Following the repairs due to the sabotage on their mercy mission to Dourap IV, fighting d'kar fever... the Independence is dispatched to Omega Draconis A* to respond to a Starfleet emergency.

Omega Draconis A* (pronounced “A Star”) is a black hole with a brilliant radiation plume. Abyss Station is a base set up to orbit and monitor it to learn about the local phenomena. The system features a single surviving small planet, Omega Draconis I, which reports confirm contains some pockets of sentient life. The planet was likely much larger and more hospitable before its sun went supernova and incinerated much of the crust.

Also orbiting the black hole, halfway to Omega Draconis I, is a massive alien facility. It’s spherical, featureless, approximately the size of Earth, and very, very old. Starfleet anthropologists hypothesize that it was built by the Preservers, Iconians, or T’Kon empire sometime before the supernova. Until now the alien facility has been silent and dark, with no way to gain entrance...


This message was last edited by the GM at 01:37, Tue 27 Aug 2019.

"Captains Log, Stardate 5436.5 - We've arrived at Omega Draconis on schedule; the ship has operated as smoothly as her crew.  They'll both need to be in top shape if reports from Abyss Station regarding a change is status of the massive alien artifact orbiting the black hole are accurate.  Myself, I'm pensive.  Smooth is one thing but comfortable, in-tune, is another.  This crew lost its captain and following a tense standoff with now Commander ch'Pertha no less.  Now here we are on the precipice of the unknown and its understandable if the men and women of this ship are nervous.

I feel it.  The build-up.

This is exactly why I joined Starfleet."

"LT Mcreeg bring us to one-quarter impulse," Mana smiles as the view screen switches from the awe-inspiring image of the black hole itself to the gigantic artificial satellite orbiting it.

"LCDR Decker, what are our scans showing?  XO," she glances to each of the men in turn, "any signs of threat?  If word of this has leaked we'll need to expect interest by other empires of the region.  I don't want to be caught with our pants down should they make an appearance."

"LT T’kres, prepare to hail Abyss Station once our scans are complete."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:15, Tue 27 Aug 2019.

Mcreeg smiles..taking in the sight before them, the screen looking like one of those art projects he saw so much of, and was encouraged to create himself, back home..the beauty of it all touching him deep inside even as his fingers move over his controls, his eyes dipping for a moment to confirm that the ship was reacting as he wanted, still wanting to make sure the controls are all back to fully functional..

"Aye, Captain..one-quarter impulse.."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:54, Tue 27 Aug 2019.

The Science Officer shut down the rather specialized scan he had been running as Independence dropped out of warp and he proceeded to reconfigure the ship's sensors for a more conventional sweep. Most starships, aside from assigned research vessels, rarely had the opportunity to intentionally approach a hyper-mass, and studying the scans later would better prepare him to identify unknown and unexpected dangers in the future.

"Aye, Captain. Scanning now."  He runs a standard sweep of the system, and assuming nothing unusual appears, focuses briefly on both stations looking for anything unusual.

21:34, Today: LCDR Christopher Decker rolled 44 using 3d20 with rolls of 11,18,15.  Sensor sweep: Reason+Science (17) with Sensors+Science (12).
21:35, Today: LCDR Christopher Decker rolled 18 using 1d20 with rolls of 18.  Re-roll of the 18 using the Technical Expertise talent (target 17).
I guess that 18 was meant to be...so, 1 success. Keep in mind that the ship has Advanced Sensors!

Decker frowned, "The gravimetric interference is making it difficult to see...."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:59, Tue 27 Aug 2019.

T'kres watches her board, occasionally reaching out to fine-tune some readout she apparently finds unsatisfactory. The Lieutenant nods confirmation of the Captain's order. "Yes-" And cuts off halfway through the verbal confirmation. Another minute adjustment, and then "Captain, Abyss Station appears to be hailing us. Shall I put it onscreen?"
This message was last edited by the player at 09:49, Tue 27 Aug 2019.

"Proceed," Mana nods to the comms officer.  ch'Pertha could continue his security sweep as they spoke with the station personnel.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:14, Wed 28 Aug 2019.

The hail from the station is patched through.  "Greetings, Independence. This is Dr. T'Lah, commander of Abyss Station," comes the hail. T’lah, a middle-aged, dark-skinned Vulcan, quickly brings the crew up to speed. She speaks with the intense single-mindedness befitting a Vulcan:

“We’ve determined that the alien artifact... the ancient base... has a shell of neutronium, which prevents our sensors from penetrating. Our staff managed to rig a set of gravimetric dampeners that allowed them to walk on the surface without being crushed."

“Several weeks ago, one of our research teams located what turned out to be an ancient computer terminal on the exterior of the alien base. After much study and trial and error, they were able to activate and interface with the system. The last transmission indicated that they opened a doorway on the surface. The base began to activate.”

At this point, T’Lah transmits pictures of the base, which is now covered in glowing meridians crisscrossing the surface.



"After it became active, the base began generating gravitational distortions that somehow tilted the black hole very slowly. The immediate danger is that the hole’s radiation jets are now aimed along the galactic plane. They’re not long enough to reach nearby star systems, but this system’s planet is directly in the path of the jets. The gamma rays will certainly devastate the population.  Yes, the planet has a small population; survivors of the original supernova, we believe. The alien base is orbiting perpendicular to the radiation jets and is in no danger, as is Abyss Station."

T’Lah explains that the station’s two shuttlecraft are inoperable. The first one was on the alien station when the gravitational distortions began and is assumed lost. The second shuttle was en route to Omega Draconis I when the black hole tilted, making it little more than a loose cloud of ever-expanding atoms...

In reply to LCDR Christopher Decker (msg # 4):

Decker's scans are difficult, but magnificent, given the unprecedented scenery...

ch'Pertha was standing at his Security Console, running local security scans of both the structure and nearby space for any indication of threats.
One thing about ch'Pertha that his shipmates eventually noticed, he was Constantly Watching to detect danger or hidden enemies.
- rolled 36 using 3d20 with rolls of 20,14,2.  Insight(10)+Security(5), with Ships Sensors(9)+Sec(2).
   -- 'Constantly Watching' Talent.
That seems to be 3 Successes

"Ltn Commander Decker, when you get a chance, could you please run a simulated analysis of how the structure's energies would interact with our shields" ... presuming that any offensive array discharged from the edifice would be of the same energy type, ch'Pertha wanted an educated guess at how effective their defences would be.

Decker turned away from a console full of distorted and conflicting data, "Of course, Commander. However, we need to understand the basics of what those" and he gestured to the viewscreen "energies are before we can build models or draw conclusions. While my department could work that out in time, with the Captain's permission, I'd like to interface with the station's science team. It was built here to study these phenomena, or something similar anyway, and they surely have a considerable head start on us."

"I understand, Ltn Commander", ch'Pertha replied ... 'which is why I said 'when you get the chance', of course', he thought to himself, 'and you don't need the 'Captains Permission' to perform these matters'.

He wondered if every request he made would need to be ratified by the captain by some of the crew.

As the senior science officer and her XO clarified their intensions Captain Rakoto stood and nodded to T'Lah on the viewscreen, "Please make all your data available for the Indepdence staff; we will collaborate with Abyss Station to determine a strategy to save the inhbitants of Omega Draconis A*."

"We will confer again in 1 hour," Captain Rakoto assures T'Lar.

Barring any other pressing information she ends the discussion.  Still standing she requests, "Ship-wide hail please," of T’kres.  Once established she begins.

"Attention all hands!  We face a grave situation in  Omega Draconis.  The survival of the inhabitants of the lone planet hinge on our efforts.  We WILL determine the means which have cause the system's black hole to alter its rotation.  We WILL determine how the alien artifact has influenced the singularity.  We will do these things because we are Starfleet.  We hold the line against all odds.  This ship and her crew have already proven their worth; today I know they will do so again.  It is an honor to serve with each of you."

"All hands, man your stations!",

What else is necessary to perform Rally?
This message was last edited by the player at 02:53, Fri 30 Aug 2019.

The last few days were the most turbulent in T’Lara’s life so far.  The simple mission to deliver the vaccine to the colony got unexpectedly complicated when the Independence  was sabotaged, causing them to drop out of Warp right at the border of the Klingon Empire.   The CMO was dead, the Captain grievously injured, and it looked like all of them may soon meet their end at the hands of the Klingons.  It still amazed her that they managed to pull through.

It has been enough excitement, and sorrow, for a lifetime, but it has only been a few days later when the announcement from the new Captain came over the Comms:
People on the face of a planet were in danger from some sort of anomaly.  An Alien artifact was mentioned as well.

Her doubts slowly changed into curiosity, and then a ting of excitement as she reviewed the data from the bridge.   This is what she joined Starfleet for; to escape the dreary life in search of adventure, to explore, to save lives.  Become a better, stronger person.   How can she say no to that now, when opportunity came knocking at the door?

It wasn’t her place to ask, but she did so anyways, sending a communication up to the Bridge:
“Captain; may I join the away team, with your permission?”

Decker sent a quick message to the junior officers and relevant specialists in his department to prepare for a conference and then turned to LT T'Kres, "Lieutenant, can you please open a channel to the station and put me in touch with whomever on their science team has been tasked to work with us?"

He quickly began putting together a short list of the most pressing questions he had regarding this phenomena, beginning with the XO's query.

Ch'Pertha's scans sifted through the myriad arrays of data with a critical eye at the sensor. (Constantly Watching lowers your difficulty by 1.  You scored 3 successes, new difficulty is 1, so that's 2 Momentum to the pool.  You can alternately, use it to Obtain Information to ask more questions.  Also, 1 Complication was rolled. Stay tuned!)

Scans of the structure revealed it had a shell of neutronium, the densest material known to science.  In fact... unless this thing is solid, which gravimetric scans suggest it isn't... the construction of this planet-sized station is beyond Federation science.  The neutronium should collapse in on itself and crush the station like an egg.  But it isn't.

Scans of nearby space, despite the backwash of the black hole's radiation jets, show no signs of interlopers.  The radiation jets themselves, though, are plenty lethal... if the Indy were to blunder into them.

Re: the Captain. RALLY: The CO inspires and coordinates the crew, attempting a Presence + Command Task with a Difficulty of 0; this Task is specifically to generate Momentum, either to use straight away or to save for the group. So, roll away and generate some Momentum! :)

"Very well, Captain. However, some of our data is classified at the highest level.  I will make all data you're cleared to access available, as well as any additional data on a 'need to know' basis," the Vulcan replied crisply.

Fresh from the Academy, at her first posting, Ensign Nyshuri looks worried by the Captain's inspirational speech and glances to LT JG Mcreeg at her left.

"But... what about the Prime Directive?" she muses aloud, although quietly.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:13, Sun 01 Sept 2019.

  In the pristine ward of the Independence's Sickbay, Doctor Laila Abdool had spent her time since coming aboard ship seeing to the condition of the ship's medical department. She'd spent the first couple of days going through the late Dr De Montaine's reports on the vaccine and its parameters. Listening to his logs, Abdool found herself reminded of her Mother's own accent - a hint of the Carribean that occasionally thickened when she was stressed or otherwise agitated. From what she could tell, De Montaine was about the only one who'd been capable of synthesizing enough of the vaccine to keep up with the demand. Her arched dark brows came together at the news that he'd died securing the vaccine in place - crushed, according to the reports - made the Lieutenant Commander sigh.

   When she'd come aboard, she'd immediately taken note of the effect that the late CMO had on the morale of the entire unit. She'd gathered the staff - her staff now, she realised - and called them together for a short meeting to talk about how the Independence's Medical teams were going to go forward. She'd acknowledged the good work that he'd done as Chief, but soon it would be time to move on. She had authorized a short mourning period, and a small table was set up in one of the surgical rooms, with a recent holopic of De Montaine and a small plaque that read:

In Loving Memory
Dr Marius De Montaine
Chief Medical Officer - USS Independence

"In my end is my beginning"
  - Mary, Queen of Scots.

   Members of the Medical Team, as well as any others who knew the Doctor could stop by and visit the memorial, and even leave small tokens if they so chose. But Abdool made it clear that the memorial would only be permitted for three days, then it would be removed. (When the mourning period had passed, she'd taken the small holo and placed the picture on a small table near her office desk, as though he was looking over her shoulder. When it was all over, she put her team to work, making sure that everything was ship-shape and properly dealt with.

   When she'd gotten word that the Independence was to head to the Draconis A Star system, the Doctor had spent some time looking into what Starfleet information that there was on the system, and was mildly surprised to read that  A-Star was a black hole. She read further that there once was a star system here, the only remnants left being a small planet that was listed as being somewhat habitable. How they are able to live on a planet with no sun, she thought as the Scientist in her rose up to question the logic, Is probably why I went into the Medical Field, rather than follow in Captain Shepard-Abdool's Science footsteps. But Stellar Anomalies were more her forte than mine.

"Attention all hands!  We face a grave situation in  Omega Draconis." Abdool heard over ship-wide communications after the customary whistle to announce attention. She looked up at the speaker as the new Captain continued. "The survival of the inhabitants of the lone planet hinges on our efforts.  We WILL determine the means which have cause the system's black hole to alter its rotation.  We WILL determine how the alien artefact has influenced the singularity.  We will do these things because we are Starfleet.  We hold the line against all odds.  This ship and her crew have already proven their worth; today I know they will do so again.  It is an honor to serve with each of you."

   "All hands, man your stations!"

   Abdool lowered her head after the Captain had finished, and returned her attention to the computer screen she sat in front of. "Computer," she intoned calmly, "Show me everything you have on the planet in the Omega Draconis A-star system, and what effects the Black Hole will have on the people of the planet."

Javker waited for the captains announcement to finish. He was professional enough to keep his concerns about further gravitational stresses on the independence hull to himself for now.
To his engineering staff he nowissued his orders.

'Take immediate stock of all provisions and part neccesary to keep the ship in good working order. There is a chance we will need addition space for rescue operation.So we will consolidate all we can in to B-Hold. Freeing A if required.'

Fired by the captains speech, the crew kept straight faces. Javker had just set them a physically demanding a tedious task. His subordinates called around their teams and quickly set to work.
Now the chief engineer turned his attention to providing the captain with an engineering SitRep and voicing his comcerns about stressing the ship

"Understood," Captain Rakoto stood up from her chair and took a deep breath, "however, I don't think I need to stress to you that events as we understand them currently hint that Abyss Station's away team may be involved in triggering this disaster, all be it unintentionally I'm sure.  Starfleet is charged to seek out new life, not inadvertently destroy it.  Please think carefully about your data and how 'need to know' should be applied."

"In fact, it would be ideal to have you or one of your top personnel join any away team that is sent to the artifact.  That way any new information discovered can be quickly applied to our 'need to know'.  We'll speak further shortly."

Barring further discussion with Abyss Station the Captain closes the channel.

"An alien station with equipment that may be able to manipulate a black hole?" the Captain raised an eyebrow to her Comms officer, "I think your language skills will be invaluable.  Review all data on the alien structure and be prepared to join the team there just as soon as we have suits to survive the journey."

"Commander Decker," Mana turned to face her science officer, "if Abyss Station's team triggered this event then Starfleet may be guilty of genocide.  I'm counting on you and your team to find a way to prevent that."

A look of doubt tugged at the Captain's temple.  Thumbing her chair's comm switch she called to Dr Abdool, "Doctor, you've heard the situation we're facing here in Omega Draconis.  It's possible that an away team caused this; and if so we need to stop it.   However...it does seem strange to me that an advanced structure like this would not recognize the results of such an action.  We need to know if it's possible that the radiation from the black hole will have a different affect on the planet's inhabitants.  If it's true they survived their sun going nova do they have a physiology which allows them to process radiation differently?  Anything at all that you can find will be helpful."

"We'll convene in conference room Alpha in 1 hour."

Her chief engineer is next, "Commande Javker, Abyss Station will be providing details on environment suits which protect wearers from the intense gravity of the alien artifact in this system as well as data on the structure itself.  Please familiarize yourself with each.  If we have to send an away team after the scientist that entered the artifact we need to be as ready as possible to understand this technology."

"We'll convene in conference room Alpha in 1 hour."

10:29, Today: CPT Manantena Rakoto rolled 24 using 2d20 with rolls of 16,8.  Rally, Presence+Command 15-.
- not sure if Inspiration counts but looks like only 1 success
This message was last edited by the player at 16:12, Mon 02 Sept 2019.

While the rest of the crew ran their own scans, T'kres turned her attention to running a few of her own. She was highly curious about the new signs of activity from the alien station and attempted to tune her system to scan for signs of communication signals- either an active signal or simply an automated broadcast.

"Yes, Captain." T'kres inclined her head in acknowledgement of Rakoto's new orders. This could simply be caused by a translation error on the part of the investigating scientists.Though should equipment be broken or malfunctioning on the station, she was not unskilled in the engineering arena as well. It was a logical choice.

The shiver of unease that ran up her spine was not. The fact that this would be the first dangerous action she would be involved in since her injury had no logical bearing on the situation. The circumstances were not even remotely similar and vestigial fear would negatively impact her ability to fulfill her duty as a Starfleet Officer. She ruthlessly leaned on her controls to suppress the emotional reaction, eyes never leaving her screens.

While she waited on her current scan to run, the Comms officer called up any data Dr. T'lah had sent and began reviewing any data that might be vital to someone on an away team- with particular attention to any linguistic samples they might have found.

She also searched through Dr T'lah's data for identifying information on the missing shuttle, transmitting a request for it through the appropriate channels if she did not find that particular data already included. When her first scan was finished, perhaps the more powerful and refined systems of the Independence could pick up any distress signals where Abyss Station had failed.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:57, Mon 02 Sept 2019.

In reply to LCDR Gullak JavKer (msg # 19):

Kimiko waited until the engineering staff, nodding and uttering understanding, moved about their duties.  Then, she sidled up to her bristly and portly ChENG and spoke quietly.

"We could convert shuttle bay space into emergency lodging for refugees," she said. "But we also might need those shuttles to evacuate the planet.  The gravitational fields in this system are... Ofufukku."  She often slipped into her native Japanese when using colorful metaphors.

"I'd have to check with Elliot*, but I am not confident in transporter reliability under a time crunch," she concluded.

*CPO Elliot Carter, transporter chief. ;)
This message was last edited by the player at 22:15, Wed 04 Sept 2019.

In reply to DR Laila Abdool (msg # 18):

Dr. Abdool's new team responded as best she'd expect.  They were still reeling at the loss of Dr. de Montaine, but she'd come in with just the right mix of silk and iron and kept the department running.  A medical department on a starship was a finely-tuned instrument, and Abdool knew how to sing the notes to make it an orchestra.



"WORKING," the robotized voice of the Independance's main computer replied.

Data scrolled across Laila's medical screen, all of the information on Omega Draconis I that the Indy was cleared for. Most of this is part of the data packet transferred over by Dr. T'Lah - the Indy herself doesn't have much of it on file...

ch'Pertha activated several security protocols; primarily the ones that set his department into pre-specified operations and readiness.

He ensured that the scans he'd run, regarding both the locale space and the alien structure, were fully downloaded into the current working database ... for easy use by all crew.

At T'Lara's request to join the away team, the Captain nodded to herself, "I'll consider it.  For now I need to understand more about Abyss Station and it's personnel.  I'd like you to pull the files on the away team that entered the station and how the stations mission has proceeded lately."

Frowning, Mara was blunt, "I don't like being stonewalled when situations are as grave as this seems to be.  It could be legitimate or it could be something more.  That's the trouble with secrets."

"Learn what you can and watch for any discrepancies.  We'll meet in 1 hour."

OOC: sorry I got T'Lara and T'Kres confused.  What role is T'Lara filling?  Counselor?

OOC: Correct. T'Lara is Counselor. T'kres is Communications Officer

"Yes Captain" she replied over the comms.
Eager to help, T'Lara didn't waste a moment and brought up the files they received from the station, starting with the personal files, and then moving on to read the entire mission logs.

   Abdool acknowledged the Captain's orders with a simple "Understood, Sickbay out." before she closed the communication and then leaned forward, interlacing her long fingers together and steepling her first fingers and read over the information that had been sent from the Station. The more she read, however, the more her thin brows knitted together. She mouthed the words Chaktir and Ithik slowly to herself repeatedly as she remembered a trick she'd been taught on how to memorize words and convert them from short-term to long-term memory.

   A few things stood out to the Doctor, from the fact that the people had survived the explosion of their sun, to just how they'd managed to survive for this long, to how they were able to sustain themselves. Either the race had become exceptionally hardy to their circumstances, or they had survived largely due to a series of lucky breaks comparable to how Humans had managed to make it to manned spaceflight. Seeing the Ithik's rough, pitted ebony skin covered with small nodules wasn't the best-looking thing she'd seen that day, but it explained a little as to how they'd managed to survive the radiation for as long as they had.

  A pencil-thin dark eyebrow rose as she read further, then her mauve-tinted lips formed into a thin line when she finished. She didn't much care for what she'd read, but it was something that she'd have to bring up at the meeting later ...

---

  "Excuse me, Boss" came a deep-throated tone from a man who did more than just darken the door to the Abdool's office.  The short-sleeved white Medical shirt showed off his powerful arms, graced as they were with tattoos that extended just past where the fabric stopped. The tunic also varely contained his broad, barrel chest - a sign that he spent as much of his time in a gym as he did studying. Tanned hands rested on either side of the Doctor's doorway, and she could tell by the tanned skin that the man was likely born on one of the Central Pacific Islands. "Not meanin' to be harsh, but something bodda you?" The way the big man spoke, the last words came out sounding more like "Bad-dah-yuu?"

   Abdool looked up as the other thin brow rose to match the first and the Doctor regarded the barrel-chested man with a curious glance. "No, nothing's wrong. Can I help you with something, Mister ..?"

   "Kama Kalani," the man smiled widely, some of his teeth showing underneath. "Petty Officer, First Class, in charge of da kine EMT's. Friends call me King."

   Despite his sudden appearance, Abdool blinked once at the man's choice of words, then composed herself. "I'm good, Petty Officer. Appreciate the thought. But if you're looking for something to do, you can get the others and give Security a hand. They're likely setting up the shuttle bay to receive incoming ... guests."

   The big man nodded his head. "Rajah dat, Boss. Anything else?"

   Abdool shook her head, the small bun of hair slid slightly from side to side. "Nothing more, Mr. Kalani." the tone was final and indicated that he was dismissed and free to go about his duties.

   "Got it, Boss. Tanks." the man said, then pushed off from his hands and moved out into the Sickbay proper. The doorway groaned slightly afterwards, but no damage was done to the structure.

    Abdool's brows lowered after the encounter with the Petty Officer, then turned back to address the computer.

   "Computer, these nodes on the skin of the Ithik ... with the expected changes in the rise of gamma radiation that will strike the planet, can they survive its effects. And if so, how will the radiation affect them, and in what way?"

The ship's computer responded in a robotic monotone to the doctor's query.

"Full data on the Ithik not available," the computer said.  "Survival of radiation levels in the path of the black hole's jets extremely unlikely."

An hour has passed as the senior staff of the Independence confers...

   As she walked down the corridor, Doctor Laila Abdool occasionally glanced down to the small tablet she carried that held her notes medical and social notes on the Ithik she'd compiled over the last hour before she headed to the Conference Room. She remained mindful and nodded to those that passed her - she'd only begun to see to the needs of the Independence's crew, so she was an unknown quantity, at least for the moment.

   She looked up before she reached the doors of the Conference Room and stopped just before the sensor. A quick hand moved over her features to check and make sure as little as possible was out of place, and took a moment to push one of her black ringlets back into the small bun she kept her hair in while she was on duty. A quick run down with her eyes showed that her white tunic and pants were spotless, and the rank pin was properly placed where it was supposed to be - underneath the entwined snake caduceus that served as a badge of her station as Chief Medical Officer.

   Although she'd met some officers over the course of her short period aboard the Independence, most of the Senior Officers had little reason to visit Sickbay, so she was as much introducing herself to them as they were to her. Be prepared for some awkwardness, she told herself, This will be a learning experience for both sides.

   Abdool lowered her hand, satisfied that she'd done all she could, and blinked as she stepped forward into the Conference Room. Much to her surprise, no one had arrived as yet, so she moved near to the end of the table where the larger monitor normally used by the Science Officer was and sat in the chair next to the wall. Her brown eyes quickly glanced over the room to make a few mental notes, then settled in by thumbing the tablet and opening it to her notes and began to silently rehearse what she would say when she was called upon ...

T’Lara was next to enter the room, a short moment after Doctor Abdool.  Like the Doctor, she was wearing the same pristine white uniform that distinguished her being part of Starfleet Medical Branch.  The faint, worried, smile she exchanged with the Commander and Leila suggested that she had something on her mind.
“Hello Commander, Doctor” she said as she placed her own tablet on the table, her eyes lingering on it for a brief moment before turning to the two.

Jav'Ker bustled into the room and halted. His understanding of terran greetings was limited. He nodded curtly and looked back to his tablet andthe modified EV-suit hed been ordered to give a briefing on. It was an inconvience he had little time for

   Abdool smiled warmly as Counsellor T'Lara entered. Although she didn't know the Vulcan all that well, she could see the small crease in the other woman's smile that told her that something was amiss. "Lieutenant-Commander, it is good to see you again." she said, as she glanced to one of the chairs nearby, then looked back. T'Lara was more of a known quality than anyone else and thought that having her close might ease some of the bottled anxiety that she felt.

   When the next officer entered and stopped, Abdool noticed the modified environmental suit the Tellarite wore. Must be Engineering she mused silently, Not sure what the 'suit is for, but we'll likely find out soon enough. When she caught the alien's short nod, her mauve coloured lips thinned and pulled slightly back in the beginnings of a smile as she mimicked the Tellarite's gesture, then returned back to her notes.

The door to the conference room slide open as Captain Rakoto arrived.  Nodding curtly to her staff she seated herself and began, "I recognize an hour is not much of a window to gather information but we are under a tight schedule at the moment.  What have you been able to learn?"

She offers the floor to any who would take it.

ch'Pertha followed the Captain in, dutifully at her heel.
He took his appointed seat, and sat quietly.



Having not had much time in the last week or so, I have asked nothing of the ST and have nothing new to add to this meeting.  Sorry

Hating that he's a little late, hoping that won't be held against him, Mcreeg makes his way into the conference room and finds a seat, not sneaking, yet not making a big show if it either.

He sits at attention, hoping the others have useful information, his own work not having made much of a difference in learning anything all that new, but in helping shore up systems and fine tune them to keep them going as best he can..

“likewise” she was equally happy to see Leila, but before she could say much more Rakoto marched into the room and the  Vulcan tensed up once more.  She had very little interactions with their new Captain, and it was very important for her to make a good impression and appear as professional as possible. Thinking that, she patiently waited until the senior officers were seated before sitting down herself right next to Leila.

She reached down to her tablet and slid her gentle fingers over the screen, thinking on the best way to present her report.  It was only after a long moment of silence that she realized no one volunteered to go first yet.   She hoped someone would:  what she planned on saying wasn’t pleasant, and she preferred to end the meeting with it, as a way of a ‘by-the-way’ commentary.    In fact, she considered whether she should speak at all.   She really hated being a critic, but if she wouldn’t she might place all of them in greater danger.

With a heavy heart, she lifted her eyes from the screen and looked at Rakoto.

“Captain; I’m worried about the scientific methods used by the research team of Abyss station.  Mission logs confirms that they managed to open the entrance to the alien artifact by pure happenchance" 

She looked at the faces of the crew to check their reaction

"I can sympathize with the desire to be ‘the first’, but this unbridled ambition and carelessness has proven themselves to be dangerous.  The artifact is the size of a planet, clearly more advanced than anything we’ve seen before, the purpose of which we can only guess at.  Hitting buttons and pulling levers at random?" 

She shook her head

"I don’t know if we can trust any their away team to not cause further harm, especially since communication with them is down and they are stranded there after losing their shuttle.  They're bound to be desperate enough to try anything.   This is a recipe for disaster, Captain"
This message was last edited by the player at 09:34, Tue 17 Sept 2019.

Having filtered in with the others, T'kres steepled her fingers and regarded T'Lara cooly.  "Unbridled emotion often is a recipe for disaster, Counselor," she said dryly.  "Logic suggests we make efforts to contact the landing party and ascertain their status, as well as what they have learned. Perhaps this will soothe their... desperation."

She straightened a bit stiffer, if that was possible. "Unfortunately, the skin of that... base... is made of neutronium, which blocks all our communications."


She turned to the captain, next.  Of all the crew, she knew her CO the best, having transferred along at her request from their old ship, the Oberth-class USS Goddard.

"The station personnel have compiled enough of the Ithik language that we have been able to program the universal translator to function with their language," she said.

The Chief Science Officer had rushed in just behind the Captain and XO, too distracted by the contents of the over-sized data tablet he was scanning to be properly flustered. He sat in the nearest available chair without looking up or acknowledging any of his fellow officers, except for a quiet grunted apology when he almost tried to take the seat already occupied by the Chief Engineer.

Decker continued to tap furiously but quietly at the tablet as the Captain began the meeting, speed reading last minute reports sent in by his teams. He frowned absently as T'Lara made her comments, but said nothing. Finally, as the Communication's Officer gave her report, he finished his preparations and looked up to the Captain.

   Once she'd exchanged greetings with Cousellor T'Lara, Laila Abdool returned her attention to the datapadd she was using to correlate her notes. Her chocolate brow furrowed slightly as she kept reading and missed most of the other entrances made by the rest of the crew; her determination on a project had helped on a few occasions when it came time to work on a project at the Academy, or on a disease vector that might eventually be used in order to find a cure ... but it also meant that she could focus to the exclusion of all else - something that had happened to her in the past, and she'd been called on. Commander Bissonette, the XO on one of the science ships she'd been posted on had told her that she shouldn't be so absorbed in the facts, but to take time to 'smell the coffee' from time to time.

   She kept the notepad open and typed some notes at the others spoke, adding them in a separate column as she listened to the others give their own takes. From what she was beginning to gather, the science team had blundered their way about in their haste to be the first, and things had gone south shortly thereafter. Now, there was going to be trouble.

   "I'm afraid this recipe, as we've taken to calling it," Abdool said as she crossed one leg over the other, then continued, "Is worse than I'd thought. The Ithik, as they call themselves, are a species hardened by their environment and have made several genetic leaps in order to survive. Technically, they shouldn't have made it, but I'm just a Doctor, not a planetologist, of course ...

   "Their dark skin and catlike pupils have served them well over the time that they've been on Omega Draconis A. The skin is covered in small 'nodule'-like structures that I can only believe help them with the high doses of radiation that bombard the planet daily. But despite their adaptations, they will have no chance to survive the coming tilt of the black hole that will deliver lethal doses of radiation to them.

   "The problem I have with all of this is one thing - the Prime Directive. The 'Ithik' is a pre-warp civilization that the scientists either didn't realise - which should have been obvious with the clandestine observation posts - or simply overlooked in their rush to discovery." She paused to take a breath, but her demeanour indicated showed that she would be none too pleased with the scientists if she were to meet them in person. "Also, the Ithik believe that they are a blessed race, one that considers themselves above any extinction-level event. If they believe that they've been lucky or blessed enough to have survived to this point, their cognitive dissonance will show if we try to convince them that they need to leave the planet. Provided, of course, we suspend the Prime Directive ..."

“I don’t think the Prime Directive is still relevant in this matter” T’Lara piped up  “It was a Federation Research Team that created the entire mess to begin with.  If it wasn’t for us, the Ithik would have gone on living just fine” 

She would have argued for saving the people even if it ran contrary to the Directive, but she felt they had good enough justification to do so without going into a philosophical debate about the sanctity of life.

"The Lieutenant Commander is right, the mess is already made, what we're discussing is going in and fixing it, putting things back the way they were, leaving the people as close to the way they were found as can be..and isn't that what we're supposed to do? what the Prime Directive wants?"

Mcreeg can't help but speak up and add his opinion, to him there's already too much talking and not enough doing, things he wants to do not just because they need to be done to help, but because his curiosity has been picqued and there are things to learn..to do..even as he looks at his arm and wonders...
This message was last edited by the player at 07:38, Sat 21 Sept 2019.

"Certainly the Prime Directive is still relevant - the whole of the Directive. At its core, it's about preventing the disruption of the natural development of a species by outside influences. Even if a Starfleet team hadn't triggered the station's activities, we'd still be authorized to take action to prevent or minimize disruption to that development, although we are obligated to do so in the least disruptive manner possible."

Decker leaned forward and tapped a series of commands into his tablet. On the conference room screen, a diagram of the system appeared, showing the planet and two stations orbiting the central black hole, and its relativistic jets already off-axis, swinging imperceptibly towards the plane of the system. Figures appeared detailing the gravitational fields as well as the radiation jets.

"While we've encountered a handful of incorporeal entities or species who might survive, as Doctor Abdool already said, the Ithik clearly will not. Our options are to reverse the black hole's shift - and by 'we', I mean that station - or to remove the Ithik from their planet. Or try." He paused for a moment, his frown deepening, "We had best hope that the original survey team is still alive inside. I've examined the reports and I have no reason to believe that the team was behaving recklessly. If you have an issue with us being here at all, I suggest you take it up with Starfleet Command or the Federation Science Council. But I tell you, that team is our best chance of reversing this. Because if it is up to us, in the time frame we have to operate in, we really will be blindly 'hitting buttons and pulling levers at random.'"

"We need to get a team down inside that station and try to make contact with them. Sealed up inside that station they may not even be aware of what's transpiring. We should be prepared to support them as best we can. And, if necessary, we should be as prepared as possible to try and stop it ourselves."

"I'm not optimistic."

The modifications the scientists have made to thier suits were drastuc. we'll severely limited in the time we can use them in the field.

However we will best be able to ascertain what the did to gain entry to the sphere from there.

With regrards to the rescue operations, we've made as much additional space available by utilizing the cargoholds in a more efficient manner.
One of my team suggested the shuttle bays may offer yet more space. By using the bays and towimg the shuttles. However radiation interference with transporters means that the shuttles are for now our safest mode of transport.

"I don't know if you're looking for volunteers yet, or if it's even my place, but I'm volunteering, if anyone's going to fly into all that, I'd like it to be me"

Mcreeg's voice is steady and determined, part of it not wanting to risk anyone else, part of it curiosity..and more than a little of it that he thinks he's better than everyone else at the job, something he's never had trouble admitting to himself.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:32, Sun 22 Sept 2019.

Decker gestured to the display, "We're going to need a skilled pilot. While the additional gravitational distortions created by the alien base do interfere with navigation, sensors, communications, etc. all major ship functions still, well, function. Even with the anti-grav modifications to the shuttles, however, landing on the surface of that base should prove to be quite challenging."

He then turned towards the Chief Engineer and smiled slightly, "The good news is, once there we should have no trouble getting inside. The teamed maintained telemetry and voice contact with Abyss Station until they went inside and the airlock closed. We will, by the way, want to try and rig something up to keep that hatchway open so that we can relay communications inside. And keep a team on the outside, perhaps a second shuttle craft, so that if the door does close, someone can open it back up after a predetermined length of time."

Absorbing the reports from her staff, Captain Rakoto nods, "Locating the station team inside the artifact and working together to reverse the tilt of the black hole appears to be our best option.  It sounds like we know how and where to start."

Nodding to Mcreeg then looking around the room she adds, "I need our best on this.  Everyone in this room is authorized to join the away team entering the artifact.  We have no idea what the station personnel found in there, we have to be ready for anything."

"In the meantime, I'll contact Starfleet and begin the conversation of relocation of the Ithik should we be unable to reverse the tilt of the singularity.". She sighs before adding, "I'm not hopeful.  Even if there's agreement that this is a Federation created situation the elephant in the room will still be 'Why?'. Why would the Ithik ancestors create a device that would destroy their planet?  Is this the race's responsibility?  Are we interfering by countering the choices of prior generations?"

Shaking her head  Mara grimaces, "We don't have the answers yet but I think it's time for a final conference with Abyss Station.  Maybe an hour's reflection has allowed them to consider any other tidbits of data they can share."

Thumbing the console at hand, Captain Rakoto hails the station on the conference room view screen.

"Abyss Station, we'll be proceeding with operations to enter the artifact and locate the away team there.  Is there any further data you can provide at this time?"
This message was last edited by the player at 13:39, Mon 23 Sept 2019.

"I don't know how much use I can be down there" she said meekly "But I can at least be a part of the second team, the one waiting outside, and make sure the hatchway remains open"

ch'Pertha sat quietly, listening to the reports ... and discussion.
He contributed nothing, though, for now.

He noted, though, that the assumption was being made that the Alien Artefact-Planet was built by the Ithik predecessors.
Pulling up his notes, he noted that their initial report had said that 'Starfleet anthropologists hypothesize that it was built by the Preservers, Iconians, or T’Kon empire sometime before the supernova'.

He wondered if he'd missed something, that connected one of those elder races to the Ithik.

But the fact was, unless he was taking the chair, his duty here was to safeguard the ship, and its personnel, including those planning on boarding said Artefact-Planet.

And so for now, he listened ... and continued planning.