The Pieces Begin to Fall

Posted on Mon Jul 12th, 2010 @ 4:25pm by Vice Admiral Iluvar & Commander Earlond & Commander Christopher McNeil & Commander Fala Awen & Commander Michael Evans M.D. & Lieutenant Samuel Bishop & Lieutenant JG Hannah Andeti

Mission: Episode 1.2 - "A House Divided"
Location: Conference Lounge, USS Pandora
Timeline: MD15, 1600

ON: [[Conference Lounge, USS Pandora, MD15, 1600]]

The room was quiet, leaving Iluvar the opportunity to collect his thoughts. He gazed out through one of the large viewports that spanned one wall of the conference lounge, watching as Nerus V rotated slowly below. Part of him wondered what the original Romulan colonists had been thinking when they first gazed upon their new home. Hopefully, they would soon be able to crack into the mystery that was the Nerus V colony.

Awen stepped through the door quickly, giving Iluvar a brief nod. With all the seats other than Iluvar's empty, she chose the one on the opposite side of the table from the door closest to the corner. Not that she wanted to avoid her Commanding Officer, but habit inspired her to take the seat with the best vantage point where someone couldn't sneak up on her.

Evans entered with a small yawn, though he certainly looked more bright-eyed than this morning; the dark bags under his eyes were gone anyways. He'd managed to snag a few winks through the day, then caught up with his staff over a hastily-munched confection that was rather too sweet for his tastes. He made is way quietly to the replicator, then took his drink to an end seat that faced the great bank of windows. He sat, enjoying the stars without remark, sipping the hot water with lemon and wishing it were a dark mug of arabica.

Andeti followed the Doctor into the room with a strong suspicion that he hadn't noticed her close on his heels. The coffee in her own hand was warm and she hoped that the smell wouldn't be too tempting for the determined man. She slipped into a seat across from him and eyed his mug and shadowed eyes with pity.

Finding himself later than was usual, Earlond entered the room and made his way towards his customary seat near Iluvar. Along the way, his gaze quickly swept the room, taking in its occupants. He noted Awen's choice of seating particularly because it was where he would have prefered to sit; based on her background and current duties on the Pandora, he assumed her reasoning for the choice was similar to what his own would be.

As he took his seat, Earlond glanced over at Evans. The man seemed somewhat tired, especially given that he was lacking his prefered stimulant. Earlond shook his head with a small smile. Why people drank that was beyond him - he didn't agree with the chemical dose, and it wasn't all that pleasant of a taste, anyway. Still, to each his own. Turning towards Iluvar, Earlond waited for the meeting to begin.

Once the door opened, Khloe (NPC) walked in quietly. It was her first time at a staff briefing and she didn't want to make a bad impression. The Betazoid found a seat quickly and sat down, placing the PADD she'd carried on the table. Her eyes moved about the room and she sat back, trying to shake the feelings she was picking up from those in the room. There was a general sense of apprehension, frustration, and confusion about what was going on, which was a bit distracting to her.

McNeil slid into his seat after most of the others had arrived. He set down a small stack of PADDs on the table and arranged them in the order he figured he'd most likely need them. It felt odd to him to have so little information to report. In fact, aside from the PADD that he usually kept his notes on, each of the others was holding only a fraction of the data that it could.

Bishop shuffled into the room, looking tired and haggard. His expression was dark and distant, but he gave the Captain a brief nod as he sat.

Taking a seat at the head of the table, Iluvar surveyed his senior staff briefly. Each of them had a little piece of the puzzle that was Nerus V and it was about time that they started putting it together. Iluvar tapped the controls on the table before him, activating the large mission display screen. An image of Nerus V appeared on the screen, which also showed the Pandora and the D'Kar in orbit. "Who would like to begin," Iluvar asked, looking around the table.

Deciding to allow Earlond to report on the away mission, Awen instead decided to mention the D'Kar. "The D'Kar is a Valdore type Warbird. It's similar in design to the D'deridex class. Its warp nacelles are at the end of each wing, and impulse engines are mounted aft. The D'Kar has several disruptor banks forward-mounted on the wings as well as on the front of the vessel. There's a forward torpedo launcher which can fire four torpedoes before recharging."

"So far, we haven't heard a word from our escort since we entered Romulan space," Iluvar summarized, "but we know that they have been watching our actions very closely. I am almost certain that they know we have two Romulan colonists aboard the Pandora." Based on the fact that the Romulans hadn't done anything yet, it certainly seemed as the Romulans were okay with that.

Dr. Evans gave a glance of deferrence to Earlond before speaking. "No change in the condition of our guests in sickbay," he said. "But we have determined that whatever is afflicting them is strictly neurological, and is not caused by a known toxin or a genetic defect, nor by any living pathogen. There is evidence of formation of plaques in both brains," he flicked an image into the corner of the mission display showing a brain with dense pockets invading its tissues, "that is similar to an old human disease called 'Alzheimer's,' but that's where the similarities end."

Evans looked around at the other officers. "Doctor Winchester has also found that this disease is becoming more common among the colonists and that it is quite slow in its onset, often taking weeks and months to develop." He turned to Iluvar. "I hate to do it, sir, but it looks like I may have to take a tissue sample... unless we're allowed access to one of the colonists who has died from this disease." The last comment was as much request for permission or opinion as it was statement.

Bishop frowned even more heavily. "Better and better," he muttered. This entire situation had felt wrong ever since they crossed the neutral zone.

Awen frowned slightly at Michael's comments. While on the planet with the away team, they hadn't noticed anyone else ill. But, they hadn't seen the entire colony. Perhaps the other ill colonists had been separated from the others and the Governor simply hadn't shown that area to them - or perhaps it was what those Scientists had been working on...

The counselor had read the report on the colonists' unusual behavior and took this opportunity to speak up. "What sort of impact does this unusual behavior seem to be having on the other colonists? Has it started to affect whatever infrastructure exists on the planet?" It made her extremely uncomfortable that she hadn't been able to gauge this for herself, but a first hand report was better than nothing.

"From what we saw, essentially all the colonists seemed fairly apathetic. They weren't too concerned with us, not really in a hurry to do anything... Not what I would consider a 'normal' colony, if there is such a thing," the Bajoran commented.

Iluvar shifted his glance from Fala to the counselor. "Any thoughts as to what might be causing their lack of motivation, counselor," he asked, voicing the question that had been brought to him by the away team.

"Considering this illness is primarily affecting the brain I wouldn't be surprised if this was another symptom of the disease, maybe an early symptom." Andeti leaned back slightly, well aware of the potential implications. "Then again I'm no expert on Romulan behaviour and this sort of apathy might be nothing out of the ordinary."

Once the room had been quite a few moments, Khloe spoke up to give her report, "Sir, Science recently provided with some in depth scans that I'll be reviewing with Engineering. We're hoping to determine the source of the issues we've been having with communications links and the transporters." Unfortunately, they hadn't had much time yet to go over the findings and make conclusions, but at least they were making some process by even having the data.

"Very good," Iluvar said, knowing that results would come as soon as they were available. They all still had many questions, maybe even more now than before the meeting had begun. It was clear that the Romulans on the surface and, most likely, those on the D'Kar had at least some of the answers they were looking for. Patience was a virtue that was going to be needed if they were going to get to the bottom of this.

Sensing the lapse in the conversation, the Engineer spoke up. "I've got my people trying everything short of voodoo and wrappin' aluminum foil on a coat-hanger to get signals through consistently, but we're having no luck." Bishop shook his head, as if the problem was an affront to his sensibilities. "Whatever the hell this is, it's beyond me."

"The governor seems very reluctant to share information," Earlond said, speaking for the first time. "Especially with the colony's scientists - we weren't able to get much out of him, and I doubt we'll get much more. It looks like we're limited to what we can dig up on our own."

"I've got my department looking up all the information available about this colony to see if we can find anything about why it was established. So far we're not having much luck," McNeil stated. That was actually an understatement. So far they'd found nothing more than when it was established and which Senator had backed the idea. Beyond that the colony might as well not exist.

"Somehow this all has to fit together," Awen said, thinking out loud. "We just need to figure out how it all connects. Could the meteorological and geological issues on the planet be contributing to our problems with the transporters and communications?"

Khloe nodded, "We think so, Commander, based on the scans that Science completed a few hours ago. As I mentioned, we need to investigate further."

They were starting to talk in circles and Iluvar could see that it was frustrating all of them. It was time to develop a plan of action, even if they did only have a few pieces of the puzzle. "It would appear that for all our answers, we have but more questions," Iluvar said, leaning forward to rest his forearms on the edge of the table, "Lieutenant Bishop, Lieutenant Dovil, keep working on trying to cut back on the interference. I'd like to be able to talk to Governor Dhivael myself, if at all possible."

Khloe nodded. It wouldn't be easy, from what they'd already seen, but it was certainly worth a try. Perhaps if she and Samuel put their heads together, they'd be able to come up with something... At least enough to allow the Admiral to speak to the colony's governor.

Turning his attention toward Fala and Earlond, Iluvar continued, "Our friends on the D'Kar have been rather quiet since our arrival. I'm sure you both have concerns about the motive behind their silence. While this is supposed to be a diplomatic mission, I trust that the two of you will see to it that we are prepared in case our 'hosts' forget that."

Earlond nodded, turning towards Fala. "I'd like to meet with you later to discuss your current arrangements, and what we can do about the D'Kar if we need to take action," he said. He had no doubt that Fala had her department fully ready for anything, but it was good to be on the same page.

"Of course, sir," the Bajoran replied. Awen already had a few ideas in mind in case worst came to worst. Part of her hoped it wouldn't come to that, but she had to admit that sitting here staring at the Romulan vessel was rather...not exciting. Excitement wasn't always good in StarFleet - particularly if it came in the form of battle - but the only way to keep their skills sharp was to experience it every so often or at least simulate it in the holodeck. Either way, she'd be sure that her department was ready.

"Get started," Iluvar replied, turning his attention toward another section of the table, "Commander, lieutenant, I think you've both made it pretty clear that those colonists down there don't exist, at least as far as the Senate is concerned. Based on the information we do have, I'd like you both to coordinate with Doctor Evans to see if we can't track down something in the colony's past that might have caused such an outbreak. If this was supposed to be a frontier outpost, it's possible, considering the conditions they are living in, that the Empire might have given them something we missed."

Dr. Evans exchanged glances with the other two officers, then nodded in acknowledgment to his captain.

Sonya (NPC) didn't know what else they'd be able to find, but the admiral wanted information and he had asked her, as a scientist, to provide it. "You'll have my report in two hours, sir," she replied, wondering how in the world she was going to sum up the detailed history of Nerus V in two hours.

"Anything else," Iluvar asked, surveying the room one last time.

With a nod, the meeting was brought to a close. "Dismissed," Iluvar said, sitting back as his staff began to rise from their seats. Something was about to happen, and it was going to happen soon.

OFF

A JP by

Rear Admiral Iluvar
Commanding Officer
USS Pandora

Commander Earlond
Executive Officer
USS Pandora

Commander Christopher McNeil
Chief Intelligence Officer/Mission Advisor
USS Pandora

Lieutenant Commander Michael Evans
Chief Medical Officer/Second Officer
USS Pandora

Lieutenant Commander Fala Awen
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Pandora

Lieutenant Samuel Bishop
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Pandora

Lieutenant JG Hannah Andeti
Chief Counselor
USS Pandora

and

Lieutenant JG Khloe Dovil (NPC)
Acting Chief Operations Officer
USS Pandora
Played by: LtCmdr Fala