Captain Theo Whittaker: The Essence Of Time (Safe Harbor)

[Michael Meir-Wright]

((Govenor's Mansion - Town Centre, Safe Harbour))

Whittaker: Governor- ::he said making no attempt to mask his unease and growing anxiety.:: - we are unable to contact our vessel in orbit and I cannot overestimate the danger the Ya-Grhan pose. They have destroyed countless civilisations for simply existing near to their territory. They dispatched Shanshuri to capture and interrogate us simply because we strayed into their territory without realising it. Counsellor Stendhal- ::he pointed to the Betazoid:: - was a prisoner of the Shanshuri. ::beat:: I know that you are confident in your ability to repel an attack by their forces but what happens if a fleet arrives? How long before your people make a mistake or grow tired or expend their abilities? What about men like Walter Hudson- he can rejuvenate your soil but how good is he at repelling attackers? What about the children of Safe Harbour? Can you say with absolute certainty that your colony will survive? ::his tone had become more and more urgent. His anxiety fuelled his words... his pleading. But he kept a level head, to go to pieces now, at such a critical juncture would be counter-productive.:: 

ch'Ranni: Are you willing to gamble with the lives of your people on your superiority?

::Reidella opened her mouth but no sound came out. Though he was no telepath Theo could tell that his words were getting through the green-skinned esper.

Stendhal: Yes I was a prisoner of the Shanshuri, with my mate we went there to help. They cheat us, they knew our weakness and that we must help anybody in danger and needs. So this darn Ya-Grhan, they used our good intentions against us. Nice, isn’t it? They'll probably use your peculiarity against you too, how ? I don’t know… I would never imagined that somebody would be able to act and put themselves in danger just to hit us. It was a bad surprise. Me and doctor G’Reen, well we were helping to heal their patients with all the kindness of the universe and guess what ? They just try to poison us and to put us in jail!

Reidella: What is is that you recommend that we do?

::Theo had been afraid of that question up until that very moment. He had come to them with a warning and no planet. But in a moment of pure clarity and inspiration an idea came to him. It was a long shot and the weather would be against them the entire way but it was better than nothing. It would become a matter of survival: people against the elements.::

Whittaker: Our scans indicated that your world is laced with large deposits of kelbonite, fistrium and dentarium. Your colony is built on top of a particularly large one. If we could get your people into the nearby mountains- we might be able to use the natural topography and the refractory nature of the minerals to hide from a Ya-Grhan invasion force. Our shuttle's sensors picked up what looked like a particularly large cave system in the nearby mountains?

Reidella: The Red Rock Caves. I am familiar with them.

Serinus: Anyone with abilities that can detect, or reveal those in different phase variations would be of great use, in case an invasion fleet were to be landed. A cave system would also be a boon, tactically speaking. Imagine all the choke points, and ambush opportunities.

::Theo glanced at his Magna Roman security officer. Though he personally abhorred violence, he knew that what Serinus was saying was true. The espers knew the lay of the land better than anyone- it would give them an advantage just as much as the choke points would.::

Stendhal: I think that would be the best option. Maybe if you can reveal them putting down or altering their camouflages, they may just escape away or at least they will lose their best card...

Whittaker: The alternative, Governor, is that your colony is destroyed and your people become slaves of the Ya-Grhan. With you under their control, the balance of power in this region could be altered. Forever.

::It was a shameless ploy that left him ashamed that he had used it. But if it meant that the Governor was finally swayed then he would be able to live with it.::

Reidella: ... you feel that is their plan?

Serinus: I would say that makes out next few moves more obvious.

Stendhal: Yeah I think is what happened to the Shanshuri, now they are Ya-Grhan slaves and they used them to hit us. They appeared more afraid of the reaction of the Ya-Grhan in case of failure than about us…

Reidella: Very well. We will evacuate to the Red Rock Caves.

::Theo felt a wave of relief wash over him as he heard Reidella's reply. She turned and looked towards the entrance to the room. A moment later the avian sheriff, Sqeour, appeared on the other side of the threshold.::

Sqeour: Governor?

Reidella: We are evacuating the colony and moving to the Red Rock Caves. Please go to the residential areas and begin gathering everyone together. We will clear the buildings here on the Forum.

::The avian esper betrayed no alarm in his reply or on his face. He simply seemed to take the order at face value without any sort of argument or questioning. Theo suspected that he would fit in well at Starfleet Command.::

Sqeour: ::Without betraying any concern or alarm.:: It will be done.

::Sqeour bowed in respect and then left to make the necessary arrangements. Theo looked at Reidella, grateful that she had understood the urgency of their situation.::

Whittaker: Thank you, Governor. I know that cannot have been an easy decision to make.

ch'Ranni: ?

Serinus: ?

Stendhal: ?

::Theo led his away team out of the reception room, trailing Reidella. She steered them towards the entrance and beckoned for them to follow her out into the cold air. As the doors opened, the winter hit them like an icy blast. Outside, Theo could see that the snow was falling thicker and faster and the wind whipped mournfully through the town square, almost like a funeral dirge. He pulled the hood of his winter survival jacket up and tightened it and stepped out into the night air.::

((The Forum, Town Center - Safe Harbor))

Reidella: I hope that you are able to help coordinate the evacuation. We have a very limited leadership. It is mostly just myself and Sqeour.

::Though it was not easy to understand the woman over the sound of the worsening weather, Theo nodded. He was not about to turn his back on these people after convincing their leader to abandon her home.::

Whittaker: Of course! ::he called out above the din of the wind.:: We won't abandon you. Not now.

ch'Ranni: ?

Serinus: ?

Stendhal: ?

::The journey to wherever Reidella was leading them was short but felt much longer on account of the bitterly cold weather. Theo could feel it through his winter survival gear. Though he had lived near mountains as a child, it had never been so cold on Archer IV even without a weather modification net. He doubted he could have ever settled on Safe Harbor.::

::Without stopping, the Governor flung the doors of a building open and marched in. Theo followed, somewhat hesitantly to see a group of children- all espers- peering up at him and his crew. At the front of the room was another esper, apparently human. It took the Captain a moment to realise he was now stood in a school.::

Reyes: And that is when-  ::In confusion:: Governor?

 

Reidella: Sorry to interrupt your class, everyone. ::Forcing a smile:: We have some visitors today, and we’re going on a field trip into the mountains!

::For once, Theo was not entirely sure what to say so he stayed his tongue and watched as the children grabbed their belongings and quickly processed out on to the porch behind them. He looked to his crew, utterly baffled at how calmly they were reacting to the presence of strangers.::

ch'Ranni: ?

Serinus: ?

Stendhal: ?

Reidella: ::Conducting a headcount as the younglings left the school building.:: Dolarath, Celdan, Franklin, Ara, Sato, Yanol, and Kaironn. ::She turned back to Captain Whittaker and his team.:: We’ll also need to go check with Doctor Velross. He does have two patients who may need help being moved.

Whittaker: Mr. ch'Ranni, could we use the shuttles short range transporters to facilitate their movement?

ch'Ranni: ?

Serinus: ?

Stendhal: ?

::Theo caught sight of movement on the periphery of his vision and he turned to see new arrivals. One of them was of a species Theo had encountered briefly on Losaria- but in the heat of the moment (ironic considering the freezing temperatures) he could not recall the name. Whoever this gentleman was, his presence seemed to bring a measure of relief to the suddenly harried Reidella.::

Reyes: Would somebody mind telling me what is going on? There were no field trips scheduled for another three months!

::Theo looked to Counsellor Stendhal to jump in. In the months since she had joined the Columbia's crew, she had proven herself to be an exceptional officer, able to reach out and soothe anybody and everybody. Though he considered himself a people person, he knew that his talents for calming anxieties in others paled in comparison to his quirky Betazoid counsellor.::

Stendhal: ?

ch'Ranni: ?

Serinus: ?

Reidella: ?

Whittaker: Governor- ::he said looking at the still worried teacher before looking to Reidella.:: - perhaps we should move on. Time is of the essence and the journey to the caves will not be easy in this weather, I fear.

Reidella: ?

ch'Ranni: ?

Serinus: ?

Stendhal: ?

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TAG!

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Captain Theo M. Whittaker

Commanding Officer

USS Columbia

NCC 85279

ID: C239203TW0