USS Penumbra Sim Narrative, SD 202108.13
The Penumbra had been docked in a Vulcan Starbase in orbit over the planet Vulcan while the crew enjoyed some much-needed time off. The crew had just celebrated the wedding of LtCmdr. Tabeshk Tibris and LtCmdr. Bevin MacArdry. They'd met Tabby's father, Konar, and Relok's mother, T'Pren. The Commodore and the Colonel met with Vice Admiral Sulyk to report on our one foray into the Breen Confederacy. He was not impressed.
So, it was time for them to get back to work. Everyone had reported back from their various shore leaves and the Penumbra herself had been restocked and was now disconnected from the Station and holding its own orbit, awaiting its destination.
The Admiral had basically given the Penumbra "free reign" on their activities regarding the Breen. Patterson had told Zak at the end of their meeting with the Admiral, "We tried it your way. Now, it's my turn." He requested a Senior Officer Briefing and they were convening aboard the Penumbra in the main Observation Lounge.
Cdre. Zak Taylor stood in the Observation Lounge gazing out one of the windows at the planet Vulcan. Col. Travis Patterson was standing nearby at the central display monitor, looking over a PADD as he awaited the rest of the Senior Staff.
Cmdr. Relok, their Vulcan Chief of Sciences and Second Officer, entered from the Bridge and moved to his "usual" seat. LtCmdr. Denovan Hawke, the former Borg Chief of Security and Tactical Operations, entered with him and took his usual seat.
LtCmdr. T'Lin, the Vulcan Assistant Chief of Sciences, entered from the corridor, her face still glowing from her recent visit to her homeland of N'Ereon. She took her seat beside Relok. LtCmdr. Jason Carter, the Human Chief of Flight Operations, stepped in with her and took the middle chair with his back to the windows (he's said he spends so much time staring at the stars, he'd rather look away from them when he could).
LtCmdr. Tabeshk Tibris, the newly-wed half-Klingon/half-Romulan Chief of Operations, stepped in with Lt. Jackson Carshel, the human who was the third Science Officer of the ship, and they each took chairs at the table.
SgtMaj. Derek Hines, the tall human Senior Non-Commissioned Officer in command of the Marine Detachment, entered the Observation Lounge as well. His rank, while not technically an "officer", was that of the "Command Division" now, and he was the de facto Executive Officer of the Marines on the ship. Rather than taking a seat at the table, though, he stood leaning against the inside bulkhead near one of the doors.
Down in Main Engineering, LtCmdr. Bevin MacArdry, the newly-wed red-headed Deryni Scot who was the Chief Engineer of the Penumbra, had "hacked" into what she called "Starfleet's Department of Dirty Tricks" to download all the info she could find on the Kyrathian Energy-Draining Pods as well as the records of the Breen Energy Dampening Weapon. She hoped to create an "unholy alliance" of those radically different technologies that she might be able to use against the Breen, should the need arise. But, seeing the notice of a Senior Staff Briefing, she tabled her project and hurried to a Turbolift to take her to the Observation Lounge.
In Sickbay, LtCmdr. Dr. Shadow K'Trevala, the silver-haired Tayledras who was Chief Medical Officer, made a quick check that all their restocked medical supplies and equipment were in order, then hurried up to the Observation Lounge for the Briefing as well.
And the newly-promoted LtCmdr. Dr. Katarina Hawke, had been in her quarters, trying to take a nap but being unsuccessful. She'd been hearing voices lately and was growing unsure now whether she was hearing actual people talking, or not. When the notification of the Briefing came up, she sighed, dreading being in a room full of people right now. Nevertheless, she left her quarters and headed for the Observation Lounge.
But when Kat stepped through the doorway into the Lounge, she froze at what she saw. There were several Borg drones there! With a surprised sound she dived under the table!
Relok lurched to his feet as Kat dived under the table, "What -? Kat?"
Zak was still looking out at the planet when he heard the commotion. He spun around and just stood there, confused.
Shadow bent down to help Kat up, but she just scrambled away from him, terrified!
Zak looked up at Den, then to Shadow, then down at Kat under the table. "Um, what's going on, Kat?"
Relok also glanced from Kat to Den to Shadow, then back to Kat, but said nothing, standing now near the windows.
Kat stared out, and suddenly the drones she saw dissolved into familiar faces. She scrambled out from under the table and muttered, "Sorry, um, I don't think I got enough sleep." She tried to compose herself, embarrassed.
Shadow asked, "Nightmares, KittenKat?"
T'Lin squinted at Kat. She was a powerful empath and could feel Kat's panic. She patted the seat of the chair next to her, "Come, sit, Kat?" She'd made it a question rather than a demand.
Tabby's developing empathic abilities meant he could sense her distress. He stared at her. "Kat ... there's more going on, isn't there?" he asked.
Kat cleared her throat and responded to Shadow, "Yeah, you know, the kind that seem to linger, even though you're up." She smiled. "I'm fine, don't worry. Shall we carry on with the meeting?" She bit her lower lip, hoping everyone would stop staring at her.
Patterson glanced at Zak, then briefly at Tabby's impression, then turned to Kat. "You've been acting strangely for the past few days, Kat. Perhaps you should let Shadow give you an evaluation?"
Relok offered an explanation, "Waking nightmares can be caused by lack of sleep and poor nutrition. And I've heard that doctors make the worst patients." Then he agreed with Patterson's recommendation, "Perhaps Shadow should give her a good examination ... after our Briefing, perhaps?"
But Shadow softened the "order" by saying, "When you feel ready, Kat, I'll be here for you."
Kat tried to deflect everyone's attention. "Really I am fine, I'm sure Shadow has other things to do then check on me." She moved to sit in the seat T'Lin had offered, hoping once again that it would get the attention off of her.
Zak squinted at Kat for a second, then turned to Shadow and gave a slight nod, signifying his approval of the "order" to get Kat checked out. Then he said, "OK, then. We'll press on?" Relok resumed his seat as did the others.
Patterson stepped over to the larger display monitor at one end of the room and pulled up a datafile on Zhenkarian Corsaires.
T'Lin laid a gentle hand on Kat's shoulder, sending a wave of peaceful sensations over to her before pulling her hand away with a smile as Zak began speaking.
"So, as some of you may know," the Commodore began, "the Colonel and I met with Admiral Sulyk about our Breen mission. He's ... given us approval ...," he turned and glanced at Patterson, then continued, "... to return and find ... more information."
Tabby groaned, "More away missions, I presume."
Bevin raised a hand and Zak smiled at her, "Mrs. Tibris?"
Tabby nearly choked, not used to hearing that phrase, but Bevin just grinned and said in her heavy Brogue accent, "Same mair pawrkirs fer me fai'thir ain law fer dainnir?" She'd asked if there would be more "porkers" for her father-in-law's dinner.
Zak continued smiling as he answered her, "Well, I'm not sure if more 'porkers' will be found. But ... there will undoubtedly be more Away Missions coming up, Tabby."
Kat was trying to stay focused on the meeting at hand, which wasn't an easy feat since she was more than a little worried. Carshel was studying the display that Patterson had on-screen when Hines interjected, "How do these Corsaires factor into this return to Breen space?"
Zak was also a little confused. He asked, "Colonel, why do you have these ... Corsairs on screen? What's that got to do with the Breen?"
Relok suggested, "Perhaps the Colonel accessed the wrong file?"
Patterson began to explain, "The Zhenkarian Corsaires are an extremely ruthless, violent, ungoverned band of pirates with significantly advanced vessels. During the Dominion War they operated as privateers for the Dominion, but ... after the collapse, their entire race fell into disarray, relying on piracy to attain their needs. Pillaging, rape, murder ... things like that."
But T'Lin pointed out, "The Corsaires are from the...Gamma Quadrant, right?"
Zak agreed. He said, "Um, Colonel, the Breen are in the Alpha Quadrant, right? Half a galaxy away?"
Hines grinned at Patterson, "The perfect people to frame sabotage and destruction upon ... if they were in the Alpha Quadrant."
T'Lin nodded, "Perfect scapegoat, no need to worry about being caught."
Bevin muttered, "Nivvir trawst a Viking." That is, "Never trust a Viking."
Then Relok said, "What if ... some Corsairs came through the Bajoran Wormhole during the War? And never went home?"
Patterson swiped on his armPADD, changing the display to a series of civilian records confirming encounters and sightings of the Corsaires in the Alpha Quadrant. He said, "They're native to the Gamma Quadrant, yes ... but I have a contact who provided me with a list of run-ins near the Breen."
Carshel mused, "Then our excuse would be, them, right?"
Relok stood and moved to the big screen to take a more careful look. He said, "These sightings are along the Cardassian border, aren't they? Where they border Breen space? Opportunistic pirates, aren't they?"
Kat was trying to take in the information Patterson was presenting, but her fingers kept twitching and she began picking at her nails.
Suddenly, Den said, "I like the Jade ones. We liked a lot of them. There's a Silwaan now, she wants to know why they should have infiltrated Starfleet. And why we assimilated them. The skin is much more vibrant than Orions."
Zak turned to his Chief of Tactical Operations, confused. "I'm sorry, Den, I don't follow. What were you saying?"
Relok turned to him as well. "Silwaan ... that's one of the Breen sub-species, isn't it?"
Patterson raised an eyebrow at Den, then glanced at Kat and noticed her fidgeting. He called, "MAX, you busy?"
The Artificial Intelligence manifested his holographic head over the central pedestal on the table. "Not particularly, no," he said.
Kat continued to fidget and pick at her nails. She grumbled, turning slightly as if to address someone standing behind her, "Do you mind? I am trying to focus on the meeting here."
Den's eyes narrowed slightly as he continued, "No, they don't want to hurt you." His eyebrows raised. "Si'vearg wants to know why we assimilated them, and why they were used to infiltrate Starfleet."
Zak glanced at Patterson. "What's going on?"
Bevin pulled a string of agate "worry beads" from her pocket and offered them to Kat to fiddle with. Kat didn't even notice the offered beads and started picking at the back of her hand, where one of her Borg implants was.
Patterson shook his head at Zak, then said, "MAX, run a broad spectrum analysis for any unusual Borg frequencies."
Relok glanced between Kat and Den, then asked, "Is there anyone else ... hearing ... things? Or ... seeing things?"
Carshel was the only one to actually answer, "Thankfully, no."
MAX asked Patterson, "Borg activity this close to Vulcan?"
Patterson barked at MAX, "Just do it, MAX!"
Carshel asked, "Do you think the Borg might be involved with the Breen? Or maybe these pirates?"
Tabby looked to T'Lin. "I ... feel things, but ... that's about it. Nothing out of the ordinary. T'Lin?"
Shadow said, "I'm not privy to the Borg frequencies, but it could be like a sideband coming in on a carrier wave and she's getting the full measure." He gestured at Kat.
Den reached for a glass of water and took a sip then said, "Considering given the war, the Cardassians should still have some territories there, which might cause conflict with the Breen. They are very territorial." It was as if his previous statements hadn't even been said!
Zak realized Den was back into THIS conversation just like that. He gave a slight shrug and responded, "Huh, well, yeah, there's that."
Den continued, "Maybe they just aren't happy about it and we again are seen as aggressors. Even though they sided with the Dominion, now they just want to be left alone." He turned to Relok. "Did you ask something about the Silwaan a minute ago, Relok? I apologize if I didn't hear it."
Finally MAX reported, "I do not detect any foreign Borg frequencies."
Zak was growing a little frustrated that his Senior Staff Briefing was getting disorganized. He said, "OK, there's something going on here besides a Senior Staff Briefing. Colonel, I understand there's some Shenanigan Courier we're supposed to find or whatever that came over during the Dominion War and is now playing games along the Breen border ... let's go find them, shall we?"
Bevin raised a hand and when Patterson nodded she asked, "Iffin we're saeppaest tae be tha blaik shaip o Stairflait, thain wha waeld be wrang wi is jiwinin thaim tae absairve thair maithids afair tainrnin an thaim ance we're dane?" She said that if the Penumbra was the "black sheep" of Starfleet, then what would be wrong with joining the Corsaires, to observe their methods, and then turn on them once they were done?
Den interrupted before anyone could answer Bevin, "Not now!" he waved to his side as if someone was standing next to him.
Kat continued chewing her bottom lip, noticing that now her brother was acting nearly as strange as she was. She glanced to the side and closed her eyes, still picking at her implant on her hand. She needed this meeting to be over so she could talk to her brother. ~Hell,~ she thought to herself, ~I've barely heard anything going on over all the other voices.~
Zak just gaped at Bevin, struggling to decipher her thick Brogue. When he had it he asked, "Join them? The Corsair Couriers? Why that's ... that's ...," he turned to Patterson and gave a shrug.
Patterson grinned, "KIND OF the idea ... kind of."
After the Commodore's comment, Relok looked up at Zak and said, "Has anyone else noticed that the Commodore is horrible at remembering the names of alien species?"
Hines commented, "I always figured it's just a quirk of him being old."
Zak just glared at him a moment.
Relok noticed that no-one else had complained of any hallucinations. He deduced it had to be something specific to the Hawke siblings. He said, "If it isn't Borg-related, could it be something ... genetic? They are siblings as well. There's obviously something wrong."
Kat balked, "You have our medical charts, nowhere in there does it say we've a genetic disorder that would lead to ... well ... madness." He closed her eyes and rubbed her head. She was getting that headache again.
Tabby glanced at each of the Hawkes, then said, "Might I suggest quarantining the Hawkes for their safety until we know what's going on?"
Kat sent a message to her brother over their residual Borg interlink, ~Den, I don't know what's going on, but the voices are starting to overlap. Is it happening to you too?~ There was no way she wanted it confirmed that she was ... crazy, but ... what if she was? She thought that maybe she SHOULD see Shadow.
Den continued the tactical conversation as if it had never been interrupted, "We'd have to falsify a lot of reports, and backgrounds for the entire ship's crew, as well as make it believable we've really crossed." He glanced at his sister at the mental call and responded to her, ~Voices? I'm not really having anything like that.~
Bevin nodded, "*Aye, I ken, tawtilly lawkaw, bit iffin we kin gait tha Aidmiril tae gae alang wi i', ait waeld mak ait sae mich aisier.*" She agreed it was "loco" but figured if the Admiral would go along with it, it would be easier.
"Pardon the interruption," MAX cut in, "but, I believe I've found something, Colonel."
"Whadd'ya got, MAX?" Patterson asked.
"I need more sleep," Kat muttered, "If you all would shut up I'd be able to sleep!" Over her interlink she complained, ~They won't shut up! Keep asking why they had to be assimilated and forced to conform to the collective. I keep trying to tell them, I don't' know, I was assimilated too, I didn't have much choice.~
Den looked like he was about to say something when he turned to his sister and just mumbled, "Uh ...."
MAX said, "I'm able to pick up a significant increase in stimulation to both Katarina's and Denovan's Borg interlinks, but ... I am unable to determine a culprit, as there are no foreign signals that would be causing interference."
Patterson grumbled, "I had a feeling it was something with the Borg."
Tabby asked, "Maybe their old collective trying to reach back out to them?"
Relok mused, "Enhanced interlink activity but no Borg signals? Odd. I think Shadow ought to take both of them to Sickbay for observation."
Den was confused. "What stimulations? Let me see, MAX." He skimmed over the report, then gave a sigh and turned to speak to someone beside him ... that was not there. "Seriously? You know why, Borg assimilate. Why don't you tell me about who you have that's infiltrated Starfleet, Si'vearg."
Zak saw his briefing falling apart. He sighed and then started giving orders. "OK, Carter, lay in a course for the Cardassian-Breen border, maximum warp. For the part where we have to go through Cardassian space, use Slipstream as long as you can pull it off. Bevin, you might need to get down to Main Engineering to hold things together for this run."
"Aye, sir," Bevin stood and blew a kiss to her new husband as she started for the exit.
But almost at the same time, Patterson gave orders as well. "Katarina, Denovan, the two of you report to Sickbay immediately. You're relieved of duty temporarily while we figure out what's wrong with your interlinks. Bevin, you head to Sickbay as well and see what you can do to fix the issue ... I'm not about to go head-first into the opposition with my gunner and Assistant Chief Medical Officer out of peak performance."
Bevin turned to Patterson and gave another nod, "Aye, sair, thain Mayine Ainjinairin." She acknowledged that she was headed to Sickbay first, then Main Engineering afterward.
Patterson addressed Hines, "Sergeant Major, escort Den and Kat to Sickbay, please."
Relok turned to his underling, "Mr. Carshel, if you'd go with them to run some scans as well, it might be helpful."
Carshel nodded, "Understood." He didn't really want to be put with "Crazy 1" and "Crazy 2", but ... what else could he do?
Den still didn't understand what was going on. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "Sickbay, sir?"
Kat protested, "Patterson, I'm fine, I just need more sleep that's all." She flinched and turned to the side, "Will you just shush? I get it, you were assimilated and used to hurt others, but so was I! Stop whining to me, sheesh! Let me get some sleep!"
Hines nodded at Patterson, then stepped forward, offering his hand to Kat. "Come on, Kat ... let's go get it looked at. Maybe Shadow can give you something to help you sleep during the flight to the Cardassian-Breen border."
Tabby also encouraged them, "Kat, go to Sickbay. You're not okay, and neither is Den, accept that." He rubbed his head, Kat's panic was giving HIM a headache.
Kat reached and patted Tabby's shoulder, then smiled at Hines and said, "Really? Because sleep would be wonderful. My head hurts."
Zak looked to Patterson, seeing they'd given conflicting orders. He said, "We need qualified engineers in two places."
Patterson studied the Commodore a moment, then said, "Respectfully, Commodore, we do need competent engineers ... and right now, you're the only one available. We need Bevin in Sickbay working on those interlinks." He paused, then straightened and announced, "By order of Admiral Sulyk, I hereby relieve you of command, temporarily, sir. Please report to Main Engineering."
Zak gaped at him a moment, then finally closed his mouth and gave a curt nod. "At your orders, Colonel." He turned to Bevin and said, "You go to Sickbay to help the Hawkes. I'll keep the engines cool until we get where we're going."
Patterson looked to Shadow, then gave him a silent head-tilt that indicated Den. The highly telepathic doctor clearly picked up on the signal that he should sedate Den if necessary.
As they moved through the exit, Den was saying, "Okay, so ... Si'vearg isn't here, is she?" He gave a slight shrug and added, "She's pretty though. Maybe I knew her as a Borg? Oh!" he paused and turned to Patterson, "I did get some names: Starfleet Headquarters, Admiral Vansen, Commodore Smenth, and Captain Farris. Were there in the 70's, may not be there anymore." He gestured for Hines to lead the way, he didn't need to be forcefully escorted, or sedated.
Hines patted Den's shoulder as he continued to hold Kat's hand. He muttered, "Yeah, peaceful sleep would be wonderful ... hard for me with a bunch of Marines making all kinds of noise, y'know?"
"Really," Kat continued to explain, "I am fine, just ... I haven't been sleeping all that well lately. I'm ... sorry to worry everyone."
Shadow soothed her, "Kat, it's okay, it happens to all of us at one time or another."
Patterson looked to the rest of the crew still in the Observation Lounge. "Well, we have a destination to reach. Dismissed!"