Scientists, and their Baggage (Part 2 of 4)

Posted on 19 Jun 2012 @ 1:50pm by Lieutenant JG Kestra Orexil & Lieutenant Commander Pola Ni Dhuinn M.D. & Ensign Im'er Mor'an & Captain Jonathan Holliday & Anthony Hardaway Ph.D. & Justice Abernathy Ph.D. (MIA) & Emma Kennedy (MIA)
Edited on on 19 Jun 2012 @ 2:55pm

2,506 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Episode 01 - Project Sienna
Location: Starbase 152 - Decks 122-124, Crew Quarters
Timeline: MD 07 - 1455 hrs

Previously...

Looking across at Mor'an, Pola smiling gently, "Are you trained up on how to correctly use a medical tricorder Cadet? If I have a second pair of hands it would help."

"I have been trained with various different medical tools," Mor'an said, "I know how to handle one well enough."

"Perfect, I'll get the tricorders reconfigured and we'll be able to get through all of the scientists in half the time it would have taken." Smiling at her colleagues, Pola settled back into her chair to enjoy the ride. He'd had a long day so far which wasn't even close to being finished so she figured it would be best to rest as much as possible.

And Now, the Continuation...

[ON]

The flight from the Galileo to Starbase 152 was a peaceful one; Kestra hoped the remainder of their current mission would be as simple. As they drew near the star base, Kestra tapped the shuttle's comm system and looked at the sensors. =^=Lieutenant Orexil of the USS Galileo requesting permission to land,=^= she spoke calmly and clearly.

There were a few seconds of static and crunchy sound before a voice came through with the awaited: =^=Permission granted.=^=

"Bring her in, crewman," Kestra murmured. There was a sense of hush around the star base as the shuttle came to a halt in the bay. So many mental shields. Very well trained officers, she thought with a little hum of approval. The few she could feel were... claustrophobic in a way. They felt pressured by the secrecy they weren't privy to. Nervous and excited. Unsure. "You'll stay with the shuttle, Wilder," Kestra informed the young shuttle craft operator. "No one boards unless Cadet Im'er or I are with you. If anyone tries to board, or gets close to the shuttle or you notice anything out of the ordinary, call my badge. If you need anything, call my badge. If that doesn't work, just think my name very very loudly. I'm not sure how much the electromagnetic forces are going to play with our devices."

"Yes, sir."

"Very good, crewman. We won't be long." The shuttle's hatch slowly opened to allow the three of them to cross down the plank. The air on the station was a little lighter than the air on the Galileo, but not so much that it made a drastic difference. The shuttle bay was surprisingly unpopulated. She'd have expected station command or security to send someone to meet them. As if thinking it made it so, a door ahead of them opened and a lone red-collared warrant officer crossed the shuttle bay towards them. He was a striking fellow, with a broad build, and a shock of hair that nearly matched the shade of his collar. The left side of his face was badly scarred and reddened by what seemed to have been numerous attempts at righting the damage, yet in spite of that, his stance and gaze were carelessly powerful; direct and unhurried.

"Lieutenant Orexil?" the man queried, looking between Kestra and Pola.

"Yes," Kestra answered. "And this is Lieutenant Ni Dhuinn and Cadet Im'er."

"Welcome to Starbase 152," the warrant officer saluted them. "I'm Staff Warrant Officer Fromme. I've been told to help you facilitate your orders on board within reason."

Kestra lifted her brows.

"This station houses a large number of Top Secret and Omega projects. I can't just let you go wandering wherever you like."

"We've been directed to contact Doctor Hardaway," Kestra informed him, unsure of how much he'd been told about what exactly they were doing here.

Hanging back as Kestra made the introductions, nodding and smiling as she was introduced, Pola stepped forward as they continued to speak, "There's no harm in having an escort. We have 27people in total, including the Hardaways, whom we need to get transferred. The more people we have to help us with this, the quicker everyone can be moved, especially when we also factor in items they need to bring with them." She looked across at Kestra to check that her colleague backed her up on this. It would be easier for them to work together where possible, it would also help with having things run smoothly.

Kestra inclined her head in agreement, looking expectantly at the officer. She'd had no intention of implying otherwise, but if the doctor felt the need to further explanations, that was her prerogative. Kestra just wanted to get started. They had a lot yet to get done.

Fromme lifted his PADD and sent a message through the station's LCARS. "Doctor Hardaway has been informed of your arrival. I can take you as far as the Level One Access Room to the labs. If you'll follow me." He turned on one heel and led them, limping slightly, across the shuttle bay to the turbo lift.

To fill the space between them walking and reaching their destination, Pola stepped up beside the crewman, her own limp slight after the rest in the shuttle craft, a slight frown on her face. "Do you mind me asking about your limp? Is everything ok?"

"Do you mind me asking about yours?" he asked wryly.

Biting the side of her lip to prevent a grin from forming, Pola smiled gently, "Easy...a mixture of clumsiness and mis-anticipating the exit from a ballet step. Your turn."

"A mixture of clumsiness and mis-anticipating the exit from a skirmish in the Kalandra sector," Fromme replied, his wink wrinkling the burn scars on his face. Stepping off the turbo lift, he led them down a corridor, through a security door, and into a waiting area with screened windows. "I've let them know you're here. Someone should be out to speak with you in a moment."

Twisting a piece of hair nervously around her finger, Emma tried to keep up with Fromme's pace. He'd come in looking for the Doctor but had come away with her instead. Something had seriously made Dr. Hardaway pissed off, as his secretary she had never seen him this mad. Walking up to the three strangers, she looked between all of the people gathered there and zoned in on the one woman who looked like she might be in charge, her yellow uniform helping also. "Hi, I'm Emma Kennedy. Dr. Hardaway has asked me to fetch you and bring you to his office. If you care to follow me."

"Thank you," Kestra murmured, then said the same again with a nod of farewell to the helpful warrant officer and checked in visually with Im'er and Ni Dhuinn before following the secretary.

Talking the lead, Emma stayed quiet, she was worried about the mood she had left the Boss in and just hoped he'd managed to calm down during the time she had been away. Pausing outside the door, she turned to look at the group behind her, "Um...I guess I had better warn you all, Dr. Hardaway isn't really in a good mood right now, try not take it personally I guess." Turning back around, she opened the door and popped her head around, "Doctor... I've a group of people from the USS Galileo looking to speak with you."

Doctor Hardaway looked up from his desk with a frown as the doors swished open. "Another?" He asked, "I'm working to get their work done in time. What do they want?"

Emma bit her lip as she realised she had never asked and she wasn't sure what to say, "Um... Fromme brought them up. He advised that he had sent a message onto you through the LARS system, advising you of their arrival but all they have said is that they wish to speak with you and have given us no further information."

"I don't have time for whoever's messages," the doctor declared as if everyone ought to know that. He seemed unaware of who Fromme was. "Well? Don't gawk at the door, bring them in so they can tell me what they want. That's what they have tongues for." That and blathering on about inconsequential things and asking their inconsequential questions as if knowing the answers would do any good, even if they could understand the answers.

Biting her lip, Emma opened the door fully and stood back as she indicated for the Starfleet personal to enter before she moved into the office to stand behind the Doctor's shoulder, out of the way but there if needed.

Hardaway looked at them, an impatient look in his eyes. "Yes?" he demanded expectantly.

Kestra considered him, unconcerned. He oozed impatience, anger, and frustration; she didn't need to be an empath to feel that. "Doctor Hardaway, I am Lieutenant Orexil," she murmured, breathing calm into the room. Between herself and Mor'an's aura, they should be able to keep most individuals on an even keel. "These are Lieutenant Ni Dhuinn and Cadet Im'er. We're here to organize your team's transfer to the Galileo. I'm sure you'd like to get back to your work as quickly as possible. We'd like to help you do that."

"Good," Hardaway declared curtly. "I need my scientists here though. They will be the last ones to leave with the final shuttles. You will need to plan it out so as many of my team stays on the base as long as possible. How many shuttles do you have? Two of my technicians will oversee your work with the equipment and people."

Stepping forward, Pola started to feel slightly uncomfortable. The Doctor's attitude and way of speaking was a little disconcerting. "We have three shuttles between which the staff, equipment and luggage is to be divided amongst. It can be arranged for staff to be delayed but we need to put them through brief scans in order to rule out any possibilities of them bringing contagions on-board the USS Galileo."

Hardaway fixed his gaze on Pola as she spoke. To look at him that day, no one would guess those eyes could be as warm at other times as they were cold now. "Are you in command of this team?" he asked when she had finished, though he did not wait for a reply. "I didn't get your name. We don't have time for check-ups. This is a Federation facility and we'll be using Federation transport to take us to a Federation starship. What sort of contagions are you worried about, exactly?" He waved his hand as if to dismiss her concerns that easily, "You can run medical tricorders over my people as much as you want when they are inside the shuttles, but I won't have you running through my labs disrupting our work." He stood up from his chair, hands splayed over his orderly desk. "I do not need to remind you how important Project Sienna is to the Federation. We cannot afford to have any more disruptions to our work than is absolutely necessary."

Kestra wondered what work they were still doing here. Hadn't the other shuttle already come and taken the essentials of the project over to the Galileo? "This is Lieutenant Ni Dhuinn," Kestra repeated calmly for his benefit. He'd clearly missed the first introduction due to his own frustrations with the process. "She is our very capable Chief Medical Officer for the Galileo. I don't believe we have any concerns over contagions, specifically, but it is protocol as you've been rather on the edge of things out here. I'm sure that none of her regulation measures will create any extra level of difficulty for your team. We have no intention of disrupting your work. Perhaps Miss Kennedy could help us to collect an inventory of the personal items your team wishes to bring with them from the star base and where their quarters are? We can take care of that aspect of the matter and then return for your people last. Yes?" she glanced between Hardaway and Pola, expecting cooperation and patience from both sides.

What Kestra was suggesting completely went against her wishes earlier for all of this to be carried out in an efficient manner. By ignoring the medical checks until last, it meant this would delay things as people had to be scanned one by one at the very end. It would have made more sense to divide the scientists into rotating teams, allowing a team to be checked, allowed back to work and another than brought in. This would be more efficient and allow for crew to help finish up Hardaway's tasks.

Internally sighing, Pola tried to figure out why this was the second time the officer seemed to contradict her. Unwilling to cause any conflict, enough had been caused between senior staff already. The Doctor nodded her head and turned too Hardaway, waiting his say on what he wished.

Hardaway stood up straight and walked quickly around his desk, the ends of his lab coat flaring out as he moved. He stopped a short distance from the Galileo team, looking at Kestra. "Very well," he conceded, "do as you will." A slight gesture of his hand for them to follow and he headed out of his office, speaking without looking back to see if they followed. "Is there anything else you require to make this run smoothly?"

"If Miss Kennedy has the information required for the transfer, team member names, quarters assignments, and personal effects requests, I believe we can coordinate the matter from here. Thank you very much for you cooperation, doctor," Kestra folded her arms behind her back. "We'll be seeing you in a short while."

Hardaway stopped at a door long enough to look over his shoulder and nod to the young woman on his team. "Miss Kennedy, you're with the lieutenant." As soon as he had spoken he stepped through the doors and disappeared into one of the labs, leaving the Galileo team to their own devices.

Kestra looked to Emma Kennedy with a short nod. "If we could get that list of the team for the purposes of cross-checking, and access to their quarters, and what personal effects they'd like brought with them," she reminded the young woman. "We have limited space, but we'll do our best to accommodate their needs."

Absent-mindedly, Emma was reading through a PADD in her hand, frowning slightly as she searched through a list of names, "I actually think that there might be a scientist who can help us out here."

=^=Miss. Kennedy to Justice Abernathy; could you report to Doctor Hardaway's office please?=^=

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

LTJG Kestra Orexil
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo

LTJG Pola Ni Dhuinn
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

LCDR Jonathan Holliday
Executive Officer
USS Galileo

CDT(SR) Im'er Mor'an
Red Squad Cadet
USS Galileo

Anthony Hardaway Ph.D.
Project Sienna
NPC'd by Chauncey "Will" Remington III

Justice Abernathy Ph.D.
Project Sienna
NPC'd by Lilou Peers

Emma Kennedy
Project Sienna (Secretary)
NPC'd by Pola Ni Dhuinn

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