Nerus V, Where Hope Comes to Die

Posted on Sat Jun 5th, 2010 @ 6:45pm by Commander Fala Awen & Ensign Velia Moretti

Mission: Episode 1.2 - "A House Divided"
Location: USS Pandora, Intel Lab
Timeline: Day 15, 1100 hours

ON:
[[USS Pandora, Intel Lab, Day 15, 1115 hours]]

Kiral (PNPC) rounded the corridor to the Intel Lab, Bika (NPC) at her side. As they drew closer, the two women saw Solen (NPC) also approaching. Looking at him, Kiral said, "Had the same idea as us, hmm?"

Solen chuckled, "So it would seem, Lieutenant. This lab has been my home away from home - in a way I'm more comfortable here than in my own quarters. Actually I'm just returning from an early lunch."

Sensing his calm, Bika smiled, "Must be nice. Did you have an early breakfast then?"

The Trill nodded, "Since we're actually here now, I wanted to get an early start. Some research in my quarters, mostly, but I couldn't resist the lab."

"Well, let's get in there, then," Kiral replied, trying to wrap up the conversation. "I believe Velia is already inside."

And once again the door opened to voices perforating the serene silence of the lab. “Oh for the love of God,” Velia sighed through a groan and looked up. The sight of a very familiar uniform at once gave her a measure of relief and a different kind of edginess. The polite thing to do would be to acknowledge them, she knew, but in the end it was the fact that there was a ranking officer among them that drove her upward from her chair as the group entered.

Kiral entered the room first and watched as Velia rose from her seat. Putting her hand up, she shook her head, "No need to stand for me, we're all a team here. I know we haven't exactly run into each other much since you came aboard, but please, just call me Kiral when we're amongst each other."

"Yes Ma'am," Velia nodded in compliance and resumed her seat. Ma'am would be as close as the Ensign would get to using names on a personal level.

Noting that Velia had chosen to go with "ma'am", Kiral nodded to her. She knew it wasn't always easy to go to a first name basis - Kiral herself wasn't on a first name basis with Christopher. However, she had worked with Bika and Solen before, so they were more comfortable around each other. "What are you looking into, Velia? Do you mind if I call you Velia?"

Unsure as to why it mattered what the woman called her, Velia started to shrug before remembering herself. "Not at all, Ma'am." Sitting up straighter she motioned to the screen. "Nerus V." The expression on her face carried less enthusiasm then her tone, she was sure.

Bika had taken a seat, but Solen was still standing, as was Kiral. The two were remaining fairly quiet, until Solen spoke up, "Anything specific about Nerus V, or just Nerus V in general? If you're looking into something specific, the rest of us could concentrate on some of the other areas as well..."

"Nothing in particular," Velia admitted. "See, I've gone over everything I have access to and I can only assume the rest of you have done the same?" She glanced up for confirmation before continuing. "So now I'm just going back over it, just in case ... you know," her shoulders fell forward a bit. The truth was she hated just not doing anything. "Have any of you come up with anything interesting? Facts, ideas ...."

Shrugging, Bika replied, "I haven't been able to come up with anything else thus far. At least, not with research. I put some feelers out with some of my sources, but haven't heard back yet." Actually, she was expecting to hear back within the next day or two.

Velia nodded but didn't speak. She wasn't surprised, but she'd hoped that maybe those with a higher clearance level or a bit more experience in applied fact finding would have some light to shed on the mystery.

"The away team has returned from the surface," Kiral noted. "I presume that we'll be getting an update about it once the team briefs the Admiral. They weren't down there all that long, comparatively, but if I know Awen, they still found out some good information. Plus, our Surgeon beamed back aboard with a few colonists - that might be worth investigating."

"They brought back colonists?!" Velia was beginning to see some light in all of this shadowed frustration. "Do you know their condition? Has Commander McNeil gotten to talk to them yet?" She paused for a moment. "That would be very interesting. I'd really like to know why they ended up on the colony." Not to mention the trials they'd experienced and had to overcome in order to make it as far as they had.

Kiral shook her head, "I only heard about the colonists in passing. The last I heard they were still in Sickbay and the Doctors are trying to figure out exactly what's wrong with them. Thus far I don't think anyone else has been able to speak to them; I don't even know if they're conscious. I believe that's one of the most important questions - why they were put on the colony - but it is likely also the most difficult one to find out..."

Either way, Velia was relieved that something had finally broken somewhere. Even if the colonists weren't alert simply having them aboard was a huge step in the right direction. "So, what then?" She surveyed the rest of the uniformed officers steadily in turn. "We, ... wait?"

Glancing around at the group of Intel Officers, Kiral paused. "Well, I imagine that until we hear otherwise, the most we can do is keep digging to see if we can scrounge up anything else...or see if any of our contacts have information that would be useful." She didn't really like that answer any more than she thought the others would, but unfortunately there was little the Maran could do about it.

Velia sat back and folded her arms. "Then I'll admit I need a bit of direction. I could recite these files in my sleep by now, I think." She wasn't about to volunteer the fact that she didn't have 'contacts' or that she'd exhausted every avenue she could think of to search. If it hadn't have been for that Oliver person, she wouldn't have even made it this far, and that -thoroughly- annoyed her if she thought about it too long.

It was then that Bika spoke up, "What about the other planets in this area? Do we have any idea why they weren't chosen? Is there some kind of significance to Nerus V?"

"Aside from a different natural disaster every day?" Velia shrugged. That may have been dramatizing it a bit but still. "Everything that I've found about this planet seems like it would have been the *last* choice to inhabit. There doesn't seem to be any natural resources to tap, the environment could easily be labeled as hostile, and I don't see what they can accomplish by colonizing somewhere so remote. Especially such a small colony. It seems like caring for it would be more trouble than it's worth." She hoped someone, anyone, had more of a clue than she did. At least then they'd be unproductive as a team.

"Perhaps it wasn't like that at first...the natural disasters, I mean," Solen suggested. "It could be something that's been getting worse...maybe the Science department would have some information about that."

"Maybe not," Velia conceded. "The colony itself was founded," Velia used that term loosely, "in late 2361. It's very possible the weather and seasons have shifted I suppose. Or," Velia glanced up, "it's possible they've messed around with something and are the cause of or helped to speed up the weather alterations."

Kiral sat quietly, thinking. "Despite all that, there must be some reason the Romulans started the colony there. If there's one thing that's always true about Romulans, it's that they don't do anything without a reason. It might be a long term goal...but you can be sure it serves them in some way."

"All in the name of progress, right?" Velia turned her eyes back to the screen, recalling what Oliver had said made the corners of her lips turn up slightly. "Progress is, though, in the eye of the Senate leader."

"So it is," Kira replied. "So it is..."

OFF:

JP brought to you by:

Ensign Velia Moretti
Intelligence Officer
USS Pandora

and

Lieutenant Kiral (PNPC)
Assistant Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Pandora
played by Lieutenant Commander Fala

and

Intel NPCs
played by Lieutenant Commander Fala