LCDR Nolen Hobart — Elementary
Nolen Hobart
((Deck 1, Conference Room, USS Khitomer))
The Captain was wound tight. Lt. Commander Hobart hadn't realized how much the man broadcast his emotions before he started cutting himself off. And they'd both come back to their full senses at about the same time.
Shayne: We’re going back.
He just wasn't sure if Starfleet had come to its. He'd already heard this once before, already vented. Now, he would come to terms with it. Hobart stood at the opposite end of the room from Captain Shayne, arms folded, doing his best impression of a brick wall.
R. Matthews: Back to?
Dewitt: Why?
Matthews echoed Nolen's flippant disbelief upon first learning of the new mission. Dewitt demonstrated why he was the ship's second officer by getting to the heart of the question: what exactly were they going back for? Nolen knew the answer. The mission made sense, it just didn't make sense in a way that any of them would particularly like.
Any: Response
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.
The probe was beaten, disabled, and then blown up by an antimatter warhead. Nolen liked to think they gave it “the full Rasputin.” There shouldn't have been anything left out there to emit Sencha radiation, and so it was hard to argue with Starfleet's conclusion. The silence was testament to it, but the emotional turmoil in the room was testament to a desire to argue the point to death.
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: ::nodding:: Yes sir.
Shayne turned his attention to the envoys from the land of Science, and Hobart’s gaze dutifully followed. They would have their hands full here, if the last mission was any indication. And thankfully any newly discovered space phenomena would be named after Shayne.
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.
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.
A note of surprise and intrigue caught Nolen’s attention in the assembly of officers, distinct from the low-key level of dread that emanated from most of it. He wasn’t able to pinpoint which one it was—presumably, not from one of the other science officers who already knew about it—and a visual scan didn’t help. Whoever it was, they were keeping their outward expressions tamped down, professionally.
Semara / El’Heem: 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: Response
Shayne: Very well. I insisted on a, frankly, vast surplus of gel packs, so experimentation is authorized. And speaking of insulating-
The Captain looked towards Ohnari and Harford, the ship’s ranking medical officers.
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?
Talia—whom Nolen was absolutely certain was not the person interested in the bioneural gelpacks—had an inner life at the moment that reminded him of a cartoon he once saw. A brown, furry mammal, who would go into a rage and turn into a whirlwind of destruction, babbling incoherently. Somewhere within Ohnari was a Tasmanian devil, safely contained.
Ohnari: ::rubbing forehead in agitation:: I will need to get back to you Sir, the vast amounts we've already had exposure to and the effects of continued inoculation is going to take some time...but I will have an answer for you before we're in range.
Harford: Response
Satisfied with their response, Captain Shayne leaned towards Lt. Commander Dewitt and the junior officers nearby him.
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.
Connor gave a perfunctory nod, and was already getting to work, it seemed. His fingers and his eyes were focused on a PADD he’d brought to the briefing.
Dewitt: Understood. We’ll begin a full diagnostic sweep of the propulsion systems immediately. We’ll also cycle through the secondary power matrix so we can standby for an emergency shield modulation if things go sideways. Engineering will be ready by the time we hit that nebula.
Something gave Connor pause, and Nolen’s folded arms loosened their weave. He didn’t know what was on the Chief Engineer’s mind, and he didn’t like things that landed in the no man’s land past “worrisome,” but short of “worth mentioning out loud.”
Michaels: I anticipate that we may need the Sencha Dispersion Array available. In addition, there were several devices, instruments and tools that were in short supply last time. I would recommend obtaining additional ones if we have time and opportunity.
Banks: ::nodding:: I’ll get Ops working on hardening our computing capability against the nebula’s conditions.
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: Aye, Captain. We’ll put together a list of suspects, in descending order of likelihood.
He looked towards the ship’s counselor, and offered her a nod. Her perspective on the Lattice Alliance would be invaluable, but rumor had it she had some more interesting and unconventional connections that could also come into play. Knowledge of the compromised orders was not widespread—intentionally not—which meant navigating this particular collaboration could be tricky.
A Dewitt: Response
Shayne: We’ve got a fair few hours before we get there, even at Warp 9. Let’s make every second count. Dismissed.
As the officers broke up into their small groups to discuss their respective assignments, Nolen pulled out a recently vacated chair beside Lieutenant Dewitt. He couldn’t help but glance upward at her scalp, where the implants the Sheliak had forced upon her used to be. He cleared his throat and spoke in low tones so as not to encroach on the other conversations happening.
Hobart: Lattice is the obvious one, but I dunno. The geography doesn’t really line up.
A Dewitt: Response
Hobart: I mean the amount of Federation space they would have to cross in order to get there, and not be noticed along the way? Let’s meet in Stellar Cartography and take a look at the big picture. ::standing:: Fifteen minutes?
A Dewitt: Response
End for Hobart
——— ○●● ———
Lt. Commander Nolen Hobart
Executive Officer
USS Khitomer (NCC-62400)
A240001NH3