yours, sir." He moved back over to the Helm station. . Hawke nodded at the change of command and reported, "All clear in the current area of space, for now."

. Kat was monitoring the vital signs of the team assembling in the Marine Vehicle Bay where they would meet the Kyrathian Noble. She nodded at Relok, "All good, sir." . Then Tabby received a call from the Captain, "Tabby, our guest is ready for transport." . Tabby acknowledged and then tapped his commbadge, changing the channel, "Colonel, the Noble is ready for transport, sir, I have a signal lock." . Patterson's voice came back over the comm system, "Acknowledged, Ops." There was a moment as he ensured everything was ready and then he called back, "We're ready down here. Energize, Tabby." . Tabby gave a countdown and then beamed the Noble aboard. As he completed the transport he mused, "I wonder how they will think of our ship." . Relok responded, "Let's hope they remain open and friendly." . Tabby said, "I agree, Relok." . Hawke grunted, "They better think we aren't to be trifled with." . Tabby grunted back, "You would think that, Hawke." He gave a chuckle. . "Well, of course," Hawke countered, "I have to take pride in our ability." . Tabby responded, "I understand that, Hawke, but not everything is solved in violence." . Hawke flexed one of his hands, brandishing the remnants of his Borg nanotubes. "No," he said, "Because you can just assimilate them." . "That's ...," Tabby rolled his eyes, "I give up with you." . Kat just smiled, trying not to laugh out loud on the Bridge. She also had those Borg remnants. . Tabby continued with a chuckle, "You can't just take everything. It doesn't work like that, Den. Sometimes you need to sit in silence and carefully study one's strengths and weaknesses."

. Kat grinned at Tabby and wondered if he understood what being Borg meant. They did just that: take everything, even if it wasn't theirs. But thinking this, she frowned at the thought. . But Den knew exactly what Tabby was getting at, completely. But, it didn't mean there couldn't be playful banter since they didn't have much to do at the moment. He said, "Oh, really? Sure, it does." He stepped away from the Tactical console and held his hands out in front of him, wiggling his fingers menacingly as he walked over. "We can find out how you confirm without violence." . Reflexively, the half-Klingon punched Hawke in the gut. "Sorry, I slipped!" Then with a grin Tabby said, "Gotcha!" . Hawke gave a light cough from the gut-punch, but managed to grab Tabby by the neck. "Or did you?" he asked. Of course, no Borg nanotubes emerged to inject Tabby with nanites. No assimilation process began. . Tabby cried out, "Ahh! Touche', I underestimated you. Splat!" He draped himself over the Ops console in an exaggerated fake death. . Kat couldn't control herself. She burst out laughing at her brother and Tabby, shaking her head slightly. Relok just quietly rolled his eyes. . Den repeated with a curt nod, "Splat." Then he shook his head a little and cleared his throat again. "Good shot though, even in jest." He slapped Tabby on the shoulder. . Tabby said, "Thank you for the compliment." . Den continued, "I got what you meant. I can be diplomatic ... 0.00235 percent of the time." . Tabby laughed and Kat rolled her eyes. She said, "Don't look at me! There isn't a diplomatic bone in my body!" . Tabby snickered at Den, "You're not that good at it, apparently." . Den smiled and wriggled his eyebrows. "I bet you I can negotiate someone a date with either you or Kat." . Kat blushed, "Umm ... no. No, you don't have to do that."

. Tabby just said, "Uhh ... Bevin? Bevin's crazy, though. What the hell did I get myself involved with?" . Then Tabby changed the topic of conversation. "Though, I'm sure you'll be a good sparring partner. Relok sucks. Dude almost fell out of the tree like an idiot!" . Relok sat silently glaring at Tabby, but then Den asked, "Relok sucks as a sparring partner?" He glanced back at the Chief of Sciences, who also happened to be a Sentinel of the Order of the Sehlat, a highly trained elite-forces member of an elite society back on Vulcan. . Tabby just nodded, "Yeah ... Relok seems a bit rusty." It had been a dozen years or more since Relok had really tasked himself. . Den glanced at Relok and faked a horrible British accent, "Oh ... so the cat's cot someone's bloodeh tongue, now, 'ave they?" He turned back to Tabby, "Well, then, whenever you want to spar ...." . But their banter was interrupted by a call from the Captain, "Tabby, lock onto the Incubator Pod and beam it over to the Mother's ship. She'll send you coordinates ... um ... in your head." . Tabby responded, "Aye, sir." He heard, or felt, the coordinates in his mind and entered them into the transporter controls. "Now beaming," he said as he activated the transporter. Marine Vehicle Bay: . MstGny Derek Hines had secured the Marine Vehicle Bay to use as a meeting hall. He'd shifted most of the actual vehicles to the perimeter and engaged several layers of electrostatic and force fields to contain any Spores. He and several other Marines were outfitted in full Combat Armor, upgraded against the Kyrathian Spores. . Near him stood Lt. Col. Travis Patterson in his own Combat Armor, with his customized holographic skull display illuminated. He spoke to the gathered Marines, "Easy boys ...."

. Also with them was Lt. T'Lin, the Vulcan Assistant Chief of Sciences, who had been instrumental in translating the Kyrathians' written hieroglyphic language. She wore a more standardized Starfleet Issue HazMat Biosuit, upgraded to protect against the Kyrathian Spores, and held a PADD in her hand with her recently-developed translation algorithm. She checked one more time to make sure the incubator and the eggs were still intact. As she did, she made another biochemical scan of the eggs (since doing that was non-invasive). . Meanwhile, Capt. Zak Taylor and Dr. Shadow K'Trevala were en route to the MVB in a Turbolift. Shadow was taking the momentary silence to rest his mind and prepare for another round of telepathic interpreting. Suddenly, he received a telepathic communication from the Kyrathian Noble, ~I am ready for your magical transportation. How long will I be waiting?~ . Shadow nodded to the Captain, "She's ready, sir." . Zak nodded and called the Bridge, "Tabby, our guest is ready for transport." . Shadow sent back a telepathic answer to her, ~We'll bring you aboard immediately.~ . The Turbolift came to a stop and the door slid open and the Captain and Shadow stepped out but paused to wait outside the MVB until Patterson signaled that everything was secure. . Back in the MVB, Tabby's voice came over Patterson's commlink, "Colonel, the Noble is ready for transport, sir, I have a signal lock." . Patterson activated the voicelink in his Combat Armor, "Acknowledged, Ops." He looked to Hines and the big Gunny gave him a nod. Patterson asked, "MAX, are we online?" . The Artificial Intelligence called MAX manifested a face in a nearby monitor, "All electrostatic fields are in place. The room is sterile, Colonel." . Patterson gave another glance around the room and took a breath, giving a quick nod. He reactivated the commlink, "We're ready down here. Energize, Tabby."

. The Captain heard the signal as well and he and Shadow stepped into the MVB. . On the Kyrathian Colony Ship, the Kyrathian Noble Mother glanced to her escort. She'd been told to restrict the number to merely three and had chosen three of her largest Soldiers as her honor guard. With their telepathic bond she told them, "Stay close to me and defend me from any hostile moves, but be patient. We're trying to be friends. We need them, remember?" . And then the transporter kicked in. The Soldiers nearly panicked as they dematerialized and then rematerialized on the alien ship. When they arrived, they were little more than scared giant bugs with high-powered weapons! . All around them they found Starfleet Marines with weapons at the ready, but slightly lowered. Patterson said calmly, "Easy ...." He glanced at Shadow, "Had a feeling this was gonna be a startling face-to-face." He turned to T'Lin, "You have their dialogue figured out and uploaded in the computer, right?" . T'Lin nodded and lifted the PADD in her hands. "Yes, I do." . The Noble calmed herself, and doing so relayed that calm to her Soldiers. Telepathically she projected her thoughts. ~I saw your team arrive on my ship this way. I had no idea it felt ... like that! What magic you possess!~ . Shadow quickly translated for her and relayed her impression. . Patterson looked to T'Lin and gave a nod. "MAX," he said, "upload the Kyrathian dialogue to interface surfaces, please." . T'Lin's algorithm was uploaded to a convenient monitor that had been provided with a modified Plant Bulb Node T'Lin had been allowed to bring from the Kyrathian ship for this purpose. In a second, MAX answered, "Interface complete."

. Shadow spoke out loud while also sending his thoughts to the Noble telepathically, "Greetings, Noble Mother, to you and your host. We hope this meeting is both peaceful and fruitful to both of us." He grinned at her through the helmet of his biosuit, "The sensation is startling at first but is easy to get used to." . As he spoke, T'Lin's algorithm translated his words into Kyrathian glyphs and displayed them on the Plant Bulb. Patterson noticed it and turned to the Captain with a nod, "All right, let's hope we can use this." He turned to face the Noble and said, "I am second in command. Welcome aboard." . Again, the computer translated the spoken word into glyphs which the Noble quickly read. . Zak stepped forward, "Noble Mother, greetings. I am Captain Zak Taylor, commanding officer of the USS Penumbra and representing the United Federation of Planets. Greetings!" More glyphs scrolled across the Plant Bulb. . The Noble's antennae flicked and more glyphs scrolled across the Bulb. T'Lin's algorithm quickly processed the glyphs and translated them into Federation Standard English, and then the computer read them aloud, providing a voice for the Kyrathian Noble Mother. . The Noble said, "Greetings Captain Zak Taylor, I am ...," but then the computer made an incomprehensible sound. . T'Lin gestured at the Bulb and said, "It appears that our knowledge does not accommodate your names. I apologize for that." . Zak smiled at the Noble, "You can call me merely 'Captain'. And I apologize, but I cannot say your name. I will call you simply 'Mother'. Is that OK?"

. The Noble now seemed not to need to look at the Plant Bulb to read the glyphs. She faced the Captain directly and her thoughts scrolled into glyphs on the Bulb and were translated into spoken words by the computer program, "It is appropriate. The Ivorez calls me that." . Patterson took a step back and made a hand gesture. All of the Marines lowered their weapons entirely. He looked over his shoulder at T'Lin and gestured towards the Incubator Pod. "They're in good shape?" . T'Lin gave a nod. "They are quite healthy." She turned back to the Noble Mother, "What is ... the Ivorez?" . The Captain also keyed into the new term. "This is a new term to us, the ... Ivorez. What does that mean? We've seen the glyph on your ship." . The Noble answered, "I would not speak for the Ivorez directly. We should let him speak for himself. I am here only for my eggs. I see my Pod there. May we inspect it?" . It was Shadow who answered first, "Of course, Great Mother." He moved over by the Pod. . T'Lin also gestured to the Pod, "Your eggs are safe, and healthy. I kept an eye on them myself." . One of the Kyrathian Soldiers moved to the Pod but encountered the stasis field. He squatted and lifted his weapon, his antennae flicking menacingly. . Zak raised both hands. "Easy! It's just a stasis field, keeping them safe and suspended, like they were in the ocean, and us protected from your Spores. They are dangerous to my people." . Patterson gave a nod and stepped to the side. "Necessary precautions for the Spores your species carry. They are highly dangerous to organic life." . Shadow explained, "We have them in a protective bubble so they would not be harmed. One moment and we will dissipate it for you." . T'Lin said, "Computer, disable the stasis field around the incubator."

. The computer responded, "Deactivating stasis field." . The Kyrathian Mother's multi-faceted eyes flickered. She said, "Only the Wild Growth uses corrosive Spores, the Ivorez can control such impulses. He grows only when he wishes." . Shadow responded, "We did not know that, Mother, and so we tried to protect ourselves, as well as your eggs." . T'Lin asked, "Really? I wonder if that is a chemical reaction, or a memetic affect?" . Zak wondered, "The Ivorez ... grows ... only when he wishes. Is he ... your 'Pure Plant'?" . The Noble's antennae drooped. "I have said more than I should. My eggs are secure and safe as you said. When will they be returned to me so I can bring them back to the ocean? They are in a critical stage." . Patterson looked at the Captain, then back to the Mother. He stepped forward, "I would like to meet the Ivorez." . Shadow quickly volunteered as well, "As would I. But, as you say, the eggs are important." . The Noble straightened, her antennae extending back to their full height. "This is good. The Ivorez wants to meet you, and your Captain. But, I cannot speak for him. I just need my eggs." . The Captain glanced at Patterson. "It's time, Colonel." He turned back to the Noble, "We will return your eggs immediately." . T'Lin said, "Thank you for speaking with us again, Mother. We will beam your eggs over with you." . Zak tapped his commbadge, "Tabby, lock onto the Incubator Pod and beam it over to the Mother's ship. She'll send you coordinates ... um ... in your head." . Tabby responded, "Aye, sir." A moment later he added, "Now beaming," and the Incubator Pod dematerialized from the MVB. . Patterson nodded at the Captain, then turned back to the Mother, "There are other eggs we located." He lifted his arm and accessed the PADD built into his Combat Armor. "They are hidden and shielded here." He pulled up the coordinates and showed them to the Mother.

. Shadow nodded, "Would you want us to help you get them to your ship?"

@everyone The latest Sim Log Narrative is posted!