Mission 002: The Eye of Bewilderment

[Gheskori]

Ok, moving on to the main mission now. Continue your end-shore leave posts in this thread as if the thread hadn't changed.


The Eye of Bewilderment

The Enzio is heading for Jupiter, fifth planet in the planetary system Sol which is of course also home to Earth.

Starting eight months ago a series of natural disasters on Mars has killed cumulatively two hundred Martian citizens. Geological and scientific study led experts to the conclusion that the disasters were caused by strange radiative emissions from Jupiter, specifically its Great Red Spot. Upon detailed analysis of the Spot's activity, the scientific teams made a surprising discovery.

Being one of the three newest ships in Starfleet, and part of a production line that included a particular class of highly experimental particle sensors and other equipment, the Enzio has been selected for further study of the Spot and its strange activity...

[Gheskori]

Three days after the Enzio's arrival at Starbase 47...

Gheskori had been back aboard the Enzio for two days, having spent just one night on the Starbase. He'd had some quarters set up for him in the line officer department on the 'Base, had tried to spend time there. He'd slept - or tried to - that first night since being told of his mission, without much success... He had put it down to the quarters; perhaps something to do with the temperature.

As he understood it most of the crew were back aboard now. Shore leave had been brief, he was sorry for that but duty called once again, and this time in the most unexpected of places: Earth's own solar system...

The Denobulan reached the bridge and looked around. Indeed, most of the stations were occupied but not, in most cases, by his senior personnel. They would be organising their departments below deck, he suspected, or if not then still on 'Base. He trusted they'd make their way back soon. Pressing the intraship comm on the wall outside the turbolift, he made an address to his staff.

"All senior staff currently aboard the Enzio, there'll be a staff conference meeting in four hours. I expect you all to be punctual...hmm?" he trailed off, closing the channel. He also put in a note with the Starbase's communication network to inform the Enzio senior staff still over there of the meeting, adding that he'd like them back on the ship at their earliest convenience.

<Tag Senior Staff - not the meeting yet by the way>

Ghes settled in the command chair. The beeps and the trickles like electronic water of the bridge consoles filled the air around him; he looked forward to the viewscreen. The common sight of ship activity in the large bay arena was slightly subdued, only one other ship - the Crozet - was present in the view that he had.

He thought back to the morning before yesterday, upon waking in his quarters on the Starbase. He'd run into his new tactical officer that morning, making the man's acquaintance at last.

"Ensign YiZhong Tan, I presume?" he'd said, reading the look of recognition in the man's face against the background of the stars visible beyond the docking arena, "Captain Gheskori of the Enzio. Good to meet you at last. Walk with me?"

<Tag YiZhong Tan - just respond as you see others doing in their own posts >

Suddenly Ghes was shaken back to the present by an unexpected alert from his chair's sidepanel. He glanced down; it was sickbay.

"Captain Gheskori, this is Saryn. Do you have a moment to speak?"

Ghes pursed his lips. He had a fair idea as to what this was about. Nodding despite the fact that it was a long-distance comm call, he replied. "I do, Doctor. You may come to the bridge; we'll do this in my ready room as I also have something to speak with you about."

<Tag Saryn>

[Deleted]

Down in Main Engineering, Ensign William Walters watched the colorful swirls of matter and antimatter as they made their way into the dilithium chamber. The steady streams filled the room with a soft hum, a far more pleasant sound than the harsh repeating thrum of the Galaxy-class ship that brought him to Starbase 47.

The hull had been patched up, and you’d never know that the ship had been damaged unless you were there or read the logs. Will had spent the next two days familiarizing himself with the Enzio’s systems, and he got to know his staff by sharing a drink with all of them at one of S47’s drinking establishments. They were a good bunch, and he was looking forward to working with them all.

"All senior staff currently aboard the Enzio, there'll be a staff conference meeting in four hours. I expect you all to be punctual...hmm?" Will glanced at the chrono after hearing the Captain’s announcement. Four hours...plenty of time. Since the CMO would undoubtably mention that the ship’s new CEO hadn’t come to Sickbay for his physical in this conference he better get it done.

[Tiana Galwyn Cet]

Tiana had slept. Not particularly well, but then she had a lot on her mind. The next day she spent her time checking her staff there had been no serious injuries but there had been a few allergic reactions to the gas combination that had been used to ensure that everyone stayed unconsious once they had been subduded.

She found a bit of time to unwind and had spent some of that time trying out some of Cet's martial arts knowledge. It was still kind of strange to have the knowledge but not the knack. Still, it was fun to try.

The rest of the science staff had dragged her ashore and they wre now sitting in a small cafe snacking on a variety of nibbles and six planet's variations on coffee.

=/\=All senior staff currently aboard the Enzio, there'll be a staff conference meeting in four hours. I expect you all to be punctual...hmm?=/\= Tiana rolled her eyes causing smirks around the table, they knew she really wasn't bothered by the call it was more that the first time they had managed to to get her to unwind and now that was over, or would be in four hours.

=/\=Commander Galwyn aknowledges.=/\= Tiana said tapping her comm badge in response. She finished the mug of coffee. "So shall we go shopping?" Many of the staff we enthusiastic but one or two had to go. Tiana let them go with a smile.

She spent two hours purusing the shops and then returned to the Enzio, that gave her time to change back into uniform and then go down to the labs to check the simulations she had left running. She was busy testing the new subroutines, they seemed to be functioning, so far.

She arrived in the conference room with three minutes to spare as she took her seat.

[Deleted]

"I do, Doctor. You may come to the bridge; we'll do this in my ready room as I also have something to speak with you about."

Saryn cut the connection without another word. If the captain said now, then there was no margin for hesitation. Seeing Savin was already sitting up, and no doubt would be out of bed with or without his clearance, he signed off the youth's release, signaled that he was leaving, then walked right out of sickbay.

The older Vulcan still felt uncomfortable in the new uniform he was now wearing, even though it had no display of any form of insignia in terms of rank. Grabbing his medical kit on the way out, simply because he was not comfortable being without and then happen to need it, he headed straight for the bridge. Upon arrival and the captain noticing his presence, he followed the Denobulan into his readyroom.

"I wish to report an incident," he stated gravely. He did feel bad, even though as Vulcan he was not supposed to be feeling anything, but even though it concerned two of his children, it was still an incident that needed reporting. Calmly, he reported on the accident in the gym, waiting for the captain to respond and then carry on to tell him what he wanted to say.

<Ghes>

---

Savin had just dressed himself into a clean uniform, disposing his blooded work-out clothes into a recycler when a young officer walked in. One of the nurses tapped him on the shoulder to draw his attention, then pointed at the newcomer. Straightening his jacket, Savin walked forward. "Greetings," he stated formally, "I do not believe I have seen you here before. The chief medical officer is currently engaged on the bridge, however I am fully qualified to assist you with anything you require."

<william>

[Deleted]

Ensign William Walters stepped into Sickbay for the first time and stood by the door. Looking around he took in all of the machinery, mentally composing a list of all of the different components that he’ll be responsible for. One thing was for sure: even if he wasn’t the best at biology, there was a chance he could be in here a lot over the course of his stay.

Will caught some movement out of the corner of his eye. A Vulcan that was about his height stepped up, "Greetings," he stated formally, "I do not believe I have seen you here before. The chief medical officer is currently engaged on the bridge, however I am fully qualified to assist you with anything you require."

Ensign Walters found it a little odd that the doctor stated his qualifications, but he figured that was probably just a Vulcan thing to do. “I haven’t been in before actually. I need to do my transfer physical. I’ve been a little busy down in Main Engineering and this was the first chance I got.” That wasn’t quite true, he had a number of opportunities to drop in, but the medical staff couldn’t have known that. “I believe my records should be in the computer by now though.”

Will glanced towards the biobeds, wondering which one he’ll end up sitting on.

<Tag Savin>

[Deleted]

Savin followed the engineer's gaze and offered a hint of a smile. "Choose," he offered, gesturing towards either bed. The young Vulcan then walked over to a console and retrieved the engineer's medical file. "Your medical records have indeed arrived sir," he added as he approached the bed Walters had chosen to sit on.

The Vulcan flipped open a tricorder, puzzled for a moment over the settings, then looked up. "Have you been ill, prior to your assignment to the Enzio?" he enquired, his voice soft yet pleasant.

Lt. Walters sat down on the closest biobed and watched as the Vulcan doctor checked a console.  While he waited the engineer glanced around some more, just killing some time.  *after Savin asks the question* "Nothing more than a mild flu, and the Academy's infirmary took care of that in less than 5 minutes."

The Vulcan seemed to scrutinize him for a moment, before offering a small nod. “Any allergies we should be made aware of, that may not be in your medical file?” he asked, equally quiet, while keeping his eyes on his patient.

Will shook his head.  "Not that I know of."  Will kept his attention on Savin, it seemed only fair since the Vulcan was giving him such an amazing level of attention.     Must be a Vulcan thing.  I've never met someone keep their eyes on a person so intently.

Savin shifted his gaze to his tricorder for a moment, then looked up at the screen above the bed. “You appear to be in decent health,” he commented, returning his gaze to his patient. “Do you eat and exercise regularly?”

"Eat, sure.  Exercise?  I try to when I get a chance.  I kept up at the Academy, hopefully I can keep up to standards here.  When I went in for my gravity therapy they said I shouldn't lose the muscle mass or bone density, but they did warn about sitting around like a lump."

“Gravity therapy?” The Vulcan arched an eyebrow. “I have learned about a game called velocity. Should that be useful to you, perhaps? Do you...work out?” The other eyebrow joined the first. “Cricket, perhaps?”

Will shook his head again.  "Most of my working out consisted of lugging impulse engine components around back when I was working on moon shuttles.  After that I ended up doing some additional resistance training and a bit of running for the most part.  I was never one for sports." He shrugged.  "Lunar gravity's a little weak for most sports so unless you're in one of the later cities we don't have many athletic games."

“I was not aware of that possibility.” Savin paused to make a few notations. “You should start working out, starting with the low gravity you are used to, and then gradually increase gravity as your body grows accustomed to it. Once you reach normal gravity levels, you should start normal exercise routines to keep your body fit. And keep up a healthy diet.”

Chuckling, "Yes sir.  Though pressing 15 kilos won't be very impressive to the women.  How soon do you think I can get to the 1G standard of 90 kilos?" 

There was no immediate response as Savin was distracted by something on his small screen, which he now cross-checked with the larger screen. Only then did he realise he'd been spoken to. “Apologies, you were saying?”

"I was asking how soon it would be until I can get to 1G levels.  The engineering school wasn't the best for the physical training so I know I'm behind the expected curve."

“I do not know,” the Vulcan replied honestly, “the rapidity of someone's recovery is solely dependent on the patient's determination to recover and achieve a certain goal. Depending on the individual, this could either take a few days, or even months to years. How determined are you?”

Will looked to the side in thought.  No one had ever asked him that before.  "I guess I always planned to just get the job done and work myself up to those standards.  If that meant I didn't get up to 1G standards I didn't think it would bother me all that much.  After all, if I need to carry something more than across the room or into the next I could always use an anti-grav sled or transporter."

“Affirmative,” Savin responded after a very long silence. He had only caught parts of the man's explanation and had to deduct their meaning for himself. “However you may not always have one on hand. I suggest you try this game Velocity. And then work yourself to higher gravity levels from there.”

The human looked back to Savin.  "I'll look into it.  I'm guessing you play?"

“Negative. I do not touch firearms if I can avoid it. I prefer melee combat.”

"Tal-shaya?" One of the engineer's physical trainers showed off a couple of moves on the first day, among others from a whole host of martial arts from all over the Federation.

“I am capable of performing tal-shaya,” the young Vulcan confirmed, “however I prefer not to demonstrate as that could result in your death. I do not wish to break your neck.” He paused briefly, considering his patient's query. “I presume you are referring to Suus-mahna, however. My father is more adept at it than I.”

"Yeah.  My instructor never snapped anyone's neck," he rubbed the back of his neck in memory, "though at times it felt like he was about to."

“It is a Vulcan technique that requires precision.” Savin tilted his head briefly to the side, catching a hand-signal from Numike from the corner of his eyes. He gave a quick signal in return before glancing back. “However, training in suus-mahna may actually benefit you. It too requires concentration but it may assist you in rebuilding muscle strength.”

Nodding, "I'll look into it.  What's the worst that could happen anyways?  If I get flattened sickbay's just a short site-to-site transport away."

“Affirmative. However if you do get flattened, as you state, I may not be able to...what is the Human phrase? Patch you up?” That small smile touched his face again, his deep brown eyes sparkling with what could only be amusement.

Will caught the flash of emotion on Savin's face and chuckled again.  "I thought Vulcans never had a sense of humor."  He clapped the Vulcan on the shoulder.  "Hopefully we won't have to find out.  So what's the verdict?  Am I going to live?"

“For a while,” the Vulcan confirmed as he winced at the touch. “Please do not touch me, it is...distressing.” Not quite, but given his warrior instinct it was at least dangerous.

He quickly pulled his hand back. "Sorry.  Old human habit.  I nearly got decked by a Tellarite once because of that..."

“Tellarites take pleasure in taking offence it is custom to them. To be pleasant to them, is as though you insult them.” Savin knew that much about Tellarites. “I am telepathic, more so than my father. I rely on my senses because of my...condition. To be touched disturbs that sense. Also, for me, to be touched is almost equal to being attacked. It would not be wise to touch either myself or my father without prior invitation to do so.”

"I'll remember that.  Both things."  Will thought for a moment, then decided to ask anyways.  "So what does your father do?"

“He is the chief medical officer.”

That took him by surprise.  "Father and son working together in the same department on the same ship?  I've never heard of that before.  Ever since the Borg attacks of the 2360's and 70's and the Dominion War Starfleet's been really cautious about having families on ships, even after 20 years."


“The what and the what?” Savin looked puzzled. “What is a Borg?”

Savin's question shocked Will even more.  "The Borg?  You've never heard of them?  Not even the Dominion?  You can't be younger than me so surely you were at least born just before, during, or just after the War."

“I was born in 2135,” the Vulcan replied calmly. “I do not know what a Borg is, or what a Dominion is. I am twenty-five standard years old.”

"Are you trying to check my math skills?  2135 was 262 years ago, not 25."     Is he trying to pull my leg or something?     he wondered.

“Negative sir. I am a healthy Vulcan male of twenty-five standard years old.” He turned the tricorder on himself to take a scan, then turned it back around as proof.

Will checked the offered tricorder and was about to call Savin on the math discrepancy when he noticed the quantum scan.  "I'm missing something here.  According to this you're physically 25 but are also 262.  What did you do, jump forward in time?"

“Jump no. My family and I were thrown forward in time by an anomaly. We were headed to Vulcan from the NX Challenger, while on shore leave.”

Shocked into silence, Will suddenly wondered why he could taste his boot leather.  "Oh..." was all he could say.

Not having caught the response, Savin cast him a puzzled glance. “I apologize, I did not hear that.”

"I was just...never mind, I should be the one apologizing.  I kept running my mouth without thinking, making assumptions about you and even starting to question your education a little bit."  At least he remembered not to reach out this time.

“Running...?” Again, the young man looked puzzled. “You are sat on a biobed,” he explained, “you are not running.” He tilted his head again, studying the other man. “You are Human, it is said that to err is Human. Do not apologize for being who you are. I asked, because I literally did not hear. I am deaf.”

"Deaf?"  Will had come across a few deaf people in the past so that wasn't too strange for him.  In fact, some of the small oddities in Savin's behavior suddenly made sense.  Mainly, his constant attention on Will. "Well then, I bet you get to have all sorts of fun signing about annoying people with your family and friends."

“I do not.” He frowned. “I do not have friends here, not many and they do not know sign language. Most do not even know I am deaf. My sister,” here he gestured towards the pale girl puttering a bout a few paces away, “learned from my father. My aunt too, is deaf. Was deaf.” He sighed, closing the tricorder, laying it aside. “I do not have...fun.”

Will turned and saw Savin's sister and waved.  "Adopted?"  Turning back to Savin, "Well that's going to change.  I'm off duty at 2000.  Meet in the mess hall 30 minutes after that?"

“Adopted,” Savin confirmed, casting a fond look over his shoulder towards the girl. “I will meet you,” he agreed, though he wondered what for. “You are free to return to your duties sir.”

Hopping off of the bed, Will smiled at Savin.  "Great.  Now your father won't report me for failing to do the physical.  I'll see you at 2030."  With one last wave to Savin's sister Will left, whistling contently.

Savin stared after him, shaking his head in wonder.

OFF:
JP between Saryn (as Savin) and William Walters

[James T Matthew]

Scene: Cmdr Matthew Quarters , Deck 1, USS ENZIO
-----------------------

“Cmdr Matthew savored the hot raktajino with a contented sigh at his Desk . "Perfect, as usual,"

"Computer, "he said, clearing his throat, "begin recording."


USS ENZIO NCC-750081

( 2nd Officer Cmdr James Matthew Personal Log" )

“he waited for the computer to chirp its acknowledgment. Once it did, he
lifted a PADD off of his desk and continued his personal log entry. “I received a personal Communiqué Telling me of an old Friend Death it Seems we can't escape change any more than one can escape death," he said. "We can delay it- prolong our time together...but we can't escape it."

As he spoke, his thoughts turned immediately to Colonel Azalea. Hearing of His death
Did hit me hard...though, perhaps not as hard as it hit Mark wife and two Children I had served with Mark Azalea on a secret Mission about 12 years ago I was a young Newly promoted Lieutenant and he was a Newly promoted Marine Captain Both of us looking to prove our self Mark was a Highly Skilled Combat officer the Kind of man you can trust in a Fire fight to watch your back ‘ he was So good he spent the last Five year As one of Star fleet marine Corp Top Combat Training officers.

"Change eventually claims us all," he said softly, staring out the wall
portal into the blackness of the space beyond, streaked only by the warped
stars as they sped by.

After a moment, he lifted his mug to his lips and took another sip of the
comforting liquid. "

“well enough of that I have a Senior officers meeting to Attend in 2 hours And a large Pre-Departure Check list To check before Commander Parsons will sign off on it .

[Deleted]

"All senior staff currently aboard the Enzio, there'll be a staff conference meeting in four hours. I expect you all to be punctual...hmm?"

Parsons heard the message from his quarters and wondered if shore leave would be ending. He made his way to the bridge to find the Captain.

As the XO stepped onto the bridge, he observed Ghes in the command chair and Adam made his way to his station.

"Captain," Adam said acknowledging his old shipmate and now CO. "I regret that we were not able to make a connection on the station. It would have been good to spend a little off time together."

<TAG Ghes>

"So, does this mean shore leave is over? Do we have a mission?" Parsons inquired part in eagerness and part in disappointment that the crew would not have more time to unwind after the tension they experienced during their last mission.

<TAG Ghes>

[Gheskori]

Ghes stood before Saryn as the vulcan gave his report on the incident in the gym. It was with grim aspect that he'd turned to face the door as Saryn had entered, for he knew what both he and the CMO would be wanting to talk about.

"So that's what it was about," Gheskori sat back down in his ready room chair. He now had an answer to what'd happened with Savin, as he'd seen Saryn's son carrying his sibling towards sickbay, blood oozing from a wound in his neck. "Do you think Numike could do it again if she's not properly controlled?"

<Tag Saryn>

Gheskori moved around the ready room. The staff conference was not too long from now, and he wanted to be sure he was himself punctual. "We'll treat this strictly as a familial matter for now, so it's your prerogative as to how it's dealt with. However, if there is a more serious incident or if a member of the crew outside of your family is affected, we may need to give it some careful thought."

<Tag Saryn>

He dismissed Saryn for the time being; he needed time to gather his thoughts before the conference meeting. He sat at his desk for the next hour, cycling through a half dozen PADDs containing information on each aspect of the coming mission. It was a curious assignment, and one that he imagined a large proportion of the crew would have strong feelings about.

Of course, the loss of life was enough to invoke emotion in anyone, regardless of where it took place. But for the human crewmembers, Ghes thought, this would strike rather 'close to home'.

Eventually he moved to the bridge. Sitting in the command chair, he started overseeing the undocking operation.

"Captain. I regret that we were not able to make a connection on the station. It would have been good to spend a little off time together."

Ghes looked around, surprised to see his XO sitting down beside him. He chuckled. "No worries, Commander. I nearly caught up with you on the station actually, but I had to deviate at the last moment towards command to accept my assignment."

"So, does this mean shore leave is over? Do we have a mission?"

"It certainly does. We're heading to Sol." Despite his efforts to keep his words quiet, the whole bridge heard Ghes, and he detected a pause in bridge activity as they assimilated the news.

* * *

"You all know this," he said to the room full of faces. The conference room was packed. Two new senior staff members and a couple other additions to the group had meant there wasn't much room to move; the staff knocked elbows against each other. Ghes, though, liked to keep as wide a group of people informed as possible. "This is Jupiter.

"It's been exhibiting some strange radiative processes of late, centered around this, the Giant Red Spot." He pointed to the image on the screen as it zoomed, an orange box-graphic being placed around the complex storm in Jupiter's southern hemisphere. "It is thought by prominent scientists in the field that this is what's caused the natural disasters on Mars during the last eight months. Two hundred people have been killed." Ghes paused. "Being distant from the heart of the Federation, you may, like myself, not have heard about this. We're being sent to continue the scientific investigation."

"Why us?" a voice spoke up from the far end of the table.

Ghes looked at the man. "Because we are one of only three new ships that've been fitted with a class of experimental sensory equipment, which may be applicable to these unusual emissions."

He surveyed the room. "We won't know exactly what we might be dealing with until we reach Sol. We have a reasonably long journey ahead of us, a week I think, but this is good because the experimental sensors haven't been hooked up and installed yet. The machinery's still in its packed configuration in cargo bay 2. Mr. Walters, I'd like you to have it all unpacked and installed by the time we reach the outer Oort Cloud; have Commander Matthew work with you, he should be able to supply you with anything you need from ship stores."

<Tag Walters & Matthew>

Ghes returned to sit at the chair at the head of the table, then looked to his right. "Commander Parsons and Ensign Tan, in conjunction with myself I'd like you to open a dialog with the administrative and scientific divisions on Mars, so we can start working with them early and see how they're progressing in clean-up and continued study of the Spot."

<Tag Parsons & Tan>

"Dr. Saryn and Commander Galwyn, I'd like you to begin practicing screening the crew from.. theta radiation." He coughed, "One of the minor emissions from the Spot that's actually been identified." A silence, more still than before, ensued. Everyone knew theta radiation was no trifling matter.

<Tag Saryn & Galwyn>

Ghes concluded the briefing by asking if there were any questions, and then let them mull over what'd been said as they departed the briefing. "Tiana, a quick word," he caught his science officer, "I thought you should know before we start that a Trill academic is heading up the local scientific investigation." He gave her a PADD to leave with, detailing the Trill's file. "Anyone you're familiar with?"

<Tag Galwyn>

As everyone left in front of them, Ghes turned to the two remaining. "Come with me, Commander, Ensign." They departed the conference.

OOC: Apologies for length.

[Deleted]

Lt. JG William Walters sat in his seat and listened intently to Captain Gheskori as he briefed everyone on their new mission. When Jupiter came on the screen he fought the urge to laugh as hard as he could, and managed to keep silent. I get flown all the way out here only to end up flying all the way back. Granted, there was no way that whoever it was that assigned all the graduating could have known that the Enzio would be going to the Sol system just days later, so it would be unfair to call it a waste. Besides, it gave the engineer a chance to get acquainted with the ship before they got into the thick of things.

"It is thought by prominent scientists in the field that this is what's caused the natural disasters on Mars during the last eight months. Two hundred people have been killed." Ghes paused. "Being distant from the heart of the Federation, you may, like myself, not have heard about this. We're being sent to continue the scientific investigation." Actually, Will had heard. News of the disasters on Mars had hit the Academy like a photon torpedo, with several groups of cadets assigned to the recovery efforts during their summer duty. Will hadn’t been in any of those groups, but he heard the stories and saw the pictures. Several Martian cities were in bad shape, even all these months later. Learning that Jupiter was the source of the disasters was a shock though. The Great Red Spot had been in existence for 500 years and nothing like this had happened before. While the captain continued on Will remembered one of the last letters he got before he graduated. Moonquakes had started becoming more frequent in the past two months (thankfully nothing the seismic stabilizers couldn’t handle), but only in a few days of the month. He decided to look into the orbital history, a sneaking suspicion that those were the days when Luna was closest to Jupiter.

“Mr. Walters, I'd like you to have it all unpacked and installed by the time we reach the outer Oort Cloud; have Commander Matthew work with you, he should be able to supply you with anything you need from ship stores." Will nodded. “I’ll see if we can’t get it done before that Captain. I was wondering, are there any plans to take the ship into the Jovian atmosphere? If so, I’ll have to strengthen the SIF and possibly even reinforce the hull itself.”

<Tag Gheskori>

[James T Matthew]

USS ENZIO
Scene: Conference Room
“Commander Matthew. Still sitting at the Table picks up his PADD and begin to tap some information into it “
“ok LT, Walters I just Pull up the invoice for your Sensor Components in cargo bay 2 Deck 15 they will be waiting for you in main engineering when you get there ‘
“also I don’t know if you had the time to check the last ship system upgrade log but the Wiring for the New sensors where install in the ship Sensor Controls Room on Deck 3 But the Components where never install
“also I been getting some report from the Bridge Duty officer that a Energy Glitch from the ship on board SIF & IDF Generators on Deck 4 Have been Red lighting on there Board then Turn back green >
< Tag Walters >

[Deleted]

"So that's what it was about," Gheskori sat back down in his ready room chair. He now had an answer to what'd happened with Savin, as he'd seen Saryn's son carrying his sibling towards sickbay, blood oozing from a wound in his neck. "Do you think Numike could do it again if she's not properly controlled?"

“It is not about control,” Saryn answered gravely, “not about controlling her, I should say. This is an innate defense mechanism which she will always portray, she will only need to learn to control it. And that is something Savin, no doubt was attempting to teach her. I have every faith in my son captain, and in my daughter. I do not believe that Numike intended to harm him, she never does harm us, usually. Not like this.”

He remained standing before the captain's desk, seeming deep in thought for a moment. “I just felt I should report the incident, as is a proper course of action.”

Gheskori moved around the ready room. The staff conference was not too long from now, and he wanted to be sure he was himself punctual. "We'll treat this strictly as a familial matter for now, so it's your prerogative as to how it's dealt with. However, if there is a more serious incident or if a member of the crew outside of your family is affected, we may need to give it some careful thought."

“You are correct, this is a family matter,” the Vulcan confirmed, “and I shall endeavour to tutor my daughter about who is friend and who is foe. She only practices with either me or Savin so an incident with another crewmember should not occur. Not if the crew treat her as a normal child and do not give her any cause or need to defend herself.”

Gheskori nodded appreciatively. "I'll make it known to the department heads, so if any matter with Numike comes up the appropriate chief will be aware and can take necessary steps." Ghes paused. "Do you think this warrants that sort of action?"

<tag?>

---

Saryn had followed the captain to the briefing room since there was no point in returning to sickbay first and then have to hurry to get to the staff briefing in time. He sat somewhere to the side, quietly listening to the various staff offering their ideas and comments, while he waited for orders.

"Dr. Saryn and Commander Galwyn, I'd like you to begin practicing screening the crew from.. theta radiation." He coughed, "One of the minor emissions from the Spot that's actually been identified." A silence, more still than before, ensued. Everyone knew theta radiation was no trifling matter.

Everyone, but Saryn. “Theta radiaton sir?” he querried, feeling somewhat awkward for having to ask. While he had brushed up on modern science and medicine, it still seemed he had a great deal to learn. “Commander Galwyn, would you be willing to fill me in on this radiation later?” He didn't want to hold up the briefing with questions simply because he lacked the know-how.

[Deleted]

After getting his answer from the Captain, Lt. Walters stood and met up with Commander Matthew, who happened to be walking towards him as well.

“ok LT, Walters I just Pull up the invoice for your Sensor Components in cargo bay 2 Deck 15 they will be waiting for you in main engineering when you get there.

“Great, that’ll save me quite a bit of time. We’ll get them unpacked ASAP and get them installed as fast as we can. I know the Captain gave us until we reach the Sol system, but I’m sure we can get it done beforehand.

“also I don’t know if you had the time to check the last ship system upgrade log but the Wiring for the New sensors where install in the ship Sensor Controls Room on Deck 3 But the Components where never install

Will shook his head. “I haven’t worked my way through all of the reports so I didn’t know that. Still, that’s great news. I hope the connections for the sensors themselves were installed, that will make this job easy enough that we can all go on vacation in the holodeck for several days.

“also I been getting some report from the Bridge Duty officer that a Energy Glitch from the ship on board SIF & IDF Generators on Deck 4 Have been Red lighting on there Board then Turn back green”

Frowning, “I’ll get someone on it. Sounds like it’s an instrumentation error, but considering where we’re going we can’t be too careful. Thanks Commander, I’ll keep you informed.” With a nod, Lt. Walters stepped through the Conference Room’s door and took the turbolift down to Main Engineering.

Sure enough, when he got there a pair of anti-grav sleds full of sensor components were sitting off to the side. He grabbed a PADD with the inventory and checked to make sure everything was there, and it was. Advanced graviton sensors, magneton scanners, photic sonars, atmospheric sensors of various types, everything you can think of was there. The sheer amount of installations would play havoc on the duty schedule and the ODN system, but that was all part of the job.

Will gathered the rest of his senior staff together around the main console and pulled up the inventory list to show to everyone. “Ok, here’s the situation. We have all of this that needs installing. In a stroke of luck the connection points for the main interfaces have already been installed so we can just plug in the controls. Hopefully the sensors themselves already have their connections installed, but I’m sure we’ll have to do a full install on a number of them. Any questions?”

No one had any. “Ok then. The shift’s almost over so lets get them delivered to the different sensor arrays then have Gamma shift begin the installations. Get a good night’s rest though, we’ll be working around the clock to get everything up and running. The Captain gave us a week, I want to get it done in 5 days. Lets get going.” Everyone started to move from the console but Will called for one of them. “Hriss, hold up a second.” The Caitian engineer stopped in his tracks and stepped close. “Yes Lieutenant?”

“Something’s weird with the IDF and SDF system on Deck 4. The computer keeps logging that they’re going on and offline at random. I’m thinking it’s just instrumentation, but it needs to be checked. Once you drop the tachyon sensors can you check it?”

Hriss nodded. “Sure. We’ve had trouble up there before. Something’s been going on with the data collectors on that Deck. You’ll have a report in the morning.”

“Great. I’ll see you then.” Lt. Walters grabbed a dynoscanner and a translinear sensor off of the sled and made his way to the bow sensor array.

[James T Matthew]

Scene: USS EZINO Deck 6 (Main Corridor )



"Lt, Laura Townsend “Sir I Was just on way to see you." Rather than having him stop
she turned on her heel to match his pace and fell into step with him like a
prefect meeting.

"I have the reports of new personnel; and assignments as well as the completed
updated repair list." she offered the PADD. "It is my hope to get OPS into the usual
order and not cause you any more head aches. Then normal “she smiled charmingly.”Just way to say thank you for opportunity." Lt, Townsend kept pace and was not going to hinder his
progression


"Cmdr Matthew How `convenient' you just happened to find me Lieutenant,

“He accepted the PADD, reading it as they walked down the corridor.”I needed an Assistant chief of operations as you were aware and you wanted a ship to be assigned to. That you had already been here and working with the crew and operations department, it seemed like a natural
choice," he said before returning his concentration to the information he had been
given


"The room assignments for the new arrivals seem to be in order and the repairs.
The transporters are due for Future overhaul and System upgrades if I read the maintenance logs
correctly; you may wish to add that to your list. They worked fine on the last
mission, but that is certain one system on this ship that has the least room for
error I believe."

“He looked up from the PADD and handed it back to her.
"Well Lieutenant everything seems to be in order. How about you Lieutenant. I'm not
prying, but you seem to have been working awfully hard on this despite being on your shore
leave. Is there any reason you're Didn’t take more advantage of the time here at
S-B Assailant when we where there?"



""Lt, Townsend Well sir I had one mission on Southern Cross then I was assigned to S-B Assailant on Gamma Shift Lead; I have had enough of the station Duty for while" Lt, Townsend explained I Just needed to get back Active Ship Duty..

Continue.

[Tiana Galwyn Cet]

Tiana listened with interest as the Captain talked about their trip to the Terran system. Sol V (Jupiter) was supposed to be a fairly standard gas giant but recent events had suggested (as was comman that things were a little more complicated than that. She knew she would have to read up on the research that had been done all ready.

"Dr. Saryn and Commander Galwyn, I'd like you to begin practicing screening the crew from.. theta radiation." He coughed, "One of the minor emissions from the Spot that's actually been identified." A silence, more still than before, ensued. Everyone knew theta radiation was no trifling matter.

"Of course, sir." Tiana said. She looked across the conference room table at Savin. "Shall be had to sickbay after this meeting for a preliminary discussion?" The key thing Tiana though was to make whatever screening method they used was easy to modify to take account of other types of particular and energy emmissions as they were identified.

Tag: Savin

At the end of the meeting as Tiana got up the leave the Captain spoke to her.
"Tiana, a quick word," he caught his science officer, "I thought you should know before we start that a Trill academic is heading up the local scientific investigation." He gave her a PADD to leave with, detailing the Trill's file. "Anyone you're familiar with?"

OOC: Ghes let me know if you've put a name to the Trill Scientist, I didn't see one but I'm not entirely with it.

"Javey Fallan," Tiana mused. She smiled. "I do know him we, that is Tiana and he, did our doctoral studies at the same time at the Trill Sciences Institute. It'll be good to see him again."

[James T Matthew]

Scene: Operations Staff Meeting underway

‘Cmdr Matthew looking out A window as stars pass by Thinking to him self why would Star fleet send a Advanced Attack cruiser on this mission When A Science Vessel Would Make more since sure they say its because of The Prometheus Class Ships have a particular class of highly experimental particle sensors and other Equipment on board ‘

“James Had Spent most of his early morning reading Back over The mission orders and the Latest sensor data, from the Sol system and Mars all this Geological and scientific Data is giving me A headache after All Science was not one of my best subject Back at the Academy .

“Ok Everybody take a seat let get this meeting underway First up is the Emergency disasters Supplies in cargo bay #5-6 Lt, MacIver I wont you to move them forward to cargo bay #2-3 closer to the Heavy Duty Cargo Transporters so we can off load them planet side once we arrive there no orders for Operations personal to transport down to the planet with the Cargo so far I Have to have a Talk with the Xo to see if theses Orders have Change ’

“Ok First up The Mars Geological Agency is expecting some minor quakes Planet side in the next couple of days with could Be A problem for us ?"

“ Cmdr Matthew leaned over and tapped one of the LCARS screens and a projection emerged from the center of the conference table. It showed various Transporter Landing zone on the Planet surfaces - with an overlay of red concentric circles of differing color intensities. He pushed another button and the model began to come to life, illustrating in 3-D multiple quake sites along with the affected areas including some outlined populated areas.

The mining areas were highlighted in brilliantly contrasting light green and a
cluster of red circles fanned out from them like spots on a peacock.

"This is the 48 hour model. The data has been carefully checked and
re-checked with our Science Department. The only thing we aren't sure about is why the mining operations weren't shut down a long time ago. These fault lines
here and here...

“He stood up and pointed at projection of the thin jagged lines running along the surface.”...they aren't new. And you don't need sophisticated tech to detect them. An old Federation Transport Ship pick them Up with there outdated Sensor System with very little problem at all six weeks ago"




“ Matthew Stud up ok people let get to work we got a ship to keep operational " Offering a reassuring smile, he adds, "if anyone need me ill be on the bridge I need to Talk with Cmdr Galwyn .

Matthew Taps his comm... Badge commander Galwyn could you make a little time in your Schedule to talk to me about this mission

<Tag Galwyn >

[Deleted]

A little beat from all the lifting, Lt. JG William Walters finally made it to his quarters. He slipped his uniform jacket off and tossed it into a chair while he slumped into the softest chair he had. “Computer, soft music from Alpha Centauri.” A song he didn’t recognize started playing but it fit his request. Will sighed and slouched deeper into the chair then shot up straight. “Computer, what time is it?”

“The time is 1958 hours.”

“Damn, I’m gonna be late...” He jumped out of the chair and ran out of the room, replacing his jacket on the fly. Thankfully he didn’t have to wait for the turbolift and he was soon striding quickly through the mess hall’s door.

Savin was already waiting, having opted for a window table. He sat with his back turned towards the entrance, though he saw William's reflection in the window. Slowly, he turned and raised his hand in what could pass for a wave in greeting. "Over here," he called, oddly enough without even raising his voice.

Will saw Savin waving and walked over, hoping his hurry wasn’t evident on his face or in his breathing. “Evening Savin, how’d the rest of your day go?” He made sure that Savin could see his face.

"Good evening William," the young Vulcan replied, offering a slight smile. "My day was uneventful," he added after a slight pause, allowing his companion to take a seat. "Just a routine day in sickbay. You seem flustered, did you run?"

Chuckling, Should’ve known you can’t hide something like that from a Vulcan. Will chided to himself. “Only for a few dozen meters. I walked quickly the rest of the way.”

"You did not have to hurry." His smile widened a little. "I knew you would not desert me, you would have come eventually. Do you wish to order?"

Shrugging, “I said I’d be here at 2000 so I better be here at 2000. At least that’s my philosophy.” Will’s stomach growled before he could continue. “I better order or I might have a digestive mutiny on my hands. Have you ordered yet?”

"Negative William, however I do not require as much sustenance as Humans do." Again that goodnatured smile. "However, I will have the tofu spaghetti bolognese and a glass of water. How about you?"

“Salmon steak with steamed greens and a glass of appropriate wine. It’s been a while since I’ve had a native Lunar meal, even if it’s replicated.”

"Lunar?" Savin arched an eyebrow at his companion. "Surely, Salmon is a terran dish?"

Nodding, “It is, but it’s also a major Lunar dish. When the first colonies were established they set up aquariums to farm fish and other aquatic lifeforms in in since most seafoods produce more protein per unit energy than any other source. By the time replicators made that obsolete it had already stuck.”

"Ah, I understand. I cannot eat fish, I fear." He looked truly apologetic about that. "I inherited my father's allergy for fish. Any fish."

“Well that sucks. Any possibility for treatment? I know a few people who get regular injections for their food allergies, though mostly they’re for non-animal allergies.”

"I do not know. I have not heard about there being treatment for a food allergy. I do not miss it, however, as I do not consume meat either." He held up his fork which held something that resembled minced meat. "Quorn is a decent replacement," he added, "and has similar nutritional value. Besides, if I do not careful I need to train even more than I already do."

Will looked down at the plate the server set in front of him and smiled. “Right, I forgot about the usual Vulcan vegetarianism. Oh well, just means more for the rest of us.” He used his fork to cut off a piece of fish and took a bite. It wasn’t like home, but it was passable.

"Usually is correct. Are you settling in on the Enzio? Finding your place among the senior staff?"

“I think so. Until today’s meeting I haven’t really dealt with anyone outside of engineering, but that could be a good thing. I’ve heard of senior staffs that step on each other’s toes all the time, but here they seem to want to leave me to my work. Commander Matthew is working with me right now, we’re trying to upgrade the sensors for the new mission.”

"Ah. My father went to meet with the captain earlier, and I have not seen him since. I spent most of my day tending to my sister, you see."

“That’s nice of you. When I was her age I was in school. I’m guessing you two get along well?”

"Why should we not get along? She is twelve standard years old, and she does attend school. However father and I devote several hours a day to tutor her ourselves in many other aspects of Vulcan society, as well as Human society, insofar we understand it. She is, after all, neither Vulcan, nor Human."

“Touche. Rae and I were constantly poking at each other and most of my friends had similar lives with their siblings. I guess it’s a human thing.” He took a bite of his greens and sipped the wine. “So where is she from?”

"She is from a planet called Miranda, the species are vampiric and split in two different societies. The dark skinned sub-species is the more dominant one, where the pale skinned sub-species is often seen as enslaved. My father, however helped free the planet from Romulan subterfuge, and also assisted in banishing enslavement. What the planet is like now, I do not know. Numike has no desire to go back and I believe, neither does my father. His adventure almost got him killed." He chewed thoughtfully for a moment. "I also have a younger brother, he resides on Earth with our mother."

“Miranda...” Will tapped his chin. “That’s ringing a bell but I can’t place it. Then again, we did go over so many case studies in the Academy that I can’t remember them all off the top of my head.” Chuckling, “Wouldn’t that be something, seeing your father’s name in a history book? So you’ve got a bigger family than I do. It was just me, my parents, and my sister.”

"Originally there was just me and Sodon," Savin replied quietly between bites, "and then my father came home with Numike. She has saved father's life several times now, she is quite fierce when she is determined to defend her friends or her family." Savin tapped at his throat, which was bandaged. "As you can see, she still has issues in recognizing an actual threat as she saw me as a threat during training."

Will’s eyes grew for a moment. “I’ll make sure not to make her angry if I ever bump into her in the corridors.” He went back to his meal for a minute, wanting to get more of it down before it grew too cold. “Do you like working and learning on a starship?”

"She does know the difference between a joke and a threat," Savin explained dutifully, before inclining his head briefly in acknowledgement. "Affirmative, I do enjoy being on a starship. I have served with my father ever since graduating medical school, and am now aiming to specialize in xeno-surgery." He finished his spaghetti, then folded his fork and spoon over his plate to indicate he was done. "Do you enjoy living on a starship?"

“I like it so far. Oddly enough I never really thought about serving on a ship when I joined the Fleet. Since I had worked on the lunar shuttles before signing on I figured I’d end up on base duty for most of my career. Boy was I surprised when I got my assignment.”

"I am confident you will make a very dedicated and skilled chief engineer," Savin offered quietly, his eyes never leaving his companion's.

“Dedicated I can promise. As for skill, all I can promise is my best. I doubt I’ll go down in history as a new Scotty, but as long as the ship makes it back to port I’ll have done my job.”

"Exactly. And you acquire skill through experience. You will add to your knowledge with every port you visit, with every species you encounter. You are still young..."

“Especially when compared with you. I’m just a baby to your 262 years.” Will laughed and winked. “Any plans on trying out for the uniform?”

"I do not know. And I am not 262 years old. I am twenty-six standard years old."

“I know, small joke.” Will finished off the last few bites and set his silverware down. “About this Velocity game you were telling me about. Is there any specific times where games are played or should I just get some holodeck time?”

"I believe holodeck time must be booked." The Vulcan's smile seemed to widen a little as his eyes lit up at the prospect of a challenge. "It should be a pre-existent program," he added, though he didn't seem too certain. "I have not played it since coming aboard the Enzio. I have not visited the holodeck, only the gym." He barely knew how a holodeck operated to begin with, and it was technology he wasn't familiar with.

“I’ll check the schedule then. Any usual times when you’re free?”

"Every evening," Savin responded without hesitation, "though I am certain my schedule can be rearranged to meet your availability should that become necessary."

“No need, one of the benefits of being chief is that you get to make your own shift.” Will stretched out his back and both heard and felt several vertebrae pop. “Ugh, now I see what you mean about the gravity training. I haven’t been this sore since combat training.”

“Thanks, but it’s ok. Nothing a good night of sleep and a sonic shower won’t take care of. Though if something happens during the installations tomorrow I might have to take you up on that.”

“As you wish. You may page me when required. Do you wish to attend to your rest now?"

"I probably should.  While we still have the better part of a week to have the upgrades done I'm hoping to impress the captain by having them done early." Will stood and smiled at Savin. “We’ll have to do this more often. It’s nice to have a friend you can share the end of the day with.”

"Agreed." Savin returned the smile warmly. "Good evening sir. Sleep well."

"You too Savin.  I'll let you know when I have the Velocity time established."  Will took both of their plates and glasses to the replicator and left the mess hall with a smile.

Savin remained behind a little while longer and returned to his prior daydreaming.

OFF:
JP between William Walters and Saryn (as Savin)

[Gheskori]

OOC: Saryn, I have modded in a reply as suggested in your post dated the 10th July.

"... I was wondering, are there any plans to take the ship into the Jovian atmosphere? If so, I’ll have to strengthen the SIF and possibly even reinforce the hull itself."

Gheskori had glanced at the PADD in front of him, searching out some of the anomalous details of the Spot's activity that might tell him if an atmospheric journey was needed. Of course, like when he'd looked at it before, it was impossible to tell. "We won't know until we reach Sol, I suspect, Lieutenant. It's entirely possible that it won't be needed. However so that we're ready for anything, start preparations for the necessary strengthening."

<Tag Walters>

* * *

The image on the state room's viewscreen flickered off, the man's face replaced by the brushed black of the screen. Gheskori and Commander Parsons turned to each other, both of them surprised by the sudden end to the conversation.

"I must wonder what's the matter with these people," Ghes mused. "They see our uniforms and think we've come to... to do them wrong." The XO tapped a finger against his lip, seeming similarly pensive.

So far the communications with the science and administrative divisions of Mars had been sketchy. Yes, the Enzio had received full data on the emissions and their effect on the Martian atmosphere and tectonics; but they'd received very little human cooperation. Ghes, on reflection, could only put it down to the losses the locals had suffered, and how inexplicable and unavoidable the natural disasters had been.

---

4 days later...

Being quite far from the heart of the Federation, at one week the Enzio's trip to Sol was relatively long. Even at high warp, the impossible distances between stars meant for a lengthy and sometimes boring journey. Ghes found himself reading a lot of the way. But now was again time to start chasing after his staff.

He'd heard a rumour.. That his chief engineer had been working double quick time to get the sensors installed, perhaps even up to two days ahead of schedule. He trusted his chief to get it done, so decided to leave him be for a moment - besides, he had SIF to work on - and instead contact Tiana Galwyn.

He thumbed the comm panel. "Commander Galwyn? This is Gheskori." He waited patiently for the science chief's response. "How are the theta radiation studies coming along? We may need to find a way to block the crew from its effects. Is Saryn progressing in testing the crew with theta sources?"

<Tag Tiana Galwyn> <Tag Saryn>

"Very well. I thought you should know that me and Commander Parsons have been in contact with Dr. Javey Fallan, your old colleague." He waited for Tiana to say something. "Strangely he's been a little cold. Perhaps he doesn't like our involvement. I was thinking, maybe you could talk to him? Seeing an old friend might make him a bit more enthusiastic about Starfleet taking over this study..?"

<Tag Tiana Galwyn>

Gheskori walked into astrometrics, immediately taken aback - as was normal - by the panoramic cartographic screen. It displayed the view ahead of the Enzio, highlighting in flashing graphics the Sol system - it was much larger now than on his last visit. He was doubly surprised to see James Matthew standing at the main console.

"Commander Matthew. Studying our target? I've heard you and your staff have been looking into the causes of the quakes directly, our objective." Ghes smiled. He moved up next to Matthew and stood gazing at the Enzio's trajectory - a direct course towards the Sun's local star cluster.

"Actually I'm glad you're here," he said cheerfully. "I've lumbered Tiana with the task of talking to the local head scientist, so perhaps it would be best to give this to you. I'll download to your personal station all the scientific data on Jupiter's emissions; what's odd about them and how they are thought to be causing the quakes. You can swap notes with Tiana later once she gets on to look at it."

<Tag Matthew>

Once Ghes had got back to his ready room, he decided that he'd send the exact report on Jupiter's emissions that he was sending to his Ops officer to all the senior staff. It was too important to keep from them any longer. He wondered what they would make of it.

... The Jovian's Red Spot lies at the heart of the anomaly, almost eighty percent of the apparently destructive emissions originating from its area. First it was thought by the scientific team that a fierce and sudden element of the storm was the direct cause of the disasters, but this was later found to be insufficient to have caused the EM surges in Mars's atmosphere, and wouldn't have had anything to do with the quakes. Further analysis of the storm - including an atmospheric insertion into the Red Spot by a science craft - resulted in surprising findings.

Space time is being completely distorted at the Spot, as if there exists a massive gravitational source within the Spot itself. Somehow though, Jupiter's matter is unaffected. Not only that, but subspace seems to have changed, twisted and torn to the point of rupture. Nothing - as of yet - has been found in the Spot to explain why either spacetime or subspace are behaving as such, or why the distortions seem to lash periodically into space ...

[Tiana Galwyn Cet]

Tiana was feeling rushed off her feet. Her 'to do' list was getting longer and longer. She had reviewed theta radiation, it was one of the several types of radiation that had been discovered alongside the transperiodic elements. It was ionising and difficult to detect and block due to a significant subspace component.

Tag: Saryn if you want that discussion

Tiana's comm badge chirped, she tapped it and recognised Commander Matthews' voice. =/\= Commander Galwyn could you make a little time in your Schedule to talk to me about this mission=/\=

=/\=I'm in the Main Lab, Commander, you are welcome to come down and talk to me here. If you want me to come to you the conversation is going to have to wait.=/\=

Tag: Matthews

She had also hear rumours that engineering were playing with shield specs that would allow them to enter the Sol V's atmosphere. She was grateful that she hadn't been given that job too.

****************************************************

Four days later

By the time the Enzio approached the Sol system there were stacks of coffee cups on the side in the main lab and Tiana had had nine hours of sleep in the past fourty-eight. Her plan was to catch a nap when the scans started it would take four hours to get enough data to move to the next step anyway.

Her comm badge chirped, she tagged it. =/\=Commander Galwyn? This is Gheskori.=/\=
=/\=Commander Galwyn here, Captain.=/\= =/\=How are the theta radiation studies coming along? We may need to find a way to block the crew from its effects. Is Saryn progressing in testing the crew with theta sources?=/\=
=/\=The studies are coming fairly well. The last round of testing was very promising. I believe the Doctor's progress is even further along than mine, but you'll need to check that with him.=/\= she gave a slight smile as she spoke. There was no way that Ghes could see her but she could hear the change in tone induced by the smile.

=/\=Very well. I thought you should know that me and Commander Parsons have been in contact with Dr. Javey Fallan, your old colleague.=/\= =/\=I'm glad the information is still to date. How did that go. I imgine he's looking forward to getting his hands on my staff.=/\=

=/\=Strangely he's been a little cold. Perhaps he doesn't like our involvement. I was thinking, maybe you could talk to him? Seeing an old friend might make him a bit more enthusiastic about Starfleet taking over this study..?=/\=

=/\=I don't blame hime for being a bit twitchy if anyone's put it like that to him. Gas giants have been his focus scince before we met.=/\= She sighed audibly. =/\=I'll talk to him=/\=

Tag: Ghes

[Deleted]

Sitting on the Bridge, Lt. JG William Walters checked on the different sensor arrays that were all over the ship. Things were progressing very well in his opinion, with 1 day left before his optimistic deadline the sensors were almost done. The forward array was just about done, only the new ODN lines remaining to be installed. The aft and dorsal arrays still had a few sensors left to be put in, but the ventral sensor array (possibly the most important one for this mission) was done. Hriss had taken charge of that team after checking the IDF and SDF glitches on Deck 4, and he was impressive. He managed to get his team’s duties finished before everyone else and the work was flawless. Will had left the old positions intact when he came to the Enzio, but after this mission and the regular transfers he’ll probably shift some people around.

As much as Lt. Walters wanted to get his hands dirty with the sensors the structural integrity field was in need of an upgrade. The Jovian atmosphere was intense, and they could expect to face up to a gigapascal of pressure on the hull, possibly more. Back in the 2370s the Defiant-class had managed to withstand around 900 megapascals, but that wouldn’t be enough in this case. The fact that the Enzio was much bigger made it harder.

Changing the engineering display back to a hull and SDF layout. His first thought was to actually build some hull braces but they didn’t have the time nor the facilities to do so. Putting braces inside the ship was pointless (the internal deck plating was weaker than the outer hull so they’d collapse before the hull did), and they’d need a drydock to put braces on the outside of the hull. Jupiter Station could do it, but it was down to a skeleton crew thanks to the disturbances. That left an increase in power to the SDF system.

The big question was: could he increase it enough without frying the emitters? Normally having enough power is an issue, but since they’re going inside the planet he can shut down the warp field and use the warp drive to power the SDF directly. There was more than enough power there, but if he shunted too much (or too fast) the emitters would blow out and the ship would be worse off. That was what was taking up most of the chief engineer’s time and effort right now, figuring out the best rate of power increase.

It was all a matter of numbers...

[Gheskori]

Overall Ghes had to admit to being extremely happy with how his staff were working, preparing for this assignment. Engineer Walters had nearly finished installing the sensors and other equipment, and had been working very fast indeed. Tiana and Saryn were studiously conducting their tests, and James Matthew was making good progress with the damage reports from Mars. To top it all, there'd been no more reports of biting attacks by Saryn's adopted daughter!

Two days later, the Enzio was approaching the outskirts of the Solar System at about ten million kilometres a second. There was the sound of an intraship communication, "Captain Gheskori, this is the bridge. You should probably come up here, sir."

Ghes was wandering the corridor towards the mess hall. "Why's that Ensign?"

"You'll see, sir."

It'd been clear to most of them that something was up as soon as they'd reached detailed long-distance sensor range, even before they'd received any subspace communication alert. There had been an incident.

"Seven minutes to Jupiter's orbit, sir. We're getting a hail from the recovery ship, it's routed from Jupiter station and Mars administrative headquarters," Commander Matthew reported.

Ghes tugged down on his uniform jacket. "Very well, open a channel."

A three way image appeared on the screen, split into different but linked communications that were clearly from Mars, a Starfleet vessel as well as Jupiter station. The three people said in unison, "Captain."

The man on Jupiter station spoke first. Ghes saw he had the skin markings of a Trill running from his temples down his neck. Of course, it was Javey Fallan. "Captain, hello again. There's been an accident."

Ghes nodded. "What happened to the research ship, Doctor?"

Then the woman on the Starfleet ship started speaking, telling Ghes and the Enzio's senior staff - for most of them were present on the bridge - of what'd befallen the scientific monitor vessel orbiting Jupiter. The ship had been passing over the Red Spot's longitude when its hull had suddenly buckled, the midsection crushed under some invisible force; the superstructure had been quartered, the pieces flung on to new orbits around the Jovian globe.

Gheskori grimaced, the news only adding to the rather sour and helpless mood he'd been lowered into at the start of the day. There'd only been ten people aboard the science ship, but all had been killed.

"Anyway," the person from Mars base was speaking. "Close research is off-limits for now, so you have to get your experimental sensors up beyond minimal range, Captain. We think that at the moment only the Enzio can pierce the gravitational, subspace.. whatever-it-is distortion. Thomson out." The tired-looking administrator's image disappeared along with the other two's.

"Commander Parsons, move the ship to Martian orbit and prepare to take a team down to the surface to greet the administrators. Find out how they're coping with the natural disasters. We'll then move the ship to Jupiter station." Ghes looked around the bridge, trying to lift his own mood. "I'll be in my quarters for the time being... I find it easier to work there. Commanders, Lieutenant," he nodded at his staff, hoping they wouldn't ask what was wrong, but deep down perhaps wishing they would.

<Tag Parsons> <All> Just arriving...let's go to Mars!

[James T Matthew]

Scene – USS ENZIO Senior Officer Mess

“Cmdr Matthew stared out the portal, watching stars slide past at the even prismatic streaks that spoke of smooth warp flight. With very little effort, he could
shift his gaze to stare forward, into the tunneling effect, but chose not to. The forward view was merely a vacuum, commonly called the "rabbit whole" effect.
He'd never developed an interest in it.

Matthew Now had a short pile of padds stacked before him, reports and notes
from the ship Department heads For the most part, he ignored them. The Operations Department could run without him, at least for a bit. He was concentrating on the "down time" concept, relaxing without actually being needed anywhere.

Then his Comm. Badge start to chirp Matthew Taps his Comm. Badge Matthew Here Bridge officer Commander we have enter the outer solar system of Mars your needed on the Bridge on My way Matthew out”

Main Bridge 5 -minutes later

Matthew Back on the Bridge manning the ops Station staring at his screen at the many ongoing project being cared out Civilian as well as military on and around Mars like nine manned colonies on Mars .Unmanned Mining ships in orbits around the outer planets, and robots were constructing facilities at Neptune, Uranus, Jupiter and Mars.

The facilities at Neptune and Uranus were consistent with mining operations – those on
Ganymede, the largest of Jupiter’s moon, were consistent with habitats for humans. Another facility was under construction on Titan, a moon of Saturn, and it was larger than the facility on Ganymede.
The federation has a large financial investment in mars that the real reason The ENZIO was sent .

"Commander Parsons, move the ship to Martian orbit and prepare to take a team down to the surface to greet the administrators. Find out how they're coping with the natural disasters. We'll then move the ship to Jupiter station." Ghes looked around the bridge, trying to lift his own mood. "I'll be in my quarters for the time being... I find it easier to work there. Commanders, Lieutenant," he nodded at his staff, hoping they wouldn't ask what was wrong, but deep down perhaps wishing they would.

[Tiana Galwyn Cet]

Tiana settled herself at her desk and prepared to call Javey. SHe knew that this was going to be tricky conversation. The project relating to Jupiter was his baby, his life's work and the arrival of the Enzio was going to interfere with that. Tiana had a strange feeling that she was going to end up right in the middle between her captain and her old friend.

Javey's face appeared on her screen, he hadn't changed in the years since she had left the Trill science institute. It struck her that she hadn't really had much contact from home since she had joined starfleet. In fact, was it even home any more. For a while it had seemed that the Victory C was home but she was a different person now, more or less literally, and she still didn't know where her home was.

"Good Morning, Doctor Fallen." Tiana quirked a smile, he had submitted his thesis a week before she had but as it had worked out theyhad ended up having their viva's on the same day. They had both passed and the resulting celebration had been memorable if only fuzzily. As a result using their academic titles and being a touch too formal had become something of a running joke.

"Afternoon, Doctor Galwyn" He looked tired she noted.

"How's life treating you Javey? I've read your research summary and I am intrigued by what you are doing."

Javey's eyebrows went up. "Life is a little frustrating right now, I finally get my big research project and then I hear that starfleet are coming in to take it over from me. "

Tiana sighed. This wasn't going to be easy. "I'm not going to try to boss you around. It's merely that the circumstances mean that the Enzio is needed. No one knows what's going on there. We get to find that out."

"When I found out there was a starfleet ship on it's way to take over the project I seriously debated eating my notes..." He pauses

Tiana looked suitably shocked at such a suggestions. "You do know that the elemental composition of data chips means that if you did that you'd likely be hospitalised with some variety of heavy metal poisoning?"

Javey nodded. "I said I thought about it. Then I looked up the senior science officer of the ship and I found it was you and I realised that there was some hope that this wasn't going to be quite as difficult as I had feared."

"I'll to my best to ensure that your work and knowledge is respected"

He sighed and his shoulders sagged. "I won't lie to you Ti, I thought you'd sold out when you signed up even if I understood why you wanted to get away. Now though, I've been keeping up with your work and it's been good and varied. Things here have been hard and the resources you are bringing in will be very useful."

A knot relaxed out of Tiana's spine she had left in a hurry and she hadn't really thought about how the others would precive her change in career. She had always said that she wanted to be a researcher, and while she certainly did do research she also did a lot of other things.

"I'll let you know when we reach the Sol system although you've probably got an eta on us. I'm looking forward to catching up although I don't know when we'll actually have time."

Javey smirked "I'll see you soon Ti, and I'll make sure that I have some of your favourites ready."

"Bye Jay."

He waved into the comm screen and then closed the transmission. Tiana stared at the starfleet logo for a long moment before switching it off. The conversation had gone better than she had expected but, she now felt that there was something wrong.

[Deleted]

When technology was well beyond your level of comprehension, keeping up was an exhausting task. Even for a Vulcan. Though he had worked hard to get his medical knowledge caught up to their present timeline, Saryn found that most equipment outside sickbay were still out of his league. So too his current assignment, even though he had done his best to assist Tiana where he could.

Now, after his shift he found himself on an information overload and he was exhausted. This was the first time in several years that he literally found himself too tired to be doing much of anything, as normally he would be able to carry on for days without rest, like your average Vulcan. Once he entered his quarters he took off his uniform jacket and hung it over the chair, breathing a sigh of relief. He much preferred the 22nd century uniforms which he'd worn on the Challenger, or just his plain and simple robes which he wore when he wasn't required to be in uniform, despite being a civillian.

Saryn had barely sat down on his couch when he was pounced out of nowhere and bowled over. "Daddy!" Numike wrapped her arms around her father and hugged him tight. In the privacy of their home, she was allowed to do so, and her improving reserved demeanour went straight out the door. "You're home!"

The Vulcan held his daughter in reflex and prevented them both tumbling off the couch by bracing himself. "Yes, I am." He glanced up to see her beaming down at him, fangs exposed. "Are you hungry?" he querried carefully, "you need to remember that your brother is not a source of nutrition Numike, and that he is not your enemy."

The girl clambered down to sit beside him, looking down at her hands which she folded in her lap. "I know... I didn't mean to, I don't know why it happened. We were having fun you see, and he was showing me something new and we were gathering a crowd and.." She fell silent. "He was winning.."

"That is hardly an excuse Numike. You are not supposed to bite anyone, and if it happens again we could all be in serious trouble. I have spoken with the captain and I vowed it would not happen again. Now I will have your promise." Yet she was young, he knew it was bound to happen a few times yet again. He knew Savin wasn't too bothered by it, as long as it wasn't someone else. Even so, the girl needed to learn it was wrong.

"I will try," she promised, "I felt so bad for Savin, I think I really hurt him."

Saryn nodded. "Yes, you did. But his first concern was you." He recalled the incident where his daughter had been lured into feeding off him, and how guilty she had felt afterwards. "You will go to your room now, and reflect on what you have done. Then you will write an essay on how you propose to prevent this from happening again. You will submit this to Captain Gheskori in the morning."

"Yes father." Numike retreated to her own small room, leaving the doctor once more to his own thoughts. It had been a very long day, and he still needed to look in on his son. He reasoned, that could wait an hour or two, while he took a brief rest first. He needed rest.