S4:E6 - A Question of Integrity

[Vasilisa Belmont]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

At Lahr's newest suggestion, Ian lowered his chin to his chest as he worked through the risks before raising his head to speak directly to the Andorian.

"That... Mister ch'Verret is an excellent idea. They are updatin' us with what they find covertly, no reason why we shouldn't do the same. I would like Commander Sigurdsdottir ta stop continuously transmittin' though. The locals have proven they have at least a rudimentary understandin' of subspace communications and I don't want the away team ta press their luck."

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Lisa listened as the captain and Lahr came up with a plan in order to best provide assistance to the away team, should they need it. Lahr would send them a message with his update on the pergium discovery, but after that they couldn't listen in anymore. She'd miss hearing Ruth's voice, but if all went well she'd be back on the ship soon enough anyway and Lisa would see the entire away team again to take off their makeup. She could understand completely now why Galloway hated the waiting game. It felt a bit more tangible on the Bridge and now without updates it would be even worse.

[Kyle Briggs]

[Garshdepuk Industries Building - Syrtis Major - Zindi Moran]

Kyle stepped to the center of the stairway and looked up.

"I'm getting too old for this shit." he muttered before turning back to the others. "Let's get this started." he added. "We need to figure out who's manipulating these people and get back to the ship."

He took the lead as they began their ascend. The stairs were clear of any natives and they steadily made their way up and up. At the thirty fifth floor, the door leading to the corridor opened and a young woman stepped out into their path. She gave them a brief glance, nodded and headed the way that the away team had just come from.

"Hmm. Doc did do a good job didn't she?" Kyle said with a grin before continuing upward. "Come on, guys. Fifteen more to go."

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Orbit around Zindi Moran - USS Challenger - Bridge]

The silence on the bridge after the comm was cut - given the absence of Ruth's seemingly non-stop chatter and the rapid footfalls of the away team headed up 50 flights of stairs, was eerie and Lahr needed something to fill the void.  "Permission for some background noise, sir?" he asked.

With Nari and Walding at the sec/tac stations 'geeking out' about LCARS displays, Lahr looked over the bridge to see what the others were doing.  The Captain was doing whatever Captains do while they waited for their away teams to get things do. The Doc unexpectedly was still up on the bridge, seemingly lost in her own thoughts.  Beside him, the helm officer with nothing much to do while in high orbit, was so silent that Lahr wondered if they were even awake. Peeking a glance behind him to be sure the Captain had his head down and wasn't looking forward, Lahr leaned over to nudge the silent Flight officer.

"Heya.. Got any requests?  For when I convince the Capt'n to give the go ahead for a bit of Bridge tunes." he whispered.

[Ruth Sigurdsdottir]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

As Ian listened to the battle report relayed through Ruth's commbadge, he consulted the planetary map and cross referenced Fort Karkarham from the database of information they'd gathered from monitoring local radio traffic. Noting the location of the fortress and comparing it to the information Mondo had on the massive pergium deposit, things finally clicked into place.

"Looks like whoever supplied the weapons ta the Combine knew about the pergium and needed the deposit taken from the Panunionists. Now, why they just didn't talk directly with the faction that had the pergium, I don't ken yet, but there has ta be a reason. I'm hopin' the away team can figure that part out for us."

Just as Ian was coming to this conclusion, Lahr spoke up regarding transporting the away team to the 50th floor.

"Nae Lad. We're on precious thin ice already and while a trek up fifty bloody flights of stairs is no one's idea of fun, they knew the job was dangerous when they took it. We can't risk droppin' our shields ta save them some steps. Just keep a passive lock on them and we'll have ta rely on their resourcefulness ta get them where they need ta go."

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Orbit around Zindi Moran - USS Challenger - Bridge]

Lahr's antennae perked at the Captain's agreement then almost immediately drooped at learning that the continuous transmission had to end.  The Andorian acknowledged the Captain's orders with a quiet "Aye sir". This sucked.  Maybe he shouldn't have said anything.

Yet orders were orders. Lahr proceeded to message the away team via text.

Situational update: Discovered pergium deposits may be reason behind attacks.  Captain wants investigated.  Concerned about communications - No open comm link.  Have transporter lock. Call if needed.

"Message sent, sir".  Ruth's commbadge would beep once at having received an incoming text message.  This when accessed would transfer the text to voice or could be downloaded to a PADD or tricorder for reading.

Lahr then reluctantly cut the call. Ruth's commbadge would click off - signalling the end of a call.  "Transmission ended."

Now they waited again.. except this time without the handy ability to listen in.

[Garshdepuk Industries Building - Syrtis Major - Zindi Moran]

Kyle stepped to the center of the stairway and looked up.

"I'm getting too old for this shit." he muttered before turning back to the others. "Let's get this started." he added. "We need to figure out who's manipulating these people and get back to the ship."

He took the lead as they began their ascend. The stairs were clear of any natives and they steadily made their way up and up. At the thirty fifth floor, the door leading to the corridor opened and a young woman stepped out into their path. She gave them a brief glance, nodded and headed the way that the away team had just come from.

"Hmm. Doc did do a good job didn't she?" Kyle said with a grin before continuing upward. "Come on, guys. Fifteen more to go."

[Garshdepuk Industries Building - Syrtis Major - Zindi Moran - Stairwell to Hell]

Ruth's commbadge beeped once and she got the message from Lahr and cursed under her breath, it had been a way for her to alleviate his fears for her ... and the rest of the away team, still orders were orders, and she turned to Kyle after hearing his words praising Lisa.

"Yep Lisa made a great job!  I totally agree!" she answered with a smile.  "How you two doing?" she asked of the rest of the away crew.  She wasn't out of breath yet but the back of her calves were feeling it.

"Advantage, we don't have to do leg days for a month after this!" she chuckled.

The information came through about the pergium, Ruth frowned.  She muttered  Acknowledged, we'll try to figure out who and why.  Away Team out. 'Keep me in your sights, babe, we might need your Ops expertise to yank us out quick...' she added in her head.

She'd deliberately left the comms open long enough for someone to hear Kyle's compliment to Lisa and she hoped that got back to her.

Almost taking the stairs two at a time for a flight, Ruth paused on a landing. "Any ideas about that pergium... for those that don't have a clue what it is... mined resource mostly used for nuclear energy.,symbol Pe, atomic weight 292, atomic number 111, first discovered by Humans on the planet Mercury in 2023.  Question is what are they wanting for it and how rare a commodity is it in this area.  Hang on a sec."

The CSO turned to the wall and spoke into her commbadge.

Sigurdsdottir to Challenger.  Is that the only perigium in the whole system, can you find the next closest?  I'm thinking if whomever is in charge of the mining rights to this has whomever needs nuclear power over a barrel ... basically if this is the only deposit anywhere in the system or something....

"It might be a simple case of extortion.  It would make sense that someone that has warp capabilities, would need or want something that creates nuclear power to fuel ships and weapons, would take advantage of a civilisation less advanced if they could."

[Challenger - Bridge]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Orbit around Zindi Moran - USS Challenger - Bridge]

The silence on the bridge after the comm was cut - given the absence of Ruth's seemingly non-stop chatter and the rapid footfalls of the away team headed up 50 flights of stairs, was eerie and Lahr needed something to fill the void.  "Permission for some background noise, sir?" he asked.

With Nari and Walding at the sec/tac stations 'geeking out' about LCARS displays, Lahr looked over the bridge to see what the others were doing.  The Captain was doing whatever Captains do while they waited for their away teams to get things do. The Doc unexpectedly was still up on the bridge, seemingly lost in her own thoughts.  Beside him, the helm officer with nothing much to do while in high orbit, was so silent that Lahr wondered if they were even awake. Peeking a glance behind him to be sure the Captain had his head down and wasn't looking forward, Lahr leaned over to nudge the silent Flight officer.

"Heya.. Got any requests?  For when I convince the Capt'n to give the go ahead for a bit of Bridge tunes." he whispered.

[As NPC CPO Andrew McNeil]

Andrew knew he shouldn't have had that prawn salad after it had been on the side his quarters overnight in a room that his roommate kept about 30 degrees hotter than he liked it, for breakfast.

While he heard the comms from the Commander about the deposits, he was currently trying not to throw up.

"Apologies, Captain, I'm feeling rather unwell and need to leave the Bridge as a matter of urgency via the head, Mr. ch'Verret... request is to get Ensign Aldin up here please and thank you.  Doctor, I think I have food poisoning... will explain when I'm out of the head, or down in Sickbay whichever you think is better for me to be."

[Ian Galloway]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Orbit around Zindi Moran - USS Challenger - Bridge]

The silence on the bridge after the comm was cut - given the absence of Ruth's seemingly non-stop chatter and the rapid footfalls of the away team headed up 50 flights of stairs, was eerie and Lahr needed something to fill the void.  "Permission for some background noise, sir?" he asked.

With Nari and Walding at the sec/tac stations 'geeking out' about LCARS displays, Lahr looked over the bridge to see what the others were doing.  The Captain was doing whatever Captains do while they waited for their away teams to get things do. The Doc unexpectedly was still up on the bridge, seemingly lost in her own thoughts.  Beside him, the helm officer with nothing much to do while in high orbit, was so silent that Lahr wondered if they were even awake. Peeking a glance behind him to be sure the Captain had his head down and wasn't looking forward, Lahr leaned over to nudge the silent Flight officer.

"Heya.. Got any requests?  For when I convince the Capt'n to give the go ahead for a bit of Bridge tunes." he whispered.

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian blinked as Lahr's request interrupted his woolgathering of him in Kyle's shoes trudging up fifty flights of stairs and he frowned involuntarily.

"I ken I see things differently than you're used ta Mister ch'Verrett, but listenin' ta music while the ship is cruisin' at warp and while we have an away team infiltratin' a pre-warp civilization that's been contaminated by person or persons unknown is a different matter. You want ta listen via your ear bud, fine, but I don't want it piped ta the bridge."

Ian had spoken evenly as he knew how much the Andorian liked ancient Earth music, but the last thing Ian needed was a distraction.

[Garshdepuk Industries Building - Syrtis Major - Zindi Moran - Stairwell to Hell]

Ruth's commbadge beeped once and she got the message from Lahr and cursed under her breath, it had been a way for her to alleviate his fears for her ... and the rest of the away team, still orders were orders, and she turned to Kyle after hearing his words praising Lisa.

"Yep Lisa made a great job!  I totally agree!" she answered with a smile.  "How you two doing?" she asked of the rest of the away crew.  She wasn't out of breath yet but the back of her calves were feeling it.

"Advantage, we don't have to do leg days for a month after this!" she chuckled.

The information came through about the pergium, Ruth frowned.  She muttered  Acknowledged, we'll try to figure out who and why.  Away Team out. 'Keep me in your sights, babe, we might need your Ops expertise to yank us out quick...' she added in her head.

She'd deliberately left the comms open long enough for someone to hear Kyle's compliment to Lisa and she hoped that got back to her.

Almost taking the stairs two at a time for a flight, Ruth paused on a landing. "Any ideas about that pergium... for those that don't have a clue what it is... mined resource mostly used for nuclear energy.,symbol Pe, atomic weight 292, atomic number 111, first discovered by Humans on the planet Mercury in 2023.  Question is what are they wanting for it and how rare a commodity is it in this area.  Hang on a sec."

The CSO turned to the wall and spoke into her commbadge.

Sigurdsdottir to Challenger.  Is that the only perigium in the whole system, can you find the next closest?  I'm thinking if whomever is in charge of the mining rights to this has whomever needs nuclear power over a barrel ... basically if this is the only deposit anywhere in the system or something....

"It might be a simple case of extortion.  It would make sense that someone that has warp capabilities, would need or want something that creates nuclear power to fuel ships and weapons, would take advantage of a civilisation less advanced if they could."

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian winced at the message from Ruth as the last thing he wanted at this moment was communications to give their position away. It wasn't like the locals had anything that could harm the Challenger even if they did detect her, but the locals had plenty of things that could harm the away team. In either case, detection would be a catastrophic failure of their mission and likely court martial for everyone involved. As Ian had no idea about other pergium deposits or locations of other nearby operations, he began issuing orders.

"Mister ch'Verret, please reply to the Commander via text and for all further communications from the away team, with the exception of an extraction request, ta be via text as well. Message reads, 'Will look into your pergium request. Will report later.'"

[Challenger - Bridge]

[As NPC CPO Andrew McNeil]

Andrew knew he shouldn't have had that prawn salad after it had been on the side his quarters overnight in a room that his roommate kept about 30 degrees hotter than he liked it, for breakfast.

While he heard the comms from the Commander about the deposits, he was currently trying not to throw up.

"Apologies, Captain, I'm feeling rather unwell and need to leave the Bridge as a matter of urgency via the head, Mr. ch'Verret... request is to get Ensign Aldin up here please and thank you.  Doctor, I think I have food poisoning... will explain when I'm out of the head, or down in Sickbay whichever you think is better for me to be."

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian was about to have sciences begin scanning the system for pergium when the Chief spoke up.

"Permission granted."

Until this Ensign Aldin arrived, Ian still wanted to get the scans started, so he spoke to Mondo.

"Mister Nari. Initiate passive scans of the two planets closest ta Zindi Moran for pergium. We'll have ta use probes ta check the more distant planets. Fortunately, there are only six planets in this system."

Ian's mind was racing with options and he continued to issue orders.

"Once you've sent that message ta the away team Mister ch'verret, check Federation records for every pergium mining operation in within twenty light years. Let's see who the competition might be."

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

[Garshdepuk Industries Building Stairwell - Syrtis Major - Zindi Moran]

After a very long climb the away team reached the top of the stairwell without encountering anyone besides the one woman on the 35th floor. Like with many older buildings, the doors open freely to the stairwell, but were locked inside the stairwell. As this was an emergency exit, there didn't seem to be security on the door, but frustratingly, the lock was mechanical and not electronic, so the away team couldn't order the security system to unlock the door, they were going to have to figure a way to defeat a physical lock before they could gain entry to the 50th floor proper.

[Ruth Sigurdsdottir]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian blinked as Lahr's request interrupted his woolgathering of him in Kyle's shoes trudging up fifty flights of stairs and he frowned involuntarily.

"I ken I see things differently than you're used ta Mister ch'Verrett, but listenin' ta music while the ship is cruisin' at warp and while we have an away team infiltratin' a pre-warp civilization that's been contaminated by person or persons unknown is a different matter. You want ta listen via your ear bud, fine, but I don't want it piped ta the bridge."

Ian had spoken evenly as he knew how much the Andorian liked ancient Earth music, but the last thing Ian needed was a distraction.

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian winced at the message from Ruth as the last thing he wanted at this moment was communications to give their position away. It wasn't like the locals had anything that could harm the Challenger even if they did detect her, but the locals had plenty of things that could harm the away team. In either case, detection would be a catastrophic failure of their mission and likely court martial for everyone involved. As Ian had no idea about other pergium deposits or locations of other nearby operations, he began issuing orders.

"Mister ch'Verret, please reply to the Commander via text and for all further communications from the away team, with the exception of an extraction request, ta be via text as well. Message reads, 'Will look into your pergium request. Will report later.'"

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian was about to have sciences begin scanning the system for pergium when the Chief spoke up.

"Permission granted."

Until this Ensign Aldin arrived, Ian still wanted to get the scans started, so he spoke to Mondo.

"Mister Nari. Initiate passive scans of the two planets closest ta Zindi Moran for pergium. We'll have ta use probes ta check the more distant planets. Fortunately, there are only six planets in this system."

Ian's mind was racing with options and he continued to issue orders.

"Once you've sent that message ta the away team Mister ch'verret, check Federation records for every pergium mining operation in within twenty light years. Let's see who the competition might be."

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

[Garshdepuk Industries Building Stairwell - Syrtis Major - Zindi Moran]

After a very long climb the away team reached the top of the stairwell without encountering anyone besides the one woman on the 35th floor. Like with many older buildings, the doors open freely to the stairwell, but were locked inside the stairwell. As this was an emergency exit, there didn't seem to be security on the door, but frustratingly, the lock was mechanical and not electronic, so the away team couldn't order the security system to unlock the door, they were going to have to figure a way to defeat a physical lock before they could gain entry to the 50th floor proper.

[Bridge]

McNeil double timed and went to throw up in the head.  Once finished he stood, still looking rather green about the gills which for a human wasn't the best colour, feeling rather sorry for himself and sweating, in the corridor outside and waited to see what Dr. Belmont decided.

His stomach was cramping and he decided that staying there was a good idea cuz he wasn't sure if he was going to need the head again imminently.  Plus he didn't have the energy to go anywhere anyhow.  Sweating but feeling chilly at the same time, he slumped down to the floor and put his head in his hands.

[Garshdepuk Industries Building Stairwell - Syrtis Major - Zindi Moran]

Satisfied that the scans would be done, and reading the message from Ian via presumably Lahr, and taking it as a slap on the wrist... she should know better, Ruth stood panting a little from the exercise that 50 floors had given her.

"What I wouldn't do for a bottle of water!" she said.  The CSO tried the door, and the lock was an old fashioned one, nothing they could over ride.

"I suppose we could try picking it?" she offered, trying to think of something they could use as lockpicks, and hoping she wouldn't have to try a contortionist act to get the underwire out of her bra to fashion into tools!

[Vasilisa Belmont]

[Garshdepuk Industries Building - Syrtis Major - Zindi Moran - Stairwell to Hell]

Ruth's commbadge beeped once and she got the message from Lahr and cursed under her breath, it had been a way for her to alleviate his fears for her ... and the rest of the away team, still orders were orders, and she turned to Kyle after hearing his words praising Lisa.

"Yep Lisa made a great job!  I totally agree!" she answered with a smile.  "How you two doing?" she asked of the rest of the away crew.  She wasn't out of breath yet but the back of her calves were feeling it.

"Advantage, we don't have to do leg days for a month after this!" she chuckled.

The information came through about the pergium, Ruth frowned.  She muttered  Acknowledged, we'll try to figure out who and why.  Away Team out. 'Keep me in your sights, babe, we might need your Ops expertise to yank us out quick...' she added in her head.

She'd deliberately left the comms open long enough for someone to hear Kyle's compliment to Lisa and she hoped that got back to her.

Almost taking the stairs two at a time for a flight, Ruth paused on a landing. "Any ideas about that pergium... for those that don't have a clue what it is... mined resource mostly used for nuclear energy.,symbol Pe, atomic weight 292, atomic number 111, first discovered by Humans on the planet Mercury in 2023.  Question is what are they wanting for it and how rare a commodity is it in this area.  Hang on a sec."

The CSO turned to the wall and spoke into her commbadge.

Sigurdsdottir to Challenger.  Is that the only perigium in the whole system, can you find the next closest?  I'm thinking if whomever is in charge of the mining rights to this has whomever needs nuclear power over a barrel ... basically if this is the only deposit anywhere in the system or something....

"It might be a simple case of extortion.  It would make sense that someone that has warp capabilities, would need or want something that creates nuclear power to fuel ships and weapons, would take advantage of a civilisation less advanced if they could."

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Lisa thought communications had been cut off, but it didn't seem to be the case as new developments Ruth deemed important were relayed. She also hadn't expected the general comms to stay open and blushed at the compliments from both Kyle and Ruth, as she always did when attention was drawn to her. It really hadn't been too hard of a job, but she was happy her work was actually doing some good. Enough to be recognized as believable as opposed to looking like a Halloween costume...which she admitted was what her cosmetics used to look like when she first started.

[Challenger - Bridge]

[As NPC CPO Andrew McNeil]

Andrew knew he shouldn't have had that prawn salad after it had been on the side his quarters overnight in a room that his roommate kept about 30 degrees hotter than he liked it, for breakfast.

While he heard the comms from the Commander about the deposits, he was currently trying not to throw up.

"Apologies, Captain, I'm feeling rather unwell and need to leave the Bridge as a matter of urgency via the head, Mr. ch'Verret... request is to get Ensign Aldin up here please and thank you.  Doctor, I think I have food poisoning... will explain when I'm out of the head, or down in Sickbay whichever you think is better for me to be."

She was broken out of her thoughts by a rather sudden emergency. Not dire, but certainly something that needed immediate attention in order to avoid any, erm, messes. Her gaze shot over to the science station and, seeing the look on McNeil's face, raced to his side to assist him out. The captain ended up giving an answer but she wouldn't have waited for it if he took much longer to give it, citing her authority as CMO and the nature of the emergency. Since he had given permission, she made to take the officer's arm and escort him out, but he let go and bolted.

[Bridge]

McNeil double timed and went to throw up in the head.  Once finished he stood, still looking rather green about the gills which for a human wasn't the best colour, feeling rather sorry for himself and sweating, in the corridor outside and waited to see what Dr. Belmont decided.

His stomach was cramping and he decided that staying there was a good idea cuz he wasn't sure if he was going to need the head again imminently.  Plus he didn't have the energy to go anywhere anyhow.  Sweating but feeling chilly at the same time, he slumped down to the floor and put his head in his hands.

[Bridge - Head - USS Challenger]

Before she could get him out of the Bridge area, McNeil emptied the contents of his stomach in the head and came back out in the corridor. Seeing the look on his face she took him back to the head. She had wanted to see what he'd thrown up, but it had already been flushed. She'd have to ask him later when he was stable enough to talk, but from looking at him it was definitely food poisoning. Carefully putting a calming hand on his shoulder, the doctor thought of what to do next. They could stay here, since he was likely to throw up again in the near future, but given the nature of the sickness they could be here for awhile and she didn't think that was probably the best thing. She gave him a few minutes to regain some composure, then gently prodded him.

"Alright, Andrew, I know it's the last thing you want to be doing right now, but I'm going to need you to get up. I'm pretty certain that you do have food poisoning, so we need to get you someplace where you can sort of...wait it out. I'm going to give you a very small dose of anti-nausea medication so you feel good enough to walk, then we'll head for the turbolift to get to Sickbay. Do you think you can do that?" As she mentioned the anti-nausea meds she had a brief flashback of unpleasantness from when she used to feel sick on spacecraft. That experience ended up paying off, since it meant she always had a dose or two of anti-nausea medicine in her pocket.

[James Walding]

USS Challenger - Bridge

Mondo nodded to his superior officer, "Internal containment is fairly straightforward, with many options.  Each stretch of corridor assigned a deck and section juncture, with a forcefield generator at each junction point.  You simply designate the confinement field icon and then the deck and section ID.  This system is in addition to the emergency atmospheric containment systems.  Of course, individuals can also be confined to quarters, or in the Brig.  The Brig has an independent Sarium Krellide backup cell to provide for confinement even during momentary power interruptions.

Each of these additional systems is here and here.  Security has authority to enact these as needed during a security incident, but any confinement must be subsequently co-signed by a department head, and if it is to last longer than 12 hours, by the Second, First, or Commanding Officer.  Of course, adequate caloric intake, hydration, and grooming must be provided to any detainee kept past the 12 hour mark.  This allows us to comply with Federation standards regarding prolonged detainment."

When the topic of beaming Sigurdsdottir came up, Mondo moved back to the Tactical station.

"Maintaining an annular confinement beam and particle stream would create a larger beacon of activity than active sensors, although it may be that the technology of the locals is not sophisticated enough to detect it.  It is difficult to know what the limits of their science are, given the adulterating of their natural development."

He touched the console, adding, "I have scan results... I am attempting to have the computer analyze them to see if anything of interest may surface."

James was impressed with Mondos knowledge of protocol. Many Starfleet officers (including James) couldn't give out information on when federation detainees standards came into effect and what that entailed. James wondered that if there more officers where like Mondo, where would the federation be now. Definitely a better place....

James came back out of his head as the petty officer made his way back to his console.

"Ah so is it's easy on this ship to do a rolling confinement?.... Officer Nari you seem really knowledgeable on protocol, how long have you been in security? I need to read up."

It was a relieve that there great officers onboard, while they would be alot to live up too, it seemed like the Challenger would be a good learning environment.

"How many cells do we have for prisoners? Whats the protocol if we are full up?" He said, as he continued to tap his way through the specs and armaments menu on the console.

[Kyan Mackenzie]

:: Cargo bay 1 | USS Challenger ::

"How's it going in here?" A gruff voice called out from the corridor.

As was his way, Elijah didn't respond to the question and continued his work. Today that meant manually re-calibrating the processing array for Challenger's port side dorsal sensor palette. Yesterday he'd calibrated the starboard side. As details went, this one was one of his favorites. It was quiet, and the Jefferies Tubes were generally not lit up like the rest of the ship.

"Hello?" the voice called out again. "Anyone in there?"

Luckily, Elijah wasn't alone on the job. Ensign Garth, the Ferengi Botanist, had been assigned to this detail as well. Although his skill set ran more toward living things than hardware, which was why he was merely sitting in the Jefferies tube watching her counterpart do the lion's share of the work.

"We're in here Loo-tenant" Garth called out. "Aldin and me."

"Ok. You're gonna have to finish up without him." came the Lieutenant's reply. "Aldin, get up to the bridge and relieve McNeil. He's sick."

Elijah crab crawled out from inside the maintainence hatch and sat up. There was a very long list of things he'd rather be doing than going up to the bridge, and a very long list of reasons why. However, any perfectly valid reason for staying here that he might give the Lieutenant standing in the corridor would likely be met with a long winded rebuke and he'd end up on the bridge anyhow. However knowing the outcome, in Elijah's estimation, was no reason to not voice his opposition to what he considered a waste of his time. And besides, the bridge was noisy and to well lit.

Garth saw the wheels turning and spoke up before he could start that process.

"Just go. You probably won't be up there long anyhow." he offered with a shrug.

"Ok.." Elijah replied evenly in his sing-songy monotone as he pushed his hair back into something resembling a side part, and out of his eyes. "I'll go."

He dropped the tricorder on the deck plate along with the micro-calipers that he'd been using. "It's... in diagnotic mode now." He added, crawling toward the exit. "It will be done in... five minutes."

Garth nodded. "Ok. I'll finish it."

Crawling out of the tube, Elijah peered up at the Tellarite Lieutenant as he got to his feet. Thankfully the Porcine officer didn't appear to have anything left to say. Which was good. Usually he spent time going over a task, using as many words as he could, and snorting. He also liked to argue. Since he didn't have any desire... at all... to hear Krem speak, snort, or to engage him in a debate.. on any topic, Elijah wordlessly, and quickly, set off toward the turbolift before the Tellarite could conjure up a reason to hear himself speak. Thankfully, Krem let him go.

~ A few minutes later, on the bridge.

As the turbolift doors whisked open, Elijah saw that the bridge was full of people, more-so that usual it seemed. After taking in the scene, he made his way over to the science station and sat in the empty chair. Upon looking at the monitor, it became apparent that O'Neil had been readying probes for launch, which were now ready to go.

"The... probes are ready to launch." he called out to no one in particular.

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Orbit around Zindi Moran - USS Challenger - Bridge]

[Garshdepuk Industries Building - Syrtis Major - Zindi Moran - Stairwell to Hell]

Ruth's commbadge beeped once and she got the message from Lahr and cursed under her breath, it had been a way for her to alleviate his fears for her ... and the rest of the away team, still orders were orders, and she turned to Kyle after hearing his words praising Lisa.
.
.
The information came through about the pergium, Ruth frowned.  She muttered  Acknowledged, we'll try to figure out who and why.  Away Team out. 'Keep me in your sights, babe, we might need your Ops expertise to yank us out quick...' she added in her head.

She'd deliberately left the comms open long enough for someone to hear Kyle's compliment to Lisa and she hoped that got back to her.

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian blinked as Lahr's request interrupted his woolgathering of him in Kyle's shoes trudging up fifty flights of stairs and he frowned involuntarily.

"I ken I see things differently than you're used ta Mister ch'Verrett, but listenin' ta music while the ship is cruisin' at warp and while we have an away team infiltratin' a pre-warp civilization that's been contaminated by person or persons unknown is a different matter. You want ta listen via your ear bud, fine, but I don't want it piped ta the bridge."

Ian had spoken evenly as he knew how much the Andorian liked ancient Earth music, but the last thing Ian needed was a distraction.

Lahr was surprised when Ruth acknowledged his text about the pergium and the order to cut the comm call with a voice response.  Oh well, the message had been received - that was good to know at least.  For a couple minutes things were quiet on the bridge.  Mostly because the Captain had denied his request for music.   Well, he hadn't fully denied him, but Lahr got the sense that the Captain didn't approve so hadn't bothered with the earbud tunes.  He'd just suffer in silence with the rest of them.

The CSO turned to the wall and spoke into her commbadge.

Sigurdsdottir to Challenger.  Is that the only perigium in the whole system, can you find the next closest?  I'm thinking if whomever is in charge of the mining rights to this has whomever needs nuclear power over a barrel ... basically if this is the only deposit anywhere in the system or something....

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian winced at the message from Ruth as the last thing he wanted at this moment was communications to give their position away. It wasn't like the locals had anything that could harm the Challenger even if they did detect her, but the locals had plenty of things that could harm the away team. In either case, detection would be a catastrophic failure of their mission and likely court martial for everyone involved. As Ian had no idea about other pergium deposits or locations of other nearby operations, he began issuing orders.

"Mister ch'Verret, please reply to the Commander via text and for all further communications from the away team, with the exception of an extraction request, ta be via text as well. Message reads, 'Will look into your pergium request. Will report later.'"

Unexpectedly though that silence was broken by yet another comm call from Ruth.   Lahr's antenna swiveled about confused.  Had she not acknowledged the order to limit comms?   From the Captain's tone and words, the man wasn't too happy to hear her voice.

Lahr acknowledged the order with an "Aye sir."

Then typed out the text message back to Ruth.

Captain's order: Respond back via text only except for extraction request.  Reply to query:  Will look into your pergium request. Will report later.

"Message sent, sir

[Challenger - Bridge]
[As NPC CPO Andrew McNeil]

Andrew knew he shouldn't have had that prawn salad after it had been on the side his quarters overnight in a room that his roommate kept about 30 degrees hotter than he liked it, for breakfast.

While he heard the comms from the Commander about the deposits, he was currently trying not to throw up.

"Apologies, Captain, I'm feeling rather unwell and need to leave the Bridge as a matter of urgency via the head, Mr. ch'Verret... request is to get Ensign Aldin up here please and thank you.  Doctor, I think I have food poisoning... will explain when I'm out of the head, or down in Sickbay whichever you think is better for me to be."

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian was about to have sciences begin scanning the system for pergium when the Chief spoke up.

"Permission granted."

Until this Ensign Aldin arrived, Ian still wanted to get the scans started, so he spoke to Mondo.

"Mister Nari. Initiate passive scans of the two planets closest ta Zindi Moran for pergium. We'll have ta use probes ta check the more distant planets. Fortunately, there are only six planets in this system."

Ian's mind was racing with options and he continued to issue orders.

"Once you've sent that message ta the away team Mister ch'verret, check Federation records for every pergium mining operation in within twenty light years. Let's see who the competition might be."

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Lisa thought communications had been cut off, but it didn't seem to be the case as new developments Ruth deemed important were relayed. She also hadn't expected the general comms to stay open and blushed at the compliments from both Kyle and Ruth, as she always did when attention was drawn to her. It really hadn't been too hard of a job, but she was happy her work was actually doing some good. Enough to be recognized as believable as opposed to looking like a Halloween costume...which she admitted was what her cosmetics used to look like when she first started.

She was broken out of her thoughts by a rather sudden emergency. Not dire, but certainly something that needed immediate attention in order to avoid any, erm, messes. Her gaze shot over to the science station and, seeing the look on McNeil's face, raced to his side to assist him out. The captain ended up giving an answer but she wouldn't have waited for it if he took much longer to give it, citing her authority as CMO and the nature of the emergency. Since he had given permission, she made to take the officer's arm and escort him out, but he let go and bolted.

No sooner had he informed the Captain of the message than McNeil, sitting in Ruth's usual spot requested to leave the bridge and suggested calling up Ensign Aldin to replace him.  Permission was granted and while the Doc moved to help McNeil as he ran for the head, Lahr called up the suggested Ensign.

"ch'Verret to Aldin.  Report to Bridge to replace Chief Petty McNeil."

[Bridge - Head - USS Challenger]

Before she could get him out of the Bridge area, McNeil emptied the contents of his stomach in the head and came back out in the corridor. Seeing the look on his face she took him back to the head. She had wanted to see what he'd thrown up, but it had already been flushed. She'd have to ask him later when he was stable enough to talk, but from looking at him it was definitely food poisoning. Carefully putting a calming hand on his shoulder, the doctor thought of what to do next. They could stay here, since he was likely to throw up again in the near future, but given the nature of the sickness they could be here for awhile and she didn't think that was probably the best thing. She gave him a few minutes to regain some composure, then gently prodded him.

"Alright, Andrew, I know it's the last thing you want to be doing right now, but I'm going to need you to get up. I'm pretty certain that you do have food poisoning, so we need to get you someplace where you can sort of...wait it out. I'm going to give you a very small dose of anti-nausea medication so you feel good enough to walk, then we'll head for the turbolift to get to Sickbay. Do you think you can do that?" As she mentioned the anti-nausea meds she had a brief flashback of unpleasantness from when she used to feel sick on spacecraft. That experience ended up paying off, since it meant she always had a dose or two of anti-nausea medicine in her pocket.

Lahr found the medical situation both entertaining and sad at the same time.  He felt bad for McNeil.  Really, he did. But Lahr had seen and laughed at far too many comedy routines involving vomiting to not be mildly amused at how quickly McNeil tried to reach the head.  Lahr made a mental note to check in on McNeil later ... to be sure he was okay.

[Ian Galloway]

~ A few minutes later, on the bridge.

As the turbolift doors whisked open, Elijah saw that the bridge was full of people, more-so that usual it seemed. After taking in the scene, he made his way over to the science station and sat in the empty chair. Upon looking at the monitor, it became apparent that O'Neil had been readying probes for launch, which were now ready to go.

"The... probes are ready to launch." he called out to no one in particular.

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian noted the arrival of the science officer and when he reported his readiness, his reply was immediate.

"Launch the probes. My guess is that only Zindi Moran has the pergium or whoever it is that interfered here wouldn't have had ta do so, but nothing wrong with confirming that. My question is who is so in need of pergium that they would take such risks as alterin' the balance of power on a pre-warp civilization. That speak more ta desperation than greed ta me. Anyone have any speculations?"

Ian asked openly.

[Richard James Litt]

[USS Challenger · Bridge · Helm]

Litt was almost at somewhere else, just paying attention in the ship to be sure that nothing would put the Challenger off the track. When he listened to Ian's question he seemed to think a little about that and then looked at the Captain.

"Are they the damned Tzenkethi again?" Litt asked more than answered. "I wouldn't be surprised if it was them". He said finally looking at the captain.

[Ian Galloway]

[USS Challenger · Bridge · Helm]

Litt was almost at somewhere else, just paying attention in the ship to be sure that nothing would put the Challenger off the track. When he listened to Ian's question he seemed to think a little about that and then looked at the Captain.

"Are they the damned Tzenkethi again?" Litt asked more than answered. "I wouldn't be surprised if it was them". He said finally looking at the captain.

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian canted his head to the side as Litt suggested the Tzenkethi as the possible culprits of the interference on Zindi Moran, which hadn't occurred to him.

"I suppose it's possible. We're a bit distant from their border, so they couldn't have come here in one of their ships. They'd have had ta use a proxy or purchased a freighter ta do so, but pergium has such a specific use that it's hard ta imagine the Tzenkethi need it so badly. I can't say I'm convinced, but I'll take your suggestion under advisement Lieutenant.

"Anyone else have any ideas?"

[Ruth Sigurdsdottir]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Lisa thought communications had been cut off, but it didn't seem to be the case as new developments Ruth deemed important were relayed. She also hadn't expected the general comms to stay open and blushed at the compliments from both Kyle and Ruth, as she always did when attention was drawn to her. It really hadn't been too hard of a job, but she was happy her work was actually doing some good. Enough to be recognized as believable as opposed to looking like a Halloween costume...which she admitted was what her cosmetics used to look like when she first started.

She was broken out of her thoughts by a rather sudden emergency. Not dire, but certainly something that needed immediate attention in order to avoid any, erm, messes. Her gaze shot over to the science station and, seeing the look on McNeil's face, raced to his side to assist him out. The captain ended up giving an answer but she wouldn't have waited for it if he took much longer to give it, citing her authority as CMO and the nature of the emergency. Since he had given permission, she made to take the officer's arm and escort him out, but he let go and bolted.

[Bridge - Head - USS Challenger]

Before she could get him out of the Bridge area, McNeil emptied the contents of his stomach in the head and came back out in the corridor. Seeing the look on his face she took him back to the head. She had wanted to see what he'd thrown up, but it had already been flushed. She'd have to ask him later when he was stable enough to talk, but from looking at him it was definitely food poisoning. Carefully putting a calming hand on his shoulder, the doctor thought of what to do next. They could stay here, since he was likely to throw up again in the near future, but given the nature of the sickness they could be here for awhile and she didn't think that was probably the best thing. She gave him a few minutes to regain some composure, then gently prodded him.

"Alright, Andrew, I know it's the last thing you want to be doing right now, but I'm going to need you to get up. I'm pretty certain that you do have food poisoning, so we need to get you someplace where you can sort of...wait it out. I'm going to give you a very small dose of anti-nausea medication so you feel good enough to walk, then we'll head for the turbolift to get to Sickbay. Do you think you can do that?" As she mentioned the anti-nausea meds she had a brief flashback of unpleasantness from when she used to feel sick on spacecraft. That experience ended up paying off, since it meant she always had a dose or two of anti-nausea medicine in her pocket.

[Corridor outside the Bridge-side head]

[As NPC CPO Andrew McNeil]

Andrew McNeil nodded mutely then staggered to his feet.

"I think I can manage that, I really should have avoided the prawns but it was kinda the wrong thing to do... see they'd been there a few hours, overnight and my roommate keeps the room like a sauna... don't mind for the warms but seafood in heat... I thought I was being good eating something for breakfast since said heat-loving room mate... he's a Cardassian hybrid, had come in late and woke me for a chat... I slept through the alarm and didn't even have time to replicate toast!"

The poor guy swallowed hard to stop the bile coming up again and blinked in concentration.

"I think Sickbay is probably the best place for me at the moment!" He attempted a weak smile and allowed himself to be led into a turbolift.

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

[Top of the building, Zindi Moran]

[Ruth]

Ruth took a look in her bag and got the message back from Lahr.  'Well, least that is in good hands...' she thought to herself.

[Kyan Mackenzie]

"Launch the probes. My guess is that only Zindi Moran has the pergium or whoever it is that interfered here wouldn't have had ta do so, but nothing wrong with confirming that. My question is who is so in need of pergium that they would take such risks as alterin' the balance of power on a pre-warp civilization. That speak more ta desperation than greed ta me. Anyone have any speculations?"

Elijah absently keyed his controls and the probes were launched in short order. The Captain's query, which 9 of 10 times he'd have disregarded as something uninteresting or unrelated to what he wanted to be thinking about, caught some traction in his head and he found himself considering the possibilities.

First, what did he know about Pergium? Atomic mass of 292. Trans-uranic series heavy element. Used mainly in life support systems and energy production. Another factor, and one which might be pertinent here was that latinum crystals typically formed near pergium deposits.

"Latinum crystals form... near pergium deposits too." Elijah offered without looking up from his console, and to no one in particular.