AT - R01 General Survey (Part 1 of 2)

Posted on 16 Apr 2013 @ 1:00pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Captain Jonathan Holliday & Lieutenant Kiri Cho & Lieutenant Aria Rice & Lieutenant Jacob Pendleton & Ensign Varek
Edited on on 17 Apr 2013 @ 12:34pm

3,183 words; about a 16 minute read

Mission: Episode 03 - Frontier
Location: Rojar II R01 - Surface Peninsula
Timeline: MD 05 - 1200 hrs

[ON]

Standing in Transporter Room 1 next to the operations officer who was currently manning the primary console, Lirha patiently waited for the members of the first away team to arrive in order to properly see them off on their historic journey. She was excited, to say the least; the chance to explore an uncharted world had always been a dream of hers since her first thoughts of Starfleet Academy, and now almost ten years later, it was about to become realized.

Unfortunately for the captain, her duty was to stay with the ship and monitor the away team's progress, which meant that she would not be going down to the surface anytime soon. That special job fell to her XO, who - as the senior-most officer - would be commanding the mission. John was more than capable of handling the team, Lirha thought, and she didn't anticipate any problems during this relatively short expedition.

Kiri made sure she was prepared for just about anything. After a rushed lunch she picked up her backpack briskly made her way to the transporter room. Her hair was still curled but even less so than before, tied into a tail it looked more stylish than normal. She was a little bit tired given how last last night went on for but this was pretty big. Looking rather tense she looked to the captain before making she was out of the way of the door.

Jacob's large figure entered the room he smiled and then stood at attention in the sight of the Captain, "Lieutenant Pendleton reporting for duty, Captain."

Jeremy entered into the transporter room, easily rolling in the armor he was wearing. It was a bit more advanced in generational tech than what he'd used before - as sparingly as that was. Lighter for one, but it also had integrated HUD into a pair of glasses rather than just the helmet. Which he preferred.

Sidi, on the other hand, was not at all happy with the vest Jeremy had on him. He found it under the same replicator patterns as the duty vest for him. He finally stopped trying to get at it with his teeth but that didn't stop him from rubbing against the wall or door jambs in an attempt to get it off.

However, spying Captain Saalm, Jeremy stopped and shook his head, holding the sigh. There were a few others in the room as well, which made it a bit more awkward but - there was a duty he had to perform. "Captain," he said, walking to her and trying to keep the conversation as private and low key as possible. "Do I need to remind you of General Order Fifteen and captains on away teams?"

"Settle down Lieutenant - the Captain won't be taking one step off the Galileo, I will be."

The voice of the XO echoed into the room as Holliday stepped through the door, finishing connecting his tricorder and phaser to his belt, staring down at his waist as he did so before looking back up to acknowledge the Security Chief and the waiting Captain.

"It's about time I got to get my hands dirty again - sitting in repair docks just isn't quite as thrilling. Reporting as ordered Ma'am."

"Understood," Stone said, "I wasn't sure if this yet another change that the Security Chief wasn't informed about." He clenched his jaw to keep from saying more as he moved across the room to the transporter area, noticing the two security officers from Venture arrived just behind Holliday. Now he was just waiting for Rice's arrival and they could begin.

Aria walked in with a small, whistling loudly as she took her time. She looked at them all and smiled, warmly, to the Captain before looking at Stone. "'ello all..."

Stone's words repeated in the captain's head and she had to bite her lip to keep herself from chewing him out in front of the crew. She was the captain; of course she knew about away team protocols - but that was not why she was here. She wasn't even equipped with the most basic away team tool belt which should have been obvious to the security chief if he had bothered to think and observe before he spoke. Fortunately, John had arrived in an extremely timely fashion and had interjected on her behalf, for which she was grateful.

Giving her tall XO a grin, she nodded with approval. "I agree. There is not much scientific investigation that can take place in dry dock." she replied with a smirk. "Is your team all set to go?" she asked, eyeing Stone and his over-abundance of armor. She had no idea what purpose it would serve, especially since the Borg did not use projectile weapons. If anything, she would have thought that he would have opted for more personal mobility and lighter kits, but such tactical decisions were often left to her XO, so if John approved, then she would not question him.

"It certainly looks that way - although Mr Stone does appear to be ready to engage in untold quantities of warfare with whatever we might face." John looked back over his shoulder with a grin. He would have quite happily donned the same armour and weapon choices as Stone given half a chance.

Jeremy busied himself needlessly checking to make sure Sidi's equipment was still strapped securely and not likely to come off or hinder his movements too much. He checked the transporter buffer on the dog's armor to ensure a full power supply that should - under normal use - last far longer than the four hours this mission was scheduled. He refused to come up to Holliday's taunts and further jokes at his expense.

Ensign Varek looked up from his corner of the room where he was preparing a medical kit. He wasn't sure if they were expecting to need a field medic, but if they did they could not have picked a better officer for the job, in his quite logical opinion. He finished arranging his supplies in his pack and then swung it up on his back. Then, checked the medical tricorder and phaser on his utility belt to make sure they were secure, the vulcan man made his way to the back of the transporter pad, gazing out at everyone else expectantly.

"I hate transporters..." Aria muttered as she got on the padd as well, looking over at the dog. "You know what I mean...If I end up with your hair and you with my hair, we'll be ganging up on 'em..."

Kiri was uncertain about there being a dog involved, however well trained it wasn't sentient. There were so many situations that might put him or them in needless danger. It concerned her but not as much as the armour did. Her pack was small and she had taken pains to keep it as light as possible. A small medkit, a few days rations, a mirco filament rope, and enough for a tiny shelter and some water. Anything more would be a problem on the moon due to its size. First though she had to gain some courage. Stone was someone she was scared on, the most unpredictable she knew really. But she was the Science Officer on this mission, she was responsible. With a deep breath, "Excuse me, Lieutenant Stone, but, the armour might be a problem," She looked at everyone else, even the size of Lieutenant Pendleton might be a problem, "This moon is larger than Earth and has an average gravity of thirteen point two three eight nine meters per second squared, or um, one point three five Earth Gravities. So, everything including your body will be thirty five percent heavier." Looking up at him then to everyone else, "We also haven't detected anything hostile on the planet."

Aria looked over at Stone, with curiosity as to what his reaction at it. She bit her lip to stop a giggle, shaking her head. "Hey, I wasn't planning on shooting anyone anyway," she said softly to Cho.

Jacob smiled and replied to Kiri, "Well then, I am glad I train and work out every single day Lieutenant Cho." Then he paused a second and added, "As for my size, well, it is what it is, I've been on many a transporter so there should be no problems."

Aria practically rolled her eyes, but bit her lip and mentally told herself off. She glanced at the dog before ahead, to the transporter operator.

"Very well ladies and gentlemen, let's get this show on the road shall we?" John nodded to the transporter operator as he climbed onto the pad and took his place at the forefront of the group whilst the remaining few members made their way to their positions.

"Wish us luck ma'am."

Lirha smiled at her brown-haired XO and gave him a soft wave of her green hand. "I will be here if you need anything. Thirty minute check-ins, please. Be safe, and godspeed." she answered.

"Yes ma'am. Transporter Chief - please do the honours."

And with that, the blue hue of the transporter beam enveloped the entire away team; the silver and grey lining of the Galileo quickly replaced by the lush green vegetation of this alien world. As the remateralisation sequence finished, the XO instinctively pulled his tricorder from his belt and began his preliminary scans.

"Tell me what you see people. Let's get as much information before we even have to take one step here..."

The rest of the away team rematerialized and were suddenly on a strange, new alien world. The gravity was slightly heavier than Earth's, and in addition to the green and colorful plant life which surrounded them, several small rustles in the nearby brush signified indigenous animal species which had been startled by the transporter sequence and had quickly taken refuge to observe the away team in hidden safety. Unfamiliar animal chirps and calls sounded both nearby and in the distance, and the sky above them was crystal blue and speckled with light clouds.

Instinctively Kiri opened her tricorder to start scanning, it could see much more than she could hope to. Still a glance around told her it wasn't quite like Earth. There were trees but they were as wide as they were tall, pine leaves, hanging fronds. There was grass but vines seemed to sprawl over it in every direction, weaving together in an almost carpet. As for the creatures, she couldn't see any yet but they were definitely around, "Everything seem safe, so far."

"Let's get what information we can - Mr. Varek, focus on the microbial level - anything at all dangerous I want to know about it. Lieutenant Cho and Mr. Pendleton, atmospheric analysis - let's make sure we aren't breathing anything we shouldn't be. Once we can confirm the surface is safe for habitation we can call in additional resource."

John was glad to hear that at least in the short term there wasn't anything about to kill them, and the instinct to grab his phaser diminshed somewhat, but there was still nothing appealing about the thought of being caught out on an alient world.

"Security - sweep the perimeter - make sure we haven't got any unexpected guests nearby."

With orders issued, the XO slapped the commbadge on his chest to report back to the Galileo with what little they had discovered so far.

=^=Holliday to Galileo - away team have successfully arrived on the surface. Nothing of any concern immediately but we are going to run basic tests before any further action is taken. Stand by.=^=

Only a few seconds passed before Lirha's distinctive voice sounded back across the commbadge. "Understood, Commander. Be sure to use caution but try to collect as much information as possible." she answered.

Ensign Varek walked over to the first officer with his medical tricorder in hand. His first thought upon arriving -before arriving, even- had been to check the air for pathogens, and so he had results prepare already. "There seems to be no immediate danger from pathogens in the air, sir. Some bacterial life similar to standard terran environments. I have not detected any viruses."

"Well let's be grateful for that at least - begin testing anything that might be a high risk source, we don't want to get surprisd at the last minute" John replied to the Vulcan with a nod.

"I am going to begin sampling water sources;" the vulcan continued, "do not let anyone drink anything until I report it." With a nod of his head he turned and walked away in search of water.

Jacob nodded to Commander Holiday and began doing atmospheric tests, "On it Commander." He turned to Kiri, "Lt. Cho, should we begin with highest sensitivity settings first? That might be a wise choice to begin our scans."

The basic scans from the probes and the ship covered the obvious issued they could encounter. Nothing obviously virulent or poisonous, radiation or anything really, just heavy. She was fighting against slouching and her shins were starting to sting a little. Looking to her tricorder and back to Pendleton, "Yes, if you would cover radiation levels and local emissions?" A volcanic event or a plant that periodically spewed out radioactive air could be hiding just out of sight. After a few seconds she spoke again, "There is slightly less oxygen than Earth and," Pausing for a moment, "Helium encased seeds are also floating in air, but nothing too toxic." Glancing around at the plants, the trees with brownish red bark, looking as solid as rock, the gnarly shrubs under them. It must be the gravity, they looked far more resilient than the flora she knew.

Jacob's tricorder started picking up a mounting pressure in the nearby seedlings and was about to warn all when the spike jumped significantly; then the seed pods nearby suddenly exploded due to gravitational stress, Jacob's pretty remarkable reflexes reacted as he quickly moved in front of Kiri who was more in the direct line of the blast to try and shield her from the worst of it. He closed his eyes and mouth, threw his chest out and tightened every muscle in his upper torso and took the brunt of the spore explosion of which a fair amount smacked him right in the chest. The seeds and spores bounced off his rock hard muscles as if they were nothing more than dandelion spores hitting a wall. In a matter of moments the spore blast dissipated and Jacob was finally able to exhale. "What was that?" He said, but was shocked as his deep baritone was rendered to the level of a medium tenor voice. He looked at his scans to find the obvious answer: Higher concentrations of helium. His face was covered in the dark yellow spore dust as were the upper parts of his uniform. He shook his head in disgust and added, "You all might want to set your tricorders to alarm for one hundred thirty one PSI spikes anywhere near these seedlings." His voice was just beginning to go back down the scale as he made that last remark.

"Oh," Kiri squeaked surprised at her own pitch, "It's just helium, nothing bad," Though she did her best not to breath in any of the spores as they started to float upwards. The pods seemed to be connected to the roots of the trees, building up pressure until they dispersed, she'd seen plants do that before but not with helium. Then this was high gravity, it might be the best way. Making a note not to step on any of the pods she checked the ground before looking up at Pendleton, "Thank you." He had moved rather fast, it was surprising. Reaching behind her back she took out a tiny test-tube and sweeping down caught a few of the yellow spores, breaking the gel cap to seal the tube. The biologists would be interested in having a few specimens of their own. That part done she slid the tube back into her backpack and pulled down sterilised pad, holding it out for Pendleton. While the spores didn't seem to have any bad properies it could make his skin peel off from allergies, or it might start growing on him.

Aria looked around, frowning as she let out a breath. It was...beautiful. It was beautiful here. She moved forward, slowly, taking it all in...a bit distracted, perhaps. But it seemed almost magical in its differences. "I feel like Alice in Wonderland..." she said and then gasped at her high, comic pitch. She sounded like a mouse to her own ear and blushed furiously. Great. Now that would help people taking her seriously.

Jacob took the sterile pad and cleaned off his uniform, as he did he smiled at Kiri and responding to her "thank you", "As long as I breathe and am able to do something, I will protect my teammates, my colleagues and my friends Lt. Cho. I promise you that." He began again to scan the area and take closer looks at the terrain, the plants and the rocks hoping to find something more than just flora and fauna, which were great to document of course, but he was really hoping to find remnants of civilization.

Aria looked over at Cho, arching an eyebrow before sighing. "Area looks secure," she said, looking around. "I sound like Minnie Mouse, but area secure."

"At least we're alone - for now anyway. Unless anyone has any major objections I think we can call this planet safe, at least on the preliminary analysis?"

John called out, looking around at the group of officers surrounding him. Galileo still had plenty more crew and resource to deploy onto this planet to investigate further, and now was the time to do just that.

Aria smiled as she arched an eyebrow before clapping her hands. "Awesome. Let's call this place safe on first glance and be happy about it. And I'll buy the first round of celebration drinks when we get back to the Galileo!"

"You're on Lieutenant Rice. I call the keyboards or I'll bring my sax for the entertainment!" Jacob replied smiling widely.

"Okay," Kiri wanted to focus on the job rather than potential socialising right now, there was more than enough to think about already. Looking back to her tricorder she could at least agree that the area they were in right now was as safe enough not to pose imminent danger.

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

CMDR Jonathan Holliday
Executive Officer
USS Galileo

Lt. jg Aria rice
Security Officer
USS Galileo

Lt. (JG) Jacob Pendleton
Chief Research Officer
USS Galileo

Ensign Varek
Medical Officer
USS Galileo
played by Psylus

LTJG Kiri Cho
Asst. Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

LTJG Jeremy Stone
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo

RSS Feed