Doctor's First Command Mission

Posted on 17 May 2019 @ 10:00am by Captain Jasmine Somers FCapt & Major S'arila Donovan & Lieutenant Commander Remington Dodd & Lieutenant Commander Cody Parker

3,747 words; about a 19 minute read

Mission: S03 Ep 01: Family Of Slaves (incidentals)
Location: Orian Syndicate Ship
Timeline: Mission 1 S3 -Day 14.2

[ON]

– Shuttle bay One –

Doctor Aldana had made a stop at hir quarters to pick up Luuna but had finally made it to Shuttle Bay One. S/he carried with hir a large med kit. S/he went to the equipment replicators in the back of the room and replicated a sidearm and holster as well as three environmental suits – two fit for quadrupeds, designated for Luuna and Sombra and a specially constructed one for hirself – and began helping hir companions into theirs. ~Hold still will ya! ~

No sooner had the ACMO finished with their three suits than s/he’d noticed the others began to wander in.

Dodd arrived in Shuttle Bay One with a pack containing his gear, his sidearm and a phaser rifle. He had his suit draped over his other shoulder and was carrying his helmet.

“So, Doctor, it will be different for me as I have not really had a chance to work with you on any project or such. I am looking forward to getting to know you.” Dodd stated as he set his pack down so he could start to get his suit on.

Aldana smiled warmly and with some excitement responded, “well then, welcome, perhaps after this mission we shall have to rectify that.” Since Dodd was busy s/he decided it best to forgo hir greeting hug. S/he indicated the two Canidae and gesturing to one with eyes as green as lush grass commented, “this is Luuna, she will be invaluable in locating anyone – assuming we’re not sealed in our suits the whole time – she is trained in search and rescue.

Luuna boldly began to step forward, but…

~ “hold.”~ Aldana looked at Dodd, “I apologize would it be alright if she meets you and gets to know your scent?”

“Sure thing, she is welcome to get to know me in her fashion,” Dodd replied. “I like all critters. Sorry to just walk in and not shake your hand in our greeting. Just wanted to put my suit on so it would not be in the way and thus be easier to get to the mission when the word came.”

~Go say ‘hi’~

Luuna knew what this meant so she continued her approach and sniffed the man openly and boldly. She nudged his hand too; inviting petting too – such as it could be through gloved hands and the little exposed area there was at the moment with her helmet open.

~Can you hear my mind?~ Dodd figured Luuna may be able to pick up his telepathy. He attempted to pet the canine.

Luuna hesitated at the sensation in her mind. She cocked her head as if she were listening in that way that canines do; indicating she sensed something but wasn’t sure how or whether to respond. She noticed the man’s hand and went to meet it, pressing into his hand gently

oO Thought I would try to see if she could sense my telepathy. Ooo “You are a sweet dog, I bet you get lots of attention when you are not working.” Dodd stated as Luuna pressed into his hand and he started a gentle scratch to her head. “I think you have a great assistant here, Doc.”

Luuna had ‘heard’ or more felt something before but was distracted now; she murred enjoying the attention from the man. “Yes, I love her very much, she gets lots of affection at home. I think she’s caught the eye of Mister Winchester too.” Doctor Aldana smiled warmly, and indicated the other Canid, continuing introductions, “This is Sombra.”

The male companion stayed dutifully at his charge’s side, but he attempted to sniff the air and get a better sense of the stranger.

“He’s also trained in SAR, but primarily he is my service animal.” S/he ruffled his ears a bit. “He wants to meet you too, but he’s on duty, so unless I give him a ‘go say hi’ he won’t.”

“I am glad to finally meet these two directly. I have heard about them from other crew members.” Dodd responded. “I have a pet named Rocky and he is a carnivorous plant that I rescued from a burning arboretum when I was on leave. I nursed him back to health and was going to give him to another arboretum, but I liked having him around and as long as he has water and a nice temperature he thrives. He only needs to eat once a month. He usually gets five to six mice, sometimes a rabbit.”

“Oh? What are people saying? Do they like them? Tell me about Rocky, he reminds me of something in one of my comic books. You will warn me before he gets so big, you’re feeding him animals the size of dogs won’t you” S/he joked as s/he knelt and removed a glove to fondle Sombra’s head before giving him permission too to go greet the Engineer.

“I have only heard good things about Sombra and Luuna. I have seen them in passing never had the chance to experience them in person until today.” Dodd replied. “Rocky is fully grown for the most part and I don’t think he could open wide enough to attempt to consume a canine, so no worries. I have had him for almost ten years. He vines out and once or twice a year I prune him back, which I think helps keep him a relative size otherwise he would not be able to remain in my quarters. I call him a ‘he’ only because that is the vibe, I get from him.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re all getting a chance to meet. It’s nice to hear they’re developing a good reputation. We haven’t always had the warmest reception on past assignments.” The Kazarite continued, “even though the Federations with Disabilities Act of 2161 is over 200 years old we still have some access difficulties.” Aldana continued to smile warmly; gazing at Dodd, “You are welcome to visit them anytime you’re free.”

Aldana smiled at the thought of Rocky, “he must be quite the site. I should show you some of my horror comics or issues where Poison Ivy makes an appearance in Batman sometimes.” S/he smiled friendlily, “you might get a kick out of some of her creations.”

“Ah, a connoisseur of classic graphic art,” Dodd replied. “I have a small collection of the first issues for all the members of the Justice League,” Dodd added.

Aldana nodded, “You’re a fan too? I love the DC stuff. It’s nice to meet someone, with all the modern forms of media and entertainment I feel like we’re fewer and far between. That must be quite a collection, even some of the old paper reprints can be hard to find. Do you have physical copies? Do you ever read anything published on other planets?” Amiri’s tail wagged excitedly, s/he’d never met another comic book fan before; at least not this far out.

“I had been given a comic as a child before I could really read,” Dodd replied. “I can recall the images were amazing and it was a reprinted issue of the very first Justice League of America comic series published on ancient Terra. I then begged to get my hands on actual paper copies of the origin stories of all the characters. My favourite would be Hal Jordan, Green Lantern.” Dodd stated.

“Who?” Aldana teased. It always amazed hir that even after over 400 years of publishing DC still clung to that guy. At least with the ones with Kryptonian technology it made sense they could live so much longer. “I found it fascinating that so many cultures have developed similar forms of expression as the graphic mediums. I’m kind of amused by some ancient depictions of science fiction and what some cultures thought aliens would look like – Xenomorphs doubtful. However, if I had to keep within the superhero genre of comics, we’re a bit biased, I like Superman’s dog Krypto; the ‘guyzos’ seem to like him too.”

“Krypto was an interesting side-kick,” Dodd replied. “I just always wished I had the power ring of the Lantern Corps because I could create anything I wanted when I wanted.”

Just then the interior shuttle bay doors parted bringing Aldana’s and Dodd’s conversation to an abrupt end with the entrance of another crew member.

- Armory -

Ensign Trax and Crewman Kru'sk raced to the armory after receiving Lieutenant Parker’s orders. After receiving their field gear, they put on their armor and packs in the turbo lift.

Trax was an Andorian and Kru'sk was Klingon. They made an odd-looking pair as they raced towards the shuttle bay to meet the away team.

- Major Donovan’s Office -

After finishing up what she had to do she walked over to the armory locker and put on her hi-tech EVA suit and loaded up with magazines and strapped her L52 Sidearm into the built-in holster and to the sheath on her back; her two fully functional replica Spatha blades, and picked up her M45 Assault rifle and changed to her combat visor for when she was not wearing her EVA helmet.

These weapons came with her from the reality she was originally from, it was a long chore programming in the bullet specs for the weapons as this reality no longer had such weapons. She caught herself in the big mirror, “Rambo eat your heart out honey,” she said to the reflection, then picking up her EVA helmet and making sure she had enough ammo she made a conscious effort to leave her quarterstaff behind. After all, she had enough weapons on her person and she was curious as to the looks she would get when she walked down the corridors and into Shuttle bay 1.

So here she was now walking down the corridor to the nearest lift, the Rifles on the level just gave her a smile and a nod. The few Fleet Officers’ looks were somewhat longer, she was glad she no longer had her telepathic ability. Eventually, she arrived at the lift and entered “Shuttle Bay One” she said, and it took mere moments before she stepped out onto the level and walked into the shuttle bay.

- Shuttle Bay One -

As she walked into the Shuttle Bay it fell silent, except for the beeping sounds and quiet humming, all were looking at this 7-foot female festooned with weapons, as she was tall she had to look down at the shorter away team members, she was a sight to see, this she knew, “Major Donovan reporting for pilot duty” she said.

“Hello, Major. How are things with you?” Dodd replied since he had not seen her since the briefing, but he had seen her in her EVA suit before, so he was not as shocked as the others might have been. He had to keep from reacting to the thoughts of the others. “We get to join forces once more.”

With the Dodd man distracted by the new arrival, Luuna perked up and boldly went over to the newcomer as well. Alpha was nearly her height, and she had no knowledge of particle weapons or other such things, so she was too naïve to be wary of them. She did keep a bit of a distance though in case Alpha called her off. Luuna leaned in and sniffed the tall woman’s gloved hand.

Looking down at the dog Donovan crouched down and made a fuss of Luna “Hello little one, my ain’t you a little cutie” S'arila said making a fuss of the dog.

Luuna was pleasantly surprised to find someone crouching down to meet her face to face on her level. For once, she didn’t have to fight the urge to jump up. Her tail wagged pleasantly to show her joy at meeting someone new. She sniffed casually at the woman trying to give her kisses and get gain information from the scent of her breath. She could tell there was something special and unique about her. Luuna whimpered playfully and puppy-like.

As she made a fuss of Luna S'arila let the dog sniff her other hand so that the animal could get the scent S'arila never met a friendlier dog, well none that were friendly to her, this was the first canine to actually wag their tail.

Meanwhile, Sombra returned to Alpha’s side. He’d figured out that ‘go say hi’ usually only applied to one being at a time; besides, he needed to check on Alpha again anyway. He nudged Alpha’s de-gloved hand to get a better sense of hir.

“Hi Remy, things with me are fine, what of you?” Donovan asked closing the gap between her and the group assembled “It would seem so; all we need now is to get a confirmation for the last mine to be cleared then we are off to the disabled ship” Major Donovan said.

“Great, all is great with me,” Dodd replied to Major Donovan. “Just for the record, Lt. Walon and I are now engaged. I would rather you hear it from one of us than from a random crew member.”

*smiling wildly* “that is great news, I am so happy for you both if I know the CO – and I do – she laid the warning on thick I assume?” Donovan asked.

“She was happy for us but set the ground rules as far as she could for a ship like ours. We will uphold the blessing she gave us and still serve our ship and crew like always.” Dodd replied with a bit of smirk.

*nods* “sounds like the Captain alright, still I am happy for you both” Donovan responded.

“Thank you, Major,” Dodd replied as he knew she was sincere about it. “So, do we know the nature of this mission?”

Aldana beamed at Dodd, “congratulations on your engagement!” S/he looked down at Sombra ~I’m fine for now little one, go explore.~ “So far all I know is I was to gather each of you here and in addition to standard away team fare we were to be prepared for battle and with environmental suits. I hope they are just precautions. When I asked if I should bring Luuna I was told I might want to so I can guess some search and rescue may be involved.”

Sombra went over to investigate the tall woman with all the bulky equipment.

Aldana continued, “Since we’re told to meet in here instead of a transporter room, I’d suggest we should prepare for launch,” S/he gazed at the marine. “I’d guess that’s why you’re here.”

As one dog was receiving attention, the other one sauntered over, Donovan used her other hand to make a fuss of that one-too “two beautiful puppies” she said then in a silly voice “Ain't you pair lovely” she added then looked up “yes Lieutenant, I am your pilot, we will take one of the Marine shuttles as it is larger as we may have to evac. those remaining over there” she said.

Sombra whimpered and wiggled playfully and puppy-like trying to get a good scent of the woman and greet her warmly with kisses.

Amiri beamed as s/he enjoyed watching her loved ones enjoy and have fun meeting new beings. S/he tried to keep an eye on them though, s/he wouldn’t have them becoming a pest or a nuisance of themselves. “…Right, that sounds like a good idea, I agree.”

Finally, Captain Somers voice breached the air over the comms. She informed them they were to rendezvous with the S.S. Trelesta. She then informed them of the ship’s condition and status, and why they couldn’t just beam over.

=/\= Away Team you will need EVA suits on, the atmosphere is toxic over there so you will need to evac the captives and administer the correct aid =/\= Somers said.

=/\= Understood bridge. Are we looking for any of the Orion sex trafficking victims, or is this just a standard repair and rescue mission? =/\=

=/\= Acknowledged Away Team, they are victims and all remaining on the ship MUST be evacuated off that ship. =/\=

=/\= Understood, bridge, please advise Lieutenant Parker that his two security members haven’t arrived yet. =/\=

=/\= Parker here, Trax and Kru'sk are en route, they got tied up at the armoury with gear issues. =/\=

- Shuttle Bay One -

Moments after Parker's exchange Trux and Kru'sk raced into the shuttle bay with their armoured EVA suits, packs and battle rifles. Ensign Trux the more senior of the two led Kru'sk to the shuttle.

As the group boarded one of the two troop shuttles two other pilots prepped the other troop shuttle as an evac may be required.

=/\= Shuttle Bay One this is the Captain make sure both troop shuttles launch and make sure your EVA suits are secured, the atmosphere is becoming toxic over there, your main task is to evac the captives and get back to the ship, Major Donovan will head to the bridge to collect any computer data and such, the rest of you will work at securing and evacuating the ship, be alert for any hostile forces, Lieutenant Aldana with initial assignments complete your team is cleared to shuttle over and the moment you leave this ship, it is your mission =/\= Somers said.

=/\= Understood, thank you, sir. Do we have a count on how many life-forms to expect? =/\= The doctor called the two Canids to hir for the time being. “Major, since you’ll be by yourself for most of the mission, I’d like you to take Luuna, you’ll find even without the use of her nose and jaws with her helmet she can still make an excellent ‘six.’ Even remotely I’ll be able to stay connected with her to make communication easier.” S/he looked at the two security officers, “Each of you is assigned to either Lieutenant Dodd, or me. Sombra is on me.”

Aldana looked around the room making eye contact with everyone individually. “Being covered in fur, Luuna, Sombra, and I are vulnerable to over-heating easily in these environmental suits. Please keep an eye on us for dehydration and heat-related illness. Warning signs are excessive panting with drooling/foaming at the mouth, lethargy, disorientation, and sluggishness. If you see any of these signs, drop what you’re doing and return to the shuttle. Get the victim some cool – not cold – fresh water to drink no sports drinks or electrolyte-drinks. Animals (no matter how people friendly) may become confused and defensive, use a muzzle before attempting to get them out of their suit. If you have any hesitation, call me. Comments? Questions?”

Nodding to Aldana “got it doctor, which one is Luna?” Donovan asked, she had made a fuss of both of the dogs, but she was dammed if she could tell which was which. “Okay Luna you are with me when we get to the ship, everyone buckle in; this could get bumpy,” Donovan said having already strapped in and was going through pre-flight checklists.

Aldana pointed, “Luuna is the female she has the sable coat.” S/he turned to face hir team; “any other questions?”

Doctor Aldana scanned the faces of everyone in the room. No one seemed to have a confused expression on their face, so with a flick of hir tail, s/he wrapped things up. “Load up! ‘Let’s roll out!’” S/he said in hir best Peter Cullen impression and giving a wink to Dodd.

Trux and Kru'sk loaded their equipment into the shuttle, they brought breaching tools and small explosives in case they needed to enter locked spaces. Their packs also included plasma torches as well. It wasn’t standard equipment for a security team to take but Parker wasn’t taking any chances. They both strapped in and notified Donovan they were ready.

Donovan went through her flight checks as her passengers got settled in.

Over the Comms. =/\= Shuttle one to Shuttle two lets go *she said then to her passengers* okay people we are away holding on tight I have turned down the motion safeties, it is going to get a little bumpy =/\= Donovan said as she left the Tomcat first with the second shuttle following close behind as they headed over to the disabled transport.

Following a comm. from the captain, Dodd input the algorithm to have the shuttle’s shields frequencies put on automatic rotation to prevent any foreign transporting systems from penetrating them and beaming away any of the team members or the refugees. Once done with their shuttle, he tapped into the systems on the second shuttle and established the algorithm for that shuttle as well.

“Major, I just set the shuttle’s shield frequencies to a rotating formula that is standard for the Tomcat so as to protect any foreign transporter beam from taking any of us or the refugees.” Dodd stated to Donovan. “The captain asked me to do so, so I also tapped in to following shuttle and set the algorithm in to motion for them.”

"Excellent, okay everyone hold on to your stomachs and when we dock remember to put on your EVA suit helmets" S'arila said.

Doctor Aldana didn’t appreciate that Lieutenant Dodd didn’t address hir as team leader. S/he tried to picture how Captain Somers or Commander Sterling might address this, but words were failing hir at the moment. Perhaps if the major hadn’t said anything hir own sole response might have spoken volumes for hir. “Thank you, Mister Dodd,” s/he acknowledged.

After that the shuttle was silent as they flew over to and docked with the drifting transport, as Donovan was doing the docking procedures the Away Team put on their helmets.

[OFF]

Captain Jasmine Somers
Commander Officer
USS Tomcat

Lieutenant Remington Dodd
Chief Engineer
USS Tomcat

Lieutenant Jg Cody Parker
Mission Advisor/CoS
USS Tomcat

Major S'arila D'Tana Donovan[P: Somers]
Bravo Unit Commander
USS Tomcat

CWO Sombra C.G.CA/U, PSA,C.ESA [P: Aldana]
Counsellors aide/Morale Officer
USS Tomcat

CWO Luuna (Luna) C.G.CA/U [P: Aldana]
Security Officer
USS Tomcat
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