USS Penumbra Sim Narrative, SD 202103.12 Introduction: . The Penumbra was docked at the Federation Listening Post Station K-7 near the border of the Klingon Empire, with umbilical connections still supplying power and life support. Repairs to the damage the ship had taken when the Heart of the Ancients exploded and sent them careening through the Rift from the Mirror Universe back to their own were well underway. In fact, the Captain had ordered that many of the exterior repairs be put on hold for the time being in order to pursue a mission requested by the Commander of the Station. . The interrupted status of the repairs left the ship with only two of their four nacelles fully functional. They could manage Warp 5 for a few hours if needed, and might could push it a bit faster in a pinch, but that would probably undo most of the repairs they had completed and should be avoided. . Tactical systems were restored, with the exception that they still didn't have their Point Defense network or the MIRAGE system. Both could theoretically work but with significant gaps in their coverage they wouldn't be very effective. Still, all of the hull plating had been repaired or replaced, even their ablative panels, and the Warp Core could generate the power needed to keep shields at 100%. All of the sensors were operational, though the longer-range images were still a bit blurry until they could be properly calibrated. . The Commodore still wore a soft cervical collar, mostly as a reminder to not turn his head too fast. A few of the other crew injured during the Rift passage were similarly equipped with soft wraps or slings to help remind them to take it easy, but no-one had any lingering effects. Except for MstSgt. Khal'Gon, who had developed a severe allergic reaction to plant fibers from the Mirror-Universe Ivorez. He was "over the hump" on his way to recovery, no longer in "critical" condition but still "guarded".
. Dr. Shadow K'Trevala had also suffered an "attack" by the Ivorez, even though the entity was in the Mirror Universe and many, many, light years away. He'd been using his empathic healing abilities on several of those injured by the Rift passage, and had used them again on Khal'Gon, and in his weakened state, this left him "exposed" to the psychic plant's attack. Fortunately, the great distance from the source had limited the Ivorez's actual ability to merely a "headache" (though very severe) and empty threats. With Merasha-based medicines and a few hours of mindful relaxation, the doctor has fully recovered from the episode. Bridge, Other Locations: Rumors . Col. Travis Patterson stepped out of the Turbolift, having finally made it out of decontamination protocols after the lockdown of Sickbay upon detecting the Kyrathian Plant fibers that had infected MstSgt. Khal'Gon. . Cdre. Zak Taylor sat stiffly in the Command Chair, turning his upper torso to glance around the Bridge. "Is everybody back?" . He saw that LtCmdr. Tabeshk Tibris had the Operations Console, LtCmdr. Jason Carter was at the Helm. Cmdr. Relok was at the Primary Science Station, but LtCmdr. T'Lin was working with Dr. Shadow K'Trevala and Lt. Katarina Hawke in Sickbay with Khal'Gon. LtJG. Jackson Carshel sat quietly at the Secondary Science Station, working on the last-minute calibrations of long-range sensors. LtCmdr. Denovan Hawke had the Tactical Station as usual, but the Reconaissance station was vacant, since SgtMaj. Derek Hines was down in the Marine Bay briefing the Marines on the impending mission. And LtCmdr. Bevin MacArdry was in Engineering, working on putting together modules to replace the burned-out ones that had not yet been replaced. . Patterson stepped around to the Executive Officer's seat. As he did, he commented, "Mr. Carter, good to see you back at the Helm." . "Yeah," Carter answered, "good to be back." But there was a soft sigh in his response.
. Patterson raised an eyebrow, smirking as he took his seat, "Reminiscing on something, Carter?" . Carter shook his head. "Aren't we all, Colonel?" . Den tilted his head back a moment and cleared his throat. "Anyone else hear the rumors?" . Relok looked up from his work at the Primary Science Station and said, "Pirates?" . Carter spun his chair around, looking at Den, then to Relok. "I thought we were heading to the front lines against the Nausicaans?" . Relok blinked at him. "Front lines? What front lines?" . Patterson looked at Zak and said, "Sounds like we're already running into problems ... and we haven't even left yet!" . Zak blinked. "Front lines? Where the hell did that come from? Rumors travel at warp speed, right? But there's been some spacial anomalies in these, eh?" He smirked. . Den cut in, "Rumors I heard was something about the Gorn." . Carter blinked this time. "Gorn?" he asked, "No, it's the Nausiccans, from what I heard." He turned his attention to the Commodore. "I can only assume this is some sort of secretive mission, but ... there's a rumor we're transporting some sort of biological weapon? And Khal'Gon was a test subject?" . Den was about to respond to Carter, but quickly closed his mouth, seeing a scowl appear on the Commodore's face. . Zak nearly growled through his scowl. "See, that's the problem with the rumor mill! No, there is no biological weapon." . Patterson rubbed his head with both hands, then said, "All right, all right, focus people."
. The Commodore scowled slightly. "Well, we need to cut the rumor mills off." He pressed the commlink on the arm of his chair and called out, "Attention all hands. There are various rumors floating around this ship about our upcoming mission. I haven't heard them all, but the one's I've heard are all half-truths, if that. Rest assured that you will be given clearer instructions when they are ready to be given. Let's stop the chatter, shall we? Bridge out." Departure and Arrival . Patterson grunted and then said, "Tabby, hail K-7. Let them know we're ready to sever the umbilicals and clear for departure." . "Aye," Tabby said as he contacted the Station. . Relok cleared his throat then asked, "So ... Commodore, what is our mission, then?" . Tabby spun his chair around. "Good question. What the hell are we doing then, sir?" . Zak answered, "The Commander of K-7 has requested our help in finding a kidnapped Gorn Ambassador. The Klingons didn't want to get involved and the Gorn are too far away." . Relok filled in the blanks, "Let me guess ... the Gorn was taken by Nausicaan pirates." . Zak turned to respond to Relok, but moved his head a bit too fast and flinched in pain, "Ooh!" He made a face before continuing, "Um, yeah, so we're told. And we have to track down these 'pirates' and find the Gorn and bring him back to the Klingon High Council. Pretty simple really, with our advanced Recon systems and all." He turned back towards the front. "Tabby have the umbilicals disconnected. Carter, once we're clear, back us off from the Station." . Tabby answered, "I'm on it." He flipped a few switches and then said, his voice sounding a bit nervous, "I had a feeling the ... um ... stories I heard were wrong somehow. I mean, we aren't a war ship."
. Carter checked his systems and then reported, "Umbilical is cleared." He pressed a few buttons then announced, "Half maneuvering thrusters until we're out of the port." The ship slowly backed away from the Station. . Then Den asked, "Would you like me to poke into my brain about what the Borg know about them? Considering they've been assimilated before, Commodore? It might help." He paused then said, "I can transfer the data on a PADD. That way I'm not actually accessing the ship with the tubules." He remembered trying to directly access the ship's computer with his Borg nanotubes. The automated defenses had thrown him across the Bridge and could have killed him. . But before Zak could respond to Den, the Turbolift doors slid open and a new officer called out, "Permission to come aboard, Commodore?" He held a PADD in his hands. . Zak turned to the sudden call and flinched again. "Damn it!" . Patterson raised an eyebrow at the Commodore and turned towards the Turbolift himself. . Den also glanced over at the Turbolift, having noted the Commodore's reaction. . The man standing in the Turbolift slowly stepped forward, placing the PADD behind his back as he clasped his hands there. He introduced himself, "Lieutenant Oscar Myerz, M.D. I was assigned to this vessel from Starfleet Medical under the premise your crew was in need of a specialist in neuro-biology?" . Zak stood and moved towards Myerz. "Sorry, doctor, I didn't mean to curse at you. It's the neck, I keep turning too much." He touched the collar he wore. "Whiplash or something. Welcome aboard." He reached to shake the man's hand. . Myerz nodded and looked the Commodore over a moment, then shook the hand before presenting the PADD. He said, "Couldn't wait any longer to get off that station. Boring assignment." He paused, glanced around, and then said, "I should head down to Sickbay and meet the CMO, yes?" . "Yes, doctor," Zak said. "I'm sure Shadow or Kat will be glad to show you around."
. Myerz nodded again and stepped back into the Turbolift. "I'll get right on it. Thank you, sir." Where to Start? . Zak turned back to the Helm, "Carter, set a course towards Nausicaan space. Let's see if we can pick up any sort of trail." . Patterson blinked and then asked, "Wouldn't it be best to start where the trail goes cold, sir? The abduction site?" . Relok chimed in, "Agreed, Colonel. Do we know the last known location of the Ambassador? And his anticipated itinerary from there?" . Zak turned to face Ops, "Tabby, see if you can get the Ambassador's scheduled stops from the Federation database. See where he last checked in." . Tabby nodded, "I shall try, sir. Looking it up now. I'll gather a list once I have everything, sir." It took only a few moments before he was transferring the itinerary to the MSD. . Patterson stood and moved to the Master Systems Display at the rear of the Bridge and called out, "MAX?" . The Artificial Intelligence known as MAX manifested his face on one of the pedestals near the MSD. Without having actually been posed the question, he provided the answer, "At current capacity, we can reach the coordinates in 3 hours, 21 minutes at Warp 5. Heading 215 mark 148." . Carter's fingers moved across the Helm console as he said, "Cleared from spacedock. Setting heading 215 mark 148 at full impulse until clear for warp." . Zak turned again. "Relok, study the local star charts for any sort of ... well, pirate hangouts ... in the area." . But Relok said, "Sir, to be honest, we don't have detailed charts of this region of space. The Nausicaans, Klingons, and Gorn aren't real keen on sharing." . Den reiterated the idea about poking through his brain for any extra information on the Nausicaans, now that they were cruising. He added, "I suggested that, because the Borg do, and I have ... well ... some of that in my head."
. Relok turned towards him. "You know, you did mention that, didn't you? So ... how do we get that information out of your head? Because ... I don't relish the idea of going in there for it!" . Zak choked and sputtered at the Vulcan's (attempted) joke. Patterson just shook his head. Sparkles? . Den smirked slightly but also just shook his head. "I'll just try to remember it. Like I said, put it on a PADD so I don't zap myself again like last time when I tried to use my tubules on MAX and the ship. Transfer it over the normal way. Unless ...," he trailed off. . MAX cut in, "Don't even think about it! I had quite an extensive diagnostic and repair I had to do after I had the other Hawke sticking things in me." . Patterson mumbled, "Did she at least buy you dinner?" . Zak had returned to the Command Seat and gave a loud groan as he rolled his eyes, "At least I don't have hot coffee to spill on myself!" . Den clarified, "I actually meant, by going to Engineering and hooking up to my cortical node. Medical would probably want to be in on that. Download the charts that way. Otherwise, I'm just going to have to remember and draw them out." . Patterson turned back to the MSD and said, "MAX, display the Ambassador's route and overlay with all Nausicaan sightings along it." He turned towards the Tactical station. "Den, what do you know?" . Den stared at Patterson a moment, then asked, "Colonel, could you be more specific about what do I know?" . Suddenly Tabby interrupted, "Sir, look at this! I'm getting a 'mayday' from a ... commercial ship. The ... Canteen of ... Sparkles? What in the hell?" . Den glanced at his Tactical display. Long-range sensors were still a little blurry as they worked on the calibrations but he announced, "Confirmed." . Zak sat up in his seat. "A mayday?" He spun his chair, "Den, what do you see?"
. "It's small, looks like a freighter, I think. Possibly a D-300 class," Den answered. "The signal isn't much. I'll try putting it on speakers." He glanced over at Relok and then Tabby. "Can you boost the signal?" . Zak added, "Tabby, see if you can hail them." . Tabby said, "I'll try." . Patterson asked, "Carter, can we get a heading on that vessel?" . Carter answered, "I can get a course to it, but it's hard to get an exact heading. Least I can get us in the right direction." . Tabby boosted the signal strength and sent the hail. Zak called, "This is the USS Penumbra calling the ... Canteen of Sparkles? What do you need?" . A voice came back, audio only, "A lift maybe? I'm floating dead in space here. I ... think something blew." . Zak glanced at his Helmsman. "Carter, take us closer." He spun his chair, "Den, be on the alert but not Yellow Alert ... just ... cautious." . Den nodded and said, "Charging deflector shields, just in case, around the Bridge and Engineering." . The voice spoke again, "Yeah, something definitely blew. I can smell smoke. Putting on a respirator now." . Zak ordered, "Tabby, use a regular Tractor Beam ... when we get close enough. We can pull her into the Hangar Bay." . "Aye, sir," Tabby called, "Prepping now. On your order." . Zak turned again, "Den, make sure we secure any sensitive craft and cargo from prying eyes down there." . "Aye, sir." Then he added, "This is way too convenient, considering we just left the station and run into this." . Zak hummed, "It is a bit odd, isn't it?" . Den nodded, "It really is. I'll try a more extensive scan." . Patterson nodded, "Agreed." He tapped his commbadge, "Security Alert. Hines, get a detachment down to the Hangar Bay for a vessel inspection." Sickbay: Fighting what you cannot see.
. In Sickbay, LtCmdr. T'Lin was furiously rummaging through drawers and cabinets, scanning ingredients of medicines, antivenoms, and antibiotics alike, searching for one specific compound that she had derived from what she now referred to as "the Other Kyrathian Plant", the Mirror-Universe version. . Also in Sickbay, Dr. Shadow K'Trevala was checking over MstSgt. Khal'Gon, whose infection had improved but wasn't exactly gone yet. . With the recent notice of a change in their mission, Shadow had been reading up on Gorn and Nausicaan physiologies, just in case he'd need to take care of either. . T'Lin came over to Khal'Gon and stuck him with a hypo, drawing a blood sample for ... SCIENCE! Khal'Gon winced then grumbled, "Wish you people would stop treated me like a lab rat." . Shadow smiled and said, "Sorry you're feeling like a pincushion, Khal'Gon." . T'Lin said, "We must figure out how to defeat this infection, not simply treat the symptoms. Be proud, not many Klingons can fight what they cannot see, and to do that for all of us? Hold that honor proudly, my friend." . Shadow pushed up his own sleeve and gestured towards T'Lin. "Go ahead and get a sample from me, too, to check to see if I have any of that damned plant in me!" . T'Lin asked Khal'Gon, "What happens when the Merasha wears off, on both you AND Shadow?" . Shadow shrugged. "T'Lin, we'll just have to see what that sample report from me comes back showing." . T'Lin took the two samples and set to work, analyzing them, checking the chemical balances of both. As she worked, she said, "Yes, and it will more than likely come back fully clean. This infection is mainly psionic in nature, which is why it rendered Khal'Gon so ill. We have learned to fight unwanted advances; he has not had the experience we have." She turned to Khal'Gon and added, "Klingon training alone will not fight this, as opposed to living it for as long as we have."
. Shadow nodded. "So true. But, there might still be something in there that we haven't picked up before." Mind-Blind . Khal'Gon groaned, but forced himself to sit up and let his legs hang off the bed. "I don't thing the psychotic crap is what got to me, T'Lin." He may not have realized he said "psychotic" rather than "psionic" ... but then again, he just might have! . T'Lin just stared at him, emotionless, and said, "I did not say that the symptoms were psionic, Khal'Gon. You should feel like you are boiling alive." . Shadow tried to explain. "Khal'Gon, sometimes being mind-blind is a blessing, and sometimes, a curse. And when dealing with that damned plant, it's definitely a blessing!" He smiled. . About that time, a new person entered Sickbay. Shadow turned to him and said, "Howdy! How can I help you? I'm Shadow, the CMO." . The new officer stepped forward, "Lieutenant Oscar Myerz, M.D. I was assigned to this ship as a specialist in neuro-biology. Dr. K'Trevala, I presume?" . "Yes, I am," they clasped hands a moment and then Shadow continued, "Welcome aboard. There's fresh coffee in the urn in the lounge, if you're interested, and then I want to hear about you. PADDs don't tell more than the bare bones about a person and I want to know more about you and what interests you hold." . T'Lin had continued working, taking notes on her archaic paper notepad, even while using the computer to cross-reference neuron activity of the brain scans she'd taken from both Shadow and Khal'Gon. She interrupted the two doctors without even looking up, "I do not see any fluctuations here, but I can see a slight difference in the chemical code of your brain. Shadow, come here." She reached for a small flashlight, still without looking up from what she was doing. . Shadow gave an exaggerated eye roll for Myerz' benefit and turned towards the Vulcan Science Officer. "What's up, T'Lin?"
. She shined the light into Shadow's eyes and said, "Look to my right ...."