Messages

[ USS Challenger | Deck 3 | Mess Hall]

"This is why I like Romeo & Juliet." Aarwendil said to Nekab, who was seated in front of him at the other side of the table. The two were having lunch and talking in the Mess Hall like how they do everyday. This time the conversation had been about books, specifically old literature from Earth. The Betazoid had spent the past minutes explaining why he liked that story, while the Romulan stared at him with his typical emotionless face.

"I think that this story is instructive and logical." Nekab said, placing his fork on the plate. "It shows that excessive feelings can cause premature death. The human way of loving is one of the most dangerous that I ever see, it can make them dumb." it wasn't what Aarwendil was expecting the other to say.

"I like it because it's only a tragic love story." Aarwendil wondered if the Romulan said these things because it was what he really understood or it was some type of bizarre sense of humor. Now he was curious to what Nekab would think of Moby Dick.

[Astrometrics - USS Challenger

Hyperion regarded the humanoid Cheizex as he scanned him to measure heart rate, temperature, and other physiological readings to establish a baseline for his species. Once he was finished, a process that took less than a second he said.

"Pardon me, I have used an Earth idiom I learned from Chief McNeil. It means a activity that is largely frivolous. Chief believes this excessive cleaning to be a waste of resources especially to be expended on 'worthless Ferengi.

"I must admit, the amount of time spent on cleaning that exceeds basic standards of laboratory requirements does seem to be an odd use of time."

[USS-Challenger | Deck 4| Astrometrics lab]

Aarwendil listened to the droid, starting to understand what he meant. "Oh, you mean cleaning." he said, after the explanation was finished. "Honestly, I only went to Earth during my time at the Academy. I don't have much knowledge of their idioms." he was aware that there are thousands of those among humans, but the concept was strange to him.

In Betazed they communicate telepathically and everyone understood what was being said, since they could visualize as images in their minds.

What wasn't strange to him was the fact that the Chief also disliked Ferengis. They must be the most disliked species, perhaps after Metamorphs.

"Well, where do you want me to start cleaning?" he asked, already prepared to help. The Ferengi would soon the in the ship, which meant that the two would need to be fast. "I prefer to spend time cleaning than hearing a Ferengi complain about it being dirty."

Dr. Avarak took another glance at Nekab when he made his suggestion to the CMO. Whatever the Vulcan's thoughts were in regards to this Romulan physician who now stood among them, he had made a very sensible point.

"I am in agreement with Dr. Nekab's suggestion. Having an active security presence in the Sickbay wards where patient care is taking place would be a logical course of action. The presence of even a small number of security personnel in the main ward would act as a deterrent to the activities of the Ferengi delegates, while in turn ensuring that no delegate wanders into a treatment ward, compromise the safety and privacy of our patients, and pilfer medical equipment. If it is agreeable with you, I would be amenable with submitting such a request on your behalf to the Chief of Security."

[USS Challenger | Deck 7 | Sickbay (Nekab)]

Nekab was satisfied that Avarak had seen the logic in his proposal. With some more security, the sickbay would be safe from curious Ferengi. With that decided, the Romulan turned to the Vulcan. "If you excuse me, I'll take care of those that are still wounded." after saying that, he went to one of the beds.

At the first sound of his voice, Avarak heard what appeared to be the voice of a Vulcan. However, as he turned his head about, his first hypothesis was immediately checked by what stood before him: a Romulan, and in plain clothes no less.

Despite his appearance, what struck Dr. Avarak the most was the fact that this Romulan had addressed him with a mannerism and affect that was not too dissimilar to his own. This man was going to be an enigma.

"Curious..." was the first word that came to the Vulcan's mind just before he made to speak in return.

"Greetings..." he said, giving a slight pause, his eyes narrowing slightly at Nekab, analyzing his every feature and movement in an attempt to figure out who exactly this Romulan civilian is, and what his purposes were for coming aboard the Challenger.

"...I must admit to you that I had not been informed of your arrival... Have you received assignment to this vessel under the permit of the CMO and command staff?"

[Sickbay - USS Challenger]

Doctor Nathaniel Rashar, Chief Medical Officer of the Challenger heard the conversation outside his office, stood up from his desk and moved to join the others, smiling as he spoke.

"Ah Doctor Avarak, forgive me for not mentioning Doctor Nekab. I was ordered to take leave so abruptly that I didn't get a chance to properly brief the staff before the captain literally beamed me off the ship. Seems I'd been working too many hours to suit him and he proved unusually persistent about me taking time off. He said something like "How can you bloody take care of others if'n you don't take care of yourself." Next thing I knew I was on Starbase 153. Sorry for the side track there, in any case, I am very happy to have both of you. Challenger has seen very heavy combat action lately and we've sustained heavy casualties. More doctors is always a good thing, but after the last two missions, they are especially welcome. Do either of you have any questions?"

As the CMO spoke, Dr. Avarak raised his eyebrow, again taking a quick glance at the Romulan doctor standing beside him. Despite Dr. Rashar's explanation, a vast number of questions about Nekab were still funneling their way through the Vulcan's mind. However, he knew that this was neither the time nor the place to ask them, and whatever his private misgivings were about this situation, command had made the decision to let this Romulan onboard. Instead, he decided that it would be logical to have his primary reason for contacting the CMO addressed.

"Although my deployment to this vessel has been brief, I have gained an appreciation for the extent of the casualties and its subsequent effects on the physical and mental wellbeing of the attendant medical staff. As increasing fatigue is highly correlated with adverse medical outcomes, it was logical that such time be made to regenerate one's concentrative capabilities...but, perhaps, not as much in the urgent manner by which you were transported to said rest."

Whether or not Avarak had made a subtle crack at the CO's decision, well, that was up to interpretation.

"I did have an inquiry as to our preparations for the upcoming Ferengi delegation which shall soon be inspecting our vessel. To wit, I have concerns in relation to patient privacy and ensuring that the efficiency of our medical response systems are unimpeded by the inspections. The Ferengi are noted to be a...boisterous species, and are prone to invite themselves into areas that are strictly off-limits. What measures are being taken, or will be undertaken, to decrease these risks?"

[Sickbay - USS Challenger]

Basher nodded as Avarak spoke indicating he might hold some of the concerns that the Vulcan presented.

"Security has most of the details on how to keep the Ferengi corralled. For our part, it is my deepest hope that the last three casualties from the battle over Talinos IV will be discharged by the time we reach Ferenginar. If that isn't the case or if we should have a casualty en route, we will put them in ICU. Lieutenant Davenport has promised me two officers if that occurs, that should be enough of a deterrent. Good question lieutenant, I believe you will be a fine asset to the team."

[USS Challenger | Deck 7 | Sickbay (Nekab)]

Nekab opened his mouth to answer the Vulcan, but closed it when Dr. Rashar appeared and explained the situation. According to Aarwendil, the Captain had demanded the human doctor to take time to rest because he was considered a workaholic. The Romulan would add hyperactivity to it, taking this conclusion from the way that the man talked. He barely stopped to breathe.

After the two men finished talking, Nekab decided to give his own opinion about the recent events and the Ferengi. "Perhaps we could have security here in the sickbay. The patients need to rest and Ferengis entering there would be prejudicial. The security would only certify that the patients aren't disturbed." this would also maintain the Ferengis' hands away from the medicine and medical equipment.

He didn't believe that Ferengis would want to steal their underwear like how Aarwendil said, but the items in the sickbay were more logical.

[Astrometrics - USS Challenger]

Hyperion moved from the main holographic display tank to the main lab to return to the program he had started the day before to check on it's progress. On entering the lab he noted two humanoids conversing. One he immediately recognized as Chief McNeil, the second was not in the uniform of the science department. Hyperion checked the ship's personnel database and confirmed the second individual as Lieutenant jg Aarwendil Cheizex of the Operations division, with identity confirmed he began to speak.

"Greetings Lieutenant Cheizex. Welcome to Astrometrics. Are you here to assist us with the 'dog and pony' show?"

[USS-Challenger | Deck 4| Astrometrics lab]

Aarwendil turned to look at the android that had arrived. He never had interacted with one before, so the Betazoid decided to act like he did with any organic being. "Hello! I'm not sure what a 'dog and pony show' is." he never heard about that before. "I think that I'll need an explanation first."

[[USS Challenger | Deck 7 | Sickbay]]

[USS-Challenger | Deck 7]

After the wedding, things went back to normal in the Challenger. Well, as normal as serving as part of the crew of a Federation ship could be. They already were signed to another mission, this time they would need to travel to Ferenginar. Aarwendil had heard a lot about the Ferengi and few were good things.

Most of these stories were told by his mother, who worked as a diplomat. During one of her diplomatic trips, she met a Ferengi. In her words, he was a 'disgusting gnome' that acted terribly around her. The Ferengi regretted shortly after finding himself being thrown out of the room by his ears. And with a female doing that, nonetheless.

Rwenhilde Cheizex could be very scary.

"We need to be careful if we get to visit any city in Ferenginar. I heard that they can even take your underwear without you even noticing." Aarwendil told Nekab, while they walked through the corridor of Deck 7. They had been exchanging their impressions about the Ferengi before they had to deal with them in person.

"It's illogical. Why would the Ferengi want our underwear?" Aarwendil nearly took a deep breath. Nekab was so devoted to being like a Vulkan that the Betazoid wondered if he purposefully took everything seriously. "They are greedy, but I don't believe that they don't have the minimum of hygiene."

Aarwendil didn't have time to explain because they arrived in front of the sickbay. The Romulan was going to meet a new co-worker today. "See you during lunch?" month ago they had started to eat together everyday. It was fun to have someone to talk to, even if Nekab didn't understand his jokes.

Nekab nodded and entered the sickbay, leaving the Betazoid to take the lift and go to the astrometrics lab. He wanted to look at some maps before they arrived in Ferenginar.

[USS Challenger | Deck 4 | Astrometrics Lab]

"The entire room has to shine like new, better than new even.", the Ensign had said before assigning him to Astrometrics. Gero didn't know why and why it was his first task on board but he could hardly start his service by complaining about it.

After the ceremony had concluded, he had been recalled rather soon to the ship but the Ensign on duty, leaving him no time to introduce himself to the Departments Chief. There in the Briefing Room he had been handed a sonic mop and been sent to Astrometrics.

From some talk by some other junior Enlisted he heard something about some big shoots coming onto the ship, which at least would explain why everything needed to be clean. But this clean?

The sonic mop was able to clean an area of 20 square centimetres per minute. Astrometrics was rather large, unfortunately. With many consoles and some complementary shelves at the back of the room. Meaning he probably had been spending the last Hour and a half getting everything shining as glisteningly as he was able to.

On his old ship he had been subjected to some bad tasks in the beginning too. It was a universal truth, it seemed. He was determined to do his best, though. This room would be spotless when he finished, more perfectly clean than it had ever been.

[USS-Challenger | Deck 4| Astrometrics lab]

When he arrived in the lab, Aarwendil noticed that there was a man cleaning the place. He never saw him before, but the ship had received several new members. The Betazoid approached the man, waving his hand and with a friendly smile on his lips. "Hello! I'm Aarwendil. What is your name?"

[USS Challenger | Deck 7 | Sickbay]

As anyone would have expected, Dr. Avarak had several very long nights in Sickbay. To add to the fact that many of their patients during that time needed to be monitored essentially 24/7 lest any sudden deterioration in their conditions occurred, they had done so with only about half of the regular staff on duty.

Yet despite this rather inglorious beginning to his new position onboard the Challenger, the Vulcan had carried through with his duties with not only his usual stoicism, but also with a certain kind of determination, if you would have it, as if something more than just mere obligation caused him to pour over each and every chart, over every exam, and over every consult with the medical team.

Still, although he was Vulcan, he was still mortal, and he considered it of particular benefit to his patients that the rest of the staff, who had now come back aboard the ship, to take over some of the gaps in care that sorely needed filling.

It just so happened that as this transition came about, Avarak found himself being told to take something called "a break" by his new colleagues. This was a term quite foreign to his Vulcan sensibilities, but he was able to quickly come to the conclusion that they were simply attempting to ensure that his physical and mental capabilities would not erode through repeated stimulation.

As such, Avarak now found himself free of his medical duties, at least for the time being. That being said, he was well aware of the fact that the ship was now on course to Ferenginar, and that soon he would likely be called upon once again to stand for inspection for the upcoming diplomatic visit. Accordingly, he made it his priority to seek out the CMO, whom he had not yet met in person, in order to elucidate exactly what the medical department will need to accomplish prior to the Ferengi delegation's arrival.

He paced by a set of biobeds on his way to the CMO's office, once holding several wounded men but now thankfully cleared of their presence as they gradually recovered over the last few days. Of the handful of patients in the ward who still required further care, arrangements had been made, under the authorization of the CMO and the command staff, to transfer these more critical cases over to the capable hands of the Starbase 153's medical department prior to departure.

Coming to a stop in front of the CMO's office, Dr. Avarak hit the intercom button to alert him to his presence.

"Dr. Rashar? This is Dr. Avarak, requesting permission to speak with you."

[USS Challenger | Deck 7 | Sickbay]

When Nekab stepped inside the sickbay, he saw the new doctor using his communicator. The first thing that he noticed was that he was a Vulkan. Even if he was an unificationist, the Romulan was doubtful of how efficient it would be with the two of them working together.

"Excuse me, Dr. Avarak? I'm Nekab. I'll help you in the sickbay." he said with a neutral voice, comparable to that of a Vulkan.

["There is no finer privilege a captain of a ship has than ta join a couple in matrimony and I am beyond honored ta have been asked by this bonnie couple ta officiate their weddin'. With all prepared, I can't think of a better time than now ta begin.]

[Starbase Chapel]

Ardyn couldn't help but be nervous while peeking  at the folks coming in tho the room. Maddy was already taking pictures of pretty much everything and anything . Was this really the right move? Would things be different... making it Official?  She didn't know.  They had been together for so long, it was practically almost the same thing at this point, bar a few rough patches at the beginning when they were still coming to terms with having Maddy in the first place.

But in the end, they still were together, after everything.  And while this was never something her younger self would have ever dreamed would happen, she really did care for Alex, even could say love. They had become Imzadi. That didn't happen to just anyone. They were still a bit of an odd couple, in more ways than one.  She would have never had guessed things would have gotten started because of some freak space virus, but here they were.  And y'know what, she didn't mind that at all.

She took a bottle of tequila  - one of her favorite drinks - and poured a shot.  Just one. She didn't need to be all wasted as she walked down the aisle, especially today, but a bit of liquid courage was probably going to be needed.

Maddy burst in. "You ready, Mommy?

Ardy smirked. "Let's get this party started, kiddo."

Coming in, Ardy grinned and gave a mental wink to Alex, thoroughly enjoying the look on his face.

It was now or never. And she was never one to back down.

"You ready?' She asked.

[Chapel - Starbase 153]

At Alex's prompting, Ian could see the man's momentary panic and took the rings and placed them in the sporran of his kilt. They made their way to altar and waited for Ardy. Shortly after she appeared, a vision in white, which made him beam with something he couldn't define. He was suddenly so happy for the couple that all he could do was keep smiling. When Ardy joined Alex, the music quelled and he began.

"There is no finer privilege a captain of a ship has than ta join a couple in matrimony and I am beyond honored ta have been asked by this bonnie couple ta officiate their weddin'. With all prepared, I can't think of a better time than now ta begin.

"Fellow crew of the Challenger, we are in this place, this sacred place to acknowledge the love and commitment of Ardyn Jaeger and Alexander Wu. That these two love is obvious ta anyone that meets them. And after many trials, they have now reached a point that they wish ta make this union official. Per long Earth tradition, this is made with the exchange of vows and of rings. Therefore, Alexander Wu do you take this woman as your co-equal partner in marriage?"

[Chapel | Starbase 153]

Aarwendil was watching the wedding of Lieutneant Wu with teary eyes. Not only the emotions that flowed from the soon to be husband and wife were beautiful, but the Betazoid was always a bit sentimental. He cried a lot when his older sister married, it wasn't going to be so different right now.

"I don't understand why you are crying." Nekab whispered, his voice with the same monotonous tone that could easily make others think that he was a Vulkan. Like the rest of the Challenger's crew, the Romulan had also come to watch Alex's wedding. "Even among my species, weddings are considered happy moments. I don't see why you should be crying." he was seated next to Aarwendil, his legs crossed. He took a moment to look at their surroundings, noticing others that were in a similar state to the Betazoid. "Or why they are crying too."

"People cry because it's a happy moment. We feel emotional." Aarwendil whispered back to the Romulan, his eyes remaining glued in the moment that Alex would say 'yes'. "It's normal to happen. For example, in a Betazoid traditional marriage it's very common for people to cry due to the telepathic connections. There are a lot of emotions flowing." he smiled at the couple. "I wonder how my hypothetical wedding would be."

"With more tears, I'm sure." Aarwendil turned  to look at Nekab, wondering why they still hung around together. They would remain in silence, waiting for Alex's answer.

[Talinos IV | Bunker - Away Team]

After that unnerving moment with the skeletons of those that lived in the city, the team went to venture inside a bunker and Aarwendil went with them. While they entered the place, the Betazoid took a moment to look at his surroundings. It seemed a construction that would resist the nuclear war that devastated the planet. He wondered if people had time to flee there.

With the number of bones that they found outside, he doubted that the population had time to do that.
In the bunker, the team finally found the Romulans. It was with little surprise that Aarwendil saw them open fire against the Starfleet members. It was even expected. He took cover and responded to the fire with his phaser.

Why did his field missions always have to involve Romulans?

[[Lieutenant Commander Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | Arid Plains | Crash Site | Unknown Planet]]

[Ensign Tora Zalos | Talinos IV]

"Definitely seems like it." Tora remarked to her fellow scientist. A little shiver ran up her spine just thinking about it. "Come on. Let's go with the Commander. There's more to see!" She flashed a wonky smile and started after the rest of the away team with her tricorder in hand.

Barren described the city they were looking at perfectly. Barren. Desolate. Devoid of all life. The whole place felt sterilised, almost, with the blocky white buildings and long, featureless boulevards leading to what seemed to be a central plaza or courtyard. It was almost as if the builders of the entire place had wanted it to look that way on purpose. Steeling herself, Tora forged ahead into what seemed like an apartment complex, judging by the architecture of it. Opening the door revealed what seemed to be a concierge-like desk with a chair behind it located within a lobby of some kind. The furniture seemed not too dissimilar to what one might find on Earth - sofa-like seats or divans, small triangular tables stood on four three legs and what appeared to be some sort of cooling unit in a corner. That was good. Cooling hopefully meant water, or some other kind of hydrating liquid. Her tricorder began to sound as soon as she got within about five feet of it, though - neutronic radiation, decayed but still present. Tora sighed as she reluctantly moved on from it. Without proper protective equipment, opening it would be far more dangerous than was actually worth it.

Looking at the concierge desk, though, was about to yield a nasty surprise. A skeleton, humanoid in shape, rattled as she turned the chair around, and fell to the floor in a decomposed heap of bones with a clatter - elliciting a squeak of surprise from the Cardassian. A quick scan of the pile of bones lined her brow with worry. "Neutronic radiation." She murmured. "I guess we now know how all the people in here died..."

[Lieutenant Commander Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | Arid Plains | Crash Site | Unknown Planet]

The Caitian's heart sank once he was close enough to the crash site. He gazed up at the burnt wreck, perhaps intuitively realizing that there was nothing to salvage, and so their efforts had been for naught. He did appreciate a moment to rest, at least, and so, with the gentle guidance of Malik, ended up resting against one of the metal walls that once made up the vessel. He closed his eyes, leaning his head back as he tried to find comfort even through the pain.

Crewman Idrys promptly joined Calindra in the investigation of the ruins, leaving Malik and Zhuk relatively alone. Though his ears swished in the Risian's direction, letting him know he had indeed heard, it took him a little moment to respond to the query, "I... I remain operational, Commander..."

He tried to reassure Malik, though now a headache had taken over, and it was getting hard to concentrate. Zhuk knew he wasn't making a good case, but he did not want the attention of the mission to be turned solely on his direction. There were better things to focus on, he believed, than himself.

When Calindra arrived, Zhuk opened one eye, noting the equipment that she had managed to salvage. Yeah, seemed to be just about what he expected. He sighed, figuring out that it was better than nothing.

Suddenly, though, a set of words caught his attention. He opened both of his eyes and frowned. Using his good hand, he pushed himself from the hull, trying to take another look at the crash. Yes, of course. How he hadn't noticed it before?

"R-Romulans...?"

Trying to stand up, he stumbled back to a sitting position after a first attempt. Gritting his teeth, he decided to return to his seated position so that Malik could fasten the makeshift splint on him.

[Lieutenant Commander Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | Arid Plains | City Outskirts | Unknown Planet]

Though the travel to the ruined City was harsh on him, Zhuk managed to keep up with the group. He had learned to push through adversity even before he joined Starfleet, and that wouldn't change now, even if his head was pounding constantly. Though impeded from being absorbed fully by his thoughts, as it usually happened, the relative silence to the travel made him wonder if there could truly be any Romulan survivors around. The planet seemed desolate, so such a notion was improbable.

There surely had been some survivors - if not, the ship would not have been destroyed as it was. Had they been rescued, though? Or had they perished long ago due to the conditions of this place? Strangely, even though at first the idea of them perishing like this gave him some glee, it slowly turned into empathy. If it had been him, he would probably have been desperate. Yet, perhaps with a group, things would have proven more manageable. Surviving against all odds - it sounded somewhat romantic to the poetic Caitian.

Once closer, Zhuk decided to take refuge in one of the many desolate buildings. He wished to find some shade from the burning heat, and maybe find some clues as to what had transpired here. After deciding for a moment, Zhuk eventually settled to follow Tora and company, following inside the apartment building. Noting the lobby with the furniture, he saw it as a good idea to take a seat.

The reprieve did not last too long, however, as once he was on the sofa-like structure, Tora broke his peace with a little shriek. He swiftly stood up, brandishing claws from his right hand, though almost as immediately wincing as he attempted to move his injured arm. Crap. He hated this.

Fortunately, it was nothing to be overly worried about - just a pile of bones that had previously been propped up in a chair. The fact that neutronic radiation still lingered, though, did stopped him from returning to the cushion.

"Ah... should we be worried about it? Will it mess our guts up?" Crewman Gorman asked as he lowered his phaser rifle after aiming it towards the concierge desk. Zhuk was thankful, as he was about to answer the same question,

"Also... uh... you know what kinda skull is that? Uh... well, from, rather. Heh."

[Talinos IV | City Outskirts - Away Team]

When Aarwendil saw the city, he immediately remembered old movies from Earth. During his time at the academy, the Betazoid had developed a taste for this old entertainment. He had seen several types of genre, among them the post-apocalyptic ones. The collapsed buildings looked exactly like the setting of one. The only thing missing were the zombies or mutated animals.

He followed the others inside, looking at the empty streets and ruined buildings. Aarwendil had no delusion that they were going to find people alive.

The Betazoid had that in mind when he entered the apartment with Tora and Zhuk. The place was completely derelict, not having seen someone alive for many years. His attention turned away from the decoration to the bones that the Cardassian had found. Like the craters from early, they were full of radiation.

"Their radiation levels are mostly residual." Aarwendil said, while looking at his own tricorder. "However, I think that we shouldn't stay close to them for a long time. Better be careful." it was better if they avoided possible contamination.

[still]

[ACEO Neva Cordon|Talinos IV-Beam in Site]

Neva nodded and murmured acknowledgement at the Commander's directions. Looking to Aarwendil, Tora & Gorman, she smiled slightly. "Ok, you ready? Let's get this figured out. I want dry clothes and a shower soon as I can get 'em!" As if to confirm her statement, she lifted her arms and did a quick shake motion, spraying mud and muck onto the ground. Then she grabbed her tricorder again and set off North.

Neva wasn't happy about what'd happened. Once more, her lovely self had been chucked off a shuttle and materialized on a non-warp capable planet. Then to add insult to injury, she'd found herself in a swampy & muddy area. She still had that muck in her boots, making her steps sound squishy and make already wet feet wetter. There was nothing she could do for it though. She was thankful to The Gods that she wasn't hurt or become chunky salsa.

Looking up and at those with her, Neva was thankful for them too. It was wonderful to have friends as part of the team this time-she had to fight the urge to hide away and sit in depression every time she opened her eyes. After the mission, maybe she, Tora, and Aarwendil could hang out for a while somehow.

Provided they made it back to Challenger...

Suddenly, her Tricorder blipped hard and loud. Neva almost dropped it, being so lost in thought. She stopped short and checked the readouts. "What the-" she said aloud, then her brow furrowed in concentration for a moment. "It's showing the source of the radiation is the...Craters?" Looking up, her dark eyes scanned the terrain, then pointed. "They're old readings...Neutron Bomb?" She turned to the group and asked "What do you find? This is weird to me."

[Talinos IV - Away Team]

"I could use a shower, too." Aarwendil said, while he followed Neva. Like him, she was also covered with mud. Besides the discomfort of being dirty, at least he was going to work with the woman again. They didn't have the chance of doing it since their last away mission that didn't end being cool.

He could even say that it even ended up being a bit traumatic.

[Ensign Tora Zalos | Talinos IV | Crash Site]

Honestly, Tora was a little bit miffed at the progression of this mission so far. There was little in the way of civilization for her to study, barren, dusty land everywhere and the air was so dry she could feel her skin and scales beginning to parch by the second. Well, maybe not the last one, but she did feel somewhat more dehydrated just standing in this arid wasteland. Then there was also the matter of what'd happened to her and the rest of the away team as they transported down - obviously her materializing several feet above a body of brackish water had not been part of the original plan, and, from what she could hear over the first officer's commbadge, someone evidently didn't want them (or anyone else, for that matter) to be down planetside.

Regardless, though, as much as quite a lot of things had gone wrong on this trip so far (as they seemed to do with the Challenger, usually), Tora still had a job to do down here, which didn't necessarily involve her specialised expertise. So she'd followed her group north, tracking the source of the radiation they were meant to be locating. Time seemed to run like molasses; the more they trekked, the more sand, dust, rocks and jaggedy formations they saw. Indeed, the entire planet seemed pretty devoid of life; a possible reason became clear as soon as she and the team came within about one hundred metres of the source and her tricorder began to beep more insistently as it registered heightened levels of radiation.

"Neutronic radiation. Straight ahead." She reported to the others, before beginning the brief trek up the sandy dune in front of them. Beep. Beep beep. Beep beep beep beep. Her tricorder was almost buzzing by the time she crested the dune and took in the sight beyond, just downslope. Craters. Many of them. All of them circular-ish and several feet wide each, arranged almost in a discernible patten. Tora held up her tricorder, and what she saw on screen made her take a sharp breath. "We found it. The source." She said, motioning to the craters below. "I'd hazard a guess that those craters were probably made by some kind of explosive. Powerful ones. Neutron bombs or torpedoes or some kind of similar ordnance." She said. "Judging by the atomic decay here, I'd say it happened about..." She tapped buttons on her tricorder, and the numbers came up on screen. "A century ago. One hundred to maybe a hundred and twenty."

[Talinos IV | Crash Site - Away Team]

The group had to cross an arid wasteland to reach the crash site, but what made Aarwendil stop for a moment wasn't sand or the fat that the mud by this point had solidified in his body. No, the unmistakable sound of his tricorder alerted him to the fact that it had detected something. It wasn't only his device, but those of Tora and Neva were also warning them.

He looked at the alert of radiation in the tricorder, before walking after Tora. He would stop next to her at the crest of the dune, staring at the thousands of craters that laid below them. "It looks a lot like what we would expect of a nuclear war." the Betazoid said, remembering the concept of such conflict from his studies about how warfare could be self-destructive.

"Maybe a conflict of this type happened on this planet." he looked at the dunes, trying to make sense of it. To know what had been targeted, the group would need to get close. However, they would need to wear a hazmat suit.

Then, he remembered that tests with atomic weapons were made in uninhabited places. Would it be the case here? He had his doubts. There were too many craters around.

["Bugger it all! I will nay be writin' eight more letters ta grievin' families, but if'n I don't take action ta save the ship, some pillock of an admiral will be writin' 550 letters."]

Calindra nodded politely, mumbling a small 'hello' in return. She didn't quite feel up to discussing with anyone given the impeding away mission, worried that she might miss important information, not to mention her apprehension at having to use the transporter. 'Relax, the Petty-Officer knows how to work the transporter, and everything will go alright, now smile to the lieutenant.'

She turned to Aarwendil and gave him her best nervous smile as he took a position next to her on the transporter pad.

She thought she saw his eyes twinkle, the edge of a smile crossing his face before the transporter activated. After that something odd happened, it felt like it was taking longer, and she kept seeing multiple spots of light that weren't supposed to be there, and then...

Before she knew it, she was suddenly thrown backwards. She cried out in alarm as she passed dead tree branches, decaying ferns, frightened critters; the wind whistling past her ears as she plummeted down from several feet in the air. In a panic, she tried to hold onto something — anything — to stop from falling when suddenly she landed in a large pool of ice cold water...

She sputtered to the surface, her body screaming from the shock before giving her surroundings a baleful glare. Oh, she was NOT happy.

From what she could tell, the area looked like the remaining vestiges of a long dead forest. Most of the trees had rotted away long ago, leaving dead stumps where there once might have been a mighty tree reaching towards the sky. No longer.

Even the air and water tasted stale, like even the wind had stopped gracing the tortured land.

She stood there, knee-deep in what might have once been considered the edges of a small lake wondering what the krife just happened.

[Transporter Room 1 | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Aarwendil didn't say anything else after Calindra replied with a hello that was so low that he struggled to understand. She was obviously in a bad mood and if he had learned something growing up with three older sisters was to never burn out the remaining patience of a woman that was already pissed.

With that in mind, the Betazoid remained in silence. He stepped in the transporter pad and waited for it to be activated. Soon, he would be sent down to the surface of the planet.

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

As the damage reports came in listing the endless issues, Ian's invectives in Gaelic were just as non-stop. The idea of having to abandon the away team filled him with dread.

"Bugger it all! I will nay be writin' eight more letters ta grievin' families, but if'n I don't take action ta save the ship, some pillock of an admiral will be writin' 550 letters."

He snarled in frustration at the conflicting crises.

"Maker forgive me. Helm, best speed get us out of range of that bloody planet."

The Challenger lurched and came about far too slowly for Ian's liking, but she did respond. As the ship limped away, he hit the comm panel on the command chair.

Challenger ta Grippen, we're takin' heavy fire, we've got ta withdraw and will be out of combadge range. Hold until relieved, I swear we'll be back for you. Galloway out."

Talinos IV continued to fire on the Challenger, but with her formidable point of impact shields raised, the disruptors could no longer penetrate the ship's defenses. But even though the weapons couldn't breach the shields, they were still planetary grade beams and each hit shook the ship violently. However, the weapons were obviously automated as they stopped firing as soon as Challenger was 250,000 kilometers away, finally giving the repair teams time to set things right.

[Talinos IV - Away Team]

The scattered transport had bounced the away team around badly resulting in several injuries. Most minor, except for Zhuk who had taken the worst of their arrival. Neva appeared right on the edge of a ledge and went over it before she could catch her balance. She bounced, rolled, and tumbled some 50 meters before coming to a rest in a heap. When the world stopped spinning, she found she had multiple bruises and a few cuts, but with nothing broken.

Aarwendil managed to find one of the rare bogs on the planet and found himself face down in a meter of mud. He had to flail wildly for several seconds to get his head clear and then spent several minutes coughing his lungs clear. On the positive side, while unpleasant, the bog was a soft landing and he was otherwise unhurt.

Crewmen Inys and Gorman from Security, defied the 'red shirt' trope and landed unharmed with both landing in a field covered in what looked like orange heather.

As their combadges worked, it took roughly 15 minutes for the scattered away team to assemble at Malik's location. From that point, the away team found themselves standing in a flat, largely featureless landscape. The surrounding vegetation consisted of yellow grass and the occasional spindly looking tree. Patches of cracked grey earth poked through the grass. The air felt warm and unhealthy and the plain was eerily still and quiet, apparently devoid of animal life. Tricorders revealed a few insects in the vicinity but no higher life form types. In the distance it was just possible to make out the source of the mysterious sensor signals, a city shimmering on the horizon in a mustard colored heat haze.

[Talinos IV, Beam in site]

Malik couldn't help but feel a pang of concern at the captain's message and their current predicament. Nethertheless, there was nothing they could do from down here at the moment, save for continue with the mission.

"Acknowledged, Challenger. Stay safe. We'll proceed on mission. Grippen out."

15 minutes later and thankfully all the away team had rendezvoused back with him. They appeared in varying states, from mud caked, to water logged, to injured. Unfortunately they had neglected to bring a medical crewman or a medkit, as the mission simply hadn't called for it at the time. Of greatest concern was Mrekrerhas's closed fracture of his arm and head injury. He needed medical treatment.

"Alright here's the situation. The Challenger has had to retreat and enact repairs after it came under attack from the surface. Transporters and shuttle evacuation are not an option. So we must make the best of the situation and continue with our objectives."

"My tricorder detected a small shipwreck 1 km to the north east. Myself, Mrekrerhas, Hejaran and Inys will head there. Hopefully there's a medical kit and an intact computer log. Cordon, Cheizex, Zalos and Gorman. I want you to head directly north and investigate the source of the heightened radiation. From there, head north west to a larger structure to investigate."

"Stay safe. We're not alone on this planet. Move out."

The wind whipped the dust up around their feet as it blew across the alien plain. He draped Mrekrerhas' good arm around his shoulder and began the long walk to the shipwreck.

[Talinos IV - Away Team]

The arrival in Talinos wasn't the best. Rather than being transported calmly to the surface, Aarwendil found himself falling from a certain height face first in the mud. It was the most humiliating experience that he ever had. Thankfully, there wasn't anyone around the Betazoid to see him flailing like a fish out of the water.

When he rose out of the mud, Aarwendil's face was covered in mud and he was spitting what got inside his mouth. The Betazoid cleaned what he could before pondering about his situation. He was alone, with no other member of the team around. Fantastic.

Before he could try to make contact with the others, he received the message from the Challenger. "Understood." he said, before walking to find the rest of the team. White he walked, the Betazoid felt grateful for not having broken any bone during his fall.

After walking some time, Aarwendil finally found the rest of the team. They looked not much better than him, with some even being visibly wounded. It was decided that they were going to split. He, Cordon, Zalos and Gorman would walk north toward the source of the radiation.

Hopefully nothing else would go wrong today.

[[Ensign Hejaran - USS Challenger - Transporter Room 1]]

-----8 Hours to Talinos-----

[USS Challenger - Deck 3 - Personal Quarters Office]

The message caught him just as he was about to log off for the day, and Alex was thankful he'd spent that extra hour catching up on paperwork. He was mildly surprised that this was the first time their new XO, a Commander Grippen, had reached out to them and that it was immediately work related instead of an official meet-and-greet. It'd been a week since they left K-7 and Kyan behind after a well attended party organized by Grippen, but Alex shrugged it off as just bad timing. Their former XO had some personal preferences which wouldn't work well with a full sized adult, so he just put it off as a period of adjustment, tying up loose ends, and moving quarters and offices. He really hoped Grippen hadn't kept those back breaking beanbag chairs.

Going through his duty roster, Alex quickly narrowed down his candidates to two individuals. In her short time onboard, Hejaran was showing promise, and he had just the mentor in mind to nurture her enthusiasm. He quickly forwarded Grippen's memo to both of them, and then tapped his commbadge to follow up.

"Lieutenant Wu to Lieutenant Cheizex and Ensign Hejaran. I'm assigning you both to tomorrow's away mission, report to the XO in Transporter Room One in eight hours. The mission parameters have been sent to your inboxes. Acknowledge receipt of message please."

[Bridge - Deck1 | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Aarwendil was still on the bridge when he received Wu's message. It had been a long time since he made part of an away mission, which left the Betazoid excited. He only hoped that it would end better than the last one. "Understood, sir." he answered the Lieutenant, before turning to return to his room. He would prepare everything that he needed before leaving and rest a little bit.

He wanted to be well rested for the mission.

[Ensign Hejaran - USS Challenger - Transporter Room 1]
It was a rather subdued Ensign Hejaran that reported to Transporter Room 1 at the appointed time. It wasn't really her fault that she tossed and turned all night, dreaming about her first away mission, excited as she was and dreading the entire thing at the same time.

Not to mention the Red Alert scaring her awake, only to have it drop to yellow alert.

No, she was not in a particularly good mood, her usual cheerful self replaced by a somewhat serious-looking brooding junior officer who radiated a -- let's get this done -- attitude, rather than her cheerful 'teamwork makes the dreamwork' rosy disposition.

In hindsight, that was perhaps destiny's way of putting her in the correct mood for this mission. Especially when one of the security officers started handing out Type-2 phasers and keeping their hands on the larger Type-3s. She nodded her thanks as she took the offered phaser and holstered it.

[Transporter Room 1 | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Aarwendil had reported to Transport Room 1 early, since he wanted to avoid getting late. And because the Red Alert didn't let him sleep more. Besides him, others had also arrived in the room. The Betazoid saw that Ensign Hejaran was already there. Differently from when they saw each other in the space station, she didn't seem to be in a good mood.

"Hello." he said, while accepting a phaser from the security officers. If they were giving weapons, then this mission was going to be more dangerous than he expected. Aarwendil would stand near Hejaran, waiting for permission for them to leave. If she talked to him, the Betazoid would happily start a conversation.

[[Deep Space K7 | Lounge 2B]]

[Deep Space K7 | Lounge 2B]

Calindra looked at the lieutenant's dark curls and resisted the impulse to muss it up, and ended up deciding to clench the tankard with both hands so that her hands would not stray. She did however give him a smile from behind the cup of ale, "I thought it would be rude of me to start drinking before the person who provided the drink shared a toast, no?" She looked towards the Andoran and then turned to consider her interlocutor. There was a twinkle in her eye, as if she were considering him: "Name's Calindra by the way, latest Ops addition, fresh from the boat. What about you? Why aren't you getting a tankard?"

[USS Challenger, Deck 1, Bridge]

The quick layover at Deep Space K-7 had been refreshing. Malik had taken the time to carry out personal admin, checking up on the family tourist business back home on Risa, and catching up with his parents and sister via subspace calls. The Risan had said his farewells to the Discovery crew after what would be his final mission with them. It was bittersweet, having spent so long with the same crew through all sorts of adventurers and Frontier Day. They would always hold a special place in his heart.

Change was part of life and what made it entertaining. The opportunity had arisen to progress his career and he took it with both hands. The extra pip to commander he wore with pride, whilst acknowledging that without his comrades he wouldn't be here today.

The tall, immaculately dressed and presented Risan entered the bridge of the Challenger. A ship his sister, Taja Grippen had briefly served on.

He presented his padd to the captain containing his official transfer papers.

"Captain. Commander Malik Grippen reporting for duty. I hope your stay at K-7 was enjoyable?"

"You are right." the young Betazoid said, before smiling at the Ensign. "Nice to meet you, Calindra. My name is Aarwendil, from Ops too. It seems that we are going to work together." it was always nice to meet new colleagues. He turned to look at the tankard. "I think that I'll pass. I don't like drinks that are that strong, unless I don't need to get up from my bed tomorrow."

Unfortunately, their small break from duty came to an end. The Challenger crew was called back to the ship, their new assignment was going to start. The young Betazoid was grateful that he didn't drink the Klingon tankard. He would be feeling terribly during the rest of the day.

[Bridge - Deck1 | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

After stopping briefly in his room, Aarwendil went to the bridge. He wanted to help with any way that he could. The Betazoid arrived right in the moment Lt. Commander Grippen was talking with the captain. "Excuse me." he said, before approaching them. "I was hoping to see if the bridge needs some help from Operations."

[[Deep Space K7 - Promanade]]

CPO ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Deep Space K7 - Promanade]

An Andorian ale and three dances later, Lahr extracted himself from the circle of dance partners he'd introduced himself to a half hour before.  It was time to hit the next watering hole!  Four drinks in less than an hour, had caused Lahr's gait to be more fluid than he was used to.  His antennae bobbed about reading his surroundings, which his brain completely misinterpreted.  Twice he bumped into the railing that allowed pedestrians a view to the lower promenade decks.

It was in this inebriated state that Lahr arrived at Lounge 2B where several members of Challenger's crew were getting together.

[Lounge 2B]

"Yo peeps! Party is on 'cause DJ Lahr is in the house!" And with that Lahr crashed the party.  First place he hit up was the bar.

"A tankard of Klingon ale." he called to the server,  "and a round for any Challenger crewmember present."

[Ensign Calindra Hejaran | Passing by Lounge 2B | DS-K7]

As Mackenzie explained where he came from, Calindra observed an Andoran walk into the causeway's railing. His antennae seemed agitated. Hopefully the Commander wouldn't notice, but Calindra took precautions to ensure he was looking the other way when the Andoran pushed past her and into the lounge. They followed him in just as he declared himself.

She thanked the commander for meeting with her and then headed towards the bar. "I can't say I ever had Klingon ale, thank you," she said as she stepped up to the bar waiting for the bartender to fill the Andoran's order. She turned her back to the bar, leaning back as she took in the others in the room.

She noted the Commander was talking to a Caitian; she found another Andoran -- a female this time; and ahh, there was the Cardassian talking to a nervous looking cadet who then moved on to engage the Andoran woman.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a tankard of ale being placed next to her shoulder, which she took and raised in thanks at the Andoran male.

[Deep Space K7 | Lounge 2B]

Aarwendil was walking toward the bar, feeling conflicted with his emotions. They had been successful in defeating the Kinshaya, securing the safety of the Federation and its allies against a possible great threat. However, some colleagues died during the process. It was usual, people died while on duty, but the Betazoid couldn't avoid lamenting about them.

After all, he was a sentient. Sadness was something normal. The only thing was that he couldn't allow it to dominate him.

This was why he decided to come to the bar, arriving right on time to see Officer Lahr livening up the party. Aarwendil smiled, some stuff never changes. He walked toward the bar, stopping next to an Ensign right on time when  a tankard of ale was left there. He would avoid something that strong at the moment.

"Aren't you going to try it?" he asked the blonde woman.

[Ensign Tora Zalos|Science Lab|USS Challenger]

It broke Tora's heart to see the young Bajoran cadet standing in the middle of the lab, unsure of what to do and presumably scared, too. That young girl probably hadn't asked to sign up with Starfleet, just to encounter a situation like this where she might just join the Prophets in their wormhole before she'd gotten the chance to actually earn her first pip.

That meant she had a duty to make the time she spent here meaningful - as meaningful as possible barring the unpleasant, of course.

"The help is appreciated, cadet. Join me over here please?" Tora smiled warmly and let the cadet approach her on her own. She didn't know how she felt about her people - there were some new Bajorans born after the Occupation, after all -but it was always respectful to let people approach and cross (or not) those boundaries on their own. "There's not a lot in here, really. The Klingons' old encounters with the Kinshaya are mostly in combat. What we know so far is that the Kinshaya think of them as demons - and that they're highly, highly religious." It was then she realized that, maybe, just maybe, they were cutting it a bit too close to what'd just happened between their peoples only so long ago. "I'll pass you the datafiles-"

"I have something." Tora's eyes turned to the Gorn ensign that stomped out of one of the other labs and through the door - she held a PADD in her hands while glancing around the room with mournful yellow eyes. "Go on, Ss'tiva, what've you got?" Tora asked. "Sorry for the intrusion. We've found a plant compound that soaks into the skin and targets the muscles directly, resulting in spasms and loss of motor function for up to seventy-two hours..." A long, hissing sigh escaped her jaws. "We aren't going to need something of this scale until push comes to shove, right?" The Gorn added mournfully.

[Bridge]

[As Oyari Sedaya]

[Science labs]

The cadet nodded to Aarwendil as she began to look through the notes they had made concerning the Kinshaya's biology. A very strong-seeming species, who definitely looked like they were rather tough beings

Seeing the Cardassian woman, she froze and stiffened, just a little bit, before taking the documents provided and smiled in return, cautiously. She had heard  horror stories from her parents, but the scientist didn't seem to be too hostile. Actually,  the opposite. And right now, she knew that there was a lot more at stake than to let old enemies flare up. Something to deal with later, for sure. She nodded and got respectfully closer.  not too close, but enough to discuss with the others

"Thank you; I appreciate it." said the young cadet, taking the PADD. given what limited autopsy data they had, these beings vere very tough.

Then the Gorn science lady spoke. This plant toxin could be rather potent to the Kinshaya? That was news!

"That's great! Do you think it can be aerosolized?  if it's diluted enough,  they might breathe it in and get put out of commission and  that could be a really efficient way to capture them.  Just in case they might come on here?", she asked , before the ship jolted roughly, sending the science panels flickering.

Oyari, we need you down here in medbay."

She had to go.

"On it. Just  finishing working with the science labs on something and I'll be down as soon as I can "

[ Science Labs | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Aarwendil smiled at the Ensign and went back to his work. He would discover the frequency that would affect the Kinshaya and sent the data to the others. Hopefully Engineering would be able to discover a way of using that as a weapon to defend them against this mysterious species.

While he worked, Aarwendil felt the strong change of feelings that came out of Oyari as she heard Tora talk with her. Given their species, he could understand why it happened and had a similar experience. Some Betazoids still hated anything related to the Dominion after they had occupied Betazed during the war.

These wounds take a long time to heal.

He couldn't think about it much longer, because another weakness was discovered. This time it was a toxin. Aarwendil wasn't sure about the ethics of using this one, but with the battle that the Challenger got involved in, he hoped that the Captain and the command would think quickly in their next steps.

-----Previously-----

[USS Challenger - Bridge]

"Okay, you'll take lead on that then. Collaborate with Science to try and discover any potential weaknesses which we can exploit, and we'll figure a way to make it deployable on a larger scale." Alex looked over at the Command group sitting by the conn. "If you can find something that works, we can bring it up to the Captain for dissemination throughout the squadron. Maybe we can even tie in with the other science dets, Jettis, I'm sure there'll be plenty of brainstorming on the other ships as well. May as well consolidate all your great minds to work on the problem together."

-----Currently-----

[USS Challenger - Bridge]

This wasn't Alex's first foray into combat, and with some perverse irony, he hoped it wouldn't be his last. Every prior experience had seared into his mind before being buried, though there were details which he could never fully forget. For many of the juniors and cadets privileged to be on the bridge watching the Klingons already engaged, it was their first real battle, and some couldn't help but stare at the viewscreen, their assigned work forgotten. Three hours away, there was nothing they could do but watch on long range sensors. Space combat always looked so clinical when afar, with ships appearing as just dots on the viewscreen, or tiny silver moving specks on a background of bedazzled black. A ballroom full of dancers, spinning, twirling, trading partners, putting on the show of their lives. Thin arcing lines occasionally reaching out to touch one another, and little flowery plumes when contact was made. Benign, silent, beautiful even.

Not for those who'd been there before though. Alex could almost smell the acrid smoke from burning conduits, taste that metallic tang from vaporized blood which overwhelmed the air filters. Hear the screams of his shipmates and friends, trapped, helpless, passengers onboard a ship slowly being pummeled into nothing more than it's base components. Systems failing one at a time, console commands which did nothing or worse, something you didn't want it to do. Chaos, darkness, desperate orders ringing out that could no longer be followed, by flesh or machine. And the entire time hoping that your opponents were in a worse state than yourself, that they would die first, then maybe you would survive. It was always beautiful from afar, but no-one ever forgets their first dance.

"Active scans running, Ardyn, patching anomalies into your navigational computer." Alex broke the silence, keeping his macabre thoughts to himself. The tension was already thick enough to cut with a knife, their newbies didn't need to see how worried the older staff were. "I'm keeping an eye on it, if there's anything unusual I'll send it to Zhuk as well."

[Bridge | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

"I'll start to work on that immediately."  Aarwendil said to Wu, before preparing to leave the bridge. He looked briefly at Lieutenant Jyur, expecting that the man would also go to the laboratories and start the search. The two working together could find a solution faster than if they worked alone. If that last thought, the young Betazoid walked away.

-----------------------------

[Later in the Science Labs | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

He went to the labs and started to work. Aarwendil was a bit disappointed with the data that the Klingons had given to them. It wasn't as complete as he had hoped, being more observations about possible weaknesses that the Kinyasha could have. It was something expected for a warrior culture, but suited their situation.

It was only disappointing because the Betazoid's curiosity about the Kinyasha wasn't going completely satiated.

When the ship's light started to flash red, Aarwendil had discovered that the Klingon's had observed that the Kinyasha had sensible auditory organs and this information could be useful during the combat. He immediately sent the message about this discovery to Wu. Now he could turn his attention to the possibility of them being boarded.

Then, a Bajoran cadet entered the laboratory at this moment asking if she could help. "Hi! Maybe you could help me see if there is more information that we can use against the Kinyasha in the files sent by the Klingons?"

[Previously]

[USS Challenger - Bridge]

"Sounds like you're just the Bajoran for the job. Let's go speak with our science counterparts." The one good thing about staff meetings was that people usually stuck around for a few minutes after they ended. Alex guided Aarwendil over to the small cluster of blueshirted officers on the other side of the bridge. "Lieutenant Jyur, do you have a minute?"

Alex didn't have the expertise to put his idea into action, but between Jettis and Cheizex, he reckoned they'd tell him if it was feasible at all. "Based on the Captain's briefing on these Kinshaya, it seems like the most we have to go on research-wise are some very limited first-hand accounts and the remains of a single corpse. I reckon the Klingons did an autopsy on those remains and hopefully they made their findings available to us. Now I know we shouldn't assume on looks, but from that visual, it doesn't seem like we'd fare very well if it came to a boarding or close quarters combat."

"So my thinking was we'd need any advantage we could gain if they boarded us. And please tell me if you think it's do-able. Would it be possible to try and find a biological weakness with the Kinshaya which could be affected via our environmental controls?" Alex looked inquiringly between the two, continuing his thought process. "If we could find something, like if they're slowed by the extreme cold, or say, I don't know, incapacitated in an oxygen rich environment, then we could theoretically utilize portable forcefields to section off decks into separate zones so only the areas that have been occupied by the Kinshaya are affected. Make it less welcome for them, and give our security forces a better chance at driving them back. What do you think, does that hold any water?"

[ USS Challenger - Bridge - Previously ]

After the meeting was adjourned, Jettis didn't immediately leave. His mind was instead running overtime with the idea of leaving Theresa at a station alone. It was certainly the safest option, and after Frontier day there wasn't a universe where he'd take a chance on her safety. Still, the idea unsettled him.

Pulled from his thoughts when Wu approached him with Cheizex in tow, Jettis nodded to both men.
"It's certainly something to explore. I'll see what information the Klingons have managed to provide to us." He turned to Aarwendil with a pinched smile. "We welcome all hands on deck in the efforts though, any information we have will be substantial, considering our sample size is.. one."

"Any biological creature should logically have some sort of drawback, some conditions that hinder them. It's just a matter of finding out what it might be in time, and then designing counter measures." Something that would prove more difficult on such a time crunch.

[ USS Challenger - Main Laboratory - Lieutenant Randell ]

Randell looked up from his own screen, looking towards Tora's PADD. "You've got a point there. But finding out anything from the religious zealots may be a lot harder than just respectfully asking them." He mused.

"They've been almost constantly at war with the Klingons, right? What beliefs would the Klingons have that the Kinyasha would find so repulsive to fight for that long?" The question was more rhetorical than anything, turning back to his screen as he wracked his brain for the answer. Unfortunately, he wasn't particularly familiar with Klingons aside from the basic information.

[Bridge | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

"Of course." Aarwendil said, while following Wu. The Betazoid had no idea of what the human had in mind, but he was prepared to help in any way that he could. He went after the other man until they reached a group of people wearing blue uniforms. The Lieutenant recognized some of them.

"Hello, Lieutenant Jyur." Aarwendil greeted the man, before Wu started to explain his idea. It was good and made sense. However, anything that they could plan to use against the Kinyasha would depend on the information provided by the Klingons. He hoped that their observations would be enough to give some light in their weakness.

"I'll see if the Klingons had made exams with blood and tissue. Maybe they found something useful." Aarwendil said, prepared to look at the information that they had at their disposal. It was a shame that he couldn't make exams with blood and tissue.