STA: What Lies Beneath [Pt.1, Act 1]

[truemane]

STAR TREK
WHAT LIES BENEATH
Part 1:
What We Bear in Silence

Act 1
“They carried all they could bear, and then some, including a
silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried.”
― Tim O'Brien, The Things They Carried



***BEGIN TRANSMISSION***

***ALPHA-ONE HIGHEST PRIORITY***

STARDATE 48352.00
FROM: Vice Admiral Yuri Nowak
TO: USS Nares

Starfleet has lost contact with the U.S.S. Tempest during a potentially volatile diplomatic mission to Malcor III. Prior reports indicated that talks were fraught, but productive, with some concerns expressed about possible civil unrest. The U.S.S. Nares is ordered to proceed to Malcor III at maximum warp.

Mission paramaters:

Discover the whereabouts of the U.S.S Tempest and render such aid as is required.
Contact with the Malcorians is authorized, but not required.
If contact is made, maintain peaceful relations if at all advisable.

Personal Addendum: Nares, we recognize that circumstances are not ideal. A new crew, un untested, a mission far outside the official mission profile. But the next nearest ship is almost two weeks from the Malcor System and Tempest may need assistance now. So it's up to you. Best of luck, Nares. We have every confidence in you.

***END TRANSMISSION***

Malcor III is large for a Class M planet, almost twice the size of Earth. Almost all of the planet's landmass is in the form of three massive continents spread across the glove, separated by miles and miles of tumultuous ocean. The atmosphere still bears some of the tell-tale stains of industrial pollution that says much about how short a time ago it was that the Malcorians were a pre-warp society, burning fossil fuels, and only gazing at the night sky.

Nares comes out of warp over the long, thin Central Continent. Girding most of the planet at the equator, is the most densely populated and contains the majority of the Malcorian planetary government apparatus. All is quiet.

Aboard Nares, the senior officers meet in the main observation lounge. Less than a week into their inaugural voyage, most of those present had only the barest knowledge of each other aside from their Starfleet career files. A newly christened starship was a complicated, delicate thing requiring a great deal of care and practice to bring to full potential.

A newly assembled Starfleet crew was just the same.

They all knew the mission.

They all knew the stakes.

The only thing left was to do the work.

Welcome to What Lies Beneath! I'm very excited to see how this all turns out. Your first post should include an intro of your character (like a quick Hero's Walk), a quick run-down of what they've been up on the ship for the past week, and any thoughts or feelings as they enter the room. Tactical/planning discussions can bog down a PbP game real quick (it's why Shadowrun games never work out), so try to remember to keep the dialogue open-ended, sharp, and more focused on revealing character than concocting a very tactically-sound plan. If it seems we're fading, I'll cut the scene and move on.

Successful PbP gaming is all about narrative momentum, especially at the outset. If we don't keep moving, we peter out and fade away. So, as a rule, I'd rather you err on the side of taking too much initiative and driving the plot forward too much rather than the opposite.

If you feel like something you're doing or saying requires a Task, use your best judgement and just call it and name it and roll it yourself and feel free to make use of the results in your post, if you can do so and if it makes sense (like, if you want to climb a thing, you don't need me to intervene, you can go ahead and roll that and tell me what happened based on what you rolled). This speeds things up and I can always retcon stuff after the fact if I have to.

If you have any questions, you know where to find me. Game on!

[ve4grm]

First Officer Nowak settles into his chair, and surveys those in attendance. He had been expecting this to be a relaxing few weeks, floating around deep space while the more technical crew puts the ship through her paces. There's only so much oversight you can provide during these sorts of tests and exercises, after all. Once he was done overseeing the new shuttle evaluations, Krys was expecting to just be collecting reports from the rest of the senior staff until the engineering systems were ready for conn to conduct combat simulations.

This, though... this wasn't relaxing. But it was interesting, and that's usually a good substitute.

Krys nods at the captain and starts the meeting.

"Alright folks. I assume you all read the brief. We don't know what sort of trouble the Tempest has gotten into, or whether they need help at all. Given the talk of unrest, we must assume they do. As such, this is first and foremost a rescue and aid mission.

The difficulty comes with the native population. Just barely post-warp, restless, and some factions potentially hostile. We aren't here to negotiate any treaties, but we want to avoid aggravating them if at all possible.

Any questions?"

[whoiam]

The Nares was hardly Vese's first choice of posting. So-so computers and sensors, and one of the smallest sets of laboratories of any class in the fleet (and most of that space was kitted out for biological research). Hardly promising for a Science Officer, was it?

Still, there were two factors that had convinced her to take the posting. The first was personal. She'd done some of the research on adapting Federation Universal Translators to work on Xindi Insectoids back in Starfleet Academy - and guess what species their Captain was? She'd been quite excited to see what the mass-production version was like. Alas that excitement might not have been the best mindset for her to meet her new Captain with - Klak'on was a rather more serious figure than she was at the best of times...

The second was the new computer core. Computer Science was one of her specialities - albeit not one she yet held a doctorate in. Signing up to a computer research program had been her way of fixing that (something from the program would be thesis-worthy). As to why she'd chosen to go out in the field with the prototype instead of sitting around on a starbase reading reports? Well, it was more fun, wasn't it? You couldn't see new worlds by staying on the starbase.

Vese had been one of the meeting's earlier arrivals, and shown up in her full and correct uniform. Even with just a week together the others had known her long enough to realise that was something of a rarity - it meant both that she'd managed to tear herself away from whatever she'd been working on in good time, and that she'd remembered to change out of whatever she'd been wearing in the lab without getting distracted along the way.

She wasn't exactly going to be beating her Captain in a 'Model Professional' competition anytime soon.

"A couple, yes. Any idea what their sensors are like? If they know we've just hit orbit we need to start talking to them now or we'll screw the diplomatic effort. We can take a little more time if we're still hidden. Any sign of the Tempest? There's not a lot in the galaxy that can make one of our ships disappear without residue, debris, fallout or warp trails..."

[EarthenRite]

Dr. Sevek had been spending the time aboard the Nares so far examining his medbay to the most minute detail so that he would know where everything was during their shake down journey. He also made time deliberately each evening at the end of a shift to read in the galley. He had found that being seen “relaxing” could be greatly beneficial to the functioning of the crew. And, certainly, reading did no harm to him. The crew was most intriguing, as he knew from their files.

“Indeed, sir. I would like to bring the diagnostic hologram online if we encounter any injuries. It would be good to interact with it under more...traditional parameters before subjecting it to its true work.”

[Hoarfrost]

Commander Klak'on stood at the end of the table in the conference room. Starfleet's chairs were never designed with her species in mind, and the stools they offered to replicate for her seemed... patronizing. But it wasn't chairs on her mind. This was it, this was the first event in her life that would feature the tough decisions. Sure, she passed the command simulations, sending people to die and all that, but this was the real deal. The nerves she had probably manifested in her being a hardass (or exoskeleton, as some would joke), putting everyone through the paces. If it weren't for her first officer, there probably would've been a mutiny. Lesson learned there.

On to the next lesson.

"Medical is on high alert. Everyone's ready for potential triage? But the science officer is correct. Priority right now is if we gave been detected. If we have, then we open communications...."There's a brief stutter in the translator where the native clicks are heard, but it's resolved with, "...ASAP. I believe that's the phrase used to indicate urgency? If we haven't, then begin full sensor sweeps." There's a momentary glance in Krys' direction, as if looking for confirmation on this statement.

[truemane]

The Starfleet files on Malcor III are quite extensive, considering the paucity of actual contact. From the original research files for their First Contact, to the mission files of Commander William Riker's kidnapping, to the results of Captain Picard's summit with the Plentary Chancellor, to the personal and career files of Dr. Aera Mirasta, a Malcorian scientist who left on the Enterprise and subsequently joined Starfleet.

Dr. Mirasta has said that the key insight into Malcorian psychology is that Malcorians define themselves almost completely by what they do (as opposed to who they are, or what they own), and judgments centre far more on the means by which a thing is done rather than its outcome. And the best way to decide how a thing ought to be done is to look at how it's been done before.

This creates a society very concerned about its roots, its ancestors, and its traditions. This fact has driven some technology to amazing levels, and held it back in others.

There is very little poverty on Malcor. Very little actual income inequality. There are, however, many distinct castes and classes that enjoy very different levels of social currency. So the tools to provide basic needs (food replicators, clean and renewable energy, healthcare) are very well developed, while tools of deeper, structural needs (access to education) lag far behind.

Malcorians don't often travel for leisure, and their economies are built around tightly interconnected communities and local sourcing, so most forms of planetary transport are shockingly primitive (considering they can also travel faster than light). But their planetary government system requires a great deal of communication from top to local levels, so planetary communications are very highly developed (up to and including full-body hologram projection and meetings in full VR-environments).

They have not worked out any form of transporter or anything close to an actual holodeck.

They have not had a full-scale war in many generations, but their society is fractious, especially with the rise in social prominence of scientists in the last century grating against the more entrenched, militant traditionalists, and so there have been a number of domestic skirmishes. Some of these have been quite serious. As such, small-scale, personal weaponry has enjoyed an unfortunate boost in power and reliability. But large-scale, long-range weaponry is mostly absent or several hundreds of years old.

Information on their development between the First Contact to the present is sketchy at best, but the initial reports from the Tempest indicate that they do have the means to detect objects in their own orbit, even quite wide orbits (mostly as a means of ensuring that space vessels return home safely).

If you need anything else specific, ask away. If you want to start running scans and looking things up and working things out, tell me kinda what you're looking for or doing and roll me some Tasks!

[ve4grm]

Krys nods at the captain and gives her a little thumbs up just below the table edge, with a smirk.

"We have no reason to believe they haven't detected us. Though the Malcorians are slow to introduce new technology, even back in humanity's pre-warp days we had satellites that would have let us know if a foreign object was in orbit.

Use of the EMH is approved, doctor. Use whatever resources you require. Except for extenuating circumstances," he locks eyes with Klak'on to make sure he isn't out of line, gets a nod, "that will be the standing order. Safety of our people is top priority, after all."

Krys looks as Vese, pauses a second. It's still strange seeing an Orion in starfleet, but she seems competent, if a bit flighty. "Miss Vese, you're absolutely right. If the Tempest just disappeared, it'd be strange. By the time we hit the bridge to open up communications, we should have a preliminary sensor sweep done, hopefully have a starting point.

The captain and I will handle initial contact. Miss Vese, tell us what we can see. Everybody else, to stations, standing by."


OOC:

I'm going to roll to RALLY (p222) (inspire and coordinate the crew, main purpose - gain momentum)
Presence(10) + Command(3) = Success on 13 or lower, 2x on nat 1 (no applicable focus)
[roll0] -> gain 1 momentum

I will immediately spend that Momentum on an Obtain Information spend to have an ensign report as we get to the bridge to answer the following question:
- What is the last sign we have of the Tempest's whereabouts?

Never mind, Obtain Information isn't an immediate spend. does it need to be? I'm a bit uncertain about how Momentum spends operate. I'll save that momentum for Vese to spend on the sensor check.

GROUP MOMENTUM: 1

[truemane]

Vese, scanning/reading the scan will be Reason + Science, assisted by the ship's Sensors + Science, difficulty 1

[seatyger]

Since I missed it, I'm going to say Karssinao was not at the briefing; he actively tries to avoid those, and there's usually some quasi-legitimate reason for him to skip them. ;)

Ensign Annalise Dumard leans over the intermix control panel, her brows furrowing at the contradictory readings its indicators are showing her. If she didn't know any better, the warp reactor looks like it's about to crash, but none of the other dozen or so indications of a reactor failure agreed with it. It's just so weird.

Before the Française can call for a second opinion, a furry paw raps the indicator three times, making her heart skip a beat. "Mon dieu, you startled me, Comm--"

"Chief, ensign. I told you to call me 'Chief,'" replies the gravelly voice of Lt. Cmdr. Karssinao as he leans forward and inspects the reading. Straightening up just as quickly, he adds, "It's faulty. Replace it."

"But, Co-err, Chief, what if there's a problem with the intermix?"

Karssinao shook his head. "There isn't. The Nares might be a new ship, but I've been aboard for most of her fitting out; she'd tell me if something like that was wrong."

The ensign casts an incredulous glance his way, which he ignores, before moving off to her task. He taps his commbadge.

"Engineering to XO."

[ve4grm]

BLEEP-BLOOP
"You missed the briefing, Mr. Karssinao. Go ahead."

[whoiam]

"Ooh, I get to watch insectoid diplomacy! Gotta be on the bridge for this one!" It almost looked as though she'd forgotten her orders already, but as she left the observation lounge, she could be heard calling out "Computer! Send the positional data from the Tempest's reports to the Science Station. If we can work out what orbit they were using it'll be the best place to look for a trail..."

She could be kinda weird at the best of times, but she knew her stuff.


Vese's Reason+Science is 16.
[roll0]
Ship's Sensors+Science is 12
[roll1]

Rolling against a difficulty of 10, assuming we're going with the Advanced Sensor Suites. And that truemane hasn't taken 1 off the difficulty already without telling us :smallsmile:

[seatyger]

BLEEP-BLOOP
"You missed the briefing, Mr. Karssinao. Go ahead."

"We were dealing with conflicting readings between different instruments on the warp reactor. Needed to confirm we weren't going to have a failure before I could leave," he replies. "Actually why I'm contacting you; we need to replace a component on the intermix control panel. It shouldn't take long, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't tax my engines too much for the next...half-hour or so. We won't be able to respond as quickly to changing needs during that time."

[Hoarfrost]

Commander Klak'on's mandibles clacked twice, a sign of contemplation. The way her facial feelers rose and fell rhythmically showed that many thoughts were racing through all her ganglia. "Options: Make immediate contact. Unadvised: shuttlecraft to make sweeps while we make direct contact. Small shapes may be perceived as launching weapons. Observation from notes: In many ways almost hive like, but with cultural status reinforced. Drones are hailed as drones. Warriors hailed as warriors. Potential exploit: Find queen." All these came as rapid-fire utterances. Klak straightened up and changed her colloquial speech, slowing down, "Warp trails from the Tempest. What kind of warp engines do we know the Malcorians invented? Never mind. Find the closest thing to an acceptable political leader. Get their... permission for their specs. Let them shows us the pride in their work."

Klak paced a bit, "How much do they know about the Federation races? Would they be as willing to talk to me, as say, an Andorian?"

[ve4grm]

"We were dealing with conflicting readings between different instruments on the warp reactor. Needed to confirm we weren't going to have a failure before I could leave," he replies. "Actually why I'm contacting you; we need to replace a component on the intermix control panel. It shouldn't take long, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't tax my engines too much for the next...half-hour or so. We won't be able to respond as quickly to changing needs during that time."

"Roger that. Next little while should be talking and scans. Just keep the power up, and the transporters operational, and we shouldn't have any problems."

Krys paused. "Oh and, try to make it next time. You can comm in from a vidscreen if you need to, but it'd be nice to have engineering represented. Nowak out." He followed the captain into her ready room.


Commander Klak'on's mandibles clacked twice, a sign of contemplation. The way her facial feelers rose and fell rhythmically showed that many thoughts were racing through all her ganglia. "Options: Make immediate contact. Unadvised: shuttlecraft to make sweeps while we make direct contact. Small shapes may be perceived as launching weapons. Observation from notes: In many ways almost hive like, but with cultural status reinforced. Drones are hailed as drones. Warriors hailed as warriors. Potential exploit: Find queen." All these came as rapid-fire utterances. Klak straightened up and changed her colloquial speech, slowing down, "Warp trails from the Tempest. What kind of warp engines do we know the Malcorians invented? Never mind. Find the closest thing to an acceptable political leader. Get their... permission for their specs. Let them shows us the pride in their work."

Klak paced a bit, "How much do they know about the Federation races? Would they be as willing to talk to me, as say, an Andorian?"

Krys smirked. "Relax, Jiminy. They may not know a Xindi from a Klingon, but I'll be with you, and their prior contact was with humans so they'll recognize us as Federation. And you're captain now, so you need to be the one to introduce us. We can always tap Miss Vese if we need to get into negotiations - she has diplomatic corps experience.

Besides, we're all alien to them. I hear the Malcorians don't have fingers? Imagine what they thing of these things!" He wiggles his fingers in Klak'on's direction, making an "OoOOooo" sound.

[EarthenRite]

The Vulcan stood up and walked to the door behind the Science Officer, calling out as she finished her orders to the Computer.

“If you are in need of assistance with your work, please feel free to send your information to me. There is little to do at the moment in Medbay.”

[whoiam]

"It's fine, Doctor. I've got an entire department to help me crunch numbers. Why don't you try helping out the diplomatic team? Someone's got to go through the literature on the Malcorians and brief the Captain on any cultural issues she's likely to hit - gestures she shouldn't make, protocol violations that would be considered insults, that sort of thing. Every society we run into has their own rules, we'd be stupid not to learn from the Enterprise's experience here. Anyway, if I wasn't searching for the Tempest, that's what I'd be doing now to help the Captain out."

Vese smiles at the doctor as she walks off, but it's visibly a touch forced. Kohlinar-d Vulcans weren't exactly Vese's cup of tea - to her mind, the Kohlinar was the practice of ripping out any part of yourself that could actually make you interesting, leaving only the parts that were useful. If that's how the Vulcans wanted it, then that was fine... but they always hit the uncanny valley for her. She was actually more comfortable with entirely mechanical beings such as EMHs or Lt. Cmdr Data (whom she'd never met in person, but would count herself a big fangirl of), because they at least read as inanimate to her telepathy - while the Kohlinar-ed Vulcans still registered as being there, just... not right.

[EarthenRite]

Sevek considered the response and then nodded, turning to walk back towards the sick bay. When the door slid open he walked in, immediately going towards his office and sitting, picking up a PADD.

“Computer, prepare a document regarding Malcorian cultural norms, focusing on non-verbal signals. Prioritize conciliatory gestures and expectations.”

Once the computer was done, he began to read. If the crew of the Tempest had run afoul of the people of this planet, it would be necessary to take a tone of apology.


Reason + Science: (16) [roll0] hopefully benefitting from Linguistics

[truemane]

Traits: Disorganized
Momentum: 4


Vese scans the area around Malcor III, look for warp trails, debris, or other possible signs of Tempest's passing.

The results are... strange. There are clear signs of the ship's coming out of warp that match the mission reports perfectly. And there are easily identifiable trails indicating that it maneuvered about under impulse drive.

And then what seems to be remnants of the ship entering warp, but then... nothing.

The signs of the warp bubble are there, and the beginnings of its trajectory, but then they just stop. Not trail off. Not peter out. Just stop. As though the ship were snipped from space-time completely.

Just then, from Comms.

"Captain, transmission from the Malcorians. They're requesting we enter a close orbit above their capital city so they can patch us in with their Chancellor."

Meanwhile, Sevek and the computer, using a wealth of information available from the initial First Contact mission and Dr. Mirasta's notes, manages to put together a very comprehensive 'instruction manual' for how to aid communication with the Malcorians using non-verbal cues (especially when it came to apologies).


Roll me Insight + Engineering, please, Difficulty 2. No assistance from the ship, but both your 'Warp Field Dynamics' Focus and your 'I Know My Ship' Talent are applicable.

[EarthenRite]

Sevek tapped his commbadge when he had finished reviewing the work compiled from the database.

“Captain; Mr. Nowak; I took the liberty of creating a comprehensive guide for you on verbal and non-verbal signs of the Malcorians. You might use these to prepare your protocols for any interactions. I will send them to your stations.”

A few keystrokes later, the notes were sent.

[ve4grm]

"Thank you doctor." Krys grabs a PADD and scrolls through a few pages.

"Looks like some of this might be tricky with mandible... and fingers... but we'll make do, eh Captain?"

[truemane]

The Nares is shifted slightly in its orbit, brought a little closer to the planet, and set just above their capital city.

The communication is patched through and the image of a Malcorian fills the screen. He appears to be about middle-age, with deep stress lines etched into his face. He is large, both tall and broad and heavy-boned, with a physique that indicates a once muscular, powerful man gone to middle-aged spread.

He is sitting in a large, ornate chair with a massive painting of a legendary Malcorian statesman looming on the wall behind him.

"The people of Malcor III, greet the Federation!" His voice is a deep, strong, rolling instrument, "We apologize for the delay in contacting you. We did not expect you back so soon. Have you devised a treatment already?"

[ve4grm]

Krys folds hands in an apologectic motion. "Your excellency, we are sorry to disturb yo... wait, treatment? I'm sorry, but what would this treatment be for? We're here to reestablish contact with our ship that was conducting negotiations with your people."

[whoiam]

Meanwhile, from her station off to the side, Vese quickly hits her com-badge and mutters into it, "Vese to Doctor Sevek, get up to the bridge now." This was sounding suspiciously plague-y, and their doc would need to be in on it, one way or another...

[truemane]

The Chancellor's eyes narrow in something close to suspicion before his face smooths out and acquires a more general expression of confusion. "I must confess myself confused. I had thought you were the resources that Captain Braxton summoned? With a solution to our... ahem..." His eyes shift back and forth slight. "...issue?"

A pause.

"We admit we were surprised to see another ship. Although, heh, we admit we are... unschooled in your ways."

Another small, embarrassed pause.

"So, then, might I humbly request the nature of your... mission? ...here?"

Note: Captain Algernon Braxton is/was the Captain of Tempest.

Anyone who wishes to make a roll to read the situation may do so with whatever traits make sense to you. Difficulty is 3. No assistance from the ship.

Sevek, because you and Nares have done the homework already, you have the Advantage "Schooled" for this roll, making the Difficulty a 2, and allowing you roll with assistance from the ships Computers + Science.

[seatyger]

The console repair complete, Karssinao strides onto the bridge just as the "statesman" makes his greeting, slipping behind the captain and exec over to the engineering station. To the young Vulcan stationed there, he quietly said, "You're relieved."

Keying in his personal station control configuration, he kept one ear swiveled toward the...interesting conversation.

[ve4grm]

"Unfortunately, we are here because we lost contact with Captain Braxton and the Tempest. We came here to find out why and reestablish communications. But if there's an emergency on Malcor, we are a fully functional emergency response vessel, and would be happy to lend what aid we can."


Insight+Command = 9+3 = 12
[roll0] 2 successes, not enough, but enough to know something is wrong

Krys shoots a glance at Vese and Sevek, looking for some insight into the behaviour of the man on the viewscreen.

[truemane]

Chancellor Charista's face clouds over with what looks like confusion.

"Lost contact? Well, that is most... um, um... emergency? That may be a, um, um, dramatic word for the situation. But certainly it is a concern. A concern with which we would welcome assistance, if you are offering such. I can have the relevant parties assembled within the hour if you would like, what do you call it? Transport? Here? To my office?"

Malcorian body language and facial expression is eerily like those of humans, but not exactly the same. This man is clearly the theatrical sort, but whether his confusion and reticence are sincere or pure affectation is impossible to determine.

Based on your research, you would say that the Chancellor is an excellent actor and probably a fantastic poker player (or whatever the Malcorian version of poker is).

His confusion over your mission seems sincere. He seems to have been expecting something, or someone, else.

However, he is definitely hiding something. Something specific. Something related to your presence.

[ve4grm]

"Of course, Chancellor. Just send the coordinates, and we'll be there."

Krys signals for the call to end, and looks thoughtful for a moment. "Miss Vese, I think I'll need your expertise on this one. Diplomacy isn't really my field, and I find it hard to read the chancellor. See if you can find out anything new about the Tempest over the next hour, though."

He turns to the other senior staff.

"Doctor Sevek, Mr. Karssinao - we don't know what this emergency is, so I'd like both of you there to lend your expertise. Load everything we know about the Malcorians and their technology onto PADDs and join us in the transporter room in an hour. I'll be in the captain's ready room."


((Krys goes to the ready room and reviews the last transmissions from, and logs filed by, the Tempest, to see if it sheds any light on the situation.))

[truemane]

Watching the screen, Sevek notes a curious mixture of relief and anxiety cross the Chancellor's body language when he finds out that the Federation has lost contact with Tempest.

There was something he was very worried about dealing when Captain Brixton returned. And he's both pleased not to have to, and anxious about the prospect. Whether that's worry about whether to mention it or not, or some other motive, is hard to say.

[EarthenRite]

Sevek turns to the senior staff as they begin to leave.

“Lieutenant Commander Nowak, if I may. The chancellor is exhibiting several stress responses as well as some deceit markers. He is skilled at hiding his thoughts and reactions. There is more he is not telling you about the Tempest and his interactions with her crew. He is pleased, or relieved, that the Tempest is not returning. I would exercise more caution than normal when taking a course of action proposed by the chancellor.”

Deceit. Unfortunately, in his experience, the lubricant of social interaction amongst most species. He wondered why the chancellor would be eager to see the Tempest leave, but likewise eager to have his own ship’s crew beam down. The thought causes his brow to furrow slightly.

“Also, might I suggest transporters keep an active lock on us when we are transported down? As a precaution, this would be sound. The Tempest disappeared, for lack of a better term, and it would not do for the same to happen to the Nares, especially without her senior officers.”

[ve4grm]

"Agreed, doctor. We'll take a small security detachment, and maintain a transporter lock and open comm channel."

Krys signals to the operations officer on the bridge to have a 3-man security squad meet them in the transporter room.

[whoiam]

Meanwhile, Vese sidles over to Karssinao. "Hail, Greasemonkey." Brief pause while she considers something, then she corrects herself. "Well, Greasekitty, I suppose. It's the Humans who are related to Monkeys. Anyway, that's not important right now. How quickly could you rig a shuttle for remote piloting? I want to run something along the warp trail the Tempest used and see what happens. Looks kinda like the Tempest hit something that moved it elsewhere - some kind of wormhole, maybe - and I don't want to find out what it was by running the Nares into the same problem."

[seatyger]

As Karssinao loads Malcorian engineering knowledge and accomplishments onto a PADD as ordered, his ear turns to Vese as she makes her request.

"I can do it, but it's not like reprogramming a console, kitan," the Caitian engineer replies, verifying the download is complete before turning to the science officer. "Wouldn't a probe work just as well?"

kitan is the Caitian word for a child (literally "kitten"), and is also used as a term of endearment of anyone of a younger generation.

[whoiam]

"Possibly not, but I'm not entire sure," Vese admits. "The Tempest went to warp and then just disappeared; I suspect we're not going to reproduce the effect unless we run a warp field along their route. Don't think we have anything with nacelles that's smaller than a shuttle. But we can run some probes along the route first, if the shuttle'll take a while to prepare. If I'm wrong we might get lucky."

[seatyger]

"Check the inventory; we should have at least one Class-5 or Class-8 aboard. We're not as sexy as a Sovereign, but I doubt Starfleet would leave us without a warp-capable probe," Karssinao countered.

What do you say, boss? Any warp-capable probes in our inventory?

[whoiam]

"Probably should'a done that when I first came aboard, but... well, this was supposed to be just a quick cruise to break in that sexy new computer core. Didn't think I'd have anything to probe."

Still, she'd take Karssinao's suggestion and check the probe manifest. It had, after all, been good advice; and she wasn't the kind of person to ignore it just because it hadn't been her that thought of it.

[seatyger]

Standing, the big cat adds, "Well, your mind was occupied by a sexy new computer. Happens to the best of us."

His tail flicks mirthfully.

[truemane]

Traits: Focused
Momentum: 3
Threat: 8


The senior officers jump to action after the call and the Captain's directives.

Karrasinao and Vese talk about probes. Neres does have several warp capable probes that could be deployed almost immediately. Or the option exists to fit out a shuttle for remote piloting. The spot where Tempest's trail vanished is not that far away, relatively speaking. A shuttle could reach it on impulse in about an hour, or even a small warp-capable probe could get there almost instantaneously.

It would be a bit of a rush job either way.

Meanwhile, Sevek and Krys assemble in the transporter room, where a small (3 person) security detail has been assembled. Neres wasn't exactly flush with hardened veterans, but as an emergency response vessel, there were a couple of soldiers with real-world combat experience along for the ride.

Based on existing information regarding Malcorian Council chambers, they were confident they could maintain basic safety and security while on planet.


If you want to send a probe out more or less passively to see what it sees, straight up roll, Difficulty 2 (one of you can roll and the other assist, doesn't matter which).

Or if you want to either fit a shuttle for remote or program the probe to tell it what to look for and/or give it some IF/THEN instructions, it's same-same at Difficulty 3 with a +1 Complication Range

[ve4grm]

Krys has a PADD open, reviewing the last transmissions and logs received from the Tempest, looking to understand more about the situation.

[seatyger]

The engineer helps Vese with getting a warp probe ready for launch.

[roll0]

[whoiam]

Probe Programmin'! Reason (11) + Science (5), one applicable focus (Computers) and 2 applicable talents (Testing a Theory, since this is a science roll and a follow-up to her earlier scans, and Computer Expertise for programming in general.) that each grant a bonus d20.

Net result, rolling 4 dice (Complication on 19, success on 16, double success on 5) vs a difficulty of 2 (since Karrasinao has already scored the first one.)

Assuming I've applied everything correctly, anyway :smallsmile:

[roll0]

[EarthenRite]

Sevek arrived in the transporter room with his medical tricorder at his hip and a small medkit with a few more items that could come in handy. Awareness that the Nares would be ready to retrieve them in the event of danger bought seconds, but in a medical emergency seconds might not be afforded them. The kit was slung over his shoulder.

He nodded towards the Commander as he entered, and the security personnel.

[truemane]

TRANSPORTER ROOM

Krys and Sevek gather with the security crew. Krys is going over the last reports and logs from Tempest. The reports are more or less standard, if mildly ominous. Talks were arranged and started. The Malcorians were poking around in their solar system and there was growing unease from certain factions that contact with some kind of stellar superpower could result in conflict or war. Diplomatic envoys were working their way through those anxieties well enough.

On the second day of talks, another item crept into the agenda, that there were some elements of Malcorian society who wished there to be no space travel, no contact with outside races, and some of the fringe mass media were starting concoct conspiracy theories about aliens destroying society, of being responsible for disaster/calamity/problems of various kinds.

Certainly the Malcorians are more fractious than most recipients of First (Second) Contact, but none of it was completely out of line, or outside of a seasoned diplomat's expertise.

And then, normal logs indicating the start of Day Three's talks. Captain Braxton stayed on board to attend to some maintenance duties. Diplomatic envoys beamed down.

Then silence.

ENGINEERING
The probe flies out, following Tempest's warp trail. It reaches the point of vanishing and pokes around the ambient space in tight, controlled circles, measuring and taking readings.

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Blip. Nothing. Nothing. Blip. Blip. Nothing.

Some kind of very unusual subspace disturbance that flashes in and out, on and off. The probe continues to fly, trying to map the area and divine any patterns.

And then probe suddenly loses all power and the feed goes dead.

There is approximately ten minutes left until the meeting time with the Malcorians.

So Complications technically occur after the Task has resolved. You have two Momentum you could use to Obtain Information, if you wish before the probe dies.

[seatyger]

"I don't think we have enough time to follow up on this," the Caitian muses, his brow furrowed at the possibilities that would cause such a complete and sudden system failure (especially since the Tempest completely disappeared and the probe didn't). "Have your people keep tabs on its drift and we'll come back to analyze the data later."

Karssinao waits for Vese to finish before accompanying her to the transporter room. He goes over the Malcorian engineering data along the way.

[truemane]

Traits: Well-prepared, Fish out of Water
Momentum: 3
Threat: 8


Upon receiving confirmation and coordinates from the Malcorians, the senior staff and the small security detail beam down to the planet's main planetary government building. The building is a massive, sprawling series of interconnected structures, almost a small city in itself, with a single central spire rising into the sky. The Spire was built barely two generations ago in honour of the establishment of the planetary government. It is the highest artificial structure on Malcor III, and is only several metres shorter than Mount Ghorista, the tallest mountain on the planet and a central site in their ancestor worship.

The Spire is a symbol, of sorts, of all the things Malcor could be, but has decided not to be.

The coordinates land the team in a small antechamber (which looks like it might be a kitchenette) containing a single nervous, young-looking Malcorian who starts at their appearance, stares openly at Vese and Karassinao, and beckons them into the room beyond.

They enter what looks like a standard board room. Not over-large, not over-ornate, but comfortable and functional. The room is dominated by a single large, square table. All of the seats have been pulled away from the table and placed against the walls.

In the room are four Malcorians, who stand. Chancellor Charista smiles and invites them to approach.

"Welcome, welcome, Federation. Considering the circumstances, we thought to dispense with the diplomatic formalities and meet, as we Malcorians say, at a table too large. With me are Dr. Pieras Mirasta, my Chief Science Advisor, and Doerns, my Head of State Security. And Yeya, my nephew, and personal page."

He indicates an elderly, fierce-looking Malcorian female; a smartly dressed, thin, young-looking Malcorian male with a large facial scar; and the young boy from the antechamber (who stands back against the wall until he's needed).

He bids you all sit. There are pastries and beverages on the table.

"So, Federation, what are we to do about... all this?"

[ve4grm]

Commander Nowak steps forward, and gives a cursory bow of the head, and motions for the security officers to wait by the entrance.

"Thank you, Chancellor. I'm Commander Nowak, of the USS Nares. With me are Dr. Sevek, out chief medical officer, Miss Vese, our chief science officer, and Chief Engineer Karssinao. I'm sorry our captain couldn't be here, but she was away from the ship when we received our orders." He glances at the skittish Yeya and says with a wink, "You'd have loved her."

Krys gestures to the security team. "And this is part of our security detachment. We mean no offence by bringing them along, but having lost track of an entire starship, I hope that you can understand our desire to take some precautions."

He takes what looks like a danish off the table, and a napkin to go under it. "As for what do do about 'all this'... I guess that depends on what this is. I'm sorry to say that our information on the matter is terribly incomplete. Would you mind taking it from the top?" Krys takes a bite of the pastry. It's surprisingly sour, not sweet, but quite good.

[seatyger]

The coordinates land the team in a small antechamber (which looks like it might be a kitchenette) containing a single nervous, young-looking Malcorian who starts at their appearance, stares openly at Vese and Karassinao, and beckons them into the room beyond.

The engineer's whiskers twitch as he resists the urge to give into his predator instincts and bare his fangs at the aide (or cook or whatever); the young Malcorian is probably frightened enough as it is. Entering the conference room with the rest of the away team, Karssinao nods when he is introduced.

As the conversation moves onto the meat of the matter, he leans slightly forward to sniff the pastries (from a respectable distance). He's disappointed in the fare; everything but a few are sickly sweet, though even the sours ones are too sweet for his more discerning palate. His ears flatten to the sides a bit in response, and he picks out a milder-scented drink.

[whoiam]

Meanwhile, Vese was keeping quiet and staring at their opposite numbers.

Or that's what it looked like, anyway. It wasn't exactly her eyes she was watching them with...

Guessing that Telepathy would come under Command/Insight, so using those for the task to check what (if anything) the delegation are hiding as they respond to Cmdr Nowak.

2 rolls, target is 15 or under, no applicable focuses or talents.
[roll0]
Edit: ...I should really stop rolling dice, shouldn't I?

[truemane]

The Chancellor is clearly and obviously distracted by the alien-ness of Vese and Karssinao, especially as the Caitian's face grows sharp and displeased about the pastries.

"Uh? Oh! Yes. Of course. We spent some time with the delegation from your ship, the Tempest. We were looking for some guidance in terms of how to best go about exploring space without, ah ah, happening upon, the wrong thing."

His eyes dart to Doerns, who is studiously not staring at anyone.

"And while they were here, we asked for some, ah ah, help, as it were, with a sort of affliction that has come over several of our higher ranking officials recently. The affliction is new in our experience, and seems to target those with some connection to the warp drive program. A scientist. A political oversight officer. A pilot."

A pause.

"And, after examining the patients, Captain Braxton left, promising to return with a better understanding of how to assist us with our, ah ah, issue."

Just then, Doerns catches Vese's eye, and something in her concentration makes his face pinch up in suspicion. He stands.

"What is that one doing? Is it controlling us? Reading minds? I told you they would send alien psychic-spies, Chancellor!"


The dominant thought in the minds of the Chancellor and Doerns is that there is a Federation officer, stricken with this plague, on the verge of death, in a secure medical facility at the base of the Spire.

Complication result: the scene now has the 'Suspicious of Motives' trait.

[ve4grm]

Commander Nowak steals a glance at Vese. "My apologies, but not to worry, no mind control is going on. Miss Vese just occasionally defaults to her... non-physical senses. Vese, please join us here in the real world?"


Persuade that this isn't a hostile act.
Presence+Security (10+3=13, Persuasion focus, so double success on 3 or below), spending 1 momentum to get a bonus die
[roll0] - 3 successes, unknown difficulty, wish to spend 2 momentum to remove the complication if I have 2 momentum available, otherwise just bank any

Krys turns back to the chancellor. "Did Captain Braxton mention what sort of help they were going to retrieve? Medical, scientific, some sort of technology?"

[whoiam]

"I take offense at that! The spy part, I mean. I am an 'alien psychic' - well, an alien telepath, anyway, so close enough. But I've never been a spy. It requires you to be a lot more comfortable with keeping secrets than I am."

Vese didn't sound terribly offended, despite her protestations. More amused than anything. Then again, she'd probably faced such reactions before.

"Anyway, unless you'd like me to provide a quick introduction to my own abilities, we should probably get on. Would it be possible for our doctor to examine the surviving officer from the Tempest? We're liable to get better results investigating the plague by examining a sufferer from a species our medical department is familiar with. And there might still be time to get them into a stasis pod while we attempt to find a cure."

Since one of them had already guessed she was a telepath, not much point concealing it. Though the survivor was probably news to the rest of her own delegation...

Since the Commander took the lead, Vese only contributes 1 dice to the attempt. [roll0]. Vese has a target of 16 (Presence 12 + Command 4) and gets 2 successes on a score of 4 or less (Diplomacy Focus). Not sure if the situation's gone far enough to let her use 'Defuse the Tension' though.

Then attempting to persuade them to allow us access to the surviving Starfleet Officer. [roll1] Same target, same focus, definitely not a Defuse the Tension situation, though.

[truemane]

Dr. Pieras initially leans forward with interest when Krys mentions what Vese was up to. "Non-physical senses? How is such a thing even possib..."

And then Vese casually dropped the bomb about the Starfleet officer.

The skin on the Chancellor's face ripples with tiny, pulsating waves of tiny wrinkles (the Malcorian version of blushing) while Doerns' face actually blushes (which is a sign of deep, deep anger). He stands.

"HOW DARE YOU? HOW DARE YOU COME TO OUR HOME AND VIOLATE....."

And at the same time the Chancellor stands and starts yelling at Doerns, "I told you this was a mistake! I told you that we should have..."

Dr. Pieras stands and calls for silence and dignity, and for a minute or two everything is loud and very, very chaotic.

Then Doerns storms from the room and the Chancellor apologizes profusely, claiming that he was advised the deception was the 'safest' course of action. And everyone remaining is ushered into a secure elevator which opens nearly at the base of the Spire into what looks like a cross between a hospital and a prison.

And down several hallways, a couple of turns, and into a room guarded by two very rough-looking Malcorians, and on a bed, surrounded by medical instruments, there is a male human, middle-aged, sandy-blonde hair. His skin is waxy pale, his breathing is, not just laboured, but tortured, and his limbs are all twitching in tiny, spasmodic jerks.

The room is far too small for everyone to fit. Four or five at the utmost.


I'm going to call this the same scene.

Traits: Well-prepared, Fish out of Water, Mollified Suspicions

Momentum: 6
Threat: 8

Initial, non-dramatic, scans will indicate that this man is Jr. Lt. Arthur Pendleson, former Enlisted Man with a long career in Security, returned to Starfleet Academy to obtain his commission as a Medical Officer. Current (and first, as an officer) assignment: USS Tempest, current status: missing and presumed dead.

And that he is very sick.

[ve4grm]

At the mention of the starfleet officer, Krys's eyes go wide. He remains fairly silent while the chaos occurs on the Malcorians' side, occasionally trying and failing to get a word in. Eventually he just goes with it, and follows the chancellor to the medical room.

{outside room} As they are staring through the observation window at the man, he finally is able to talk with the Chancellor again.

"My apologies for the bluntness of Miss Vese, but I think this was important enough to excuse it." He stares for a moment at the man's distress. "Is it safe for my people to enter and examine him? Doctor Sevek, can we set up a portable force field quarantine for you to go in, or will you need to transfer him to sickbay?"

Turning back to the chancellor, "I'm afraid I don't understand, however. Why would you hide this from us? What happened?"

[EarthenRite]

Sevek travelled with the group seeing of course that it was the most expedient way. Once there, though, he began to speak assertively. This was the place where he judged himself to be the most competent. He turned immediately to the ranking medical official nearby, the doctor they had walked down with. With his commanding officer’s question broaching the way, he turned his full attention to the medial matters.

“Doctor, I must insist on seeing all of your medical records regarding the patient immediately. If you have not found any pathology that is hazardous immediately to Vulcans, I further insist you allow me in to conduct an examination of my own.”

He turned to the Commander.

“I can set up a temporary forcefield here, with help from engineering, but my facility on the Nares would be better. Once I assess immediate danger, I can tell you which option would be better. In the meantime, I will notify my staff to prepare in case we need to conduct a quarrantine transport.”

He tapped his comm-badge. “Sevek to [Potential Supporting Character Name Holder]; prepare a level 7 quarrantine field around biobed one.”

He took a sure step towards the room, confident that the guards would now let him pass if his conditions were satisfied. He drew his medical tricorder, ready to scan upon gaining entrance.

He ran the probe along the patient’s length. Without looking up, he spoke to the others in the room.

“If you are not medically trained, please exit the room. For your own safety as well as providing room to work.”


So, there are a few conditionals. If the Malcorian doctors report that there is no known exposure risk so far to his species, he will then enter. If the guards allow him to, he will enter. If indeed they are already in the room (as I think they might be) he will conduct the scan.

Medical Scan I believe would be Reason + Medicine, which is vs a 17. I suspect either my focus in Genetics or Infectious Disease might count, bringing the range up to 5 for double successes.

[roll0] vs 17 (focus 5) - Two Successes

[truemane]

Dr. Pieras falls back a step at Sevek's command and stammers out, "W-w-we, have not found... we do-do not know, of your race's physiology. We have found no evidence of.. no vector of contagion, but we surmise it is communicable, because..." she looks around and whispers. "The others."

She calls for one of the resident physicians and procures a datapad.

The information is thorough, but both primitive and imprecise. Their instruments are not made to scan humans, and the results show.

All the same, it is clear there are three separate symptoms: he is dying of malnutrition despite their attempts to feed him; he is experiencing scattered bouts of internal bleeding; and he is experiencing almost non-stop micro-seizures.

The medical tech on Nares responds that the quarantine will be ready in ten minutes.

Meanwhile, the Chancellor, tried to explain to Krys what happened. "I can only profess my apologies, Captain. You understand this is all so new to us, and some elements of our governance are mistrustful even of your Federation. We did not know if you would punish us for what had happened, or destroy us to prevent the contagion from spreading. And so it was deemed important to keep secrets that should not have been kept."

Sevek enters the room. The guards move aside at a motion from the Chancellor, but only one leaves when Sevek clears the room, leaving Sevek, the patient, and a single guard remaining.

The medical scan confirms the Malcorian data, and reveals some more. The malnutrition is caused by some kind of digestive failure that is preventing the man's cells from absorbing nutrition. The bleeding is caused by perforations in his cell walls that spreads in a manner resembling a parasitic infection (although no parasites show up on the scan). The seizures are caused by a neurological disruption wherein all of the electrical activity in his body, all of it, is shutting off and restarting over and over and over.


The above information is Difficulty 1. You have one remaining Momentum.

[EarthenRite]

“Your chancellor mentioned ‘others.’ Please elaborate.”

The doctor continued to interpret his own scans.

[seatyger]

The engineer's tail twitches with mirth as he watches the chaos erupt around him. Vese's revelation is like dropping a photon grenade in the middle of the conference room; Karssinao is beginning to like that kitan.

He stands by in case the he's needed for a local quarantine field; there's little else to do but listen to the continuing exchange...

[truemane]

Dr. Pieras, with a significant side-ways look at the Chancellor, nods.

"Others. Yes. We've had 13 cases, all told. We've detected no vector for transmission, but all of the sufferers are involved in the warp program and have all had some contact with each other, so we assume it is communicable."

She leans over and starts scrolling through the DATAPAD to the records of Malcorians. "As you can see, despite the significant differences in our physiology, the symptoms, progression, etiology, are all startlingly similar. Seizures, malnutrition, internal bleeding."

She paused and met his eyes.

"We've so far had 6 fatalities. All between 10 and 15 days of onset. Your man is at day 12. Our remaining 7 range from days 4 to 13. One of them is... my own mate."

She winces, as though ashamed to make use of such a personal detail, but the plea is naked in her eyes.

"Please, Doctor, Captain, Federation, judge us later as you wish. Punish us, if you feel the need, just please help us."

Just then Karssinao's comm-badge chirps and one of his senior techs calls out. "Chief, I'm sorry, but, I've got some kind of... reading... here. It's, um, it's very strange."

[seatyger]

With a glance toward Krys, the engineer steps away from the group and taps his comm badge. "Karssinao here. What do you have for me, Dez?"

Dez is short for Denzell Alouri. Karssinao brought Dez over from his last command, and is his most-trusted crewman (even more so than any of the junior officers).

[truemane]

Dez's voice is uncharacteristically subdued. He was normally both strong and certain, a balm in good times and a rock in bad. Had he the interest, he'd have made a fine officer. But he said he had no urge to row anyone's else's boat.

"The ship is fine, everything's fine," he said, following the maxim of good surgeons and engineers everywhere that you start with good news and work down. "I'm not even sure how to describe it to you, Chief. There's some kind of.... imbalance? Disturbance? In the anti-matter. I understand what I'm about to say doesn't make any sense, but it's like some of it just... stopped. Like, stopped working. Stopped... being... anti-matter? Somehow? And it set off a cascade reaction that could have, well, you know, lots of things better not mentioned over an open channel. We contained it. It's fine. But I don't know what caused it."

A heavy silence.

"And if it happened again, happened worse, happened quieter, happened different even, then, maybe, I don't know. You know?"

[ve4grm]

Krys continues talking with the doctor and chancellor. "Doctor, we're not here to punish anyone. We're here to find out what happened to our people, and to render what aid we can. This includes doing what we can to solve this infection issue, hopefully before it takes more lives."

He locks eyes with the Malcorian doctor. "Doctor Pieras, we will do everything we can to save your mate. Now, Sevek is a magnificent doctor, and access to federation medical technology may help the situation, but our experience with Malcorian physiology is understandably limited. We would appreciate all aid you could offer to our team."


Presence+Command (10+3, Persuasion Focus) to convince Pieras to go in and work with Sevek, possibly even come up to the ship to work with him, lending her aid to his rolls.
[roll0] <- 2 successes

"Chancellor, we will not destroy you to solve a medical outbreak. I'm not sure who gave you that idea, but this is just not how the Federation operates. We will work with you to solve it, try to keep everyone safe that we can. This especially applies to federation member planets, but we have done just as much for non-members in the past should they request it. At the moment, this involves a federation citizen, so we will be working towards a cure regardless." Krys pauses.

"That said, you are not yet a federation member, and as such you are not required to aid us in this search. I understand the politics of this are complicated right now. But we would greatly appreciate your assistance in this matter, and will hopefully be able to solve this situation for both of our peoples, together."

"In the meantime, our scientists and engineers will continue searching for our lost ship. Can we count on the Malcorians' assistance in both of these matters?"

[EarthenRite]

Sevek returned to the captain.

“The doctor’s first hand account of the Malcorian experience with this issue would be valuable. With your consent, I would like to beam the patient back to the Nares now.”

He stepped back to the sick officer scanning one last time.

“Doctor to Nares: beam me and the patient directly to sickbay, the patient into the quarrantined bed.”

[seatyger]

..."And if it happened again, happened worse, happened quieter, happened different even, then, maybe, I don't know. You know?"

Karssinao nods to nobody in particular. "Good catch, Dez. Take as many readings as you can on the inert antimatter," he orders. "I'll inform the XO and see if I can get Lt. Cmdr. Vese to lend her scientific expertise. Let me know if anything else changes before I head up."

Waiting only a moment for the technician to acknowledge his orders, the chief engineer walks over to where the Vulcan doctor is addressing Krys. When Sevek walks away, he leans in. "We have a problem." Karssinao then explains what Dez relayed to him.

[ve4grm]

Krys nods to Karssinao. "Right. Make use of whatever resources you need. We can't have this catch us unaware."

To the chancellor, "Chancellor, you said all the victims worked on the warp program. Can you please provide us with your warp engine schematics? I'd like our engineers to analyze them, make sure they aren't leaking radiation that might be causing this." He pauses. "Also, if you can let Doctor Sevek know the details of how our lieutenant came in contact with the contagion. Anything could be useful here."

"I think our best course of action right now is to return to our ship with this information. We'll be in contact with anything we find. Doctor Pieras - will you be joining us?"

[whoiam]

"Not sure I'd blame the schematics. Unless we managed to park in an orbit they'd been running test flights through, for one of their engines to cause this the effect would have enough range and intensity to hit half their population long before we saw anything.

Either way, this sounds like a very good time to shut our warp reactor down and ease out of orbit on Impulse. We can test the antimatter as we go to see how far off-world we have to get to be back in 'safe' space. Then start rigging probes to detect these 'distruptions', and try to make a crude map of the effect.

Oh, and get a message back to Starfleet with some actual information about the problems we're seeing. If they have to send a third ship to rescue us, I'd rather they knew what they were getting in to."

[seatyger]

Karssinao casts a glance at the science officer as she jumps into the conversation. "Don't dismiss a line of inquiry before you examine it, kitan," he says. "We need to study their designs to see how they might fit into what we encountered, and we still have probe data to pore over."

Turning to Krys, he adds, "Commander, I recommend we stay in place until we're reasonably certain breaking orbit, even on impulse, won't cause a bigger problem."

[ve4grm]

Krys looks between his science and engineering officers. "Both good points. Let's stay in orbit for the moment. Is the antimatter in the probes and shuttles experiencing the same effect? If so, use a probe to test if breaking orbit will cause problems. If it's good, then we'll move away safely and conduct more investigations from there. I'll contact Command with information. For now, let's get back to the ship."

[truemane]

Dr. Pieras listens to Krys and nods enthusiastically. "Of course, Captain, anything. Anything you need. And I would be honoured to return to your ship." And she goes into the room to assist Sevek.

The Chancellor looks an unusual combination of abashed and unconvinced. He nods, however, "Of course, Captain, we can provide you with the schematics if you think it will help. And we do not know how your came into contact with the contagion. We've discovered no clear means by which it is transmitted."

Sevek calls for transport. Within moments the room dissolves and the sickbay of Nares resolves.

But the patient is nowhere to be seen.

Everyone else sees Sevek dematerialize, and a sort of energy ripple passes through the patient, as though the transporter beam caught hum, but couldn't hold him, and he remains abed.

Dr. Pieras looks up in alarm (she was the only one who clearly heard him call for both to be transported).

The Chancellor, hearing Krys' orders, looks alarmed as well. "You are... leaving? Will you return? Will you not examine the others? The Malcorians? Some of them are on the very edge of death!"

Two of the guards in the hallway and the young page, look uncomfortable and their faces tighten at the exchange, at the way their Chancellor responds.


You get a single, sudden, powerful thought, projected from one of the Malcorians, of the decision to commit murder.

[ve4grm]

Krys, oblivious to the other things happening, gives a gentle smile. "Don't worry, Chancellor, we will be back. Doctor Sevek will look at all of your notes about the Malcorian victims, and will want to examine them up close soon enough, but our familiarity with human biology makes the lieutenant the logical choice for an initial examination in our medical bay. Doctor Pieras will also be with us to lend her expertise. As for the rest of us, we'll need to handle the current situation on board the ship, but I will of course remain in contact."

[EarthenRite]

Doctor Sevek raised a brow aboard the Nares, and once more tapped his comm-badge.

“Transporter control, please explain. I do not have my patient in sickbay.”

[seatyger]

As soon as he sees that the patient hasn't transported, Karssinao steps away from the group and taps his commbadge. "Karssinao to Transporter Room. The patient didn't beam up. Is there a problem?"

[whoiam]

"You've misunderstood my concern, I fear, " Vese notes, carefully placing herself next to the chancellor, between him and the two guards.

"A ship like ours carries a lot of Antimatter. Now, this varies depending on the type and speed of the containment breach, but 'our ship spontaneously explodes and litters your capital with jagged lumps of it's super-heated hull' is down on the 'mild' end of the containment failure spectrum. The 'severe' end of that spectrum is an extinction-level event - as the antimatter cooks off all at once and the resulting radiation burst sterilises most of the near side of the planet.

I'll be honest - we're more likely to get something down towards the 'mild' end (the more severe failures are quite difficult to do on purpose, let alone by accident), but even so, it's not something we really want to happen within range of your civilian population.

That said... " Vese taps her combadge. "Vese to transporter room. Why was only the Doctor beamed up?"


Although she's not being obvious about it, Vese has guessed that the 'murder' impulse is one of the Malcorian guards deciding to do away with their Chancellor - and is attempting to dissuade them from doing so by demonstrating that Starfleet actually is trying to help (and putting herself in the way).

Of course, if she's guessed the reasons or the target wrong, this attempt's going to be hilariously useless...

Anyway, using 'Defuse the Tension' and the 'Diplomacy' focus - so making the check with 3 dice, on a Presence+Command of 16, and double-success on a roll of 4 or less. And anyone who cares to throw in a die in support, feel free!

[roll0]

[truemane]

The transporter tech answers, puzzlement in his voice.

"I don't know, Captain. I had a lock. Everything was 5 by 5. But when I energized he just... CRACKLE... there."

And just then the young page, his face pale and filled with fear, jumps in between the Chancellor and the Starfleet officers, thrusting one hand up in the air, holding a small cylindrical device with a blinking red light.

"MALCOR FOR MALCORIANS!" he cries at the top of his lungs.


Traits: Fish out of Water, Suspicious

Momentum: 6
Threat: 6 (I cashed in two to Escalate the conflict)

Any attempt to halt the page's next action will have a Difficulty of 3.

[ve4grm]

"Chancellor! Get down!" Krys shouts as he leaps at the Malcorian holding the device, attempting to grab it and hurl it down the hallway.


Daring (11) + Security (3), Focus (Improvisation) so double success on 3 or lower
Acting in accordance with Value: The things most worth doing are often the riskiest. - Spend 1 Determination for a bonus die that already rolled a 1.
Also spend 1 momentum for a bonus die.

So 1 automatic 1 (2 successes) and [roll0] (3 additional successes) = 5 successes! vs difficulty 3 = SUCCESS and 2 momentum

I wish to spend those 2 momentum to create an advantage: Attacker pinned complication: Grappled

And I will use Follow My Lead to allow Vese to be assisted by my Presence+Command (10+4) with whatever she does next.

[truemane]

Traits: Chaos, Enemy Territory
Momentum: 4
Threat: 6

Krys leaps on the young page with the loud voice and the small device and pins him to the ground. The page lets out a grunt as the air is knocked from his lungs and his hand strikes the metal floor and the device goes skittering away down the hall.

All around the Captain, chaos erupts.

The Chancellor backs away and stumbles in a cart of medical instruments which tips (him and it) to the floor with a massive clatter.

The four guards leap forward. One of them jumps to the Chancellor, the other three leap toward
where Krys is struggling with the page. The two Starfleet security officers jump forward to intercept them.

Meanwhile, up on Nares, in the sickbay, Sevek hears the altercation begin over the open channel.


So, as per convention, good guys can go first. Post actions in whatever order.

EarthenRite, don't forget you can decide what character you control at the start of every scene. So you can control Sevek up on Nares, or name one of the security guys on Malcor.

whoaim, you have one Assist from the Captain for whatever it is you do next.

Let me know if you have any questions.

[ve4grm]

Apparently the more appropriate way to have done my last action is not to create an advantage for us, but a complication for the enemy. Specifically, the complication Grappled, which is defined on p175:

Grappled prevents the grappled character from taking any action other than trying to break free (Difficulty 2, Fitness + Security) or attacking the grappling character (which is increased in difficulty by 1). The grappling character gain +1 bonus momentum on all melee attacks against the grappled character.

Krys tightens his grip, hoping to keep the Malcorian terrorist on the ground and out of the fight.


Melee attack, unarmed.
Opposed test: Daring (11) + Security (3) difficulty 1
[roll0] (2 successes)

Malcorian roll: Daring (??) + Security (??) difficulty 1 (no idea what their scores are, but I'll get the rolls done)
[roll1] (probably 0 successes?)

Assuming I have 2 and the enemy has 0, I'll go ahead:
Damage: 1d6+3d6 (=5,4,3,4, see next post)

Spend 1 of my 2 momentum (1 from attack and 1 from grappling) on a reroll of the 4,3,4.

End result = 5,3,1,2 = (from p74) 1+effect, 0, 1, 2 = 4 damage + effect

Spend my other momentum on damage = 5 non-lethal damage and target is knocked prone

[ve4grm]

Can't roll twice in the same post I guess.

[roll0]

[ve4grm]

Reroll the 4,3,4

[roll0]

[seatyger]

Since I was just informed that Krys' actions were the first actions in combat; Karssinao's actions are on hold.

It's amazing what little sounds a Caitian ear can pick up, even in the midst of a chaotic scene, such as the one unfolding around Lt. Cmdr. Karssinao at this very moment. Amidst all the shouts, grunts, and clatter, he noticed the distinct sound of machined metal pinging away from the jumble of humanoids and medical instruments.

Drawing out his tricorder, the engineer scans the offending device as he quickly pads down the hall toward it.


Karssinao Reason + Engineering (14). Trying to determine if the device is, in effect, a grenade, or a detonator for explosives elsewhere. (Hoping for the former, really...)
Tricorder reduces the Difficulty of the task by 1.
Spending 1 Momentum to add a die.
[roll0]

[truemane]

Traits: Chaos, Enemy Territory
Momentum: 4
Threat: 6

Whatever murderous qualities the page might possess, he's still just a kid. Young, bookish, probably privileged, and certainly no fighter. And certainly-certainly no match for a trained Starfleet Officer. He struggles and thrashes and cries out but Krys easily puts him down and keeps him down. There's a snap and a wail of pain as the young man's wrist snaps.

Karssinao whips out his tricorder and follows the bouncing device down the pristine hallway. It's hard to get a definite read on it, and no one has yet prepared the definitive monograph on Malcorian explosives, but as best as he can figure, it is a grenade, with a simple activation method and an explosive that works by mixing two stable compounds. So it won't go off by bouncing around (probably) but any trauma sufficient to damage the interior walls of the device would be dangerous.

Meanwhile, Vese takes a moment to get a read on everyone assembled. The emotions and thoughts sent out are a horribly conflicted bundle. Hope and anger and resolve and guilt and inferiority and superiority and everything suffused with the powerful fear of the unknown.

The Chancellor, as best as she can tell, is sincere in his desire to work with Starfleet and get this resolved. The doctors are a mixed bag, but generally seem content to manage the sick and not get involved.

Of the four guards, at least one bears full-out murderous intent for the officers, and at least one is a part of whatever conspiracy lead the page to try a suicide bombing.

But which is which, and even if they're the same person, is hard to say.

One of the four hits the Chancellor full force and brings him to the ground and slides down the floor a few yards and comes to rest.

Two of the remaining three are engaged by the Starfleet security officers and quickly devolve into fisticuffs. These Malcorians are clearly better trained and more seasoned than the page.

The final guard runs up to where Krys and the page are wrestling and aims a kick squarely at Kry's rubs, aiming to knock him off and away.


Page suffers an Injury.
Krys: guard attacks you in Melee with 2 Successes, 5 damage + Effect (Knockdown). You can roll an Opposed roll as part of your next action. The usual rule is that if you win that roll you're considered to have made an attack instead, but we won't do that. If you win the Opposed roll, you just avoid the attack.

[ve4grm]

Resist roll done in OOC, 2 successes, attack still hits but gains no momentum/threat.
Krys takes 5 damage and is knocked down. As this is 5+ damage, this would cause an Injury, taking him out of the fight, but instead I'll choose to suffer a complication (can do this 1/scene, p176) of Bruised Ribs.

Krys rolls with the blow, releasing the Page. He grabs his phaser off his hip, takes aim at the guard and... stops. With his phaser trained on the guard, Krys shouts to be heard.

"A bomb! He! Had! A! Bomb! He was trying to kill the chancellor! Mr. Karssinao? Are we safe?"


Task: attempting to create an advantage. Convince them to hesitate, reassess the situation.
Presence 10 + Command 4, Focus in Persuasion, Difficulty 2
[roll0] - 3 SUCCESSES! 1 momentum.

I would like to spend that 1 momentum on Obtain Information
Question - how do the guards react to this? Or are there any that this doesn't seem to convince to reassess the situation?

[whoiam]

Well, that read was something of a bust, but she didn't really have time to grumble about it. "Step away from the Chancellor." Krys may have been in a fight, but right now Vese's comrades weren't the highest priority. They weren't the ones who could keep the natives more-or-less onside. And they were still going to need access to the 'plague' victims, at a minimum. So she drew her type-1 phaser, aimed it in front of the guard assaulting the Chancellor, and fired a warning blast to grab his attention.

"I know you've got complaints about his leadership, and doubts about us. I won't ask you to trust us unconditionally, but at least trust us as far as a cure. We're as vulnerable as you are; we need it as badly as you do. And if we don't work together on it, it might not come in time to save any of us."


Alright, peace and love, take 2!

Presence+Command = 16.
Using the Diplomacy focus, so double-successes on a 4 or under.
Using the Defuse the Tension talent, for a free bonus d20.
Using Vese's starting Determination, for a bonus roll of 1. (I may need to improve the wording, but her 'The Galaxy has far too much variety for a single viewpoint to encompass.' value was intended for reaching out to people with wildly differing viewpoints to her own; the local xenophobe faction ought to qualify.)

[roll0]
Plus the 1 from Determination.

[truemane]

Traits: Chaos, Enemy Territory
Momentum: 4
Threat: 6

Staring at the man now, Vese gets a very clear and powerful read from him that his actions were purely reflexive and meant only to defend his leader. She also reads that, alone among the guards here, he had made no clear decision as to the rightness or wrongness of Starfleet's presence here.

But now, after speaking with her, he has decided that their presence is a blessing, and she can feel his sense of duty expanding to include them too.

he looks up at Vese. "I need to protect the Chancellor! From Director Doerns' extremists! We need to get him to safety before they return!"

Meanwhile, the guard who had kicked Krys looks stricken and confused. He seems about to continue forward to apprehend the young Commander, but stops. "A bomb? A Malcharh? Here?"

And just then one of the two remaining guards, still wrestling with the Starfleet security detail, a calls out, "Get the device!"

And the other, final, Malcorian guard manages to knock down his own opponent and lunges down the hallway toward it.

[seatyger]

Ignoring the commotion, Karssinao draws his phaser and takes aim at the device.

Karssinao Control + Security (12), Spending 1 Momentum to Improve the Odds
[roll0]

[truemane]

The bomb is a delicate piece of machinery containing a powerful, potentially volatile chemical. Trying to destroy it by neutralizing the compounds without doing sufficient damage to the housing to let them mix first, is delicate work even under optimal conditions. Here, in the middle of a tense melee, with combatants all around, from a distance, with an energy beam, was almost like surgery.

Karssinao was the officer best suited to the work.

And he almost did it.

Almost.

Some of the compounds must have remained active just as the housing started to dissolve under the power of the phaser. The bomb started to glow, started to dematerialize and then the universe was replaced by fire and sound and smoke.

The explosion was not large, but the hallway was small, and cramped and so it tore its way in both directions, rippling and buckling the metal walls and floors and ceilings with a tremendous roar that sucked the air out of lungs and pressed hammers into the eardrums and was followed by a concussive blast that threw everyone back ten or fifteen feet, into doors, into walls, into carts and into open rooms.

The fire blast was, mercifully, small, but even then everyone was singed. And several Malcorians had the skin peeled away from their bones.

And then, in the ringing silence and the blinding smoking wreckage that followed, the sound of a door opening, and Doern's voice barking out orders and the heavy footfalls of booted feet.

END ACT 1