Made for Walking Part 1 MISSION END

Posted on Wed May 6th, 2020 @ 9:13am by Captain Bethsabée Leroux & Lieutenant Commander Lukas Carter & Lieutenant Aurelius Davis & Lieutenant Min Seong & Lieutenant Sovar & Lieutenant Samantha Leyton & Lieutenant JG Mattias Constantine & Ensign Victoria Jemison

Mission: Mission 2 - Fallout
Location: Bridge, Deck A
Timeline: Day 8, Month 1, Year 0 14:30
1622 words - 3.2 OF Standard Post Measure

"The evidence is clear," began Victoria, feeling out of her league as she discussed the situation with the main players aboard the ship. "We most definitely emptied out the usable stock of an alien farm," the young engineer stated.

Beth's mind was a whirlwind first after getting Sloan back, then the conversation with the Vulcans but now there she was stood looking around at the senior officers and the crew that manned the bridge. "And nothing we have can be converted back. We haven't used it all yet?" Beth asked hopefully already knowing exactly what the answer would be.

Shaking her head, Victoria firmly stated, "No ma'am. We don't have the original pattern for the algae and even if we did, there is no guarantee that we could. Replication is still very much a work in progress."

"What if we provided them with technology? Ease the mistake?" Carter suggested.

"Like what?" Aurelius asked. "Who is to say we aren't going to need everything we have on this ship in order to get us home? Maybe we should just try talking to them and apologize, see if there's something we can do for them."

"Can we afford to give up any of our technology to them? Maybe our technology is useless to them." Ensign Livinston asked. "What if we just apologize. We didn't know that there was anyone else on the planet. It was a mistake."

"Look, these aliens are expert growers, right?" Leyton pondered as she recalled her basic biology courses from the Academy. "If so, then let's give them the ingredients to help them grow algae."

Shaking her head slightly, Victoria started out a bit weakly, "I.. I don't know." She looked at the faces around her, and finished a bit stronger, "That algae didn't match anything found on Earth. It might not be possible to substitute another species."

"What if we tried to reach out and communicate with this species, see what we could spare in reparation?" Min suggested. She was already antsy enough, having left a nurse next to the Commander's bedside as they had their little meeting. "We may not be able to spare much in terms of resources, but only they are the experts on what they can and cannot consume."

"Our previous attempts at communicating with them have been unsuccessful. They abducted an officer and subjected him to uncivilized behavior. And we have taken a vital resource from them and exchanged weapons' fire to retrieve Commander Sloan," Sovar said. "I do not believe we have established such clear lines of cordial diplomacy that we can simply hail them and offer reparations.

"Further, it is not unreasonable to surmise that - given the lack of widespread agriculture or industry and their concern over a relatively small amount of resources - this is a colonial outpost. The settlers on the surface may have contacted their home government, and we may soon encounter their security forces."

Beth listened to everyone carefully. The crew was kind and wanting to fix the mistake that had happened. It made her proud to be leading them. "It is their only resources," Beth spoke up cutting off the conversation as she explained what Sloan had told her even high from medication.

That quieted Aurelius. If that was their only resource then how the hell were they going to pay it back? He knew they were all in this together but ultimately it was Beth's decision.

"I speak only as a member of the away team," Petty Officer Larson looked around at the assembled officers, "but I cannot abide this universal defense of the Vrav without also bringing up the fact that they have already evened the score. I mean, they took Commander Sloan and did who knows what with him! The fact that he's in intensive care is bad enough, I say we warp out of here and leave them behind. The score is already settled."

"Easy there, Mr. Larson," Ensign Constantine stood to his full height next to the enlisted man which he he hoped would have the effect of stemming the rising tide of red in Larson's vision. "Your words come from the heart of a man defending his superior officer, which is admirable. But, in spite of the current situation, we are still explorers on a mission of peace. Some day in the future, Starfleet may return this way again. The way our ambassadorship goes into the history books as the stewards of first contact with these people is up to us. If we're voting, I say we do what we can to make this right," Mattias nodded as he looked towards the group.

"Though all counsel is valued, this vessel does not operate as a democracy, ensign, regardless of its circumstances," Sovar said. Given his Vulcan monotone, it was hard to determine just how offensive the reminder was meant to be. "There is some philosophical merit to Petty Officer Larson's suggestion - the needs of the many often outweigh the needs of the few. However, I concur with your long-term diplomatic concerns.

"If this is their only resource, as Commander Leroux has indicated, then we must ask ourselves how a society with such primitive methods of food production has developed sophisticated weapons technology. It suggests an outside benefactor, perhaps someone that we or they may contact to request assistance."

"Or perhaps the lieutenant's hypothesis is based upon his own definitions of what is sophisticated and what isn't," Constantine turned towards Sovar and deadpanned his reply in a similar monotone. "Primitive food production aside, there is nothing primitive about their language. It is wildly diverse in frequency, pitch, inflection, and with no fewer than thirty-five different percussive sounds - not to mention those that the human ear is incapable of hearing."

Leyton listened to each officer, and even Larson's emotional input, which she could understand and a part of her wanted to just leave but it was the crew of the Elysium that caused this. She now felt guilty about accepting the coffee made by the algae "You know, I remember the quote attributed to Zephram Cochrane when he began the Warp 5 program. 'To seek out new life and new civilizations, allowing us to go boldly where no man has gone before.' We stole these people's food and it is irresponsible of us to simply leave without making some kind of reparation to them. Can we transport an active communicator to them and talk with them that way?"

"If the universal translator works, maybe we send down not only a communicator, but someone to act as a go between...a show of good faith." Ben looked around the room, to gauge the reaction to his query. "And if a volunteer is needed, I'll volunteer."

Before a good answer to their problems could be decided, the tactical console chirped an alert. In Lt. Commander Sloan's absence, Ensign Luis Martinez had taken over the job of Bridge armory officer. He tapped at the console as his expression changed to someone who had seen a ghost. "We have an incoming ship, tactical scans on their weaponry appear to match an upscaled accelerated mass projection from the surface," he announced. "It's bigger than us, but I can't give you an accurate listing of their offensive and defensive capabilities. I recommend we go to Tactical Alert."

Aurelius felt the hairs on his body stand up. Tactical alert sounded like a great idea and for the first time in a while he wished he was going to be at the helm but he had to learn to trust that Samantha was up to it. A trust that at the moment was difficult to give.

Beth saw the expression of Martinez's face and knew before he spoke that this was about to get a more jump road than anyone was used to. "You do not need to recommend Ensign go to Tactical Alert," Beth commented as she watched as the huge ship filled the viewscreen.

Samantha turned in her seat to face her station, locking her seat into place with her left hand as she did so. She looked at their positioning and immediately didn't like it as it offered limited maneuverability as they were still in orbit. Her hands then moved her over the controls. "Suggest we break orbit, Captain. We're fish in a barrel at this position."

Ben moved to the back of the bridge, since he wasn't needed at helm. But he was ready to take any station if that person was injured or became ill. He watched the viewscreen at the approaching ship.

"A disadvantageous position only if they begin firing on us," Sovar said, looking briefly toward Leyton at the helm. "Commander Leroux, I believe this represents our best avenue for addressing the situation on the surface. As Ensign Martinez suggested, there is matching technology. It is logical that the beings on the surface are related to the ship in some manner. Breaking orbit suggests we are running; running suggests wrongdoing rather than misunderstanding."

"And considering how things went on the surface, the chance of them firing on us is damn good," Samantha shot back without turning to look at Sovar.

OFF::

Commander Bethsabee Leroux
Officer In Charge/Chief Communications Officer
NX Atlantis

Lieutenant Sovar
Chief Science Officer
NX Atlantis

Lieutenant Aurelius Davis
Morale Officer
NX Atlantis

Ensign Mattias Constantine
Communications Officer
NX Atlantis

Lieutenant Min Seong
Medical Officer
NX Atlantis

Lieutenant JG Samantha Leyton
Chief Helm Officer
NX Atlantis

Ensign Ben Livingston
Helm Officer
NX Atlantis

Ensign Luis Martinez
Armory Officer
NX Atlantis
(pNCP Sloan)

Lt. Cmdr. Lukas Carter
Chief Engineer
NX Atlantis