Season 11: Episode 2 - Diplomatic Disaster

[citrus_xsinensis]

[Mess Hall]

Emergency roll call was little more than a dress down because quite frankly the rest of the ship can't stop operations over a murderer in the vicinity other than strapping on a phaser and keeping an eye out. It didn't matter much to Reyes, which was why she paid more attention to her corn flakes than the gossip mongering her table was stirring up.

"-but Ms. Reyes isn't worried," Anderson noted with a grin.

"Reyes wouldn't care if a Klingon warbird suddenly dropped on us," Yates countered, and Reyes could feel her heavy gaze on her shoulder.

She put down her spoon and realized it was her turn to save her dignity. "Misinformation everywhere. I said a Romulan ship, not Klingon." When humor failed, she settled for exasperation. "Guys, relax. Let Security take care of it, because unless one of you is the murderer I really doubt I need to watch my back during shift. Report suspicious activity. Those were the orders. Sunshine and roses."

Anderson looked directly over her shoulder. "Does that count as suspicious?"

"Alright, just a little," Reyes agreed as she pushed her cornflakes away and stood up. To her companions' surprise, she made her way over to the man with purpose and no doubt wondering how nicely she'll ask what he was doing.

She stood directly in front of him. "You there, you suspicious person," Reyes said shortly. "Why are you scanning the Mess Hall? Taking a reading on Lt. Zyzxz's fruit platter?"

As subtle as a Klingon on a tribble farm.

At first, Joseph just stared with an open mouth, blinking once.

You suspicious person ... how apt a title ... although ... I guess that means I'm doing well?

After the moments pause, he gave his head a small shake and looked back to his tricorder.

"Just taking some physical dimension readings for Engineering. Making sure structural integrity has been solid since the last dry dock check. Monthly thing, but it was overdue."

Joseph was slightly ashamed at how easy it was for him to rattle off the lie. In truth, he was fairly confident that such checks weren't even a real thing. The ship had sensors to do that sort of thing ... but it sounded to him like a plausible lie none-the-less.

He then realized that she had been wearing a yellow uniform, indicating she was either Engineering or Security.

Although based on her addressing me, she's probably security.

He looked up at her and gave her a considering look.

Ya' know ... I have absolutely no idea how to deliberately act suspicious ... but the nervousness that comes with trying might actually be better than any practiced act could be.

[Kali Reyes]

"Just taking some physical dimension readings for Engineering. Making sure structural integrity has been solid since the last dry dock check. Monthly thing, but it was overdue."

Reyes stared at him long and hard. "Is that so?" Slowly, she folded her arms and a flicker of annoyance cross past her dark eyes. She may be from operations, but she wasn't put there on her own free will. Her degrees in mechanical and electrical engineering would attest to that. "Why don't you explain to me the ridiculousness of whether or not the floor is still here amounts to anything but trying to sell me bull? Because the last time I checked, we didn't go through an unstable quantum dimension to warrant a 'structural integrity' of the ship."

An unsubtle clearing of someone's throat alerted her to Yates, who was more preoccupied having a staring contest with her eggs. Right. The totem pole of command. Reyes resisted the urge to growl.

"Points for trying," she tacked on to lessen the blow, albeit gruffly for the suspicious man's rank. "Mr...?"

[Jiseth]

[USS Aegeus]

"Damn!" Leela muttered under her breathe, echoing Jiseth's sentiment. "There's our people. As the clouds cleared the ground came into focus through the viewport. "Reversing thrusters and stabilizing the decent." The craft quickly decelerated and leveled out. Hovering above the ground, momentarily, while Leela finalized the landing coordinates.

A gust emitted from a shuttle as the landing procedures gently set the shuttle on the surface of the alien world. With a slight jolt the team had arrived to their destination. "Everyone in one piece back there?" She said with a smile as she secured the vessel. "Guess its time to take a walk into the great unknown."

"The eye is coming over us now.  I doubt anyone is coming right now, but it wouldn't hurt to try." he said, grabbing a pair of binoculars and walking to the mouth of the cave.  He brought up the sights and began looking, trying to find their own shuttle.  He thought he spotted it in the distance, but then something caused him to look back at the craft.  There were figures over there... Starfleet figures.  Either they just beamed, or that was a second shuttlecraft.

"Jiseth, I think I see something.  By the Prophets, someone braved the storm... there is another away team over there.  Are they crazy?  There isn't time to take off... we need to get over there quickly.  Sukal, watch the cave for now, we'll need a guide if visibility gets low." he said, climbing into the Argo.

"Let's get them before the backside of the storm hits."

[Planet - Cavern]

The Romulan's attention went skyward as she heard the twin sonic booms of the shuttle and a few moments later saw a dark speck in the grey sky streak down and land.

"I refuse... He's not staying here alone. If you're keen on driving out there, go on your own and have them fly back. We don't have time to ferry back and forth across this wet terrain in a wheeled vehicle. I can still hear the engines spooled up from here, they can get airborne in moments."

If anything went wrong, she was not about to leave someone stranded solo. The odds of survival went into single digits, but were immensely greater by comparison with another there. Her scowl only landed on Nevir for a moment before she began tapping the wires together again.

... --- ... / .... .- ...- . / ... .... ..- - - .-.. . / .. -. / ... .. --. .... - .-.-.- / .-- . / .- .-. . / .- -... --- ..- - / ...-- / -.- .. .-.. --- -- . - . .-. ... / ... --- ..- - .... . .- ... - / .. -. / .- / -.-. .- ...- . --..-- / -. . . -.. / . -..- - .-. .- -.-. - .. --- -. .-.-.- / ... --- ...

[SOS Have shuttle in sight. We are about 3 kilometers southeast in a cave, need extraction. SOS]

"To be honest, it's better if we sit put and wait for them to come to us. We'll get barely any traction out there and a mudslide will end this venture for us real quick, don't you think?"

[Tekin Nevir]

[Planet - Cavern]

The Romulan's attention went skyward as she heard the twin sonic booms of the shuttle and a few moments later saw a dark speck in the grey sky streak down and land.

"I refuse... He's not staying here alone. If you're keen on driving out there, go on your own and have them fly back. We don't have time to ferry back and forth across this wet terrain in a wheeled vehicle. I can still hear the engines spooled up from here, they can get airborne in moments."

If anything went wrong, she was not about to leave someone stranded solo. The odds of survival went into single digits, but were immensely greater by comparison with another there. Her scowl only landed on Nevir for a moment before she began tapping the wires together again.

... --- ... / .... .- ...- . / ... .... ..- - - .-.. . / .. -. / ... .. --. .... - .-.-.- / .-- . / .- .-. . / .- -... --- ..- - / ...-- / -.- .. .-.. --- -- . - . .-. ... / ... --- ..- - .... . .- ... - / .. -. / .- / -.-. .- ...- . --..-- / -. . . -.. / . -..- - .-. .- -.-. - .. --- -. .-.-.- / ... --- ...

[SOS Have shuttle in sight. We are about 3 kilometers southeast in a cave, need extraction. SOS]

"To be honest, it's better if we sit put and wait for them to come to us. We'll get barely any traction out there and a mudslide will end this venture for us real quick, don't you think?"

Nevir sighed and shook his head.  "I won't consider this disobeying a direct order... you're probably right." he said, glancing out at them.  But someone needs to get in contact better than beeps.. especially if they leave the shuttle.  Give me a moment, let me get out of range of the cave and I'll see if I can hail them.  I'll leave the Argo.. go on foot."

Making sure he still had his commbadge on, Nevir left the cave entrance, pelted with scattered drops to indicate that the storm was not over.. just giving them a break.  He opened his tricorder to get a reading, and ended up going a quarter kilometer before he was clear of the deposits.  The rumbling in the sky, and with the nearby volcano, was certainly booming.

"Lieutenant Tekin to rescue shuttleteam.  Respond.  You guys are currently in danger."=/\=

[Leela Kaz]

[Planet - Cavern]

The Romulan's attention went skyward as she heard the twin sonic booms of the shuttle and a few moments later saw a dark speck in the grey sky streak down and land.

"I refuse... He's not staying here alone. If you're keen on driving out there, go on your own and have them fly back. We don't have time to ferry back and forth across this wet terrain in a wheeled vehicle. I can still hear the engines spooled up from here, they can get airborne in moments."

If anything went wrong, she was not about to leave someone stranded solo. The odds of survival went into single digits, but were immensely greater by comparison with another there. Her scowl only landed on Nevir for a moment before she began tapping the wires together again.

... --- ... / .... .- ...- . / ... .... ..- - - .-.. . / .. -. / ... .. --. .... - .-.-.- / .-- . / .- .-. . / .- -... --- ..- - / ...-- / -.- .. .-.. --- -- . - . .-. ... / ... --- ..- - .... . .- ... - / .. -. / .- / -.-. .- ...- . --..-- / -. . . -.. / . -..- - .-. .- -.-. - .. --- -. .-.-.- / ... --- ...

[SOS Have shuttle in sight. We are about 3 kilometers southeast in a cave, need extraction. SOS]

"To be honest, it's better if we sit put and wait for them to come to us. We'll get barely any traction out there and a mudslide will end this venture for us real quick, don't you think?"

Leela quickly pulled the nose of the shuttle upward and away from the ground as she scanned through the view port looking for the source of the lights. "Damnit, where the hell are you?" She muttered. The calm of the storm was only temporary and she was aware that if this extraction wasn't speedy, the Aegeus could have suffered a similar fate. She continued to scan the horizon in vain.

Nevir sighed and shook his head.  "I won't consider this disobeying a direct order... you're probably right." he said, glancing out at them.  But someone needs to get in contact better than beeps.. especially if they leave the shuttle.  Give me a moment, let me get out of range of the cave and I'll see if I can hail them.  I'll leave the Argo.. go on foot."

Making sure he still had his commbadge on, Nevir left the cave entrance, pelted with scattered drops to indicate that the storm was not over.. just giving them a break.  He opened his tricorder to get a reading, and ended up going a quarter kilometer before he was clear of the deposits.  The rumbling in the sky, and with the nearby volcano, was certainly booming.

"Lieutenant Tekin to rescue shuttleteam.  Respond.  You guys are currently in danger."=/\=

The trill sprang to life as a badly garbled yet still discernable transmission came through the vessels communication system. With voices from the surface, Leela's excitement level grew exponentially. She was thrilled to hear from the away team.

"Yes! Yes! Aegeus here. What danger? We're struggling to triangulate your location. Can you give me something more powerful to lock on to?"=/\=

[Arlan Opran]

Leela quickly pulled the nose of the shuttle upward and away from the ground as she scanned through the view port looking for the source of the lights. "Damnit, where the hell are you?" She muttered. The calm of the storm was only temporary and she was aware that if this extraction wasn't speedy, the Aegeus could have suffered a similar fate. She continued to scan the horizon in vain.

The trill sprang to life as a badly garbled yet still discernable transmission came through the vessels communication system. With voices from the surface, Leela's excitement level grew exponentially. She was thrilled to hear from the away team.

"Yes! Yes! Aegeus here. What danger? We're struggling to triangulate your location. Can you give me something more powerful to lock on to?"=/\=

Oh good, Leela had managed to get the ship righted and flying decently before he started turning an even unhealthier shade of green.  Not that he was looking healthy now by any means, but this wild ride had finally ended... or so he thought.

Oh great.  We're in danger.  Shocking.

He swallowed hard, struggling to release his grip at the edges of his console.  "Kaz, I'm bringing the tactical and transport scanners back on line and having them track in on this signal.  I'm also seeing that we're loaded with a single atmospheric probe unit, I can have that in the chute & launched momentarily if you want."

He tried to sit back in his chair, to not appear entirely cowardly.  If they did die, he didn't want to look like the one who went out clinging to his console like a life preserver - he wanted to be the one going for the life preservers!

[Leela Kaz]

Oh good, Leela had managed to get the ship righted and flying decently before he started turning an even unhealthier shade of green.  Not that he was looking healthy now by any means, but this wild ride had finally ended... or so he thought.

Oh great.  We're in danger.  Shocking.

He swallowed hard, struggling to release his grip at the edges of his console.  "Kaz, I'm bringing the tactical and transport scanners back on line and having them track in on this signal.  I'm also seeing that we're loaded with a single atmospheric probe unit, I can have that in the chute & launched momentarily if you want."

He tried to sit back in his chair, to not appear entirely cowardly.  If they did die, he didn't want to look like the one who went out clinging to his console like a life preserver - he wanted to be the one going for the life preservers!

Leela was finding herself frustrated with the state of Arlans mind. She never could understand why some people joined Starfleet. She couldn't help but think he belonged far away from the frontiers of space.

"Good, go ahead and load the probe in the chute but hold off on launching it. I think we might beat the weather." She looked through the viewport again, scanning the surface of the planet for signs of life. She placed the shuttle in a small holding pattern about fifty meters off the surface. "Assuming we ever locate them. We need to get this extraction over and quickly."

[Jiseth]

[Cavern]

Jiseth's patience was running thin, tapping away in what seemed futility. What loathsome fool is flying around in a pattern when we're right here next to the shiny, metal space truck, she thought. She looked back into the tunnel and for a moment stared at the habitat she had built. There was nothing inside it that could really help now. Then it hit her, the tool that helped her set it up in the first place.

Dropping the transmitter, she dashed as best she could to the buggy and leaned in, admittedly without a shred of grace or shame. Reaching for the center console, she took the hand phaser she had used before and checked the charge. Though not ideally at full, she could manage with 60%. The trek outside seemed slower, but she had a rather precious cargo in hand.

Fully outside, about a third the distance to Nevir, Jiseth aimed the phaser skyward and fired. After several seconds she let go and waited for the emitter to cool before firing again. She hoped this would be enough of a beacon without actually having to aim it at the shuttle to get their attention. She would, since it would barely put a scratch on the hull, but there was the risk of spooking off whoever was flying it. Or worse, having them shoot back.

"Come on, come on! Look at the orange light! It's brighter than bright, you putrid excuse for a pilot!"

[Lizzie Vaughan]

[Briefing Room]
James looked at his fellow officer to leave the briefing room.  He looked down and took a deep breath.  As he exhaled and let go of the air accumulated in his long he thought about the plan.  They were plenty of risks in the plan.  However, it was unconventional and hoped that the plan would be something that the killer did not think about.

He looked at the room as he saw all the officers leaving.   The door of the briefing room opened.As soon as she walked in, James took his seat next to the Doctor he remained silent at the initial.
James first looked at the room to make sure it was empty.  "Commander, as you are aware we are investigation the murder of Mr. Hobbs.  During the investigation, I attempted to recover the sensor data and noticed that it was moved and encrypted.  Unless we know where the data is we can't retrieve it.  It's like our security cameras were not working"  James said

His faced turned serious  as he continued "Only a individual that has high enough security clearance or detailed knowledge of the operation of internal sensors or data could have done this.  The fact that his occurred near the time of the incident, leads to the reasonable suspicion that they were not wholly independent actions"

James took a small sip of water.  He figured that the next part was the hardest one to hear.  "We made a list of all possible suspects.  You name was on the list...the data would lead to the logical conclusion that you might have the connections of the poison, no strong alibi, have the security clearance and technical knowledge to hide your tracks...I think there is a strong case that might be the killer"

James waited for a second and continued "But, neither myself or Doctor Vaughan don't think you are the killer...I think we are playing into their trap...and we have a plan to catch the killer and we need your help."

James handed a PADD with formal charges.  "The plan is simple; Mr. Brooks is right now assembly our communication badges in an effort the recreate the sensor data.  Since Engineering and Science might be compromised he will be storing all the material and data in Sickbay.    Mr. Bryan is also helping and storing the data there.  You will be formally charged and announced to the ship.  Then we will act confident that the DATA will show the killer.  You will then, act like you have committed suicide...I am sure the Doctor and help you and we will store your body next to the data and comm badges.  We will then wait...until the Killer comes to us to destroy the data.   We are going to do the opposite or what is logical and trust you"

Briefing Room

Lizzie listened to Hawke finish his briefing before smiling.

"Do you have any further questions before we set this into practice?" She asked the Commander.

[Leela Kaz]

[Cavern]

Jiseth's patience was running thin, tapping away in what seemed futility. What loathsome fool is flying around in a pattern when we're right here next to the shiny, metal space truck, she thought. She looked back into the tunnel and for a moment stared at the habitat she had built. There was nothing inside it that could really help now. Then it hit her, the tool that helped her set it up in the first place.

Dropping the transmitter, she dashed as best she could to the buggy and leaned in, admittedly without a shred of grace or shame. Reaching for the center console, she took the hand phaser she had used before and checked the charge. Though not ideally at full, she could manage with 60%. The trek outside seemed slower, but she had a rather precious cargo in hand.

Fully outside, about a third the distance to Nevir, Jiseth aimed the phaser skyward and fired. After several seconds she let go and waited for the emitter to cool before firing again. She hoped this would be enough of a beacon without actually having to aim it at the shuttle to get their attention. She would, since it would barely put a scratch on the hull, but there was the risk of spooking off whoever was flying it. Or worse, having them shoot back.

"Come on, come on! Look at the orange light! It's brighter than bright, you putrid excuse for a pilot!"

As Leela peered through the view port a bright orange light, near a cavern entrance caught her attention. "That's them!" She exclaimed. They must have taken refuge in that cavern. She broke from the holding pattern and prepared the shuttle for a final landing sequence. Leela gently moved the hatch towards the opening of the cavern and began a decent. "Reversing thrusters to slow the decent." With a light thud the shuttle made contact with the surface.

"Aegeus to away team. Jiseth can you hear me? Are you prepared for extraction."=/\=

With the signal sent Leela brought down the hatch and awaited the teams response. The Trill couldn't help but to hope that the renown Discovery pilot would volunteer to take the helm. In eight life times Kaz had been many things, unfortunately a pilot was not one of her symbionts former occupations. 

[Tekin Nevir]

As Leela peered through the view port a bright orange light, near a cavern entrance caught her attention. "That's them!" She exclaimed. They must have taken refuge in that cavern. She broke from the holding pattern and prepared the shuttle for a final landing sequence. Leela gently moved the hatch towards the opening of the cavern and began a decent. "Reversing thrusters to slow the decent." With a light thud the shuttle made contact with the surface.

"Aegeus to away team. Jiseth can you hear me? Are you prepared for extraction."=/\=

With the signal sent Leela brought down the hatch and awaited the teams response. The Trill couldn't help but to hope that the renown Discovery pilot would volunteer to take the helm. In eight life times Kaz had been many things, unfortunately a pilot was not one of her symbionts former occupations.

Nevir was unable to really explain what was going on until he heard the sound of a phaser behind him.  Jiseth was evidently restless.  He bit his tongue and calmly watched the shuttle get close.  As soon as the door was open, Nevir climbed aboard.

"You guys are insane, you've entered the eye of a strong storm, and the back wall is already crossing over the ridge.  I'm not sure if you'll have time to take off.... plus... we've run into a disturbing revelation as to what happened to our shuttle.  Jiseth.. its your call, but as Chief Science Officer, I highly recommend we all hunker down until the storm passes."

[Jiseth]

With the signal sent Leela brought down the hatch and awaited the teams response. The Trill couldn't help but to hope that the renown Discovery pilot would volunteer to take the helm. In eight life times Kaz had been many things, unfortunately a pilot was not one of her symbionts former occupations.

Nevir was unable to really explain what was going on until he heard the sound of a phaser behind him.  Jiseth was evidently restless.  He bit his tongue and calmly watched the shuttle get close.  As soon as the door was open, Nevir climbed aboard.

"You guys are insane, you've entered the eye of a strong storm, and the back wall is already crossing over the ridge.  I'm not sure if you'll have time to take off.... plus... we've run into a disturbing revelation as to what happened to our shuttle.  Jiseth.. its your call, but as Chief Science Officer, I highly recommend we all hunker down until the storm passes."

It was a mad dash to the shuttle, or at least what the Romulan could muster against a quite fit Vulcan, from the cave entrance. She at first attempted to keep up with Sukal, but after a fall into the brown water and mud it became apparent she would not win that race. There was an annoying sense of gratitude when he helped her up and on board the Aegeus.

Taking the copilot seat, she adjusted it back to suit her stature as the rear ramp door closed. Filling out the paperwork for a cleaning crew seemed to be a welcome relief as she wiped her mouth with her right shoulder. Glancing briefly to Eli, she looked him over and whatever meter that was in her head that measured the worth of another person ticked a touch higher. They were still getting used to each other yet insofar as their expectations of each other were concerned, neither had disappointed.

"We're going."

At her behest, the shuttle jerked into the air as the landing struts raised and wings folded out. The inertial dampeners took most of the fun out of flying. All the feedback from shifting air currents and subtle nudges away from the desired course were gone. Even the rather enjoyable feeling of being pressed back into the seat was dulled to essentially the weight of a piece of paper on her chest.

The impulse engines were at 110% and the craft following a long arch to port, coinciding with the counterclockwise rotation of the storm, as it climbed. There were hints of vibrations, but they faded away once past the sound barrier. Heat building up on the outer hull was well within limits and the plasma coolant reservoir near full capacity. In her mind, all they had to do was sit back and wait.

"Nevir. Sukal. Thank you..."

[citrus_xsinensis]

Reyes stared at him long and hard. "Is that so?" Slowly, she folded her arms and a flicker of annoyance cross past her dark eyes. She may be from operations, but she wasn't put there on her own free will. Her degrees in mechanical and electrical engineering would attest to that. "Why don't you explain to me the ridiculousness of whether or not the floor is still here amounts to anything but trying to sell me bull? Because the last time I checked, we didn't go through an unstable quantum dimension to warrant a 'structural integrity' of the ship."

An unsubtle clearing of someone's throat alerted her to Yates, who was more preoccupied having a staring contest with her eggs. Right. The totem pole of command. Reyes resisted the urge to growl.

"Points for trying," she tacked on to lessen the blow, albeit gruffly for the suspicious man's rank. "Mr...?"

At first, Joseph was just shocked. He stared at the woman in front of him with wide eyes, raised eyebrows and an open mouth. His mind went a million miles an hour as a mix of shock and hurt started off a train of thought.

Okay ... aggressive ... didn't expect that. Right ... I can't actually be in trouble because I'm acting under orders, but I'm not allowed to completely divulge what I'm doing either. ... So how to approach this? She hasn't exactly tried to do anything to win my trust over ... I've already started the lie so there's no turning back ... um ... here goes?

The thoughts flashed by in about two or three quick seconds before Joseph gave his head a quick shake and put on a (false) face of annoyance.

"Look. Just because the floor is still here does not mean that there aren't forces acting on the ship. All the air inside is constantly trying to get outside, and all the pressure from various rooms occasionally acts against each other and against the various decks. It might never be enough to warrant a jump to red alert, but if a micro crack does form somewhere and we do happen to come under attack, then that makes our structural integrity that much weaker from the get go. So just because you're wise enough to see that the floor is still here, doesn't mean you can do my job. If you've got a problem with it, contact Engineering. If you want more information quicker, I respond better to nice people. ... And my name is Joseph. Joseph Bryan."

So hopefully that was convincing ... either way it's gotten the attention of half the mess hall ... or the whole mess hall and half of them are just trying to awkwardly ignore us. So if she's the killer, then the bait is set ... if she's not, then hopefully the killer is watching, and hopefully she'll give me an opportunity to bait the killer more naturally than this.

[Leela Kaz]

It was a mad dash to the shuttle, or at least what the Romulan could muster against a quite fit Vulcan, from the cave entrance. She at first attempted to keep up with Sukal, but after a fall into the brown water and mud it became apparent she would not win that race. There was an annoying sense of gratitude when he helped her up and on board the Aegeus.

Taking the copilot seat, she adjusted it back to suit her stature as the rear ramp door closed. Filling out the paperwork for a cleaning crew seemed to be a welcome relief as she wiped her mouth with her right shoulder. Glancing briefly to Eli, she looked him over and whatever meter that was in her head that measured the worth of another person ticked a touch higher. They were still getting used to each other yet insofar as their expectations of each other were concerned, neither had disappointed.

"We're going."

At her behest, the shuttle jerked into the air as the landing struts raised and wings folded out. The inertial dampeners took most of the fun out of flying. All the feedback from shifting air currents and subtle nudges away from the desired course were gone. Even the rather enjoyable feeling of being pressed back into the seat was dulled to essentially the weight of a piece of paper on her chest.

The impulse engines were at 110% and the craft following a long arch to port, coinciding with the counterclockwise rotation of the storm, as it climbed. There were hints of vibrations, but they faded away once past the sound barrier. Heat building up on the outer hull was well within limits and the plasma coolant reservoir near full capacity. In her mind, all they had to do was sit back and wait.

"Nevir. Sukal. Thank you..."

With Jiseth taking the controls of the craft Leela let out an audible sigh of relief. She was, in no significant measure, a trained pilot. She definitely had a firm grasp of the basics but she knew her skills would never reach that of Jiseth's. Regardless of her personal opinions, the Trill had never met a better pilot. Watching Jiseth take the controls Leelas mind found itself drifting, momentarily, to another dangerous flight. Given everything Jereda went through, Leela always found it interesting that any of the Kaz hosts could step foot into a shuttle.

With Jiseth manning the helm Leela's attention turned to the colleagues she had helped to rescue. "Is everyone alright?"

[Tekin Nevir]

It was a mad dash to the shuttle, or at least what the Romulan could muster against a quite fit Vulcan, from the cave entrance. She at first attempted to keep up with Sukal, but after a fall into the brown water and mud it became apparent she would not win that race. There was an annoying sense of gratitude when he helped her up and on board the Aegeus.

Taking the copilot seat, she adjusted it back to suit her stature as the rear ramp door closed. Filling out the paperwork for a cleaning crew seemed to be a welcome relief as she wiped her mouth with her right shoulder. Glancing briefly to Eli, she looked him over and whatever meter that was in her head that measured the worth of another person ticked a touch higher. They were still getting used to each other yet insofar as their expectations of each other were concerned, neither had disappointed.

"We're going."

At her behest, the shuttle jerked into the air as the landing struts raised and wings folded out. The inertial dampeners took most of the fun out of flying. All the feedback from shifting air currents and subtle nudges away from the desired course were gone. Even the rather enjoyable feeling of being pressed back into the seat was dulled to essentially the weight of a piece of paper on her chest.

The impulse engines were at 110% and the craft following a long arch to port, coinciding with the counterclockwise rotation of the storm, as it climbed. There were hints of vibrations, but they faded away once past the sound barrier. Heat building up on the outer hull was well within limits and the plasma coolant reservoir near full capacity. In her mind, all they had to do was sit back and wait.

"Nevir. Sukal. Thank you..."

"If you can do it... increase the dampeners to 125%" he said to whoever else was at the controls.. if anything he was going to try to make their return trip as pleasant as possible.  Following another scan as the storm came through, he found the safest corridor and Jiseth took the control expertly.

As they sailed up, turning to her he could tell that Jiseth was really uncomfortable on the planet, and she wanted to get out as fast as possible... even at the risk of death.  When she thanked the two of them, Nevir finally let himself relax.

"Next time... next time we'll go for something a bit calmer." he said, turning towards the others in the shuttle.

With Jiseth taking the controls of the craft Leela let out an audible sigh of relief. She was, in no significant measure, a trained pilot. She definitely had a firm grasp of the basics but she knew her skills would never reach that of Jiseth's. Regardless of her personal opinions, the Trill had never met a better pilot. Watching Jiseth take the controls Leelas mind found itself drifting, momentarily, to another dangerous flight. Given everything Jereda went through, Leela always found it interesting that any of the Kaz hosts could step foot into a shuttle.

With Jiseth manning the helm Leela's attention turned to the colleagues she had helped to rescue. "Is everyone alright?"

"Cuts and scratches, nothing to dangerous thankfully.  We have a hell of a pilot." he said, turning back to the seated woman.  He then turned to check on Sukal, and brought his head back to Leela.

"When we get back.. we potentially have a problem.  I hate to say such an outrageous thing, but we all came to same conclusion.  Our shuttle was sabotaged.  Systems completely fried, even the backups.  We came in like a brick, and were lucky we weren't out in space when life support went out." he said, pulling out the container with the scorched chip.

"And it all seemed to start with this chip.  It seemed to have ignited before the shuttle lost power... I think we are looking at the start of the shuttle's death."