Look Away

Posted on Thu Sep 30th, 2010 @ 3:13pm by Captain Elsie Halliwell & Captain T'mpest Michaels & Lieutenant Commander Dylan Blake & Lieutenant JG Jason Fisher & Lieutenant JG Nykala Marstin & Lieutenant Jimmy Cooper

2,544 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Structured Shoreleave - Marchwiel
Location: Marchwiel
Timeline: Current

ON:

Main Shuttlebay:
_________________

Vladimir was underneath the shuttle looking over the damage. Not only was the Ranger grounded for a while, but the shuttle that T'karrch had used was as well. That limited their options.

"What I wouldn't give to get off of this ship for a while and out with my feet on solid ground." Zhukov said to himself. Normally, he didn't like to go on away team missions, but this planet looked so much like home when they were flying over it. Also, he had been working almost three straight twenty hour days.

“Halliwell to Zhukov. Report to my ready room, Lieutenant.�

Zhukov tapped his comm badge. "Yes, Captain. I will be there in five minutes." Zhukov said as he slid out from underneath the shuttle. He tapped his comm badge closed. "Alright Watson, it is all yours now." said Zhukov as he pulled his uniform tunic down straight and tried to wipe off a grease stain on his cheek.

"Sir," said the Chief Petty Officer, "you know you don't have to come down here and all. No offense, but I can honestly say I've never seen a flight jockey like you put in so much time being a grease monkey." he stated bluntly.

"Well, Chief, I just want to prove a point that I won't ask anything of any of you that I wouldn't be willing to do myself." said Vladimir as he began to walk towards the exit doors. "You have two days to get this one back up to speed, Chief!" he almost shouted as he left the shuttlebay and made his way to the bridge. He hoped the Captain had good news for him.

Captain's Ready Room:
_______________________

As Zhukov stepped in to the captain’s domain, the sunlight streamed sharply through the ready room window from above, flooding Lieutenants Blake, Fisher, T’kaarch Marstin and Lieutenant Commander Michaels in a warm yet exposed light. “Ah, Mr. Zhukov,� she greeted him, welcoming him in to join the others. “Please, come in, won’t you?�

Zhukov nodded and stepped into the Ready Room. Usually with this many people in a small space, it got a little crowded, but Vladimir seemed to feel right at home. "Looks like a fine group you have here. What can I help with, Captain?" he asked.

“I was just telling the other officers here, Vladimir, that, although we may be stuck on this planet for a few weeks, we shouldn’t necessarily confine ourselves to the ship.� A twinkle in her eye sparkled as she spoke. “We are explorers after all.�

Halliwell turned to the other officers and smiled, excited about the prospect of hands-on exploration. “I’d like you to survey the area... find out what you can about the locals, culture, climate, everything.� She narrowed her eyes and interlaced her fingers on the desk.

T'mpest grinned, eager to get down to the planet. "How long can we stay there? I mean, do we take day trips, or can we spend the night if necessary?"

Halliwell considered the Vulcan’s question for a moment. A longer time away from the relative safety of the Ranger did mean more chance of the away team’s presence being discovered, but it seemed unnecessary to explore with the constraint of time and location. “Take a few days,� she said after the pause. “We might as well garner as much information as we can and limiting the exposition to day trips seems counter-productive.�

"Thank you," T'mpest said. "We'll go out of uniform, that'll help as well." She'd look to see if there was any special dress they needed to wear to blend in, just in case.

“Out of uniform may not be enough,� Halliwell replied, regarding the Vulcan with a widened eye. She took in a breath, looked away at the meadow beyond the room, and then returned her attention back to the gaggle of officers. “I’d rather you not engage the locals at all, if it can be helped. I’d rather not have to smooth over ripples with Command caused by our exploratory enthusiasm getting the better of us, when we get skyward once again.� She looked pointedly at each one. “Let caution be your guide here, not reckless abandonment.�

"Captain, I have never been accused of reckless abandonment," T'mpest said with a chuckle. "And, in spite of being half-Vulcan, I can blend into the background."

Nykala had been trained for away missions but had never actually been on one. A whole range of thoughts and emotions raced through her mind. As a doctor the drive to learn as much about the natives as possible was almost prominent but over shadowing all was her oath to do no harm. "I for one Captain have no desire to engage the locals at all. Introducing ourselves intentionally or not will do more harm than good."

T'kaarch, being uncharacteristically silent for most of the time, suddenly realised something. "Captain, wouldn't it be odd forrr the locals to see a giant talking cat?" He normally didn't really think about it, it was just the way he was, but the whole thing about the prime directive had him thinking. And while he would never admit he could look like a monster, it was definitely something which could be thought by lesser species if they never saw a Caitian before.

The captain looked at T’kaarch with an underlying yet fierce glare, betraying her contempt for the lieutenant that she still harboured from his Borg ‘prank’ and shook her head a little in his direction. “That is why, Lieutenant,� she said, pausing while inhaling, “I have requested that you do not contaminate the Prime Directive by being seen.� Speaking now to the entire group of officers, she added, “To make this utterly clear. There is to be no contact with any native inhabitants of this planet. This is covert reconnaissance. Nothing more. Research, map, and gather data. But you need to be careful.�

"Verrry well... Maybe we can use some holo-emitterrrs to make surrre we arrren't seen." Though he never actually been on a covert away mission, T'kaarch had read about long-term missions using holo-technology to stay hidden. It had also gone wrong a few times, which usually startled the locals.

Zhukov took a deep breath, vividly remembering the holographic disguises they had used while on the Starbase, the previous mission.

"Captain, if I may?" Vladimir asked. "It might be a good idea for T'kaarch to have a holo-emitter, just in case we are surprised by the locals." he stated. "We can modify the ones we used on the starbase. They have about a four hour battery life which would be more than enough time to get us away from any natives we may encounter." stated the Helmsman. "I would also suggest that we try and disguise ourselves as local travelers, use makeup or a little dermatologic procedure to make us look like the natives before we leave. We can never be too cautious." he stated.

Elsie looked a Zhukov and took a moment, considering the request. “I agree,� she stated. “But, remember, I don’t want you making contact. I cannot stress that enough.� Looking to T’mpest and Marstin, she added “I guess you have some work to do before you all leave.�

"Yes, we do," T'mpest replied. "We all need to look as native as possible." She returned the Captain's stare. "We will do all we can to avoid the locals."

“As I recall,� Halliwell added, “passive research of native habitats can have a tendency to… not go quite according to plan. I’m relying on all of you to use your judgments as not only Starfleet Officers, but as members of the Federation as a whole unit.�

Zhukov nodded. "Yes, mam." he said as he looked around the room at the others. He had been on one previous "gathering" mission, but not since he was an Ensign. He was excited, and a bit nervous at the same time.

Up until this point, Jason Fisher had stood quietly against the back wall of the ready room. Perhaps this kind of 'exploration' was the kind of mission that he needed to settle back in to active duty and, in particular, to continue to get used to his new role. He had been unsettled by the incident with T'kaarch and the fake-Borg-shuttle thing and he wasn't at all convinced that the crew, or the captain, fully trusted him yet.

"Captain," he began, his tone respectful, "I assume you require the away-team to be armed as per standard protocol?"

"No phasers," T'mpest said before the Captain could speak. "Knives would be okay."

Elsie looked at T’mpest as she interrupted, but then her eyes returned to Fisher. Standard ‘away-mission’ protocols did dictate a security detail armed with at least Type-2 phasers, but this was no ordinary away mission.

“I am wary about taking unnecessary technology into a pre-warp civilisation.� Looking at the entire group, she added, “Not that I don’t trust you to pick up all your toys after you’re done playing. But, I’m inclined to agree with the Commander here. Mr. Fisher, you may arm yourself with the only phaser.�

Fisher paused for a few seconds, unsure whether to object or not. The protocol was clear and what the captain was suggesting was in violation of it.

“Lieutenant?� Elsie asked, raising an inquisitive eyebrow at Fisher’s expression. “Is there something you wish to add? A problem you envisage?�

"No, sir. No problem." Fisher replied, a little less convincingly than he would have liked.

“Please, Mr. Fisher,� she replied, cocking her head a little to the right as she regarded him from beneath her brow. “On this ship, I value honesty as a high and noble quality. You are now my security counsel in matters pertaining to these situations and I’m nothing if not indebted to you for service.

Fisher paused as he decided whether or not to continue. Had he not been so new to the role, he would probably have been more confident, however, he was still getting to know his new responsibilities and his new captain. Eventually he decided it was his responsibility to say something. "Captain," he finally began, "not only does protocol dictate that the away-team is suitably armed, we simply don't know what's out there. To send a team out without the appropriate means to defend themselves in case of attack is not an acceptable option, sir."

“Mr. Fisher,� she countered, flickering her eyes over to him, “as a captain, I appreciate the mark of respect, but, as a woman, I’m not particularly fond of the masculine use of ‘sir’ to mark my authority.� “She waited for a moment, angered a little by his open opposition, but then softened somewhat.

Zhukov spoke up and interjected. "Captain, we are going to be taking tricorders and I'm sure the doctor is bringing along some hypo-sprays. That type of technology is just as alien as phasers to these people. I'm not a Security expert, but I can tell you I would feel much safer having a sidearm with me, just in case." he said, hoping that he hadn't overstepped his bounds.

Halliwell narrowed her eyes as her face remained stony and placid. “I hadn’t designed for you to be taking either a tricorder or a hypo-spray for those very reasons. The passive scans the Science department can perform from here are detailed enough for research. But,� she added, her eyes now open, having taken onboard both officers’ comments, “a phaser can be just as useful in other applications as it is a weapon.� Then, shooting a brief glare to Fisher, she added, “And I’m not about to allow a not acceptable option slip through the cracks.�

Fisher nodded formally. He knew that openly challenging the captain in front of the others had not gone down well, but he was grateful that the she had backed down. "Thank you..." he began, almost automatically adding the obligatory 'sir' to the end of the sentence, but managing to check himself, before finally concluding, "Thank you, Captain."

She had conceded, something that she wasn’t altogether familiar with doing all that often. She leant in to the group, looking each one fully as she spoke, and her tone adopted an authoritative and unbending quality that betrayed her own aversion to the idea. She pointed in the mid-air at the group and said, “I want an inventory of every item you wish to take for this expedition listed for my own approval before you even step foot planet-side. Should so much as a micro-filament be absent from what you check back in, I shall order all of you to scour your ‘camp’ until you retrieve it. Am I clear?�

"Rrrogerrr" T'kaarch purred, knowing full well after his prank that she wouldn't back down on her words. "Could I take a single holo camerrra so we can study the locals in morrre detail when we get back?"

She looked at him with a squinted eye and simply said, "The inventory, Mr. T'kaarch. The inventory."

"Absolutely," T'mpest replied. It was a reasonable request. She began to run through a mental list of what she wanted to take.

Standing in a relaxed, yet alert manner Lieutenant Blake felt his lips being tugged with a smirk while inwardly he groaned. A several day re-con wasn't something he was familiar with having spent most of his profession until recently working in the depths of a starship slaving of the warp drive and sister components. The idea of a planet side 'authorized' visit was pleasant even if the sheer number and company wasn't whom he would have wished for.

He smirked with the knowledge that the team seemed to be pulling at the Captain's patience. She had made it very clear to them all exactly what they should and should do, yet they still felt compelled to challenge and tease the Captain. Now because of their actions every item of inventory intended to be taken had to personally approved by her.

There goes any attempt to have fun on this mission.

Zhukov stood up along with the rest of the officers in the Ready Room. "Captain, is there anything else?" he asked her.

“Nothing,� she replied, looking up. “Just the inventory.�

OFF:

---

Getting Elsie’s back up were:



Elsie Halliwell
Commanding Officer
USS Ranger


T’mpest Michaels
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Ranger


Valdimir Zhukov
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Ranger


Jason Fisher
Chief Sec/Tac Officer
USS Ranger


Dylan Blake
Chief Operations Officer
USS Ranger


Nykala Marstin
Chief Medical Officer
USS Ranger


T’kaarch
Assistant Chief Science Officer
USS Ranger

 

RSS Feed