Season 16: Episode 2: A Night at the Opera

[Rayek trLhoell]

Commander Rayek tr'Lhoell
[Erewhon - Administrative Area]

[Lt. Jg. James Ramort]
[Erewhon | Transport Site]

"I fear we are within their jurisdiction though and thus subject to their laws. Normally we should be able to expect them being interpreted in a way taking into account our missing familiarity with their legal norms, but it seems they do not extend such niceties to visitors like us."

.
.
.

[Lt. Jg. James Ramort]
[Erewhon | Administrative Area]

The Transport had placed them in a brightly lit room, separated into multiple areas by semi-transparent walls.
Along the adjacent walls of the area, they were in right now, multiple chairs lined the walls. Their shapes were somewhat deformed to accommodate a different anatomy. Multiple holes hinted at a set of extremities much more numerous than the standard humanoid physique.

Besides themselves there were no other members of federation species present. Their own holo-disguises had also been deactivated, a hint that they had indeed left the areas of the complex that were meant to be frequented by guests. He suspected that to the eyes of their alien guests the walls bore signage or even art just beyond his spectrum of vision. So much lost, so much context missing.

Before his minds eye he drew up some plans for some glasses that integrated sensors for multispectral vision and would be able to project varying spectral bands onto their glasses, reminiscent to a now obsolete technology used to cure visual impairment, they could offer future cultural ambassadors a way to pick up all that now was lost to them.

"This room is too empty for my taste, where is everyone?"

While talking a door embedded into one of the semi-transparent panels opened. Prompting them to enter.

"It is an honour to meet you. My name is Lieutenant Ramort from the United Federation of Planets and these are my superiors, Commander Lek and Commander trLhoell. Thank you for taking the time to meet us."

Rayek was not keen to admit that when they first had been transported back up to the station, so intent was he on figuring out where they were and answering the Captain's call that he had neglected to even notice at first that the away team was no longer disguised.

That awareness came a minute later was he followed most of the team inside the Facility Manager's office.  It was only as he turned to beckon the recalcitrant Ferengi to join them that Rayek finally realized this fact.  It caught him off guard enough that he completely blanked on introducing himself or the others.  Thankfully, Ramort was on the ball and spoken up in his place.  The Romulan gave the man a slight appreciative nod to acknowledge his assistance.

Then Lek spoke.

[Erewhon - Transport Site]

Lek listened and couldn't believe these Hyoomons were being so spineless! Where are their backbones? Something is drastically wrong when it's the Ferengi arguing to be aggressive.

"We need to be prepared to fight with blistering fury. I will not walk into a cell without fighting."

Rayek felt the heat of embarrassment mottle his face a darker shade of green at the Ferengi's rather provoking statement.

Attempting to prevent an interspecies incident, Rayek interjected before the Facility Manager could take offense.

"Then perhaps it would be best if you remain in the waiting room Lieutenant Commander.  This is a PEACEFUL meeting,".  The Romulan stressed the word PEACEFUL as spoke,  "and I don't want any misunderstandings to jeopardize that peace."

The Romulan turned back to the alien figure 'seated' in front of them and offered a slight bow of apology.

For several moments there didn't seem to be any visible reaction to any of the statements spoken by Rayek, Lek or Ramort.    'In that form, was the Manager not able to comprehend Standard?', he wondered.

Then the multi tendril-limbed administrator spoke (if speaking was the correct term for making whistle-like vocalizations with its facial barbels in front of its 'nose' slits.).  Thankfully, the universal translator feature of the Away Team communicator was also transferred over to the flip phone.

"Welcome to Erewhon Station, Lieutenant Ramort.  I am Wrrhssrw,"   - the name came out sounding like a whistle - "the Facility Manager.  I have been reviewing the incident  in front of the Library and delving into the vast and various cultural histories of the Federation and comparing those to that of Lyssarian Law.  I find myself troubled by what I've seen, and learned."

[Lek]

Commander Rayek tr'Lhoell
[Erewhon - Administrative Area]

Rayek was not keen to admit that when they first had been transported back up to the station, so intent was he on figuring out where they were and answering the Captain's call that he had neglected to even notice at first that the away team was no longer disguised.

That awareness came a minute later was he followed most of the team inside the Facility Manager's office.  It was only as he turned to beckon the recalcitrant Ferengi to join them that Rayek finally realized this fact.  It caught him off guard enough that he completely blanked on introducing himself or the others.  Thankfully, Ramort was on the ball and spoken up in his place.  The Romulan gave the man a slight appreciative nod to acknowledge his assistance.

Then Lek spoke.

Rayek felt the heat of embarrassment mottle his face a darker shade of green at the Ferengi's rather provoking statement.

Attempting to prevent an interspecies incident, Rayek interjected before the Facility Manager could take offense.

"Then perhaps it would be best if you remain in the waiting room Lieutenant Commander.  This is a PEACEFUL meeting,".  The Romulan stressed the word PEACEFUL as spoke,  "and I don't want any misunderstandings to jeopardize that peace."

The Romulan turned back to the alien figure 'seated' in front of them and offered a slight bow of apology.

For several moments there didn't seem to be any visible reaction to any of the statements spoken by Rayek, Lek or Ramort.    'In that form, was the Manager not able to comprehend Standard?', he wondered.

[Erewhon - Administrative Area]

Lek's eyes narrowed at Rayek spoke about 'peaceful' negotiations.

"Nothing peaceful about trumping up charges and shaking us down for latinum along with detaining us against our will."

He thought, he didn't say anything because it seemed like Rayek was fully buying their con and wasn't listening to anything contrary to that view. Out loud he said.

"Fine by me."

As he stood up and exited the administrator's room. Once in the waiting room, Lek immediately began plotting on how to construct some form of weapon.

"Rayek can be as 'peaceful' as he wants, I am fighting back."

[James Ramort]

[Erewhon - Transport Site]

Lek listened and couldn't believe these Hyoomons were being so spineless! Where are their backbones? Something is drastically wrong when it's the Ferengi arguing to be aggressive.

"We need to be prepared to fight with blistering fury. I will not walk into a cell without fighting."

Commander Rayek tr'Lhoell
[Erewhon - Administrative Area]

Rayek was not keen to admit that when they first had been transported back up to the station, so intent was he on figuring out where they were and answering the Captain's call that he had neglected to even notice at first that the away team was no longer disguised.

That awareness came a minute later was he followed most of the team inside the Facility Manager's office.  It was only as he turned to beckon the recalcitrant Ferengi to join them that Rayek finally realized this fact.  It caught him off guard enough that he completely blanked on introducing himself or the others.  Thankfully, Ramort was on the ball and spoken up in his place.  The Romulan gave the man a slight appreciative nod to acknowledge his assistance.

Then Lek spoke.

Rayek felt the heat of embarrassment mottle his face a darker shade of green at the Ferengi's rather provoking statement.

Attempting to prevent an interspecies incident, Rayek interjected before the Facility Manager could take offense.

"Then perhaps it would be best if you remain in the waiting room Lieutenant Commander.  This is a PEACEFUL meeting,".  The Romulan stressed the word PEACEFUL as spoke,  "and I don't want any misunderstandings to jeopardize that peace."

The Romulan turned back to the alien figure 'seated' in front of them and offered a slight bow of apology.

For several moments there didn't seem to be any visible reaction to any of the statements spoken by Rayek, Lek or Ramort.    'In that form, was the Manager not able to comprehend Standard?', he wondered.

Then the multi tendril-limbed administrator spoke (if speaking was the correct term for making whistle-like vocalizations with its facial barbels in front of its 'nose' slits.).  Thankfully, the universal translator feature of the Away Team communicator was also transferred over to the flip phone.

"Welcome to Erewhon Station, Lieutenant Ramort.  I am Wrrhssrw,"   - the name came out sounding like a whistle - "the Facility Manager.  I have been reviewing the incident  in front of the Library and delving into the vast and various cultural histories of the Federation and comparing those to that of Lyssarian Law.  I find myself troubled by what I've seen, and learned."

[Erewhon | Administrative Area | Facility Managers Office]

The Ferengis outburst left Ramort shocked. He hoped it wouldn't sour the Facility Manager's opinion of their society and colleagues any more. They would be facing an uphill battle anyway. Complicating their position by having to explain the fine nuances and aspects of the various cultures that composited the Federation and Star Fleet.

"I have to apologise for my Colleague's outburst. We have been under a lot of stress from the uncertainty of the situation. I am glad you are taking the time to review our wealth of cultures, if you find any point in which I might provide further insights or information feel free to ask.
As in relation to the incident at hand: Unfortunately, we still are unclear about the specifics of Lyssarian Law. If through this we caused unnecessary distress, we would be delighted to apologise and learn from it to prevent it for the future."

Hoping to provide a friendly and helpful line of communication in outreach with the unknown alien, he tried to stay clear of broaching the most contentious points of the incident. If he could learn more about the laws the manager was applying, it might shed some light on what was waiting for them. He just hoped the situation could be resolved quickly and without further complications.

[Rayek trLhoell]

Commander Rayek tr'Lhoell
[Erewhon - Administrative Area]

[Erewhon - Administrative Area]

Lek's eyes narrowed at Rayek spoke about 'peaceful' negotiations.

"Nothing peaceful about trumping up charges and shaking us down for latinum along with detaining us against our will."

He thought, he didn't say anything because it seemed like Rayek was fully buying their con and wasn't listening to anything contrary to that view. Out loud he said.

"Fine by me."

As he stood up and exited the administrator's room. Once in the waiting room, Lek immediately began plotting on how to construct some form of weapon.

"Rayek can be as 'peaceful' as he wants, I am fighting back."

Rayek watched with a slight frown as his friend left the room. Subtly was not a Ferengi trait apparently.

Being Romulan - raised on Romulus and then beaten and abused by his superiors because of his rare telepathic trait, distrust and suspicion were still very much a part of Rayek's nature.  He could count on one hand the number of people he trusted; and this iridescent purple administrator was not one of them; but he was smart enough not to show that distrust readily.  Hell, even the Captain, seemed to feel the Facility Manager had ulterior motives.  The trick now was to find out what they wanted and prevent it, while gaining the knowledge of their shielding so Discovery could safely leave.

The Romulan glanced back towards the very un-humanoid looking species as (s)he/it welcomed them and mentioned that it was troubled by what they had learned.  Before he could prompt for what that last comment was referring to Ramort spoke up.

[Erewhon | Administrative Area | Facility Managers Office]

"I have to apologize for my Colleague's outburst. We have been under a lot of stress from the uncertainty of the situation. I am glad you are taking the time to review our wealth of cultures. If you find any point in which I might provide further insights or information feel free to ask.
As in relation to the incident at hand: Unfortunately, we still are unclear about the specifics of Lyssarian Law. If through this we caused unnecessary distress, we would be delighted to apologize and learn from it to prevent it for the future."

Normally, Rayek didn't appreciate having a junior officer taking over the conversation that by Starfleet protocol should be conducted by the ranking officer.  However, Ramort's placating and helpful demeanor provided distraction enough for Rayek to attempt to read the Facility Manager's thoughts.

Unethical though it might be considered by Federation standards; Rayek had his family on the ship, so he would do whatever it took to protect them - and everyone else!  While seemingly listening to the two conversing, Rayek cautiously cast his mind out towards the Lyssarian.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Ramort for that offer, and I am pleased to hear that at least some of your people are taking responsibility for their disruption to our Guest. Though I am quite aware that it was not you but rather your disgruntled colleague that was insulting to our Guest - and his host; though that last one is not an infraction."

Suddenly, the Lyssarian's eyes whirled and the glowing red specks of light turned to focus on Rayek almost in amusement.

"Your efforts to read my thoughts are futile, Commander."

Rayek grimaced to have been noticed and kept out so easily.

Wrrhssrw turned back to Ramort and continued their conversation.

"I am curious how territorial law is handled when Starfleet travels to new worlds - such as Erewhon."

[James Ramort]

Commander Rayek tr'Lhoell
[Erewhon - Administrative Area]

Rayek watched with a slight frown as his friend left the room. Subtly was not a Ferengi trait apparently.

Being Romulan - raised on Romulus and then beaten and abused by his superiors because of his rare telepathic trait, distrust and suspicion were still very much a part of Rayek's nature.  He could count on one hand the number of people he trusted; and this iridescent purple administrator was not one of them; but he was smart enough not to show that distrust readily.  Hell, even the Captain, seemed to feel the Facility Manager had ulterior motives.  The trick now was to find out what they wanted and prevent it, while gaining the knowledge of their shielding so Discovery could safely leave.

The Romulan glanced back towards the very un-humanoid looking species as (s)he/it welcomed them and mentioned that it was troubled by what they had learned.  Before he could prompt for what that last comment was referring to Ramort spoke up.

Normally, Rayek didn't appreciate having a junior officer taking over the conversation that by Starfleet protocol should be conducted by the ranking officer.  However, Ramort's placating and helpful demeanor provided distraction enough for Rayek to attempt to read the Facility Manager's thoughts.

Unethical though it might be considered by Federation standards; Rayek had his family on the ship, so he would do whatever it took to protect them - and everyone else!  While seemingly listening to the two conversing, Rayek cautiously cast his mind out towards the Lyssarian.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Ramort for that offer, and I am pleased to hear that at least some of your people are taking responsibility for their disruption to our Guest. Though I am quite aware that it was not you but rather your disgruntled colleague that was insulting to our Guest - and his host; though that last one is not an infraction."

Suddenly, the Lyssarian's eyes whirled and the glowing red specks of light turned to focus on Rayek almost in amusement.

"Your efforts to read my thoughts are futile, Commander."

Rayek grimaced to have been noticed and kept out so easily.

Wrrhssrw turned back to Ramort and continued their conversation.

"I am curious how territorial law is handled when Starfleet travels to new worlds - such as Erewhon."

Regulation 256.15: Starfleet officers shall display behavior befitting an officer at all times.

[Erewhon | Administrative Area | Facility Managers Office]

He froze in place. The features on his face almost loosing composure for a second.

Reading the Manager's thoughts?

Was the Commander able to read minds? How was that even possible. Of course, he was a Romulan. Romulans were relatives of Vulcans, a species capable of limited telepathy. But that was limited to physical contact, wasn't it. Vulcans needed to touch the subject of their mind melds to establish the link necessary to read out another person's mind. No contact had taken place here, he was sure of it.
If the Commander was able to read another being's mind like that, an unknown alien at that, was he able to read his mind too? Had he done so in the past? He was not sure if he would have been able to detect it like the manager had done.

The Borg had tried to pierce his mind. The Commander might have actually succeeded in that aspect, without anyone even noticing.

A feeling of incredible violation took hold in him. He would have to ask him later. Maybe check his file if there were any notes in it that could not have been obtained by a background check alone. See for himself.

None of that could be done now.

He looked over to the Commander. Both curiosity and horror in his eyes.

Hoping the moment didn't take too long, he focused back on the Manager, hoping to play over the moment like nothing happened.

"The Federation strives to pay the utmost respect to the customs and traditions of all cultures and civilisations we encounter. I am sure if you review our legal codes and jurisprudence you will find ample proof that we have a tradition of doing our best to adhere to these laws and that those that violate them can be subject to disciplinary action according to the martial rules of our Organisation.
If one of our ships enters the legal territory of another civilisation or if we find ourselves on the exclusive territory of another civilisation, we are to adhere to the local customs, as long as they do not violate some of our superseding commands. Like the order not to kill or harm any intelligent being or the laws against interfering with the development of any pre-warp society or against interference in the timeline. I hope you find these restrictions reasonable, as they could render harm to any spacefaring civilisation in the galaxy."

Pausing his monologue for a brief moment to give the alien manager a chance to process the information he provided and maybe pull up some documents from the Discoveries Database, he undoubtedly had access to.

"So in this case we find ourselves in: We will do our best to comply with whatever laws you have that govern the conduct between guests, as well as any law for due procedure and potential standing we might enjoy. I would ask just that you enlighten us about your legal code so we can take appropriate steps to comply.
I hope we will come to an appropriate understanding, and I am thankful for the dialogue we have opened here."

His words were not an exact match to the introductory courses for diplomatic negotiations, but they were at least honest, if a bit clad in the appropriate speech. He probably should take some advanced training in negation and diplomacy when he got back to the Federation. Usually these courses were only recommended for more senior officers but after this experience he would petition the Captain to have the whole Department take some extra lessons. Better to possess an extra skill one might never need than find oneself lacking in the very same skill if a need ever came up. And a need was up right now for sure.

[T'Rea]

[USS Discovery | Deck 1 | Bridge | Science Station 1]
The captain's orders to begin docking procedures wasn't particularly surprising to Rajagopalan or T'Rea--the current radiation levels really left no other choice at this point, even ignoring the ominous sounds of their groaning hull--and instructions to security about arming didn't apply to either of the scientists, leaving them more or less free to continue their data collection and analysis. After all, there was a countdown on now to the time until they would reach the station, and that could mean a time limit on access to the Discovery's sensor feeds and analysis computers...

[Ensign Kedan]
[USS Discovery | Deck 5 | Auxiliary Engineering]
"Thank you, Ensign, we will get to work on this asap. Keep us advised if you find any more details. Every little bit might help. Any chance you could find any patterns in the waves of Energons hitting us?" 

T'Rea turned her attention back to her console to try and assess the ebb and flow of hyper-energons concentrations over time as Kedan had requested. She quickly decided it was in fact the ultra-low-frequency/long timescale intensity changes they were most interested in, and now that she knew what to look for, they had a several hours worth of data she could down-sample and fit. She'd use a starting guess of 0.5 mHz in the fitting script...

Now that the data was sufficiently down-sampled it only took the computers a few moments to perform the fitting. Accessing the goodness of such fits was generally tricky, but T'Rea didn't have the luxury of a proper review of the relevant statistics. She forwarded what she had to Auxiliary Engineering, "Ensign Kedan, I have something for you on the low-frequency tide-patterns in the radiation waves. It looks like the sum of 3 sinusoids: estimated freqencies of 0.27 mHz, 0.56 mHz and 4.1 mHz. Largest amplitude component corresponds with the 0.56 mHz component."

As the ship started making its way to the station, with the groans of hull microfracture echoing through the bulkheads, there was sensor data coming in from the shuttle. It appeared that there were multiple deflector emitters aimed at the planet, and while the standard graviton pulses were there, there was another signature as well:

Half of the deflectors were emitting exotic particles instead of gravitons.  The shields were multilayered!

Almost before T'Rea had had finished her transmission to Kedan, Rajagopalan let out a quiet sound of surprised realization as he checked the shuttle analysis. Instinctively, she took a step in his direction to get a better view of his screen, "Look at this," he told her, maximizing the primary graphical output of her code, "It's not just graviton shielding, it's--," but before he could say more his face abruptly acquired the colored of a Vulcan blush and he lurched to the side as he vomited. Reflexively, T'Rea reached out a hand to help steady him and keep him from toppling over entirely, and she visibly flinched at the resulting telepathic contact as his nausea and dizziness swept over her. There could be no doubt that he was suffering from radiation poisoning. Suddenly, the idea of docking inside the space stations shielding felt more like a relief than a disappointment.

"Captain, is medical prepared with hyronalin to treat acute radiation syndrome? If they have a sufficient supply, perhaps it's time to disperse into the ventilation system as a radiation counteragent. Or at least send medics with inoculation supplies to the bridge and any other high-exposure areas on the ship?" For the first time, the stress of the situation had started to creep into the Vulcan crewman's voice as she spoke.

Even as she was speaking she helped Rajagopalan to the nearest chair and then turned back to the science console to first press the emergency button that would alert medical that there was an officer on the bridge in need of medical attention, and then immediately send the details of the multi-layer shielding properties generated by analysis of the shuttle data to Kedan, McNair, and M'Nia, flagging the file with the highest possible priority until she had the chance to make a voice call on the topic. She checked over her shoulder. Rajagopalan still looked green, but he didn't appear at risk of fainting outright and there was little more she could do for him without leaving the Science station on the bridge completely unmanned.

[Rayek trLhoell]

Commander Rayek tr'Lhoell
[Erewhon | Administrative Area]

[Erewhon | Administrative Area | Facility Managers Office]

He froze in place. The features on his face almost loosing composure for a second.

Reading the Manager's thoughts?

A feeling of incredible violation took hold in him. He would have to ask him later. Maybe check his file if there were any notes in it that could not have been obtained by a background check alone. See for himself.

He looked over to the Commander. Both curiosity and horror in his eyes.

Hoping the moment didn't take too long, he focused back on the Manager, hoping to play over the moment like nothing happened.

"The Federation strives to pay the utmost respect to the customs and traditions of all cultures and civilisations we encounter. I am sure if you review our legal codes and jurisprudence you will find ample proof that we have a tradition of doing our best to adhere to these laws and that those that violate them can be subject to disciplinary action according to the martial rules of our Organisation.
If one of our ships enters the legal territory of another civilisation or if we find ourselves on the exclusive territory of another civilisation, we are to adhere to the local customs, as long as they do not violate some of our superseding commands. Like the order not to kill or harm any intelligent being or the laws against interfering with the development of any pre-warp society or against interference in the timeline. I hope you find these restrictions reasonable, as they could render harm to any spacefaring civilisation in the galaxy."

Pausing his monologue for a brief moment to give the alien manager a chance to process the information he provided and maybe pull up some documents from the Discoveries Database, he undoubtedly had access to.

"So in this case we find ourselves in: We will do our best to comply with whatever laws you have that govern the conduct between guests, as well as any law for due procedure and potential standing we might enjoy. I would ask just that you enlighten us about your legal code so we can take appropriate steps to comply.
I hope we will come to an appropriate understanding, and I am thankful for the dialogue we have opened here."

From the way that Ramort turned to look towards him with a mixture of shock and apprehension, Rayek figured that the Science officer had not picked up on any of the ship-board gossip about their Romulan First Officer.

'It's not like I was hiding it,' he thought sourly.  He had used his ability more than a few times to give the Discovery crew an advantage during a couple of their missions since his being assigned as it's First Officer.  Though upon reflection, Rayek supposed Ramort was just a newcomer to the ship at the time. The Romulan mockingly wondered if he needed to affix a sticker or button to his uniform proclaiming 'I am a telepath' just to avoid such distrustful looks.

He was grateful when Ramort chose to continue speaking to the Facility Manager and explain some of the key Starfleet regulations to their host.

"Lyssarian law is rather detailed, with many social complexities that would mean nothing to visitors such as yourselves." The answer was vague and Rayek wondered if that was intentional.

The Lyssarian then left its 'chair' and used several of its tendrils to 'walk' over to one of the blank walls.  It touched the surface and a 'video screen' appeared.

"I've adjusted the visual wavelength on this view screen, so this should be visible to you. My apologies to you and your group for the earlier error on my end.  I was a little too excited that I was to be the first to host actual humans at Erewhon.  I was hoping impress you with how accurate our details are."

Wrrhssrw tapped a couple tendrils against the wall beneath the 'screen' and a visual of the town appeared and quickly zoomed in to the front of the Library - showing the Away Team walking along the path to its entrance.  The video continued showing the woman's irate tantrum and physical attack on the groundskeeper, and then Lek's angry response in reaction.

"Describe to me what happened in this incident from your point of view."

[Lek]

[Erewhon - Administration Waiting Room]

Lek looked around the room for materials to make something approaching a weapon. The only real options were something sharp or something blunt. The furniture was all very modern in design which eliminated using a chair leg or the like. So he began looking for something portable and fragile enough to break and turn into a crude blade.

[James Ramort]

Commander Rayek tr'Lhoell
[Erewhon | Administrative Area]

[...]

"Lyssarian law is rather detailed, with many social complexities that would mean nothing to visitors such as yourselves." The answer was vague and Rayek wondered if that was intentional.

The Lyssarian then left its 'chair' and used several of its tendrils to 'walk' over to one of the blank walls.  It touched the surface and a 'video screen' appeared.

"I've adjusted the visual wavelength on this view screen, so this should be visible to you. My apologies to you and your group for the earlier error on my end.  I was a little too excited that I was to be the first to host actual humans at Erewhon.  I was hoping impress you with how accurate our details are."

Wrrhssrw tapped a couple tendrils against the wall beneath the 'screen' and a visual of the town appeared and quickly zoomed in to the front of the Library - showing the Away Team walking along the path to its entrance.  The video continued showing the woman's irate tantrum and physical attack on the groundskeeper, and then Lek's angry response in reaction.

"Describe to me what happened in this incident from your point of view."

[Lt. Jg. James Ramort]
[Erewhon | Adminstrative Area | Facility Mangers Office]

"We went to the Library to consult its facilities to learn more about your fascinating culture. While on the way there we bore witness to a confrontation. Another guest verbally assaulted a human that seemed to be in a position of staff of the Facility. Eventually she resortet to physically violence against the groundskeeper.

Commander Lek saw himself compelled to render assistence by questioning the attacker about the merits of such actions. At that point in time none of us had received access to the legal codes of Lyssarian Law or been given any introduction to the expected code of conduct from either the staff on hand or a cultural liason.
Following this question about her conduct, the guest immediatly demanded reparation being paid, without give an option to clear up the situation or anybody giving us the legal context.
Now we find ourselves in a tough spot. None of us meant to insult you, your culture or the other guests in any way shape or form.

How does Lyssarian Law view the incident."

Given how obvious the Manager had made it that they had been monitored so far, he tried to provide a framing for the images that retained the fact of the missing context as much as possible. Maybe Lyssarian law provided for exact consequences for their actions but could they really be held in full to that if they were not even aware of the Law in the first place.

He also tried to frame the Commander in a more innocent light. The Chief Engineer seemed to on the Edge abou the whole incident so if his own statement would be enough and there wouldn't be further questioning the situation could probably be resolved more diplomatically.

[USS Discovery | Deck 1 | Bridge | Science Station 1]
The captain's orders to begin docking procedures wasn't particularly surprising to Rajagopalan or T'Rea--the current radiation levels really left no other choice at this point, even ignoring the ominous sounds of their groaning hull--and instructions to security about arming didn't apply to either of the scientists, leaving them more or less free to continue their data collection and analysis. After all, there was a countdown on now to the time until they would reach the station, and that could mean a time limit on access to the Discovery's sensor feeds and analysis computers...

Now that the data was sufficiently down-sampled it only took the computers a few moments to perform the fitting. Accessing the goodness of such fits was generally tricky, but T'Rea didn't have the luxury of a proper review of the relevant statistics. She forwarded what she had to Auxiliary Engineering, "Ensign Kedan, I have something for you on the low-frequency tide-patterns in the radiation waves. It looks like the sum of 3 sinusoids: estimated freqencies of 0.27 mHz, 0.56 mHz and 4.1 mHz. Largest amplitude component corresponds with the 0.56 mHz component." Almost before T'Rea had had finished her transmission to Kedan, Rajagopalan let out a quiet sound of surprised realization as he checked the shuttle analysis. Instinctively, she took a step in his direction to get a better view of his screen, "Look at this," he told her, maximizing the primary graphical output of her code, "It's not just graviton shielding, it's--," but before he could say more his face abruptly acquired the colored of a Vulcan blush and he lurched to the side as he vomited. Reflexively, T'Rea reached out a hand to help steady him and keep him from toppling over entirely, and she visibly flinched at the resulting telepathic contact as his nausea and dizziness swept over her. There could be no doubt that he was suffering from radiation poisoning. Suddenly, the idea of docking inside the space stations shielding felt more like a relief than a disappointment.

"Captain, is medical prepared with hyronalin to treat acute radiation syndrome? If they have a sufficient supply, perhaps it's time to disperse into the ventilation system as a radiation counteragent. Or at least send medics with inoculation supplies to the bridge and any other high-exposure areas on the ship?" For the first time, the stress of the situation had started to creep into the Vulcan crewman's voice as she spoke.

Even as she was speaking she helped Rajagopalan to the nearest chair and then turned back to the science console to first press the emergency button that would alert medical that there was an officer on the bridge in need of medical attention, and then immediately send the details of the multi-layer shielding properties generated by analysis of the shuttle data to Kedan, McNair, and M'Nia, flagging the file with the highest possible priority until she had the chance to make a voice call on the topic. She checked over her shoulder. Rajagopalan still looked green, but he didn't appear at risk of fainting outright and there was little more she could do for him without leaving the Science station on the bridge completely unmanned.

[Ensign Kedan]
[USS Discovery | Deck 5 | Auxiliary Engineering]
As the numbers spilt onto his screen and were plugged by the multitude of algorithms in the background to be fitted into new models automatically, he acknowledged the call.

"Thank you T'Rea, these numbers should prove most useful." 

Taking another look at the data, an Idea formed in his head. Given there were three interfering frequencies, their own shields, using a single frequency would be far too slow in adapting, they would need a new approach altogether. Maybe, if they could bring the shield emitters to produce multiple frequencies and create an interference from that, they could cancel out the radiation before it even hit their hull.

Inputting the parameters into the model he ran the simulation and asked the others:

"What about this? Do you think something like this could work?"

[Dr. Phlome]
[USS Discovery | Medbay]

The room was filling with burn victims and people suffering from radiation poisoning. All hands were busy replicating antidotes for various caused minor illnesses and setting up an enlarged ward to house the sure-fire influx of patients that was still to come.

Their work was interrupted when the Computer alerted them to a medical emergency on the Bridge. Grabbing the Med-Kit she had barely stored away, she took the nearest exit and rushed for the Ship's upmost Deck. Her colleagues would have to take up her extra work for a second, but they could not afford the Bridge becoming unmanned through the officers falling ill and being unable to perform their duties.

[USS Discovery | Deck 1 | Bridge]

Arriving on the Bridge she quickly survey the situation. Everyone seemed tense and a large space station was growing larger on the large viewscreen in front of Helm.

"Who is the patient?"

[T'Rea]

[Dr. Phlome]
[USS Discovery | Medbay]
The room was filling with burn victims and people suffering from radiation poisoning. All hands were busy replicating antidotes for various caused minor illnesses and setting up an enlarged ward to house the sure-fire influx of patients that was still to come.

Their work was interrupted when the Computer alerted them to a medical emergency on the Bridge. Grabbing the Med-Kit she had barely stored away, she took the nearest exit and rushed for the Ship's upmost Deck. Her colleagues would have to take up her extra work for a second, but they could not afford the Bridge becoming unmanned through the officers falling ill and being unable to perform their duties.

[USS Discovery | Deck 1 | Bridge]
Arriving on the Bridge she quickly survey the situation. Everyone seemed tense and a large space station was growing larger on the large viewscreen in front of Helm.
"Who is the patient?"

[USS Discovery | Deck 1 | Bridge | Science Station 1]
T'Rea looked up at the doctor's arrival, "Ensign Rajagopalan. Over here," she answered promptly, gesturing her over and stepping away from the Science console long enough to explain the situation to the Denobulan.

Rajagopalan's complexion was somewhere between grey and green T'Rea thought as she watched the human waver where he sat. Cautiously, she laid a hand on his shoulder to help steady him, grateful for the protective barrier of his uniform. "He's showing classic signs of radiation sickness." The puddle of sick on the floor nearby spoke for itself on that front, the Vulcan thought.

Rajagoplan himself swallowed heavily as he blinked up at T'Rea and Dr. Phlome, "The artificial gravity's just not feeling quite as stable as I'm used to," he tried to excuse, "But I'm fine. It's started to stabilize a bit more." T'Rea's eyebrow raised. She was hardly an expert on the subject, but she suspected his last statement was a lie because he was still swaying a bit against her steadying grip and his eyes weren't quite focusing correctly on the doctor's face.

[Rayek trLhoell]

Commander Rayek tr'Lhoell
[Erewhon | Administrative Area]

[Lt. Jg. James Ramort]
[Erewhon | Administrative Area | Facility Mangers Office]

"We went to the Library to consult its facilities to learn more about your fascinating culture. While on the way there we bore witness to a confrontation. Another guest verbally assaulted a human that seemed to be in a position of staff of the Facility. Eventually she resorted to physically violence against the groundskeeper.

Commander Lek saw himself compelled to render assistance by questioning the attacker about the merits of such actions. At that point in time none of us had received access to the legal codes of Lyssarian Law or been given any introduction to the expected code of conduct from either the staff on hand or a cultural liaison.

Following this questioning about her conduct, the guest immediately demanded reparation being paid, without give an option to clear up the situation or anybody giving us the legal context.

Now we find ourselves in a tough spot. None of us meant to insult you, your culture or the other guests in any way shape or form.

How does Lyssarian Law view the incident."

Given how obvious the Manager had made it that they had been monitored so far, he tried to provide a framing for the images that retained the fact of the missing context as much as possible. Maybe Lyssarian law provided for exact consequences for their actions but could they really be held in full to that if they were not even aware of the Law in the first place.

He also tried to frame the Commander in a more innocent light. The Chief Engineer seemed to on the edge about the whole incident so if his own statement would be enough and there wouldn't be further questioning the situation could probably be resolved more diplomatically.

After having his attempt to read the Lyssarian's mind be rebuffed so easily, Rayek focused on securing his own mind from what he suspected was a scan of his own thoughts.  Was that how the holograms knew to provide what they wanted.  He had initially assumed they were being watched and their actions and needs interpreted by the hologram's AI program, but maybe it was the Facility Manager just reading all their thoughts?

"First off Lyssarian law recognizes the right of our Lyssarian guest to discipline an artificial lifeform as she sees fit. That groundskeeper was no human but rather artificial life - a facsimile of human life - but without what you would call a soul. It has no free will."

"Secondly, your Commander Lek's choice of words was unfortunately extremely insulting to our Guest - implying that they have a sizable posterior.  That would be unbelievably demeaning to any Lyssarian."

[James Ramort]

[USS Discovery | Deck 1 | Bridge | Science Station 1]
T'Rea looked up at the doctor's arrival, "Ensign Rajagopalan. Over here," she answered promptly, gesturing her over and stepping away from the Science console long enough to explain the situation to the Denobulan.

Rajagopalan's complexion was somewhere between grey and green T'Rea thought as she watched the human waver where he sat. Cautiously, she laid a hand on his shoulder to help steady him, grateful for the protective barrier of his uniform. "He's showing classic signs of radiation sickness." The puddle of sick on the floor nearby spoke for itself on that front, the Vulcan thought.

Rajagoplan himself swallowed heavily as he blinked up at T'Rea and Dr. Phlome, "The artificial gravity's just not feeling quite as stable as I'm used to," he tried to excuse, "But I'm fine. It's started to stabilize a bit more." T'Rea's eyebrow raised. She was hardly an expert on the subject, but she suspected his last statement was a lie because he was still swaying a bit against her steadying grip and his eyes weren't quite focusing correctly on the doctor's face.

[Dr. Phlome]
[USS Discovery | Deck 1 | Bridge ]

"I fear he isn't the only one, and like him most are not simply showing signs. The entire ship has absorbed too much radiation for our bodies to handle.", the Doctor lamented while taking out two hypersprays from the Med-Kit she had brought and loaded them with small glass viles, each holding a carefully meassured out chemical concuction.

The first one a deep blue and the second one red as blood. Their colours distorted by the flashing red lights on the bridge.

"Crewman, could I ask you to hold his head still while I administer the medication directly into his Aorta. I don't want him to breathe in his breakfast if another attack hits before I can cool him down.

[Ensign Kedan]
[USS Discovery | Deck 5 | Auxiliary Engineering]

The Simulations proved promising. If the Emitters could be reconfigured correctly and were fully controlled by the computer to emite gliding and overlapping frequencies they might just shave of the worst.

Just as he began drafting the necessary changes to the ships controlling code for the emiters and pulling up specs for the emitters to see what modifications would need to be done to make them fit the new shield patters and harmonics, a bad feeling began building in his stomache.

Looking around, some other people around him didn't look to great either. Some were holding their heads or stomaches as if they had eaten something bad or were falling ill.

Commander Rayek tr'Lhoell
[Erewhon | Administrative Area]

After having his attempt to read the Lyssarian's mind be rebuffed so easily, Rayek focused on securing his own mind from what he suspected was a scan of his own thoughts.  Was that how the holograms knew to provide what they wanted.  He had initially assumed they were being watched and their actions and needs interpreted by the hologram's AI program, but maybe it was the Facility Manager just reading all their thoughts?

"First off Lyssarian law recognizes the right of our Lyssarian guest to discipline an artificial lifeform as she sees fit. That groundskeeper was no human but rather artificial life - a facsimile of human life - but without what you would call a soul. It has no free will."

"Secondly, your Commander Lek's choice of words was unfortunately extremely insulting to our Guest - implying that they have a sizable posterior.  That would be unbelievably demeaning to any Lyssarian."

[Lt. Jg. James Ramort]
[Erewhon | Administrative Area | Facility Managers Office]

Not Human? Not possessing a Soul? Just what were their standards for meassuring sentience. After what he observed, they were at least able to feel a certain degree of emotion and were capable of higher cognitive functions.

Taking another deep breath he reminded himself that he was a guest in an alien culture. Even if by Federation Standard the Manager had just demonstrate a school of thought in line with famous Warcriminals from History past, he could not do anything against it. Most important would be to get their Crew out of here and back into Federation Space.

"Allow me to once again apologize sincerely on behalf of the Federation. We didn't intend to insult your culture of physiology. Is there anything we could do to make this right. Would it help to show we really meant no harm if we apologised to the Guest that was insulted as well?"

[Buck McNair]

[USS Discovery - Deck 1 - Main Bridge]

As the bridge worked, the Captain glanced down at his hand.  A legion was forming on the back of it; a telltale sign of radiation poisoning.  The Bridge was on the outside layer; above them was hull plating and then space.  Even if there wasn't a total collapse, levels rose on the bridge just simply due to proximity.

As McNair put in his newest changes, the shields around the ship crackled as they tried to adjust to the new frequency. The Captain looked over at the schematics where an estimated countdown clock was showing.  He watched their remaining time dip down, and then back up, and then slow... but it was still counting down.

"Bridge to McNair... it worked for a bit, but then the frequency changed again.  I think the frequencies are changing too fast, and our shields were not designed to rotate that quickly.  Even the Borg protocols can't compensate.  It just takes too long for our shields to compensate, and by the time it does, the frequency is moving on."

He frowned, but looked at the counter again.  Their time was just about up.  "Lorut, unlock the armories and get security armed.  We may have actual company after we dock, and I'm too burnt to play nice."

"Helm... take us in.  Emergency docking procedures." he stated, tapping the all comm.

"All hands, this is the Captain.  Our attempts to shield ourselves from the radiation have failed, and we do not have enough time to try and get away from the system, nor are we going to abandon our crew.  I have made the decision to dock at the station.  I am well aware that this may be a trap anyway, but the alternative is losing the crew, who frankly are more important than the ship.  Once we dock, I am ordering the evacuation of Discovery to the station.  Security, be on heightened alert. Our goal once we are on the station is to find out how they repel the radiation and apply it to our ship.  Good luck to you all.  Bridge out."

[USS Discovery | Deck 5 | Auxillary engineering]

Buck tried his best to allow himself to appear passive, not overwhelmed by the absolute state of decay their ship's shields were facing. He had heard that his adjustments to the system had worked however there was a problem - the frequency had changed, again. He pumped his fist in frustration as he crossed his arms, hand to his mouth as he thought of an alternative. They would have to keep playing catch up or compensate for the frequency changes.  Aye Cap, we'll keep at it in the mean time. 

Then the broadcast had gone out, stating that they were going to be docking at the behest of the crew. Trap or not, Buck agreed with the captain on this one - they could not leave their team stranded on the planet and they didn't have the technology to keep up with the degrading shields and compete with the frequencies, no matter how much they were still willing to try.

[Ensign Kedan]
[USS Discovery | Deck 5 | Auxiliary Engineering]
"The Waves are hitting us constantly. Their changing energy levels are preventing us from adapting quickly enough, resulting in enormous strain to the emitters. We are also reading intense stress levels in physical shielding. Almost as if the Energons hitting us are of quasi particular nature. I am working on a way to reflect them from the Hull. If we can catch them in the shield before they manage to polarize the hull we can prevent a lot of damage to our system."

Buck looked over at the ensign with an encouraging nod. "Best we can do and hope for at this point is to play damage control. Keep at it and just keep an eye out when we're docked." He was looking over his stats and data as they continued onwards trying to find a solution. "Is there anything else we can do to reverse or slow it down any further?"

[T'Rea]

[Dr. Phlome]
[USS Discovery | Deck 1 | Bridge ]
"I fear he isn't the only one, and like him most are not simply showing signs. The entire ship has absorbed too much radiation for our bodies to handle.", the Doctor lamented while taking out two hypersprays from the Med-Kit she had brought and loaded them with small glass viles, each holding a carefully meassured out chemical concuction.

The first one a deep blue and the second one red as blood. Their colours distorted by the flashing red lights on the bridge.

"Crewman, could I ask you to hold his head still while I administer the medication directly into his Aorta. I don't want him to breathe in his breakfast if another attack hits before I can cool him down.

[USS Discovery | Deck 1 | Bridge | Science Station 1]
So much for her attempts to avoid direct contact. T'Rea took a second to brace herself. The touch telepath strengthened her mental shielding as tight as feasible on such short notice, let out a careful breath, and then braced Rajagopalan's head between both hands as the doctor has asked.

It was impossible to completely prevent any transference of the Science Ensign's nausea under such circumstances, and T'Rea had to fight against her own body's instinctive attempt to react in the same way as Rajagopalan's had. The moment Dr. Phlome had finished administering the medication she released her hold on Rajagoplan and took a half step back. She flexed her fingers, rubbing her palms momentarily against her uniform as if to try and dispel the lingering sensations from the contact. "Thank you, Doctor," she remarked as she watched Rajagopalan out of the corner of her eye, trying to judgeefficacy of the medication based on his reactions. "While you are here, perhaps it would be wise to treat the captain and key bridge personnel pre-emptively, to minimize any potential disruptions in critical positions. If you have the necessary supplies, of course."

[James Ramort]

[USS Discovery | Deck 1 | Bridge | Science Station 1]
So much for her attempts to avoid direct contact. T'Rea took a second to brace herself. The touch telepath strengthened her mental shielding as tight as feasible on such short notice, let out a careful breath, and then braced Rajagopalan's head between both hands as the doctor has asked.

It was impossible to completely prevent any transference of the Science Ensign's nausea under such circumstances, and T'Rea had to fight against her own body's instinctive attempt to react in the same way as Rajagopalan's had. The moment Dr. Phlome had finished administering the medication she released her hold on Rajagoplan and took a half step back. She flexed her fingers, rubbing her palms momentarily against her uniform as if to try and dispel the lingering sensations from the contact. "Thank you, Doctor," she remarked as she watched Rajagopalan out of the corner of her eye, trying to judgeefficacy of the medication based on his reactions. "While you are here, perhaps it would be wise to treat the captain and key bridge personnel pre-emptively, to minimize any potential disruptions in critical positions. If you have the necessary supplies, of course."

[Dr. Phlome]
[USS Discovery | Deck 1 | Bridge]

The Hypospray discharged their payloads with a satisfying little hissing sound, indicating even to an untrained ear that the inoculation had been a success. one could almost watch on as Rajagopalans face took on a much more healthy colour, albeit he probably would take a couple of minutes before he was fully up again.

"Thank you for your assistance, Crewman, it is much appreciated."

Although her face had not even flinched when touching the Ensigns face, her medical training told Phlome she probably had experience at least a little bit of psychic backlash. Radiation poisoning could feel as if once innards turned to stew and the suffering person burned up from the inside out. In many previous encounters with radiation leaks or similar phenomena in space, they really had far too many of these, maybe she should suggest preventative inoculations next time they left space port. Usually the patients didn't care too much for reliving the experience but some had come back and told her how it felt, and she didn't want to experience it for herself.

Imagining that the Vulcan must have felt a fraction of this pain, she fully understood where from her sentiment came.

"Given the Ensign is out of the picture at the moment, you are actually the only Science Officer here right now, so you also count as Key personnel. If you want to, I can inoculate you. For the rest of the Bridge, I require the Captain's permission?"

The last part of her sentence directed at the Bajoran sitting at the heart of the Room.

[USS Discovery | Deck 5 | Auxiliary engineering]

[...]

Buck looked over at the ensign with an encouraging nod. "Best we can do and hope for at this point is to play damage control. Keep at it and just keep an eye out when we're docked." He was looking over his stats and data as they continued onwards trying to find a solution. "Is there anything else we can do to reverse or slow it down any further?"

[Ensign Kedan]
[USS Discovery | Deck 5 | Auxiliary Engineering]

Encouraged by the Lieutenants words, Kedan took to the data again. The Algorithms for rebuilding the shield frequencies now finished, he found himself at an impasse with another part of the Problem. Preventing most of the Radiation from hitting them was nice and everything but they also had to get rid of the Energons.

"There still is the issue of the Energons. If we can't deflect them, they will just continue to rip through the ship's plating and eventually our DNA. Any Idea how we might deflect them?"