USS Galileo :: Episode 19 - Tomorrow's Galileo - Epilogue: Yesterday's Galileo (Part 1 of 2)
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Epilogue: Yesterday's Galileo (Part 1 of 2)

Posted on 28 Jul 2024 @ 2:47pm by Commander Morgan Tarin & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Lieutenant JG Rafe Caradec & Lieutenant JG Saelihn Valenis & Lieutenant JG Sofie Ullswater & Lieutenant JG Montgomery Vala & Lieutenant JG Nusien & Ensign Mimi & Ensign S'Ers-a M'Lyr'Zor & Ensign Mackenzie Laren & Chief Petty Officer Afthinam Naime & Chief Petty Officer Katja Becker & Chief Petty Officer Lysander Octavio & Petty Officer 2nd Class Donald Andrews & Petty Officer 3rd Class Jeysa Zeror & Petty Officer 3rd Class John Hollenday & Master Chief Petty Officer Toren Vral & Lia Quil

3,819 words; about a 19 minute read

Mission: Episode 19 - Tomorrow's Galileo
Location: USS Galileo-A - Various
Timeline: MD 07, 1240 hrs

[ON]

May 16, 2392

The door to the ready room hissed shut behind Tarin and Blake for some much-needed privacy and important decision-making. The ongoing systems test had so far proven the small planetary survey vessel to be at fully operationally capable, but there was another lingering and unrelated issue the captain needed to address before Galileo returned to Regula I. To say it was a sensitive matter would be the understatement of the decade, and Tarin was visibly uptight when she stopped in front of the large room's wall-mounted LCARS screen. Her hazel eyes captured Blake's blue irises before she spoke.

"I need to make an important decision right now, and I need your guidance," she revealed to the first officer.

"Of course, Captain," Blake nodded firmly as she held her eyes to show she had her undivided attention, her hands moving to clasp behind her back. Everything had gone to plan so far, it seemed a good time to pause for whatever was on Tarin's mind.

Tarin's chest rose then fell when she took a deep breath before explaining what was recently consuming her thoughts. "This regards the Cold Station 31 computer and research data we were able to retrieve before your teams destroyed the station," she revealed. Her gaze shifted to the carpet before looking back up. "Command is still demanding we turn it over through a secure subspace relay. And not just Starfleet HQ and 1st Fleet admiralty...I've also received coded transmissions from Starfleet Intelligence and even the Planetary Sciences Division, all expressing intent interest in our 'discovery'..."

A soft breath escaped Scarlet at the development, and she looked to the view as her jaw clenched involuntarily. "This was exactly what I was worried about," she admitted quietly.

"It was inevitable, I suppose." Tarin lightly shook her head to herself, her dark and loose curls shifting across the tops of her shoulders. "I've delayed as long as possible but it's time to make a decision. And I don't know if it's going to be the right one, Blake." She turned away from the large monitor then slowly walked to one of the windows where she gazed out into the stars. "I've spent several nights debating the conundrum with myself; attempting to weigh our duties as Starfleet officers with our ethical standards and private oaths to our personal moralities; to compare what's right versus wrong then apply it to what I know of the geopolitical landscape the Federation's currently involved in." She wandered back to the table then bit her bottom lip while concentrating in thought. "Quil and Mulder were right about one thing: allowing the deaths and sacrifices of the cold station's personnel to go in vain would be...hard to swallow."

Blake just listened as she spoke, allowing her to sound out all of her thoughts and order them. She only replied with her own view on the matter once she was certain she was finished. "The truth is, there is no right answer here," she replied quietly. Because it was an important point to reconcile one's self with before being able to move forward. "Both are 'wrong', in one way or another. Be it for reasons of morality or loyalty. In which case, I would think about it from the point of view of which option will do the least amount of damage."

Biting her lip harder before releasing the soft tissue from her teeth, Tarin adamantly shook her head. "No. I refuse to accept that. There's always a difference between right and wrong," she refuted. "Our training and experiences as representatives of the Federation demand we distinguish between the two even if it isn't obvious at first." It wasn't that she disagreed with her XO's sentiment regarding difficult decisions, but Morgan didn't believe two 'wrongs' were comparable. There was always a better option, in her mind.

"Scarlet," continued Tarin in a personal moment between the two punctuated by the rare usage of the first officer's first name, "I'm going to ask you to do something that could set your career back - I intend to delete the recovered cold station logs and data from Galileo's computer then inform Starfleet of my actions. I'll take full responsibility but they'll no doubt hold you accountable as well...because I'll need your command authorization alongside mine to purge it from the computer core."

Blake moved slowly, perching on the arm of the sofa as she looked out of the viewport in thought. "I joined the marines to protect people," she took a deep breath before shrugging heavily, her features matter of fact as she looked back to Tarin. "There's no question after what I saw in that place. Delete it."

The captain searched Blake's eyes for a protracted moment in an attempt to locate any sense of doubt or insecurity. But the commander's features instead revealed an aura of conviction and determination. It was a welcome sight and she firmly nodded to her XO. "Computer, unlock access to encrypted files C-S-3-1-Omega, all data blocks. Voice authorization: Tarin-Alpha-Uniform-Seven-Zero-Zero-Delta."

The ship's computer analyzed the request with several processing chirps then spoke in its distinctive female voice, "Additional Level Nine security clearance required to perform this function."

Blake didn't miss a beat, glancing upward as she started to speak. "Blake-Epsilon-Kappa-Eight-Two-Zero-Nine."

The computer chirped again, this time with its distinctive confirmation sound. "Data access restored."

A sudden and interrupting white flare overcame Tarin's vision then disappeared. It had only lasted for a fraction of a second but her sharp hazel irises instinctively blinked several times to adjust what she assumed to be a foreign object in her eye. She rubbed the insides of her cheek bones then returned to her previous important task.

What had it been?

She looked at Blake's figure and her familiar features. Then she glanced to the ready room's window and out into the twinkling stars beyond. She felt...peculiar for the briefest of moments. A fleeting gut instinct? Tarin couldn't identify why, but her next action was a soft tap of her fingers to her commbadge. "Bridge, Tarin. Report status."


Deck 1, Bridge

Looking at the viewscreen at just the right moment Mimi saw a brief flash of light, her sharp feline eyes picking out swirling greens, blues and greys, it looked magnificent. Tarin's voice bought her attention back to the console. "All systems normal Captain." She reported back.

So subtle had the flash been if it hadn't been for the captain's voice coming over the communicator Ullswater would have assumed that the light had been just another side effect of the anti-psychotics or the lingering presence of the cold station. It had the right timbre to be a creation of her own mind. "Lieutenant Vala, let's identify what that was." She was scanning through the data at her own console. It was in the ship so surely there would be something detectable, something on the electromagnetic spectrum or tachyon emissions. "Not seeing anything out of the ordinary from internal sensors. Engineering, did that engine test cause any problems in the warp core? Were any systems damaged?"

Vala's fingers skittered over his console, setting up the usual array of scans and sensor sweeps. "Nothing coming up that's unusual, Lieutenant." He glanced over to Ullswater, and then to the view screen. "I'll run a diagnostic on the array but perhaps it was some problem with the lighting?" He smiled. "'Teething issues' as humans say."

Toren kept an eye on the bridge at large. It was good to see the dynamics play out with his new crew. Some little glitch or blip was normal on a systems test. If he'd been in charge he'd have set one up just to see how the crew would respond.

It was a strangle flash, almost only perceived within Sera's periphery - and it abated so quickly that it was not something that gave her any particular pause. However, hearing that others had experienced a similar visual 'blip,' her brows furrowed in an expression of mild concern. Ullswater's engineering inquiry brought her mind back to the present, and her fingers quickly glided over the console at the engineering station on the bridge as ship's data was quickly reviewed.

"Warp core running green; no other meaningful deviations from operational norms are noted, Lieutenant. I will proceed with full sweep, level 5 diagnostic exams on all major engineering systems. Any deviations and we will take the system off-line and perform a more detailed diagnostic."

Sera tapped on her commbadge to reach main engineering and proceeded to speak Chief Naime in a soft tone so as to not cause disruption on the bridge.

Ullswater turned to give a quick nod in the engineer's direction. "Thank you ensign." Level 5? Is that enough? came a cry from in her head. She felt deeply uneasy, like some primal instinct in the back of her lizard brain knew what that flash was and was trying to warn her. But instincts had not been Sofie's ally in the last two weeks and the last thing she wanted was for the other bridge officers to think she wasn't back to a sound mind. "You're probably right Lieutenant, teething issues. Engineering completely reinstalled the plasma injection system. But let's be certain. Leave nothing to assumption."

Vala gave her a respectful nod. "Indeed. As they say on my home world, 'a single missed thread unravels the tapestry'."

Rafe sat at the NAV console, going through his checklist when, something flashed before his eyes...a discreet, almost imperceptible flash, but not of light, but of something else...something in his mind. For some reason, he ran his right hand over his head and felt his scalp. He checked his station and all systems were nominal. He looked up and casually turned around to see other faces of bewilderment as well. This was no coincidence. He returned his attention to his console and just sat there, observing, thinking. What was that?, he thought to himself. Everything was nominal considering everything they had gone through. There were no threats, at least not within range of detection. So what was it? Rafe looked up at the Pleiades Cluster on the view screen, being surrounded in all its beauty, yet he had an uneasy feeling in his gut. But he couldn't put his finger on why.

Watching a console as she compiled reports from the various systems tests to give to Tarin later a brief flash of light pulled Jeysa's attention away from the litany of data. She blinked her eyes several times as she wondered where the flash had come from, sparing a glance behind her she saw that a lot of the other crew were looking around somewhat confused, everyone else must have seen the same thing too.


Deck 7, Main Engineering

The ship had groaned and complained, Donald had groaned and complained. The room had been filled with enough groans and complaints that even Naime had begun to half doubt if the ship would stay together. But it did. "There we go, nine point one five. What did I tell you, trust in the work we put in." Chief Naime's voice was dripping in relief, glad that they had survived. "Okay team, I'll allow us a quick moment of celebration. We can do hugs or whatever but let's make it quick in case the Captain decides she isn't done yet."

Donald let out a sigh of relief but wasn't in the mood to celebrate, there was lots to do.

There could have been a nice moment of levity, it had been much needed. They'd managed an impossible task these last four days. However any possible celebration was cut short by a momentary flash of light. A power surge? Warp core failure? Perhaps the ever predicted collapse of the ship? Naime's tone changed immediately back to the deadly serious. "What was that flash? Donald, tell me how happy the warp core is." Naime turned back to the workstation she had been using and pulled up the sensor readings on the plasma injection systems. "Hollenday check the EPS grid and any other system that might have caused a power surge. I do not want the ship to blow up right now."

The new Vulcan Deputy Engineer's voice crackled into life on Chief Naime's commbadge. "Ensign Sera to Chief Naime, if you have not already started, please initiate level 5 diagnostics on all major ship's systems at this time."

"Right away, sir." Came the chief's immediate response and then calling over o the others "Okay Andrews, format that request into the warp core's happiness in the form of a level 5 diagnostic. Same to you with the EPS grid Hollenday."

"Ah, heck with it. That's what you get pushing a ship right out of the dock," John replied with his usual sarcasm.

"I knew the structure would hold, especially where I did it." Donald said with a slight chuckle. "But I'm not sure about the warp coils, they're red hot."

"I'm seeing something wrong with the plasma injection system." A kink they hadn't managed to work out before the test? Naime rubbed her forehead trying to put the pieces together "I can't imagine that would have caused the power surge." She grabbed a repair kit "I'm going to take a closer look, if any of your diagnostics give us anything then send it up to the Ensign."

"Best get down here quick, Chief." The voice of a Bajoran Ensign crackled over Naime's combadge. "We got plasma injectors that are fused open."

The Bajoran Ensign had been the eyes in the Jefferies tubes, monitoring ships systems in close proximity. Of course, that carried an inherent risk of being fried if anything went wrong, but it was a risk worth taking to have damage control on hand immediately. She was wondering if the plasma injectors fusing had been what had caused that bright flash of light, but the thought had been fleeting, as her immediate following thoughts were on getting the plasma injectors unfused.

Naime allowed herself a split second to close her eyes and curse under her breath. After all the work they had put in these last few days something had gone wrong. All those extra hours she'd had to ask the team to pull and only for something to instantly break.

She only allowed herself to wallow for the shortest moment though before responding "On my way, ensign." and catapulting herself down the nearest Jefferies tube.


Deck 3, Security Office/Brig

The Mark II Nova-class' security bay was small and cramped as was tradition within most starships of its frigate-sized hull classification. A single robust and open desk served as the 'office' and contained a plethora of LCARS monitors and consoles capable of surveilling all internal sections of the vessel if needed. Two brig cells lined the far walls adjacent to one another, their force fields both active while each one contained its own occupant. Cold Station 31's head researchers - Doctors Mulder and Quil - ceased their private telepathic bond and eventually dispersed back to the center of their wards. For now. Boredom was the ultimate destroyer of minds, and without the writing tool the blond Betazoid woman had asked for, Lia had little to occupy herself with. She stepped forward to the force field again and lightly drew her finger across it, creating an annoying and persistent shimmering buzz before she pulled her hand back.

"What do you all do when you bored?" Quil asked. "Do you just stand here and stultify?"

Lysander casually leaned against a nearby bulkhead and gave her his trademark smile. "Being ready to jump into action is part of the job, doctor. You never know what lies around the corner."

Lia stared curiously at the fellow Betazoid man whose dark black eyes matched her own. "Come now, you don't have to lie to me in front of your peers. I know you'd rather be somewhere else," she telepathically spoke to him without his consent. "Is all this really necessary?" her hand waved around to the bright interior of the surrounding brig cell.

"It's awfully dull," he conceded, "But such tedium is required to make the moments of legend truly stand out." He gave the equivalent of a telepathic grin. "This, I believe, is just a formality for the systems test."

She sighed then returned to the small cot along the far wall where she silently sat and crossed her legs, her hands folded together in her lap with a subtle exasperated look within her eyes. Such a waste of time was a pity when she could be doing more detailed research and analysis on the after-effects of their experiments.

Saelihn had been doing her rounds, nothing too exciting but a cursory patrol of one of the deck of the ship. Junior officers got all the 'glorious' assignments but this was just tedious. She had the beginnings of a migraine, she could feel it and as a wave of light seemed to pass over her she found the pain increased.

Pinching her brow she placed her hand on the wall to steady herself. Coincidentally it was on Lieutenant Rice's quarters and as she looked up there was a wave of confusion but for what reason she wasn't sure.

Her migraine, her confusion and now that little itch in her mind often meant a temporal event had occurred. A blessing and a curse for her species of simply just being aware of these events.

Making her way to security the doors opened to reveal Aria sitting at her desk talking to Ghemora and Lysander standing near the brig forcefields.

Again she looked at both Aria and Ghemora and felt a void, like that's not where they were meant to be, if on board at all. A wave of sadness crossed her face, a by-product of Aria's death on the Praxis, but Saelihn didn't know that. All she felt was sadness and loss when she looked at her. "Something's not right." she whispered quietly to herself.


Deck 3, Sickbay

There was a brief flash, and Allyndra closed her eyes and then opened them, blinking. I thought I was on the bridge. Impossible. Sickbay is where I belong. She looked around and clapped her hands. "Come on, everyone, I want all stores and equipment checked. The captain is a stickler for everything in its right place and ship shape."

Meanwhile, Becker was passed out in her bunk, still intoxicated from overdoing it on Klingon blood wine. Control was one of her challenge lines, to be sure. A bright flash erupted behind her eyelids, rousing her from the black-out worthy slumber, and she opened her eyes and groaned as the consequences of her actions hit her brain full-force.

She rolled out of the bunk and slammed to the ground like a sack of potatoes. "Ach, Gott..." She moaned, getting on her hands and knees and suddenly scrambled to the head. It was close thing, but she made it and promptly emptied the contents of her stomach. It felt like liters of blood wine filled the bowl...but better out than in at this point.

Post vomit ablutions were performed, and as Katja looked up into the mirror she was met with bloodshot eyes, dark circles, and her pale hair stuck up in all directions. She closed her eyes and cursed silently and was rewarded with a sensation of vertigo. Great. Brilliant. "Computer...what is the time?"

"The current time is 1240." Katja's eyes snapped open. Scheisse! She was late for duty! Rinsing her mouth out with a mint wash, Katja threw on her boots, almost falling in the process, and darted out of her quarters as fast as she could go to get to sickbay. Perhaps...perhaps she could get an anti-emetic and something for the headache that was beginning to pound behind her eyes?

She slipped into sickbay but before she was able to low-key dart into one of the supply areas her bio-prosthetic leg decided to act up and lock and she stumbled into one of the biobeds to keep from hitting the deck. Which of course was the exact opposite of the kind of arrival she had desired. Great.

Nusien had been tending to some minor patients when the Chief Medical Officer walked in. He waited for the Commander to finish speaking and then walked over to speak with her. "Ah, good afternoon Commander. Currently we have three patients. Two with minor holodeck related injuries. Ensign Parker is having some abdominal pain and since she is in her third trimester I thought it best for her to have some bedrest. As for equipment biobed three is malfunctioning, a request has already made its way to engineering. Is there anything you need?" As the Assistant Chief Nusien felt it best to give report before turning the Sick Bay over to the Chief.

"Biobed 3 is off line again?" Allyndra looked toward the piece of equipment. "I am going to put in a request for a complete replacement when we return to Regula i. That thing has been nothing but problems. Very good. You are in charge Nusien. I need to get some rest before I have bridge duty"

"Yes Doctor. Rest well." Nusien replied and turned to return to his duties. There was a small bounce in his step as he hoped today he would be able to get to his study of Bendii Syndrome as he sought a cure.

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

CMDR Morgan Tarin
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-A

ENS Mimi
Deputy Operations Manager
USS Galileo-A

LTJG Montgomery Vala
Deputy Science Officer
USS Galileo-A

LTJG Sofie Ullswater
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo-A

ENS S'Ers-a M'Lyr'Zor
Deputy Engineering Officer
USS Galileo-A

ENS Mackenzie Laren
Engineering Officer
USS Galileo-A

LTJG Rafe Caradec
Senior Conn Officer
USS Galileo-A

LTJG Saelihn Valenis
Security Officer
USS Galileo-A

PO3 Jeysa Zeror
Yeoman
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Mimi]

MCPO Toren Vral
Chief of the Boat
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Vala]

PO2 Donald Andrews
Engineering Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Mimi]

CPO Afthinam Naime
Engineering Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Ullswater]

PO3 John Hollenday
Engineering Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Warraquim]

Dr. Lia Quil
Head Researcher
Cold Station 31
[NPC Tarin]

PO1 Lysander Octavio
Security Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Vala]

CMDR Allyndra illm Warraquim
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo-A

CPO Katja Becker
Medical Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC M'Lyr'Zor]

LTJG Nusien
Deputy Medical Officer
USS Galileo-A

 

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