NPC Ensign Ceylan Graves - Interstitium III

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((Stellar Cartography, Deck 16, USS Khitomer))

 

Bravery possessed different proportions. In Starfleet, it was most often quantified through grandiose acts. Officers enduring impossible odds and placing themselves between danger and the vulnerable. They could accept the possibility of death with steady hands. Graves could recognize that sort of valor intellectually, though it had always seemed to belong to others. His own courage emerged in diminished and far less dignified forms. A disruption to routine could unsettle him profoundly.

 

Perhaps there was absurdity in joining Starfleet while craving consistency and sanctuary. But that contradiction had marked the first true act of courage in his life. His want to see the stars (and map them) overrode that fear, just enough. Every day aboard the Khitomer required him to contend with fears the never abated. What stood before him now did not equal that monumental leap. It didn’t contend with leaving his quiet home of solitude, boarding the transport, being thrust into a crowd of people larger than he had ever seen. But the scariest moment in your life was not the only major hurdle that must be overcome. Did he want to do it? Negative. Could he do it? To steady himself long enough to communicate with a man in jeopardy aboard an alien craft, while the ship itself lingered in precarious condition? Affirmative. Others would surely scoff if he confessed as much. They would measure bravery against phaser fire, not against the simple terror of human interaction. But to Ceylan Graves, this was valor nonetheless.

 

Graves: ~/\~ It is a b-boon ~o he~r you are s-st~ll in one p-piece. Th~y allowed y-you to ret~~n your helm- ::pause:: -et? I h-hear s-someone e~se th-there. ~re you n-not alo~e? ~/\~

 

Matthews: ~/\~ Met a guy who's about to get ~~~~ and ~~~~. And yeah ~~~~~ allowed to keep ~~~~~~.  ~/\~

 

The message itself was unclear, and the Kelpien surely did not want to fill in the blanks, and so he busied himself with adjusting parameters and frequencies to see if he could get a better transmission.

 

Graves: ~/\~ Ensign M-Matthews w~ a~e working ~~ e-extricat~ you from ~~~ger. T-there is ~~ aw~y t-team ab-aboard ~~~ vessel. ~/\~

 

Graves had not made himself entirely privy to the dossier of current affairs in regard to the bridge’s operation in Matthews’ rescue and he had hoped it would remain so.

 

Matthews: ~/\~ Get ~~ Graves? Heading there ~~~~. Call ~~~~. ~/\~

 

Graves: ~/\~ Matt~~~ ~~~ line is be-bec~mi~g more uns~~~e. P-please rep~~t. ~/\~

 

The gain on the console dropped to zero and Graves frantically tried to reacquire his signal.

 

B’Ella: Graves? Did we lose him?

 

Graves: Y-yes. The array w-we are u- ::pause:: -sing is n-not meant for s-such communication but I could no-ot establish a c-connection with traditional means. W-what does the cap-captain wish us to d-do?

 

There was only so much he could do with Khitomer’s sensors from here, and even then, Graves was not an engineer.

 

B’Ella: =/\= Captain were you able to make out any of that? What are your orders, sir? =/\=

 

Being so intensely focused on reestablishing the connection, he was not as aware of his surroundings as he usually was. As a result, when Captain Naxell spoke from behind them, Graves yelped and cowered against his monitor before the recognition of the man’s voice allowed him to ease away from the screen.

 

Naxell: Not really, no.

 

Melville-Kilpatrick: Sorry to say I didn't catch much of it either.

 

B’Ella: Please sir, ::beat:: you almost gave me a heart attack! ::taking a deep breath:: Given the static communications between Ensign Matthews and Graves, it’s a wonder that I even understood half of that.

 

Graves: I have n-not be-been able to reach h-him again. ::looking around and speaking low:: P-please captain be c-careful there are f-filame-ments about.

 

Naxell: We know he's alive, he's ambulatory, and he's coherent. More or less. What else do we need to worry about, Doctor?

 

Melville-Kilpatrick: Well, besides the obvious "they eat people" that he mentioned earlier...he can't exactly make it back on his own. He needs to find our people. Probably best if Dr. Ohnari gives him a good scan, too...just in case they did do something to him already.

 

B’Ella: Agreed, what are you thinking sir?

 

In situations such as this, it was best to let others talk, especially when they knew more about…well everything. His eyes flicked silently from person to person as they spoke.

 

Naxell: Is there any way we can get more information to him? Let him know who's over there? If he's looking for Lieutenant Semara's team as hard as they're looking for him, we might get get a little luck.

 

Graves: ::quietly:: I l-let him kn-know there was an away t-team aboard.

 

B'Ella: Yes, I believe there is a way. I’ll begin running some ideas I have on the ship's computer to get the best percentage of results.

 

He sheepishly lowered his head as he pulled in his shoulders. This was not new; not being heard. It became difficult to express himself when so many others exhibited confidence in their responses.

 

Melville-Kilpatrick: ::thoughtfully:: I wish I'd kept track of the vital signs instead of passing those on to Dr. Ohnari. Or better yet, kept track of all their vital signs.

 

There were other arrays that he did not have permission, or the expertise to use but…

 

Melville-Kilpatrick: Were you able to lock onto his helmet? Or did the signal cut off?

 

B'Ella: ::double checks the computer logs:: ::beat:: Yes! We have a signal, but it’s weak.

 

Graves: ::quietly:: W-why n-not use the s-sencha array?

 

Naxell: If we knew more about their communication technology we might be able to piggyback our signal on their systems.

 

Melville-Kilpatrick: Maybe we could get into contact with someone on the away team? Could that boost the signal?

 

B'Ella: Possibly, but if it’s just as much static as the call with Matthews, who knows if it will work?

 

It was just like dinner back home. His mom and dad talking as if he weren’t there. Not because they didn’t care but because it became so routine for them to continue with their conversations when work needed to be done and Graves was too beleaguered by fear to offer much of anything, and so he usually just did what he was told to do.

 

Naxell: Hm. Challenging without giving away what we're doing. But a good thought.

 

Melville-Kilpatrick: I just thought, maybe it would sound clearer bounced from someone who isn't...er...about to be tortured?

 

B'Ella: Good point. Someone on the inside could in theory get a clearer transmission through to Matthews. 

 

Naxell: The scanner—what if we used that?

 

NT/TBC

 

PNPC Ensign Ceylan Graves

Astrometrics and Stellarcartography

USS Khitomer

 

As simmed by 

 

---------- ●● ----------

Lieutenant Ras El’Heem

Science Officer

USS Khitomer (NCC-62400)

K240106RE3