Lieutenant Ikaia Wong - Mo-Mo Milk, Mo-Mo Problems!
Ka Banning
((Section Alpha - Shuttlebay - Amity Outpost))
Ikaia had managed to climb up on top of the Yosemite. He had been crouched down scraping up some Angel residue off the shuttle and into a test tube. It reminded him very much of novelty slime that was often sold to children in Amity’s gift stores. It was a vibrant purple with some mild phosphorescent qualities. He had just finished gathering his sample when he got up and started walking.
Vataix: =/\= Rivi to Lieutenant Wong. =/\=
Vataix’s call had startled him! So much so he missed the other patch of Angel residue and stepped in it. The resulting action of which caused him to slide. His arms were windmilling as he tried to keep his balance.
Wong: No, no, no, no, noooo!
His legs came out from under him causing him to fall flat onto his back with an audible grunt. Ikaia groaned as he found himself looking up at the ceiling of the shuttlebay. He smacked his commbadge.
Wong: =/\= Aloha…! Lieutenant Wong here. How may I help you, Ambassador? =/\=
Vataix: =/\= Ah, lieutenant! Please come to my office in ten minutes. I'd like to know what you've found out about these... angels. =/\=
Wong: =/\= I’ll…. I’ll be on my way…. =/\=
That was just enough time to replicate a coffee, make himself look presentable and get to her office. Better get moving!
((Chief of Mission's Office, Copernicus Center, Amity Outpost))
Ikaia had been seated at the table with the group for a while. He was drinking his coffee and looking over his PADD when Commander Ukinix entered the room and sat down. Clearly, the commander was in a very musical mood.
Ukinix: ::Singing quietly to himself::..It ain’t meee-ee… I ain’t no military son, son-
Vataix: Wil! ::smiles:: Enjoy the trip out into the neighborhood?
Ukinix: ::Smile:: Yeah, it’s beautiful out there. ::Cheeky Smirk:: Sounds like you’ve been having some fun here too.
Vataix: We've been learning more about the creatures and specifically their significance to a species known as the Hawlat.
Ukinix: I heard about that. ::Taking a seat:: The mo-mo’s are a fun loving bunch. As thick as a bulkhead though, I think they share one brain cell between them.
Ikaia raised an eyebrow at his commander. Apparently, the hint he gave over the comms earlier was entirely missed!
Wong: Yeah… not so sure it’s wise to call them that. The Hawlat people seem to be offended by that term.
Carter: Response
Keehani: ::Slight shake of head:: We’re all going to have to stop calling them “mo-mo’s”. Including the miners.
Wil rolled his eyes slightly at Keehani.
Keehani: ::Palm out, shrug of shoulders:: What? If we offend the Hawlats, you can kiss goodbye mining operations running smoothly.
Ambassador Vataix turned to Commander Carter.
Vataix: John, why don't you update Wil briefly on what we know so far about these people?
Carter: Response
Ikaia started to take a sip of his coffee.
Ukinix: This “Angel’s Milk” ceremony. Do we know what that is yet? ::Slight smirk:: Will we need suit you up in an EV suit and give you a bucket to milk them?
Ikaia did a spit take into his coffee. It came out more like a surprised snort.
Wong: I hope you aren’t planning to drink that without medical supervision. We don’t know what’s in it and any number of things could happen - anaphylactic shock, sudden coma, sudden death, sudden bouts of unwanted telepathy, total organ shut down, a visit from Division 14 and JAG, lactose intolerance. We’re talking total bodily mayhem and I doubt you have redundant organs to help you out. Please tell me you’re at least giving thought to that, Commander Carter.
Keehani simply pursed her lips together and looked away to hide her amusement.
Rivi turned to look at Ikaia.
Vataix: And what have you learned, Lieutenant?
Wong: Alright. Well, we’ve learned a lot about the Angels and by extension a bit about the Hawlat people. The Angels tend to feed off of nebula gasses which we suspect is giving them a natural camouflage to ship’s sensors. They also appear to be attracted to vented plasma as well as our shuttle. We had a bit of a time getting back because we had so many of them attached to the shuttle. I really had to fly carefully.
Keehani: Sahim seemed pragmatic and grounded. Still devoted, but I suspect will listen to reason.
Ukinix: Well it’s not just the Hawlat that will have to listen to reason, it’s the miners too. The supervisor out at Asteroid six-five-eight-five, a Mister Carcetti, basically told us we should pack up Amity and leave because it won’t be worth it for the mining organisations. Unless we do something about the mo-mo’s. ::Shaking head:: My opinion is that the miners are going to have to play nicely.
Carter: Response
Wil turned to look at Rivi, who had her arms crossed and was furrowing her brow.
Vataix: Well, I think the first thing we do is agree on a uniform designation for these creatures.
She looked towards Wil, as well as Commander Carter.
Vataix: One that won't offend the Hawlat would be preferable.
Ukinix: I was really starting to get used to mo-mo’s. “Mo-mo milk.” It’s got a certain ring to it. ::Quick point:: Get *that* in your next latte at the Brew Continuum.
Carter: Response
Wong: As established, probably not a great idea calling them mo-mos. Especially with our current guests.
Keehani: Ambassador, there is a risk that the Hawlats may not like them being called anything but “Angels.”
Vataix: Response
Carter: Response
Wong: We are going to need to settle on a name, however. So far we have two and while Angels do describe them, we also can’t call them…. Mo-mos either.
Ukinix: We’re allowed to give them a scientific name though. That’s our tradition. ::Picking up PADD and tapping:: They’re like seacows, otherwise known as the ::reading PADD:: “Sirenia”. But they’re space borne…”stellae” is Latin for star. And ::Tapping PADD: “Amity” is derived from the latin word Amicus. So how about Stellaesirenia Amicus? We could call them “Stellaes”.
Wong: That’s quite descriptive. I can get behind that name. ::He writes it down on his PADD::
Carter/Vataix: Response
Ukinix: As long as it’s amicable for everyone. “Amicable”. ::Smirk:: See what I did there?
Keehani crossed her legs and rested her temple on her index and middle fingers, her thumb on her jawline.
Keehani: This is going to be a loooooong negotiation.
Wong: Long. But not impossible. Somewhere in this, there is a reasonable middle ground where everyone wins.
Carter/Vataix: Response
Keehani: We can’t let the miners take matters into their own hands. Word will travel through the outpost, and it won’t take long before that spreads out to the nearby parts of the Delta Quadrant. Likewise, though, we can’t let the Hawlat dictate what we do and when we do it. This solar nebula was discovered by Betazoid scientists, we have effectively staked a claim, and we have dedicated mining organisations that will be discouraged. I suggest a technical solution, but we will have to tread carefully with the Hawlat. But not to the detriment of what the Federation are trying to achieve.
Wong: However, I believe we’re dealing with something potentially nomadic in nature.
Carter/Vataix: Response
Ukinix: Why did the Hawlat settle on Amity in the first place? If they’re so against our presence here, why make a home on a Federation Outpost? It’s not a secret we have a large section of Amity dedicated to mining. Do we know how long the creatures have been in this system? And how did they get here?
Carter/Vataix: Response
Wong: From what we’ve been told so far - the Stellae essentially consider the entire galaxy their home. They don’t seem to be indiginous to anywhere. Not to discredit the mining operations we have here as they are important and one of the reasons why we’re here. But I’m going to take a moment here to remind you that space borne life in and of itself is rare. As in ::Glancing at Commander Ukinix:: quokka levels of rare.
Ikaia picked out those last words carefully. He was reminded of Ukinix’s feelings about the quokka on Donova a while back. He hoped that this would at least hammer home to him the importance of the Stellae.
Carter/Vataix/Ukinix/Keehani: Response
Wong: I think we may be able to predict the movements of the Stellae to a degree. We have an idea of the sorts of things that they may be attracted to - plasma and nebula gasses. These are things that are easily measurable. I suspect if we can predict these gasses, we might be able to predict the most likely place the Stellae may be on any given day. I believe this knowledge would be able to assist mining operations in the area while keeping the Stellae safe. While I can’t say this for certain because I just don’t have the data, if our mining operations are able to cut back on emissions of gasses that attract the Stellae, they may be less of a target.
Carter/Vataix/Ukinix/Keehani: Response
Wong: Speaking of targets, we need to think of one more hazard in the area - the Hiirogen. I think they may also view the Hawlat people and the Stellae as potential prey. That concerns me.
Carter/Vataix/Ukinix/Keehani: Response
Lieutenant Ikaia Wong PA-C
Chief Medical Officer
Amity Outpost
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