A Meeting of Minds

Posted on Mon Jun 5th, 2023 @ 6:32am by Lieutenant Feeva Drylo
Edited on on Mon Jun 26th, 2023 @ 6:52am

2,255 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Mission 4 - Like a Thunderbolt
Location: Captain's Ready Room, Faltan Station
Timeline: MD05 - 1830

Faltan Station was brand-new and while it was just coming online, with power still unavailable in certain less important areas, it was for the most part, an elegant beast. Entrance to his Ready Room was through the Operations Center which, though it was a pale comparison given what would be happening there once they were fully operational, could be considered the equivalent to a ship's bridge. Everything was clean, brand-new, and untouched by the tragedy that had befallen the crew at Falta Base only two days ago.

The desk chair, done in a medium gray, was comfortable though built for a man much wider than himself and while it invited him to be drawn in, he'd refused to this point. The need to be doing had filled him with a sort of restless energy that made him think he needed to go for a run, work it off, so that he could concentrate better.

There were small things such as the fact that his door chime didn't work but he knew that maintenance had it on their repair list. And so, to make things easier, he'd left the door open.

Fee rang the chime, noticing it didn't work. Damn it. She wasn't a very big person, and her knocks were as timid as she was. Still, she tried the door, giving it as hard a knock as possible. It wasn't really loud, so hopefully he wasn't hard of hearing or something like that. Once she had, she peeked in, though the door was open-it was respectful, she felt, a long, red braid announcing her presence before her body did. She finally, tentatively, almost tiptoe-ing, entered the room.

"Sir. Feeva Drylo reporting for duty." Her too-large blue tunic and long black pants seemed to swallow her. She wished it WOULD. Or maybe a black hole would open up, sucking them into the abyss, sending them on the way to their bliss. Her voice was quiet, and she stood near the wall, as if trying to sink INTO it. "Chief Science Officer." Who the hell had decided that SHE was fit for that kind of job? Some total idiot, obviously.

Ronan, whose hearing was better than most, looked up from the PADD he'd been reading and then, of course, had to look down. At 6'5", he was considered tall on both his home world and his adopted one, He figured he had maybe a foot and half on his new Chief Science Officer. The trick now was not to seem physically imposing without being obvious about it. "Welcome," he said, his bass voice pitched low. His gaze traveled to her insignia, since she hadn't mentioned it, and then returned to her fact in a rapid movement, "Lieutenant Drylo. Please, come in."

His Ready Room was spacious and upon entry, one had the option of turning right toward the desk or left toward the seating area. Her nerves made him veer right where he moved around the desk and dropped into his too comfortable desk chair for the first time.

She was already IN, but she nodded. "Yes, sir." She moved a little closer, edging towards a chair. Sat in a chair, her spine upright, she'd appear bigger than she was. That was usually her go-to trick. She was a small woman, due in part to unfortunate genetic rolls-of-the-dice, but also due to malnutrition while her mother was pregnant. She was trying hard not to cower-she had no logical explanation for her fear of tall, large men-other than an innate sense that they *could* hurt her, even if they did not.

"Nice to meet you finally," she said. "I am sorry I got in so late yesterday; the trip from the Station was a bit longer than I had calculated." She said, simply. She HATED when her plans were foiled, and even more when the foiling was out of her control, as it had been the previous day-she was reliant on a shuttle pilot from the closest space station.

"The pleasure is mine, Lieutenant. I'm glad you're here," Ronan said. "Have you been briefed at all on our situation?"

Feeva shook her head. "Not really. I understand that it's a...revival of a previous Federation station, but that's all the information I was given. It was all very quick-it was "Drylo, you have orders, go here, your shuttle will arrive for pick-up at 0900 yesterday," she said. "I had an hour to pack my things!" She said. She settled her small frame into a chair, sitting cross-legged so that she could boost herself up enough to see over the top of the desk. Being small was such a pain!! "But I am willing to help however I can be utilized," she said, quickly.

"It was about the same thing for me as well," Ronan said. "Got the orders and we were on our way within two hours. There is some urgency as you'll begin to understand. We're on Faltan Station, which is brand-new and just coming online, but Faltan Base, on Falta III is where the problems started." He drew a breath to continue, marshalling his thoughts. "There was a biological attack on Falta Base and from what I understand, we have no data with which to start an investigation though there are crew members on board who witnessed the event."

Fee listened quietly, taking in the man's words. "I see. My last posting was a science outpost-several years ago, it was attacked by the Klingons and destroyed. We had finally gotten it functional when I first arrived there," she said. "I will see if I can read those reports. I am interested in finding out more about the biological agent-perhaps a new pair of eyes can find out something." She wasn't one to brag about her skills, but it was true-sometimes each person's new perspective saw a minute detail others missed because they were too deep in. "Who attacked the base?" She asked. That might be a good starting point.

"I won't lie, Lieutenant, there are a lot of unknowns here. The facts as I know them are sparse. Person unknown teleported into the conference. Boils erupted on their skin as they shouted anti-Federation rhetoric and then they exploded. From what I understand, anyone touched by this person's blood was also infected."

Fee made a face, but quirked an eyebrow. "Really? Interesting." GROSS. But interesting. "Well. Hopefully it won't ever happen again, but if it does, I would appreciate it if we can get a full work up," she said. "What is the large planet like? Are there already known flora and fauna samples taken? What of the natives?" She had many questions, and would not bore him with all of them, but some basics to get her started would be great.

"My understanding is that the Faltans were less than welcoming and that movement of Starfleet personnel was restricted at best," Ronan said. "So, I'm not sure how much data we have, especially up here on the station, but there may be a way to get more."

Fee sighed. "I see. That's discouraging, but understandable. I'd be a bit reticent; my people are neutral to the Federation, but we don't invite them willingly." She explained. It was mostly due to a prideful self-sufficiency, but a BIT of it was xenophobia. "HOPEFULLY that will change as time goes on, but it's tough to break old habits." She shrugged a little.

"It's all a bit strange," Ronan said as he relaxed back into his seat, hands folded across his flat belly. The notion of having people left a bitter taste in his mouth; 'his people', the Mesni, had been a pre-warp civilization that proved to be no match for the Orion Syndicate teams that swept in and stripped his world. He pushed those thoughts aside, unhelpful as they were, and focused on the Faltans.

"It's a political mess," he said after a moment. "The Faltans signed a hundred year contract with the Federation, gave us land on their world, but due to a shift in leadership, things fell apart fairly quickly. Their colonial governor, Dreyem Taga, has never been a fan of the Federation and of late, has been rallying her people to eject all foreigners. 'Falta for Faltans.'"

Feeva nodded. "I see. I might be a good person to assist with that, if needed. I fear that Vissia's response might be the same, if we ever allowed the Federation to move in in any official capacity." She sighed. Her people were...different. They had strange social customs, but it worked for them. She DID understand having pride for one's home land but there was a time when it was xenophobic and a problem. "Vissia is pre-warp, and I think that maybe we're just afraid of change," she said. "Is it possible that something like that is going on?"

"A bit of history. The Faltans are colonists who crash landed in this system about four hundred years ago. They are warp capable and reports indicate that their level of technology is comparable to our own. From what I've read, the Faltans prefer smaller craft and travel frequently to the other inhabited worlds in the Raeya System -- Raeya III and Union III."

"There are disturbing reports including the murder of their former governor, Kiter Tizd, and the execution of plague victims, including a twelve year old girl, as a means of appeasing their deity." Ronan sighed. "But it all just doesn't track ... at least not for me. On the one hand, they willingly signed a treaty with the Federation and yet, on the other hand, the colonial government is openly hostile using any excuse, however flimsy, to demand the Federation to leave."

"So, where does that mean for us? I think there is more to the story than I know at present and it could very well be that, like your own people, they are afraid of change. Or, something happened ... some event ... that changed changed their minds," Ronan said. "But whatever it was, the attack on the base was an attack against the Federation in direct violation of the treaty. They have shown that they have a bioweapon capable of doing monstrous damage and that they aren't afraid to use it. That's unacceptable no matter what they're reasoning."

Fee nodded, thoughtfully. "Absolutely." Vissians were many things, but she was certain that THAT would be a bridge too far. "Well, since I can't go to the Base directly to see for myself, I think my best course of action is to see what the records DO show. Are any of the original Fleet members still around?" She asked. "And you mentioned a sacrifice of plague victims, which is inline with boils on the skin," she said. "Though I am no doctor." She clarified.

"If you mean the bombing from two days ago," Ronan said, his forehead creasing slightly, "yes, of course. Many were saved. You can speak with Commander M'Mira about getting their names. And its good that you mention a doctor," he continued. "You should coordinate with our Chief Medical Officer. You'll need Dr. Hudson's expertise, I'm sure."

She paused a moment, open mouthed. "TWO DAYS AGO?" She collected herself. "Sorry, I was working under the impression that it had been awhile ago." She sighed. "Yes, of course, I will need to meet with the CMO right away-I also need an onboarding physical, anyway," she said. "Any of our people infected?" She asked. If so, she was leaving right then to grab some swabs.

"Yes, two days," Ronan said quietly. "I'll be calling a Senior Staff meeting soon but for now, I want you to get settled, get your physical, and then check out your labs. Make sure that it's got everything you need because we'll be putting it to good use very soon."

The fact that he ignored her question about any of them being infected didn't escape her notice, BUT she wouldn't ask again. Maybe there was a good reason, or maybe he hadn't heard her. Either way, it was rude of her to press it unless she'd felt he was untruthful, which she didn't.

"I will do that immediately. Do you have anything you want to ask me?" She didn't know if this was a business meet up or more of a "getting to know you" type with business tossed in.

"We'll get to know each other," he said, "but this isn't an interview. You're my Chief Science Officer and I'm very glad that you're here." He sat for a moment, tracking back over the conversation, to see if he missed anything and realized he had. "As for the survivors, from what I'm given to understand, if you get any of this on you, you explode but still, I want everyone checked. For all we know, it could require skin contact and be traveling on someone's uniform."

She nodded. "Ok, I will coordinate with medical on that," she said. "And yes, we have plenty of time," she said. "Thank you. If you don't have anything else, I'd like to get started right away," she said, standing up. She pulled herself to her full height, which wasn't very much, but stood there, waiting, wondering if a handshake was in order or if she should just go.

"You're dismissed and, Lieutenant? Welcome to Faltan Station," Ronan said as he extended his hand.

She took his hand, firmly, but smiled as she let it go. "Thank you," she said, and backed out of the room.

 

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