The Big Snake of the Night Sky

[Sirol]

< Katra Station / Deck 1 Turbolift >

[Outside Ready Room - Zex]

"This is the first I am hearing of it as well" the Deltan said in reference to to the newly arriving civilian scientist.  "Falleg was likely in the know" she added with a shrug.   "Sure, I can get the shuttle ready" the Deltan said to Sirol.

Sirol took a polite bow towards Zex.
"œI appreciate your help.
...Thank you."

Having Zex take over this task, Sirol had to only do two instead of three calls, so she looked at her list again, then tappend her comm badge.

Not knowing about the reasons behind the Uropygi's presence yet, she still assumed that the poor little thing was lost, leading her to the conclusion that the Commander was most likely worried and looking for it.
"œSirol to Commander Eydis. I have found one of your Uropygi near the OCC.
It is unharmed and safe, but let me know when you wish me to bring it home."
A little pause followed and Sirol gave the little creature a gentle boop before she once more checked her list, as she was suddenly interrupted by the Reman that had joined them; still standing in the turbolift.

She could very deliberately sense that he was not exactly excited to see her; if not actively averse to it.
And Sirol could not even blame him. His appearance indicated that he was within the age group that had actively experienced slavery and abuse at the hands of the Romulan Empire.
The scientist was certain that him seeing her must have awoken a multitude of traumatic memories"¦
She however did not mention it, but instead stuck to the formalities to not make the situation any more uncomfortable for either of them.

"œI am Freeman. Geologist, palaeontologist and new to Katra Station," he said a little defensively as he introduced himself. The Romulan's cool tone towards him had him on edge as she told him to be at ease. He made sure his back was facing the wall of the turbolift wall to protect the egg in the stasis chamber on his back. If indeed he was the Freeman they were talking about like he believed he was then this turbolift was about to feel crowded. He was not a fan of the thought.

Tilting her head Sirol gave him a hesitant look.
This meant another call was checked off of her list.

"œI am pleased to make your acquaintance, Freeman"¦
Is it"¦ Doctor? Or any rank?
I apologise, but I have not been briefed on the new arrivals until mere minutes ago."
She did a polite bow towards him, yet spoke in a neutral, business-like tone.

She was not yet sure how to incorporate a geologist into any of her projects, but then again, maybe he had any other fields that would interlock with her own areas of work more conveniently.

"œ...We have a tight schedule right now, so you will follow me until we have everything sufficiently associated.
Are you experienced with operating probes and/or versed with spacial and phasic anomalies?"

She then looked towards Zex and did a polite gesture pointing at her.
"œEnsign Zex will accompany us as the pilot and operator during this mission."

[Xasik]

[Katra Station | Turbolift]

< Katra Station / Deck 1 Turbolift >

Sirol took a polite bow towards Zex.
"œI appreciate your help.
...Thank you."

Having Zex take over this task, Sirol had to only do two instead of three calls, so she looked at her list again, then tappend her comm badge.

Not knowing about the reasons behind the Uropygi's presence yet, she still assumed that the poor little thing was lost, leading her to the conclusion that the Commander was most likely worried and looking for it.
"œSirol to Commander Eydis. I have found one of your Uropygi near the OCC.
It is unharmed and safe, but let me know when you wish me to bring it home."
A little pause followed and Sirol gave the little creature a gentle boop before she once more checked her list, as she was suddenly interrupted by the Reman that had joined them; still standing in the turbolift.

She could very deliberately sense that he was not exactly excited to see her; if not actively averse to it.
And Sirol could not even blame him. His appearance indicated that he was within the age group that had actively experienced slavery and abuse at the hands of the Romulan Empire.
The scientist was certain that him seeing her must have awoken a multitude of traumatic memories"¦
She however did not mention it, but instead stuck to the formalities to not make the situation any more uncomfortable for either of them.

Tilting her head Sirol gave him a hesitant look.
This meant another call was checked off of her list.

"œI am pleased to make your acquaintance, Freeman"¦
Is it"¦ Doctor? Or any rank?
I apologise, but I have not been briefed on the new arrivals until mere minutes ago."
She did a polite bow towards him, yet spoke in a neutral, business-like tone.

She was not yet sure how to incorporate a geologist into any of her projects, but then again, maybe he had any other fields that would interlock with her own areas of work more conveniently.

"œ...We have a tight schedule right now, so you will follow me until we have everything sufficiently associated.
Are you experienced with operating probes and/or versed with spacial and phasic anomalies?"

She then looked towards Zex and did a polite gesture pointing at her.
"œEnsign Zex will accompany us as the pilot and operator during this mission."

Xasik eyed the pair cautiously. He couldn't help but wonder who Eydis was. It was certainly an interesting name. He would keep it in mind. It would be interesting to see the person behind the name. Perhaps they were the Chief Science Officer, and perhaps the creature the Romulan officer was holding was a part of their research.
"œSpecialist is fine," he nodded to her but remained wary of her tone. "œUnderstood. I will assist you however I am able. I have experience operating probes, yes. My abilities are at your service"¦.uh, how should I refer to you?" He tried to keep his tone formal and void of emotion. There was a war playing out in his head. He had no objections to following the orders of his superiors, but following the orders of a Romulan was bringing back emotions and feelings he had long tried to move past. With the station still under a Yellow Alert he reasoned that for now, following her orders was the best course of action. The less he found conflict with those around him, the better the environment he could provide for his child.

Xasik gave a hailing nod to Ensign Zex and moved his bag more to the side to give the two more room. His bag made a sandy grinding kind of noise as he moved it but he hardly paid attention to it. He was more focused on keeping his guard up.
"œI look forward to working with you both," he spoke with strained politeness. He was a little bitter about not having the time to settle in properly but such was life about a station at times. He cleared his throat and addressed his two new companions. "œSo, uh, what exactly is going on?"

[Don Damien Addams]

[USS Seleya- Bridge]

The weapon console was shooting sparks. Kal was struck straight in his chest. He shivered for half a second from the hit and every muscle in his body got tense and he was tossed back in his chair. There was a shock look as his eyes rolled in his eyes, his mouth in an O shape like he was energized for a lifetime.

He tilted his head and blinked his eyes very fast as he sat back up. "œWoza!" There was a small black mark on his klingon sash.

Death has tried to steal my life. Sadly. It lost, he thought. He knew someone had seen that. "œI am okay"¦" he tilted his head. "œI feel better," he claimed. Little lie. Little shock he survived that. He was sure it was going to cause problems later when this shift or when he rested. He had a feeling something was going to cause his career a problem. Maybe he was going to die?

[Serena King]

Lt. Eli Ferris|[Katra Station - Ready Room]"Agreed, sir. The more systems we can devote to this the better. The structural integrity field may be beneficial in this effort as well. If necessary, we can engage security protocols and lock down individual sections behind forcefields. All staff should be at stations during this move." Eli was adding his notes to his PADD to keep it sorted himself.

"Thank you, Ensign." Eli was not one to take compliments but the eager junior officer was appreciated, if for his enthusiasm if nothing else. "Captain, I would also like to volunteer to remain on the ship. I have all auxiliary shuttles ready, and my staff will be briefed on the parameters. I believe Mr. Drake's understanding will support that."NPC Post: Ensign Jessica Stewart: Helm-USS Seleya

"Preparing for standard orbit, sir." Despite the explosion, she was a bit nonpulsed by it. Stopping the ship seemed unnecessary, with the helm still responding to commands.

[Katra Station - Ready Room]

Eli was known to be a quiet man.  But intelligent.  He had much to add to the discussion.

"Good ideas.  Proceed with implementing them and coordinate with King, please.  And of course you can stay on the station" Kirok replied.

[Katra Station | Ready Room]

Serena nodded at the Captain and Lieutenant Ferris. "In that case, Lieutenant, here is the playbook. Each small craft is labelled into a specific position. I have even taken the liberty of specifying the type of craft, tractor beam settings and alternate sites, on top of Seleya's settings. Your duty on move would be to liaise. If I highlight on the master map, you will call out that shuttle and the tractor beam settings and location. I will have a corresponding engineering team on standby at that location for damage control if need be. Once we're in cruising status, the rotation of small craft for crew fatigue, maintenance, overheating etc is at your discretion, as long as they follow the plan exactly. Stopping... One step at a time."

[Sirol]

< Katra Station / Turbolift >

[Katra Station | Turbolift]

Xasik eyed the pair cautiously. He couldn't help but wonder who Eydis was. It was certainly an interesting name. He would keep it in mind. It would be interesting to see the person behind the name. Perhaps they were the Chief Science Officer, and perhaps the creature the Romulan officer was holding was a part of their research.
"œSpecialist is fine," he nodded to her but remained wary of her tone. "œUnderstood. I will assist you however I am able. I have experience operating probes, yes. My abilities are at your service"¦.uh, how should I refer to you?" He tried to keep his tone formal and void of emotion. There was a war playing out in his head. He had no objections to following the orders of his superiors, but following the orders of a Romulan was bringing back emotions and feelings he had long tried to move past. With the station still under a Yellow Alert he reasoned that for now, following her orders was the best course of action. The less he found conflict with those around him, the better the environment he could provide for his child.

Xasik gave a hailing nod to Ensign Zex and moved his bag more to the side to give the two more room. His bag made a sandy grinding kind of noise as he moved it but he hardly paid attention to it. He was more focused on keeping his guard up.
"œI look forward to working with you both," he spoke with strained politeness. He was a little bitter about not having the time to settle in properly but such was life about a station at times. He cleared his throat and addressed his two new companions. "œSo, uh, what exactly is going on?"

Folding her arms behind her back, Sirol just looked at the newcomer.
What followed was a period of uncomfortable silence; a moment of tension metaphorically thick enough to cut it with a Kaleh.
As he eventually answered her question with a delay, she simply nodded in acknowledgement, then activated her holo interface again and took some notes, including his name, his position and how to address him, before she briefed him on the essentials.

"œExcellent, Specialist.
I am Lieutenant Sirol, the currently available science officer, and the one to overlook our ongoing task.
Your experience with probes will be beneficial. Your responsibility will be to guarantee their functionality and sufficient number. I will send you a copy of the modifications we will have to perform on them - which will be your follow-up task.
Once we are done with this, network-calibration and a simulation of their placement will follow, and eventually, Ensign Zex will be the one to fly us through strategical points within and around the anomaly and help us place the probes in their respective positions, establish and calibrate the sensory- and communication grid.
Is there anything else you require to know?"

She paused for a moment, before her gaze fell onto his luggage again. His large backpack, housing what she assumed to be some sort of hermetically sealed container, as well as the large bag he was holding in one hand and which gave of suspiciously"¦ Rocky"¦ Grinding noises upon movement.
Sure, he was a geologist, but this"¦. This was over the top even for his profession"¦

"œTake ten minutes to bring your"¦ Collection to your quarters. You can meet up with Ensign Zex and me at Docking Saucer one to begin afterwards.
And do not be late."

[Kirok]

< Katra Station / Deck 1 Turbolift >

"Please, I am happy to help.  In fact I rather enjoy keeping my other skills honed.  So you are doing me a favor" Zex said to Sirol.

She offed a nod to the newcomer.  "You can call me Zex.  Like Sirol, I have no last name" she added.  "What do you prefer to be called? " she asked

[Ready Room]

Kirok nodded.  King's plan did sound good.  He wondered how Eli would reply to her suggestion.

[Xasik]

[Katra Station | Turbolift]

< Katra Station / Turbolift >

Folding her arms behind her back, Sirol just looked at the newcomer.
What followed was a period of uncomfortable silence; a moment of tension metaphorically thick enough to cut it with a Kaleh.
As he eventually answered her question with a delay, she simply nodded in acknowledgement, then activated her holo interface again and took some notes, including his name, his position and how to address him, before she briefed him on the essentials.

"œExcellent, Specialist.
I am Lieutenant Sirol, the currently available science officer, and the one to overlook our ongoing task.
Your experience with probes will be beneficial. Your responsibility will be to guarantee their functionality and sufficient number. I will send you a copy of the modifications we will have to perform on them - which will be your follow-up task.
Once we are done with this, network-calibration and a simulation of their placement will follow, and eventually, Ensign Zex will be the one to fly us through strategical points within and around the anomaly and help us place the probes in their respective positions, establish and calibrate the sensory- and communication grid.
Is there anything else you require to know?"

She paused for a moment, before her gaze fell onto his luggage again. His large backpack, housing what she assumed to be some sort of hermetically sealed container, as well as the large bag he was holding in one hand and which gave of suspiciously"¦ Rocky"¦ Grinding noises upon movement.
Sure, he was a geologist, but this"¦. This was over the top even for his profession"¦

"œTake ten minutes to bring your"¦ Collection to your quarters. You can meet up with Ensign Zex and me at Docking Saucer one to begin afterwards.
And do not be late."

Xasik held his ground as the Romulan stared at him in silence. His posture was rigid and unyielding, almost a silent challenge. It was uncomfortable and he wanted to know what she was taking notes on but he decided to let that question die in his throat. There was a job to do and he didn't want to sour the mood more than it already was.
The name Sirol rang a bell in Xasik's mind. He had known of a Sirol on Remus who had owned multiple shipyards and her husband on Romulus who was a senator of great importance. If this Sirol was indeed related to those then his instant distrust of her would grow exponentially. He had never met either of them personally but Romulan aristocracy still left a bitter taste in his mouth. He had witnessed too much abuse at their hands to simply forget.

< Katra Station / Deck 1 Turbolift >

"Please, I am happy to help.  In fact I rather enjoy keeping my other skills honed.  So you are doing me a favor" Zex said to Sirol.

She offed a nod to the newcomer.  "You can call me Zex.  Like Sirol, I have no last name" she added.  "What do you prefer to be called? " she asked

"œSirol. I know this name from Remus." He frowned but said no more on this. It was perhaps better not to probe into this subject after just meeting her. Instead he turned his attention to Zex and gave her a polite nod. "œEither Specialist or Xasik is fine. I admit that I'm not one for titles but if I must use them then I will."

Listening to Sirol's explanation of what was expected of him, the Reman nodded. It certainly wasn't how he had thought his first day on Katra Station would go, but at least it wasn't dull. It had been a while since he had used a probe so he hoped his skills weren't too rusty, or the whole ordeal may turn out to be a bit of a rocky experience.
He nodded in acceptance of this mission, however there was one problem.
"œI have yet to be assigned quarters. I was actually on my way to check in with the Division leader before settling in."

[Kirok]

[USS Seleya- Bridge]

The weapon console was shooting sparks. Kal was struck straight in his chest. He shivered for half a second from the hit and every muscle in his body got tense and he was tossed back in his chair. There was a shock look as his eyes rolled in his eyes, his mouth in an O shape like he was energized for a lifetime.

He tilted his head and blinked his eyes very fast as he sat back up. "œWoza!" There was a small black mark on his klingon sash.

Death has tried to steal my life. Sadly. It lost, he thought. He knew someone had seen that. "œI am okay"¦" he tilted his head. "œI feel better," he claimed. Little lie. Little shock he survived that. He was sure it was going to cause problems later when this shift or when he rested. He had a feeling something was going to cause his career a problem. Maybe he was going to die?

[USS Seleya- Bridge - EQ]

Kimball was the closest to Kal.  The Ops station was next too the Sec/Tac.  Luckily the spark had missed the XB.

"Commander!" EQ called out.  "Jimrec is down.  Should I power down the area until we can be sure there won't be any more sparks?" he asked.

[Kyle Briggs]

[USS Seleya]

"Carry on, Helm." Kyle said from his seat. "Bring us into a stand......" He was cut off by sparks now shooting from the Tactical station causing Jimrec to be thrown backwards in his chair. He had definitely been hit harder than the earlier officer. "Got another one for ya there, Doctor." he said as he stood. "He seemed to be hit pretty hard. Take him to Sickbay if you think you need to."

From behind, he heard EQ ask a question. "Yes. Shut down power and reroute the station to my chair." he replied. "Ensign Riss. Can you handle tactical as soon as possible? I don't want to be out here without full weapon capabilities." he said.

With all that handled, he turned his attention back to Helm. "Standard orbit and give Science the scanners. Lieutenant. Scan away." he said to Hrafn

He sat back down and let his crew do their jobs.

[Serena King]

< Katra Station / Deck 1 Turbolift >

"Please, I am happy to help.  In fact I rather enjoy keeping my other skills honed.  So you are doing me a favor" Zex said to Sirol.

She offed a nod to the newcomer.  "You can call me Zex.  Like Sirol, I have no last name" she added.  "What do you prefer to be called? " she asked

[Ready Room]

Kirok nodded.  King's plan did sound good.  He wondered how Eli would reply to her suggestion.

Serena nodded and smiled. "I half expect everyone to want to stay aboard. No reason we can't, just possibly injury from flying objects." She shrugged as she waited for Eli's response, starting to tap out the playbook for stopping the station on her PADD.

[Hrafn Falleg]

[USS Seleya]

"Carry on, Helm." Kyle said from his seat. "Bring us into a stand......" He was cut off by sparks now shooting from the Tactical station causing Jimrec to be thrown backwards in his chair. He had definitely been hit harder than the earlier officer. "Got another one for ya there, Doctor." he said as he stood. "He seemed to be hit pretty hard. Take him to Sickbay if you think you need to."

From behind, he heard EQ ask a question. "Yes. Shut down power and reroute the station to my chair." he replied. "Ensign Riss. Can you handle tactical as soon as possible? I don't want to be out here without full weapon capabilities." he said.

With all that handled, he turned his attention back to Helm. "Standard orbit and give Science the scanners. Lieutenant. Scan away." he said to Hrafn

He sat back down and let his crew do their jobs.

[USS Seleya]

Hrafn passed a look of concern over to Kal... they were all part of her extended family and the kids would hate for anything to happen to any one of their Aunties or Uncles.  Kyle and the doctor seemed to have it well in hand though, so when the order came to scan away, the CSO smiled widely and set to, humming/singing a little ditty to herself.

"Lucky, lucky, lucky me, I'm a lucky CSO-Mum, Getting to scan lots of lover-ly data to aid in Science-y fun!..." (to the tune of Lucky, Lucky, Lucky Me by Evelyn Knight)

It would take several days to scan all she wanted, but she'd make do with whatever time she was allowed.

[Kirok]

< Katra Station / Turbolift >

"Xasik it is then" Zex replied.  She offered the man a smile and a nod.  But she pondered his comment a moment.

"Commander Briggs is off site at the moment, and we have no SO currently.  And Kirok is in the ready room, but I might be able to send an email and get you situated.  Do you have anything of note that needs immediate attention among your belongings or can you wait for a reply from the OCC?" she asked as she pulled out her PADD.

[Ready Room]

"That is a risk we can advise the staff of.  But if we all remain on the OCC we can remove or anchor down anything that might harm us" Kirok replied.   Then he looked to Kyan, Eli, and Jyur from further comment.

[Rinaya Riss]

[USS Seleya- Bridge]

The weapon console was shooting sparks. Kal was struck straight in his chest. He shivered for half a second from the hit and every muscle in his body got tense and he was tossed back in his chair. There was a shock look as his eyes rolled in his eyes, his mouth in an O shape like he was energized for a lifetime.

He tilted his head and blinked his eyes very fast as he sat back up. "œWoza!" There was a small black mark on his klingon sash.

Death has tried to steal my life. Sadly. It lost, he thought. He knew someone had seen that. "œI am okay"¦" he tilted his head. "œI feel better," he claimed. Little lie. Little shock he survived that. He was sure it was going to cause problems later when this shift or when he rested. He had a feeling something was going to cause his career a problem. Maybe he was going to die?

[USS Seleya]

"Carry on, Helm." Kyle said from his seat. "Bring us into a stand......" He was cut off by sparks now shooting from the Tactical station causing Jimrec to be thrown backwards in his chair. He had definitely been hit harder than the earlier officer. "Got another one for ya there, Doctor." he said as he stood. "He seemed to be hit pretty hard. Take him to Sickbay if you think you need to."

From behind, he heard EQ ask a question. "Yes. Shut down power and reroute the station to my chair." he replied. "Ensign Riss. Can you handle tactical as soon as possible? I don't want to be out here without full weapon capabilities." he said.

With all that handled, he turned his attention back to Helm. "Standard orbit and give Science the scanners. Lieutenant. Scan away." he said to Hrafn

He sat back down and let his crew do their jobs.

[USS Seleya, Bridge]

At the sound of another sizzling console, Rinaya went straight into "˜damage control' mode, already geared to literally jump at the next incoming problem. She startled, roughly whacking her head on the underside of the station to which she was tending. Wincing, she ignored the knock and scooped up the handful of tools she'd brought from storage, bounding quickly to the sparking tactical station. "Yes sir!"

Knowing there could still be residual energy leftover from the power surge, from either the console or the officer seated there, Rinaya made quick, careful work of removing the panel. Where had that come from? she thought, pulling the fried circuitry. A few burnt-out relays were one thing, but a major system being affected and resulting in this level of a reaction"¦ She tucked herself as neatly out of the way as she could, knowing the doctor would need unhindered access to the officer that had been struck.

"œShouldn't take long to get it back up and running. But captain, I'd recommend we switch from the main power grid to auxiliary power. I think these fireworks may be a result of a sector of the main grid experiencing an overload." Sliding the access panel back into place, Rinaya stood and brushed her hands off on her uniform trousers. "Tactical going offline is one thing, but I'd really hate losing main power due to a sector of blown cells. I'd like to run a level two diagnostic on it, and once I locate and get to the location of the variance, provided it doesn't blow the grid, I should be able to have it fixed fairly quickly."

[Sirol]

< Katra Station / Turbolift >

"œSirol. I know this name from Remus." He frowned but said no more on this. It was perhaps better not to probe into this subject after just meeting her. Instead he turned his attention to Zex and gave her a polite nod. "œEither Specialist or Xasik is fine. I admit that I'm not one for titles but if I must use them then I will."

Sirol gave Xasik Freeman a quick nod.
The fact that her name was familiar to him did not come as a surprise, considering the social status of both of her parents and their houses...
However, his overly obvious radiating distaste that came together with his statement made Sirol not further elaborate.

Instead she looked at her holographic interface again.
Commander Eydis had not yet responded to Sirol's call.
Raising an eyebrow at that fact and wondering what might have kept the Commander busy she closed her interface for now, then folded her arms behind her back again.

He nodded in acceptance of this mission, however there was one problem.
"œI have yet to be assigned quarters. I was actually on my way to check in with the Division leader before settling in."

"Commander Briggs is off site at the moment, and we have no SO currently.  And Kirok is in the ready room, but I might be able to send an email and get you situated.  Do you have anything of note that needs immediate attention among your belongings or can you wait for a reply from the OCC?" she asked as she pulled out her PADD.

The scientist was glad that Zex immediately offered to take care of Xasik getting assigned to a quarter, since Sirol - frankly - was not entirely sure whom to even contact about a matter like this.
It had been several months aboard Katra, and Sirol still had her dear difficulties with the Federation- and to an extend the Starfleet-way to handle things.
Stroking the Uropygi on her arm she musingly thought about her own integration.
The amount of "˜wiggle room' when it came to making arrangements was"¦ Exhausting to her"¦

She looked at Zex and gave her a thankful nod before she focused on Xasik again.
"œIn case you can not be assigned to a quarter before we head out, I suppose you can also leave your items in a marked stash in the shuttle bay of the docking saucer."
Judging by the noises, he had rocks with him in that bag, and"¦ Whatever he had in the sealed container, she assumed it could not be anything particularly dangerous, otherwise he would not directly carry it on his back"¦

"œEither way, I advise we hurry up..." She calmly spoke.
Just as if it had been timed, the doors of the Turbolift hissed open, presenting the view across the wide corridor leading to Docking Saucer 1.

[Kirok]

[USS Seleya]

The hologram at navigation responded after the Caitan.  "Full stop.  In 3, 2, 1" it replied.

"Aye, Sir.  Rerouting the station to your chair.  You have full control.  Bridge power coming offline except for scanner and auxiliary lighting and your chair" EQ called out.

The light dimmed.  They were replaced with dimmer lights.  But still enough for all to see.