First Contact (Part 1 of 4)

Posted on 01 Nov 2013 @ 12:59pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Commander Scarlet Blake & Lieutenant Theron Rhodes & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Lieutenant JG Delainey Carlisle & Commander Norvi Stace & Ensign Im'er Mor'an & Ensign Natalie Chevalier & Lieutenant JG Victoria Crawley & Chief Petty Officer K8 Yellow & Lieutenant JG Jacrux & Lieutenant Aria Rice

3,579 words; about a 18 minute read

Mission: Episode 04 - Exodus
Location: Setisar VI - Surface, Alien City
Timeline: MD 06 - 1045 hrs

[ON]

USS Galileo - Transporter Room 1

With news of an important Away Team assembling, Kate had broken off her repairs on Deck 4 and hurried to the Transporter Room to ensure she could oversee the beam down. Dismissing the junior crewman at the station, she took her place at the console, a customized configuration set lower than usual to account for her squat size, and with all the instruments arrayed on one panel - usually they were split across three, but with her six hands, Kate could reach all of them at once. The experienced Nasat was hard at work configuring the targeting scanners to account for the planet's atmosphere, and paid little notice of the Away Team as they arrived, with nothing more than a click! and a wiggle of her antennae to Blake

Alyndra had left the sickbay in charge of Varek and Wylde. She could not fathom for the life of her why they needed her with the away team. "Oh," she thought to herself, "someone might get injured or sick." That was the one idea but after what the creature, or rather the creature's projection on the bridge had said, Allyndra felt more a liability than an asset. Her thoughts kept drifting back to comparison with her own culture and she was having a hard time parsing the idea that this was going to be nothing less than a disaster.

She walked slowly along the hall with reluctant steps and kept checking and rechecking the emergency field medical kit and scanner hoping that something was off but all kept coming back nominal. The transporter room door seemed to materialize itself in front of her and Allyndra took a deep breath and stepped through as the door opened. "Now or never," she mumbled to herself.

Stace soon followed with the Bridge crew trailing behind. It was true that the Trill didn't relish meeting the Borg again. Having them around the familiarity of a ship she knew was bad enough, but transporting down to the surface where the Borg seemed to be under the influence of a higher power other than the collective consciousness troubled her. Keeping the alien's warning in mind, she unholstered her hand-phaser and waited for the signal to either relinquish it fully or set it back to her waist.

Rhodes entered the transporter room and stepped to the far side. He knew Rice was close behind him. They would use standard tactical deployment of two man security; one on each side of the group. No one seemed to notice him carrying a small back pack. He hoped that the species they would meet would not have a problem with it either. Nor did he hope to have to use it.

Victoria came in close behind Rhodes, taking a spot by the wall and surveying the room. As excited as she was to be on the team, she was terrified. The creatures they were going to study had managed to take control of the Borg, the most fearsome aliens Victoria had ever even heard of, and now they were going down to their planet. She could just imagine what would happen if they decided the away team was a threat; it wasn't a pleasant thought. Seeing the armed officers, though, definitely put her a little bit more at ease.

Mor'an entered the transporter room, not exactly thrilled to be on the Away Team. Usually he would be excited to be chosen to be on the Away Team. This time, however, was different because of the presence of the Borg and the danger of assimilation. With a sigh, she determined that she would do her best and give 100%, regardless of her misgivings. Putting her thoughts aside, Mor'an stepped forward and stood next to those already present.

Delainey followed behind Allyndra and tried to keep her mind occupied with first contact procedures. At best, it was a temporary distraction as this was far from the happiest of occasions in which they could bask in the glow of living out their mandate of seeking out new life. They had met old familiar life recently in the form of the Borg, and the primitive part of Carlisle's mind just wanted her to give into her instincts and hide. The Starfleet Officer in her knew she had to fight through those emotions, and keep going. In this case, that meant fulfilling her obligations of First Contact.

Carlisle entered the transporter room, medkit hanging from her shoulder. She took a moment to scan the room before offering, "How's everyone holding up?"

Rhodes gave a confirming nod with a flat smile.

"I don't know about you, but I'm excited!" The enthusiastic response came from the latest to arrive, the scruffy haired ecologist Natalie Chevalier, grinning ear to ear at the prospect of finally participating in an Away Team. Only the sight of the various weapons some members of the party were brandishing dampened her mood, but it was momentary. She joined up with Norvi and Victoria and did a final check on her kit: some PADDs and two sets of sample vials in a black bag slung over one shoulder, and a couple of tricorders tucked into her belt on the opposing hip. She'd even managed to look almost presentable in honour of the occasion, changing her uniform top, though it was clear that a comb did not number among her scientific tools.

Allyndra could hardly see why anyone would be happy considering the so far rather overt hostile nature so far displayed but in a way she admired Chevalier's enthusiasm no matter what. Perhaps, she should try to feel that way and look for the optimistic rather than the pessimistic.

Aria frowned as she looked around. She felt tired. She still felt tired, but she was here. And it mattered somewhat. She tried to make it matter anyway.

Jac was in a rush. A late call had interrupted his meditation (not sulking, Romulans did not sulk) over the ship's current situation, and he had to scurry to find the necessary equipment to accompany the away team on their mission. He had a phaser, like most of the others, but he also had some other equipment. Normally, Jac's prosthetic arm had built in recording equipment he could use in situations like this, but since he was stuck using his battered sparring arm, instead he had a small visual/auditory recording device pinned to his collar, near the comm badge. He was incredibly curious about how these aliens would react... and he would have a record in case the mission went south.

Blake looked around the group as she stood at the front of the room, arms crossed as she checked she had all of her team. Her head was still hurting, but she'd managed to grab a painkiller to at least dim the throb. Between getting the ship back into a workable state and the Borg guardians, there had been a lot to contend with.

"We don't know much about who we're going to meet and where we're going," Scarlet addressed them, resting her hands on her hips. "I want everyone to be vigilant. These people, it seems, are able to control the Borg we have been fighting. I want to know how by the time we come back up to the ship. But I also want everyone to keep a cool head. After all is said and done, this is still, officially, a First Contact. We've already lost too much to lack of communication between our two parties, let's not add to that. Everyone ready to go?"

Theron glanced through the Away Team to Aria on the other side and gave her an encouraging nod.

Nat double checked her equipment. She'd downloaded a Federation database on first contact scenarios to one of her PADDs, for ease of reference, and had calibrated one of her tricorders to scan for psionic energy in the case that this alien manipulation of the Borg had a telepathic basis. She nodded brightly to Commander Blake to confirm she was ready, and then resumed reading on her PADD about the disastrous Senko Valley Encounter, which had set back relations between the Federation and the Nyrobians for 70 years.

Aria glanced at Rhodes, her eyes blank before she looked away, her gloved hand on her belt with her weapon. At least there was something anyway. She had her weapon to cling to.

Allyndra shook her head in the negative. She wondered if she would be allowed to take any medical scans. That might prove interesting. Perhaps, there was a sort of machine brain interface not dissimilar to what the Borg used. It struck her she was think ahead and that at least was something.

Satisfied that they were all on the same page, Scarlet gave a brisk nod before turning and leading the way up onto the transporter pad, indicating they should do the same. When they were all in place, she took a slight breath, preparing, as much as she could for the complete unknown. "Energise."

The transport was not a complex one: the planet's atmosphere was a standard nitrogen-oxygen mix, and there was no interference beyond the negligible interference from the Borg ships in orbit. The surface scans showed ambient temperatures of only 12.2C, but as a Nasat, it did not occur to her to warn the warm-bloods. Kate rubbed three sets of hands together and clicked her antennae. "I am setting you down click! at the coordinates. Good luck, click!, Commander!"

She hit transport and ten figures disappeared from the transporter pad to the unknown planet below. She monitored the transport to ensure that the annular confinement beam had located properly, clicking her antennae in that same satisfaction she had first felt 35 years previously when she initialised her first transport.


Setisar VI - Surface, Alien Chamber

On the surface of the planet near the aliens' main population center, the ten members of the away team materialized with a vertical sweeping motion of the blue transporter beams. The lighter gravity of the planet, about 0.8 percent of Earth's, allowed them a light step, but there was not much for them to maneuver. The first obvious and most glaring realization was that they were not out in the open on the surface, but rather in a dimly lit chamber which was small enough in size to barely accommodate all of them. All four walls of the room were a solid grey-metallic color, and the only illumination came from a series of soft white ambient lights which appeared to glow from the corners of the floor tiles. There were no visible windows or doors, and no one else was present in the room except themselves. A plain room with no escape. A prison of sorts.

Allyndra immediately was not surprised at the co-ordinates. The appearance of the room was nothing less than what you would suspect would be a containment room and certainly was anything but friendly.

Inviting, like an operating room or a jail cell, Victoria thought sarcastically to herself as she looked around the strange room. She kept a hand on her phaser and her eyes on the walls, waiting for...well, she wasn't sure what, but she didn't want to get caught unawares by something nasty. That probably wouldn't end well.

Lt. Rhodes took in the situation with a sweeping look about the chamber. Pulling a weapon would not be advisable, but he removed his tricorder and looked at the scan readouts. "I can pick up no signal or scan beyond our position."

Transporting into a small, enclosed space was exactly opposite of Jac's idea of a good time. He backed away from those closest to him, feeling the ceiling press down on him, tension radiating from his form.

Mor'an looked around the room, slightly surprised by the close quarters but generally unfazed by the turn of events. She saw some of the other members of the Away Team become tense and hoped that they wouldn't do anything foolish.

Nat was a little disappointed at being transported directly to some kind of holding centre. She had hoped to materialise amidst some magnificent vista, an alien landscape sweeping before her, a new world just coming to life unfolding before her very eyes. Instead she got four walls, and not even a window or viewport to see outside of. Thus far, this was about as exciting as an Away mission to the Cargo Bays. She glumly stomped over to the walls to inspect them for seams or joins, but there was nothing that she could see that would enable them to leave.

Delainey looked around and almost before completing her look around, she felt her adrenaline kick in. It might not have been rational to be on guard and expecting the worst this soon, but it was a reaction she came by honestly. She silently prayed things would not take another turn for the worse.

A loud yet docile voice sounded and echoed inside the chamber, providing them with instructions. "You must be cleansed to prevent infection. Remove all of your clothing. All non-biological components. You may then enter for decontamination." said the voice over some sort of apparent intercom. Right on cue, one of the walls suddenly shimmered and vanished, presenting the team with a new room in which to enter. The new chamber appeared to be slightly larger in size and was equally dim, but instead of white lighting, was illuminated by a strange type of blue fluorescent glow.

Blake glanced to Allyndra with surprise, arching an eyebrow before looking upwards, as if to address the voice. "Can you assure it would be harmless to us?"

"Excuse me?" Allyndra said out loud. "I am a doctor, a healer and I am not sure that your methods are compatible with everyone. Perhaps you will allow me to check the components and materials involved?"

Scarlet looked back to Allyndra at that, nodding firmly to her in support of the question.

A long moment passed before the familiar punctuated and soothing voice replied to the chief medical officer. "Unnecessary. The epidermis of all your species contains many secretions. Some maybe harmful to us. Your hair follicles must also be cleansed. Our method is efficient and compatible." came the answer. The lights in the room slated for decontamination began to glow brighter and softly pulse with an inviting nature.

Scarlet was silent for a long moment, frowning. "Do it," she finally said to the team, not exactly thrilled at the prospect herself.

Victoria raised her eyebrows and looked around for the source of the voice. Because this isn't even a little bit awkward. She shook her head and started removing her phaser (already she was feeling exposed and vulnerable) and everything else, carefully avoiding any and all eye contact and placing her clothes in a neat pile before entering the chamber.

Theron had no problem with his body, nor feared being looked upon, but being without the tools to complete his responsibility to the away team made him hesitant. Tactially, this reduced his efficiency to protect the away team by 90%. Without weapons, communications, tools, and clothing their possible control of the situation just became nil. He followed the others and removed the small back pack and jacket. None of the others seemed to notice the vest of weapons he wore under his jacket, as they were also undressing. He continued to undress stacking his clothes neatly on top of the pack. He glanced about the room, trying not to stare. He was surprised slightly by the body art that several of the crew had. He glanced down at the Basque of a trident showing on the lower left inner arm. He usually kept it from view, so explanations would not come up. He moved toward the opening as the others finished. The Chief of Security was the first to enter the chamber, just a touch hesitant as he walked slowly looking side to side cautiously to the other side of that chamber.

While the request to de-robe was a surprising one, the thought of being naked didn't bother Mor'an. To her mind, the body was not something to be hidden or ashamed of, as it was a thing of beauty in its own right. Embarrassment was something that one chose to be and Mor'an chose not to be embarrassed. She quickly removed her phaser and uniform, the only non-biological items on her person.

Norvi was next to undress. She looked about with wide, unsure eyes as she placed both phaser and tricorder on the floor at her feet, before taking in a deep breath and unzipping her jacket. Taking off her standard-issue boots, she stepped out of her trousers and casually wandered over to the beckoning room.

Nat, who came from a New French culture far more accepting of nudity than prudish Terran standards, was already out of her clothes by the time the others had started voicing objections, and made a hasty half-attempt to redress to avoid embarrassment. Fortunately, for her sake at least, The Voice was not to be reasoned with, and the orders were restated. She pooled her clothes in a vaguely neat bundle, and nestled her instruments and sample bag on top, then, with little more than a ruddy hint on her cheeks, stepped through into the bathing blue light of the room, her scrawny, pale body on view.

Allyndra was not impressed with the 'may be harmful' explanation. Germaphobes she thought and that also went with a paranoia about strangers. She glanced at Blake, the Counselor part of her should be having a field day with this, as well and it spoke of danger. Her optimism which had been thin to begin with vanished like dew on the grass. It was also a very efficient way to separate them all from their instruments and the few weapons they had brought along with any means to communicate with the ship.

Everyone else decided to go with the programme and with the danger of their erstwhile hosts unleashing the Borg again, Allyndra decided to comply rather than be another thorn in the side.

Scarlet pulled her clothes off with tense hands that betrayed her displeasure at the situation. She wasn't shy, not after having served in the Marines, but unlike most Starfleet Officers who were brought up with the constant medical care, her pale skin wasn't as perfect as others, marked with a couple of scars on her body from when she was younger and left to heal naturally. She moved in to the chamber quickly, wanting to get this over with.

Seeing everyone move to disrobe, Delainey figured she had no choice but to follow suit. She briefly considered whether this was some sort of ploy to leave them feeling vulnerable, but realizing she was attributing her cultural expectations to this group, she discounted it. As she undressed, she covered her discomfort with humor. "I've heard of handling nerves by picturing people naked, but this takes that to a whole other level, yes?" She instinctively covered herself more to ward off discomfort than embarrassment.

Aria swallowed as she looked around, her eyes wide. She, unlike most others, was a bit more shy about her nakedness...more because to her it emphasised how girlish she was. She started stripping, glancing over at Rhodes briefly before closing her eyes. She pushed the emotions away. Useless. She was an officer, doubt and fear were useless right now. She let the last item of clothing fall, standing there naked, her tattoo standing against her pale skin. With her hair tied up, it exposed the entire design that ran down her back.

Slowest to move was Jac, though he was most reluctant to rid himself of his weapons, taking a long moment to place the phaser on top of his pile of clothes as somewhat of a warning to any who tried to sabotage the other item he would add to his pile. With a spasm-like twist of the prosthetic, Jac detached his right arm from his shoulder and placed it with his uniform. Some non-biological components still remained implanted into flesh and bone, but the aliens would have to deal with that part of Jac's anatomy. Jac hid his discomfort at adding to his own weaknesses, his remaining fist clenched tightly and absolutely refusing to hide or cover the port in his shoulder or the greenish scarring stretching from the shoulder and down his side and back, faded, but still present from the injuries too severe or old for Starfleet medicine to heal.

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

Unnamed Alien Woman
Le'kt Representative
[PNPC - Lirha Saalm]

Lt. Theron Rhodes
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo

Lt. Allyndra illm Warraquim
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

Lt. Commander Scarlet Blake
Chief Counsellor/2XO
USS Galileo

Lt. JG Victoria Crawley
Psychologist
USS Galileo

Junior Grade Lieutenant Norvi Stace
Chief Research Officer
USS Galileo

Ensign Im'er Mor'an
Operations Officer
USS Galileo

Lt. Aria Rice
Assistant Chief of Security
USS Galileo

ENS Jacrux
Archaeologist/Anthropologist
USS Galileo

LT Delainey Carlisle
Asst. Chief Counselor
USS Galileo

ENS Natalie Chevalier
Ecologist
USS Galileo

CPO K8 Yellow
Transporter Chief
USS Galileo
[PNPC - S'Ranna]

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