Posted by Lieutenant Issac Forgrave (Chief of Security) in Main Sim [Cargo Bay Two]: Shell Game

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Peter Sigmundsson (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Main Sim [Cargo Bay Two]: Shell Game

Posted by Commander Kohr (Executive Officer) in Main Sim [Cargo Bay Two]: Shell Game
Posted by… suppressed (9) by the Post Ghost! 👻

—SNIP—

Issac nodded along to Baker’s walk-through; and he found himself quite impressed by the thoroughness of the preparations - sure, it suggested paranoia.... but that was a damn sight better than laxity. And of course, he wasn’t one to point fingers when it came to paranoia…

Kohr stepped into the cargo bay and gave a satisfied nod at the progress being made. A small silver medical case was tucked under his leather-bound arm. The Klingon turned his attention to Ensign Linch as she scanned him with her tricorder, then showed him the results. He took the device and studied it for a few moments before handing it back to her and nodding her off. Noticing Baker conferring with Forgrave, he strode over with an intent look on his face.

“Lieutenant, I did not expect to see you here,” he rumbled placidly. “I would be pleased by your thoughts on our readiness in this endeavor, though I am sad to say it may no longer be necessary.”

Baker raised a brow, fingers moving anxiously against one another. “Change of plans, sir?”

“Of a kind,” Kohr nodded. “The captain has ordered half a liter of antimatter to be taken to the alien vessel in order to stabilize their power crisis. Recent scans show that the remaining crew in stasis may be in jeopardy, and we are to render assistance until Captain Rende decides what to do next. I will be taking an away team over there via shuttle to assess the situation, and to oversee repairs to their damaged warp reactor.”

The Klingon held the medical case out to the security officer. “These are to be dispensed to the rest of the team. The case contains monitoring armbands similar to mine and will continually scan us for signs of influence by the alien beings. I have linked them with the Muninn’s computer so that anyone compromised will be immediately transported to the Viking for containment. When you are finished, join me there.”

Baker nodded, taking the case carefully before moving off. Kohr turned to Forgrave and bared his teeth in a thin line that looked almost painful. His smile, it seemed, still needed work.

“I am heartened to see that you are still yourself, Lieutenant.” Kohr nodded at Forgrave’s armband. “I have asked Ensign Linch to continue observing containment protocols until we can determine whether or not the static warp field is effective against the energy beings. While I would like to believe our measures are fool-proof, I am not one to risk further incident should we be mistaken in any way. I am most certain you will agree that the more data we have to work with, the more successful the mission.”

“I agree with that in all accounts in that regard; believe you me! Glad to see you up and about as well; I thought I’d heard you had your own encounter with the energy things.” He couldn’t quite keep the question out of his voice, but he found he wasn’t too concerned about it.

Kohr tucked a finger behind his collar and drew out a small slip of paper. Leaning closer to Isaac, he murmured, “Do you have any ideas about what this might be for?”
—Kohr, Executive Officer—

Issac let out a long, low sigh. He had recognized the paper immediately; and it occured to him that there might have been more than just the stated reason for sending Baker off. “Damn well wish I knew, Kohr. Gist of it is that Hab’Rabi spat out what I think can only be a code sequence at me, and made it damn clear he thought it important. So I wrote it down, and kicked it up the chain as fast as I could.” He pulled a face at the last comment of his; clearly not happy with how it had come out. “Not that I was trying ta shirk responsibility, a’course - but code phrases that long don’t exist ta flush tha fraggin’ toilets, yeah?”

He fell silent for a long moment, looking off to the side as he thought, trying to remember the context around the ‘handoff’. “If I had ta guess… Hab’rabi passed tha phrase on, askin’ me, or us collectively, I suppose, ta protect his people and the Yur - whatever that is. So one thought is well… equivalent of blowing the warp core; denial of the enemy and all that. Can’t lose anything if there’s nothing left. But with the idea of ‘protect’… well, that just don’t quite line up, yeah? But I can’t imagine it’s not a damned drastic thing, whatever it does. Seems like they’ve had some trouble going on for a while yet before they met with us - or at least, that’s the impression I got. So why didn’t they do whatever this does before now? So best I can figure, it’s either a wicked double-edged sword.... or this is the most damned convoluted scheme to take our ship that could exist. And frankly, I can’t put too much weight behind the latter; but I can only speak from what I think I know.”

As if emerging from shadows, the hulking form of Peter Sigmundson appeared close to Kohr and Forgrave. He’d entered the Cargo Bay just after Kohr did and, out of a sense of drama, decided to walk a longer route through the darker areas and slowly and silently walked up to the two officers, he eyed Kohr critically but didn’t interrupt the conversation or step close enough to listen in.

The Klingon’s eye drifted to where Sigmundsson was standing briefly, and he gave the lieutenant commander an acknowledging nod before returning his attention to Forgrave. “The captain explained Lord Hab’rabi’s situation, including the embedded message received from his ship. If there were some form of emergency—either a catastrophic failure of some kind, or a mutiny perhaps—it is possible he enacted some form of protocol to which the code interacts. Locking out command codes, ship functions, or sensitive areas, much as a Starfleet vessel might do. Though until we investigate the colony ship, we cannot be certain.”

“Yeah; that makes sense; though I’m inclined ta think that woulda been one of the first things done, right? But maybe we got all the benefits of hindsight when it comes to that; easy ta be smart when it ain’t yer ass on the line, if you’ll pardon my language.”

Kalika had entered the cargo bay and glanced around for Forgraves. Seeing him in a conversation with the XO, she walked towards them and nodded as she got close. “Commander, Chief…” She paused then as the comm came through and she noticed Sigmundsson step from the shadows. A slight frown touched her face as a curious thought why he was in the shadows crossed her mind.

=/\=Rende to Kohr. Hold! Sigmundsson has information for you. I’m on my way.=/\=

Rende, CO

Kohr’s jaw twitched, and he gave Forgrave a quizzical look. Had she not given him orders to conduct an away mission? What could have changed in such a short time? Pursing his lips, the Klingon tapped his comm badge. =^=Understood. Standing by.=^=

“Ensign Baker,” he barked, and the security officer turned. “I want the Muninn prepped in the event the captain still wishes us to conduct our away mission. The rest of you, secure your stations and remove yourselves from the cargo bay.”

As the team filed out, Commander Kohr waved Lieutenant Commander Sigmundsson over. “You have the room. Speak.”
—Kohr, Executive Officer—

Peter began by relaying the vision as Doctor Sarah had told him. After finishing his story he looked directly at the Commander “It is more than likely that when you came into contact with both wraith and remnant earlier. Doctor Fayth theorizes that an empathic emotional residue may have affected you, possibly with strong negative feelings towards Hab’rabi. I’d like to keep an eye on you until we have time for you to speak with a doctor” He said with hands clasped behind his back.

CIO

“Fraggin’ void-spawn…” Forgrave’s muttered invective faded out of hearing as he pinched the bridge of his nose; lowered head shaking. Waving a hand at the small group, he apologised. “Sorry y’all, just.... tired. Ain’t no excuse fer my language, but… is it just me, or does this mess get worse with every little thing we learn? And we’re still in the fraggin’ dark here! Gah!” Temper! Calm down, Issac - you know you can’t think when you’re angry! He took a long, slow breath; eyes closed, willfully unclenching his jaw and hands, forcing himself to relax before continuing.

Facing both Kohr and Sigmundsson, he spoke again - this time, in a much calmer tone. “I think I have ta agree with Peter on this one, Sir. Though I might suggest speaking with the Counselor as well; ta compare to your… mental baseline, if you will. But all that being said, despite the new information, I don’t know that our mission has changed - protect the Viking, try to help Hab’rabi and his crew. And for the more immediate, I reckon unless the Captain gives us new orders, we’re still taking the antimatter to their ship, right? After that… well, maybe we can figure out what that passphrase does.” He paused, clearly hesitating on his next words. “And despite it probably not being a good idea..... I think I’d still like fer you ta be on the away team, Kohr. So of course, that’d mean you’d be coming along as well, Peter. And I may as well volunteer myself, just in case we ain’t got enough brass already.... I want some answers, and I’m tired of hearing everything second-hand.”

-Forgrave, CoS

Kohr was quiet for a moment as he considered the information presented. His lip stiffened as he considered Sigmundsson’s own interaction with the energy beings and how it had affected him; for the man to suggest he was unfit for duty without a minder rankled his sense of honor a bit, considering they were essentially in the same position. He had been checked out several times since then, and his monitor bore a green light to prove his fitness. However, he was not too proud to admit he’d taken things a step further than drinking while on duty. Justified? Kohr certainly felt so, given Doctor Jones’ unwillingness to listen to his concerns. An excuse? Perhaps, and that was why the Klingon decided to keep his rebuttal to himself.

Besides, it was a big colony ship.

“Very well,” he sighed. “I do not wish to waste valuable time in debate. Make your preparations and meet us at the Munnin. If you are intending to accompany me to the drive section, I suggest girding yourself with EVA gear; it will offer extra protection from the radiation. Once the antimatter is aboard, we will depart. Dismissed.”

Kohr stretched his neck and tried not to tug at the tritanium collar of his suit for the dozenth time since boarding the Munnin. It was not dissimilar to the armor he’d worn as a younger warrior in the Empire, but it nevertheless felt ill-fitting. He knew that the nanoweave soft suit had been custom fitted to his frame and adjusted to his requirements, and the armored plating and hard systems did not restrict his movements unduly. The runabout’s controls responded to his gloved touch as if he were bare-handed, and nothing pinched when he adjusted to complete the pre-flight check. It felt too sterile somehow, too unassuming and utilitarian.

And not at all menacing.

“Preparations complete,” he growled, turning to face the rest of the away team. “Our primary objective is to repair and stabilize the Valh’kaeri’s warp core and reestablish energy output to the remaining crew in stasis. We will then assess their condition and determine whether or not they require extraction to the Viking; if necessary, the Munnin will be moved to an interim distance and act as transporter relay until functionality is restored to our ship. Finally, we will investigate the Valh’kaeri in order to better understand what we are dealing with, and how to better combat the alien threat.”

Baker nodded from the helm next to him. “Sounds good to me, Commander. I’m tired of sitting on my heels waiting for the next punch.”

“Hoping we don’t need these,” Ensign Walker murmured from the rear, patting the butt of the phaser rifle in his lap. “But she’s charged and hungry just in case.”

Lieutenant Watanabe made a rude noise at the back of her throat, and Ensign Linch stifled a giggle. Both women looked nearly comical in the bulky EVA suits, but they acted as if they were merely wearing their duty uniforms. Kohr silently envied their composure. He peered at the container of duterium charges resting patiently on the Munnin’s transporter pad at the rear of the cockpit, the azure glow of the containment field between them humming dutifully. The antimatter was secured in the runabout’s cargo hold with a security bulkhead in-place to avoid any risk of mishap. They could call Kohr paranoid if they wanted to, but after the day they’d all had he felt caution was the least of their worries.

The Klingon tapped at the controls and brought up the navigational holodisplay, then opened a comm channel. =^=”Munnin to Viking control. Request permission to depart.”=^=

=^=”Yorba here, sir,“=^= came the reply. It sounded like the lieutenant was deep in thought… or exhausted. Possibly both. =^=”Commander, you are clear for launch. The colony ship is holding steady, and your approach looks good. Best of luck.”=^=