SET - Rojar II R01 Sub-aquatic Survey (Part 1 of 2)

Posted on 07 Jul 2013 @ 1:50pm by Lieutenant Commander Pola Ni Dhuinn M.D. & Lieutenant Kiri Cho & Lieutenant Commander Dea Mialin & Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lamar Darius & Chief Warrant Officer 4 Cyrus Kiwosk & Petty Officer 3rd Class

2,269 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Episode 03 - Frontier
Location: Rojar II R01 - Southern Ocean
Timeline: MD 05 - 1615 hrs

[ON]

Kiri had spend two months on an aquatic station but even that wasn't really anything close to being under the ocean. In space if something went wrong then you would drift around until rescued, or ran out of oxygen. Underwater, if something went wrong you were crushed, in the dark. There was also the fact this was the only method of aquatic transport they had, so if they needed rescue, it wouldn't happen fast. This was part of her job though, she was going to do it. Her muscles still ached from walking around on the high gravity moon, at this would mostly be sitting. Under her uniform she had put on a Starfleet swimsuit just in case and omnipresent medical kit that she only roughly knew how to use.

Kiri's hair was starting to fall back to its normal lifeless self but a few kinks still remained from where it had been circled. Forgoing her phaser this time she still carried her tricorder and as she arrived in the shuttle bay for the second time that day she took a breath. It was busy again. Walking towards the sleeker shape of the Huntley she looked around to see where the other members of the away team were.

Dea arrived in the shuttle bay shortly after Kiri. This would be a much different mission to pilot than her last one. She nodded to her counterpart, "I'm here just arrived."

At the sound of nearby voices, Lamar wiggled himself out from beneath the shuttle's nacelles with a push of his legs. He looked up at his Betazoid/Trill department head with several tools in his hand and gave her a big smile. "Hello, ma'am. Look's like Tuscany is good to go, just finished re-aligning the aft thruster power relays." he informed her.

"Excellent," Dea replied, "Everything else is in order I take it?" She trusted Darius but she also didn't want to take any chances since this was an underwater survey. They were entering new territory.

"Yes, ma'am." came the former-Marine's reply. "Tuscany is ready for departure when you are." he reported, then climbed back up onto his feet.

Dea nodded with a smile, "Thanks, your assistance is appreciated."

Rooting through the satchel on her shoulder, Pola mentally counted off the medical supplies as she tried to ensure that they had everything. She was aware that room was going to be sparse on the sub-aqua shuttle but there was still equipment she needed in order to aid with any minute biopsies they might manage on any species they would encounter. The idea of the trip wasn't to kill and disturb this world, it was to learn and educate. "Sorry I'm running slightly late."

"I'm going to start our preflight," Dea commented making her way onto the Hunley after nodding to Pola. This trip she'd been designated at the pilot only.

Kiri found herself standing watching them all, she didn't really have anything to do until they got there. Suddenly very aware of herself she carefully boarded the shuttle, standing in the back and doing her best not to get in the way.

Stowing his maintenance tools away in one of the shuttlebay's storage lockers, Lamar promptly retrieved a set of away team gear and clipped a standard utility belt around his waist. He made his way back to the Hunley shuttle and climbed inside, then took a seat in the co-pilot's chair next to Dea.

As she watched the crew start to load up, Pola hesitated as she looked around. They still seemed to be missing Cyrus and this worried her slightly. She wasn't certain why they needed a security officer along on the trip but it was nice to know that he would be there anyway.

Pushing her bag back up onto her shoulder, Pola gave the shuttlebay doors one last lingering glance before moving into the shuttle and taking an assigned seat towards the back, placing her bag on the seat beside her just incase he did make it ontime.

Nexia entered into the shuttle with a smile. Aquatic exploration for a Selkie Oceanologist was like playing rugby for a Klingon. Heaven. She didn't require much equipment, but did have a tricorder and a modified phaser on her hip and several sample containers in a pouch around her waist.

Dea turned to the back, "Ensure the hatch is secured. We'll be taking off shortly." It wasn't long before they received departure clearance. Piloting Tuscany out of Galileo's shuttle bay and away from the ship.

Slipping into an empty seat Kiri felt, hollow. She had thought it was an exception before, that events had been cruelly against them and that was why people had been lost. Away missions could be dangerous but to lose someone on the first day, the first mission. It made her shiver, was death stalking them, was her grandmother right, that it was too dangerous. It was far more dangerous so far than she'd been lead to believe at the Academy. Remaining silent she shivered as she took a breath, everyone seemed to be acting so normal.

Turning to address Kiri and the rest of the science team, "Our flight out will be a good time to get all the equipment set the way you want it." She figured that way they could maximize their use of underwater time.

Lamar reached overhead and tapped a couple buttons on the ceiling to re-initialize and maximize their sensor efficiency. "Looks like clear space ahead of us, ma'am." he reported, "But there's a few meteors on course to impact the gas giant in the next hour. I'm sending the telemetry to your console now." he said, then tapped a couple more buttons on his navigation console to send the data to his pilot.

"Excellent I've got the new data. That will come in handy," Dea commented to Lamar, "Make sure all our passengers are securely just in case we do hit a bit of a bumpy ride on the way down. But I like the report of clear space ahead."

Nexia hated atmospheric reentry in a shuttle. There was never a nice soft entry. She made sure she was secured into her seat and got ready to white knuckle the trip.

Turning around in his seat, Lamar looked back at the other members of the team. "We're seeing some potential pockets of debris ahead of us, I suggest you all fasten your harnesses." he informed them.

Kiri was already clipped in, she wasn't in the mood to take any kind of risks. Keeping her sullen face she watched the two pilots, trying not to think too much of the dangers.

Dea continued to monitor the shuttle closely. "Make sure our subaquatic systems are ready," she commented without shifting her focus off her flying. "It's going to be a very quick atmospheric flight. Entry Interface is coming up."

"Yes, ma'am." the red-collared warrant officer called out, then quickly initiated the shuttle's sub-aquatic system power-up sequence. His console chirped and flashed various new LCARS displays, and after a couple of seconds, they were good to go. "All systems standing by, ready for underwater entry." he reported.

Nexia was starting to get excited about being back in the water again. it had been too long since she was able to take a proper swim without the use of a holodeck. "This is going to be fun."

"Beginning descent," Dea reported as she took one last look at the surface before the shuttle submerged under the water. It was like they'd just been transported from one alien world to another.

Lamar looked back over his shoulder at the Selkie oceanologist and noticed her excitement. She was a strange-looking creature from a species with which he was not familiar, yet he also found her to be quite attractive with her blue-green scales and curvy body. "Does this remind you of home?" he wondered, not sure exactly where she was from.

Kiri's instinct once they were underwater was to hold her own breath even though she was safe. The change in light outside made her uneasy, space wasn't dark, nor did it have bubbles. Thinking back to her last aquatic experience she started scanning, there seemed to be a lot of life outside, she just couldn't see it yet.

Nexia smiled as she looked at the dark skinned, and well toned Human. "Yes, it does. Pacifica has such beautiful oceans and islands. You should visit there sometime. Think of Risa, then add ten times the amount of water."

Cyrus hadn't been really interested in the entire survey to begin with. He checked and rechecked his phaser. Even now, the constant calibrations had been trying on the ex-marine. He didn't like water. Hate was a more appropriate term. He knew how to swim, but it was more of a necessity more than it was a hobby. He kept his quiet and let the scientists smile and bubble in delight.

Dea couldn't allow herself to think about anything going wrong. As a pilot she'd taken water survival and extraction courses from various kinds of craft however neither had been a pleasant experience even though Mialin had decent swim skills. Carefully piloting the vehicle through the water.

"There is a lot of life signs outside, carbon mixed with nitrogen as their basis." Catching a glimpse of something she was able to bring it up one of the smaller screens. It was a fish, small with crystalline scales, reflecting ultraviolet light. Shifting the visible spectrum slightly the image lit up like a rainbow, and there were more. In the dark of the water they were almost invisible to the human eye. To the other fish though, they must be like beacons, flat bodies and tiny fins but big compound eyes and wispy tails. Shifting her screen to show all of the shoal she looked at the others, "They are attractive."

Nexia admired the the aquatic animal, when something caught her eye off the port side. It was long, maybe three meters in length and was stripped with blue and yellow alternating rings. It resembled a sea snake, but had small appendages resembling arms and legs. "Look at that. I wonder if it has lungs or gills?"

Dea purposely gave the creatures some distance. "Wow I don't think it's traveling alone. I'm getting indications there might be something bigger below it. I'm going to alter our course a bit so we don't startle them. That purplish is blue color I'm picking up isn't the water."

Lamar stared out through the window, fascinated by the strange sub-aquatic creatures which they were seeing. He was not particularly gifted in the science fields and didn't know exactly what he was looking at, but it was exciting nonetheless.

"It appeared to have gills, though they may operate on land," Kiri answered to the earlier question," Focusing more on this possible larger creature Kiri was a little surprised, "It's a jellyfish, it's, huge." It must be hundred meters across and she couldn't scan far enough to see the end of all of its tentacles. At that size, "We should give it a wide berth, it could capture the shuttle by accident."

Nexia starred out in amazement. "The giant jelly may be stalking the other creature. Is the jelly emitting any Bio-luminescence?" she asked. "I also wonder if that...sea snake is poisonous? With it's markings and color, I would presume it has a high chance."

Dea nodded, "Yeah I'm keeping us at a distance from them. Backing us off a bit more just to be safe." Shifting her attention to Lamar, "Help me monitor our trajectory, in case we have to alter our course quickly."

"Yes, ma'am." the support craft pilot replied. He ran his hands over the the navigation console and began to keep a close eye on the readings of the strange creatures they had discovered. "Bio-luminescence, huh? That sounds fun...I wish I could glow in the dark." he added with a light chuckle.

Now she knew what she was looking for Kiri could pick up several more of these jellyfish in the distance. Attempting to plot them on the map so they didn't run into them if anything happened. For them to be this many, this large, there had to be other large creatures that they fed on right? If they photosynthesized then wouldn't they be closer to the surface?

Continuing to pay attention to her piloting Dea's only response to Lamar's comment was a smile. At the moment they didn't need any unexpected surprises. So far they had not startled the creatures and she wanted to keep it that way.

Lamar's console chirped and he frowned as he analyzed a new set of incoming data. The Hunley's underwater sensors had detected something interested and he was anxious to report his findings. "I've got a new signature on the scope...looks like...multiple signatures, actually. A lot of them." he confirmed as he adjusted the broadband frequency waves of the sensors. "Could possibly a swarm of some type, or a school of fish. Bearing two-seven-one and about three hundred feet below us." he accurately reported.

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

WO Lamar Darius
Support Craft Pilot
USS Galileo
NPC'd by Lirha Saalm

Lieutenant (JG) Kiri Cho
Assistant Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Dea Mialin
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Galileo

PO3 Nexia Alona
Oceanologist
USS Galileo
NPC'd by Markum Quinn

CWO Cyrus Kiwosk
Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo

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