The door swooshes open. A Human CPO is there, accompanying the Kitchissippi's crew.
O'Grady stops at the door. "I'll just leave you in the capable hands of Lieutenant Theron. Sir, I'll be back at my post in the Ops Centre."

Theron says, "Thanks Sean. Tell the CO her wayward lambs have come home, wagging their tails behind them."

"Will do, Sir, but I'll be thanking ye not to be mockin' me Irish heritage. Sir!" O'Grady chuckles and the doors swoosh shut.

Commander Samson reenters the room a few moments later. "Theron, have you been busting Sean's chops again? He was muttering about some anonymous 'blue-balled bastard'.

She takes a seat at the centre of the curved conference table and refills her tea cup. "I've met Lieutenant Dul and her crew. You'd be Lieutenant Anderson?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:59, Sat 06 Aug 2016.

"No ma'am. As far as I know I'm already Lt. Anderson - since I joined Starfleet. Is there something wrong with my records? I thought we'd worked things out my first year in the Academy. It's a legal name change - no one could even pronounce my clan name. Something about the shape of your voice boxes or something."

He waved it away dismissively.

"Nevermind, I'll have it all fixed soonest. We're Kitchissippi. This is Kurasa, Merawdr, and Gröen. We're very happy to be on stati...aboar... err, however the semantics work for Dyson."

In reply to Mac Anderson (msg # 2):

Shione leaned closer to Mac ,whispering"It's a human greeting,Mac;intended only to acknowledge both your Rank and name,as a way to open a conversation"

She turns to the Commander acknowledging her rank with a nod I'm Lt(jg)Shione Kurasa of Betazed. It's an honor to be here Ma'am.Looking forward to seeing more of this incredible marvel"

The braided Xenexian looked at Shione as if judging if she was joking, then shrugged. His native language might be difficult for outsiders to vocalize, but it wasn't exactly known for its drastic amounts of nuance. Standard was a wonderful language for slang, and he'd embraced that... but sometimes he still got tripped up by turns of phrases.

In reply to Mac Anderson (msg # 2):

"Sorry Lieutenant. A bit of Sean's Irish brogue goes a long way. Oh, Theron," she says to the Andorian Ops Chief, "Please take that (shudder) stuff with you on your way out. You know how I feel about that Ferengi soda."

Theron winces dramatically. "Yes Ma'am, right away, Ma'am. Will there be anything else Ma'am?"

She sighs, "No, now scoot. I'm sure you have something to do somewhere else."

"So, welcome to the menagerie. We've got a full day ahead of us. First, Athena - Doctor Adonidas to you - wants to give you all your in-routine physical. Security Chief Gavak, who've you've all met, has already received and processed your latest security files. Once that's all done, you'll be proceeding to Outpost Three to meet your immediate superior, Lieutenant Teranin Atek. Ms. Dul and Ms. Kurosa, you'll be interested to know that he, too, is a Betazoid. He's only been here a couple of months, so the briefings are still fresh in his mind. We're going to try something different, something we've been wanting to do and now have the personnel to do so. That is, for many of your missions, the Cuyahoga and Kitchissippi will act as a team. Eight heads are better than four, to mangle a phrase. Your first assignment will be to explore a... station, for want of a more precise descriptor, in your patrol area. Commander M'Rel and his former ship, the USS Thames discovered one just like it six months ago. That's where they met their furry sidekick. It seems these stations, code-named Gamma by Starfleet, are some sort of research facilities with a number of artificial habitats with captive subjects of a number of varying species."

A previously unknown edge to the Lieutenant's voice appeared as he replied.

"Captive subjects? Captive of who?"

In reply to Mac Anderson (msg # 6):

"We do not as yet have any idea. We'd thought that this Möbius might be behind it, but according to M'Rel, Seth and Tal, he has no more information than we do. He apparently is an 'ascended' being originally an Earth philologist named Edward Moebius, Ph.D. who discovered ancient machines of a race known as the Krell on Altair IV. He ascended during a cataclysm which laid waste to the planet in 2185, as witnessed by Captain John J. Adams of the NCC-57. Möbius  has been adopted as a protégé of a transdimensional being known as Yaskoydray or 'The Grandfather'. According to an alien called Farl, his species, the Finorri are 'The Sons of the Grandfather', and this Yaskoydray was responsible for creating the Sphere. We're pretty much convinced that this story is a bunch of mythological oral-tradition legends. There may be a kernel of truth somewhere at the core of the myths, but there's precious little concrete to go on." Samson shakes her head as if the whole concept gives her a migraine. She takes a long sip of her Tarkalean tea and pauses for reactions.

"'Far fetched' doesn't seem to be a strong-enough phrase, ma'am," Gian muses, his index finger curled around his chin. "Just to be clear, though, our mission is to investigate these abandoned lab facilities -- not necessarily to untwist history from mythology."

The Kitchissippi must have made good time after their little detour - or given it up on seeing their sister ship heading inside. Interesting. "A joint mission." Said with no real concern. The war with the Dominion had forced many non-standard practices on the federation. The mythology was similarly interesting but not surprising. Both Betazed and Earth had similar. "Have these habitats been linked to specific races having arrived from outside the sphere? Or are they 'native'?"

[OOC I assume we know who has seniority within the eight man team?]
This message was last edited by the player at 21:54, Sun 07 Aug 2016.

In reply to Gian Seingalt (msg # 8):

"Exactly, Mr. Seingalt. Gather as much information as is available, and it will be analysed to within a micron of its existance by Starfleet. For this mission, I think we'll be swapping out Ensign Gröen for a technological assessment specialist - sorry, Talja. You're back on the Dneister for now. Mac, your new man is Lieutenant 'Fast Tony' Gazzo for now. He'll be waiting for you at Dodge City."

[OOC - Name and rank of replacement crewman revised]
This message was last edited by the player at 18:53, Mon 08 Aug 2016.

In reply to Commander Delilah Samson (msg # 10):

Shione reacted by standing and moving over to take the seat beside Talja
"Sorry Talja,that kinda sucks.It was nice working with you,hope we get the chance again"
she gives the girl a quick ,but sincere hug and remains next to her

"Commander,does the briefing give us the findings from Commander M'Rel's team.Be nice to see the layout,and whatever security they encountered?"

As Cassiadora waits for her question to be, her eyes do briefly flick to Shione.

"A for the species, Ms. Dul, some of the non-sentient species are familiar ones fro surveyed areas. The semi-sophonts are unfamiliar to us, but may be autocthones. We have layouts of Gamma One. Security seems to be an EMP device to knock out power systems of flying vehicles, so you'll be going in in teo Type 15A shuttlepods flying NOE. The towers have inside several autonomous robot sentries but these are armed only with tranquiliser darts to stop escaped captives, none of which to date have been fully sapient creatures."

She taps an icon on her desk, and an image pops up on the viewer.


"This is an image of Gamma Two, taken during a fly-by in a Type 15 'pod approaching by the route we've plotted for you. Lieutenant Atek will have more imagery on file for you. Can't spoil all the surprises; I'll let him conclude your mission briefing. We don't know who is piloting the submersible craft seen here, or whether is is being run by the owners or local inhabitants, but it is being run on low-tech fusion power equivalent to early 12^st earth tech. This briefing is more for general familiarity with the Base. Oh, by the way, Lt. Anderson, we've adopted the same terminology for the Sphere as we would a natural planet—saves semantic confusion."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:56, Sun 07 Aug 2016.

Gian leans forward with interest. "It looks like something out of a holodeck spy thriller," he notes. "I wonder if this thing is designed to be submerged, given the way the nodes are arranged. I take it there are two more nodes underwater, to balanced the design?"
This message was last edited by the player at 16:00, Tue 09 Aug 2016.

In reply to Gian Seingalt (msg # 15):

"It does, doesn't it? Like something out of a 20^th century flat-vid movie. James Bond or similar. But no, it doesn't elevate or submerge as far as we are able to determine. If it follows the same pattern as Gamma One, Gamma two should have a dozen globes in a spiral pattern, a helix if you will. Presumably one, at least, incorporates a docking facility for the submersible. That is, of course, if the submersible actually has some connection to the tower."

In reply to Shione (msg # 11):

"Danke, Shione. Have a good mission." As Shione embraces the smaller woman, she can feel that, far from the dumpy figure her loose clothing suggests, Talja has a hard, muscular athlete's body, which matches the grace of movement she noted earlier.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:50, Mon 08 Aug 2016.

Commander Samson taps her commbadge, "Sean, can you contact Mr. Gazzo and have him meet the Kitchissippi's senior officer as soon as they land at Dodge City?"

She grimaces wryly. "Someone, most likely one of our Human crew members, anonymously tagged the three Outposts with 'Ancient West' names. Outpost Two is 'Tombstone', Three is 'Dodge City' and Four is 'Deadwood'. You can look them up under Earth: United States of America: 19^th century Ancient West. Mr. Gazzo, by the way, is an Iotian. He's... interesting." The Commander leaves that comment hanging.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:20, Mon 08 Aug 2016.

"Is that all then?"

He wasn't happy about having his Ensign poached from his very first command or cramming everyone into a Type 15, especially since they could have apparently just replicated a boat and sailed in without worrying about the tower's defenses at all... but he'd noticed that Starfleet had a thing against dedicated atmospheric craft of any flavor ever since he'd joined. This was probably more of the same.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:54, Mon 08 Aug 2016.

The briefly was certainly interesting and Gian's question was both notable and intriguing.   She could have predicted the response though.   The question she needed was how they were going to get everyone in her team and their equipment safely into place without the 'natives' noticing.

In reply to Mac Anderson (msg # 19):

"Yes Lieutenant. You'll all report to Lieutenant Atek at Dodge City at 1500 hours. it is now 0900 hours, so you have 6 hour to get there. We've found that it's best to cut across the inner vacuum and go what would be transorbital at standard impulse. We try to discourage doing warp speed inside the Sphere except in emergencies. You'll find the view stunning. Right now, it's time for your medical in-routine. Dr. Adonidas is waiting for you in the MIR. Turn right as you leave, pass the junction, first door on the left. Dismissed." She returns to Main Ops, and the six characters head to the MIR.

At their destination, the door is marked Medical Inspection Room. Inside is an olive-skinned Human woman of about thirty in a blue medical lab coat. She has curly dark hair pulled back into a bun. "G'day, eh?" she greets them. "Take two ASA and call me in the morning." At the confused looks she undoubtedly gets from some of the crew, she explains, "Sorry, medical humour."

"Activate EMH Outpost Three," she continues as she motions the crew to be seated, and a slightly rumpled looking man fades into being.

"Lieutenant Anderson, please sit on the bed here. Lieutenant Dul, Hawkeye is the EMH for Dodge City—he'll do your examination."

She takes out a tricorder and proceeds to wave it over Mac's body. "My, my, Lieutenant, what an interesting collection of scar tissue you have."

"Hawkeye" does likewise with Cassy. His bedside manner is witty, unlike earlier versions of the EMH programme. "Hello, dear. New in town?" he quips.

Not expecting anything outstanding in her medical, Cassy will politely reply to the medical hologram (she is not being short with him - it is simply her natural demeanour) and will hopefully conclude her interview without incident.

Gian patiently waits his turn -- he isn't entirely keen on dealing with doctors and examinations; his injury was about to come up....again. It's not like anything has changed in four years.

Mac stripped off his shirt even though it wasn't required - years of working in Starfleet hadn't quite robbed him of the reflex earned from hundreds of visits to the medical shamans on Xenex. The scars on his fists and arms were old knotted masses from brawling and swordplay at home, but the angry purple plasma burns across his back had clearly been treated with modern technology but never quite healed their surface patina. He smiled pleasantly at Doctor Adonidas and waited for her to finish.

"They made sure everything was in the right place at least. I've got full range of motion, no pains still. They say that might change as I get older, but who plans on that?"

In reply to Commander Delilah Samson (msg # 21):

Shione followed the others into the med bay,certain that there was nothing to be concerned about
Her health was optimal,so she simply waited her turn patiently

Dr. Adonidas says to Mac, "Well, you check out OK. We'll keep an eye out for any degeneration of your condition." She turns to Gian. "Mr. Seingalt, You're up next."
She raises an eye at Gian's scans. "Well, Mr. Seingalt, you've obviously seen some action. Is there any pain?"

Hawkeye concludes with Cassy's exam, "I'm sorry, I have bad news. You're going to live." He grins. "Mr. Merawdr, please take a seat." A quick scan and Argent checks out OK.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:06, Tue 09 Aug 2016.

"Doctor," he says by way of greeting as he crosses over to the waiting biobed, his tone merely polite. Gian had had enough of doctors during his post-cadet cruise recovery, so he feels no desire to be his normal charming self, regardless of how pretty an MD might be.

"A holographic doctor!" Argent exclaims as the EMH appears and begins scanning everyone. "What will they think of next?"

"Hmmm. Why wouldn't it just be scanning for holographic diseases?"

It was more of a joke than a real question.

"Ha! Nailed it! Not even any dandruff! Wait... does it scan for hairballs?"

It was another joke... maybe it was just Caitian humor. He wasn't really surprised at the result of the medical scan. Cats and their Caitian cousins tended to have self-correcting metabolisms. It was one of the reasons cats were said to have nine lives. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to apply to Caitians. Or maybe it was just that civilization had killed off eight of them already.

Anyway, Caitians no longer got hairballs--they were 'civilized' now.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:07, Wed 10 Aug 2016.

In reply to Argent Merawdr (msg # 28):

Behind him ,a short distance away Argent heard some sort of muffled sound coming from Shione.

When he looked he saw that she was unsuccessfully trying to stifle a laugh
"Cat humor,I love it!"

In reply to Argent Merawdr (msg # 28):

Hawkeye looks offended. "Sir! I'll have you know I come from a very distinguished line! My great great grandfather was the very first X-Ray machine. Patients were always faking injuries, but he could see right through them. You'll have to be neutered," He jokes, with a Groucgho Marx leer. "Don't worry, you won't miss'em and you won't be prowling and spraying any more."

He steps back. "Now, scat! I have real patients to treat. Next! Ms. Kurasa?"

Dr. Adonidas looks pained. "Thank you, the Sirius Cybernetics Coropration. It's a new feature with the EMH Mk. III—Genuine People Personalities they call it. I've a notion to go over to Dodge City and take an axe to his mainframe and give you a reprogramming you'll never forget," she says acidly.

Hawkeye looks miffed. "Hey," he says offendedly, "Quoting old comedy routines is my schtick! I'll file a union greivance!"

Cassy makes no comment, content to complete her medical in good time but makes a mental note to fill in a customer satisfaction report.... Humour at the expense of others is hardly appropriate given the situation!

Dr. Adonidas finishes Gian's scans and pronounces him healthy. Next up, she checks Rai out and finds her, like the others, fit for duty.

Hawkeye finishes his scan of Shione, frowns, and repeats part of the sequence. "That's odd," he mutters, and turns to Adonidas. "Doctor," he says, "could you take a look at this?" and hands her his tricorder. "Compare this," he explains, "with this!"

The Human doctor looks puzzled and says to the crew,"Would you all please wait for a few moments in the anteroom while we go over the results?"

After five minutes, she calls Cassy back in and takes a blood sample, then does the same with Shione. The others are informed they are clear and that if they'd like some refreshments, they may use one of the crew lounges on level two.

Having been called back after being cleared was a surprise bug she allows the blood work to be done, "Is something the matter doctors?" The doctors would hardly call her back for anything that would not affect her ability to function as a member of the federation crew....
This message was last edited by the player at 21:50, Tue 09 Aug 2016.

In reply to Cassiadora (msg # 34):

<Why us I wonder,Cassy?

Have you ever been sick?
The worst I've had was being wounded,but I'm completely patched up>

Shione tried to be patient,but she shared Cassy's concern about being found unfit for this mission and so she paced to work off the energy from her anxiety

As they wait for the results, the doctor comments, "I get the impression that you're uncomfortable with the bedside manner in our little corner of the universe, Ms. Dul—may I call you Cassiadora? I'm Athena, now that we're in private."

She consults a PADD. "Out here on the frontier, and make no mistake, this is the frontier, no less than Bajor Sector; we have to find humour where we can. That's why Hawkeye was programmed with that personality. In dire circumstances, such as the late War or the Kapecki attack a few months back, there's so much tendency to sink into despair and succumb to the terrors we face that, especially as medics we find ourselves falling back on humour to keep ourselves sane in an insane universe. That's why we have whimsical names for the Outposts, and why there are planets called We Made It and Oh Shit, or why the main settlement on Nimbus III is called Paradise City. My prescription, if you care to do so, is to research the old 20^th century flat-vid 'Tee-Vee' show that Hawkeye's appearance and personality is based on. It's called M*A*S*H and it'll be in the database. It may give you some insights even if you don't understand the humour or, indeed, find it funny."

Hawkeye flickers into being beside her. "I've sent the results to your PADD. I'm not sure what to make of it."

"Oh, my!" Athena says on reading the results. "Oh, sorry, nothing is wrong with either of you—we should all be so healthy. Ms. Kurasa—Shione -- It says here in your records that you were adopted, but that you lived until you were five with your mother. Do you have any memories of her?"

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 36):

"Memories? Of Course.She kept in touch with me and I just cane from Betazed before reporting for this mission"

With that she pulls out her PADD and shows photos of her visit including pictures of them together at her Mother's current home
"It was the first time I visited her at her home in the country,but we spent 3 days together,See" and she shows the shots for all  three of them to see

"Now would you please tell me what in the hell this has to do with my Mother!!"
Her voice rises slightly and Cassy can feel a touch of anger and impatience in Shione's thoughts

Athena: "Shione, would you mind passing the PADD to Cassiadora? I'm going out on a limb here, but I suspect she might find them... interesting."

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 38):

The look Athena gets from Shione speaks volumes as to her decreasing patience
"I'm so glad to see that you are enjoying our discomfort Doctor",but she complies with the Doctor's request and hands Cassy the PADD with the photos of the house and Shione's MOther

I trust you are going to tell us what is going on Please!?"

Athena sighs and says gently, "As we're a fairly small base out-of-the way, we don't have a dedicated Counsellor, so that duty falls to the CMO. I'm now speaking in that capacity. Please give Cassiadora a moment to process and let her respond. I'm afraid that your Vulcan half, which not many people know is very emotional unless constrained by Surakian philosophy, is controlling you. If you will calm yourself, we will try to work things out, but patience, as the proverb goes, is a virtue."

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 40):

"I am calm Doctor.I control my emotions by expressing them,not repressing "

PM <You know what's going on here Cassy?>

Shione keeps her eyes fixed on Cassy watching for her reactions,but still unsure why there should be one
This message was last edited by the player at 20:10, Wed 10 Aug 2016.

The flare of intense anger that Shione might feel has no obvious outward signs as Cassy considers the surface. "You are quite correct Doctor.   I do not appreciate it...."

And then having considered the surface she adds, "Doctor. Do you believe what you are showing me has any ramifications on my fitness to act as a member of this Federation crew? If not, then I believe you have overstepped your remit and by inference have breached your hippocratic oath and my privacy and I will be making a formal complaint."

In reply to Cassiadora (msg # 42):

"Excuse me? Of course it has an effect on your psyche. This is why I informed you in private, with, I might add, Lieutenant Kurasa's cooperation, in my official capacity. Your ignorance of the Hyppocratic Oath is showing, Lieutenant Dul. The Oath has no legal standing in the United Federation or under the Starfleet Code of Justice, and is silent on the subject of privilege. Please do not presume to lecture a doctor, and a Greek besides, on this matter of Greek Philosophy. Further, you are bordering on insubordination. You may be the same rank as I, but I assure you I have more time-in-rank than you and this is within my jurisdiction as CMO and Counsellor of Starfleet's Dyson Sphere Exploration Mission. When you tabbed the PADD you placed yourself under my purview under Starfleet under Starfleet Regulation 104 regarding Chain of Command. You have been informed of a matter of both psychological and legal import. How you deal with it is your own lookout. If you ever want to discuss it, I will be available, either by secure comms or in person. You are dismissed" she snaps. You feel a wave of anger and exasperation wash over you.

Dismissed?  I think not!  The wave of Anger from the doctor compounds the issue and Cassy stands, nods (accepting the Doctor's seniority in this matter) and turns to Shione, "We'll speak shortly."   And with that, she'll leave, heading immediately to her quarters to file a grievance where she lists both the 'Greek' doctor's unilateral actions and his breach of Federation Law that he has clearly misinterpreted and misrepresented.

Further, she includes the fact that this information, revealed as it was, may in fact be linked to earlier concerns of Romulan infiltration and, while it may be true, it's revelation now, at the base, seemed out of sorts.

Regardless, the doctor's revelation of this information was both insensitive and inappropriate given either outcome.

[02:47, Today: Cassiadora rolled 7 using the Last Unicorn system with 4d6+2.  Federation Law.]