USS Penumbra Sim Narrative, SD 202005.15 ANNOUNCEMENT: . This sim is the third installment of Lt. Tabeshk Tibris' sim plot. It's finally beginning to reveal itself! Bridge & Main Engineering: . The Penumbra was parked in interstellar space alongside a "friendly" Kyrathian Colony Ship that was decidedly non-Swarm. An Away Team had previously been over to the Kyrathian ship and met with their Noble Mother, now the Mother was meeting Captain Taylor and Colonel Patterson on the Penumbra, and to see for herself that her eggs were safe and sound. . The 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. Relok, who was sitting in the Command Chair; Lt. Cmdr. Jason Carter was back in his usual spot at the Helm; Lt. Tabeshk Tibris was monitoring ship's systems at the Operations Console; and LtJG. Katarina Hawke monitored the lifesigns of the crew meeting the Kyrathian Noble in the MVB from the auxiliary Medical Station. And, of course, MAX, the Artificial Intelligence was able to manifest on any connected computer monitor on the ship. . Carter stretched, apparently bored and stiff from sitting motionless at the Helm of a ship that was immobile in interstellar space. He gave a sigh and then grunted, "Muscle aches suck." . Relok glanced over at the former Borg who was now their Head Nurse. "Kat, any changes to our team's lifesigns?" . Kat checked over her readings once more and answered, "Negative, no changes that I can see." . Relok nodded, "Very good." He turned back to the front and said, "Tabby, our power levels are fine?"

. Tabby seemed slightly distracted, a frown making his forehead ridges even more pronounced. He answered, "Huh? Oh, uh ...," he checked the readings again and said, "Yeah." . Down in Main Engineering, Lt. Cmdr. Bevin MacArdry was also monitoring the ship's power systems, along with the engine core, keeping everything at optimal levels. . Finally, Tabby turned his chair and asked, "Relok, is it normal to hear a voice in your head when you know you should'nt be able to?" He paused, then added, "Those coordinates I put in, I heard those in my head! Am I going crazy?" . Relok raised an eyebrow before answering, "Considering how many telepaths are on the adjacent ship, I wouldn't be too surprised. And, as Den pointed out, some Romulans are naturally telepathic, so ...," he trailed off. . Tabby chuckled nervously, "Well, Mom always told me stories of her abilities ... I guess it's genetic." He turned his chair back to the front as he muttered, "I guess I should see Shadow soon, then." . In Main Engineering, Bevin could feel Tabby's apprehension, her own telepathic abilities growing attached to him. She sent him a mental caress and cuddle. . Tabby shuddered slightly at the unusual sensation, not recognizing it for what it was. He shook it off and mumbled, "Great, now I feel things too! How weird can I get?" He returned his attention to the Ops board. . Suddenly, the Turbolift doors slid open and Capt. Taylor and Lt. Col. Patterson, along with Lt. T'Lin stepped out, having come back up from the MVB. T'Lin separated herself from them and stepped to the Primary Science Console. She began uploading her algorithm for translating the Kyrathian glyph writing into the various languages of the Federation into the main computer system. . The Captain gestured, "Relok, Carter, over here please." He moved over to the Master Systems Display on the rear wall of the Bridge.

. Relok stood, a curious look on his face, and stepped towards the MSD. Carter raised an eyebrow as he too stood and approached, asking, "Sir?" . Kat watched with curious attention as the senior staff gathered at the rear of the Bridge. The Captain spoke, "Relok, Patterson and I have been invited to the Mother's ship. But with both of us going, it leaves the Penumbra's command codes potentially compromised." He paused before continuing, "We're turning over command to you two." He turned to his First Officer and formally asked, "Patterson, do you concur?" . Patterson glanced around the Bridge, his hands clasped behind his back. He took in a breath, turning to the Dedication Plaque on the wall near the Turbolift, reading the words written there: "USS Penumbra, Reconnaissance Cruiser, Starfleet Registry NX-99764, First Starship to Bear the Name." And beneath that, the dedication quote, "It is better to have a line drawn somewhere in the penumbra between darkness and light, than to remain in uncertainty." . Carter blinked in surprise a moment, looking around, his eyes following Patterson. . Patterson finally turned back to the Captain and gave a nod. "I concur." . Zak nodded, "Very well then. Computer, transfer all command codes of the USS Penumbra to Acting Captain Relok and Acting First Officer Jason Carter, voice code Taylor Three Delta Sigma Omega." . The Computer trilled and then said, "Command codes transferred. USS Penumbra now under the command of Acting Captain Relok and Acting First Officer Jason Carter." . Zak smiled at the new Captain of the ship and said, "I'd like those back when we return." . As Patterson mused, Relok straightened and with a crisp salute said, "Captain, I relieve you, sir." . Zak returned the salute, "I stand relieved." . After a brief pause Zak said, "If you agree ... Captain ... I'd like to bring Hawke as my Security Chief on this Away Mission."

. "Agreed," Relok said. As he said this, T'Lin approached but stood respectfully a few steps away. Relok turned to her, "Yes, Lieutenant?" . T'Lin handed over a neat stack of classic bound paper notebooks, filled with her neat hand-written notes. She said, "All of my notes are in here, translated for you should we not return. I have updated our database with the Kyrathian glyph code." She paused then added, "I will expect these back." . Relok raised an eyebrow. "Are you ... going somewhere, T'Lin?" . T'Lin answered in a calm but self-assured voice, "I am going to meet the Ivorez. As of right now, there are no scientists on the away team, and none of them can read the glyphs as well as I. I have the most experience communicating with the Kyrathians and their Plant. It is the wisest choice." . Zak smirked, watching Relok process T'Lin's impeccable logic. He added, "And she's your Acting Chief of Sciences, now ... Captain." . Relok gaped a moment, then snapped his mouth shut as he made a decision. "Very well. T'Lin, you will accompany the Captain and the Colonel." . T'Lin gave a curt nod. She already knew they wouldn't win against her. Unnoticed by the others, T'Lin mumbled something under her breath, "I wonder if I will ever figure out who Ejesun is, and why in the world he would enjoy mushroom cloud soup." Certainly, she was referring to her original data download from the Kyrathian Station, and the fact that she had an eidetic memory, such that she would forever remember the worthless trivial details she'd learned from processing that data. . Watching the interaction between the crew, Kat smiled at her station, amused at the closeness clearly exhibited between them. . Then Zak suggested, "Oh, Relok ... might I suggest you go find those stranded eggs and bring them back?"

. Relok stared at him a moment, uncomprehending. "The stranded ...?" Then his brain caught up with the situation. "Oh, yes, good idea." He paused and then said, "Captain, bring Shadow with you, he can reach me telepathically regardless of any distance. That way we'll stay in communication." . At the Ops station, Tabby continued to appear disturbed. Finally, he tapped his commbadge and called Main Engineering. "Bevin, hey, uh ... did you hug me?" As he said it, he realized how it sounded and added, "I swear, that sounds crazy!" . Bevin's response came over the commlink, a giggle followed by her thick Brogue, often difficult to understand by those not familiar with it, "Aye, I trayed tae fra doon hair, ye gait ait?" . Tabby gave a soft chuckle as he answered, "Pfft. I feel like cow dung. I need to get ahold of Shadow, but I'm not sure how to phrase my words." . Bevin responded, "Hay mait be baizzy wi th'Awa Taim. Ye kin ailways aisk me tae, iffin ye waint." . Tabby asked, "How can I ask about crazy things like this?" He paused, then explained, "First, I hear the Kyrathian Noble, which in most cases would be bad. Now, I feel you hug me! I'm freaking crazy, aren't I?" He paused and then continued, "Worse off, I'm not home when this happens. Mom warned me, and now she isn't here to help me." As he saw the Command Staff breaking up their little meeting at the MSD he added, "I gotta get back to work. I can't deal with this right now." . Bevin answered, "Nay, ye're nae craizy, Taibbykins. Tais ain anyewsuil saitchewaishun, bit ye're nae craizy." . Kat couldn't help but overhear their conversation and was struggling to keep from laughing out loud. . Zak had turned to face Patterson. He said, "Well, Colonel, let's go talk to a plant, shall we?" Together they stepped into the Turbolift to head back to the MVB and the Kyrathian Noble and their Away Mission back to her ship.

. Relok strode purposefully back to the Command Chair and took a seat. This time, that chair was his, not merely a seat he was filling while the Captain was elsewhere on the ship. He watched Carter as he returned to his seat. Once he'd taken his seat, Relok said, "Carter, lay in a course back to where we left those eggs. Once Tabby has beamed the Away Team off the ship, let's go get those eggs." . "Aye, sir," Carter answered. "Laying in a course." A moment later he saw a signal flashing on his board and said, "The Cerberus has powered up and AEGIS is requesting permission to depart." . Relok gaped yet again, his emotion suppressing process overwhelmed by command duties. "The Cerberus? How did it know Patterson was leaving the ship? MAX, have you been eavesdropping? Told your friend what was going on?" . MAX's face appeared on a nearby monitor. "Me? Eavesdropping on a ship that I am completely interfaced with? Well, that's just not possible!" . Relok merely raised an eyebrow and addressed Carter again, "Better open the Hangar Bay doors. Don't want AEGIS shooting his way out!" . Carter nodded, a slight smile on his face. "Doors open. And, course laid in, sir." The Cerberus, under control of its on-board Artificial Intelligence, AEGIS, flew itself out of the Hangar Bay and parked itself alongside the Kyrathian ship. . Zak and Patterson finally arrived back in the MVB and checked in with the rest of his team. Assured they were all ready, he tapped his commbadge and called the Bridge, "Tabby, lock on to the Away Team and our VIPs and engage transporters." . Tabby nodded as he responded, "Locked on. Beaming in 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...," as he completed his countdown he engaged the transporters and the former Captain and First Officer dematerialized from the Penumbra to rematerialize on the Kyrathian Colony Ship hovering a few hundred meters to starboard.

. Once the team was beamed over, Tabby spun his chair again. "So, uh, Relok, care to explain what the hell is going on with me? Since ... Shadow isn't here to do so." . But it was Carter who answered, "You aren't going crazy, Tabby. I can hear them too." He spun his chair to also face Relok, "Sir? Shall we head out?" . Relok nodded, "Engage, Mr. Carter." . Carter returned his chair to the forward-facing position as he nodded. "Aye, sir. Warp seven ... engaged." He checked the navigation readings and added, "We'll be there in 10 minutes at this speed." . As Carter turned his chair, Tabby turned his as well. As he did he grumbled, "Well at least I'm not alone on this crazy ship. I may be helping out these good Kyrathians, but stay the hell outta my head until I know what's going on, please!" . Carter mumbled, "Wouldn't feel safe in there, personally, Tabby." He smirked at him. . Tabby grinned back, "I agree on that!" Marine Vehicle Bay: . Capt. Zak Taylor, Lt. Col. Travis Patterson, Dr. Shadow K'Trevala, and Lt. T'Lin, along with several Marine guards, were in the Marine Vehicle Bay. They were in the presence of the large Kyrathian Noble they called simply "Mother" since her actual name was incomprehensible and unable to be spoken by any of their mammalian voices, and her three huge Soldiers serving as her honor guard. . The Mother had invited the Captain and his First Officer to come to her ship to meet a mysterious entity she called "the Ivorez", that the Starfleet officers were beginning to think was the name of her "Pure Plant" she'd mentioned. In preparation for this Away Mission, Lt. Denovan Hawke, the Chief of Tactical Operations, had been called to the MVB to join them. . Patterson (along with most of the other Marines) stood with one hand resting on the stock of his WAR rifle. Hawke scanned the room as well, his own hand resting on the handle of his phaser sidearm. He was growing impatient to get this show on the road.

. Off to one side, Shadow waited patiently. He'd been selected for the Away Team because he'd been serving as translator and interpreter of the Mother's telepathic communication since their first interaction. . T'Lin was fiddling with a modified PADD with an attached Kyrathian Plant Node Bulb. The Bulb could somehow receive telepathic imput from the Mother and display their written glyph language on its "screen". The PADD held the computer algorithm T'Lin had devised to automatically translate those glyphs into Federation Standard English and then read them aloud. While, officially, T'Lin had not been assigned to the Away Team, she was intent on going along and it would be a fight for anyone who denied her. . The Mother seemed to be growing restless as well. She transmitted to T'Lin's device. Glyphs scrolled across the Bulb and the computer's voice said her thoughts, " So ... the Ivorez is waiting ... and this is the longest my family has been without my direct presence." . T'Lin asked, "Captain, when are we leaving?" . Hawke chimed in as well, "I thought that's why I was down here, sirs." . Patterson gave a nod and looked to the Captain, "I'm all set when you are." . But, the Captain had a concerned look on his face. He gestured off to the side, "Colonel, a word?" . Patterson nodded and they stepped off a few paces. Once they were reasonably sure they would not be overheard, Zak said, "Colonel, if we both leave the ship and go to a potentially hostile ship, we endanger the command codes of the Penumbra." . Patterson nodded in understanding but then asked, "But, do we have a choice, sir?" . Zak shook his head slowly. "I don't think so, but ... we need to officially transfer command. And, we need a Security escort." He paused, glancing up at the Kyrathian Noble standing across the MVB. "Let's tell the Mother we need a minute and you and I go to the Bridge. And we need to figure out who's going over there."

. Patterson nodded again, "Agreed." He paused and then asked, "Relok and Carter need to assume command?" . Zak nodded, then turned and walked back to the Kyrathian. "Mother, we have some ship's business to attend to and then Patterson and I will beam to your ship. Are there restrictions on who we bring with us?" . The Kyrathian's multi-faceted eyes flickered and her computerized voice came through the computer system, "Then I would return and let the Ivorez know you are accepting his invitation. Bring whomever you wish, I believe my Soldiers and Gatherers provide more than enough security, and I don't think you are a threat." But she wasn't beamed back to her ship just yet. . Zak nodded and gestured for Patterson to accompany him and together they headed out of the MVB. Lt. T'Lin walked over to join them, her PADD in her hand. She was typing even while walking and said, "I will want to upload this into our database before we head out to meet with the Ivorez." . Just before exiting, Zak turned and spoke. "Den, want to be our Chief of Security? I don't want to bring a bunch of armored Marines." . Hawke answered, "I am trained in both. I don't mind swapping for this." . Patterson waved towards the group of Marines. "Gonna need you on the Tac, Hines." The big Master Gunnery Sergeant nodded and stepped over to join them. . Then the four of them, Capt. Taylor, Lt. Col. Patterson, Lt. T'Lin, & MstGny Hines, exited the MVB headed for the Bridge. . After the others had left, Hawke dismissed a few of the Marine guards, feeling that the threat level was much lower than it could have been. Only three remained around the limits of the MVB along with Hawke and Shadow, the Mother and her three escorts.

. The Mother and her escorts gathered near one of the Marines' ground vehicles, studying it. Hawke watched them but figured they wouldn't learn any secrets looking at the outside of a personnel carrier, so left them alone. He moved over to Shadow and said, "Wonder what it looks like over there." He hadn't been on the first Away Team, or any other Kyrathian ship. . Shadow, who had been on the Mother's ship as well as the Kyrathian Station, answered, "Their ships are interesting, like a giant garden crossed with a beehive, in many ways. But the others also have the adulterated plants. I imagine hers would be even more beautiful." . "Interesting," Hawke responded, "And I would imagine such as well." . Shadow continued, "I would guess like many of the formal gardens at some of the major estates in some ways, but I could be totally mistaken as well." . "You're probably right," Hawke answered. . After several minutes, Zak, Patterson, and T'Lin finally returned and gathered into a group near the Mother and her escorts. The Mother asked, "Have you settled your ship's business, Captain? The Ivorez awaits." . Patterson quickly scanned the room, doing a security assessment no doubt. He gave a nod at how Hawke had spread the Marines out to give a sense of comfort and yet maintain a good view of the whole Bay. He tapped a few commands into the PADD built into the arm of his Combat Armor and then turned to the Captain, "Sir?" . Zak nodded to the Mother and gestured for the team to form up. He said, "All right, let's do this." He tapped his commbadge, calling the Bridge, "Tabby, lock on to the Away Team and our VIPs and engage transporters." . Tabby responded, "Locked on. Beaming in 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...," as he completed his countdown he engaged the transporters and the Away Team, along with the Kyrathians, dematerialized from the Penumbra to rematerialize on the Kyrathian Colony Ship hovering a few hundred meters to starboard. The Kyrathian Ship:

. The Away Team along with the Mother and her three escorts materialized on the Kyrathian Colony Ship, but not on their Bridge where the previous Away Team had met the Mother. . Patterson scanned his room, checked the surroundings against his armPADD. "This isn't where I expected to end up." . Hawke quickly scanned the area with his eyes as well, taking in the tactical situation and trying to note any potential exits in case things went sideways. Then he pulled out a tricorder to make more detailed scans, muttering as he did so, "Might as well get some scans too." . They found themselves in a huge chamber literally FILLED with the Kyrathian Plant. Huge trunks and clustered Nodes and Fibrils slithered everywhere. Moth-like Kyrathians of the Tender class, varying in size from a few inches to several feet, crawled and flittered all over the place. . Shadow breathed, "Most beautiful, Mother." . T'Lin could feel that massive amount of emotions on the ship full of telepathic individuals. She closed her eyes a moment and took a few breaths to steady herself. Shadow, too, had to take a moment to engage his telepathic filters against the hundreds of voices in his head. . Patterson looked to Shadow and asked simply, "Spores?" . At nearly the same instant, Zak asked T'Lin, "T'Lin, do you see any of those Spore Pods anywhere?" . Shadow shook his head and answered, "I can't sense any inimical ones." . T'Lin took a scan with her tricorder, and with her eyes. "No buds that produce Spores that I can see." . The Mother spread her arms, gesturing broadly at all the various Plants. "Meet ... the Ivorez!" . Patterson looked around at all the plant-life. "The Ivorez ... is a plant?" . Shadow answered, "It would appear so." . Glyphs began appearing on T'Lin's PADD and a different voice came from its speaker, a male voice. It said, "Welcome visitors. The Ivorez greets you."

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