Lieutenant Commander Lael Rosek: Still More Waiting
Lael Rosek
OOC: Crewman Davis James is a general NPC. Anyone can feel free to pick up his tags. :D
((Shuttle John Lewis, Near Eladar IV))
Raga: =/\= Chin’toka to away teams. We’ll be monitoring you from here. =/\=
Serala: =/\= Shuttle Banshee, acknowledged, Chin’toka. Shuttle Lewis, stand off at half the distance and wait for my signal. =/\=
Zarax: =/\= Acknowledged, Commander. =/\=
Raga: =/\= Well, good luck. And try to make a good impression. Chin’toka out. =/\=
Lael had never been much for the waiting game. But until they received the go-ahead from Serala, there wasn’t much to be done for it. There were procedures to follow, after all. A wry, unamused grin twisted her lips as she sat in one of the shuttle’s pilot chairs, a PADD in hand. She and Zarax had teamed up to pilot the shuttle this far.
It had been a good while since Lael had felt the power of a craft under her control and she hadn’t been able to resist shaking some of the dust off of her flying skills. Crewman James would take over once she and the medical and science teams had beamed down to the surface.
Zarax: Response
Rosek: ::looks up and smirks:: Any time you are, Ensign. I never say no to a chance to fly. Maybe you can help me requalify. I’m sure my certification is on the verge of lapsing. It’s been a long while since I’ve needed it.
Zarax: Response
Levinson: ::In a relatively neutral tone:: I certainly hope the initial contact will go well...
Snow: I share your concern, but there’s no sense in dwelling there.
th’Koro: I concur, we have some very skilled officers on the contact team. Can’t help but be a little disappointed though… ::he smiled::
She shrugged. Who knew where things would go? Hopefully, Serala was having some luck with the locals. Lael recalled well her first contact with the Golthanni. A soft chuckle escaped her lips. It had been one of the more interesting missions of her career.
The bird-like species had been wary of their presence at first but had slowly warmed up to them. By the end of the encounter, she felt they’d established a good rapport with the reportedly-xenophobic race that would pave the way for a thriving relationship with them.
Rosek: Orders are orders. I’m sure she knows what she’s doing. Besides, I’m all for not rushing into this. No reason to set them on their guard right off the bat.
Levinson: I concur. We cannot anticipate what is going to happen.
Snow: I’m not either. The smoother this goes. The better for everyone.
th’Koro: Certainly. And it’s the better for the future. After all, they could potentially be interested in joining the Federation.
A grin crossed her lips and she nodded. This was a big part of why they were out here after all. She was all for helping others, but some of the most fulfilling missions in her experience were those that broadened her cultural horizons and spread the Federation’s ideals just a little farther out into the galaxy.
She’d learned what the Federation was really meant to be at the tender age of 14 and hadn’t looked back. In fact, she was so invested in the Federation’s overarching mission that she’d studied for years to ensure she was accepted into the Academy. It meant so much to her that all these years later, she was representing the Federation to a group of people who had no idea what it was. She took great pride in that duty.
Rosek: ::to th’Koro and Levinson:: Were you two able to narrow down possible points of interest any further?
Levinson: We have located a few large settlements, as well as a large cave entrance. ::Turning to th'Koro:: Did I miss anything, Lieutenant?
th’Koro: Ensign Nar and I’s scans revealed large deposits of heavy metals in the crust of the planet. I theorise that this planet’s economy could rely heavily on mining. This cave could be one such mine. But truly we don’t know terribly much about them.
That certainly sounded promising. The science geek in her grinned, excited at the prospect of what data they might bring back on the metals. Who knew? Maybe it would be something just as useful as the Reskari had proven to be and would lead to talk of trade.
Being a pioneer for trade with this newly-discovered race would definitely be a feather in her cap so to speak, especially when it came to future first contacts. She never passed by a good opportunity to boost her reputation while doing her duty.
Rosek: ::grins:: Well, cultural anthropology was never a hobby of mine. But that seems to be our job description for the day. Anyone have any experience to share that might give us a sense of things when we do beam down?
Levinson: While not exactly a first contact, I was part of an away team that had to go undercover in a pre-warp society using prosthetics. While it was not as advanced as this civilization, they had a few surprises we did not anticipate. ::Beat:: My point is, that even with the communications we have monitored, we should not expect anything specific.
Snow: This happens to be my brother’s expertise, but we are travellers from space visiting another planet who just discovered space travel and that they aren’t alone in it. So as my brother would say, put yourself in their shoes, keep an open mind, and tread delicately, but cautiously and Lieutenant Levinson is right.
She nodded. The two officers made valid points. It hit on the concerns she’d expressed during the briefing. Her team was of a similar mindset and it was reassuring. From what she could tell, they had no desire to do or say anything without giving thought to all of the possible repercussions.
th’Koro: My specialisation is Xenology so it is possible that when on the surface I will be able to understand facets of their society. However, I have not had too much experience with this kind of situation.
Zarax/James: Response
Levinson: ::nodding:: Yes, I suppose so.
Snow: We should request a list of their laws, if possible before we set foot on the planet. Some planets have weird laws, like don’t step on the grass or a no-kill policy even in self-defense. And some planets still use death as the main punishment when laws are broken and tend to not care if you were aware of the law or not.
This was the kind of preparation she wished they’d been able to do. The last thing they needed was for one of them to be put on death row for not showing the leading parties the proper respect. With any luck, Serala would remember her concerns once the acting captain’s team was planetside and the Romulan woman would make arrangements to obtain that sort of information.
th’Koro: I agree. It never ceases to amaze me sometimes how advanced societies can uphold feudal-type laws. Yet we should be prepared for it nevertheless.
Rosek: ::nods:: I’m hoping they’ll send us some kind of welcome literature. If not, we can get the captain’s permission to ask.
Zarax/James: Response
Snow: Also possibly request any known ailments or diseases that we could come into contact with.
th’Koro: With the number of heavy metals, there could be a possibility of heavy metal poisoning. It might be a small chance but we should watch out.
They were all relevant considerations, though she wasn’t sure they would have that much time. There was a certain risk with every first contact. While it was reasonable to ask if the aliens’ homeworld was suffering from any major life-threatening illnesses circulating, they’d likely find that out on their own.
Her main focus was avoiding a diplomatic incident. She’d heard horror stories both from her Academy professors as well as from colleagues over the years. Hell. She’d been a part of one or two. Something that she had no desire to repeat.
Levinson: Response
Zarax/James: Responses
Snow: That’s not a bad idea.
Rosek: ::nods:: All relevant concerns and suggestions. We’ll address them both as time allows and as circumstances permit.
Levinson: Response
Zarax/James Response
th’Koro: We just want to appear as friendly and diplomatic as possible. No sudden gestures et cetera. Nothing that could appear hostile.
She inclined her head thoughtfully. Too many first contacts went wrong because of the simple things, like the human instinct to cover their mouth when they sneezed. Lord only knew what kind of taboos these people had.
Rosek: That’s the goal, yes. Just being careful what we say or do, observing non-verbal gestures, tone of voice...those sort of things. ::smiles wanly:: We don’t accidentally want to declare war before we’ve offered a proper hello.
It was a joke meant to lighten the mood, but she was half-serious. They didn’t want to give these people a bad taste so early on.
Snow/Levinson: Response
Zarax/James: Responses
th’Koro: Certainly. As Starfleet, we have a multitude of experience in first contact. Let us hope this one is routine.
A wry, unamused grin crossed her lips. Nothing about the former Atlantis crew’s missions had ever been routine and she didn’t expect that now. They’d likely hit a bump or two in the road that they needed to compensate for. But Thalas was right. They were Starfleet. There wasn’t a problem they couldn’t solve if they didn’t work together.
Snow/Levinson: Responses
Zarax/James: Responses
Rosek: ::grins:: Whatever happens, we’ve got this.
th’Koro/Snow/Levinson: Responses
As the others returned to whatever duties they were performing prior to the impromptu pep talk, she studied the PADD in her hand, brow furrowed thoughtfully. She’d pulled up the readings Thalas had been referring to and couldn’t help the feeling that she’d seen similar readings somewhere before. However, she couldn’t place where. It was going to bug her until she got to the bottom of it.
Rosek: ::to th’Koro and Levinson:: Lieutenants, are we within scanning range of the planet?
th’Koro/Levinson: Responses
Rosek: Can we get more details on those metals you were talking about earlier? Looking at the scans, these readings seem familiar, but I can’t put my finger on it.
th’Koro/Levinson: Responses
Rosek: ::nods:: Whatever else we can get would be great. ::grimaces:: I’m not big on unsolved mysteries. I like knowing the answers.
th’Koro/Levinson: Responses
Snow: Response
