Lieutenant Divya Tam: Howling Without, Incompetence Within
mrsciroth
(( Outpost – VX-LON-3 – The Tangle ))
Responding to emergency calls for help is an essential part of any Starfleet officer's responsibility. TheThor was sending three teams to check on an outpost comprised mostly of scientists, studying the atmosphere and a variety of other unique qualities of VX-LON-3. The planet's classification of K meant the emergency could be anything. Communication was the most apparent problem they expected, given the hacked-up messages they received. This presented them with many questions, and Divya with a clear first task. Fix coms.
The shuttle doors opened to a thick layer of dark clouds looming over the horizon. The swirling mass had a beauty to it, but Divya was glad to be on the ground before the storm hit. Before exiting the shuttle, DeVeau tossed respirators and jackets to the team. It was appreciated, considering the possible illness in the outpost. Divya found that DeVeau and been thorough by modifying a respirator to work with respirators. She nodded at the commander and added the kind act to a mental list she kept of people who deserved acknowledgement or repayment in the future.
The outpost was small, and there were fewer people visible than she expected. The combination of illness and disappearances was evident. While everything seemed tidy enough, the pathways had not been cleared of debris from the last storm. It was a small detail, but it was not something she had seen in any Starfleet run group. The wind blew leaves across the path and over the small buildings. It was not a good sign that no one was there to greet them.
Tam: Well, this is dark and ominous.
DeVeau: No kidding. Not exactly a place anyone would want to spend a vacation.
Divya stretched and let the cool thin air seep into her skin. The colors of the barren terrain were different from home, but it was still a comforting sight, and the howling wind was music to her ears.
Tam: Remind me not to take you to Barzan for a visit.
Caras: I know many of the scientists here have fallen Ill, hopefully they’ve quarantined. A lot of key personnel are possibly missing from their post. I’m sure people are manning the necessary systems but… who knows.
Tam: Shall we find someone who is not ill to show us around?
DeVeau: I’m not sure we’re going to be able to.
Caras: I wonder why this planet was chosen. It seems counter productive to set up an outpost here when a scientific Vessel would do better from orbit. The USS T'Pan must be busy. Are the metals on this planet truly a valuable research opportunity? Something tells me there has to be more here.
Tam: The communication and transporter interruptions we've experienced would inhibit research from obit. And scientists tend to want to touch things.
DeVeau: Can we establish a connection with the people inside now that we’re closer?
Caras: I’ve been trying, but despite the technology scan, This habitat has gone 100% dark on their comms. I’m not sure if something knocked them out or not. Possibly the storms, but could be something else. The distress call that we did receive was from another habitat and attached to their primary array.
Tam: I'll work on the comms problem when we get access to their equipment.
DeVeau: Well, I was hoping that our closer proximity meant that it would be feasible, but…all right, let’s see if someone will answer the doorbell.
The trio walked up to the largest building in the tiny town. DeVeau did ring the doorbell, and it let out a lovely chime that managed to be audible over the howling wind, but there was no answer. They waited a moment, and Divya wondered how long to wait before ringing the console again to avoid being rude. Finally, Caras scanned the building.
Caras: ::scanning:: It’s sending just fine. This habitat still has power…
They waited again.
The wind kicked up to a level that pushed past Divya's childhood memories. The chill was nice, but she knew that meant the others would be uncomfortable. The screeching dust in her face was not nice.
Tam: Rude or not, I wouldn't be opposed to insisting we be allowed entry.
Caras looked at Tam.
Caras: Anything is more welcome than this howling. ::hitting the panel:: Hello!? We’re from the USS Thor, We’re here to assist. We received a distress call.
The engineer busied himself with more scans. Divya shrugged and decided to be insistent. She pressed the call button on the console.
Tam: I am Lieutenant Commander Divya Tam, Chief of Communications on the USS Thor. We understand something is wrong and would like to help if we can. Communications are down, otherwise we would have contacted you before arriving. Please respond.
There was another moment of silence.
Tam: Is the panel broken?
Divya punched a few more controls to see if she could get a visual to display.
DeVeau: Response
Caras: That's not it.. Wait… that means that the viewer is active… They’re watching us.. Maybe even listening to us.
All lights on the panel cut out.
OO That's not a coincidence. Oo
Caras: Oh no you don’t! We’ve come here to help. Commander Tam, a little bit of assistance?
She moved to assist the agitated engineer. In truth, she was happy he was visibly upset. It kept her from getting angry. He had managed to gain access to the panel, and they examined the wiring.
Tam: If we re-route power from L1 through D6, we should get power and voice back.
DeVeau: Response
He quickly made the alterations.
Caras: There. The panel is back. We have control. The line is active. They can’t shut us out, or mute themselves, or us.
Faint rustling and whispers came from the panel as people on the other side of the door tried to figure out a countermove.
DeVeau: Response
Voice: =/\= No! Go away! We can’t trust you! =/\=
Tam: Commander, what was it the report said the outpost came down with? Tangleitis? Is that contagious?
DeVeau/Caras: Response
Tam: Ah, paranoia then?
DeVeau/Caras: Response
Voice: =/\= No! I said go away! You, leave now or we'll =/\=
There was a pause as the voice stammered.
Voice: =/\= Something bad. We will do something bad. Go, now. Away. =/\=
Divya looked at DeVeau and Caras. The only people listed on the outpost's manifesto were security officers and scientists. The paranoid voice on the other end was a security officer. That was relieving if combat was imminent, but concerning because a security office should have been handling a perceived threat. She decided to change tactics.
Tam: I fully understand why you wouldn't trust us. We are strangers after all, and you don't know us. Believe me, I'd love to fly back to my warm ship and forget all about this, but we were assigned to check on you. You know how it can be with Command and their assignments.
DeVeau/Caras: Response
There was more whispering and footsteps. Divya got the impression that someone had moved away and someone else had taken their place next to the door.
Voice: =/\= You could just be saying that. =/\=
Tam: Well, yes, we could. You see, we came across an emergency beacon and responded with two teams with a minimal crew. That's standard. You could scan us and the outpost to see exactly where we are and the types of shuttles we have. That would prove I’m telling you the truth.
There was just another round of frantic whispering.
Tam: Do you know how to scan the outpost?
Voice: =/\= Of course we do! It's this button right here. ::pause:: Oops.=/\=
DeVeau/Caras: Response
[Tags/TBC]
Lieutenant Commander Divya Tam
Chief of Operations
USS Thor
A240104DT4
She/Her (character and player)