Posted by Commander T’Leia (Executive Officer) in Captain’s Mess with Guests

Posted by Captain Arialla Bovar (Captain) in Captain’s Mess with Guests

Posted by Lieutenant Wulf Baumann (Armory Chief) in Captain’s Mess with Guests
Posted by… suppressed (6) by the Post Ghost! 👻
snip
As she listened to the tale of a was that spanned universes, she was intrigued that Bane didn’t tell her not to contact the other ship. He said they had been barbarians and dictators. But he also said that, like him, they were stranded here. This anomalous section of space being all that was left of a door between places. She wondered if the other ship’s occupants were as shifting capable as Bane’s species. And if so, why they hadn’t left their ship, themselves.

Capt Ari
CO

Baumann wasn’t excited about the prospect of dealing with such advanced species without knowing more about their history. He glanced at Ari and made sure she knew that he was wary.

Baumann, AC

Alan walked in, the number of people in the mess immediately making him uncomfortable. His right arm crossed over his abdomen, hand grasping the elbow, eyes directed to the floor, he approached the Captain. “S…Sir. Chef sends a message. ‘El segundo curso será unos minutos tarde.’” Alan recited. The thought never crossed his mind that anyone else here might not speak Spanish, he had spent the way over repeating the phrase over and over to make sure it was committed to memory and delivered perfectly, not thinking of the recipient of the message.

-Lt(j.g.) Alan Dysart, Linguist

Wookiee

Alison looked over at the young Lieutenant and then back at their guest. Food could wait, this was much more important.

“So if you knew we were here, why didn’t you stop us from pulling them away from the star? If you are the remnants of the forces that defeated them, wouldn’t you want us to stop them from being rescued?”

Ltjg Barr - CSO

“The buoys are in this particular system and near this particular star, not in this .. region of space. The Arryha were defeated long ago. Even to us it is almost myth what happened.” He looked down. “I am .. chosen, if you would call me that, to respond to the buoys. To warn. To state how dangerous they are. To recite our long ago history.” He seemed to shrug. “Past that, I do not know what to say. My script ends there.”

Baumann nodded in agreement and added “And why imprison them? If they are such a threat, wouldn’t keeping them ‘jailed’ be a significant risk?”

Baumann, AC

“They were overcome. Were they all slain? Were there only those eight that passed through? They had incredible power. Were it I, I would have sought a more permanent solution. They set themselves up as gods. Perhaps they were. And could not be killed.”

T’Leia waited for the answers from Bane to the other’s questions, she was aware that Stovik seemed to be concentrating on something else and hoped he was trying to verify Bane’s story with the other aliens. How were they to decide who was telling the truth? Or was there truth on both sides?

Commander T’Leia

Stovik, meanwhile, was having trouble fathoming the buzz in his mind. “More lies. He was there. He knows. All those millennia ago.” Then, in a lower tone. “Beware the Bane.”

• Wookiee

“Wait,” Alison said speaking up, “what do you mean your script ends there?” Script in itself was a very specific word. Was Bane some sort of sentient computer with only a certain amount of programming of their history. Or was it something that he had been rehearsing for whoever passed through.

Ltjg Barr - CSO

Baumann’s normally stoic expression shifted slightly and a slight scowl crossed his face. He caught the statement as well, and took it as an indication that perhaps this’being’ was a manifestation of some kind of Artificial Intelligence. Whatever it meant, this conversation was only getting more complicated… a truth Baumann was not at all fond of.

Baumann, AC

“Instruction, then, if that word is more fitting. What has been passed down to us is sketchy in orders. If the buoys signal we respond. It does not actually say what to do beyond this. You are the first.”

Stovik frowned and then sent a telepathic message to T’Leia. The Arryha say that this Bane is lying. How do we ascertain the veracity of one or the other? He asked. Usually when one communicated telepathically one could not lie, at least that was true among Vulcans and Betazoids. Was it the same with these species? And why could he not telepathically reach Bane? He was a Vulcan, he could not ethically attack Bane telepathically as it was anathema to his people but the thought certainly crossed his mind that if the alien proved a danger it might be logical to consider such a course.

T’Leia frowned herself and dropped her own mental shields so that Stovik, the much stronger telepath could pick up her response.
Is it not unusual for one to be able to lie telepathically? She sensed his agreement with her but his uncertainty in this situation. T’Leia glanced at the Captain and arched an eyebrow to try to convey her uncertainty in Bane’s veracity.

Commander T’Leia

And there it was… the statement Ari had been awaiting. Bane had said they were the rescuers, the others were the aggressors and that he had been sent to repeat the message of warning. She was unaware of the exchange between T’Leia and Stovik, but sensed there was ‘something’ going on.

As Dysart came in and delivered the message, Ari smiled and nodded. “Thank you, you’re welcome to join us if you want.” She never did learn Spanish but the chef took great glee in speaking it to her simply because she laughed knowing nothing of what he said. “You are welcome to join us, Lieutenant.” She nodded to the chair beside the wall that had been pushed aside, unused, when they had sat down. “Bane, this is Lieutenant Junior Grade Dysant. Dysant, our guest, Bane. This is an introductory visit for us both.” Dysant would know, from his training, that the last sentence meant, politely, that this was a first contact meeting.

“I bid you welcome to this space,” Bane said with a straight face.

Alan began to panic, his eyes flitting back and forth. People. Too many. The Captain said so. I have to. I don’t want to but the Captain said. he thought. He slowly made his way to the open seat. He sat and looked down at the table.

As she left him to stay or go as he wished, she turned back to Bane. “So you say they invaded, you, or at least, your kind, trapped them in the sphere, then left them here. May I ask why they weren’t taken someplace more secure? Surely you had to know that they would either die or be drawn out of this area. Why leave them unattended here? And if their way home is gone, what harm is there in letting them go in this sector?” She would eventually have to go and ask the other species for their side of the story. But for now, she would get this side.

Capt Ari

“I would suspect that the answer is threefold. One, that being in a low orbit around a dead star in a sector of dead stars was deterrent enough, or secure enough, and remote enough that a sphere as small as this would be capable of being left alone. If one had brought attention to it then others would also see that.” His face darkened into a frown. “Let them go? Unthinkable. The devastation they could cause if left alone would be horrific. They need no vehicle to travel. Only their will. Consider this to be your Pandora’s Box. I have come to warn you of the danger you have so close by. What are you then going to do?”

Wookiee for Bane

Alison kept her mouth shut for now, but she knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to see inside the sphere, and take a look at both of their technology. Though a small part inside her was still a bit terrified of being out here in the middle of space, inside of their own tin can. There was a good chance that either of these aliens could crush them without a thought.

Ltjg Barr - CSO

Alan maintained his gaze at the table. He wondered why it was even in question. Pandora’s box always gets opened. Sanity gets overpowered by curiosity.

-Lt.(j.g.) Alan Dysart, Linguist

T’Leia sat thinking for a few moments, she heard everything said around her but then wondered, Why were they even considering making a decision of this type? They had saved the unknown ship from the danger. It wasn’t up to them to decide who was right or wrong in this situation. If this had been a Vulcan ship they would have let the unknown ship go and left.
“Perhaps, Captain it is not up to us to decide.”She said finally, speaking her thoughts.”We have done what we aimed to do in saving the Arryha ship from destruction. It is not necessary that we decide or choose sides in this situation. The Vulcan High Command has been working with Earth Fleet to create a guideline for situations such as this. One can do more harm then good in trying to insert oneself in such a situation. We must let other species evolve and interact as they are meant too. Perhaps it is best that we leave the Arryha and Bane’s race to work out their own destiny.”She glanced back at Stovik who nodded a bit with some uncertainty though. He was a Healer though, he would naturally wish to assist those in need.

Commander T’Leia

Baumann looked at the Commander and said in his typical matter-of-fact German accented style “Do you have those guidelines right now, Commander? Because if I am not mistaken, we have already inserted ourselves. And we do have an obligation to research and catalog, do we not? I think we would be remiss if we simply took one side of a story and left without closer examination… At least in order to provide the record with a clear and accurate accounting of our… situation.”

Baumann, AC

Ari listened to everyone and sighed. Despite her scientific curiosity, T’Leia had a point. They had intervened and had no clue what they were getting into. She stood up and took a few steps before touching Alan’s shoulder and murmuring softly, “Sit down, Dysart… you’re part of this, now, too.” She moved to pace around a moment before looking out the portal.

It seemed like longer, but a couple minutes after standing, Ari turned to the table. With hands clasped before her so she didn’t clench her fists, she nodded to Bane as she responded. “You are right,” she added T’Leia in the nod as well, “we are visitors here and have no idea what is happening. I believe the XO has stated it best that we need to remain neutral in this.” She turned to face Bane fully. “I thank you for coming, Bane. If you will excuse us, my staff and I need to discuss this further. We give you our word we will not open or assist the other ship without notifying you first.” She gave a slight, though polite, bow and held a hand towards the door.

It occurred to her that he had phased thru the wall on the bridge. So did she take him ‘back’ to the bridge to leave?

Capt Ari Bovar
CO

Alison couldn’t help feel a bit relieved at the decision, but at the same time disappointed. Neutral was good in keeping them in one piece, but by staying neutral she wouldn’t have a chance to take a look at either of the species. None of there tech, nor how they interacted with each other. Hopefully they could still come to some sort of agreement, because she was itching to learn more about either of them. First contact, with two new species, there was just so much left to discover.

But only if they could stay out of the middle of a war between two races who had that much power to start with.

Ltjg Barr - CSO