Lieutenant Commander Lael Rosek: Next Steps
Lael Rosek
((Conference Room, Deck 3 - Primary Hull, USS Chin’toka, One Hour after Test Flight ))
An excited grin slid across Lael’s face. The last first contact situation she’d been a part of had been the Golthani aboard the Astraeus. It had proven to be an interesting one as far as those types of missions went, but from the sounds of it, this one was promising to be even more intriguing.
Rosek: Is there any way to obtain more information on their culture and customs before we meet up with them? The last thing we want to do is offend them before we even get the chance to properly meet them.
Though she’d been thrust into any number of unknown situations in her career, she disliked going into them not having at least some understanding of the people she’d be interacting with. Understanding made it a great deal easier to ascertain motivation and to subsequently determine the best way to approach conversations.
Raga: Short of cosmetically altering an away team and sending them down ahead of time? :: he shrugged :: Not likely, without us just monitoring their global communications.
For all of her reckless choices in her career, she’d always preferred to have more information before engaging with a new group of people. With years of experience under her belt, she was well aware of the potential consequences of not taking their time. Granted, there was a risk that they’d be discovered even in a shuttle, but it would have been worth it to have that bit of extra information.
However, in the end, it wasn’t her call. She chose to keep her silence and allow Serala to make the decision.
Kiax / Levinson / Snow / Azorius: Response
Rosek: ::nods:: If I’m understanding correctly, we will be the first aliens they see and that can be intimidating.
Raga: Especially with as diverse a crew as we have. That’s unavoidable. But, perhaps, because they have two other sentient species on their world it might make that easier?
Azorius: Response
Kiax / Levinson / Snow: Response
First contacts had been a mixed bag for her in the past, but one thing had remained consistent in all of them. She’d been more than a little nervous meeting a species for the first time, no matter how much forehand knowledge she had of them. The tricky part was feeling out the situation and finding a good flow of conversation.
Serala: Well, whatever we can learn will be useful. I agree sending down covert teams would be ideal, and in fact, that is often how things play out. But since it’s so far from Federation space, it may not be prudent to wait for a science team to come and do six months of survey and study. Especially, as you pointed out, Commander Raga, others may have taken note of that test flight. That will be the task for Science and Medical.
As much as she would have liked to run with Toryn’s suggestion of observation from orbit, she had the feeling Serala was thinking more along the lines of ground observation. It made her nervous to think of going down in their Starfleet uniforms. They’d certainly make an impression that way. She just hoped it wouldn’t be one that would get them shot or killed.
Even with her reservations, she’d have to trust Serala’s decision.
Rosek: ::smiles:: Yes, ma’am. I’ll certainly give it my best.
Raga: I’ve complete faith in our crew to handle this First Contact.
Serala: As do I, Commander. In my opinion, we have the best crew in the fleet. If anyone is up to this task, it is us.
She maintained a neutral expression and nodded. It wasn’t the abilities of the crew that she was concerned about. In the time she’d been serving with this group, they’d proven more than capable of handling situations that would have scattered the resolve of lesser crews. They had a bond built of years of working together and knew each other inside and out. Though she hadn’t joined all that long ago, she felt like she’d become a part of that.
With the initial friction between her and Toryn dissipating, they were able to maintain their professionalism and had even begun to develop a fragile friendship. Despite their rocky past, she knew that she could count on him when it came down to it.
If Serala didn’t agree, she wouldn’t have selected him as her acting first officer.
Kiax / Levinson / Snow / Azorius: Response
Raga: I would advise, if we’re keeping the ship out of transporter range that having a shuttle on standby midway to act as a relay in case the away team needs an emergency beam out, might be prudent. Knowing how our away missions tend to go.
A wry, unamused grin crossed her lips at the last comment. From what she’d read and from what she’d witnessed with the last mission, this crew tended to attract trouble.
Serala: Good idea. Commander Kiax, will you arrange that for us? We can let Ensign Zarax pilot that, I think.
Kiax: Response
Levinson / Snow / Azorius: Response
Serala: Okay. Sounds like we have things sorted. Let’s make it happen. Good luck everyone, and let’s make Starfleet proud. You’re dismissed.
With that final order, Lael began composing a mental checklist of everything that would need to be done and everything that would need to be packed for their little excursion. Still nervous about going down in their uniforms, she elected to have more neutral robes with hoods replicated for them to wear on top of them. Once they had a better idea of their reception, they could remove the layers and explain more about their true purpose. For now, a less shocking approach would smooth the way.
With the others leaving the room, she caught Noa and Elizabeth’s attention.
Rosek: Team meet-up in Science Lab 1 in an hour. In the meantime, make a list of any gear you think you’ll need and any questions or comments you have. We won’t be able to make a complete itinerary but at the very least we’ll be able to come up with loose plans for possible scenarios.
Levinson / Snow: Response
As the other two departed to take care of their respective pre-meeting tasks, she paused, tapping her commbadge to open the line.
Rosek: =/\= Rosek to th’Koro. =/\=
th’Koro: =/\= Response =/\=
Rosek: =/\= We’re taking a team down to the planet to survey the local culture. It’ll be a first contact situation. Lieutenant Levinson should be able to give more details. I need you to meet up with her for a pre-team meeting to compose a list of gear you’ll need and any questions or comments the two of you have. =/\=
Rosek: =/\= One hour in Science Lab 1. See you there. Rosek out. =/\=
The comm line cut and her mind returned to anything else she’d need to wrap up. A mini briefing with Lephi and Carter was likely going to be necessary as they’d be running things ship-side. Her thoughts went to her earlier conversation with Lephi and a wry, unamused grin twisted her lips.
Under any other circumstances, she would have recommended Lephi for the job. But Serala seemed determined that her command experience would be a benefit in this situation. She only hoped she didn’t let the woman down.
((Science Lab 1, Deck 10, USS Chin’toka))
{{Mini Time Jump}}
She stood with her hands on the edges of the console, leaning forward as she studied the readings they’d been able to obtain with their current sensor range. It looked like they’d be using one of their newly lined shuttles after all, even if it hadn’t been quite what she’d had in mind. She’d elected to have Crewman James accompany them in addition to Serala’s suggestion of Ensign Zarax. The two would be more than enough eyes.
Once the science and medical teams had been transported down to the planet’s surface, the shuttle would return to the midway coordinates and would stay in contact with Commander Kiax. Of course, regular check-ins were a must.
She’d made it clear to the two who would be remaining aboard the shuttle that if the surface team missed check-in by more than a few minutes, they were to get into contact with the Chin’toka to advise them of the situation. There was no room for mistakes, especially given the unknown that they were facing.
Rosek: ::looks up:: All right. What has everyone got? Any topics you think we should discuss or scenarios we should plan for before we board the shuttle?
Levinson / th’Koro / Snow: Responses
