Mission 6: Never judge a book by its cover

[Deleted]

"We could always hold our competition on the planet," James suggested, as he ran over the suggestions he had received. "There have been several suggestions from the crew," he said, tapping the PADD. "And we could use the great outdoors on the planet. And who knows what sort of sports the locals have got to propose."

The counselor smiled. "All in all, the preparations are looking good. I've got the tennis competition scheduled for tomorrow afternoon so if you wish to enter...actually I expect all senior staff to enter any and all competitions, to show that we're serious. That we'll be making fools of ourselves is only a plus, because I know that is what'll raise morale."

This time, he chuckled, glancing sideways at the marine operations chief. "How about it Mr Q2? Ready for a little sprint around the ship? I'm officially challenging you, and I'll be challenging our good doctor as well. I've seen you take a run before and if I may say...you do look really good in running tights."

[Deleted]

The operations chief, now once more returned to the bridge from the evilness of stocktaking, looked at Flanigan with some intrigue. He raised one eyebrow, vulcan style, as he replied.
"I do? I'll have to take note of that. Although I do wonder when you may have seen me in the such. Unless you are referring to my shorts?" He dismissed the inconsistency with a flick of his hand. "No matter. You'll have to let me know when you want to have this little race. That way I can simply use it as my morning jog around the ship, rather than having to do it twice in a day." He laughed silently as Flanigan's face turned slightly at his arrogance.

He glanced at the small figure curled up in the captain's chair, and wondered with mild interest whether she had any hidden athletic talents. He suspected she probably did. Almost all cadets took a sports minor in the academy as while it wasn't mandatory, it was highly recommended as part of a rounded education. As Q2 had intially taken a position in Security, his training had been heavily physical anyway, but he certainly favoured hockey, though he had to admit that he hadn't played it for an awfully long time now and was probably terrible.

The El Aurian opened his mouth to say something else, but before he could do so, Ensign Bennet's voice trilled out across the large room.
"We are now entering the Veaghagh system."
He changed his comment mid-mouth opening and simply commented; "What kind of name is Vee-argh-argh? I mean, seriously?"
Bennet looked up at him, her expression hard. "In their tongue it roughly translates as 'God's garden'."
Q2 raised his eyebrows, unwilling to openly condemn religion, but expressing his cynicism as well he could.

[Deleted]

James chuckled. "Except with twice a day you would have extra exercise, and you would look good twice as well. Surely that's worth something? Just imagine the female crowd, just dying to see you come jogging by."

His attention was diverted to the main screen, where a greenish planet was lazily rotating, oddly at that. Instead of the usual right turn, this one turned mostly up and left. "God's Garden?" he wondered, "it must be a peaceful place in general to be called that, I should think?"

Turning back, he gazed at the remaining senior staff. "Doctor Storey, is it altogether safe to have our lympics down on that planet for moral relief? Safe for our people that is, as they're suffering from some sort of illness?"

His bemusement and anticipation of seeing the El-Aurian's well-proportioned body in a sports tenue again was gone the second the planet and its inhabitants came up. Though he enjoyed sports in general, and certainly admired a good view, the wellfare of the crew, especially the mental wellfare, did come first, no matter what.

[Deleted]

"We are receiving a communication from the planet" Ensign Bennett reported.

L'Ola looked over at her, "Recorded again?"

Annabelle shook her head, "No, looks like we're close enough that someone's been able to contact us."

"Put it through" she shifted round to make herself even more comfortable on the chair.

A panicked but otherwise peaceful sounding voice floated through onto the Bridge =/\= This is Doctor Credjue of the SIMR calling anyone who can hear me =/\=

"Doctor Credjue, this is Commander L'Ola Kanz on the Federation Starship Black Tulip. How can we provide assistance?"

=/\= Commander? I'm so glad to have been able to reach someone finally. Our planet is experiencing a medical emergency. =/\=

Kanz breathed in and out steadily, the last thing she needed was to pick up someone else's panic. "We heard that you have a virus, do you have any idea how it is spreading?"

=/\= Not really, although our tests did rule out airborne or water supply. But we were unable to continue our research as more of our doctors became ill. Please can you help us? =/\=

"We'll do everything we can. Expect a medical team to be with you shortly. Black Tulip out" She paused for a moment before springing up and calling out orders, "Call Doctor Storey and have him assemble a medical team to take down there for preliminary research." She turned to Q2, "Colonel, I'd like you to lead the away team please and," turning to Annabelle she continued, "Ensign Bennett can you go to please. Everyone is to wear isolation suits. The slightest breach in anyone's suit will result in a transporter ride to quarantine. Any questions?"

The away team members left the Bridge and L'Ola sat back down, somehow managing to look a lot calmer than she really was. Trying to think of something slightly different even just for a second she looked at James, "So do you reckon we'll be able to work a sports competition in for them, or will it be better to wait for a while?"

<tag everyone Sorry for how amazingly long overdue this is>

[annannabelle]

Finally the doctor finished checking Annabelle over. She hated close examination of this kind. As something out of the ordinary to most people, she automatically braced herself for comments about her young appearance. She was thankful when the doctor gave her the all clear, trying to not dash for the door too fast. Returning to the bridge, Annabelle tried to remember the layout of the ship as the last thing she needed was to be at a disadvantage because of poor preparation.

For some reason she was feeling stressed and was having to fight to keep control of the emotion, the last thing she needed was for her skin to act up. She always turned a particularly horrible shade of yellow when feeling extremely stressed. Oh for life to be simple, she thought to herself as she sidestepped to avoid crew members moving the opposite way down the passage.

Reappearing on the bridge, she made her way to the Tactical station as the crew member manning the station called to the captain."We're picking up a distress message". Moving quickly to examine the information, Annabelle was able to reply quickly to Kanz’s questions and orders.

L'Ola walked over to the Tactical console, "Could you send that down to Doctor Storey please?" While the message was being relayed she carried on talking. "Are you finding your way around okay? Managed to meet your team yet?"

“Yes thanks. I was planning on running a simulation exercise in one of the holodecks in a bit as a way of meeting the team and seeing their strengths and weaknesses when I’m not needed.” Replied Annabelle.

Kanz replied she had no problems with it, and left Annabelle to her work at the console.

It was not long before the ship approached the planet system and Annabelle announced to the room "We are now entering the Veaghagh system."
she was distracted from the programs on her screen by a comment from the Chief Ops Officer "What kind of name is Vee-argh-argh? I mean, seriously?"
Bennet looked up at him, her expression hard. "In their tongue it roughly translates as 'God's garden'."

Annabelle barely managed to avoid rolling her eyes at this comment and phased out the chit chat. A light flashed on the panel drawing her attention. Another message. She put it through to the captain. The discourse was short, and when it was over, the captain had a stream of instructions to give.

"We'll do everything we can. Expect a medical team to be with you shortly. Black Tulip out" She paused for a moment before springing up and calling out orders, "Call Doctor Storey and have him assemble a medical team to take down there for preliminary research." She turned to Q2, "Colonel, I'd like you to lead the away team please and," turning to Annabelle she continued, "Ensign Bennett can you go to please. Everyone is to wear isolation suits. The slightest breach in anyone's suit will result in a transporter ride to quarantine. Any questions?"

Moving to exit the bridge, Annabelle followed the Colonel to the supply unit that contained the isolation suits. He didn’t say anything to her and Annabelle was happy not to have to break the silence. They finally reached the unit and began suiting up.

As usual, Annabelle had to walk straight past the suits designed for adult humanoids and headed instead for those put aside for the smaller suits better suited to children. Well she thought, at least I don’t have to fight for a suit that fits.

When the entire team was assembled, the colonel gave the order and they were beamed down onto the planets surface.

[Deleted]

"Commander Kanz," interrupted Hancock from the science station, "I'll perform as full an analysis of the planet's atmosphere and ecology as I can while the away team's down there, just in case there's any unusual environmental activity."

He tried hard not to let his voice betray any signs of irritation. Doctor Storey was such a strong personality that the CScO was often left on the fringe of any discussions. Admiral Elron had always tried to involve the Hancock as much as possible, but as a former Science Officer himself hadn't always require input from the department. Now the Tulip had yet another command officer from a science background and once again he felt a little left out of things. He wondered whether he was just developing a complex about being 'Acting' CScO for so long...

*tag Kanz*

"Aye, ma'm," he nodded as his hands moved across the console.

He was also a little confused by the arrival of their new CTSO. Surely she was but a child? He made a mental note to speak to her some time later on if he got the chance. His mind wandered onto thoughts of his CO, recovering in the medical centre of Starbase Bellicose. The Admiral had still been unconscious last John knew of, but hopefully the Bellicose doctors would help him make a full recovery. Wouldn't they?

His attention snapped back as the console bleeped at him. Preliminary results were in from the atmospheric spectral analyses. Meanwhile the away team began their own investigations far below...

[annannabelle]

As her body reassembled on the planet’s surface, Annabelle used the first few seconds to take in the surrounding terrain looking for security risks. Eyes scanning the landscape taking in the buildings and out houses that surrounded the group before sending her brain the all clear. However the houses either side were strangely quiet, as were the streets. Annabelle sensed that something wasn’t right, apart from the sickness but couldn’t put her finger on it. She decided to keep that to herself for the time being and just keep her eyes open.

The medics were started their preliminary scans and checks under the careful supervision of Doctor Storey. Annabelle satisfied she had done all she could for the moment, reported the relevant information to Q2 then waited for him to give orders. Currently, he had yet to receive a report from the medical team, intent on ensuring the party’s safety first. Finally Doctor Storey spoke.

<Tag Storey>

<Tag Q2>

Nodding in response to the orders, Annabelle set off for the centre of the settlement.

[Deleted]

Back on the Tulip, Hancock was still monitoring the planet's atmosphere. Oxygen levels were slightly lower than he would have expected for an M-class world, but he had no previous data for this particular planet to compare anything to. For all he knew, lower oxygen levels might be normal here.

The computer maintained its transporter lock on the away team and constant telemetry was fed back from their isolation suits. If anyone exhibited any strange symptoms, they would be beamed instantly into quarantine. So far though, everything seemed safe.

Suddenly, the Science console started bleeping loudly.
"Commander, I'm reading an energy surge near the away team. It's coming from one of the medical research buildings to the north east. I can't identify it but they should be on high alert until we know the source."

"Is it dangerous?" frowned Kanz.

"Hard to be sure," Hancock replied, "but I'm seeing indications of theta radiation, so I'll say yes."

<Tag Kanz>

<Tag away team>

[Deleted]

James walked up to the two officers, more than a little confused by the techbabble that floated back and forth between them. He fully understood the term 'keep to your own craft' by now, but he still liked to understand what was going on. And from what he understood, things weren't going well at all.

"What's going on?" he asked quietly, leaning forward slightly, resting his hand on the back of Hancock's seat as he peered at the data. "Are they all right down there?"

By now, he also figured that his idea for a friendly sportive competition would be put on hold; there were more pressing issues at hand than teambuilding and stress relief, even for those stuck on the planet.

He moved to rest his other hand on the commander's shoulder, though he kept a respectable distance just in case. "Is there anything I can do to help?" James Flanigan wasn't quite sure what he could do, other than just offer to be there and listen if anyone wanted to talk. It was after all his job as ship's counselor. "Anything at all? I may not have any science training but I'm pretty sure I could call out data for you, if required. As long as you understand what I'm reciting to you, it should be all right?"

The Australian counselor moved back to his own seat, but not before squeezing Hancock's shoulder in an attempt to be of comfort, counselor to science officer, nothing more, nothing less. There was so much grief down on the planet, that James threatened to be overcome by grief himself. He held his breath for a moment as he reclaimed his seat, swallowing hard a few times. "I wish..." he started softly, "that the admiral were here now."

[Deleted]

S'reena had said goodbye to all her friends in the academy; the people she had lived with and worked with for years. However, there was still one person remaining and she really dreaded saying goodbye to him. She still didn't quite know where she stood in his current opinion, especially since she knew she had deeply hurt him and his trust in her when she'd gone after Admiral McCormick and staged her rescue. It had resulted in her demotion to commander, though she had retained her position and had just been restricted in her duties and comings and goings for several months.

Now, she stood before the closed doors that lead to Vice Admiral Drew's office, dressed in her new uniform. It felt a bit odd, wearing teal again after so many years in command red, and she felt sad for leaving the academy. The door slid open before her and she walked in, coming to a halt before his desk. "This is it," she said softly, causing her old commanding officer to look up. "The shuttle is ready, Michael's taking the children up to it now and our pilot has located the Black Tulip."

The Romulan hesitated, for once actually worried about making the wrong choice. "I'm going to miss you," she finally said as the admiral rose from his seat and walked around his desk. "I'll even miss our arguments." Her voice choked as she finally drew her old friend into a tight hug. "If the Black Tulip ever swings by, I'll be sure to visit."

Paul Drew looked down on his wayward former first officer and quietly wiped the tears from her face. "You'll be fine," he reassured her, "just don't give poor Elron as hard a time as you've given me hm?" Then he chuckled. "On second thought..."

"Oh, we'll see," S'reena answered, a smile now appearing on her face. "I've got to go, the Graeme is waiting. Thank you for loaning us Hanson's old shuttle. I promise he'll be returned to you in good condition." After a final hug, the Romulan walked out of Drew's office on Conqueror. She looked back once more, smiled wistfully then headed for the shuttlebay.

~days later~
"There she is," Lieutenant Commander Danye Almera called back to his passengers. The USS Black Tulip was in orbit of a moderate planet and was apparently expecting them. The shuttlebay doors opened and Almera smartly landed the USS Graeme into the bay. "Good luck on your assignment commander, doctor." Then he regarded the woman, remembering she was completely blind. "I'm sorry commander, I didn't mean to be so thoughtless."

"It's all right commander," S'reena reassured him, "I may not be able to see, but I'm still capable of visualising."

Michael Hope gathered the youngest of the five children, assigning his oldest daughter to take care of them. The eight-year old proudly took care of her younger siblings, having kept them occupied for most of their long flight. "Thank you commander for the uneventful flight," he offered, "I'm glad we didn't run into more than just that ion-storm."

S'reena on her part thanked their pilot as well, then arranged for their belongings to be transported to their new quarters. She had familiarised herself with the Black Tulip senior staff but hadn't been able to find anything on their current mission. "I'm sure Doctor Storey could use another pair of hands in sickbay" she had reassured her husband, who usually had the full care of their children while she was on duty. "I'll be reporting to the bridge."

Leaving Michael to tend to the children and their pilot, as well as their belongings, the Romulan science officer stepped into the nearest turbolift. "bridge," she said, feeling a hint of anxiety creep over her. How would this crew react to a Romulan science officer, let alone a completely blind one? Her hand tightened on the railing in the turbolift car, hesitating as the doors swooshed open before her. Using the rail as a guide, she exited the lift.

"Commander S'reena Hope, reporting for duty as chief science officer," she finally announced as she emerged on the bridge. She waited anxiously for someone to acknowledge her presence.

[Deleted]

"What's going on?" asked Flanigan quietly in Hancock's ear. "Are they all right down there?"

The Acting CScO looked up briefly from his console before quietly replying. "See these two energy spikes here?" He pointed his finger to indicate the readings transmitted by the away team's suits. AJ nodded silently. "These could be secondary emissions resulting from theta radiation particle interactions."

"I see," said AJ unconvincingly. Hancock realised that he wasn't actually making things any clearer for the counsellor.

"Theta radiation can have several sources, but it's usually associated with antimatter. In low doses its effects are quite treatable, but in larger doses it can be fatal. It doesn't look like we're dealing with a big contamination, or our sensor readings would be disrupted and we'd be picking up more obvious signs."

"But it could still be enough to pose a risk?"

"Certainly," nodded the scientist.

"Could this be what's causing the epidemic?"

"I doubt it, but it won't be doing them any good. More likely it's the result of some faulty engineering process or equipment. I just don't know know enough from these readings," he sighed.

"Any clues about the virus?" the Counsellor asked hopefully.

Hancock silently shook his head, feeling quite useless. "I haven't a notion. I'm just not experienced enough with this kind of problem." As despondency took hold, he felt the Counsellor's hand reassuringly on his shoulder. This surprised him somewhat, but was comforting.

"Is there anything I can do to help? Anything at all? I may not have any science training but I'm pretty sure I could call out data for you, if required. As long as you understand what I'm reciting to you, it should be all right?"

Hancock shook his head. "I appreciate that, but unless you can create some new data for me or force me to come up with some ingenious idea, I'm afraid I'm on my own with this one." AJ nodded in response. Giving his comrade's shoulder a departing squeeze, he returned to his own area of the bridge.

Just as Hancock was wishing that Admiral Elron was here to help him solve the problem, an unfamiliar face emerged from the turbolift and walked slowly onto the bridge. "Commander S'reena Hope, reporting for duty as chief science officer," the officer announced to everyone. John's heart sank. Here he was trying to prove that he still had what it takes to be the senior scientist of a ship the size of the Tulip, and nobody had bothered to tell him he had once again been replaced!

He was about to make a comment to this effect, but checked himself just in time. He had always known his position as Acting Chief might only be temporary, and he was delighted to have someone else that could possibly help him analyse results from the away team. He waited for their Acting CO to officially welcome the officer before inviting them to take over his station.

[Elron]

As Elron lay recovering, semi-conscious, in his private ward of the main sickbay on Bellicose, a young lieutenant in a red uniform entered and stood to attention next to the bed. She waited patiently while the Admiral came around and managed to focus his attention on the girl in front of him.

"Lieutenant?" asked the Fleet Admiral slightly groggily.

"Excuse me Admiral, but you asked to be informed as soon as she arrived." As she spoke, the officer held out a PADD. Elron accepted it, skimmed the first few lines and smiled.

"Thank you, Lieutenant. Please send in the doctor on your way out."

"Aye, sir," she nodded and promptly left the ward.

So Commander Hope had arrived on the Black Tulip. Elron wondered how his new Science Officer would adjust to the ship. He also wondered how the crew would adjust to the CScO. Elron had heard many stories over the years from his friends KezTrek, Savali and Drew. After her retirement from the Academy, the new Personnel Officer had agreed to assign S'reena to the main fleet and ordered her to join the Black Tulip. Elron wondered how much of this was out of sheer mischievousness, but there was no doubt S'reena would find a welcoming home on the Tulip. He was looking forward to working with another Science Officer, especially one as challenging as this.

His mind turned to poor Hancock, and how he would feel about the assignment. Without doubt he was a talented officer, but he just seemed to struggle with the managerial aspects of running a department. Elron was sure the department would be stronger than ever with John as deputy to S'reena, given her extensive experience. Admittedly he wasn't sure how big a hinderance her recent disability would be, but that was why John would be so important as Assistant CScO.

Just then, Doctor Munroe entered the ward.
"Ah, the Kraken wakes," he smiled. "You've been dozin' for about nine hours now."

Elron liked Doctor Munroe, perhaps because of his guttural Scottish accent. The Avari wasn't about to be charmed into submission today though.

"And it's done me a power of good! Doctor, I would be eternally grateful if you could fill out my discharge papers while I get my things together."

Slightly taken aback, Doctor Munroe simply raised an eyebrow. "Ahm afraid yer goin' to have to stay here for more observation until I say otherwise."

"Are you refusing to release me?" retorted Elron with a raised eyebrow of his own. "Am I likely to get any real benefit out of staying here any longer, or are we just going to drive each other up the wall?"

Munro simply folded his arms. "Let's start with a basic neurological scan an' see how it goes from there." Constrained to doctor's orders, Elron reluctantly accepted this compromise and lay back in the biobed in preparation for the scan.

[annannabelle]

Annabelle was just making her way in between the outlying buildings when a crisp order from Q2 stopped her in her tracks. “Hold your position bennet.” She wasn’t sure, but Annabelle thought she detected a note of uncertainty. She couldn’t blame him. The further she got into this settlement, the more uneasy she felt. There is always a certain eeriness around deserted homes and towns.

Her mind started thinking about the people who had lived in these buildings. It must have been something colossal to wipe out people on this scale. At this point, the situation became even more complicated. A call came through from the science officers. An unknown energy source was radiating theta radiation from a series of buildings further along the street.

She spoke quietly into her communicator. “Have the radiation levels increased in my suit readings?”
The voice of John Hancock replied over the link, “It’s hard to tell at the moment, the readings are fluctuating. You would have to move closer to the buildings, but I would advise caution. The radiation is dangerous.”

Before moving any closer to the Annabelle turned to survey the rest of the away team. The medics were still absorbed in trying to find the cause of the epidemic. While they were bustling around, Q2, like Annabelle, was trying to assess the situation. Seeing her looking at him, the Lt. Colonel gave her a nod.

She turned back towards the buildings and began walking slowly towards them, all the while keeping an eye out for any sign of movement from the buildings she had already passed. It would not do to be caught separated from the rest of the group.

Annabelle had passed a couple of buildings before she stopped to allow the suit to pick up accurate readings.
“Well?” she said to the science team on the other end of the COM link “What’s the diagnosis?”

<tag anybody (preferably science)>

[Deleted]

Before Hancock could explain the current situation to S'reena, a voice interrupted him over the comm link. Data was continuing to feed in from the away team, but he needed closer readings to be able to discern anything. Ensign Bennet obliged by scouting out the area ahead.

"Well?" she said to the science team on the other end of the COM link. "What’s the diagnosis?"
Hancock pored over the data as it was overlayed onto a map of the immediate area.

"Seems like it's coming from the buildings just ahead of you. The readings get stronger as you progress. I think I'm maybe picking up direct signs of thetas from over towards that large building ahead on your right. Might be some kind of medical facility from the look of it?"

"Is it safe to go inside?" asked the tactical officer.

"Hmm, only for a short while. I don't want anyone getting more than a few minutes exposure if it is coming from there. The levels aren't too high if they're coming from that building, but I have no idea what's in there. Scans are getting a bit scrambled. I'd be happier if you and Q2 could somehow find out what it's like inside before anyone ventures in."

"Gotcha."

"Hold on," added Hancock suddenly. "I'm picking up life signs near your position, but I can't pinpoint them. They're either approaching you, or they're in one of those buildings you're heading towards."

<tag anyone and everyone>

[annannabelle]

"Hold on," added Hancock suddenly. "I'm picking up life signs near your position, but I can't pinpoint them. They're either approaching you, or they're in one of those buildings you're heading towards."

Annabelle scanned the horizon again puzzled. She couldn’t see anyone in plain sight.

“Can you tell how many?” she queried.

“Not at the moment,” came the reply. “It’s three at most”

They must be in one of the buildings to her right, what looked like domestic properties. She turned to the Dr. Storey.

“Any update on what is causing this epidemic?”

“No” he replied. “It’s not like anything I’ve ever seen before”

<Tag John Storey>

Great, thought Annabelle. Just what was needed. She knew it wasn’t their fault, but this lack of information was making the situation more dangerous and difficult than it could have been.

She had turned her back on the dwellings for only a couple of seconds, but that was enough for something to appear that startled Q2. She became aware that he was looking over her shoulder at something. She spun round to glimpse a childish face as it vanished in to the second of the buildings.

Q2 turned to Bennet and spoke with quiet authority.

“Is that anywhere near the radiation source?”

“No, I think that’s coming from those further along on the other side of the road.”

“Go and see if you can find that child but try and avoid direct contact. I want a constant update”

“Yes sir” Annabelle replied resisting the urge to pull off a mock salute. This was no time to be cheeky. She made her way across to the doorway, hoping that the science team was right about the radiation. The last thing anybody wanted was to die of radiation sickness. Cheery thoughts.

She cautiously poked her head into the portal, her eyes barely making out the shadows in the gloom that cloaked the inside of this house. Annabelle wondered if it had always been this welcoming. Taking a wary step inside, she paused to give her eyes time to focus.

They did so quickly, a benefit of her heritage, and the room swam into focus, complete with its frightened, huddled occupant.

“It’s ok. Don’t be frightened. I’m here to help. Are you the only one in here?”

<tag anybody>

[Deleted]

ooc: I'm a little lost here......

S'reena could hear Hancock's voice coming from somewhere close to her, but it took conscious effort still to precicely locate anyone by the sound of their voice. Using the voice as her guide, she found her way to the science station without injuring herself.

"Commander Hancock, I understand that you've been serving as acting chief science officer until my arrival. Could you please brief me on current situation?"

She could understand the man's likely feelings about being replaced, she had the feeling often enough when she'd taken one step wrong too many. Smiling gently, she leaned against the console. "Don't worry, you won't become obsolete. I still need you to be my eyes and tell me anything I can miss by not being able to see them."

The Romulan held out her hand to him, hoping he'd take it in good faith. "I'm S'reena," she introduced herself, "and I'd prefer it if you called me such, especially since you're likely to be a huge help to me."

She nodded to where she assumed was the main screen. "You've got teams on the surface; medical relief wasn't it? Is the chief medical officer down planet as well? My husband is a doctor, perhaps he could be of aid?"

S'reena felt a hand on her arm all of a sudden and she started briefly, not having heard anyone approach. "I'm sorry." A soft pleasant voice, heavily accented and filled with a constant but slight hint of sorrow. "I'm Commander James Flanigan, counselor. I'd like to have a talk later, when you're off duty?"

The Romulan frowned, her expression darkening. However, after a brief hesitation, she nodded. She wanted to fit in and be treated as normal as possible, despite her lack of sight. "When I go off duty," she acknowledged, "now about that briefing?" She turned back to Hancock.

[Deleted]

As Ensign Bennet entered the small building after the child, Q2 decided it was time for him to try and find the source of the theta radiation. While it wouldn’t solve their greater problem, it would be a load of his shoulders if he could at least free them up to walk around without fear of dying of radiation before they could even find out what was ailing these people. That would just suck too much.

He approached the larger building, and as he got closer, it became clear that Commander Hancock had been right; it clearly was a medical facility of some kind. The other thing that became apparent as he made his way nearer was that more than a couple of people had died here. Whether due to the radiation, or the infection, he wasn’t sure.

He pushed the door open and it gave without objection. Immediately, the smell rose, to be almost overpowering. He cursed the person who had decided that after filtering out dangerous particles the smell should remain. He considered switching his suit to the fully enclosed setting, but decided against it.

Making a small gesture to the rest of the team to hold back until he had identified the source of the radiation, all with the flick of a hand, he stepped inside. The initial corridor provided no clues, but as he moved into a much larger room, suddenly all became all too clear. In an attempt to find a way to cure the infection, this facility had obviously decided to try using radiation, much as humans had once used it to cure cancer. Unfortunately, they hadn’t managed to limit the radiation to the infection area alone.

Everyone in the facility had died, not of the disease, but of radiation. Jogging back out again, Q2 relayed this information to Hancock, and the officer nodded his understanding, and then the science officer entered the building himself to shut the radiator down. Shortly after he returned, his task complete. The El-Aurian smiled slightly, at least now they could concentrate on the virus itself.

He walked over to the smaller building that he’d seen the child run into earlier and stood just outside the doorway.

“Ensign?” He asked quietly, trying to get Bennet’s attention without scaring the child.

[Deleted]

Commander James Flanigan listened intently, his horror showing and increasing as Q2 reported in to Commander Hancock. "Everyone's dead?" he breathed, sinking down in his chair, "every single colonist?" Well, there went his relief idea of organising a sports event for the colonists, as well as the Tulip's crew.

He searched his memory on radiation sickness and cases where survivors had received treatment and counseling. Sadly, he couldn't remember any; if there were he'd surely have read about them in his career as counselor. However the thought of dying of radiation burns made him acutely aware of the circumstances in which his husband had been killed, along with one of their daughters.

Suddenly, he felt utterly sick and he tried to close himself off from the report that was coming in. He leaned forward, resting his face on his hands, trying to clear the feeling of lightheadedness. Swallowing a few times, he raised his head, trying to quell the urge to throw up. After a few times he managed and focused his attention on the report again.

"Colonel, are you certain everyone is dead?" he asked slowly, as if needing to concentrate to even get the words out. His voice sounded hollow as he spoke. "Is there anything I can do?" He hated feeling helpless and he had vowed that he'd never stand by helplessly ever again. "I want to help."

[Deleted]

Leaving Ensign Bennet before she’d had a chance to respond, he looked into the screen on his sleeve which was now focussed on Flanigan. The man looked as though he’d caught something himself; all the colour had drained from his face, and he appeared for all the world as if he was about to throw up. He was mumbling, rambling about the dead colonists.

“Commander!” Q2 snapped at him, hoping to get the other man’s training to kick in. “We have a job to do. The people here can’t benefit from it, but the next colony should be able to. I want you to get another small team down here; get them to start work on finding out who everyone here is, make a note of their names and any details we can get, and then dig them graves.” He paused. “Actually, find out what the custom is here, and then do that. And make sure the officers you choose have strong stomachs. Is that understood Commander?”

He tapped his commbadge again, and now relayed a synopsis of what they had discovered back to their commanding officer, making sure to avoid giving too many details on the true gruesomeness of their discovery. He would give her his full support, but he still wasn’t entirely sure as to whether she truly had the experience or leadership skills for the position. The report done, he moved back over to the building that housed Ensign Bennet and the child. Ducking his head inside the door, he saw that the pair were talking quietly; the youngster seemed relatively reassured and comfortable with the conversation. At least considering the situation.

“Ensign, could I have a word?”

The youthful officer raised her head and nodded without a word. She whispered a few words to the child beside her and rose to Q2’s side.

“How is he doing; do we know if he’s got the infection, or the significant amounts of the radiation?”

[Deleted]

He must've been lost in thought, because the colonel's sharp words pulled him back to reality. “Commander!”

"Sir?" James looked up, looking somewhat bewildered, even though his expression was still haunted.

“We have a job to do. The people here can’t benefit from it, but the next colony should be able to. I want you to get another small team down here; get them to start work on finding out who everyone here is, make a note of their names and any details we can get, and then dig them graves.” He paused. “Actually, find out what the custom is here, and then do that. And make sure the officers you choose have strong stomachs. Is that understood Commander?”

The counselor nodded, appreciative of finally having something constructive to do. He did emanate a sigh of relief, noting that he himself wasn't ordered to go down. He had seen enough and even though he really wanted to help, he just was't in a state of mind to be of any help. "Yes colonel," he answered, drawing himself up a little straighter, rubbing his hands over his face. "I'll get right on it."

Over the course of the next two hours, James was running back and forth between the bridge and the counselor's office, co-ordinating the construction of a second away team, consisting of several security officers, medics and counselors. He even sent along two engineers, to help rebuild if anything needed rebuilding in order for the virus to be put to a halt. "Wear your hazmat suits until it is clear it is safe to remove them," he ordered, his voice ringing out through the silent room. Before him stood a group of fifteen officers, all of different species and consisting of 6 women, seven men and two Hermats. "Report in every twenty minutes, log all names of everyone you find. See if they are missing anyone and report that to Colonel Q2."

Once the team was gone, he returned to the bridge and contacted the town's government. "Greetings, I am Commander James Flanigan, counselor aboard the USS Black Tulip. We currently have two teams on your planet to assist in putting the illness that plagues your people to a halt. However.." He swallowed a few times, feeling utterly uncomfortable in such an inpersonal situation. "...with so many dead, we wish to aid in putting your deceased to rest. Are there any customs we need to abide by? We do not wish to cause insult through ignorance..."

The Human counselor hesitated a second time. "If there is anything else we can do to help, would you please let us know?"

<anyone wanna take up the goverment official?>

[annannabelle]

As she watched, the ball uncurled itself and a face looked back at her. There was a pause before the child slowly shook its head at her. She moved closer, eyes adjusting more to the light second by second. Just as she had reached the child’s side and crouched down,
Annabelle heard Q2 moving in the doorway behind her. Her sharp ears caught the comm. in the suit clicking before he spoke.
"Ensign?"
She moved to turn her head, seeing the child start at the noise, but when she looked at the doorway, he had gone back outside. She turned her attention back to the child. The small boy looked hardly older than 5 or 6, with large wide eyes that looked almost too big for his head.
Annabelle asked the child for his name, speaking quietly and calmly so as not to spook him any more. The answer came back so quietly that she almost missed it.
“Gerian.”
“Hi Gerian, I’m Annabelle.” As she said it, she wondered about putting the conversation on a personal footing like that, but could see no other alternative. The child was obviously still scared and Annabelle didn’t blame him for it. In fact she was amazed that the kid had stayed as calm as he had. She didn’t want to upset the balance and end up with a serious case of the screaming heebie jeebies on her hands.
“You’re safe now but I need you stay still for a second while I do some scans.”
Reaching to her belt, Annabelle retrieved the scanner and began examining the child. She knew a full check of health would be down to Dr. Storey and his medics but she ran a quick radiation check, as well as searching for any broken bones which might impair him movement.

The scan finished. All clear. At least that was good news at least. A voice came once more from the doorway.

“Ensign, could I have a word?”

Turning back to the boy, Annabelle whispered, “I’ll be back in a moment then we can take you to a safe place.”

“How is he doing; do we know if he’s got the infection, or the significant amounts of the radiation?”
She’d barely reached Q2’s side before he spoke the words, curt and precise. Mind you, in an operation like this, you had to be. In accordance, Bennet replied in the same manner, limiting the sentences to the bare facts.
“He seems clean. No radiation or sign of illness. Just scared. Shall I take him to the doctor?”
Q2 replied with an affirmative before filling her in on the situation. She winced, so many dead. Radiation poisoning was never a pleasant or quick process. She shook herself and put a face of calm and control on before re-entering the building. Moving back to the child, she took his hand in her gloved one and led him out into the light.

It was only when she had guided the boy to the rest of the away team that her brain went into overdrive. How had this boy managed to survive both the radiation and the infection?

She tapped her comm badge.
"Bennet to security. Keep on your toes. This is a strange one."

Strange didn't cover it. she thought to herself as she moved to continue her interrupted sweep.

[Deleted]

*** COMM CALL BETWEEN FLANIGAN AND THE GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL ***

“Greetings, I am Commander James Flanigan, counsellor aboard the USS Black Tulip. We currently have two teams on your planet to assist in putting the illness that plagues your people to a halt. However, with so many dead, we wish to aid in putting your deceased to rest. Are there any customs we need to abide by? We do not wish to cause insult through ignorance.” Flanigan paused. “If there is anything else we can do to held, would you please let us know?”

On screen the Veeagha official’s face flicked towards anger before he managed to bring it back under control. In its place a deep sadness surfaced, aging his face visibly. He frowned and tried to frame the right words.

“It is.. unusual for us to have such a situation. All of our old ones are usually ministered only by our confessors. This will require a convening of the Assembly of Fathers. I would ask that in the mean time you keep contact with the old ones to a minimum.”

“Of course. We are trying to obtain images and records of the deceased for your information; may we continue that at least?” Flanigan asked soothingly. A soft nod served for an answer.

“These are distressing times Commander James Flanigan. Many rituals and ceremonies may not be completed adequately. I fear a great number of old ones will never achieve the eternal rest.” He turned up, his facial expressions twisting once again. “You must do everything you can; we can’t cope with this, our society can’t cope with this.”

“We are sir, we believe we have a lead at the moment, but it requires further research. I’m afraid I must get back to work now.”

“Yes, I understand. Thank you Commander James Flanigan.”

*** ON VEEAGHAGH IV ***

With two teams now at work around him, the el aurian had little actual work to do other than coordination and supervision. They were tasks that he used to find frustrating; to be there but doing nothing, rather someone else do it and he be hard at work. But slowly he’d grown accustomed to it. People often told him it had come with age, but he wasn’t so sure. He was still young, very young, for his species and he knew that true maturity wouldn’t come for another hundred years or so. By which time he’d better be an Admiral, otherwise he’d worry about where he’d gone wrong.

He was listening to the faint comm chatter to keep up to date on everything when he heard the soft bleeping of his communicator.

“Go ahead.” Flanigan reappeared on his sleeve.
“Commander, I’ve spoken with the Veeagha and they request that we keep contact with the dead to a minimum until their,” the counsellor glanced down at some notes, “Assembly of Fathers meet to discuss the proper procedure for ensuring the rituals and ceremonies are adhered to. And they re-stressed their need for help.”

Q2 cursed under his breath. Not only had politicians got involved, slowing everything down, but they were religious politicians at that. He appreciated it had its place, but war, even war on infection was certainly not one of them. “Understood, we will just keep trying to identify them, but otherwise leave them alone.” He paused for a few seconds as he thought. “There isn’t much more we can do here. I’ll take the team to another town; can you have coordinates of a suitable location passed to the transporter chief? We have a survivor; a young boy, we’ll beam him up to sickbay for analysis. It might be useful for you to supervise him; he’s very likely to be distressed. I’ll keep Storey and Bennet down here.”

[Deleted]

"Of course colonel," James replied, glad that he was able to get off the bridge. He was getting increasingly uncomfortable, especially since he knew he wasn't designed for command. Sure, he'd done his tour as first officer but had quickly gone back to doing what he did best: being a counselor.

Except that, lately he felt somewhat useless. People on the planet were dying from something mysterious and the longer their own people were down there, the greater the risk to them. "Be careful colonel," he warned. Not just because he was concerned for the whole team, which of course he was, but it was a little personal interest as well. The colonel had caught his attention, in more ways than one, even though he hadn't yet pursued any interest at all. He was being overly careful on that front, not wanting to get himself burned again. That, and he had his 14-year old daughter Antoinette to consider.

"Ah, I have an idea that might help sir," he added, a smile appearing on his otherwise worried face. "It's a long shot, but it might help the boy along. I'll report back in when I have more news. Flanigan out."

Within minutes, the child would be transported straight to sickbay and James professed to be there when he did. Still smiling slightly, he tapped his combadge. "Toni, please meet me in sickbay immediately, I need your assistance on something." He knew his daughter would want to help and he was sure she could be too.

"Sure dad," the girl answered after a moment of silence, though her tone was questioning, curious at best.

When he approached sickbay, the teenage girl was already waiting. "What is it dad?" she asked, clearly worried, "you're not hurt are you?" She walked up, briefly embracing her father, checking him up and down.

Returning the hug, he shook his head. "No, but there's a child coming from the surface. He'll be frightened and I'll need to examine him. Miss Bennett believes he's pathogen free, but we'll have to see. I need you to help me in keeping him comfortable. You up for that?"

Antoinette Flanigan nodded severely. "Sure dad," she repeated, stepping up to the double doors, which opened upon her approach. She gasped when she spotted the boy. His eyes were dark with emotion, almost as black as his hair, which was tousled in every direction. His clothes were dirty and bedraggled, but otherwise he appeared fine. "Dad?"

"His name is Gerian," he informed her, "and my guess is he's about ten standard years old." He took his daughter by the hand and together they walked forward. "Hello Gerian," he said softly, crouching before him, "my name is James and this is my daughter Toni. You're aboard the Black Tulip now and I promise that no-one will harm you."

Carefully, he lifted the boy onto the biobed, still holding his hand. "Computer, activate EMH." Once activation was complete, James nodded towards the child. "Complete medical check-up." He released the boy's hand. "I'm not going anywhere," he promised, "the doctor needs to examine you. After that, we'll talke you to our mess hall. I'm sure you're hungry?"

Antoinette smiled encouragingly. "And I'll show you my favourite food too," she added in promise, her accent strong as she spoke. "Would you like that?"

<anabelle, you npc-ing the boy?>

[Deleted]

L'Ola wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea of one of the 'survivors' being on board the ship. After all, there were many more people who currently appeared to be okay still down on the surface. But as a scientist she recognised that the potential benefits were immense. Still...

"Ensign" she called over the security officer on bridge duty, "Please can you ensure that the whole sickbay area is off limits? Anyone who has been in there since our guest arrived will have to stay there for now. Thanks"

Definitely better to be safe than sorry. Weird though, she couldn't help but think that this command thing had changed her a lot, almost making her paranoid beyond her scientific curiosity. Or it could be a protective instinct because of Lucy...

She interrupted her own train of thought, this was not the time for self analysis. "Do we have any more information about where the disease is spreading?" she asked Hancock.

"Negative, Commander. There doesn't seem to be a pattern, it's not spreading like anything we've seen before."

This was what L'Ola had suspected, although it didn't make it any nicer to hear. "Could you get down to the Labs and run some simulations? Knowing where it's going could help us work out how it's getting there."

Hancock wasn't all that impressed with this, "We already concluded it doesn't match anything we've seen."

L'Ola smiled half-heartedly, "So try something we haven't seen. Think of it as a game, mix previous ones together or something."

"Yes Sir" He still didn't seem all that convinced, but went to run the simulations anyway. While Kanz knew that with the little data they had he'd have to get very lucky, at least she felt they were doing something.

Next step was the people on the ground. "Kanz to away team"

=/\= Q2 here =/\=

"Commander, how are things going down there? Would it be practical to leave Ensign Bennett in charge of a clean up team there and for you to take another one investigating?"

[Deleted]

*** ON THE SHIP: HANCOCK ***

Proverbially pulling the last of his hair out, Hancock slammed his hand down onto the console. There was simply no discernible pattern to the spread of the virus. It simply seemed to pop up hither and thither, and then spread like wildfire within that area. He had run it against all known viral spread maps, and added random elements to the systems, and yet still nothing was coming up. He’d even been scanning the planet to try and factor in any geographic elements such as rivers and temperature variations. He frowned and started tapping lightly on his console again to run another scenario through it.

*** ON VEEAGHAGH IV: Q2 ***

=/\=
- Kanz to away team.
- Q2 here.
- Commander, how are things going down there? Would it be practical to leave Ensign Bennett in charge of a clean up team there and for you to take another one investigating?
- Aye ma’am, we’ve already got a location in mind.
- Let me know how it goes Commander. Kanz out.
=/\=

A few minutes later, the el aurian and his team had reappeared in a medium sized town, and this time it was quickly apparent that the virus was at large. It was also, thankfully, evident that radiation had not been considered as an option. Q2 quickly directed the medical team to spread around, and a core of them to set up a clinic of sorts. As they got themselves ready, he took a couple of security officers with him for a quick recce around the town.

His forehead furrowed as the railway station came into view. He tapped his commbadge quickly.

=/\=
- Q2 to Bennett, refresh my memory. What line is the railway station on back there?
- I’ll get someone to check.

The comm line carried the faint noise of people chattering for a few seconds, and then the reply came back solidly.

- Garden line. You got the same?
- Changing station for Garden and Intercity. I’ll get Hancock to add public transport into his simulation.
=/\=

*** ON THE SHIP: HANCOCK ***

Having just got off the comm system, Hancock quickly edited the standard viral spread map to include public transport, with the rail network as a primary carrier route. It took mere seconds for the computer to return him an 87% match ratio; more than enough to indicate a clear trend. Excitedly, he turned to their commanding officer.

“Commander Kanz, I think I’ve found something. It seems to be travelling primarily via the railways. Its impossible to tell for sure, but I would suggest that it is not merely infected persons boarding trains and spreading it, but rather that an agent or even person is on certain trains, and is releasing the virus either at certain stations, or even just onto a small number of people leaving the train. I haven’t yet been able to track any specific potential routes, but it is being computed at the moment.”