Dining with Aliens (Part 3 of 3)

Posted on 15 Nov 2013 @ 11:49am by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Commander Scarlet Blake & Lieutenant Theron Rhodes & Lieutenant Aria Rice & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Lieutenant JG Delainey Carlisle & Lieutenant JG Victoria Crawley & Commander Norvi Stace & Ensign Im'er Mor'an

2,267 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Episode 04 - Exodus
Location: Setisar VI - Surface, Alien Dining Room
Timeline: MD 06 - 1540 hrs

Previously, on Dining with Aliens (Part 2)...

Sitting at the primary mission ops station on her ship's bridge, Lirha watched the status reports come in as the last of the rescue away teams beamed back to Galileo, all successful in achieving their primary goal of retrieving assimilated crew members. She felt a great deal of elation after realizing that her gamble had paid off, and leaned back in her chair and wiped her hand across her sweaty forehead. The last thirty minutes had been as tense as ever for the commanding officer, and she was once again beginning to feel nauseous from her over-exertion.

Suddenly, the lights on the bridge dimmed, after which a familiar figure shimmered and materialized near the command chairs. Lirha looked at Scarlet with shock and surprise, wondering what exactly she was doing back on Galileo and where the rest of her team was. And why was her hair was gone? All of it. "Commander?" she asked incredulously.

And Now, the Conclusion...

[ON]

Scarlet let out a soft breath, clasping her hands behind her back. "They are allowing me to use their communication device, Captain," she shook her head with a slight frown, but her features were otherwise even. "We are being told that our crew members are no longer on the Borg cube?"

Lirha got up from her seat and moved to the center of the bridge to stand next to her 2XO's projection, trying her best to not comment on her pale and egg-like head. "We have just rescued them from the cube, including Commander Holliday and several of Venture's personnel," she confirmed with a small smile of pride at their accomplishments. "Our rescue teams have just returned to Galileo. How is your away team doing? Has your first contact been successful?"

It took a lot of effort for Scarlet to keep her features still and not display her astonishment. They'd been in a first contact situation, trying to negotiate to get their people back - and no one had thought to try and contact them to let them know they were planning to board the vessel and take them back themselves? They hadn't thought that it would put her team in a vulnerable position? Being, as they were, in the overwhelming company of the aliens who might take offence at that? "Steps have been made," she replied, her voice carefully measured to be as even as ever when at work. "However, the disappearance of our crew from the cube has led them to believe that we have deliberately deceived them." She hoped it wasn't true. She hoped that it had been a genuine communication problem.

"Deceived them? No...not at all," came Lirha's reply with a bit of bewilderment. It had been a risky proposition to retrieve their crew from the clutches of the Borg, but her intent had been fueled by her emotional desire to rescue their comrades from an undesirable life as drones in the Collective.

"That was not my intention," she assured the commander, now feeling like her actions had jeopardized the away team on the surface of the planet. "I could not sit by and do nothing while our first officer and many of our crew remained assimilated. And the electromagnetic interference from the planet scatters all of our scans and surface communications," she began to fuss.

Scarlet took a breath, but accepted it as truth. Lirha would never lie to her, she'd have stood up for her decision. If they couldn't communicate with them, then it couldn't be helped. And she could see the advantages of planning a more proactive rescue of their people. Yes, it put them in a vulnerable situation in the First Contact, but there had been no guarantee that they would agree to give them back at all, especially after the level of destruction that they'd already felt acceptable to level at them. Scarlet nodded softly. "What sort of extraction method did you use?" she asked, and again, hoped beyond anything shots weren't fired. But then, the fact she was talking to Lirha meant the ship was still in one piece, which in turn meant that it couldn't have been an aggressive extraction.

Lirha wasn't sure how much she should reveal over open comms to the commander but still recognized the need for transparency, especially with a first contact scenario. "We beamed over four small away teams over to the cube, each with different objectives. We were able to retrieve Commander Holliday from the central plexus, Tarishiana Barel and her unborn child from the maturation chambers, Lieutenant Pee--Zaren," she corrected herself, "from the engineering subjunctions, and Lieutenant Nicholas from the tactical grid," she explained. "Along with several other personnel from USS Venture."

The captain paused to rub her sweaty forehead then looked back towards Blake's projection. "Please assure our hosts that I...we, intended no harm or malice. We were simply attempting to save the lives of our crew members. As individuals." She emphasized that last work for good measure. "We did not fire on the Borg nor harm any of their drones."

Scarlet let out a soft breath of relief, unable to help it as she relaxed a little. That made it easier. "I will...see what I can do," she assured with a small, half smile.

"Thank you, commander," Lirha nodded, but her heart was still beating fast with apprehension that she might have jeopardized one of her away missions by giving way to her personal feelings for her crew and most importantly, her desire to rescue her XO.


Setisar VI - Communication Chamber

Scarlet stepped out, unconsciously shaking her head lightly as if to get 'back to reality'. Moving to Nar, she inclined her head in an empathetic manner. "I can assure you, no deception was meant. The ship couldn't communicate with us, or with you, to let us know what was happening. They found a peaceful way to retrieve our people, and without being able to contact us, they couldn't tell if we were able to bring them home or not. This was meant purely in defense of our own people, no harm was inflicted to either yourselves, or your Borg. This was a communication problem, not a deception. I hope you can understand that."

Nar, who had been standing at the back of the chamber observing Scarlet, now stepped forward with her usual lithe movements. Again, the mechanical device imbedded into the base of her skull glowed and pulsed while she sent and communicated the data Scarlet had just provided her with.

"A misunderstanding," she proposed. "We have confirmed your statement. No drones injured. Or killed. Our technology conceals our presence. No communication." Nar began to turn away and lead Scarlet out of the chamber, then paused and turned back to her. "You prefer individuality." It was a question stated as a fact, but one which the alien woman was curious about.

Scarlet smiled at that, unable to help herself as she looked to her. "Yes. It is what makes us...thrive. And yearn for more, and others."

Nar looked emotionlessly at Scarlet but her words were those of understanding. "We prefer individuality as well. The actions of your ship, an attempt to preserve individuality. An acceptable action. You may return to your people." The exit to the room shimmered and became transparent, presenting Scarlet with a view of the dining hall at which the members of their away team were seated.

Scarlet looked over them all on instinct, unconsciously doing a bald head count. "Thank you. We will return now, but please, think about what I said. I know that Starfleet would welcome continued contact with your people, if you wish it. Just...consider it for a while."

"We will convene and decide. In three days. We will contact you," the alien woman replied, then paused and changed the subject. "Your ship is damaged. It requires repair," she added, stating the obvious about Galileo. "Our facilities can repair your vessel. While you wait for our decision."

"Thank you, that would be very much appreciated," Scarlet assured quickly; they needed all the help they could get with such low resources that were struggling between trying to heal the crew and the ship. It may not have been the best example of a First Contact on record, but they'd certainly gone some way to healing the scar on the people of Le'kt's trust of the rest of the universe.


Setisar VI - Alien Dining Room

Nar followed Scarlet back out into the main dining hall and looked over the seated Starfleet officers before gesturing her hand towards the two guards to indicate for them to disperse. They did not verbally acknowledge her command but instead turned on their heels and delicately walked out of the chamber from the entrance on the far side.

Lt. Rhodes stood attentively as the Commander returned to the Dining room with their Host.

"Our facilities are on the far side of our world. You call them...'shipyards'. You will be towed to our facilities. All crew must vacate areas designated for repair. Your power grid must be disabled during the process," she informed the 2XO.

Scarlet nodded with understanding as they moved back to the rest of the team. "I will make sure we're not in your way," she looked back to her team, clasping her hands behind her back as she addressed them. "It's true, our crew are now back on the ship. They were unable to get through to us. We're going to return to the ship, which will be towed to the Le'kt shipyards for repairs."

"Repair Sir?" The Security Chief questioned. "I am not ungrateful, but there are many regulations that will be bypassed, letting them repair our ship without our oversight."

"The final decision of course will be the Captain's," Scarlet assured, looking to Nar with a nod. Lockdowns could be used to ensure safety for both parties. "But frankly? We need the help." And if they'd wanted to take the ship or go through all its systems, they could have easily done it with the state they were in. Equally, if they'd wanted to destroy it, they could have already.

There were so many regulations that Rhodes could quote to the Commander at that time, in contradiction to what she just recommended, but this was not the time nor the place for such discussions or decissions. Theron gave a slow and silent nod to the 2nd officer, accepting his leadership, at least for the moment.

Allyndra swiveled her head as she heard footsteps quiet as they were. She caught Theron standing up but she remained seated and watched as the 'guards' were dismissed and they were informed of the repairs.

That was all well and fine if it was true and she could not fault Theron for the major breach of protocol but then had these aliens not already scanned the ship from stem to stern? Her question though was different.

"One of the areas damaged was our 'sickbay', a place of healing. We would need facilities off the ship if that can be arranged."

"Medical care," the bald alien replied, deciphering Allyndra's request. "We can provide facilities for your wounded. Here on the surface. They must all be cleansed," she added, referring to the shaving and decontamination process the away team had gone through when they had first arrived on the world.

"We'll see what the Captain thinks," Scarlet replied with a slight nod, thinking it better that she decide for herself whether they moved all the wounded through a process like that. It sounded as if they might be tense enough up there as it was.

"Your captain. Lirha Saalm." Nar identified the Orion commanding officer from her memory databanks. "She may contact us. With this," she reached into what appeared to be a small pouch attached to the garment on the side of her leg and pulled out a small transparent disk the size of a large coin. She held it out in her pale and delicate fingers for Scarlet to take. "We will make arrangements."

It was more or less the response Allyndra expected. The problem was that these aliens did not seem to understand the double psychological trauma that those taken by the Borg and then subjected to this strip down would suffer. It would definitely be something that would have to be discussed. She smiled and made a small bow of the head trying to be polite. It was hard to maintain that faade, but she had to remind herself over and over these aliens were dangerous and they were still at their seemingly whimsical mercy.

"Thank you," Scarlet took the disk, and was unable to hold back her curiosity as she looked it over for clues on how it worked. "We'll be sure to keep you informed."

[OFF]

--

CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Nar
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 CMDR Scarlet Blake
Chief Counsellor/2XO
USS Galileo

Ensign Im'er Mor'an
Operations Officer
USS Galileo

Junior Grade Lieutenant Norvi Stace
Chief Research Officer
USS Galileo

Lt. Aria Rice
Assistant Chief of Security
USS Galileo

LTJG Victoria Crawley
Psychologist
USS Galileo

LT Delainey Carlisle
Asst. Chief Counselor
USS Galileo

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