Ensign Ollie Bergmen - Little diplomatic mess - part 2
CPT Arianus
(( The Muddy Targ - Kahines II ))
Ollie trailed behind the trio as they walked through the settlement.
Hazel and Barto seemed to have developed a good rapport with Ensign Lyara, so Bergman chose not to intervene. Instead, he took the opportunity to explore the sights around him, browsing the shop windows and observing the faces of the people passing by.
Before long, they reached The Muddy Targ, the Klingon tavern, only to find Fiell and Filistrien waiting for them outside.
Lyara: Did you get a table?
Filistrien: Yes Sir. Mx. Fiell was quite adamant on this location.
Fiell: Given our proximity to the Klingon border, we’ve been fortunate enough plenty of immigrants with ties to both the Empire and the Federation. One of them is the owner of this establishment. She is a very capable chef. Her grapok sauce is very well-liked.
Bergmen listened to Fiell’s enthusiastic description of the restaurant, and now he felt like throwing up.
Lyara: Sounds great! We thought we’d bring some company.
Lyara gestured behind her towards Hazel and Barto from one side, while Bergmen gestured from another and kept his silence.
Filistrien: Ah, you must be the individuals who discovered the site. Mr. Barto and Miss Hazel?
Hazel: That’s us.
Filistrien bowed to the pair in the same manner that Lyara did earlier.
Filistrien: A pleasure to make your acquaintance. I’m Petty Officer Xandeus Filistrien, a subordinate of Ensigns Bergmen and Lyara.
Barto: Good to meet you. Now, shall we go? I’m starving.
Fiell: Of course.
The group entered ‘The Muddy Targ’ and settled at their table. Lyara decided to go for gagh paired with side dished grapok sauce, while Fillistein opted for just plain grapok. As for Bergmen…
Bergmen: Raktajino, no food.
Neither Filistrien nor Lyara commented on his choice, so if they had any thoughts about it, they kept them to themselves.
Lyara: And before we begin, for transparency purposes, you can ask any questions back.
Barto: Just the three of you here then?
Ensign Lyara shook her head in disapproval, fully engaged in enjoying the treats provided by their venue. When Fillistein didn't seem to take the floor, Ollie stepped in to fill the silence.
Bergmen: Our team has five members. Our mission commander and the mechanical engineering expert went out with Administrator Baum for a different meeting.
Bergmen tried to answer honestly - but not to say more than was necessary or what their companions could confirm from publicly available information. At least that much picked up as a useful lesson from the snippet of what Filistrien had told them or from the look on his face when they said something… not so thoughtful.
Hazel: ::tail flicking with interest:: Oh? And where are they?
Fortunately - at least for Ensign in gold - Filistrien stepped in to handle the question.
Filistrien: They are currently getting the specifics of the archaeological survey negotiated with the Klingon research team. Since none of us are scientists, however, we were tasked with getting a first-hand account on the incident that led to the discovery of the site.
oO Ok, so I could say more… Oo
Ollie smiled and nodded in confirmation of Filistrien's specification.
Barto: Huh. ::shrugs:: It’s nothing really exciting, but I won’t turn down a good meal.
Bergman chose to conceal his feelings about likening those things on the table to food behind a long sip from his mug of Raktajino.
Lyara: So how exactly did you stumble upon the ruins?
That question sounded valid, and even Ollie wanted to know more as he leaned against the table, moving closer to the discussion - especially after Barto exchanged glances with Hazel.
Hazel: My niece had run off from the house while playing so Barto and I, knowing the local fauna can be dangerous, went off to find her while her parents informed the administration.
Ensign Bergmen, resting against the table, tilted his head just enough to catch a glimpse of the notes Lyara was scribbling down on her PADD.
Bergmen: And then you found the ruins?
Barto: Well, it seemed the little devil should be credited with the discovery because we found her just staring at the old Klingon fortress.
Ollie nodded and looked at Filistrien to see if he would ask for more clarification. Yet Lyara asked for more.
Lyara: And how old is your niece Hazel?
Ollie shifted his focus from the Petty Officer and glanced over at the bar, his thoughts drifting to the Bajorans. Was their knack for interrogation ingrained in their DNA, or was it shaped by their unique social circumstances?
Hazel: Barely four, not old enough to get a coherent story.
Lyara: ::Hushed tone:: You guys wanna let them doodle a bit? Have them visualize the area for us?
Alroyo’s hushed tone brought Bergmen’s attention back to the table, although he was unsure of what the question was.
Bergmen: ::quietly:: Mm-hmm.
Filistrien: ::quietly:: Well, it might be useful to know any specificities about the area from a local’s perspective.
Agreeing with everything seemed like a valuable lesson from Ollie’s years in OCS. Yet again, luck was on his side as the mental coin flipped in his favor, guessing by the next Lyara’s question connected to PADD being slid over the table. This, combined with Filistrien's words, gave him a deeper understanding of the topic he had missed daydreaming.
Lyara: ::Sliding the PADD towards the settlers:: Got a bit of an arts and crafts project for you guys.
Colonists seemed a little shocked when the PADD ended up on their side of the table, not exactly knowing what was expected from them.
Bergmen: We would appreciate your help creating a visual representation of the terrain and local specifics - landmarks, possible dangers, etc. - surrounding the dig site.
Barto: Uhhh-
Hazel: ::earflick:: Get to it, big guy.
It was intriguing to see the two's familiarity, though it wasn’t surprising for Ollie. Given the small size of the colony, it was only natural for everyone to know each other better than usual, even more so than the crew of Artemis.
Filistrien: Has there been any greater alterations to the local landscape, since the site hadn’t been discovered until now?
Barto: Well, we’ve started moving the forest line further back since we need to make room for larger fields.
Hazel: ::scoffs:: It’s not like the trees got angry at us for that though, and we’re planting new ones out of the way of the new field allotments.
Barto: I didn’t say that-
Bergmen bit his lip as he observed the exchange with keen interest.
Lyara: Response
Filistrien: Is that a common superstition on Kahines II?
Hazel: Trees getting angry? ::tail flicks:: Something like that. We’ve got some pretty big wildlife on the other side of the forest, but they never cross it. Something in the trees ward them off, but I think it’s got more to do with that awful scent they give off than tree ‘spirits’.
Ollie stretched his long neck with unmistakable interest as he tried to discern the visualization displayed on the PADD across the table.
Bergmen: It's interesting now to see now how the distribution of the "stinking" trees in that section relates to the dig site's area, especially when compared to the habitats of the predators mentioned earlier. It’s not chemical pollution that harms the vegetation…
Lyara: Response
Hazel: It could be, but nothing we noticed from here.
Barto: All right, I think this should do it.
Bergmen cast a quick glance at the PADD resting on the table in front of Lyara, now returned to her. Barto's updated map had very few annotations, but it was precisely what Ollie had expected. It outlined the migration routes and territories of various local fauna, providing clear details about the dig site’s extent and shape.
Moreover, it included numerous subtle observations that could easily be overlooked in their analysis of the sensor scans—insights that only the locals would recognize. Most likely, the Artemis team wouldn’t have identified these details until some random ensign stumbled upon them by sheer luck—or, perhaps, misfortune—when Bergmen spotted what appeared to be a deep but narrow chasm.
Filistrien: What is this?
Petty Officer gestured toward a part of the sketch near the edge of the dig site, an area that Barto had conveniently marked with a symbol that resembled, to Ollie, the head of a holo-opponent from calisthenics hand-to-hand combat classes more than anything else.
Hazel: Ah, it’s a Scorpionmole Burrow. Nasty critters. They’re part of the reason why we had to go look for my niece. They tunnel into the ground, and if she wandered in there, we’d stand just about no chance of finding her.
Bergmen: If they dig tunnels of size four years old…
Hazel looked over Bergmen from the bottom of the table to the top of his head, as if she were measuring his height and age in her mind.
Hazel: More like five years old.
Bergmen tried to mentally estimate the height of a five year old Caitian child. Would the highest percentile be around 1.4 meters? (OOC: ~4’ 7”). Those creatures must have been huge, which means…
Lyara: Response
Barto: ::points to Ollie:: Their stinger would take down your ensign in a matter of seconds. Neurotoxin. And their teeth secrete some kind of enzyme that will necrotize flesh if you don't get the bite treated in time.
The more Bergmen learned about them, the less he appreciated those creatures.
Bergmen: Do we need to know more about these scorpionmoles?
Lyara/Filistrien: Response
Ensign’s eyes returned to the map and searched for other points of interest. His thoughts drifted back to what Hazel and Barto had mentioned earlier about the terrible smell coming from the trees. He still believed it was connected to the ruins, especially since it didn't seem to bother the... monsters all that much.
Bergmen: Have you been inside the ruins? Can you tell us anything about them?
Barto: No, sorry. We were never inside of that fortress.
Mx. Fiell cleared his throat to gain everyone's attention. Ollie turned to the Administator’s Aide.
Bergmen: Yes, Mx. Fiell?
Xindi-Primate noticed the Bergmen finally used the correct form of address and smiled.
Fiell: After receiving information about the ruins, we sent a small security team to investigate what Hazel and Barto found. They examined only the perimeter and a small area near one of the entrances, so we cannot provide details about what lies inside or how deep these ruins went. Based on the visual documentation our team brought back, most of the ruins are above ground, but their layout suggests that some parts may still be buried.
Ollie continued to gaze at Fiell, waiting to see if he would continue speaking.
Fiell: That’s all we know. Once we confirmed that the ruins were of Klingon origin, we closed the access to the area and contacted both the Federation and the Klingon Empire authorities.
Lyara/Filistrien: Response
TAG/TBC
–
Ensign Ollie Bergmen
Operations Officer
U.S.S. Artemis-A
A240009JC1