There could be little doubt the briefing had one of the stranger vibes Tallera had experienced in a meeting among officers. The prospect of the Chalnoth eating all of them for dinner then stealing the Proteus drive ring (and not necessarily in that order either) certainly had a way of putting the others on edge, but there was a hot, swirling undercurrent of tension underneath all of that - pointing to something else between several of the officers.
Reading the emotions of her fellow Vulcans was like reading a smudged manuscript in a poorly lit cellar, but she'd gotten used to it. Good at it, even. Klingons were vastly easier, and humans were not so unlike - by comparison their emotions were as easy to see as a brightly lit billboard when coming into dock at a starbase. The briefing? That was more akin to the blaze of Old Earth's Las Vegas strip, and the effect was dizzying. Nevermind she was grasping in the dark as to why.
One of those reasons, perhaps, was standing right there in front of her speaking to her in her mother tongue.
An eyebrow cocked and loaded at Lieutenant Jacin. Most unusual! Tallera pushed aside her thoughts on the woman's tenuous grasp of herself and breathed to keep steady in the face of how she seemed to radiate turbulence. There was really only one immediate solution, however:
Collins: Well, I love the sound of that. What did you have in mind?
Jacin: we would need something that would blind others to the energy signature of the Proteus. If they find it they can’t pick the lock :beat: as long as their ‘pick’ doesn’t get broken.
Tallera nodded patiently. Not exact, but the right idea.
Dewitt: Response
Tallera: Simple. Locate a nebula - or perhaps a sufficiently low-mass gas planet - that has a matching ambient temperature and a composition of heavy metals that will make the ring seem just a patch of unremarkable high density. Meanwhile we paint the ring pink. Or whatever color the ambient light is.
A brief moment of consideration seemed to tick by as the proposal was turned over among the other three officers, weighing the advantages. Collins seemed to pick up on the sly bit of humor she'd allowed herself in explaining the short-hand version of what she'd intended. It gladdened her to see him smile despite whatever challenges he may have been facing with Jacin (and the way he looked away from her betrayed his misgivings).
Collins:
We can certainly scan for an appropriate hiding spot from Astrometrics
and take some deep pulse scans of the system's lightwave spectrum output
once we come to full stop. But the livery to match those lightwaves? I
haven't the slightest idea where to start there.
Jacin: With respects Lieutenant doesn’t that hinge on the idea that whoever is looking for the drive, if indeed anyone, is not going to be looking closely?
Dewitt/Any : Response
Jacin: But if they did they would find it, and find it pretty quickly.
The lieutenant's insistence on the dangers of the drive were beginning to wear a little thin on Tallera. In response, she flatly issued a (well-meant) challenge veiled in a question. That it neatly summed up the principles of what she intended to achieve was a useful byproduct.
Tallera:
Have you ever gone hunting for a yellow beetle in a field of sunflowers without a tricorder, Lieutenant?
Here was one case where the universal translator traded the specifics of her words for a better, broader analogy. Either way, it was a much more useful illustration than the abstract probabilities her Vulcan mind had already been computing.
Jacin: Insufficient facts always invite danger. I’m merely offering an opposing view so that we can cover all bases.
Tallera: Hmmm... :: Her hum was equal parts rumble and purr. ::
It was one thing to challenge ideas in a productive way, finding their weak points, then working towards a solution. It was another to fear every possibility. As Tallera quietly fixed her study on the woman, she hoped the former was true, but feared the latter was more likely. Better to give the benefit of the doubt, despite the sneaking frustration - it wasn't clear if the science officer had fully understood the meaning of her words.
Tallera: And that you have. :: Beat :: In this situation, perfect information is impossible, Lieutenant. We risk danger in one direction or another. Better to choose which one we prefer and can mitigate, no?
Dewitt: Response (if any?)
It seemed her direct response hung in the air clouded with a soured fog of feeling. All eyes went to Commander Collins, whose gaze went anywhere other than the very vocal woman. Tallera, meanwhile, silently thanked herself for spending more time on the morning's practice than usual. They hadn't even met the Chalnoth yet, and already the ship's decking seemed to lightly sway underfoot from the way the crew's emotional displays seemed to diffuse through her skin to her chest.
Another breath, fully aware of her body, and the bit of tightness seemed to release around her chest a little. It also helped there was a slight amusement to behold Collins working through the arguments that had just been laid out - a faint look on his face reminded her of when they'd talked on the hull of the Excalibur. It seemed, once again, she'd managed to surprise the man and captured his interest. She smiled small but graciously, receiving it as a compliment.
Collins: Right then. Connor, with me. You two, grab whatever you need up here or in the Engine Room and meet us on Deck 4. There are fabrication and replication suites in the Science Lab. Ayemet can show you where they are.
Jacin: Aye Sir.
She fully relaxed, now switching to action mode - a far more familiar way of working than paddling her canoe across a dark lake filled with emotional mines. Though she couldn't avoid a sneaking suspicion that Collins was tasking her with looking after a "problem child" he was uncertain how to manage.
Tallera: Yes, sir.
Dewitt: Response
Tallera's eyes caught the glint of metal at the Commander's wrist. A wry smile crept onto the corners of her lips, spying the wristwatch.
oO Anachronistic to the last. Or is it "chronistic"? Oo
His love of his family's old ways was steadily turning endearing as she learned more about the quirky man.
Collins: Just over an hour left still. You can do loads in an hour. Several meals, a few baths...plenty of time, yes?
Tallera: Indeed. Though we'd best get to it.
Dewitt: Response
Collins: We've got this. Probably.
Tallera's smile crept back in and her eyes narrowed as if to say... "No - definitely!" She started off, then turned to see Collins and Ayemet taking a moment to themselves.
Collins: Ayemet, a moment? If you please?
There was a harsh tensing that jolted through the younger woman's posture. Tallera knew when to leave well enough alone, that there were limits to what she could offer in the moment.
So, she simply nodded and allowed the turbolift doors to close, and embarked on bringing the plan to reality.
Tag/TBC...
