Miners' Prerogative (Part 2 of 4)

Posted on 31 May 2014 @ 3:49pm by Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lamar Darius & Commander Scarlet Blake & Lieutenant Theron Rhodes & Command Master Chief Markum Quinn & Lieutenant Jacob Pendleton & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Lieutenant Elijah Williams IV, M.Sc. & Lieutenant JG Kouta Jiang Ph.D. & Lieutenant JG Delainey Carlisle & Senior Chief Petty Officer Keval zh'Erinov & Chief Petty Officer Lyras Ueda & Lonar & Reyn Trell & Zell Mokar
Edited on on 31 May 2014 @ 4:55pm

2,345 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Episode 06 - Legend of Souls
Location: USS Galileo/USS Marina
Timeline: MD 03 - 1335 hrs

Previously, on Miner's Prerogative (Part 1)...

"We'll start as one group, but as we get to talking with individual colonists, it will probably be easier to break up into smaller groups. I'll divide us into smaller teams if that time comes, making sure each team has a variety of skills within it. We might be looking at their mental and physical state, but science and ops should also be keeping their eye out for any possible environmental cause too. All clear?"

And Now, the Continuation...

[ON]

There was the urge to raise his hand as if he was in a classroom again, though he didn't really have a question perse. Elijah knew people had pasts and that sometimes pasts came back to bite you in the bum. But, did that give anyone an excuse not to be professional and courteous? They all were Starfleet, the uniform represented and meant something. Sure he wasn't oblivious to the situation, he had heard people talk, the whispers amongst some concerning Cardassians and how they couldn't really be trusted. He had no reason to dislike or hate Cardassians but given the history they had with the history with the Federation and Starfleet, he could see why people dislikes and hated them. To him, it just seemed odd they, as a group of professionals needed a reminder to treat the colonists with respect.

Then a thought did pop into his hand and Elijah raised his hand then slowly lowered it. His cheeks lightly colored in the embarrassment of doing such a thing. This wasn't school. He cleared his throat and began to speak, his soft but deep voice came out as a squeak at first then leveled out. "I know we will be looking at medical, psychological and environmental, but will we have access to run scans on the equipment they use? Who knows what you might find on a drill, a small pick axe or a hover cart. A small, stray particle could make a huge difference."

~Good question,~Keval thought to himself,~Maybe it's not such a bad idea to have this suit on.~

"We won't be going down into the mines on this occasion, but if there's equipment in the living areas we are in, then a scan here and there can only help collect data," Scarlet nodded to Elijah, folding her arms.

Kouta's gaze had shifted immediately from the group as a whole to the Commander when she entered and began her briefing. Quick, but not harsh. To the point. Well thought. Wisely unbiased. And decidedly hard to read... Appropriate for someone in her position, and he expected professionalism of that caliber in a Federation officer. Nevertheless he made a mental note of it, and entertained the idea of exactly how much trouble he'd be in if they found out he was scrutinizing the behaviors of the chain of command. He doubted 'but that's sort of, kind of, occasionally my job, in certain, very specific situations' would make for a good defense.

He listened for questions, noting what pertained to him and filing what did not. Come to think of it, now would be the best opportunity he'd have to actually put that job to good use; better here than already on the ground. He waited for an appropriate silence before speaking up, tone as comfortable and confident as ever.

"If I may interject?" He inclined his head politely within the brief pause. "Lieutenant Junior Grade Dr. Kouta Jiang, sociologist very recently come aboard. With permission, I may be able to provide some anecdotes on our comrades below that could be helpful."

Blake glanced to him, wondering if 'comrades below' meant Cardassians. "Briefly," she nodded.

Delainey spoke up. "Will you clarify what you know of the colonists' understanding of why we're visiting? I'm wondering if they have some idea that we'll be screening them medically and psychologically, or if we'll need to be more surreptitious?"

"That's a grey area," Scarlet conceded with a tilt of her head. "So far, it's the Cardassian ship that has had direct contact with the miners on the ground, not us. Now while we made our intentions clear to explore all possibilities to the Gul, I'm not sure if that has been passed on to the miners. Let's keep it subtle, discreet and respectful, but not secret. If you're asked directly, be honest and explain why. We're not spies, we don't want to deceive anyone."

With a soft hiss, the side hatch of the nearby runabout USS Marina deployed and out stepped Lamar off of the nacelle ramp. He could see the first away team all present and accounted for after doing a quick head count, and he unclipped his PADD from his belt and entered some pre-flight notes into it before waving to the assembled team and motioning for them to step inside. "All aboard the Lyshan Express!" he smiled at Allyndra and the others he knew, then addressed the senior-most officer of the group. "Ready to depart when you are, sir," he said to Blake with a nod.

"Then let's get moving," Scarlet nodded firmly to him as she made her way inside. Now she had her head around the fact she had to work with Cardassians, she just wanted it over with.

Such excitement! It had been the first time in a rather long time that Lyras was going to be off the ship for something other than shore leave. He waited, following after the others into the shuttle.

There was not a lot that Allyndra was taking so she just took a seat in the back. It was not that she was that shy about things, but whenever it involved flying she always wanted to veer and turn differently than the pilot. It would show in her shoulder and head movements and she had found it was disconcerting to other pilots. In the back, she could just look at the back of the seat in front of her or at her tricorder to take her mind away.

Elijah just had a kit, so once he boarded and found a seat he just kept it on his lap. He had wondered how all these people were going to crowd into the runabout and of all sudden, excitement dissipated and was replaced with claustrophobia. He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly to steady his nerves.

Falling into line with the rest as they boarded, Kouta picked a seat as close to the back as was available. With just his small pack, he kept it secure on his lap rather than stowing it. Near immediately after getting situated in his seat, he linked his fingers loosely in his lap, closed his eyes, and focused calmly and precisely on anything other than actually being on the runabout. Not that he was scared, per say, but he never had been able to shake a mild uneasy feeling about initial departure in these things.

Delainey took a seat next to Kouta, whom she had not yet met. Carlisle had a relatively big medkit on her lap, as she wanted to assist with as thorough a medical evaluation as she could. This would help her rule in, or out any medical or psychological issues as they went.

Looking over at Kouta, she noticed his eyes were closed. "Everything ok?"

Lamar was the last one to enter the runabout after making sure all his passengers were seated and secure. The aft ramp retracted behind him and the Volga Class was now loaded and ready to depart. Moving up to the cockpit, Lamar took a seat at the helm controls and initiated a brief systems check, then brought the craft's main reactors online which were verified by a gentle hum which could be felt through the deck plating.

Quinn walked onto the transport and smiled at everyone aboard. "This should be a fun trip."

After contacting Galileo flight control and getting permission to depart, Lamar engaged the runabout's maneuvering thrusters. The large support craft slowly lifted off the landing bay pad and rotated 180 degrees to face the now-open shuttlebay doors, after which he applied some forward thrust and piloted Marina through the protective forcefield and out into space.

The ride down to the surface of Lyshan III was relatively short and uneventful, but some turbulence during atmospheric entry had made for a bumpy ride. As the runabout broke through the planet's cloud cover, the mining colony and its facilities soon came into sight, and Lamar began a slow circular descent as he approached the planet's rocky surface. At 1323, the runabout touched down on the planet's surface and Lamar reached up to flip the comm switch above his head. "Ladies and gentleman, we've just arrived at Lyshan III. Thank you for flying Air Galileo, and be sure to deposit all of your trash and recyclables into the appropriate receptacles when exiting," his deep voice echoed throughout the cabin.

"Everyone suit up and double check your seals," Blake called through the shuttle, giving Lamar's shoulder a pat in thanks as she passed him to get her own.

Theron genuinely did not relish the idea of wearing an EVA suit. It was cumbersome and limited his field of view and motion. He completed attaching his helmet and slung the strap of the medium sized bag over his shoulder.

The Security Chief then noticed that the person next to him was having trouble with their helmet. He had not noticed who it was, since everyone was milling around at the moment putting on their own EVA suit. But even not knowing, he asked, "Can I assist you with that?"

Allyndra struggled with the suit. Everything was never designed for someone with long gossamer wings and the stupid suit hurt, pinched, and generally was a royal pain. It seemed everyone else was already ready to go by the time she got to the helmet. That added insult to injury as well as the tinting was designed to cut down the ultraviolet which effectively cut out a third of the spectrum of her eyes. Though she was not a violent person, she could easily have taken joy in performing a living autopsy on whoever designed these suits.

Seeing Allyndra's frustration, Delainey approached, and silently assisted the doctor where she could. In truth, it was a way to prolong putting on her own suit which only made her claustrophobic. Taking a calming breath, she reminded herself it was either the suit or risking unhealthy consequences.

Jacob smirked, "I think they didn't make helmets big enough for those of us with large noggins."

The EVA suit seemed ill-fitting on his small frame and Elijah grimaced. He hated these things but yet he understood the importance of them. He hated the helmet the most, it made him feel too confined. Hands in the gloves, he flexed his fingers. The suit severely limited his mobility. But, he had no choice in the matter so he just dealt with it.

Keval glanced around him. He really wasn't sure why they were putting on the suits. He though it all a bit melodramatic overkill. It wasn't like the colonists were going mad and slaughtering each other, but orders were orders, so more than a bit silly he put on his suit.

Lyras had managed to put his suit on with little difficulty, silently watching the body language of the others. Everyone's attitude was important, regardless of how exciting the trip down was going to be. If they ended up making a false move, who knew what was going to happen.

Quinn made sure everyone that was putting on an environmental suit, was putting them on correctly. He wanted to be sure that they were protected before he put his own on.

Uncomfortable enough in his normal uniform, Kouta strongly felt the EVA suit was like adding insult to injury. Necessary, given he was rather fond of being alive, but awful nonetheless. Begrudgingly, he tied his long hair up in a loose half-ponytail, and suited up with surprising ease.

Leading the way out of the shuttle, Scarlet looked around with genuine curiosity, taking in what she should. It was pretty stark and harsh, she wasn't sure she'd want to be stuck working there.

As they made their way into the mess hall, she slowed her pace as she saw the group of miners sitting around tables and chairs, passing the time as best they could in the basic facilities. She looked around, trying to spot the adminstrator they were due to make contact with.

The world seemed oddly lacking in colour and Allyndra could not help but wonder if it was just the environment or the helmet.

Keval was feeling rather confined in the suit. A little too confined for his comfort. He was a little claustrophobic something that had probably would have gotten him kicked out had he gone through the Academy.

He would just have to make the best of it, so he looked around the room to distract himself.

Theron stood to the back corner of the group, looking about the room evaluating the tactical situation, as usual. He glanced at the doctor. She seemed to be a little relieved to have the helmet off.

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

MWO Lamar Darius
Chief Support Craft Pilot
USS Galileo
[PNPC - Saalm]

CMDR Scarlet Blake
First Officer
USS Galileo

LT Theron Rhodes
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo

CMCPO Markum Quinn
Chief of the Boat
USS Galileo

LT Jacob Pendleton
Chief Research Officer
USS Galileo

LCDR Allyndra Warraquim
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

LTJG Elijah Williams IV
Geologist
USS Galileo

LTJG Kouta Jiang
Sociologist
USS Galileo

LT Delainey Carlisle
Counselor
USS Galileo

CPO Keval Graysan
Operations Officer
USS Galileo
[PNPC - Nicholas]

PO1 Lyras Ueda
Diplomatic Officer
USS Galileo
[PNPC - Kita]

Lonar
Miner
Lyshan III
[PNPC - Warraquim

Reyn Trell
Miner
Lyshan III
[PNPC - Markos]

Zell Mokar
Miner
Lyshan III
[PNPC - Miir]

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