S:5 E:6 - Signals

[Ian Galloway]

PO2 Grelek
[USS Challenger - Deck 1 - Bridge]

The Captain's orders were acted upon immediately even as the Vulcan acknowledged. "Aye Captain."

Because the ship's computer was still in the midst of it's reset, Grelek didn't have access to internal sensors at the moment to know if that section of Deck 9 was evacuated yet, so Grelek tapped his comm badge.  Though the ship's internal comm system was down because of the reset, each commbadge had its own battery and could work independent of the ship's system.   This allowed Grelek to send a message to all personnel.

"Grelek to all hands.  Evacuate Deck 9 Forward Torpedo Bay Control room immediately in prep for venting.  Contact the Bridge once the area is confirmed clear."   he calmly informed the crew.

While he waited to hear back from one of the crew in that area, he heard the Caitian engineer manning the Bridge, report out to the Captain.

There was no reaction from the Vulcan to the Caitian's announcement that it 'looked like' they had hit a mine, nor to the uncertainty in her statement of more mines in range.  Grelek had spend sufficient time among other species to recognize most chose such imprecise language when reporting out what should be facts because they lacked confidence in themselves and not in the details they were reporting.

Despite the Captain's initial orders to him to prepare the crew to fight the fire manually, Grelek held off as moments later the same order was being given to the engineer.  An overlap of effort was not only a waste of time it could be confusing to the crew, so Grelek let the Caitian handle it.  He focused his attention on readying the Torpedo Bay Control room for venting.  The moments waiting for the call back seemed to drag on. Unlike many Vulcans, precise internal time-keeping was not one of Grelek's talents.

Grelek knew that it took nearly 2 minutes to complete a central computer reset.  As he waited for the confirmation call that the room was clear, Grelek did his best to keep track of the time that the computer was down.  They were currently at 38 seconds... give or take a second or two due to his substandard time-measurement skills.   That still left nearly a minute and a half before they could access the computer to get fire suppression online.

Would that be too long?

"Crewman Tim to Bridge. Forward Torpedo Bay Control room is clear.  Three Sec/Tac personnel are down.  We've shut the door and erected a portable forcefield but the heat is intense.  I don't think the bulkhead will contain it.  If you can vent.  Now's the time to do it."   the voice over the comm sounded out of breath and slightly shaky.

The announcement at 45 seconds, had Grelek activating the vent release for that section.

Even under just emergency power the controls for venting should have been working but there was no response to his attempt.  The Vulcan reset his controls and tried a second time - with the same result.

Grelek looked over to the Captain. "Vent release in that area is not responding, sir."

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger - Jeffries Tubes]

"Grelek to all hands.  Evacuate Deck 9 Forward Torpedo Bay Control room in prep for venting.  Contact the Bridge once the area is confirmed clear."    The call came in over his comm badge.  Oh.. at least the comms were working.  That was good to know.

Roozh! Venting usually meant a plasma fire. That wasn't good.  Lahr, a former crewmember of the Sec/Tac department, knew most of the personnel who worked that section. While the Andorian wanted to help his friends there, the sad fact was that there was nothing he could do from his current position in the Jeffries Tube, and his duty at the moment was to get to his station as fast as possible.

Lahr tapped his comm as he continued his climb up. "ch'Verret to Bridge.  I'm in the Jeffries Tube between Deck 5 and 6.  On my way up to Deck 1 unless directed otherwise."

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian winced at the back to back reports on the fire and that the automatic venting controls were not working. Things had gone from bad to critical now and there wasn't much time to prevent this Challenger from following the same path as her namesake had more than four hundred years ago.

"Bugger all bloody Romulans with a splintered caber!"

He snarled in frustration before making a very hard decision.

"All hands, evacuate Deck 9. You reported a hull breach Mister Grelak, then let's take advantage of that. Flight, I want the Onizuka launched immediately. Have it park 500 kilometers off our port side and standby. On my mark, I want the shuttle ta target the existin' breach with it's torpedoes. One bloody way or another that damn deck is goin' ta vent if'n I have ta use a bleedin' can opener ta do it.

"Mister Grelek and Mister Dalsirath. You have until the Onizuka is in position ta vent Deck 9 automatically, otherwise, the shuttle will do it. Execute!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Seku VI - Settlement]

"Yeah, pretty big." Ruth answered, not bothering to lower her voice for that one since they were currently being disarmed.  Thankfully they didn't pat them down, so didn't find her boot knife.

Dropping her voice to a whisper she gave a small grimace to the Cardassian.  "I've heard some unpleasant things said of Cardassians I'll admit, and all of them being prejudices of the past not taking into account the merits of the person themselves.  I agree you have that to contend with on top of everything else, but I'm fairly certain that would be the same for say a Bajoran on Cardassia Prime... one has to try to shake off such things.  Not easy I know."

Ruth took her cue from Don and remained compliant, hoping the others would be, nodding in agreement when he offered to be extra hands.

The CSO stepped forward offering herself with a bright smile.

"Prim and proper is not an epithet I ever thought I'd get labelled with more like 'Maverick with a cause'.  That said for all I'm currently in teal, I've also served in red for flight (she carefully omitted the fact that she'd been Command, hoping that they would think she was just a high ranking 'Boffin' as Ian called her) and yellow for security.  Depending on what it is you need looked at, all my senior flight officers encouraged us to be able to do the majority of our own repairs.  I confess to not having an Academy qualification in Engineering but I do own my own high wing monoplane back home and can do some basic stuff if you have some tools.  I came here equipped as a Scientist and..." she held up the medical kit they had left slung cross ways over her body.  "... field medic, tho that was more necessity than design, more 'patch up' than finesse, although our poor Ensign there will probably live!"

[Planet side]

Siggy was flapping her tongue before he could say anything. Not sure it was a women thing. Do they like to talk forever. He had allowed her to talk and then he spoke up.

"œI am glad you heard of Wild Willy. He took me under his wing when I needed to credit for my star racer. He was a fair man to work for. Did some engineering work with him. And done some runs too with his First Lieutenant Leggs and Frogger," he shared.

"œI can help with repairs and my rambling friend here has some skills," he shared. Then he gave Siggy a side look. "œWhat do you need to be fix? You do not want to let us go wander off in the rough terrain when can help you."

[Seku VI - Unnamed Settlement]

Ero Drallen gave Ruth a very hard stare and said.

"You talk too much. I don't trust people who talk too much."

He then dismissed Ruth from his thoughts and faced Don.

"You on the other hand sound like you might be interesting. But the thing is, I don't need something fixed. I need something shut off. You see, we picked this spot because of the unusual geologic readings deep beneath the surface here. We thought it was a deposit of pergium, but it turned out to be an old installation of some sort. One of the guys somehow activated something and its been sending out that infernal signal ever since. Worse, the installation seems to have a defensive network. It's that blue flash that brought down whatever you came here in. We found that out about a week ago when we tried to leave on a supply run. Our ship was hit and barely managed to set back down at the camp. None of us know how to shut it off and don't want to trigger something else worse. Can you do anything about that Star Racer?"

[Don Damien Addams]

[Seku -Unnamed Settlment]

Blasted! I had overlooked bringing an Engineering or someone more specialized. What was I thinking? Don let a long sigh. Then he learned more about the Discovery from hovering Engineering because he had decided to learn more.

Don watched Ero and heard what he had to say. They did not need anything to fix but something to shut off. "You're telling me that was not Ionized energy that hit us but something else," Don repeated the question to be clarified. When Ero mentioned none of his people, he turned to look at folks who were working. "I see," he said.

"I can see what I can do," he said back to the leader.

Then he recalled Ruth sharing she knew Science, Flight, and Security. Jarem had knowledge of Medical as her second path in Starfleet. His right hand wanted to move and smack his face, but he had the will to stop it.

"I go on one condition if I can have one member with me and my ...mates here will not be harmed," he had almost said crewmembers. He figured he should sound less Starfleet to communicate, and perhaps it would build a better rapport with them.

Then he turned to his team. To see how they are holding up. Jael better understands he would not mentally hold her hand as Commander Ruth's suggested. "Don't talk too much about yourselves," he told them. "Tell them what you think what they want. Less they know about the better we are," he whispered to them.

[Ian Galloway]

[Seku -Unnamed Settlment]

Blasted! I had overlooked bringing an Engineering or someone more specialized. What was I thinking? Don let a long sigh. Then he learned more about the Discovery from hovering Engineering because he had decided to learn more.

Don watched Ero and heard what he had to say. They did not need anything to fix but something to shut off. "You're telling me that was not Ionized energy that hit us but something else," Don repeated the question to be clarified. When Ero mentioned none of his people, he turned to look at folks who were working. "I see," he said.

"I can see what I can do," he said back to the leader.

Then he recalled Ruth sharing she knew Science, Flight, and Security. Jarem had knowledge of Medical as her second path in Starfleet. His right hand wanted to move and smack his face, but he had the will to stop it.

"I go on one condition if I can have one member with me and my ...mates here will not be harmed," he had almost said crewmembers. He figured he should sound less Starfleet to communicate, and perhaps it would build a better rapport with them.

Then he turned to his team. To see how they are holding up. Jael better understands he would not mentally hold her hand as Commander Ruth's suggested. "Don't talk too much about yourselves," he told them. "Tell them what you think what they want. Less they know about the better we are," he whispered to them.

[Seku VI]

Drallen shrugged at Don's conditions and replied with a chuckle.

"Wasn't going to hurt them no way. Like I said, I was just going to send you packing. You pick whoever you want to help you. Just don't make things worse Star Racer, cause ain't none of us can escape if you screw things up."

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

PO2 Grelek
[USS Challenger - Deck 1 - Bridge]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian winced at the back to back reports on the fire and that the automatic venting controls were not working. Things had gone from bad to critical now and there wasn't much time to prevent this Challenger from following the same path as her namesake had more than four hundred years ago.

"Bugger all bloody Romulans with a splintered caber!"

He snarled in frustration before making a very hard decision.

"All hands, evacuate Deck 9. You reported a hull breach Mister Grelak, then let's take advantage of that. Flight, I want the Onizuka launched immediately. Have it park 500 kilometers off our port side and standby. On my mark, I want the shuttle ta target the existin' breach with it's torpedoes. One bloody way or another that damn deck is goin' ta vent if'n I have ta use a bleedin' can opener ta do it.

"Mister Grelek and Mister Dalsirath. You have until the Onizuka is in position ta vent Deck 9 automatically, otherwise, the shuttle will do it. Execute!"

The Captain's colorful and rather disturbingly descriptive language was not remarked upon by Grelek.  This wasn't the first time the Captain used such; nor the Vulcan suspect it would be the last.. unless they couldn't get the fire under control.

Normally it was the computer that would respond to the Captains 'All hands' order sending the message to all.  Now however, with the computer in the midst of its reset cycle that task fell to Ops.  Even as the Captain was issuing Grelek other orders, the Vulcan activated his comm badge to forward on the Captain's message.

"Attention All Hands.  The Captain has called for the immediate evacuation of Deck 9.  Confirm to the Bridge once clear."

That the Captain would have the Onizuka fire on the existing hull breach to enlarge it and vent the oxygen rich air that way was both genius and desperate.   If the targeting of the  Onizuka was off even a little there was a chance that more than just Deck 9 would be affected.  Any other Vulcan could and would calculate the statistical likelihood of this plans success.  Grelek didn't have the inclination to do so.  He was still of the mind that the computer core reset might happen in time to solve the issue before that drastic measure was needed.

As Flight was contacting the shuttle bay, Grelek decided to test the response of the vents between the Bridge and Deck 9.  If he could figure out where the breakdown occurred he could potentially use a different vent on Deck 9 once the whole deck was clear.   The only reason he hadn't done so previously was that only the Forward Torpedo Bay Control Room had been evacuated.

Current time was 1 minute fifteen seconds into the reset.  Just over a minute left..

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger - Jefferies Tubes]

Lahr hadn't received any new orders, so continued his trek up through the Jefferies tube towards the Bridge

[Jael Sherem]

[Seku VI - Unnamed Settlement]

Ero Drallen gave Ruth a very hard stare and said.

"You talk too much. I don't trust people who talk too much."

He then dismissed Ruth from his thoughts and faced Don.

"You on the other hand sound like you might be interesting. But the thing is, I don't need something fixed. I need something shut off. You see, we picked this spot because of the unusual geologic readings deep beneath the surface here. We thought it was a deposit of pergium, but it turned out to be an old installation of some sort. One of the guys somehow activated something and its been sending out that infernal signal ever since. Worse, the installation seems to have a defensive network. It's that blue flash that brought down whatever you came here in. We found that out about a week ago when we tried to leave on a supply run. Our ship was hit and barely managed to set back down at the camp. None of us know how to shut it off and don't want to trigger something else worse. Can you do anything about that Star Racer?"

[Seku -Unnamed Settlment]

Blasted! I had overlooked bringing an Engineering or someone more specialized. What was I thinking? Don let a long sigh. Then he learned more about the Discovery from hovering Engineering because he had decided to learn more.

Don watched Ero and heard what he had to say. They did not need anything to fix but something to shut off. "You're telling me that was not Ionized energy that hit us but something else," Don repeated the question to be clarified. When Ero mentioned none of his people, he turned to look at folks who were working. "I see," he said.

"I can see what I can do," he said back to the leader.

Then he recalled Ruth sharing she knew Science, Flight, and Security. Jarem had knowledge of Medical as her second path in Starfleet. His right hand wanted to move and smack his face, but he had the will to stop it.

"I go on one condition if I can have one member with me and my ...mates here will not be harmed," he had almost said crewmembers. He figured he should sound less Starfleet to communicate, and perhaps it would build a better rapport with them.

Then he turned to his team. To see how they are holding up. Jael better understands he would not mentally hold her hand as Commander Ruth's suggested. "Don't talk too much about yourselves," he told them. "Tell them what you think what they want. Less they know about the better we are," he whispered to them.

[Ensign Jael Sherem | Unknown (Mining?) Settlement | Seku IV]

Jael flinched like if she had been hit by a battering ram. This man didn't trust anybody who talked too much? He sounded exactly like her father, and it's one reason for her mother's separation from him. She looked back at Commander Addams when he spoke to her, and was crestfallen, not by his words, but at his body language when he looked and spoke to her.

In a nutshell? He didn't like her. And thus her sense of uselessness was compounding, resurfacing. Suddenly she began wishing she never caught up to the away team, that she should've just never got up from a fall, just died, half blind from the blood of her concussion wound. Or she wished she would've been eaten by an animal the moment she stepped out of the shuttle.

Now it was looking like Addams was going to choose someone to remain with him. Well, whoever it was going to be, it was looking more and more likely it won't be her. Which would be understandable, seeing as how Jael was becoming more and more useless to the away team.

[Don Damien Addams]

[Ensign Jael Sherem | Unknown (Mining?) Settlement | Seku IV]

Jael flinched like if she had been hit by a battering ram. This man didn't trust anybody who talked too much? He sounded exactly like her father, and it's one reason for her mother's separation from him. She looked back at Commander Addams when he spoke to her, and was crestfallen, not by his words, but at his body language when he looked and spoke to her.

In a nutshell? He didn't like her. And thus her sense of uselessness was compounding, resurfacing. Suddenly she began wishing she never caught up to the away team, that she should've just never got up from a fall, just died, half blind from the blood of her concussion wound. Or she wished she would've been eaten by an animal the moment she stepped out of the shuttle.

Now it was looking like Addams was going to choose someone to remain with him. Well, whoever it was going to be, it was looking more and more likely it won't be her. Which would be understandable, seeing as how Jael was becoming more and more useless to the away team.

[Seku IV - Unnamed settlement]

Knowing Ruth had security training and she was a security officer herself. He figured he was not going to pick her. Then he looked at the young Blackfeather, an excellent security guard. Then he looked at Jael, who had no security training.

"All right, I am going to take Blackfeather with me. I believe the two of you can use your medical and counseling skills to help them. Try to get information from the folks here. Try to acquire missing pieces on how they get there. Watch each other's back." Then he took a big deep breath before speaking to everyone and then laid his eyes on Jael. "Don't be afraid to mention our injured member...who we left behind," he gave Jael a nod. "I reckon he truly dislikes me leaving him behind. I am counting on you," he focused on Jael and then looked at the others. He looked down, regretting to open up to them so they could feel important. He had not wanted to single out Jael.

"Ensign, I need to talk to you alone," he said, taking her aside. Then he was going to do what Ruth suggested. "Are you going to be okay? I do care. If you need rest, then let Commander Ruth do the work. And when you feel better, then assist the Commander. And remind her not to talk too much," he smiled. "We need to get back to the others."

"Okay, Blackfeather, you're with me. You two help them and try to gain information," he told them. The fact, he figured that Ruth and Jael would gain more information than himself and Blackfeather. Or maybe not. "Stay safe."

While Don was talking to Jael, he could not help notice that sharp dark look in her eyes. She was not comfortable with Don. He will try to figure out what it was. What did he do wrong? But he could not think about it because he had the future to think about.

[Ruth Sigurdsdottir]

[OOC - Skipping quotes, sorry... 2 days of migraines meant I'm way behind schedule!]

[Settlement - Seku VI]

Ruth almost chuckled at the man before him when he said she talked too much... something that she'd heard all her life.  She however noted Jael's flinch and when Don had finished talking to the Counsellor she gave her a friendly smile.  She gave a nod to the XO as he went off with Blackfeather.

"What's up?  I don't like Mr. Ego over there very much..." she said giving Ero Drallen as withering a look as she could without him interpreting it as 'surly', "...but you looked like you'd been felled by an axe!  Do you know him somehow?  I am glad however, seeing you and Commander Addams talking at least.  There seems to be some movement towards opening talks back on Challenger when we're back at least.  So let's see how we can make ourselves useful, but hang on I have an idea."

"Sir..." she called out to Ero Drallen.  "I know you don't like me very much, you say I talk too much but it's a trait of a lot of Scientists, even when working and 'silent', we'll be muttering to ourselves.  Anyhow... you mentioned 'unusual geological readings'.  May I take a look at your data?  I'm asking as I have a suggestion... something scientific may have started the signal, potentially something scientific could stop it.  After all, every Scientist should know Newton's 3rd law of motion... every reaction has an equal and opposite action.  Things in Science are reversible is the key here.  If something is acidic, add something alkaline to neutralise.  If it were something in the geological make up of this planet we could potentially 'kill' whatever is causing it... neutralise that we 'kill' the signal."

She decided she wasn't going to say more, but she also noted what he'd said about pergium.  If there were deposits of it here then likely they were planning to not declare it to the Federation and mine it themselves...it was very valuable.  Also, if they were admitting to that, what else where they hiding and was it something even more valuable or possibly volatile?

[Ian Galloway]

[OOC - Skipping quotes, sorry... 2 days of migraines meant I'm way behind schedule!]

[Settlement - Seku VI]

Ruth almost chuckled at the man before him when he said she talked too much... something that she'd heard all her life.  She however noted Jael's flinch and when Don had finished talking to the Counsellor she gave her a friendly smile.  She gave a nod to the XO as he went off with Blackfeather.

"What's up?  I don't like Mr. Ego over there very much..." she said giving Ero Drallen as withering a look as she could without him interpreting it as 'surly', "...but you looked like you'd been felled by an axe!  Do you know him somehow?  I am glad however, seeing you and Commander Addams talking at least.  There seems to be some movement towards opening talks back on Challenger when we're back at least.  So let's see how we can make ourselves useful, but hang on I have an idea."

"Sir..." she called out to Ero Drallen.  "I know you don't like me very much, you say I talk too much but it's a trait of a lot of Scientists, even when working and 'silent', we'll be muttering to ourselves.  Anyhow... you mentioned 'unusual geological readings'.  May I take a look at your data?  I'm asking as I have a suggestion... something scientific may have started the signal, potentially something scientific could stop it.  After all, every Scientist should know Newton's 3rd law of motion... every reaction has an equal and opposite action.  Things in Science are reversible is the key here.  If something is acidic, add something alkaline to neutralise.  If it were something in the geological make up of this planet we could potentially 'kill' whatever is causing it... neutralise that we 'kill' the signal."

She decided she wasn't going to say more, but she also noted what he'd said about pergium.  If there were deposits of it here then likely they were planning to not declare it to the Federation and mine it themselves...it was very valuable.  Also, if they were admitting to that, what else where they hiding and was it something even more valuable or possibly volatile?

[Seku VI]

Ero winced as Ruth started talking and put up a hand in the universal signal to stop and said to Don.

"Take this one with you too or she might not have a tongue by the time you get back. Mother of all that's ever been holy does your mouth ever stop moving? Don't answer that, just go."

The settlement leader nodded to his men and then shoved, Don, Ruth, and Blackfeather toward one of the caves. When they got to the threshold, the biggest of them growled.

"It's in there can't miss it. Git!"

[Jael Sherem]

[Seku IV - Unnamed settlement]

Knowing Ruth had security training and she was a security officer herself. He figured he was not going to pick her. Then he looked at the young Blackfeather, an excellent security guard. Then he looked at Jael, who had no security training.

"All right, I am going to take Blackfeather with me. I believe the two of you can use your medical and counseling skills to help them. Try to get information from the folks here. Try to acquire missing pieces on how they get there. Watch each other's back." Then he took a big deep breath before speaking to everyone and then laid his eyes on Jael. "Don't be afraid to mention our injured member...who we left behind," he gave Jael a nod. "I reckon he truly dislikes me leaving him behind. I am counting on you," he focused on Jael and then looked at the others. He looked down, regretting to open up to them so they could feel important. He had not wanted to single out Jael.

"Ensign, I need to talk to you alone," he said, taking her aside. Then he was going to do what Ruth suggested. "Are you going to be okay? I do care. If you need rest, then let Commander Ruth do the work. And when you feel better, then assist the Commander. And remind her not to talk too much," he smiled. "We need to get back to the others."

"Okay, Blackfeather, you're with me. You two help them and try to gain information," he told them. The fact, he figured that Ruth and Jael would gain more information than himself and Blackfeather. Or maybe not. "Stay safe."

While Don was talking to Jael, he could not help notice that sharp dark look in her eyes. She was not comfortable with Don. He will try to figure out what it was. What did he do wrong? But he could not think about it because he had the future to think about.

[Ensign Jael Sherem | Unknown (Mining?) Settlement | Seku IV]

Jael's expression softened as Commander Addams spoke. The disappointment in her eyes lifted.

"Well...I'm probably having a bad day," she said, feeling where she was concussed. "I've had trouble keeping up with you as we came here and...well, you all were quite far away once I managed to get myself out of that shuttle and I figured you weren't aware of where I was. I do apologize for my attitude, given how much pain I was in...I think I can use that rest...

"Also, I was getting the impression you don't like me," she added. "I was born with acute cognitive awareness, enough that I can tell a person's attitude or stance from his or her body language, and, well, I was assuming you don't like me. And it hurts a little, being a Cardassian. I mean, I often get hate on me at the Academy, from people who lost loved ones during the Dominion War or Bajorans who lost family during the Occupation. But if it's not prejudice for what Cardassians have done in the past, then I don't know what it is, or if I'm just bad luck. I would've dropped out of the Academy to get away from such atmospheres if it wasn't for my brother Gid. And it's been hard as a Counselor, few, if any, are willing to talk, let alone open up to, Cardassians.

"I'm sorry to talk this much," she said, "but since you do care after all, I feel I can trust you. And I apologize for any wrong assumptions from me or about me. And, again, I apologize for misinterpreting your order to keep an eye out..." she then lowered her voice, "...I'm suddenly worried about what will happen to me; I'm assigned a proctor after by ten-day absence, and the Captain warned me I could be expelled from Starfleet if I neglect my duty again, assuming we get out of this alive, but I feel we can...sorry to take most your time...good luck and I'll do what I can to find out around here."

She then parted from the Commander and approached "Siggy."

"If it's alright with you, Commander," she said, "I need a moment to rest, spending the afternoon staggering and stumbling, what with..." and she pointed to her concussion to indicate, "...I feel I'll probably more efficient with some rest. And..." and she lowered her voice again, "...Commander Addams said to tell you not to talk too much."

She looked around at the locals and asked, "Do you have a place where one can rest a moment, if you please?"

[Don Damien Addams]

[Ensign Jael Sherem | Unknown (Mining?) Settlement | Seku IV]

Jael's expression softened as Commander Addams spoke. The disappointment in her eyes lifted.

"Well...I'm probably having a bad day," she said, feeling where she was concussed. "I've had trouble keeping up with you as we came here and...well, you all were quite far away once I managed to get myself out of that shuttle and I figured you weren't aware of where I was. I do apologize for my attitude, given how much pain I was in...I think I can use that rest...

"Also, I was getting the impression you don't like me," she added. "I was born with acute cognitive awareness, enough that I can tell a person's attitude or stance from his or her body language, and, well, I was assuming you don't like me. And it hurts a little, being a Cardassian. I mean, I often get hate on me at the Academy, from people who lost loved ones during the Dominion War or Bajorans who lost family during the Occupation. But if it's not prejudice for what Cardassians have done in the past, then I don't know what it is, or if I'm just bad luck. I would've dropped out of the Academy to get away from such atmospheres if it wasn't for my brother Gid. And it's been hard as a Counselor, few, if any, are willing to talk, let alone open up to, Cardassians.

[Seku IV - Unnamed settlement]

The young Cardassian assumed that Don disliked her. A small chuckled escaped him. "You need to work hard for me not to like you. You had not given me a reason. Unless, are you planning to do so?" There was a little sparkle in his dark brown eyes.

"I'm sorry to talk this much," she said, "but since you do care after all, I feel I can trust you. And I apologize for any wrong assumptions from me or about me. And, again, I apologize for misinterpreting your order to keep an eye out..." she then lowered her voice, "...I'm suddenly worried about what will happen to me; I'm assigned a proctor after by ten-day absence, and the Captain warned me I could be expelled from Starfleet if I neglect my duty again, assuming we get out of this alive, but I feel we can...sorry to take most your time...good luck and I'll do what I can to find out around here."

"As a First Officer, I can challenge the Captain's choices," Don had told her. "Just take what he said as a warning. We all make mistakes, and sometimes they can stain your record and reputation. Time can be your friend if you allow it. You can wait it out and not make poor choices. You are a smart officer. You are on Captain Ian's ship, and he does take much pride in his own people. He can be rough around the edges, but he does want the best out of his officers. When you are on the Bridge, you truly got to show the best of yourself."

She then parted from the Commander and approached "Siggy."

"If it's alright with you, Commander," she said, "I need a moment to rest, spending the afternoon staggering and stumbling, what with..." and she pointed to her concussion to indicate, "...I feel I'll probably more efficient with some rest. And..." and she lowered her voice again, "...Commander Addams said to tell you not to talk too much."

She looked around at the locals and asked, "Do you have a place where one can rest a moment, if you please?"

[Seku VI]

Ero winced as Ruth started talking and put up a hand in the universal signal to stop and said to Don.

"Take this one with you too or she might not have a tongue by the time you get back. Mother of all that's ever been holy does your mouth ever stop moving? Don't answer that, just go."

The settlement leader nodded to his men and then shoved, Don, Ruth, and Blackfeather toward one of the caves. When they got to the threshold, the biggest of them growled.

"It's in there can't miss it. Git!"

The moron who called Don 'git' found the git standing before him. The fellow was a head taller than Don as he stared up at the man. "I would like my fist friend to get acquainted with your jaw," Don threatened the man. Then he brushed his shoulder off as they walked in. The man just hit a nerve; Don knew he was wrong responding to that way. Having Ruth him, and Blackfeather with him leaving Jael behind. If they harm her, they will have to answer to Don and when Ian finds them. Then Ian can have the leftovers.

As they walked in the cavern, Don had shared this. "I admit I feel this all way over our heads,"  Don admitted. Then he snorted. "Then, if it wasn't, we would not have this adventure."

"Blackfeather, go back; I can't leave her alone," he ordered Blackfeather.

"When we are working, Siggy," Don whispered when he was able. "I need you to contact the Mjolnir to see if Rasher is there. I pray he is, and he might be the first to be seen by Challenger if they can find the crash site."

[Ian Galloway]

[Seku IV - Unnamed settlement]

The young Cardassian assumed that Don disliked her. A small chuckled escaped him. "You need to work hard for me not to like you. You had not given me a reason. Unless, are you planning to do so?" There was a little sparkle in his dark brown eyes.

"As a First Officer, I can challenge the Captain's choices," Don had told her. "Just take what he said as a warning. We all make mistakes, and sometimes they can stain your record and reputation. Time can be your friend if you allow it. You can wait it out and not make poor choices. You are a smart officer. You are on Captain Ian's ship, and he does take much pride in his own people. He can be rough around the edges, but he does want the best out of his officers. When you are on the Bridge, you truly got to show the best of yourself."
The moron who called Don 'git' found the git standing before him. The fellow was a head taller than Don as he stared up at the man. "I would like my fist friend to get acquainted with your jaw," Don threatened the man. Then he brushed his shoulder off as they walked in. The man just hit a nerve; Don knew he was wrong responding to that way. Having Ruth him, and Blackfeather with him leaving Jael behind. If they harm her, they will have to answer to Don and when Ian finds them. Then Ian can have the leftovers.

As they walked in the cavern, Don had shared this. "I admit I feel this all way over our heads,"  Don admitted. Then he snorted. "Then, if it wasn't, we would not have this adventure."

"Blackfeather, go back; I can't leave her alone," he ordered Blackfeather.

"When we are working, Siggy," Don whispered when he was able. "I need you to contact the Mjolnir to see if Rasher is there. I pray he is, and he might be the first to be seen by Challenger if they can find the crash site."

[Seku VI - Cave Entrance]

Blackfeather didn't look happy about being sent back to the settlement, but he simply said. "Aye Sir." And followed the three men away from the cave.

On entering the cave, Don and Ruth found simply lighting obviously installed by the settlers. The mine cut deep into the cliff face, and then they encountered vertical shafts dropping several hundred meters. These vertical shafts were accessed by rickety grav-lifts of uncertain quality that descended into the darkness. After winding through several more caverns, Don and Ruth came to an area where a horizontal mine shaft reached a metal wall. The wall had been cut through and on the other side was a pentagonal chamber.

In this large room, some 20 meters on a side were several control devices of some kind lining the walls. In the center of the room was what looked like a floating pentagonal obelisk, carved from some type of hard stone. Strange sigils, faintly illuminated with a soft blue light, were engraved into the obelisk's facings. The obelisk defied all attempts to scan it, though it was clearly the origin of the alien signal.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

As the seconds passed, Ian could see the bridge crew responding to the threat in slow motion as time seemed to compress. Afterwards, he would remember the scene in a series of images almost like old fashioned still photographs which was how his brain managed to process the events.

FLASH! Lieutenant Randall held a first aid kit and hovered over Lieutenant Commander CatalÁ¡n.

FLASH! Main power coming back on as Grelek completed the reboot of the ship's computer.

FLASH! CatalÁ¡n lurching toward the Ops station.

FLASH! T'kel stating the Onizuka was on station.

FLASH! Himself giving the order for the shuttle to fire.

FLASH! CatalÁ¡n shouting "Belay that! Fire suppression is online!"

And suddenly time was flowing normally again and Ian could breathe. The turbolift opened and a medical team arrived to treat the injured. Randall moving back to the science station and said.

"Now that we have main power again, I can send out a tachyon pulse from the deflector dish, it will bounce off the mines like old fashioned radar and I'll be able to map their location. We can either use phasers to destroy them or pilot our way through them once we know where they are."

Giddy from knowing they'd survived, Ian couldn't help himself and replied with a quote.

"I love this plan! I'm excited to be a part of it! Let's do it!"

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger - Deck 1 - Bridge]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

As the seconds passed, Ian could see the bridge crew responding to the threat in slow motion as time seemed to compress. Afterwards, he would remember the scene in a series of images almost like old fashioned still photographs which was how his brain managed to process the events.

FLASH! Lieutenant Randall held a first aid kit and hovered over Lieutenant Commander CatalÁ¡n.

FLASH! Main power coming back on as Grelek completed the reboot of the ship's computer.

FLASH! CatalÁ¡n lurching toward the Ops station.

FLASH! T'kel stating the Onizuka was on station.

FLASH! Himself giving the order for the shuttle to fire.

FLASH! CatalÁ¡n shouting "Belay that! Fire suppression is online!"

And suddenly time was flowing normally again and Ian could breathe. The turbolift opened and a medical team arrived to treat the injured. Randall moving back to the science station and said.

"Now that we have main power again, I can send out a tachyon pulse from the deflector dish, it will bounce off the mines like old fashioned radar and I'll be able to map their location. We can either use phasers to destroy them or pilot our way through them once we know where they are."

Giddy from knowing they'd survived, Ian couldn't help himself and replied with a quote.

"I love this plan! I'm excited to be a part of it! Let's do it!"

Lahr arrived on the Bridge after a grueling fast paced climb up 7 decks.

He heard the Captain's quote, and was an Earth movie aficionado enough to recognize it immediately.   Lahr huffed and puffed a moment trying to catch his breath after the climb before responding back to the quote.

"This is job... is definitely... not worth 11 5 a year." he quipped back with a grin, breathlessly.   He looked over to Grelek and then to Lieutenant CatalÁ¡n both at Ops.

"Permission... to take my station, sir?"

[Don Damien Addams]

[Seku VI - Cave Entrance]

Blackfeather didn't look happy about being sent back to the settlement, but he simply said. "Aye Sir." And followed the three men away from the cave.

On entering the cave, Don and Ruth found simply lighting obviously installed by the settlers. The mine cut deep into the cliff face, and then they encountered vertical shafts dropping several hundred meters. These vertical shafts were accessed by rickety grav-lifts of uncertain quality that descended into the darkness. After winding through several more caverns, Don and Ruth came to an area where a horizontal mine shaft reached a metal wall. The wall had been cut through and on the other side was a pentagonal chamber.

In this large room, some 20 meters on a side were several control devices of some kind lining the walls. In the center of the room was what looked like a floating pentagonal obelisk, carved from some type of hard stone. Strange sigils, faintly illuminated with a soft blue light, were engraved into the obelisk's facings. The obelisk defied all attempts to scan it, though it was clearly the origin of the alien signal.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

As the seconds passed, Ian could see the bridge crew responding to the threat in slow motion as time seemed to compress. Afterwards, he would remember the scene in a series of images almost like old fashioned still photographs which was how his brain managed to process the events.

FLASH! Lieutenant Randall held a first aid kit and hovered over Lieutenant Commander CatalÁ¡n.

FLASH! Main power coming back on as Grelek completed the reboot of the ship's computer.

FLASH! CatalÁ¡n lurching toward the Ops station.

FLASH! T'kel stating the Onizuka was on station.

FLASH! Himself giving the order for the shuttle to fire.

FLASH! CatalÁ¡n shouting "Belay that! Fire suppression is online!"

And suddenly time was flowing normally again and Ian could breathe. The turbolift opened and a medical team arrived to treat the injured. Randall moving back to the science station and said.

"Now that we have main power again, I can send out a tachyon pulse from the deflector dish, it will bounce off the mines like old fashioned radar and I'll be able to map their location. We can either use phasers to destroy them or pilot our way through them once we know where they are."

Giddy from knowing they'd survived, Ian couldn't help himself and replied with a quote.

"I love this plan! I'm excited to be a part of it! Let's do it!"

As Don and Ruth walked deep in the caverns, Don noticed the smooth walls of the miners. "This remarkable and complicated. Nothing I have not seen before. A puzzle, perhaps? They had played with it. Which means less luckily it blow up," he said. "Unless I am very unlucky."

"I might as well look as the Oblesik as the main power. Like a hyperdrive," he muttered to himself and Ruth. Then he went to the walls to look at the controls. Then he turned to look at the Oblestic in the middle. Then he was trying to see the symbols and see anything with some pattern or likeness on the controls. No. They might have tried that. "I am going to try to make the least choice." Don was trying to find an access panel and could not find one. "Ruth, I am just going to blind test something..." which Don did. Don would have used the images which be opposite of glyph. For example, he would use the sun symbol to the moon If they had an appearance like that. Or something like one versus ten. The lesser to the greater. He was going for what the opposite of the group here.

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger - Deck 1 - Bridge]

Since main Ops was being manned by CatalÁ¡n, and secondary by Grelek.  Lahr moved to take a seat at the auxiliary station at the far front of the bridge.  Lahr began assisting Lieutenant Randall with his set up of the deflector dish, so that it would emit a tachyon pulse.   As the Lieutenant mentioned, the plan was to bounce the pulse off the mines, pick it up on the sensors and from that determine where the mines and avoid them... or destroy them.

Meanwhile Grelek was scanning for any sign of whoever had laid the mines.

"Sir.  I've scanned the area for any warp trails and there are none in the vicinity.  No sign of the Khranu either."  It was not illogical to consider the Romulans first as the possible culprit.  But given this information, now they needed to widen their search parameters.

The Vulcan was waiting on the 'radar' data that the tachyon pulses would provide.

Repeated pulses would show a pattern of drift amid the mines that he could potentially calculate in reverse to determine the path that the mines were laid out along thus providing them a clear route that their attacker was on. 

[Ruth Sigurdsdottir]

[OOC - sorry for the delay in writing and short response without quotes... week of migraines and feeling like ... ugh!]

[Cave with Obelisk, Seku VI]

Ruth followed Don but kept tight lipped.  She decided that she didn't like Ero but the feeling was probably mutual.  She'd offered a viable solution to a problem, and unless Ero was a Scientist himself there was no way without explaining or dumbing it down that he would have understood that she wasn't trying to interfere with something.

Sighing and shrugging at his comment about cutting her tongue out she secretly smiled to herself that there was more than one method of communication but got on with the job in hand and after making sure that Jael got somewhere to sit, and glad that Blackfeather would be there to protect the counsellor, so she could rest, Ruth took time to look at the Obelisk with Don.

"Make it look like we are just discussing the markings so that it covers that I'm trying to contact Rasher, and talk me through these symbols.  I saw something similar once that was Iconian, but sorting that out was luck more than design and just colour coded." she whispered.

"Interesting design..." she said in a more normal tone...  =/\=Sigurdsdottir to Mjolnir... are you receiving, Rasher are you there???