Like Drunk Helmsman

Posted on 29 Apr 2016 @ 12:18pm by Commander Andreus Kohl & Ensign Jaana Voutilainen & Lieutenant JG Lenaris Marika & Lieutenant Oren Idris Ph.D. & Chief Warrant Officer 2 Vasily Sokolov Ph.D. & Chief Petty Officer Torgeir Naes

1,655 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Episode 11 - Divinum Mundi
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 1, Main Bridge
Timeline: MD 03 - 0337 hours

[ON]

Following a shore leave of rising with the earth's sun each morning, Andreus Kohl's body was rebelling against living according to gamma shift. It would take a few more weeks yet before his circadian rhythm acclimated to the change. This meant, in the meantime, the glimmers of Cherenkov radiation twinkling on the viewscreen were terribly hypnotizing. Kohl could feel his eyelids getting heavier every moment, but it wasn't until he fully shut his eyes three times that he pushed himself up into a standing position.

"I can't imagine starting a new life on an emerging colony," Kohl said aloud. It was a non sequitur, really; no one had mentioned the colony in some time. Even so, Kohl expected the crew's mission to Celes III was on everybody's mind. He took a couple of meandering steps closer to the flight control console. "Even coming aboard Galileo was disorientating at her launch. It still had that new starship smell in the air. ...I think I prefer a place with some history."

Manning tactical,Torgier sipped at the lidded mug he had brought with him to the bridge. He preferred Gamma shift as it tended to be quieter at times.

Jaana rubbed with her hand over her forehead. Why did I have to be so stubborn and finish he research I was doing earlier today, instead of resting. she thought. She was having a hard time staying awake. Even the amount of coffee she had consumed the last few hours didn't seem to help. And what she had been doing didn't even had a deadline. She looked around the bridge to see the colleagues she would be working with regularly from now on. She was grateful that Kohl had remembered her desire to get more responsibilities in her work.

Poking at the ops display, Marika grinned. She’d loaded the default display pattern and was fiddling around, trying to get a feel for what would work best. Of course it would be something that would slowly change over time as she adjusted to the realities of the station, but for now it was fun.

“I do think anyone who reads this ship’s mission reports, would be hard pressed to see her as inexperienced… although if you’re talking about the actual smell, I’d say it’s because they’ve changed half the stations across the ship.” Having turned to him as she spoke, the young Bajoran offered her superior a large smile.

"Galileo is a grand old lady now, yes," Kohl replied, "but she was just a young thing when I came aboard as an ensign. With everything she's been through --not to mention that refit over a year ago-- I'm not how much of that original Galileo is even still here."

"I don't think much good can come from seeing the Galileo as anything but a thing. It's just a thing, not a person. It's replaceable," Oren chimed in from his spot at the second occupied Science console. He'd taken one slightly apart from the other to give himself some space, and to not allow himself to be distracted while playing his game on the console.

"Nei, that doesn't work," Terje offered. "You try holding a ship of any size in your mind as a thing and you end up beating your head on the bulkhead trying to sort out why it does what it does. I don't know that she's a grand old lady, though ... still too much life in her yet."

Casting a glance over in Oren's direction, Kohl said, "There are plenty of things in this universe that can be old and still have plenty of life in them yet." Turning his back on the viewscreen, Kohl had a good look 'round at the bridge crew. Sounding amused as he tried to imagine it, Kohl asked, "Do any of you fancy you could venture out to a new colony on a barely habitable world?"

Sokolov stared at the man as his eyes settled on him. He looked so smug and self-assured, as if he were leading some discussion at a book club for housewives. The Russian snorted.

"Only mentally ill would settle this planet. Frankly, I wonder if maybe scientists in charge have also gone soft in head," he grumbled, dimming his duty station to turn his attention more fully on Kohl. "Planet is not suited to agriculture. Planet is too cold. Planet flies around solar system like drunk helmsman. And someone says, 'Out of all the known planets in the galaxy, let us test wonky android on this one and also throw down some crazy people, too.'" He snorted again and turned back to duty station while wrapping up the monologue. "So, only dimwit comes here."

Terje chuckled. "Oh, I don't know sir. Seems this would be interesting - a challenge, at least, beyond settling ordinary run-of-the-mill planets, no?"

"It does had it's pro's. Being part of a community that litterly build everything there is on a planet." Jaana said, after thinking about it for a second. "But even though I prefer my solitude, living on a entire planet with only a handfull of people is way to calm for me."

"I don't imagine this generation will know calm," Kohl supposed. He took a few steps in Jaana's direction and he laid a hand on the railing behind the command chairs. "Between the harsh living conditions and the endless responsibilities of building and maintaining planetary infrastructure, their days will be full, I suspect. Worse than that, the colonists won't have much of a history together. If Galileo is any example, that might cause for some small bits of friction."

"I meant calm as in quite, not as in boring and nothing to do." Jaana explained herself. "If you compare it to Earth for example with it's million of people. Then a colony like this is very tranquil."

Terje nodded, taking a sip before he added, "And hard work can be good for blending personalities. It keeps people from thinking of their differences many times and gives them something better to focus on."

"What's wrong with thinking about differences? It's what make us unique and interesting?" Marika turned to the security officer, genuinely
curious as to his answer.

"Nothing wrong," Terje grinned. "But some seem to take them as a reason to push wedges between themselves and other people. I'm tall, you're short - we shouldn't associate because we have so little in common. But when you're working together, you see it all different."

At his console, game on level 68, Oren kept one ear open to the room, listening to what his coworkers were talking about. Eventually, he raised his head, looking contemplative.

"I know some of you will probably judge me for this, but I agree with Vasily," he told them. "I have a bad feeling about this mission since the briefing. Taking a new species out for a test in such an inhospitable environment makes little sense. There are too many unknowns. Personally, I think we haven't been told anything. The entire thing reads like a horror film. Something will go wrong, like it always does, and we'll be in trouble." Oren knew he sounded paranoid, but considering Galileo's track record, he didn't blame himself.

"I guarantee you, we'll be burning our blood in a petri dish before the week is out," the El Aurian warned.

Vasily laughed, a short gravely bark that announced to the world he'd been a hard drinker his entire adult life. "New species? It is robot. Fancy robot, maybe, but not new species. Come on. Otherwise, I concur - there will be burning blood. Personally, I intend to stay on ship, near to escape pod."

Mostly disregarding Vasily, Kohl turned back in Oren's direction. "What more would you like to be told?" Kohl asked, and it came out more like an offer than a challenge.

"The point in choosing this specific planet? The ethics of pushing a sentient being into an experiment like this under such harsh conditions? It just seems like they're going out of their way to make this experiment as hard as possible and while I usually find this tactic commendable, the fact that this involves what is practically a child is giving me a bad feeling," Oren explained, knowing full well that him getting a bad feeling was hardly a factor in anything, but he couldn't help the weight he was feeling in the pit of his stomach. Perhaps the last mission had affected him more than he liked to admit.

"Maybe I'm just being paranoid," he allowed, shaking his head as he stared back down at his console, running one long finger over the smooth edge of it.

Turning to stare at the viewscreen again, Kohl shrugged with one shoulder. "Such is a life of service," he said. There was more than a little resignation in what he said. As if making his point further, Kohl began taking the small steps necessary back to the command chair. As he gave some consideration to the return to his duty station, and what that meant, he stopped half way. "Mind you, this isn't the Tal Shiar," Kohl said. "Some of that analysis --that rationale-- must be public record. If that's what you need to prepare you for this mission, then I'll hunt down some of those answers. We can't make informed decisions without information," Kohl concluded.


[OFF]

Commander Andreus Kohl
Second Officer
USS Galileo

Ensign Jaana Voutilainen
Stellar Cartographer
USS Galileo

Ensign Lenaris Marika
Archaeologist/Anthropologist
USS Galileo

CPO Torgier Naess
Security Officer
USS Galileo
[PNPC - Khoroushi]

CWO2 Vasily Sokolov, Ph.D.
Engineering Officer
USS Galileo
[ PNPC - Mott ]

Lieutenant Oren Idris Ph.D.
Chief Research Officer
USS Galileo

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