Lt. Cmdr. Alieth - Through Shadows, To The Edge Of Night
Alieth
((Stellar Cartography,* Science Lab Complex, Decks 10-11, USS Ronin, Outside the J-0922A System))
The science complex had changed a lot since Alieth first set foot in it. It had also suffered extensive damage during the last mission, which, in conjunction with a rather unthreatening minor coaxing, had led to a comprehensive refurbishment of the compound. Something that had proven its worth since they had departed DS33 a few hours earlier.
At that moment, the short Commander sat on the top floor of Stellar Cartography, in front of a console, cloistered between railings, from where she could oversee the Holotank (where a three-dimensional representation of the surrounding space was displayed) and the consoles, as well as the officers, that were working in the deck below. She glanced at those officers: Lorana, at the front, very close to the Holotank, moving the representation as the scan reports came in, her face serious and concentrated, the glow of the stars casting a bluish glow on the dark fur of her face. The Vulcan's features softened for a moment as she looked at her appreciatively. The Caitian had grown into an officer of whom she could be proud, and whom she trusted completely. Next, her gaze drifted to one of the lower consoles, and she saw... the "other". Alieth couldn't help but let her brow furrow a little, nor could she stop her neck and jaw muscles from tightening. She didn't know what to make of the recently promoted Lieutenant JG Raedai. Always playful, always with a hidden agenda behind his voice, and that charmingly sly grin of his.
It was disturbing, and made her wary of him and his presence on the Ronin, so much so that she had strongly opposed his promotion. Which, it seemed, had only prompted Niac to punish her by having the Romulan under her command during that mission. Most likely a mean-spirited retaliation for the whole ordeal involving Ms. Morrahn.
Whoever thought Starfleet Captains were above such pettiness had never served on the Federation's borders.
Pushing those thoughts aside. Alieth swivelled her chair, and leaned forward slightly.
Alieth: Any change, Miss Lorana?
Lorana : Response
The corner of one of the Vulcan's sloping eyebrows twitched slightly, but the slight disturbance in her mood did not translate into her voice.
Alieth: Watch for markers on the Sencha cloaking devices, and the emergence of space-time fracture ribbons.
The absence of these markers was something that bothered the CSO. It had no interest in being liquefied at the molecular level once again, as she and Luxa had been in its last confrontation with the Alliance, but the absence of weapon markers, even despite the exclusion field that surrounded the systems they assumed to be under Sheliak-Tholian control, was anomalous.
And anomalies could only mean exciting discoveries or problems. And the chances of the former were less than 5.913%.
Lorana : Response
Alieth nodded slightly to the Caitian, before she rose to her feet and peered over the railing to her left to gaze at Alidar's broad back. Alieth's nose wrinkled faintly. No Vulcanoid had any right to be so robust.
Alieth: Lieutenant Raedai, any update on the status and readiness of the exploration probes?
It was something they had in back up for when the Alliance showed up, and would be launched hidden with the decoy scape pods. Something that would extend the range of their scans and allow them to pierce the blind bubble in front of them.
Raedai : Response
The answer obviously failed to please her either, and even less so when she noticed the expression on that face that should have none.
Alieth: Look for alternatives, Lieutenant, we may need them soon.
Raedai : Response
The retort made the Vulcan's eyebrows crease a notch deeper.
Alieth: That's not what I -
She never finished the sentence, as the room's loudspeakers let out an upbeat beep, followed shortly after by the gruff voice of their Commanding Officer.
Niac: =/\=
Bridge to Stellar Cartography...what's your status, Lt. Cmdr. Alieth?
=/\=
Alieth: =/\= Unchanged from the last half
hour, Sencha radiation fluctuations are still consistent with the
occlusion field generator we found in Olidra system, but we have not
detected any Sencha radiation surges or radiation derived from the
use of the Alliance's weapons. We will need to go past the cloacking
threshold in order to gather more information, sir. =/\=
The
young Vulcan woman spoke in a paused, composed voice, almost
indifferent, but whoever looked at her at that moment could notice a
hint of frustration in the way her lips flattened. As long as they
weren't allowed to launch their probes, they were pretty constrained.
The captain, perhaps by virtue of having worked closely with her,
seemed to pick it up.
Niac: =/\= Once we get
inside the system, we'll need you to build up a picture of priority
targets as quickly as you can, especially any S-Wave generators. The
faster you can pass that information up to us, the quicker we can be
in and out of the system. =/\=
Alieth: =/\= We are
ready for it, sir, my terminal is directly connected to the main
screen, to the tactical console and to the one in your chair. You
will receive real-time feedback as soon as we have something to
report. =/\=
Niac: =/\= Very well. Mr. Raedai is
there to coordinate any sudden resource needs or probe operations, and
I believe he'll have a good eye for finding the things we want to
eliminate. Give his insights weight, Commander. =/\=
The diminutive
Commander took more time to answer than she usually would, long
enough to cross her arms behind her back and stiffen her posture even
more.
Alieth: =/\= I will take your suggestion
into account, Captain. =/\=
The answer had been perfectly
correct in the books. And also absolutely avoidant and
uncompromising. At least for someone skilled in Vulcan/Standard.
Niac: =/\= Very well, standby. I suspect it'll be
any time now. Niac out. =/\=
The console let out a discouraged whistle that signalled the disconnection of the comms with the bridge. Alieth leaned over to address the other two officers present.
Alieth: You have heard the captain, we are in standby, but keep your attention on the passive scans.
Lorana/Raedai : Response (optional)
The minutes dragged on slowly, slow heartbeats pounding out seconds that stretched on for hours, dense as molasses crawling across a barely slanting surface. The screens kept displaying the same data they had been reporting for the last few hours, no change, no news until, suddenly, a series of blips crossed the border of the exclusion zone. The pings blared menacingly on all the consoles and flashed on the system projection that expanded two levels of Cartography.
Alieth: Analyse the ships, search for signs of Sencha Radiation Generators.
Alieth's hands moved quickly across her console, summarizing and forwarding the information to the bridge: size, trajectories, velocity and estimated ship types based on their previous encounters, as her crewmates sorted through the different data they were receiving.
The dim light in the lab suddenly switched to red, and the consoles all veered their hues to the same tones.
Lorana/Raedai : Response
Alieth: How are the probes' status? Have we been able to penetrate inside the system?
They still couldn't use all the scanning power at their disposal until the bridge decided to blow their cover, which limited them greatly, but the officers working with her were intelligent and resourceful, so they could do their best despite the unfavourable circumstances in front of them. At least Lorana would.
Lorana/Raedai : Response
[[Tags! TBC]]
OOC:
* Using this image as reference for the locacion (and how it spans
a couple of decks)
Lieutenant Commander Alieth
Chief Science Officer & 2O
E239702A10
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