Taking Stock

Posted on Mon Jan 24th, 2022 @ 8:16pm by Commodore Keiben Haistro & Lieutenant Commander Melanie D’BrooNi- Haistro & Lieutenant Commander Hiro Sommers-Yoshida & Lieutenant JG Sher'ra Verona & Commander Peter Horn & Lieutenant Commander Junjie Han & Senior Chief Petty Officer Jonathan Stoun & Glin Slorir Varin

2,271 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Episode 4 - The Fires Of Hades
Location: Central Core - Ward Room
Timeline: Mission Day -584,948 @ 1500 Hours

ON

For the first time in a long while, Keiben seemed to be the last to arrive with his entourage consisting of Tam, Stoun, and Yoshida, who had spent the morning surveying the damage to the station. Thankfully most of it seemed simple enough to repair.

The small group entered the wardroom, the other officers already assembled.
"Let's hear it, folks... We've assessed the station damage and it's not as bad as we first thought. What about the rest of the station?"

"There is considerable damage on the promenade," Peter reported, since he had seen it first hand, "fortunately there were not too many people about when... this... happened."

Hiro started to feel kind of sorry for Stoun. His team would likely be working on the promenade to fix everything. He looked at the Chief. "If you need help, I can assign some of my team to yours. Just let me know."

The chief nodded to the other engineer. "Aye, I think I'm going to need some of them."

"Chief, you might as well fill them in on the extend of the damage!" Keiben added as his Engineer was already inflow.

"This place is keeping me employed at least. Hull breaches, buckled bulkheads, structural integrity compromised in several places. Overall though, the station held up pretty well considering. I've got repair teams already welding up gaps and fixing the damage. They've had to strip parts from some of the underutilized sections of the station, but we are making progress." Jon rubbed his face. "I'm going to need some more coffee."

"What about injuries?" The Captain looked to his Chief Medical Officer.

"One death," Mel said flatly. She hated the idea of loosing someone so soon at being onboard this station. "A civilian was squashed when the Ferryman was broken in half. Several broken limbs, and two had the wind quite literally knocked out of them. A beam shaken loose on the prom splintered and punctured them. We have done the surgery and although they will have a few uncomfortable days they will recover.

"Sher'ra can you support Chief Stoun by having your people focus on the damage along the Promenade... Can you step up security details around the station as well... Just until we know where we are!" Keiben was working his way around the table.

Sher'ra nodded, "I've already got my people securing the Promenade and the habitat ring. I'll make sure to send a few out to secure the rest of the station"

"Hiro we are going to need Copernicus... How quickly can you get her spaceworthy?"

He was starting to feel tired, it was one thing after another. Moving to the station was supposed to have been relaxing... or at least a chance for the crew to relax for a time.

The Captain's question was one Hiro had feared. But it was also one that was to be expected in this situation. "Around 8 hours, sir. Maybe 5... If I bend the rules a little."

The final officer he needed to speak to, and probably the most important.
"Lieutenant Han... What can you tell us?"

Junjie looked up from his PADD, He had been listening to every word said but some things were still troubling him. "As you are aware, the temporal distortion didn't move our location any, instead it moved us some six hundred thousand years into the past. We are roughly somewhere near the end of the T'kon empire era."

He took in a breath and thought a moment before continuing. " There was an item in the science lab we were cataloging that gave off temporal energies before the incident. We'll investigate to see if there is a correlation between the two, If so we'll be most likely able to figure out a way home again. If not, we might be here awhile until we figure it out. On the bright side if there is any T'kon around we'll be able to ask question's that scientists and scholars have been pondering for thousands of years and maybe get some answers."

"Actually you do raise a very valid point Lieutenant... Temporal intervention and alteration. We cannot... Must not do anything that could change the timeline" he allowed her eyes to catch those of every person in the room one by one. "Is that understood? That last thing we need is for temporal investigations to land in our lap".

Junjie sighed. Sadly I am aware that we cannot interact or influence the timeline as it may change our history. Forgive me, that was just my scientific curiosity speaking. There are a million questions I'd love to ask, But one of those questions might mean that I might cease to exist or change everything for the worse. My curiosity will just have to be satisfied with knowing that. "

"How do we know," Mel asked, "That this event is not meant to be happening and our involvement is what leads to the events that need to occur?" Again something felt awfully .... familiar was that the right term ... no something. As if there was a memory, fade. Deep. A connection but she couldn't place things.

She could sense her husband catching the confusion off her. Or she thought she could. She couldn't explain it. Maybe he could just do that Betaziod thing and jump in her head and make sense of it for her?

His wife was once again in his mind and aware of his feelings and worries... Something was defiantly altered about Mel and this was something that now needed investigating!

"Have we missed anything Commander?"

Keiben rubbed the bridge of his nose as he spoke. He needed sleep, as did most of the crew gathered around the table.

"We've got the arrival of Glin Slorir Vann." Tamaska reminded Keiben." giving a nod towards the Cardassian who had arrived earlier.

"You are correct... My apologies Glin Slorir Varin has been assigned to us through Starfleet Command and the Cardassian Union. He is an advisor and resource to help us establish a foothold and make sure the station is running smoothly!"

He was still having to fight down his own turbulent emotions and his eyes caught Melanie's for the briefest of moments... Whatever the T'Kon machine had done to her she was certainly more than just a Trill Host now. He could also see from her expression that a conversation would be impending.

The Cardassian representative smiled and gave a polite nod in welcome. He had, silently, been wondering how long it would be before the Captain introduced him to the group. Now that the Executive Officer was the one to do it had certainly not gone unnoticed. The Captain would, potentially, be a hazard to the Union's efforts for the future. He would have to remember that.

"I am happy to be here with all of you," he answered politely.

"Will the Union be stationing a permanent presence onboard the station?" Sher'ra asked, half out of professional curiosity, half out of not wanting to deal with Cardassian Security Officers on her station.

"At the moment Lieutenant," Keiben glanced between Sher'ra and Slorir then back to Sher'ra again. "My understanding is that it should only be Glin Varin, or at least for the time being!"

"Quite correct," Slorir answered in the typical Cardassian tones. "The Detapa Council has agreed that the Cardassian Union will not exert any of our sovereign claims upon the station at this time, as per the specifics of the Treaty of Bajor that ended the Dominion Wars. The Federation Council has offered to return it to us, but we are contented to be your partners in this endeavor here. Rest assured you are among friends," it sounded like a predator had said it more than a friend, and he was certain that no one missed the undertone. He did not want them to either. To him this was a Cardassian Station and they were guests here. He would always be a reminder of that to them.

"Now that the niceties are out of the way" the comment pointedly directed at their Cardassian colleague "Do any of you have any questions? Now is the time to ask them" the Captain said tapping the tabletop.

Junjie spoke up. " Glin Slorir Varin. a question if I may? Did you bring any scientist with you? I would dearly love to meet my counter parts from the Cardassian Union, I look forward to getting to know them and working with them. " He stated with a warm smile.

"Regrettably the Thrarim is a small patrol vessel so our personnel appointments are a bit more limited than on other vessels within the Cardassian Guard. We do have a few scientists aboard; however, they are primarily geared more toward Tactical considerations than any other." He knew that his orders told him he had to be open to the Federation and its officers, but he needed to show some discretion. "I am willing to have any of you visit as needed aboard the Thrarim. All you must do is ask ahead of time."

" I thank you for your candor Glinn Slorir Varin. I just might take you up on that offer to visit your ship as I"ve never been aboard a Carassian ship before and I think it may be educational for myself to learn more about your people. With the aforementioned prior notification of course. "

Glinn Varin nodded politely, "We would be happy to receive you."

Peter had been listening in silence, though it didn't really surprise him that the Union had sent one of their own to -in his personal opinion- keep an eye on things. "Are you opposed to speaking with a counselor?" he queried carefully, "purely professional and informational, of course."

Hiro wondered what Glin Slorir Varin would say. For some reason he couldn't quite picture a Cardassion having a talk with a Counselor and sharing his feelings or anything else.

The Cardassian Glin looked at the Starfleet Counselor and nodded politely, "I would be willing to meet with you at any time to speak, Counselor, provided that I have clearance to do so from the Cardassian Central Command. I will have to arrange and coordinate with them to get authorization." He spoke plainly, but the reverence for the Central Command was not hidden in his words.

"I would not enquire after Cardassian state secrets," Peter informed him, knowing full well it was useless to do so to begin with, "aside from the fact that conversations with me are confidential and would never be passed to anyone else." Though it was general knowledge it would only be done so if gathered information was a threat to the station or the people on it, but so far he'd not encountered such a situation and frankly, he hoped he never would.

Mel eyed the alien. She could tell he would have to work hard to earn people's trust. If he actually was bothered about such things.

"My previous host Tiza knew a Tora Ziyal Varin about 50 years back. Any relation? He would be about 80 now," she asked.

Slorir was wordless for a moment as he appeared to be deep in thought. Light-years away his mind went to his family and he was stone-faced as he seemed to work through some hidden mysteries. "No," was all he said with some finality in his statement. As his family had been a sore subject for him and rightfully so. Being a war orphan in a world where family was everything, he lost out on a big part of his history and was little more than a pariah. If not for a compassionate Gul he wouldn't even be here.

Working away at a PADD, Sher'ra looked through what information she could get on currently active Cardassian ship classes. Although she hadn't taken the time to look at Glinn Varin's ship, the description he gave sounded like a Hideki class which alone wouldn't be much of a threat to the station. To be honest, she found it interesting that the Cardassian Union would feel obligated to send a representative to an old Nor class station under the command of Starfleet.

It just had dawned on Hiro that it was wholly possible that all that was left of his team was here on the station. Maybe the shipyard in the Briar Patch had not been moved into the past as the station had. "Captain... Did only the station get pulled into the past?"

"I'm on it, Captain!!" Stated Junjie as he ran a short-range sensor sweep of the surrounding system to see what else was out there.

Mel walked to look over Junjies shoulder. It was not like her but there was something familiar. "Can you make the image bigger?" she asked. She knew most were thinking it was very odd for the doctor to be getting involved in data scans but she needed to see this.

Junjie appeared surprised briefly as Mel made her request. "This sector right here?" He asked as he enlarged the image. "It's a ship of unknown origins that I'm unfamiliar with."

"It's a ship and it's T'kon," she stated. "One of the heavier warships ... oh .. oh ..." She looked at her husband suddenly frightened. "How do I know .. that machine ... they must have put something in my head .... what's it done to me ......" she pulled her hands to her forehead as the information she didn't understand too much was flooding in. It hurt.

".... be careful ..." she said trying to breathe through it, "It got enough power to obliviate us. And if the Captain doesn't see us as useful they will do," she stated darkly.

END

 

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