Into The Blue
Posted on Tue Aug 9th, 2022 @ 5:04am by Commodore Tyler Malbrooke & Lieutenant Commander Alyssa Maren & Lieutenant Commander Rowena McGowen & Lieutenant Paul Michael & Lieutenant Elen Diari & Lieutenant Ja'sol H'ros & Lieutenant Junior Grade Thex sh'Zoarhi & Lieutenant Commander Hermia O'Rourke & Lieutenant Junior Grade R'mes & Major Cornelius Tremble & Captain Edmund Merrick & Sergeant Major Lachlan Barr & Petty Officer 2nd Class Sofia Cipriani
Edited on on Tue Aug 9th, 2022 @ 5:05am
3,946 words; about a 20 minute read
Mission:
Episode 13 - Crooked River
Location: Bridge - Deck 1 - USS Pioneer
Timeline: MD004 1200 hrs
The Pioneer made a quick jump through slipstream and then two days warp to get to the colony planet Igion. When they arrived as was standard procedure the Pioneer took up orbit and opened hailing frequencies. It has now been three hours without a response. Tyler leaned his head on his hand and stroked his chin as was deep in thought. "Alyssa what's going on down there anything out of the ordinary?"
Maren had been scanning since they came in range. "Nothing out of the ordinary." At least, nothing that appeared on sensors. And nothing to indicate why they were kept waiting. She widened the parameters of her scan and tried again. Still nothing to indicate why they were being kept waiting--except for mind games.
Minutes that seemed like hours passed in silence on the bridge. Tyler could not think of a reason that they were being kept in the lurch as it were. His patience wore thin and he had hald a mind to take the Pioneer back to station. If the Jutrai did not want his help then to hell with them... His internal rant was interrupted by his Operations Chief.
"Sir we're being hailed by the Jutrai Security Minister General Tivau." Thex said from the communications console. She made a note of how long it had taken them to contact the ship.
https://uss-pioneer.net/index.php/report/milestones
"Well it is about time. Onscreen." Tyler called out as he rose from his chair. The image of a fairly attractive Romulan looking woman with stark white hair appeared on the screen. She wore a silver uniform that resembled the uniforms of the Romulan military circa 2370s. However, this uniform was sleeker and less boxy. "Greetings General glad to see your face." Tyler said with a smile although he wanted to hand her a speech about manners and not making people wait.
"Afternoon Captain Malbrooke standby for my transport. Igion out." The viewscreen went blank. Tivau bilked no nonsense and would not have these outsiders step foot on her planet without her vetting them first. She did not want them here and perhaps she could get them to leave.
Ja'sol stood his post at tactical. " As I reported earlier Captain, General Tivau believes that the federation is here to put them under their heel as the romulans did, It would please her to no end if we departed and never returned. Fortunately, she is not in charge of the government here, But do not expect a warm reception from her Sir. "
Alyssa sighed. Of course not. The general's attitude was going to make this mission a lot more difficult.
Paul was in his usual position....at helm.
"Number One take a greeting party to the transporter room to meet our illustrious guest." Tyler leaned over to Neil to give the order and then whispered. "It seems that our guest is a little short in the patience department."
Neil stood, straightening his tunic unconsciously and replied, "Aye aye, sir. Seems that way." Then the marine grinned wolfishly, "We could buffer him into a cargo bay transporter pad, claiming a malfunction. I'll apologize, of course and then bring him to the conference room..."
Lachlan chuckled at Trembles comment. "System malfunctions happen all the time. Maybe Chief O'Leary hasn't cleaned the buffers since last time."
El knew they were joking, "My transporters work perfectly gentlemen, and the idea that we could accidently beam visitors into the warp core should not be entertained" she interrupted with mock indigence, then smiling.
Ja'sol turned his attention to the captain. " Captain Malbrooke, May I have permission to greet General Tivau and escort her to the conference room? She may not be the most pleasant person to deal with, but as you said we need to bring our "A" game and make a good impression. I have dealt with her the most as of so far in my communications with her. I can have an honor guard ready in three minutes with full diplomatic honors. Permission to proceed? "
"Granted Lieutenant... Good thinking, join the Major." Tyler stood. "Commander McGowen you have the bridge. I will be in the Ready Room for the time being. Perhaps the General will cool off waiting."
Ja'sol nodded as he turned and head to the turbolift door and tapped his combadge as he went. =^= I need five security to transporter room one and I need them now! Four in the honor guard and one to pipe aboard an incoming Jutrai VIP. I will meet them there. =^= with that said the turbo lift doors closed and he was gone.
Ja'sol arrived at the transporter room just a few steps ahead of the honor guard and the ship's piper. He turned to them. " After the General departs the room here you are dismissed to return to normal duties. " He turned to face Major Tremble. " Sir the honor guard is ready and in place. The Captain thought in might be a good idea if i joined you in escorting General Tivau to the briefing room since I've been in contact with her prior to our arrival to get the information on our upcoming investigation. "
Neil eyed the security officer and said, "Did he now. I'm surprised he didn't mention in to me before." With a glance toward the security contingent, Neil continued. "Very well, Mister. Lets meet this General."
Glancing toward the transporter tech, Neil said, "Lock onto the General's pattern when they signal ready an beam him aboard. Full security scan. Weapons, explosives and biologicals."
The transporter whirred to life other than the noise of the transporter at work there was silence for a moment. The transporter Chief spoke up. "Security scan complete. All clear, the General is unarmed and in good health. However, she is not alone."
Watching the pad, Neil commented. "Not surprising. Most flag officers travel with aids. I'd been more surprised if they didn't..."
Ja'sol nodded in agreement. " I know a bit about the Jutrai culture from what I've learned living in the same section of space as them. The Eldoran home world is only a few hours away by shuttle from here. I am pleased to Serve Major Tremble. "
When the order to complete the transport was given two people materialized. One was a tall woman with tanned skin, an hourglass figure and long stark white hair. She had a stern look on her face that was accentuated by the ridges on her forehead. She wore a silver uniform that was very close to that of the Romulan Navy save that it was a tad more form fitting. Across her shoulder was a large purple sash. A man who was tall and broad with a cropped mop of white hair stood over her right shoulder. When the transporter beam resolved it was he who stepped forward. "Presenting General Tivau first of her name and defender of Igion."
" Welcome General Tivau. This is our executive officer Major Tremble, We are honored to meet with you in person. " He then took a step back after the brief introduction, Ja'sol noticed that her lower ranking companion had introduced his superior, so he followed suit and then stepped back. After all this was the Majors show.
Neil's eyes tracked Ja'sol a moment, then turned his attention to the General and commented, "Welcome to the Pioneer, General. Captain Malbrook and the command staff await you in our briefing room, if that is satisfactory?
Tivau shot a stern look over to the man who acted as a herald. "Yes let us dispense with the formalities and get to it. There is a lot to cover and less time to cover it." She said as she stepped off the transporter pad. Her demeanor showed how aloof she intended to be.
Neil led the way, his back stiff with the visitors behind him as he set a brisk pace. "Since time is of the essence, we'll forgo the normal pleasantries and offer you a tour of the ship," he commented.
Ja'sol smiled. " After meeting with the Captain and a tour of the ship , That will let General Tivau know what kind of people we are and what to expect from us. i myself am looking forward to getting to know more about the Jutrai people and their culture. " As he inclined his head and gave a slight bow to the general.
Michael handed over the helm to his relief, and went to the briefing room.
Alyssa was curious to hear this. She called for a replacement, logged out, and headed after the others.
With McGowan on the bridge, there was no one to represent intel. Or that was what Jayna used to justify joining those meeting with the Jutrai representative. She was curious, and she wanted to know what they might be facing and what this general of theirs had to say. She quickly made her way to the briefing room to join the others.
Having been notified of the General's arrival and the Briefing, Hermia entered the Briefing Room, PADD in hand. Greeting those present, she took a seat.
Alyssa met Jayna at the door to the briefing room and nodded in greeting.
"Hello, commander." Jayna smiled and let the science officer precede her. She preferred a seat where she could watch everyone and keep an eye on the door, so she chose to enter the briefing room more slowly. She nodded to the others and found a seat.
Alyssa took a seat next to Hermia.
Elen stood outside the open door for a moment, checking a PADD for an excuse to avoid this meeting, and drawing a blank. She slouched in like a moody teenager, and found her usual seat, resisting the urge to put her feet up on the table.
Paul walked in the briefing room, nodded to the captain, then took a seat at the table.
Edmund had been on the bridge at the station, however with the incoming meeting, he left his station and went into the briefing room to be there for information that could be had. He took a seat at the briefing table, giving a nod to Tremble.
Tyler walked into the Briefing Room and took his customary seat at the head of the table. He looked around at the gathered crew and smiled. He knew that they would ready for anything.
Moments after Tyler walked in Tivau came in accompanied by one of her men as well as Tremble and Ja'sol. As she came in Tyler stood "Welcome to the Pioneer General. Have a seat and lets get down to business."
Tivau took the seat indicated and her guard stood over her right shoulder. "I believe I have told you all we know. However, since you asked for a meeting. What are your questions."
Neil slid into his chair without commenting and eyed their visitors, content to let Tyler deal with the General for now.
"Captain this is General Tivau, First of her name and the defender of Igion. " Remembering how the herald introduced her. " Thank you for graciously agreeing to meet with us today general, And you've already meet of executive officer. "He stepped back and looked about for an open chair. Seeing no open chairs Ja'sol moved and stood nearby the captain, but out of the way of the viewing screen should it be needed. The show now belonged to the senior command staff, and he would only help if needed. So he watched and listened to learn what he could about their visitors.
There were moments when a person just knows that they are not going to like another person. For Tyler this was one of those moments. He just knew that he and this Tivau would not get along. However, they had to work together. "Well General thanks for joining us. I guess it would be best if you brought us all up to speed on the investigation."
As Tivau took her seat at the table Sofia Cipriani hurried over an poured the Jutrai woman a cup of coffee. The General glanced at the newcomer appreciatively. If there was something that a Jutrai General could appreciate that would be efficiency. "Thank you..." Tivau said and was acknowledged with a slight nod.
The General continued the discussion. "Yes it seems that these feet began to appear about a month ago. As much as I hate to admit it they baffle me. Some of the species that these feet belong to have never been to Igion. This of course would include the human feet. Our current theory is that something is amiss at the maximum security prison. The prison complex sits on the river and if there is some sort of rituals happening at the prison it would be easy to dump any remains in the river."
"General, I'm Lieutenant Commander O'Rourke, CMO. From the feet themselves, have you determined how they were removed? For example, were they removed by some kind of tool, or by animal predation?" Hermia asked.
"Definitely a tool... As what kind of tool all we can say is that it is a bladed tool. There are no signs or burns that would normally be present from an energy weapon." Tivau deadpanned.
"Okay, when you send over copies of your analysis, I'd like a couple of specimens, if I may." Hermia said. "Preferably ones you haven't already analyzed."
"Have you looked at tidal patterns to see if these feet could have come from your maximum prison facility?" Alyssa asked. "Or is that something you'd like us to do?" She was going to do it anyway, but it was always better to ask first. Sometimes it could help avoid...misunderstandings.
"Yes we have looked at the tidal patterns and it could be the prison. However, if you want to take a look at them I would not object." In truth Tivau did not care what this crew did. She simply wanted them out of her hair as quickly as possible.
Alyssa nodded. Could be was not the same as did. The woman clearly didn't care to find out what happened.
"You said that some of these species have not been on your planet," Jayna asked. "Why then do you think they came from your prison facility?" It was an odd comment to make, and the half-Vulcan was more than a little curious. She also didn't like the general, or trust her. There was something about her than rubbed Jayna wrong. Maybe it was just that the other woman reminded her of home--in a bad way. "And why have you not looked there first?"
"Most of the prisoners are in fact ritualists. They conduct unknown rituals using who knows what. It is distinctly possible that they brought these off worlders here through some means. We have been unable to obtain permission from the warden to gain access to the prisons. This is the reason that we have not looked there ourselves. The wheels of my government turn slow and are filled with bureaucracy, but it works somehow." Tivau looked at the Intelligence officer without any expression. It was as if this were just another day for the General.
"Ritualists who have the ability to do whatever they want in your prison and bring people from other worlds without your government's knowledge or consent?" Jayna asked. One eyebrow was raised quizzically, but apart from that she was calm and curious. There was something fundamentally wrong here. Was it because the Romulans were no longer in control, or was it something else?
El looked over at Alyssa {Be interesting to do a scan of the prison on the A and upper B bands, may be shows a wormhole} she telepathically projected.
Ja'sol spoke up. " I'm curious, if the prison is under the control of your government, then why would they refuse to allow a simple inspection? Couldn't they just order the warden to co-operate? Or is there something in your peoples customs that I am unaware of? " He asked.
Tivau knew the implications that Jayna was eluding to and she did not like it. This was one of the reasons that Tivau did not want outside involvement. "You do not seem to understand. My government is just coming to its feet. There are a lot of issues and people who do not want to work together. It is for that reason that it is very hard to get anything out of anyone. Perhaps that is why you were requested to come in on this investigation."
Jayna inclined her head in acknowledgement of the general's statement. She understood how difficult it could be to establish a stable govermnet after an occupation.
Neil cleared his throat, glanced around the room and said. "I think we're getting ahead of ourselves as to the origin. We need to work this problem without preconceived notions and let the evidence take us where we need to go. That starts with analysis and groundwork to be sure we have as clear a picture of what's actually happened as possible."
Looking at the General and Tyler, Neil said. "I have ground teams ready to begin search patterns on the surface and our department heads have teams set to begin the analysis. All we need is guidance from you, General on where to set up on the surface.
Edmund still listened but he was also getting restless, there was a problem, and it needed to be looked into. Feet washing upon the shore. So very strange indeed.
Ja'sol checked over his PaDD over the questions that this briefing had raised, Questions that he'd bring up with his team during the investigation. The only thing that they knew about the weapon was that it was a blade and not an energy weapon.
They would need the scientist and forensic scientist to do their magic and point the investigation in the right direction and to bring to light hidden clues.
The part that really worried Ja'sol was the ritualist. It sounded like they were in control of the prison and had full run of the place, If that were the case then it was a ritualist fortress and not a prison. Were the ritualist converting prisoners from the prison population? Or were they the ones being experimented on? and of course the big question, How were they getting federation species this deep into the old romulan empire to have their feet wash up on this distant shore?
Ja'sol looked up from his PaDD. " General Tivau, A question if I may? How much control do you believe that the Ritualist have over the prison? Do you believe that they pose a threat to your government? And what do your people know about the ritualist? It sounds like we're going to have to at least talk with them before this investigation is over. " He knew that the more information that they had the faster the investigation would conclude, which is what the general desired.
"As of now they do not pose too much of a threat. They have been nothing but harmless. However, I believe that they are advancing their plans and motives. As to whether they are a threat, yes, I believe it could come to that. However, we will not know until we can get in there." Tivau answered Ja'sol clearly. She now realized that if nothing else came from this collaboration at the very least she would be able to shut down whatever was going on in the prison system.
Tivau turned her gaze upon Tremble. "I believe a team to investigate the prison as that is where I believe this all starts from and a team to perhaps check the water currents and flows would be the best way to start. I can have the correct clearances within the hour. The Regent wants this case closed as soon as possible so I am sure she will grant anything you need."
That pleased Jayna. It sounded like something odd was definitely going on at the prison and she wanted more information. She hoped Neil would let her be part of the team to check out the planet.
Good, Alyssa thought. They were finally getting somewhere. If she could get clearance to check out the ocean where the body parts had been discovered and map the tides, they could be well on their way to solving this particular mystery. At least she hoped so. She made a mental note to talk to Hermia and see if she had any ideas.
Ja'sol took a sip[ of his coffee. " General Tivau, we will do everything in our power to help your resolve this investigation in a satisfactory manner, hopefully in a fashion that is satisfactory to both you and your government. "
"Thank you Lieutenant. The sooner this is all resolved the sooner my people can get back to doing what we set out to do here. Which is create a paradise equivalent to Risa." The General turned toward Tyler who had been sitting at the head of the table. "Captain if you would grant me access to your communications systems I can get the access needed so we can get started."
"Lieutenant sh'Zoarhi see that the General has comms access. Major plan the teams needed and get them in motion. If there are no further questions we have work to do. Dismissed..." Tyler said and watched as his crew began to leave. He sat and pondered what could be on the horizon before he took the center seat on the bridge.
A Joint Post By
First Lieutenant Edmund Merrick
The Cure Executive Officer, USS Pioneer
Captain Tyler Malbrooke
Commanding Officer, USS Pioneer
General Tivau
Commanding Officer, Igion Security Force
Staff Warrant Officer Mira Jayna
Assistant Chief Intelligence Officer, USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Commander Alyssa Maren
Chief Science Officer, USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Junior Grade Ja'sol H'ros
Chief Security/Tactical Officer, USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Commander Hermia O'Rourke
Chief Medical Officer, USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Paul Michael
Chief Flight Control Officer, USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Commander Rowena McGowen
Chief Intelligence Officer/Second Officer, USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Elen Diari
Chief Engineering Officer, USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Junior Grade Thex sh'Zoarhi
Chief Operations Officer, USS Pioneer
Major Cornelius Tremble
Executive Officer, USS Pioneer
Commanding Officer, The Cure
Lieutenant Junior Grade R'mes
Assistant Chief Medical Officer, USS Pioneer
Master Sergeant Lachlan Barr
Chief of The Boat, USS Pioneer
First Sergeant, The Cure
Petty Officer Third Class Sofia Cipriani
Yeoman, USS Pioneer
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