ON: USS Malinche; Science Labs
{Mission Day 20 - 1500 hours}
Petra stretched from her seat and stifled what had to have been her bazillionth yawn since her meeting with Captain Kersare earlier this morning. Her mind drifted from her scans as she slightly slouched in her chair. What was it about the captain that made her warm up to her as much as she did during the brief meeting?
She tried analyzing why when her console began flashing. The suddenness of the flash made Petra shoot bolt-upright, immediately assuming the ship was about to go to red alert... again. Another attack?
No. Taking a closer look at the console proved that theory wrong instantly. It was actually a simple message. Biting her lip, she looked around the Science Lab only to find that she was still the only officer inside. The others had several other duties throughout the ship, especially after the attack.
"Thank God..." she whispered to herself as she wiped sweat from her forehead. The last thing the young Ensign needed at the moment was having someone see her get that startled over something as simple as a message. The ensuing practical jokes would literally be endless, and she was the butt of too many since her childhood... not that she exactly minded, but they did get bothersome after a time.
Leaning closer to the console, she looked down at the interface, picked up her cup of coffee... her eighth, no, ninth cup since noon, and instructed the computer to display the message. 'I wonder what the Captain has to say...' she asked herself mindfully as she took a mouthful of the coffee and nearly gagged as she spit it right back out. Cold.
She chuckled at herself. 'Laughter was always the best remedy' - that was something her father had always told her... and it was true. She would be a much different person today if she hadn't learned to laugh in the most difficult situations... especially at herself. Though, she still felt like throwing the cup and cold coffee back into the replicator that moment as she felt a cold liquid running down her leg. Apparently she missed the cup after spitting the coffee out. 'Well, at least my uniform pants are black and the stain won't be visible anytime soon.' she confidently told herself as she smiled, even if somewhat forced. She looked at the console and read the Captain's message.
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To: Ensign Mavose
From: Captain Kersare
Subject: Celtron V scans
Ensign Mavose,
I have encoded the coordinates where the To'Ma are supposedly holding Councilor Garshon Trelin. I would like the Science Department to run intensive scans of the area to verify the bio-signs and look for anything else of interest in the area, especially things that would help or hinder the Hostage Rescue team.
Also, if you could perhaps look into some of the readings during our attack earlier to see if anything out of place is present, it would be much appreciated. The lack of shield integrity has been troubling me, and I'd like to have some more ideas about it before arriving at Celtron V.
-Captain Kersare
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"Hmmm..." Petra re-read the orders and accessed the encoded coordinates supplied by the Captain. 'The Captain thinks of everything!' She thought to herself. The thought alone put a natural smile on her face. Besides, if the captain entrusted her with this task then that meant that the captain was sure she could do it!
Smiling from ear to ear she immediately forgot about the cold and damp coffee that was now soaking through her pant leg. "Computer, decode the attached information from this message and angulate the coordinates of Celtron V."
The computer began working on decoding the information and processing Petra's request. Technically, it normally wouldn't take very long, but with the recent intrusion, who knew what could've happened to the Computer's Central Processing Unit. For all she knew, it could take much longer than she originally thought it would. 'No...' She thought to herself reassuredly, '... not the Mali's computer. Besides, I've been receiving data from Celtron V for the past five hour?s uninterupt...'
She didn't have time to finish that last thought when another message began flashing on her console. Calming herself, she began reading the message - knowing that she was not being the butt end of a Practical Joke. She was alone. Nobody had seen her momentary look of fear from the previous message.
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To: Medical, Security/Tactical, Science, Intel, Counseling DHs and ADHs; XO
From: Captain Kersare
Subject: Away Team
I would like the Department Heads and Assistant Department Heads to meet in Conference Room 1 at 1600 hours for a meeting regarding the retrieval of High Council Member Trelin. Bring all pertinent information with you.
-Captain Kersare
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"Good grief!" Petra looked at the message. "Captain Kersare sure doesn't like to sit still, does she?" She asked herself. "Nope. She definitely doesn't." She answered after reading it over again.
Closing the message, she was almost instantly informed by the computer that the coordinates had been decoded and the location was ready to be displayed.
Petra rubbed her hands together and stood up from her seat, walking over to the largest interface terminal in the lab. "Computer, display the location on this monitor." The screen lit up instantly, displaying a well-detailed visualization on Celtron V.
The computer was processing the information in real-time for Petra as it zoomed in on the planet. A circled area grew larger as the zoom increased, indicating a rather large Military Space-Port. From what she could see, the area was vastly occupied with short-range fighters... Even the Malinche would stand little to no chance against all of them. "Computer, how large is this complex?"
"Unknown."
Quirking an eyebrow, Petra looked up momentarily. "Unknown? Why?"
"Insufficient data to determine the measurements of the enclosed parameters."
"Computer, explain the reason for the insufficient data."
"The Enclosed Parameters provide insufficient data."
'Blast it! Perhaps the attack did damage the computer after all!' Petra began getting slightly irritated. This should be an easy question for the computer to answer. "Have you triangulated our scans with the given parameters?"
"Affirmative."
"Then what is the problem!?"
"A dampening field is in place, preventing scans deeper inside the parameters."
Petra blinked and stood there, silent. "Did you really have to be that difficult just to tell me there was a Dampening Field?"
"Please re-phrase your question."
"Forget it..." Looking at the surface of the planet, a thought suddenly crossed her mind. "Computer, using our current scans of the planet and using the general area affected by the dampening field, can you create a Three-Dimensional view of the specified parameters, indicating the dampened area with a pretty shade of pink?"
"Affirmative."
"Do so"
"Rendering Three-Dimensional image will require thirteen minutes, forty-two seconds to complete."
Petra nodded, then looked at her wrist chronometer... 1524 hours... thirteen minutes would bring her to about twenty minutes before the meeting. She decided to keep herself busy and get as much information as she could for the meeting.
"Computer, regarding the dampening field, is the technology that's creating the effect comparable to technology used by the To'Ma?"
"Negative."
"Do the To'Ma have the technical capabilities to create a dampening field with the ability to block the Malinche's Scans?"
"Negative."
"The energy output of the dampening field... has Starfleet ever encountered anything like it before?"
"Affirmative."
"When?"
"The energy output is compatible with known Klingon technology."
Petra knew the computer would determine that. She knew the answer before the computer even announced it, but she needed confirmation. If the Dampening Field was Klingon in design, then it's safe to assume that there are Klingons guarding Councilor Trelin.
"Computer, are you detecting Klingon bio-signatures?"
"Negative."
Sighing, she leaned over the monitor, watching the data more closely. 'They could still be there, but inside that dampening field...' Looking back, another thought crossed her mind. "Computer, How many separate life signs are you detecting within the enclosed parameters?"
"Scans are detecting one hundred, fifty-seven life signs."
"Are all of them To'Ma?"
"Affirmative."
"Could you add their real-time positions to the Three-Dimensional map once it's been rendered?"
"Affirmative."
Smiling, Petra stretched and stifled another yawn. A bazillion and one. She looked at the incoming data as the time passed.
?Rendering Complete.?
?Yay!? Petra exclaimed as she clapped her hands together. ?Display.?
The computer acknowledged the request and the Three-Dimensional image of the provided coordinates appeared on-screen. A hazy, pink area indicated the dampened area which proved to be futile for scans to penetrate.
?And that?s the power of pink!? She chuckled at her own attempt of being humorous. Slowly, red dots began appearing on the map. These red dots soon began to move around? obviously they were the To?Ma Security outside the Dampened Area.
Petra picked up a PADD that had been within hands reach and hooked it up to the Terminal. ?Computer, transfer all acquired data to the attached PADD.?
Within moments, Petra removed the PADD and was running all of her newfound knowledge through her head. Surely, the Captain would be expecting a detailed presentation.
A few minutes later, she was exiting the turbolift and making her way into the Conference Room.
Taking a quick glance around, she smiled from ear to ear and announced her presence with an overly energetic ?Hi Everyone! It?s SOOOOO nice to see you all! We?re going to have such a fantastic meeting! I can just feel it! OH! HI P?AYANNA!!!?
OFF: Firstly, Kai: Sorry for not visiting you in Sickbay, but after writing almost 5 full pages for a post (1,589 words total), I?ll have to wait until after the meeting. Sowwy
Everyone else, heya! I can already hear P?ayanna?s cry of rage, eh Bri?
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Ensign Petra Mavose
Chief Science Officer
USS Malinche
