Ensign Richard Matthews - There's More Radiation in that Nebula!
Matthew Gough
((Deck 1, Conference Room, USS Khitomer))
Shayne: We’re going back.
Fleetingly, Richard thought that the captain had meant Deep Space 33. They hadn’t even made it into open space and already Space Dad was threatening to turn them around and go home. But that didn’t really make sense, did it? And back to where exactly? Some place the Khitomer had been recently? Had another ship fallen prey to the space creatures? Or maybe a place the crew had been when they were using the Arrow?
R. Matthews: Back to?
Any: Response
Guessing would get him nowhere. Better to be direct and to the point. Least, Richard work himself up into a tizzy with all the ‘what ifs’ he could come up with.
Shayne: DS33’s deep space telescopes have detected trace emissions of Sencha radiation from the Lagoon Nebula. I have assured the admiralty that the probe that was launched was disabled thoroughly- ::he cast a wandering eye towards El’Heem:: -so the conclusion they’ve drawn is that it must be a new source, and given our experiences with the Lattice Alliance, it’s been made our top priority.
Traces, Richard found himself frowning at the word. Traces implied, well, it wasn’t like they were being told that a definitive source of the radiation was present in the nebula. Traces of the radiation could have been from the weapon they had destroyed. Depending on the rate of decay, which, now that Richard thought about it. No, he might be mistaken.
In the vastness of space when scanning for something. How big was a trace? It boggled the mind.
oO No one look towards the man in blue to measure things, please. I just make things go boom. Oo
There was an excellent reason Richard never had, and never would, get behind the con. Someone would say to bring them in like 30 meters from an asteroid or something. And he’d crash them because judging distances was just . . . no.
Shayne: I will refrain from putting too fine a point on it, but anyone aboard for the last mission has more experience with the perils of this nebula than I do. I will be relying on each of you for your expertise. Mr. Korras, you’ll set a course for the Lagoon Nebula, Warp 9.
Korras: Response
Richard’s attention flitted back to the imposing stranger that he hadn’t been subtly checking out since entering the conference room. He’d wondered who the new officer was! Korras, cool! This was helmsman number 3? 4? Here was hoping this one stuck!
. . . if not, Richard had a list of officers he wasn’t fussy on, who he’d love to recommend for the position. For purely altruistic reasons.
But for reasons, at least two good ones, Richard was hoping the guy stuck around.
Shayne: What progress have you made on insulating our gel packs from the phenomenon? And I know we just got off shore leave, so if the answer is “none”, I understand.
Had Richard told anyone lately that he really appreciated their captain? Because gosh dang it. It was nice to have an understanding commander.
R. Matthews: So, about that. :: Richard glanced between Semara and Ras before turning back to the captain :: We actually found that the reason our gel packs were so susceptible to the radiation was because of foreign DNA introduced to them during production.
Semara / El’Heem / Shayne: Response
R. Matthews: Due to the nature of gel packs and how difficult they are to make. We had the full supply of the original packs still in storage. We’ve taken them out and used them to replace the damaged packs. And are currently working with the packs we saved and the new packs Starfleet provided us. There are problems with this, of course.
Semara / El’Heem / Shayne: Response
Shayne: Very well. I insisted on a, frankly, vast surplus of gel packs, so experimentation is authorized. And speaking of insulating- .
Shayne: Most of the ship has been inoculated- would a double dose be beneficial in any way? Or should Mr. Korras and myself make our way to Sickbay for a hypo?
Ohnari / Harford: Response
Hehe double dose.
Shayne: Commander Dewitt, Lieutenant Michaels, Ensign Banks, I want this ship ready for anything. Sencha, fighting, hell, the Big Bang. I want to be able to get out of any situation we find ourselves in with speed, durability, and an embarrassing amount of firepower.
C. Dewitt / Michaels / Banks: Response
Shayne: Mr. Zerva, Mr. Matthews, preparations aside, there’s been little to nothing to suggest concentrated Alliance movements in the nebula. Still. Schedule tactical simulations and security drills on all shifts until we get to our destination.
Zerva / C. Matthews: Response
Shayne: Mr. Hobart, you and Lieutenant Dewitt will review mission logs, recent Alliance movements, any information that might shed some light on what we’re heading towards.
Hobart / Ayemet: Response
Shayne: We’ve got a fair few hours before we get there, even at Warp 9. Let’s make every second count. Dismissed.
R. Matthews: :: Whispering to Ras who was seated near him :: The shielding we were working on was good, it's just the gel pack degradation that really messed us up last mission. I think we need to focus on insulating them and I wanted to run some things by you, because out of the two of us, you're way more up to date on medical practice. Plus you did write a paper on this.
El’Heem: Response
TAGS/TBC (Or end scene to keep it going faster? I can back sim if anyone wants)
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Science Officer
USS Khitomer (NCC-62400)
A238908RM0