Posted by Lindsay B in Oliver’s arrival

Posted by Ensign Oliver W Sterling (Security Officer) in Oliver’s arrival
=^= Casefile 6202-01-07 The Case of the Silent Commbadge; Lead Investigator: Sterling, Oliver W. Sterling, Reporting=^=
=^= Greetings, mystery lovers to my latest adventure. When I last reported on my investigations, I was still learning to be a Starfleet Officer, thwarted at every turn by my instructors. They took a very selective view of what I was doing … and what I did to save the Academy and the Federation with my efforts. But on this occasion, I was assigned to the Starship Athena as a Security Officer, but don’t worry, I’ve still got my rapier, my gloves, my bowler hat and my chronometer to help in my investigations. I now wear the mustard yellow of security to match the Starfleet Yellow of the Hover Skiff which you may recall was damaged in The Case of the Blue Tritanium when I stopped the Banshee powered foes and was told I’d be well suited for Starfleet. So I’ve transported on board, and by gosh, old chaps, I’ve got to speak to someone here. Its all terribly exciting! =^=

Oliver spoke to the transporter operator, handed over his transfer orders and continued through the ship.

=^= Oliver W Sterling, continuing. So the transporter operator, overcome by my presence assured me that I would most definitely be getting a personal invitation by the Captain to join him to provide my insights on the great captains I have known … Archer, Pike, Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway via my combadge, so adventure loves, I’ll have to make sure I’m dressed and groomed perfectly for this experience. That will mean that I can give the Captain my insights. I’ll also have to visit my Department Head and have the boarding physical and counselling appointments, but they’ll understand that the Captain’s invitation to see him has to come bevore all of those standard operating activities. My combadge could sound any moment now. I am at my quarters, I’ve yet to shave for the third time yet today, and I need to look my best for the Captain. =^=

Meanwhile, the Transporter Operator opens a channel to Captain Orvos Legen. -/- Sir, Cadet Oliver Sterling has arrived. He seems to think that you’re going to be contacting him to arrange a private meeting with him. I told him that was unlikely to happen, but he refused to listen, and instructed me to let you know he’ll be waiting for your comcall. I … err … thought you had best known. He said he’ll put off his usual boarding requirements until he’s met with you. -/-

Entering his quarters, Oliver showers, shaves and changes. He’s now in his uniform, but with a bowler hat, cane, black gloves and an old fashioned chronometer on one wrist. Unsheathing a rapier Oliver stands at the en guarde position, and moves forward and back as though he’s in a competition of some kind against a shadow opponent.

=^= It is now 90 minutes since I’ve arrived and the Captain has yet to contact me for our meeting. My commbadge must be malfunctioning! Maybe the Captain is overcome by the thought of having to be in the same room as myself. He must be a fan of the Craterville Investigation Society! I should go to the poor man and explain to him that I don’t expect anything from him. Or maybe … my combadge is malfunctioning! I should take it apart and make sure the ghosts on the holodecks … all these old ships have them, ghosts on the holodecks, I mean. That the ghosts on the holodecks haven’t interfered with my combadge. Gordy, you rememeber him, of course, the Bolian boy who was the technical whiz and known by us as Gizmo, he’d have the commbadge open in a jiffy! It will take me a bit longer, but I’ll get it done! We can’t have these ghosts on the holodeck planning and getting away with these shenanigans. I must investigate the commbadge’s operations =^=

Oliver removed his commbadge and inspected it. There didn’t seem to be an obvious opening, so he got his rapier and tried to make one. He failed, so he studied it further using a magnifying glass. And then he saw it, a slight indentation on the side. He put it down on a table, readied his rapier, closed his eyes and stabbed the commbadge with all his might. He opened his eyes and saw the commbadge in pieces.

“HAZZAH!”

Oliver W Sterling + Security + Athena
Solving the galaxy one misunderstood ‘clue’ at a time

OOC: Oh dear. We might want to keep him out of Faye’s way. lol. Feel free to have him come see Janna though. She doesn’t bite. Promise! :) ~Linds

OOC: Or maybe Faye can become a member of his new version of the Craterville Investigation Society! Is she any good at pulling the backsides of incompetent individuals out of the fires of their own making, Linds? Russ

IC:
=^= Casefile 6202-01-07 Update: The Silence Deepens. Sterling, Reporting from the Scene of the Crime. =^=
=^= Oh dash it all! The plot has thickened considerably! Upon successfully breaching the outer casing of the communication device with a precision thrust of my blade (a maneuver that would have made D’Artagnan himself weep with envy), I have discovered a scene of utter mechanical carnage inside. It appears the ghosts of the Athena are more malicious than I anticipated. They haven’t merely silenced the device, oh no, they have scrambled the internal organs of the machine into a confusing and confounding confetti of microchips and isolinear shards! I attempted to perform emergency field surgery, try to coerce a particularly stubborn gold wire back into its socket using the pommel of my cane, and some duct tape, but I fear my skills lie in deduction and the manly art, not in the delicate arts of the tinkerer! Where, oh where is Gizmo when I need him? And now, my heart is filled with dread as I am faced with … silence … and disappointment. A terrible silence full of disappointment! A heavy disappointment full of silence! Somewhere on the ship, Captain Legen is undoubted is undoubtedly tapping his own badge, desperate for my counsel on whether Captain Kirk would have preferred one lump or two with his Earl Grey or Coffee, and he is being met with static! Oh the horror! I am failing, my gentle listeners, failing my first mission on the Athena beofre I have even had devonshire tea with scones, jam and cream! =^=

Oliver stared down at the table, his face a mask of tragic realisation. His commbadge was no longer a badge, it was a pile of sparkling debris. He poked a fragmented sensor coil with a gloved finger, hoping it would simple magnetise itself back together through sheer willpower. It did not. With a heavy sigh, and a gentle tear in his eye, he produced a monogrammed silk ‘kerchief from his pocket and began to delicately place the jagged remains of the device into the cloth, treating them like the crown jewels. He tied the ‘kerchief into a neat little bundle and deposited it into his pocket, right next to his pocket watch. He checked the time. It had been four minutes since the ‘surgery’. The Captain must be frantic! Absolutely beside himself with worry.

=^= Mystery lovers, Oliver W Sterling is back again. I cannot remain here in the shadows while the command ship of this fine vessel tries to reach me. This is adeliberate act of sabotage by the Athena’s ghosts to keep me from the Captain’s ear! The ghosts fear what I know. But they don’t know that I know. So I must keep it that way, and not let the ghosts know that I know they don’t know about the stuff I know about them and their dastardly plans. They ghosts fear what I might reveal! I must make haste to the bowels of the ship, to the Engineering deck. I require … a smithy! Hazzah! A metal work of high caliber who can reassemble this commbadge before the Captain assumes that I have been eaten by a space-whale and assigns my duties to a lesser officer, one with far less savoir-faire and class than I have. I shall not be deterred! I shall not be prevented! I shall not be stopped! I have my rapier, I have my wits, I have my daring do, and I have a pocket full of broken circuitry wrapped in my monogrammed ‘kerchief. The game, as the great Sherlock Holmes said, is afoot! And I must use my famed little grey cells, as Hercule Poirot would say, to solve the mystery, mon amis.=^=

Oliver adjusted his bowler hat to a determined angle, grabbed his cane and rapier, double checked that his pocket chronometer and monogrammed ‘kerchief and its precious contents were on his person, and marched to the door. He pressed the door release, and for a split second, panic flared in his eyes. If the ghosts had jammed the door, he would be trapped! Trapped to live out the rest of his days in his quarters! But, more concerning, the captain would live out the rest of his days deprived of Oliver’s counsel on the makings of a perfect caffeinated beverage. Thankfully, the door whooshed open. He told himself he’d have to investigate that sometime. He stepped out into the corridor, looking less like a 25th-century Ensign and more like he was late for a train in 1920s London. He spotted a bewildered-looking Crewman passing by carrying a tray of hyposprays.

“You there! My good man!” Oliver announced, stepping directly into the Crewman’s path and brandishing his cane towards the turbolift. “I have a communication emergency of the highest order! Direct me to the nearest grease-monkey or technological wizard! The Captain is trying to call me, and I have been silenced. By spirits!”

Oliver W Sterling + Security + Athena
Solving the galaxy one misunderstood ‘clue’ at a time