USS Penumbra Sim Narrative, SD 202009.11 Announcements: . The command staff of the USS Penumbra are proud to announce two promotions that occurred at the end of this sim! . Our Chief of Security & Tactics, Denovan Hawke, was promoted to Lieutenant Commander! Congratulations Den! . And his sister, formerly our Head Nurse, Katarina Hawke, was promoted to full Lieutenant. She was also awarded her Starfleet Medical Badge and recognized as a fully licensed Doctor. Her post has been upgraded to Assistant Chief Medical Officer. Way to go, Kat! Bridge (& Other Locations): . The Penumbra had been pulled through some kind of spacial rift. Their "working hypothesis" was that they had slipped into the Mirror Universe. Finding themselves closer to the Kyrathian Homeworld than the rift itself, the Captain made the decision to press on with their Primary Mission of reconnaissance of the Swarm first, and they had just settled into a Standard Orbit of the small but dense planet. . Initial sensor scans showed the planet to have two or three large continental land masses with a few small seas. Most of the landmass was covered with a thick forest canopy, except for a large desert in the equatorial zone of the largest landmass. . Capt. Zak Taylor was pacing again in the center of the Bridge. He seemed to be studiously avoiding the newly upholstered Command Chair and its recently upgraded neon-green and pink paisley pattern that Lt. Cmdr. Bevin MacArdry had installed during the repairs to the Main Bridge. . Lt. Denovan Hawke stood at the Tactical Station. He ran another quick diagnostic of the sensors and found them functioning fine and sighed as he reported once more, "Still nothing out there." . Lt. Cmdr. Jason Carter was at his usual place at the Helm, trying to figure out what their next move should be.

. Lt. Cmdr. Relok sat in the Executive Officer's seat, since Lt. Col. Patterson was in Sickbay. He watched the Captain pacing and said, "Captain ... Cmdr. MacArdry didn't replace the carpets, though she might need to if you keep pacing like that." . Zak cut a glare at Relok, but instead turned to Carter, "So, we have a stable orbit?" . Carter nodded. "Aye, sir, we're in a standard orbit. I just don't understand what any of this means." . Zak sighed, "I know the feeling, Carter." . In the Sciences section of the Bridge, Lt. T'Lin sat on the floor, surrounded by at least nine old, peeling, textbooks and notebooks of actual printed paper, her third cup of coffee sitting beside her on the floor. Ens. Jackson Carshel, who often worked with T'Lin, glanced at her as she chewed absently on the tip of a pencil and asked, "May I get you another coffee, boss?" . She looked up at him and mumbled quietly, "No, no, I should get tea after this one is done," she gestured to the half-empty cup nearby. She watched the Captain's pacing and surreptitious glances at his chair and asked, "You do not like the lumberjack look, Captain?" . Down in Main Engineering, Lt. Cmdr. Bevin MacArdry, the Chief Engineer, was still snickering over the Command Chair prank. She knew the paisley pattern on the chair was merely a removable cover, but apparently no-one had bothered to try to take it off! Then she started wondering about replacing the carpet up there. . As she mused on carpeting for the Bridge, and what sort of strange prank she could pull with it, she returned to working on reinforcing the ship's power relays, and structural support members, anticipating a return trip through the rift. An annoying "buzz" kept drifting into her mind, but she would push it away, returning to her musings over carpeting to keep her distracted.

. Bevin's musings must have been fairly strong, even if unspoken, because subconsciously, T'Lin picked up on them, glancing at the pacing Captain and considering Relok's comment. She muttered, "We could make a ... how do you say ... red carpet? for humans?" . Hawke glanced down at her, a slight scowl on his face. "Why are we discussing something as trivial as the carpet at this particular moment, Lieutenant? We have more important things to worry about." . Tabby heard their discussion and quipped, "You know, we could make it rainbow AND plaid!" . Meanwhile, in the Turbolift on their way from Sickbay back to the Bridge, were Lt. Col. Travis Patterson and LtJG. Katarina Hawke. After some fairly innocent flirting back in Sickbay, they were now both feeling slightly self-conscious about being alone in the Turbolift. Patterson was being careful, avoiding making any eye contact, and was standing "at ease" and staring straight ahead at the door. Kat stood quietly beside him, aware he was avoiding looking at her, and found herself doing the same. . Patterson spoke without looking at her. "Kat ... when we get through all of this, you and I need to have a chat." Finally, he turned to her, a grin spreading across his face. "But until then, let's focus on getting home." . Kat smiled back, rolling her eyes at him. "Whatever you say ... sir." . Back on the Bridge, the Captain was still pacing. Suddenly, he paused and faced his Tactical Officer. "And no sign of any Swarm ships at all?" . Hawke knew he'd just reported that, but he repeated it, "No, still nothing." . Relok turned to his Science Officers. "Ens. Carshel, are there any indications of civilizations on the planet? Any cities, towns, clusters of dwellings?" . Carshel checked the sensors again and then answered, "No, but there are ruins, and ... boy, do they look cool through the forest canopy!"

. Carter turned his chair to face Relok. "How long do we think that rift will remain stable enough for us to make a return trip? I ... don't want to get stuck here." . Relok answered, "I don't really know, Carter, there are too many unknown variables. We don't even know exactly what caused it. And we're out of sensor range to monitor it from here." . T'Lin added, "The rift must be stabilized, until then we risk getting destroyed if we try too soon." . Tabby chimed in, "I would rather not be stuck here too! I have a Klingon house to defend." Then he added, with a slight shrug, "Father's getting old." . Zak heard the concern in their voices about the rift and said, "I know we should have studied the Rift, but our Primary Mission remains recon of the Swarm. And we were closer to here than there, so ...," he trailed off. . Tabby started to argue, "Sir, I, uh ... would advise against that. We should go back through the rift and get to the Swarm another way, a safer way." . But Relok pointed out, "You don't have to explain yourself, sir. You're the Captain." . Zak heaved a sigh and flopped into the paisley-patterned Command Chair. "I know, but ...," he glanced at Tabby, "Sometimes it helps to give my reasoning." . T'Lin said, "You made a call, sir. We will respect it, and we will find a way back home." . Carter shook his head, mostly to just clear the cobwebs, and turned back to his station. He said, "We need to take a closer look down here, but ... we need to ensure we have a path home." . Zak turned slightly, "OK, so, Carshel said there were ruins down there, but no signs of civilization." . Relok commented, "I'm not so sure, Captain. There's ... something ... out there. Something tickles my ... psyche. It's hard to explain." He sent a mental call to Dr. Shadow K'Trevala, ~Shayana, can you feel that?~

. Relok and Shadow had formed a mental bond after an incident with a non-corporeal being had attacked them and Relok forced a mind-meld to expel the invader. Only it had left the Vulcan and the Tayledran with a deep mental connection. They referred to each other with the Tayledrian word "Shayana" which translated as "Oath Brother". . Shadow answered telepathically, ~Yes, Shayana, like a whole cacophony of voices singing in discordant keys.~ . Tabby also was beginning to feel ... something. He murmured, "Ooh, the hairs on my neck be tingling." He glanced across the Bridge to T'Lin and asked, "T'Lin, do you feel ... anything?" . Carter, too, was sensing something. He shook his head again and said, "Captain ... there is something down there. It ... just doesn't make sense. But," he added, "the Rift ...." He turned his chair, "I have a proposal." . But just then, the Turbolift doors slid open. Patterson stepped out and said, "You called, Captain?" Kat followed him quietly, glancing around the Bridge. . Zak looked up at the Turbolift. "Welcome back, Colonel. Are you up to speed?" . T'Lin also inquired, "Welcome back, Colonel. Are you all right?" . Relok stood to surrender the XO's seat but Patterson instead headed to the Master Systems Display on the rear wall of the Bridge. As he did he answered, "I'm about as caught up as I can be considering where I've been the last hour or so, sir." He nodded at T'Lin and gave her a slight smile, "I feel fine ... at the moment." . Kat had followed Patterson to the MSD, hanging back a little to stay out of the way. She smirked slightly at his reply to T'Lin's question. . Zak had apparently not heard Carter, or chose to ignore him, and stood from the Command Chair and walked to the MSD himself. "Carshel," he said, "put the main sensor data on the MSD back here. Relok, join the Colonel and I back here, let's come up with a game plan." . Carshel nodded, "Aye, sir, working on it."

. But then T'Lin mumbled, "I have ... I ...," her face drew tight as she squinted to read her notebook. Her pencil dipped and she mumbled, "What?" before slumping over the pile of books and papers. Then she suddenly sat back up and ripped a page from the notebook, crumpling it fiercely and tossing it with annoyance at the growing pile of trash nearby. "It makes no sense! It is all off!" . Carshel noticed her and said, "You okay, boss?" When she waved him off, he simply gathered T'Lin's discarded papers, slowly, and somewhat awkwardly, to dispose of them in the recycler. But even as he did, he watched her, his face showing his concern for her well-being. . Relok joined Patterson and the Captain at the MSD, and pulled up one of the sensor feeds onto one of the display panels. Patterson rubbed his chin, then glanced at Kat still standing nearby. She gave him a wink and he returned his attention to the display. "All right, what do we know?" . Forgotten, or ignored, Carter gave a sigh, stood, and stretched as the Command Team began their discussions. . Relok began, "So, this is the largest continent here, " he pointed to an area in the center of the display and continued, "And also the largest growth of the tree, which I assume is the Wild Growth we were warned about." . Zak nodded. "I know Hardin's old reports mentioned that in the past the Wild Growth spanned the whole planet but ... wasn't it greatly reduced by environmental disasters or something? That thing still spans this world!" . Tabby was still at the Ops console, but was listening in (and probably had a mirror of the display in a corner of his ops board). "That can't be right," he muttered. . T'Lin was still on the floor in the Sciences area, but wasn't far from the MSD. She rubbed her eyes and mumbled, "Wild ... Growth? It ... feels familiar." She quickly stood, and then wobbled. "I need ... to go to the Med-Bay. I ... am not well, but ... I do not know what is wrong ... yet."

. Relok turned and studied his protégé, whom he'd come to think of as a younger sister (even if much younger). He said, "Of course, Lieutenant, take care. Do you ... need any help?" . Carshel was also watching her carefully. He seemed like he wanted to reach out and take her elbow, but knew that the Vulcans didn't care for physical contact, so he held back. . T'Lin glanced up at Relok, then quickly looked down to the floor. "I ... do not know. I am ... unaligned. It ... must be fixed." She started towards the Turbolift. . Zak studied the younger Vulcan, then reached and nudged Kat's elbow and said softly, "Keep an eye on her," and gave a slight tilt of his head towards T'Lin. . Kat frowned slightly, looking T'Lin over. "Let's get you to Sickbay, shall we?" She reached for her medical tricorder and quickly scanned T'Lin as the two of them stepped into the Turbolift. The tricorder didn't show anything physically wrong with the Vulcan, but Kat knew that didn't mean there wasn't something wrong that it just didn't pick up, or that Kat didn't understand. . Relok watched the two women until the Turbolift doors closed. Then, knowing that logic dictated that T'Lin was in better hands with Kat than she would have been with himself, he turned his attention back to the sensor feed. The Captain also turned back to the MSD with only a slight sigh. . Patterson was a bit more gruff on the outside and showed no reaction to T'Lin's condition. Instead his put on his "thinking face" as he stroked his index and thumb at the corners of his upper lip. Finally, he said, "Computer, display visual sensor data of the Kyrathian Planet onto the MSD and overlay with all information relevant from Aslan and Starfleet records."

. Relok pressed a couple of buttons, adding an infrared overlay as well. He explained, "This will help us see through the canopy ... though, Kyrathians aren't exactly warm-blooded, being insectoids." What he meant was that though they could see through the leaves, they wouldn't necessarily be able to see the insectoid Kyrathians with infrared heat sensors like they might have done for mammalian humanoids. . Hawke turned from the Tactical console and approached the MSD to get a better look. As the infrared kicked in, they saw through the dense canopy to see the huge branches of the giant tree. Branches that stretched miles long and hundreds of feet in diameter, stacked in multiple levels. . "Wow!" the Captain breathed. . Carshel had moved closer as well, and muttered, "Wooaah!" . Zak stood a moment, awed at the sight, and then pointed, "Look there!" . Relok panned and zoomed the display on the area the Captain had indicated. "That's a city!" he cried. "Built on the branches. I would wager it cuts into the trunk there as well!" . Patterson straightened, "So, we have the target for our incursion." . Carter just rubbed his temples, turning back to his chair, apparently annoyed by some high-pitched sound only he could hear, "We do not have time for this!" . Hawke studied the display, his mind already performing a tactical analysis. "Switch it to a different scan mode, please, Commander? Perhaps the inhabitants are hidden." He stepped to the MSD and began switching modes himself. . Zak grunted in frustration, "We can't see crap through that canopy, and can't detect the bugs on sensors from up here. Yeah, we need to get down there. But ... we need to get back to the Rift, too." . Tabby grumbled, "Captain, I suggest we go back through the rift, sir." . Relok looked at the Captain and said, "It is fortunate we have multiple vessels, Captain."

. Zak stared at Relok a second, "Multiple ...?" Then he figured it out. "Runabout? We'd need a good pilot. Carter, can you fly through that crap?" . Carter stood from the Helm and walked back towards the MSD. "We're gonna need something a lot more maneuverable than a Runabout if you want me to get us in tight." . Tabby was growing more frustrated at being ignored, especially when he felt like the only one thinking clearly. He grunted in a deep, rumbling voice more like traditional Klingons than his usual tone, "Captain ... We NEED to study ... the RIFT ... and get ... HOME!" . But everyone ignored the irritable half-Klingon. Patterson turned to the Captain. "I ... haven't been cleared from medical restrictions, Captain." . Zak turned and looked at the Marine a moment and then said, "That's right." He paused and then made a decision. "You will take the Penumbra back to study the Rift. I'll take the Australis and a Delta Flyer as escort. We'll rendezvous in ... four hours?" . Patterson nodded. "Two objectives: gather intelligence, secure an exit. Sounds like a piece of cake." . Zak mused, "We'll need Science, Medical, Security ...," he paused and then selected individuals, "T'Lin, Kat, Den with me. Relok, you stay here and figure out that damned Rift." . Patterson reminded the Captain, "T'Lin is in Sickbay currently, Captain. She may not be able to accompany you." He glanced towards Carshel, who was quietly picking up T'Lin's papers and beginning to shuffle through them. . Oblivious, Carshel mumbled, "Ooh, boy, lots of paper cuts ... ow!"

. Zak glanced at the Ensign, but gave a slight shake of his head. "Yeah, I know T'Lin went below, but ... I need her on this mission, Travis. Shadow will get her fixed up, then we load up." . Speaking of T'Lin, she had made her own way to Sickbay, shadowed by Kat, and had climbed onto a bio-bed, where she sat cross-legged and began a process of Vulcan meditation. The only thing really wrong with her was that unlike most people, T'Lin's body and mind actually housed two "souls" or "spirits". As part of the process of becoming D'Vir of her people, she was bonded with the katra of an elder of her people as a kind of "spirit guide" in a sense. She believed that passing through the rift to the Mirror Universe (if, indeed, that was where they were) had thrown the two spirits out of balance. . Kat followed her in, observing as the bed's automatic bio-sign functions displayed T'Lin's vitals. Once Kat had seen that all the readings were in the normal range, she stepped over and briefly explained to Shadow that T'Lin was taking a few minutes to do some meditation, and then she turned and headed back for the Bridge. . Back on the Bridge, Hawke cleared his throat, "I hate to remind the Captain that it's out of regulations for you to go into an unsecure situation. I know you are ignoring it, but I thought I would at least bring it up for the record." . Zak turned to Hawke with a smirk on his face. "Thanks, but, my XO is not medically cleared, so I will exercise my prerogative." . Hawke smirked back, "Of course, Captain, my Captain." . Patterson turned back to face the Bridge and barked out, "Carter, get to Shuttle Bay 3 and prep the Australis for launch immediately. Ens. Filler, take the Helm and set a course back to the Rift." . Carter called, "Yes, sir," as he transferred Helm control to Filler and stood. "Gonna be a rough ride, might want to get some helmets," he smirked and moved towards the Turbolift, headed for Shuttle Bay 3.

. Carshel muttered as he skimmed over T'Lin's notes, "Either she writes poorly, or I need to get out more, cause ... damn." . Patterson then turned to look at Hawke and smirked but didn't say a word. The Tactical officer signaled for another officer to relieve him and logged off his station to join the Captain, and Patterson moved towards the Command Chair. As he stood in front of it, he addressed Filler, now logged in at Helm, "Filler, once the Away Team departs on the Australis, get us underway back to the Rift." He turned back to the Captain. "Four hours. If you're not back by then, and the rift destabilizes ...," he trailed off. . Zak looked at the Colonel and a serious expression came over his face. "Colonel, if you only get one shot to save the ship and the crew, take it. We'll follow if we can." He paused, then smiled, "Of course, wait for us as long as you can." . Patterson nodded, then straightened and lifted his chin, "Computer ... this is Lieutenant Colonel Travis A. Patterson, Executive Officer. I hereby take command of this vessel, effective immediately." . The computer trilled, "Acknowledged," then asked, "Does Captain Zachary Taylor concur?" . Zak glanced at Patterson, a stunned look on his face. "I completely forgot!" Regaining his composure, he said, "Yes, I concur, transfer all Command Codes to Lt. Col. Travis Patterson, effectively immediately." . Again, the computer trilled, "Acknowledged. Command Codes transferred. Lieutenant Colonel Travis A. Patterson, Commanding Officer, USS Penumbra. By succession, Lieutenant Commander Relok is now Executive Officer." . Patterson turned and extended a hand towards Zak, "Come hell or high waters, Zak, we'll hold the door open as long as we can." . The former Captain grasped the extended hand, "Thank you ... Captain." He grinned, then added, "I know, I know, you'd be 'Acting Colonel' or something, but by naval tradition, the commander of the ship is 'Captain'."

. Then Carter called from the Shuttle Bay, "Captain Taylor, the Australis is ready for launch, sir." . Zak tapped his commbadge, "Acknowledged, I'm on my way." Just as he finished, the Turbolift door slid open and Kat stepped out. Zak greeted her, "Kat?" he gestured for her to step back into the lift. . "I'm right here," Kat said, following him back into the lift. "I'm sorry, sir, I ... completely missed the call to the Shuttle Bay, escorting T'Lin to Sickbay, so ... I was on my way back to the Bridge." . He just smiled at her as her brother joined them in the lift and they descended to the Shuttle Bay.